10 Ways The Streaming Era Has Improved Star Trek

[@mj1s735]

I know streaming helped to get and keep a new generation Star Trek fans. I was at a convention and I saw a bunch of teens wearing TOS cosplay. And I asked them why TOS, and they said when they went to the J.J. movies people kept on telling them that TOS was better. That motivated them to watch TOS on streaming services and they actually liked it and stayed Star Trek fans. And they even started to watch other Star Trek TV shows.

[@Hasmanian]

So called "filler" episodes usually focused on under-used members of the cast. I can't tell you anything about most of Disco's bridge crew because none of them got a "filler" episode.

[@lfrands]

Yeah! Exactly. I love this comment. I want more filler! More backstories! Just more stories in general

[@frankd6142]

Discovery might have been better had it utilized filler episodes to help build up the non-Micheal centric stories and keep them from only growing what it was convenient for the story and to "help" Michael

[@ghijkmnop]

The only time we got a filler ep was to kill off a character (RIP Airiam).

[@tomk8729]

Critical Drinker's jibe about Burnham being 'Diversity female space Jesus' was spot-on. No-one else got a look-in. A bit less of Burnham it might not have been quite so dire.

[@TheVeritas1]

​@@tomk8729 You take Critical Grifter seriously?

[@Josh-g1h9n]

Some of us still like holding a physical media such as DVDs and stuff

[@robertw31968]

Yep because with streaming they can take it away anytime they want.

[@meacadwell]

@@robertw31968 And this is exactly why I purchased the physical media.

[@2013jmt1970]

@@robertw31968 ...they can also "alter" the episodes or post nonsensical so-called "warnings"...

[@liamscienceguy8153]

All of modern star trek with the exception of Lower Decks Season 5 (until march) exists on disc.

[@Trialwolf]

Honestly Paramount has been using CGI as a crutch. Honestly if they scaled back the CGI and put that money onto better writing we could get more episodes with a better balance between character and adventure episodes. Honestly would love to see practical effects make a return, I'd hate to see model ships become a lost art.

[@frankd6142]

They have been using CGI since TNG This is not a new thing.

[@Trialwolf]

@@frankd6142 Thank you for pointing out the obvious. However today the show is almost completely CGI which is where the problem is. In the past they had to be more creative and imaginative to get the most out of much smaller budgets so more practical and simple affects were needed and they got the job done. Now they just run everything through CGI focusing on the visual without a thought on budget essentially. If they scaled the CGI back and returned to more creative and imaginative thinking they could lower the cost of each episode and thus be able to produce more episodes a season. Honestly the look of the older shows has a much better feel with the more practical ships and sets rather than with the more artificial feel of the new shows to the point where you can tell when they are in the projection set.

[@QBCPerdition]

CGI makes things to easy, and thus take away some of the sense of mass. For example, at the end of Picard's third season, seeing the Ent-D was awesome. But seeing it do barrel rolls through the interior of another ship just felt wrong. Part of that might come down to the fact that we never saw it do anything so acrobatic during TNG, so it felt wrong, but it also seemed like there was no mass to the ship, it could just change direction on a dime. It didn't feel as real as the old shows did.

[@heddingite]

​@frankd6142 They used extremely minimal CGI in TNG. Cgi didn't start to become prevalent until VOY S5/ DS9 S6 at best. TNG used models as did DS9 and VOY.

[@frankd6142]

@@QBCPerdition CGI is cheaper than models and filming them. In the DS9 battle with the Klingons they used playmates, Ertl and Hallmark starships to keep costs down.

[@stephenconroy5908]

Although such nostalgic memories of waiting for TV re-runs in the mid-90s to mid-2000s of either: 1. Watching a brilliant episode for the first time and spending so many weekends at the VHS stand in the town market desperately trying to find it (the joy me and my brother had on finally finding Sacrifice of Angels!) 2. Using the old hard-back Star Trek Encyclopedia (oh yes, old school) to work out which TNG episodes were when (because eventually in the late 90s the BBC looped back around from Farpoint onwards) and set the VHS recorder for key episodes. That's how we got Q Who, and thus that encyclopedia was worth it's weight in gold. Literally, the thing was monstrous. What a time to be alive.

