Seth McFarlane wants to Reboot Trek on TV

[Dukhat]

I thought the "conventional wisdom" was that until the JJverse film cycle is complete, CBS shouldn't risk rocking the boat by licensing any new series from anybody, lest the series go south, give the Star Trek brand a bad rep, and hamper the most certain cash stream the franchise has seen in years.

Also, sci-fi shows are more expensive; doesn't that mean they are inherently riskier than other, less FX-laden shows (more "conventional wisdom")?

Nope, that's totally wrong. CBS doesn't care about producing a Trek series that runs concurrent with a movie series, because CBS and Paramount are two different entities. The reason why CBS isn't producing a Trek series is because they simply don't want to or need to. They're too busy producing shows that people are actually watching. If they thought shitloads of people would watch a sci-fi show, they'd produce one, no matter what the budget was, or if some film was out with the exact same content. But they don't think that.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Nope, that's totally wrong. CBS doesn't care about producing a Trek series that runs concurrent with a movie series, because CBS and Paramount are two different entities.

I thought Paramount is paying CBS for the right to license Star Trek. Maybe my information is incorrect.

 

[Captain Robert April]

^ No, you've got the gist of it, but whether or not Paramount is putting out Star Trek movies has very little to do with whether or not CBS produces another Star Trek tv series. Paramount has a license to make Star Trek movies, but CBS owns Star Trek; that's the difference.

And if Les Moonves sees that headline in The Hollywood Reporter about how Seth wants to reboot Star Trek for tv, and he's in the right mood that morning, then there'll be a meeting by the end of the week, if not that day.

 

[Admiral Shran]

I don't understand why people think that if someone does comedy that it's all they're capable of.

Seth McFarlane does comedy?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't understand why people think that if someone does comedy that it's all they're capable of.

Seth McFarlane does comedy?

I thought the "conventional wisdom" was that until the JJverse film cycle is complete, CBS shouldn't risk rocking the boat by licensing any new series from anybody, lest the series go south, give the Star Trek brand a bad rep, and hamper the most certain cash stream the franchise has seen in years.

That may be "conventional wisdom" around here, but it has zipola to do with reality. I doubt there's any actual reason behind CBS not doing a Star Trek series other than that they're not doing, say, a Beverly Hillbillies remake either.

Just because something isn't happening doesn't mean there's some grand strategic vision behind it, or anything more complex than that CBS has other, more attractive projects to spend their time on. Star Trek is a big stretch for them. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Beverly Hillbillies remake first.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't understand why people think that if someone does comedy that it's all they're capable of.

Seth McFarlane does comedy?

Perhaps not as original or clever as lifting a moustache gag from an online video and slapping it on Christoper Reeve, but very successfully nonetheless.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

That may be "conventional wisdom" around here, but it has zipola to do with reality.

OK, that makes sense.

 

[Admiral Shran]

I don't understand why people think that if someone does comedy that it's all they're capable of.

Seth McFarlane does comedy?

Perhaps not as original or clever as lifting a moustache gag from an online video and slapping it on Christoper Reeve, but very successfully nonetheless.

Yeah, well, Justin Bieber is also very successful at what he does. That doesn't mean I have to like what he does.

 

[Tom]

Looking beyond just his cartoon shows, Seth has appeared many times on 'Real Time with Bill Maher' (a political commentary show on HBO) and seems to be very genuine and down to Earth. I would see to see how he does drama before i can true make an opinion on how i think he would be with Star Trek.

 

[LitmusDragon]

His new album is really good too btw.

I think this is his true talent- music. The best part of Family Guy has always been the musical numbers (in my opinion). He should be writing Broadway musicals or something.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Yeah, he and Trey Parker are both a couple of aspiring Stephen Sondheims, albeit with a somewhat perverse bent.

 

[Shatnertage]

I'd pay to see a Trek musical. Yeah, I might be the only one, but I'd pay to see it.

 

[Broccoli]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erMUUi537xw[/yt]

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Since this thread has taken a left turn into bizarro land, I'll admit that I want to see some lunatic take the story of all six Star Wars movies and write an opera using John Williams' music, with lyrics in the original Klingon, and all the characters dressed as Klingons.

And I have a funny feeling that somehow, somewhere, I heard of a lunatic who is doing just that. At least I hope I didn't think of something like that on my own.

 

[Ssosmcin]

One truly great thing would come out of this no matter what else: Ron Jones would be back doing the music on Star Trek!

 

[Captaindemotion]

It's not like there's an absolute apartheid between comedy and sci-fi writing or writers.

Steven Moffat wrote Coupling, a UK sitcom, as well as Murder Most Horrid, an anthology of horror-comedy stories but he's done all right on Doctor Who. His predecessor as DW show-runner, Russel T Davies, did things like Coronation Street, Bob and Rose and Queer as Folk before doing DW. Bryan Fuller's non-Trek CV includes some comedy drama (Pushing Daisies, Waterfall)s.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Who is pretty comedic, though. That's part of the fun.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ True. But it's not a sitcom or spoof and respects the original series.

I could also have suggested Joe Cornish, who started out with comedy sketches on the Adam and Joe Show (often using Star Wars toys as props for their skits) and has moved on to Attack The Block and Tintin, or Edgar Wright, who's lined up to direct Marvel's Ant-Man.

 

[Captain Robert April]

If Edgar Wright gets involved, expect Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to show up somewhere...

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I'm not suggesting that he make a Trek show (I do believe Pegg is already involved in Trek...) - just holding these guys up as examples of comedy writers and directors who have successfully moved into straight (or straight-ish) genre movies and tv.