Could a Kickstarter Campaign Help Start a New Series?

[Dryson]

What better time to start a new series than now? I mean with Russia trying to ban the U.S. from the I.S.S. which means Russia could operated independently while the U.S. section could not would create a very dramatic climate for a few t.v. episodes.

I mean who wants to watch reruns of Castle and NCIS every night?

Haven't seen the entire series yet of these two shows? Buy the DVD version because we need to move onto something more interesting and bold.

 

[CRM-114]

What interesting is a Star Trek series will never survive on the CBS network, the rating expectations are just way to high it could never work. CBS would have to make the show and put it on a cable network or perhaps the CW. This is what made the Netflix rumors (albeit false rumors) interesting as it gave CBS a viable outlet Star Trek.

This works under the assumption that CBS wants new Star Trek. They may be happy just collecting the licensing fees from the movies/merchandising and the syndication of the already filmed shows.

Star Trek on TV may be something that they are simply not ready to move on yet and may not be ready for, for a very long time.

That may be (in my mind, at least) the biggest reason why we've had no new series from CBS. Why spend the money to produce a (surely expensive) series, when the franchise is making money without one, especially considering they didn't have to make the initial investment of actually producing any of the previous series?

 

[Hober Mallow]

I'm actually pleased at the way CBS is handling Star Trek. I'd rather get a decent movie every three or four years than have them pump out mediocre material like Paramount did in the 90's.

Agreed.

That, and I just don't want any more Berman Trek. Ever again. It had its day, with it's spinoffs and spinoffs of spinoffs. It was merely one version; it's not the end-all and be-all of Star Trek.

 

[2takesfrakes]

It's very depressing seeing occassionally talented - and often beloved - actors in Fan Films, regardless of where, or how, these projects got their funding. It's like a total admission of these stars being "down on their luck," as it were. And it's embarassing, also, watching them with egg all over their face, as Fan Films generally tend to suck. I remember one time, on another STAR TREK forum, entirely, there was some guy who was trying to solicit money for a fan film he was making that didn't even star known talent. I read this thread of theirs and said, "something's wrong ..."

 

[Ryan8bit]

That may be (in my mind, at least) the biggest reason why we've had no new series from CBS. Why spend the money to produce a (surely expensive) series, when the franchise is making money without one, especially considering they didn't have to make the initial investment of actually producing any of the previous series?

Because there's always more money to be made.

 

[BillJ]

That may be (in my mind, at least) the biggest reason why we've had no new series from CBS. Why spend the money to produce a (surely expensive) series, when the franchise is making money without one, especially considering they didn't have to make the initial investment of actually producing any of the previous series?

Because there's always more money to be made.

But maybe there really isn't. If CBS though that a new Trek TV series was a slam dunk profit-wise, it would either already be here or deep into development.

They have to weigh risk vs. reward and, apparently, reward hasn't gotten a clear seal of approval from the CBS bean counters. Probably the same thing is what sunk an immediate jump from TNG-R to DS9-R.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I wish CBS would just C&D all these Kickstarters and be done with it.

There, I said it.

Seconded.

a) it's getting out of hand.
b) it's emboldening the broad and lofty language coming from the people behind the fan films (and not always in a good way)
c) there are far better things for people to spend their money on.

I'm not sure that door is shutting anytime soon as too many people are using it. Now it is more of the question of who has not tried crowd funding vs. those who have, sign of the times I guess.

When something feels too good to be true, it usually is.

Crowdfunding feels to me like a bubble. Crowdfunding fan-films feels like a bubble on top of a bubble. I don't know when or how either of these bubbles will pop, but I think they will. It's just too much of an all-you-can-eat buffet right now.

Reminds me of something said by Lee Goldberg a while back (and keep in mind I support some fan productions, but do not believe that they are 'better' because they are the 'pure' Star Trek or any such nonsense) :

Yesterday in Variety, a bunch of clueless morons calling themselves The Colonial Fan Force ran a full-page, color advertisement clamoring for a “Battlestar Galactica” movie starring the original cast.

Millions of fans still dream of seeing the Battlestar Galactica roam the heavens once more in a big screen continuations of the epic story that began in 1978 with the original cast and characters leading a new generation of warriors.

Yeah, right… there are millions, no TENS of millions, of fans clamoring for the return of Herb Jefferson, Laurette Sprang, Dirk Benedict, and Richard Hatch (who is not nearly as powerful an actor as the nude guy of the same name on “Survivor”… nor as successful). I suspect the real audience is about 100 fat guys in their 40s, who at this very moment are busily duping all their Heather Thomas videos onto DVD…

That said, I am always amused by the losers who spend their comic book money on pointless ads like this (or, worse, the ones who publish a synopsis of, or excerpt from, their unsold screenplays). The advertising guys at Variety and the Hollywood Reporter must laugh themselves silly with glee every time one of these suckers comes in.

In the case of the “Battlestar Galactica,” the folks at “The Colonial Fan Force” urge the readers of Variety (most of whom are entertainment industry professionals) to write writer/producer Glen A. Larson and Tom DeSanto, a guy who once tried to launch a movie version of the TV show. This shows just how little the people who paid for this ad understand about how the business works…and even sillier when you consider the SciFi Channel is already in the midst of shooting a new “Battlestar Galactica” TV series from NBC/Universal Studios with an all-new cast led by Edward James Olmos.

