Will TOS maintain its legendary status as Trek fandom gets younger?

[tonk'peh]

I think it's inevitable that as time passes interest in TOS is fading somewhat- it's never going to have the same hype it had in the 70s/80s. And it seems like for a large proportion of the fandom TNG is the 'definitive' Trek because that's what they grew up with.

That being said I'm 25 (...so not particularly young, but definitely too young to have watched TOS when it first aired), watched TOS for the first time earlier this year and fell absolutely head over heels. I don't find it cheesy or particularly dated at all. The sexism is probably the aspect that's aged the worst, but I'm able to accept it as a product of its time and doesn't dampen my enjoyment that much (though I don't blame people who can't do the same). I'm watching TNG now and I like it but I don't think anything will beat TOS for me.

It makes me kind of sad how many people dismiss TOS without really giving it a chance. I think a lot of people unfortunately maybe just aren't used to old movies/tv and can't get over the stylistic differences.

I do think availability on streaming services has a big impact on keeping older shows alive/introducing them to a new audience, I don't think I would have gotten around to TOS if wasn't on Netflix.

 

[The Wormhole]

I think a lot of people unfortunately maybe just aren't used to old movies/tv and can't get over the stylistic differences.

Old shows in general can have pacing issues which can make the episodes feel like they're dragging. And I feel that way about shows from the 90s, despite having grown up in that decade. I remember reading an online review about the original Walker Texas Ranger describing the show in a way which can be apt about a lot of shows from the 90s or earlier. "It feels like it's going in slow motion, even when it's not."

 

[rachelstellar]

It was impossible to predict, I believe. But the guys always have interesting observations, as I noticed.

 

[MikHutch]

Possibly unpopular opinion: this thread seems weirdly anti TNG. I don't get it

TOS is great but like it's been pointed out: it has issues, some of which can't be waived away as "kids these days"

I actually feel TOS is in some ways too omnipresent as the view of Star Trek in the general audience's minds despite TNG and DS9 doing so much to expand on the actual Star Trek universe. Those series were actually able to do a lot of TOS unfortunately wasn't able to. Now we're getting "updated" TOS-era content via DSC and AND.

I don't think Kirk and Spock will disappear because they're still the casuals go to idea of ST, with Picard in 3rd. Tbh, the continuation of the Berman era Trek needs more support

 

[herofhyrule]

What do you mean "more support"? We've already had three post-TNG series (Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy), and fans are clamouring for a fourth (Legacy).

 

[MikHutch]

What do you mean "more support"? We've already had three post-TNG series (Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy), and fans are clamouring for a fourth (Legacy).

Uh, Legacy is more support but it's not confirmed, and Prodigy just got cancelled.

I mean, how much of DS9 is synonymous with ST in pop culture despite how much it did to flesh Star Trek out?

 

[herofhyrule]

Uh, Legacy is more support but it's not confirmed, and Prodigy just got cancelled.

I mean, how much of DS9 is synonymous with ST in pop culture despite how much it did to flesh Star Trek out?

And Discovery also just got cancelled.

 

[MikHutch]

And Discovery also just got cancelled.

True although that was after it moved to the 32nd century.

Anyways, all I'm saying is anyone fretting over TOS disappearing from the common view of ST has little to worry about IMO. In a sense ST moved on from that era a while ago. Nostalgia is just bankable for the tv/film business

 

[Amaris]

It's not even maintaining its legendary status with me. Not to say I don't love TOS, but I am able to enjoy it while keeping it in context and in its own time, and I'm a Trek fan of 39 years.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I mean, how much of DS9 is synonymous with ST in pop culture despite how much it did to flesh Star Trek out?

It is not synonymous with ST in popular culture. Nothing from DS9 has transcended its in-universe fandom (whatever size that might be) to resonate with average people around the world. Only TOS achieved that. Yes, I'm also saying an image of Stewart or Frakes in costume will still draw blanks on the faces of most people on any city street.

