In the streaming age, Star Trek doesn't have to follow the same formula
PHOTO Middling ratings, average reviews and a dwindling network budget were all blamed for Star Trek's demise after only three seasons. SUPPLIED
In 1969, NBC cancelled Star Trek.
Middling ratings, average reviews and a dwindling network budget were all blamed for the demise of the original series after only three seasons.
As early as 1968, fans
protested outside NBC headquarters to save the show and an intense letter-writing campaign followed. The show got axed no matter how hard fans tried to save it.
Farewell Star Trek — live long and prosper.
Warp to 2020 and the failed sci-fi series is prospering.
In fact, in over 50 years of the franchise's history there's more Star Trek than ever before.
Everyone wants in
All Star Trek needed was 20 years to grow in popularity thanks to re-runs, which made it the most-watched syndicated television show in America by the early 1980s, and a series of The Original Series (TOS) films woke the show's fanbase like a sleeping giant.
In 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) continued the mission of the USS Enterprise with a new crew led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
PHOTO Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. CBS TV
TNG ran for seven years, with four films with Picard's crew, and followed by Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), Voyager (1995–2001), Enterprise (2001–2005), a rebooted trilogy of films (Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond) and Discovery (2017–present).
Star Trek is a constant in pop culture. A decade is not complete without checking in with the Star Trek universe.
GIF: Leonard Nimoy, playing Spock with his catchcry.
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Leonard Nimoy, playing Spock with his catchcry.
That same thinking has been applied to Star Trek: Picard, a new spinoff of TNG where Stewart returns to play the iconic captain in retirement (but not for long).
But this is the second new Star Trek series we've got in three years, and more are on the way. Recently, super fan
Quentin Tarantino even pitched his own twist on life as a member of StarFleet — everyone wants in.
Star Trek series are multiplying like tribbles thanks to the streaming age of television.
Just one more
Look at the timeline and you'll see that Star Trek thrives when it's absent.
Aside from the gap between TOS and TNG, the absence was felt most when Enterprise ended. The prequel series is often cited as a weaker entry in the franchise's history.
In its wake, Star Trek went missing from television for over a decade.
Star Trek: Discovery trailer (Netflix)
Yes, there were blockbuster Star Trek films in the meantime, but if you asked any fan what they really wanted, many would reply: one more truly great Star Trek television series.
Those hopes were answered when one of the biggest television networks in America, CBS, announced it was launching a streaming service complete with a new Star Trek series.
Star Trek Discovery is another prequel set before the events of TOS and it's a slicker, action-packed series that shows Starfleet during wartime.
Star Trek Discovery is about Starfleet finding its peace-keeping spirit in troubled times, and its third season promises to throw its crew into the distant future; a major criticism of Enterprise and Discovery is both shows stick to familiar timelines.
PHOTO Star Trek Discovery is another prequel set before the events of TOS. CBS INTERACTIVE
Discovery is the most-watched original series on CBS All Access in America and it led to a
72 per cent increase in subscribers when the second season landed.
Netflix distributes Discovery to 158 million subscribers worldwide and the series is a major drawcard for the platform.
An expanded universe
The success of Discovery means Star Trek can branch out and streaming services are hungry for more content. Traditionally, Star Trek followed a "one series at a time" rule, but not anymore.
After Picard you can expect Section 31, a Discovery spinoff about a super-secret intelligence organisation within Starfleet; Lower Decks, a series that focuses on crew members who do menial jobs on starships; and an untitled kid-friendly cartoon series — you can never be too young to get into Star Trek.
Other series are in development, too, including Starfleet Academy — the closest Star Trek may get to having a high school series, and a show that focuses on one of the franchise's best villains, Khan Noonien Singh (see: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).
"In development" can mean these shows could fall apart at any moment, but there's a strong dedication to expanding the Star Trek universe on television.
Expanded universes can be an exhausting part of the modern pop culture cycle like Marvel's superhero dynasty and the Star Wars empire — nothing ever ends — but Star Trek was made to stretch.
Series creator Gene Roddenberry pitched the show as "Wagon Train to the stars", a sci-fi riff on a popular serialised western.
Wagon Train focused on pioneers travelling through the American west, but they were limited by a continent. Star Trek would do the same but across an infinite universe.
PHOTO Star Trek Discovery is about Starfleet finding its peace-keeping spirit in troubled times. CBS INTERACTIVE
Never-ending stories
In 2015, Wired's Adam Roger's
profiled LucasFilm, the Disney-owned studio responsible for Star Wars, and described their operation as: "the quest for the forever franchise".
Every studio wants a never-ending franchise. To pivot from space for a second, Universal has one in the Fast and the Furious franchise.
The rev-head series is pushing close to double digits, spinoffs and cartoon series, and if they ever run out of road, space is a legitimate option.
Star Wars has the potential to be endless, but its overseers are more reactive than proactive. LucasFilm planned a series of films called "Star Wars stories" to fill in the gaps between the Skywalker saga.
The poor response to a prequel about Han Solo meant the plan got junked.
There's also a clear indication that between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, LucasFilm paid close attention to the sentiment of fans and tweaked their stories accordingly.
On the small screen, Star Wars is expanding within familiar pockets with The Mandalorian and an upcoming series about Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Ewan McGregor reprising the role.
Fans need more than nostalgia
When it comes to serialisation, Star Wars is starting to behave like Star Trek on the small screen.
Comparing Star Trek and Star Wars is tricky though. Science fiction and space fantasy each have their pros and cons, but they both have one thing in common: immortality.
For now, Star Trek has the edge because it truly feels expansive despite a tendency to revisit familiar timelines.
When a new Star Trek project is announced it makes sense because there's room to move.
When Star Wars finally starts to feel bigger than the sum of its parts, they interconnect characters and locations and it feels smaller again.
But to exist is not enough for Star Trek. You can't riff on nostalgia and expect to bank on the unconditional love of fans.
The reason why audiences keep going back to Star Trek is because of the aspirational future Roddenberry created.
The Mandalorian is streaming on Disney+.
To boldly go
From the beginning, Star Trek has always been optimistic about the future.
I know, I know, a big huge: duh.
A huge part of the franchise's allure is it expects the best from mankind and the potential is unlimited. Somehow, humans found a way to get over petty squabbles and think bigger.
Star Trek Picard begins with a legendary captain doubting an institution he once believed in.
As science fiction became dominated by dystopias throughout pop culture, it felt crazy that Star Trek still stood out as a beacon of hope — surely another franchise is going to take its lead.
Sincerity alert, but each new series always finds a way to inspire or find a sci-fi allegory to navigate political themes and the good news is that Star Trek has still got it.
Star Trek Picard begins with a legendary captain doubting an institution he once believed in and it represents the failings of governments to act on serious issues.
There's a false flag element of Star Trek Picard that makes it prescient for 2020; doubt in old systems, procedures and the people who influence decision makers.
Modern political paranoia has crept into Star Trek and the series is more rebellious than previous series but the optimistic spirit lives on Picard's new crew.
Is there such a thing a too much Star Trek?
Looking at the schedule of upcoming shows it's like a make good for TOS's early cancellation. Justice for the true believers.
Now is great time to be a Star Trek fan and the possibilities are endless.
Cameron Williams is a freelance writer and film critic based in Melbourne.
Posted Sun at 2:00am
