Jonathan Frakes: "Star Trek won't be coming back to TV."

[JTShanks]

http://www.treknews.net/2015/04/28/jonathan-frakes-star-trek-not-coming-back-to-tv/

According to this news article; it is revealed that the network execs over at CBS/Paramount have as of current no interest or ideas of making a new TV Series and trying to focus on movies more feeling that it dilutes the franchise less and that it makes more money from what it seems.

 

[Ryan8bit]

Or at least, they don't have any interest in Frakes' pitches, which wouldn't be surprising. People like Frakes, Dorn, Russ, etc. don't really have that good of ideas, despite how much they pop up talking about them.

But I agree that it's not coming back, at least not too soon, for so many reasons.

 

[Patrick O'Brien]

Does the current pace of movie releases optimize profits for the ST franchise? I noticed Disney is about to pump out several movies for SW and there is a current TV show. I also read on some site they may do a live action program. Why don't the ST powers that be want to saturate the market like Disney is going to do?

 

[Dukhat]

Or at least, they don't have any interest in Frakes' pitches, which wouldn't be surprising. People like Frakes, Dorn, Russ, etc. don't really have that good of ideas, despite how much they pop up talking about them.

But I agree that it's not coming back, at least not too soon, for so many reasons.

Yeah, it sounds more like Frakes is saying, "It's not that my pitch sucked, it's that CBS has no interest in a new Trek show at this time." Which would change in a minute if CBS had a way to create a Trek show that wasn't expensive to produce and yet got though-the-roof ratings.

But if this is truly what CBS said, CBS is right. Too much Trek does dilute it, as the last several prime universe shows and movies proved. Berman, Braga, and UPN literally ran Star Trek into the damn ground with ENT. That's NOT the way to make Trek a success. What they're doing now is the absolute right way to go.

 

[BillJ]

Why don't the ST powers that be want to saturate the market like Disney is going to do?

Because the whole franchise was almost destroyed by oversaturation in the 1990's/early 2000's. Trek simply doesn't have the same widespread appeal Star Wars does.

 

[Melakon]

If CBS decided to pit a new Star Trek series against a Star Wars series, better bet on the other guy getting the ratings points.

 

[bbailey861]

There's room for both. Like the recent two Star Wars series on TV, Star Trek should be brought back animated. I think it would do well.

 

[Mudd]

I think Frakes is too savvy and not egotistical enough to confuse having a pitch turned down with studio disinterest in a TV series. If he says there's no interest in a series it's probably because his discussions with executives gave him some legitimate insight into their thinking on the subject.

 

[yenny]

Unless he had pitch another ideal for another Star Trek series? The one he had pitch back 2005 is the one the CBS turn down. That was months to a year after Paramount themself I think had stated that there going to be no plans for any new Star Trek series in the foreseeable future, until after the third movie.

Well the show he had pitch is in the list of this old news report.

http://www.blastr.com/2011/06/10_unmade_star_trek_proje.php

 

[Ryan8bit]

When were his discussions though? The site above says 2005, and there are stories about what he's said about this matter going back at least four years. Is he just repeating the same stuff from the past decade? I mean, it's probably still true, but things have to have changed somewhat in that time. 2005 was way different for Trek.

 

[yenny]

Lets put it this way. CBS as of so far haven't green lighted a new Star Trek as of present date. It doesn't mean they won't decide to green light one tomorrow or some years in the future? It be when they think it the right time to bring the series back on television.

 

[I am not Spock]

An animated show I think would be the best way to go. Cheaper than making a live action show, and they could always get impersonators if some of the cast don't wish to come back.

I am just surprised that with Star Wars soon to go into oversaturation mode that Trek isn't following suit.

 

[JTShanks]

Why don't the ST powers that be want to saturate the market like Disney is going to do?

Because the whole franchise was almost destroyed by oversaturation in the 1990's/early 2000's. Trek simply doesn't have the same widespread appeal Star Wars does.

Well I don't think we want Star Trek to have the kind of saturation it did in the 90's, that was overkill. (3 Star Trek series', some of which ran simultaneously with one another for a little while, 3 movies, ect. ect.)

 

[hux]

This won't be clear until after the third movie has been and gone and the dust has settled. They'll still want to make money from the franchise (and there is money to be made) so I expect something will happen.

In an ideal world, it would be a brilliantly written, character driven, Breaking Bad in space on HBO

In reality, it'll probably be a cartoon voiced by Wil Wheton

 

[JTShanks]

This won't be clear until after the third movie has been and gone and the dust has settled. They'll still want to make money from the franchise (and there is money to be made) so I expect something will happen.

In an ideal world, it would be a brilliantly written, character driven, Breaking Bad in space on HBO

In reality, it'll probably be a cartoon voiced by Wil Wheton

Actually I think it'll be a Netflix series at most. I don't think CBS/Paramount is over the whole TAS being mixed by some people.

 

[SPCTRE]

I think Frakes is too savvy and not egotistical enough to confuse having a pitch turned down with studio disinterest in a TV series. If he says there's no interest in a series it's probably because his discussions with executives gave him some legitimate insight into their thinking on the subject.

Yeah, execs genuinely not being interested in doing a TV show at this point wouldn't be a shocking development.

 

[Long Syntax]

Kinda disappointing if true - that ST is "never" coming back to TV. One thing that keeps my hopes up is the upcoming 50th anniversary. I know it seems like a minor point and some will say it will be celebrated with the release of the next movie, but I still can't understand why CBS would miss such an opportunity to leverage one of its properties. Now, I'm not holding my breath for this, but I do hold out a little hope.

 

[JTShanks]

Kinda disappointing if true - that ST is "never" coming back to TV. One thing that keeps my hopes up is the upcoming 50th anniversary. I know it seems like a minor point and some will say it will be celebrated with the release of the next movie, but I still can't understand why CBS would miss such an opportunity to leverage one of its properties. Now, I'm not holding my breath for this, but I do hold out a little hope.

I don't think it won't EVER come back, like the article says it's as of current.

 

[Oso Blanco]

Because the whole franchise was almost destroyed by oversaturation in the 1990's/early 2000's. Trek simply doesn't have the same widespread appeal Star Wars does.

The franchise wasn't destroyed by oversaturation, it was destroyed by the decision to continue with a prequel!

 

[Ryan8bit]

Actually it was neither of things really. Oversaturation is only bad if it lends to spreading thin the quality, which was pretty much the case. But if they were cranking out a bunch of good stuff, I don't know if people would get so tired of it. The prequel had nothing to do with it either because everything was already on a steady decline. The reasons are more complicated than this. Fortunately, most of these reasons are now gone. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter as long as they stick to just movies.