Caretaker -production cost - budget

[jefferiestubes8]

VOY pilot Caretaker was shot in 1994 for the January 1995 premiere.

Due to the cost of building Voyager's bridge, converting the old TNG sets, reshooting the scenes shot with Geneviève Bujold and the ones after Janeway's hairstyle was altered, some very ambitious special effects scenes and a substantial amount of location filming, this episode is, to date, the most expensive Star Trek episode ever produced at $23 million in 1995. When adjusted for inflation, it proved even more expensive than Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Caretaker_%28episode%29#Production_Information

The dollars may not be spent all on screen since the scenes shot with Geneviève Bujold were left on the cutting floor as were the ones after Janeway's hairstyle was changed. Would it be more accurate in saying that VOY still cost more (without the scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor) than ENT's pilot Broken Bow and this is without the costs of all ship's exterior visual effects done in CGI done in high definition resolution (which were cheaper in 2001 than 1994 anyway)?

What is the 2nd most expensive Trek episode of any of the series?

 

[Michael]

Well, according to this, Broken Bow cost $3.75 million to produce. But can that be true with Caretaker's production cost of $23 million?

 

[Therin of Andor]

Supposedly the standing sets of each ST sequel series were costed over a projected five-year run. Creative accounting. I understand the only way they could afford to make TNG was to pre-sell the commercial DVD rights to Paramount's sister companies in Viacom, such as CIC-Taft Australia.

You're probably looking at an ENT "Broken Bow" budget that doesn't have any standing sets costs added onto it.

It also means that, since ENT only ran four years, that in some accounting sheets at Paramount, UPN or CBS, poor ol' ENT is shown to have made a loss.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

TNG DVD rights?

I understand the only way they could afford to make TNG was to pre-sell the commercial DVD rights to Paramount's sister companies in Viacom, such as CIC-Taft Australia.

Star Trek: TNG premiered September 28, 1987

DVD was invented and developed in 1995
The format went on sale in in the United States on March 1, 1997.

Star Trek: VOY premiered January 16, 1995.

Releases of Star Trek: TNG on DVD began in 2002.

I could understand if you were talking about VOY DVD rights being presold but TNG's production ended in May 1994. Paramount could not have known about the DVD format for consumer home video release before at least 1995.

Therin of Andor do you have a source to back this up? URL link?

 

[Michael]

^ Pretty sure Therin actually meant VHS.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Re: TNG DVD rights?

DVD was invented and developed in 1995

In a previous post I made sure I said "home entertainment market", but yes, I typed DVD out of habit when I was meant to type VHS. I was referring to the "home video release" of the day.

And I know it was a pre-production agreement between Paramount/Viacom and CIC-Taft Australasia because I helped them with the promotion of TNG in Australia. The deal angered the TV network, ATN Seven, who had the then-current Australian screening rights to TOS, and were supposed to be offered the first TV rights to TNG - but then they discovered the clause mentioning a "twelve month video holdback" in favour of CIC-Taft, and refused to air the series at all.