MisterPL Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I have fond memories of going to see the first Trek movie when it opened in December of 1979. My grandfather took me to the local theatre (not movieplex) and together we watched Kirk & Crew breathe fresh air within a new, grander medium; the feature film. I have high hopes for the next movie. I miss seeing Kirk, Spock, and all the other characters I grew up with in new adventures. Although I feel it was a mistake to send Trek into the movie medium (to me, Trek belongs on TV), I'm still looking forward to seeing new takes on venerable characters. I never felt these roles should be interred with their performers. Too many good stories yet to be told. That said, I have to say I'm disappointed JJ Abrams seems to be offering up the same old stereotypes. I always found it ironic that Gene Roddenberry railed against the establishment of the time by crewing his bridge with a clichéd cast of characters; a Japanese guy named Sulu, a Russian guy named Chekov, an African chick named Uhura, a southern redneck named McCoy, and a Scot actually named Scotty. (Maybe "Frenchie" was taken.) Seems that if the Great Bird really wanted to preach about racial integration in the future then Sulu would have been the black woman. Rumors are swirling that Scotty will be played by, what else, a Scot. And not just any Scot but the dude who starred in "The Last King of Scotland" James McAvoy. (No small irony that the movie is about African dictator Idi Amin and not Scotland, but I digress...) I guess three years of Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica had deluded me into thinking that this project could be a reimagining of the Trek mythos rather than a prequel. It's hard to say at the moment with very few details known but either way I'll probably be buying a ticket that weekend. Just wondering what other people's opinions on this project are thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBT! Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Just wondering what other people's opinions on this project are thus far. If I'm honest... total indifference. Trek has never really floated my boat and it seems that 'lets just make old trek with new people' seems a little lazy to me. T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rad Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I think JJ Abrams has been handed a poison chalice. This film is going to divide Trek fandom something chronic. I agree with PL. A reimagining would have been so much better than a prequel. Prequels constrain actors into playing the role somewhat like the actor that came before them. Ewan MacGregor as Obi Wan is an obvious example. James McAvoy's a fine actor but he's going to struggle to carry off a younger James Doohan. Star Trek should be bought back to TV first. That's where it began and where it's been most successful. Caveat: Trekkies/ers, please note. I am immune to any attacks you may wish to make upon my good person due to the opinions expressed above. Please don't bother trying. There's a love. Thanks. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazing.JL Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I think JJ Abrams has been handed a poison chalice. funny but I feel it's true. I like JJ Abrams work and an looking forward what twist he have on Trek. I will be seeing it on the Big Screen. I don't at all mind it being a prequel but it seems a bit lazy as T says. I hoping it will be different enough. Trek into Movie form hasn't been good with the last bunch of films. IMHO I prefer Trek on TV, but I believe it needs to stay dead at least for a long while. I would like it to be dramatically re-engineered later. I just don't see Trek having much success at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reideen1313 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Agreed on the poison chalice comment. IMO, nothing is going to compare to TOS. Everything else is either a poor imitation (TNG) or just plain poor (Voyager) despite best attempts by cast members (Enterprise). DS9 was really the only 'new' concept in the Trek mythos and that didn't get good really (IMO) until Worf was introduced to the series. That said, I'll probably rent it on dvd when it comes out. Heck, I'll probably even wait until it isn't a 'new release' anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 I'd have preferred to wait a lot longer as well, if only to give the purists time to die off and build up demand with everyone else. Reideen, my favorite Trek was DS9 because it was so anti-Trek. BSG gives me the same vibe but with much more interesting production qualities, from set design and visual effects to cinematography and musical score. I'm hoping to see some of that in Abrams' Trek but I'm not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny&Sam4EVER Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I am looking forward to this. Also, am I the only one who liked Voyager more than DS9? Aside from Trials and Tribble-ations and the Q episode, DS9 stank, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Personally I think Voyager should have been the sixth season of TNG. I can totally understand the love-hate thing with DS9 among Trekkies because it was so different, but VOY was just TNG with a different cast in a prolonged story arc. Worst finale ever as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Voyager had some great ideas and individual episodes but was favouring the "reset button at the end of every episode" approach at a time when other TV series were starting to do multi-arcs and ongoing storylines etc. Enterprise started off trying to shred people's preconceptions by going in a completely different direction, to me, it didn't find its way until it embraced it's heritage and worked with it rather than against it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesLuvsShinzon Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 That said, I'll probably rent it on dvd when it comes out. Heck, I'll probably even wait until it isn't a 'new release' anymore. .........and that is precisely why this project is probably doomed! :tongue: Paramount didn't learn that lesson from Nemesis did they? And as for this being a 'prequel'............check this out. