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My god! Bryan Fuller is sending all the right signals about Trek!

So far all the info about the new series has been very promising, I am looking forward to it a great deal.

I am wondering if they will do a Game of Thrones style Trek series, very serialized and unpredictable with even the main character not safe from getting killed. Of course they probably still keep it family safe and stay away from the sex and violence stuff (until we get an HBO Trek series).
 
With most TV series pretty heavily serialized these days, I'd be more surprised if it wasn't. I could maybe see them going to route of something like The Blacklist, where they have individual weekly missions which often connect back to some bigger arc. Like, and this is purely a made up example, they're in some new region of space controled by some kind of Big Bad, and each which the heroes take part in a new mission, but they all go back to dealing with the big bad. Like one week they have to take out some new superweapon, and then the next week they're protecting some new aliens who the Big Bad is threatening. Each one is finished up in the episode, but it still goes back to weakening the Big Bad, all leading up to a big epic battle with them in the finale.
 
JD said:
With most TV series pretty heavily serialized these days, I'd be more surprised if it wasn't. I could maybe see them going to route of something like The Blacklist, where they have individual weekly missions which often connect back to some bigger arc. Like, and this is purely a made up example, they're in some new region of space controled by some kind of Big Bad, and each which the heroes take part in a new mission, but they all go back to dealing with the big bad. Like one week they have to take out some new superweapon, and then the next week they're protecting some new aliens who the Big Bad is threatening. Each one is finished up in the episode, but it still goes back to weakening the Big Bad, all leading up to a big epic battle with them in the finale.
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So kind of like ENT season 3
 
I'd like to see an arc that isn't driven by a "big bad." I've often thought I'd like to see a Star Trek or similar space-exploration show where the ship spends a whole season at a single planet, exploring its multiple different nations and cultures and ecosystems in depth, which would be more realistic than the usual conceit where every planet is treated as a single uniform place with only one culture or environment and gets disposed of in 45 minutes. There'd be room to develop ongoing arcs involving the planet's political and cultural tensions, develop its distinct subcultures and the effect of contact with the explorers, etc. And each season's planet would have its own distinct nature and technology level and problems.
 
Christopher said:
I'd like to see an arc that isn't driven by a "big bad."
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One thing I'd like to see is a long arc about an astronomical threat. E.g. the periodic deadly radiation that according to one theory wiped out the dinosaurs; or maybe a growing black hole.

BTW, I hold it a vague possibility that Fuller might "refresh" the Trek universe by making the areas we have known inaccessible, possibly due to the above phenomena. This would force Starfleet to expand into as yet unknown regions.
 
Shalashaska said:
Roddenberry was actually brought into TNG solely due to contract obligations. No new Star Trek incarnation could ever be created without his consent. Not having him involved would have most assuredly resulted in his veto, and, contrary to the movies, this time he did indeed had a very strong legal base to block any and all development of a new Star Trek production. Paramount would have most likely told Gene to fuck off and leave them alone if it wasn't for that, just as they did with the films, but they couldn't this time.
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Paramount wasn't contractually bound to have Gene Roddenberry on board for Star Trek: The Next Generation. They owned the series and, indeed, initially worked with a different producer to develop a Star Trek spin-off before bringing Roddenberry back into the fold.
 
Christopher said:
I'd like to see an arc that isn't driven by a "big bad." I've often thought I'd like to see a Star Trek or similar space-exploration show where the ship spends a whole season at a single planet, exploring its multiple different nations and cultures and ecosystems in depth, which would be more realistic than the usual conceit where every planet is treated as a single uniform place with only one culture or environment and gets disposed of in 45 minutes. There'd be room to develop ongoing arcs involving the planet's political and cultural tensions, develop its distinct subcultures and the effect of contact with the explorers, etc. And each season's planet would have its own distinct nature and technology level and problems.
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We could call the first one... Bajor.
Seriously, though, I agree. Each new discovery should fill a few episodes at least. A bit like when nuBSG found Kobol, it was found in one episode then triggered a two parter and was treated like a big deal not just another survey mission. Discovering new stuff should be gripping and exciting but Trek, especially in recent years, had even the characters treat exploring the cosmos like a mundane chore.
 
^Well, you're both right. Paramount wasn't required to have Roddenberry produce the series, specifically, but they were required to get his consent to make the show, and that was one of the key reasons they grudgingly brought him on board as producer (the other being to get the approval of the fanbase). If he'd been willing to consent to let someone else make the show, then they still could've done it without him.
 
Shalashaska said:
He was. Read his Memory Alpha page, dude.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry#The_Next_Generation
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Memory Alpha is a Wiki that can be edited by anyone. Both David Alexander and Joel Engel's biographies of Roddenberry disagree with that passage on Memory Alpha.

"To the best of my memory, Paramount asked Gene to do a new Star Trek series. He told them 'No way, I owe it to the fans to maintain the integrity of the series, etc.' So, a while later he and I were having a drink at Nuclear Nuances on Melrose and he said, 'You won't believe it. They're doing it on their own.'

