Should a new Star Trek show be live action or animated?

[C.E. Evans]

Now Star Trek is not some super dark series and I do think most of the Star Trek episodes are fit for whole family, not being said I would hope some greedy exec wouldn't try to use a Star Trek cartoon to talk down to kids and try to sell them toys.

I think a Trek cartoon aimed at kids should indeed sell toys and a whole slew of related merchandise. Why should it be limited only to (mostly adult) collectors?

As far as talking down to kids, there are very few cartoons that do that anymore (and frankly, I can't think of any currently on the air really). Most shows are either target age-appropriate or tend to appeal to both kids and adults in some fashion. I'm still amazed at how many adults tune in to watch My Little Pony.

I would say the new Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon really talks down to kids, especially when the previous Spectacular Spider-Man did excellent job of telling the story of Spider-Man, while making the show still accessible to kids. There are still cartoon shows that talk down to kids.

Ultimate Spider-Man doesn't really talk down to kids, but it does talk to kids. From the start, though, the show was intended more for the 6-11 age group (the audience Disney XD wants the most) than anyone older. And the strategy appears to be working very well in that regard for the network.

I don't mind selling merchandise related to the show to kids, I just wouldn't story lines to determined solely by merchandising concerns. In the 80s there were tons of cartoons, where irrelevant characters were on the show just to sell extra toys, where characters would get new powers and new costumes just to sell toys. In those shows selling toys was more important then stories. That's what I want to avoid.

The only cartoons that really do that anymore are shows mostly backed by toy companies like Pokemon, Beyblade, Bakugan, etc. For other cartoons like The Clone Wars and Young Justice, the toylines are a by-product because they're studio-backed properties. The same would be true for a new Star Trek cartoon.

 

[RandyS]

I'd watch either at least once.

 

[R. Star]

A cartoon doesn't always have to be aimed at children. Sure it can be inclusive, but take say... Gargoyles. That's a show I'd rewatch right now these days.

 

[Sumghai]

I personally would prefer a live-action Trek TV series, probably because that's what I'm used to.

Would digital set extensions be of any help in alleviating the heavy budgets of typical sci-fi shows like Trek/BSG, or would any potential "savings" be gobbled up by the cost of rendering the sets in CGI?

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Digital sets are much cheaper.

 

[LtChange]

Live Action. And Clone Wars is a bad example. I really hate all those droid, Jar-jar and Amidala the hero episodes and sadly these are more than half of the season. I must admit I never finished season 4 ... I just couldn't take anymore. If animation automatically there will do a kid friendly series wich will simply destroy better stories. Better stories in an animation series will be mediocre at best compared to any other previous live action episodes...

 

[C.E. Evans]

A cartoon doesn't always have to be aimed at children. Sure it can be inclusive, but take say... Gargoyles. That's a show I'd rewatch right now these days.

Gargoyles was still considered a cartoon aimed at kids. Such shows can have U.S. television ratings that range from TV-Y (safe for pre-schoolers) to TV-PG (containing mild language, moderate violence, or even light sexual content).

It's when you start getting into the TV-14 range that a show is considered inappropriate viewing for kids under the age of 14.

If animation automatically there will do a kid friendly series wich will simply destroy better stories. Better stories in an animation series will be mediocre at best compared to any other previous live action episodes...

Which is untrue. There are animated shows out there that can blow away live-action fare. Not all animated shows have simplistic stories and characters. Quite a few anime shows--of the non Saturday-morning toy-based variety, IMO--are frequently very complex.

 

[SillyTilly]

I'd prefer Live Action but I would give an animated series a go. I just don't think it would hook me in as much as a live action series.

 

[Use of Time]

The most notable scenes in Star Trek to me involve moving dialogue pertaining to a heavy emotional topic. I don't think that can be captured as effectively (my opinion) with a cartoon. I like to see actors...act. I would prefer live action.

 

[C.E. Evans]

The most notable scenes in Star Trek to me involve moving dialogue pertaining to a heavy emotional topic. I don't think that can be captured as effectively (my opinion) with a cartoon.

