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A lot of Trek's widespread availability stems from Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. The scandal was broadcast on CBS, then overseen by Les Moonves, and the show was produced by MTV, then overseen by Tom Freston. The scandal prompted Viacom head Sumner Redstone to split up his company into two factions, one run by Moonves and the other run by Freston. The split, however, divided Paramount and CBS, which was a bugaboo for Trekkies. Paramount, you see, held the rights to "Star Trek" feature films, while CBS held the franchise's TV rights. That means if Paramount wanted to make a new "Star Trek" movie, it had to license the likeness rights from CBS, even though it was technically within the same company. Any new Trek movies would also have to be legally distinct from the original product so as not to infringe on any copyrights.
While Paramount was making their action-packed films, CBS took advantage of the Viacom schism to push old "Star Trek" reruns onto every streaming platform imaginable. There was a moment when streaming was just becoming "a thing" that no service was seemingly without every "Star Trek" series. Netflix had Trek. Everyone had Trek. Re-watch marathons became popular. Under this model, even the movies became nimble, and Abrams' films started to spread as well.
Paramount and CBS, however, reunited in 2019. CBS had launched CBS All Access back in 2017, and began to produce new "Star Trek" shows for the first time since 2005. When Viacom re-merged, the service changed its name to Paramount+, and any notions of which TV shows counted as "canon" could be laid to rest. The merger was an organic excuse to put all Trek under one umbrella ... and to no longer share them with everyone.
It seems that Paramount+, now wanting to be the only home for all things "Star Trek," is gathering everything back around itself. All the new shows, all the old shows, and all the movies will now live in the same house. This means the era of finding "Star Trek" just about anywhere is not comfortably drawing to a close. It's a pity, really. A big reason why "Star Trek" has persisted in the popular consciousness is because it's always been widely available. New generations are watching the shows all the time, and feisty Zoomers can be found, to this very day, giving social media play-by-plays of, say, "Star Trek: Voyager."
While having every "Star Trek" series and movie on the same service seems cleaner, it feels like a contraction. As we have learned from capricious studio execs, not everything on a single streaming will remain there indefinitely. "Star Trek: Prodigy," for instance, has been removed from Paramount+, and there is no word yet as to where or when it will re-emerge. Perhaps it will behoove fans to check out the 2009 "Star Trek" and "Into Darkness" before they leave Netflix.
When the calendar flipped to 2024, the first 10 Star Trek movies (starting with 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture through 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis) crossed the neutral zone. In other words, the Star Trek movies switched streaming services, leaving Paramount Plus and landing on Max.
Exhibit A: a good portion of the Trekkie community shared that this exact instance is why they were happy they already had the movies on DVD/Blu-ray or was a reminder/strong case for the allegedly sunsetting technology to stick around. Among those sharing their minds was Star Trek: The Next Generation consultant Michael Okuda.
Now, for many, this move may not be that big of a deal. Perhaps they already subscribe to Max. Others may not see an issue with simply dropping Paramount Plus in favor of Max in order to be able to watch the Star Trek movies (streaming service churning like this has become a popular trend among consumers). But for others, it may not only be a slight annoyance having to keep track of where your favorite movie is streaming at a given time, but the cost can sometimes be prohibitive.
A subscription to Paramount Plus in the US ranges from $5.99 per month for its ad-supported base subscription to $11.99 per month for its premium, ad-free plan. Max, meanwhile, offers three plans that start at $9.99 per month (with ads) and go to $15.99 per month and $19.99 per month for no ads and additional features. Add that with the potential cost of other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Peacock and Apple TV Plus, having it so you can easily access whatever whenever is becoming more and more expensive.
Beyond just movies and TV shows switching services, there is also the risk that they could be removed entirely from streaming services, much like what Max and Paramount Plus did with a number of its own shows. Some of these eventually made their way to other streaming services, like Star Trek: Prodigy to Netflix, but other shows are now only available via digital on-demand, which is another cost.
Are DVDs always the perfect solution? No. They take up space in your home, require a few more steps (literally and figuratively) than just typing in what you want to watch on in a search bar and sometimes have their own issues with movies not being easily available (personally, I've been dying to get a Criterion Collection of The Third Man, but it has been out of print for years from the distributor). But I also have DVDs that I bought more than 20 years ago or ones for older movies harder to find on streaming services that I could plug in right now and watch without any issue.
What many Star Trek fans, and movie fans in general, are reminded of when situations like this Star Trek switch takes place is that DVDs are the movie equivalent of vinyl albums and good old-fashioned books: perhaps they're not the most convenient way to consume the medium nowadays, but they still rank among the best and most reliable. Therefore, they will likely always live long and prosper.
Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd."}), " -0-11/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Michael BalderstonSocial Links NavigationMichael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.
Star Trek fans who logged into their Paramount+ service to watch any of the original ten movies were disappointed to see them removed. With the way studios and streamers have been removing content, audiences might assume the movies have been shelved as some cost-saving measure. Thankfully, this is not the case, but it is bad news for any Star Trek fan who also doesn't subscribe to Max. For many studios, 2023 was a difficult year, especially in the streaming space. In fact, Paramount executives met with Warner Bros. Discovery executives to discuss a potential merger.
The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, has consistently removed content from Max in order to write them off as a loss. While it's possible that moving the first 10 Star Trek films to Max is a sign of the studios cozying up to each other, it could just mean Paramount is reverting to a pre-Streaming Wars business strategy. Earlier in 2023, the first 10 Star Trek films -- Star Trek: The Motion Picture through Star Trek: Nemesis -- were licensed to Max while also being available on Paramount+. They must have performed well on the other service, as the studio has again licensed the films to Max. This time, however, they are exclusive to the Max streaming service.
After the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Paramount went to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry for their big-budget sci-fi franchise. The Great Bird of the Galaxy was already at work on a revival series, Star Trek: Phase II because Star Trek: The Original Series was the highest-rated scripted series in syndication a decade after its cancelation. The pilot episode of this revival was adapted into Star Trek: The Motion Picture. While a financial success, the film went massively overbudget and was a production boondoggle. Roddenberry was effectively demoted, and producer Harve Bennett took over the sequels.
Under Bennett's leadership, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan revitalized fans' love of the crew of the USS Enterprise. He turned to series star Leonard Nimoy to direct the next two features: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The latter film (known to all as "the one with the whales") became the universe's biggest hit. It was followed by Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, a better movie than it gets credit for. The swan song for the original cast came via Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, a powerful film about the end of the Cold War and, more generally, how frightening change can be.
After the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation, producer Rick Berman took over the film franchise. Star Trek: Generations is infamous for "killing" Captain James T. Kirk and passing the torch from the old crew to the new. This was followed by Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection, directed by another former USS Enterprise first officer, actor Jonathan Frakes. Finally, Star Trek: Nemesis was released in 2002, becoming the first film in the franchise to "flop" at the box office, ending an incredible 20-year run of success.
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