What kind of Format would you like for future series/movies?

With the talk of a new Star Trek movie.. maybe.. in 2023 and Paramount + wanting to do Year round Trek. Had thoughts of how we could have Max trek..

So, to me, the Theatre movies should be an entry level for possible trek fans, appealing to the broadest base that would be a gateway to the trek series and other movies, most of which is on most of the streamers Netflix, Amazon, P+ possible others. The older movies were more pidgeoned holed for there potential base by not being made for wide appeal, the 2009 movie had the widest appeal, and honestly made Trek cool for awhile. We need more of that type of mass appeal movie. Now its Never going to be a Billion dollar movie franchise that CBS wants, even half a billion is a strech. 300-400 million is about the highest. so need to budget for that take in.

Now, looking at the MCU, we now have "Limited Series" like Wanda, Loki, Hawkeye, Falcon Punch. so 6-8 episodes, with some only having 1 season just to tell a long story. I want that kind of series on P+ for Trek, a 1 shot 6-8 episode ( or however long the story takes to tell) short series that tells a whole story. Example, say a romulan war series, on 1 ship, maybe doing a rogue 1 story where they are heroes, but they go down with the ship at the end. Or just generally tell stories in the timeline that are worth telling but don't need a whole series, but longer than a movie. Or just lump it in a title of Anthology series that have multiple seasons but deal with different stories each season.

Speaking of movies, would love some TV movies on P+, again, if the story is good for a movie, but have a limited audience that wouldn't warrant a theatre release. 2 hours, 20-30 million budget or so, can be done. Maybe even do a "Premiere" tier like Disney where you pay an extra 10 bucks if they need the money?

So, Thoughts on limited series and tv movies or others?

 

Any format is fine if it's good

 

I think more of this style would do well.

 

Does anyone see Star Wars restricting themselves as to what format they use to tell their stories? Or MCU? They are using all of them. I’m not sure why Trek would not follow their example and have a variety of options.

But, doesn’t it kind of depend on what the story is, and if it has mass appeal?

A film adaptation of Beneath the Raptor’s Wings & To Brave the Storm combined is a 3 hour epic; one that could be released in theatres, but could also be released on Paramount +. But an anthology series about the Romulan War could be half hour episodes, or simple short films of less than 15 min.

Rise of the Federation is a miniseries limited event, that gets hyped and promoted like “Broken Bow”. It could be adapted as a trilogy of films for theatre release, but mass appeal is a factor, because its ENT.

A subsequent Federation political drama - set in any time period - is a 1 hour regular series, that could have a tv movie at some point if the right story was developed. If it’s a dramedy, then its a half hour regular series & a tv movie.

The thing is I don’t know what stories Trek wants to tell right now. We have Disco, PIC, LD, SNW, and a planned S31 show. While fans want follow ups on prime universe characters, and gaps such as the Romulan War and the Lost Era to be filled. Yet, we would have never gotten TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT if the focus was still on the TOS era. And we won't get new ideas if the focus remains on the TNG era.

 

Does it really matter if it's good story telling?

The buigger question is what makes a good stroy? That can vary greatly from person to person.

 

Whatever format works the best for the story they want to tell. Basically, the story should drive the format, rather than the format driving the story.

Like, say someone pitches Kurtzman a good story. It might be work best as a Short Trek, a standalone episode, a feature-length, a miniseries/limited series, etc. Just leave it at that and don't try and stretch it across a 13-episode arc if there aren't 13 episodes of story to tell.

As I've said in the past, Ideally I'd like to see one additional series somewhat akin to Short Treks which allows for anthology-style storytelling in the Trekverse, just to see fan response to many different sorts of stories. Arguably writing Calypso is what got Chabon involved in Picard (which wouldn't have happened without him), and the three Pike short treks acted as something of a testing bed for Strange New Worlds.

 

Regular TV Series, 13 episodes.

Since DSC & PIC are serialized and LD & SNW are episodic, I see the episodic vs. serialized debate as a dead issue. They're going to do both. I prefer serialized, but I think there's room for both.

 

13's the regular now?

 

I want it as a holo-novel. Why do I want it as a holo-novel? Because then Holodecks are a thing

 

I do wonder if it's possible to make Star Trek a billion dollar franchise.

