Not sure why I feel so protective toward Free League, but even a whimsical thought experiment that includes them dipping a toe into this quagmire is disturbing. Whatever nostalgia some might feel when they hear "TSR," there was also a huge amount brand tax there, even before the recent disaster. Anecdotal, I know, but I would probably never buy anything TSR, whereas I'm rapidly becoming a Free League superfan, in part because their brand has none of those crusty old bits clinging to it.
Yeah, but imagine if Free League had picked up the TSR trademark a year or two ago, in cooperation with the Gygax mag folks. Instead of these sorry clowns. Before this quagmire unfolded.
It would be a total fit. I mean, Free League does tap into the 1980s suburban zeitgeist which TSR emanated on its better days. I mean, there were lots of good times through TSR. And some ugly marks. Including the most recent.
So yeah, I feel what you're saying. Yet, as a thought experiment, I'm whimsically picturing Free League deftly coming in and saying to Ernie and crew: "here's a few thousand bucks," let's put TSR3, TSR3.5, and TSR4 to rest, make amends for all the marks which have been done in its name, let's heal the hurts, and let's wait a year, and then launch:
Free League's Worlds of TSR Kickstarter.
Where Free League launches a new streamlined fantasy RPG house system, with a total 1980s "Tales from the Loop meets Stranger Things meets Larry Elmore" aesthetic. And setting-wise, begins to actively acquire old school IPs from ye ol' TSR designers, artists, and novelists, bringing them into a shared Free League "TSR Multiverse."
C'mon that'd be cool.