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.
Nobody demanded supporting Saban’s Masked Rider to keep bringing that show back.
We got lucky that Kamen Rider Zeztz, the first international release of an entry in the franchise, was as amazing as it’s been so far. The action, the theme around dreams, the subplots and betrayals, and the character interactions are nothing short of amazing, as have been the effects for a TV budget in Japan. (Some of the weapons clearly being made to be sold as role-play toys are my only complaint.) I got concerned when it first came out because apparently the idea that supporting this show was so important just to get more simulcast releases of the Kamen Rider franchise in the future, something Toei has been reluctant to do in the past even when Tsuburaya Productions was showing how successful it could be by releasing subtitled and even dubbed versions or their Ultraman franchise to international audiences. Yes, we only get more Kamen Rider if it’s shown to be popular enough with adult fans of this Japanese kids show that just murdered two people in it’s most recent episode and removing all doubt the villain really is the villain, but what if Zeztz was a terrible show? What if the effects were terrible, the plot didn’t make sense, motivation was all over the place, and the world we got made no sense the more you thought about it? You know, like Starfleet Academy. Should we support it then in the hopes that later Kamen Rider shows would be as good as the ones that created a fanbase? Like I said, we got lucky it’s so good and distributed so well.
I remember a review of a Naruto video game back when X-Play was worth watching during G4’s golden period. Host Morgan Webb (or the writer for her review) said the game was terrible, but that there were fans racing to support it to keep the franchise alive. This was because so few games came out that allowed you to play as your favorite characters from the manga/anime series. She noted that if the game was terrible and it still did well, there would be no incentive to make the next game better. It sends the message that fans were happy with what they got because they spent money for it. In the end it’s all studios, publishers, and distributors see, that it made money. She also complained in a different review that there was a tenth installment of the Romance Of The Three Kingdoms video game franchise despite little to know evolution of gameplay or story. I don’t know if the games are any good. They aren’t my genre. Webb’s complaints, however, were right on the money, because that’s what the companies see, that they can be lazy and still make bank.
Imagine this was the norm, instead of coming off one seriously intense storyline where the characters were almost all killed off.
They should have someone openly going over reviews, both immediate reactions on social media and articles and videos, look at all the positive and negative comments. They’d need data collectors who don’t use their own personal biases when judging who is worth listening to and who is just a “hater/bigot”, and try to improve on the project. Some things you can’t change. There are fans wishing for new mechanics in the Pokémon franchise, while others would hate any big changes to the formula. It is a question of who you listen to, and your note taker needs to be as unbiased as possible, or at least not put their tastes and social views ahead of the data. The end goal should be improving the show, game, or other media for the people who will actually buy your product, NOT make them buy it even if the end result is terrible. It’s hard to trust the entertainment industry these days as elitists, egotists, the lazy, and activists have taken over while the corporatists aren’t paying attention due to not caring about the creative process. Fans aren’t giving Hollywood and those with the same mindset the benefit of the doubt as they used to. Financially and timewise they can’t afford it. You have to prove to them you care about what you’re making.
It’s not up to fans to improve your product, come up with coping theories like the Stranger Things fans recently had to, or to just accept something will be terrible to get more of it. Going back to Cushman’s tweet, “Kurtzman Trek” and “Disney Star Wars/Marvel/Doctor Who” have been so terrible that fans have been calling for them to take a break and reassess what they’re making. I don’t know if this Star Trek: Legacy show, which may or may not be tied to the game, would be any good. What if we got it and it’s just as terrible as the other shows that have come out lately. To some fans that might be a blessing, as it means we wouldn’t get another bad Trek product that kills our excitement for the franchise even further and hurts the Brand overall that they want to use to supposedly make money and thus make more. That’s how the storytelling industry works. So for a growing number of fans of many of the ruined franchises, Cushman’s terms are acceptable until Paramount can put the series in the hands of people who care about making good Star Trek stories again, both in quality and adaptation/continuation.
Meanwhile, Star Trek has survived hibernation before, as has Star Wars and Doctor Who. Doctor Who had the “wilderness years”, a period between the failed Fox TV pilot movie and the relaunch on the BBC with the guy now ruining it. Comics, novels, audio dramas, and magazines continued the adventures of each Doctor, their favorite Companions, and even created new ones unique to the expanded universe. Fans watched and discussed the old shows. Star Trek has the same, and then added video games between movies until Star Trek: The Next Generation revitalized the franchise on TV. Star Wars was selling toys when only novels, comics, and games were telling Star Wars stories. Shadows Of The Empire and the Thrawn trilogy were delighting fans and selling toys, games, and an actual soundtrack while no movies or shows were being made. A good iconic television or movie franchise can survive with a strong enough fanbase supporting other official media and even making fan productions while going to conventions to meet up with other fans and discuss the stories they already enjoy or even enjoy making fun of.
If the story is terrible, if the franchise’s current output is ruining the Brand, it is up to fans to speak up and ask for changes or deal with subpar product. Hollywood has tried bringing back properties that barely had an audience in the hopes of building a larger niche with a new generation while the old ones support and promote it. That only happens when the end product is good enough to make current fans happy while drawing in new ones and giving casual fans something good to watch. It’s not our job to take something bad and work around it to save a Brand clearly in decline. It’s the job of the owners and stewards of long-running franchise to make something good enough for the fans to continue supporting. Fans do not control these iconic franchises, the studios do. Tell them to fix their mistakes, not the fans that they have to accept it to get more product. If the product is bad, a mercy…not so much “killing” as “coma” might be exactly what Star Trek and these other ruined IP needs until they can find people willing to do it the right way again.
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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.
Nobody demanded supporting Saban’s Masked Rider to keep bringing that show back.
