Trek And the CW
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If the CW President Mark Pedowitz had his way, a Star Trek show would be airing on his television network.
Pedowitz made his brief comment about Star Trek during the Executive Session of the Television Critics Association press tour.
When asked if he would be interested in Star Trek “if it were to become available,” Pedowitz said, “As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I would hope to have Star Trek at The CW.
“Hopefully it will get released and we’ll be able to look at it as a TV series.”
But “at the moment it’s a feature film,” said Pedowitz, “and I have heard no discussion about it going out as a TV show at all.”
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The message is clear – Paramount is not interested in a new series as long as their rebooted film series is “successful”. Therefore, if fans want to see Trek back on the small screen, they should celebrate Star Trek’s 50th anniversary by boycotting nuTrek.
I understand the point you’re making, but I’m not sure the studio suits are smart enough to get that message if the third reboot movie bombs at the box office. I fear they’re far more likely to say, “Ah, Star Trek isn’t popular anymore; shelve the damned thing,” rather than “Star Trek doesn’t work well as a movie; let’s make a TV show out of it.”
I really wish it were possible for someone who understands Star Trek to buy the rights to it from Paramount. Does anybody know if Bill Gates is a Star Trek fan? Surely at least one of the people who’s made lots of money in tech companies must be a Trek fan. It would be great if someone who UNDERSTOOD Star Trek were in charge of its future. Paul Allen? Jeff Bezos?
And if wishes were horses, we’d all be riding. The bottom line is that the studio is going to do what they are going to do with Star Trek regardless of what we think. People have two and only two choices: go see the movies or not.
So to convince TPTB to make more Star Trek, we the fans should try to tank the next big Star Trek production at the box office.
That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever read on a message board, and that includes the whole “Trek United” campaign to save Enterprise.
We are have to band together and tell the powers to be that we want our weekly episode of Star Trek. Paramount can still be doing “nuTrek” while letting another entity do the TV shows. The CW is still part owned by CBS so they can easily put it on this network. Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise were the defining shows of one that networks predecessor and had nothing strongly popular since.
I am OK with a 23rd or 24th century era TV show with keeping the door open to connect to the prior Star Trek shows. I am sure some of us would like to see one or two of our favorite characters pop in from time to time. I am not going to be picky about Berman Trek or Abrams Trek, making the show able have good story line is important.
Again, money seems to be the bottom line with TPTB at Paramount and as long as nuTrek makes money, they will continue with the reboot series. FYI, I had purchased advance Imax tickets for Into Darkness but received complimentary tickets to a sneak peek screening and was so disgusted by the Rehash of Khan that I cancelled and got a refunds for the Imax screenings. In my opinion, no Trek is better than crap Trek. Eventually, Paramount will realize that the current team is lacking and will look elsewhere for future productions.
Bottom line: To convince TPTB to make BETTER Star Trek, we the fans should indeed try to tank the next big Star Trek production at the box office.
If you think this is “stupid” then feel free to continue to patronize the 9/11 truther’s tales of the overgrown fratboy captain and his henpecked Vulcan first officer.
Regarding the studio suits, with apologies to a certain starship captain, I offer the following:
I’m in not in command but I wish I could order this.
But I’m not because Corylea is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with life and intelligence as fantastically backwards as this.
But I must point out that the possibilities, the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great.
Risk.
Risk is our business.
That’s what this starship is all about.
That’s why we’re aboard her.
Hee! Great use of that classic speech. No matter what happens, we’ll always have TOS. 😉
I don’t know…I’m torn. As a long-time ST fan from the early 1970s, I disliked STID so much that if the next movie is just as bad but still makes enough money for Paramount/CBS to continue down the ST-in-name-only pathway (IMO), I won’t be interested anyway so it won’t be any loss to me.
But if the next movie tanks, at least there is the possibility that TPTB might rethink the franchise and come back with something that would be better in my eyes. I still like to believe that TPTB are listening at least to some extent to the not-insignificant numbers of ST fans who were not happy with STID (and why).
