I really tried getting into the new shows. I was so excited for Discovery, I even opened a bottle of good wine saved for a special occasion. And then it did not feel like Star Trek at all, it was dark, brutal, disturbing. I finally dropped out after season 2. Lower Decks was ok, but more of a parody than real Star Trek, with weird character choices. Strange New Worlds was interesting at first, but also with characters that did not feel like the professional Star Fleet personal I was used to. Prodigy I haven't even started because I don't really was in the mood up to today.
I'm not excited when I read a headline like this, something that would be unthinkable a few years back. Let's see what they are cranking out, maybe it's something that has the old feeling again, good plots, good characters and that sense of wonder and optimism for example that TNG had. I haven't given up hope.
DIS got a lot better in the later seasons but if you don't like any of the new shows, I doubt it's your cup of tea either. It's sad to hear this since I basically love old and new trek alike but each to their own. Some shows tried to catch the old spirit (like SNW) but you simply can't produce an old episode now. I personally like it best when they explore new topics and new times but hopefully they will make a show for fans like you, too!
The Prodigy crew don't feel like a proper Starfleet crew, and that's because they're literally children. They are 100% kids with the potential and the drive to grow into great Starfleet officers, and the show is fundamentally about that fact.
Strange New Worlds was interesting at first, but also with characters that did not feel like the professional Star Fleet personal I was used to.
SNW is set before TOS; of course they're not going to be as professional as TNG, it was the early days. It compares well with TOS, but still isn't without its flaws (eg musical episode).
Discovery was indeed crap (in my opinion), it's just a modern generic SciFi show with Star Trek branding. Lower Decks is only meant to be a bit of fun fan service, it turns the Starfleet goodie two shoes-ness up to 11, while pulling back on professionalism to turn it into a workplace comedy. I get the feeling you won't like Prodigy either, it's very much child oriented.
However I think you should reconsider your expectations. We're not going to get another TNG 30 years after that show, expecting something the same but new is only going to be disappointing. I'd recommended giving SNW another go, and also maybe catching up with Lower Decks ahead of the SNW crossover episode.
The problem with professionalism is that they are people on a star ship, but they often act childish or like teenagers. TOS was corny at times, but they acted like absolute professionals most of the time. In SNW I missed that, they were often super relaxed with a good joke on their lips in the face of eminent death. Or I remember when they hunt a poor underdeveloped guy through the ship and get him and making jokes after that. That was definitely the "WTF are they doing" moment for me that made it hard to enjoy.
no not like that
keep in mind Prodigy was produced by nickelodeon and only distributed on Paramount+ - for accounting purposes they are all separate entities - Paramount, CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon etc even if they are all owned by ViacomCBS
Paramount+ is still the entity that decided to cancel the series and remove it from their platform less than a year after advertising themselves as being the home to "Every Series. Every Episode."
they were also home of all the movies at one point and that changes every few months, and by region. Accountants going to Accountant
Not just accounting purposes. The commissioning producers are totally separate, decision making is largely devolved down to the separate channels to encourage audience awareness.
I wish Paramount+ was supportive of itself, though. Every time I've tried to use it, specifically to watch Trek, the media is always unavailable. I'm not paying for it until I can actually utilize it during one of their free trial weeks so I know I'm not just wasting my fucking money.
If you think that's rough, try watching CBS Sunday Morning.
I swear to god, that free show that airs on broadcast TV, must be one of the hardest currently running shows to stream.Well, that & "Shaka Ilembe"
Edit: I say Sunday Morning is hard to stream, because the CBS streaming app repeatedly fails to load the right segment after a commercial break, starting the show over at the beginning; if you skip forward from there, it shows another commercial break after you try to seek. Our last viewing of this 90-minute show, took 3.5 hours.
