ATTN JMS: Franchising the Final Frontier

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: rsteff5748 at aol.com (RSteff5748)
Date: 8 Dec 1997 22:12:17 -0700
Lines: 28

Joe,

Do you think that the Trek franchise, although a quality product, has grown a
bit stale and overextended as of late?  Due to oversaturation caused partly by
the large number of shows under the Trek umbrella (TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager) and
also in part by too much product mass marketing (the Trek novels come to mind),
the franchise seems to have gotten too big for its own good, as it's reached a
point where the franchise sustains the need for the productions and overshadows
them, rather than the other way around.
 
The reason I'm asking is this: With Crusade coming up, the TNT telefilms and
the exposure of B5 on TNT in a larger market than in syndication, the prospect
of a feature film looming on the horizon, and the introduction of model kits,
reference and game CDs, and other collectibles, I wondered if you had similar
concerns and reservations about B5 becoming a marketing franchise in the long
run, if that franchising could possibly hurt either the quality of the shows
and the products stemming from them (novels, etc.). and how you would address
those issues for the long-term?

Again, congrats on creating a product of outstanding quality, which we as fans
always appreciate, regardless of the medium. 

Rick S. 

  


 

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 9 Dec 1997 19:48:19 -0700
Lines: 49

>Do you think that the Trek franchise, although a quality product, has grown a
>bit stale and overextended as of late?  Due to oversaturation caused partly
>by
>the large number of shows under the Trek umbrella (TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager)
>and
>also in part by too much product mass marketing
> it's reached a
>point where the franchise sustains the need for the productions and
overshadows
>them, rather than the other way around.

I think (actually, I know) from conversations with many of the folks over at ST
that some of them are very aware of the problem, that there's a limit on how
often they can go to the well.  The sense among fans I speak to is that it's
become a license to print money, and that the driving force is avarice rather
than storytelling, with the result that the creative people are straitjacketed.

> With Crusade coming up, the TNT telefilms and
>the exposure of B5 on TNT in a larger market than in syndication, the
>prospect
>of a feature film looming on the horizon, and the introduction of model kits,
>reference and game CDs, and other collectibles, I wondered if you had similar
>concerns and reservations about B5 becoming a marketing franchise in the long
>run, if that franchising could possibly hurt either the quality of the shows
>and the products stemming from them (novels, etc.). and how you would address
those issues for the long-term?

Well, for starters remember that it's taken ST 30 years to get to this point of
saturation, and we're only 5 years in at this point, so in theory we've got 25
years to go before we become real pains in the ass.  But that aisde....

This is something that I've been wary and watchful of from the very first days
of the show, which is why I've dragged my feet on licensing for the most part
over the years, doing only a few things, seeing how they worked, they trying
other things, to see where we could control the quality.  It's trial and error,
but I'd rather do trial and error on a small scale and learn rather than on a
big scale and crash and burn.

I think it helps that there's one single voice behind all this, to make sure
that the story remains at the center of the thing, and the tail does not begin
wagging the dog.  What we do, should be cool stuff that I would like
personally, which I can promote honestly and say "this is cool."  And that's
where we're starting to get.

Basically, if we apply the same common sense approach used in making B5 to the
ancillary stuff, we should be okay.


 jms
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