[@CornishJas]

I actually got to know several Trekkies at my school because we’d be checking the encyclopaedia in and out of the library all the time

[@joermnyc]

The bad thing is: seasons are too short!

[@mj1s735]

True, but I can handle them being short. Way less of a chance of them just having fluff/bad episodes just to fill a season episode count.

[@kobochaos]

But when there is a bad episode it really tanks. Plus arcs feel rushed

[@ErroneousTheory]

It’s ok as long as the writing is consistently good. It’s also ok if it’s not or bad too (yes Star Wars, I’m looking at you) because they can kill it quick

[@jimtoob]

@@mj1s735 We're getting less than half as many episodes but the longer seasons were not 50% fluff/bad episodes. To me, it still feels like we're getting less. We liked Trek even when it was on small/square/blurry screens and special effects were used much more sparingly.

[@lfrands]

@@mj1s735 oh, I don’t know, I kinda love the fluff too

[@robertw31968]

What really sucks about streaming is they can take it away anytime they want. If you have physical they can't take it away.

[@isoroxuk]

Yarrrr, there be ways…

[@MishraArtificer]

Prodigy, alone, is proof enough of that...

[@Droidzi]

you will have it in your experience bank/memory - they can't take that away

[@robertw31968]

​@@Droidziyou are 100% right

[@robertw31968]

​@@isoroxukI ride the 7 seas every chance I get 😉

[@grahamcann1761]

You talk about streaming. I, a young kid, (in the '60s) was watching the original Star Trek series. Then watching Star Trek, was repeats. In addition, before the internet, there were similar shows, and books. Then, before "Streaming Era", came the video tape, and oh so many people would record episodes, often edited by local channels and including commercials. My point is there was an important time between original broadcast, and streaming. For many it's a time they won't remember, (you young kids you,) but for me it was many years of cherished Star Trek fandom I treasure. (I made my own, red Star Trek costume with a red T-shirt, and some gold cloth... it was pretty bad.) As always, thank you so very much for the videos.(*Note: I'm biased. Years later I discovered my dad's company, Ampex, had been a leader in the development of VHS.)

[@notthesheriff6656]

Surprised that you didn’t mention how streaming has improved perception of Star Trek: Voyager. During its original run in the mid-90s to early 2000s, it was derided by many Trek fans. But now several of the top 10 most streamed Star Trek episodes are Voyager episodes. The Voyager documentary - finally releasing officially this year - set a record for fundraising for its production. There has been huge fan interest in the return of Seven of Nine and Tuvok in Star Trek: Picard. Fans love the voices of Janeway and Chakotay in Prodigy and want a return of live-action Janeway. I think it’s indisputable that streaming has greatly stoked appreciation for Voyager.

[@bdchiaccio]

It's my favorite series and now I'm sharing it with my dad who was a huge fan of the original, and he loves it

[@DanBellinger2371]

I agree with most of this. However, being old enough to have lived through networks and watching shows as they aired weekly, there are some pitfalls to streaming in general (not just Star Trek). Most streaming platforms have shorter seasons - often between 6 and 10 episodes (though this is not universal). We are also waiting longer between seasons with no standardised times. Sometimes you're waiting years for the next season of a show. With shorter seasons, it can lose momentum. Episode lengths themselves are also often shorter. Whereas streamers can effectively make episodes of any length they want, episodes often clock in shorter than the old standard 40-45 minutes. So I wonder if viewers are actually getting as much content for their money (and life investment).

[@stink1701]

I've been saying it for a while, we fans are being spoiled by this "golden age"of Star Trek. Trek Culture is part of that golden age too. I am here for it and I hope it never ends! Keep up the good work!

[@coreyhiggins3475]

Honey, the production value alone is Aamazing!!!!!! I love it!

[@ReelMeurik]

2 errors in video: 1. SNW season 3 is coming during 2025, but Section 31 actually has a release date of Jan 24th 2025. 2. Star Trek Online was released in 2010, not 2011.

