New ‘Star Trek’ Gets Big Coverage July 30, 2007
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Star Trek (2009 film) , trackbackNews of the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) joining a new Spock (Zachary Quinto) in J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie was big news around the world. All the major news wires (AP, UPI and Reuters) ran with the story - getting the story into hundreds of news outlets such as CNN, The Guardian (UK), and even Forbes. It was also covered on some TV shows, including a debate segment on G4’s Attack of the Show.
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If this is such big worldwide news with the announcement of Nimoy, i can only wonder what the buzz would be surrounding it if Shatner was coming back as Kirk.
Great that Trek is finally back in the news and in a positive light.
Very True, bd!
I saw some of the G4 segment from Comic Con, and one fellow was unfairly bashing the new film (saying things like, “Nimoy gets to flash back in time and see how bad an actor he is” and things like that).
Some of the G4 stuff was not at all necessary, and if you’re going to bash it no matter what, or not be open minded, you shouldn’t be talking about it.
Get rid of the bearded CHUBBY FAT ASS on that G4 video segment.
The man doesnt know what he is talking about. MI3 was MUCH better than MI2. JJ Abrams will do fine with the new Trek movie.
Oh I know thats the FAT ASS from CHUD.com I use to go to there site but stopped after they would not stop mashing Trek.
As I have said for many years now, the return of Kirk + Spock makes Star Trek an event again.
Did the last couple of TNG films or last several series generate this kind of buzz?
It is now a must get Shatner back in the fold. His return will bring tons of media attention + good will to the project.
guys…although I do not agree with Devin from CHUD, there is no need to get personal. Have you looked around your avg Trek convention?
i’m sure Trek Life character will agree with more Green skinned Women (will Jennifer Garner wear that makeup?). The middle guy was fairly negative about abrahms. those other articles show what a treat this site is.Keep up the good work Anthony. ps Happy belated Birthday Wil Wheaton and check out my Kirk actors in the Robbie Wlliams 2 thread
It’s pretty obvious that in order for the Trek Franchise to continue and be successful it’s going to need a new creative team behind it. To bad it took a long time for the franchise to get it. Enterprise and Voyager could had been ten times better with the right people behind it. I’m not saying those series was bad but it could had been a lot better maybe with Ronald. Moore and Manny Cotto at the helm of each show.
Well, I\’m fat and hairy. Let me tell you straight from the Iphone in my pants… chicks dig fat and hairy.
- EDITED-
NOTE FROM AP: Hitch you can come back but not back to your old ways
Anthony, I agree that name-calling is weak. But, there’s little defense of putting these guys in a position of actual critical reviewers. They barely seem to know the subject matter. They’re celebs only in an age of way too many media outlets. Critics (worthwhile ones) should offer insight. Roger Ebert gave one of the most scathing reviews ot Trek ever. I also remember his glowing reviews of TWOK and TVH. In all cases, he offered perspective and analysis, not just throw-away glib remarks, like these guys.
(Ebert correctly labeled Nemesis “a copy of a copy of a copy.”)
The fat guy in the video uses words like “poo” and “doodoo”……hardly anyone worth listening too….
that guy from CHUD is an ass.
What I want to see from this movie are deep underlying themes. such as star trek 2: young vs old; life vs death; friendship; love; hate
I also want to see less exploring. it’s been overdone with star trek. It’s getting to a point where I want to see how all these planets of the federation interact with each other. why does it seem that 95%+ of starfleet is human? do these other worlds have their own limited militaries? what happens when there is a war?
I want to see a war, damnit!!
#7 … I have to give credit to VOODOO here, I have in fact read this very same thing from him on many sites over the years. And I always knew he was correct.
All the news coverage this early on is a *very* good sign. I’m really curious what the box office for this might be like. I asked for speculation in another thread and no one guessed. Nemesis tanked so bad that it was surprising; I wonder how much our Trek can rebound?
Thinking ahead a bit, just imagine how exciting (and newsworthy!) it will be when the first new images of Leonard Nimoy as Spock since 1991 appear! I can’t wait! :)
And oh, lest we forget…BRING BACK KIRK.
Yeah, that CHUD guy is an ass. MI3 was pretty much the best of the series. It focussed on Character…which is something Star Trek has been missing out on for years now. Sure..the spectacle of it is important too…but it shouldn’t over shadow the characters like the last few films have. Down with the fat guy…he’s an idiot.
Interest this high in Trek is unprecedented imo, given we are still 16 months away- maybe TMP,TVH AND Generations created as big a buzz?
What do you guys think?
There were also Spock stories in the Chicago Tribune & Globe and Mail — great to see all this media attention. This is definitely huge coverage for being this far out.
Generations had great advance buzz (including a TIME cover that I still have), but that was mainly because of the pairing of Kirk and Picard. None of the other TNG movies did — I recall when Nemesis was released, and some of our friends were completely unaware of the movie a week before its release!
PS - Yeah, that CHUD guy was awful.
There’s no need to pre-emptively defend Abrams, Quinto, or the film fellas.
If the work has merit, it will speak for itself and silence naysayers.
If the work is subpar, it will be a breeding ground for ridicule.
I honestly didn’t find Nemesis that bad. It had some pretty good development for Picard. The whole Data thing was bogus though, like WTH… theres another Data? Now if it had’ve been Lore instead of B4, that woulda been fun. Two opposites fighting our Enterprise crew. The only problem was, the editing was horrible. I found Nemesis was like Star Trek 3, in that it was a good little movie that got the point across, but ultimately lead to something else. Definitely not the way to end it. Its all in the editing, because theres no way a writer like John Logan came up with crap. I mean, seriously, who hires an editor who admits that editing movies is his passion, to direct a big sci-fi epicish movie?
