[Centauri]

This board is overrun by nerds. And yet there isn't one good, continuous SciFi thread on the entire board.

So I figure it's about time somebody made one.

My idea for this thread is intertwined SciFi discussion. And I figure it'll work since no discussion of any SciFi franchise seems to be able to make it past a few posts without becoming about another.

To get us started;

Why did Star Trek die?

I, personally, lay the blame solely at the feet of Rick Berman.

Gene Roddenberry essentially handed him the reigns to the franchise. And after doing so, it seems as though Berman set about on some clandestine mission to keep the entire franchise within a very restrictive set of 'moral boundaries' set by Roddenberry. A few problems with that though;

1) Roddenberry was as much of a studio whore as George Lucas is. But Roddenberry's death allows him to escape the same type of criticisms. Any 'moral intention' that Roddenberry had for Star Trek's portrayal of the universe was revisionist. I admire it, but it's revisionist nevertheless.

2) By the time Berman had full control over the franchise, it had already become clear that fans were craving something more real from Star Trek's portrayal of existence. Something darker. Something more human.

And rather than go with this to further the franchise, Berman attempted to put brakes on anything he didn't think Roddenberry would like. Deep Space Nine would have never gone the direction it went or became as good of a show as it did had Ira Behr listened to Berman.

3) Enterprise - This was Bermans first opportunity to put what he wanted on screen. Not what the fans wanted. But what he wanted. And it was an absolute failure.

Not only was the franchise already dying when Enterprise debuted, but the entire idea of a prequel wasn't going to appeal to ANYBODY. And it certainly wouldn't have any sort of pull on newcomers to the franchise, since a prequel is arguably even more confusing than a linear story for a franchise n00b.

Anyways, Berman killed it. And I figured Trek would hibernate for a while, and make a comeback sometime in the next few years one way or another. But I was almost positive that Enterprise's prequel failure would ensure a return to TNG-era story telling.

Wrong.

Sure, the reigns have changed hands. But I'm afraid that the next Trek flick will be plagued by the same problems that brought Enterprise down.

Thoughts?

(Babylon 5 rocks too, BTW)