I've seen it done powerfully several times in a cartoon (or rather, an anime).

 

[R. Star]

A cartoon doesn't always have to be aimed at children. Sure it can be inclusive, but take say... Gargoyles. That's a show I'd rewatch right now these days.

Gargoyles was still considered a cartoon aimed at kids. Such shows can have U.S. television ratings that range from TV-Y (safe for pre-schoolers) to TV-PG (containing mild language, moderate violence, or even light sexual content).

It's when you start getting into the TV-14 range that a show is considered inappropriate viewing for kids under the age of 14.

If animation automatically there will do a kid friendly series wich will simply destroy better stories. Better stories in an animation series will be mediocre at best compared to any other previous live action episodes...

Which is untrue. There are animated shows out there that can blow away live-action fare. Not all animated shows have simplistic stories and characters. Quite a few anime shows--of the non Saturday-morning toy-based variety, IMO--are frequently very complex.

Oh come on, the rating has nothing to do with the material save they're more creative in scorning characters with their language. Take STII... if that was made today Kirk would have just yelled "F*&% you!!!" instead of "KHAAANNN!!"

You can have a complicated plot and compelling deep characters without coarse language and graphic gore. Honestly flashy effects tend to compensate for lack of plot elements these days.

 

[C.E. Evans]

A cartoon doesn't always have to be aimed at children. Sure it can be inclusive, but take say... Gargoyles. That's a show I'd rewatch right now these days.

Gargoyles was still considered a cartoon aimed at kids. Such shows can have U.S. television ratings that range from TV-Y (safe for pre-schoolers) to TV-PG (containing mild language, moderate violence, or even light sexual content).

It's when you start getting into the TV-14 range that a show is considered inappropriate viewing for kids under the age of 14.

If animation automatically there will do a kid friendly series wich will simply destroy better stories. Better stories in an animation series will be mediocre at best compared to any other previous live action episodes...

Which is untrue. There are animated shows out there that can blow away live-action fare. Not all animated shows have simplistic stories and characters. Quite a few anime shows--of the non Saturday-morning toy-based variety, IMO--are frequently very complex.

Oh come on, the rating has nothing to do with the material save they're more creative in scorning characters with their language. Take STII... if that was made today Kirk would have just yelled "F*&% you!!!" instead of "KHAAANNN!!"

You can have a complicated plot and compelling deep characters without coarse language and graphic gore. Honestly flashy effects tend to compensate for lack of plot elements these days.

What does any of this have to do with, well...anything?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Would an animated series be hour-long episodes (as with live action Trek) or half-hour ones? That would put a dampner on what could be done in a single episode, though story arcs would work just as well.

An animated series might have to be more action-orientated (but seeing as how that was where VOY and ENT were going that isn't anything new), to draw in a wider audience--lets brain-wash some kids to appreciate Trek in all its greatness

As for the comment made about droids and Jar Jar, well a Trek cartoon would remain Trek, just animated. There are no droids and annoying alien characters are confined to the Delta Quadrant. It would be another look at Trek in a very different format, which I personally think might suit it quite well.

I do think that if an animated Trek was an entirely new series they would need to do a TOS/DS9 cross, where in there is a small core of main characters (4 or 5), with a large pool of engaging and interesting supporting characters to be used wherever needed.

So long as they got the setting, characters and stories right. That is what needs to be focused on no matter what format the next series takes

 

[C.E. Evans]

Would an animated series be hour-long episodes (as with live action Trek) or half-hour ones? That would put a dampner on what could be done in a single episode, though story arcs would work just as well.

A half-hour cartoon would really just cause a story to get straight to the point and eliminate the need for a "B-plot" that runs parallel to the main plot (such things can be reinstated with a multi-episode arc, though).