Nemesis suffered from trying to be a movie we’d all already seen and seen done a lot better - namely Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - which completely played into the (correct) public perception that The Franchise was worn out, its creative people were burned out, and they were just cranking out the same product year after year.
Having said that, it was a pleasant surprised to see so much positive press about the Star Trek movie, as opposed to “oh God, not more of this again” which seemed to be the flavor of Star Trek media coverage from about 1997 or thereabouts. And whoever asked above, yes, Star Trek movies used to be fairly big deals, back in the TOS film days. There was great anticipation for STTMP, Star Trek II was very popular, there was a lot of anticipation about Spock’s return and Nimoy directing Star Trek III, and Star Trek IV was pretty much carried out of theaters on the shoulders of cheering crowds.
That fat guy was a tool.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say MI3 was worse than MI2.
I thought the consensus was that MI3 was a vast improvement over the prior film. The reason it did poorly in the box office had more to do with Cruise’s antics than the film itself.
# 4& #5- You’re both totally right,
Re the comments on G4 from that “Chubby Fat ass”?
“Nimoy gets to flash back in time and see how bad an actor he is”
I like that reporter better the future, when he is the older, wiser and smarter…
Kevin Smith.
Some of these comments, and the language involved, kind of makes me wonder if the people issuing them are aware of the concept of difference of opinion, or proper debate etiquette, for that matter.
Star Trek’s had its detractors since Day One, and they, nor their negative statements ever stopped it. There’s no need for all of this fuse-blowing over nothing, name-calling and crying havoc. If they don’t like it, so what?Who says they have to like it? No matter how they express it, that’s their right, and jumping all over them is not only juvenile, but pointless and ultimately self-defeating, especially in the eyes of people who will be the ones to make this film a success, or just another footnote in the long list of failed remakes that self-imploded at the Box Office.
I’m sure that Groening is already working on working this whole business into an episode next season. Probably McFarlaine, too!
I don’t understand how someone can be so utterly wrong and have a job as an entertainment critic or reporter.(Chud.com guy)
Nimoy has always been regarded as a fine actor.
MI-3 was by far the best of the series.
JJ Abrams CAN do the job!!
He was at least correct that Star Trek needs to be BIG. Regardless, I Still don’t care much for that dude.
Anthony- Thanks for the great work on this site and for the coverage at Comic Con.
Will you be doing a post Comic Con article. I guess there’s not a lot to add. But perhaps a word on the experience or the level of excitement about the Trek news?
I am only slightly amazed at the coverage. We are fans of a phenomenon in the entertainment industry. It has sired movies, books, 5 other series based on the same universe, comics and a lot more. And now the original characters return in the original time period… after 40+ years to build on their adventures.
Very few stories…. modern mythology… can claim this longevity or fan loyalty. We all can like different facets of the Trek universe, but there has to be a special niche for the one that started it all.
The likes of Nemesis wasn’t even a blip on the radar really, this film is going to be something special, I can just feel it, really hehe.
Wow, that video is just more proof that ANYONE can be a media player in this Internet day and age. All it takes is,,, ummm, well, I can’t tell from watching them what it DOES take, really…
Shatner_Fan_2000 # 16
Thanks for the kind words.
To me this isn’t rocket science. From a purely commercial point of view Kirk + Spock are clearly the way to go.
They are cultural icons. You just don’t throw them away and assume you can put the name Star Trek on a new series and that program will continue to thrive.
Roger Ebert said it best when he said Star Trek had become a copy of a copy of a copy. It had lost the passion Shat +Nimoy brought to it.
Overtime the program lost what made it special. If they went with a new cast ST XI would have been just another ST film with just another cast.
Now we get the best of both worlds. We get to see Nimoy (and maybe (fingers crossed) Shatner) one more time in their iconic roles. Plus, we are reintroduced to the iconic characters with new actors who can carry the franchise forward.
It’s a no brainer.
Nimoy and Shatner will give this project a credibility it could never have without them.
I always thought Nimoy’s acting in anything was pretty damn good. That slam really was baseless in my opinion.
I finally saw MI3 on DVD a while ago. I thought it was good. Like 3 out of 5 stars. Certainly not “awful.” I still have not seen MI2. MI-one was ok, but I still remember being disappointed that they made Voit, who was playing the Peter Graves role, into a villain. Talk about non-canon…. but I digress.
My point being–that guy was wrong. And I know, grownups should not call names. So, um… I won’t. But it’s hard. :D
Personally, I loved Nemesis. I may be the only one, but I thought it was terrific. Of course, my favorite Trek film is still TMP, so I am well aware that no one agrees with me.
That said, every critic (on Tv, radio, etc, not the fans) who shredded Nemesis did so not because it was a copy or it had bad acting, or any other legitimate reason. The only real complaint I heard was “10 movies? How can it still be good after 10 movies?” Which is bullshit. Bond has 22 and they’re still good. Nemesis was good too. Maybe not the most original, but still very good.
As for the MI series. I liked the first one best. I thought the third one was the weakest link. Not because it was bad- because it certainly wasn’t- but because I just couldn’t get it out of my head that the main villain looked like SNL’s Stuart. Gosh darn it, people like him.
