Did the Reboot Movies Bring in New Fans?

[Cyke101]

Addendum to my post: my partner, who started with ST '09, was so drawn into the larger world of Trek that he started collecting TNG Pop Vinyl figures and replicas of the TOS (not JJ-verse!) communicator and phaser. While material objects are different than being a fan, it still shows a sincere interest in the shows that preceded the JJverse.

 

[T'Nara]

Yes. Absolutely yes. My kids (13 yo girl and 6 yo boy) watched the reboot/kelvin timelines and then they got curious about the original series crew and finally they asked to watch the other series as well. Both are now little trekkies, following me, instead of following my husband who is more into Star Wars. My daughter is into ENT and TNG, whereas my son is into TOS and TNG.

 

[T'Nara]

Yes. Absolutely yes. My kids (13 yo girl and 6 yo boy) watched the reboot/kelvin timeline movies and then they got curious about the original series crew and finally they asked to watch the other series as well. Both are now little trekkies, following me, instead of following my husband who is more into Star Wars. My daughter is into ENT and TNG, whereas my son is into TOS and TNG.

 

[ScottJ85]

In a way, that's how I got back into Star Trek. I hadn't really watched it since high school, when I'd record the day's episode of Enterprise on tape and watch it after school, and after Nemesis I'd kind of had enough of Star Trek. The reboot movies got me back into it, and got me watching TOS and TNG again.

My girlfriend had only seen a few bits and pieces of TOS before and couldn't understand what I liked about it until I showed her the first two reboot movies. She's since watched most of TOS with me.

 

[BillJ]

My nine-year old is only a fan of Kirk and Spock, and I believe this began with Star Trek Into Darkness. I pop on TOS or an Abrams movie he's there. TNG or anything else, he's out the door, off to do something else.

 

[seigezunt]

I will add that, while she is not a fan of Trek or scifi in general, my wife liked the 2009 movie. It's been the only Trek I've been able to get her to sit through the entirety of.

As an old TOS fan, it's always boggled my mind a bit to imagine the folks who are fans by way of anything but TOS. And no different for these movies. I have to wonder the reaction these new fans have to viewing TOS for the first time. Not to mention the completely different later shows.

 

[timtonruben359]

My parents has seen the three Star Trek reboot movies and really likes them but has not gotten into other Trek stuff. He did like First Contact though.

 

[shapeshifter]

Yes. I know a few people that dislike TOS but like the nu. Saw the film with one of them this past weekend.

 

[T'Nara]

And no different for these movies. I have to wonder the reaction these new fans have to viewing TOS for the first time. Not to mention the completely different later shows.

I see from my kids' reactions to TOS that it's the old technology used in making the series that make it difficult for them to suspend their disbelieve. For example Kirk's fight with the Gorn. Growing up with Transformers and the like of course the Gorn fight look a bit fake. But once they get immersed in the story they don't really mind it. They were so scared (and thus engrossed) in watching The Man Trap episode for example.
As for the other series which are more modern, like TNG and ENT, they accept them easily. They know that there are different Enterprise crews. They keep talking of their favourite captain or the favourite doctor or chief engineer.

 

[seigezunt]

I see from my kids' reactions to TOS that it's the old technology used in making the series that make it difficult for them to suspend their disbelieve. For example Kirk's fight with the Gorn. Growing up with Transformers and the like of course the Gorn fight look a bit fake. But once they get immersed in the story they don't really mind it. They were so scared (and thus engrossed) in watching The Man Trap episode for example.
As for the other series which are more modern, like TNG and ENT, they accept them easily. They know that there are different Enterprise crews. They keep talking of their favourite captain or the favourite doctor or chief engineer.

I have to imagine it's something like kids of my generation watching old Lone Ranger or Superman serials. Which makes me a little sad on one level, but at least they are watching.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

The Gorn fight made it easy to help my nieces not be scared. When MeTV aired Star Trek in the afternoons back in 2014, I was able to point out the new special effects on the Gorn. "Oh yeah, the eyes didn't do that in the original version!"
ETA: A couple of the kids I babysit for willingly sat through TAS with me and I pointed out how Filmation's animation worked. We could see the cel of the Enterprise moving with additional stars!

