- 3 weeks ago
Fan outcry can make or break a franchise. In the case of Star Trek, it has often led to some of its most beloved moments. Discover how fan demand brought back classic characters, changed the course of entire shows, and even created the collectibles market.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00We're living in a beautiful age where we're kind of spoiled for choice really when it comes to Star
00:04Trek. Fan outcry basically convinced CBS to give Star Trek Strange New Worlds the green light.
00:10So what are other times when this happened? I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture and here are 10
00:16times Star Trek gave fans exactly what they wanted. Number 10. Spock in the Kelvin universe twice.
00:23When news broke that Star Trek was finally coming back to theaters in 2009 fans rejoiced. Star Trek
00:28Nemesis had left a somewhat sour taste in the mouths of fandom and Enterprise had failed to
00:32win over the audiences to keep it from cancellation. However there was a sexy new vision of Roddenberry's
00:37future. First of all how does it tie in with the old one? So when Leonard Nimoy was confirmed to
00:41be
00:41appearing in the film the collective fan base was delighted. There is something in the gravitas
00:45that Nimoy delivered every one of his lines with that lent legitimacy to the film. Added to that
00:50the film was a success. JJ Abrams while certainly bringing his own vision of the future to bear
00:54managed to do so in a way that was both respectful and inclusive of the past.
00:58And then Into Darkness came along. While it's not a bad film there are many fine examples of acting
01:03all around, much like the very ham-fisted Nimoy cameo. It just felt unnecessary.
01:09Rather than driving the franchise off into new directions it fell back and became a soft remake
01:13of The Wrath of Khan. While Benedict Cumberbatch chews all of the scenery that isn't nailed down,
01:18he has a far cry from Riccardo Montalbond's definitive Superman. The fans may have asked for
01:23more from the past to be brought back but Into Darkness serves as a cautionary tale of be careful
01:29what you wish for. Number 9. Discovery jets into the future. Starter Discovery was beset with issues
01:34from the beginning. The purpose behind the show was to breathe new life into the franchise capitalising
01:38on the highly popular Kelvin universe films while still existing within the prime universe. The first
01:43season, while getting a bit of a reappraisal, solid fine. Fans started to complain before it even hit the
01:49air. First there was the aesthetic. This was a show that was set 10 years before Kirk takes command of
01:54the Enterprise and while it would be foolish to attempt to style the sets in pre-60s state,
01:59fans of canon cried foul. Added to that the interesting redesign of the Klingons and the continued
02:04infighting among the crews. This was not your pair in Star Trek. However many of these concerns were heard.
02:10The show's second season was a far superior effort from all concerned. The introduction of Captain Pike
02:14brought a sense of exploration back to the show that the franchise had been missing. There was a
02:18positivity in the air again done without sacrificing the breakneck pace that Discovery enjoyed. The final
02:24and largest concern was the show's supposed flouting of established canon. So wiping the slate clean
02:29altogether the show's second season finishes with the ship and crew being sent 930 years into the future
02:35placing it far beyond anything seen before, farther even than Captain Braxton and the mobile emitter.
02:40Number 8, Seven of Nine, Picard. Jerry Ryan was and remains one of the best additions to Star Trek
02:46Voyager as she brings a wonderful sense of humanity to Seven's journey. Though given a huge presence in
02:51the promotional material it was initially unclear just how large of a role she would play. Her first
02:55appearance at the end of the fourth season was a great cliffhanger and her subsequent revelations in
02:59Stardust City Rag were polarizing. Much like Picard himself this may have been Seven of Nine but she was
03:04no longer the Borg that fans remembered. The fans needed more. The first season's conclusion sees her
03:09murder the woman who took her child from her before blasting her way out of a sticky situation,
03:13sees her join the crew of La Sirena and sees her at least tease the relationship with Raffi. The second
03:20season however shows Seven in a much larger capacity. When the crew travels back in time to the 21st
03:26century she and Raffi become something of a double act. Now while some of the screen time has been a
03:33little
03:33squandered it is very fair to say that Jerry Ryan has been having a ball on screen and fans are
03:40absolutely living for it. Number seven sweet sweet merchandise. As early as 1967 fans wanted to hold the
03:47Enterprise in their own hands. There were already some items of merchandising available such as comic
03:51books and a board game but up until then the idea that fans would want to pay more was ludicrous.