Regarding the Chud guy - people don’t get on TV as “commentators” these days for having civil, constructive discourse delivered in a reasonable manner. They get on TV by being loud-mouthed provacateurs who shoot their mouths off to shock viewers and generate conflict. Its how CNN and the other so-called news networks operate, and I’m sure a tiny outfit like G4 follows that example.
Breaking up my rant. Sorry.
I think that the media frenzy about Trek 11 shows that Paramount was full of horta shit when they declared Trek dead because no one cared about the franchise any more. I know a lot of folks that didn’t have UPN. And UPN also sucked.
My 2 cents was Enterprise took a few too many liberties with continuity, but was still the best hour of TV when it was on. It was a great show but on the worst possible network. You put that same show on Sci Fridays and its a huge hit.
It didn’t get solid rating because UPN stunk the joint up with its programming and it followed Voyager, which ran every Trek fan I know- including myself- off from Trek after about 2 seasons.
(Personally, I always thought Voyager was an extremely poorly written show. Even fantastic FX and solid performances could not save it from massive turkeys like that episode with Amelia Airheart, or any episode that had Q in it or any epsiode with the Kazon. Or that last episode. I mean, WTF?!: I think the last episode of Voyager stands as the worst Trek ever filmed. Come on- where’s the continuity police on this thing?! Janeway violates the Prime Directive and the whole vision of Trek by commiting an act of GENOCIDE (!!!!) against the Borg and violates the Temporal Prime Directive all the hell over the place. And she’s a hero?)
ZoomZoom # 19
I could not disagree with you more.
Star Trek (the original) was a huge deal.
Star Trek was/is a cultural phenomenon. The characters have become part of the cultural landscape.
For Christ’s sake, NASA named it’s first space shuttle after Kirk’s Enterprise.
People seem to have forgotten how big Star Trek was and what an impact it had.
TMP was the #2 film of 1979 (for comparison sake Transformers is looking to be the #2 film of 2007)
All of the TOS films (when box office is adjusted for inflation) made well over 100 million. Even the horrendous Star Trek V.
On average they were more popular than a modern day 007 film in the US.
A Star Trek film was a huge deal. That is easy to forget in an era where Nemesis did not even make $50 million in 2002 numbers. Or Enterprise could not attract 2 million people per week for free.
Star Trek is not a niche sci-fi program (like Firefly that runs on the Sci-Fi network) This is Star Trek which at one time had legions of fans.
It’s fall from grace was hard to watch.
That is why Paramount is bringing it’s big guns(Kirk/Spock) back to revive the series
They now understand that it’s the characters and the actors who played those characters that made ST special. Not simply the name ST and interchangeable (and in many cases bland) characters
Kirk and Spock are Star Trek to the vast majority of the public. They are the series best (and only) hope of survival, and tptb know it.
That’s why we are getting a Kirk/Spock Star Trek XI.
This was a LAME article. LOL!!!
Trekie 33years:
No offense (this is not an attack on you) but, don’t you get it? Nobody cared about Voyager or Enterprise.
UPN had nothing to do with it. There was no interest in those programs. They were living off the name Star Trek. You could have put those series on at 9:pm between Friends + Seinfeld and nobody would have watched them. They are passionless copies of the original.
Nemesis (I am a big TNG fan) was an unwatchable film. For God’s sake It was the second film in a row where Data broke out into a song and dance routine.
How did ST go from the great “Wrath of Khan” to singing + dancing robots covering Irving Berlin tunes? Give me a break. The series was a shell of it’s former self at that point.
Paramount is correct in their current assessment of Star Trek’s audience.
The one and only thing (except the few hardcore fans that will watch anything ST) people care about in the ST universe is TOS and Paramount knows it.
That is ultimately why you will see Nimoy AND Shatner in this film. Paramount will be going all out to save it’s one time cash cow.
The interview was fine with the exception of the arrogent jackass (the fool on the right), who was obviously anti-trek to begin with. What a moron!
I think JJ will do just fine. The fact that Nimoy is still in after reading the script is a very good sign.
trekkie 33 years
I have wracked my brains for hours (ok, not hours)…
Trying to figure out WHAT common denominator Nemesis and TMP have.
Then it hit me.
It’s Bald People.
You like Bald people.
Actually Ilea/Khambatta was quite the hottie, so I’ll give you a pass.
(I would have watched Phase II just for her).
But the dude who played ‘lil Picard? eh- not so much.
Timothy Dalton looks (and sounds) a lot like Patrick Stewart, and bald nor not, I would have believed him in the clone role.
Sorry this is off topic. Anyhow 2 of 3 dudes on G4 seemed psyched -
(So I guess The New Trek will only make 185 million instead of 200 to pander to every last cranky perfectionist Kevin Smith lookin’ geek.)
PS If they want to bust on bad acting as a Vulcan why don’t they pick on T’Pol?
lol. Bald! That’s it!
Actually, TMP was great SCIENCE FICTION. Thta’s the #1 problem with current Trek. It has become its own genre. Instead of telling compelling sci fi, they tell action packed Trek. TOS and TNG were more science than Trek.
As for Nemesis. One word:
Romulans.
I am a Romulan nut!
PS-
#41- OV-101
you are clearly king of all Trek geeks with your Nasa inspired moniker.
Kudos. I wish I’d thought of it.
I have to agree, to a certain extent, with those who didn’t like Enterprise. It was the first ST series I had the opportunity to see from the beginning, but it lost me after Saeson 2. It got so bad at one point, it nearly killed my love of Trek. Thankfully, things finally seem to be moving in a positive direction for the franchise.