[@TaoBonFu]

I love DS9. It's still my favorite series. I started recording DS9 and Voyager on VHS at the start of Voyager. I probably still have most of the tapes somewhere. I should probably toss them.

[@mj1s735]

I actually hated DS9 at first because I first started watching it in reruns and they were out of order. And because of the long story arcs it made it very confusion to watch. But once I was able to get DS9 on DVD and watched it in the proper order, I loved the show.

[@kerry-j4m]

I did the exact samething,had a huge collection of recorded VHS tapes,lost them over a period of time while moving tho.Ah,those were the days,also miss going to Blockbuster & Hollywood video stores.Then Hastings video stores came around for a while,then they-TOO-went out of business.

[@QBCPerdition]

When they remastered TOS during the late 90s on the Sci-Fi Channel, I would go to my grandma's house every three days to switch out the tape and reprogram the VCR. She couldn't program it and almost never used it, so she said it was fine for me to monopolize it for however long it took. I'm pretty sure those tapes are long gone by now, but I remember spending time with my grandma, so I'll count it as a win.

[@StarMandoForge]

To quote the VHS prom for season 6 DS9 “this is like Star Trek you never seen it before” & so great

[@arnaudgautier6929]

The Streaming Era allowed me to be part of the Trek Family, from France. I'm glad I could watch everything, in English, with subtitles :)

[@trekkiepro]

Minor correction: Star Trek Online released in February 2010.

[@GrimDrago]

Prodigy got me into Star Trek and got me to complete two other series. Really hope season 3 isn't cancelled!

[@JaimeWulf]

I haven't heard anything substantive about a 3rd season yet... 🤨

[@kineuhansen8629]

welcome to star trek and i am also crossing my fingers on season 3 of prodigy is my favorite show of all

[@JosephDavies]

Welcome to the fandom! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the decades!

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@kineuhansen8629 its not Star Trek.

[@QBCPerdition]

​@@purefoldnz3070oh, crap, we forgot to ask you, the arbiter of what is and isn't trek. Damn, we'll need to loop you in during the next pre-production period.

[@SaberToothBicycle]

And yet we still can't watch Lower Decks in The Netherlands. Got Netflix. Got Sky Showtime. Got Paramount Plus. Nothing. Meh. Streaming services seem like a Ferengi invention.

[@davidvandergouw4016]

Every month i check the post of skyshowtime what they will add this month. Every time i get disappointed when i don't see star trek lower decks

[@arnaudgerard1971]

They are a Ferengi invention. Ferengi love money (or the equivalent ;)

And then they wonder why people go Orion. Trossen los!

[@MishraArtificer]

There's another aspect of the Streaming Era that has helped Deep Space Nine in particular: binge-watching. On original broadcast, the studio executives hated the longform, serialized storytelling of the show because they thought people would just stop watching the show completely if they missed an episode and couldn't catch up on what happened. That was also a problem with the show being in syndication, and therefore stations wouldn't necessarily air episodes in order...or even buy all of them in the first place. With streaming services, viewers are more likely to watch multiple episodes in a row, so they can keep the flow of events going properly.

[@LisaWolfe01]

Thank you for mentioning about us Canadians not able to watch Prodigy on Netflix. I was looking forward in catching the 2nd season with a subcription only to find it was not availble. I will just get the 2 seasons on blue ray. As for digital era of Star Trek, my partner whome I introduced to Star Trek TNG for the first time is loving it, they enjoy watching it with me during our date nights. I have the entire season via Itunes. A new fan of trek is born.

[@andrewcoulthard-clark]

This was an inspired idea for a video - in her autobiography, Kate Mulgrew said that there had never been an episode of Star Trek that hadn't taken at least twelve hours to shoot. If it was effects heavy, it may be as much as nineteen consecutive hours. This was true in the 90's - I wonder how shooting, and schedules are different now?

[@purefoldnz3070]

its irrelevant, Star Trek of old is dead

[@hikariblue]

According to the Delta Flyers podcast, episodes of Voyager usually took a little over a week on set. iirc, principal photography for SNW S3 took about 3 months. 12 weeks for 10 episodes gives the newer shows a little more wiggle room, but the time per episode seems pretty close. More time off also means newer casts have time to do other projects; at Trek to Chicago last fall, Christina Chong mentioned getting to record a new album and actually do conventions because they weren't doing 20+ episodes per season.

