I'm not sure if you know what "fan service" means.
Can Hardcore Trek Fanservice Scare Newbie Trekkies?
- Thread starter VulcanMindBlown
- Start date
Like I said earlier, yes. Season arcs don't scare people from Game of Thrones or two Walking Dead shows.
I don't think it works that way.
I have literally never seen that happen in any way that didn't explicitly explain up front all the important story points that had been missed.
Unless you're talking about episodes referencing previous episodes of the same series in the exact same story arc, and in that case, in case anyone hasn't noticed: that's what all popular tv is about now. That's the entire point of making Discovery a serialized 'streaming' style show, because that's the style that will undisputedly bring in new fans. 'Easy to understand' episodic reset button style programming is exactly what people DON'T want on their tvs anymore.
And, while it seems that this is the subject that somehow is at the heart of this thread (even though it confusingly has nothing to do with the thread title), I will also say on the subject of actual fan service: even this does not need to scare anyone away. Sure, it can be handled poorly, making assumptions about people 'obviously' knowing all kinds of weird shit that no one who isn't a die hard fan actually knows - in that case, it would be a problem. But it can also be handled well: taking popular fan recognized elements and placing them in the background where the fans will notice and get a kick out of it and the general audience will not notice and therefore not be intimidated; or taking popular fan recognized elements and building a good story around them that makes just as much sense as every other story on the show. For instance, if you write an incredible story revolving around an encounter with a reptilian alien race, the general audience will not care whether that race is original to the episode or not, but (assuming the story fits the proper characterization) the hardcore fans will get a kick out of seeing the Gorn again, so why not use the Gorn?
By the time Discovery airs, it will be 2 years since Enterprise ended. Discovery should largely follow the 2005 Doctor Who revival's footsteps and assume the audience knows the bare minimum about Star Trek. Spend the first season hooking new audiences. Once the audiences are hooked, slowly reintroduce elements from old Trek series.
Well, I guess that the example that I was thinking of would be a continuation of a Prime Universe show (especially ENT's unfinished seasons), or some of the novels that have been written by the writers here. No offense to anyone, but some of these ideas would be cool to the fans, with "continuity porn" and "fan wank," but most of the general audiences around the world wouldn't care about an Star Trek: Enterprise movie about the Romulan Wars or the founding of the Federation. Now, obviously some of these people who write for the Expanded Universe DO in fact write for the television shows (and movies... I guess????
,) like David Mack, but some of these crossover series like Star Trek: Destiny (though cool) wouldn't work for making into a live action show or movie. I could be wrong, though, everyone has a different opinion. We need to bring in new fans while keeping the old ones. That is the bottom line...
This is the 2010s. Story arcs are the norm. DS9 came out in the '90s when story arcs weren't the norm. Apples and oranges.
Since it's a new series, people will be able to get in on the ground floor. If there's anything only fans will get, I figure Bryan Fuller will either have it slipped under the radar so people who don't get it won't notice or he'll bring the audience up to speed without bogging down the story.
The Wrath of Khan and First Contact were sequels to "Space Seed" and "The Best of Both Worlds" but brought people up to speed in such a way that you didn't need to watch the TV episodes. Discovery will essentially be a 13-hour movie with 13 parts with their own independent structure. I figure this "movie" will effectively bring people up to speed with whatever they need to know.
Since it's a new series, people will be able to get in on the ground floor. If there's anything only fans will get, I figure Bryan Fuller will either have it slipped under the radar so people who don't get it won't notice or he'll bring the audience up to speed without bogging down the story.
The Wrath of Khan and First Contact were sequels to "Space Seed" and "The Best of Both Worlds" but brought people up to speed in such a way that you didn't need to watch the TV episodes. Discovery will essentially be a 13-hour movie with 13 parts with their own independent structure. I figure this "movie" will effectively bring people up to speed with whatever they need to know.
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