Yeah, I don’t see where the “course” was corrected. PIC3 is very much a “NuTrek” show, with all that entails. Slapping on some shiny new Berman era LCARS didn’t really change that.
Whenever Paramount does anything that reminds some people nostalgically of an earlier period in the franchise's history, some people declare it a "course correction." It's wishful thinking. Someone called Matalas the "Manny Coto" of the Trek streaming era, and there's something to that. Like Enterprise in its fourth year, Picard was effectively done entering its third - winding down, So the people originally in charge of it walked away from it to work on other projects that had futures. They cut the budget and handed it to one producer with hearty handshakes and cries of "good luck!" And that producer created something heavy with call-backs and deep continuity tie-ins to old Trek series, delighting some long-time fans who had been frustrated with the series up to that point. And then, it ended.
Quite. Imagine if after the success of The Wrath of Khan there was a demand for only Nick Meyer to run Star Trek films for ghe next film. It hits a level of absurdity to put all eggs in one producer's basket.
I would not mind a follow up to Seven, Raffi and yeah, even Gary Stu, er, Jack Crusher aboard the Enterprise (would have been so much better had it stayed the Titan). But I want it to be it’s own thing. I don’t mind a little bit of nostalgia here and there but I’d prefer to see them chart their own course, not visit the same planets we saw in the Berman era week after week.
Except ... That's exactly what happened. Harve Bennett was brought in to produce Wrath of Khan after people were dissatisfied over The Motion Picture. Harve Bennett brought in Nick Meyer to direct, and after the success of Wrath of Khan, Bennett produced Star Treks 3, 4, and 5. And the only reason Bennett didn't produce 6 is that he turned it down.
There are hours upon hours of YouTube streams of NuTrek critics explaining why they liked PICARD season 3 and disliked the rest of NuTrek. The Inglorious Treksperts podcast manages to hit multiple beats in around 90 minutes. The production design is only one part of season 3's success. If people that love say DISCOVERY or SNW ask NuTrek sceptics to take it on faith that they legitimately like those series, also take the NuTrek critics on faith that they legit didn't like those efforts but do like PICARD season 3 for a plethora of reasons. Star Trek is different things to different people after all. Where PICARD season 3 correlates with NuTrek is the structural streaming model of essentially breaking up a movie idea over ten episodes. Having more room for character conflict. Higher budgets. Not needing to fit FCC regulations to be broadcast in the franchise's home market. And well being stuck with some Kurtzman-isms in the production design and trapped with what especially season 1 established. In this case, it could lead to Legacy. And it'll be interesting to see the numbers for SNW season 2. Where many people are sitting, Terry Matalas managed to put out by far the best live action Star Trek content since 2005. Would it be great to bring some other Berman era people back? Sure. But no one else working under Abrams and Kurtzman has been able to produce something like this in live action that manages to hit all the right notes.
I'm glad people liked it. Sadly no they don't. Even here you can find folks insulting the intelligence and taste of those who like a Star Trek they don't. You had me until "trapped". I even let Kurtzman-isms slide. Come on that's just opinion. All the shows have fans who think they hit all the rights notes. For me that's SNW. Yeah, I wouldn't mind some of the Berman vets back. They're talented people.
At the end of the day, isn’t this all just opinion? Opinion about a television show at that. Regardless if they do a series of continuity- skirting 32nd century shows or a series of continuity-heavy 25th century shows, at the end of the day, will the decision about what happens for the next Star Trek really affect anyone’s life here outside of a superficial way?
Always a source of quality criticism... lol The absolute last people whose opinion I value, in regards to Star Trek, are people who base their entire online existence on a single franchise. I care far more about what a "normal" person thinks. If Trek cannot appeal to the "everyman," then it's destined to stagnate and die. Wtf is a Kurtzman-ism Oh, I dunno about that... Opinions will obviously vary, but Star Trek 2009 did more for the franchise then Picard S3, or I could even argue DS9 through to Enterprise, ever did. It brought Trek back from the dead and put it back in the public eye, short-lived as it was. It also managed to make a very tidy sum of money, cuz I know how important popularity is to you, while being a bonified hit with the critics. Even more impressive, it managed to make my wife cry and actually give a damn about Star Trek. And she wasn't alone. I can name multiple people with similar experiences. There was more heart and emotion in the first 15 minutes of that film, then there was in the entire season of Picard. So don't be so quick to make such blanket statements. You're free to your opinion, but don't try and treat it as some kinda obvious fact. Well, I personally would argue on behalf of the Strange New Worlds showrunners. But that's my opinion.