[@Jordacar]

Now that they've canceled every show of this era except for Strange New Worlds, I really wish they'd consolidate all that labor into a quicker turnaround. SNW feels the most like old-school Trek, so it would be nice if that came with something like 25 episodes (or even 20 would be nice) every year instead of the now-standard 10 every 18 months or so.

[@liamscienceguy8153]

DS9 famously killed a man with that workload, I'd rather have maybe 16 episodes a year. You're right that 10 every two years is just silly though

[@LordKalnor]

I tried to compile a list using ChatGPT, but it failed miserably. How can Trek culture help with this? Which characters have been on the most destroyed or crippled ships? The rules don’t include time loops, so the Enterprise-D is only counted as destroyed at Veridian III. We can include ships that were crippled, such as the Defiant in First Contact. This should also cover shuttles and stations, as well as non-Starfleet characters-Dukat has quite a few to his name! I’m not sure if there are ten standout characters, or whether it will turn into joint awards, but I think it’s an interesting question and surprisingly difficult to work out.

[@kc0itf]

That Section 31 Trailer ratio though...

[@purefoldnz3070]

its shite.

[@NeilKlompas]

Glad you called out Canada not having access to Prodigy on Netflix or Paramount+. 😢

[@hakuda2098]

Mix bag of feelings here. I‘m old enough to remember when Voyager premiered on UPN and only there. In Germany you got nothing. Then I remember that Discovery was pulled from Netflix (Germany) days before the premiere of the 4th season. After that stunt I decided to buy every ST show I‘m interested in on disc. So whenever someone at management decides to show or not show ST for whatever reason on a streaming service I do not care anymore. And I believe I‘m not the only one.

[@IndyV72]

Not only is Star Trek: Prodigy not available on Netflix here in Canada, but also, Star Trek: Short Treks, or any other companion series by Paramount (Ready Room, etc.) are not available on Paramount+ Canada. Plus the streaming services are not friendly to VPNs anymore, some locations the streamers won't allow me to use VIA VPN even if said streamer is available in the location I set the VPN to (US).

[@Droidzi]

good job in including STo (Star Trek online)

[@jpwphoenix1701]

I’ve always said that I think the higher budget and production values of the modern era have helped a lot. The Kelvin movies did an amazing job of not only bringing Trek back, but making it just as good as other big screen blockbusters of the time. So, I was sceptical when there were first plans to return Trek to TV. I was worried that it’d go back to how it used to be in the previous TV eras, in terms of production. I think the franchise would’ve suffered and would’ve lost the more “casual” fans who’d only joined through the movies. Thankfully, when Discovery started, those fears were unfounded, as they managed to maintain those high standards of production and VFX. I actually haven’t had a problem with the shorter seasons, apart from obviously the lack of development of certain characters.

[@biffbamboo]

All I know is that Pluto TV has 3 24 hour channels dedicated entirely to TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY and occasionally ENT. I can't speak to any of the Kurtzman Krap... That's part of the Steaming era of Sta

[@GrognardPiper]

The Ross Class originated from a group playing the Star Trek Adventures rpg and streaming it online.

[@shininginshadows]

I audibly groaned at Section 31 being #1.

[@purefoldnz3070]

which makes this list totally redundant.

[@justinplayfair9827]

The shortness of the new seasons, and this applies to all series and not just "Star Trek" is that it means that the supporting actors are not able to earn a livable wage, whereas when a season was around 25 episodes it gave them a more equitable living.

