Rumours Recap.

Side note:

Other posts here on the "Star Trek: Picard" message board.

Thanks for the link wonder.

Tweet from Jonathan Frakes (18 June 2019):

Thanks to the galaxy class cast and crew @TrekPicard That's a wrap

Has one heard the rumor that during a test screening (for a crowd who like the reboot movies) of the first episode of STP the audience didn't like it to put it mildly.and more rumors about the sacking of Alex Kurtzman

@Nexus71 said:

Has one heard the rumor that during a test screening (for a crowd who like the reboot movies) of the first episode of STP the audience didn't like it to put it mildly.and more rumors about the sacking of Alex Kurtzman

I've heard those rumours, but nothing from the official sources.

This week Alex Kurtzman did give an interview. You can listen to the podcast Crew Call with him:

Alex Kurtzman On Rebuilding ‘Star Trek’ For The Next Generation, Directing ‘Discovery’ & Progress With ‘Picard’ – Crew Call Podcast.

Reaction to the podcast (see previous link):

5 Year Roadmap for Star Trek Franchise Revealed.

I think they are a bit too optimistic with their 5 year planning first CBS has to balance the costs and so far neither CBS or Netflix raised any profits from DISC and in financial terms the prospects for Picard look even worse .just throw the whole damn thing in syndication and sales abroad to normal tv stations but CBS was too greedy and now when people have to pay to watch Star Trek 'it seems that they don't have a product that Trek fans wanted(if the rumors of the preview debacle are true)

Well, I like Star Trek Discovery (the second season, that is). I can't honestly say if I will ever watch the first one. I do love that I have access to all to all of the great old CBS shows (Classic Mission Impossible, Classic Magnum P.I., Classic Twilight Zone, Classic Hawaii 5-0, to name a few).

Yeah in the US you at least have the advantage that all Trek is on one service we in Europe have to subscribe to two.

CBS has finally chosen the 'new' showrunner for this show: Michael Chabon.


‘Star Trek: Picard’: Michael Chabon Named Showrunner Of CBS All Access Series.

Stewart, Kurtzman, James Duff, Goldsman, Chabon, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth executive produce, with Aaron Baiers of Secret Hideout serving as co-executive producer and Kirsten Beyer as supervising producer. Hanelle Culpepper will direct the first two episodes of the series, making her the first woman to direct a pilot or debut episode of a Starfleet series in the franchise’s 53-year history.

Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novels The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Moonglow, Wonder Boys and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, among others. His screenplays and teleplays include John Carter, Spiderman 2, Unbelievable– which he wrote with his writing partner and wife, Ayelet Waldman – as well as the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Calypso.” In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Chabon has won the Hugo, Nebula, Mythopoeic, Sidewise and Ignotus awards (Spain’s Hugo Award) and many others.

making her the first woman to direct a pilot or debut episode of a Starfleet series in the franchise’s 53-year history

Again this is CBS propaganda and bullshit because Roxann Dawson(better known to Trekkies as B'Elanna Torres in VOY) DIRECTED 2 VOY episodes and 10 ENT episodes so this whole notion of a female directing Star Trek episodes for the first time is utter nonsense and my guess is she is not the only female to direct Star Trek episodes.Again CBS is already taking precautions so that if Picard gets bad reviews they can accuse Trekkies of being misogynists because we hate females directing which I already have proven is utter nonsense since another female already beat CBS to that claim by almost 20 years .With DISC they did a similar thing by claiming it was so progressive because it's alleged LGBT racial inclusiveness which were issues that were already addressed in various earlier Trek shows .Again I don't care whether the director is female gay,trans,black,yellow blue or purple as long as the stories ,scripts and acting are good and they don't screw up the timeline/canon for other motives than making more money .But we'll see how CBS reacts when the first reviews of Picard are less than stellar if they again claim it is because of white male misogynist fanboys don't say I didn't warn that this was going to happen.Btw it shouldn't make any difference whether a female directs a pilot or just an episode raising attention to that fact by CBS makes me only suspicious of CBS taking an advance for when Picard gets criticized.