#42: I do think that Jolene Blalock seemed bored in her role as T’Pol, but then again, no one ever quite portrayed a Vulcan as well as Nimoy (though, personally, I think Mark Lenard came the closest).
Seeing that G4 piece really makes me miss TechTV.
..while pondering why the latter TNG movies tanked and why TOS is back with a vengence keep in mind two old sayings.
“Familiarity Breeds Contempt” TNG and the copies of the copies of the copies had grown far too familiar and wore out their welcome.
TOS….for the most part neglected during the Berman regime….was tossed to the back burner while many new 24th century fans, in allegiance to their more realistic, polished Trek, enjoyed poking fun at the old relic, with it’s cheezy sets and over the top style. TOS was off the radar for a long long time…a fun novelty of the 60’s, but no comparrison for the newer slicker spin-offs that had the best resources at their disposal. Little did anyone realize that the love of TOS never went away, it was simply pushed far back into the closet…out of sight, out of mind. But as they saying goes…. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
Those who remembered the imagination, the fun, the in your face music, longed for a return to the adventure that brought them into this universe to begin with. TNG onward created a void. It was Trek, but it wasn’t. It was a STar Trek, not THE Star Trek. Thankfully, JJ Abrahm’s was one of those missing the fun.
God, we’re back to playing “my Trek’s better than your Trek”.
ok trekkie33
But I must reming you that the bar in Nimbus III had a Romulan, but that dindn’t make it Mos Eisley
Actually (and again off-topic)
The TMP story concept idea had been kicking around Roddenberry’s brain (and his scripts vault) since his “Planet Earth” series pilot(s).
I think Dillon Hunt (The Kirk factotem) was originally supposed to confound a returning Voyager probe. (Perhaps by showing it Diana Mudaur’s two mutant belly buttons)
Jeez! just how many pilots did Roddenberry produce in the 70’s anyway?
Shatner fans,
While I have been advocating a “wait and see” on Shatner’s possible inclusion in this film, I am going to suggest that if we don’t see an announcment within a month or six weeks, you best get used to a Shat-less Christmas in ‘08
#45 Thomas-
I have been trying to put my finger on the problem of these later Vulcans
T’Uvok and T’Pol and S’tool (or whatever his name was)
Tuvok was waaay too emotional - too out of control too often, but that was the writers’ fault.
It. Is. CONTRACTIONS!
The earlier Vulcans Spock and Sarek spoke the queens English and totally enunciated everything- and always said things like - I Shall not, or I will not. or, I cannot.
It gave them a bit of gravitas. they were cool, logical, and very formal.
And as bad as Star trek V was, - One of the Key differences between Sybok (ouch!) and Spock, was how formal Spock was.
T’pol, as with the rest of the Vulcans on Enterprise - were as informal and obvious as as blue space gel on a cold starship.
IMO, Jeri Ryan (as Seven of Nine) was a better Vulcan than the later Vulcans.
JJs announcement re: shatner PR thats all.
If serious why didnt he say so to Shatner when he called him?
Exactly.
Shatner AINT gonna be in the movie. Now JJ has a get out clause “we tried but it didnt work for the movie”
If he is. I will dowse more than 2 bottles of tabasco sauce in 30 seconds (which was one of the you tube movies linking with the trek ones)
Anyone want to take me up on that bet. I’ll even film it if he is, guiness world record that.
#51
Even though I hate Voyager with every fiber of my being, I agree completely with you. Jeri Ryan missed her calling. She would have been a much better Vulcan.
I never really got why she had no emotions anyway… Picard seemed pretty emotional post-Locutus. Hugh and his fellow rogues- the same. Hell, even Data emoted after being Borged.
Perhaps the silicone implants in her primary functions interfered with her emotional memory ingrams…
Yay Star Trek!!
The guy on the left clearly knew what he was talking about.
The guy in the midle was a J.J. Abrahms hater! And he didn’t like Leonard Nimoy’s acting! What. does he need to put more emotion into the part?
jeez!
You see how newsworthy classic Trek remains?
Let me take you all on a little visualization. Imagine a what if . . .
What if the powers that be had given CBS-D six months and a real budget to remaster and enhance the first ten episodes of the first season of TOS in high style? Imagine the media buzz as all manner of impressive clips culled from those first ten episodes are shown on any number of TV news shows. Still images are printed within cover stories. Even Time and Newsweek take an interest in this unprecedented event. Imagine the hype! Never before has a TV show been remastered directly from the original film negatives! Never before has a TV show been CGI enhanced with all new effects! And, it’s Star Trek! Is that newsworthy or what?
An initial airdate is set. It is launched into syndication with fan fare. Stations pay top dollar and show it in prime time hours. The show starts from the beginning in order of production. The rapid progression in those first ten episodes, shown in order, sucks in a viewing audience and produces excellent ratings. With their six-month prep time and ten-episode head start and good budget CBS-D has no trouble maintaining top quality through to the end of the season. The enhancements are so extensive and so beautifully rendered that each episode is an event. With all the excitement the project generates, they are able to sell season box sets of extensively enhanced Trek in mass quantities for under $100 each (remastered but un-enhanced versions are included). The boldly imaginative enhancements are so wide-ranging it’s like getting a whole new Star Trek series. And TOS is given a whole new life with both young and old.
TOS lives happily ever after. The End.
You can wake up now; it was only a dream.
