why is there no more talk of a new star trek tv series?

[Danger Ace]

Here's the lowdown regarding Trek's ownership. There was a time in which Star Trek was wholly owned by Paramount (which in turn, was owned by Viacom). But that ended in 2006 when Viacom and its sister/rival company, CBS, were separated and Paramount was divided between them. Viacom got Paramount Pictures, while what was formerly Paramount Television (which includes Star Trek in all its various incarnations) eventually became the property of CBS. Paramount continues to make Star Trek movies, but only under license from CBS (Paramount pays CBS for the use of Star Trek). CBS is the ultimate owner of Trek and any new TV series is theirs to say, not Paramount or anyone else.

The current relationship between CBS and Viacom is like a separated couple that underwent a very messy divorce. CBS got full custody of Star Trek and Paramount got visiting rights. They don't really get along that well, otherwise as feuding and infighting was among the reasons why CBS and Viacom were separated.

Great info. Out of curiosity, do you know if that restructing was further fallout from the disasterous AOL/Time-Warner merger (man, that one was really f'ed up and I know took a really long time to recover from)?

 

[Harvey]

What would AOL-Time Warner have to do with Viacom?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Here's the lowdown regarding Trek's ownership. There was a time in which Star Trek was wholly owned by Paramount (which in turn, was owned by Viacom). But that ended in 2006 when Viacom and its sister/rival company, CBS, were separated and Paramount was divided between them. Viacom got Paramount Pictures, while what was formerly Paramount Television (which includes Star Trek in all its various incarnations) eventually became the property of CBS. Paramount continues to make Star Trek movies, but only under license from CBS (Paramount pays CBS for the use of Star Trek). CBS is the ultimate owner of Trek and any new TV series is theirs to say, not Paramount or anyone else.

The current relationship between CBS and Viacom is like a separated couple that underwent a very messy divorce. CBS got full custody of Star Trek and Paramount got visiting rights. They don't really get along that well, otherwise as feuding and infighting was among the reasons why CBS and Viacom were separated.

Great info. Out of curiosity, do you know if that restructing was further fallout from the disasterous AOL/Time-Warner merger (man, that one was really f'ed up and I know took a really long time to recover from)?

Nah, that was something between AOL and Time-Warner, the CBS and Viacom split was totally different and unrelated (different companies from the get-go).

 

[Shazenab]

My only hope fora returning Star Trek series is that it's good. If a new series is rushed into production (unlikely, I know) off the back of the films and ends up being horrendous then that'll solidify the death of the franchise. I'd rather wait far longer for a good trek show that'll run a number of years.

 

[Mysterion]

The "Our stuff is better than Their stuff" syndrome.

Or as another poster once put it succinctly:

"My nostalgia trumps your nostalgia."

Nostalgia just ain't what it used to be.

 

[Anji]

Yeah, the situation as to who owns the rights is a mess.

But the we still need someone with enough creative vision to lead the franchise...and dudes, I don't see anyone able to do that.

And that includes JJ.

 

[Nerys Myk]

What about the rights is a mess? CBS owns Star Trek. Paramount has the license to make Star Trek movies.

 

[mlk]

I'm sure this has already been written but here goes:

The TV audience today is not the same as it was in the 70s, 80s or even 90s. The audience today needs something that is intelligent, not full of politically correct cliches etc etc.

I think if DS9 had been made today(Or Babylon 5) it had been a bigger success than it was because today the audience demands story arcs and plausible plots that aren't rediculous.

 

[Belz...]

I love the gems of classical cinema but I have never seen a great TV show from the past. Either I am ignorant or they are simply pouring more money and creative juices into TV nowadays.

Really? You don't think there are any great TV shows from the past?

If we just want to stick to the science fiction genre, I would submit Twilight Zone as one example. Frankly, I'd also offer TOS. For all it's cheesy 60's goodness, there's a lot of real high-quality storytelling in there.

Also Mission: Impossible.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm sure this has already been written but here goes:

The TV audience today is not the same as it was in the 70s, 80s or even 90s. The audience today needs something that is intelligent, not full of politically correct cliches etc etc.

