Aug
28
I was never a hardcore Trekkie. I’m a movie buff, not a TV junkie. That being said, I own the first eight “Star Trek” films on DVD. So I am a Trekkie in my own small way. I felt a pang of sadness when I learned that “Star Trek: The Experience” is closing in Las Vegas next month. I went as Captain Kirk on Halloween when I was 19. I have some geek credentials as far as the Trek-verse is concerned. I do lose some points for the time when I saw Jeri “Seven of Nine” Ryan at a club, and I said to my friend that she was on DS9; one of her entourage corrected me by saying it was actually “Voyager.” Snarf, snarf.
Being a mild to moderate Trekkie, I’m not sold on this new J.J. Abrams-directed “Star Trek” film. For those of you with social lives, the new movie casts new actors as the original series crew, including “Shaun of the Dead” himself as Scotty! Rather than continuing the Enterprise’s “five-year mission” — TOS was cancelled after season three — the film is going to reboot/reimagine/retard the franchise and start afresh. That’s the word from CHUD.com anyway.
What a boneheaded approach.
Retconning the Batman and James Bond film franchises is one thing. Neither series embraced continuity in the slightest. Part of the fun of “Star Trek” is its continuity, its gobs and gobs of continuity. Yes, it’s gotten muddied over the years with all the various TV series, films, expanded universe novels, et al. But the creators still tried, dammit.
Junking the established continuity in favor of kicking off a new direction for the franchise is lazy storytelling. I know Paramount’s terrified of alienating non-fans by making the movie too esoteric, too mired in the established continuity. But the setup for this film — Romulans travel back in time to assassinate a youngish Captain Kirk — isn’t even terribly original. And the Romulans suck ass anyway. They’re going to rebuild the film franchise using a pretty weak foundation.
Abrams seems more than a little cagey about releasing any images or footage to generate some pre-release buzz for the film, due next summer. The movie’s barely-there presence at ComiCon (a poster giveaway!) last month does not suggest he’s excited about what he’s cobbled together. It’s SOP if you’re a filmmaker to debut a trailer or exclusive footage at the Con a year in advance. That he avoided the event altogether is highly suspect.
I couldn’t care less if a “Star Trek” TV series blows. I don’t watch the telly. But when sucktacular “Star Trek” movies start happening, well, I can ill afford another bad “Trek” flick after the last two. I want my fandom rewarded, not punished.
-Brad Lohan
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