Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery - Official Thread (4 Viewers)

[Joseph Bolus]

*sigh*. I'm beginning to think that this series will never see the light of day. And even if it does it may not resemble Star Trek in any way, form, or fashion that any long time fan can relate to.

There are rumors out there that:
* Merchandising tie-ins are falling apart due to the extreme redesigns of the ships and aliens.
* Netflix has asked for its contract to be cancelled due to the production delays and redesigns.
* Fuller may actually have been fired due to creative differences with the CBS president who apparently started micromanaging the series just as it was set to go into production in September 2016.
* The series will now start in the familiar original Star Trek universe as promised but will be in an extreme alternate universe before the end of the first episode. (Please remember these are rumors.)

At this point I no longer care about whatever this thing (which is apparently not going to be recognizable Star Trek) devolves in to.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

*sigh*. I'm beginning to think that this series will never see the light of day. And even if it does it may not resemble Star Trek in any way, form, or fashion that any long time fan can relate to.

There are rumors out there that:
* Merchandising tie-ins are falling apart due to the extreme redesigns of the ships and aliens.
* Netflix has asked for its contract to be cancelled due to the production delays and redesigns.
* Fuller may actually have been fired due to creative differences with the CBS president who apparently started micromanaging the series just as it was set to go into production in September 2016.
* The series will now start in the familiar original Star Trek universe as promised but will be in an extreme alternate universe before the end of the first episode. (Please remember these are rumors.)

At this point I no longer care about whatever this thing (which is apparently not going to be recognizable Star Trek) devolves in to.

I tried being positive, but that whole "Klingon" thing a couple weeks ago just made me quit giving a damn. Now more rumors of alternate universes? This thing doesn't even look like it would be worth obtaining by frowned upon methods.

It's just time to let Star Trek die. We dont want a utopian future with high ideals, and doing Trek as a paint by numbers crap generic sci-if show just won't work.

Go create something new for a change, CBS, and leave Star Trek alone

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Miore information here:

 

[Sam Favate]

Wow. I encourage everyone to watch that video. Even if the particulars aren't true, this is a very troubled production.

Honestly, it has a lot in common with the creation of Voyager - which IMO is the worst of all the Trek series, and barely worth watching - and Enterprise, which had a very troubled start with interference from the studio. Parent company (Paramount/CBS) wants the "crown jewel" to help start/anchor a new network/service (UPN/All Access), and gets very involved in its creation, meddling in the shape of the show. The result is something fans aren't happy with.

Rick Berman tells the infamous story on the Enterprise blu-rays about the studio asking if they can have a different band every week play on the ship. That's the kind of notes they were getting. Voyager also suffered from the "sex it up" notes, which resulted in Seven of Nine, who, while well-performed and somewhat well-written, was an embarrassment to Star Trek in the way the character was objectified.

I have a bad feeling about this.

 

[Bryan^H]

I think a lot of the rumors are probably true. Especially regarding Bryan Fuller. There is no way it goes from his "dream project" to "he is too busy to work on the show" and steps down.
Give me a break.

Anyway, as much as I want to just block this out of my head I will probably end up watching the pilot.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

I think most of those rumors are nonsense, a little bit of the turmoil-truth mixed in with considerable amount of crap. The missteps that this production has made, including losing Brian Fuller, extrapolated into silliness like Netflix wanting their money back (they might be upset about the delay, but Trek is important to Netflix, and the new show is an important title to have in their offering, even if it is delayed). And the stuff about toy licenses is nonsense too. And CBS having no faith in the show and sidelining it to All Access is the exact opposite of reality. CBS is banking on this show's success to support their digital streaming platform - driving subscriber growth. You don't pin a large part of your streaming strategy on something that you have no faith in.

I'm taking a wait and see approach....as always.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I think most of those rumors are nonsense, a little bit of the turmoil-truth mixed in with considerable amount of crap.... CBS having no faith in the show and sidelining it to All Access is the exact opposite of reality. CBS is banking on this show's success to support their digital streaming platform - driving subscriber growth. You don't pin a large part of your streaming strategy on something that you have no faith in.

That I agree with 100%.

They're banking on the Trek fans to be as rabid and numerous as they were in 1999, and to all scream "TAKE MY MONEY!" and subscribe to All Access.

Now, the show is already supposed to be totally funded by overseas deals, so they're not going to lose any money on this deal. But they're going to be in for a rude awakening when those fans don't materialize after the last decade or so of bullshit, from the generic reboot movies and their viewers screaming at every opportunity "HAH TREK BE FUN NOW FOR REAL PEOPLE GO AWAY OLD NERRRDDDDDDD" to giving the die hards nothing at all for the 50th anniversary to just plain seeing how CBS and Paramount treat Trek as a cash cow to be milked, though they put virtually no effort into it at all.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yeah, there are a lot of reasons to skip this, but unconfirmed internet rumors shouldn't be one of them.

 

[NeilO]

Practically every incarnation of Star Trek has had horror stories starting up at one point or another. From what Nicholas Meyer was saying it seems that it was a minor miracle that Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan got made. He started from 5 rejected scripts at the time.

ST:TNG had loads of horror stories and we remember just how bad the first two seasons of that was. I have heard that the Chaos on the Bridge documentary is very good and brings a lot of that to light.

I think that ultimately it will probably be a good show. Jason Isaacs was just added as captain. That is a good sign.