We got lucky that Kamen Rider Zeztz, the first international release of an entry in the franchise, was as amazing as it’s been so far. The action, the theme around dreams, the subplots and betrayals, and the character interactions are nothing short of amazing, as have been the effects for a TV budget in Japan. (Some of the weapons clearly being made to be sold as role-play toys are my only complaint.) I got concerned when it first came out because apparently the idea that supporting this show was so important just to get more simulcast releases of the Kamen Rider franchise in the future, something Toei has been reluctant to do in the past even when Tsuburaya Productions was showing how successful it could be by releasing subtitled and even dubbed versions or their Ultraman franchise to international audiences. Yes, we only get more Kamen Rider if it’s shown to be popular enough with adult fans of this Japanese kids show that just murdered two people in it’s most recent episode and removing all doubt the villain really is the villain, but what if Zeztz was a terrible show? What if the effects were terrible, the plot didn’t make sense, motivation was all over the place, and the world we got made no sense the more you thought about it? You know, like Starfleet Academy. Should we support it then in the hopes that later Kamen Rider shows would be as good as the ones that created a fanbase? Like I said, we got lucky it’s so good and distributed so well.
I remember a review of a Naruto video game back when X-Play was worth watching during G4’s golden period. Host Morgan Webb (or the writer for her review) said the game was terrible, but that there were fans racing to support it to keep the franchise alive. This was because so few games came out that allowed you to play as your favorite characters from the manga/anime series. She noted that if the game was terrible and it still did well, there would be no incentive to make the next game better. It sends the message that fans were happy with what they got because they spent money for it. In the end it’s all studios, publishers, and distributors see, that it made money. She also complained in a different review that there was a tenth installment of the Romance Of The Three Kingdoms video game franchise despite little to know evolution of gameplay or story. I don’t know if the games are any good. They aren’t my genre. Webb’s complaints, however, were right on the money, because that’s what the companies see, that they can be lazy and still make bank.
Imagine this was the norm, instead of coming off one seriously intense storyline where the characters were almost all killed off.
They should have someone openly going over reviews, both immediate reactions on social media and articles and videos, look at all the positive and negative comments. They’d need data collectors who don’t use their own personal biases when judging who is worth listening to and who is just a “hater/bigot”, and try to improve on the project. Some things you can’t change. There are fans wishing for new mechanics in the Pokémon franchise, while others would hate any big changes to the formula. It is a question of who you listen to, and your note taker needs to be as unbiased as possible, or at least not put their tastes and social views ahead of the data. The end goal should be improving the show, game, or other media for the people who will actually buy your product, NOT make them buy it even if the end result is terrible. It’s hard to trust the entertainment industry these days as elitists, egotists, the lazy, and activists have taken over while the corporatists aren’t paying attention due to not caring about the creative process. Fans aren’t giving Hollywood and those with the same mindset the benefit of the doubt as they used to. Financially and timewise they can’t afford it. You have to prove to them you care about what you’re making.
It’s not up to fans to improve your product, come up with coping theories like the Stranger Things fans recently had to, or to just accept something will be terrible to get more of it. Going back to Cushman’s tweet, “Kurtzman Trek” and “Disney Star Wars/Marvel/Doctor Who” have been so terrible that fans have been calling for them to take a break and reassess what they’re making. I don’t know if this Star Trek: Legacy show, which may or may not be tied to the game, would be any good. What if we got it and it’s just as terrible as the other shows that have come out lately. To some fans that might be a blessing, as it means we wouldn’t get another bad Trek product that kills our excitement for the franchise even further and hurts the Brand overall that they want to use to supposedly make money and thus make more. That’s how the storytelling industry works. So for a growing number of fans of many of the ruined franchises, Cushman’s terms are acceptable until Paramount can put the series in the hands of people who care about making good Star Trek stories again, both in quality and adaptation/continuation.
Meanwhile, Star Trek has survived hibernation before, as has Star Wars and Doctor Who. Doctor Who had the “wilderness years”, a period between the failed Fox TV pilot movie and the relaunch on the BBC with the guy now ruining it. Comics, novels, audio dramas, and magazines continued the adventures of each Doctor, their favorite Companions, and even created new ones unique to the expanded universe. Fans watched and discussed the old shows. Star Trek has the same, and then added video games between movies until Star Trek: The Next Generation revitalized the franchise on TV. Star Wars was selling toys when only novels, comics, and games were telling Star Wars stories. Shadows Of The Empire and the Thrawn trilogy were delighting fans and selling toys, games, and an actual soundtrack while no movies or shows were being made. A good iconic television or movie franchise can survive with a strong enough fanbase supporting other official media and even making fan productions while going to conventions to meet up with other fans and discuss the stories they already enjoy or even enjoy making fun of.
If the story is terrible, if the franchise’s current output is ruining the Brand, it is up to fans to speak up and ask for changes or deal with subpar product. Hollywood has tried bringing back properties that barely had an audience in the hopes of building a larger niche with a new generation while the old ones support and promote it. That only happens when the end product is good enough to make current fans happy while drawing in new ones and giving casual fans something good to watch. It’s not our job to take something bad and work around it to save a Brand clearly in decline. It’s the job of the owners and stewards of long-running franchise to make something good enough for the fans to continue supporting. Fans do not control these iconic franchises, the studios do. Tell them to fix their mistakes, not the fans that they have to accept it to get more product. If the product is bad, a mercy…not so much “killing” as “coma” might be exactly what Star Trek and these other ruined IP needs until they can find people willing to do it the right way again.
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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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About ShadowWing Tronix
A would be comic writer looking to organize his living space as well as his thoughts. So I have a blog for each goal. :)