[@fgdj2000]

While Star Trek is still something I like to watch most on physical media, I also appreciate the many comforts streaming has over traditional tv. Back in the 1990s or even 2000s ypu read about new shows and then maybe the were released on expensive VHS before being aired on free tv with hotrendrous commercial breaks and odd choices for airdates. For instance in German TV I remember them holding off on Scorpion (VOY) to air it as a movie of the week, which meant that one day they aired “Worst Case Scenario” and the next “The Gift”. What? Who is this seven person. Why is there so much Borg tech on Voyager?! It was quite jarring. I’m a little sad that so Many of these streaming shows have been cancelled recently, but I am cautiously looking forward to Section 31… although it feels very much not like Trek from the trailers

[@johnglielmi6428]

Actor Daniel Davis is the ultamite Moriarty, plays the character with an intelligence, class, and style befitting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's penning of him. He is Moriarty, like Heath Ledger (R.I.P.) is The Joker!

[@timeywimey6664]

I grew with dvd’s but no streaming so I could only watch what we had. So now that I’m able to watch series like DS9 and TAS I’m able to watch stuff that I wouldn’t be able when I was growing up. On a similar note currently enjoying a watch through of DS9

[@erlaed]

I can't believe you didn't mention that you could skip the Enterprise theme on streaming. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard ENT inspired the feature.

[@johnbyrne3402]

New Trek bridges are unbelievably dark. It makes it difficult to believe anyone can function

[@Irisishunter]

Yes I wish they had spent less on special effects and more on light bulbs

[@sarahkinsey5434]

@@Irisishunterand carpet

[@ScooterBond1970]

It's probably an overcorrection from JJ Abrams' patented "Halogen HiBeam Super Lens Flare Deluxe 9000" lighting model. Thanx, Abe!

[@triandfit1]

Actually most CIC’s on ships are dark like that.

[@liamscienceguy8153]

On real ships CICs are dark like that because the bright lights are distracting and darkening the surroundings lets people focus on what they're doing.

[@martinsenoner8186]

This video was perfekt for a Vpn placement

[@subgrv27]

I hope they bring back Lower Decks one day. Either in another season or a movie.

[@arnaudgerard1971]

I've now (re)watched Enterprise. Not TNG, not TOS, not DS9, not Voyager. (DS9 is still my favorite ;) I've started now a little bit of TNG, but I like to rewatch Prodigy more regularly :)

[@psoma_brufd]

Variable episode length is a massive advantage of streaming because now episodes can be made to the length of the plot rather than the other way around which makes the writing as a whole more solid across the seasons. On the other hand though, constraints are useful and some of the best moments and episodes came from the required runtime of the episode, take 'Window of Opportunity' from Stargate SG-1 for example where the story came in unusually short so they had to _add_ in some scenes and those scenes are the most fun, whimsical parts of the episode that make it a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

[@LoyaFrostwind]

I was never able to watch Enterprise when it first came out. Streaming also allowed me to watch DS9 and VOY that I was never able to catch on tv in any continuous order.

[@sinswhisper9588]

STO also now has the Cali class -- and others from Lower Decks

[@peterjohnson1091]

There used to be water cooler conversations about the previous night's tv shows. Now television is too disparate.

[@susanscott8653]

Yes, I miss the days of appointment TV and knowing everyone else was watching it that night too.

[@fieldmarshall]

The problem with the streaming era is that Star Trek isn't on any of the platforms I have. I also miss the episodic nature of TOS & TNG. The overarching story of DS9 was always a weakness in my enjoyment of it. Voyager was more episodic even though it did have several arcs that spanned seasons.

[@Andrew12759]

All I ask for is an Excelsior-B Capt. Sulu & Ambassador Sulu adventure.

[@usuckthereturn]

What about the Emmy snubbed DS9 episode “Who Mourns for Morn?”

[@illexsquid]

Honestly, his bombastic monologue could have been better written.

[@rickjohnston8957]

I think you mean "In the Pale Moonlight."

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@BubbaSmurft]

Still have no time for DS9. Watched TOS many times before TNG, Voyageur, Enterprise and The Orville came about and then watched them from debut to today. Disco' died for me during season 2, The cartoons were great including LD. Liked Picard and really like SNW. Just found out I can watch Podigy on NFLX-GB so I'll catch up on that (thank you VPN!), and looking forward to ST the Skool, filmed right here in Canuckistan. LLAP.

[@jwjones1979]

I didn't see all of Enterprise until after it was canceled. But I was a Niner from the minute 12 year old me watched it, alone, in my living room after everyone went to bed.

