The future of Star Trek is in doubt, as there are no shows in active development at this time and the only two remaining series are headed toward their endings. It was only a few years ago that the franchise was releasing new episodes of Lower Decks, Prodigy, Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. Now, Paramount has announced the cancellation of Starfleet Academy and is winding down Strange New Worlds and, for the first time in years, not a single Star Trek show will be airing on Paramount. Some news about the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds shows one thing that continues to hurt the franchise.
Ambassador Sarek is returning to the franchise in the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds. It is no surprise to see Spock’s dad showing up on a prequel series. However, bringing back old characters is a trend that Star Trek has leaned on too much lately, and it keeps the show from moving forward.
One of the problems with Sarek’s return to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that the show will have to explain his appearance when looking at the history between him and his son Spock, which was fractured, to put it lightly. It was revealed in Star Trek: Discovery that he had a closer relationship with Michael Burnham than with Spock. He didn’t appear when his wife Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner) showed up in Season 2, with the explanation that Sarek refused to speak to Spock since his son chose Starfleet over the Vulcan Science Academy. It’s a mystery that will be interesting to play on, but bringing back yet another character from the past is hurting the franchise.
The next rumored series was supposed to be Star Trek: Year One, which would bring in Kirk and have the crew from the Starship Enterprise during his first year in command. However, what could this show do that is different from what fans already saw in the original Star Trek series or in the first few movies? Bringing back Captain Kirk and that crew is just rehashing stories that have already been told, and that won’t keep fans interested enough to care. Look at Picard to see how even the most popular of characters can’t guarantee an overwhelmingly positive experience.
There was also Starfleet Academy, which had a tough task as it wanted to bring new characters to the franchise to help push Star Trek into the future by winning over younger fans, which is the only way it can maintain its popularity and existence in the coming years. However, the franchise did what it always does, and it brought back the Doctor to add in a face from the past to help ease viewers into the new series. Sadly, it had an opposite effect.
Bringing in the Doctor was a smart move when looking at it from the Star Trek franchise’s point of view. It was a way to give something familiar to old viewers, but it had the opposite effect. Fans enjoyed seeing the Doctor back again, but no one seemed to connect with the new characters, and that is a big reason the show failed. The biggest complaints were that the new cast was too young and it was more of a coming-of-age series rather than the more rigid space military shows from the past. But adding in someone from the old shows confused the narrative and ruined any chance that Starfleet Academy had of success.
With the biggest rumor of a new series involving the old crew and Captain Kirk in the lead, it doesn’t give the franchise any chance to introduce new characters that could carry future shows. What made shows like Deep Space Nine and even The Next Generation so great was that they were confident enough in their stories to bring in a new cast without caring about the past other than placing the stories in the same universe. Relying on Captain Kirk, the Doctor, or Spock’s dad is only reminding fans of what Star Trek used to be. It never gives the franchise a chance to let fans fall in love with the new characters, and that is what Star Trek needs to move into the future.
There is a Star Trek reboot apparently coming, and it is supposed to introduce new characters, which is what this franchise needs over anything else. Star Trek is 60 years old, but the franchise has become obsessed with lore and nostalgia. It is time to move past old Star Trek shows and characters and look into the future if it wants to survive another 60 years.
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