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I asume you advice him to dump his date?
The prequels are better than TFA, but better than the original?

And yet, conversely, TFA is better than the prequels and the original. Not because TFA was such an amazing masterpiece, but because none of the Star Wars movies were ever really that great to begin with. Empire is the only one that's actually a cut above all the others.

 

[USS Firefly]

The TFA is the only star wars movie were I got a reboot feeling, and the music wasn't that good comparing with the previous 6 movies.

 

[VulcanMindBlown]

Without a doubt. Most of the fans I meet at conventions these days are newcomers attracted by the new generation of films. There's also far more people in the 2009/ID style costume than others, which isn't an indicator (they're easier to get) - but interesting.

It's partly why I'm disappointed at the lack of merchandising. I've seen kids ask for Trek stuff in shops and there's nothing to buy, and for the adult market the only thing I can find without going online is a cuddly Bird of Prey (and thats from a major geek chain).

Yeah, that's a good idea that Paramount missed out on.

Yes.

But the option "No, I wasn't intrigued by the movies or I don't know anyone who watched them anew" is kind of odd. I'm not sure really how to interpret the results, as this option covers possibly two unrelated phenomena.

The conception of the thread as a whole seems a bit disjointed.

Thread title:
Did the Reboot Movies Bring in New Fans?


Poll title:
Were New Fans Brought in Because of the Reboot Movies?


Poll options:
[*]Yes, I am or know someone
[*]No, I wasn't intrigued by the movies or I don't know anyone who watched them anew


It seems to be vaguely aimed at getting a particular answer, but is undecided on a) which question it wants to ask and b) how many ways it wants to sort the responses. Might be worth sorting that out until the purpose is clear, and then trying the poll again (maybe next time without the "You can't see the results until you've voted for one of these confused options" setting.)

Sorry, I should have thought about that.

I will add that, while she is not a fan of Trek or scifi in general, my wife liked the 2009 movie. It's been the only Trek I've been able to get her to sit through the entirety of.

As an old TOS fan, it's always boggled my mind a bit to imagine the folks who are fans by way of anything but TOS. And no different for these movies. I have to wonder the reaction these new fans have to viewing TOS for the first time. Not to mention the completely different later shows.

Sorry if you posted about it earlier, but did you like the TOS Reboot movies? TOS is my favorite, but in some ways the spin-off shows do do some themes better than the first series, like character threads.

 

[Tim Walker]

Most of the fans I meet at conventions these days are newcomers attracted by the new generation of films. There's also far more people in the 2009/ID style costume than others, which isn't an indicator (they're easier to get) - but interesting.
.

In a few years, perhaps we will see people in outfits from Star TrekDiscovery.

 

[retroenzo]

It's partly why I'm disappointed at the lack of merchandising. I've seen kids ask for Trek stuff in shops and there's nothing to buy, and for the adult market the only thing I can find without going online is a cuddly Bird of Prey (and thats from a major geek chain).

A cuddly bird of prey? I have got to see that!

I know that before The Force Awakens, some people weren't fussed on Disney taking on the Star Wars franchise and there was the meme doing the rounds of the Enterprise being chased by a Star Destroyer with the caption, "Faster, Mr Sulu, before Disney acquire us!"

I know it's not something that is ever likely to happen, but can't help but think it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. As Disney now own the Marvel Cinema Universe and Star Wars, they have released tons of merchandise for both franchises, and seemingly it hasn't affected the quality of the movies.

Plus, we may get Star Trek rides in the Disney parks! I'm liking this idea more and more!

 

[T'Nara]

It's partly why I'm disappointed at the lack of merchandising. I've seen kids ask for Trek stuff in shops and there's nothing to buy, and for the adult market the only thing I can find without going online is a cuddly Bird of Prey (and thats from a major geek chain).

