Star Trek Returns…to TV!
Well, it’s official: Star Trek is returning to the small screen in January, 2017. That’s the good news. The bad news? Well, you’ll have to pay to see it, for starters. What you’ll actually be paying for is the CBS streaming service “All Access”, currently $5.99 per month, but that’s the only way in the U.S. that you’ll be able to see beyond the pilot episode (which will air on CBS first).
Second, it’s being produced by Alex Kurtzman. I’m sure he’s a great guy and all, but here’s the thing: he said all along when he and Roberto Orci were writing the 2009 Star Trek reboot that he was never a fan. Also, I’m not a fan of most of the shows he currently produces, which include Scorpion, Hawaii 5-0, and Sleepy Hollow. Actually, I did enjoy Sleepy Hollow the first season, but it went off the rails last year.
I’ve seen proposals for new Star Trek series, from George Takei’s Sulu idea and Michael Dorn’s Worf project, to Bryan Fuller’s proposal he took to CBS, to the newer Star Trek Uncharted treatment and pilot script (which is actually pretty darn good). Any of those currently seem preferable to something from a favorite of the network that’s devolved into “a buncha cop shows and a coupla sitcoms.”
Then there’s the fact that we saw what Ronald Moore could do once he was free from having Rick Berman looking over his shoulder. It was a little show called Battlestar Galactica. Would I like to see him back at the helm of another Trek? Oh, hell, yes. Not gonna happen.
I guess I’ll just hope for the best, and assume they’ll find some writers who know what they’re doing.
Author Christopher J. Valin 