Serialization/character development you expect in next TV show?

[Navaros]

How much serialization, which amounts to and is necessary for, meaningful character development and story development, would you expect from the next Trek TV show?

Would you accept a new Trek TV show with little to no serialization/story development/character development (I.e: TOS, TNG, VOY)?

Would you demand some level of serialization/story development/character development but still be content if many of the episodes don't have that (I.e: DS9)?

Would you demand that every episode or almost every episode features serialization/story development/character development? (I.e: non-Trek shows, like which typically air on HBO or FX)?

For me personally, I would be totally uninterested in any Trek show that has less serialization/story development/character development than DS9. In other words, I demand at least option 2, but ideally, I would prefer option 3.

How about you? What would you accept?

 

[Withers]

Would you demand some level of serialization/story development/character development but still be content if many of the episodes don't have that (I.e: DS9)?

^This. The arcs are my favorite episodes of any given Star Trek series. Even just the two-part shows can be included in that (especially in Voyager's case.) The serialization made the struggle real and deeper and gave a greater sense of 'reward' for the audience at the end. It also allowed the characters to grow within a scope that could be easily understood and wouldn't have been possible any other way.

At the same time the "bottle" shows provide a lot to the series as well. Every episode of Star Trek shouldn't involve going to red alert and weapons exchange or just an impending sense that one of those two things (or something similar) is always 'just round the bend.' Also, if the show is completely serialized it will be more difficult to pick up fans after the first or second season (unless it is awesome beyond all belief and becomes a planet wide phenomon... like Lost... which I think pretty much any new Trek would have to do based on the fact that that shows don't really get "trial periods" anymore.)


-Withers-​

 

[AviTrek]

You're missing options. Serialization <> Character Development. You can have a show with character development but still have mostly standalone episodes. Stand alone episodes with character growth is where the industry is going. Full serializes is too risky and has no syndication value. I think that's where Trek should be going. And that's what I'd like to see.

 

[Withers]

The most popular shows on television, at the moment, are heavily serialized with the exception of maybe House. 24 does it, at least, through any given season (for obvious reasons-a show which Braga himself is executive producing the 7th season of), Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy are both heavily serialized shows. Arguably the biggest television drama right now is Lost and its so serialized you'd have no idea what you were looking at if it you turned it on for the first time right now. The list of serialized shows on the air right now goes on and on.

Of course there are examples of shows that have almost no serialization that do (and have been doing) very well. The biggest example of that is Law and Order. You watch those shows for years and have little to no idea what the characters are like in private almost at all. But, for Star Trek, I think the idea of a show comprised of almost nothing but bottle shows = Star Trek Voyager.


-Withers-​

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'd go for some, not all. There are plenty of shows that are completely serialized. It's not necessary that Star Trek be, too.

You can have a show with character development but still have mostly standalone episodes.

What kind of shows are examples of this? I can't imagine how you can develop a character without any advancement in the plot - either the plot changes the character or the character changes the plot. A character can't just change for no reason at all, and if that change has no impact on the story, why bother with ti?

The closest example I can think of is Dexter. Nobody has discovered his secret (and lived to tell the tale anyway), so I guess that means there's no advancement in the main plot, but Dexter has definitely changed since the first season. But even then, there's been progress in other plot aspects. It's a chicken-and-egg question - something changes in the plot and changes Dexter and in turn his development changes something else in the plot.

 

[RegFan]

I'd like a show that's at least as serialized as DS9 (not necessarily as serialized as S3 of Enterprise).

 

[AviTrek]

First of all, the most popular shows on television are the CSIs/NCSIs. With a bunch of comedies thrown into the mix too. None of them are serialized. 24 is down in the ratings and looking at probably its last season. Lost is down significantly from early seasons and is ending now.

Look at a show like Burn Notice. Each episode is a client of the week, but the relationship between the characters still evolve. Or to go even more towards standalone, the Law and Orders are clearly stand alone episodes, but you still have evolving character threads between the detectives or DAs. Van Buren's cancer story is a clear example. There is no reason the characters can't learn from one epsiode and change because of it without turning the entire show into one massive single story with no resolution to each episode.