 

[herofhyrule]

It's virtually always the original that makes the biggest impact. Take Star Wars. Almost everyone knows Darth Vader and the Death Star, but how many people know Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn?

 

[MikHutch]

Uh, that's exactly my point.

 

[VSAFaculty]

I’ve been a TOS fan and only a TOS fan for over 50 years. I don’t expect that the Trek I love will survive many more years. There have been so many series and so much destruction of original canon by what has come after that what exists now feels like huge mess to me.

A Trekker’s life seemed so much simpler in the 70’s and 80’s. There was a kind of unity. Hard to explain.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[Amaris]

It's virtually always the original that makes the biggest impact. Take Star Wars. Almost everyone knows Darth Vader and the Death Star, but how many people know Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn?

A bunch of people, honestly, because 24 years have passed between Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and today. That's a generation of 30+ year olds who have Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul as their own Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. As strong and popular as the original Star Wars film was, its characters are making way for new heroes and villains that people will find just as memorable.

There are people who say "give me Star Trek the way it used to be, back with Picard, Sisko, and Janeway!" and they say it like you might say "give me Star Trek when it was Kirk, Spock, and McCoy!"

I'm only 43, and I know that there are shows that came out when I had a full time job that full grown adults with full time jobs remember watching when they were kids, and they talk about it like many of us do the 80s and 70s.

My point is just because you hold the older stuff more surely than you do the newer stuff, be aware that the newer stuff is just as powerful to a new generation of people, no matter how much you try to get people to understand it wasn't the first. At some point, the first no longer matters the way it did, and even when they do take notice, they may create new versions of those characters, just as they're doing now.

Just wait until they come out with a next generation The Next Generation. That should be fun.

 

[drt]

Just wait until they come out with a next generation The Next Generation. That should be fun.

I sometimes think the folks that complain the loudest about modern Trek “wrecking canon” are more concerned that eventually parts of the Berman-era will be overwritten, since TNG+ changed tons of continuity from TOS and that doesn’t seem to bother them all that much.

 

[herofhyrule]

I’ve been a TOS fan and only a TOS fan for over 50 years. I don’t expect that the Trek I love will survive many more years. There have been so many series and so much destruction of original canon by what has come after that what exists now feels like huge mess to me.

A Trekker’s life seemed so much simpler in the 70’s and 80’s. There was a kind of unity. Hard to explain.

Just my humble opinion.

How far does that extend? Do you like TAS? Do you like the TOS films? Or is it strictly TOS?

 

[MikHutch]

I sometimes think the folks that complain the loudest about modern Trek “wrecking canon” are more concerned that eventually parts of the Berman-era will be overwritten, since TNG+ changed tons of continuity from TOS and that doesn’t seem to bother them all that much.

Idk there's a bunch of TOS fanboys bashing Berman era for ruining Trek on this very website

 

[1001001]

Idk there's a bunch of TOS fanboys bashing Berman era for ruining Trek on this very website

They're not too fond of Kurtzman either.



Even though they come across as Grandpa Simpson yelling at clouds sometimes, their fandom is well earned. 60 years is a long time to be faithful. I respect that.

The only thing that really bothers me is when someone says nuTrek is somehow "ruining" TOS.

That's total BS.

 

[MikHutch]

They're not too fond of Kurtzman either.



Even though they come across as Grandpa Simpson yelling at clouds sometimes, their fandom is well earned. 60 years is a long time to be faithful. I respect that.

The only thing that really bothers me is when someone says nuTrek is somehow "ruining" TOS.

That's total BS.

I respect being loyal but not unilaterally bashing newer stuff. Whether they want to hear it or not, TOS did some things wrong.

 

[The Wormhole]

I'm only 43, and I know that there are shows that came out when I had a full time job that full grown adults with full time jobs remember watching when they were kids, and they talk about it like many of us do the 80s and 70s.

My boss is early forties and I remember hearing his gushing a few months back about the Picard finale "taking him back to his teenage years."