PrimeWire

Thank you for sharing. Although no one is really talking about it, I feel the major issue with this show and ST Discovery stems form CBS. They own the rights for content and marketing of the Star Trek. Despite the fact that their recently defunct CEO was against Sci-Fi and Star Trek specifically. They entered into a contract with the old Viacom years ago and when Viacom changed ownership, a new Viacom emerged. Meanwhile Paramount had certain distribution rights for TOS and the Movies. CBS became so greedy, they went to court to ban any fan-based endeavor over 15 minutes in length. About the same time, The New Star trek movies were not allowed to use “canon” TOS, due to copyrighted concepts, so Abrams had to reinvent Gene Roddenberry’s universe with what they call the Kelvin Timeline. Fan-Based Star Trek Continues was already in post production, so was able to complete. But the ST alumni “Renegades” also had to remove any of the “Trek” from their Requiem Part 2. So much so, that it ruined the story and corrupted the franchise.

Meanwhile, CBS wanted to compete in the streaming platform market, as Netflix was so successful. That same now-defunct anti-Star Trek CEO, was the designated showrunner for CBS All Access. They boasted they could sell a new Star Trek and millions would gobble it up. Netflix was wooed and promised a huge return in their investment. Netflix reportedly financed the entire first season of Discovery.Then trouble behind the scenes began with writers being fired secretly and new ones being hired. The original concept was scraped, partially due to those copyright issues, while the rest was being changed constantly as the season went along. Mostly due to the viewers’ negative reactions. Secondly, due to the tremendous financial loss of Netflix capital, when CBS All-Access subscribers dropped like flies, cancelling their subscriptions. Millions of potential revenue losses, culminated in the firing of the CEO and new writing staff brought in.

So, that’s a little insight into why discovery was not received well. It’s simply not the Star Trek we all grew up with.

Meanwhile Seth McFarlane, a real Trecker, had the notion to create an alternate reality form of Star Trek. No copyright, merchandising, or distribution conflicts to deal with. So, he deftly melded the best of Star Trek TOS,TNG and others. Then sprinkled it with some of his wacky humor. And It worked! (imo)

What I think some folks want is that heavy-action melodrama like when The Borg attacked the Enterprise, Voyager, and even Picard himself. I enjoy those thrill rides. But that can burn you out if it’s the only course on the menu day after day. SO, I find it refreshing to watch Orville for some lighter Sci-Fi. I do enjoy Discovery for the potential apocalyptic consequences it offers as well.

I believe I am successful of doing so without conflict as I am also a Whovian. For those who aren’t, I refer to Doctor WHO, a British Sci-Fi show since the 50’s. It’s about a charismatic time traveler called the Doctor. He does not die. Instead, every so often, he must regenerate. When that happens, a new persona is revealed. In the real world, it’s a new actor. So, essentially, they reinvent the series each time, where it’s just a tad different than the previous. But it’s still the Doctor. That’s why it’s persevered so many years.

But that’s how I view the different incarnations of Star Trek. As long as they follow Gene Roddenberry’s philosophy, I can live with that.

Thanks for reading. I hope it was informative and helpful.

Live Long sad Prosper!