New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017 • Hacker News Board

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#141

Post by logfromblammo » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:06 PM UTC

Star Trek is a franchise that was slowly being crushed by the mass of its own canon--five television series, ten feature films, books, comics, video games, and a devoted fanbase will do that.

That is likely why the Abrams films rebooted the universe--restarting from the Captain Pike era--with a big enough change to justifiably say it changes everything that the previous continuity ever did.

And that is rather fortunate, because if they had made first contact in 2016 rather than 1996, people might conceivably be throwing money into the Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter interfaces to the Borg-net, rather than foolishly engaging in any futile resistance. The cube-ships would be ruthlessly harvesting our most shareable lolcat videos, and everyone would be walking around in identical jeans-and-hoodies outfits and calling everything "amazing".

A reboot is really the only way to restore the franchise to its original mission to simplify today's social issues and frame them up against the backdrop of a more progressive starfaring society, so that people can get some perspective on those things that might otherwise be too close to home in a somewhat entertaining way.

For instance, given the South China Sea situation, I would guess that at some point, the new Star Trek series would introduce some alien species as proxies for China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, and maybe even Brunei, and the China-aliens would be constructing artificial dwarf planets out of hazardous nebulae using unlicensed Genesis devices, and using them as bases to harass passing scientific and mercantile traffic. Then some of the people watching would obsess over details and completely miss the broader point.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#142

Post by d_theorist » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:07 PM UTC

ewzimm wrote: post #129

d_theorist wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>" This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience , then boldly go where no first-run Star Trek series has gone before – directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access,” said Marc DeBevoise [emphasis mine] Sounds like it is going to be on TV.

They are definitely putting it on TV. This is like when games are advertised "Only on Playstation" when there's also a PC version, since it's a console exclusive. They just really want people to subscribe to their streaming service instead of Netflix, so their app will be the exclusive (legal) streaming destination.

It's the typical bullshit.

This sentence annoys me more every time I read it:

>"This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run Star Trek series has gone before – directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access,”

Why can they not simply write in a way is comprehensible?

"The first episode will be on CBS. Subsequent episodes will be on "CBS All Access"”.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#143

Post by rhino369 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:07 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #62

ramblerman wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that's pretty much what the last movie was. That being said I thought it was quite good when you didn't think of it as 'star trek'

Yeah the two new movies were essentially action movies that captured the feel of the TOS characters.

All the movies except 1 and 4 were essentially action movies. And 4 was mostly a fish out of water comedy.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#144

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:07 PM UTC

jgon wrote: post #140

zzalpha wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're mostly generic action in space with some familiar names and Starfleet uniforms. You've just described the Wrath of Khan, considered one of the finest films in the franchise. Hell, a good number of episodes in every series in the franchise were just action in space... the Best of Both Worlds is literally just Us vs The Borg. Fans have incredibly rose tinted glasses regarding ST. For every City on the Edge of F…

To call "The Wrath of Khan" generic action is pretty unfair, especially when compared against it's clone/reboot "Into Darkness". TWOK opens with Kirk pondering his own mortality and some of the universal concerns of aging. ID opens with a Spock apparently deciding to off himself, with no real motivation or development of that decision given. We can quibble about the intervening parts but for my part I find the action…

[deleted]

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#145

Post by sp332 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:12 PM UTC

zzalpha wrote: post #126

sp332 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrath of Khan is only good because of Mantalban. The movies didn't really pick up until the fourth one, when they stopped taking them so seriously and just had some fun making a movie. And at least a handful of good episodes exist. There are no such specimens among the (two) new movies.

Wrath of Khan is only good because of Mantalban. The movies didn't really pick up until the fourth one, when they stopped taking them so seriously and just had some fun making a movie. So you're a "Trouble with Tribbles" kind of a guy/girl. Nothing wrong with that at all, everyone has different tastes! But we'll agree to disagree. While Khan is clearly an action film first, it's an exploration of Kirk as a character,…

It's not like space operas ever made sense :)

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#146

Post by zzalpha » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:13 PM UTC

jgon wrote: post #140

zzalpha wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're mostly generic action in space with some familiar names and Starfleet uniforms. You've just described the Wrath of Khan, considered one of the finest films in the franchise. Hell, a good number of episodes in every series in the franchise were just action in space... the Best of Both Worlds is literally just Us vs The Borg. Fans have incredibly rose tinted glasses regarding ST. For every City on the Edge of F…

To call "The Wrath of Khan" generic action is pretty unfair, especially when compared against it's clone/reboot "Into Darkness". TWOK opens with Kirk pondering his own mortality and some of the universal concerns of aging. ID opens with a Spock apparently deciding to off himself, with no real motivation or development of that decision given. We can quibble about the intervening parts but for my part I find the action…

It prioritizes communication and curiousity over violence and dominance.

In the context of the series, sure, where you have an hour a week to wax philosophical.

The movies are far more uneven in that respect. They attempted it in The Motion Picture. Result: total snoozer.

