Earlier this week, the news broke that CBS will launch a new Star Trek television series in January of 2017. Fans everywhere responded with what could only be described as cautious optimism. On the one hand, it’s been over a decade since Star Trek: Enterprise shut down, breaking up a string of shows that spun neatly off into one another for nearly twenty years (1987 to 2005). Fans everywhere are more than ready to embrace new characters and new adventures on a weekly basis. Then again, there are a few items in the press release that could give fans pause: slated for a January 2017 release without a writing staff; launching on CBS All Access; Alex Kurtzman.
While I wouldn’t describe myself as the biggest Star Trek fan, that probably says more about the thoroughness of most Star Trek fans than my own involvement with the franchise. I’ve watched every season of the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine through to their completion. I also caught every feature film and even gave Star Trek: Voyager two or three seasons to win me over (it failed). In high school, a family friend would record new episodes of every show on VHS and send them home with my parents. In my late-twenties, when each season was available on Netflix, my dad and I sat down again to re-watch some of our favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine. I probably wouldn’t win a round of Star Trek trivia at the bar, but I’m no Wesley, either.
And that means I have a few big picture thoughts – call them constructive comments – on what a new Star Trek series might look like. The Star Trek fandom has a deserved reputation for being die-hard, progressive and considerate; these are the types of fans that other franchises should be emulating. So listen to us, Kurtzman and company, because if you treat them right, you’ll never have to pay for your own beer in a convention center again.
Here are the five things that we’d like to see with a new Star Trek television series.
You Can Have Your CBS All Access, With a Caveat
Since the news came out that the new Star Trek series would run exclusively on CBS All Access – the television network’s proprietary streaming service – more than a few people have voiced their displeasure with this decision. Not many people care about the online output of the Columbia Broadcasting System, past or present. Die-hard fans of shows like Twin Peaks or The Twilight Zone already own the series on Blu-ray or DVD. Meanwhile, fans of contemporary CBS shows became fans as a result of the network’s formulaic storytelling and easy access. Why add another streaming service to your monthly bill when the appeal of a show comes from the ritual of watching new episodes every week? You take away a show like Blue Bloods and I’d wager people will find a new series rather than pay extra for a poor man’s Hulu.
We can’t exactly shake our fist and demand that a major broadcasting network deliver content to us just because we want it a certain way. The fact that CBS is considering removing a popular license from the broadcast side of the business is another in a series of small steps forward for the industry; it’s only the how of the delivery that needs to be addressed. If CBS is promising that we can watch a big budget Star Trek series alongside every other version of the show for only $5.99 a month, then this would seem like nothing but good news for fans. If, however, the new Star Trek is more in-line with a traditional web series or represents a low-budget experiment by CBS, then you’re out of luck: fans have been doing their own web shows for years, and they probably care more about the show than your writers ever will.
Do Not Tie It into the Ongoing Movie Franchise
Without even a writer associated with the series, it’s far too early to speculate as to whether the Star Trek series will connect itself to the ongoing film franchise. The quotes from the Hollywood Reporter article suggest that the television series will take place in its own slice of the Star Trek universe, with a storyline that introduces “new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations.” That being said, with Marvel and DC Entertainment both jockeying for success as the king of shared universes, Kurtzman and company might see the perfect precedent for a Star Trek crossover television show. And this would be a mistake.
First is the issue of corporate synergy. Die-hard Star Trek fans are already skeptical that a new series is an online marketing campaign disguised as new television; if you try to tie it into the film franchise as well, you run the risk of alienating your audience before you even have a chance to show them your ideas. Second, though, is the way the Star Trek universe is structured. If the show wants to pass the baton using a recognizable face, that’s one thing. Star Trek has long used cast members from other versions of the show to introduce its spin-offs, including using Picard in the pilot of Deep Space Nine and fan-favorite Quark in the pilot of Voyager. But whereas the MCU and DCU were built with a shared universe in mind, the various versions of Star Trek have muddled the continuity so deeply that untangling it is impossible. Don’t back yourself into a corner with ‘small universe’ tropes. Save the crossovers for time travel and alternate universe episodes.
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