I’m trying to work this through from the angle of what we learned in SNW S2E3 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Now that it’s reconfirmed that Star Trek doesn’t have an infinitely ever-branching and expanding multiverse (unlike Marvel or DC), we need to consider how a resilient Prime timeline (river of time) would affect how the fractured timeline in this episode healed - and therefore who would remember what.
In the SNW episode, La’an (and presumably Pelia) are exceptions. Others in the 22nd century aren’t aware that key events like the Eugenics War and Khan’s birth have slipped in time.
So, in Voyager, it seems as though anyone in the crew who did not receive the treatment would not have been able to integrate memories from across the fractured timeline and would only have what they knew in the current one.
As for Janeway, it does raise questions about her foreknowledge. It’s also the case that she would know that the major events related to what they experienced was likely, but it could slip by years, and with sufficiently major interventions the timeline might fork. In fact, the future shown in the episode could have represented a fork that would occur if they did not undo the fracturing.
Susan Oliver was playing a green-skinned Orion slave girl, but I had to test her makeup because she was too expensive and I was under contract already; I was cheap, they had to pay me anyway. The makeup they put on me was green as green can be, but they kept on sending out the rushes and we would get it back for the next day,...
How about watching it and judging it for yourself? YMMV.
It’s not a 90s Trek show, in that it leans more to recapturing a TOS vibe. But it’s its own thing, and that’s where it’s strengths lie.
There are a great variety and range of styles of episodes, which it can do simply because it is episodic. Most of all though, it is driven by character arcs and character development.
It’s already renewed, preproduction on season three is complete. Production for SNW was supposed to start May 2nd in the Greater Toronto Area, but was postponed due to the imminent strike. Discovery got that week to do some extra shooting to make its 5th season finale into a series finale.
For those not already aware, Michele Stokes a fan in the UK raised over $US 1200 through a GoFundMe to pay for a skywriter with a #SAVESTARTREKPRODIGY banner....
For a while now I have been wanting to play old episodes of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT in the background in Spanish during the day to passively brush up on my Spanish....
I’m glad to see two Canadian cities included in the Lower Decks screenings, Vancouver and Calgary. And in London for the UK too.
Paramount’s communications and marketing folks seem to be struggling still with messaging outside the US. It’s a beginning, if unfortunately happening during a strike.
Vancouver seems a natural given the USS Vancouver appeared in the show, and as Titmouse Animated works on the show there. Curious why Calgary got the nod, other than its being Bruce Horak’s home town. With the event falling on the second day of the Toronto International Film Festival, it not surprising that they weren’t able to book a screen there. Hopefully, there’ll be a future 70mm live action season premiere at the original IMAX at the Science Centre near where SNW has filmed at Ontario Place.
Previous years were better but still not well done. ( I recall a pair of social media personalities one year leading the social media side who clearly didn’t know the franchise.)
Having Jerry as a host with some prerecorded bits sounds like a better plan, but in previous years the hosts had to cover for a lot of disorganization.
Beyond the fact that SAG-ACTRA is not calling for audience boycotts (yet), I am wondering if Jerry is exempt from the strike conditions when performing as a host. Hosting or reality TV aren’t covered by the union (although they would like it to be). If he doesn’t speak at to his role in Lower Decks (which is covered under a different animated writers union), it’s possible that live hosting is permitted.
I’m relieved to hear that the group will be promoted. 3 years is a fairly long haul as ensigns, even on a second tier ship. The humour and credibility would begin to wear a bit thin if they at that rank throughout the show’s run. (… yes, I know about Ensign Kim and that was inexplicable - he should have been given an acting promotion to lieutenant at minimum.)
It’s interesting that TrekMovie has this article up before the news release has been posted. (I checked the Paramount+ press site and the most recent posting for Lower Decks is for the trailer release July 22nd, and these details aren’t in that one.)
I had understood it to be more like a year. There was a significant period of several months, for example, when Boimler served on the Titan between seasons.
I’m finding all the pilot episodes and most season premieres in the current era rough. It seems a pattern with all the shows
One definitely gets the sense that there are so many senior executives at Paramount and CBS Studios giving notes as they seek to differentiate the shows that the creators’ ideas get muddied.
As they get into the seasons and get more seasons the EPs and writers find each shows voice, I suspect that they suffer fewer notes telling them to adjust to some executive’s idea of what the show is supposed to be and who it is targeting.
Working from the oral history in The Five Year Mission: The next 25 years, this is a fascinating deep dive that answers the question “How did a recycled cover of a 1998 song written for Rod Stewart, ‘Where My Heart Will Take Me’ aka ‘Faith of the Heart’ become the title music for Enterprise?”...