I suppose we have Gene Roddenberry to blame for this, ever since he cleverly engineered the so-called “viewer campaign” to save “Star Trek” from cancellation. So now we get ads demanding the return of dull supporting characters axed from TV shows (the “Save Marina” campaign on “The L Word” comes to mind) and from the millions of fans still crying over the demise of “Manimal.” I’m looking forward to the “Bring Gloria Reuben back to MISSING” ads… maybe the Colonial Fan Force can take up the cause.

Clueless Morons

 

[Ryan8bit]

But maybe there really isn't. If CBS though that a new Trek TV series was a slam dunk profit-wise, it would either already be here or deep into development.

It's clearly not a slam dunk, especially with all the variables at play. But at some point in the future, it will be profitable enough. Right now the movies are doing just fine in that regard.

I think it will take a successful Star Wars live action series to spur a Star Trek production. Other sci-fi television is going to have to set a precedent first, and there are some hurdles to get there.

 

[mos6507]

Yesterday in Variety, a bunch of clueless morons calling themselves The Colonial Fan Force

I think the worst offender in this category is the nameless/faceless entity trying to get Star Trek Titan greenlit without even talking to Jonathan Frakes or CBS. It's just supposed to magically spring out of the grass-roots as long as you show enough CG fly-bys.

 

[Tom]

Yesterday in Variety, a bunch of clueless morons calling themselves The Colonial Fan Force

I think the worst offender in this category is the nameless/faceless entity trying to get Star Trek Titan greenlit without even talking to Jonathan Frakes or CBS. It's just supposed to magically spring out of the grass-roots as long as you show enough CG fly-bys.

Yep, Its most a guy that lives in the Netherlands that is either a clueless dreamer or a big scam artist, I vote the latter.

 

[Amaris]

But maybe there really isn't. If CBS though that a new Trek TV series was a slam dunk profit-wise, it would either already be here or deep into development.

It's clearly not a slam dunk, especially with all the variables at play. But at some point in the future, it will be profitable enough. Right now the movies are doing just fine in that regard.

I think it will take a successful Star Wars live action series to spur a Star Trek production. Other sci-fi television is going to have to set a precedent first, and there are some hurdles to get there.

True. At some point, a sci-fi TV series of some kind will get popular, rake in tons of money, and the people at CBS will say "Hey! We have that kind of crap sitting in storage! Let's do something with it!"

 

[I am not Spock]

I just started watching the Phase II fan series today while sick at home, and I have to say the episode quality writing and production wise is so high (especially the newest episodes) that really, why do we need "official"? Official is just some people at CBS anyway, it's not like they're going to have Gene Roddenberry's work or David Gerrold/Harlan Ellison writing episodes. So their fanfic has a license, just fund the stuff that's done by the people who truly have a love for the show.

That said, a licensed trek kickstarted would generate millions in less than a few hours.

The fan series I've seen show such a care and passion for the original series that they make up part of my personal canon.

 

[Pupp]

Money isn't the issue, it's lack of direction.

The Abramsverse is just that: an alt version of Star Trek designed for the sole purpose of rebooting TOS with modern filmography.

As far as a series: CBS has 2 choices: something on the small or something on the epic.

Small would be essentially having the focus on a purpose built ship.
Examples:

1. Medical Ship. It goes around stamping out medical emergencies, with just enough leeway that it can get some epic stories in there without having devote more than an episode or two to the more epic story.

2. Crime fighting ship. A Crime Scene Investigation ship. (Personally I'm rather tepid about the idea).

4. Engineering ship. Sounds promising. Dunno if they ever got any suggestions on that. The stars are the limit on engineering stories.

I'm sure people can find a few more examples of a single ship series which can have plenty of stories without having to step on the toes of prior series.

The OTHER option:

Do an epic series. TNG and DS9 were both epic series, having plenty of individual stories, and some more epic stories. DS9 took it the next level when they introduced the Dominion War, and made it more of a week to week series, rather than just self contained episodes which could be viewed in any order. (Excluding a few 2 part stories, TNG didn't really have a viewing order for the episodes, and neither did ToS).

I'm fairly certain any series that CBS does, it will lend more to the week to week style, since people enjoy that, plus it lends itself to having an audience that is more engaged and likely to watch the next episode to see what happens. Most prime time shows are like that nowadays, and have been for many years.

 

[SPCTRE]

2. Crime fighting ship. A Crime Scene Investigation ship. (Personally I'm rather tepid about the idea).

You know, I would totally watch CSI: Qo'noS.

 

[Pupp]

One thing CBS could do is an epic series, then spin off of the other smaller concepts. That way they could have the EPIC series as the core, and the *spin offs can weave themselves around that core.. occasionally even intersecting with that epic series. I'd say in a much more integrated way than TNG did with DS9...

...yet the spin off series should be able to stand on their own and only intersect when the timing is ripe.

*that is the smaller scale stuff like a medical or engineering ship.