60 years on, Paramount has ruined ‘Star Trek’…
Well, it definitely looks like we’ve reached the end of the ultimate frontier.
“Star Trek,” starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, premiered 60 years in the past this week on CBS.
Accompanying the united statesS. Enterprise on its five-year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before, the groundbreaking show set the course for fashionable science-fiction storytelling as we all know it and smashed societal obstacles.
Ahead of its time, Gene Roddenberry’s collection was canceled in 1969. Call it the “original” sin. But those three seasons birthed a sprawling franchise of interconnected TV and film properties a long time before the idea of onscreen “universes” was widely embraced by Marvel, “Star Wars” and, oy, King Kong.
“Star Trek” debuted 60 years in the past on Sept. 8. CBS via Getty Images
And, for a while, “Trek” saved getting better and better. “The Wrath of Khan,” “The Next Generation,” “Deep Space Nine” — all superb.
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Um, what the hell occurred? The current powers that be have definitely not heeded the sage knowledge of Lt. Spock: “Live long and prosper.” Because what was once — and what still needs to be — the jewel in Paramount’s crown is now a mismanaged, barely watchable afterthought that no one pays any consideration to.
I’ve attended “Star Trek” conventions. I stood in line and forked over $60 for a picture with an unsmiling Kate Mulgrew from “Voyager.” But now I can hardly make it through any of the boring and badly conceived dreck they’re routinely churning out.
Overabundant “Star Trek” exhibits are irrelevant castaways on Paramount+ that have been banished from CBS and are canceled before you’ve heard of them. A bunch of other duds are weirdly animated. And in-development big-screen films keep falling aside. Here’s another less auspicious anniversary: It’s been 10 years since the last one.
There was one latest dreadful streaming film called “Star Trek: Section 31,” starring Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh. It boasts a 15% viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and makes “Nemesis” appear like “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” was half of the glory days of the franchise. CBS via Getty Images
Really, I’m not satisfied the franchise is salvageable. At best it’s doomed to nichedom. Forget tribbles. The hassle’s with “Trek.”
Ever since the execrable film “Star Trek: Into Darkness” starring Chris Pine hit theaters 13 years in the past, Paramount has made nearly completely unsuitable turns with this property to the purpose that people in their 30s on down have zero connection to it.
“Into Darkness,” by the way in which, was written by Alex Kurtzman, the no-talent man who is now perplexingly in charge of “Trek” on TV.
I yell “Kurtzman!” like Shatner yells “Khan!”
“Star Trek: Discovery” was a boring dud. CBS
“Discovery”? Dismal. “Strange New Worlds”? Overrated. The only great factor that’s occurred on his watch is the third season of “Star Trek: Picard.” And the person who was truly creatively accountable for that was showrunner Terry Matalas, who innately understands what makes “Trek” tick. He irresistibly introduced back the solid of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which ended means back in 1994.
Nothing new is sticking.
While “Star Trek” was stupidly relegated to streaming — a mistake many of its rivals also made — there has not been a big-screen film in a decade. The last one was “Star Trek Beyond.” Beyond horrible.
Even so, S.J. Clarkson (“Madame Web”!) was in talks to direct a sequel to it in 2018. Didn’t occur. Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) was employed to write and direct one in 2019. Didn’t occur.
(*60*) Tarantino, of all people, pitched an R-rated, gangster-tinged movie to Paramount, and they accepted it. But the “Pulp Fiction” director dropped out in 2020 and it was never made.
Chris Pine at Captain Kirk in “Star Trek: Beyond.” Paramount Pictures / Everett Collection
Now the writer-director duo behind “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, are working on a darker take on the story set ever additional into the future.
That untitled flick has been in development — not in manufacturing — for more than a 12 months, so who is aware of when or even if we’ll get to see it.
Heads ought to roll. The new bosses ought to stop attempting to pander to youth and instead focus on what makes “Star Trek” great — its spirit of journey, its social complexity, its gravitas and its immediately memorable characters.
I never thought I’d miss T’Pol from “Enterprise,” but right here we’re.
A well-known episode of the ‘60s authentic collection is called “Mirror, Mirror,” in which a transporter malfunction sends Captain Kirk and his crew to a scary parallel universe where evil alternate variations of themselves exist. Good is unhealthy. Bad is sweet.
With what Paramount has accomplished to my beloved “Star Trek,” I really feel like I’m caught in it with them.
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