[@matthewjay660]

Michelle Yeoh is my favorite character. She's so KGB in Star Trek. 🖖🏻

[@ChryssaBL]

The online discourse crushes my hope for the future. The antithesis of what Star Trek is meant for.

[@bjoerngehlauf3897]

I loved DS9 always... on TV and in the stream...

[@jackieshetter3699]

Paramount has most Star Trek movies and series. Love I can watch when I want and the exact ones I want

[@PlumbRalph]

I hope they keep Will Wheaton and the ready room. I really enjoy his sincerity in his love of all things Star Trek.

[@purefoldnz3070]

"Star Trek"

[@natty4bumpo]

My son was in grade school when DS9 came out, and it's always been our favorite Trek, not to throw shade on any of the others (in fact, I'm watching PRO now.) He refuses to ever watch The Visitor again, though.

[@ashes2ashesuk]

When was this written? We know when Section 31 comes out, it’s the 24th January

[@florai3148]

I was introduced to Star Trek by Netflix, it never aired on TV where I live

[@twocvbloke]

Shorter seasons squished too much into to too little time, not to mention the story-per-week style meant there was something new to see rather than a season of "To be continued..." with one-shot arcs that kind of dragged a bit with their own kind-of related "fillers" between plot points, and of course there's execs that just don't read the room and cancel stuff that is successful, because they're just not bright enough to see that what we want is not the same as waht they think we want...

[@WoodyWorkshop-31A]

I found in the first 2 seasons of Picard that there still seemed to be a bunch of filler that didn't get the story anywhere. It's like they were making a movie and just had to pad things out to get 10 episodes. Discovery felt that sometimes as well. Saying there is no pading in the streaming era just doesn't ring true. That said I enjoyed these shows it just seemed at the end of the odd episodes I thought well that just didn't get the story anywhere.

[@CornishJas]

Ah yes the good old days when you would pay between £12-£20 for a VHS with two episodes on it released months after it had first been shown on television 😂

[@Cyke101]

While current Trek has more budget per episode for CGI and special effects, it's still pretty low on ship beauty shots and fly bys. Give us more beauty shots of our hero ships!

[@shawnholbrook7278]

DS9 is my favourite. 💖🖖 Prodigy was perfect, I am still upset that it was let go and sent to Netflix... tell them to bring it back home!

[@andygrams6344]

Guess what got my kids into Star Trek in an era of Marvel movies? Watching the original unaltered TOS and original movies with them. Over halfway through TNG with them. Can’t wait to show them DS9. Like me, they can’t stand 2009-onward. We don’t need streaming, just high quality physical media. And good writing that respects the legacy of Star Trek.

[@MeNoOther]

Stargate Sg1, Atlantis, Universe pretty much took up the mantle of Star Trek in the early 21st century Why I call Stargate an Enterprise prequel

[@TonySalazar933]

The only reason I stopped watching Enterprise in its initial run was that UPN was dropped locally halfway through the first season. And that was the end of Ttrek for me until it came to Netflix.

[@MikeyLove22]

More than a little harsh on Enterprise at the start, these days a lot of shows would kill for enterprises viewing numbers and also it was on a struggling tv channel in the states. I'm also not sold on the health of the franchise on streaming with three shows cancelled and one "completed".

[@robinpendrigh2608]

Re DS9 - and "...instead of digging out the old cassettes just scroll" Given the piss poor quality that you get on a Netflix stream for the eps you'd be better off with some old VHS tapes (or DVDs as I do).

[@Hannah.Simpson]

