What should be done with the "Star Trek" franchise?

[Hugh Casey]

Now that Viacom co-president Moonves has stated that maybe Trek should take a break for a couple of years, let's see what some of the fans think!

Answers above, explainations below.

Fire away!

[black campbellq]

I kinda like what they're doing with the universe in Enterprise this season
...something different was what the franchise needed. The 'head of the week' stuff from Voyager gets old fast. Couple that with the solution to every problem is rewiring some bit of technology or using some new particle and you get a staid set of tropes. Also, the atmosphere of TNG, Voyager was just too utopian for me. I've finally had a chance to watch the DS9 series and found it refreshing -- much more character-driven and ther are more 'questions' asked with no easy answers.

A major problem for the franchise has been that it's not the only kid on the block, now...Babylon 5 raised the bar for SFX, but also highlighted story arcs, complex characters and issues in which the 'right thing' wasn't always clear. Stargate SG-1 joins sci-fi travel with modern military, and once again...character-driven stories. Battlestar Galactica (the new one) has that same important quality that has made these other shows popular: the characters are engaging and interesting, and they drive the action.

Competition requires Trek to get smart and to adapt to new tastes. I think a break might help the franchise...or maybe it's time to find a new universe to play in.

[REG]

Now that Viacom co-president Moonves has stated that maybe Trek should take a break for a couple of years, let's see what some of the fans think!

Answers above, explainations below.

Fire away!

If you'd ask me a year ago on this day, I'd quickly say, "Yes, we need a break" without skipping a heartbeat.

BUT, last summer they made a smart move, albeit halfway. Put somebody else like Manny Coto instead of Brannon Braga to run the show.

We're halfway there. They should complete the other half by terminating Berman's and Braga's job from the franchise.

[Rayaru]

No. I think the show is just fine the way it is. Manny Coto's been doing a very good job.

[T'lara]

They need to creative staff and a new show. That takes time. Rushing will not fix the issue. B&B failed miserably like it or not it is true. They need a new head of the Star Trek project someone with talent. Behr, Pillar or Wolfe anyone?
Rumors that JMS may have already wrote a proposal to Viacom/Paramount for a new Star Trek series that Viacom/Paramount are debating on is just that a rumor. If it is true it would take years to set up the show right.
It needs to be done well not thrown together because the last series just ended. So I voted for the break.

[REG]

What's wrong with Manny Coto?

[T'lara]

What's wrong with Manny Coto?

Manny Coto still needs to pass the B&B team this was established in other threads here. Also the ratings come on look at the niesons. Hell the merchandise is not selling either. They need to wipe it clean. Get talent back. They will blame everyone. I think Manny is set up as B&B's fall guy. After all they used us fans for how many years?

[JALU3]

I say let Enterprise continue on for one more season after that . . . then get a new crew up there.

Give it about five years, and during that time see what has worked and what hasn't. Talk to the fans and see what specific shows and episodes they like the best and why. I am sure they can do a mass mailer questioner, or do it on the net, or open up minibooths at certain stores that have a wide coverage area (like maybe gamestops).

Then, add to the management team two elements. A cannon checker . . . basically someone who checks older episodes and makes sure they don't step on their own, and previous creative shows, and with a vote of the voting base deciding what should be considered apocrypha (if anything at all). Second . . . a council of fans . . . each representing a certain region. I say 2 for Europe, 2 of North America, 2 of Latin America, 2 for Asia, 2 for the Oceana region . . . and what not. Pay them all modest salaries (40,000 plus expenses) and make them one termers for 4 years. This way we as a fan base can actually have imput.

Then once that is all set up, get their collective minds together and do some work. Hopefully it'll pan out.

[jkp1187]

Trash the whole thing, let it go for ten years, and then let it be revived as an entirely new series, with no reference to "canon" questions.... This isn't the Papacy. Time for a clean slate. To do otherwise would result in squelching creativity. Writing interesting stories is hard enough without constantly being harassed by "canon police". I mean, how can you crucify some poor writer in the Year of Our Lord 2005 because he paid insufficient attention to a throwaway line written before he was born?

[REG]

Manny Coto still needs to pass the B&B team this was established in other threads here.

I know, but I don't think he's figurehead simply because he was chosen by B&B. Don't put him in the same bad light as B&B.

Also the ratings come on look at the niesons.

You still believe in that primitive system?

[Spike]

A major problem for the franchise has been that it's not the only kid on the block, now...Babylon 5 raised the bar for SFX, but also highlighted story arcs, complex characters and issues in which the 'right thing' wasn't always clear.

Battlestar Galactica (the new one) has that same important quality that has made these other shows popular: the characters are engaging and interesting, and they drive the action.

Competition requires Trek to get smart and to adapt to new tastes. I think a break might help the franchise...or maybe it's time to find a new universe to play in.

I think Babylon 5 is better that the last three Trek series and definitely gives the first two a run for thier money. Best thing ever to happen was Paramount turning JMS away and then stealing his idea.

The jury is still out on the new Galactica series. I like the actors but this doesn't feel like Galactica. I'll give it some time to see if it can carry itself and mentally change the names.

Like with Voyager, I tune into Enterprise every so often to see if it has gotten any better and it reminds me of the Squire of Gothos. It looks pretty and you want to like it but the sawdust taste reminds you that it is just an illusion.

[Silverstreak]

I said no, but you know what might be really cool, would be to start over and do a whole new Star Trek universe, forgeting everything that ever happened before.

Have all the same races and stuff, but maybe there is no UFP or Klingon Empire.

Maybe it's all completely different.


I also think it might be cool if they stopped making it seem like Humans are the only members of the Federation.

I'd like to see a series where the ship has it's token human, not token alien.

A Betazoid Captain (a full betazoid), an Andorian first officer, a Tellerait Engineer, a Centauran counselor or Doctor, a Vulcan Operations or Science officer, A bolian, hell anything else but Humans always being the bloody heroes, the Federation is made up of over 10,000 worlds and the only ones in Starfleet are humans.

THAT'S GETTING OLD.

[REG]

The jury is still out on the new Galactica series. I like the actors but this doesn't feel like Galactica. I'll give it some time to see if it can carry itself and mentally change the names.

It's not supposed to. It's a re-imagined series. Take out those 70's campiness and make it darker and grittier. Even the cylon mechanoids are not even polished to a shine.

[Spike]

It's not supposed to. It's a re-imagined series. Take out those 70's campiness and make it darker and grittier. Even the cylon mechanoids are not even polished to a shine.

I wonder if the enterprise-d had lost the d, Stewart's character was actually called Kirk, McFadden's character was called Spock and Burton's character was named Scotty, if it would have been called re-imagined. Take out those 60's campiness and make it lighter and politically correct. They did make the Klingons less sinister.

[REG]

I wonder if the enterprise-d had lost the d, Stewart's character was actually called Kirk, McFadden's character was called Spock and Burton's character was named Scotty, if it would have been called re-imagined. Take out those 60's campiness and make it lighter and politically correct. They did make the Klingons less sinister.

Not really. We wouldn't have a Klingon onboard as a starfleet officer. Besides, a re-imagined TOS would have been a lot more grittier, since it is billed as the "Wild Wagon to the Stars," sort of like pioneers heading toward the uncharted western frontier, following the Lewis & Clark trails.