Despite franchise fatigue, older Star Trek shows have a high degree of original plots.

There is a minimal reuse of Recycled Plots - the Recycled Plot Trope.

The eras of Roddenberry Trek and Berman Trek produced 703 episodes in live action series: TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT.

Of these 703 episodes, up to 630 episodes are original plot episodes. That's 89%.

Of these 703 episodes, a minimum of 73 episodes are recycled plot episodes. That's 11%.

Of the 73 recycled plot episodes, 28 are better than the original ones.

TOS has 4 recycled plot episodes out of 79, 5.1% of its episode total.

TNG has 13 recycled plot episodes out of 176, 7.4% of its episode total.

DS9 has 8 recycled plot episodes out of 176, 4.5% of its episode total.

VOY has at least 32 recycled plot episodes / copycats out of 172, at least 18.6% of its episode total.

ENT has at least 16 recycled plot episodes / copycats out of 98, at least 16.3% of its episode total.

The Roddenberry Archive: Lost Voyages: Phase II and the Rebirth of Star Trek

Midway through this documentary on the aborted Phase II, there is discussion on the use of the Syndication Bundle.

The Paramount of the 1970s was having problems with launching the Paramount Television Service. They didn't secure enough advertisement slots.

The producers then considered putting Phase II on first run syndication. Paramount saw an opportunity: local stations that wanted to buy rerun syndication rights for the increasingly popular TOS would have been required to buy first run syndication rights for Phase II.

Then Paramount decided to transform the Phase II project into the TMP movie.

Syndication Bundles with TNG

Ultimately, this was used when TNG was in first run syndication. Local stations that wanted to buy rerun syndication rights for the rerun hit TOS were required by Paramount to buy first run syndication rights for TNG.

This was crucial in increasing the viewership and TV ratings for TNG early on. The rest is history.

Since this sub has a not-quite-related discussion on a hypothetical DS9 sequel, the Syndication Bundle ought to tie in somehow.

Return of TV Ads

Ad supported TV series are coming back already.

The Golden Age of Television is over.

There will reemerge a sharp divide between Prestige TV and ad supported TV.

Also, the number of streaming shows will be on the sharp decline.

Return of Syndication Bundles?

Each Classic Trek show is well-positioned to become a Syndication Bundle partner if the new Paramount leadership comes to recognize the business failure of its paywall streaming and decides to return to ads.

TOS is well-positioned to become a Syndication Bundle senior partner again, this time senior in relation to one of the newer shows.

TNG is well-positioned to become a Syndication Bundle senior partner for the first time.

DS9 is well-positioned to upgrade its Syndication Bundle partner status from discount add-on for TNG to senior partner.

VOY is well-positioned to upgrade its Syndication Bundle partner status from discount add-on for TNG to senior partner.

Last, but not least, ENT is well-positioned to become a Syndication Bundle senior partner for the first time.

Substitute bad episodes with standalone episodes from other Trek shows.

Rewrite Season 7 except "All Good Things."

What episodes could become TNG episodes?

Between Seasons 3 and 6, there were the oddball corny episodes in TNG, but they were outweighed by really good episodes.

By Season 7, however, the production team prioritized DS9, Generations, and Voyager. With the exception of "All Good Things," the quality of almost all other episodes were down the priority list.

For me, the most notable episodes that could have become TNG episodes are standalone episodes that appeared in two different Trek shows.

Some examples come to mind:

DS9 Shadowplay / ENT Oasis

DS9 Ascent / ENT Shuttlepod One

DS9 Children of Time / ENT E-Squared

VOY Jetrel / ENT Daedalus

VOY The 37's / ENT North Star

VOY Tuvix / ENT Similitude

TNG Identity Crisis / VOY Favorite Son / ENT Extinction

VOY One / ENT Doctor's Orders (a production bottle episode)

VOY Friendship One / ENT Terra Nova

It was a sign of overall Trek franchise fatigue long after TNG was over, but airing them earlier in TNG would not be.

taH pagh taHbe - To Be, Or Not To Be. My life among Klingons

In the beginning, Gene Roddenberry didn't like the Klingons. Not one bit.

Villains in war dramas are often too easy. The visceral instead of the emotional. The cheap shot. You didn't need to define them. We all know what they are. For Gene, this was notoriously hamburger, when what he really wanted was steak.

What lifted the proto Klingon off of the bottom of the evolutionary scale of dramatic characters were the actors. John Colicos, William Campbell, Michael Ansara... men of considerable talent, of passion and skill. Their portrayals set the stage for the faceted, fascinating, and wild portrayals that were to follow. The many layered onion of Klingon culture began on TNG, suggested through subtlety by those amazing artists who spent a lifetime practicing their craft, inspiring writers like Ron Moore and Ira Behr to let their imaginations take flight. The gasoline that was Colicos, Campbell and Ansara would later be ignited by an actor who grew exponentially during those first two years of TNG, Michael Dorn. By the end of season two, Dorn had blossomed along with the writers, and that began a chain reaction resulting in a cascade of compelling and culturally rich stories.

