Feb 16, 2006

On one of the Sci-Fi boards that I frequent (I know, I’m a geek…), someone asked this question:

• Should they just make Trek movies
• Should they restart Enterprise
• Should a new series be made
• Should they leave it as it is and move on

Now, I’ve waxed dramatic on this topic before, but I’ve nailed down some more supporting evidence for my postulations. I posted this to the forum where the question was asked, so some apologies are in order for the stream-of conscience-esq nature of the following post.

Anyway, here you go:

IMHO, Star Trek itself rocks… But it also has the distinction of being the best (and worst) handled show in sci fi history – again IMHO.

I believe that in order for another ST series to be popular, they have to come out with a movie again first – kick in a new generation of fans, so to speak. This point could be argued quite a bit, but in they days of the DVR, our TV ratings system is imploding in on itself and I don’t think that the industry has ANY clue what people actually like to watch anymore… But, I digress. Agree with this point or not, I’m moving on…

Unfortunately, a popular movie today is much different than the historical ST movie – they have to make it more “epic” than your traditional ST movie. People want BIG – don’t believe that? Well, let me prove it…

First of all, look at how many of the top 20 grossing films in history for the US are “greater sci fi” – I know some of you will argue with me that something like Spider Man is Sci Fi, but bear with me… (all info from IMDB, btw)

2. Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459
5. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444
6. Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375
7. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) $380,262,555
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $377,019,252
9. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $373,377,893
11. Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $340,478,898
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) $317,557,891
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $313,837,577
18. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583
19. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,409
20. Independence Day (1996) $306,124,059

14 of the top 20!!! Man, people love this stuff… But look at the pictures and how they break down:

EPIC films:
2. Star Wars (1977)
5. Star Wars: Episode
I – The Phantom Menace
7. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
8.The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
18. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
19. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
20. Independence Day

Good “Story” Films:
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
11. Jurassic Park (1993)

Existing Franchise Films:
6. Spider-Man (2002)
9. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

Now, a couple of disclaimers – just ’cause I classified a film as epic, doesn’t mean it isn’t a good story, or doesn’t come from an existing franchise. And, you could say that these don’t really add up to anything, because really we are talking about primarily 2 really good franchises – StarWars and LOTR. Well, I would argue those with you as well – in fact, independence day being there makes my point for me. But anyway…

My REAL point is this – to have a REALLY successful film, the best idea is to do an Epic Sci-Fi film. Probably not a lot of argument for this statement.

So the real question is, why hasn’t this been done with Star Trek? Why is it that the franchise that is arguably the most RICH in story and potential doesn’t ever seem to come up with a plot that is sweeping in nature? I mean, there are complete sectors, dozens of races, hundreds of ships, politics galore, etc and in Nemesis, we get 2 ships in a standoff as the climax. IT’S ALWAYS 2 DAMN SHIPS!

Compare to the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith to see the drastic difference I’m talking about…

Now, I liked Nemesis, but that’s ’cause I’m a die-hard trek fan, or more correctly, a complete Starfleet whore – I’ll watch ANYTHING from these series, and probably like it. But the hard fact of the matter is that the economics of what gets made today has changed drastically from even the days of DS9 and CERTAINLY from the days of TNG. Enterprise would have been fine 10 years ago, but it doesn’t cut it in the economics of today. To me, that is a shame, but it is what it is…

If we want to see our beloved show continue to be a blip on main stream media radar, it has to change with the times and give the people what they want.

Even Shakespeare always put a parade in his plays – why? To appeal the masses, so he could keep his theater open and put on more plays. Masterpieces can STILL be written that appeal to the masses, and I can’t think of a better “universe” to do it with than the ST universe.

The question is will the “powers that be” ever remove their heads from their rears long enough to take a glimpse at reality.

And that my friends, is a question for the ages…