Great quote on the state of the Star Trek franchise by Warren Ellis

[Khephra]

It's old news that all the Star Trek fans turn up to a new Star Trek
film on the first weekend. And yet STAR TREK: NEMESIS was
possibly the least successful Trek film ever. There's a simple
reason for that. The fanbase is dying of old age, and new devotees
are not being created because the last two Trek TV shows have
been so bad. VOYAGER was a pompous, gutless horror, and
ENTERPRISE just shuffles plots and character templates from all
the other shows, desperate not to offend anyone, desperate to not
break ground or seem too clever. It's turned inward. A franchise
can't survive forever on playing to the comfort zone of the hardcore
fans. If Star Trek is going to survive as a 21st Century concern, it
needs to reinvent the future, jettison all the old-favourite cover-versions, and accept that if the fanbase sat through the episode where Spock's brain is stolen and the doctor has to move him around with an old Atari controller, then they're not going to go away until they die. Don't play to them. Give the rest of us a reason to be interested.

http://www.diepunyhumans.com/

[Maple]

1. LOL

The fan base isn't dying of old age.

I first saw it as a teenager, loved it, and I'm now 57...far from dead.

I also liked Voyager once they figured out it was okay to have a woman captain that wasn't wimpy, and could kick butt.

However, I refuse to watch the latest drek....dreadful stuff.

[cprise]

2. Atari didn't exist during 'Spock's Brain'

...and Trek's greatest problem is the group of executives at Paramount that insist on a continuous string of TV series and move sequels.

Cut away 1/2 of it, and you'll see far more interest in Trek.

[Khephra]

3. Here's a different take on the situation

Trek Bosses Defend Franchise

snip..............

So the two producers found themselves defending their work and the new direction Enterprise is slated to take as it begins its third season in the fall. "I don't think the franchise is in trouble," Berman told reporters at UPN's fall press preview in Hollywood. He added, "Viacom and Paramount have been very supportive of what we do, both in terms of the television shows that we produce and the movies that we produce."

As for Enterprise, which is taking a bold new direction, Leslie Moonves—chairman and chief executive of UPN's parent, CBS—denied to reporters that the company was close to a drastic change such as taking it off the air and coming back later with an entirely new Trek series. "I don't think we were close to it," he said. "Everything is talked about. And obviously, we looked at all permutations. And as Dawn said, we looked at our research, we talked to the producers, we talked to the studio, and we felt this was the best plan."

For his part, Braga told reporters, "I don't think creatively we were doing anything wrong. It can be debated from many different angles whether there are problems with the show. There are many people that love the show. We're very proud of the show, but we did feel that after a couple of seasons, it was time to do something differently." So why did viewers bail last year? "Don't know," Braga said matter-of-factly. "Don't know."

more...............

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2003-07/24/12.00.tv

[Maple]

4. Riiiiiiiight

The show is great, everything's perfect...we just have no audience!

[Bake]

5. Personally, I LOVED Nemesis!

ST:TNG has always stressed the human element, which I love. Data's act of self-sacrifice left me in tears. I bought the DVD and watch it over and over. And Data singing Blue Skies--how great was THAT??

And how about Picard ramming the Enterprise head on into the other ship???? Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Would Kirk have EVER done that?

And the departures of Riker and Troi ...

I just loved the movie. Seemed like a good conclusion, but left room for another sequel.

Bake

[thermodynamic]

6. I'd rather see innovative shows come back...

"Doctor Who", "Sliders", "Blake's 7" - they all deserve to come back. And even then I worry because society's attempts at revivals and remakes almost always fail dismally while pissing on the source entity.

TNG and ALL of its spinoffs have been the same plots re-used and re-hashed over and over far too many times (which means more than none.)

[Khephra]

7. Check your mail

I just sent you a surprise.

:-)

[jayfish]

8. Did You Get A Chance To Catch Firefly...

before it was quietly pulled from the air? I have been a Trek fan for a long time and Firefly walked all over it.

Jay

[Enraged_Ape]

9. Firefly was first-rate; it was killed by FOX...

by banishment to the Friday night graveyard.

It featured an attractive cast of characters that you could actually care about, a cool spaceship, and sharp dialogue. It was the first science-fiction series in recent memory where ships didn't make noise in space, and that only added a hint of realism to the "what if" nature of the whole thing.

And it featured a ragtag crew of individuals fighting against a cold, militaristic, fascist empire. I guess that's just not popular with the rabble today.

[Khephra]

10. I had mixed feelings on Firefly

It was a bit too much of a Western for my tastes. I've never been a big fan of that genre.

There is good news for Firefly fans though. The DVD with the unaired episodes is coming out later this year. Joss is also trying to make a feature Firefly film.