STAR TREK by JJ Abrams - new photos

[Mouseferatu]

Well, I guess I'll be a voice of dissent here.

I'd much rather see a Star Trek reboot than any further continuation. I have no interset in revisiting the Dominion War, or finding out what happened post-Voyager. AFAIAC, those ceased to be Star Trek in any meaningful way years ago. I'm not saying they were bad shows (well, DS9 wasn't), but they weren't Star Trek, to me.

But a chance to revisit the era of Kirk and the others? The original Enterprise? If the remake can even come close to capturing the feel of that--and I admit that's a big "if"--that's Star Trek to me.

In fact, the one that bothers me is that this is a prequel, with ties to the previous series' canon. I'd rather have seen a true reboot, a la Batman Begins or Casino Royale.

That said, I'm not 100% taken with the photos. But then, I learned long ago to wait and see characters and costumes in action, rather than judging from still pics.

 

[John Crichton]

Look enough like Star Trek to me.

I'm in.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Same reason I hated Final Fantasy: Spirit Within, if all you're doing is using the original material to launch a bastardized version of what you think it SHOULD Be, then you're just bying a franchise name to pimp your own product. It's like buying a big mac and realizing that Burgers and us purchased the name and changed the beef to tofu and beans. I might like tofu and beans, but not on my big mac.

Err, what?

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was written and directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the original creator of the Final Fantasy series, and was entirely created by Square itself. The commercial failure of that movie had a lot to do with why he was ultimately forced out of Square and had to move on and create his own game company (Mistwalker Studios). Say all you want about whether it was Final Fantasy or not, but it could not possibly be called a product of some outside figure stealing the Final Fantasy brand to slap on something totally separate.

Anyways, I vastly prefer reboots and re-imaginings to dragging continuity through hell and back. It is why I liked new Final Fantasy games, but hate the glaring continuity issues and character re-writing filling Final Fantasy: Advent Children and the other Final Fantasy 7 sequels.

I really have not paid any attention at all to Star Trek in years, but if this movie gets some good reviews I may go see it.

 

[TwinBahamut]

But them Shakespeare took those plots and themes, remade them in the way he wanted and Gave Them Their Own Unique Name and did not try to represent what he did by pretending it was the same as what came before.

Shakespeare was not the first guy to write a play about two lovers from Verona named Romeo and Juliet. Not by a long shot. He put his own unique spin on the story (others had the romance between the two last years, he twisted it around so that it lasted all of a single night), but the basic plot and characters are not at all unique. Actually, from what Wikipedia tells me, the title of the play Shakespeare used as inspiration was... The Tragical History of Romeo and Juliet, made 30 years or so before Shakespeare's version. Go figure.

And no, Shakespeare did not try to "pretend it was the same as what came before", but neither are the makers of this new Star Trek movie. After all, trying to pass of your work as something old is a far less effective scheme than passing it off as new and shiny.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

What do you mean? All they have to do is go down to Radio Shack and buy them switches, buttons, and mechanical knobs.

In a way, I agree with the other posters. It looks too iPod-y.

I didn't mean the technical side. It would just remind me of how dated the old show was.

They're supposed to be in their Academy years or something, IIRC.



I can't agree on the bridge design, cause it's a classic. But then, if we can just say the Enterprise was retrofitted before TOS, then that works. I swear they changed the bridge in every movie from TMP to VI anyway, so I guess that can be overlooked a little.

I prefer this idea: Each Startrek Show is our retelling of a "real" Startrek ship/station made with our available (TV) technology. (Oh, and all the continuity errors, inconsistencies and bad science - it's just because we didn't understand the real thing, and if we were to revisit - reiminage - the stories, we would fix that.)
The real Enterprise bridges might have looked even more different.

Toss out some of the crappy parts of Voyager? Yeah. Keep the Hirogen though, they weren't bad. Enterprise, check, dump the whole TCW. There were a few pieces of that that were ok, but not enough to mask the TCW for the continuity rape that it was. Really, much of Enterprise that wasn't TCW was pretty good, except for the inevitable filler episodes.

I think even the Kazon can work, or the Vidians (sp - you know, the guys with the disease). And the Borg, too - just make any victories against them rarer, harder to achieve, and more bitter.
My favorite idea is to use the basic idea in the title of "The Year of Hell" and make it a borg episode/multi-parter/season. The Voyager enters a space where the Borgs begin their attacks - and they try to help their allies. The Voyager is badly mangled in the process, crew members split off, questionable alliances are forged, the Borg even assimilate entire planets with the Voyager Crew watching. At the end, the Borg are still defeated, but the cost were horrendous. Though I dare say that I am fine with the Voyager coming out a litte "improved" - but people died, ideals were betrayed, relationships broke, and entire populations have been killed off - by the Borg, in the name of science, by failures, for victory...). The "high note" would probably be that the Borg are defeated and that the survivors have found a new appreciation and might found their Federation equivalent...

Except that bridge is kind of a sacred cow. And it's a bit jarring to go from very modern style effects to the Enterprise bridge of TOS and the movies.

It is jarring either way. Either it looks ridiculously dated or it just doesn't fit the established continuity.

 

[horacethegrey]

More photos popping up online.

Karl Urban as Leonard Mccoy, w/ Chris Pine as Kirk in the background

John Cho again as Sulu, looking anxious about something.

A even more close up look of Eric Bana as Nero.

And a shot of Pine as James Tiberius Kirk.

 

[Rykion]

Especially not Galatica. They took a fun show I still enjoy watching episodes of and twisted it into something dark and ugly and I have zero desire to watch it.

QFT.
I watched the new show into the second season. I quit once I realized the only ones left worth rooting for were the Centurions. I don't want perfect characters, but a series needs at least one character that I can actually like.

 

[Mallus]

I don't want perfect characters, but a series needs at least one character that I can actually like.

What's not to like about Gaius Baltar? (OK, he can be a bit of a drag when he's in prophet/Messiah-mode, but still...)

 

[RangerWickett]

Arnold Schwarzenegger played Hercules.

Kevin Sorbo played Hercules.

A lot of people have played Hercules.

Captain Kirk is a mythic character now, like Hercules. The core story concept remains the same -- "half-god son of Zeus deals with challenges mortal and divine" or "Iowa boy becomes daring, sexy captain of the Starship Enterprise" -- but the specific stories change. As long as you're true to the character, and tell a good story, who cares about the details, or continuity with a version that came out before you were born, or what actor is playing him?

 

[Morrus]

Kirk looks too young. He doesn't look like someone I'd trust to park my car, let alone command the Enterprise. They should have cast an actor who could pass for someone in their thirties.

Meh. According to Wikipedia, Kirk got command of the Enterprise at 31. Chris Pine is 28. And this is supposed to be the Academy era. Looks pretty much spot on, age-wise, to me.