TREK law show?

[RobertScorpio]

A TREK law show, with good writing (David E kelly style) would not attract every current star trek fan, and I think that would be a GOOD THING. I think a well written Star Trek law show, with serious adult subject matter, would appeal to a whole new group of people.

Star trek loves to explore complicated issues, in fact I think it's at its best when it does so. A Star Trek law show would allow them to press the envelope even more. Android rights, AI, same sex issues, human-alien rights, and many other issues could be explored in new ways..

Would it appeal to the zap-gun space battle crowd? Probably not. Would it appeal to the fans who love to talk about starship specs and Klingon tribal customs..nope. It would be yet another version of TREK, as DS9 was, that would have its own fans. And I think, if done well, would actually be a crossover hit.

What about some of you? What do you think?

Rob

 

[Wonderlust King]

Why do you insist on making multiple threads pitching the same bad idea.
A star trek law show would not only not attract new viewers, but it wouldn't attract most trekkies as well. A pilot would never even be approved by a network, because it would be a total waste of money.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

ala JAG?

The problem with this is that court martial/legal proceedings were always shown as being very rare occurrences within Starfleet. If there were enough occurrences to base an entire series on, what would that say about the conduct of your typical Starfleet officer?

You know how this could work though? As a series of books. Could work very well indeed I think.

 

[DEWLine]

I think that Isabella and Ingersoll gave a good accounting of how a "Samuel Cogley" series ought to go with their novel a couple of years back...

 

[cardinal biggles]

Star trek loves to explore complicated issues, in fact I think it's at its best when it does so. A Star Trek law show would allow them to press the envelope even more. Android rights, AI, same sex issues, human-alien rights, and many other issues could be explored in new ways..

There is nothing wrong with the basic premise of a starship traveling through the galaxy, sometimes on specific missions, other times just bumping into problems. I realize the TV audience of today is far more fragmentary than it was even just a decade ago, but the idea that you'll win more fans by doing Trek versions of other popular formats (others that get kicked around include Starfleet Medical — Trek + ER — or some sort of Trek + C.S.I. mash-up) sounds like a setup for more failure.

The traveling starship format allows you to occasionally delve into these other types of stories. Certainly there's been no shortage of Trek courtroom dramas — right off the top of my head, I can think of "Court-Martial," the new footage shot for "The Menagerie," "The Measure of a Man," "The Drumhead," "A Matter of Perspective," and "Author, Author." Nor has it restricted Trek from dealing with issues of rights ("The Measure of a Man" again) or medical ethics (the appropriately titled "Ethics"). So I don't see where restricting the storytelling capabilities of the writers would be a Good Thing here.

 

[Wowbagger]

Samuel T. Cogley: Attorney at Law.

Actually, I'd watch that show, because Sam Cogley rocks my world. But, then, I'm also part of the secret online cult of "Assignment: Earth" fans. So my taste is questionable.

I did genuinely enjoy The Case of the Colonist's Corpse when it was released a few years ago, but, other than the sheer win value, I didn't see any reason for it to be written as Star Trek.

Biggles, add "Nothing Human" to that list and you're golden.

 

[Lynx]

Why not?

It could work as a spinoff to a more conventional Trek series.

 

[HRHTheKING]

Not for me.

I generally don't like any concept like "ER...In Space" or "CSI....In Space".....or "The Practice...In Space".....or "NYPD Blue.....In Space"

Because all those shows can be done far better in a contemporary setting.

In a Star Trek concept, one can include stories about medicine, investigation, law and policing all within a larger Trek series.

 

[Cary L. Brown]

A TREK law show, with good writing (David E kelly style) would not attract every current star trek fan, and I think that would be a GOOD THING. I think a well written Star Trek law show, with serious adult subject matter, would appeal to a whole new group of people.

Star trek loves to explore complicated issues, in fact I think it's at its best when it does so. A Star Trek law show would allow them to press the envelope even more. Android rights, AI, same sex issues, human-alien rights, and many other issues could be explored in new ways..

Would it appeal to the zap-gun space battle crowd? Probably not. Would it appeal to the fans who love to talk about starship specs and Klingon tribal customs..nope. It would be yet another version of TREK, as DS9 was, that would have its own fans. And I think, if done well, would actually be a crossover hit.

What about some of you? What do you think?

Rob

Okay, let's look at this slightly differently... I know what you're trying to do (come up with fresh, outside-of-the-box Trek ideas), and I think it's a GOOD thing. Having something besides "hero in center seat flies ship to planet of the week" over and over is a great idea.

But look at it from a storyteller standpoint. Not "what does this bring to Star Trek" (which most audiences won't care about). But rather, look at it the opposite way...

"What does Star Trek bring to a Law show?"

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything... but I'm not the only person out there, and I'm missed things before.

SO... discuss.

What does "Star Trek"-ifying a law show bring to a law show that having it set in, say, BOSTON won't give ya?

 

[M'Sharak]

What does "Star Trek"-ifying a law show bring to a law show that having it set in, say, BOSTON won't give ya?

Century City and out in 9 episodes?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Not for me.

I generally don't like any concept like "ER...In Space" or "CSI....In Space".....or "The Practice...In Space".....or "NYPD Blue.....In Space"

Because all those shows can be done far better in a contemporary setting.

Exactly so.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

Century City and out in 9 episodes?

