We interrupt your previously scheduled mini-series with a Franchisography Bonus Special!

Round 1 of this year’s Listener Pick Tournament is over and Nick & Scott are here to discuss where the choices made by our listeners on Discord and Patreon have led us. There were surprising victories, devastating losses, and obvious frontrunners. Let’s break it down.

Daily match-ups end March 31st!

Vote in our March Madness Listener Pick Tournament by Joining the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw

Get a second vote in every daily match-up by supporting us on PATREON!

Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the failure of Nemesis, the Star Trek brand was put on ice for a while only to be resurrected as a reboot (which was the style at the time) that was also a sequel (which was not) in an effort to appease both old fans and attract new ones. After successfully revitalizing the Mission: Impossible franchise, Paramount turned to Bad Robot and director JJ Abrams to put a new spin on the original crew. The result was 2009’s STAR TREK, a crowd-pleasing, action-oriented summer blockbuster that felt like a fresh take on an old favorite. 

Nick & Scott begin the final leg of their journey through the Star Trek film franchise as they enter the Kelvin Universe with film critic Tyler Harlow.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

The creative and commercial failure of Insurrection required a slight reset. Producer Rick Berman was determined to continue the TNG film franchise, but Paramount was hesitant. Ultimately, to get the next film greenlit, Berman would have to agree to hire a creative team from outside of Trek canon. Luckily, by random happenstance, actor Brent Spiner (Data) would meet Gladiator scribe John Logan through a friend of a friend and learn that he was a massive Trek fan who was extremely interested in writing the next installment. With Logan on scripting duties and total Trek outsider Stuart Baird hired to direct the film, STAR TREK: NEMESIS went into production.

It did not go well.

Top Gun Minute host Brian Boucher joins Nick and Scott to discuss the final flight of the TNG crew and how it works as a transitional film into the Kelvin universe.

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the success of First Contact, writers Braga & Moore decided to go out on top and leave Star Trek behind as they moved on with their writing careers, leaving producer Rick Berman in search of a new writer. With his role on TNG and DS9 behind him, Berman turned to Trek series showrunner Michael Piller to take over screenwriting duties on the next film. What started with the intention of a comedic tone in the vein of The Voyage Home evolved into an homage to Heart of Darkness and a love letter to Gene Roddenberry’s vision for Star Trek.

What we ultimately got from returning director Jonathan Frakes, however, was STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, a film that attempts to accomplish all three concepts simultaneously, while doing none of them particularly well.

Trekkie Alex Montgomery joins Nick and Scott to discuss what happened and why this feature film feels more like a lackluster episode of television

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the success of Generations, it was time for the TNG crew to try and make a go of it on their own. Producer Rick Berman returned to writers Braga & Moore for the screenplay with two stipulations: it had to include time travel and the fan-favorite villainous species The Borg. For the director, Berman turned to cast member Jonathan Frakes who had directed many episodes of the TV series and would be making his feature directorial debut.

The resulting film is STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, quite possibly the best Star Trek film ever made.

Guest and theme song composer Scott Tofte doesn’t detect any leaks as he finally joins Nick & Scott to gush about this fantastic science fiction adventure.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

With The Undiscovered Country, the original Enterprise crew had taken their final bow and with the end of The Next Generation on the horizon after seven seasons, it was time for Picard’s crew to pick up the mantle of Big Screen Trek. Enter producer Rick Berman, who turned to the people who had been making TNG successful on television to bring them to the big screen: writers Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore and director David Carson.

But how can you make a Next Generation movie without passing the baton? How can you do it without having Picard meet Kirk? You don’t. And so STAR TREK: GENERATIONS became a transitional film that bridged the gap between the two Enterprise crews.

Joining Nick & Scott in space heaven is returning guest Travis Bow to make sense of this rocky start for the Next Generation series of Trek films.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

We interrupt your previously scheduled mini-series with a Franchisography Bonus Special!

March is nearly upon us, so join Nick & Scott as they discuss the changes being made to the voting process in this year’s Listener Pick Tournament (bye, Twitter!) and discuss all of the franchise possibilities chosen by our listeners on Discord and Patreon.

Daily match-ups begin March 1st!

Vote in our March Madness Listener Pick Tournament by Joining the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw

Get a second vote in every daily match-up by supporting us on PATREON!

Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Paramount Pictures had a Star Trek problem. After the muted reception to The Final Frontier, the studio was unsure of what direction to take their still potentially lucrative franchise next. Longtime producer Harve Bennett suggested a Top Gun-like origin story for Kirk and crew, but when Paramount passed, Bennett decided to part ways with Trek altogether. In his place, the studio selected Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer, who had a vision for a smaller, more Shakespearean adventure. It’s 1991’s STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.

One generation ends as FRANCHISOGRAPHY closes out the first third of its Trek odyssey, with guest Mike O’Gorman (True Lies) joining Nick and Scott to discuss this taut and paranoid science fiction chamber room mystery!

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Galaxy Quest (1999) episode now available on PATREON!

Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw

Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After The Voyage Home hit big at the box office and scored four nominations at the 1987 Academy Awards, producer Harve Bennett and the whole Trek team felt unstoppable. But before heading into Trek 5, they had one commitment they could not get around: Star William Shatner wanted to direct, or he wouldn’t do it all.

Shatner went for a more-is-more attitude with STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER. More aliens, more sets, more action. Could the film recoup its ballooning budget for Paramount? What does God need with a starship?

Nick, Scott, and guest Kevin Miller uncover these secrets and more on a fiery and explosive FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Sometimes everything works out and everyone is happy. Sometimes filming a movie is a breezy, enjoyable experience made up of energized creatives working in an environment built on mutual respect and singular vision. Sometimes that movie is the critical and commercial high point of an entire franchise.

Sometimes a movie is STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.

Nick, Scott, and guest Jeremiah Sherman have an equally grand time diving into the behind-the-scenes stories of this delightful comedy about whales starring the crew of the starship Enterprise in the latest episode of FRANCHISOGRAPHY.

Become a Premier Tier PATREON supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra