First Look At Star Trek Movie Props January 7, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Star Trek (2009 film) , trackback
Thanks to Paramount’s promotional partner Lenovo, we now have the first detailed look at new props from the Star Trek movie. Starting tonight, Lenovo is displaying three genuine props from the new Star Trek movie at the CES Show in Las Vegas, and TrekMovie was there at the unveiling.
The newest Treknology
We have caught glimpses of the props in the trailer, but it was hard to get a good look, until now. The new Star Trek props on display at CES are Kirk’s Communicator, Uhura’s Communications Unit and Bones’ Medical Tricorder. And TrekMovie.com is the first site with images of these props.
The set display (front)
(click images to enlarge)
The set display (side)
(click images to enlarge)
Kirk’s communicator
(click images to enlarge)
Dr. McCoy’s Medical Tricorder
(click images to enlarge)
Uhura’s communication unit
(click images to enlarge)
Prop toys available for pre-order & is that really the Tricorder?
Of the three items above, the one that is raising questions is the one labeled as Bones’ tricorder. One would expect a Tricorder to have a display, and so what is above could just be part of it (possibly a scanner). Playmates has a full line of toys lined up for the Star Trek movie and the first wave should be out in April (see TrekMovie story). There are no images of the toys available, but the description for the Playmates Tricorder [available for pre-order for $17.95] states it "lights up and makes authentic Star Trek movie sounds and spring-loaded top and front door covers." The above prop does not appear to have any ‘door cover’ although the original TOS tricorder did, so that makes more sense. TrekMovie will see if clarification on this is available. Also available for pre-order for the first wave of toys is: Star Trek Movie Electronic Communicator for $17.59 and Star Trek Movie Electronic Phaser for $17.59.
See the props yourself at CES
View these props in front of the AquaKnox restaurant at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, starting tonight at 6pm (Wednesday, January 7th) through midnight (12am) on Friday, January 9th. The props are on display thanks to Lenovo during the Consumer Electronics Show.
Lenovo Star Trek display at Venetian Hotel for CES (photo: Darren Benjamin)
(click images to enlarge)
And don’t forget to go to boldlygo.intel.com/newfrontiers to enter the Lenovo Star Trek Sweepstakes for your chance to win one of five laptops. And also TrekMovie is running its own Lenovo contest giving away messenger bags. Both contests end next week, but Lenovo is planning more contest giveaways, including tickets to the premiere of Star Trek in May.
Star Trek prizes from Lenovo
All images (unless otherwise noted) are by Mike Cornwell, special correspondent for TrekMovie.com and XO of the USS Las Vegas fan club (usslasvegas.org). Thanks also to Paul Walker (Captain of the USS Las Vegas).
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Comments»
Is that middle one supposed to be a communicator?
That first prop looks nothing like a communicator . . .
Are you sure that’s not supposed to be McCoy’s lightsaber?
That’s what I want to see, how the translated the props form the 60’s show to today..
im sorry
bones’ medical what?
God I hate these people.
and am i to accept the equipment ie communicator carrys the individual insignia of the ship to which it is used on. i hope thats KIRKS communicator and we dont see it in use on the kelvin etc.
Bones’ Tricorder is clearly not a modified salt shaker. DISASTER!
nice lightsaber
#1 & 2 – If you guys click on the photos, you will see the props listed with their labels on them from the display case.
Only 6 posts and the complaining and whining is in full swing. Please stop. I am embarrassed for you.
I wonder if that is a video screen on the communicator?
yeah, that’s tricorder, not communicator. you know, the salt shaker, from tos. it looks neat, i can’t wait to see a detailed phaser though
Dudes. Seriously. The props aren’t going to spoil the movie. Get over it.
Ditto.
i agree with the lightsaber comment :D
it looks more like the handheld scanner that comes w/ the actual medical tricorder. And then they made that piece larger (longer).
and the round shape looks more like a half spere rather then the flat shape we had in the show. nowmost of us wouild think that they would use it as a mini-viewscreen. But a half sphere? what are they gonna do w/ that? And dont say holo-communicator.
I like the ear piece.
I can se the hinge on the Communicator (On the top end), so it looks like it has the classic “Flip Action”.
I suspect McCoy’s medical Tricorder may be mislabeled. It looks more like a Hypospray, or a handheld medical scanner.
Uhura’s earpiece is spot on.
I am actually really surprised by how “retro” these look. Given that we’re in the iPhone generation, they could’ve easily gone too “futuristic” with Kirk’s communicator, but it looks like it’ll be very similar in function to the original series, which is cool.
I think that may not actually be all of Bones’ med. tricorder, but rather just the little whirring cylindrical probe thingy that he waves over people, or at least, I hope so. Also, ‘Kirk’s Communicator’ looks much more like an updated version of the classic tricorder than communicator.
does each ship get a communicator set with it’s own mission badge embossed on its cover?
tell me thats a speaker we see on the device, and not a holo-projector…
the comm station receiver earpiece looks pretty faithful, but couldnt anything really be described as a communications ‘unit’?
tricorder? maybe thats just the scanning wand…
well, at least we have new pictures, finally… more please!
yes but they’re tryin to keep it real.
why would the handheld get larger.?
also i noticed it has a ring on one end that might be used for a belt clip.
great that would make it look more like a lightsaber.
Why does the communicator look so much like a cell phone?
Who’s to say what the future will bring? So why not do a slightly updated version of the original tricorder and communicator? The earpiece is basically the same, so why change these props so very much? The believability of these objects wouldn’t be harmed by using the same basic shapes with some upteched details. These objects look like props from some other sci-fi project.
However, they won’t ruin the movie and are part and parcel of the new approach to this movie.
17: Is it possible they’ve made the communicators function like tricorders in the new film? Given what phones are capable of in the 21st century, it’s not hard to believe that 23rd century communicators could also handle the work of a tricorder, while Bones’ hypospray/cylindrical probe thingy has been given the “tricorder” title.
Wow, that’s a whole lot of canon-flamebait right there…
fun
Yeah, I’d buy the “Medical Tricorder” as a handheld scanner that works with a bigger unit like the familiar TOS unit with the shoulder strap. No problem with the earpiece; nice homage. The communicator looks like it would come from the same stylistic playbook as the Enterprise bridge, with a nod to the basic setup of the TOS unit.
23
fun?
Bones: “What is it?”
