No Special Pilot For Series V?

British science fiction site SFX has posted a new rumour on the fifth Star Trek series.

According to their sources, Series V might not feature a pilot in the traditional sense of the word. For many series, a pilot episode is produced before the production company decides on ordering additional episodes, while the pilot is often also used to gauge audience reaction and change some aspects of the series. According to SFX's sources, Paramount is considering moving straight into production of regular Series V episodes after shooting on the first episode is completed.

According to SFX, this moves suggests a great deal of faith Paramount have in the new Trek series. However, both 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager' already had full episode orders for their first seasons before they started shooting their pilot, and with both series only minor tweaks were made after the pilot had finished shooting, so this does not seem to differ much from the usual amount of confidence Paramount has in Star Trek.

If this rumour is true, however, a more likely reason for this change from the traditional Trek production method would be the possible upcoming writers' and actors' strike. As previously reported, Hollywood is anticipating the possibility of such a strike in early Summer 2001, and several studios have already started stockpiling material in case of such a strike. Perhaps by speeding up production on Series V, Paramount would be able to make sure the promised Fall 2001 premiere date isn't endangered.

The full report from SFX can be found here. Thanks go out to StarTrekUK.com for the link!

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