I didn't know Gene's legal position and said, "They can't.' To which Gene replied, 'Yes, they can and they are.' He was disgusted"

--Marta Houske, "a close friend of Gene's from the late 1970's until his death," quoted in David Alexander's Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry, p.498
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Roddenberry did not, in fact, enjoy the contractual right either to control Star Trek's destiny or to demand the job of executive producer. Paramount could have insisted that he butt out; but the presumption was that Roddenberry controlled millions of viewers the new show needed to attract. Studio executives believed--and Roddenberry knew they believed--that a discouraging word would travel at warp speed through fandom and doom the series before its birth.

--Joel Engel, Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek, p. 222
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Harvey said:
Memory Alpha is a Wiki that can be edited by anyone. Both David Alexander and Joel Engel's biographies of Roddenberry disagree with that passage on Memory Alpha.
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That second quote literally says "Roddenberry did not, in fact, enjoy the contractual right either to control Star Trek's destiny or to demand the job of executive producer."
 
Shalashaska said:
That second quote literally says "Roddenberry did not, in fact, enjoy the contractual right either to control Star Trek's destiny or to demand the job of executive producer."
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What's your point here?

You originally said, "No new Star Trek incarnation could ever be created without his [Roddenberry's] consent," and that this was a "contract obligation."

The Memory Alpha passage you linked to says, in part:

But secondly, and even more importantly, there were also legal issues to consider. While Roddenberry had surrendered all legal title to the original Star Trek, there was that one notable exception: his "created by" credit. No new Star Trek incarnation could ever be created without his consent. Not having him involved would have most assuredly resulted in his veto, and, contrary to the movies, this time he did indeed had a very strong legal base to block any and all development of a new Star Trek production
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The two passages above directly contradict both your original statement, and the passage on Memory Alpha.
 
Christopher said:
Exactly. It says he did not enjoy the right, which is Harvey's point.
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Harvey said:
What's your point here?

You originally said, "No new Star Trek incarnation could ever be created without his [Roddenberry's] consent," and that this was a "contract obligation."

The Memory Alpha passage you linked to says, in part:



The two passages above directly contradict both your original statement, and the passage on Memory Alpha.
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Just because he didn't enjoy the right doesn't mean he didn't have it. You said "Paramount wasn't contractually bound to have Gene Roddenberry on board for Star Trek: The Next Generation", and yes they were, unless Gene consented to someone else taking his spot, and that quote you posted proves it.

Anyway, stupid argument. Let's not go off the rails here.
 
Shalashaska said:
Just because he didn't enjoy the right doesn't mean he didn't have it.
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That's exactly what it means. We're not talking "enjoy" in the sense of "Whee, that's fun!" but in the sense of "to have the use or benefit of." As in, to enjoy good health or to enjoy immunity from prosecution.


You said "Paramount wasn't contractually bound to have Gene Roddenberry on board for Star Trek: The Next Generation", and yes they were, unless Gene consented to someone else taking his spot, and that quote you posted proves it.
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The quote he posted in comment #54 was from the same Memory Alpha page that you referenced earlier, which Harvey has already proven incorrect through the quotes he posted in comment #51.
 
Shalashaska said:
Just because he didn't enjoy the right doesn't mean he didn't have it.
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You seem to be having a problem with colloquial English, here. To "enjoy the right" means "to have the right" - as in, for example, the phrase "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial"


Shalashaska said:
.You said "Paramount wasn't contractually bound to have Gene Roddenberry on board for Star Trek: The Next Generation", and yes they were, unless Gene consented to someone else taking his spot.
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No, they weren't. Sorry.
 
People don't seem to know how the studio system works, so let me explain:

Star Trek is sort of like a nuclear device. First, there has to be an attack by the fanboys on the studio. Then the president of the studio uses the "red phone" to call his producers and gives them the series launch code. All the producers have to insert their launch key at the same time in separate command centers. The series won't launch if one of the producers goes rouge and flees to Canada. Glad I could help.
 
Yanks said:
Can anyone tell me what Rod Roddenberry brings to the table other than his name?
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A fast-track outlet for exclusive licensed online merchandising on Roddenberry.com before anyone else gets it, perhaps?

And yeah...the name...
 
Considering Paramount/CBS twice removed Rodenberry from any direct hand in Star Trek production I tend to believe the stories that no, he did not have any veto power. He likely had some creative rights, which means Paramount would need to pay him some money and give him a title in the credits.

But by the same token the studio was not stupid. Rodenberry had a fairly good track record. His name was associated with the product. And he was a creative visionary. There was no reason not to work with him. Besides throwing him a syndicated experimental tv series was a great way to prevent him from meddling with and/or bad mouthing the profitable movie series. And WooHoo the experiment paid off big time. Bonus!
 
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