Streaming Legacies Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week on Episode 472 of Priority One --- We ‘Trek Out’ what ViacomCBS has in-store for streaming, “Lower Deck’s” Future - or past, and T-Shirt subscriptions. In Star Trek gaming, the game’s afoot with Sansar’s Roddenberry Museum scavenger hunt, get your tabletop action on with an awesome humble bundle, and Timelines has an update.


Of course, as always, before we wrap up the show, we’ll open hailing frequencies for your incoming messages


Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!


This Weeks Community Question Is:


CQ:  For those of you who will have the opportunity --- how will YOU watch the Thursday Premiere of Lower Decks? With Friends via Zoom? By yourself with a bowl of popcorn and your favorite beverage?


And


CQ:  Who do you think would be a good fit to return in animated form in Star Trek: Lower Decks.


TREK IT OUT

by Jake Morgan


ViacomCBS’ Plans to Rebrand, Expand Move Forward

'What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet'. Or - - that which we call a recently-re-merged-corporation’s over-the-top subscription service by any other name would deliver as enjoyable an entertainment experience at a comparable price point?  Okay, so the idiom may not entirely work here… and the iambic pentameter was thrown to wind - but it does Segway very - VERY - poorly into our first story! On Wednesday July 29th ViacomCBS revealed more about their upcoming CBS All Access revamp, and in the process added 70 shows to All Access’ expanding catalogue.


President/CEO of ViacomCBS Digital and ViacomCBS’s chief digital officer Marc DeBevoise said of the move ”It’s the first big step to transform All Access into the super-service we’ve been talking about”.  Included in the addition are titles from BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, The Smithsonian Channel, VH1, and TV Land - and Paramount Pictures threw in a few movies for good measure.


Along with the title roll-out,  the CBS All Access’ user interface got an upgrade, and we learned a little more about ViacomCBS’ strategy for the service. On exclusivity and distribution, DeBevoise told ViacomCBS Newsroom  “A lot of our competitors are being carried on one platform and not on another. We’re effectively across all the major platforms already. We are everywhere. We have millions of subscribers. We have a service with high engagement”. Translation, they’re more than happy to let you watch Star Trek elsewhere - as long as they’re getting paid.


So now the important stuff - what’s this going to cost us? As of right now DeBevoise doesn’t expect an increase with the rebranding roll out, due to hit sometime in 2021! Vague, but good news nonetheless.




Lower Decks “Legacy Actors” and Hope for International Viewers

Part of the problem with pre-recording a podcast is that - inevitably - important talking points today may turn out to be old news tomorrow. That COULD be the case with our next story - you’ll see what we mean in a minute.


On Monday August 3rd, entertainment website Inverse published a sit down with “Star Trek: Lower Decks”  show-runner Mike McMahon and star Tawny Newsome to discuss the upcoming series - set to debut on August 6th. The series, which takes place one year after the events of “Star Trek: Nemesis”, would presumably have reference to the Star Trek of that era. When McMahon and Newsome were asked about a possible Newsome/Mariner crossover to “Star Trek: Picard”, McMahon dropped a fully trekked nugget straight into the sauce. ”That’s interesting because we do have legacy actors who show up in the first season of Lower Decks and we have gotten to have a little bit of where are they now sort of vibe through a Lower Decks lens. But I gotta say, if anyone wants Mariner to show up on their live-action Star Treks, you’ve got to have Tawny”