Comments on: Collins Talks Star Trek Villain Make-up + TrekMovie Adds More Detail

By: ByGeorge

ByGeorge — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:38:53 +0000

#113

Getting teenagers to see this may not be that tough. One simple thing would be to give them some good-looking babes and dudes – not putty heads.

Another thing is to go back to the more episodic format. When I saw Nemesis, I knew there was no way my kids would like it because of all the history and background story needed to appreciate it. Try explaining Nemesis to someone who knows nothing about Trek. When you do you will sound like a loon living in a fantasy world. TOS episodes did not need historical explanation to be enjoyed or understood. Each week they saved the galaxy, which just might be source of why our generation was inspired by them. TNG era had already achieved utopia, so the main characters became diplomats and beaurocrats drinking tea, not galactic heroes drinking scotch saving the galaxy. Teens go for action, message, babes, drama and adventure.

By: Closettrekker

Closettrekker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:42:22 +0000

#117—”for me , that thing with “let’s go back to the roots” is not really such a great thought…”

“Going back to the roots” with STXI has little to do with asthetics. It is about revisiting the most iconic characters Star Trek has ever produced and witnessing their beginnings for the first time. By all accounts, this film will be vastly different (asthetically) from any Star Trek you or I have ever seen before.

#118—”Nothing tops a Starship Enterprise exploring the galaxy!”

You’ve got that right, especially one which really captures that “final frontier” feeling of truly being on your own out there without the aid of technology which had gone too far. Kirk and Archer embodied the more romantic starship captain—one who had to rely far less upon tacion (sp?)beams, and more upon good old fashion brains and brawn from week to week.

technobabble=crap.

By: Closettrekker

Closettrekker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:25:23 +0000

#116—I know you “need your pain”! lol.

By: Holger

Holger — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:22:03 +0000

#114: I couldn’t disagree more, Dr. Soran. I admit I had more than a few reservations against ENT in the beginning, but the more I watch the show, the more it grows on me. Well, except for that stupid Xindi arc, maybe. To me, Enterprise is as great as TOS and TNG. Nothing tops a Starship Enterprise exploring the galaxy!

By: Dr. Soran

Dr. Soran — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:02:59 +0000

- CLOSETTEKKER i think that in Europe..(not in my country )the best show was DS-9..because was close related to TNG..but in the same time ready to drop old stereotypes , like the look of Starfleet ships…so for me , that thing with “let’s go back to the roots” is not really such a great thought…

By: Shatner_Fan_2000

Shatner_Fan_2000 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:50:14 +0000

“On the other hand, all but one of the 6 original movies did well at the box office.”

C’mon, Closet! The Voyage Home performed just fine!

;-)

By: Closettrekker

Closettrekker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:40:08 +0000

#114—”The new romulan is looking like a bold klingon augment from ENT..but personally , i really like this.. new look.”

The “new Romulan” you speak of may only be representative of a small group of them. I don’t think it is Abrams’ intention to make them all look that way—just the small group that is travelling back in time to disrupt the past.

“Anyway , in my country the only mainstream shows were TNG and DS-9….”

Maybe, but the World is a much bigger place. In the U.S., it seems that not enough people cared to go see the TNG movies to justify another one. On the other hand, all but one of the 6 original movies did well at the box office.

By: Dr. Soran

Dr. Soran — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:14:54 +0000

- C’mon…ENT remains a strange show… maybe because it wasn’t a remake.. and because half of characters are just dummies …like that translator chick..and that ugly doctor..and that guy who looks like LaForge…T’pol is just a bad copy of Seven of Nine. …BTW i saw a ENT episode with a strange race called themselves romulans…ha-ha…what an ugly race …The only good looking romulan i ever saw was that blonde copy of Tasha from TNG…

The new romulan is looking like a bold klingon augment from ENT..but personally , i really like this.. new look.
Anyway , in my country the only mainstream shows were TNG and DS-9….

By: Holger

Holger — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:51:10 +0000

#106: I see your point now. I guess the 24th century isn’t hip anymore because there was so much of it in the 90’s, with two shows running parallel and all that. Obviously, fan excitement as well as writer’s originality were bound to reach a point of saturation at some time, followed by inevitable decline. All good things must come to an end, isn’t it?
But I don’t think the problem is that Trek has become somewhat outdated, the problem is just that it hasn’t been around for a while. So young people got themselves other entertainments, and much more shallow ones, if you ask me. How should they become interested in Trek if nothing’s on offer?
It’s wise to go back in time, as was already done in Enterprise. We know ‘everything’ about the 24th century, writer’s don’t seem able to come up with anything original about that time anymore. I also believe that the advanced technology in that time has become too much. How would you tell an exciting story, when basically every problem can be solved by superior technology? So the best thing to do is to return to simpler times. OK, my point is simply that I don’t agree with you that the TOS era is just more exciting or more mainstream in itself. I think there’s much more to be said about the move back to TOS.
It remains to be seen whether the new movie can bring people back into the boat. I hope that a lot of young people will sense the difference between entertainment with some depth and a positive stance on the one hand, and pointless displays of violence and egoism on the other hand.
I don’t have children, as you do, but when students in my classes at the university bring up the Matrix as an example of exciting and highly original SF concepts and deep thought, I always tell them to watch The Cage from 1964! I’m gratified that at least they know what Star Trek is and that it’s a big question whether Data is alive. Maybe in a year or so, Mr. Spock will be mentioned in class. I certainly hope so!

By: Closettrekker

Closettrekker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:51:33 +0000

#111—I don’t think there is all that much “disagreement” actually.

I watched TNG. The characters just did not capture my imagination the way the wonderfully rich and “fascinating” TOS-era heroes did. I certainly don’t begrudge anyone who prefers TNG-era stuff.

Where there might be disagreement is in my opinion that the lack of quality in the characters (which actually seems to be a source of agreement) played a large role in the lack of success of the TNG characters’ transition to the big screen. And, IMO, whereas Star Trek was always a cult phenomenon first and foremost, I knew plenty of “mild fans” who payed to see those films in the ’80’s. I don’t know many “mild” TNG fans. It seems to be much more of a “geeks only”, somewhat exclusive club. An additional part of the problem was (again, IMO) that the interest of those “mild fans” didn’t carry over to the TNG movies (Generations being an exception—but that required an albeit gimmicky appearance of Shatner as JTK). I considered myself to be much more than a “mild fan”, and I didn’t carry over either.