Time for a Reign Change.... Re: Star Trek Series... (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

Here's something for Paramount to Consider.

Look at the numbers. TNG was a great ratings success. So was DS9. Not so much for Voyager, and Enterprise is dropping fast if the ratings reports are to be beleived. Not surprising since it's basically a re-hash of plotlines from other series, with a few original gems thrown in here and there. The last new one was basically a re-hash of TNG's "The Enemy", if commercials where to be beleived.

Face it. After 600+ hours of TV, B and B are getting tired. Who WOULDN'T be after all that? Most fans seem to agree with this and the ratings seem to show it. So, instead of giving them the next series to muck up, and letting Enterprise get new talent, why not test the waters with someone new?

'Keep the talent happy.' If Memory serves, Stewart and Spiner have expressed intrest in taking the helm. Bring in Levar Burton who also knows his Trek, along with Frakes as a director, and all the good writers who where earlier chased away from the franchise, and let them go loose. Either give them a pre-conceived series idea, or let them think up their own.

If anything, you could promote it heavilly and build up alot of hype. Star Trek shows produced and created by the stars themselves. Could draw alot of Trekkers back by meer curiosity.

Maby a write in campaign is needed with ratings to back up the claims to see if they are willing to try something different, rather than go with the safe thing ...

 

[Jason Seaver]

Stewart and Spiner have expressed intrest in taking the helm. Bring in Levar Burton who also knows his Trek, along with Frakes as a director, and all the good writers who where earlier chased away from the franchise, and let them go loose. Either give them a pre-conceived series idea, or let them think up their own.

Maybe the stars would work as producers for the movie series, but in TV, you need writers (even Jerry Bruckheimer recognizes that!). And only a few guys were really "driven away" - Ron Moore (who is currently quite gainfully employed by HBO) and maybe Peter Allen Fields (who left during DS9's early years). Most of the rest, especially the DS9 guys, decided to move on - Robert Wolfe, for instance, knew he was getting burned out and left before he became a liability.

What Trek needs is new people. I half-suspect Paramount hired John Shiban with the idea of putting him in charge if Enterprise didn't step up this year; I've said it before, but I think Jane Espenson would be the perfect person for them to hire once Buffy is done. And tell them just to make the best hourly TV series they can without worrying about "we've always done it this way" or being allowed to get complacent because a 6+ year run is all but guaranteed.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

This will be kind of a long post, so I apologize in advance.

First of all, Jason is correct: DS9's ratings were dismal compared to TNG at its peak. And that's a shame, as it was the best of the Next Gen-era Trek series, because it accomplished the impressive feat of shaking up the formula (and many times completely disregarding it), while still maintaining a Trek-like atmosphere.

As for Berman & Braga: I agree that they seem to be out of steam, but it should be noted that both of them have done a lot of good for Trek. Berman was a protege of Gene Roddenberry himself, and Gene essentially bequeathed the franchise to him. And Braga was responsible for some of the best and most creative epsiodes from TNG's 3rd, 4th, and 5th seasons. All this shouldn't be forgotten. However, it appears that their hearts are no longer really in it, at least not as much as they used to be.

But, I'm not sure what can be done. The waning popularity of Trek (as evidenced by Enterprise's ratings, and Nemesis's poor box office) may be sending a message to Paramount that it's not all that important. Sure, the DVD releases of the series and the films are a priority, but the demand for new product just doesn't seem to as big as it was.

This is disappointing, because early buzz seemed to indicate that Enterprise and especially Nemesis could have been the big bang to really get the franchise back on track. Unfortunately, it turned to be more of a pop, and not a very loud one at that.

I remember hardly being able to wait for a new episode of TNG each week. That could be a remnant of youth, but it also continued with DS9, right up until the last episode. With Voyager, and now Enterprise, I have to force myself to watch it. And that's why I quit watching Voyager (aside from catching some scattered episodes) about halfway through. I've already done the same with Enterprise, not even halfway through the 2nd season.