Yeah, I thought that this year being the 50th anniversary and with the release of Beyond, that there will be more merchandise in the market. But there's none! For us living far away from the US and Europe, it is sooo difficult to get any Star Trek things and merchandise. My little boy got a lot of Star Wars stuff from my husband but I could only give him tiny Enterprise and Vengeance Hotwheels replicas!
Of course you can buy stuff online (that's how I get my Star Trek books and dvds) but they are so expensive by the time you include the shipment to Asia. I made my kids their TOS uniforms by hand from t-shirts, just because there are nowhere to buy (at reasonable price), yet we have this fan gathering where everyone wears their makeshift Trek uniforms.
There are a lot of opportunities here with sales of merchandise. The Trek fandom is alive and well in Indonesia for example, which is such a big country. But still no merchandise can be found anywhere. Where I live the only things I can find other than the Hotwheels replicas are Build-A-Bear Mr Spock and Capt Kirk teddy bears. Sigh. My son scoffed at those. He wants more starship replicas and action figures. He wants a Mr Sulu action figure. Yes Paramount, you are missing out on this

 

[jamestyler]

In a few years, perhaps we will see people in outfits from Star TrekDiscovery.

Earlier. By the end of January. If not a few days after the uniform leaks.

The irritating thing about playing dressy up becoming 'competitive pro cosplay!' is that people rush to make costumes so they can be first.

A cuddly bird of prey? I have got to see that!

Here it is!

Both the main locals here have them in stock. Mainly as no one wants them

Disney's lucky. They obviously know what they're doing in terms of marketing, but a big part of that was acquiring safe bets. Star Trek is arguably not a safe bet..... but it was. Just no ones taking the risk.

The last 'new' set was a disaster for reasons already stated; too much variation of the same thing. Buy a figure of a guy in a yellow shirt, or the other guy in a yellow shirt, or maybe that other guy... in the yellow shirt :/

Beyond worked a lot better for mixing it up. A first batch of six figures could have been Survival Kirk, Uniformed McCoy, Dress Uhura, Jaylah, Krall - then a second batch could have Franklin Spock, Uniformed Kirk, Franklin Scotty....

....there's a lot more variation so the figures wouldn't look as plain and boring. And they didn't need to release as much as Star Wars, or even 2009, just small bursts of six sets in reasonable numbers so they'll sell quick enough and leave an empty shelf.

The adult market seems to be the primary goal; but that means bumped up prices and a turnoff. Such a wasted oppertunity - hopefully Fuller's STD has family friendly elements and utilises the era as that's got potential to make up the loss.

Yeah, I thought that this year being the 50th anniversary and with the release of Beyond, that there will be more merchandise in the market. But there's none! For us living far away from the US and Europe, it is sooo difficult to get any Star Trek things and merchandise. My little boy got a lot of Star Wars stuff from my husband but I could only give him tiny Enterprise and Vengeance Hotwheels replicas!
Of course you can buy stuff online (that's how I get my Star Trek books and dvds) but they are so expensive by the time you include the shipment to Asia. I made my kids their TOS uniforms by hand from t-shirts, just because there are nowhere to buy (at reasonable price), yet we have this fan gathering where everyone wears their makeshift Trek uniforms.
There are a lot of opportunities here with sales of merchandise. The Trek fandom is alive and well in Indonesia for example, which is such a big country. But still no merchandise can be found anywhere. Where I live the only things I can find other than the Hotwheels replicas are Build-A-Bear Mr Spock and Capt Kirk teddy bears. Sigh. My son scoffed at those. He wants more starship replicas and action figures. He wants a Mr Sulu action figure. Yes Paramount, you are missing out on this

I thought it was bad just getting stuff to the UK But yeah, it is bad. My daughters asked if I can find her Jaylah and Scotty figures. I've got some bad news for her....

 

[Smellmet]

The TFA is the only star wars movie were I got a reboot feeling, and the music wasn't that good comparing with the previous 6 movies.

One of the biggest letdowns in that movie IMO, especially as Williams was doing the score. Nothing stood out at all to me. The scores in the prequels were miles better.

 

[drt]

One of the biggest letdowns in that movie IMO, especially as Williams was doing the score. Nothing stood out at all to me. The scores in the prequels were miles better.

I liked Rey's theme a lot, the rest of it seemed a bit phoned in.