 

[Withers]

First of all, the most popular shows on television are the CSIs/NCSIs. With a bunch of comedies thrown into the mix too. None of them are serialized. 24 is down in the ratings and looking at probably its last season. Lost is down significantly from early seasons and is ending now.

If you look at the nielsen ratings you'll note that none of what you just said is really accurate. Lost (likely do to it being the final season) is enjoying some time in the sun. 24 is at its highest point since season 4 (but I agree, this is likely the final season- 7 seasons being pretty good for a show of its nature in the current tv climate.) CSIs/NCIs are doing well too but, again, that's the Law and Order vein. (Speaking of which Van Buren has been on the show over a decade. Any form of Trek isn't going to last that long on television because the sci-fi genre just doesn't last that long anymore on any one given show.)

There is no reason the characters can't learn from one epsiode and change because of it without turning the entire show into one massive single story with no resolution to each episode.

I think that's the extreme everyone would just as soon avoid. You're right that there's no reason characters can't learn from one episode and change because of it though. However, the only example of them attempting to do that is Star Trek Voyager and we all know what the general consensus on character develop there pans out to be.

I think a show that was intended to run for 7 years having three major arcs would be sufficient. There's no reason to turn the whole thing into one massive story line that never deviates but at the same time having an entire series of "bottle" shows just doesn't seem like it would work for characters television viewers of the 21st century are supposed to vest in.


-Withers-​

 

[maneth]

I'd like a show that's at least as serialized as DS9 (not necessarily as serialized as S3 of Enterprise).

QFT. Ignore TATV and Enterprise season 4 is my favorite Trek season. Some character development, particularly from Archer, although I wouldn't've minded other characters being developed too. Lots of double episodes, and triple episodes with a few standalones.

Syndication is no longer the big thing, DVD sales count for a lot of series profits these days. And one big attraction with DVDs is that you can follow long arcs easily.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I doubt that a pure standalone show would work or be accepted nowadays. Voyager and the first two seasons of Enterprise actually were a step back in that regard (and I don't count the Temporal Cold War as an actual arc here... these were just loosely connected episodes which shared a time travel theme and appearances by the Suliban).

I think they should keep the level of serialization of DS9 and the latter seasons of ENT. There should be noticable continuity and lasting developments, but also standalone stories, and every once in a while a somewhat tighter arc (like the first six episodes of Season 6 and the final ten episodes of Season 7 of DS9 or the entire Season 3 of Enterprise).

 

[Navaros]

First of all, the most popular shows on television are the CSIs/NCSIs.

That may be true, but they are also the most terribly boring shows on television, precisely because of their cardboard characters with zero personality or development whatsoever. Watching paint dry is more fun than watching those shows.

I like to hope that the Trek audience would demand a higher standard than that from any new Trek show. Otherwise, the new Trek show will most likely likewise be more boring than watching paint dry.

 

[Joe Washington]

I love shows that are driven by story and have characters that change and grow over time.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

And provided J.J. Abrams & Co. are producing, it would most definitely be a serialized show... unless they're restrained by the network like in Fringe's case.

 

[startrekrcks]

What if JJ Abrams and co produces the next Star Trek tv series, would that be a success just wondering

 

[Withers]

What if JJ Abrams and co produces the next Star Trek tv series, would that be a success just wondering

I really enjoyed the new film and I'm just as big a Lostaway as I am a Trekkie. Still... I don't know if I'd want that. It would be amazing looking, and it would likely be very well written (in terms of plot of episodes and dialogue) but my reservation would be in over serialization.

Deep Space Nine was about as intricate as I want from Star Trek. Yes, you could watch starting from season six, and understand... but to truly appreciate the relationships, you had to have seen certain events all along the way. That's what made the show amazing. It was their ability to walk the fine line between making the show unwatchable to anyone tuning in after a certain point and weaving the characters and plots together in a tapestry over the years.

JJ Abrams' hasn't really shown an ability (in a series) not to go overboard with the serialization and I don't want to watch Star Trek: Lost. If he could avoid that I think it'd be successful. Everything the guy touches turns to commercial success so it'd be hard to imagine how he could flop financially. Whether he'd keep the camp from the 1960's happy is an entirely different story.


-Withers-​