Value Subtracted @ ValueSubtracted @startrek.website

[Mastodon](https://mstdn.ca/@ValueSubtracted)

---

Read more

Posts

2,474

Comments

2,658

Joined

2 yr. ago

Moderating

---

There's definitely an AI focus, as Ellison expanded on in his introductory letter:

He touched on a “thoughtful” use of AI integrated across businesses, on supercharging streaming, spending on premium, exclusive content, focusing on sports and investing in media networks “appropriately based on the future business opportunity.”

“Technology is not—and never will be—a replacement for human creativity; rather, it serves as a powerful multiplier. From virtual production stages that unleash filmmakers’ limitless imaginations, to AI‑assisted localization that brings shows to new language markets overnight, to a proprietary ad‑tech stack that maximizes yield across streaming and linear platforms, we will thoughtfully integrate these tools into every aspect of our work,” Ellison wrote.

Fair enough - none of this should diminish the fact that the $16 million "legal settlement" from the former owners of the company was pretty definitely a bribe.

And Skydance is alleged to have promised the government free advertising in the form of "PSAs," which I don't think they've confirmed or denied.

Yeah, there's a single line that says, "some independent carriers raised concerns that it would make it more difficult for them to compete against larger players," which is vague.

The planet they were visiting was Vadia IX, which "Trelane" referred to as "the old homeworld" in episode two, so I'm thinking it's an origin story for something else...

He is, though the knives are coming out for him, too. Fans are a fickle thing.

The nature of last week's win has led to a lot of debate over whether the offense is actually any better, or whether those return TDs saved their asses. Time will tell.

Mike O'Shea is pretty notorious for not giving the media anything in the way of straight answers, so I'm sure that's a contributor. That said, I think I heard that Mitchell was practicing with the main squad, so maybe we'll actually get to see him this week.

Curious about where the $2 billion figure is coming from?

RIP Ensign Gamble. You knew what you were getting into.

I liked this one a lot - I'm generally a fan of "ancient, unspeakable horror" stories, and this one was pretty well-told.

The Enterprise is seemingly able to declare its own red alerts - not much fun in that.

My biggest complaint is this show's continued abuse of the transporter buffer - it should not be easy to use it as a form of stasis!

Goldberg is coming over from Skydance, where she's been since the company was founded in 2010. I don't think she'll be going anywhere.

As for Cheeks...I guess it's a vote of confidence that he's staying at all, but being in charge of linear TV in 2025 seems like a pretty thankless task.

In all honesty, if I were calling the shots, I'd probably move Trek away from CBS Studios and over to Paramount Television. It makes more sense in terms of the divisions' mission statements, and Paramount TV is under the same leadership as Paramount Pictures, which could make it easier to coordinate a feature film with whatever's going on on the TV side.

The downside to that is losing Cheeks, who seems to have done right by Star Trek. Instead it would be overseen by Goldberg and Matt Thunell, who was President of Television at Skydance. I have no reason to believe either of them would be bad for the franchise, but...there's always a risk when you're leaving the devil you know in favour of one that you don't.

For sure - the remaining former co-CEO is George Cheeks, who will be "Chair of TV Media."

His focus is supposed to be focused on linear TV, but Star Trek remains under his watch for now (though the article says, "the decisions are expected to be made on a case-by-case basis, with [Paramount Television co-chair Dana] Goldberg and Cheeks currently in discussions about where the different pieces would land."

Since the deal officially closes tomorrow, and today was mostly focused on the exits, I would imagine we're going to start seeing news about the future plans soon.

Edit: And if Cheeks sounds familiar, it may be because his name is amongst those on the wall in the recent Starfleet Academy trailer.

From a Star Trek fan's perspective, it's interesting that only of the three co-CEOs who's staying with the company, and he oversees CBS Studios, which produces all Trek series.

At the same time, the new ownership has resurrected Paramount TV as a separate division. It's supposed to be the home of streaming services, so there's a chance they'll decide to move the franchise over there, in which case there will be a new boss to deal with.

We'll probably get some clarity in the near-ish future...

This year’s Labour Day Classic will mark the first of three meetings between the Roughriders and Blue Bombers this season and will be the only one played in Regina. The game will also mark Saskatchewan’s first sellout of the season. The team is averaging 27,096 fans per game so far this year.

All right, I've acquired the box set, so I think we'll try to at least finish out the season and re-evaluate at that point.

Last week was encouraging, but the skepticism in Winnipeg runs deep, especially in light of the last two outings against the Stamps.

The big "WTF" story here is Dylan Mitchell. They signed him in January with some real fanfare, making an appearance with the media and getting a $63,000 signing bonus.

He played in the preseason, and hasn't been seen since, and is now on the practice roster. Mike O'Shea is adamant that he isn't well-suited to play slot back, even though he did just that a few times with Edmonton. Instead, the Bombers are starting a rookie.

There seems to be a story here, but no one seems quite sure what it is...

New Who just got dropped by all major streaming services here without warnin

Here, too, and I suspect globally outside the UK. I'm going to take some time to consider whether we should put this little project on hiatus - it's not likely that anyone else will join the party when the barriers are so significant.

It’s not fair to compare anybody, anywhere to Harrison Ford, but as much as he might like to be, Jack Harkness is no Han Solo.

Shame on me for not thinking of the best, most obvious comparison.

even the holodecks on Enterprise D can’t do the same thing until the Binaries enhance them.

I think this is a little different from what the Bynars did - La'An had to wear the brain scan thingie for the day for the computer to get a sense of her personality, while the enhanced TNG holodeck was able to do it on the fly.

In the US, most games are available on the leagues kind-of-shitty-but-at-least-it's-free streaming service, and a handful are on the CBS Sports Network.

We do try to maintain some conversation about the week's games in the weekly thread. There's not a lot of us, but quality > quantity.

Family commitments kept me from watching all but the final minute of TOR @ WPG, so naturally the Bombers were able to pull out a win.

The highlight reel was impressive, with the two massive kick returns. The local media were very unimpressed with Streveler's end zone pick.

Very disappointed in the Als for not being able to do more against the Riders.

The kid who ran away says “there was a man” and I never clocked this when I was watching this as a kid, but re-watching as an adult, it says everything without going into unnecessary graphic detail.

Yes, this was worth pointing out, so thanks for that.

In this episode he comes across as very unlikeable.

I think you really need an actor who's an 11/10 on the charisma scale to make that work - like, RDJ as Tony Stark charisma - and Barrowman just doesn't have that.