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news...icle/46176.html It's just another Hollywood rehash er sorry 'remake'. To say this project leaves me feeling unexcited would be a serious understatement. The idea of 'boldy going where no man has gone before' has flown right out of the window. I could even live with this lack of imagination and effort if I thought Abrams' crew might offer up an interesting new angle on TOS with some radical recasting, and dispense with some of the racial and sexual stereotyping that Roddenberry got stuck with just to get his show aired in the 60s, but I don't even see that happening. I think even the suggestion of any 'reimagining' is just phooey. I've seen TOS already, I don't need to see it again with new faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 This is awesome news. I've been waiting to read the word "reimagining" since the project was announced! I'm all for leaving old Trek (and narrow-minded Trekkies) behind. This franchise needs to be reintroduced to a much broader audience without the restrictions of such an anal-retentive, fractured fanbase obsessed with nitpicking continuity errors spanning 40 years. My only issue remains that this is a theatrical endeavor rather than a television project. Hopefully this will spin-off a TV series based on the movie. The thought of seeing Trek's most popular characters brought back to life is very exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 My only issue remains that this is a theatrical endeavor rather than a television project. Hopefully this will spin-off a TV series based on the movie. The thought of seeing Trek's most popular characters brought back to life is very exciting. A TV spin-off is not hard to imagine. If the film makes decent money, they will milk it for sure. How they milk it is what we have to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Greed is what brought Trek to the big screen in the first place. I truly believe that was a mistake. Had it been up to me (and my Tardis) Star Trek would have simply continued on the small screen in 1978 as intended. Yeah, you might not have had Spock in the beginning but I have every reason to believe that might have changed. You'd also have had new characters with a common setting, the U.S.S. Enterprise. But most importantly it would not have divided the fanbase the way so many spin-offs did. TNG, VOY, and ENT did not need to be seperate shows. "Star Trek" should have been allowed to evolve as a TV series the same way others do; maintain the core mission statement but don't be afraid to rotate cast members out as needed. If The Shatner wants out of the series after a couple seasons, promote Kirk to Admiral and put Picard or Janeway or Archer in the center seat. If certain characters are getting a little long in the tooth to believably still be at the same station after 15 years, reassign them. There are ways to keep the show fresh without reinventing the wheel every seven years. The lone exception is DS9. That show was a true spinoff. It was too different to fit the original mission statement and really needed to stand on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jad Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I think the 'reimagining' aspect is the BEST part of this news. Trek needs a kick in the rear, just like BSG did. A part of me really wants to see them shake things up, like make Chekov a woman or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesLuvsShinzon Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 This is awesome news. I've been waiting to read the word "reimagining" since the project was announced! Well, anyone from the old AA days knows that this is not the way I wanted this to go, but if that's what I'm stuck with then I'll try to do my best to embrace it, but I really do expect the writers to be true to their word and actually reimagine TOS and make this return to the past worthwhile. NuBSG has set the bar really high for reimaginings, and as far as I'm concerned recasts of the old characters have to be more than just pale lookalikes of the main characters, and some of those characters will have to change, otherwise we'll end up with a stale flat remake. I looked at the newly revamped title of this thread and thought it read "Colourless" LOL ~ and I thought to myself, hmmmmmmm, this news has left me feeling somewhat....beige! I'm all for leaving old Trek (and narrow-minded Trekkies) behind. This franchise needs to be reintroduced to a much broader audience without the restrictions of such an anal-retentive, fractured fanbase obsessed with nitpicking continuity errors spanning 40 years.Being not one of the "narrow-minded trekkies" or "continuity freaks" myself, I am now keeping my fingers crossed that my excitement galnds will be stimulated by some evidence that the writers will start thinking outside of the box and not just remake all the previous episodes in movie format. I would rather see this movie as a spin-off from TOS that heads in a totally new ~ albeit parallel direction. I want something that feels different and looks different, and moves well away from a blokish obsession with Kirk as hero (real men don't need them) and miniskirts. I'm looking for a strong female role in here, and not some ironed-barnet, mocha, R&B babe simpering away in Uhura's chair, and I think we can lose the role of a female yeoman altogther. Oh, and BTW PL, I'm not certain that emotive rhetoric about "trekkies" isn't going to further fracture the existing fanbase ~ if not polarise it altogether! Greed is what brought Trek to the big screen in the first place. I truly believe that was a mistake. Had it been up to me (and my Tardis) Star Trek would have simply continued on the small screen in 1978 as intended. Yeah, you might not have had Spock in the beginning but I have every reason to believe that might have changed. You'd also have had new characters with a common setting, the U.S.S. Enterprise. But most importantly it would not