With that said, I can also say the following: My instincts on the previous build-up to STID sadly proved correct. I avoided almost all of the spoilers that I could, but when I first saw that awful promotional poster with Kirk, Spock and Uhura holding guns (that didn’t even look futuristic!) in that buddy/cop, Lethal Weapons style (http://www.startrekmovie.com.au/wvn8scv4kdn2glno/images/onesheet.jpg),I became very worried. Sadly, I was very correct in my concerns… :(.
I’ll have to see how I feel about the next film as the build-up to it goes forward.
Never thought there would come a day when I would question whether or not I’d want to see a new Trek film. 🙁
There will never be a continuation of the previous Berman & Braga-Roddenberry epoch, that`s just wishful thinking on your part and others commenting here. And any new show will probably be a continuation of the current epoch from the two new movies; I would not be reading anything into it.
Let’s do a star trek tv show that is taking place in the prime reality of the 25th century the new voyages of the uss enterprise f.
Nothing but crap then, as far as the nose can smell.
Keep in mind that you are the minority on this one, and that this change had to happen for Star Trek: The Franchise to stay relevant.
For people like you, there’s always the fan productions.
Profit-with a little risk, and for high ratings, as well as for entertainment, is what the TV business is about-that’s usually why TV shows are made in the USA. A TV production company is not a charity, and you’re not going to get Star Trek back because of a speech made by Captain Kirk on one episode. Try and live in the real world (remember what that is?) for a change.
Paramount doesn’t own the rights anymore, CBS Studios does, and they’ve made it clear that they don’t want a new TV show (at least Leslie Moonves, head of CBS Corporation, the owner of CBS Studios, doesn’t want one.) As sad as that is to accept, people have to start accepting it, even if the CW head wants to have Star Trek back on TV.
And if (and when) Star Trek does come back on the CW, it’ll be probably like the Abramsverse-or based on/a continuation of-the Abramsverse than the previous ‘verses, since the Abramsverse is a proven popular franchise and a money maker. Again, reality rules the day, not fannish wishes and desires.
Agreed, reality does indeed rule the day and, as I stated, money is the bottom line. As long as people are willing to patronize Bad Robot’s version of Trek, we will not likely see an alternative.
“Profit-with a little risk and for high ratings” is why they churn out all those TV reality shows today and why so many big-budget films are nothing more than retreads of known properties. Bob Orci has been “successful” in Hollywood because he delivers garbage such as Transformers, admittedly one of the highest-grossing movie series in history. Is this the reality to which you wish to condemn the Star Trek series?
Back in the 60’s, Gene Roddenberry deliberately did not want to produce another “Lost in Space” – a series which was quite popular at the time airing on CBS. Facing initial rejection, he did not resign himself to just living in the “real world” by aping other shows of that era. Thankfully, at last, Desilu and NBC took that risk and gave Star Trek a chance. It seems what is required now is someone equally visionary who can elevate Star Trek from where it finds itself today.
What exactly is it about JJ-Trek that makes it relevant – other than being the only Star Trek currently in production?
Dusty – Try not to be so condescending in your comments. “bydefault” is just using a perfectly legitimate Trek metaphor (as this is a Trek board is it not?) to make his point, namely, that we WISH that TPTB would take more risks even as many of sadly KNOW full well that in reality this will probably not happen.
But that does not mean that we can all still HOPE for a better product in the end if we all express our opinions.
Or to put it another way: If we who did not care for STID or the direction that the ST franchise is going in general choose to instead remain silent on the matter, the mere chance that maybe…just maybe…something better might be produced would be nil instead of slightly greater than nil. 🙂
Again, there is no need to be snarky…
I prefer being right to just following along with the crowd. Given that nothing JJ Abrams and company have done has anything to do with Star Trek it’s not possible that their product is relevant. They have merely produced two mediocre action films that no one will remember 5 years from now.
