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Rick Berman Asserts STAR TREK Needs Re-Invention, TREK XI Scribe Announced

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By TRexx / 16:56, 22 February 2005 / Enterprise

For the past 19 years Paramount has launched STAR TREK films and series amid continued syndication and massive video sales. "Each time we started something else, we were competing against the previous shows, so as the number started to accumulate, we started to see franchise fatigue," glums Rick Berman. "You could see it with the performance of the last film, which was a wonderful movie. You can only squeeze so many eggs out of a golden goose." Downbeat results for STAR TREK: NEMESIS have curbed the studio's appetite to move quickly on more features. Dismal ratings prompted UPN to pull the plug on ENTERPRISE.

Berman tells Variety that the whole TREK concept has been so exposed that it needs to be re-invented. Another series would be at least three years away; and if a film goes forward, it will be the first that won't be based on already established TV characters.

Roger Nygard, who put together the TREKKIES and TREKKIES 2 documentaries, believes that taking a break is the sensible course. "It's a little like after you've eaten Thanksgiving dinner, you really don't want any more turkey," he notes. "There's been so much, for so long, that the feeling is that it's OK to take a pause."

"I think we're unique in Hollywood in people working here for 12, 15 even the full 18 years, so that's the sad part -- the family we've had here splitting up," frets Berman, who has teamed with Jordan Kerner and Kerry McCluggage to create an 11th feature now at the early stages of development; Erik Jendresen has signed on as writer.

"I don't think it's going away," attests Paramount Network Television president David Stapf. "We look at this as a hiatus."

Nygard's not worried. "We asked the question in TREKKIES 2 whether STAR TREK would be around in another 50 years and it was unanimous that it would be, in some incarnation. It's worth noting that STAR TREK didn't really begin to flourish until it had been off the air for awhile the first time."

Walter Koenig, a.k.a. "Chekov" in the original series, also believes it will be back eventually. "I really don't think that the series cancellation is its ultimate demise, although that may be just a reflex on my part," he says. "At some point, everything loses a little bit of its glow but STAR TREK has shown an uncanny ability to survive."

You can read the complete article at Variety.

UPDATE: Via Paramount Studios, Variety confirmed TrekWeb staff speculation that Erik Jendresen, not "Eric Genderson," is the scribe for TREK XI (story). Variety has now changed the name on their web site.



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RE: Mistakes | Report this post to moderator
By: Sennik (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:11:44 on Feb 24, 2005

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give us a movie that is thoughtful, well written, a little heady, and ultimately trek.

With Berman involved, fat chance of that. And if they go ahead with this ridiculous notion of bringing in a bunch of new characters for a motion picture it's going to bomb big time. Enterprise brings in maybe 3 million viewers a week. Where are they going to get the people who will spend $10 each to see the next Berman Trek in theatres? They wouldn't even do it with Picard, Data, Riker, Worf, etc etc etc. You expect them to come out for Captain So-and-so and Commander Such-and-such? PLEASE. A motion picture is going to kill the franchise once and for all. The franchise needs to go back, and take babysteps. If that means no new Star Trek movie for 5 or 10 years, so be it. A movie should be the cumulation of many years of TV adventures. Like TNG did. TOS started on TV, got popular in reruns, and they made movies after that. TNG had 7 seasons on TV, then did 4 movies. TNG films suffered from actors getting involved in stories (Spiner and Stewart) and poor choices by Berman and Braga, but they did get 4 films. First Contact was a major hit for Paramount. But the franchise needs to start the whole process at the beginning again.

A two or three night miniseries event. Dealing with some major event that takes place in the Star Trek universe after the events of Nemesis. And it becomes a launching point for a new series. This miniseries, if it's ratings are good, gets picked up for a 13 episode first season to see how it does. Yes, I'm following the Battlestar Galactica format. But I think it's a good idea for a series just testing the waters. Which, let's face it, after Voyager and Enterprise, Star Trek isn't a guaranteed success anymore. If Berman and Braga are not involved with this at all, and good writers are allowed to be creative (something I think Berman's involvement hinders rather than helps), we'll get a good show.

A big budget movie will kill Star Trek, pure and simple.

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RE: Mistakes by Psihunter @ 20:54:32 on Feb 24
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