New Star Trek Show Maybe

[benbess]

In May of 1964, Gene Roddenberry and Herbert F. Solow had a pitch meeting with NBC executives for a new show. Although they explained the show well, the NBC execs were not convinced, and so....(according to the Trek site Memory Alpha):

"...Neither Grant Tinker – who was also present at the meeting and was, at the time, NBC Vice President of Programs, West Coast – nor Jerry Stanley was convinced to agree to a series deal with Roddenberry and Solow. Just as Roddenberry was about to leave the room, Solow made a last-ditch attempt to persuade the NBC executives, stating, "If you give us a commitment for a ninety-minute script instead of one hour, and we make the pilot, you can always run it as a TV special and recoup your investment if it doesn't sell as a series. Besides, I'm not leaving this room until you give us a script order." This was enough to sway NBC's stance and the executives agreed to make a deal. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, pp. 6, 19-20)"

Here were are, 50 years later, and many are wondering about the odds of Star Trek making it back onto the air for the 50th anniversary year of its first broadcast, which would make if 2016.

My guess is that it'll happen, at least as a limited series or a miniseries. But I could be wrong. CBS, which owns the rights for Trek for TV seems lukewarm at best.

But if someone like Netflix, or a cable channel, or Amazon even, came to CBS with a desire to make a show or miniseries, it seems like they'd probably agree.

One good thing, from the perspective of many fans, is that because it's with CBS, JJ Abrams wouldn't necessarily have to be involved. In fact, I think he could be cut out entirely, both financially and creatively.

Anyway, if Star Trek comes back to TV, what would you like to see in a new Trek show? First, would you like to see it in the Prime universe, or in the JJA one? New crew? Redone old crew? Mixed? What time frame?

[benbess]

I'd like to see a Prime universe show with a new ship and new crew, set 15 years after Voyager's return.

This would allow guest stars, maybe even Patrick Stewart, for a ratings-grabbing final performance as Picard?

[stvn1974]

I still love the original series and crew movies and have really enjoyed the other series through netlflix. I hate the JJ Abrams films. Not only are they not Star Trek to me but they are just bad films, IMO. If they do make a new TV series I hope they base it on in universe of TOS though Voyager and the original crew and Next Generation films. An Star Fleet Academy show still seems like the best idea to me.

What would be perfect is if in the third movie they had the entire crew get assimilated by the Borg, wait five years and reboot Star Trek again but this time with competent producers, writers and director.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

I still love the original series and crew movies and have really enjoyed the other series through netlflix. I hate the JJ Abrams films.

I don't hate JJ's films per se, but JJ...we've seen Wrath of Khan!
EVERYBODY'S seen Wrath of Khan! Can we put our love behind us and move on now??

Originally Posted by stvn1974

What would be perfect is if in the third movie they had the entire crew get assimilated by the Borg, wait five years and reboot Star Trek again but this time with competent producers, writers and director.

Too late, they were already destroyed. By Capt. Janeway, no less.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Too late, they were already destroyed. By Capt. Janeway, no less.

Not in the JJ universe they weren't (which is what he was referring to) - they're still out there. Far away but out there...

I agree with Benbess, I'd love to see a Prime universe show again, set after the current ones.

[darkdigital]

You could have a new series set in the future 2379 from JJ film but treating it as a separate timeline unaffected by the changes created by Nero.
I really would like to see events from the film.

Romulus has been obliterated, The Star Empire has collapsed. It would tie in with future vision in 'All Good Things'. We can see the Klingon/Federation relations deteriorate as the Federation does the humanitarian thing saving the surviving Romulans & probably helping what left of the Cardassians after the DS9 finally. The Klingons are aggressively conquering everything like Klingons should. I think it could lead to interesting morally driving stories in the universe which most of the fans held dear.

Set on a whole new ship, a big ship (watching tiny Voyager defeat Borg Cubes, which on 2 separate occasions entire fleets couldn't, was ridiculous) . A new crew.