I posted this because it is incorporating the oral history, and puts to bed some unfounded speculation.
The full books are reportedly excellent, but not that many of us have read them as yet.
And no matter how great some fans found it, the song really contributed to the perception that the franchise shifted to be very American oriented over the course of Berman’s leadership. It was a real barrier to growing the international audience.
I find these kind of articles that validate Rotten Tomatoes (RT) audience scores as a quotable source are a problem, objectionable. Especially for Star Trek fans who embrace IDIC values.
Why? Because the RT audience ‘stats’ give a false credibility to a very biased and unscientific sample.
Many folks here on the fediverse are very cautious and savvy about how bias in AI training data leads to bias in the AI, but still quite RT stats as though they are somehow credible or scientific.
Rotten Tomatoes base of users has been established to be even more male, white American and older than even Reddit (that itself is 2/3 male). (The critic score is biased to American sources but some major ones from other countries do make it in there.)
When we look to RT’s audience score as some kind of authority, and share that, we’re giving weight to the voices of that specific demographic group over the rest of the audience.
I found this after reading and responding to this post here about early Trek fans’ prejudicial negative reaction to TNG. One of my responses (see here) was to point out that any fans of the progressiveness of Trek ought to have been mindful of the room for improvement over TOS, with female representation being an obvious...
That was likely added to quell reactions to a woman as a first officer. But the Network had notes even so on how negatively test audiences reacted to Majel Barrett’s Number One.
Roddenberry tried another tack with blonde, beehived, Whitney in a miniskirt as Yeoman Janice Rand. She was supposed to be a woman main character but even that was too much for the executives and she was written out by the end of the first season.
Administration does not equal secretary, except in the old British usage where the Secretary to the Prime Minister is what’s now called a Chief of Staff.
A yeoman is one of the most senior NCOs, responsible for communication with command and the admiralty, also responsible for performance assessments of all the enlisted ranks and more junior NCOs.
It’s tricky to know because technology has changed the nature of these jobs significantly, and Star Trek has tended to map to roles as they are, despite projecting further technology.
In the 60s, 70s & 80s, a Yeoman would have held the encryption keys and would have been responsible for interactions with command. (The Comms officer would have had communications engineering and codes, but not necessarily access to the highest command codes.)
Likewise, responsibility for personnel assessment and promotion recommendations among ratings was a senior NCO responsibility that interlinked with the responsibilities of the XO.
It’s easy to portray a lot of these jobs as ‘merely clerical’ and it can be a kind of erasure of the people of colour and women who were in these ratings.
It brings to mind the work of the WW2 Wrens who did all the naval gaming in the UK and in Halifax, modeling, innovating and teaching tactics to UK and allied navies, but who got no credit. Or the women ‘computers’ and code breakers at Bletchley. Their commanding officers got all the credit and they were erased.
The covers from the Vanguard series are phenomenally good. I’m envious.
I came to the series relatively late, and got all the physical books as either used paperbacks or trade-paperback publisher’s reprints. In neither case did the interior station diagrams promised on the covers come included. (I was able to grab them off the internet.) I’m hoping Mack’s starcharts make it into Firestorm in a format that will ensure they make it through to ebooks and reprints.
I think that the presence of writers at cons has gone down significantly actually.
There was a time when every dedicated Trek con I attended would have a panel with a writer. I remember first seeing Peter David that way. It’s what first got me trying the books.
When I look at Mack or Ward’s social media, they’re only doing 2 or 3 regional general science fiction cons per year.
As the paid availability of actors for photos and autographs has increased, we see more of them at cons, with big panels instead of single presenters. It’s however the presentations by writers and production folks that I miss. While one here’s about as much from them through podcasts and featurettes, it’s not the same as in-person.
As the title says, I’m looking for some of the best Star Trek books to read. I’ve read both of The Eugenics Wars books and quite enjoyed them, so was looking for some other good ones. I don’t really care what time period they’re in, just as long as they’re Trek and pretty
Vonda N McIntyre is one of the strongest Star Trek writers of that era.
She was very successful in writing her own original science fiction novels and short stories. She was a collaborator of Ursula LeGuin and a leader in a group of writers in the Northwest.
DeCandido’s ‘A Singlular Destiny’ follows directly from Mack’s Destiny Trilogy. Then, the main Relauch novelverse moves through the Typhon Pact books.
Ezri Dax starts evolving as she integrates Dax’s former hosts and wrangles them in some earlier DS9 books. But she really takes off as one of the 4 hero captains of Destiny.