I think if DS9 had been made today(Or Babylon 5) it had been a bigger success than it was because today the audience demands story arcs and plausible plots that aren't rediculous.

Nah, they just want to be entertained. Sometimes its just a singing competition. Other times it might be what amounts to a Soap Opera with zombies. No one cares if the shows contain "politically correct cliches" or if the plots are "plausible". Sometimes the more ridiculous, the better.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

DS9 was behind the times relative to most first class TV drama in terms of style and content in the early 90s; it wouldn't do better now.

 

[dulcimer47]

I'm sure this has already been written but here goes:

The TV audience today is not the same as it was in the 70s, 80s or even 90s. The audience today needs something that is intelligent, not full of politically correct cliches etc etc.

I think if DS9 had been made today(Or Babylon 5) it had been a bigger success than it was because today the audience demands story arcs and plausible plots that aren't rediculous.

I agree.

Television is actually the medium where the best work is being done today. There is just too much runtime, even a 13-episode season, to get away with just using explosions and CGI - there needs to be characters and a story that is interesting.

Now, I should qualify that by saying cable television - basic cable, premium cable, even Netflix, but the over-the-air networks produce almost nothing of value.

Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Sons of Anarchy
etc.

 

[xortex]

Exploration is not really a specific job people can identify with anymore. It has to resonate with the general populace and with women. 24 resonated with women because of the character's journey and arc which was in conflict with itself.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Exploration is not really a specific job people can identify with anymore. It has to resonate with the general populace and with women.

In TOS and TNG, exploration was by no means limited to just new worlds and astronomical phenomena, it also included investigating anything our heroes came upon that wasn't quite right. That enabled them to also seek out and deal with threats to Earth/Federation, something amiss on a Federation member world or colony, or a Starfleet/civilian effort gone south, etc.--anything unusual that might require our heroes to take a look and see what's going on or what's wrong.

In a real sense, the various CSI and Law & Order shows are exploration shows, but they explore murders and other crimes.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Television is actually the medium where the best work is being done today.

As far as writing is concerned, this is true.

 

[Elim Garakov]

I mean any Star trek show has to compete against a lot of stuff on TV although of they re will there a way.

 

[Jadin]

Television is actually the medium where the best work is being done today.

As far as writing is concerned, this is true.

Really? I watched two episodes of Defiance last week and the first Falling Skies episode of the the new season. I rather feel there's now enough good sci-fi on TV these days...

 

[DCR]

Television is actually the medium where the best work is being done today.

As far as writing is concerned, this is true.

Really? I watched two episodes of Defiance last week and the first Falling Skies episode of the the new season. I rather feel there's now enough good sci-fi on TV these days...

Unfortunately for me, no matter how good these shows are, they aren't the kind of SF I want to see on TV. I don't want to see an invaded Earth, I want to see something set in space, and these shows don't scratch that itch.

 

[AviTrek]

As far as writing is concerned, this is true.

Really? I watched two episodes of Defiance last week and the first Falling Skies episode of the the new season. I rather feel there's now enough good sci-fi on TV these days...

Unfortunately for me, no matter how good these shows are, they aren't the kind of SF I want to see on TV. I don't want to see an invaded Earth, I want to see something set in space, and these shows don't scratch that itch.

Thank you for admitting it. Too often fans complain about not enough science fiction on TV, and what they really mean is, "not enough space opera". It's undeniable that there aren't a lot of space operas on TV, but that doesn't mean that there is no science fiction on tv.

 

[DCR]

Really? I watched two episodes of Defiance last week and the first Falling Skies episode of the the new season. I rather feel there's now enough good sci-fi on TV these days...

Unfortunately for me, no matter how good these shows are, they aren't the kind of SF I want to see on TV. I don't want to see an invaded Earth, I want to see something set in space, and these shows don't scratch that itch.

Thank you for admitting it. Too often fans complain about not enough science fiction on TV, and what they really mean is, "not enough space opera". It's undeniable that there aren't a lot of space operas on TV, but that doesn't mean that there is no science fiction on tv.

Of course I'll admit it. I don't want people pointing at shows that aren't what I want at all, and saying "see, you got your wish!"

I'm not saying what we have now is bad, just that it's not what I'm looking for as a viewer.