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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/arts/television/31trek.html?8hpib=&pagewanted=all&position=
New York Times said:August 31, 2004
Fans Hope Suns Can Rise Again on 'Star Trek'
By WILLIAM S. KOWINSKI
OS ANGELES, Aug. 30 - Could "Star Trek" be dying? It's enough to make Mr. Spock laugh.
"This is so funny," said Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock, directed two "Star Trek" feature films and produced another. " 'Star Trek' has died several times and come back stronger than ever."
Over the weekend Mr. Nimoy joined others from the cast of the original "Star Trek" television series at a fan convention here organized by Planet Xpo to honor James Doohan, who played Scotty, the Enterprise engineer, in his last convention appearance. Mr. Doohan, who is to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Tuesday, is showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, a family spokesman said. So with the exception of DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard McCoy and died in 1999, the Enterprise crew gathered one last time on Sunday.
There are reasons to question "Star Trek's" continued viability. Though the feature film series has grossed more than a billion dollars for Paramount, the last two outings have sputtered at the box office. The most recent release, "Star Trek Nemesis," could not hold its own against installments of the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" film series in the summer of 2002.
And since "Star Trek: The Next Generation" received an Emmy nomination as best dramatic series and left the air a legitimate hit in 1994, subsequent "Star Trek" television dramas have slowly lost ratings ground. Completing its third season last spring after a generally rough ratings year for television drama, the current series, "Star Trek: Enterprise," faced cancellation by UPN.
In an echo of the original series's fate, it was saved after a fan letter-writing campaign but rescheduled on Fridays at 8 p.m. for the coming season, beginning in October. Both the UPN president, Dawn Ostroff, and the Paramount television president, Garry Hart, point to the example of "The X Files," a series aimed at similar viewers, that found its audience on Fridays. (They are also happy that "Enterprise" will no longer be competing with "American Idol.")
Still, Friday has also been a graveyard for shows meant to appeal to young adult viewers, including the original "Star Trek" in 1969.
Even Mr. Nimoy sees cause for concern. He likens the current situation to the period after the first "Star Trek" feature film, when "I felt that 'Star Trek' was like a beached whale," he said. "I think something similar is happening now. 'Star Trek' is in this stranded situation. The ideas that were propelling it have run dry."
Some people suggest the problem is audience fatigue. Some say it is creative exhaustion. One solution to both, several actors, writers, producers and directors of past "Star Trek" incarnations say, may be to stop making new "Star Trek" stories for a while.
"As soon as one series ends, the next one begins right away," said Denise Crosby, an actor in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as well as executive producer of the new documentary "Trekkies 2." "How can you sustain that? The bar has been raised so high with sci-fi films. I'm not talking just about special effects but interesting, elaborate tales. You need to step back and refocus on what's pertinent to this moment in time."
LeVar Burton, who directed 27 episodes of four "Star Trek" series and was a star of "The Next Generation," also favors a hiatus. " 'Star Trek's' just not special enough, not anymore," he said. "They need to shut the whole thing down, wait five years, create an interest, an excitement, a hunger for it again."
The convention here offers an opportunity to look back at a 40-year cultural phenomenon that has produced 10 movies, hundreds of hours of 5 TV series and some of the most devoted fans in entertainment history. On Tuesday Paramount is releasing "Trekkies 2" on DVD. it is about those fans, and the DVD set of the first season of the original "Star Trek" series.
Trekkies are of two minds' about the franchise's trajectory. "There's a large group that thinks it's time to give "Trek" a rest," said Michael W. Malotte, president of the International "Star Trek" Fan Association, with 230 chapters worldwide. "There's another group that says, 'I enjoy Trek, I don't agree with a lot of what they're doing, but I still enjoy watching.' "
Those who are rooting for more new "Star Trek" are buzzing this summer about Manny Coto, the new co-executive producer of the current series, "Enterprise," which is set in the century before Capt. James T. Kirk, the original commander. "My goal is to deepen and expand its relationship to the 'Star Trek' universe," Mr. Coto said, "to fulfill its promise as a true prequel series."