Plus as someone posted above, it leaves open the possibilities of guest star appearances

[benbess]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

....I'd love to see a Prime universe show again, set after the current ones.

++++

Most people think the Prime universe is dead.

Maybe. But I'm not certain that's true. The movies are done by Paramount, while TV Trek rests with CBS. Yes, these are linked corporate entities, but they might possibly work on parallel tracks, or even different tracks and treks.

At the last Star Trek convention Into Darkness was ranked last by fans out of all the movies. I think that's way too harsh, and I liked parts of Into Darkness. But the fans are clearly lukewarm about JJA's take on Trek. And since he's left Trek for Star Wars anyway, perhaps Prime can co-exist in a "parallel universe"? Perhaps that's a long shot. I don't know.

But for a entity like Netflix, Amazon, or perhaps a cable channel, having an exclusive Trek series or even just miniseries could have a lot of value. Patrick Stewart (who, as far as Trek is concerned, exists in the Prime universe) is as big a star as ever, and I think there would be a lot of media attention if he took command as Picard one last time....And it might also even draw in some X-men fans.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by benbess

++++
Most people think the Prime universe is dead.

Maybe. But I'm not certain that's true. The movies are done by Paramount, while TV Trek rests with CBS. Yes, these are linked corporate entities, but they might possibly work on parallel tracks, or even different tracks and treks.

As noted earlier in the thread, the third season of Enterprise killed it, and it was too late for the TOS-sentimental fourth season to save it.
But at least now they've learned the hard lesson of what CAN save it.

(And no, I haven't gotten up to the "Back to Tribbles" episode of DS9 yet, but I'm getting there. )

At the last Star Trek convention Into Darkness was ranked last by fans out of all the movies. I think that's way too harsh,

Especially considering Insurrection. (The movie where Paramount cut the main money-plot on the editing-room floor, and gave us What Was Left.)
And maybe the Final Frontier-bashing got tired after a while.

But for a entity like Netflix, Amazon, or perhaps a cable channel, having an exclusive Trek series or even just miniseries could have a lot of value. Patrick Stewart (who, as far as Trek is concerned, exists in the Prime universe) is as big a star as ever, and I think there would be a lot of media attention if he took command as Picard one last time....And it might also even draw in some X-men fans.

Even for All Good Things, Picard gave the TNG series its best farewell in the deleted ending to ST:Nemesis:

[Show spoiler]

Star Trek Nemesis Deleted Scene: "Where noone has gone before" - YouTube

You just couldn't outdo it by bringing him back after that.

The last three New series were all for the syndie-outbreak networks, and even that isn't what it used to be:
You couldn't show a new Trek series on WB--which's now become the teen Twilight Channel--and you couldn't show it on ABC without compromising the budget ambitions like Agents of SHIELD.
Paramount would have to do it by themselves, and Netflix would be in no position to pay the bills. But it's about all we have left now, and there seem to be more loyal Trek viewers on Netflix now than there are on BBCAmerica.
(And just WTF is up with that anyway? Have the New-Whovians completely taken over the channel??)

[benbess]

Originally Posted by EricJ

....
Especially considering Insurrection. (The movie where Paramount cut the main money-plot on the editing-room floor, and gave us What Was Left.)
And maybe the Final Frontier-bashing got tired after a while.

Even for All Good Things, Picard gave the TNG series its best farewell in the deleted ending to ST:Nemesis...

Paramount would have to do it by themselves, and Netflix would be in no position to pay the bills. But it's about all we have left now, and there seem to be more loyal Trek viewers on Netflix now than there are on BBCAmerica.
(And just WTF is up with that anyway? Have the New-Whovians completely taken over the channel??)

I would be interested to hear what was deleted from Insurrection. Haven't heard about that.

EricJ: I love that deleted "About time!" ending from Nemesis. Classic! I wish they'd do an extended cut of that film. You're right that the end of TNG with All Good Things is great and can't be topped, but I was thinking of something different.

To put it in a nutshell, I think there's a market for an all-new crew with a all-new ship, but with maybe just a few guest stars from TNG, DS9 ad Voyager. If Picard could be brought back (and maybe die heroically) in three-episode arc, it might be epic.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I still think the Prime Trek universe can be brought back.