47. jonboc … Great post, I agree 100% with everything you said! Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder. Especially in the case of something as special as TOS. Even before all the recent movie announcements, TOS was headed back to the forefront of the public consciousness in a major way - it was finally released in DVD season sets, it was being lovingly and painstakingly remastered for Hi-Def, “Star Trek 2.0″ was the highest rated show on G4(!), TV Land was using Shatner and Nimoy to promote TOS coming to that channel, and even the Animated Series was being shown a lot of respect. People were just READY for the original & the best again. As you said, the love for it never went away.
I distinctly recall reading an interview with Brent Spiner in the late 80’s in which he came off as a bit of an arrogant prick, saying that the TOS cast was getting too old and suggesting it was time for them to step aside. Look, I enjoyed TNG, and I liked the character of Data. But Spiner’s (and Stewart’s) egotistical “creative control” helped drive the TNG movies into the ground. Remember all the interviews he did, even after Nemesis took a major nosedive, saying that he still thought it was a great film? Talk about not getting it!
The proof is in the pudding - 20 years after TNG, it is the return of Nimoy/Spock that is getting all the press!
#53 “Jeri Ryan…perhaps the silicone implants in her primary functions interfered with her emotional memory ingrams…”
Are you trying to say, in plain English, that her tits are so big that they blocked the blood flow to her brain? If so, I love it I tellsya!!! Let’s face it, Ryan could provide shade for a small child! If she were a singer I could look at her voice for hours! Her boobs are so big that….well, you get the idea…
I just wish the negative arse in the middle would have shut his mouth a bit more and let the cooler guy have his say without overpowering the conversation like a rabid idiot. Someone mentioned news programs I agree. He was like the Star Trek, Mission Impossible, JJ hating version of Bill O Reilly who wouldn’t let the other guy get in half a sentence until the end and you could see the other gentlemens frustration all over his face.
Aaron R.
P.S. Everyone agrees I thought that Enterprise picked up steam and got better season 3 and very much so season 4. Trekkie33 don’t ever let anyone say an unkind word to you about you choice of Star Trek films. The movies made so far have a plethora of things to interest a plethora of personality types and thats is what Star Trek is about after all… Equality and Tollerence to different beliefs and views. I just wish the guy in the middle would have excersixed said principles a bit more.
Isn’t a plethora what you get when you breed a plebe and a horta?
#57
Ladies and gentlemen, Harry has stepped out for a quick intermission, but remember he’ll be back all week.
Remember to try the veal, whydoncha.
The Chud dude was acting as an incendiary device. I disregarded his drivel as soon as he capped on Nimoy’s acting. I thought about jumping his site, but then he would get attention, and he doesn’t actually deserve it.
I always thought that if you had a clone, it should look something like the original person he was genetically linked to. Yeah, yeah, he was beaten up as a child on Remus or whatever. Weak cover for the fact that he didn’t look or sound anything like Patrick Stewart, who according to TNG’s apparent canon, had a full head of red hair when he was young.
Feh, Nemesis, not so much.
(ALL TOGETHER NOW) “Send in the clones….”
The fat ass is obviously clueless with his comments about MI2 being better than MI3.
That fat ass couldn’t get laid in a woman’s prison if he had a handful of pardons!! ba-dum-bum!
Watching this was like watching an ultimate nerd-off. In one corner we’ve got the skinny dweeb too afraid to raise his voice above a whisper and in the other we’ve got the overbearing fatty that thinks he’s funnier than he is.
Neither offered particularly interesting opinions, but this is G4 we’re talking about. I’m convinced watching the original programming on that network gives you cancer.
That fat ass couldn’t get laid walking around a whorehouse with a hundred dollar bill sticking out of his ear!!
58. Aaron R. (Yes I am a Boy. Obligatory Sisko reference here…) - July 30, 2007 - Well said. ENTERPRISE picked up a lot of pace inthe last two seasons thank to Manny Cotto. Some in this forum should keep in mind that it is your opinion. I did not like Voyager but I will never presume to speak on behalf of other people. We need to keep this in mind.
I never liked VOY, it turned me of Trek and ENTERPRISE brought me back. I also loved DS9 and TNG, and, although born in the 1980’s, have fond memories of watching my father TOS collection. While I would still love to see more 24th century adventures I am just glad that some one like JJ has a drive and passion for Trek that could spark off another movie and TV series, set both in the 23rd and 24th centuries.
#38- i was just going by memory. I remember (obviously) a huge buzz around TMP. TVH was huge and Generations was big simply because of the torch passing deal. I’m not speaking of the quality, or otherwise, of any of those movies here. Just the buzz.
In these days of the http://www. maybe we will have to judge interest differently, or is it simply- as others have said- because Trek appeared dead that interest is so high this time.
Whatever it is, people are talking TOS again-and that is great.
48-
Nothing like a real debate on real poiints, is there? There ain’t much of a debate when everybody agrees on everything, except where they differ on HOW much they agree. That’s no debate. That’s a watering hole.
Quite refreshing, I daresay.
#51 mctrekkie:
You nailed it! Those Vulcan contractions drove me crazy. I think it was a TNG episode where I heard the first Vulcan say “can’t” or “won’t,” or something like that, and I did a major double take. For some reason the later Treks rarely got the Vulcans right, and most of the problems were in the way they spoke. They seemed to fix things in the final year of ENT, however.
Spock and Sarek always had such a classy way of speaking. Hopefully the movie team gets that little detail right (I’m sure Nimoy will remind them if they don’t). :-)
I actually enjoyed Nemesis quite a bit. It was flawed, but ALL the TNG movies were flawed, IMO.
Enterprise was terrible for the first few years, but it did get better once the show got going. But I guess it was too little too late.