Marcus Welby M.D.: “It’s your father’s Lightsaber! This is the weapon of the Starfleet doctor. Not as clumbsy or random as a scalpel… “
Are you sure it’s a tricorder and not one of those “shake em” flashlights??
NO NO NO…
Bones: “What is it?”
Marcus Welby M.D. : “It’s your father’s Slidewhistle!
#10 pacimage: ‘I wonder if that is a video screen on the communicator?’
Whatcha wanna bet it’s a holographic and/or 3D interface of some sort?
24
then why the belt clip loop?
a double ended scanner?
i hold one on a belt clip and the rest in a bag slung over the sholder?
why not pull the scanner out of the bag?
26
LOL
#22
the fleet issue communicator of kirks era was a subspace transceiver, which had amazing range, faster than light reception and transmission (no distance lag) a locator beacon for transporter targeting and all without the support of a satellite network.
far more advanced than any iphone.
i like the new design, why couldnt they have had it flipped open?
i hope they let us see the fleet sidearms…
My big question is: When you open the lid on Kirk’s Magnifier, does the map light come on automatically?
I agree I think the tricorder is mislabled, the communicator who knows, but it could be a small view screen for two way visual communication instead of audio only. I guess we will see in May.
At least Uhura’s Bluetooth isn’t make a cheap ass Motorola!
If everything’s size is in relation to the earpiece, then they are probably the right size. They just look so HUGE in the case without something to reference the size with. If the communicator is as big as it looks, it will take two hands to operate. If on the other hand everything is pretty small, like the earpiece, then they should be just fine. I too thought of a light saber when I first saw the med tricorder. It all depends on their actual size.
#32: All that and more, judging by the Xbox 360 Guide Button.
Well, they got the earpiece right. Communicator looks a bit feeble, and the Bones’ endoscope is just plain odd. But at least Urban has McCoy’s medical pouch.
Hope these look better in context. Was hoping for a shot of the new phaser, but maybe next time.
22
But a lot of phones today are over-engineered, offering a bunch of features that many users never even bother with. Perhaps the rule of the day for 23rd century Starfleet is KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and so the communicator ends up being a simple, rugged piece of hardware.
oh great…mccoys tricorder looks like a freaking sex toy and kirks communicator looks like a weird webcam
#39: Could be. I’m not saying *I* think it’s oversized. I’m glad they’ve kept it so close to the original design (especially the flip-open design), and prefer its more dramatic, hands-on flair to TNG’s badge-style communicators.
It’s nice to see that Kirk will be schlepping around his own little mini-HAL from 2001.
I won’t comment on this right now.
I don’t know where to begin.
agast.
LOL at people complaining about the “Enterprise” chevron on the communicator. Yet another TOS silliness gone — the arrowhead is obviously a Starfleet-wide emblem, as it has been since TMP.
If you’re getting upset about *that* I can’t imagine the conniptions that will be happening in the movie theaters…
43
at the begining
McCoy’s “tricorder” is definitely smaller than first glance would suggest.
It may look like a light sabre at a distance, but judging from the communicator, it’s probably not much longer than a pen.
Bone’s thingy looks like an homage to the humble otoscope and the original universal translator … But whattup with the wire inside the clear part … maybe connected to that presumably removable remote whirligig that pops off the bottom? Odd. I figured by the 23rd century, everything would be wireless!
Communicator has a wide lens so big crowds or giant space anomalies can all fit in your web pix.
Uhura’s earpiece is virtually unchanged from the classic. Did they run out of the steam of change?
Scott B. out
44
isnt this generaly a pre-TOS story. before the fleet-wide TMP.
they’re even using it at the acedmey.
thats why people thought it was a gathering are for Enterprise crew.
Ok, so these are just sad. First the ear piece, theyre trying to give things a new look, a modern look, and they go all retro with that, in an age where we already have small bluetooth headsets, FAIL. Gonna say that the other two look like they’ve been designed so that they can be thrown into a McDonald’s happymeal. Really, if youre going to try and re imagine this movie, it seems kind of stupid to throw in little bits like this to be cute or something. Though yeah, the whole lets bitch about the starfleet delta being on the communicator, get over it. After all of the cannon that’s been walked over already, that’s nothing. Hell, even Enterprise pretty much forgot about that, and Im glad. With as many ships as you’d have in a fleet, giving each a different symbol is just a waste.
#44
if they cannot even take simple, established aspects of star trek with seriousness, what hope is there for the big things?
next thing you know, they’ll be building the 1701 somewhere other than san francisco and placing starfleet academy in iowa…
and then, why not have james kirk decide to join starfleet on a whim and become a captain right out of the academy?
whew, i hope they dont take it that far… that would be a shame.
#17 — “the little whirring cylindrical probe thingy”
LOL!
And don’t forget the machine that goes “ping!”
Even the old communicator looks better than that.
And tricorder? I can buy hypospray, but tricorder?
ummm … I like the ear thing.
50
LOL
thats ok.
its all alt universe.
a trek movie where nothing matters.
migth be fun to look at but the movie means nothing.
maybe good in an YE sorta way. but still not our kirk and co.
If you don’t like your medical treatment then, BZZZZZZZZZ, SLICE!
“It’s nice to see that Kirk will be schlepping around his own little mini-HAL from 2001.”
I loathe posting twice in this thread, but I had to say, this guy wrote exactly what I was thinking.
alternate universe = psyche! it was all just a dream!
feh.
The bones tricorder has to be the scanner part of the device (the old school salt shaker)… i hope it is anyway.
The communicator could have done with some golf ball style dimples on that black flip panel, but I bet it’ll look pretty cool once its operating and that circular area is glowing etc.
Not much to say about the earpiece, looks old school.
57
no more like then of St. Elswhere
update photo
close up you can see the reflection pf the person who took pic
any one see fingerprints?
Attention Jeffrey Wright:
Disparaging the movie is a bootable offense – although I think Anthony actually will just kick you once, through the gate, with a regular shoe.
I believe its a wingtip.
are wingtips canon ?
OK guys I have added a thing on the tricorders. The picture does not seem to match the description of the tricorder toy from Playmates. I will see if I can get to the bottom of this. Remember this is being done through Lenovo and so it is possible something got lost in the translation….or maybe that is the whole thing
You’re not supposed to care if they’re cannon or nnott. Canon is for the weak and small-minded. All that matters is that there’s something being released on film with the name “Star Trek” on it. All other concerns are frivilous and petty.
