We shall see.
Spoilers Strange New Worlds General Discussion Thread
- Thread starter NewHeavensNewEarth
- Start date
I've been advocating for a hard reboot since before Oh-Nine. And while I appreciate the cleverness of what they did, I still feel like it was a mistake not to completely start fresh and go from there. The thing is, the wouldn't actually have to if everyone involved could be objective for five minutes and be willing to trim the fat and not get angry if something they like gets changed or tossed out the window.
In computing, there are two kinds of reboots: high and low level. High level is what people think of when they hear the word and it's the one most analogous to the buzzword. But high level reboots cover everything from putting your computer/phone to sleep at night to a fresh install of the OS. But even in the process of the later, the end result is a system nearly identical to the original because the end-user just puts all the same software and files back into the system. And this is how Star Trek has operated for five-plus decades.
Every series and film (with the possible exception of the Genesis trilogy) has followed this model to some degree. The writers open a new file and move whatever old stuff they think the might need to the desktop and the other 99% of crap just sits on the hard drive clogging up the system and bogging the CPU down. (And, yes, for those unaware, the more crap you have on your computer, the slower it goes. This is especially true on Win10, but it's also true to some degree for most UNIX-based OSes. *Windows Search is shit. But I digress.)
And in all those decades, Star Trek has stored a lot of shit on its hard drive. And just like no one except Cousin Ned cares about those out of focus pictures Grandma took during the 1995 family reunion, no one cares about the name of the planet B'Elanna lost her favorite spanner on. Or how many years Spock was command of the Enterprise. Or Deanna's favorite flavor of ice cream. Or the color of the fucking trim on the bridge.
Cousin Ned clings to those pictures of the reunion because, in a quarter of a century, he still hasn't gotten over the person he was dating at the time. And that's what the fandom has become: a bunch of Cousin Neds pining over lost love. But they're not coming back, so let the writers create some new fish for the sea.
Low level reboots are super rare. The last time there was one to any significant degree was when Jobs came back to Apple and they built an entirely new ecosystem - both the hardware and the software - from the ground up. Everything was new. You couldn't run any of the old software and even a lot of old files were incompatible as well. So end-users were encouraged to start completely over, as well.
There's never really been anything to that level in entertainment. The thing is, I actually think Star Trek could be the one to pull it off. Because the only thing that needs to carry over is the adventurers seeking out new lifeforms and civilizations while going boldly where no one has gone before. Beyond that, there's literally a universe's worth of creative potential.
The problem is I don't know if there's anyone with the creative ambition and wherewithal matched with the necessary organizational disregard and contempt to even undertake something like that. I certainly can't think of anyone -- the Wachowski's maybe, but I don't even know if they're even into Star Trek.
So trim the fat it is. Ignore all the Cousin Neds and delete everything but the bare essentials and go for there. And it does even need to be one big system purge. It's possible to delete shit while going along and overwrite it with whatever new stuff the comes up. And then be willing to delete that when the time comes. This is how Marvel and DC works. This is how Star Wars works - once they figured out it was the best course of action. It's time for Star Trek to get on board too.
In computing, there are two kinds of reboots: high and low level. High level is what people think of when they hear the word and it's the one most analogous to the buzzword. But high level reboots cover everything from putting your computer/phone to sleep at night to a fresh install of the OS. But even in the process of the later, the end result is a system nearly identical to the original because the end-user just puts all the same software and files back into the system. And this is how Star Trek has operated for five-plus decades.
Every series and film (with the possible exception of the Genesis trilogy) has followed this model to some degree. The writers open a new file and move whatever old stuff they think the might need to the desktop and the other 99% of crap just sits on the hard drive clogging up the system and bogging the CPU down. (And, yes, for those unaware, the more crap you have on your computer, the slower it goes. This is especially true on Win10, but it's also true to some degree for most UNIX-based OSes. *Windows Search is shit. But I digress.)
