Making a Star Trek series that fits in with today's TV landscape

[The Overlord]

Many people say we are living in a golden age of television, with many great TV series on cable, so how would a new Star Trek series fit in with a modern TV landscape?

I think a new Star trek series would need a more ongoing story, deeper characterization and more of an edge then say, Voyager had. It can still be optimistic, but have a balance between light and dark moments. Continuity should also matter and it should have a more reoccurring villain.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think it would fit in fine as a series that has a mix of single- and multi-episode stories as well as a mix of action, drama, with occasional moments of humor, horror, and tragedy. It can be frequently serious, but also frequently fun. On thing I don't think it should be is something that's dark, dreary, and filled with self-serving, sex-crazed, or petty a-hole characters--that kind of stuff can be done in moderation, but I think the core of Trek is a future that we'd like to be in rather than not with different aspects that appeal to both adults and even kids.

I also think it should treat continuity rather vaguely and avoid too many specific references to past events. More attention should be on what's currently happening in the series rather than what happened in previous ones.

 

[The Overlord]

I think it would fit in fine as a series that has a mix of single- and multi-episode stories as well as a mix of action, drama, with occasional moments of humor, horror, and tragedy. It can be frequently serious, but also frequently fun. On thing I don't think it should be is something that's dark, dreary, and filled with self-serving, sex-crazed, or petty a-hole characters--that kind of stuff can be done in moderation, but I think the core of Trek is a future that we'd like to be in rather than not with different aspects that appeal to both adults and even kids.

Sure I would agree with that, I don't think it should be Game of Thrones in Space, but it should still try to be a modern TV show, rather then trying to be a show from the 60s or 80s.

 

[ComicGuy89]

The idea of a Game of Thrones Star Trek has me shuddering to the core.

As long as there's a healthy sense of optimism I'll be happy.

 

[RandyS]

As long as there's a healthy sense of optimism I'll be happy.

Then I think you're doomed to be sad. Today's TV is all about depression, depressing characters and angst.

Words like "optimism" and "hope", and even "happy" mean nothing anymore. Anything like that is mistakenly written off as "campy".

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think it would fit in fine as a series that has a mix of single- and multi-episode stories as well as a mix of action, drama, with occasional moments of humor, horror, and tragedy. It can be frequently serious, but also frequently fun. On thing I don't think it should be is something that's dark, dreary, and filled with self-serving, sex-crazed, or petty a-hole characters--that kind of stuff can be done in moderation, but I think the core of Trek is a future that we'd like to be in rather than not with different aspects that appeal to both adults and even kids.

Sure I would agree with that, I don't think it should be Game of Thrones in Space, but it should still try to be a modern TV show, rather then trying to be a show from the 60s or 80s.

It can't be even if it tried since it's no longer the 60s or the 80s, but the majority of "modern TV shows" still follow a similar format.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I think it would fit in fine as a series that has a mix of single- and multi-episode stories as well as a mix of action, drama, with occasional moments of humor, horror, and tragedy. It can be frequently serious, but also frequently fun. On thing I don't think it should be is something that's dark, dreary, and filled with self-serving, sex-crazed, or petty a-hole characters--that kind of stuff can be done in moderation, but I think the core of Trek is a future that we'd like to be in rather than not with different aspects that appeal to both adults and even kids.

I also think it should treat continuity rather vaguely and avoid too many specific references to past events. More attention should be on what's currently happening in the series rather than what happened in previous ones.

So basically an updated version of TOS. Works for me.

Then I think you're doomed to be sad. Today's TV is all about depression, depressing characters and angst.

Words like "optimism" and "hope", and even "happy" mean nothing anymore. Anything like that is mistakenly written off as "campy".

And what exactly do you base that off of?

 

[T'Girl]

... and more of an edge then say, Voyager had.

Perhaps less the show have a edge, and instead have one or two of the main Starfleet officers have a edge to them.

... sex-crazed ...

While staying away from this, it would be good idea to show that some of the new main characters were capable of having a average normal long term relationship. Star Trek historically has been pretty piss poor in this area.

DS9 was a bit better at this than the others.

*******

Friends and I were discussing how to handle continuity in a new series and the idea was raised to not completely disregard what came before, but to (to a degree) de-emphasize it. Push the Federation, the Council, Earth, "the academy," into the rarely mentioned background as much as possible.

The emphasis would focus on the crew, the ship, the mission, the adventure. Starfleet would be there backing them up, but even that would be distant.

More forwards, less backwards.

 

[Melakon]

I still say we need Peter Dinklage as a starship captain, doesn't matter if he's the star or not.

