Paramount moves forward with cheap, straight-to-DVD sequels.

[nx1701g]

I wouldn't mind D2DVD missions for the Titan crew.

 

[Turtletrekker]

^Second that. And I would hope that they would follow the lead of the books-- using Sean Tournageau's (sp?) ship design, having Tuvok on board (but no Wesley!)

 

[Sephiroth]

so they haven't learned from Disney, who is going back to making film classics, after the "lets just make D2DVDs in Korea" guy got fired for being incompitent

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Well, Shatner was never much of a dramatic actor anyway. He used to take himself far more seriously than his talent really warranted (which, in an odd way, is what made Captain Kirk so iconic). It's only natural that his whole persona would shift to one of self parody in the last 10-20 years.

Actually, early in his career, Shatner was considered a highly promising dramatic actor; some even called him the next Olivier. Getting a rising star as respected and prominent as Shatner to star in a sci-fi TV show was considered a major casting coup at the time. If you look at his pre-Trek work -- and a lot of his first- and second-season Trek work -- you see he's a very different, much more naturalistic actor than the stereotype would have it.

I've watched his early Trek work as well as his 2 Twilight Zone appearances. While the stereotypes are exaggerated, I would never call his style naturalistic. He was often very very good but never naturalistic. It's especially easy to tell when he's on screen with such naturally comfortable actors as Leonard Nimoy & DeForest Kelly. You're right that Shatner's performances are very theatrical. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that but it's not like everyone was doing it that way back then. Many other actors had adjusted to the intimacy of the camera long before Shatner came along.

 

[nx1701g]

^Second that. And I would hope that they would follow the lead of the books-- using Sean Tournageau's (sp?) ship design, having Tuvok on board (but no Wesley!)

To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if Wesley showed up. Especially since the character was depicted as being on Titan in the tour.

 

[the Dagman]

I think this could really be a good thing. It is pretty obvious that the CW will be lucky to last out this season, which will limit the output of what were once syndicated first run shows. Sci-Fi Channel is NBC/Universal's pet project to abuse. And for all the rest of the channels out there, there are surprisingly few that run the old first run syndicated shows we used to see before UPN, the WB and FOX bought or co-opted the stations that used to run them.

I would love to see some of these projects get made. The idea of Star Trek-Titan or a DS9 continuation series of movies would be a dream made real for me. Mission Impossible without Cruise and a threat from within IMF would definitely get rented at the least. Hell, Netflix will likely co-produce these things for the increased traffic and membership revenue they will create all on their own.

 

[wamdue]

I wouldn't mind D2DVD missions for the Titan crew.

agreed

 

[Starbreaker]

I think Deep Impact 2 should involve finding Tea Leoni's body after the tidal wave and hanging her head on a stick.

 

[Christopher]

I've watched his early Trek work as well as his 2 Twilight Zone appearances. While the stereotypes are exaggerated, I would never call his style naturalistic. He was often very very good but never naturalistic.

By today's standards, or by the Stanislavsky Method? No. But by the standards of the theatrical, Shakespearean tradition in which Shatner was trained, yes, that is quite naturalistic.

It's especially easy to tell when he's on screen with such naturally comfortable actors as Leonard Nimoy & DeForest Kelly. You're right that Shatner's performances are very theatrical. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that but it's not like everyone was doing it that way back then. Many other actors had adjusted to the intimacy of the camera long before Shatner came along.

But that doesn't mean his style was bad, just different.

 

[rafterman1701]

Not all direct to DVD sequels have to be bad. DVD movies can be quality. Just look at BSG Razor. Maybe more sequels can go this way and we'll get original work on the big screen.

 

[wamdue]

Not all direct to DVD sequels have to be bad. DVD movies can be quality. Just look at BSG Razor. Maybe more sequels can go this way and we'll get original work on the big screen.

I wonder if people view d2DVD movies like the StarGate & Futarama ones, differntly to the ones made from movies

 

[Tulin]

^ "Razor" had the advantage of using all of BSG's standing established sets(a huge chunk of a production's budget), all the crew amd cast were intact and ready to work and no contract negotiation time was drawn out causing rewriting for new characters and actors.

BSG:Razor is not a good gauge of what all DTDVD films will end up like. For a more appropriate example see the latest Starship Troopers debacle. Sans a ripped and shirtless CvD, there was not much else to recommend that film.

 

[Christopher]

BSG:Razor is not a good gauge of what all DTDVD films will end up like. For a more appropriate example see the latest Starship Troopers debacle. Sans a ripped and shirtless CvD, there was not much else to recommend that film.

All that proves is that the majority of films in any category are of low quality. That's just Sturgeon's Law. Pick any random movie showing in your local multiplex and odds are it'll be just as lame as any random direct-to-DVD movie you rent from the video store.