TOR.com argues episodic Star Trek would be better than story arcs!

[CJCade]

The absence of some level of serialization is highly unlikely. I, myself, would like to see a series arc, season arcs, multi-episode arcs, as well as stand alone episodes. The series arc, though, would have to be handled with a deft hand and have a real payoff at series end. And, if the series were extended, stick with the plan to end the arc just as planned and continue with just season arcs instead.

As far as expanding the universe? Yes on that front from me as well. Do something like what Marvel and Netflix is doing or what Disney is doing with Star Wars. Start with one show and then expand out with a variety of different ones exploring multiple aspects of the universe. With the habit of binge watching, I doubt the need to fear of over-saturation.

Just my opinion, but it will be interesting to see what they actually do.

 

[Tim Walker]

Different stories might best fit different lengths. Perhaps there could be a mixture in any given season of a new Trek, different stories of different lengths. There may be stand alone episodes, occasional two-parters, as well as arcs over several episodes (the mini-series within a series).

 

[Frontier]

I think they should go with the hybrid format DS9 modeled. IE, a little of both. Arcs overall, but also individual stories within.

I'm not sure I'd want a trek that is so story arc as say, House of Cards, for example.

But I also don't want one-off episodes that forget the previous entry.

 

[CJCade]

Multi-episode arcs? Perhaps Trek could experiment with an arc over three episodes. Conceivably you might eventually have an arc over 4-6 episodes, like early Dr. Who; a mini-series within a series.

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Shalashaska]

I want a serialized Trek show, it's 2015. Not that episodic is very outdated, but it's less attractive to new viewers and the best shows nowadays such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Daredevil, Better Call Saul, Narcos, House of Cards, Mr. Robot, they're all heavily serialized.

With this show being exclusive to CBS All-Access, an on-demand streaming service, there's really no reason to do an episodic format other than "tradition".

I don't mind a few standalone episodes sprinkled throughout each season, but I don't want a TOS "monster of the week" type of show.

Preference isn't factual. There remain series that are primarily episodic.

I'm presently watching Supergirl which feels largely episodic even though there are ongoing plotlines. A Trek series following that format could work quite well.

Supergirl is also getting terrible reviews, not the best example for an argument.

 

[Tim Walker]

Multi-episode arcs? Perhaps Trek could experiment with an arc over three episodes. Conceivably you might eventually have an arc over 4-6 episodes, like early Dr. Who; a mini-series within a series.

Exactly what I was thinking.

I'm thinking that a two-parter is roughly equivalent to a movie of moderate length.

Arcs over more episodes are mini-series.

 

[Shalashaska]

The absence of some level of serialization is highly unlikely. I, myself, would like to see a series arc, season arcs, multi-episode arcs, as well as stand alone episodes. The series arc, though, would have to be handled with a deft hand and have a real payoff at series end. And, if the series were extended, stick with the plan to end the arc just as planned and continue with just season arcs instead.

As far as expanding the universe? Yes on that front from me as well. Do something like what Marvel and Netflix is doing or what Disney is doing with Star Wars. Start with one show and then expand out with a variety of different ones exploring multiple aspects of the universe. With the habit of binge watching, I doubt the need to fear of over-saturation.

Just my opinion, but it will be interesting to see what they actually do.

That's what I'd like. Not House of Cards heavy-handed serialization (like another person said above), but multiple episode arcs that are all apart of a larger season arc, and then a light series arc that ties everything up together in the end. There'd be some stand-alone episodes sprinkled throughout each season too, so don't worry, we'll still get our 'Measure of a Man' and 'City on the Edge of Forever' episodes.

 

[XManRCJ]

Done in one's would be a welcome change from the multi-episode/season long arcs. I always liked it when characters like Q, Lwaxana, Admirals came back and you could see the main characters evolution by how they now interacted with the recurring characters. DS9 did the same, but it was stuck on telling the story of the Dominion War and couldn't tell stories about anything else without mentioning the DW. VOY was continually moving through space, so unless they had groupies following them to the Alpha Quad, they really were never going to have recurring actors.

Honestly, I liked that TNG could discover a new race one week, the next week be at a starbase finding out who killed the Klingon Ambassador, and after that be dealing with the ship trying to kill them, lol.

 

[Tim Walker]

Another possibility is an episode that is a sequel to a previous stand alone episode. "The Trouble With Tribbles" aired as a stand alone episode, the story wrapped up at the end of the episode. Yet the animated series re-visited the tribble theme in "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

Worked fairly well.