 

[marksound]

For Trek to come back to TV it has to go back to its roots. Wagon Train to the Stars, Horatio Hornblower in space. We've seen that it doesn't work on network tv as a serialized nighttime soap opera.

You can have character development without serializing it. As much as I loved the DS9 story arcs, Trek was at its best when it started fresh with each new episode. Lots of series grow the main characters and still manage to keep each week's plot in a bottle.

That said, I don't like the "reset button" model. You can't severely damage a main character one week and have them be normal the next. You can have the characters face and resolve conflict in an hour without having to explain the next week why they all aren't in therapy.

That's the way TV used to be written. There's no reason why it can't be done again.

 

[The Overlord]

For Trek to come back to TV it has to go back to its roots. Wagon Train to the Stars, Horatio Hornblower in space. We've seen that it doesn't work on network tv as a serialized nighttime soap opera.

You can have character development without serializing it. As much as I loved the DS9 story arcs, Trek was at its best when it started fresh with each new episode. Lots of series grow the main characters and still manage to keep each week's plot in a bottle.

That said, I don't like the "reset button" model. You can't severely damage a main character one week and have them be normal the next. You can have the characters face and resolve conflict in an hour without having to explain the next week why they all aren't in therapy.

That's the way TV used to be written. There's no reason why it can't be done again.

But that seems like trying to do a 60s era TV show in the modern era of television, serialization works for a reason, it lets you tell more in depth stories, heck even kids cartoons like Avatar the Last air Bender have ongoing stories. Moving away from serialization would be a step backwards, rather then forwards.

Dukat is considered one of the best star Trek villains ever and why? Because he was a reoccurring villain with his arc, which made him more memorable then the average one shot bad guy that appeared in Star Trek. You can still have one shot bad guys, but the main villain should be a reoccurring character, more characters like Dukat and fewer random evil alien commanders of the week who we never see again.

 

[marksound]

I'm looking at this from my own perspective, the only one I have.

Watching tv is not a priority in our lives. My wife and I work a lot of hours, and keeping up with a series is hard to do. Most of the shows we like are in reruns, because we missed them in first run.

I've spent more time online today than I have in the last month, and that's because I'm at a standstill in other things.

It's hard to follow a serialized show with all the other things going on. My preference is to watch a bottle show with characters I like, so I don't have to try to keep up with a season long arc.

Some series can do it that way, and others can't.

Take Monk, for example. If you know the premise, you can watch any episode in any order, and it's ok. You don't have to know that last week Adrian had a cold and only got out of bed to save Natalie from a killer to know that in the next episode he would rescue his brother from a poisoned Halloween candy bar.

I prefer to watch episodes of my favorite shows that don't need a setup. I can fill in the blanks myself, and if I was wrong it just makes it that much more fun.

 

[The Overlord]

I'm looking at this from my own perspective, the only one I have.

Watching tv is not a priority in our lives. My wife and I work a lot of hours, and keeping up with a series is hard to do. Most of the shows we like are in reruns, because we missed them in first run.

I've spent more time online today than I have in the last month, and that's because I'm at a standstill in other things.

It's hard to follow a serialized show with all the other things going on. My preference is to watch a bottle show with characters I like, so I don't have to try to keep up with a season long arc.

Some series can do it that way, and others can't.

Take Monk, for example. If you know the premise, you can watch any episode in any order, and it's ok. You don't have to know that last week Adrian had a cold and only got out of bed to save Natalie from a killer to know that in the next episode he would rescue his brother from a poisoned Halloween candy bar.

I prefer to watch episodes of my favorite shows that don't need a setup. I can fill in the blanks myself, and if I was wrong it just makes it that much more fun.

A show cannot revolve around the needs of one or two fans, it has to reach a wide audience and I think today's audience likes shows with ongoing stories. Lots of people end up binge watching an entire season of show on Netflix, so I am not sure your situation is typical of the average modern TV watcher.


Lots of the great TV shows out now depend on a ongoing story, stuff like Breaking bad, House of Cards and Game of Thrones wouldn't work without them and those are the type of shows that get buzz, rather then episodic shows. You cannot try to make a Star Trek show as an 60s or 80s show and expect it survive in today's TV market.

 

[C.E. Evans]

... sex-crazed ...

While staying away from this, it would be good idea to show that some of the new main characters were capable of having a average normal long term relationship. Star Trek historically has been pretty piss poor in this area.

Most of the long-term relationships in Trek are depicted as long-term friendships rather than romantic couples.

The problem with romantic couples in Trek is that they tend to be a distraction to whatever the main story is, unless they are the main story. Otherwise, they are done just to give some characters something else to do when they're not saving the universe right then and there.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I'm looking at this from my own perspective, the only one I have.