And it's CBS who would be doing it, not Paramount, which does the movies. They are linked entities, but to a significant degree they do different things and have different people.

And Netflix is already paying $3.5 million to $4.5 million an episode for their shows like Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove, and House of Cards. Check out this link:

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...ginal-sho.aspx

Even in the 5th and 6th seasons, the average budget for Next Generation was less than $2 million for an average episode, which adjusted for inflation would be about $3.5 m today.

Granted, Trek has big costs in terms of building an infrastructure of sets, fx, make-up, etc. Probably to do a 2 hour premiere of such a show would be about $20 million or so, but after that you could do another 10 episodes closer to the $4 million mark, and so the whole season would be c. $60 million, which is what Netflix has already paid for one season of House of Cards.

And probably they wouldn't have to pay that much, because CBS would probably want final ownership of the show. And so just like Desilu lost money on Trek originally, and then made it up and so much more on reruns, CBS might be willing to "sell" Trek for a little less than it costs, if they keep the ownership and rights after a certain number of years. There's room to make a deal, imho.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by benbess

I would be interested to hear what was deleted from Insurrection. Haven't heard about that.

Paramount's idea going in was to do a, quote, "lighter IV-like humor piece", as the planet's fountain-of-youth effects has love in the air across the ship, and the F. Murray Abraham plot was just the plot-device catalyst.
There was some reference at the beginning of the movie to Picard starting to feel in the mood and Riker and Troi back at it, but most of the entire "romantic comedy" plot was expunged by the studio, and we had to spend 90 minutes worrying about somebody in bad makeup blowing up a planet for thinly established reasons.

EricJ: I love that deleted "About time!" ending from Nemesis. Classic! I wish they'd do an extended cut of that film. You're right that the end of TNG with All Good Things is great and can't be topped, but I was thinking of something different.

It's a little more wistful with the scenes just before the clip:
Riker and Dr. Crusher are just departing the ship for their own new captain promotions, Data is gone, LaForge is moving up to another ship, Worf will be returning to his ambassadorial duties, and Picard realizes...he's the only "old" loyal crew member left on an Enterprise full of new personnel.
Which makes his "Where no one has gone before..." line with the new No. 1 a little more optimistic than reciting the William Shatner oath one more time.

[cudzndrips]

I'm a die hard Trekker from the original series, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise (TNG and DS9 being my favourite shows). I love the Trek movies both original cast and TNG but there's also one more thing I love - JJ Abrams take on trek. 2009 film blew me away (think I saw it in theatres about 8 times) and absolutely loved Into Darkness. I don't get the hate for JJ's movies I personally think he's done an amazing job bringing Trek back to us and can't wait to see the further adventures of Pine's crew.

[benbess]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Paramount's idea going in was to do a, quote, "lighter IV-like humor piece", as the planet's fountain-of-youth effects has love in the air across the ship, and the F. Murray Abraham plot was just the plot-device catalyst.
There was some reference at the beginning of the movie to Picard starting to feel in the mood and Riker and Troi back at it, but most of the entire "romantic comedy" plot was expunged by the studio, and we had to spend 90 minutes worrying about somebody in bad makeup blowing up a planet for thinly established reasons....

Fascinating! Thanks.+++

[Rixx]

Originally Posted by benbess

I'd like to see a Prime universe show with a new ship and new crew, set 15 years after Voyager's return.

This would allow guest stars, maybe even Patrick Stewart, for a ratings-grabbing final performance as Picard?

It's almost as if you saw the plot for Star Trek: Renegades and added an extra 5 years

It will probably end up another web movie like Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, hopefully it will be good and CBS will make a series.

http://startrekrenegades.com/home/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Renegades

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dfhWr9l1NI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhZPbX2x3Ug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgRJWBB12GA

[Iron-Fisted Punk]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Paramount's idea going in was to do a, quote, "lighter IV-like humor piece", as the planet's fountain-of-youth effects has love in the air across the ship, and the F. Murray Abraham plot was just the plot-device catalyst.
There was some reference at the beginning of the movie to Picard starting to feel in the mood and Riker and Troi back at it, but most of the entire "romantic comedy" plot was expunged by the studio, and we had to spend 90 minutes worrying about somebody in bad makeup blowing up a planet for thinly established reasons.

