Star Trek - Its future on televison

Nelson Au · 04-17-2005, 05:31 PM

I thought this topic might deserve a separate thread from the Star Trek Enterprise Appreciation thread. I'll focus on future Star Trek television projects.

My feeling from what I've read of comments from Paramount and current Enterprise producers, that the franchise needs a short time off to rest, is sinking in. The Franchise in my opinion is being taken for granted by the audience. That is in part, part of the reason Enterprise didn't recover this 4th year in spite of the changes in production personnel and improved stories. The Franchise has been on a very long time, so there's bound to be audience members who are not Trek fans who will tune out to new stuff. The success of Stargate, Smallville and now Battlestar Galactica is a good example. Gunsmoke and Hawaii Five-O were on TV a very long time too and I remember tuning out of those shows towards the later years. I don't want to see the discussion that Berman and Braga are at fault, and new blood is needed, that's been discussed to death already!

Current Star Trek Enterprise producer Manny Coto has made some recent comments about a future series already. He wants to pitch to Paramount on a new series that could be set in the future beyond The Next Generation. For now, he's off on a new project as a producer on "24". He knows timing will be key when the audience will "want" to see more new Star Trek. He'll wait till the time is right. Also Paramount has changed, and the executives who used to champion the franchise are longer there. As are the new political forces involved at CBS and UPN that couldn’t see a future for Star Trek. My guess is it will be off for 2 to 3 years, but it could go to 5 years. By that time, Galactica, Stargate, Smallville could all be off the air. Maybe the Enterprise cancellation starts a trend.

So what will be the next incarnation of Star Trek on TV? Star Trek 11, the next Star Trek feature film, sounds like it will take place some time after Enterprise, and will deal with the Romulan Wars. (Hmm, Attack of the Clones?) If that movie does well, if and when it gets made, and if it does concern the Romulan Wars, one path for a TV show could be to spin it off the film, and that crew and ship. Maybe even concern Enterprise, a Captain Stiles or the TOS era. Consider the groundswell of the popularity of the heartfelt efforts of fan made films like Exeter and New Voyages. These go back to the Kirk era. Evidence that the fans are hungry for something new and perhaps that new is “old”. But Retro-Star Trek has been done with Enterprise. And it’s full of problems, like dealing with a modern show that tries to look like a show done before a TV show that was done in the 1960’s, not to mention the continuity issues. The show has to look new.

Seems of all the Star Trek TV series after TOS, The Next Generation was most successful, for many reasons. Little to no competition from other genre shows on any network, it was the first new Star Trek on TV after TOS, and it developed into a good show that captured the following of a new generation of fans, old and new. So perhaps the new series should concern another incarnation of a starship named Enterprise. The name Enterprise is a very important component to the Star Trek formula.

But would a future audience be better served with Star Trek that is edgy, MTV style and sexy and youthful? Perhaps a show that is nothing like Star Trek of old? Given the Star Trek format, will a new show feel like “been there and done that”? A TV show with Starships in space exploring new worlds as allegory for making commentary on contemporary issues has been done very successfully once. And then there’s also J. Michael Straczynski who had tried to pitch to Paramount to do a future Star Trek. There’s another point of view there.

Finally, whoever the Producer is involved, I would think whatever the next feature film is about, it should be tied or relate to a new series. The same way Star Trek 6-The Undiscovered Country was linked to the TNG episode, Reunification, they go hand in hand.

As a very longtime fan of Star Trek, going through TOS as a kid, waiting for the rebirth during the 70’s, then 6 TOS features films and then doubting, but then accepting TNG, then onto DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, I have to ask myself, do we need more? It’s been a great ride so far with some bumps along the way, but a class act the whole time. I hope there is a new exciting Star Trek in the near future, and I really hope it’s good enough to earn the respect of the fans and non-fans and also honor Gene Roddenberry and those from the TOS cast and creative team that created the original.

Enterprise is dead, long live Star Trek.

Daniel Kikin · 04-17-2005, 05:53 PM

TrekWeb has a news item saying that Manny Coto will be pitching a Star Trek series to Paramount at some point in the future.

Joseph Bolus · 04-17-2005, 08:54 PM

Ya' know, I'm not totally convinced that the entire TNG portion of the franchise has totally run its course.

I realize that Nemesis tanked badly at the box office. But I believe that it was a combination of factors not totally related to Star Trek. The movie should have been released in August 2002 or May 2003. Released as it was in December 2002 it was sandwiched between the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises. (In fact, opening as it did just five days before the second installment of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's quite possible that many members of the potential audience for Nemesis had already purchased their LOTR tickets!) I know that that was the case with me. I was stoked to see LOTR, and I just decided that I would wait and view Nemesis on DVD.

Nemesis did quite well in its DVD release. And, in my opinion, that's where Paramount should now be directing their future Star Trek product: In annual straight-to-DVD movie releases.

