10 Times Star Trek Refused To Give Fans What They Wanted

Star Trek: Discovery released in 2017, twelve years after the franchise's huge break from television following the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005. Many fans enjoyed the show (though, in retrospect, the first season was rather rough compared to what came after). However, there was a loud segment of the fanbase that was adamantly against the show. They accused it of 'betraying Gene Roddenberry's vision' and 'ruining Star Trek', but many don't realise that this was nothing new for Trek.

When The Next Generation first aired on TV, fans were furious. In addition to a newspaper article declaring that 'the charm and success of the show [was] based on the perfect mix of the characters', Marina Sirtis also claimed during an interview on Graham Norton's BBC Radio show that fans would cross their arms at her at conventions and ask her 'how dare you take the place of our heroes?' The sentiment was that the new show was basically spitting on the grave of The Original Series.

Let's be happy that the studio decided to ignore the fans on this one and move forward with new characters. It's clear now to most that the appeal of Star Trek comes not only from the chemistry between Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the original cast, but also (mainly) from the incredibly immersive, inspiring, and unique universe that Roddenberry created. Fans soon learned that The Next Generation could respect The Original Series, while still evolving into something new. Only time will tell, but the same will probably one day be said about new Trek.