September 8, 1966 kids all over America were sitting in front of the family television curious to see this new show that had made the cover of the new fall line-up edition of TV Guide. It was a science fiction show that featured a space ship that didn't look like a space ship should look and a crew featuring an alien with pointy ears and eyebrows.
I couldn't get enough of it. Over 40 years later I'm still hooked. The original series only lasted three years. Fans kept it alive that last season when the network bean-counters said the production costs didn't pencil out. Then it was gone. The re-runs ran for years. Trekkers flocked to conventions dressed as their favorite characters.
Eventually the story of the Enterprise and it's crew returned to the big screen and then new TV series spin-offs started to appear. The last show, "Enterprise" seemed to play out the prequel concept. The question became "what's left to explore?" It was all getting a little stale.
When word came out that JJ Abrams was cooking up another prequel that would tell the story of the young Kirk, Spock, Mc Coy..et.al it sparked some controversy in the trekker world. Who would play the iconic character roles? Would the Enterprise look the same as the original? were just a couple of the many questions fans would ask over the time it took to get the picture made. Then the release was delayed for reasons of better timing and controversy grew.
This past weekend the film premiered and I say "Bravo".
In this new version we see a refreshing return to the adventure, the humor, the terrific character development and technology that seems believable without upstaging the actors.
It is a return to the roots of Trek and lends a new direction which opens the door to significant new areas of plot development that has the promise to keep this story relevant. Now go see it so we can keep the bean-counters happy.
It should be mentioned that "true fans" of the original StarTrek won't be happy with the new movie ... unless they are able to rationalize that the events at the beginning of the movie created an alternate reality.
ReplyDeleteBecause this "prequel" is not. It totally ignores the history of the Enterprise crew ... and the entire Federation ... that was built by the original series, the spinoffs, the prior movies, and the books.
Still, it is a great bit of storytelling with tons of special effects.
We can argue what constitutes a "true" fan all day.
ReplyDeleteThere are many examples in all the various incarnations of the original series that a purist would struggle with.
I'm excited to see what can be done with a new timeline that might see far less Vulcan influence, A Spock who struggles less with his identity, A Kirk who doesn't come to the job of Captain in quite the traditional manner of the original, and don't forget the many unanswered questions that this new timeline brings forward.
I loved the feel of this one. As you can probably tell.
Since "fan" is short for "fanatic" ... a "true fan" is normally accepted as someone who can cite you chapter and verse.
ReplyDeleteFor example, someone who could tell you why the appearances of Klingons have changed ... and tell you when that explanation was introduced in the show.
Someone who likely, if they can't actually speak Klingon, has a Klingon-to-English dictionary.
Someone who could tell you the lore behind how the Romulans are descended from Vulcans. An interesting story, that (IMO) would make a great movie itself.People like that are "true fans". The rest of Trekkie-dom are just "fans".
Live Long and Prosper V
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