This would allow them to continue their Star Trek merchandising arm while limiting their ongoing inventory (which was terribly diluted by Voyager and Enterprise.)

A straight-to-DVD trilogy of movies focusing on Riker and his crew on the Titan would be the best way to "test the waters" in a venture of this nature. The Star Trek fan base would have a recognizable "anchor" (with some members of the TNG crew); and new characters and directions could easily be tested for fan reaction under this umbrella.

IMO, this would be a much better direction to be going in than a very expensive, and risky, prequel feature movie.

Bill Williams · 04-17-2005, 09:07 PM

Whatever the next Star Trek series, it's got to really re-energize the franchise like crazy and get people excited about Star Trek once again. It can't be a rehash of previous episodes with a different crew on a different ship; that "been there, done that" mentality just doesn't work anymore unless it's done really convincingly. The "Flashback" episode of VOY is one example that looked really great on screen, despite a weak introductory hookup. Likewise for "Trials and Tribble-ations" on DS9, with its "Forrest Gump"-inspired integration of the DS9 cast into the background of TOS' "The Trouble With Tribbles". And some of the more cutting-edge episodes of DS9, the one that was set aboard the Klingon vessel, what Ron Moore called a "Star Trek: Klingon"-style episode - things like that are quite intriguing indeed. I'm thinking the upcoming 2-part "In a Mirror, Darkly" story for ENT will do the same.

Having the Reeves-Stevenses as story editors/co-producers on ENT has been a good idea, and their scripts have had some strong premises. Novelists such as Peter David ("New Frontier"), Keith R.A. DeCandido ("I.K.S. Gorkon"), Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore ("Foundations"), Jeffrey Lang ("The Left Hand of Destiny" and "Immortal Coil"), and David Mack ("A Time to Kill" and "A Time to Heal") can not only bring their creative energies to a future Trek series, they can also continue what Gene Roddenberry began in the 1960's. That's what made TOS so strong in its first and second seasons, the caliber of science fiction writers and novelists. That's what the next Trek series needs.

In addition, whoever takes charge of the next Trek series, it doesn't need to be on the level of a Rick Berman who simply milks it continually for the money. It's got to be a visionary who can take charge and guide the series forward with strong stories and characters. Manny Coto has done a good job in his fourth year on ENT, and someone like him could do a good job creating and developing the next series. Or someone like Ira Steven Behr, who brought some of the best Trek on TV in his tenure on DS9.

Those are some of my thoughts; more to come later.

RickGr · 04-17-2005, 09:22 PM

Quote:

The success of Stargate, Smallville and now Battlestar Galactica is a good example.

But I do think Star Trek Enterprise got better ratings than at least two of these shows and if Enterpise was on SciFi drawing the ratings it did on UPN it would be by far their (SciFi) best rated program. It may have more to do with what outlet do you put a new Trek series on?

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Dave Scarpa · 04-17-2005, 09:56 PM

Well Enterprise Prequel Idea isn't Plagued with problems it just needed People at the Helm with a vision and that sure was'nt Berman and Braga, Manny Coto this year sure came closer but he was Hamfisted somewhat by what B&B already established. My Take and a Prequel would've been alot more rough and tumble If anyone has read the Great series of Stories or the collected Book of Starfleet:Year One by Micheal Jan Friedman it would be alot more like that, if not go grab it and give it a read and see what a Prequel could've been.

As far as a series set in the future it would need a vision if it did'nt want to fall into the same what that Voyager and the 1st 3 years of Enterprise did. I think without True scifi Writers , television writers would just end up rehashing the same old stories weeve seen over the last 18 years. I don't think the Trek Universe is tapped out, there's always stories to tell its just that TV Writers can't think of of them . Still I'll Miss Enterprise and Especially John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox. As I watched Bound tonight I realized just what an outstanding Actor he is and what a great character he was.

Jason Hughes · 04-17-2005, 11:50 PM

KILL RICK BERMAN!

Chris · 04-18-2005, 12:06 AM

The reality is, DS9 showed a big part of the way with a story focused less on the federation and more on other worlds.

I would be interested in a story told from a different perspective.. I had once thought a Klingon Trek series would be interesting, but I think there would be too much incentive to change the characters into "lovable" ones.

But I think a good series concept could be something very different.. say, a federation or trill or bajoran or whatever settlement on another planet who deals with the issues of being a settler, etc. Could be some excellent sci-fi opportunities there, character building, some pretty interesting arcs regarding discovering who lived there before them, etc. etc. etc.

Lou Sytsma · 04-18-2005, 06:20 AM

I think the TOS era is prime for revisiting. At this point, a continuation of the original 5 year mission or the next 5 year mission would probably draw quite well. I believe audiences would buy a new cast playing the old roles.