I do plan on watching the premiere, but based on past Star Trek history, I don't think it will be an indication on how good the series will be. I have no plans on subscribing to CBS All Access for any extended sign. Maybe I'll do a month at the end and watch all of Star Trek and Good Fight. Or I might just wait for DVDs or perhaps it it becomes available on Netflix in the US.

 

[joshEH]

I tried being positive, but that whole "Klingon" thing a couple weeks ago just made me quit giving a damn.

The "Klingon" photo-thing was debunked as bullcrap several weeks ago -- basically, the guy who took the photo had no idea what he was actually looking at on-set, and was wildly speculating.

 

[Bryan^H]

Bryan Fuller already said
"One of the very cool things that we get to do on this show is – we get to re-imagine all of the alien species that we’ve seen before in the series, and do something a little unique with that.

So for all of us who have fetishized the look of all of the various species over the years of watching ‘Star Trek,’ it’s fun for us to put a new spin on old favorites."

I'm thinking the picture is 100% the new look of the Klingons. My opinion, but in 7 months time(or whenever this thing gets underway) if they aren't I will be really, really surprised.

Also I could care a whole lot less about reimagined Klingons than the story of the series. Which given the writers attached to the series so far has me concerned.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

The "Klingon" photo-thing was debunked as bullcrap several weeks ago -- basically, the guy who took the photo had no idea what he was actually looking at on-set, and was wildly speculating.

I am aware of that. But the story/pic was believable as something they would do, because I have no faith in CBS or Paramount, or no hope they can do anything right at this point.


And looking at my last post, before anyone gets me on the "done nothing" bit... they did indeed give us TNG remastered, which was a beautiful thing. Then they gave up. Almost everything since has been a repackaging of a repackaging. So I'm notdisregarding the great work they've done in the past, but lately... well, that goes back to the whole "no hope, no faith" thing.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Casts Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd
Wilson's version of the character, previously played by Roger C. Carmel on the original series, will eleven years away from his first meeting with James T. Kirk.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Ugh.

Nothing against Rainn Wilson but the more this show continues to announce its intentions to retread over previously covered ground, rather than telling new stories, the less interested I am.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Ugh.

Nothing against Rainn Wilson but the more this show continues to announce its intentions to retread over previously covered ground, rather than telling new stories, the less interested I am.

How could you say such a thing?

That's exactly what I came here to say and you beat me to it!

 

[Nelson Au]

I don't know the actor or his previous work whose taking on Harry Mudd in Discovery. My take is that Mr. Mudd had a bit of edge and menace to him in Mudd's Woman but became a buffoon in I, Mudd.

Perhaps this new series will reimagine him similarly to the way Ron Moore did to Baltar in Galactica. The character was similar but different.

This younger Mr. Mudd could have more bite to him. Maybe he'll bring a new dimension to the character. I wouldn't write this off quite yet.

 

[joshEH]

I...don't dislike that casting decision.

Although, I am conflicted. I mean, I LOVE the idea of Wilson as Mudd; it seems like brilliant casting to me. But I agree that this is a large universe, and WTF is the Discovery crew doing running into Mudd?

Also, probably the main problem is that there are kinda-regular dudes who actually dress like Harry Mudd in real life (and not because they were inspired by Star Trek). I'll be very interested to see the Federation colony of New Portlandia.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

But I agree that this is a large universe, and WTF is the Discovery crew doing running into Mudd?

I cringed when they namedropped him in Star Trek Into Darkness. I like more of that film that I don't, but that was one of those things there where it served no purpose to the film, didn't actually make sense within the film, and made me feel that I was watching someone microwaving leftovers instead of preparing me a fresh meal.

I think the decision to set the show right before TOS was the mother of all bad decisions. We're immediately limited in so many ways, limited in what kind of stories can be told, limited in the effect those stories can have on the larger universe, etc., etc. At the same time, the potential to cover old ground for the umpteeth time will always be present.

The last things that happened in the Star Trek universe, chronologically speaking, are that Voyager made it home (I haven't seen that series and even I know that) and that Romulus was destroyed by a supernova (as revealed in Star Trek '09). I want a Star Trek that takes place after those events, so that I can watch with no idea of what will happen next, and so that the show can be made without any limitations on what could and couldn't happen. I'm desperate for truly new Trek, and the Discovery folks seem to be going out of their way to give us the opposite of that.

 

[Bryan^H]

What do I think? Get used to the word "mulitiverse". That will be the hook for the series--how will the crew of "Discovery" get back to the 'Prime' universe?

That, or the limitations of being set so close to TOS would be too great.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What do I think? Get used to the word "mulitiverse". That will be the hook for the series--how will the crew of "Discovery" get back to the 'Prime' universe?

That, or the limitations of being set so close to TOS would be too great.

They've already officially announced that the show takes place in the Prime universe. This was also confirmed during the Star Trek Mission convention panel I attended in September. I think that's an interesting idea, but unless they decided to lie to misdirect the audience, we're already in prime.

Given that we've already got the Kelvin universe as an alternative timeline in an active franchise, I figured this show was going to be in Kelvin. It's fine that it's in Prime, but I can't imagine them creating a third timeline at this particular junction.

So, if it works out that this show is set in the Prime universe, would you still agree that the limitations they've boxed themselves into are too great?

My suspicion is that they're planning to tell the exact same story that the Axanar folks wanted to tell, which would partially explain why they went after that production more vigorously than they ever have gone after a fan production before.