Meaning, how much do you have to change Star Trek in order to make it a billion dollar franchise? Is the concept itself limited in it's appeal, or is it just a function of story?

It's most likely the latter, but I guess the real trick is finding that billion take on the concept.

Anyway, I vote all of the above. Do it all.

Also, I'm guessing Lower Decks in August will be the start of the year-round, or "every quarter" Star Trek going forward that they talked about in February.

I hope so because I'm getting a little bored.

 

I'll take all of them...but I'd LOVE to see Paramount+ do some "Long Treks" as opposed to "Short Treks," and by that I mean a short mini-series or a 2-hour special that is a unique slice of Trek (not directly associated with the current series) that would be interesting and engaging.

You heard rumors about N. Meyer's "Khan in Exile" miniseries. Maybe a "Lorca" story. Whatever...something along those lines that you could develop and release without having to commit to a large series that may or may not resonate with people. I think there's a lot of upside to an anthology of "TV movie" type productions...maybe 1-2 per year.

 

I agree 100%. I think the reason they don't dive in on this is the costs associated with it. It's easier to build sets, digital models, design costumes, etc for a long-running series rather than a 1-and-done. BUT, that said....I think it's a fantastic idea and I'd love it if they could find some way to make it happen. Maybe sell the "one-of" stories to Netflix or whatever.

 

Format? Betamax or nothing
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But seriously folks, if the writing can live up to it, 12+ episodes per season so it can have the inevitable arc,
but still have room for a character episode or two.

Orphan Black did 5 seasons @ 10 episodes per and was amazingly well done. The Mandalorian and (so far) 3 MCU series of varying lengths have also been great.

 

I am in the "all of the above" category. I do prefer the shows be 6-12 episodes max. Some episodic, some with arcs. TV and theatrical films, big budget and small. Different centuries, different timelines, and different production teams/showrunners with the freedom to tell their stories. No Woke horsepoop. That garbage has poisoned enough shows and movies throughout the whole industry already.

 

4:3 and black and white. Zach Snyder the shit out of it.

 

Who's snapping whose neck?

 

All and a continuation of Short Treks including 1 off episodes where warranted. I like the random episode themes that don't fit into a season's story line aspect of Short Treks and still think it would be the best way to follow up on past characters without shoehorning them into a story in a current series.

I am really curious to see how a movie that is not based on a known crew would look and perform.

Marvel's interwoven universe would be very hard to replicate with Trek. The short series there serve a similar function as what a Short Trek or small TV movie could do, except with Marvel they are always setting up some larger plot elements. It would take a lot of planning and the development of a lot of characters to be able to do something at that scale in Trek.

 

They could have a Master Plan with "phases" for character, ship, crew introductions, with solo and crossover stories. I don't know who would be the right people to develop it. Helps Marvel that you have an immense, sprawling universe already in place to draw from. What differs from the established Trek Verse is that a Marvel movie "introduces" characters to the MCU, but they already have had decades of development in Marvel.

A movie can succeed without a known crew. The story, the quality, the actors can sell it.

 

I remember some "Series" that was like a 2 minute comerical, that was new each week, could do something similar for a "Short Trek" each week, and be 10-15 minutes long, or however long to convey the story, and build up to an hour episode at the end of the run.
Example:
Romulan war would do well, show 1 ship in the war, and in 15 minutes tell its story, then at the end, destroy the ship and crew perishes. then do a romulan ship, same. not beholden to any length of time, do 15 minutes, cliffhanger, next episode resolve it, or resolve it latter. Or more of a Federation News Network where a reporter is imbedded on the ship, reporting, then they go into battle. Your not stuck with 1 crew, you can tell the whole war from multiple perspectives. Like show someone on Earth when the romulans attack Earth, see how they survive.

 

There's lots of ways you could keep a budget relatively low. Off the top of my head:

• Episodes that take place entirely on shuttlecraft, or even lifepods (I've seen some shorts work wonders with a single character stranded somewhere).
• "Away mission" episodes which use only location shooting (saving the need for extensive sets, and maybe keeping props/costumes to a minimum).
• More generally, good drama can come out of two people talking in a room, as a lot of classic Trek showcases.