Khan is an action/revenge flick.

Search For Spock is another action/revenge flick.

Voyage Home is far more in the original mold, humans trying to make peace with an unknown alien force. But it also wavers between comical and absurd... no character development to be found here.

The Final Frontier... I'm not even sure where to begin. It's terrible. :)

The Undiscovered Country is, to me, the best mix of the lot... a bit action, a bit politics, the origin story of the Federation and the Klingon peace, commentary on racism, etc...

But that's one film out of five.

So be fair: you're comparing two movies to an entire franchise and then complaining they aren't what you want them to be. If you more fairly compare them to just their film contemporaries, my opinion is that they stand up reasonably well.

That's not to say they aren't clearly designed for more mass-market appeal. The Undiscovered Country, for example, is pure fan service, whereas Star Trek or Into Darkness are clearly aimed at a broader audience. I just don't think they're significantly worse than their peers simply because they don't talk it out... ;)

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#147

Post by Someone1234 » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:16 PM UTC

savanaly wrote: post #102

codezero wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did you dislike about the reboot films? I really liked them, I thought they were cast well, and were over-all pretty good. edit: others in the comments have noted that the reboots are basically just action sequences with none of the underlying social themes that made Star Trek significant in the first place.

They were fine action films, but they totally lacked the heart and soul of the tv series, particularly the tv series' focus on exploration and diplomacy and resolving conflicts without violence. Granted, this has often been the case with Star Trek films (First Contact was sort of an action movie for example).

> Granted, this has often been the case with Star Trek films (First Contact was sort of an action movie for example).

This is a point Trek fans rarely acknowledge.

Star Trek the TV show is often more thoughtful and deals with social commentary well. However Star Trek movies rarely are.

Let's look at the classic Star Trek movies: Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, and The Undiscovered Country are all action films. The Voyage Home is a comedy.

Which leaves just two: The Motion Picture and The Final Frontier which both reviewers and audience alike pan for being some of the worst classic Trek films.

Next Gen isn't much better: Generations, First Contact, and Nemesis are all action films and Insurrection is extremely borderline.

So when people say "JJ Abrams ruins Star Trek by producing an action-adventure" they're really ignoring the history of Star Trek films which are full of only that.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#148

Post by dingaling » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:30 PM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #57

lghh wrote: post #10

I have always been interested in watching Star Trek, having watched some of Deep Space Nine with my dad and thinking it was okay when I was really young in addition to enjoying the new movies. I figure now is a good time seeing as this is coming out in a little over a year. Any suggestions as to what order I should watch it in or if I should avoid any of the series?

The original series is probably worth watching all of, just because there aren't that many episodes, and a few of them are real gems; it also sets the stage for some other things that are worth watching. Read a summary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (actually if you can, read a summary of a summary, the pacing of the movie is so ponderous). The even numbered movies are the best, but it's probably worth watching the…

I never really understood the disdain for TMP.

Yes it is slow. But space is big and the slow pace gave the characters time to bond again and work-out the puzzle. I prefer the movie to the later ones because there is no fire-torpedoes quick-solution which wraps-up the story in time for the ad break...

The characters started off awkward and cold but slowly rediscovered who they really were, just as V'Ger did.

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#149

Post by metasean » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:39 PM UTC

ewzimm wrote: post #135

nandhp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the concurrent distribution, I believe they are referring only to international distribution. For example, House of Cards was broadcast on traditional TV channels in countries that did not have Netflix (like Australia, New Zealand, and India).

They state in the press release that it will premiere on TV then move to their steaming service.

> The new series will blast off with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access

> will also be distributed concurrently for television and multiple platforms around the world by CBS Studios International.

- CBS Television Network first, then

- United States - exclusively CBS All Access

- International, except United States - multiple other platforms

Re: New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

#150

Post by ewzimm » Mon, Nov 02, 2015, 6:46 PM UTC

d_theorist wrote: post #142

ewzimm wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are definitely putting it on TV. This is like when games are advertised "Only on Playstation" when there's also a PC version, since it's a console exclusive. They just really want people to subscribe to their streaming service instead of Netflix, so their app will be the exclusive (legal) streaming destination.

It's the typical bullshit. This sentence annoys me more every time I read it: >"This new series will premiere to the national CBS audience, then boldly go where no first-run Star Trek series has gone before – directly to its millions of fans through CBS All Access,” Why can they not simply write in a way is comprehensible? "The first episode will be on CBS. Subsequent episodes will be on "CBS All Access"”.

It's obviously written to be a promotional piece for CBS All Access. Really the only response that will benefit them financially at this point is for people to get interested in the service because Star Trek is coming. Depending on what other countries and services it is available in, it might be possible to use a VPN to stream it on competing services in the US.

Although it says that it will only premiere on TV and then move to the streaming service, I wouldn't be surprised if it is later added to the TV schedule, maybe once the second season starts, in a reverse trend of the current TV->streaming release delay.