When did the star trek franchise 'jump the shark'? (Can it come back and how?)?

Question

At least for now, I believe that the franchise has died or is at least in a coma. (I am a fan and not a basher of Trek, mind you). So when did it "jump the shark" or reach it's peak and start to decline. Some would may say as early as Gene Roddenberry's death or even earlier.
I think it happened when Rick Berman decided that "ST Insurrection" did not need a large advertising effort. Later his straying from the formula of the TNG movies by a) waiting 4 years between films, b)not having any commericial support for Nemesis, and c)the insaned editing of Nemesis. Tell me what you think.
(info on "jumping the shark" http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=Aqp3W6SP285EEJkiqGARtIYjzKIX?qid=1006042628613

Answer 1

Loaded question there...

I'd have to agree with another answerer that it did indeed "jump the shark" during the Voyager series. It's when the most fans of the franchise became disenchanted. I know I stopped watching and taping about that same time. "Enterprise" was hoped to restore some life, but alas, it may go down as one of the worst in the series. (I didn't think it was half bad myself.)

Many of the movies have had problems all of their own, for many of the same reasons you mentioned in your question, so I think you already know much of the answer there.

So will they bring it back? Sure. Will it work? Doubtful. But, it's too large of a franchise to too large of a fan base to abandon completely.

Answer 2

I have been a fan of Star Trek for quite some time, and still am. As for when Star Trek Jumped the shark so to speak, I am not quite sure of when it happened. I think it was with the start of Star Trek: Enterprise...which didn't even bear the "Star Trek" title so much as just "Enterprise." It was a weak and watered down version of revisionist history. One of the high points for me of the whole Star Trek franchise was the partial development of the Klingons in the motion pictures: primarily the first movie and Star Trek 3: the Search for Spock. Granted the costumes and musical cues were far more complex, but I noticed a decline in Star Trek when the Klingons from the Next Generation on spent too much time snarling and bearing their teeth in stereotypical displays of "humanist chauvanism." as if an aggressive humanoid alien species was incapable of anything other than snarling and throwing fits. Ultimately, Enterprise was the death knell though, or at least the rather preceptable slip into Trek's current comatose state--though I wonder, from time to time, if Star Trek: Voyager was actually the Shark Jumping moment...after all, Voyager was pointed in the wrong direction. The only place they were boldly going was home, which is so typically NON Star Trek. Nah, I still say Enterprise--Star Trek without orchestral or pseudo-orchestral theme music just isn't Star Trek, and Dianne Warren's schmultz-fest that served as Enterprise's opening theme was--to me--an indication that the Trek Franchise had jumped more than a few sharks at once.

Answer 3

It hasn't died. You can still get Star Trek novels. And I heard there will be an 11th movie- and that it will have a younger James T. Kirk. Also that the actor already has Shatner's approval. It could be out in December or some time next year. Not really sure when. But the previous one came out during the month of December.

Answer 4

I would say Trek actually jumped the "whale" with the 4th movie, but the larger franchise continued. That seems to indicate the downslide for the original crew movies. After that, the original crew went looking for God. I think they did rebound with the Undiscovered Country but it was clear that there was a need for "fresh blood" in the movie franchise. Overall, the franchise is not dead - if they threw a new crew and setting together and gave it a Star Trek name, people would flock to it

Answer 5

Deep space 9 was the start of the jump. Enterprise was completely off the wall and unentertaining.
I don't count movies, hollywood massacres anything original with ease.

Answer 6

I would say Voyager was when it jumped the shark. The captain often was wrong and uncaring. The rest of the cast was boring.