No, what’s he/she’s being full of is nonsense, and being unrealistic to boot, as I said before-no snark intended. As for my supposed ‘snark’, it isn’t as bad as the snark about the new movies, the people who make the, or the people that have become fans of Star Trek because of them always being made here.
Why not watch the movies (in particular Into Darkness) again, and also talk to the critics, moviegoers, and fans about why both films are relevant? You might just get your answer.
Have any of you been able to admit that Star Trek is just as much a space opera with a lot of action as the Star Wars franchise is?
Correctamundo! What I wish that said people would also do is to stop talking about them, and watch the fan productions until their eyes bleed or fall out of the sockets.
Okay, Oh Great And Wise One, please tell us lowly peons/Great Unwashed Masses who would be better at directing a Star Trek movie? And I want a realistic answer, not more magical fairy pixie dust bullcaca.
Why not just answer the question yourself instead of suggesting that I ask someone else?
The choice of director is crucial but even more essential is the choice of scriptwriter. Even the best director would find it challenging when faced with the thankless task of polishing a turd of a script (to build on the colorful metaphor you employed).
Star Trek can share elements of space opera but there is a difference which is clearly not evident in the Star Trek films produced by the man who openly stated that he never “got Star Trek” and that he was always more of a Star Wars fan.
You’re not going to get complete fans of Star Trek who will also be directors, so I wouldn’t get any ideas from that.
Okay then, which scriptwriter (remember, sometimes both work as a team when making a movie, as Abrams and Orci did) would be the best at writing a Star Trek movie? I’m still waiting, and no, I haven’t forgotten the terms that I set out.
Because what you and others here usually said/say about the movies was/is bullcaca, and it’s you that has to find this out, not me.
Dusty, I would have been willing to continue to dialogue with you but your comment here makes it clear that you have no intention to do so in a respectful manner and I’m sorry to have found this out about you. Live long and prosper.
Real Star Trek NEEDS to be back on TV! CW (UPN) was the home of Trek for decades… it would be great if it could come home again! =)
But, CBS or Netflix would probably be EVEN BETTER! PLEASE… Make it so! =D
Axanar / Captain Worf on TV for the 50th!!
CBS TV and Paramount are two different companies. It comes down to this: Does CBS TV want to spend the money it takes to produce a new Star Trek show? Part of the issue with Voyager and Enterprise and heck, even TNG and DS9 were that they cost so dang much to produce. I bet CBS TV gives us a miniseries first to fully test the waters before going full in for a new show.
Oh yeah, that poster is awful (Saldana is holding something resembling a flintlock, Pine is holding a Beretta, and Quinto is probably holding a Heckler & Koch) So anti-futuristic.
I entirely understand what you are saying and I agree.
Why couldn’t a TOS-based series (if we’re talking about that) be something akin to Star Trek Continues? Why should it be based on abramsverse? The Star Trek Continues crew has done a great job, an excellent job with their independent production. In terms of quality (stroytelling, characters, acting, sets, etc.) it’s far superior to that abrams dreck. I don’t see a reason why a new show wouldn’t adopt such an approach as was adopted by the STC team, namely continuing the 5-year mission, or something like that. We don’t need fricking space ketchup, exploding Federation planets, lame character imitations and other abrams-based dumb stuff to make a successful, quality trek series. Many people love Star Trek Continues, they are willing to pay to see it, and I’m sure that if it were an official production, with an even bigger budget (and probably with different main cast), it’d be even more popular and more successful, because then it would be accessible to a larger number of people. The audience would certainly appreciate the care, originality and effort put into that production. But the series is good as it is now, even without a million dollars per episode, which is a proof enough that a good thing can be made if there are necessary creative ingredients, and, of course, a genuine respect and love for trek and its idea(l)s. I don’t agree with you that we’d have to put up with abrams dreck on the small screen in order to have a successful star trek (or at least TOS-based) series. That pseudo star trek thing started on the big screen and it should end there. There should either be a TOS-based (mini?) series which will be more like STC, or a completely new star trek show. But I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
Well, the wormhole prophets don’t agree. They say, the golden age of trek may be gone, but there will again come a time when people in charge will put care into making star trek, making it watchable again, and abrams’ movies will be forgotten forever.
