While Star Wars fans may have gotten the perfect gift from Disney and J.J. Abrams in The Force Awakens, Star Trek fans haven’t been as lucky. The long-running, beloved geek franchise has a long, storied history, which ranges from good to bad. While the similarly-handled Star Trek films of J.J. Abrams have been entertaining, they’ve felt a bit more in spirit like lense-flared Star Wars films with Star Trek characters, but have been able to introduce a new generation to the world of Starfleet, Klingons and the USS Enterprise. As much as I got to enjoy explaining the similar plot points from Into Darkness to The Wrath of Khan to friends, they seemed disinterested in actually watching the classic because of already seeing an incredibly similar, more modern film.
The biggest issue is that while Star Trek films have been important and fun, the franchise has always thrived on the smaller screen, where stories could span multi-episode arcs or be neatly wrapped up in 42-plus minutes. While fans in the 80’s and 90’s were treated to The Next Generation, the fantastic Deep Space 9 and later Voyager, the 00’s featured the ever-panned Enterprise, leading to the franchise disappearing from the small screen altogether. Now, after over ten years of not having a Star Trek series running, CBS decided to bring a new series into the world, existing in the same continuity as The Original Series.
Of course, this new series is set to be digital-only, trying to lure fans into their CBS All Access service, which has raised some eyebrows. Newsrama spoke with Executive Producer for the new Star Trek series, Trevor Roth, and he seems to understand that Star Trek is incredibly important to its fans and what the franchise has always been about; the characters and their journeys.
But I think at the end of the day there are certain tenets of Star Trek that make it what it is. I think that continuing of those tenants and create a cast that are truly relatable to people, regardless of their species and alien makeup. For those character to go through journeys that are relevant to people, for us to create a show that is a smart show and something we can be proud of, yet still entertain people.
Because, yes, Star Trek has always featured cool technology, crazy aliens and tense situations, but what really made every iteration of Star Trek truly shine were the characters. How else could Worf turn from a sour grunt into one of the franchise’s most beloved characters? We got to see him grow throughout The Next Generation and Deep Space 9. He was much more than just a Klingon in a Starfleet uniform, but he was a man torn between the tradition of his people and the belief that there can be peace among the stars.
(via Newsrama)
