Spoilers Lower Decks General Discussion Thread

[CorporalCaptain]

I don't think Star Wars Resistance looks cheap, but I think its visual style could be improved. The exact same sentence described S1 of The Clone Wars, and in fact its look was improved substantially as the show progressed.

My two cents is that I would suggest that the animators of Star Wars Resistance consider the application of more elaborate three-dimensional shading onto the characters and their clothing in order to have a greater variety of colors in each character. Obviously, that would increase render bandwidth, though by how much I couldn't say.

I still wouldn't call it cheap-looking.

 

[Rahul]

I don't think CBS All-Access is aimed at preteens, so I suspect Lower Decks will be aimed at the same kind of general audience that the original animated series was. Adult in as much as "not young children" rather than "Rick and Morty"

I really hope so!

It's one thing to create an animated series in which the producers are trying to take it seriously as a full-fledged canon show (think: the Japanese Space Battleship Yamato series). It's another thing if the producers just want to make some goofy crap without a whole lot of thought behind it (think: the Spaceballs animated series). The first thing that will be sacrificed in a situation like that is the animation style. Why spend lots of money on first-rate animation if they just consider the show to be a big joke?

Yeah. As soon as we see the first images (or concepts) of the animation, we will know for sure wether they take the show serious as a high-end production, or if it's basically cheap glorified filler to keep users subscribed for the whole year.

 

[Red Panda]

I don't think CBS All-Access is aimed at preteens, so I suspect Lower Decks will be aimed at the same kind of general audience that the original animated series was. Adult in as much as "not young children" rather than "Rick and Morty"

American Vandal might be moving to CBS All Access, so this show could be a good "companion" series to that one.

 

[Sakonna]

Deadline/Variety/TVLine are as reliable as it gets. Dunno what's got into your bonnet...

TVLine is a fan-focused site, it doesn't belong in the same category with the trades. And Deadline is seen as a joke now by everyone actually in the business. Their formula these days is take press release, add typos, and post. It's always interesting to have an interaction like this, though. I forget that there's people out there still in thrall of that formidable reputation Nikki Finke built up back in the day, when Deadline was THE source.

 

[Red Panda]

Deadline is seen as a joke now by everyone actually in the business.

The same business I'm in?

 

[Sakonna]

The same business I'm in?

I stand corrected then, there is at least one person in our business who doesn't see Deadline as a joke.

I think you might be hearing this all as snarkier than it is in my head. I'm legitimately surprised! I don't know how old you are, I'm 38, I was recently talking to a friend about my age about how Deadline has so dropped off the radar that we now regularly seem to encounter assistants in their 20's who barely seem aware of it's existence. And I remember back in the day when Variety was the tired old joke and Deadline was the exciting source of news you would refresh all day long. I legitimately see the industrywide consensus as now having reversed, Variety and THR are the real sources of information and Deadline is the sad old joke. I just have not encountered anyone in this business who seemed to hold any respect for the current incarnation of Deadline in a long, long time.

 

[Tuskin38]

For one they’re calling this an adult show when no other publication is calling it as such.

 

[Red Panda]

The showrunner is a member here. Why doesn't somebody ask him? Surely he can say whether it's adult or not?

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I predict that the studio heads will effectively neuter the comedy so as not to risk truly mocking their valuable property. R&M works because they are free to use their material. Trek has a vested interest in conservative treatment of the cash cow.

 

[thribs]

I don’t think this is a good idea at all. The comedy part, not the animation

 

[Therin of Andor]

I thought it was a pissing contest between Gene and DC Fontana.

Filmation was being wound down and sold off in chunks. (One chunk went to Hallmark, IIRC.) The copyrights of the backlog of all Filmation productions were in a state of flux. At the time it was unclear who owned TAS. It had originally been made in conjunction with Gene's Norway Productions and screened by the children's television arm of NBC. It wasn't a forgone conclusion that the rights would revert to Paramount/Viacom (and eventually CBS).