The franchise owes its continued existence to the fans, let’s not forget that.
You just want the Star Trek franchise to stagnate and die, in other words. Got it.
Unless the wormhole prophets are executives at Paramount, CBS and Bad Robot, no, it WON`T happen. Please stop talking codswallop and face reality-Star Trek`s going to be a movie franchise for a while (with some novel, merch and comic books to fill things out.)
Please, people, take some business courses, and learn about how companies operate before you spew more codswallop about Star Trek coming back to TV.
Under JJ it already has died. I get that they call the new stuff “Star Trek”, but it sure ain’t Star Trek.
I’m sorry, but I feel it is you who have the wishful thinking. The JJ-verse is owned by Paramount, NOT CBS. Everything I’ve read from people with connections points to CBS doing something completely different then the JJ-verse if at all on TV. That could be going back to the Roddenberry/Berman versions, it could be a new reboot of the reboot, but I say the JJ-verse will end after the next film. *IF* it keeps going, it would be only as movies.
With obdurate fools like you, it would have stayed moribund and almost forgotten, stuck like this because you view Star Trek not as the entertainment franchise that it really is, but as a religion with moral codes that must be followed (and with Gene Roddenberry as the high priest/prophet/founder of said ‘religion’) -this of course is only confirming what others who aren’t Trekfans think of Trekfans generally.
As for what bullcaca you said above, I guess that the box office numbers and popularity say it all,making what you said to be just bullcaca. But, I guess believing that Roddenberry had a ‘vision’ and all of the other bullcaca you and others like you believe (and spout) trumps any common sense and reality that’s present in front of your face.
The Abramsverse is the popular thing that a producer/director’s going to look at and adapt if the show comes back to TV, that’s why, dufus. Think about that for a while, instead of being trapped in the past and also in a vat of unreality.
You and what fans are going to be a mass of people that will change corporate policy? Are you kidding?
Believe me, no one will be interested in being blinded by lens flares and suffering stupid jokes and crappy action sequences on a small screen. No, that’s not what Trek is. It’s not transformers. Star Trek is more than that. I’m not saying action-adventure element is not part of Trek, of course it is, but if you think those current abrams movies are in any way representative of what star trek is, or should be, or what course it should follow in the creative sense, then you’re wrong. It will be such people, like the aforementioned STC team, who will eventually create a new trek show (sometime in the future, if there should be a decision to make one), not such hacks like Abrams & Co., no matter how much the popcorn munching audience was flabbergasted by their big screen lens flare & cgi fest. That’s simply not something that would work on small screen, nor would it be desirable. As to the continuity, I’m sure it would be much smarter to create something within the “original” star trek universe than in some obscure and rather irrelevant”alternate universe (timeline)”.
Star Trek is an action adventure space opera first and foremost, buddy-it’s NOT 2001 or any other serious sci-fi, despite all of the mythologizing that Gene Roddenberry and others have mislead you with over the years. If you can’t deal with that or accept that fact (and everybody else with more sense and reality has), I don’t know what else to say to you.
I’ll give JJ-Trek fans this much: JJ-Trek would fit better on the CW than REAL Star Trek would. It has the whole “Dawson’s Creek” style angst thing going for it like most CW shows do. 😛
PS: I’d never want to waste my time watching a show like that regardless if it tried to pass itself off as “Star Trek” or not!
I don’t really care, if it’s crap I don’t go watch it. That simple. I’d like to see more Star Trek, but I’m not required by some kind of magic oath to see whatever the studio slaps the name onto. The studio will do what they will do.