JMS Calls Out Paramount on Trek by Misguided By Voices

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JMS Calls Out Paramount on Trek

POSTED BY: MISGUIDED BY VOICES
UPDATED: Monday, February 28, 2005 11:03
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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 12:46 PM

Wow. For a few hours, JMS had an open offer on the table to pitch a new, 5 year arc for Trek run by himself and Bryce Zabel.

A few hours later, he put it back in the box, because the word is that the franchise is being rested for at least two years (common sense at last!).

Plus, he's got a show runners gig for 2006 offered to him...

"I threw up on your bed"

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 1:23 PM

GROUNDED

'Resting the franchise' isn't going to make any difference unless the right creative team is selected to move it forward. Whether that happens now or two years down the line is irrelevant.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 1:28 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Quote:
Originally posted by Grounded:
'Resting the franchise' isn't going to make any difference unless the right creative team is selected to move it forward. Whether that happens now or two years down the line is irrelevant.

Totally agree - whether you're a JMS/Zabel fan or not, they were genuine fans of what Trek was meant to stand for, who wanted to do something challenging with the series. Shame that politics seems to have gotten in the way.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 1:37 PM

VETERAN

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Well said. I was so disappointed with the direction Enterprise took. The whole time travel arc and brining in the Borg. No respect for the continuity. (I always wanted to find out about the exploits of Capatin Garth or some other such thing)

Hopefully it will come back strong after a rest and if it can't, perhaps it can just rest in peace.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:19 PM

MANOFSTEEL25

If B5 is any indication, I'd have loved tio see what JMS would have done with Trek but I agree it's gone on too long and it needs a rest for a while- maybe JMS will be willing to take up the reins when it comes back but for now it needs the breather and yes the creative team to lead the way when it returns. Berman's day is done.

Although on the same note I'm not too impressed by Jeremiah but I think that has more to do with the casting and direction then the writing....

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 5:41 AM

CYBERSNARK

Different strokes, I guess. I love Jeremiah; JMS is dealing (or "dealt," I guess, but I'm just starting S2 here) with some of the biggest issues I've ever seen TV try to tackle, and he's not (wasn't) pulling any PC "dancing around the issues without actually naming them" that Star Trek has been forced into.

The really important part I see is the "five year arc." They'd need that guarantee of five years, to be free to push the envelope without having to worry about cancellation (this is why the last seasons of many long-running shows (DS9, Buffy, etc) can go all out; they know they're not coming back, so they don't have to be PC anymore --they can take chances.

Edit: can't sentence proper.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 6:11 AM

ATILLA

I liked the new star trek; but, don't believe that it was nearly as good as it could have been.

A five year story like Babylon 5 would have been great.

Notice that the best minds in scifi video drama are opting out of comercial television?

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 7:08 AM

MANOFSTEEL25

Hmmm. I think base don the 6 epsidoes I've seen (and I will finish the season at least) I feel like it's not living up to it's full potential.

Also the same type of premise was played out I thought much better on the BBC's Survivors from the 70's. It's nice to see more money thrown at this concept to see more ruined cities and such... but I can't put my finger on what isn't entirely working for me. I can't tell if it's the rather bland acting from Perry and Jamal-Warner.... or the filming style or what...but I just find I'm generally not fully invested in the characters and situations despite what I feel is a pretty compelling premise.

I guess I'll wait and see how it pans out with the Vallhalla sector stuff. Also I know JMS didn't create this and he only wrote a margin of episodes unlike B5. So maybe that's it- although I know a lot of people might have similar complaints about B5 that I just gave about Jeremiah so..(shrug) I guess it's a personal taste in the end.

I had a similar reaction to Dead Like Me. Decent show- but didn't know me out of the ball park like i thought it would. But in that case I know it had more to do with the fact the basic 'rules' of the show bothered me.

Back to Trek: I think a guaranteed 5 year arc would be awesome- and no better man to do it than JMS. But no network would ever be able to 100% give that guarantee. If the ratings fail- they fail.

Been hearing about these Trek Fan demonstrations they want to hold now for Enterprise in NY and LA. I think it's a noble effort but in the end, the damage is done, it needs to rest.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 12:08 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Quote:
Originally posted by manofsteel25:
but I can't put my finger on what isn't entirely working for me. I can't tell if it's the rather bland acting from Perry and Jamal-Warner.... or the filming style or what...but I just find I'm generally not fully invested in the characters and situations despite what I feel is a pretty compelling premise.

Have to say I haven't seen much Jeremiah - not made terrestrial TV over here - may need to look at the DVD import. What I did see interested me - one episode dealt with very similar issues to Late Delivery From Avalon from B5, but seemed to take a bit of a different route which was interesting.