That's bad. By sticking to the established formula, and rehashing old ideas, it seems that B&B are worried about alienating their longtime fans. Unfortunately, that is exactly what they are doing. In the past, Star Trek has been progressive. It is about exploration, growth, seeking out not only new life forms and new civilizations, but also new ideas. That's what made the first three series so great. They boldly went forward (for the most part, at least; every series has its gobblers), and the premises for Voyager and Enterprise should be ripe with possibilities to do exactly this. But again, the plots of Voyager and now Enterprise do little more than rehash ideas the other series have already covered.

The point of this is that a turing point has been reached in the affairs of the Federation. Bottom line: Star Trek must evolve. I think that Berman & Braga realize this, and to their credit, they have tried to infuse Enterprise with a different tone. However, more sex and louder yelling do not a good series make. I realize that not every episode can be classic Trek, but I just feel that there is just a wrongheaded approach to the show. But I digress; I probably will give it another chance over the next few weeks.

I have been a Star Trek fan for as long as I can remember, and I just want to see the franchise get better, as I'm sure most of us do. But as I said before, I'm not sure what can be done. Perhaps, it is time for another rest. There is so much Trek out there now, that it doesn't seem to be as special as it once was. For 10 years following the cancellation of the original series, there was no new Trek product except for 22 episodes of the animated series, and novelizations of the original series. That made the opening of The Motion Picture preciousssss to the fans. Despite the fact that the movie itself was disappointing, the experience was magical for them.

Imagine what could happen if the entire filmed Trek franchise were to take a few years off (the novels and comics could continue), and then either a new series or new movie were produced and released. If the quality were high, and the marketing clever, it could be a real event. Remember how well Goldeneye did after Bond's 7-year absence from the screen? I realize that Star Trek is a different animal altogether, but it's something to think about.

This is all just speculation, of course. I just hope these problems are addressed. Sorry about the length of this post; I just wanted to get these ideas down. As I said, I have always been a Trek fan, and I want to it get better.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Tonight's Enterprise.....it's didn't suck!

It wasn't the best, but it didn't have me beating my head against the wall for the A plot. The B-plot of Flox's wife and Trip is definately eye rolling in places, and seemed to have been written for Riker

 

[John Berggren]

They haven't confirmed the cancellation YET? Are they waiting for Rigor to set in? I agree, Berman needs to retire gracefully or be sacked. Nemesis was atrocious, and Enterprise is a joke.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Actually Enterprise has already been renewed for Season 3
(Hey what else does UPN Have ?) Actually the Next batch of new eps feature Andorians, Vulcans, and Tholians and seem to be in Upswing mode so we'll see what happens

 

[Jason Seaver]

Well, the next batch of new episodes (aside from the one I'm not watching tonight) are being written by people other than Brannon Braga & Rick Berman. So, at this point, an upswing is more-or-less guaranteed.

Where'd you read that Enterprise has been renewed? Not that it really matters - UPN and Paramount are corporate siblings, so it could be cancelled without a whole lot of fuss, especially if there's no UPN next fall.

 

[Will_B]

I'd second that Buffy alumni suggestion.

B&B may have to go. Or they need to change, because they are to blame for the writing, even on the shows they don't write, or rewrite, themselves.

Enterprise needs writers who feel free to write an interesting story and have confidence that the producers will back them up. B&B needs to give more freedom to the writers, rather than demanding that everything be dumbed down into warmed-over versions of stories that were told with much more originality on Next Generation. Also, the character of Archer needs to change from being a whiney boy into something less whiney.

They also need to look at the demographics, and decide if what they are presenting is a kids show or a show for adults. The show can't hold a candle to other one-hour dramas, like CSI. Why? Maybe because CSI treats its viewers like adults, which they are. Trek often treats the viewers like children, which they aren't (at least, I don't think they are - would need to study the demographics to find out).

Enterprise could easily improve. I'm still buying the action figures from Art Asylum on the strong chance that the show will find its footing and really excell next season.

