1. PLEASE steer clear of the feel of Berman’s era–which eventually killed the franchise with its definite lack of soul, adventure and compelling characters.

2. In the event you ignore the Berman mess–specifically Generations, it would simply feel proper to have Kirk and Spock as the character/plotting bookends to the film; I feel Spock looking back sans Kirk leaves a gaping hole in the feel of such a tale, as one is not complete without the other…yes, they are joined at the hip.

3. No revisionist 1701. The Berman era was crushed into the artistic ground to the point where too many designes were just retreads, and for the sake of visual interest, run away from the designs seen on “Enterprise”, as that ship had more in common with DS9’s Defiant than any pre-TOS vehicle…and nevermind the horrid costumes and interiors………

Maybe it’s past time to put this out there…but this is my attempt at the opening teaser. Xai thought I should put it up again.

Baaa-paa-ba, ba, bum-bum-pa-pa! is heard faintly…
Imagine a tree-lined creek bed in the middle of an Iowa summer. Birds chirp, the water gurgles around a couple of rocks. Our point of view sees a stone being thrown to skip across the water, frightening the deer on the far bank. We see a close up of a black-booted foot using a rock as a stepping stone moving in and out of the frame. The scene steps back to see a gold-shirted man from the back, now standing on the high bank, looking at the water and trees. He now looks to the sky, sighs and opens a communicator. He speaks calmly.
“One to beam aboard”.
We hear the transporter sizzle and the point of view accends as the man disappears… The image of the creek bed moves back now, fields of corn rapidly give way to a patchwork of fields, a nearby town. We start seeing the curvature of the horizon. The POV rotates as we elevate… more Earth, the glow of atmosphere, the glare of the sun and now space. The starscape appears to fill the screen… and we begin to move forward… faster and faster…
Cue the theme… the music swells.
Introduction.

the only other thing I want is for it to be a good movie, that’s in line with everything that has gone before.

Welcome aboard the good ship TREKMOVIE.COM…where one Trek fan’s apple is another fan’s orange…

Now I have no doubt that I may eventually be both thrilled AND disappointed by the way yourself and Alex Kurtzman have written this thing…purely because I have so many pre-release wishes of my own of this project. Just about everyone here has their own particular ideas about what they’d like to see included in a storyline, along with what they ideally would have in the way of production design elements, costumes, settings, ect., including what colours they should be…while others say let the ones actually involved just do their own ( which of course you will ;) ) regardless of whether it looks or sounds like anything that has come before… My own preference, just for the record, is that if this is a supposed ORIGINAL SERIES -era STAR TREK, then I hope it will have somewhat of the colours and look of the actual series in a lot of aspects, along with the adventure and humour that show had in spades…I want crew beamdowns ( or ups )…handphaser action aplenty…maybe some actual one on one fistfights…appreciation of good-looking mini-uniformed female crewmembers…some explosive Starship action…and a triumphant ending leaving us wanting for more… Thanks.

All good stuff. Many articulating the exact challenges any fan would face weighing the value of various elements.

thanks for articulate thoughts — 17 months is a long time and much can be influenced.

I appreciate your poll, but, if 86% of your respondents aren’t fans of Star Trek, then, what would be the purpose in tailoring the movie to cater to their expectations?

And, with respect to those respondents who said that they are fans of Trek, and, that they most identify Trek with Shatner/Kirk, where’s the implication that they want more of that to which they have become accustomed?

More of the same doesn’t necessarily translate into the best experience. Sure, it’d be cool to have Shatner in the film, and, to have the story centered around Kirk. It’d be the safest way to go. But, if the better story and the better film happen to deviate from these two items, then, I’d rather see that film.

Same goes for redeeming Generations. Nobody hates Generations more than I do. And, I’d LOVE to see that mistake redeemed. But, I’d HATE to see that film bring down the quality of the new film, like some white whale that we’re all obsessed with, and whose obliteration we demand.

(TWOK pervades all things Trek.)

It sure was swell Roberto Orci to come visit with us, and, I look forward to his return visit.

re#129: Josh T.

I’m not even a stickler about Shatner. Sure, it’d be nice to have him in the film, but, not if it, in any way, detracted from the end product.

So, my revision of your revised list is:

1.) Story, dialogue and theme are paramount. Even mediocre actors can come across very effectively when they’re speaking good dialogue, within the context of a compelling story. So, if the cost of a good story and dialogue is fewer action/battle sequences, with less CGI, that’s a cost well worth paying. (and, frankly, as often as not, the CGI weakens the impact of the setting anyway.) And, a meaningful theme has been the heart and soul of Trek since its beginning. A good theme will also make the story more compelling, and, the actors’ performances will be maximised, if they feel that they are involved in a meaningful endeavor.

2.) Respect canon. Star Trek is a world unto itself, and, in order to maximise the effect of that world upon us, and most effectively draw us into the story, the events occurring in the Star Trek world must make sense with respect to each other.

And, of course, these two items having been met, get the most talented actors that you can afford. Without question, actors are more important than CGI.