As for JJ Abrams, I really think he and his team will do for Trek what Harve Bennet and Nick Meyer did for the franchise back in ‘82: bring Trek back to the top and make it “cool” again.
I didnt see Mission Impossible 3, but I am a fan of lost and the movie “Joy Ride” (which Abrams wrote). And yes, I’ll admit it. I watched Felecity for the 4 years it was on. And you know what? It was a pretty damned good show. So yeah, I trust Abrams with the franchise.
Now if only he’d get Shatner into the movie….
yea i can tell you that the news here in Ireland , and Europe as been good , it was in a few papers , decent half page info, which i for on has never seen , for a star trek , and yea i can wait for when the kirk news come out and close to christmas next year ,when the hype will be running wild .
but why are you people surpised , i am sick of Star Trek being the sci fi franchise everybody looks down on , STAR TREK is big space god of all sci fi . all they have to do is make a really good Movie and this could relaunch Trek for the future , TREKS BACK BABY !
Trek’s back? That’s news to me.
When did it ever leave?
38 - HERES THE BOX OFFICE FIGURES:
TMP - Budget:$45mil, US Gross:$82.25mil, Total WW:$139mil,
TWOK - Budget:$11mil, US Gross:$78.6mil, Total WW:$97mil,
TSFS - Budget:$17mil, US Gross:$76.5mil, Total WW:$87mil,
TVH - Budget:$25mil, US Gross:$109mil, Total WW:$133mil,
FF - Budget:$32, US Gross:$55mil, Total WW:$70mil,
TUC - Budget:$30mil, US Gross:$74.9mil, Total WW:$94mil,
G - Budget:$35mil, US Gross:$75.7mil, Total WW:$120mil,
FC - Budget:$45mil, US Gross:$92mil, Total WW:$150mil,
I - Budget:$58mil, US Gross:$70.1mil, Total WW:$119mil,
N - Budget:$70mil, US Gross:$43.1mil, Total WW:$67.3mil
and heres what the are roughly for adjusted $ in the US only:
TMP - 215 mil
TWOK - 176 mil
TSFS - 149 mil
TVH - 194 mil
TFF - 86 mil
TUC - 117 mil
Generations - 119 mil
First Contact - 137 mil
Insurrection - 98 mil
Nemesis - 48 mil
TMP is still the daddy when it comes to BO - With TVH slightly behind..
TOS movies were BIG EVENTS…unlike TNG films…
I blame Paramount for Trek becoming crappy for two reasons-They insisted on making too many shows, and they kept Berman in charge, the guy didn’t even like the show he was producing and it showed very clearly
74. trektacular
“they kept Berman in charge, the guy didn’t even like the show he was producing and it showed very clearly”
Yep. I’ve said earlier that Enterprise was essentially a series built more as a prequel to TNG than to the original series. And he proved that he didn’t like Enterprise with it’s series final. Center a final on the characters of the said show like we did every other show? Naw. Let’s do another episode of the Next Generation 17 years later and everyone will love it.
And to think brannon braga thought this episode was going to be a “treat for the fans”.
You can’t make the blanket statement that all the TNG movies did bad - studios care about worldwide totals, not just the USA (which is why there was a second Fantastic Four movie - worldwide, the first one did pretty good, even if it was an afterthought in the US). That being said, FC becomes the top grosser, by the figures above, and it was a great movie - it had a lot of human moments in it that really worked.
The problem is they rushed a half-baked movie out afterward - Insurrection - which was blah enough that nobody was going choose Nemesis (a blatant clone of TWOK) rather than the Lord of The Rings movie that was opening a couple of days after Nemesis, if I recall correctly - or did it open the same day? I know it was very close, a few of us thought they should have moved the opening date.
One of the main reasons I (and many others) wound up not liking Nemesis is they blew the ending - Picard FREEZES? He NEVER freezes, no matter what is going on. Doing it just so they can knock Data off, so they can adhere to the TWOK script so closely it was ridiculous. And inevitably the next movie would have been a knockoff of TSFS since apparently B4 had Data’s “katra” (or more appropriately his backup files). No thanks.
As for VOY, too much technobabble spouted from cardboard cutout characters - if they’d knocked off Chakotay, or Tom Paris, or heck most of the characters, I wouldn’t have particularly cared. ENT was patchy and they took a huge wrong turn or two with both the Temporal Cold War and Xindi story arcs, but the last season promised great things; too bad both were on a network doomed to extinction (or merger, the same thing). If Manny Coto had been in charge from the get go it could have been potentially the best of the sequel (or, er, prequel) series since TNG.
I believe if they had followed up FC with a movie of equal quality they would still be making TNG movies - they’d gross enough in the theaters and sell tons in the home video market.
All that being said, given the fact that they ran the franchise into the ground with all those bad choices, the only hope for Trek now - at least until folks start waxing nostalgic for TNG again in 10 or 15 years - is going back to TOS characters. And if that spawns a new series (they have a big gap between TOS and TNG to work with, after all), that’d be cool - if they did it right.