This relationship will be made visible with the appearance of Brent Spiner (who played Mr. Data in "The Next Generation") in a story told over three episodes, the coming season's preferred format. Mr. Burton is to direct the third of these episodes. Negotiations are under way for a similar appearance by William Shatner, perhaps even playing Captain Kirk.
Another arc of stories will concern civil war on Vulcan, Mr. Spock's planet, which Mr. Coto says will covertly examine "the war in Iraq and the direction of the country." That story line reflects "Star Trek's" longstanding commitment to, as Mr. Burton puts it, "comment on our present condition by examining it in a future context."
Even if a pause could be creatively useful, commercial calculation will probably determine "Star Trek's" fate, and its recent problems may not be decisive.
"Movies cost so much to make that apparently the only thing that strikes the studios as worth doing is franchise-related," said Nicholas Meyer, who directed "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." "Whether it's other movies, comic books, video games, it doesn't matter, as long as there is some presale. Which is not to say they can't turn out a good movie. A lot of good things are done for the wrong reasons."
Though he acknowledges that the performance of "Star Trek Nemesis" was disappointing, Rick Berman, the film's producer and the executive producer of the current "Enterprise" television series. noted that it was the 10th film in the series, "and I highly doubt it was the last." Discussions about the next film are "in a very preliminary stage," he said, adding that the story being considered "would not involve any of the casts that have existed in previous films and television series."
Mr. Hart, the Paramount executive, said that while another "Star Trek" television series was not being planned, he doubted that there would be more than a season or two pause after "Enterprise" before the next incarnation.
" 'Star Trek' has been the most successful franchise in the history of television," he said. "I have no doubt there will be a demand for more 'Star Trek' on television."
Even if "Star Trek" pauses or stops, most people agree that the fan clubs and conventions will continue. In some ways, fandom has become self-sufficient. For years fans have created and disseminated their own "Star Trek" stories, first on mimeographed pages, then on fan fiction Internet sites. Now, with increasingly accessible digital technology, they are creating their own films.
"They are no longer bound by what the TV tells them to do," said Eugene Roddenberry, the 30-year-old son of "Star Trek's" creator, Gene Roddenberry, who recently agreed to help produce a live-action fan film. "They can go do it themselves, which I love."
Eugene Roddenberry is also working on a documentary called "Trek Nation," which highlights "Star Trek's" impact on world culture and its fans' lives. Fan organizations typically do charity work and public service, and some require it.
"Many fans live their lives by these philosophies like the Prime Directive and I.D.I.C.," said Roger Nygard, director of "Trekkies 2." The Prime Directive was to avoid interfereing with less advanced cultures, and fans have adopted it as a principle of noninterference. I.D.I.C. stands for "infinite diversity in infinite combinations," the Vulcan motto adopted by fans to summarize Star Trek's commitment to diversity and equality.
Over the weekend the original "Star Trek" actors emphasized those themes to their convention audiences, as they usually do.
"Because the fans are loyal to Gene's dream, we are loyal to the fans," Nichelle Nichols said on Sunday. She played Uhura, the communications officer.
The bond goes both ways. "In a society with so much violence and stupidity, the conventions are an oasis where you can find some genuinely good people who believe in humanity and respect the rights of others," said Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, the assistant navigator on the Enterprise.
"Star Trek" is notable for having created its own elaborate history of the future, which together with its themes, best stories and strongest characters add up to a modern mythology. "You'd be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn't know what a Klingon is, or doesn't know what 'Beam me up, Scotty' is all about," Mr. Berman said. "It is a phenomenon that will continue to exist, and whether it will continue to exist after a pause or not, probably in the long run doesn't matter."
Just one indication of "Star Trek's" intersection with real life came at the convention on Saturday night, when the featured speaker at the banquet honoring Mr. Doohan was Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon.
Ending a talk full of "Star Trek" references, including a wish for a Federation starship for his next command, Mr. Armstrong addressed Mr. Doohan: "From one old engineer to another: thanks, mate."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
