CBS: Star Trek

[keg in kc]

...

The Next Chapter of the Legendary “Star Trek” TV Franchise Will Premiere on the CBS Television Network, Then Move to CBS All Access Digital Subscription Service

Alex Kurtzman, Co-Writer and Producer of the Blockbuster Films

“Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness,” to Executive Produce

CBS Studios International to Distribute the Series Globally

For Television and Multiple Platforms

STUDIO CITY, CALIF. AND NEW YORK, N.Y. – Nov. 2, 2015 – CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a totally new “Star Trek” television series in January 2017. 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, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service.

The next chapter of the “Star Trek” franchise will also be distributed concurrently for television and multiple platforms around the world by CBS Studios International.

The new program will be the first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences for CBS All Access, a cross-platform streaming service that brings viewers thousands of episodes from CBS’s current and past seasons on demand, plus the ability to stream their local CBS Television station live for $5.99 per month. CBS All Access already offers every episode of all previous “Star Trek” television series.

The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new “Star Trek” TV series. Kurtzman co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films “Star Trek” (2009) with Roberto Orci, and “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. Both films were produced and directed by J.J. Abrams.

The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Kurtzman is also an executive producer for the hit CBS television series SCORPION and LIMITLESS, along with Kadin and Orci, and for HAWAII FIVE-0 with Orci.

“Star Trek,” which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016, is one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. The original “Star Trek” spawned a dozen feature films and five successful television series. Almost half a century later, the “Star Trek” television series are licensed on a variety of different platforms in more than 190 countries, and the franchise still generates more than a billion social media impressions every month.

Born from the mind of Gene Roddenberry, the original “Star Trek” series debuted on Sept. 8, 1966 and aired for three seasons – a short run that belied the influence it would have for generations. The series also broke new ground in storytelling and cultural mores, providing a progressive look at topics including race relations, global politics and the environment.

“There is no better time to give ‘Star Trek’ fans a new series than on the heels of the original show’s 50th anniversary celebration,” said David Stapf, President, CBS Television Studios. “Everyone here has great respect for this storied franchise, and we’re excited to launch its next television chapter in the creative mind and skilled hands of Alex Kurtzman, someone who knows this world and its audience intimately.”

“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, Executive Vice President/General Manager – CBS Digital Media. “We’ve experienced terrific growth for CBS All Access, expanding the service across affiliates and devices in a very short time. We now have an incredible opportunity to accelerate this growth with the iconic ‘Star Trek,’ and its devoted and passionate fan base, as our first original series.”

“Every day, an episode of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise is seen in almost every country in the world,” said Armando Nuñez, President and CEO, CBS Global Distribution Group. “We can’t wait to introduce ‘Star Trek’s’ next voyage on television to its vast global fan base.”

CBS All Access offers its customers more than 7,500 episodes from the current television season, previous seasons and classic shows on demand nationwide, as well as the ability to stream local CBS stations live in more than 110 markets. Subscribers can use the service online and across devices via CBS.com, the CBS App for iOS, Android and Windows 10, as well as on connected devices such as Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku players and Roku TV, with more connected devices to come.

The new television series is not related to the upcoming feature film “Star Trek Beyond,” which is scheduled to be distributed by Paramount Pictures in summer 2016

[notorious]

Best out of the Star Trek shows IMO.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by notorious

Best out of the Star Trek shows IMO.

I still don't understand why it hasn't gotten the HD treatment yet. You would think they would release a trial run "best of" collection at least.

[Jamie]

With the (relative) death of physical media the TNG remaster didn't make as much money as they thought it would, and it killed the idea of remastering DS9 or Voyager back then. Plus DS9 and Voyager had a lot of low definition CG effects that would have to be redone to some extent. TNG used almost entirely filmed models, so it was more straightforward to use those original filmed elements in HD.

On the bright side, with the them pushing Paramount+ they might finally have the motivation to spend a little money. There was a rumor a few months ago that some company had been hired to do DS9 in HD, and was using AI to upscale the CG, but I haven't seen anything concrete.

[KC_Connection]

Yeah I was just re-watching some of the S5/S6 Dominion War saga last week. Great stuff but definitely a bit jarring that it still isn’t in HD.

[listopencil]

They dropped a new episode of Discovery and I watched the first segment, about 10 minutes or so. Looks like they have settled into making Burnham the new Captain Kirk surrounded by a lame ass ensemble cast. Not exactly horrific but quite the dud with no compelling reason to watch the show.

