STAR TREK by JJ Abrams - new photos

[Orius]

But I do love how people complain about how they might screw with continuity. Might I suggest to those people that they go look at the old shows again? REAL hard. They screwed with their own continuity practically from day one.

Oh yeah, early first season TOS has tons of holes like this. Local reruns (with all the fancy new special effects) just had "Mudd's Women" on and there's lots of technical holes in how the ship's engines work. "Balance of Terror" as you mentioned is another glaring example, with Romulan ships not having warp drives, but some how being able to fight an interstellar war. Starfleet and the Federation were't there from the start, and there's some inconsistancies with mentions of things like a United Earth (though some of that was later worked back into pre-Federation Enterprise. And the approximate date of those early episodes fluctuate from the 22nd to the 28th century. Some of that background information on Star Trek sort of got put together piecemeal mostly during the first season. Heck, the whole 4-quadrant system didn't get established until season three of TNG!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Yup. Last season was just getting good. The finale was a kick in the pants, though, as it was really a TNG ep, not an Enterprise ep.

And guess who was responsible for that again!

Ultimiately, you could probably create a new Startrek Series or Movies and they won't suck. But you need people that just make shows and movies that don't suck. The principle is simple, finding the right people for it not so much.

Oh yeah, early first season TOS has tons of holes like this. Local reruns (with all the fancy new special effects) just had "Mudd's Women" on and there's lots of technical holes in how the ship's engines work. "Balance of Terror" as you mentioned is another glaring example, with Romulan ships not having warp drives, but some how being able to fight an interstellar war. Starfleet and the Federation were't there from the start, and there's some inconsistancies with mentions of things like a United Earth (though some of that was later worked back into pre-Federation Enterprise. And the approximate date of those early episodes fluctuate from the 22nd to the 28th century. Some of that background information on Star Trek sort of got put together piecemeal mostly during the first season. Heck, the whole 4-quadrant system didn't get established until season three of TNG!

It's even worse in German. The Pon Farr episode was re-written because the "sexual" nature of Spocks malady was considered inappropriate at that time (wow, how times change - today I would expect such a claim only from US TV officials ). Patterns of Force was not shown on German TV for the Nazi ideology part.
Oh, and warp speed? For some time, it was called "Sol" as in "Mr. Sulu, set course for Vulcan, Sol 8!". I think the scale was off, too, but that might have been in the original, too. But it was changed back to Warp, too, and was so called in all other Startrek Shows (TNG and later)

 

[DonTadow]

And guess who was responsible for that again!

Ultimiately, you could probably create a new Startrek Series or Movies and they won't suck. But you need people that just make shows and movies that don't suck. The principle is simple, finding the right people for it not so much.



It's even worse in German. The Pon Farr episode was re-written because the "sexual" nature of Spocks malady was considered inappropriate at that time (wow, how times change - today I would expect such a claim only from US TV officials ). Patterns of Force was not shown on German TV for the Nazi ideology part.
Oh, and warp speed? For some time, it was called "Sol" as in "Mr. Sulu, set course for Vulcan, Sol 8!". I think the scale was off, too, but that might have been in the original, too. But it was changed back to Warp, too, and was so called in all other Startrek Shows (TNG and later)

Regardless of inconsistancies , you still have a solid foundation of a consistant story told in a linear fashion. The movies realy helped stabalize the continuity. Putting a giant sike on 40 years of storytelling reeks of desperation.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Putting a giant sike on 40 years of storytelling reeks of desperation.

Or a savvy understanding that today's movie goers and scifi fans have changing expectations of what makes "good" film entertainment. The James Bond franchise has done the same thing, and it was a great move, IMHO.

Enterprise really shined when it wasn't simply repeating the formulaic story telling of earlier iterations, but when it made connections to TOS in smart ways, evoking rather than imitating. When it moved away from that in some of the seasons, it was revealed for what it was: a pretty mediocre sci-fi show.

Just pushing the continuity on and on isn't really a solution. Actors have moved on (or passed away) from the franchise, and audiences were losing interest with the movies. A prequel series didn't work. Setting the series further and further into the future would just seem silly - "ST: Now even more super sciencey!" DS9 did a good job using the space station model but now that scenario has been used. Voyager really failed to capitalize on it's premise of a Feds + Rebels trapped together on the same ship, and simply retreaded alot of TNG territory.

Going back and revisiting what started it all, but using today's effects and more sophisticated storytelling, I think is a great homage to the fans that made the franchise so accepted by the mainstream in the first place, as well as bringing new people to the Star Trek universe. One big thing this reboot will have going for it - people won't feel like they've had to have been watching one of the previous TV series to know what's going on.

 

[qstor]

I was thinking that I wasn't going to see this but now I might. The pics looked cool. I don't have a problem with the way the bridge looked but I'm GLAD they kept the old uniforms.

Mike

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

One big thing this reboot will have going for it - people won't feel like they've had to have been watching one of the previous TV series to know what's going on.

The potential here is particularly both attracting new viewers and long-term fans.

Imagine an episode telling a little of Picards life as Captain of the Stargazer - maybe the incident where Crusher (Beverlys husband) died - a story that is interesting in its own right, but was never told and the fans know about.

The most interesting episodes of Enterprise touched on things we already know basically (Vulcans were one of the first Federation members), but told us stories we didn't know (and Vulcans and Andorians hated each other, and the humans helped bringing them together)

 

[Ranger REG]

The thing that annoys me the most about this is that it has Checkov. He didn't show up until the second season. (And I always hated the character anyway. Bester for the win!)

He didn't show up on the upper deck as a bridge member until season 2.

He is annoying but he's one of the gimmicks to get girls (in the 60's) to watch the series, with the haircut the same as one of the Monkees.

 

[Pants]

He didn't show up on the upper deck as a bridge member until season 2.

He is annoying but he's one of the gimmicks to get girls (in the 60's) to watch the series, with the haircut the same as one of the Monkees.

Chekov annoying?

Nuclear Wessels buddy!

 

[Ranger REG]

Chekov annoying?

Nuclear Wessels buddy!

That and everything is a Russian invention, including RPG.

 

[Orius]

Patterns of Force was not shown on German TV for the Nazi ideology part.

That's kind of understandable, and it's a forgettable episode anyway.

Oh, and warp speed? For some time, it was called "Sol" as in "Mr. Sulu, set course for Vulcan, Sol 8!". I think the scale was off, too, but that might have been in the original, too. But it was changed back to Warp, too, and was so called in all other Startrek Shows (TNG and later)

Different scale in TOS and the new series. In TOS speed of the warp factor is factor^3*c. In TNG it was reworked because they felt that TOS episodes that used high warp speeds to generate tension got silly. For example, in the first season, Warp 8 is supposed to be the upper safe end, but in third season, the ship's going up to Warp 14 in some episodes (though not good).

In TNG, there's anew asymptotic warp scale where 10 is the maximum and by going at Warp 10, one is at all points in the universe at once, and it's generally unreachable.

Technically, Enterprise should use the TOS scale, but they buggered with so much else, so that's a minor nitpick.

Realistically though, warp speed always moves at the pace of plot.