Wow. I never saw a single episode. Guess I was preoccupied with ENT.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLujGVdgjo

Looks great. Elizondo has a great deadpan delivery - he should have been the captain of some starship Enterprise.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLujGVdgjo

Looks great. Elizondo has a great deadpan delivery - he should have been the captain of some starship Enterprise.

Oh... my... god! Penis envy to a whole new level.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

"It'll be like when we went off the gold standard."

"I dunno, somebody oughta sue for something."

 

[Triskelion]

I like the idea of a Trek law show, I don't think there would be any dearth of possibilities. However, one factor to consider is that a law show will have to articulate a lot of the law and history that helped shape the Federation, and would probably be more related to contemporary issues, and as such, get overly political. Trek is not about contemporary society in that way.

But heck, I'd watch it. But add legalese to the technobabble, look out!

 

[RobertScorpio]

I like the idea of a Trek law show, I don't think there would be any dearth of possibilities. However, one factor to consider is that a law show will have to articulate a lot of the law and history that helped shape the Federation, and would probably be more related to contemporary issues, and as such, get overly political. Trek is not about contemporary society in that way.

But heck, I'd watch it. But add legalese to the technobabble, look out!

Trek is at its best when it takes an issue from out time and explores it in ways we learn from it...IMO. Thats why TOS was full of Viet Nam war 'messages' and cold war messages as well (Balance of Terror)..

They could explore interesting issues we face today, DNA cloning-enthenasia-A I rights- and really go deep into them in controversal ways at times..I think it would be a hit. And as I said, if it only appealed to half of the TREK crowd that would be a GOOD thing, if at the same time it appealed to a new demographic of fan. As i have said before, putting out a TREK show that appeals ONLY to the Trek fan base as it stands now would be the wrong..thing...to do.

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Temis the Vorta]

What does "Star Trek"-ifying a law show bring to a law show that having it set in, say, BOSTON won't give ya?

Century City and out in 9 episodes?

Yep. Aping other TV forms - lawyer show, doctor show, cop show - in a sci fi format is not such a hot idea. Maybe the cop show format can work, but the things that draw people to those formats come from the real-world details of actual law, medicine and forensics. Made-up details just wouldn't be the same.

They could explore interesting issues we face today, DNA cloning-enthenasia-A I rights

Check out The Eleventh Hour this fall for a take on whether that would work. My hunch is that that series will go the way of Century City, about as fast, for basically the same reason.

putting out a TREK show that appeals ONLY to the Trek fan base as it stands now would be the wrong..thing...to do

No, that's the right strategy, appealing to the Trek fanbase, both current diehards and those who might be Trek fans, if shown something reasonably good. That's maybe 15-20M tops. (The audience for a Trek movie will be much larger since it encompasses people who just want to see a slam-bang glitzy summer blockbuster and don't much care if it's Star Trek, Iron Man or Indiana Jones. But that market has nothing to do with the TV audience.)

The entertainment business is all about appealing to niches nowadays. If a Star Trek TV show can capture a decent chunk of the potential market, it will still be a small niche yet large enough to survive nicely even on a major network. But forget the American Idol mass market, to appeal to them you'd have to water down Star Trek to a point where it's no longer Star Trek and you don't need a market that large in order to survive anyway. Plus if you capture the sci fi fanbase, you can increase revenues thru paid downloads, DVD sales etc.

 

[RobertScorpio]

What does "Star Trek"-ifying a law show bring to a law show that having it set in, say, BOSTON won't give ya?

Century City and out in 9 episodes?

Yep. Aping other TV forms - lawyer show, doctor show, cop show - in a sci fi format is not such a hot idea. Maybe the cop show format can work, but the things that draw people to those formats come from the real-world details of actual law, medicine and forensics. Made-up details just wouldn't be the same.

They could explore interesting issues we face today, DNA cloning-enthenasia-A I rights

Check out The Eleventh Hour this fall for a take on whether that would work. My hunch is that that series will go the way of Century City, about as fast, for basically the same reason.

putting out a TREK show that appeals ONLY to the Trek fan base as it stands now would be the wrong..thing...to do

No, that's the right strategy, appealing to the Trek fanbase, both current diehards and those who might be Trek fans, if shown something reasonably good. That's maybe 15-20M tops. (The audience for a Trek movie will be much larger since it encompasses people who just want to see a slam-bang glitzy summer blockbuster and don't much care if it's Star Trek, Iron Man or Indiana Jones. But that market has nothing to do with the TV audience.)

The entertainment business is all about appealing to niches nowadays. If a Star Trek TV show can capture a decent chunk of the potential market, it will still be a small niche yet large enough to survive nicely even on a major network. But forget the American Idol mass market, to appeal to them you'd have to water down Star Trek to a point where it's no longer Star Trek and you don't need a market that large in order to survive anyway. Plus if you capture the sci fi fanbase, you can increase revenues thru paid downloads, DVD sales etc.

And that is where you and I do not agree. I think they absolutely need to water trek down (like, no more Technobabble) and appeal to a broader scope. BIONIC WOMAN is a perfect example. That show, according to my friends who watched it, was really good, and yet, it was axed because NBC saw the demos coming in.

Star Trek needs to try something new. Appealing to the fan base will get another TREK show that appeals to maybe 2 million people on a good week...those are terrible numbers for what is considered one of the more dynamic franchises...

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Well then, let's just not worry about future Trek shows. I mean, I'm not a stockholder in "Star Trek, Inc" (I know, I know, it's just a rhetorical flourish) so I really don't care whether they make another one unless it's going to be something I like.