Interview 1: Is New (Star) Trek doomed? - Podcast in German Language

Please note: This interview is conducted in German. Andreas talks
with Simon & Sebastian, the hosts of “Trek am Dienstag”.


What happens when a defining piece of your youth keeps returning
in a form that feels unfamiliar? For Simon and Sebastian—hosts of
the long-running “Trek am Dienstag”—the answer lands somewhere
between love, fatigue, and cautious optimism.


In the debut episode of “Behind the Scenes,” host Andreas
convenes a frank, funny, and sharp conversation about New Trek
versus the Berman-era shows that shaped a generation. The
hookline: Is New Trek the downfall of the franchise—or are we
just old enough to think “it used to be better”?


This isn’t a hit piece. It’s an honest look at how modern Star
Trek chases new audiences—bigger music, faster pacing, constant
emotional high tide—while losing the quiet character moments that
once made the universe feel like home. Simon charts his arc from
early excitement (JJ Abrams’s reset, Discovery’s promise, the
return of Picard) to disillusionment (perpetual drama, fanservice
without vision). Sebastian underscores a broader point: plenty of
fans love Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks; his disconnect is
personal, not prescriptive. The pressure they do reject: being
told they must both watch and like the new canon because they
host a Star Trek podcast.


We dive into:


The Kelvin Timeline: a smart way to unshackle canon,
re-centering U.S. TOS nostalgia—clever industry logic that still
disoriented parts of the fandom.

Discovery, Picard, SNW: where they thrill and where they
falter, from relentless sentiment to legacy-character dependency.






They also sketch the shows they wish existed:


A season that hides its Trek DNA until the finale.

A “monster-of-the-week” told from the monster’s point of
view.

Stories anchored in non-bridge lives—technicians,
journalists, ordinary crew—expanding the world without leaning on
Spock yet again.






The episode reframes the Berman era not as flawless, but as
“character first” television (Michael Piller) guided by strong
vision (Ira Steven Behr) and 26-episode seasons that let
relationships breathe. Today’s 8–10 episode arcs push plot at the
cost of texture. Add franchise mandates, blockbuster budgets, and
production pipelines locked seasons ahead of audience feedback,
and the creative dialogue with fans collapses.


In the most revealing aside, Sebastian recalls an old Alex
Kurtzman commentary track where the producer sounds embarrassed
to be a Trek fan—a tell, he argues, for a modern tone that seems
apologetic about its roots while trying to be everything to
everyone.


The ending is surprisingly hopeful. Simon will keep giving every
new show a fair shake; he just wants vision instead of pandering.
Sebastian is serene: either something great lands, or he spends
the rest of his life joyfully mining the vast back catalog and
unseen secondary materials. Andreas closes on the enduring magic
of Trek: stand-alone episodes that still spark wonder on a random
lunch break.


This episode is a clear-eyed look at how franchises evolve, why
not every evolution is for everyone, and how to keep loving a
thing without insisting it never change.


You will learn:


Why the Kelvin reset was both industrially smart and
emotionally destabilizing.

The tradeoffs of tight 10-episode arcs—momentum versus lost
intimacy.

How Discovery, Picard, and SNW balance (or bungle)
fanservice, pacing, and tone.

The Berman-era principles—Piller’s “character first,” Behr’s
vision—that built staying power.

Fresh Trek concepts that don’t rely on legacy characters.

A healthier fandom stance: critique without gatekeeping, hope
without entitlement.






Photo Credit: Guido Raith


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