Why Is Star Trek So popular ?

[BAYLOR]

What qualities does it posses and sets it apart from other science fiction shows ?Why does it endure ?

 

[J Riff]

It was the first widespread TV show, and it used real SF writers.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Because Captain Jean Luc Picard says "Make it so"

and so it is made.

 

[Dennis E. Taylor]

It was an under-serviced genre when it came out, and its major competitor was Lost in Space .

SF has always been treated poorly on TV. Those Who Decide are either simply unsure about SF or not confident about it (or something). Most so-called SF shows end up with an A-Team feel to their episodes, either in terms of really smelly "science" or in terms of plots that all end up as shoot-em-ups and car-chase scenes.

Not that I haven't noticed that TOS always seemed to end up with a fist-fight, but it also dealt with concepts and plots that a SF fan could appreciate.

 

[Ronald T.]

Because it was the first and the best of its kind.

By that, I mean it had a believable concept...it's five-year mission?

For the most part, it had weekly stories that were creative enough to entertain and make the audience suspend its disbelief.

The characters were well-rounded and believable, and, in their own strange ways, the actors were fantastic...Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov ?

And because it was the first time we were treated to amazing special effects on a weekly basis. Those effects are all but comical now. But at the time, they were fantastic. My wife and I never missed Star Trek. That is, the earlier Kirk and Picard versions. As "Tony the Tiger" would say, "They're great".

 

[REBerg]

Because it expresses the hope that Earth will survive Humanity's childhood, despite all indications to the contrary in today's world.

 

[BAYLOR]

Many people want the future to be Star Trek. Not a bad notion.

 

[RX-79G]

Technically, TOS wasn't an FX tour de force. It was produced at the same time 2001 was in production, and uses mainly simple editing techniques to make people disappear due to phasers or transporters, as well as shaking the camera, lighting and smoke machines.

TOS was not a huge success. It was nearly cancelled in the middle of season 2.

I think the main thing it had going for it was some really unusual characterizations - centered on Spock. And it had some good one sentence water cooler discussion points - "Nazis in space!"

But a lot of what it had going for it is whatever magic ingredient makes for TV cults, and that sometimes is a simple rejection of normal conventions, regardless of quality. However, TOS was decent quality compared to any competitor. There just wasn't much to pick from for space drama, despite the excitement of the space program.

 

[BAYLOR]

In late 60's , there really wasn't much of a tv audience for serious Science fiction shows. Television from 70's to the about 1987 was a pretty barren place for science fiction. Star Trek The Next Generation helped change that.

 

[RX-79G]

In late 60's , there really wasn't much of tv audience for serious Science fiction shows. Television from 70's to the about 1987 was a pretty barren place for science fiction. Star Trek The Next Generation helped change that.

I don't know why you'd say that. Apollo, the space shuttle, Star Wars, Planet of the Apes and 2001 showed a great interest by the public in sci fi. "TV audiences" weren't a different population.

TNG came out after two Star Trek television series and 4 feature films. It was almost guaranteed to be well received.

 

[BAYLOR]

I don't know why you'd say that. Apollo, the space shuttle, Star Wars, Planet of the Apes and 2001 showed a great interest by the public in sci fi. "TV audiences" weren't a different population.

TNG came out after two Star Trek television series and 4 feature films. It was almost guaranteed to be well received.

With some notable exceptions few if any tv series enjoyed success on network television in that time. The cost of producing them was an issue as was the lack of a television audience. Also lack of quality writing didn't help.

 

[WaylanderToo]

as has been mentioned - it was optimistic, fully integrated, discussed complicated concepts in an easy to understand manner, the good guys had morals and rules (but were not wedded to rules)

 

[BAYLOR]

In the end Trek, did have a huge long term impact.

 

[RX-79G]

With some notable exceptions few if any tv series enjoyed success on network television in that time. The cost of producing them was an issue as was the lack of a television audience. Also lack of quality writing didn't help.

Those aren't necessarily a problem with a lack of audience, but a lack of audiences with low standards. A "serious" show has to actually be serious, which means reasonable effects, good acting, fascinating plots and thoughtful themes. That requires dedication on the part of a network for the upfront costs and market research to understand what your audience wants, rather than just going with more monsters when ratings go down.