And in all those decades, Star Trek has stored a lot of shit on its hard drive. And just like no one except Cousin Ned cares about those out of focus pictures Grandma took during the 1995 family reunion, no one cares about the name of the planet B'Elanna lost her favorite spanner on. Or how many years Spock was command of the Enterprise. Or Deanna's favorite flavor of ice cream. Or the color of the fucking trim on the bridge.
Cousin Ned clings to those pictures of the reunion because, in a quarter of a century, he still hasn't gotten over the person he was dating at the time. And that's what the fandom has become: a bunch of Cousin Neds pining over lost love. But they're not coming back, so let the writers create some new fish for the sea.
Low level reboots are super rare. The last time there was one to any significant degree was when Jobs came back to Apple and they built an entirely new ecosystem - both the hardware and the software - from the ground up. Everything was new. You couldn't run any of the old software and even a lot of old files were incompatible as well. So end-users were encouraged to start completely over, as well.
There's never really been anything to that level in entertainment. The thing is, I actually think Star Trek could be the one to pull it off. Because the only thing that needs to carry over is the adventurers seeking out new lifeforms and civilizations while going boldly where no one has gone before. Beyond that, there's literally a universe's worth of creative potential.
The problem is I don't know if there's anyone with the creative ambition and wherewithal matched with the necessary organizational disregard and contempt to even undertake something like that. I certainly can't think of anyone -- the Wachowski's maybe, but I don't even know if they're even into Star Trek.
So trim the fat it is. Ignore all the Cousin Neds and delete everything but the bare essentials and go for there. And it does even need to be one big system purge. It's possible to delete shit while going along and overwrite it with whatever new stuff the comes up. And then be willing to delete that when the time comes. This is how Marvel and DC works. This is how Star Wars works - once they figured out it was the best course of action. It's time for Star Trek to get on board too.
That sounds like what a pitch for TNG might have looked like.
Probably true. Unfortunately, that particular form didn't last far into development.
I can only wonder where we'd be had it come to fruition.
I can only wonder where we'd be had it come to fruition.
Is there some reason you can't just give the pictures in question to Cousin Ned and get them off your system?
James Bond was as close to a clean reboot we've seen outside of Batman and even in Bond's case they kept Judi Dench as M which just added to the confusion over whether or not the Daniel Craig movies were truly a new timeline for the character and thus disconnected from the first 20 films in the Eon franchise.
Trek won't ever get a complete reboot. The risks of fan backlash and disinterest are too great.
Trek won't ever get a complete reboot. The risks of fan backlash and disinterest are too great.
It would take an extraordinary amount of hubris for someone to think that their new vision of Star Trek is superior to the collective work of thousands of creative people done over the last 50 years.
Or just send them electronically via any number of file sharing methods.
So, they should always labor under the assumption it will always be second best? Might as well not produce at all.
Besides what does creative ambition have anything to do with whether or not to canon?
There's a lot of lazy garbage in the Trek franchise but it's still canon. Creativity and originality aren't prerequisites for something to be canon.
This is what's known as a false dichotomy.
Anyway...many people who insist that there should be no problem doing good work within the existing continuity will then turn around and insist that STD has done it. Which tells you something about their awareness in general.
Indeed. I'm just baffled by the notion that being creative means they think they're the best ever.
As the past few years or so have shown us "subverting expectations" and "being original" in a popular sci-fi or fantasy franchise doesn't always result in fans loving the final product. Just being "different" and trying something new is no guarantee it won't be disappointing or outright terrible.
There's no reason to replace something if it isn't better than what it is replacing.
It's art, not a wall. Eye of the beholder.
By the way: "Eye of the Beholder"? Terrible TNG episode. 
Yeah that they find it entertaining, and like the fact that it's continuing in a Star Trek storytelling tradition that's lasted since 1964.
Then you'll have people who over analyze it and somehow feel that it's crap, and after watching many iterations of Star Trek now feel Star Trek is crap in general too.
In other words they're no longer Star Trek fans or like what the Star Trek franchise produces and they want to be sure that everyone knows it, and try and change the minds of those who still enjoy what the franchise produces.
"The Eye of the Beholder," average TAS episode.By the way: "Eye of the Beholder"? Terrible TNG episode.
Similar threads
- Poll