Watching tv is not a priority in our lives. My wife and I work a lot of hours, and keeping up with a series is hard to do. Most of the shows we like are in reruns, because we missed them in first run.

I've spent more time online today than I have in the last month, and that's because I'm at a standstill in other things.

It's hard to follow a serialized show with all the other things going on. My preference is to watch a bottle show with characters I like, so I don't have to try to keep up with a season long arc.

Some series can do it that way, and others can't.

Take Monk, for example. If you know the premise, you can watch any episode in any order, and it's ok. You don't have to know that last week Adrian had a cold and only got out of bed to save Natalie from a killer to know that in the next episode he would rescue his brother from a poisoned Halloween candy bar.

I prefer to watch episodes of my favorite shows that don't need a setup. I can fill in the blanks myself, and if I was wrong it just makes it that much more fun.

A show cannot revolve around the needs of one or two fans, it has to reach a wide audience and I think today's audience likes shows with ongoing stories.

Actually today's audience likes either shows with ongoing stories or shows with single-episode stories. It's definitely not a case of the former being more popular than the latter since the latter is actually more prevalent on U.S. television. Don't get me wrong, there are indeed very successful shows with ongoing story/soap opera formats, but they are not the only kind of shows that are successful, and they do appeal a wide audience today.

 

[The Overlord]

I'm looking at this from my own perspective, the only one I have.

Watching tv is not a priority in our lives. My wife and I work a lot of hours, and keeping up with a series is hard to do. Most of the shows we like are in reruns, because we missed them in first run.

I've spent more time online today than I have in the last month, and that's because I'm at a standstill in other things.

It's hard to follow a serialized show with all the other things going on. My preference is to watch a bottle show with characters I like, so I don't have to try to keep up with a season long arc.

Some series can do it that way, and others can't.

Take Monk, for example. If you know the premise, you can watch any episode in any order, and it's ok. You don't have to know that last week Adrian had a cold and only got out of bed to save Natalie from a killer to know that in the next episode he would rescue his brother from a poisoned Halloween candy bar.

I prefer to watch episodes of my favorite shows that don't need a setup. I can fill in the blanks myself, and if I was wrong it just makes it that much more fun.

A show cannot revolve around the needs of one or two fans, it has to reach a wide audience and I think today's audience likes shows with ongoing stories.

Actually today's audience likes either shows with ongoing stories or shows with single-episode stories. It's definitely not a case of the former being more popular than the latter since the latter is actually more prevalent on U.S. television. Don't get me wrong, there are indeed very successful shows with ongoing story/soap opera formats, but they are not the only kind of shows that are successful, and they do appeal a wide audience today.

Perhaps, but I would say those are the type of shows getting the most attention and critical praise.

I would say people care more about Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones rather then Law and Order and NCIS. An ongoing story with various twists and turns creates more buzz then an episodic show does.

 

[Melakon]

I grew up on '50s and '60s TV. Occasionally I'd get to go to a movie. With literature, I preferred short stories to novels. Most of my reading these days is non-fiction or reference books. I generally avoided books that were trilogies or multi-volumes interconnected with each other.

With visual entertainment, if I want a novel, I watch a movie. If I want a short story, I watch a television episode. Multi-episode arcs were very confusing for me when I couldn't catch all the episodes in an arc. Now of course, I have plenty of time to watch stuff like that, but I can't afford to spend the money to be able to do it.

 

[JarodRussell]

Today's TV landscape is extremely dull in my opinion. All these depressive, miserable, failed characters running around, intertwined in overly complicated plots that are contrived to no end. So I don't think I would enjoy a show like that.

 

[RandyS]

Today's TV landscape is extremely dull in my opinion. All these depressive, miserable, failed characters running around, intertwined in overly complicated plots that are contrived to no end. So I don't think I would enjoy a show like that.

Me either. The very concept of Star Trek is not compatable with today's TV.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Today's TV landscape is extremely dull in my opinion. All these depressive, miserable, failed characters running around, intertwined in overly complicated plots that are contrived to no end. So I don't think I would enjoy a show like that.

Me either. The very concept of Star Trek is not compatable with today's TV.

I ask again...

What examples of this do you have exactly?

Today's TV landscape is extremely dull in my opinion. All these depressive, miserable, failed characters running around, intertwined in overly complicated plots that are contrived to no end. So I don't think I would enjoy a show like that.

So your problem with modern is that people aren't Stepford Smilers who shrug trauma off like its nothing and that the show makes you use your brain to keep up?