Well, I do like Uhura’s earpiece.
Re: #3 – Use the force Bones.
Re: # 33 – Maybe Kirk can burn ants w/ his magnyfier.
Re: # 15 – Agreed, it’s perfect for Uhura.
63
can we complain about the use of 23rd cent solder?
;D
for the record I have not worn wingtips since I worked for a bank
Ok, so the frequenters of this site who are on the side that gripes and moans about every single little detail are starting to remind me of a 3 year old in a high chair who shakes his head back and forth and clamps their mouth firmly shut when their mom tries to feed them something new.
Seriously…lighten up. Stress is bad for you, and I can tell that for some irrational reason…some people appear to be letting little details like these props to stress them out.
Just enjoy the ride. Or don’t. But either way, don’t let it make you angry! :)
68
is there an OFF-the record ;D
69
so thats where i got these grey hairs.
so whats worse? me complaining or the supreme court living with themselves.
well if ya look at the comunicator the lid lifts around it that black circle will be like the little swirrly circle on the originals nice bit of retro
Bones’ Medical Tricorder… Looks like you pull out that piece at the end. It’s like in TNG, where you have the little deeley plugged into the top of the tricorder and you use it separately to scan.
I hope. Either that, or George Lucas is going to come knocking down some doors.
72
wow
didn tthe circle thingy belong UNDER the lid
wasnt the citcle thingy FLAT
this one is wder at the bottom (wrong)
this one is fatter at the bottom (wrong)
…..
Look at the size of the earpiece. Then look at the size of the tricorder and communicator. Obviously these are all very small props. The communicator is probably the size of an ipod nano.
Enc and others
nothing is ‘wrong’ about these props they are new props. The people who complain about every difference are very silly. This movie is not supposed to be from that exact time and in fact Bobs magical universe resolves them of anything being ‘wrong’…and even if this were in the same exact timeline, this would take place before and so it could be different. They changed the props in almost every movie…were they all ‘wrong’
get real
Enc,
Why is it such a big deal that these props have some differences from the ones on the original show. I mean really. In fact, I am surprised at how much they do resemble the original.
#69. Rex
THANK YOU, REX!!!
And further, if you don’t like it, don’t ruin it for the rest of us. Please. Never seen so many miserable people in one place. Anthony, please disregard the negative posts. Love the article and what the props guys have done.
Oh, and Anthony… – - … “Treknology”…? Brilliant.
Thank you!
kg
gosh people, lol. Their just prop’s. I’m a trek fan since i was little and these props don’t bother me much. Its part of the film. How do you think people felt when they changed the costumes and what not from the original series to the movies in the 80’s ? It doesn’t matter. I feel indifferent about it all. The prop’s look cool and what else is there to say ? If you hate them, cool. But don’t get too insane over little props in a movie like this. THEIR JUST BLOODY PROPS. Change is good. Something the trek dream by gene encouraged.
IM SORRY-NOT CANNON. These ‘devices’ no way resemble the originals therefore, me & my crew of the USS.Nautlius will boycott all future trek!
Wow, these look amazing! This is really what I was hoping for in the new props. I eagerly await Anthony’s investigation on Bones’s tricorder, but the communicator and earpiece look spot on! I’ve seen props from TOS in the Smithsonian, phaser and such, and these stand up to MUCH more scrutiny up close. Looks like they maintain the same design and functionality as the original props, just with a 21st century facelift.
You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time. But you can never please all of the trekkies. ever. Lighten up guys! It will all look great in the movie.
Ehhhhhhh. That ain’t a tricorder.
Man you guys weren’t kidding about Bone’s Tricorder. Check it out…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/PixelMagic/bones_saber.jpg
re: 83. Daniel Broadway,
LOL
Very Nice!
83
LOL
Ha!
Nah. I’m sure someone probably just mislabelled it. They meant to say “universal translator” like the one used in the TOS ep “Metamorphosis”. Let’s wait and see what Anthony finds out.
kg
83. very nice.
Seriously, how on earth could the producers of this movie used exact replicas of Kirk’s communicator and had the movie not be a total camp-fest?
No screen, and radial dials to “tune” the signal?
Modern day phones are more advanced for f*** sake.
You people can’t be serious that you would want that.
F’ing garbage!
I thought JJ said he wanted to make Star Trek “real”??
That junk looks just as crappy as 1960’s TOS junk. How the hell is that disassembled MagLite supposed to be a tricorder??!
the whiners around here SERIOUSLY need to get over it ALL. These props look great. They dont look exactly how YOU think they should look. So. freakin. what?
You’re spoiling this for all of us. and more pathetically youre ruining it for yourselves!
Props to the props. and down with the whining. Someone already said it way up there in the comments: “Please stop. I’m embarrassed for you.”
whiners.
ok
list all re-makes (whatever) that updated
and list re-makes that didnt.
which ones worked. what were the fan reactions.
40. Kirk09 – LOL, right on brother … they got the labels backwards, it should be L-R, Uhura’s vibrator, Kirk’s Magnifying glass, McCoy’s Tricorder audio interface/scanner (why read a screen when the computer can just talk to you).
Anthony,
I wear my doc marten wingtips everyday! I have four pair. Two black and two brown. They work with chinos, khakis, jeans, kilts & lederhosen.
One mustn’t be ashamed of decent footwear.
RE: tribble farmer – January 7, 2009
“Ehhhhhhh. That ain’t a tricorder.”
Indeed. That first prop looks more like a universal translator.
94
and who does the talking?
Tawny Madison
That medical tricorder looks suspiciously like a light saber.
That Kelvin laptop is badass. And not just badass, Robau-style badass.
…Tricorder? That thing looks like a dildo built with spare parts from Home Depot! ;-(
Why do people keep comparing 21st century cell phones and bluetooth headsets to devices that operate across the vacuum of space, over hundreds of thousands of miles, without ever having to be recharged, and without requiring local cell towers disguised as trees?
Isn’t it conceivable that those kind of devices might need to be a TAD larger than your $79 Motorola flip phone?
Stop comparing them.
Clearly the medical Tricorder is just the old magic wand/salt shaker that McCoy used to wave at people to determine if they were human or not. Looks fine to me.
Uhura’s earpiece looks perfect.
The communicator, not so much. I miss the gold screen “antenna” cover.
And where is the real Tricorder, the one Spock uses?