 

[Warped9]

I want a serialized Trek show, it's 2015. Not that episodic is very outdated, but it's less attractive to new viewers and the best shows nowadays such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Daredevil, Better Call Saul, Narcos, House of Cards, Mr. Robot, they're all heavily serialized.

With this show being exclusive to CBS All-Access, an on-demand streaming service, there's really no reason to do an episodic format other than "tradition".

I don't mind a few standalone episodes sprinkled throughout each season, but I don't want a TOS "monster of the week" type of show.

Preference isn't factual. There remain series that are primarily episodic.

I'm presently watching Supergirl which feels largely episodic even though there are ongoing plotlines. A Trek series following that format could work quite well.

Supergirl is also getting terrible reviews, not the best example for an argument.

That doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the format.

Frankly I'm somewhat arced out. The fact so many others are doing is a good reason why I would choose to do something different.

 

[XManRCJ]

Another possibility is an episode that is a sequel to a previous stand alone episode. "The Trouble With Tribbles" aired as a stand alone episode, the story wrapped up at the end of the episode. Yet the animated series re-visited the tribble theme in "More Tribbles, More Troubles".

Worked fairly well.

Just no "The Naked ______" lol

 

[Tim Walker]

.

.

Frankly I'm somewhat arced out. The fact so many others are doing is a good reason why I would choose to do something different.

Trek was originally set up for episodic. Which likely helped the show tell a variety of stories.

 

[Tim Walker]

Another possibility is an episode that is a sequel to a previous stand alone episode. .
.

Just no "The Naked ______" lol

Yeah, sometimes a sequel doesn't work very well.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: variable geometry

Given that Trek was originally episodic, pehaps a variation would work. In a given season there would be stand alones, two-parters, and arc driven mini-series.

 

[stardream]

I can see both sides of the argument. There is something to be said about the whole "THEY LEFT US WITH A MYSTERY MUST TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!' way of watching. Its exciting. Its something to talk about.

BUT then again I also like sitting down and just popping in an episode of whatever and not feel like I am being forced to watch several episodes in a row for it to make sense.

I myself am a fan of having at least one interesting mini-arc per season that consists of two or three episodes then capping it off with a two parter. Something similar to the Hirogen 'arc' during Season 4 of Voyager.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: variable geometry

I went back over the episode list for the fourth season (VOY). Looks like there were four episodes in which the Hirogen were prominent; a Hirogen also made a brief appearance in a somewhat earlier episode, Message in a Bottle. Basically an arc over four episodes, if you regard Message as more of a foreshadowing.

 

[Avro Arrow]

We've seen episodic Trek. I'm actually hoping the new series is full-on serialized. I've been hoping for a Trek series done in that style for a while now.

 

[eyeresist]

The article makes a good case for episodic Trek, but it's not going to happen, not purely episodic anyway. Apart from the fact that serial is the current model, there are numerous examples from the old series where something revolutionary would happen in one episode, only to never be referred to again, which feels silly and unreal.

The last basically episodic show I recall watching is House, where the premise was always same doctor, same hospital, different patient. You can't really apply that to a setting where the characters experience combat with a variety of antagonists, contract alien diseases, and repeatedly encounter phenomena that break the physics rulebook.

That said, I agree that the show should not demand close attention from episode to episode, to keep up with who has been kidnapped by who, how several disparate plot threads align (if they even do*), and where that new character came from. Certainly they shouldn't do that while trying to build an audience (ENT tried this strategy and got flambéed for it, but then some of those early standalones were pretty bad).

Alternating arc plot with standalones is one way to do it, but inevitably you get complaints about "filler episodes", and I have noticed that in this context one or the other type of episode tends to suffer.

Limited arcs is a better approach, e.g. a series of a dozen episodes, containing two to four arcs, plus an overall arc to connect the beginning to the end. The big changes are worked through slowly, not piled wham-bam on top of each other.

Whatever the choice, I don't envy the writers.


* One thing I would HATE to see is a soap opera style show following several unrelated story threads. Everything has to be connected, or else it's hard to care about everything as a whole.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: post by eyesresist

I think limited arcs might address a problem mentioned in the opening post-that one long arc blurs into a blob.

 

[eyeresist]

Limited arcs could still feel episodic; the trick is to have them occur in a natural-seeming. sequence.