Star Trek: Can Star Trek return to weekly television?

[aTOMiC]

As our memories fade (Enterprise) it seems more and more possible that Star Trek may one day return to televsion.

The trouble is I'm not sure if I'm capable of the kind of instant and unquestioning dedication I once had for the franchise. It seemed every new version of the show found new ways to water down the pure product.
I'm sure I wouldn't be drinking a Coke as I'm typing this if the company had been adding less and less flavor to it's product over time.
Oh yes, I do agree there have been really great moments during the run of each Star Trek series but generally speaking, on the whole, watching Voyager and Enterprise in particular, was like eating a snowcone made purely of ice.

So the J.J. Abrams movie comes along filled with color, texture and plenty of action and I begin to think that there might be some creative people out there capable of pushing the franchise forward in a way that will engage my imagination, inspire me to yearn for what comes next, filling me with anticipation, excitement.
I honesly haven't felt that way about new Star Trek television in a very long time.

Kind of bums me out, man.

I'm willing and open to the possibilities but as I type this I am filled with doubts.

We'll see what J.J. and company have in store for us as the next film enters production. I imagine that if Star Trek ever does return to my idiot box it will probably be inspired by what is happening in the theaters and maybe that's not all bad.

[Cail]

OK, I'll bite.


At the time, I liked TNG. I even liked DS:9 at the outset (because I thought Nana Visitor was smokin' hot). I'll go as far as to say that I gave Voyager a fair shake (Mrs. Columbo/Kate Loves a Mystery was OK).

But dammit Jim, the Star Trek TV series' have sucked since the early '70s. Sure, there were some great episodes of TNG, but they were few and far between. There were no great episodes of either DS:9 or Voyager.

I thought the new movie blew. That said, it was better than Enterprise.

I think they can make a decent go of it every 2 years or so in the theaters, but I can't see another decent TV series.

[matrixman]

I agree with Cail in that they should stick with big screen Trek adventures from now on.

Does Star Trek need to return to television?
I say it doesn't, but Paramount might be tempted.
With Trek's re-invigoration courtesy of J.J. Abrams, the studio might be blinded by dollar signs now.

If there had to be a new Trek series, I'd be more interested in a Trek spoof a la Galaxy Quest.
Yes, I'm still fixated on that. One of these days, I'm going to write an episode for my own entertainment.

[Damelon]

I think it's run its course TV wise for a while. I didn't watch too much of the franchise past TNG. I never got into DS9, and while I thought Voyager wasn't too bad, it wasn't "must see tv".

[spoonchicken]

Paramount has already stated they will NEVER do Star Trek on TV ever again. They milked the cow dry in the 90's, and that's basically that

[aTOMiC]

Yes I believe that Star Trek wore out it's welcome in the 90s.
No I don't believe Paramount is planning any kind of Star Trek series for television.
Yes I believe that in the future if the public is receptive to a new show they'll do a new show. I will never believe anything is off the table with a network or studio. Especially since studio heads change with some regularity. One CEOs bullspit is another's cash cow. It's like President Obama declaring that the Lincoln bedroom will now and forever have blue carpet. Won't hold water when the next president moves in.

[dANdeLION]

I think Star Trek saturated television so much in the last two decades, it's why shows like Futurama and Firefly didn't last.

[Kalkin]

Futurama is still on, new shows coming this year.

[dANdeLION]

Reruns don't count. I do see it will be starting again on Comedy Central (which is cable, not regular tv), but saying it's still on isn't true.

[Kalkin]

It is true, Fox is producing 26 new shows for Comedy Central this year, so it is still on.

[Orlion]

Futurama is still on, new shows coming this year.

So, they finally concluded negotiations as far as paying the voice actors?

[Kalkin]

Says they are in production for mid-summer distribution.

[Orlion]

Futurama is still on, new shows coming this year.

So, they finally concluded negotiations as far as paying the voice actors?

All righty, just confirmed it with Wikipedia! Apparently new episodes (not crummy, edited, syndicated parts of the movies) will be aired mid-June! Hoo-ray!

This hijack was brought to you by the feet of snow keeping me trapped inside the house, and we now return you to your regular discussion!

Yeah, if they ever did another Trek Tv show, they'd have to change the format completely... and what time period would it be in? In fact, what universe would it be in?

[dANdeLION]

Hijacked? Don't worry about it. According to the thread starter.....

then we're all agreed. Futurama rocks. Everything else sucks

...Futurama supersedes all else. He has cable, so he's probably jumping for joy right now!

[aTOMiC]

Hijacked? Don't worry about it. According to the thread starter.....

then we're all agreed. Futurama rocks. Everything else sucks

...Futurama supersedes all else. He has cable, so he's probably jumping for joy right now!

"Good news everyone!"

[matrixman]

Okay, then someone seriously needs to develop an animated Galaxy Quest show.

(raises hand) Me! I'll do it!

[SantaKlavis]

Don't worry about that. I think that when it will lose traffic or will become less popular, they'll make it much juicy with the plots and twists, you`ll see it)
But in fact, it will not lose fans, so... So...what to expect?)

[sgt.null]

when the ptb believe there is money to be made, Sta Trek will find it's way back to the small screen.

[wayfriend]

Except for police procedurals, no one does the kind of one-adventure-per-episode kind of show any more. So no Star Trek, no $6M Man, no Quantum Leap, no X-Files, etc. any more.

Everything these days has to have an over-arching character-driven drama to it. Shows like Agents of Shield and The Flash have picked up on that, and are thriving. The reboot of Battlestar Gallactica was rather much in this vein.

So ... Star Trek could come back, but it would have to come back with more drama and less adventure to it.

Not sure it'd be Star Trek if that happened. I mean, how do you make a "5 year mission to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilization, and boldly go where no man has ever gone before", but make it in a way that Kirk and Spock and McCoy and Scotty are all caught up in personal crises that affect the mission and are resolved by incidents happening along the way?

[dlbpharmd]

So ... Star Trek could come back, but it would have to come back with more drama and less adventure to it.

I would love to see that happen! That's the reason I love DS9 so much.