And yes both shows being only available on streaming services which one pays for is also another huge factor in why DISC failed commercially because

a)that together with the whole Axenar thing worsened the relationship between CBS and fans,since every Trek show prior was available through syndication and where the biggest income were fans buying the videos,dvd´s and BRD and other merchandise,plus CBS/paramount had a steady income thanks to syndication rights.And now they rely solely on the income of three streaming services (CBS All Access,Netflix and Amazon prime)and the number of additional subscribers these two shows draw in for Netflix and Amazon Prime (which here in the Netherlands and my guess for the rest of Europe is a very marginal player on the streaming services market certainly compared to Netflix)Add to that that CBS in the US has to put up the money themselves to run a streaming services for the overhead costs which they also seemed to have underestimated.

b)The availability and quality of the streaming services of which Invidia is an (but probably not the only) example where there were (and still are) the problems that she mentions ,with syndicated broadcasting you don't have these issues.Also it' s a prime example of CBS wanting their cake and eating it as well.

c)If you expect fans to pay for something that up until then was available for free and one could decide later to buy the series or movies on video/DVD/BRD expect fans to be very critical since they now pay for the costs of the show(and not the network or advertisers) .This also influences creative freedom because one has to do what the customer wants otherwise your enterprise(no pun intended) will fail,So when some criticize those that criticized DISC as having a false sense of entitlement they are actually wrong because they are entitled to get something they want to see since it is them who payed for the production of the damned show to begin with.So when you sell a product to the customer make damn well sure it is the product you promised them to deliver and not some product you just happen to like because otherwise customers will complain(as what happened with DISC).

d)Financial discrimination , not all Trekkies are financially that well off so while in the past they had to pay for the TV bill and they could watch Star Trek on tv ,now with these streaming services those same people have to pay additional costs above their monthly tv bill which some just can't afford so a show like DISC could never be watched by those people until some TV network decides to pick it up for syndication which probably may never happen or not for some years(because CBS wants to maximize profits from it's All Access channel).Also by putting it on a payed streaming service will probably mean less income over sales from additional DVD/BRD releases and other merchandise since fans are likely not to pay for the same thing twice.

@Nexus71 Well put.

@wonder2wonder said:

It's complete madness to have to subscribe to another streaming service to watch a single show. Before the existence of these services, you could just tune into a (public) television network in your country, that would've bought the broadcasting rights.

...or not. Despite the fact that it was filmed in the UK with a primarily British cast, the wonderful "Galavant" has yet to be shown there .

@Nexus71 said:

making her the first woman to direct a pilot or debut episode of a Starfleet series in the franchise’s 53-year history

Again this is CBS propaganda and bullshit because Roxann Dawson(better known to Trekkies as B'Elanna Torres in VOY) DIRECTED 2 VOY episodes and 10 ENT episodes so this whole notion of a female directing Star Trek episodes for the first time is utter nonsense and my guess is she is not the only female to direct Star Trek episodes.Again CBS is already taking precautions so that if Picard gets bad reviews they can accuse Trekkies of being misogynists because we hate females directing which I already have proven is utter nonsense since another female already beat CBS to that claim by almost 20 years .With DISC they did a similar thing by claiming it was so progressive because it's alleged LGBT racial inclusiveness which were issues that were already addressed in various earlier Trek shows .Again I don't care whether the director is female gay,trans,black,yellow blue or purple as long as the stories ,scripts and acting are good and they don't screw up the timeline/canon for other motives than making more money .But we'll see how CBS reacts when the first reviews of Picard are less than stellar if they again claim it is because of white male misogynist fanboys don't say I didn't warn that this was going to happen.Btw it shouldn't make any difference whether a female directs a pilot or just an episode raising attention to that fact by CBS makes me only suspicious of CBS taking an advance for when Picard gets criticized.

