Is it just me, or is Star Trek going the wrong way?

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

This entire thread feels like just a bunch of complaining to say Star Trek isn't fitting my ideas of what I think Star Trek should be rather than what it actually is.

Look I'm not the biggest fan of Picard but I'm not going to jump through hoops to rationalize it not being a sequel to TNG. It clearly is a TNG sequel, despite how poorly executed I think it is.

LD and PGY are sequels to both TNG and VOY, where VOY is a spin-off of TNG.

 

[Eckauskas]

Then they're not your thing. But they're still sequels.

Speed 2 is an absolute disaster of a film and I won't go near that abomination but it's still a sequel.

It's why I don't watch Discovery. LD is good fun and who doesn't enjoy an Easter egg thrown in every so often. But I can still admit I'd like a series set post-NEM that deals with how the Alpha Quadrant reacts to the Hobus supernova. Or further into the future if they want. There's hundreds of years to explore.

There's a specific run down of what I'd like to see in the future. Agree with me or disagree with me, it doesn't matter. LD or Prodigy or Discovery aren't what I'm looking for. I don't need a total stranger telling me they are.

That's what I was doing, I thought. If you want to ignore what I said, and call me obnoxious, fine. I thought I was on your side.

It's too early to tell what Prodigy will be about, and you and I are both vocal fans of Lower Decks. I never mentioned one word about cartoons or comedic level.

Fair enough, I misread your post and apologise for it

Because people disagree with you and you are posting on a discussion board... if you don’t want disagreement you should probably try a blog.



They are still Star Trek series. Discovery and Picard aren’t what I’m looking for, they are still Star Trek series’.

It is all one big happy multiverse from where I sit.

People can disagree with me all they want. But I've been pretty clear on what I'd like to see in future Trek and why the current crop of shows don't tick those boxes for me. I don't see why that should be an issue on a thread about the direction Trek is going.

 

[GNDN18]

This might not be a popular opinion, but I really don’t think The Orville is a sequel to TNG.

 

[BillJ]

This might not be a popular opinion, but I really don’t think The Orville is a sequel to TNG.

Though it is better than either Discovery or Picard...

*runs*

 

[GNDN18]

Though it is better than either Discovery or Picard...

*runs*

 

[Nerys Myk]

Folks, you'll come across a hell a lot less obnoxious and patronising if you just accept that Lower Decks and Prodigy aren't what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that's not a cartoon. Just accept that, rather than trying to convince me that LD and Prodigy ARE what I'm looking for. It's really tiring having complete strangers tell me what I'm looking for.

Not being what you're looking for doesn't disqualify them as TNG sequels either.

 

[cooleddie74]

DSC definitely isn't the immediate TOS prequel I was looking for but it's not only a TOS prequel but a sequel to ENT.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Though it is better than either Discovery or Picard...

*runs*

As it moves away from being an homage to BermanTrek it gets better.

 

[The Wormhole]

LD and PGY are sequels to TNG.

Well, Prodigy seems more like a sequel to Voyager.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Well, Prodigy seems more like a sequel to Voyager.

Sequel once removed.

 

[cooleddie74]

And VOY was an indirect sequel to TNG. They're all basically sequels to TOS even if a few are prequels.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I think the classification sequel is being used too loosely here. A show can be spun off from another show without being a sequel.

 

[Tim Thomason]

In my estimation:

Star Trek (TOS) is the root show, on which the franchise is based.

• Star Trek (TAS) is a continuation of TOS.
• The Next Generation (TNG) is a sequel to TOS.
  • Deep Space Nine (DS9) is a spin-off of TNG.
  • Voyager is a sequel to TNG.
    • Prodigy is a sequel to Voyager.
  • Picard (STPicard) is a sequel to TNG.
  • Lower Decks (LD) is a sequel to TNG.
• Enterprise is a prequel to TOS.
• Discovery is a prequel to TOS.
  • Short Treks is a spin-off of Discovery.
  • Strange New Worlds (SNW) is a spin-off of Discovery.
  • Section 31 (S31) is a spin-off of Discovery.
  • Starfleet Academy (SFA) is rumored to be a spin-off of Discovery.

 

[Steve Roby]

How fondly I remember those days four long years ago, when every online discussion about Discovery was taken over by howling, shit-flinging "true fans" going on about how The Orville was clearly the real successor to Star Trek and why should I have to pay to watch Star Trek and the new Star Trek is a disaster and it's all this woke crap but Star Trek was never ever political before and it'll all be gone soon and we "real Star Trek fans" will forever watch The Orville, God's chosen successor to Star Trek, on free TV, as God himself meant it to be. So we've had two seasons of The Orville on free TV and the third is finally about to appear... on a streaming service.

(And then there's the lost and lonely "true fans" who were saying four years ago that Axanar was the true successor to Star Trek. Axanar is still unmade. At least Orville fans have two seasons of TV and a few comics. And a good soundtrack or two.)

Meanwhile, those of us who are too woke and/or willing to pay for that which God hath decreed should be on free TV have had Discovery, Short Trips, Picard, and Lower Decks, and we'll soon have Prodigy and Strange New Worlds. I watched The Orville and liked some of it (could have done without some of the alleged humour, and the whole episode about the alien rapist), but Star Trek is not just doing better. For my money, it is better. (My money went to buying all the new series blu rays out so far, the books, comics, and soundtracks. For The Orville, I bought a few comics and the first season soundtrack.) Obviously, some folks will disagree on personal assessments of which shows are better. But Star Trek is obviously doing something right.

NOTE for anyone who thinks it necessary: I am not saying that everyone who likes The Orville or Axanar is that kind of toxic fan. I am saying there were places online where any attempt at discussing the latest Discovery episode was instantly taken over by people proudly stating they would never pay to watch Star Trek, people denouncing it for not being all about straight white men, people saying The Orville was the true successor to Star Trek, and people saying Axanar was the true successor to Star Trek, drowning out any other conversation. It happened. It may still be happening, but I'm not reading those sites any more.

 

[fireproof78]

I've said it before, but I just want a sequel series set on a Federation starship in much the same way TNG was a sequel series to TOS. I'm not saying the TNG formula would work in 2021, just the same kind of idea as they had in '87.

And no, I don't think season 3 of DISCO counts.

So, tangentially connected, with episodic format and characters who were designed to be completely different from their original counterparts? Honestly, the idea they had in 87 was "TOS but better with less conflict." It worked for many, but certainly wasn't a sequel to TOS like I would have wanted.

I don't think any of the current shows will check that box, and I don't think they will go that sequel way. There is little interest in exploring consequences within the world at this point in time.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

This might not be a popular opinion, but I really don’t think The Orville is a sequel to TNG.

I've always seen The Orville as a TNG fan film series.

DSC definitely isn't the immediate TOS prequel I was looking for but it's not only a TOS prequel but a sequel to ENT.

First season DSC certainly feels like it's a ENT sequel first and foremost, and a TOS prequel a distant second.

 

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, they drop references to a century since most Federation citizens have even seen a Klingon and Jonathan Archer and end the season with a reference to the NX-01's visit to Qo'noS in the mid-22nd century.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Even the DSC uniforms feel like an evolution of the ENT uniforms rather than a precursor to the TOS ones.

 

[fireproof78]

I felt like Discovery connected well with ENT and flowed nicely from that series. It made sense too. The uniforms felt like a nice blend of the ENT jumpsuits and the USS KELVIN uniforms.

 

[CorporalClegg]

When you get right down to it, the only actual sequel in all of Star Trek is SFS.