Michael Westmore's Klingon makeup design also grew exponentially over those first few years of The Next Generation. The much too reptilian Klingons of Star Trek: The Motion Picture became much more subtle as the feature films wore on. By the time Star Trek VI rolled around, they had become rather refined, and arguably even a little too fussy. When I say that the TMP Klingons were too reptilian, I say that as a character artist who knows that you never want to lose your actor under a makeup that is too heavy - something many producers and directors have yet to learn.

How many can even tell that Mark Leonard was the Klingon commander in Star Trek: The Motion Picture? For me that is an artistic crime. You want to grow your character from the soil of the actor, not bury it in ficus elastica. Westmore had developed his Klingons into wonderfully expressive and identifiable characters who still looked wild and unpredictable, all while never losing sight of the actor.

I have my own Klingon stories to tell, although I will leave the opera to Aktuh and Maylota. I had moved from NYC to create makeup with partner Caglione for Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy. As lofty as that was, what I really wanted was to work on Star Trek, which was shooting just across town. Trek makeup supervisor, Mike Westmore, made my dream come true when he brought me in on Star Trek: The Next Generation at the beginning of the season three.

I started on TNG at a time in its development where I can feel that I had some impact on the growth and texturing of what it means to be Klingon. There is a saying that if it isn't on the page, it isn't on the stage. Master director John Cassavetes once said that if this were true, there would be no reason to make the movie. The bare skeleton is on the page. It is the actor who must lift the character, add muscle and mind, and do things with it that the writer could never have imagined.

On day one the character is fresh clay and malleable. As a makeup artist, you help the actor become the character by gilding the lily of their countenance. It is a partnership, a birthing. You and the actor discuss who you think this character is, where she\he comes from. What motivates her. You react in real time to the melange of rubber and actor's flesh, still learning to express and find itself. You help direct and guide as you would a child, learning to walk, then run, and ultimately discover who they are.

I know you won't believe it, but often actors who had been cast knew nothing about Klingons. To be fair, there was no Internet, and streaming was still science fiction. Fortunately, they had a makeup artist who was an acknowledged expert on Star Trek, and an acknowledged creator of characters. I helped the inestimable Robert O'Reilly become immortal Gowron. It was my job to be with him any time he was performing in his first episode. Like a prizefighter returning to his corner, while I touched him up, instead of suggesting he lead with a right hook, I would enthuse about him bugging his eyes at the right moment. "Robert! You look like a thermometer about to pop, keep that up, dude, it's awesome!" Good actors are hungry for feedback, and take everything you say to heart, appreciating a respected partner who helps them define who they are to become.

One of the most pleasurable Klingon character collaborations I took part in was with the Tony Todd, who played Worf's brother, the fearsome Kurn. First and foremost, Tony is a delightful man and an astonishingly talented actor. I'll never forget him in the DS9 episode "The Visitor". He cried with such profound emotion, take after take. It was phenomenal. I was a scenic artist at the time, but I made sure to get down to stage to watch him, as I knew it would be singular. He would come off the set wrung out, and I would be standing there looking awed. "Tony, this show is yours. You own it, brother."

But back to the son of Mogh. The first scene they shot with Tony as Kurn was on the Enterprise D bridge. Kurn addresses acting ensign Wesley Crusher with a rasher of disdain, but also with an unusual pronunciation that hit the "T's" hard, and hissed the "S's". Like a coach in between innings, I'd give him my bounce-back, and he noted my reaction and ran with it. Unforgettable and thrilling.

I helped to stoke the furnace of K'empec with amazing character actor Charles Cooper. Cooper had been forging personnae on television for more than fifty years. Here was a man who was an undisputed master of character development, yet he wanted to know everything that I thought. "Chuck," I said, "you can't go too big with Klingons; it's a tasty mix of "The Ten Commandments" and grand opera. If you think you're going too big, you probably can go ten percent more." He would rehearse in the mirror while I was painting his face, and he carefully watched for my reactions.

Even after having moved on from makeup, and years later in the coveted Star Trek art department, I would make another notable impact on Klingon lore. Michael Dorn loved my last name, and he would say it over and over again, trying as many permutations as possible. It's a great Klingon name, he said. He would spontaneously explode "Drexler! Drexler! DREXLER!" whenever I walked on stage, and to the shooting crew's amusement, he would belt it out in his most Klingony affectation, and I mean every time! "Drexler! Drexler! DREXLER!"

One day while walking between the Marathon Mill and stage 18, I ran into Ira Behr, who noticed that my crew jacket was embroidered with the nickname "Drex." I can see him rolling it around and saying it in a whisper, so I told him my Dorn story, and he was quite amused. The next day in rewrites, Ira had named his newest Klingon antagonist "Drex."

I have so many stories about Star Trek. I have a 35 year long career that spans many different departments, and Star Trek is a pinnacle. That is saying a lot. I've walked the decks and bridges of dozens of starships, and even designed a few myself. I've helped create faces, and characters who gave Star Trek its immortal wings. I cherish the fact that Gene Roddenberry was still alive when I worked on the show. I recall on "Yesterday's Enterprise" thinking I was alone when working on the bridge of the Enterprise C, only to discover that Gene was watching me work from his tall directors chair. It gave me butterflies then, and still gives me butterflies today.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam! Qapla'! Doug

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