But it needs to grow up, and become much more interesting, quickly. And that may very well mean bringing in some new producers who loved Next Generation, and see where B&B have gone so wrong.

 

[Jeff Keene]

but I think Jane Espenson would be the perfect person for them to hire once Buffy is done.

That would be the most exciting thing to happen to TV in quite a while!

My thoughts echo most of this thread, so I won't re-state (even the one about DS9 being the best series; I for one will be grabbing it up on DVD), but I'm always hopeful for the future.

What's this about UPN not returning?

 

[Jason Seaver]

It's just a rumor, but apparently Fox's parent company owns the UPN affiliates in NYC, LA, and other large cities, and they apparently want more favorable terms when their affiliation contracts expire sometime in 2004. If they don't get it, it's a possibility that those cities wouldn't have UPN affiliates this fall, which would cripple the network. Even if News Corp keeps the affiliation, it's still a pretty bad situation - networks don't make most of their money on the network, but on their owned & operated stations in the major markets. For example, here in Boston Viacom owns the CBS & UPN stations, Tribune owns the WB station (Tribune is a major investor in The WB), News Corp. owns the Fox station.

And, the network is in a bad way - it's fallen way behind WB, they're starting to seriously regret what they're spending on Buffy, Enterprise is very expensive and I imagine Star Trek isn't quite the sure long-term investment it used to be, the Monday comedies have little crossover appeal, and Smackdown! is profitable because the WWE pays UPN for the time.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Probably the best thing to do with Star Trek would be to make a show that isn't about a Federation ship. Thsi is what kept DS9 interesting, largely. Do a show about Star Fleet academy or Klingons or something. I personally would like to see the former. You could have Worf as an instructor, or perhaps the Dean, if it's set a little ways into the future. I'd also like to see an office comedy, but that's probably just me.

Enterprise does have more swearing and punching people than previous Trek series. I like that.

 

[DeathStar1]

Hmm, maby we should be writing Fox for the NY affiliate, hoping they could put some pressure on UPN/Paramount to make some changes ..

Nothing gets people to caer like knowing their show will be cancelled if ratings don't pick up over two seasons.

And in the other note, someone mentioned all the good things B and B have done. I havn't forgotten . A few time travel episodes from TNG's run are some of my favorites, like Parralells. But they just arn't that original these days .

 

[Will_B]

Probably the best thing to do with Star Trek would be to make a show that isn't about a Federation ship. Thsi is what kept DS9 interesting, largely.

No interest in seeing a Star Trek show that doesn't have the Enterprise, thanks. Even on DS9 they ended up making "The Defiant" to get out of that darn soundstage, I mean promenade, once and awhile.

 

[Jeff Keene]

No interest in seeing a Star Trek show that doesn't have the Enterprise, thanks.

That makes one of us. Star Trek has created a universe with endless possibilities, and limiting a series to a ship show seems silly.

I appreciated it when TNG and DS9 were both running. I got my enterprise fix and also enjoyed DS9. DS9 is, in fact, my favorite trek series ever. With or without the Defiant.

 

[Will_B]

They tried it with DS9, found they'd written themselves into a corner, and couldn't find a way out. The show turned into a war-soap-opera.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

The Defiant was a warship. Not an exploration ship like the various Enterprises. Voyager ended up just doing a lot of exploring as well. I think the exploring stories have fallen into a rut.

 

[Jason Seaver]

They tried it with DS9, found they'd written themselves into a corner, and couldn't find a way out. The show turned into a war-soap-opera.

Which was what Ira Behr was looking to do - he wanted to tell war stories.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

They tried it with DS9, found they'd written themselves into a corner, and couldn't find a way out. The show turned into a war-soap-opera.

That was half the reason why the show was so good. Gigantic continuing macrostory going places Trek has never gone before or since.

 

[Jack Briggs]

The Dominion macrostory also hurt the ratings, no matter how much the true fans loved it.

 

[CaptDS9E]

Like the ratings matter now anyway. DS9 ran its full seven seasons and was a excellent show. Its coming to dvd so im happy.

capt