At the same time, Roddenberry was trying to distance the success of TNG from DC Fontana and David Gerrold, who were both closely associated with TAS, and were suing for recognition as co-creators of TNG. Similarly, Larry Niven's kzinti were an ongoing complication; the "Man/Kzin" book series, spinning off from Niven's "Known Space", started in 1988 (and would have been in draft form earlier). A "Ringworld" RPG had started in 1984 (but there was unrest about the kzin having already appeared in "Star Fleet Battles", based on Franz Joseph's version of Trek, something neither Roddenberry nor Paramount had been able to assist with, due to Joseph's unique licensing agreement). A 1989 Trek novel that had promised to feature the kzinti was altered before publication, and they became the M'dok. Arex and M'Ress were removed from the DC Comics' Series II just before publication (just as their likenesses had once been removed from the Peter Pan record/comic sets).

Declaring TAS as "not canon" at the time was an efficient way of vanishing TAS, accomplishing several goals until the way became clearer - and no need to call in the expensive copyright lawyers.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The showrunner is a member here. Why doesn't somebody ask him? Surely he can say whether it's adult or not?

After John Eaves got in trouble for the 25% thing, I imagine anyone involved with the show would rather wait for CBS to announce anything rather than wade in themselves.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Filmation was being wound down and sold off in chunks. (One chunk went to Hallmark, IIRC.) The copyrights of the backlog of all Filmation productions were in a state of flux. At the time it was unclear who owned TAS. It had originally been made in conjunction with Gene's Norway Productions and screened by the children's television arm of NBC. It wasn't a forgone conclusion that the rights would revert to Paramount/Viacom (and eventually CBS).

At the same time, Roddenberry was trying to distance the success of TNG from DC Fontana and David Gerrold, who were both closely associated with TAS, and were suing for recognition as co-creators of TNG. Similarly, Larry Niven's kzinti were an ongoing complication; the "Man/Kzin" book series, spinning off from Niven's "Known Space", started in 1988 (and would have been in draft form earlier). A "Ringworld" RPG had started in 1984 (but there was unrest about the kzin having already appeared in "Star Fleet Battles", based on Franz Joseph's version of Trek, something neither Roddenberry nor Paramount had been able to assist with, due to Joseph's unique licensing agreement). A 1989 Trek novel that had promised to feature the kzinti was altered before publication, and they became the M'dok. Arex and M'Ress were removed from the DC Comics' Series II just before publication (just as their likenesses had once been removed from the Peter Pan record/comic sets).

Declaring TAS as "not canon" at the time was an efficient way of vanishing TAS, accomplishing several goals until the way became clearer - and no need to call in the expensive copyright lawyers.

Wow! This is probably the most comprehensive explanation I've ever seen of all this tumult that happened back then. Thank you for that!

 

[Red Panda]

After John Eaves got in trouble for the 25% thing, I imagine anyone involved with the show would rather wait for CBS to announce anything rather than wade in themselves.

It was because he (wrongly) implied it had to be 25% different for legal reasons, fueling InfoWars-style trash from Midnight's Edge and other websites, when the change was a creative choice. Given those Italian model makers have said the new design of Enterprise is their most requested ship, I reckon it was a good call.

 

[Tuskin38]

Given those Italian model makers have said the new design of Enterprise is their most requested ship, I reckon it was a good call.

Who?

 

[Red Panda]

Who?

This thing: https://shop.eaglemoss.com/star-tre...on/uss-enterprise-ncc-1701-starship-discovery

Eaglemoss bought out the Italian subscription models company that used to have the Star Trek license. They used to do similar magazines for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

 

[Tuskin38]

Well next time say that

 

[Red Panda]

Well next time say that

Sorry I don't know everything. Your lazy ass could have just easily used Google if it was a big deal.

 

[Tuskin38]

Sorry I don't know everything. Your lazy ass could have just easily used Google if it was a big deal.

Calm down. It's not common knowledge, don't use just vague descriptors.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Sorry I don't know everything. Your lazy ass could have just easily used Google if it was a big deal.

Warning for Flaming. Comments to PM.