That medical tricorder looks to be about the size of a hypospray. Since it appears to be a stand alone scanning wand instead of being associated with a shoulder-slung tricorder unit, I’m OK with it being bigger than the TOS medical scanner. I’m willing to bet that when we see it being waved at a patient to get readings it’ll feel just like old times.
The communicator pays enough homage to the original while still looking updated. It’s fine.
Uhura’s earpiece is a nice salute to the original too. It’s a little surprising that they kept so much of the original design, but being such a small prop that it’s good they didn’t overthink it.
Relax people.
Wow! Those props are top notch. A perfect traditional-modern mix.
Once again, Anthony posts something new for us to see and everyone decides to sh!t on it.
You canonistas are so predictable!
Anthony: thanks for keeping us in the loop with the film. I’m reserving my judgement for when I actually see the new movie.
I couldn’t have said it better myself:
89. Harley3k – January 7, 2009
Seriously, how on earth could the producers of this movie used exact replicas of Kirk’s communicator and had the movie not be a total camp-fest?
No screen, and radial dials to “tune” the signal?
So which mobile phone company is going to be selling the movie tie-in Kirk’s Communicator cell phone and Uhura’s Communications Unit Bluetooth earpiece? >;>}
It’s the iCommunicator! These props looks good
Uhura’s earpiece doesn’t look all that different from TOS. As far as the communicator goes, that puppy is closed so we have no idea what it looks like when flipped open. I had the same reaction to the scanner…it looks like a lightsaber.
83.
LOLOLOL….Bones, the reincarnated ObiWan!!!
89 and 103
How would it have been a camp-fest to use the original communicator? Who would have defined it as such? The main audienece for this sci-fi film will be Trekies. Don’t know why there is a fear of camp. These gadgets are no-more real than the 60’s version. Does using something from the TV show automatically signal camp?
The Uhura ear-piece looks like the TV show version, maybe smaller. Looks fine. McCoy’s medical device is more bulky here than the original, but looks fine. The original was fine too. Didn’t need updating really. The communicator is yet another change that could have at least been closer to the original. This appears to be a flip device..the modernization could have been limited to the inside only. They could have kept a brass-looking lid.
All that said, this is really Pike’s era. We’d have to go back to The Cage to see which classic props these are “replacing”. Their communicators were very in need of an update. It may be that a new communicator could appear in the sequel that has the brass flipper.
Don’t look now!! They changed up the type of shoes they wear !!!! Stop the presses!!!!
Hey to all you canonistas , enjoy your 60’s design astechtic with your DST replicas , hey I like thoses designs too . But who’s to say that Starfleet , which has been been known to change up coustume , props , and ship designs year to year , btw, who’s to say that for a period of time before the TOS timeframe that everything looked like it came out of the apple Istore , then around the time TOS started the Starfleet R&D people said “Hey let’s move away from this glossy advanced look and go for something that looks retro !”
It could happen .
What’s with the light saber?
#49. I’m tired of the “my iPhone looks more modern than that” blah blah blah. Can your bluetooth headset receive subspace communications? Can your iPhone contact an orbiting starship without the help of a satellite? I love my iPod touch, but if I had a chance to exchange it for a “bulky ol’” tricorder that had 3/4 of the knowledge of all of the galaxy on it I’d probably do the swap!
Good to see they still have DILDOS in the 23rd Century.
I agree with #75, these props look very small, the “Tricorder” has to be the “salt shaker” part and comparing it to the ear piece it can’t be much longer than a AA battery, hardly a light sabre, I think you people watch way too much science fiction :P
These all look pretty cool to me, just more replicas to add to my collection!
Definately not a medical tricorder.
Perhaps a medical bay scanner, but not a tricorder.
#112. But by the 24th century they get more advanced–isn’t that what Data was in the Naked Now?
I bet Kirk’s communicator crashes on the last day of leap years. :P
Communicator? And yes that does look like a lightsaber.
As usual with this movie, it sucks.
Okay, but how many MP3’s does Kirk Communicator hold?
Weren’t the ’salt and pepper shakers’ that the original McCoy used actually supposed to be laser scapels, not medical tricorders or medical scanners that a lot of people seem to be inaccurately referring to?
What ’til the phaser gets shown …
William Conrad is nowhere to be seen on these props, so it’s NOT CANNON!
I have the funny feeling that the ‘medical tricorder’ is actually a hypospray. Also betting that we are not meant to see any of the wiring inside, probably a prototype/unfinished version (I hope) We should never see wires on Star Trek props.
Communicator looks okay, at least they have kept the flip open lid. But it does look a bit plastic/rubbery to me.
Uhura’s ear piece is spot on! But it would be hard to make too many changes to such a small prop.
Back to Bones.
If we assume that the new communicator is the same length as the original (4.34 inches (yes I am that sad)) Then that means that McCoy’s medical instrument is about 6.5 inches long. I think that the metal ring at one end is for Bones to hold while injecting some of us with a sedative before we get to overwrought with the props…. So in my semi (self) informed opinion, it is definitely a medical hypospray, Jim!
Any thoughts on this? Anyone….?
M. Lynch out :-)
Earpiece: Groovy.
Communicator: Yeah, that’s cool.
“Tricorder:” No, it isn’t. As others have said, it really has to be some kind of hand-scanner or hypospray or (really the most likely, perhaps) lightsaber. I wonder if McCoy had to build his own to complete his Jedi Physician training?
#119
You know that we have already seen a Klingon disruptor in the trailer? Right near the end when Kirk is shooting at something (about 1:46). It is definitely a Klingon disruptor, the design looks great, a real homage to the original.
Hope that they take as much care with the phaser. But I don’t think they will change things too radically. After all look at the new Enterprise, oh wait…
For those jumping up and down by this point, the previous sentence was a joke. Sheesh, talk about uptight. Okay that was a joke too. Lighten up guys… :-)
Looks like Star Trek has caught on to the Lightsaber Franchise! oh and one could make a killing with it as a Bones Tricorder/Pepper Shaker once the Merchandising starts!
Now, Kirks Com…it looks like a combination of a cellphone and a newage laser mouse…:S
But they look good anyway, and its good to finally see something from the Movie…with hardly anyone, if no-one knowing the Plot…
Man, its gunna be some kind of wait until May the 7th…
NZJ
124. NZ_Jackie – January 8, 2009
Yeah, and us ‘down’ here get to see the thing before everyone else (well, almost everyone else)!
