Traditionally; Star Trek characters, reminded me of "...your plastic pals that are(n't) fun to be with..." seemed to be less of an issue with the this last series, but it is still somewhat antiseptic and has many awfully goody-goody leanings. Character development was under-shadowed by fancy techno-babble that would even irritate a Telletubby. Although they finally began to give the characters some "issues" to deal with in this series it may not have been enough to keep the audience interested. It seemed that there was little joy/zest among the characters of Star Trek (not the actors but the way that universe works/was-envisioned;) they oft seem wooden lacking and dimension-impaired.
Don't get me wrong, I found the series(es) amusing and enjoyed it, but they had serious issues which was damaging as a whole. They became reliant on the many of the same rote plot devices that saves their bacon from any real consequences (for the most part.) Weebles wobble but they don't fall down, the writers treat everyone on their series like Weebles. If a character took a really, really hard fall now and then I think that it would (have made) make things more interesting.
I think that the mini-arcs that they began to use for their format was a very good start; as was the drifting to a darker tone for the series. Unfortunately the series' chronic PC nature was always a killer as was their "can't we just get along" optimism. I'm sure that the Starfleet HR department was proud in any case.
Does the series require cancellation? No, they are relying on one set of flawed numbers for their ratings. Nelson's only have something like 5,500 households in their sample. That sample is just in the United States and only takes in account for live broadcast and not those who time-shift. Also the show was move to a bad time slot. Friday evening that is against a lot of people going out and against other popular sci-fi series offerings. Just too much competition at that time period. You want a show to do well? Look at times where it won't have a lot of competition. They also are not looking at the foreign and syndication resale rights. The series may have a higher up front cost than other series but as a reseller it would have longer staying power on the market than many offerings like the current crops of reality-tv which are cheap up-front and therefore make for quicker short term profit but may never re-syndicate well and thus never make long-term returns. Star Trek as a franchise seems to be one of those shows that can be resold over and over thus bringing in a long and steady return over the life of the copyright.
Does it require a hiatus? Yes, they need to stop and rethink a few things and the directions that would make the show more interesting and more original. Less rehashing and less plot devices to safe the day. More conflict and controversy, occasionally do something shocking; less political correctness.
Maybe a little strife among the crew with a grudge that festers. T'pol could start up her little "drug" habit again. Then on arrival to a newly visited planet one of the resident aliens would appear on the big bridge screen and unexpectedly one of the bridge crew could suddenly scream "you stupid Gray, you've abducted your last human from the Iowa Boondocks and gave him a probe 'you know where,' we've warned you about not doing that... we're nuking Zeta-Reticule now" and take over the weapons console and drop a couple torpedoes on their capital city before being restrained.
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Traditionally; Star Trek characters, reminded me of "...your plastic pals that are(n't) fun to be with..." seemed to be less of an issue with the this last series, but it is still somewhat antiseptic and has many awfully goody-goody leanings. Character development was under-shadowed by fancy techno-babble that would even irritate a Telletubby. Although they finally began to give the characters some "issues" to deal with in this series it may not have been enough to keep the audience interested. It seemed that there was little joy/zest among the characters of Star Trek (not the actors but the way that universe works/was-envisioned;) they oft seem wooden lacking and dimension-impaired.
Don't get me wrong, I found the series(es) amusing and enjoyed it, but they had serious issues which was damaging as a whole. They became reliant on the many of the same rote plot devices that saves their bacon from any real consequences (for the most part.) Weebles wobble but they don't fall down, the writers treat everyone on their series like Weebles. If a character took a really, really hard fall now and then I think that it would (have made) make things more interesting.
I think that the mini-arcs that they began to use for their format was a very good start; as was the drifting to a darker tone for the series. Unfortunately the series' chronic PC nature was always a killer as was their "can't we just get along" optimism. I'm sure that the Starfleet HR department was proud in any case.
Does the series require cancellation? No, they are relying on one set of flawed numbers for their ratings. Nelson's only have something like 5,500 households in their sample. That sample is just in the United States and only takes in account for live broadcast and not those who time-shift. Also the show was move to a bad time slot. Friday evening that is against a lot of people going out and against other popular sci-fi series offerings. Just too much competition at that time period. You want a show to do well? Look at times where it won't have a lot of competition. They also are not looking at the foreign and syndication resale rights. The series may have a higher up front cost than other series but as a reseller it would have longer staying power on the market than many offerings like the current crops of reality-tv which are cheap up-front and therefore make for quicker short term profit but may never re-syndicate well and thus never make long-term returns. Star Trek as a franchise seems to be one of those shows that can be resold over and over thus bringing in a long and steady return over the life of the copyright.
Does it require a hiatus? Yes, they need to stop and rethink a few things and the directions that would make the show more interesting and more original. Less rehashing and less plot devices to safe the day. More conflict and controversy, occasionally do something shocking; less political correctness.
Maybe a little strife among the crew with a grudge that festers. T'pol could start up her little "drug" habit again. Then on arrival to a newly visited planet one of the resident aliens would appear on the big bridge screen and unexpectedly one of the bridge crew could suddenly scream "you stupid Gray, you've abducted your last human from the Iowa Boondocks and gave him a probe 'you know where,' we've warned you about not doing that... we're nuking Zeta-Reticule now" and take over the weapons console and drop a couple torpedoes on their capital city before being restrained.