And next video: Top 10 ways streaming is damaging Trek. 1. Shorter seasons… 1a. Sure there are more marquees (not Maquis) in current Trek, but the overall content volume pales in comparison. 50 30 minute episodes of Lower Decks is equivalent to about 14% of TNG. Filler episodes are about building characters so their actions make sense when they reach the plot arcs… we lose a lot of that and thus everything since the 90’s may build on but remains defined by the 90’s shows. 1b. Sometimes (cough, Discovery), ensemble casts members are so neglected due to short seasons that by the end of a series you barely know the bridge officers’ names, and then you ultimately get random and forced character moments that are too little too late. 2. Paywalls: 2a. The first problem is that CBS when they stuck Discovery on AllAccess is that the future society that famously doesn’t rely on money suddenly cost money as pay per view. 2b. CBS, unlike Netflix, did have its own robust affiliate network. What did it say to them when this show was given to streaming rather than to them to sell advertising with? 2c. What did it say about Discovery that CBS perhaps didn’t think it, or science fiction at large, was fit for the airwaves? To me this doomed the show from the outset. 2d. I’d argue that Trek viewers are usually among the more tech-literate among the television watching community. From day one, certain avenues have existed to bypass and watch content from streamers. Paywalls turned out to be easier to bypass than Miranda-class shields if you knew the prefix codes. It didn’t help that many of these pirate sites streamed more smoothly than early releases of AllAccess, and even Paramount+ was a trash app compared to Netflix when much of Trek in the US got consolidated onto one network rather than the other. 2e. I do think regular appointment airings on the airwaves or cable used to attract new viewers who found the show by happenstance or by keeping the channel on from whatever led into it or into whatever followed it. Now you only watch Trek if you sit down to watch Trek. I admit all of television is turning this way, so it’s probably too late to change course. 3. Profanity I am hardly a prudish boomer, but I do feel like I wasn’t missing curse words in my early Trek and the fact they can appear now because this content isn’t going to be as easily ported to syndication even if they wanted to one day. Again, probably a little too little too late gained back if they changed course now. 4. Broader industry shifts: 4a. Again not only Trek, but many cast and crew get residuals from how prior Treks were syndicated. Newer television models are changing how that economics works, especially with shorter filming seasons too, and make it harder to be a working actor. This is hardly impacting only Trek, but moving all of Trek this way definitely makes working for Trek not what it probably used to be. 4b. Also, these contract concerns were a big part of the most recent writers’ strike, which the actors then joined in. Sure some of Trek is filmed outside the US, but all in all this delayed certain shows from getting seasons out and probably doomed Section 31 as a series, maybe even Legacy too (if it wasn’t already doomed). Trek is suffering for the sins of the many, but it certainly isn’t playing the game any differently to try and stand out. There are probably more, but this could easily fill a top 10.

[@jaimebabb9968]

5. Bloated budgets can become a crutch for poor scripting and also make producers afraid to take "big swings" 6. The fact that you now need to actively seek out Star Trek in order to watch it means more marketing to a dwindling number of hardcore fans, leading to an over-reliance on "legacy" cameos, easter eggs, revisiting old situations and the like, rather than trying to expand the universe

[@Hannah.Simpson]

@ Very well-put. I pull my hair out every time Paramount+ serves me a Trek ad for Strange New Worlds or Disco while I am watching TNG reruns. Damnit Jim (we’ll assume everyone who work for Paramount is named Jim), you can look right here that I stayed up till an ungodly east coast hour to see this when it dropped and you could instantly determine that. Here’s a real challenge, Paramount: Convince me there is anything else relatively worth watching on your streaming platform. (Ok, I do watch Ghosts, but only for more Rose McIver after iZombie). Oh, and does anyone else out there get mysteriously stuck with the latter half of Voyager only available in French or German audio dubbing?

1:54 Yes, Enterprise was made infinitely better on streaming because of one little feature: "Skip Intro".

[@jeremydale4548]

Without watching the video I swear if shortened seasons and less seasons is on this list I will be furious. Because those two things IMO are RUINING Star Trek

[@luckygreentiger]

I don't really enjoy the streaming era. Seasons are 8 and 10 episodes long. They dump a whole season at a time and wait years between them. I miss 22 and 24 episode seasons and only waiting a year between seasons. The only thing I like about streaming is no ads.

[@6nak6]

6:22 content a bit more spaced out while showing the Klingon sailing barge 😂

[@joshchase6454]

7:50 blaming “hate farmers” for any and all negative feedback is becoming very tiresome. Believe it or not, viewers have the ability to form their own opinions on shows

[@amandamatheny3675]

Before I start this video, let me say that the streaming error couldn't have helped Star Trek much, because if you think about it before the streaming era there were three series that ran for seven seasons each. Now since the streaming era there hasn't been a single series that ran For more than five.