For those who want to start the Relaunch books from some of the deep political turning points, Mack’s two books in the ‘Time to…’ series are the key ones. They take place between the TNG movies Insurrection and Nemesis, putting dynamics in play that run right up to the end of the Relaunch novelverse in Coda.
(And yes I’m still grieving the end of the Relauch alternate timeline.)
On one hand this interview gives a strong signal that the fans need to keep pressing with the advocacy to support getting Prodigy back on a streamer, but on the other it keeps teasing more and more that will pull in a broader range of adult fans.
Another visit to DS9? So many fans would campaign just for that alone.
And there’s other legacy Star Trek shows with very prominent space stations we like to visit.
Your reaction to Prodigy seems to be very common. Spread the word!
It’s unfortunate that many franchise fans let themselves be put off by the kids/family branding, animation or the fact that it starts out in a place and situation that feels more like another franchise in order to draw new audiences in.
That does mean though that it has room to grow. Prospective buyers are taking note of the numbers of new viewers even since it was pulled from Paramount+.
Most of it is no less great on average than 90s Trek. Just different.
It’s unfortunate many longtime fans weren’t willing to give it a chance to find its groove, much the same as the TOS fans resisted giving TNG a chance.
TNG’ first season and much of the second were rough, but it was a personal risk to stand up at a Star Trek Con in 1989 and say you were a TNG fan. By 1993, when DS9 was running too, everyone at cons were TNG fans too.
As a long haul fan who saw this happen then, I’ve found it sad to see Trek fandom repeating the cycle.
Had the show gone into production May 2, 2023 as planned, the wait would have been long but we would have had other Trek content to divert us in the meantime.
With the strike postponing season three production before it began, it may be years in truth.
@GreenMario, I seem to have discovered that you are my Star Trek preference twin.
Although, I would personally put Star Trek (2009) a bit ahead of V The Final Frontier, our teens profoundly negative reaction to it would make put it at the back or at best tied. There has been utter refusal from them to even attempt to watch Into Darkness and Beyond. Stuck watching them on my own, Beyond is a head shaker that spends all its time distracting from what could have been a good story with utter silliness like a motorcycle found randomly on a ship.
Into Darkness is in its own way as much a complete head scratcher as The Final Frontier, but with A list casting and more appalling results. In both cases, you can see the traces and structure of what might have been an interesting movie if only a massive train derailment hadn’t beset production somewhere and somehow.
I did however see Insurrection at first release as a family outing with the in-laws. It was fine, and worth a watch at home. In fact, its main issue is that it felt like it should be a made for cable movie rather than a cinematic release. There so much more awful stuff out there by comparison. Nemesis for a Trek example. By half way through I was was wanting to get back the ridiculously self indulgent Picard dune buggy opening sequence.
My final ranking.
1./ VI - The Undiscovered Country
/ II, III, IV the complete trilogy
3./ First Contact
4./ I - The Motion Picture (I enjoy it more as I age and it’s remastered.)
Where are you getting the information about contractual rights on likenesses?
I’m curious to know if actors’ contracts have evolved on this over time. I would have thought Paramount would be the exclusive rights holder.
Marina Sirtis, for example, has commented that she wasn’t even informed in advance about her image as Troi being on a recent UK stamp. She says that she has no rights in relation to her likeness as Troi, the rights remain entirely with Paramount.
They’re supposed to sound like TNG Klingons. Everybody sang in the squeaky range. A variety of voices would have been nice. Ethan Peck’s a baritone. More than one note of Spock’s big number could have been there.
Strange New Worlds has been my favorite Trek since Next Generation, and if the quality continues, could easily be my favorite Trek ever. But with the e.p. wishing for more episodes per season, there’s a danger of diluting the show by adding weak episodes that would have never made it in a 10 episode season....
David Mack was more recently a consultant for the development and first seasons of both Lower Decks and Prodigy as well. I believe we can thank him for bringing Peter David’s Brikar aliens (from the YA Starfleet Academy and the New Frontier books) into onscreen canon with the character of Rok Tahk in Prodigy.
I had been curious to see what the Trekyards guys’ first-look analysis would be based on the preview clip shared at STLV. Thought others might be too....
You would need to ask the mods. Trekyards can be very negative and get stuck on points that aren’t based in fact. I can see their videos getting deleted in those cases. This is an analysis of a specific new ship in show they are generally positive about.
ST VOY S7E10 - Shattered - What does Janeway's comment at the end about the temporal prime directive actually mean?
Wikipedia link...
Murf photobombed the Star Trek Day Animated Celebration Poster! ( startrek.website )
@Nmyownworld spotted Murf in the poster in the promotional announcement for Star Trek Day....
