Upon further consideration…

“Federation political drama” is a popular dream show for a lot of people. I’ve never been one of those people - the Federation is built on decades of contradictory nonsense, and anything they came up with would be under immense pressure to be a perfect political system - something that’s never been designed IRL, and probably never will.

But…setting it in the very early days of the UFP, as the characters themselves are trying to figure it out? There might actually be something there…

I’m under no illusions that this will actually happen - it’s just nice to know he’s interested.

No room for “Star Trek Year One”?

It seems like something along those lines. I wonder if it’s something they plan to circle back to, or if they’re going to leave those toys on the shelf for someone to play with in the future.

La’an saying “fascinating” makes me wonder if Spock is rubbing off on her.

Considering the extreme side-eye Chapel gave her, I don’t think you’re the only one.

Sure, but “Relics” had a built-in caveat (which I think was an intentional piece of writing): it had a 50% mortality rate.

Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Sheridan and John Krasinski Among Hitmakers Paramount Skydance Needs to Keep Happy

The Star Trek situation is touched on in the final paragraph:

Then there is Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout, which is in charge of the “Star Trek” TV franchise. While the company has produced a number of new “Trek” shows over the last decade, there are currently two — “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.” “Strange New Worlds” is currently airing its third season and has already been renewed through its fifth and final season. “Starfleet Academy” is expected to premiere in 2026 and has been renewed for Season 2.

Interestingly, there’s no mention of the fact that the Secret Hideout contract should be expiring in 2026, and therefore needs to be renegotiated (or not)…pretty much immediately.

Why not turn this into a place to collect articles about the various news stories coming out of this transition?

David Ellison, Jeff Shell & Paramount Team Queried On Trump, Tech, Layoffs, Cable, Late Night & More At Debut Press Conference

New Paramount Execs Address CBS News Independence; Ombudsman Will Be “A Transparency Vehicle, Not An Oversight Vehicle”

CBS Boss George Cheeks On The Decision To Cancel ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’

Some Orions are privateers!

Enjoy the con - I hope everything goes well!

There’s definitely an AI focus, as Ellison expanded on in his introductor letter:

He touched on a “thoughtful” use of AI integrated across businesses, on supercharging streaming, spending on premium, exclusive content, focusing on sports and investing in media networks “appropriately based on the future business opportunity.”

“Technology is not—and never will be—a replacement for human creativity; rather, it serves as a powerful multiplier. From virtual production stages that unleash filmmakers’ limitless imaginations, to AI‑assisted localization that brings shows to new language markets overnight, to a proprietary ad‑tech stack that maximizes yield across streaming and linear platforms, we will thoughtfully integrate these tools into every aspect of our work,” Ellison wrote.

Fair enough - none of this should diminish the fact that the $16 million “legal settlement” from the former owners of the company was pretty definitely a bribe.

And Skydance is alleged to have promised the government free advertising in the form of “PSAs,” which I don’t think they’ve confirmed or denied.

The planet they were visiting was Vadia IX, which “Trelane” referred to as “the old homeworld” in episode two, so I’m thinking it’s an origin story for something else…

Curious about where the $2 billion figure is coming from?

RIP Ensign Gamble. You knew what you were getting into.

I liked this one a lot - I’m generally a fan of “ancient, unspeakable horror” stories, and this one was pretty well-told.

The Enterprise is seemingly able to declare its own red alerts - not much fun in that.

My biggest complaint is this show’s continued abuse of the transporter buffer - it should not be easy to use it as a form of stasis!

Goldberg is coming over from Skydance, where she’s been since the company was founded in 2010. I don’t think she’ll be going anywhere.

As for Cheeks…I guess it’s a vote of confidence that he’s staying at all, but being in charge of linear TV in 2025 seems like a pretty thankless task.

In all honesty, if I were calling the shots, I’d probably move Trek away from CBS Studios and over to Paramount Television. It makes more sense in terms of the divisions’ mission statements, and Paramount TV is under the same leadership as Paramount Pictures, which could make it easier to coordinate a feature film with whatever’s going on on the TV side.

The downside to that is losing Cheeks, who seems to have done right by Star Trek. Instead it would be overseen by Goldberg and Matt Thunell, who was President of Television at Skydance. I have no reason to believe either of them would be bad for the franchise, but…there’s always a risk when you’re leaving the devil you know in favour of one that you don’t.

For sure - the remaining former co-CEO is George Cheeks, who will be “Chair of TV Media.”

His focus is supposed to be focused on linear TV, but Star Trek remains under his watch for now (though the article says, “the decisions are expected to be made on a case-by-case basis, with [Paramount Television co-chair Dana] Goldberg and Cheeks currently in discussions about where the different pieces would land.”

Since the deal officially closes tomorrow, and today was mostly focused on the exits, I would imagine we’re going to start seeing news about the future plans soon.

Edit: And if Cheeks sounds familiar, it may be because his name is amongst those on the wall in the recent Starfleet Academy trailer.

From a Star Trek fan’s perspective, it’s interesting that only of the three co-CEOs who’s staying with the company, and he oversees CBS Studios, which produces all Trek series.

At the same time, the new ownership has resurrected Paramount TV as a separate division. It’s supposed to be the home of streaming services, so there’s a chance they’ll decide to move the franchise over there, in which case there will be a new boss to deal with.

We’ll probably get some clarity in the near-ish future…

even the holodecks on Enterprise D can’t do the same thing until the Binaries enhance them.

I think this is a little different from what the Bynars did - La’An had to wear the brain scan thingie for the day for the computer to get a sense of her personality, while the enhanced TNG holodeck was able to do it on the fly.

I gave this one a rewatch, and not only is it much better when you’re not half-asleep like I was the first time 'round, I think it also works better when you know the Spock twist in advance.

Setting aside the silliness of the simulation, the actual story worked better for me once I realized that the re-creation room was manipulating La’An the entire time, planting the false Spock from the very beginning, and using the various characters to needle her about her feelings - both that she has them at all, and how she’s afraid people might take her less seriously in her job as a consequence of them.

Not-Uhura’s speech is about the “Amelia Moon” stories La’An grew up with just as much as it’s about Star Trek itself.

And Christina Chong turned in a really great performance throughout, too - this one should definitely go in her audition reel.

Amazing - I’ve sometimes thought about making a sticker or something for conventions, but this is better.