It was much more complicated than this if you've ever read Michael Piller's Fade in. Epic space battles with Romulans, a bigger conspiracy within the Federation, Worf in some sweet hand-to-hand combat, flashbacks to the academy days, Boothby(!), all originally tied to the fountain of youth story. Originally Berman didn't want to pitch an idea to Patrick Stewart about "getting old" so Piller took out the fountain of youth story, but the Romulans were still the bad guys. This was pitched to Stewart and he hated it. What's interesting is Stewart really did the most to change this movie from how it started to how it ended up because he had final say so (or Make it so) on the script. Paramount loved every draft Piller turned in.

[cynatnite]

A new series would be great, but I don't expect it for a while.

I was a so-so fan of the original series. Loved TNG. Did not like DS9 one bit. Voyager will always be my favorite of them all. Then after Voyager went off the air, I went back to DS9 and glad I did. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.

[L.J.]

Maybe another one that has a ship and crew not affilated with the others.

[Talyn]

Originally Posted by L.J.

Maybe another one that has a ship and crew not affilated with the others.

I, hereby, nominate Section 31 for a series in the prime universe.....

[cynatnite]

I enjoyed the recent new movies quite a bit, but to me they are more action than sci-fi.

What made Star Trek so great is that it was about science in the future. It's about hope and what we could potentially become. That's what makes me a trekker.

I don't want to see a condensed version of Into Darkness on the small screen and I admit that I love that movie.

If they do put out a new series I would like to see a Federation that is struggling after the war with the Dominion and a resurgent Klingon Empire. I think it should be in the 50 years after Voyager gets home. Humans are living much longer lives so it wouldn't be a stretch to see alumnus from the shows make an appearance.

In how I envision it, the Borg is scattered and not the force it once was as a whole, but in some ways they could be more dangerous with erratic factions scattered about. Section 31 has made it's presence known, but is still highly secretive and manipulative. They could be a part of some exciting story arcs.

Space exploration is now an old fashion space-race. The Klingons are on track to become more powerful than the Federation. The Romulans are hoping to expand their empire as well. All three groups are looking to make new friends. Violating the prime directive is something the Federation has to do in order to keep up. A new way of first contact is derived especially for this. (I hate the prime directive anyway)

For me, I want the old west of space exploration, but I want the hope that Gene Roddenberry envisioned. I was never a huge fan of Enterprise because I felt like it went backwards rather than forward.

If I had my way, this would be the Star Trek series I would want to see.

[benbess]

Originally Posted by Talyn

I, hereby, nominate Section 31 for a series in the prime universe.....

Interesting idea.+ Not sure how to get the "optimism" of Trek in there if you're mainly focusing on 31, but maybe...

cnynatnite: Interesting scencario. I like it.++

[Talyn]

Originally Posted by benbess

Interesting idea.+ Not sure how to get the "optimism" of Trek in there if you're mainly focusing on 31, but maybe...

cnynatnite: Interesting scencario. I like it.++

My thought on that, is that not all of Section 31 is as nasty as one might think. I'd have it like a cross with Burn Notice with Star Trek. Section 31 dealing with their own rogue agents or a S31 agent gets caught between morals and duty and subsequent redemption for all the bad things they did.... or even La Femme Nikita style with a new recruit who fights the system and the system and themselves change from everything.... various nastiness popping up across the universe and venturing into unknown areas to determine threats and possibly helping from time to time and covering that up from higher ups. I think there's room for some shades of grey in a Section 31 series. Plenty of backstory, plenty of prior events and run-ins.... I could see optimism in there in the right doses without forcing it, while allowing the universe to expand into darker territory while remaining familiar.