CBS and Viacom Merge; Star Trek Under a Single License?

[kemcha]

I've been following this story ever since CBS executives launched a lawsuit against Shari Redstone in order to stop her from merging CBS with Viacom. While the lawsuit had came to an end, with Shari Redstone coming out on top, what she has been threatening CBS executives with has finally came to pass.

CBS and Viacom are to merge, having been separated for so long, which will bring Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, Comedy Central, Pluto TV, and The Paramount Network under the same corporate roof.

This means that there is now a bright spot in the Star Trek franchise. It means that this could bring the Star Trek franchise under a single license. No more Kelvin timeline, no more "Prime Universe" and more Classic Star Trek.

This is awesome news.

Source: https://www.slashfilm.com/cbs-and-viacom-merge/

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by kemcha

No more Kelvin timeline, no more "Prime Universe" and more Classic Star Trek.

Classic Star Trek is the prime universe, and Picard follows the prime timeline events which serve as the basis of the Kelvin timeline.

[kemcha]

Actually, CBS' Prime universe isn't the same as the TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise universe. The JJ Abrams Star Trek Trilogy, Discovery, Picard are all based on the alternate license.

What the merger will do (when it finalizes) is that it will probably end up allowing Discovery and Picard to run its course and then just produce a new Star Trek series based in the same universe as the classic Star Trek. Discovery, Picard and Abrams TRek would probably be retconned.

[mastadge]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Actually, CBS' Prime universe isn't the same as the TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise universe. The JJ Abrams Star Trek Trilogy, Discovery, Picard are all based on the alternate license.

Pretty sure this is incorrect.

[Gendo Ikari]

Well we can now root for Q showing up in Picard, mention to Jean-Luc that something doesn’t seem right, and then snapping the Kelvin timeline out of existence...

[JamesKurtovich]

Originally Posted by kemcha

CBS and Viacom are to merge, having been separated for so long, which will bring Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, VH1, Comedy Central, Pluto TV, and The Paramount Network under the same corporate roof.

All of this popping up on CBS AA would be fantastic for the platform.

[Guydowood]

Picard is Prime Timeline:

In terms of the Star Trek timeline, this is the furthest the franchise has gone into the future (the fictional year 2387). But now, the captain will return in Star Trek: Picard, the newest entry in the famed sci-fi saga which takes place 15 years after the events of Nemesis and has Patrick Stewart reprising his famed role.

Source: https://www.esquire.com/entertainmen...ine-explained/

[Geoff D]

Of course it is. The rest is sub-Midnight's Edge bollox

[The Watcher 69]

Haven't the Kelvin Timeline, Discovery etc. gone out of their way to fit in with the Prime Timeline? I don't see any reason for retconning.

[stargazeruk]

I just read about this. I am happy this is happening and maybe an end to this alternate crap.

Discovery should be written off as part of the Kelvin Timeline. I enjoyed some elements of Discovery but overall it was not good as a whole.

If Picard is good enough maybe it should be retooled to be considered cannon to the old Trek universe but if it fails they can write it off to the Kelvin timeline.

I am interested in seeing Picard but I do have some reservations about the series but I am hoping it turns out good. We need some actual good trek at the moment (Waiting for the show that was better then Discovery, The Orville Season 3 to return).

[kemcha]

I don't subscribe to Midnight's Edge conspiracy theories about where they think the license is going to go. I've actually been following the news of Shari Redstone. When the executives of CBS first filed their lawsuit against Shari Redstone to prevent her from making any changes to CBS.

When Sumner Redstone passed away, his daughter Shari Redstone filed a lawsuit against CBS executives over Moonves' plans to strip the Redstones of their control over CBS. However, this would end up in the courts deciding in Shari Redstone's favor and ended CBS' fight with the Redstones.

The Redstone family filed a 66-page lawsuit in Delaware that alleges CBS has no legal right to strip the family of its special voting privileges, which give the family great sway over CBS’ affairs.

The suit takes aim at Moonves, saying he has tried twice before to get the Redstones to relinquish their voting power — in 2006 and 2015. Both times he was turned away, but Moonves prospered for more than a decade working for the Redstone regime — collecting rich compensation packages that, over the years, total more than $700 million. Moonves consistently has been the highest-paid executive in media.

The suit contends that Moonves this year gave CBS’ board an ultimatum: Vote to strip the Redstone family of their voting control, or he would resign. Moonves has leverage, including his standing on Wall Street and his contract, which gives him a $180-million “golden parachute” should he exit the company, the suit says. The Redstones, in a footnote in the lawsuit, also said that they “reserve all rights to contest any payments to Mr. Moonves under his employment agreement.”

The fight between the CBS Board of Directors and the Redstones would end up with lawsuits being filed against each other but with the Redstone family coming out on top with the courts finding in their favor. CBS would eventually lost their lawsuits they filed and also the lawsuits filed against them.

No matter what the outcome, CBS and Viacom's media group will be back under one single media company, once again, and that it's good news for Star Trek. Paramount will once again be in control of the franchise, Discovery and Picard may be re-evaluated and Kurtzman could end up getting pushed out of the door for the way he's handled the franchise. I'm actually excited, for once, to see where the franchise is going to now go.

I do expect that Discovery and Picard will run through their upcoming seasons and then be re-evaluated. Discovery and Picard do not exist within the original Star Trek TV shows and the current Star Trek shows may very well end with new Star Trek shows being produced for network television (and not a bloody paywall).

[Scottish Punk]

I agree getting all Star Trek licensing under one roof is good. Even better if Kurtzman is pushed out.

Discovery and Picard exist in the same timeline has all the tv shows. The only Star Trek "outside" of normal Trek is the last three movies. Discovery had many tie ins with the Original Series (and even used clips on a Pike episode). Picard will pick up the time line after Voyager. I am sure their will be a bunch of TNG episode references throughout that series.

[Thomas Veil]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

I agree getting all Star Trek licensing under one roof is good. Even better if Kurtzman is pushed out.

Discovery and Picard exist in the same timeline has all the tv shows. The only Star Trek "outside" of normal Trek is the last three movies. Discovery had many tie ins with the Original Series (and even used clips on a Pike episode). Picard will pick up the time line after Voyager. I am sure their will be a bunch of TNG episode references throughout that series.

If you say so...to me Discovery is just some bad dream someone had. It resembles nothing of true Trek. It could be any Scifi show.

[CouncilSpectre]

I enjoy Discovery, but I struggle to consider it part of the original timeline/continuity.

Picard otoh, I can’t see how that can or will be anything but prime TNG continuity.

[Poya]

Wish we got a Deep Space Nine movie in the Kelvin timeline, with Sterling K. Brown as Sisko (my first choice was Idris Elba but we can’t do that now, can we?).

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by stargazeruk

If Picard is good enough maybe it should be retooled to be considered cannon to the old Trek universe but if it fails they can write it off to the Kelvin timeline.

Picard is already considered canon to the "old Trek universe", it's designed to be a part of that continuity just as TNG was. It makes no sense to say "write it off to the Kelvin timeline", as the creation of the Kelvin timeline was due to events which took place in the Prime timeline, and these events are referenced as backstory in Picard.