I don’t get to cover fan conventions anymore. I don’t have the time and I haven’t been able to stay awake as much as I’d like lately. I’m hoping to attend a nearby small free convention this weekend for fun but that will depend on the weather and how I’m feeling at the time. Fans are important to a movie, show, book, or whatever because they’re the ones who make a brand into a popular Brand, the property other creators want to use for the Name without understanding why a brand becomes a Brand, if you see what I’m doing with the lettering. It’s the fans that spend the money on merchandise, keep the love going with each other, and if they aren’t insane, draw in new viewers, listeners, readers, and players.
The above tweet on X-twitter (if it’s still up when you read this) comes from Christopher Cushman, who has done art projects for the Star Trek franchise, following this with:
“If Trek fails fans will have an equal share in that outcome. My past criticism has always been vocal about the destruction of TOS storylines… Academy is 1000 years in the future and poses little to no risk to that continuity… if you hate it don’t watch!”
That leads me to ask how one saves a franchise while not supporting a show they don’t like. The studios, That’s all TV broadcasters, and streamers really look at because that’s what the advertisers look at and what brings people to subscribe to paid services like Paramount Plus. I saw this in a Geeks & Gamers article by Martin Montanaro and his commentary on that show specifically is better than I could give it, not having seen the show or followed the “review bombing” situation.
This is more of an overview for me because I see the argument that we the fans need to support something even if it’s terrible or the franchise may disappear. Considering that Alex Kurtzman’s and Secret Hideout’s take on Star Trek have been getting negative reviews from Star Trek fans since the beginning with Star Trek: Discovery that doesn’t appear to be the case. They still put out new shows and YouTube critics and fans keep roasting them. Star Trek is still culturally iconic, though it seems like Kurtzman doesn’t care. Kurtzman was hired by self-admitted Trek hater Les Moonves before he left CBSViacom during the remerging of Paramount and Viacom as a possible shot at Trek and then Paramount CEO Shari Redstone. Moonves made sure the contract survived his time at the company. Kurtzman has stated that he doesn’t care about continuing the lore (and that’s been obvious, especially in Starfleet Academy‘s take on Klingons) but what message he can send with the Brand. He doesn’t understand why it’s popular enough to have Paramount continue to make Trek series, nor does he care.
As Montanaro pointed out in the article, the fault lies with the creators, not the lack of support from the fans, if the Star Trek franchise dies under Secret Hideout. However, I’ve seen this argument by people like Cushman before, by creators, companies, and even fans. “You need to support (X) or the whole franchise will be wiped out”, even when the media attached is bad. This is a misunderstanding of how the system works, and how the people responsible for greenlighting or shutting down production operates….not that they’re doing it right in the first place.
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Saving Your Show Isn’t The Fans’ Job
I don’t get to cover fan conventions anymore. I don’t have the time and I haven’t been able to stay awake as much as I’d like lately. I’m hoping to attend a nearby small free convention this weekend for fun but that will depend on the weather and how I’m feeling at the time. Fans are important to a movie, show, book, or whatever because they’re the ones who make a brand into a popular Brand, the property other creators want to use for the Name without understanding why a brand becomes a Brand, if you see what I’m doing with the lettering. It’s the fans that spend the money on merchandise, keep the love going with each other, and if they aren’t insane, draw in new viewers, listeners, readers, and players.
The above tweet on X-twitter (if it’s still up when you read this) comes from Christopher Cushman, who has done art projects for the Star Trek franchise, following this with:
That leads me to ask how one saves a franchise while not supporting a show they don’t like. The studios, That’s all TV broadcasters, and streamers really look at because that’s what the advertisers look at and what brings people to subscribe to paid services like Paramount Plus. I saw this in a Geeks & Gamers article by Martin Montanaro and his commentary on that show specifically is better than I could give it, not having seen the show or followed the “review bombing” situation.
This is more of an overview for me because I see the argument that we the fans need to support something even if it’s terrible or the franchise may disappear. Considering that Alex Kurtzman’s and Secret Hideout’s take on Star Trek have been getting negative reviews from Star Trek fans since the beginning with Star Trek: Discovery that doesn’t appear to be the case. They still put out new shows and YouTube critics and fans keep roasting them. Star Trek is still culturally iconic, though it seems like Kurtzman doesn’t care. Kurtzman was hired by self-admitted Trek hater Les Moonves before he left CBSViacom during the remerging of Paramount and Viacom as a possible shot at Trek and then Paramount CEO Shari Redstone. Moonves made sure the contract survived his time at the company. Kurtzman has stated that he doesn’t care about continuing the lore (and that’s been obvious, especially in Starfleet Academy‘s take on Klingons) but what message he can send with the Brand. He doesn’t understand why it’s popular enough to have Paramount continue to make Trek series, nor does he care.
As Montanaro pointed out in the article, the fault lies with the creators, not the lack of support from the fans, if the Star Trek franchise dies under Secret Hideout. However, I’ve seen this argument by people like Cushman before, by creators, companies, and even fans. “You need to support (X) or the whole franchise will be wiped out”, even when the media attached is bad. This is a misunderstanding of how the system works, and how the people responsible for greenlighting or shutting down production operates….not that they’re doing it right in the first place.
Continue reading →
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on February 19, 2026 in Movie Spotlight, Streaming Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged Alex Kurtzman, commentary, Doctor Who, fan, Paramount Plus, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Star Wars.
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