75 - yes thats what I been saying for a while now too - that ENT was more of a prequel to TNG…just the whole feel/look of it..even the character interactions……hell even the uniforms had a TNG vibe to them on the shoulders…..Ent was sort of a sequel to First Contact anyway…the seeds were probably sown for the series when they were making that succesful movie…’hey if we do another series we could continue the story of what happens with The Vulcans and the humans as they set off in to space’
Its almost like Berman and Co were attempting to ‘rub out’ TOS and create this new one in its place as the predecessor to the ‘real’ ST (in their eyes) - TNG
With the original series it felt like that was the FIRST Enterprise to have really made a name for itself with Kirk in command and that it was the 1st STARSHIP Enterprise - NCC 1701 - and all that followed were NCC 1701 A, B, C, D etc..(u can see all the previous Enterprises prior to the original in TNGs conference room and in The Motion Picture rec room)…plus we can see that Starfleet took the Enterprise’s unique ‘A’ insignia on the uniforms (from TOS) and used it for all starfleet personal in the movies, TNG etc as an acknowledgment of its achievments in its 5 year mission…No mention was ever made of any previous starship enterprises with heroic commanders in tos, movies, tng etc etc…
Then all of a sudden its revealed that there was a previous Enterprise which was like the 1st starship exploring the galaxy with Starfleets legendardy Capt Archer having 1st contact with all kinds of life Kirk and Co in the 23rd century hadnt even encountered or seen before…Borg, Romulans, Tholians ..u name it they all got a taste of Capt Archer..(I’m suprised he didnt bump into the BOTANY BAY and meet Khan on his travels too)
I think that pi$$ed off ALOT of fans and they just tuned out after watching seasons 1/2…
It only became more TOS based when the Manny Coto guy took over in season 3/4 - and thats when it improved (season 1 and 2 were just f**king awful) I guess by that time Berman etc could smell cancellation so were grasping at straws…desperate to increase ratings - ”hey Rick this coto guy wants to tie it into TOS more’….*RB* - “yeah go for it, what we got to lose now…”
btw…Since Enterprises cancellation Berman has acknowledged that he was never a fan of TOS and hasnt even seen every episode…hellava guy to have in charge of Star Trek huh?
See todays article at http://www.thedigitalbits.com for some interesting details on the TOS REMASTERED DVD/HD-DVD COMBI release set for 20th November …
I know this will be unpopular, but I am worried about Trek 11. The only discussion I’ve read about the direction Abrams and crew are looking at says, basically, that they are taking Trek back to its roots… TWOK.
Now, I love the TWOK. It’s my #2 Trek film ever. But a lot of the reason that the Trek series and movies have not done well since TNG is that they are ALL trying to remake TWOK. Granted, Voyager seemed to want stuff in the maximum amount of technobabble, but still…
TWOK for all the good it was and still is has done a lot of damage to the franchise because it has become the standard by which all Trek must be made. Essentially, it set the tone for Star Trek to cease being science fiction and become a Star Trek genre. The Star Trek genre is a loud action movie with a mix of brooding and humor.
This is Berman’s and Paramount’s big mistake. Their pretty obvious dislike of TOS show (they excused it with the whole ‘Gene didn’t like to look backward’ thing) means that after TNG ceased and they wanted to inject new blood into Trek, they watched TWOK and said, ‘THAT is what Star Trek is all about!’ The rest is history.
TOS, TAS, and TNG (and my favorite movie, TMP) were grounded firmly not only in science fiction, but in that most science-y of science fiction: hadr science fiction. Granted, for the sake of story and money there were conscessions made in the science. And Roddenberry always was smart to focus the stories around the characters, but the sci fi of the show is unmistakeable. It wasn’t a Trek genre that only Trekkies would like, it was a science fiction show that any sci fi fan would like. The Trek genre is inherently limiting, and it has strangled the fan base.
Abrams’ movie could revitalize Trek if it is yet another TWOK film- on hype alone he’ll accomplish that. But to revitalize the franchise, he needs to return to Star Trek’s REAL roots: science fiction.
After all, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, and Theodore Sturgeon actually wrote episode for TOS and TAS. Those guys are pretty hardcore sci fi.
For my part, ENT (and I liked it al lot, even with all its flaws) would have been better if Ben Bova, Greg Bear, and folks like that had been called in.
Write a really compelling sci fi tale that just so happens to be in the Trekiverse, not a Star Trek tale that could only happen there.
79 - yes that trying to emulate WOK certainly stung the TNG movies..I think it was Berman who coined the phrase “Khan like villian..”
By contrast TOS movies only had 1 Khan like villian - Khan
(yeah i know about Kruge and Chang - but they were Klingons and the Feds were at war with them)
Where did you read that he was taking it back to TWOK? From all accounts, this is going to go straight back to TOS, including what I’ve read from Abrams, Lindelof, et al.
I think Abrams is smarter than to make this another rehash of TWOK. MI:3 proved that he could put something back to its roots and still update it well (I thought MI:3 went back to the team concept, with character development very well).
What the goof from CHUD said had a point, “Abrams has a small screen mentality”. Well, yes. That would be good to have if you’re developing a TV series into a theatrical update. Mission: Impossible’s finer moments took place in claustrophobic type situations and settings. Heightens the suspense.
MI:3 did that very well, and I think it will help if there are moments in Trek that call for it.
#s 8, 5 & 6
[Robert April looks down at his middle aged paunch as he reaches for another beer]
Somewhere there is a Shatner joke hidden in these first few posts, I am sure.
#81
I read it on an article posted on TrekToday a few weeks ago. It was a semi-interview with Abrams and the 2 writers.
“Meanwhile, speaking to Geekheeb at JewishJournal.com, Kurtzman admitted that he hasn’t seen a Star Trek film since The Voyage Home but added, “For the ‘Trek’ script a lot of it was what ‘Trek’ meant to us as kids…what it felt like to be in the theater and watch ‘Wrath of Khan’ for the first time was what we wanted people to experience…that kind of an emotional ride. An incredibly great bad guy against an incredibly high-stakes story that’s just emotional.” Asked whether he considered the script a reboot or traditional Trek, Kurtzman ducked the question, as he did a question about whether Kirk’s love Carol Marcus might appear in the movie. “
To me, it doesn’t look like they’re going for another TWOK, but just the feel you got from seeing that movie.
