Unhappy about new Star Trek movie

[David Jimerson]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...0&cs=1&s=h&p=0

Abrams is a HACK.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Hi David. I had to change the title of your thread since it really didn't fit DVinfo's style. I don't think I've ever seen any of Abram's work myself. But are you saying that this next movie won't be "art" like the original Star Trek? ;-)

[David Jimerson]

Sorry . . . don't wanna rock the boat.

No . . . Star Trek was never art, but it doesn't need to be a hackfest like Abrams will make it.

And the Starfleet 90210 concept is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. Trek is good when it takes itself seriously; it's horrible when it doesn't.

Anyway, end of geeky rant.

[K. Forman]

I'm sorry... did you miss the last decade of Trek? Berman wasn't hitting the right spot either, so I can't see how Abrahms can do any worse.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Well, "11" it's an odd number sequal anyway, so no pressure on making it particularly good. ;)

I like your "Starfleet 90210" phrase.
Can you imagine the cast.....

Kirk: Jason Priestley
Spok: Brian Austin Green
Dr. McCoy: Thomas Calabro (Dr. Michael Mancini from Melrose Place)
Mr. Scott: Ewan McGregor?
Uhura: Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks of Fresh Prince)

and of course....
Nurse Christine Chapel: Tori Spelling

[David Jimerson]

Originally Posted by Keith Forman

I'm sorry... did you miss the last decade of Trek? Berman wasn't hitting the right spot either, so I can't see how Abrahms can do any worse.

Oh, I by no means disagree. And because of it, I wouldn't exactly use him as a benchmark.

[Rob Lohman]

I just hope they are going back to the future instead of do another prequel
thing. I know a lot of fans want that, but not me. I actually liked the series
(except for enterprise) better than the TNG movies. For some reason they
all involve some form of time travel or another (I did not grow up nor watch
much of TOS).

I was at Paramount a couple of days ago and it's just unbelievable how there
is no Star Trek there what-so-ever. Talk about dissing a large chunk of your
history and income.

I know the top has just changed at Paramount, but in my very humble opinion
I think they always mis-treated Star Trek. It was visible in the early days with
Roddenberry and the years after with Rick. I thought the Star Trek experience
in Vegas was a bit of a let down. Also the DVD sets of the series look very bad
(I'm pretty sure DS9 was transferred from videotape, you can see the analog
interference every now and then), are very low on extra features (same for
the movies, even the new releases) and cost a lot more than other series on
DVD.

I, unfortunately, don't have high hopes for the future of Trek. But we'll have
to wait and see what happens.

[Josh Bass]

I thought they said it was about Kirk and Spock's days at the academy?


Anyway, don't be hatin' on Jason priestly. He does have the ability to do good things. He just doesn't usually. I quite liked "Love and Death on Long Island", and this little under the radar indie called "Cold Blooded" (or something)

[Frank Granovski]

Not a well-written article---difficult to understand.

"Star Trek" has been Hollywood's most durable performer other than James Bond, spawning 10 features that have grossed more than $1 billion and 726 TV episodes from six series.

I thought James Bond was a British thing, not a Hollywood thing.

[Marvin Emms]

Without trying to sound too inflammatory Trek for me became a pulp format a long time ago. The times when episodes were written by the calibre of Harlan Ellison seem long gone. Most episodes have a strange understanding of right and wrong, if you aren't on our side or if you don't do things the way we do then you are evil and must be destroyed. Races that are, by implication, millions of years older than us are misguided because they don't understand the value of self sacrifice for a crew mate, or the soul, or democracy (All species will eventually develop a system where presidents are elected to office - its the only way anyone can ever have peace and harmony) and are just waiting for us to turn up and educate them. Humans beings are unique among the billions of species in ways that don't seem credible and for reasons that never make sense. Every episode becomes a chance for a new writer to give the audience a lesson in morals. Trek turned this into a production line, it became too easy to construct another typical episode with half an idea and the armory of plot devices the Trek universe provides.

Enterprise I watched a few episodes, it seemed like a fresh start to go before Kirk, to get away from phasers, transporter beams, photon torpedoes and devices that make food or technology appear out of thin air if only you know how what its made of. Unfortunately, within the first episode they introduced phasers with stun and kill (Even though it makes no sense a device would understand enough about a random aliens physiology to do either of these with certainty), transporters and the rest of the usual baggage all in the first episode.

So instead of a great deal of running down corridors, close shots in cramped conditions, problem solving and exploration/sense of wonder that could have built up to the first faltering use of a transporter with uncertain results to save the captain at the end of the series, we have a 100% reliable transporter from the word go, needed to deux et machina, lift important people from imminent peril every day and twice on sundays, a whole host of new races strangely never seen before in series set later and some are evil enough to warrant extinction. If not they can always be linked with the Nazi movement and tripped over to fall on their own sword. Poetic justice in crayon.

Transporters provide last moment snatches from the jaws of death. Stun provides humane ways to deal with bad guys who are only mislead by others, must be no chance 'stun' would ever maim or kill anything, or cause unnecessary pain and no chance 'kill' will ever hit a bystander. Being able to materialize food and parts at will allows the ship to need no stores other than energy and upgrades can happen with a guest star bringing another made up technology in the nick of time. Now if only that technology was a bit more durable, it might last more than one episode, and the warp engines might survive slightly more than an enemy captains sarcasm.

In fact. We could probably write a script ourselves. Coffee stains and bad handwriting can be added later, I'd think these are requirements.

Token Alien crew member: Enemy materializing off the port bow. He's firing. We're hit, warp engines are offline
(We can't run away).
Captain: Henson, evasive maneuvers.
(Missiles with alien technology are confused by wobbly motion, luckily star trek fans are not),
Henson 2: At age 7 (What Einstein did in his lifetime, infants will do before breakfast) I did my thesis on the internal structure of red giant stars, if we can modify a photon torpedo, we can induce an eta-beta-pi plasma inversion that will create a solar flare.
Captain: Make it so/Engage/All ahead full (delete as appropriate)
The Alien ship is destroyed, only having advanced alien shields, the enterprise having American shields is undamaged.
All: Hooray!
(etc.)
(All eat pancakes.)

Anyone care to add to this?


This has been popular in the past, maybe what this hack series needs is a hack director to breath life back into it (and us to write it for him).

[Frank Granovski]

Well, I liked the Kirk stuff and I liked Deep Space 9.

[Rob Lohman]

I agree that Enterprise was too clean. I mean it is the first time they are really
out in space. People should die. Really bad things should happen. The spaceship
shouldn't just always work, etc. I guess that's why I liked DS9 so much, because
it was not afraid to show flaws, especially in people.

[Frank Granovski]

DS9 always had 3 stories going in each episode. It made it interesting.

[Michael Wisniewski]

Yes I liked DS9 the best of all the series. It was dirtier, had multiple show plot lines, and did a great job of digging into and showcasing the character's flaws and relationships.

On the other hand it was also the most difficult series to just jump into because there was so much back story.

As for this new movie, I'm just happy someone's still serious about producing anything Star Trek.

[Dylan Couper]

Another crappy Trek movie?
May the force be with you suckers....




;)