And yes both shows being only available on streaming services which one pays for is also another huge factor in why DISC failed commercially because

a)that together with the whole Axenar thing worsened the relationship between CBS and fans,since every Trek show prior was available through syndication and where the biggest income were fans buying the videos,dvd´s and BRD and other merchandise,plus CBS/paramount had a steady income thanks to syndication rights.And now they rely solely on the income of three streaming services (CBS All Access,Netflix and Amazon prime)and the number of additional subscribers these two shows draw in for Netflix and Amazon Prime (which here in the Netherlands and my guess for the rest of Europe is a very marginal player on the streaming services market certainly compared to Netflix)Add to that that CBS in the US has to put up the money themselves to run a streaming services for the overhead costs which they also seemed to have underestimated.

b)The availability and quality of the streaming services of which Invidia is an (but probably not the only) example where there were (and still are) the problems that she mentions ,with syndicated broadcasting you don't have these issues.Also it' s a prime example of CBS wanting their cake and eating it as well.

c)If you expect fans to pay for something that up until then was available for free and one could decide later to buy the series or movies on video/DVD/BRD expect fans to be very critical since they now pay for the costs of the show(and not the network or advertisers) .This also influences creative freedom because one has to do what the customer wants otherwise your enterprise(no pun intended) will fail,So when some criticize those that criticized DISC as having a false sense of entitlement they are actually wrong because they are entitled to get something they want to see since it is them who payed for the production of the damned show to begin with.So when you sell a product to the customer make damn well sure it is the product you promised them to deliver and not some product you just happen to like because otherwise customers will complain(as what happened with DISC).

d)Financial discrimination , not all Trekkies are financially that well off so while in the past they had to pay for the TV bill and they could watch Star Trek on tv ,now with these streaming services those same people have to pay additional costs above their monthly tv bill which some just can't afford so a show like DISC could never be watched by those people until some TV network decides to pick it up for syndication which probably may never happen or not for some years(because CBS wants to maximize profits from it's All Access channel).Also by putting it on a payed streaming service will probably mean less income over sales from additional DVD/BRD releases and other merchandise since fans are likely not to pay for the same thing twice.

They didn't say she was the first female to direct a Trek ep. They said the first to direct a pilot/debut ep.

a) People keep going on about Axenar, but only hardcore Trek fans know what it is. Mme LeMarchand loves Trek, but wouldn't have a clue what it is, for instance.

b) Of course, there are never problems with aerial-based services.

c) I think the market for physical media is shrinking and people prefer streaming. (Not me, as I wouldn't trust $Show to be available when the mood took me to revisit it). I taught a class about "basic computer internals" to a bunch of 10 year olds a few years back and asked if anyone could think of any other sorts of data storage and got the reply "those round things they used to play music from". They didn't mean vinyl - they meant CDs!

d) That's what happens in a capitalist society. Don't like it? Get voting or find other ways to change things.

They didn't say she was the first female to direct a Trek ep. They said the first to direct a pilot/debut ep.

No,the issue was that CBS and the showrunners specifically mentioning it like they are taking an advance in case the new Picard show is met with criticism ,it feels like the similar tactic they used with DISC where they specifically mentioned it's progressive all inclusive content by mentioning that Burnham was the first black female main character like it was something utterly original in Star Trek(which it wasn't since we already had a black and female lead in DS9 and VOY).They are actually making the whole thing bigger than it is but by doing so they can later accuse those that don't like the show of being white male racist misogynists.People at CBS think that Trekkies are dumb and naive that they don't recognize the pattern of the same old tried tactics that studios nowadays seem to fall back to is that if a movie fails (that just happens to have a female or interracial main character or deals with some LGBT issues)it is because of white male racist,homophobe,misogynists (examples Ghostbusters 2016,Star Wars The Last Jedi,Discovery,Oceans 8,Captain Marvel,etc etc ).

a) People keep going on about Axenar, but only hardcore Trek fans know what it is. Mme LeMarchand loves Trek, but wouldn't have a clue what it is, for instance.