I was 7 when I saw TMP in 1979, and 10 seeing TWOK, and I do remember how much of a bigger feeling I got from the second movie.
I think that’s what Kurtzman is saying: the emotional impact, not making a retread.
I can only IMAGINE what Enterprise would have been in the hands of Manny Coto and pals from the beginning. It might have been classic.
As it is, the only season set of Enterprise I own is Season 4.
rave is exactly right. Sometimes I think people parse comments waaaay too much. They just want the impact of TWOK. These guys are creating their own movie….not a copy of some one else’s. But they hope that in the end it will be as good and have as much as an impact as TWOK.
It was Nemesis that tried to actually copy plot points from TWOK.
#82 “Somewhere there is a Shatner joke”
Hey, I think Shatner stays overweight ON PURPOSE so that it puffs out the wrinkles on his face! This way he saves a fortune on botox injections, or having the fat from his chubby ass injected into his cheeks! My gawd, the man looks like a blowfish!! I know, I know, for 76 he looks great, but c’mon!!!
I’m hoping that we see Spock’s early love interest, Leila Kalomi, in the movie. That would rock, to see how their relationship and how it ended when Spock couldn’t open up.
84,85,87 - regarding TWOK
i think they will use stuff from the movie as a springboard for this as TWOK is the movie with loads of backstory about Kirk (Carol, “You remember Mr Spock don’t you,” The K Maru etc)….as well as stuff from TOS of course (the Farrugut, Pike etc etc etc)
so not to be a copy of TWOK like Nemesis was but using the little hints at backstory….plus going for the IMPACT that TWOK had (i.e. everyone and their f**king non Trekkie dog loving it)
That guy in the mddle is a prat.
I forget if it was a DC Comic, or one of the Pocket Books, where they made the connection of the “little blonde lab technician” that Mitchell aimed at Kirk with being Carol Marcus.
I just remember gasping at the connection, how it worked so well.
Time for that to be made into the movie canon. Plus, it would tie the end up neatly for TWOK.
I agree that it would be nice to see underused TOS characters like Gary Mitchell, Carol Marcus, and especially Captain Chris Pike. Some of the family trees on the later Trek spinoffs got too crowded, but TOS was chock full o’ great characters who only appeared 1 time. FYI, Marcus was in an early draft of the TUC script. IIRC, Kirk was “making love” to her at the time he was reactivated by Starfleet! :)
Pike is the character I’d most want to see more of, though. Show us what a badass he had to have been to be in command of the Enterprise!
With the advancements in CGI, I’d love to see M’Ress.
77. Harry Kim:
With the original series it felt like that was the FIRST Enterprise to have really made a name for itself with Kirk in command and that it was the 1st STARSHIP Enterprise - NCC 1701 - and all that followed were NCC 1701 A, B, C, D etc..(u can see all the previous Enterprises prior to the original in TNGs conference room and in The Motion Picture rec room)
That’s what my problem was with the series Enterprise the moment the title falshed on the screen. The very first ship ever is called Enterprise. I did not and I still look at that as my primary reason for not getting into the series. This was as you said one of Rick’s attempt to do a “Sandwhich” on the Star Trek franchise. Rick has been a big part of Star Trek after TOS, and now he wants to say “This is how everything happens” so that when people look at Star Trek, they’re going to see it as a big Rick thing more than a Gene thing. Just look at what Rick did:
A. He gave “Space, the final frontier” an origin.
B. He alienated fans with his depiction of the Vulcans being more paranoid than logical.
C. He tried to give the enterprise ship a uniqne touch that was just dumb. It’s “THE Enterprise”, not “Enterprise”.
D. He didn’t include “Star Trek” in the title for the first couple of seasons.
E. He showed us the Romulans and cloaked Romulan ships 100 years before we even knew they looked like.
F. Did I mention the Borg and the Ferengi?
I could go on forever and I’d love to, but I’m off topic.
94.
I would LOVE to see M’Ress too! Just not voiced by Majel Barrett (No offense ma’am!)
#95
I’ve said that before on another thread. Couldn’t agree more.
IMO I would prefer Arex. M’Ress reminded me of the fightin’ cat on ST V.
(If I’m remembering my cartoon character, obscure one-off characters correctly.)
I totally agree with trekkie33, they need to get the sci fi back into Star Trek and most importantly explore strange new worlds.
The big fat guy in that video is such a wanker.
hey fatty - fook off…U know NOTHING
My winer has more sense than you!
Jesus how many pies did that guy have to eat to get all fat like that? bet he smells too - of that horrdid beef and onion smell..You just KNOW dont you.
Bet hes NEVER been laid too - I mean even a 10 dollar hooker would turn her nose up at that.
Also he’s really stupid as well cause his opinions are just SHITE. with no basis in fact.
so in summing up i think fatty should go fook off and do what he does best - eat some more pies
I thank you
on a side note - just WTF is it with Trekkies or fans of Sci fi in general - seem to always look like those two? I mean WHY do they look the way they do? either real skinny and pale OR all greasy and fat?
i mean do they have no self respect? Dont they think ‘oh man i must hit the gym/lose weight etc’
Why is it this way?
Fat and skinny look like drek,
and thus they must be in to Trek!