The biggest problem is that the whole point of SF is its novelty, and the expectation that a TV show can remain novel by presenting roughly the same story for 5 years is a little naive. We don't watch cop shows to get our minds blown, but that is the essential ingredient in SF media.

SF miniseries are likely the best way to avoid the doldrums that all SF series get into after too long.

 

[BAYLOR]

Most of the series that were launched prior to the time of the Next Generation lasted for maybe a season at best . There were notable exceptions . The Wild Wild West was a basically a Steam Punk Syfy Western ran 4 season but it Western, adventure and Spy laments that likely appealed to the audiences and the popularity of spy show like I spy and The Man From Uncle also carried it. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was entertaining and though it had some interesting stories it was pretty much advent under the reason and not at all serious, and a4 season it was far Irwon ales most successful series. The 6 million Dollar man which ran from 1974 to 1978 but that shows appeal was due to it being more an adventure spy series then anything else. The Incredible Hulk lasted 4 seasons but people watched because they got a put the Hulk, it was more an adventure series them Science fiction.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

as has been mentioned - it was optimistic, fully integrated, discussed complicated concepts in an easy to understand manner, the good guys had morals and rules (but were not wedded to rules)

I think that's a good summary of what made it so appealing -- but there was also the adventure of discovering new worlds almost every week.

It occurs to me that the original series came along and gained its very loyal following (even if it wasn't large enough to please the TV network) at about the same time that The Lord of the Rings was becoming so massively popular. LOTR also offered immense new landscapes, people of vastly different types working together, a basic (if sometimes cautious) optimism, and good guys with moral and rules.

I doubt that was a coincidence! Many of us were looking for something in the 1960s and when we found it we didn't care whether the story was about a distant mythical past or a distant (possibly mythical) future. Those of us who were at an impressionable age simply fell in love.

 

[RX-79G]

Most of the series that were launched prior to the time of the Next Generation lasted for maybe a season at best .

Space Patrol went 1110 episodes. The Outer Limits went 9 seasons. Twilight Zone 5. Doctor Who - ongoing.

Post TNG, many shows had longer runs. SG-1 10 seasons. X-Files for 9 seasons. Star Trek shows in total have 700 some episodes, but the longest series on its own was TNG with 178 episodes and 7 seasons.

 

[BAYLOR]

Space Patrol went 1110 episodes. The Outer Limits went 9 seasons.

Post TNG, many shows had longer runs. SG-1 10 seasons. X-Files for 9 seasons. Star Trek shows in total have 700 some episodes, but the longest series on its own was TNG with 178 episodes and 7 seasons.

Babylon 5 ran 5 years and 110 episodes.

 

[RX-79G]

Babylon 5 ran 5 years and 110 episodes.

Which doesn't really comment on the lack of audiences in the '60s, '70s and '80s. The problem was the cost of producing a show that met the standards set by big budget films and keeping a story interesting season after season. I don't think TNG broke any new ground, it just had enough fan backing and budget to present something that Star Trek fans wouldn't quickly tire of. Computer based effects had also improved to the point of making fresh sequences much less expensive than when everything had to be done with film and models.

Until 20 years of Trekkie fever crashed into effects improvements, the bar was simply too high to produce an acceptable spaceship series in the post 2001 world.

 

[BAYLOR]

Which doesn't really comment on the lack of audiences in the '60s, '70s and '80s. The problem was the cost of producing a show that met the standards set by big budget films and keeping a story interesting season after season. I don't think TNG broke any new ground, it just had enough fan backing and budget to present something that Star Trek fans wouldn't quickly tire of. Computer based effects had also improved to the point of making fresh sequences much less expensive than when everything had to be done with film and models.

Until 20 years of Trekkie fever crashed into effects improvements, the bar was simply too high to produce an acceptable series in the post 2001 world.

Special effects costs were a major hurdle. The original Battlestar Galactica tv show while ti didn't have great writing but it was fairly popular with audiences, but it cost about 1 million dollars per episode made it too expensive. Larson wanted to do a Miniseries and some telefilms. or additional miniseries It would worked better in that format.