Everything about this movie seems to be a love/hate relationship with the fans. Either someone loves it or they hate it. We are an overly nitpicky, cranky bunch. Remember this film is supposed to revitalize the franchise we love. It either succeeds or we will be a dying breed. How can you judge a movie without seeing it? Let’s wait to see the movie before we jump to conclusions. Props, ships, etc. do not make a film. The acting and the script do. The rest is there to help tell the story. By the way, no one every really expected it to look exactly like the original. If you did, you were kidding yourself.
As for the props:
Communicator: I like it and it looks like a great modern twist on TOS equipment much like the uniforms (as seen on the Enterprise in the pictures previously released) were a great modern take on the 1960’s TOS uniforms.
Earpiece: Looks like the original.
Tricorder: I agree that it looks like either a hypospray or the detachable scanner. However, since more information is going to be gathered on this prop I reserve judgment.
As for the concerns about the “Enterprise” insignia being used for all of Starfleet: I believe that was concerned when the spy photos from the “Starfleet Academy” set was released. It makes sense to do that as it is instantly recognizable as Star Trek and that it connects it to future generations of Trek where that insignia was the insignia of all of Starfleet. In short, that’s one change I’m glad they made.
125, Rod @ New Zealand – January 8, 2009
Isn’t it great sometimes to be a New Zealander! :D
NZJ
starfleet delta being on the communicator, well we already knew that in this new movie the delta was going to stand for starfleet , like it did from tmp onwards. but i mean we see in ent that starfleet was using a side ways delta even if every ship still had its own patch , maybe by the time of this movie they changed it to the upwards delta for the hole organisation , then by TOS time they changed it back to every ship having its own patch, expect the enterprise witch got to keep cause it was the flag ship (yes i know thats not cannon that tos ship was the flag ship but it would make sense , but like why was the Constitution not the flag ship …..idk it sucked maybe , or cause enterprise was already a important name since the nx-01.
I love the naked wirings in Bones’ medical tricorder. It’s pays a nice homage to some kind of retro style.
Starfleet designers are like Apple. They are pretty proud about their brand, so the slab the logo on anything. Not only the communicator or some roadsign in Iowa, even Kirks duffle bag has one on it (the one on the ice planet).
I actually went down to the Venetian and checked out the props. I’ve got to say pretty cool stuff I noticed they used a lot of stuff right off the shelf just like the original series. A nice job by the prop department especially the medical scanner.
CORRECTION of 131…
They are pretty proud about their brand, so they slap the logo on anything.
The ONLY re-design I like out of these, is the Uhura ‘earpiece’….
Oh well, just my own 2 cents.
AWESOME! :)
So with the communicator, I wonder if the glass is a wide angle lens…
Did anyone think that maybe they mixed up the little signs for the communicator and the Tricorder?
(It wouldn’t be the first time)
It would then make more sense if “Kirk’s Communicator” were actually his “Universal Translator.” It even fits what’s known about the plot.
Off-topic, but I feel his pain!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3fu656gGkhI
Well, could be worse. The earpiece looks like a copy of the original (finally they got something right). Communicator looks ok. It has a little toyish look about it (Apple anyone?). The medical Scanner (Tricorder is probably mislabled here) looks like it has some wiring inside. Could be that the lower end is detachable and used in combination with the wiring attached to it as a form of stethoscope.
This communicator looks like a 2009 cellphone. How original.
Hard to judge props until you see them in action. I love the communicator.
Maybe the wire on the detachable scanner is some kind of HIPA requirement — Bluetooth wouldn’t be quite secure. ;-)
#104. For some mad reason, I’m predicting Apple get the communicator/phone replica gig!
I’ll buy one!
no phaser? Im hoping for something a little like the Star Trek III phaser as opposed to Enterprises ray guys (yeah i know its not in keeping with canon what with The Cage/WNMHGB stuff but this is a different timeline right?)
in fact since this is a different timeline the surely that can explain why everything looks abit different yes~? (from commuincators and tricoders to the Enterprise ‘A’ insignia being used for Starfleet in general much eariler than it was)
I like the idea of the “medical tricoder” having a bottle opener hahah
I too think bones tricorder was mislabled! I think its a scanning device used to treat crew in sickbay. Also i like kirks communicator and uhuras ear piece. Soo many people complaining about simple things and the movie isnt even out yet. Give this movie a chance guys .
Do you suppose when fanboys first saw Star Wars, they wondered why Obi-wan and Vader were thrusting and fencing with Universal Translators?
The reason these look so big is because there’s no sense of scale. All of you complaining about the “lightsaber” should take a photo class and learn how to scale.
all you whiners and complainers really crack me up. just face the fact, you are so against this movie that you will hate EVERYTHING about it.
I swear, if any of you complainers are sitting in front of me at the movie complaining the whole time.. I WILL smack the back of your head! LoL
FULL AHEAD!!
WHINGE FACTOR WARP 7!!
“it is obvious this contest wont be decided by our knowledge of medical science..but with our skills of a medical tricorder…”
Kirk’s gettin’ an iPhone !!!
I think there might be some mix ups here. But whatever Mcoy’s instrument/scanner really is, it looks like it is simply a tube container that holds the actual equipment. The thing on the end that resembles McCoy’s scanner is clearly attachted to a wire that has a whole lot of slack in it and no doubt it attached to some other piece of equipment inthe oppsite side of the tube. But I bet it all slides out…or at least the part on the end is meant to come off and out. At any rate, it’s cool and retro looking and could have easily dropped right out of The Cage.
The communicator, (if that is what it really is) looks like it could have a flip top lid that leaves the screen exposed at all times. But boy it looks awkward to handle, too flat and square…not very practical ergonomically. So, while it looks plausible, I find it hard o imagine holding it and flipping the top open while running and being shot at by Romulans. And I hate the delta emblem being stamped onto everything. Looks like a branded toy that would have “copyright paramount pictureses 2009″ stamped on the back. Looks more like a new tricorder to me.
The earpiece….well, who can argue? Why mess with perfection?
say what you want, that communicator looks better than most of the TOS movie versions of the device (how about that godawful gray brick from TWOK?).
Wonder if they’ll sell the communicator as a cell, with the earpiece bluetooth enabled??
