"The Current Star Trek Renaissance" from New Scientist

[RAMA]

My personal favourite of the crop of new series is Star Trek: Discovery, which kicked off in 2017. Discovery was the first new Star Trek TV series since Star Trek: Enterprise ended in 2005. It centres around science specialist Michael Burnham, played brilliantly by Sonequa Martin-Green. Burnham is largely sombre and angst-ridden, and yet you end up not only rooting for her but caring about her.

Well obviously with new shows proliferating, that alone would be a "renaissance", but of course Discovery started it all, paved a path for success, showed tremendous popularity, and anchored a whole streaming platform.

She continues:

All these new shows harness the very best modern effects and all the narrative tricks learned from the masters of binge-watchable TV, and the Star Trek franchise has definitely come a long way since The Man Trap.

But the latest shows remain, indubitably, Star Trek. At their heart, there is still a bunch of people in tight uniforms, on a big spaceship, visiting alien worlds and taking with them Star Trek‘s particular brand of tolerance and hope. What’s not to like about that?

Right on Emily, right on.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/articl...antastic-star-trek-renaissance/#ixzz6XPv8gLf9

RAMA

 

[NCC-73515]

yet you end up not only rooting for her but caring about her.

Sadly, nope.

showed tremendous popularity

It's certainly popular with some old fans and many new fans, but I'm not sure how tremendously XD

 

[fireproof78]

Burnham is largely sombre and angst-ridden, and yet you end up not only rooting for her but caring about her.

That's pretty well put, yes.

 

[RAMA]

Well the stats don't lie, so it remains so.

RAMA

Sadly, nope.


It's certainly popular with some old fans and many new fans, but I'm not sure how tremendously XD

 

[Turtletrekker]

Sadly, nope.

Actually, yup.

It's certainly popular with some old fans and many new fans, but I'm not sure how tremendously XD

Parrott Analytics places demand for the show in the upper 3% of all shows on the air and 21.5% above the average show and the top 1% for all dramas.. Sounds pretty tremendous to me.

https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/star-trek-discovery-cbs-all-access#:~:text=Parrot Analytics has found that,have this level of demand.

 

[Xerxus]

Actually, yup.


Parrott Analytics places demand for the show in the upper 3% of all shows on the air and 21.5% above the average show and the top 1% for all dramas.. Sounds pretty tremendous to me.

https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/star-trek-discovery-cbs-all-access#:~:text=Parrot Analytics has found that,have this level of demand.

I would not trust Parrot Analytics which tracks based on social media mentions.

A show like The 100 is also ranked very highly by their metrics, but has abysmal viewership numbers.

https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/the-100-the-cw

ViacomCBS has all the metrics they need based on subscriber and viewer numbers. That they keep making shows suggests that they're very happy with how the shows are doing.

 

[RAMA]

Parrots numbers track "buzz", if you read closely, they also track downloads and views and they mathematically weight these over social media reactions (they also weight reactions on sites and sources that are preferential to the topic, such as ST groups on Facebook lower than those in the wild)...in other words, all those people who think illegally downloading Trek hurts CBS are actually helping CBS International set rates to license the show, because they are officially partnered with Parrot to provide them 3rd party, independent numbers.

I would say Parrot is a more accurate reflection of the total gamut of reaction to a show, over and above just pure viewership numbers, and a much better gauge of how a show is doing in the entire world (as well as their numbers being usable regardless of location or time).

RAMA

I would not trust Parrot Analytics which tracks based on social media mentions.

A show like The 100 is also ranked very highly by their metrics, but has abysmal viewership numbers.

https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/the-100-the-cw

ViacomCBS has all the metrics they need based on subscriber and viewer numbers. That they keep making shows suggests that they're very happy with how the shows are doing.

 

[Charles Phipps]

CBS keeps making more Star Trek shows because, and this is a very cynical but I believe accurate take, the only thing anyone watches on CBS All-Access is Star Trek, Love Island, and the Good Fight. It's been a money maker for them because people are paying directly to see their prestige television show. No, it doesn't have the buzz of Game of Thrones but it has definitely done its job for them.

Internet hate culture also doesn't work like many trolls online think. It doesn't actually dissuade people from seeing the shows they hate on but serves as publicity. The sheer irony is as much as the show gets hate on by jerks online, those jerks online still seem to be watching it. Perhaps even to complain.

And CBS don't care if they hate it. They just care if they're subscribing and watching.

But I DO think the vast majority of people are like my wife and I who watch the show and like it unironically.

 

[Mudd]

Parrot Analytics is a con game.

And of course stats lie. Using statistics to lie to the credulous is one of the things they're best for.

STD doesn't have a thing to do with science.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Is one short article filled with a couple of arbitrary anecdotes and pointless platitudes even worth its own thread?

 

[RAMA]

Parrot Analytics is a con game.

And of course stats lie. Using statistics to lie to the credulous is one of the things they're best for.

STD doesn't have a thing to do with science.

Actually no, its a better, more varied source of popularity data...real data, real number crunching...not the old fashioned Neilson stuff that's not even accurate. You continually argue against facts on here and substitute lots of wishful thinking, but no worries, I'll continue to supply the former.

RAMA

 

[Tenacity]

nd yet you end up not only rooting for her but caring about her

This varies wildly amongst the fan base. if anything the excessive focus on Burnham hurts the series.

tracks based on social media mentions

Social media? Discount anything they have to say.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Actually no, its a better, more varied source of popularity data...real data, real number crunching...not the old fashioned Neilson stuff that's not even accurate. You continually argue against facts on here and substitute lots of wishful thinking, but no worries, I'll continue to supply the former.

RAMA

My hero. And I agree that the poster in question is so full of shit that he needs to be flushed.

 

[Paul755]

Burnham is largely sombre and angst-ridden, and yet you end up not only rooting for her but caring about her.

I like Martin-Green but this is pretty much where the opinion piece/article loses me.

 

[fireproof78]

Internet hate culture also doesn't work like many trolls online think. It doesn't actually dissuade people from seeing the shows they hate on but serves as publicity. The sheer irony is as much as the show gets hate on by jerks online, those jerks online still seem to be watching it. Perhaps even to complain.

And CBS don't care if they hate it. They just care if they're subscribing and watching.

Quite right on both counts. Reminds me of when the Catholic Church condemned the film "The Last Temptation of Christ" and that caused more Catholics to go watch it.

 

[Tim Thomason]

CBS keeps making more Star Trek shows because, and this is a very cynical but I believe accurate take, the only thing anyone watches on CBS All-Access is Star Trek, Love Island, and the Good Fight. It's been a money maker for them because people are paying directly to see their prestige television show. No, it doesn't have the buzz of Game of Thrones but it has definitely done its job for them.

Internet hate culture also doesn't work like many trolls online think. It doesn't actually dissuade people from seeing the shows they hate on but serves as publicity. The sheer irony is as much as the show gets hate on by jerks online, those jerks online still seem to be watching it. Perhaps even to complain.

And CBS don't care if they hate it. They just care if they're subscribing and watching.

But I DO think the vast majority of people are like my wife and I who watch the show and like it unironically.

What's crazy is that some of these guys are thriving off of their hate for the latest Star Trek. If Star Trek wasn't so successful, they would be out of a job (YouTube views dwindle away and lost revenue).

 

[Charles Phipps]

What's crazy is that some of these guys are thriving off of their hate for the latest Star Trek. If Star Trek wasn't so successful, they would be out of a job (YouTube views dwindle away and lost revenue).

It's a living.