A funny The Cage production story from MAJEL BARRETT
Susan Oliver was playing a green-skinned Orion slave girl, but I had to test her makeup because she was too expensive and I was under contract already; I was cheap, they had to pay me anyway. The makeup they put on me was green as green can be, but they kept on sending out the rushes and we would get it back for the next day,...
Strange New Worlds continues to rank in the Nielsen US streaming top ten ( trekmovie.com )
This is good news for assuring that SNW’s 3rd season production will move ahead after the strike....
Star Trek: Prodigy’ Banner Flown Over Netflix Offices, Other Streamers in Effort to Save Show ( www.hollywoodreporter.com )
#SaveStarTrekProdigy skywriting in LA earlier today past Netflix and Amazon offices ( screenrant.com )
For those not already aware, Michele Stokes a fan in the UK raised over $US 1200 through a GoFundMe to pay for a skywriter with a #SAVESTARTREKPRODIGY banner....
Availability of Star Trek in Spanish in the US
For a while now I have been wanting to play old episodes of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT in the background in Spanish during the day to passively brush up on my Spanish....
Paramount Invites Fans to a Special Global 'Star Trek Day' Celebration on September 8 ( startrek.com )
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Cast Talks About The Big Change For Season 4 ( trekmovie.com )
Braga: ‘I still cringe when I hear it.’ Apparently, it was a long road to the franchise’s most despised title music ( www.slashfilm.com )
Working from the oral history in The Five Year Mission: The next 25 years, this is a fascinating deep dive that answers the question “How did a recycled cover of a 1998 song written for Rod Stewart, ‘Where My Heart Will Take Me’ aka ‘Faith of the Heart’ become the title music for Enterprise?”...
#SaveStarTrekProdigy - fans have booked a skywriter for LA! ( mastodon.social )
@GoodAaron has shared the news on Mastodon....
The Star Trek Series Ranked by Fans ( i.imgur.com )
cross-posted from: lemmy.zip/post/1706804...
How Many Star Trek Episodes Pass the Bechdel Test? (TOS to ENT) | The Mary Sue ( www.themarysue.com )
I found this after reading and responding to this post here about early Trek fans’ prejudicial negative reaction to TNG. One of my responses (see here) was to point out that any fans of the progressiveness of Trek ought to have been mindful of the room for improvement over TOS, with female representation being an obvious...
David Mack posts that he’s submitted ‘Firewall’ his Seven of Nine novel scheduled for release in February 2024 ( wandering.shop )
Looking forward to this ‘Picard’ tie-in novel telling the backstory of how Seven joined the Fenris Rangers....
Best Star Trek Books
As the title says, I’m looking for some of the best Star Trek books to read. I’ve read both of The Eugenics Wars books and quite enjoyed them, so was looking for some other good ones. I don’t really care what time period they’re in, just as long as they’re Trek and pretty
‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Producers Talk Janeway/Chakotay, Season 2 Legacy Connections, And Season 3 Hopes ( trekmovie.com )
Inside the ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season Finale: Evil Gorn! Shocking Ending! And Introducing [SPOILER]! ( variety.com )
Rank your favorite Star Trek movies! Be ready to defend your positions!
Here’s mine:...
Trek Core interview with Hageman Brothers, Prodigy EPs ( blog.trekcore.com )
This is a great interview with some significant behind the scenes perspective, and affirmation that fan advocacy is having an impact....
New Comic Series: Strange New Worlds – ‘The Scorpius Run’ ( trekcentral.net )
I'm still disappointed that SNW Klingons sound like a boy band.
They’re supposed to sound like TNG Klingons. Everybody sang in the squeaky range. A variety of voices would have been nice. Ethan Peck’s a baritone. More than one note of Spock’s big number could have been there.
Q, TNG and a bit of TOS - August 2023 Star Trek ebook deals ( www.simonandschuster.com )
For those unfamiliar, every month Simon and Schuster offers an array of Trek ebooks at a promotional discount price....
Star Trek executive producer wants more Strange New Worlds episodes, and I’m nervous ( screenrant.com )
Strange New Worlds has been my favorite Trek since Next Generation, and if the quality continues, could easily be my favorite Trek ever. But with the e.p. wishing for more episodes per season, there’s a danger of diluting the show by adding weak episodes that would have never made it in a 10 episode season....
Trekyards’ take on Prodigy’s new Voyager-A ( youtu.be )
I had been curious to see what the Trekyards guys’ first-look analysis would be based on the preview clip shared at STLV. Thought others might be too....