The props look great. Thes are for a time before TOS. The earpiece is billet aluminum, so Uhura gets a sweet hot rod accessory, kirk’s iCommunicator looks really good and very durable. It’s a step down in engineering from TOS as the flip cover is wider and covers the body of the communicator. In other words, when you grab the thing, his thumb and other four fingers would naturally grab hold of the black cover, as it’s the wider not the silver body, so it would be difficult to man-handle and flip it open since it overhangs and drapes over the body, leaving little surface area to hold with the cover closed. We’ll see. The glass orb thing on it might be the spinning-moire thing, but may be a little reminiscent of the warp nacelle caps. Who knows. I somehow doubt the communicator has video. The tricorder can do that on away missions.
McCoy’s tricorder might be a suped-up scanner with a tiny readout to be used when a full tricorder is not feasible, or perhaps it’s a universal translator.
All in all, joking aside, these props look fantastic. Very production made looking, even though we know they are custom one-offs. Beautiful props from dedicated prop-makers.
I’d like to see the communicator open, not closed.
=A=
The communicator reminds me of a Ipod or cellphone…not that that’s bad because the communicator inspired the production of both bits of tech.
The Diagnostic wand actually makes sense if this is a older model of the salt shaker being used.
Ear piece = fancy bluetooth
Woot :)
69 Rex
76 Kruge
AMEN !!!
Oh, and complainers:
There’s a sale on diapers – isle 5
Uhura’s ear piece is good. Still looks like the traditional communicator, flip up top with an added bonus to it. I can see why the ring at the end of McCoy’s medical scanner is useful. So he can just clip it to his belt. But when you think about it, it is a little large to be the small medical scanner. But then a simple word, upgrade.
It all looks about right to me. 70% retro, 30% post-60s, and 100% Trek. Good job Orci and crew!
And like someone else said, if a cell-phone was available in that design with a bluetooth to match, I’d be in. Cross-marketing ain’t all bad, after all!
So to everyone that says the piece is realistic cause its ok that it weighs five pounds cause it pics up subspace communications…wouldnt it be reasonable to assume that its actually the ship that pics them up and transmits to the headset? Seems like if that’s the case, a bluetooth headset would do just fine. I could accept the lightsaber if it does turn out to be just a medical scanner or hypospray, if they get rid of the wires, otherwise it just looks like theyre trying to throw in little bits of TOS retro to please the fans. I havent seen the communicator open yet, so I guess any final judgement is premature. Still, they look like theyre right out of a happy meal. Gives me a bad feeling about the movie, thats for sure. Thank god props isnt in charge of everything.
The “tricorder” sure looks like a medical device… for scanning special areas.
OK- I am a serious canonite, but these don’t offend me at all. The supposed tricorder is obviously the medical “Feinberger” (and if you know why I call it that, you’ve probably been watching Trek for a while), the earpiece is perfect, and the communicator I can’t judge until I see it used, though the overall body shape is very classic Trek. I like the clear parts on the wand though- reminds me of the see through communicator in “The Cage.”
of course it is so simple to see that the window on the front of Kirk’s communicator is for caller ID and to use as a handy clock. They don’t wear wristwatches in the 22nd Century after all!
“Jim, I am a doctor, not a Jedi knight!”
What’s funny to me about this thread is that the only prop everyone likes/is fine with is the earpiece. Draw your own conclusions.
Scott B. out.
I can accept McCoy’s new tricorder because I think they’re replacing three gizmos with one. Instead of a medical tricorder, scanner/salt shaker, and hypospray, THIS looks like it could be all three.
Why would they make a tiny scanner into a wand-sized scanner? If they didn’t change Uhura’s earpiece much, I doubt they’d change a tiny scanner without reason. Reason? They’ve incorporated three tools into one, which makes sense…
Bones said it best: “I know engineers; they love to change things!”
Still, the damned thing looks just like a friggin’ lightsaber!
–167. Scott B. here. – January 8, 2009
“What’s funny to me about this thread is that the only prop everyone likes/is fine with is the earpiece. Draw your own conclusions.”
What’s your point? I think the conclusions are obvious: some fans (myself) are open to change but not to POINTLESS change, which we fear is happening here; and some fans are not open to change at all. Thus, many fans find the almost-unchanged earpiece to be great because “why fix something if it ain’t broke?”
Or did you have some other point about your conclusions….?
ok, I’ve had enough. That thing looks as much like a lightsaber as a 1966 Ford Mustang looks like a Delorean.
And yes, #164, I agree. Whatever that thing is, it is very much reminiscent of the first pilot props.
You can be dollars to donuts the guys who make replica props are already started on these. “AS SEEN AT YOUR LOCAL CONVENTION BY SUMMER 2009″
I agree with whoever said the item labeled tricorder looks more like a universal translator. I can see that or a hypospray or tricorder peripheral. I want to see the communicator opened up and, of course, the phaser!
On second glance, I’m going with hypospray. That ring on the top of it could be the plunger.
I like them, and I’ve been really picky about art direction.
148 ChristopherPike: Yes, I do.
I don’t see any problem with these props, although I think that is a “medical scanner” (the updated salt shaker)—not a tricorder.
Still, I wouldn’t expect a 23rd Century medical tricorder to be as bulky as it was depicted in the 1960’s. It would probably be every bit as compact as a blackberry phone.
The earpiece is nearly identical to what was depicted in the Original Series.
I especially like the communicator.
Come on, I agree that props are not going to make a difference in this movie, but that tricorder looks ridiculous and totally non-functional. Is that electrical tape we see inside? With wires soldered to the bottom part? Solder? It looks like something an electronics hobbyist would jury-rig in his garage.
[...] January 8, 2009 Trekmovie.com has a report today on props from the new Star Trek film. Go ahead, check it out. Then come [...]
My stuffs cooler.
I guess McCoy gave up his Jedi healing techniques and lightsaber by the time the TOS episodes began. And a good thing too. I think he looked better in his shiny blue smock than his rough Jedi cape.
I thought the communicator was a paperweight!
I see the props are as “true” to the original series as just about everything else connected with this movie….
At least Uhura’s earpiece looks right.
I’m blown away by the negativity happening here. This is worse than when they unveiled the new Enterprise. What reactions.
I think the props are * proper * and very kewl.
=h=
However, I must appreciate the fact that there has been absolutely no whining about the trekmovies dot com logo on these exclusive proprietary pictures.
So its bittersweet. I’m proud of you all, and disappointed in you all, all at the same time.
