Star Trek At A Crossroads

So we have arrived here after 40 years, at a crossroads in the mighty galactic franchise. Like the U.S.S. Enterprise limping into space dock after its battle with Khan - proud and defiant, yet battered and scarred - Star Trek itself has come to a point of reflection when drastic measures may indeed be required to save the franchise. Quite simply, the series has dropped out of warp over its last decade and stumbled like never before. And now Star Trek is up against its own "Kobayashi Maru" test, staring death in the face as it tries to maneuver its way out of a seemingly no-win scenario. For there can be no greater insult to the masses of loyal followers than another ill-conceived and poorly executed feature film. And there will be no coffin nail larger than another television series that carries the Star Trek name but lacks its spirit and passion.

Indeed, the last two Star Trek films have been disappointments, with "Star Trek: Nemesis" giving The Next Generation cast an infamously bad sendoff; the "Star Trek: Voyager" television series was a colossal disappointment, and its follow-up "Enterprise" was cancelled after three lackluster seasons; and now Paramount, which owns the franchise, has scuttled the United Paramount Network, or UPN, by combining it with Warner Bros. WB channel. The stakes of the franchise's next move have never been higher. The only other time in its hallowed history that times have been this dark was the infamous day when the network pulled the plug on the original series in the spring of 1969.

Yet now, perhaps more than any other time in its hallowed history, we recognize just how valued, cherished and influential Star Trek is to so many. And that may be why the sci-fi series will never truly perish. After the last episode of the Original Series, "Turnabout Intruder," aired on June 3 in 1969, it didn't take long for fan support to lift Star Trek back up. The television series was syndicated after the cancellation and Star Trek loyalists began organizing large conventions. In 1973, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" debuts featuring nearly the entire cast of the Original Series. After the Animated Series completes its two-year run, a fan letter-writing campaign convinces NASA to name the U.S.'s first space shuttle after the U.S.S. Enterprise. After more than 10 years of largely unrequited love and dedication, Trek fans were rewarded by Paramount when the franchise is resurrected for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

Can Star Trek continue to boldly go?

But that was during a time when Trek was just beginning to take hold of the national conscious, growing from a short-lived cult T.V. series to an iconic cultural and social phenomenon. Star Trek was young, virile and ambitious. Ten years ago, when Trek hit 30, the franchise was considered to be in its prime: "Star Trek: First Contact" became one of the most successful and popular Trek films; the unsung and undervalued "Deep Space Nine" hit its stride in season four with the addition of Worf (Michael Dorn) and the escalation of the Dominion-Klingon-Romulan conflict; and "Voyager" was just entering its second season.

The franchise is now enduring what can only be described as a midlife crisis. The concepts of the series and films haven't been the problem so much as the excruciatingly poor writing. The television series have become formulaic and passionless, the scripts are withered and tired, and the franchise leadership has received numerous votes of no confidence.

But there's hope. Star Trek isn't bound by the archetypal fairy tales of "Star Wars" that have been told time and time again through the years. Instead, the series has been at its best when it has taken on the issues and events of today's world and examines them in a new, futuristic light. From the Cold War conflict to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, from racial and gender discrimination to euthanasia, the franchise had always had a keen eye for such material but now has lost its way. In essence, Star Trek hasn't kept up with the times. With all of the recent landmark historical events and technological advancements of the early 21st Century, it's a wonder that the minds at Paramount haven't done a better job embracing and recasting current events for the Star Trek universe.

What can be done to save Star Trek? Here are five ways to cure Trek's midlife crisis:

Join our discussion on this topic