Alex Kurtzman Gets New Deal With CBS, Will Expand 'Star Trek' TV

[Lord Garth]

It was only during DS9's run that multiple Trek series were running at once. By the late 1990s it was just late-period VOY and ENT.

And they presumably won't be overlapping. There used to be 52 episodes annually. Two shows now will only give us 26.

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Switching gears to other people asking "But what about over-saturation?"

I stopped watching in 1999 because DS9 ended and I didn't like the fifth season of VOY as much as the first four.* As I said before: if I don't like something, I don't watch it. (I know that's a radical concept!) After being on the fence for an entire year, after I heard what happened with Ron Moore leaving after three episodes at the beginning of the sixth season, I made my decision to stop watching after his last one. I completely took his side.

That's what made me stop watching. I wasn't enjoying it anymore. It's really that simple. Over-saturation didn't have anything to do with it.

From 1993 to 1998, I had no problem with there being two series on at the same time. Especially since they felt so different from each other. They weren't stepping on each other's toes.

* In retrospect, Jeri Taylor leaving after the fourth season really did make a difference. When I re-watched VOY in 2008, and saw the seventh season for the first time, I liked the way Ken Biller was running the show. So, I guess that means overall I think Brannon Braga can come up with some great wacky ideas, but I didn't like him as much as a show-runner.

 

[guyute03]

I like all of this.
Very happy right now.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Is there really anything to get excited about here? To me, the big news is his contract extension. Good on him. He's earned it. But having shows in 'early development' seems kind of par for the course -- if not an expected part -- of those kinds of contracts. And I doubt many of them ever see the light of day. I have no idea what the actual percentage of series that start in early development ever see actual production, but I would guess it's not very high.

And I don't really see a lot of lift in any of these ideas.

The academy idea has been the franchise football for four decades. Not a promising start. Though, I admit this has always intrigued me. The one thing I've always felt they would have to get absolutely right for it to work is future San Francisco. And the casting, which always seems so much more crucial with these shows that skew younger.

I assume the Khan idea would be about his adventures on Ceti V., which is way too conceptually niche to really make any sort of splash, even as a miniseries. And that's before you account for the guy who'd be in charge has barely done anything in the industry in 25+ years.

A 'limited' TNG series and the animated show have the most potential here, but only as the same product. All the cast has experience in animation voice work and it solves the aging Spiner problem. The other thing I could see here is a very personal solo Picard story, something akin to Pat's stage work. This, if done right, could be extraordinary.

But really, until all the legal business with Paramount gets worked out, I see doing anything more as a really bad idea. I've been saying over and over for weeks now (or at least since the two-film deal was released) that that most important thing for them to do is take a page out of the Marvel playbook. Instead, this wreaks of DC shenanigans.

They need to present a cohesive and unified front and put the brand name first. The thing the MCU has done that's made them so successful is promote their brand. Screen Junkies may joke about how they can slap "Marvel" on anything and it becomes a hit, but it's true.

DC, on the other hand, took the has done just the opposite to less than desirable results -- despite having the much more marketable (and universally recognized) IP. And I think a lot of the quality issues are a result of that. They didn't have any kind of plan and just started throwing shit at the wall. And not only did it result in a middling film franchise but the Gotham firesale and the embarrassment of Krypton. Not to mention the only "good" is an ever-expanding group of shows on a single network that have become increasingly deluded each time a new one is added like a flock of vultures picking over a creatively dead carcass.

And, in its current state, Star Trek just doesn't have the staying power to survive such failure. Two films and a handful of shows in a small time frame is Berman-era saturation by a factor of 10. Unless one or two of them end up being runaway hits, the fallout could easily be much worse than it was in 2005, which is why I think -- hope -- that this is just the average "Sure, we got stuff in the pipeline." media nugget.

 

[pst]

just going to point out that next year it'll be 25 years since TNG went off the air. the flash forward segments of "all good things..." were also set 25 years in the future. this is just too perfect to ignore. perfect timing for a revival of some sort and a proper send off.

 

[BillJ]

I assume the Khan idea would be about his adventures on Ceti V., which is way too conceptually niche to really make any sort of splash, even as a miniseries. And that's before you account for the guy who'd be in charge has barely done anything in the industry in 25+ years.

I'd love to see the Eugenics Wars.

 

[ITDUDE]

Law of averages dictates that at least one of these will be good, and Kurtzman can't be everywhere at once. So this is good news.

Two words: Manny Coto

 

[lawman]

I'd love to see the Eugenics Wars.

Ohmigosh, think of that done Game of Thrones-style. All the shifting allegiances and maneuvering for power and moral ambiguities... that would be amazing!

Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath...

 

[F. King Daniel]

I'd love to see the Eugenics Wars.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Seriously, I'd get a kick out of seeing a massive world war in alternate 1990's

 

[ITDUDE]

Not sure how to feel about a Patrick Stewart show. He is pushing 80 years old

1st of all: just 77
2nd of all

Don't count out Patrick Stewart just yet

 

[fireproof78]

It is great you were enjoying it. Many people had burned out and moved on. Myself included. And I was a fucking Trek nut.

So, did we cancel each other out, or what?

Regardless, we are in a day and age where over-saturation is far more common and possible. As mentioned above, Marvel is oversaturating in several places (film, Netflix series, TV series) and yet it shows no indication of stopping. And, as much complaints are made about Marvel films, they still keep going, which means the audience isn't gone yet.

Ohmigosh, think of that done Game of Thrones-style. All the shifting allegiances and maneuvering for power and moral ambiguities... that would be amazing!

Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath...

No, thanks.

 

[Mudd]

Two words: Manny Coto

Two words: Fuck That.

 

[Lord Garth]

My brother is into the Marvel series but I'm pretty sure he doesn't watch all of them. It'll be the same deal with Star Trek. If people don't like a particular series, they should just not watch it. If the description doesn't interest them, they should skip it altogether.

The people who want to watch everything just so they can have an opinion or feel they have to are masochists. I don't know why they'd want to put themselves through watching stuff they can't stand.

I hate Country Music. Hate it. Can't stand it at all. I'm not going to turn on the radio and listen to Country just so I can have an opinion and then talk about it online all the time.

 

[ITDUDE]

So, did we cancel each other out, or what?

Regardless, we are in a day and age where over-saturation is far more common and possible. As mentioned above, Marvel is oversaturating in several places (film, Netflix series, TV series) and yet it shows no indication of stopping. And, as much complaints are made about Marvel films, they still keep going, which means the audience isn't gone yet.

No, thanks.

I don't know if Marvel is over-saturating yet by its strictest definition. If they had there would be backlash. If anything Marvel is showing there is demand for more and more.
With today's announcement of "a lot more trek" I think CBS is trying to duplicate Marvel in creating a huge Star Trek Universe, but I really hope it doesn't end up being like DCEU, basically a cheap copy.

 

[Jadeb]

I think oversaturation is a very legitimate concern in terms of draining the idea well, but less so in terms of losing viewers. Unlike in the old days, they're basically playing to diehard fans, the relatively small number of people willing to pay to see more Trek. The shows don't need nearly as many eyeballs as they used to (at least during these early days), advertising isn't a concern, and it's to CBS' benefit to keep Trekkies making their monthly payment. It's well and good for a new Trek show to attract subscribers, but eventually All Access has to *keep* them.

 

[BillJ]

Seriously, I'd get a kick out of seeing a massive world war in alternate 1990's

A Trek take on The Man in the High Castle might be appealing, if done right.

 

[fireproof78]

My brother is into all the Marvel series but pretty sure he doesn't watch all of them. It'll be the same deal with Star Trek. If people don't like a particular series, they should just not watch it. If the description doesn't interest them, they should skip it altogether.

This point should not be overstated. I think part of why I was so invested in each Star Trek series (briefly. I'll admit to starting ENT, but only following it later on. VOY I couldn't finish in its first run-was I part of the problem? O_O) was the fact that Star Trek felt so limited.

With more shows, I genuinely feel like I don't have to "catch 'em all" sensation and am more willing to let a show pass if it doesn't interest me.

 

[Tuskin38]

Two words: Fuck That.

You seem upset.

 

[Samurai8472]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/l...os-will-expand-star-trek-tv-franchise-1104232

The new deal comes as rumblings about another Star Trek series, featuring Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Capt. Pickard, have been heating up. Sources say Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman, who left Discovery after season one, are attached to the Stewart-led reboot. CBS TV Studios declined to confirm the Stewart project as sources say a deal is far from completed and may not happen despite the fact that the actor recently teased his potential return to the franchise.

Is this another evil clone of PICARD?

 

[BillJ]

Two words: Fuck That.

Four words: Jonathan Nolan/Lisa Joy.

Go big or go home!

 

[CorporalClegg]

I think oversaturation is a very legitimate concern in terms of draining the idea well, but less so in terms of losing viewers. Unlike in the old days, they're basically playing to diehard fans, the relatively small number of people willing to pay to see more Trek.

CBS throwing Trek under the bus to keep its fledgling service alive until it can scrape together a larger portion of the market share doesn't bode well for the long-term future of the franchise