03:56The
03:56Trimbles soon helped to change this. Together with Roddenberry Bjo and John Trimble helped in the creation of a
04:02mail order company called Lincoln Enterprises. Paramount Studios hadn't shown much interest in
04:06sending any Trek merchandise out into the world to the point where they created items that were simply
04:10other toys with Star Trek slapped on the box and Lincoln took over. Lincoln offered fans the chance
04:15to own shirt insignia, scripts and bits of discarded film from the show. Roddenberry had the sense once he
04:20saw fan demand was high for this sort of thing to write teasers into scripts for items to later be
04:25turned into collectibles. This cycle of interaction with the fans helped to keep the show alive as time
04:29went on. While the Trimbles were also responsible for the letter writing campaign to save Trek,
04:33more on that later, they along with Roddenberry kept the merchandising so prevalent that the show
04:38enjoyed an unprecedented second life in reruns. Urban legend says that the show has never stopped airing
04:43from one station to another since the initial run and be that truth or fiction it is clear that fan
04:49interaction with the filmmakers and merchandisers have kept interest alive for over half a century.
04:54Number six Riker and Troy in Picard. The moment that Star Trek Picard was announced the question of whether or
04:59not
04:59the original cast would feature was raised. While everyone wanted to see Jean-Luc again they also
05:03badly wanted a sequel to the next generation. For most of the season they were left wanting and then
05:08along came Nepenthe. The seventh episode of Picard's first season sees the captain find his way back to
05:13the people who were with him throughout his time on the Enterprise. This is exactly what fans have been
05:17clamoring for since the pilot episode teased along the way by name dropping and suggestions. In what is
05:22potentially the strongest episode of the season the action slows to a halt and we get to spend time
05:26watching these old friends reunite. A valid criticism of this episode would be the placement within the
05:31season as it comes on the heel of a daring escape from the Borg artifact but that is a small
05:36price
05:36to pay to watch Picard, Riker and Troy get back together again. There are moments of sheer beauty,
05:41Troy's dressing down of our old captain, Riker sparring with Jean-Luc over a glass of wine and their
05:45conversation on the jetty by the lake. The episode was the closest in tone to the next generation that
05:49Picard's season one offered. Now with the announcement of the return of the entire main cast of the next
05:54generation for the show's third season we're all a little bit excited now. Number five, Riker to the
06:00rescue. An entry that deserves its own spot as this was something that the fans had badly wanted to
06:04see. Starfleet ships, the old crew back and the Federation doing what it was supposed to do. What
06:08could go wrong then? The first season's final episode was a mixed affair. A massive positive to the episode
06:13is the handling of Data's fate. This aspect of the story was handled with grace and care. The lush tones
06:18of
06:18Issa Briona singing of blue skies as Data fades away while holding Picard's hand have to stand up with some
06:23of the
06:24scenes that the characters have ever been involved in. The same cannot be said for the second return
06:30of Riker. Picard flies up to face off against a fleet of Romulan warbirds and there is a moment
06:34of sacrifice about the entire scene. Then out of nowhere a newly designed Federation ship warps into
06:39view and then again and the same ship. Again. After copying and pasting 200 times or so, yes I know
06:46there's some variations, Riker comes on the screen spouting some of the most poorly written dialogue
06:51that has ever come out of his mouth. The scene seems like it was made for people to punch the
06:55air and go
06:55cool. However due not just to the bland Federation fleet and some bad writing the scene ends in about
07:01a minute. The Romulans are sent packing and Riker leaves. Hardly inspiring. Now season two of Picard
07:07opened with a much stronger depiction of Starfleet and now while it was Rios as captain in this case a
07:13better use of the Starfleet officers on screen. So that is in fairness a good example of Star Trek
07:21learning from some of its past mistakes. Number four. Worf on Deep Space Nine. Bringing Michael Dorn
07:27over to Deep Space Nine marked the beginning of that show's best years. The Klingon war, while coming
07:32seemingly out of nowhere, ended up becoming one of the best additions to the series. Thankfully it came at a
07:37time when the ratings were getting lower and lower but also came about after a series of conversations that
07:42had been mandated by the producers. The original plan had been to close the show's third season with
07:46the revelation that the changelings had reached Earth and then to have the opening of season four
07:50deal with this. This was quashed when the producers demanded there be no cliffhanger ending to the
07:54third season. Faced with this the writers pitched the idea to have the Klingons break off diplomatic
07:58relations with the Federation. Added to that they could bring Worf over to help Cisco deal with this
08:03change. Rick Berman loved the idea not least because he felt that this would bring over a wave of fans
08:07from
08:08the next generation who had always loved Worf and the Klingons in particular. It was a gamble
