I suppose it's a question of what the goal is. If the goal is artistic integrity, then take a few years rest. If the goal is financial, then keep it around for as long as it's profitable. The people driving the thing are in it for the money, so the bottom line will dictate its future.

Posted by John on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 3:12 PM at 3:12 PM

"Let them die."
Seriously, It's over.
Consider this: At the end of "All Good Things" (ST:tNG) Q told Picard that human kind was poised on the brink of an evolutionary breakthrough that would elevate man to new heights. We had already seen more than one alien race "ascend" into energy beings, and even Wesley had tapped into his little Time God Prodigy powers near the series' end. Four years after this Sisko was living with the "prophets" in the wormhole, undergoing some form of transformation no doubt.
So we've got mankind turning into something new and strange, in a galaxy full of things like the Celestial Temple, the Guardian of Forever, the Orb of Time, the Dyson Sphere, the Doomsday Machine (or machines), the little Puppetmaster aliens that were supposedly returning after "Conspiracy," The Traveler, the multi-colored cyber-organic "child" that the Enterprise had, more Q than you can shake a stick at, Negilum, the Nazi planet, the Roman planet, the Gangster planet, the Andromedans, and a slew of other open-ended story threads just ripe for the taking. Where did Apollo go at the end of "Whom Gods Destroy?" What did V'Ger turn into and where did it go? Why did the prophets turn all these powerful orbs loose of "linear" beings? What about the "hidden" aliens who Gary Seven worked for? Who sent the probe from Voyage Home, Space in the Trek universe is apparently full of strange beings, ancient things, and powerful anomalies that have had zero impact on the Federation. Mankind should be out their exploring it.
That's what Star Trek should have become: the story of the human race trying to expand into the galaxy while evolving into god-knows-what and coping with phenomena bigger and nastier than they are; exploring humanity's potential on a grand scale in A.E. Van Vogt or Cordwainer Smith style. Instead we get a lame premise for a prequel series, an abandonment of all interesting elements of the Trek universe, and Vulcans in snug outfits running around the goddamned 1950s oozing out of my TV like a giant poorly-written turd. I wouldn't care so much except that in the eyes of many this rubbish is the supposed figurehead of all forward-thinking science fiction, and that is patently false. Hell, I'll go so far as to say that the last Transformers series was more intellectually stimulating.

Posted by Jeff on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 3:44 PM at 3:44 PM

So, Jeff, tell us what you really think!

Posted by JP on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 4:39 PM at 4:39 PM

DIE! DIE! DIE!

Jokes aside, it's about bloody time. There are worse things than being dead: Star Trek is now an UNDEAD series.

-A.R.Yngve
URL:
http://yngve.bravehost.com

Posted by A.R.Yngve on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 4:56 PM at 4:56 PM

Say it isn't so, but what would an entire generation of Trekkies do if it all goes away? Besides, we would have to find something else to make fun of...

Posted by pete on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 5:08 PM at 5:08 PM

Pete: Well, Trekkies managed to let Firefly, Lexx, and Farscape escape their radar. Trekkies are to fandom what Catholicism is to christianity, they think that they are the only ones who count.

Posted by Jeff on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 8:08 PM at 8:08 PM

Jeff, those are some excellent points but I wouldn't lump Lexx in there. It has some unique Sci Fi elements but I found it too cheesy and too much about sex (not like thats a bad thing) but in general it was a joke.

Posted by Tim on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 9:45 PM at 9:45 PM

I do not disagree with some of the sentiment, although I would be happy to have reaped the profits that Gene did from the work he created. Not too shabby, roughly 40 years running, many movies from the original and STNG series, 5 series of varying length and quality (although the space station one was the worst for me - it was about exploring remember, not life in a space bus terminal). It became a part of the popular culture...seems to have done alright overall...

...and for any "purists" out there, yeah it is about the money too. You think artists live off dreams and creativity alone? Good for Gene and his heirs.

Posted by Michael on Wednesday September 08, 2004 at 10:38 PM at 10:38 PM