Well it was a big thing on the old IMDB boards and I remember the reactions there when CBS filed a lawsuit against the producers of Axenar and the resulting restrictions on fan movies.And I can say they were not positive and it certainly affected the response to DISC.

b) Of course, there are never problems with aerial-based services.

Most of the tv signals are send via cable and since the introduction of satellite transmissions in the 80's there have been very little problems apart from technical incidents at the studio(during live broadcasts) or the occasional strike.

c) I think the market for physical media is shrinking and people prefer streaming. (Not me, as I wouldn't trust $Show to be available when the mood took me to revisit it). I taught a class about "basic computer internals" to a bunch of 10 year olds a few years back and asked if anyone could think of any other sorts of data storage and got the reply "those round things they used to play music from". They didn't mean vinyl - they meant CDs!

Actually the market of vinyl has grown a lot and the market and interest in vinyl (and 180 grams recordings)and those of record players has actually grown also in last five years or so we have seen a re-evaluation of cassettes and cassette decks and even CD's have gained some popularity and digital recording equipment and carriers like DAT and MD have gained in popularity since prices for second hand gear had doubled or tripled in the last couple of years because of a growing interest.And why ?because the quality is still much better than most streaming services where music is still compressed into small files losing all of the atmosphere of the original recordings(it's like the whole discussion that arose when CD 's were introduced that because of the sampling rate of the CD players you missed part of the analogue recordings).Plus a lot of people like the whole experience and ritual of picking a record or cd or tape taking it out of the packaging.looking at the artwork ,the smell of the vinyl cleaning the record and needle putting it on your record player or put it in your cd player tape deck press the start button and having a wonderful sound that isn't that lacking like most streaming media plus the whole process and effort makes those who listen to music in that manner more connected to the music because of it unlike having 1000 songs on your phone listening several seconds to a track and then skipping it.Streaming services reduced the music (and the musical experience) from (pop)art (and event)to confection.It's enjoyable for a couple of times but is forgotten about a year later and it will never have the lasting impression or impact like for example a Sgt. Pepper,Dark Side Of The Moon or Purple Rain.

d) That's what happens in a capitalist society. Don't like it? Get voting or find other ways to change things.

And when subscribers to CBS All Acces and Netflix did they were labelled white male racist,homphobe misogynist fanboys for criticizing DISC when it was not the show they were promised (and paid for)

Sorry it's been a while; life happens.

No,the issue was that CBS and the showrunners specifically mentioning it like they are taking an advance in case the new Picard show is met with criticism

Sounds a little paranoid. OTH, female-led shows/movies do seem to be subject to different standards than male-led ones. I seem to recall complaints that the new Ghostbusters were all ugly - the originals weren't exactly male models!

Well it was a big thing on the old IMDB boards and I remember the reactions there when CBS filed a lawsuit against the producers of Axenar and the resulting restrictions on fan movies.And I can say they were not positive and it certainly affected the response to DISC.

As big as IMDb is, how many people do you know IRL who participated on their forums? I don't know any.

Most of the tv signals are send via cable and since the introduction of satellite transmissions in the 80's there have been very little problems apart from technical incidents at the studio(during live broadcasts) or the occasional strike.

Possibly true in urban areas, but even in the relatively small UK definitely not true in rural ones.

Actually the market of vinyl has grown a lot and the market and interest in vinyl (and 180 grams recordings)and those of record players has actually grown

Well, from nothing to "small". I give it a few more years until the hipsters realise that vinyl takes up too much space and that the sound quality isn't really that much of an improvement. Especially if the damn things aren't stored just right.

And when subscribers to CBS All Acces and Netflix did they were labelled white male racist,homphobe misogynist fanboys for criticizing DISC when it was not the show they were promised (and paid for)

But did they cancel their subs (if they ever had them)? Did they get out and vote for more left-leaning politicians who might (slightly) take power away from big business? Or did they just rage from their keyboards?