have divided the fanbase the way so many spin-offs did. TNG, VOY, and ENT did not need to be seperate shows. "Star Trek" should have been allowed to evolve as a TV series the same way others do; maintain the core mission statement but don't be afraid to rotate cast members out as needed. If The Shatner wants out of the series after a couple seasons, promote Kirk to Admiral and put Picard or Janeway or Archer in the center seat. If certain characters are getting a little long in the tooth to believably still be at the same station after 15 years, reassign them. There are ways to keep the show fresh without reinventing the wheel every seven years. The lone exception is DS9. That show was a true spinoff. It was too different to fit the original mission statement and really needed to stand on its own. That's not a bad idea PL. And I have to agree with you that ~ as my favourite Trek ~ DS9 was a stand-alone series, and probably the most 'evolved' Trek of all. Voyager and Enterprise were always going to suffer in comparison. I think the 'reimagining' aspect is the BEST part of this news. Trek needs a kick in the rear, just like BSG did. A part of me really wants to see them shake things up, like make Chekov a woman or something. Oh..............if only! Now that might make me feel a little less beige! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'm seriously hoping they go ALL the way back and include Pike as Captain of the Enterprise. If need be they can promote Kirk by the end of the movie but I'd love to see the original "Number One" as well. That's what excites me about this the most; the possibility of seeing so many characters share screentime in ways only clichéd time travel could have in Trek's previous incarnation. That said, I have some reservations about big names playing these venerable roles. I think the last thing ANY fan wants is to see this franchise relaunched as a parody. I have no reason to believe that's what the producers have in mind – they seem like rabid Trekkies themselves even if they aren't purists – but I want to see Kirk on screen, not Matt Damon doing his best Shatner as Kirk impression. Clearly there are a lot of fine lines here but I'm going to remain optimistic that these guys have enough respect for the source material not to seriously fuck things up. And if they do, I'll be fanning the shitstorm of protest along with a few others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombieboyfiend Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I am looking forward to this. Also, am I the only one who liked Voyager more than DS9? Aside from Trials and Tribble-ations and the Q episode, DS9 stank, IMO. Right there with you Danny&Sam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Donster Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Honestly, I can see this going either way at this point. For the most part, I've tried staying away from this, so I don't know who is supposed to be the star and if they've even got past the brainstorming phase of things But as long as the actors put their own spin on things and not a caricature of Shatner, Nimoy etc. I'm on board. Until we start seeing some publicity shots from the film, not much to discuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Until we start seeing some publicity shots from the film, not much to discuss So far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesLuvsShinzon Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 ^^^Well one thing's for certain, if they want this alleged reimagination to fly, they're going to have to ditch that primary colour, retro velour pyjama nonsence and give us ships and uniforms that look the business. The look of TOS is the first thing I would toss into the skip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reideen1313 Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 They could always do some kind of CGI like the wonderful folks at have done... (For those who don't know who Orville is, he was the face of Orville Redenbacher popcorn. He died in 1995.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rad Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 ^^^Well one thing's for certain, if they want this alleged reimagination to fly, they're going to have to ditch that primary colour, retro velour pyjama nonsence and give us ships and uniforms that look the business. The look of TOS is the first thing I would toss into the skip! Wrath of Khan style uniforms? They'd do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesLuvsShinzon Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 ^^^Well I have to say that when TWOK came out I was overall very impressed with the visual makeover from TMP. Those uniforms looked practical and a good approximation of what a futuristic military uniform would be like. A lot of fans at the time grumbled about the more 'militaristic' feel of TWOK but I approved of the really visceral way that TWOK made me feel how very dangerous a place outer space can be. That first clash with Khan in the Reliant was awesome and properly bloody. That was a real shot in the arm for Trek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rad Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I love em. Best. Uniforms. Ever! The only other one that comes close was the grey chunky job for the last season of DS9 and a couple of the TNG films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Donster Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Sorry MPL, I want to see more than just a poster handed out at the con's last year :tongue: It seems like alot of brainstorming without alot of execution at the moment. These articles seem to pop up every 3-4 months to insure interest is still up on the movie. But with the movie coming out in the next year and a half, I would expect more announcements, who's starring in it, ect. While I am keeping a open mind on the project(as I would rather see it succeed than fail), it's just too early for me to be getting overly excited one way or another on this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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