An animated series might have to be more action-orientated (but seeing as how that was where VOY and ENT were going that isn't anything new), to draw in a wider audience--lets brain-wash some kids to appreciate Trek in all its greatness

And there's nothing wrong with that in a action-adventure cartoon, really. Hook 'em in as young as you can. A new Trek cartoon can exist in its own continuity for kids like the various Transformers, G.I. Joe, and comic book-based cartoon shows.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Would an animated series be hour-long episodes (as with live action Trek) or half-hour ones? That would put a dampner on what could be done in a single episode, though story arcs would work just as well.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars mixes multi-episode arcs with single episodes. I'm sure a Trek animated series would do the same. Even shows like Young Justice do season long arcs.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'm not saying any of that is bad (I like how The Clone Wars has a mix of arcs and stand alones), I was thinking about how an animated series would differ from live action.

It'd be different and may take a little time to win some people over, but I'd watch it

 

[Mars]

Well let's look at the pro and cons of an animated series vs. a live action series.

An animated series would have a smaller budget and could create more fantastic alien designs.

The biggest problem with an animated series is the Animation Age Ghetto. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationAgeGhetto

Now Star Trek is not some super dark series and I do think most of the Star Trek episodes are fit for whole family, not being said I would hope some greedy exec wouldn't try to use a Star Trek cartoon to talk down to kids and try to sell them toys. I will say I think TV animation has improve a lot over the last 20 years, starting with the introduction of BTAS.

I think an animated show would have a faster pace then a then a live action, but if handled well perhaps it blend high paced action with heavier concepts, similar to what BTAS, Gargoyles and Avatar did.

If they go animated, I think it should be done in the Clone Wars style, and they should use the actors from the Star Trek XI movie as voice actors for the animated characters, or try to get as many of them as the budget allows and hire sound alike voice actors to fill in the rest, if they sound like the original actors for the series, that's good too. I like the up rated Enterprise on steroids concept used in the Movie, it at all possible an animated version of that star ship should be used. The animated series should pick up where the movie left off doing a 5-year voyage and so on.

 

[Mars]

Hey, I just got a great idea for an animated series:

Star Trek: Mirror Universe

The Mirror Universe would go from the 22nd century (Captain Archer's time) to the 24th century (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager) The reason why its a good idea is the actors have aged since those television series were produced, but we can still use them as voice actors for animated characters. The thing about the Mirror Universe that's different from all the rest is that the main characters from all the regular series are more expendable. Expendability creates suspense, since the viewer doesn't know who is going to live and who is going to die, the sense of danger and tension is all the more greater. We need a larger cast of regular characters of course, the actors would have contracts that specify that they continue to get paid for a certain amount of time even if their characters get killed, and if a particular actor is too expensive, a sound alike can more readily be found than someone who sort of looks like that character in live action.

 

[DynV]

How about quick advertisements by the extras like "Oh the product type by brand is wonderful!" in transition scenes. There's also the good ol' product placement.

But seriously, unless media sales (BD/DVD) goes up and the shows are put on site forcing lots of ads (sometimes I won't be able to see videos unless I temporarily disable my ad blocker), the cheaper way will surely win.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Forget about DVD sales, that's on its way out. Streaming is the future. Whether there are ads depends on the individual outlet. I don't get why people are willing to put up with ads on Hulu Plus but maybe they get more stuff more quickly that snails-pace but ad-free Netflix. Personally, I'd rather just wait.

Anyway, what CBS should do is put a new show on Netflix and Hulu Plus and iTunes and anywhere else they can get it. Certainly Star Trek is a powerful enough brand name, especially for the early-adopter tech types who already have streaming subscriptions, that they can laugh off any attempts to insist on an exclusive. The way to make the finances work is to cobble together wide-ranging distribution, on TV and streaming (and DVD sales to the extent they persist).

The problem is, this is all a lot of work for CBS, why not just do another cop show instead and show it on traditional TV? Conversely, the motivation is, ratings for traditional TV are sliding badly, and CBS is finally getting hit by their audience aging out of the 18-49 demo, and it's only going to get worse. Now is the time to start figuring out new business models that will work in the future, and Star Trek is a good guinea pig to experiment with.