[Jamie]

One of the things that annoys me about Discovery is how they never really bothered to define a lot of the characters' rank and position on screen, particularly the secondary characters. I mean, it doesn't annoy me as much as the shitty writing, but still.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by listopencil

They dropped a new episode of Discovery and I watched the first segment, about 10 minutes or so. Looks like they have settled into making Burnham the new Captain Kirk surrounded by a lame ass ensemble cast. Not exactly horrific but quite the dud with no compelling reason to watch the show.

Surprised you're still watching this shit.

I was going to go into another rant about how much I ****ing hate this show and its godawful shitty alphabet cast, but I've said it all before.

Holding out for Strange New Worlds, foolishly hoping that it won't be more woke dogshit masquerading as Star Trek.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Holding out for Strange New Worlds, foolishly hoping that it won't be more woke dogshit masquerading as Star Trek.

I've given up. Trek fans seem to love the new shows so the chances of getting a show that I'd enjoy are pretty much nil since there clearly isn't a market for it.


I'm completely out of step with modern American culture so I'm pessimistic about liking 99.9999% of anything new in tv, movies, music, or books. Luckily, technology has made the old stuff I like more easily available.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Mennonite

I've given up. Trek fans seem to love the new shows so the chances of getting a show that I'd enjoy are pretty much nil since there clearly isn't a market for it.


I'm completely out of step with modern American culture so I'm pessimistic about liking 99.9999% of anything new in tv, movies, music, or books. Luckily, technology has made the old stuff I like more easily available.

I hear you. Personally I'm hoping that CBS has made note of the backlash and SNW will be the bone they throw us old farts to keep us interested. But the odds of that being the case are slim considering the vile ****s that make Discovery are still in charge. I really don't see Star Trek changing until all the current incarnations fade away and we get our own Favreau/Filoni types to step in and reboot it correctly.

I guess we'll have our answer if they turn Number One into a lesbian.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Surprised you're still watching this shit.

I was going to go into another rant about how much I ****ing hate this show and its godawful shitty alphabet cast, but I've said it all before.

Holding out for Strange New Worlds, foolishly hoping that it won't be more woke dogshit masquerading as Star Trek.

Nah. Not watching it. I noticed that they are doing a new season and saw that the first episode was available. So I watched the first 10 minutes or so to see what they are doing with it.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by listopencil

Nah. Not watching it. I noticed that they are doing a new season and saw that the first episode was available. So I watched the first 10 minutes or so to see what they are doing with it.

Fair enough.

The one thing I will say for the show is that it looks great. The special effects have been top notch since the beginning. Such a shame to see them wasted on this shit. It's like Avatar on steroids.

Well, I guess "steriods" is the wrong word. Is there some of super-charged estrogen equivalent?

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Yeah I was just re-watching some of the S5/S6 Dominion War saga last week. Great stuff but definitely a bit jarring that it still isn’t in HD.

That DS9 documentary “What We Left Behind” that Ira Behr made had an HD remastered sequence from one of the big Dominion battles. Was short, but cool.

[Mennonite]

I skipped around that documentary for about five minutes and decided to turn it off before it made me hate the cast. All I can remember is a scene with Colm Meaney (maybe?) bitching about the studio making Brooks shave his goatee off. He says that they claimed it was because they didn't want to confuse the audience by having him look like his Spencer For Hire character "Hawk" but it was really because they didn't want a black man to look tough and threatening or some shit. I think he even made an Uncle Tom reference. This was followed by an interview with a black guy who worked on the show saying that his first response upon hearing that Brooks was cast as the lead was "Holy shit! We hired HAWK!"


I may be misremembering all of this. The doc is (or was) on Youtube for free if anyone is interested.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Fair enough.

The one thing I will say for the show is that it looks great. The special effects have been top notch since the beginning. Such a shame to see them wasted on this shit. It's like Avatar on steroids.

Well, I guess "steriods" is the wrong word. Is there some of super-charged estrogen equivalent?

Estroids? Funny that you mentioned Avatar. That opening bit that I saw was so CGI that I thought it was going to be a story about them going through holodeck training, as the title of the episode was Kobayashi Maru. But I guess that's just the look of the show.

[Mennonite]

The camera work sucks. They are so afraid of losing the audience's attention that they feel like they have to do the equivalent of jigging car keys in front of their faces every two seconds. Not every scene has to filmed like an action sequence.

Can you imagine how the end of Inner Light would be filmed today? There would be 8 quick cuts and a revolving dolly shot before Picard even makes it to the window. He would also be streaming (lens flared) tears so the audience doesn't miss the fact that he's sad. And finally we'd be treated to a bittersweet solo flute version of a David Bowie song or something as the camera slowly pulls back from the Enterprise.