THE WOMEN!!
=h=
Great stuff.
I wonder if the med scanner innards rotate on that spindle ?) near the bottom.
I’d love to see the communicator open. It’s a forgone conclusion that Abram’s 23rd Century will not have humans with communicator chips in their heads, and that he’s made a decision to keep the “tools of the trade” aspect of Star Trek. They are not as ‘whiz-bang’ as the inside of the E, but are simply meant to perform their functions.
Someone way at the top of the thread reminded that the TOS communicator as seen in the 1960s is quite advanced compared to 21st century tech considering its size, range, features and overall performance.
Oh, and I’m happy they’re calling him “Bones” in the film.
It looks like just the black part of the communicator is what will flip open, so I’m assuming that “blue half sphere” is actually on the main body. Likely an update of the silver foil circle from the classic communicator.
I dig it.
I consider myself a pretty hard-core Trek fan, and more or less a “purist”. I know canon inside and out, and I don’t like when people try to change canon.
But even I think these props are GREAT. No matter what else I might think about the film, I have to admit that they did an awesome job when it comes to props. They all look instantly recognizable, slick, and yet less modern than there TOS counterparts.
Excellent work, prop guys!
Love the Starfleet soldering job on Bones’ Tricorder. Very 23rd Century “George Washington Bridge” technology.
Props look pretty cool… we should consider ourselves lucky the communicator doesn’t have an Apple log on it.
I can’t wait to see Dr. McCoy take on Darth Maul with that sweet lightsaber!
It certainly looks to me like the medical tricordr is inside the round case that you guys keep calling a light saber.
These look great.
That communicator with the dome is an advanced version of the Bone Phone.
http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2831
Kirk’s Communicator is obviously camouflaged product placement.
Mark My words: One of the cell phone companies will be releasing that as a special edition Star Trek branded product.
#20: you mean ‘why does a cell phone look so much like a communicator?’ don’t you? –grin–
McCoy’s tricorder looks more like the old language translator (to me)
(all three) Looks cool to me!!!
Wonder if the communicator will still flip open. This could just be the front cover (with the half sphere thing being a window to see the actual screen / spinning pattern thingy inside).
The Lightsaber looks nice. Maybe it’s an integrated laser scapel. Haha.
#150: LOL!!!! Hilarious (oh, and I am with you…. one complaint and they’ll be wearing my popcorn and slushy… and anything else I can find to throw at them)!!!
I don’t mind if that is Bone’s tricorder in sickbay. It looks nice and if it is not attached to the old TOS box tricorder I would accept it as being on a bluetooth type technology that works in sickbay. That isn’t unreasonable to me. But in the field I don’t know about it being the entire tricorder.
oops! I meant #148…
These props look awesome! Thanks for posting this Anthony.
And to the canonistas. If you’re gonna keep posting all this negative stuff every post just do us all a favor….shut the hell up and go away.
I expected these props to change a lot more to be honest. In light how they messed up the Enterprise. I thought they would change the equipment too. While it makes no sense to change the design of the Enterprise a change in design to something like an iphone for the communicator and a umd for the tricorder. So the argument “It’s for a new generation of fans” is out the window. While a “new fan” would not care how the Enterprise looks, the fans do. The props look like cheap chinese rip offs from the originals. So they do appeal neither to old or new fans.
I think the communicator is pretty much like the original, with what looks like an addition I always wondered why they never had (with all their technology): a viewscreen. The black section on top obviously has a hinge down on each side, and I imagine the controls are underneath. Very cool!
those are all small items. remember, uhura’s ear piece needs to fit in her ear. use that for scale.
193- SChaos1701
I don’t think 194 got the message….
#189 “Wonder if the communicator will still flip open.”
Well, it’s certainly designed to, you can see the round hinge at the rear.
The problem is, as someone stated earlier, its really hard to snap the wrist and flip it open the prop if your fingers wrap around and block it while holding it. The flaw is the antenna overlapping the entire piece.
The TOS communcators were designed with plenty of room all around the sides to hold while the slimmer antenna was never touched your fingers, leaving it free to flip open with ease. In order for Kirk to flip this communicator, he would have to somehow manage to hold only the bottom half of the unit…and putting enough pressure to hold it tight, would make it pop out of your hand like a bar or soap. Also, while I love the idea of an exposed screen/lens…a gold grid would’ve been most welcome and looked so much better than the plastic cover. Oh well. The clear tube thing…whatever it is, it appropriately “cagey” and the earpiece is simple and looks great.
RE: 187 – D’oh!
I’ll eat a tribble if you’re wrong.
Scott B. out.
The communicator looks a little… well, plain. But, it certainly has the right shape from profile! I’m assuming a video screen, or something similar.
I do miss the metal grid, but eh. As long as the overall look evokes the same feeling… like Uhura’s antenna piece… perfect update with little change!
I can only assume that’s a scanner or similar for McCoy… Looks like a universal translator!
I say… Thumbs Up!!!! Looks good so far! Now let’s see a phaser 1 and 2!!
It’s obvious the communicator flips open, but I wonder why? With the original design the lid was an antenna. This one it’s not as obvious.
Of course “Doctor” McCoy would have the “Doctor’s” sonic screwdriver. That only makes sense. “Damn it Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a Timelord “
I dunna think I like what I see Captain.
It’s not a lightsaber, it’s a sonic screwdriver. He is a Doctor after all…
That communicator is disappointingly pedestrian and highly UNergonomic. The embossed logo comes off as very toylike.
#198- Totally agree.
As a prop aficionado, I’m not thrilled.
Earpiece: SWEET!!! =D
Communicator: Not bad, NEED TO SEE INSIDE!!!
Medical SENSOR: Looks like the “Salt Shaker” has become the “Pepper Grinder” heh! Also looks a little too much like a prototype, with wiring visible.
Still need to see “Spock’s” Tricorder and “Scotty’s” Phaser…
I like Uhura’s communications device but not Kirk’s communicator or McCoy’s medical tricorcer. I knew they would change some things *COUGH* iBridge *COUGH*, but I’m sorry. The “medical tricorder” looks more like it belongs in the future scenes from VOY’s finale “Endgame” or DS9’s “The Visitor”.
Seems some folks complain when the equipment dosen’t look like TOS style and still complains when it does. I say good job for keeping it real. Can’t wait to see it all in the movie.