08:11that worked. With his sternness shaking up the crew Worf's arrival spelled a new era of success for
08:17Deep Space Nine. From the fourth season on it rocketed towards triumphant finale bringing in plot threads
08:22from the next generation along the way. Kern and Alexander both returned giving the fans a sense of
08:26closure and adding greater depth to Worf's story. Number three Kirk meets Picard. Since the very first
08:32days of the next generation the question was posed who was the better captain Kirk or Picard. Star Trek
08:37Generations finally brought these two icons together after seven years of this question of
08:41the air. The results are quite mixed and there is still no definitive answer. While Picard is the
08:45one to survive the film it is Kirk who saves the day by grabbing the control panel. It's up to
08:49the
08:50fans still. The film does feature an excellent scene between the two men highlighting the differences on
08:54show. Their meeting in the Nexus exploring Kirk's cabin and finishing the breakfast for Antonia is pure
08:59fan indulgence and it's brilliant. Picard who has travelled through time and space to meet this man is left
09:05holding a scorching frying pan while Kirk looks for eggs, as you do. William Shatner has been candid about his
09:10reasons for appearing in Generations. The original series star's arc was effectively finished and there
09:14was never going to be a large role on offer. Leonard Nimoy turned down an appearance in the film for
09:18that
09:18very same reason but the salary on offer was decent so Shatner said yes knowing that he was signing Kirk's
09:23death certificate as he was signing the contract. It's very unlikely that we can hope for a Nimoy-esque
09:28cameo in future series as Shatner has categorically denied his wish to do any. Well the fans got their two
09:33captains together it just cost one of them his life. Number two. The original series season three. After the
09:39cancellation of the original series at the end of its second season the future of Star Trek looked dire.
09:43This was a time when there was no movies to fall back on nor the internet forums to gather the
09:48fans
09:48together. Betty Joanne Trimble who would come to be known universally as Beejo Trimble together with her husband
09:53came up with an idea. They were instrumental in saving Star Trek. They began a letter writing campaign that
09:58inspired NBC to save Star Trek and thanks for this Beejo, John Trimble and many other fans were featured in
10:04the
10:04rec room scene in the motion picture cementing their contribution both on and off the screen.
10:09However the saving of Star Trek came at a drastic price. The budget for each episode was slashed
10:15though the star's salaries increased. Time slots became an issue and Star Trek was given the death
10:18slot Fridays at 10pm. Gene Roddenberry threatened to resign over this but his threats were ignored
10:23and when he followed through and left the studio had to scramble to hire replacement teams. One script
10:27consultant was even quoted as asking what does this transporter thing do again? While Star Trek may
10:31technically have been saved by the network it really was just a drawn-out funeral. The franchise wouldn't
10:36truly be safe until the release of The Wrath of Khan capitalizing on the enormous box office success
10:41of the motion picture which occurred over a decade later. Number one queer representation from Dax to
10:47Culber and Stamets. From the outset of the original series Gene Roddenberry had used Star Trek to
10:51represent marginalized groups in human society. On the bridge of the Enterprise all the way back to 1966 a
10:57black woman along with a Japanese man held pride of place followed the next year by a Russian
11:02ensign while the cold war was still very much a reality. However one group were very obviously missing for a
11:07very long time in Star Trek continuity. The LGBTQIA plus representation in Star Trek was poor. The next generation and
11:14Deep Space Nine both attempted in their own ways to rectify this. A script entitled Blood and Fire was commissioned
11:19for the next generation but then was buried. Deep Space Nine was more successful showing the first same-sex kiss
11:23in the history of the franchise but fans
11:25quite deservedly wanted more. Star Trek Beyond showed that the Kelvin Universe Sulu was in a same-sex
11:30relationship although this drew criticism from George Takei who thought this was simply pandering. Brian Fuller an
11:35openly LGBTQIA plus personas in the initial showrunner of Star Trek Discovery was the key to the creation of
11:41Dr. Culber and Lieutenant Stamets the first recurring gay couple in Star Trek. They are displayed as being a
11:46loving couple and that's it. There's no overt messaging going on rather than the simple message on show. They are
11:51in love
11:52and they are together. This simple representation unthinkable for so many years in the franchise's
11:56history is shown to be as normal as any other relationship and finally the fans cries for
12:00representations were honored. Thank you very much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you
12:04did let us know in the comments below. If you have any suggestions let us know in the comments below.
12:08Don't forget you can get in touch with us over on Twitter at TrekCulture. You can catch myself on
12:12Twitter, Instagram and TikTok where I post daily Star Trek videos at Sean Ferrick. You look after yourself
12:17until I'm talking to you again. Make sure that you live long and prosper. Look after your nearest and dearest.
12:21Take it easy. Make it so. Thanks very much.
Comments