I am Not Paying CBS To Watch 'Star Trek' On-line

I am Not Paying CBS To Watch 'Star Trek' On-line

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Yesterday I got the best birthday current a lifelong Trekkie could hope for: Star Trek is coming back to television - kinda, sorta.
It has been over a decade since Star Trek ended TV manufacturing and, whereas followers have had two successful movies to get pleasure from (or despise), corporate infighting between CBS and Viacom has saved the franchise from its rightful dwelling on the small display screen. However, it seems to be like the two corporations have hugged it out with the information that a brand new Star Trek series will return to "television" in early 2017. And whereas this might usually be cause for celebration among Trekkies, the announcement doesn't come with no few caveats when it comes to who's making it and how it's being distributed: The present might be produced by the crew accountable for the latest films, and it'll only be accessible by way of CBS' subscription streaming service, CBS All Entry It is a bit of a no-win state of affairs (a Kobayashi Maru scenario, if you will) for die-hard followers who wanted to see Star Trek back on tv. Star Trek may be again, nevertheless it comes at a price: each figurative and literal.
When Star Trek: Enterprise went off the air in 2005, few fans were sorry to see it go. The franchise had declined in high quality and edgier fare like the Battlestar Galactica reboot had wormed its method into the hearts of sci-fi geeks. But possibly absence does make the center develop fonder, for a lot of die-laborious Trek followers were thrilled when J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film made its way to theaters in 2009. Granted, Star Trek hasn't always had the perfect observe document in the case of movie, however after four years of nothing, any Trek was welcome Trek.
As a life-long Star Trek fan, I had plenty of reasons to be optimistic concerning the Abrams film. I was a fan of Alias and Misplaced - each of which he'd executive produced. The cast was interesting and the fact that the screenwriters made the reboot work inside established continuity tickled my geeky heart. The movie bought a lot of folks enthusiastic about Star Trek once more - together with my non-Trekkie boyfriend. Thanks to local TV reruns and Netflix, he caught up on the unique series by Deep House Nine (Voyager's been... gradual going, to say the least).
Roberto Orci (left), Damon Lindelof (center) and Alex Kurtzman (right) at the Star Trek: Into Darkness LA premiere
The problem with watching so much basic Trek with him is I realize how much new Trek pales compared. Star Trek is usually a slow-paced, mental humanist brand, one thing that has by no means translated effectively to the massive screen. Previous Trek makes me suppose; it's even made me cry. And so I've turned against new Trek, with its whiz-bang action aesthetic. Its continued presence in the cultural panorama has saved the franchise off TELEVISION where it really works finest. The scenario wasn't helped by all of the infighting between CBS and Viacom, with the previous persevering with to churn out outdated Trek merchandise and stream the previous reveals, while the latter needed to wipe the slate clean in favor of the Abrams model.
CBS has made it clear that this new Star Trek will solely be out there on its streaming service, CBS All Access.
But now, with yesterday's announcement, it seems like issues have been sorted out on the corporate aspect in favor of Viacom and Abrams's production firm Bad Robot. The new present is being govt produced by Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote both new Star Trek movies. I hated the Abrams-directed Into Darkness with all the power of a matter-antimatter explosion, so I'm solely type of getting what I wished on this new present. It is like if I asked for a Wii U for Christmas and found something that regarded like one beneath the tree, however really performed PlayStation four video games. Certain, the PlayStation four has a whole lot of nice games and maybe I am going to enjoy them, but I actually needed to play Splatoon.
I mentioned I wanted a new Star Trek present, but what I meant was one thing that embodied the old spirit whereas profiting from the slower pacing of tv.
Thing is, we do not really know what this new present is about. We all know it would "introduce new characters searching for imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes which have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966." However that's actually it - the present would not actually have a showrunner yet. It won't actually have a idea past the franchise title.
How keen are you so as to add another streaming service to your repertoire?
What it does have, although, is a distribution plan. Because whereas Kurtzman is still on the lookout for a head author, CBS has made it clear that this new Star Trek collection will only be accessible on its streaming service, CBS All Access. Positive, you'll get a short style of the show on CBS correct, but that's just to wet your whistle enough to pay $6 a month to watch the remainder of it.
CBS has at all times had a reasonably hesitant relationship with current on-demand and streaming providers - while you can watch pretty much your complete Star Trek catalog on Netflix and Hulu, widespread applications like The Big Bang Concept continue to be MIA in all places however CBS' personal website. So it actually wasn't a lot of a shock when the network unveiled its personal proprietary streaming service. Plenty of networks are embracing the idea of their own apps and websites - even CBS' sibling channel, Showtime, has a service you get by itself for $eleven a month, or even as an add-on to PS Vue or Hulu (however bizarrely enough, Showtime Anytime just isn't included in CBS' All Access service or vice versa).
How willing are you to add one other streaming service to your repertoire? Content material is king, and this new Star Trek collection is the first unique show introduced for CBS All Access since the service's launch in late 2014 - and it will not debut till 2017. In the meantime, you could have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Now and a number of different providers all hammering at your wallet. We may have been begging for "à la carte" programming, however that future is here and the associated fee is creeping steadily upward. The 4 companies I just talked about will run you round $40 a month mixed, and that does not embody other forms of programming, like sports activities ( is $25 monthly, for example).
We're at some extent where getting your content from just one or two companies is not possible. Sure, we all know that you just want Netflix for House of Cards and Amazon if you wish to watch Clear, and we're positive with that because they're massive providers with numerous mainstream programming. But the more numerous and esoteric you get, the tougher it's to search out every thing you want. I'm a big anime fan, and whereas I can easily watch Kill la Kill on Netflix and Tiger and Bunny on Hulu, I am not so lucky in the case of newer reveals like Wakakozake, which is barely accessible on Crunchyroll. As content gets spread out additional and additional, out-of-pocket price increases (on top of what I pay for Netflix and Hulu month-to-month, Crunchyroll prices me $7, and if I needed to observe something on FUNimation's service, it could cost me $5). With extra media corporations going the All Access route, we might finally be looking at a set of bills that rivals the price of cable, which hit an all-time-high nationwide common value of $99 again in September.
Will any of us watch this new show?
Within the meantime, plenty of people have reduce the twine, and it appears to be like like "America's Most Watched Community" has finally started to take action. CBS skews older and Star Trek is turning 50, however that property nonetheless stretches across demographics. I really like Star Trek, and my parents (who watch a number of CBS) are those who acquired me into it within the first place. The factor is, will any of us watch this new present? My parents certainly will not - their entry to streaming services comes by means of shared passwords as a result of they're still wedded to the outdated broadcast/cable model. And my desire to pony up for CBS All Entry hasn't increased one whit since the announcement Monday morning because of my dislike of new Trek and unwillingness to subscribe to extra providers.
The fits at CBS may be counting on model loyalty from outdated-college Star Trek fans to drive All Access subscriptions, however they're asking them to pay for one thing that doesn't look or function very very similar to the Star Trek they know and love.
Image credit score: Getty Pictures for Paramount Photos (Star Trek Into Darkness premiere)

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