~T’Lera

Now I’m in downtown Silver Spring, which is a wonderful place since the “rejuvenation.” I absolutely love it.

I’ve lived in the DC ‘burbs all of my life, and discovered Ledos when I was in College Park as a student at the U. of MD in the ’70s. There was only one at that time.

Lived most of my adult life in Adelphi, never in Langley Park.

Langley Park was a nice working class area when I was in college, though – there was this great ice cream place called “Weiles” that dated back to the 40s or 50s, nicer than “Giffords” really. And a few blocks from Ledos was a place called “Leone’s” that also had pretty decent pizza and good Italian food in general – the “University of Maryland Association Of Star Trek” used to go down there for dinner after our weekly meetings.

I’m old as dirt. ;)

Time travel is a tried and true story telling element of science fiction in general and Star Trek in particular. It just is. You don’t have to like it, but its going to be used.

I mean someone mentioned he would rather the past events be viewed as they were in Menagerie. While I love that episode and it was an inventive way of depicting the Cage events, I don’t see why it anyone would consider it an inheritantly superior method of telling the story this movie intends to tell.

And someone else complains about this movie having time travel but then says he liked the Guardian idea better (which I was thrilled about that rumor but alas it wasn’t meant to be). Ummm, City on the Edge of Forever WAS a time travel story. Indeed it is considered by most to be THE Star Trek time travel episode.

And finally the worst. I read more than once someone lament the time travel aspect and bemoaning queries as to why the movie couldn’t just tell a straight forward story.

The reason Star Trek has become the phenomena it is. The reason Star Trek IS what it is. The reason I watched Star Trek religiously and consider it the greatest television show of all time. Was precisely because it was NOT straight forward.

Which was the failing of TNG, which is a whole ‘nother can of worms. :)

When I saw some gaming critic call the new Enterprise from that MMO “grown up” because it was a warship, I cringed. The Enterprise has been and always should be an incredibly powerful weapon, but that capability should never define the Enterprise. Star Trek is about idealism. When they designed the movie Enterprise, they stretched logic a little bit just to find a way to keep the photon torpedo launchers subdued in appearance. This is because the Enterprise is the ship of enlightened men and women from the future. In my view, that’s what made the movie Enterprise a “grown up” starship. A warship bristling with weapons appeals to our more animalistic and adolescent side.

In light of the geopolitical atmosphere of the day, Star Trek will find itself to have suddenly switched to the wrong side at the worst possible time if it glamorizes preemptive, thoughtless violence.

I don’t think that’ll happen, though. Long live USS Enterprise. ISS Badazz NCC-1337 will never set sail.

i hope its the trek we all wanted to see, the early days of the 1701 and the adventures of Lt. Spock

#374 – Are you in Adelphi, or (God help you) Langley Park? I did nine years in Silver Spring/Wheaton, and then several years in Arlington and West Falls Church (during my last marriage). Born and raised in Cumberland, MD. Glad to make the acquaintence of someone with a similar Mapquest point of reference.