Star Trek is in Deep Trouble

And It Is Only Going to Get Worse

Hello Alex,

I have never made a secret of the fact that I am not a fan of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. For a long, long list of reasons - which I don't want to bore you with - I think they are bad shows. For those of you who do want the dusty details, here's a link to some of them.

Things wrong with Discovery

Anyway, on to....

Deep Trouble 

All you have to do, is go to Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic, and check the audience scores. I know, I know, people love to complain about how Rotten Tomatoes is....well, Rotten. And that the professional critics are just shills, who don't give their real opinion. Instead, they simply write whatever the studios and the politicians pay them to write. And, you know what, they are right. 

But at the end of the day, the critics don't matter as much as studios and the politicians think they do. Because the critics don't keep the streaming services afloat. Nor provide the DVD sales the studio want. The average Joe's and Jane's do. So forget the "Critics" and their "Opinions." Besides, if the Buzzfeed stock disaster is anything to go by, half of them will be gone soon. (But that's another story for another time.)

Any how, back to the subject at hand. Because the audience scores for Discovery and Picard are only going one way....Down. 

1. They were never that good to begin with. But with 24 percent for Season Four ON RT and 3.0 on Metacritic, things have REALLY gotten bad. And the Discovery's score tend to go down as the seasons goes along. So who knows how far it will fall ?
   
2. Speaking of going down. So are the VIACOM-CBS stocks. The stocks took a major hit halfway through 2021 and have been steadily declining since. Which - if it doesn't turn around - might land the company in the cross-hairs of the FTC. 
3. And the final indicator of CBS' trouble is.....Mark Harmon ? Well, I think he is....now, before you start yelling, just hear me out. It is an open secret that Mark Harmon has been wanting to retire for a while now. But he didn't, because CBS kept saying "You leave, we cancel NCIS." 
4. But now, Harmon is gone and CBS is trying to keep the NCIS franchise afloat (no pun intended). So why this change of direction ? Because while Paramount+ has shows with good ratings, it needs a FRANCHISE to pull the wagon. And I get the impression that the brass at CBS has figured out that Trek is not going to cut. Hence, this new policy.
5. Oeps...almost forget, the head of Secret Hideout's Television division has resigned. This cannot be a good thing.

About number five....I can't blame the lady for walking away. Kurtzman had fracked up the management of Trek and Clarice badly. But his planet sized ego would never allow him to admit that. So who gets all the blame ? She does. (I know, I know, the articles say she left on friendly terms, but I ain't buying it for a second.) Moving on to....

 

The Dark Waters Ahead

These can be summed up in one word....Competition. Something the Trek universe has been lacking. Which is why it has been able to get away with it's sub-par shows so far. But to quote Bob Dylan, the Times, they are changin'. So, let's see the candidate list....

1. Paramount+: Halo (TV series) - Another sign that CBS is not as happy with Trek and Secret Hideout as they appear to be. It is a Showtime co-production. And if it takes off, it will put extra pressure on Trek to perform. 
2. Amazon Prime: Mass Effect - Reported on 23 November 2021, Amazon is negotiating to make this happen. And Henry Cavil has made said he would like to be in it. Is this because they want to get rid of Picard and need a replacement ? And speaking of Amazon.....
3. Amazon Prime: Stargate - Before Covid-19 hit, MGM asked Brad Wright to write a pilot for a fourth SG-show. Which he did. As soon as the MGM purchase is done, said script will probably end up on somebody's desk for review. 
1. Adding fuel to the fire, the fans have using Twitter to poke Amazon into making this show happen. And even if it does not, Amazon with get the Stargate library. Which will make it a presence in the catalogue.
4. CW/Warner: Babylon 5 - Not only is this show getting a reboot overseen by J. Micheal Straczynski, the original has been remastered and re-released. 
5. Hulu - The Orville - Season 3 is forthcoming and there is a good chance it's audience ratings will steam roll over Discovery's. Who knows ? Maybe it will convince the right people to green light  season ? If it does, Disco is in Big Trouble. 
6. BBC: Dr Who - In 2023, Russell T. Davis will once again be in charge of the Whoniverse. The show is currently not in good shape, but if Davis manages to return it to the powerhouse of old...
   

IMHO, all of this together paints a picture of a franchise in major trouble. (And heading for more.) No matter what Kurtzman and his spin doctors say. And that's all I have for today,

Ruben A. Hilbers (Commander Nash)