I have to admit that I've never understood the hate certain elements of the fandom have towards Alex Kurtzman.
Yes, Discovery turned out to be a rather controversial show. People either seem to love it or hate it, and that seems to be the number one source of hatred directed at Kurtzman.
The thing is, from what I understand, by most accounts it was Bryan Fuller's ideas that proved to be the most controversial elements of the series. Things like the Klingon redesign, the rule about no cylindrical nacelles, the whole Klingon War, etc. These were supposedly all part of Bryan Fuller's concept for the show, and by the time he left, too much time and money had been spent for them to reverse course.
By season 2, there were clear efforts by Kurtzman to "fix" the series, which was again hindered by more behind the scenes drama by showrunners Berg and Harberts being fired for alleged inappropriate behavior towards the writers.
It was Kurtzman putting Michelle Paradise in charge that finally seemed to put the series on track, and while moving to the distant future had its ups and downs, the next 3 years were decent enough Star Trek.
So there's Discovery out of the way. The show that Kurtzman was heavily involved in but not entirely to blame for how it turned out.
Beyond that, in terms of controversial shows, we have Picard, another show that certainly had a decent enough first season, even if didn't stick the landing. It had a second season that was heavily hindered by Covid 19, and a third season that while I didn't really enjoy, clearly haits s fans.
I also won't pay any mind to the nonsensical notion that the third season was made with virtually zero involvement of Kurtzman. That's not how shows are made, and it certainly wasn't some valiant effort by Terry Matalas to make a series in spite of Alex Kurtzman.
Moving beyond the controversial series, we have shows like Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy. Three series with seemingly near universal praise. Granted, two of those three have ended, with Lower Decks getting five years and Prodigy getting two. Some seem to blame Kurtzman for the shows getting the axe, but I believe that decision was made far above his head.
Can't judge Section 31 or Academy yet as I haven't seen them, but Academy has certainly assembled one of the most star studded cast we've seen in a Trek production. Hopefully that bodes well.
So yeah, why the intense vitriol directed towards Kurtzman? And yes I do remember that it's pretty much a Trekkie tradition to always hate the people in charge, but this still feels like it goes beyond that.
Not a single month goes by that you don't hear wishful rumors of him being fired. There are countless podcast put out by some of the more negative elements of the fandom that rather disgustingly wish him harm or even death.
I don't understand it. Especially when his track record hasn't been especially bad, at least in my opinion. Yes a couple shows have been controversial. But some shows have been genuinely excellent. I personally put Strange New Worlds as being some of the best Star Trek ever made, and I have Alex Kurtzman to thank for that as he was the one who brought in Akiva Goldsman. Same for all those fans of Picard season 3. Was it not Kurtzman who hired Terry Matalas?
I actually kind of think he's done an all right job and I hope he stays in charge for many years to come.
Thoughts?
Yes, Discovery turned out to be a rather controversial show. People either seem to love it or hate it, and that seems to be the number one source of hatred directed at Kurtzman.
The thing is, from what I understand, by most accounts it was Bryan Fuller's ideas that proved to be the most controversial elements of the series. Things like the Klingon redesign, the rule about no cylindrical nacelles, the whole Klingon War, etc. These were supposedly all part of Bryan Fuller's concept for the show, and by the time he left, too much time and money had been spent for them to reverse course.
By season 2, there were clear efforts by Kurtzman to "fix" the series, which was again hindered by more behind the scenes drama by showrunners Berg and Harberts being fired for alleged inappropriate behavior towards the writers.
It was Kurtzman putting Michelle Paradise in charge that finally seemed to put the series on track, and while moving to the distant future had its ups and downs, the next 3 years were decent enough Star Trek.
So there's Discovery out of the way. The show that Kurtzman was heavily involved in but not entirely to blame for how it turned out.
Beyond that, in terms of controversial shows, we have Picard, another show that certainly had a decent enough first season, even if didn't stick the landing. It had a second season that was heavily hindered by Covid 19, and a third season that while I didn't really enjoy, clearly haits s fans.
I also won't pay any mind to the nonsensical notion that the third season was made with virtually zero involvement of Kurtzman. That's not how shows are made, and it certainly wasn't some valiant effort by Terry Matalas to make a series in spite of Alex Kurtzman.
Moving beyond the controversial series, we have shows like Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks and Prodigy. Three series with seemingly near universal praise. Granted, two of those three have ended, with Lower Decks getting five years and Prodigy getting two. Some seem to blame Kurtzman for the shows getting the axe, but I believe that decision was made far above his head.
Can't judge Section 31 or Academy yet as I haven't seen them, but Academy has certainly assembled one of the most star studded cast we've seen in a Trek production. Hopefully that bodes well.
So yeah, why the intense vitriol directed towards Kurtzman? And yes I do remember that it's pretty much a Trekkie tradition to always hate the people in charge, but this still feels like it goes beyond that.
Not a single month goes by that you don't hear wishful rumors of him being fired. There are countless podcast put out by some of the more negative elements of the fandom that rather disgustingly wish him harm or even death.
I don't understand it. Especially when his track record hasn't been especially bad, at least in my opinion. Yes a couple shows have been controversial. But some shows have been genuinely excellent. I personally put Strange New Worlds as being some of the best Star Trek ever made, and I have Alex Kurtzman to thank for that as he was the one who brought in Akiva Goldsman. Same for all those fans of Picard season 3. Was it not Kurtzman who hired Terry Matalas?
I actually kind of think he's done an all right job and I hope he stays in charge for many years to come.
Thoughts?
