# Can this Franchise Be Saved?, or Who should take over Star TreK **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234 "2013-07-11T17:02:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/1 "2013-07-11T17:02:37Z")
With Abrams off to play in the Star Wars universe, it only seems right that the Powers that Be hand off the Star Trek franchise to someone else. Who would you like to see take it on and what would they bring to the party? Personally, I would love to see what Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg would do with it. They love the source material, write & direct really good movies, and I wouldn’t mind watching a more Scotty-centered movie. They are so good at embracing a genre’s cliches and refreshing them with good stories, acting, and directing. ST should be more character-centered, not so much a “wouldn’t it look cool” boys-own space adventure. Oh, and bring in Bill Bailey to play Mudd! ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/2 "2013-07-11T17:13:43Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > With Abrams off to play in the Star Wars universe, it only seems right that the Powers that Be hand off the Star Trek franchise to someone else. Why ever would you do that? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/3 "2013-07-11T17:28:28Z")
Never heard of 'em. Transport the hell off my lawn! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/4 "2013-07-11T19:40:31Z")
All that I ask is whoever gets the franchise as actually watched Star Trek before getting the offer and has some kind of clue about why it worked. Maybe some kind of a test? Why is Spock one of the most memorable characters in recent popular culture? The Abrams answer - he has pointy ears and can be played by a hot actor - would get one immediately fired. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/5 "2013-07-11T20:01:13Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > All that I ask is whoever gets the franchise as actually watched Star Trek before getting the offer and has some kind of clue about why it worked. > Maybe some kind of a test? > Why is Spock one of the most memorable characters in recent popular culture? > > The Abrams answer - he has pointy ears and can be played by a hot actor - would get one immediately fired. I like this. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/6 "2013-07-11T20:07:23Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Why ever would you do that? Did you _see_ the pair of films supposedly in the Star Trek franchise that he directed? What more of an answer do you need? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/7 "2013-07-11T20:15:22Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Did you _see_ the pair of films supposedly in the Star Trek franchise that he directed? What more of an answer do you need? The one that was wildly popular and more critically accliamed than any of it’s predecessors? Yeah, I’ve seen that one. I’ve haven’t seen the new one that is also wildly popular and critically accliamed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/8 "2013-07-11T20:15:40Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Maybe some kind of a test? Named after a Japanese Ship? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Dollar\_Tallboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Two\_Dollar\_Tallboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Dollar_Tallboy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/9 "2013-07-11T20:24:13Z")
I was thinking of Edgar Wright before I even opened this thread. Great minds and all that. Wright has handled genre jumping pretty well, going from zombies, to cop action and now sci-fi with the upcoming World’s End. He’s also shown that he genuinly enjoys and respects sci-fi & Trek. My only concern is that he may not be able to tone down the comedy enough for a passable Star Trek movie. Or they could just bring back Nicholas Meyer (director of ST II & VI), he’s still directing, according to IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/10 "2013-07-11T20:26:24Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The Abrams answer - he has pointy ears and can be played by a hot actor - would get one immediately fired. I thought it was that he had pointy ears, can be played by an actor with caterpillar brows, and can have an interspecies/interracial relationship with The Only Woman On Board The Goddamned Ship. (I know, I know.) (Also, in all seriousness, I quite like Abrams’s flicks and hope he’ll have plenty of time to juggle both of the Star franchises. Perhaps some cross-overs, even… (I keed, I keed!)) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/11 "2013-07-11T20:28:01Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The one that was wildly popular and more critically accliamed than any of it’s predecessors? Yeah, I’ve seen that one. I’ve haven’t seen the new one that is also wildly popular and critically accliamed, though. I think what’s being asked for is a Star Trek that is fun and exciting like Abrams’ ST, but not stupid and character-distorting like the Abrams ST. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/12 "2013-07-11T20:29:48Z")
Oh, you guys are talking about movies. Never mind then. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/13 "2013-07-11T20:29:56Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I think what’s being asked for is a Star Trek that is fun and exciting like Abrams’ ST, but not stupid and character-distorting like the Abrams ST. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/14 "2013-07-11T20:56:52Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I thought it was that he had pointy ears, can be played by an actor with caterpillar brows, and can have an interspecies/interracial relationship with The Only Woman On Board The Goddamned Ship. (I know, I know.) > > (Also, in all seriousness, I quite like Abrams’s flicks and hope he’ll have plenty of time to juggle both of the Star franchises. Perhaps some cross-overs, even… (I keed, I keed!)) Ooh, then we can answer once and for all which ship would win in a fight, a Star Destroyer or the _Enterprise_. Countdown to shouting in T minus 5… ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/15 "2013-07-11T20:57:58Z")
I think Abrams made a couple fun Trek movies and will do a bang-up job with Star Wars, it being mostly silly space opera and not really character dependent, but Trek was always about the characters first. The zooming around space was just how they got to work. Don’t get me wrong, I like soft sci-fi eye candy as much as the next person and I own Trek 1 and have Trek 2 on order. I’d just like to see somebody grab and go with a character-driven vehicle next. They don’t all have to be stories made up of plot holes covered in pretty wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/16 "2013-07-11T21:21:50Z")
Seems to me the franchise HAS been saved! Thanks to Abrams, Star Trek is no longer the joke it was after _ **Insurrection.** _ At this point, just hire a good writer and a director who’s a competent storyteller, and things should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/17 "2013-07-11T21:31:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Seems to me the franchise HAS been saved! Thanks to Abrams, Star Trek is no longer the joke it was after _ **Insurrection.** _ > > At this point, just hire a good writer and a director who’s a competent storyteller, and things should be fine. Yeah, it’s just a different type of joke-the brainless action movie. I’ve actually heard people say that when I point out plot holes. “It’s just an action movie. Stop taking it so seriously.” ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/18 "2013-07-11T22:15:42Z")
Well, yeah, that was the point of the OP - get a director and writer/s to take over from Abrams, not start from scratch. I’d be happy to see Alfonso Cuaron for a more serious take. Maybe Wright/Pegg do the next and Cuaron for the one after that. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/19 "2013-07-11T22:23:09Z")
Nicholas Meyer was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234/20 "2013-07-11T22:29:18Z")
Moffat, anyone? Doctor Spock\*: “Pointy ears are cool.” - a transporter/tardis accident fuses The Doctor and Mr Spock in the Infinite Gallifrian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-franchise-be-saved-or-who-should-take-over-star-trek/663234.md?page=2)