I heard a rumour...
- Thread starter Wheo
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I agree. That would be an excellent idea. They could do a new mini-series every couple of years.
One of the most likely thing to happen is that if the movie does well, Paramount would license the TV rights from CBS and put a new show on one of the MTV networks (which includes Spike TV among others). If the movie does gangbusters (and I humbly disagree with those who think it won't; Trek may be geeky but the Abrams name carries a lot of weight with the target demo), the other likely thing to happen is that CBS also cashes in on the cow. As others have said before, though, kiss the old continuity good-bye. It'll be a reboot.
It's about time they did Pimp My Runabout, dat Sisko d00d iz all about da bling bling
Honestly tho, why not pander to the existing loyal fanbase with either a mini-series or direct-to-DVD events. Futurama, Stargate, Babylon 5 and Family Guy have all had massive success doing this... Particularly in the case of Stargate and B5, I don't think they really care either way if they appeal to a whole new audience, while they've still got a fierce core group of fans.
I haven't understood why Paramount said they had no further interest in Star Trek after Enterprise's cancellation, yet when anyone else showed interest or the fans suggested someone else buying the franchise, Paramount don't want to do that either.
And this film has caused a lot of controversy with what remains of the fanbase - are Paramount trying to finish off the franchise once and for all?
I think I know where I've heard this one: The top exec used to be a happy little boy, and he'd play with his model starship Enterprise, until one day, the bigger boys came. They pushed him in the mud and broke his little ship. The exec grew up hating what Star Trek had done for him and vowed to finish off the franchise once and for all.
Hmm.. THERE's your Star Trek movie: Conspiracy theories, starship damage, and one man's petty quest for vengeance/order/supremacy.
No, they're trying to restart it by removing the onus of 40 years of intricate continuity. There is controversy but this is fiction, not history. I guess because I'm also a comic book fan (whose favorite characters tend to get rebooted every ten years or so) this is not that big a deal to me. On the other hand, I had to spend about five minutes or so explaining to someone that the Nolan/Bale Batman movies are a whole new deal and that is why there can still be a Joker in the current movie even though we saw Nicholson's Joker die in the '89 Batman.
So far as mini-series or direct to DVD, yeah, you're preaching to the choir. I just don't think anyone at Paramount or CBS is interested in doing anything to diffuse the movie buzz.
I'm as big a fan of the first 40 years as anyone. Heck, I was a fan from the first airing of "Miri" back in '66. Part of me will be saddened by the passing of the previous continuity but Abrams, et al, have said they're staying true to the spirit of the thing so really we'll just have wait and see.
In the mean time, read the various Pocket Book relaunches. They are mostly well done.
If the movie's successful they will do one or two sequels, maybe followed by some sort of TV series.
If the movie's unsuccessful they will do a "re-imagination" of Star Trek in 20 years or so (see BSG).
If the movie's unsuccessful they will do a "re-imagination" of Star Trek in 20 years or so (see BSG).
If Spiner and Stewart are out, it really only allows for a Titan story. Would LaForge be chief engineer on the Titan or perhaps a first officer? Troi would be there, but I don't know how you would get Worf in, again. So the original cast would not be well represented.
They'll try again. The only real question is how long will they wait?
Certainly, Paramount sees Star Trek as a money cow they have to keep milking. The problem is the milk has been a little sour lately.
CBS is a corporation and corporations are interested in anything that will make them money.
I'm not sure if the Sci Fi Channel is the right fit - the audience is too small. I'd prefer to see Star Trek back on its old home of NBC - right audience and NBC is desperate enough that they wouldn't drive a hard bargain. I'm sure they'd do backflips at the prospect of grabbing a known brand name, especially if the movie does decently.
Paramount won't want to make direct to DVD movies because that works against their strategy of relaunching Trek as a premium brand. And they won't want to vary from the 23rd C scenario of Trek XI for fear of confusing their new audience. And it will be largely a new audience.
There's nothing preventing that besides some ink and some paper. Star Trek probably won't be a good fit for CBS's unimaginative lineup and geriatric audience. If selling the rights will make more sense, they'd do it. Then again, maybe they'd like to find a solution to their absurdly old demographic.
