Seth McFarlane wants to Reboot Trek on TV

[ChristopherPike]

My only reaction to this news really is to say, "Who doesn't!"

Bryan Singer appeared onscreen once, and wanted to help create the next chapter of Star Trek on TV.


If only I could kidnap Seth McFarlane, bundle him into the trunk of my car, strap him to chair, occasional drops in eyes Clockwork Orange-style, and make him watch the 96 episodes of Enterprise he wasn't in!

Not release him until we've come up with a series proposal I personally approve of!

 

[Maurice]

I have a love-hate relationship with Family Guy and its spin-offs. It can sometimes be very clever, but it's frequently just flat and lazy. We'll see if his Flintstones is any better.

 

[The Wormhole]

^^MacFarlane also returned to Enterprise in season 4's Affliction. This time his character was named Ensign Rivers, and was now assigned to Columbia NX-02. Here's a clip of his scene in that episode.

Yeah, I know. I was trying to make a Family Guy joke/reference.

I only just caught onto that now.

 

[Danoz]

I have a love-hate relationship with Family Guy and its spin-offs. It can sometimes be very clever, but it's frequently just flat and lazy.

For the most part I agree-- pretty much everything after Season 4 is hit and miss. I also think some of their bits are actually in poor taste. There's a certain point where shock value laugh just doesn't work for me (poking fun at Michael J. Fox's illness, childhood cancer, etc) just generally not funny to me. South Park is 10 times better in every way.

Having said that, even the recent episodes are worth a watch if you're tired and feel like consuming something completely mindless.

 

[Captain Robert April]

I'd love to see MacFarlane's take on Star Trek. He's a big fan of it all, he's very talented and he produces successful television. I'm looking forward to his version of The Flintstones.

The last thing the Franchise needs is someone who somehow thinks it's the exception to all the trends in public tastes and style that are part of succeeding at entertaining people.

Be very afraid, kiddies. Dennis and I agree on something.

THE APOCALYPSE DOTH DRAW NIGH!!

 

[Captain Robert April]

At the worst, we might get tense scenes like this:

KIRK: Quick, Spock, we need a diversion before the Klingons can launch their attack! Ladies and gentlemen, Conway Twitty!

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2aeRg_yMSE[/yt]

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Although I'm not a Seth fan, and I'm even less of a Family Guy fan, of course I'd watch it and give it a chance.

As far as his work is concerned, I don't see anything that indicates what to expect; he has an awful lot of cartoon and comedy writing. That makes him somewhat of a wild card.

 

[The Overlord]

After he reboots Star trek, will it be filled with cut aways and pop culture references?

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Well, the pop culture references couldn't get as cookie cutter as the Seth McFarlane jokes in this thread.

ZIIIIING!!!

 

[Skywalker]

Well, the pop culture references couldn't get as cookie cutter as the Seth McFarlane jokes in this thread.

ZIIIIING!!!

Hey, at least mine actually had a cutaway.

 

[milo bloom]

I'd be interested. When he actually tries to parody/satire something in one of his shows, he can be pretty razor sharp on actually finding something within the source that's worth tweaking the nose of. Compare to something like the few bits I've seen of The Big Bang theory: just throwing out sci-fi names and stuff doesn't make your show "smart".

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

What?

Just ignore him. Most do.

As for the OP, I don't know how crazy I'd be about him producing anything live-action, but if he made an animated series that had more realistic-looking characters and non-humorous plots than Family Guy does, I'd watch it every week. His Star Wars spoofs looked fantastic as far as the ships and planets went (there was even one scene of a star destroyer that I almost believed was actual footage from the film!)

I could be entirely wrong, but I remember hearing that they basically took the space scenes and "drew" over them which was why they looked so dead on.

The ship stuff, I believe, is mainly CG mesh work using a plug-in that renders it to resemble cel animation.

"Toon shading"

It's pretty common now.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I don't think Trek is going to be re-booted on tv. But maybe if they did, they need to go for an outsider, unexpected choice like this. I'd be interested in at least hearing his pitch.

 

[Maurice]

Well, here's an example of how lazy Family Guy and its ilk can be. There's one episode where they replicate the funeral scene from Star Trek II, with Stewie shooting his teddy Rupert into space. But there's no joke, other than Rupert being launched instead of the torpedo. The "joke" is just that they're recreating this scene. There's nothing funny going on. They could easily have added a punchline by having the solemnity of the moment interrupted by having Rupert blown to stuffing when launched...the unexpected twist on what you expect. Comic irony on top of tragedy. The show is rife with missed opportunities like that.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Rupert blown to stuffing when launched

Very funny.

 

[The Overlord]

I still think a comedic writer would not be the best person to reboot Star Trek on TV.

 

[Balrog]

I picture Seth McFarlane's Trek would be more like Gilligan's Island.

Pass.

 

[Venardhi]

A comic background is usually a strength for any entertainer, be it writing or acting or directing. The skills necessary to be successful in comedy transfer very well to drama while the reverse is rarely true.

 

[Balrog]

I don't think he has the talent to create a new Trek series without also making fun of it or the fans.

 

[Venardhi]

Bullshit.

The guy practically oozes talent. He managed to create one of the most successful tv shows in history in his 20s. I for one don't care for his Star Wars specials because they stopped being parodies and just turned into Star Wars with Family Guy gags thrown in, but the guy is clearly tired of Family Guy and wants to move on and I for one can't wait to see what he does next.

His new album is really good too btw.