So recently, Star Trek Discovery was picked up by CBS All Access for a third season, a move that surprised no one except for a small corner of Trekdom who not only believed the show was going to be canceled, but actively rooted for it.
This toxic mix of those who clutch the past, those who cannot digest change, and those who purposely pass on misinformation to continually feed the beast are a mystery to me. On my life, I do not understand why one would spend so much focus on something they hate… to actively consume a product just so they can complain.
I don’t like black eyed peas, but even I have the good sense to not eat it to feed my dislike.
Back when it first aired, I liked Fear the Walking Dead. Despite a sketchy first season and the unexpected death of a main character, I thought that, by the third season, the show had come into its own and actually surpassed its parent show.
Then came the 4th season and, in my opinion, the show spectacularly self- destructed. The show added Morgan from the parent show and shifted focus from the family we’d been following since the beginning, unceremoniously killing off two of the remaining three members. I immediately lost all interest in the show and moved on with my life.
I didn’t bomb message boards, I didn’t lurk around the FTWD Reddit to drop my opinion where it wasn’t asked for, I just stopped watching because that’s what a normal person does.
I don’t really talk about the show at all. Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve really even thought about Fear the Walking Dead since I stopped watching a couple of years ago, so it astounds me that Trek fans who maintain that Discovery is terrible not only do these things, but are completely up to date about what is going on in the series.
With Star Trek, fans enjoy a sense of ownership. There are few among us who are left that existed at a time Star Trek did not. We’ve literally grown up with it; It’s been a constant companion.
It has also changed and will continue to do so. It is simply not what it was 53 years ago, nor is it what it was 30 years ago or 20 or even ten. Things change.
Enterprise is usually regarded as the lesser of the Trek series (though, honestly, it’s not that bad), but one has to understand that those born at the time it premiered are now 18 years old… for many years, Enterprise and the Kelvin movies are the only Star Trek that grown adults knew. I’ve spoken to these fans and what they grew up with is what they love… the supposed “worst Star Trek” is loved by a whole generation.
The older generations who grew up with the classic series, the original movies, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager experienced the same phenomenon. Heck, I’m old enough to remember being told I wasn’t a real fan because I liked The Next Generation which is fundamentally a better television series than the original. Fight me.
Today, we’re seeing the same thing: Older fans gatekeeping the franchise and bad mouthing the new without realizing that this franchise is not owned by them, it’s for everyone. Sure, not everyone will accept it, opting instead for Keeping Up with the Kardashians and other easily digestible junk food, but Discovery is for the young… it represents charging times, changing attitudes, and a changing audience.
This is not only obvious, but it is vital.
Doctor Who is not the same show it was 53 years ago nor is it what it was 20 years ago or even ten years ago. It discovered long ago that evolution cannot stop. You cannot halt the growth of a series just because a select group of fans don’t want to accept that the Doctor can change faces or that the Doctor can get younger, or that the Doctor can be female. You soldier on, without them if necessary, and you evolve because, if you don’t, you die.
Just like Star Trek did when Nemesis bombed and Enterprise was canceled. It stagnated and died for a time until the Kelvin movies reenergized it.
A lot like the show, the fan base cannot stagnate either. Young people have to come in and watch it as well. Otherwise, you’re left with a contingent of aging Trekkies whose numbers will do nothing but decrease.
You know, if you genuinely don’t like Discovery, that’s fine. Maybe it’s not for you and that’s fine. The shows you did love are still there, so be nice and celebrate what you love while allowing others to love what they love as well. Be kind! Don’t add to the toxicity and, if you still watch it just to complain so you can feel superior, maybe it’s time that you accept that you are the problem, or that you actually enjoy it and you just don’t want anyone to know, in which case, it’s like high school all over again for you.
Jason Gaston 