Not give up as in closing shop and not making a lick of filmed Trek ever again. But give up trying to get that elusive mainstream audience.
Let's face it. At this point, Trek has become, as it was in the 1970's prior to TMP, a niche franchise in a niche genre. It had its time in the sun throughout the 80's and 90's. A rather impressive run, might I add. But that kind of reign had to end eventually. And in the past 5 or six years, the attempts to try to reach that lofty status has pulled Trek further and further away from its core ideals. Instead of telling thought provoking tales that often merit discussion, it has tried to keep up with the Joneses with wall to wall action pieces and paying lip service to relevant issues, often outdated (ENT's "Stigma"). And when a show like nuBSG comes along and actually tells stories in that thought provoking manner that Trek once did so well, Trek looks like an aging, pulverized prizefighter in the ring trying to be something it once was but not longer is by comparison.
As I said before, this observation doesn't mean that it should be the end of Star Trek. But it does mean that it's the end of Star Trek as a pop culture cornerstone. And how bad is that? Whoever will be in charge of Star Trek in the future ('cause it's not set in stone that JJ will be), they should make Trek at a modest budget, an intimate style, and not cowtow to any preconcieved fan notions. In fact, they should just concentrate on making great stories. Period. As if there wasn't a such thing as a "Trekker" or "Trekkie". And not worry about pop culture conquest. With calenders, Hallmark ornaments, and other knick-knacks steadily selling well, it's not like it's losing money, so why not just go the other way from bigger and louder? A scaledown might be the best thing to happen to Star Trek.
Let's face it. At this point, Trek has become, as it was in the 1970's prior to TMP, a niche franchise in a niche genre. It had its time in the sun throughout the 80's and 90's. A rather impressive run, might I add. But that kind of reign had to end eventually. And in the past 5 or six years, the attempts to try to reach that lofty status has pulled Trek further and further away from its core ideals. Instead of telling thought provoking tales that often merit discussion, it has tried to keep up with the Joneses with wall to wall action pieces and paying lip service to relevant issues, often outdated (ENT's "Stigma"). And when a show like nuBSG comes along and actually tells stories in that thought provoking manner that Trek once did so well, Trek looks like an aging, pulverized prizefighter in the ring trying to be something it once was but not longer is by comparison.
As I said before, this observation doesn't mean that it should be the end of Star Trek. But it does mean that it's the end of Star Trek as a pop culture cornerstone. And how bad is that? Whoever will be in charge of Star Trek in the future ('cause it's not set in stone that JJ will be), they should make Trek at a modest budget, an intimate style, and not cowtow to any preconcieved fan notions. In fact, they should just concentrate on making great stories. Period. As if there wasn't a such thing as a "Trekker" or "Trekkie". And not worry about pop culture conquest. With calenders, Hallmark ornaments, and other knick-knacks steadily selling well, it's not like it's losing money, so why not just go the other way from bigger and louder? A scaledown might be the best thing to happen to Star Trek.
Wouldn't want to be a hypocrite, but I know damn well why a lot of the audience tunes in. The Heroes writers use cliched plot twists far too much, and plot & character logic is sometimes stretched to the breaking point for the convenience of the story. And even with all this pandering to the audience, Heroes has been shedding viewers.