Damn right. It may honestly be the best scene in the entire history of Star Trek. It's that good. The rest of the film is extraordinarily enjoyable. But that opening elevated the film.
No..I was talking about Meyer being kept over the next 5 films. We can all appreciate what Season 3 did. Saying that it must be this way for the rest of Trek, or that this is the only way is were you lose me. I don't want uniformity in Trek. I don't want stagnation. You try to recapture that with repeating the same beats and you get Nemesis.
If these are self-submitted numbers, then I pretty much dismiss them out of hand. These aren't the Nielsens' of old. And, god damn, that looks like a TV set. Probably the worst I've seen from any series going back to the beginning of Star Trek.
Well, a few people who adamantly defend Kurtzman Trek have personally attacked me on this BBS, and I've been very diplomatic in my interactions with everyone, so YMMV. Well, the season 3 writers in different interviews definitely seemed trapped and had to handle some season 1 elements with kid gloves. Yes, that's just the entertainment industry, but if they were actually happy with getting to follow some things up, it would be far more organic than the elephant in the room everyone has to dance around. I'm not making the case for populism in general, just that something more comporable to pre-2009 Star Trek could still be successful in the current market. And much like following up ST09, there are questions regarding if Legacy could be sustainable. A sizable percentage of the viewers having a similar opinion then... Engagement up on Twitter and YouTube. Very positive reviews. And now pretty amazing numbers, especially with a Star Trek season holding up against the mega hit of the Taylor Sheridan properties.
As I said " Sadly no they don't. Even here you can find folks insulting the intelligence and taste of those who like a Star Trek they don't."
I'll never forget it. I went to the London Imax. My wife and my best mates girlfriend were actually crying. ST09 was one wild ride. I may have has something in my eye when the two Spocks met. All the Canon inconsistencies were waved away by having it set in an alternate universe and the film was so fresh and vibrant that all that stuff like ships being built planetside just didn't matter. To this day, I view ST09 as a turning point missed for Star Trek. Star Wars was dead and it seemed that Star Trek as a franchise could rival it. But they failed to capitalise. I really hope that they won't fail to capitalise on the success of Picard. Doug Drexler on FB quotes that Paramount plus saw 40% increase in demand for the Season 3 premiere than for DSC season 4. And that demand grew week on week. Update, he's quoting from The Wrap. Star Trek: Picard offers a master class to holders of similarly valuable IP in how to delight fans both old and new. And in today’s crowded and highly competitive streaming landscape, it should offer a powerful incentive for Paramount to give fans more of what they want. Not only did the Season 3 premiere perform well for Paramount+, topping the Season 4 premiere of “Star Trek Discovery” by more than 40%, but momentum built week after week as showrunner Terry Matalas and colleagues reintroduced a delightful cadence of familiar fan-favorite characters with each episode. - The Wrap
It's nice that Picard made the streaming charts, but it's also worth remembering- as it's been pointed out- Paramount just got added to those charts right when Picard started. Paramount knew had a hit with 1923 and hits with Yellowjackets and that George Jones & Tammy Wynette miniseries carrying over from Showtime and wanted to make a big deal of it. They just kind of got lucky that Picard hit the charts too the first few weeks it was tracked. Likewise, Picard was lucky it was the Star Trek show airing when they started tracking. It's probably likely that Discovery at least would have hit the top 10 too at certain points. Maybe Strange New Worlds too soon. That's worth remembering and consistently pointing when people celebrate the Picard streaming success. We have no way of knowing it wouldn't or won't happen with the other shows too.
Business Insider used to do monthly streaming charts. IDK if they still do, I could not find them for late 2022/23. However, both SNW & earlier seasons of Picard hit those charts of the most popular streaming shows. I did not see DISCO at any point when it was airing new episodes.