[@chancellorjake]

The Ready Room was cancelled? That sucks!

[@sarah1390]

Canadians sadly have to use crave instead of paramount plus. I HATE Canadian liscencing. Quite often i watched TNG rerun marathons in the early 2000's because the network Spike (don't remember what they are called now) was running something else in the US and they decided to run TNG here instead.

[@charlesbailey7839]

I use Paramount plus in Canada and it has all of Trek except Prodigy, Crave removed it all

[@luckygreentiger]

Also VPNs are an option

[@MatthewGRedhead]

03:26 - not everyone grew up with Sky in the UK. Especially those like Rishi Sunak. Spare a thought for those less fortunate.

[@JoeWritesThis]

That poor man. 😂

[@posindustries]

"Enterprise was offering Roddenberry's bright and rosy vision for the future" is definitely not a sentence I would have ever dreamed up, nor would I chalk up its failure to post-9/11 pessimism among the audience.

[@ericthompson3982]

Enterprise is hands down one of my favorite Trek series and I watched the entire show on first run, but it definitely benefits from being able to skip that stupid opening theme song on streaming

[@littlepeon]

I have a buddy who won't watch Enterprise solely based on the opening song. His reasoning is that if they messed up that, there are countless other things they would mess up and he didn't want to see that.

[@ericthompson3982]

@littlepeon I get that, but the show is SO GOOD.

[@rylansato]

Physical copies are superior and more impressive to show off. The menus and extra content is on the dvds not streaming. Trek was on Netflix then moved to Paramount causing people to switch if they wanted to continue. The problem with streaming is they do season long stories and the episodic story telling isn’t so common. Darker tones aren’t connected to streaming just a product of the time.

[@tonyclemens4213]

What sucks about streaming? Season ending cliffhangers! Growing up I hated 2-parters cause I would have to wait a week for the conclusion. Then it was 4 months with broadcast TV for season ending cliffhangers, now we have to wait over a year

[@ChryssaBL]

I scheduled my day off so I could watch DS9 and was only able to watch Voyager recently.

[@trekgate3005]

Please Netflix renew Prodigy! It is the best new era of shows Trek has to offer!

[@ForceMaximus84]

The only good thing about streaming is the ability to watch the far superior Trek movies and shows compared to the dredge from the last sixteen years. Even so, physical media is still better.

[@kineuhansen8629]

as much issues i have with discovery i am happy that it brough back star trek to our screens dont think we will have strange new world and prodigy lower deck picard and all the shows to come without it sure the kelvin movies deserve some credits but i feel like discovery deserve huge thanks for that

[@sinswhisper9588]

shorter season episode count doesnt ALWAYS mean more money/better content to go around (see GoT Season 8)

[@bryson2662]

bold move putting section 31 at the end of the "10 Ways The Streaming Era Has Improved Star Trek" list

[@daimonj3691]

To Boldly Go Where No One has Gone Before

[@ironphilly2366]

Star trek online ship appearing in Picard

[@alexrobinson8029]

More Trek......... MORE....... MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

I hope they don't switch to streaming movies just because they're cheaper to churn out. _Star Trek_ is at its best as episodic television.

[@TheAdam159]

I actually liked the 'filler' episodes. I miss the longer seasons. The bottle shows would force the writers to be creative, and they led to character development

[@distantearth5910]

TOS the best Trek imo. This thumbnail kills my heart.

[@usuckthereturn]

Haha…the negative aspect of social media has destroyed Star Wars. Even good content is hated…and Disney listens!!

[@StephanKochs]

No I still believe that Enterprise wasn't the wrong tool at the wrong time... It was right were it was.

[@pyRoy6]

Hear me out: Prodigy/Lower Decks combined sequel series.

[@jamesmatthew2236]

In the pale moon light shows that even Benjamin can become the same as any section 31 agents.

[@asierra86]

Star trek has always had a rough start. The fact that discovery got so damn good past s2 shows it deserved a longer life. Same with lower decks except it was good from the beginning