I'm not sure if the Sci Fi Channel is the right fit - the audience is too small. I'd prefer to see Star Trek back on its old home of NBC - right audience and NBC is desperate enough that they wouldn't drive a hard bargain. I'm sure they'd do backflips at the prospect of grabbing a known brand name, especially if the movie does decently.
Which is why it's all really contingent on the movie re-building the Trek audience. Paramount won't want to see its new premium franchise shuttled off to the low-budget Skiffy ghetto (or even worse, a bottom-feeder like Spike). CBS or NBC would be more suitable.
Paramount won't want to make direct to DVD movies because that works against their strategy of relaunching Trek as a premium brand. And they won't want to vary from the 23rd C scenario of Trek XI for fear of confusing their new audience. And it will be largely a new audience.
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All good points.
While the audience of CBS may have been predominantly older, I don't see anything to prevent them from exploring strange new worlds that Star Trek would offer. I also think that both CBS and NBC suffer from an unimaginative lineup (or at least the same level of imagination). In viewing both network's offerings, you can see the same types of shows as corollaries to the other network - NBC's Law and Order franchise, CBS's CSI franchise - though CBS does seem to have the same type of show across all of its time slots (Criminal Minds, Numb3rs, Without a Trace). Perhaps Trek is just what CBS needs?
I can't tell you what will happen with Trek, and I can't tell you what networks do I don't have interest in them. No one knows...
But I do have a very strong feeling this upcoming movie is going to kill it for awhile. Star Trek appeals to fans of Star Trek. This clutching and grabbing to try to drag in a new demographic is going to hurt more than help. What Star Trek has is the loyal fanbase, willing to purchase the Star Trek name as long as Trek is Trek. Continuity is everything to those (our) people. If this movie disrupts the continuity, it will lose a large portion of it's fan base. It won't gain anything back by appealing to a demographic that is afraid of the combination of "Star" and "Trek".
So this new movie has the potential to kill everything. At least for awhile. And in a way, I kind of hope it does. Then in ten years, when Trek hasn't been around forever, someone who grew up with the show could be in a position to relaunch it. Maybe (hopefully) not on a large station, but on a small network: read SciFi or something comparable. Someone who actually cares about the series, knows how to write a compelling story, and isn't looking for a big time corporation buck. Someone who will take care of continuity, and reunite a dormant franchise.
The problem with a reboot of Star Trek is the fan base. To put it simply, it won't be accepted.
You can put out as many Nemesis movies and Enterprise series as you want, but when you kill the characters your fan base loves and trash the time line that your buyers bought into before, you're just going to end up losing and losing.
imo, of course.
But I do have a very strong feeling this upcoming movie is going to kill it for awhile. Star Trek appeals to fans of Star Trek. This clutching and grabbing to try to drag in a new demographic is going to hurt more than help. What Star Trek has is the loyal fanbase, willing to purchase the Star Trek name as long as Trek is Trek. Continuity is everything to those (our) people. If this movie disrupts the continuity, it will lose a large portion of it's fan base. It won't gain anything back by appealing to a demographic that is afraid of the combination of "Star" and "Trek".
So this new movie has the potential to kill everything. At least for awhile. And in a way, I kind of hope it does. Then in ten years, when Trek hasn't been around forever, someone who grew up with the show could be in a position to relaunch it. Maybe (hopefully) not on a large station, but on a small network: read SciFi or something comparable. Someone who actually cares about the series, knows how to write a compelling story, and isn't looking for a big time corporation buck. Someone who will take care of continuity, and reunite a dormant franchise.
The problem with a reboot of Star Trek is the fan base. To put it simply, it won't be accepted.
You can put out as many Nemesis movies and Enterprise series as you want, but when you kill the characters your fan base loves and trash the time line that your buyers bought into before, you're just going to end up losing and losing.
imo, of course.
^^^Good points as far as they go. However, I'm also a big comic book fan and recent movies like "Batman Begins" and "Ironman" show that a mainstream audience will glom onto a property with a strong, vocal fanbase, even if that movie "junks" previous continuity, if it is done well and appeals to a mainstream audience. That is what Paramount is hoping for in this movie. We have yet to see if this movie will be BB or "The Incredible Hulk".