There was one great episode I saw with (believe it or not) Luke Perry in a 90210 reunion stunt-cast that really showed how dark they were going. Definitely intrigued me, and I'd like to see more.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 12:22 PM

MANOFSTEEL25

I love B5 but am not geek enough there to kow episode titles on that one yet- what was Avalon about?

I think you mean Jason Preistley who yes definately played a much darker role. Theshow definately covers interesting concepts but again something about the execution is... not clicking for me. But I'll finish out the season and see....

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 12:27 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Quote:
Originally posted by manofsteel25:
I love B5 but am not geek enough there to kow episode titles on that one yet- what was Avalon about?
I think you mean Jason Preistley who yes definately played a much darker role. Theshow definately covers interesting concepts but again something about the execution is... not clicking for me. But I'll finish out the season and see....

Michael York thinking he is King Arthur.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 12:52 PM

MANOFSTEEL25

Ahhh are you referring to the Captain Iron Jeremiah episode or the Jason presitley one? I can see parallels to both.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 10:26 PM

BLINKER

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound?

And similarly, if they put a sub-par series on the air for four years and no one watches, can't Trek be said to have been "resting" in the eyes of those non-viewers?

It's B&B that need to take a break, not the franchise. Get a new writing staff, come up with a great new premise (but unlike Voyager and Enterprise, don't waste half the series devising excuses to ignore it in favour of bringing in popular TNG elements that shouldn't be there), and start telling some unique, provocative stories that don't end with "it was all a dream caused by a transporter malfunction." You'll have a hit on the air this very fall.

Or, just wait a couple of years until the fans are so starved that a scant couple million of them will tune in for warmed-over pap every week. Either way is good.

_________
Sliders: Gate Haven - http://slidersweb.net/blinker

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Thursday, February 17, 2005 12:39 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Quote:
Originally posted by manofsteel25:
Ahhh are you referring to the Captain Iron Jeremiah episode or the Jason presitley one? I can see parallels to both.

The Captain Iron episode. Really do need to pick up the DVD and see a few more episodes...

"I threw up on your bed"

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Monday, February 28, 2005 8:49 AM

BADGERSHAT

um...

okay, obviously, I'm a little ignorant here, but who, exactly, is "JMS"?

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
--Don't bother trying to predict, figure out, second guess, criticize, or suggest anything that comes from the mind of Joss Whedon, for you shall usually be wrong, and shall find out the Truth and Purpose in due time.
(This is the Truth of Whedoning)

"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

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Monday, February 28, 2005 9:04 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL

Quote:
Originally posted by BadgersHat:
um...

okay, obviously, I'm a little ignorant here, but who, exactly, is "JMS"?

I think they are speaking of J. Michael Straczynski. The B5 man, among other things. I think the duo would be good for trek. but i'm all for letting it rest a while.

www.thatweirdgirl.com
---
After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
--Aldous Huxley

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Monday, February 28, 2005 9:32 AM

SAGRILARUS

One of my minimum hurdles for good drama is this -- if they killed off one or all of the main characters, would you care? Would you maybe even prefer it? That's where I get to with Enterprise. The characters just have no soul, no interest, no intrigue. Without characters, the script means nothing.
Whedon paints impressive characters quickly. A few lines of dialogue and you see into their essence. Then the story has something to work with.
The current ABC show Lost has interesting characters. It's essentially Gilligan's Island, but the characters are intense, and you invest in them. The storylines are unlimited in that situation.

Sag.

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Monday, February 28, 2005 9:33 AM

RABIT

Quote:
Originally posted by BadgersHat:
okay, obviously, I'm a little ignorant here, but who, exactly, is "JMS"?

Nothing to be embarassed about.

ThatWeirdGirl is right: check out http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0833089.

Rabit

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Monday, February 28, 2005 11:03 AM

MACBAKER

I like JMS as much as anyone, but lets give credit to Manny Coto. He has really turned Enterprise around (too little, too late, unfortunately). This season has easily been the strongest Star Trek season since DS9 ended.

I've enjoyed how Manny has managed to repair B&B's continuity errors with some clever story lines. Finally explaining how and why Klingons in Kirk's time looked different was great. No wonder Worf said it was something Klingons didn't like talking about! LOL

I also liked the Vulcan muliti part arc, that explained why Vulcan's in Archer's time, didn't act as stoic as we expect. They had moved away from Surak's teachings, and by Spock's time, they had fully embraced his philosophy and returned to their pure logic roots.

It's a shame Manny wasn't in control from the beginning.

Whatever happens with the future of Trek, I hope Berman and Braga have nothing to do with it. They should give the franchise over to people that respect the fans, like Steven Ira Behr and Manny Coto, and keep Micheal and Denise Okuda as the guardians of continuity.

I'd given some thought to movin' off the edge -- not an ideal location -- thinkin' a place in the middle.

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