I decided to sleep on these images to get an idea besides my first “burn reaction” to them and, frankly, I like the ear piece(hard/impossible to mess that up), the “tricorder” I would guess is a mislabeled prop, or alternately, it’s a piece of a larger prop, and the communicator… yeah, I really really don’t like that design. Why the Delta on it? What is that shiny orb thing in the middle where the moire pattern speaker used to be? Why is it silver and black(EVERYTHING in modern scifi seems to be silver and freaking black)? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice attempt, I could totally have accepted it in the 80’s for a new communicator had they not used the commbadge… but for TOS, it seems a bit… overly modern.
It feels almost as if someone designed that and said “Hey, this old stuff looked neat, so we’ve designed this to look similar but it’s totally 100% new tech that has only the slightest most superficial link to the original.”
But yeah, I’m alright with the tricorder(assuming it’s gonna have some other thing it interacts with that has a screen on it) and the ear piece… but the communicator, in my opinion, is a fail.
Ack! Kelvington beat me!
#83: Genius!! LOL.
These are very cool — can’t wait to see them in action.
Communicator, sure
Earpiece, (ouchy), but ok
Medical Tricorder? I agree, it’s likely not and is being mislabeled.
#197 It’s these canonistas who pawn themselves off as “fans” who ruin Star Trek for everyone else.
[...] Link (via) [...]
Thanks Anthony!
…would love to see Kelvin era hardware as well!!
Actually, the communicator comes with the Verizon network.
JJ Abrams will make a cameo appearance in the movie as the Verizon “can you hear me now” guy.
[...] Fuente: Trekmovie.com [...]
194. Unbel1ever – January 8, 2009
“I expected these props to change a lot more to be honest. In light how they messed up the Enterprise. I thought they would change the equipment too. While it makes no sense to change the design of the Enterprise a change in design to something like an iphone for the communicator and a umd for the tricorder. So the argument “It’s for a new generation of fans” is out the window. While a “new fan” would not care how the Enterprise looks, the fans do. The props look like cheap chinese rip offs from the originals. So they do appeal neither to old or new fans.”
You can speak only for yourself, not me or anyone else.
The “Delta” insignia may simply mean “Property of Starfleet Command.” It’s prominent as a symbol on ship’s doors, etc., as well. One would assume that civilians use similar devices which do not have a delta.
In our reality, Abrams may be using the delta as a branding device, so for us, it’s the brand.
There’s an argument I think I keep hearing, and have been hearing since Enterprise which I think is not applicable. Berman was talking about how the communicator from TOS looked silly because cell phones are smaller now. Though my cell phone is smaller, I also can’t use it to tap into faster than light communications, just start talking and have the person I want on the other side, or use its transtator technology to build sensors or weapons. Yes, my blackberry is smaller than a Tricorder, but it doesn’t tell me in real time what geological changes are going on under my feet, how many lifeforms are in the building next door, or the genetic code of the viruses breeding in my coffee cup.
Yes this new communicator looks big- but what does it do? What is the basis for its technology? This may be really micro for 23rd century technology which does all it does. Just a thought.
I guess I can explain the differences in the props to those in TOS in that this takes place before “The Cage” and in an alternate universe. I like how Uhura’s earpiece is the same, in any universe! ;-)
Is it just me or does the Communicator have hinges?
Hopefully it flips open like the original communicator, which would be cool.
For those of you complaining about the new communicator, nothing was worse than that wrist communicator they used in Star Trek the Motion Picture.
The communicator used in Star Trek the Motion Picture was the worst communicator in the history of Star Trek.
(For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about the communicator was an awful half watch looking thing.)
This is a link if you need to see photo of it. http://www.neweyestudio.com/ebayD/ebd509.jpg
Uhura’s earpiece looks just like the original. I am sure the tricoreder will be explained in the movie.
#197 It’s these canonistas who pawn themselves off as “fans” who ruin Star Trek for everyone else.
+1
220: I have that toy!!!!
Daniel Broadway#383- LMAO!
It’s Anakin Skywalker’s lightsabre
McCoy’s gadget looks a cross between a light sabre and Dr Who Sonic Screwdiver.
Freakin COOL! Way to go Abrams!!!
Now show us the PHASER.
I gots me Spock shirt and geek hat on, propeller and all. LMAO :-D
Ya know, I really hated the new Indiana Jones. I thought it was absolutely dreadful, and shouldn’t have even been called Indiana Jones. Sure, I wasn’t as traumatized as Stan & Kyle (http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/187266/), but I was pretty disturbed. Yet, I have never felt it necessary to visit Indy 4 websites and express how bad it was again, and again, and again, and again…you get the point. Doing that would simply provoke me and reopen the wound.
I’m not against expressing an opinion, but I do have to wonder what some of you get out of rolling out the same complaints over and over again, before you’ve even seen the movie. Does it somehow cleanse your soul? Does it make you happy? I honestly wonder. Because I’m pretty sure it would make me unhappy.
RE: #215 – “JJ Abrams will make a cameo appearance in the movie as the Verizon “can you hear me now” guy.”
LOL! I knew I’d seen that guy somewhere before!
Scott B. out.
I’d really like a functional cellphone that looks EXACTLY like the communicator.
Hey cell phone manufacturers…. Can you here me now???
I mean “hear” not “here”. lol
Looks like Star Trek is behind the times already.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2161001/posts
Look to me like STAR TREK TMP had a more accurate depiction of the future than JJ’s flick.
Enough already!
I see people trying to be kind but let’s get real, besides Uhura’s earpiece this things look like disasters! The Enterprise looks like a disaster. The bridge looks like a disaster. Why didn’t they just do a play on stage since obviously the ship, props, sets, costumes don’t have anything to do with a “good movie for fans of movies”.
Nice lightsaber. Nice iPhone with camera. (My guess is the phone, er communicator “slides” open).
Good God.
To everyone complaining about the tricorder. You all realize its only about 6 inches long. Nowhere near a light saber. Much closer to Bone’s sensor wand.
227 – I hear you.
I suspect there may be some VFX on that silver orb on screen, like the swirlies we see moving on the Bridge displays in the trailer. Lots of motion, indicating complex activity, while reminding the audience vaguely of the OS Moire pattern.
The delta is probably to help establish it as Starfleet visually. We see that same delta all over the banners in the spy shots of the Academy.
Personally, I like these props. Makes me want to get the Playmates toys, and the Uniform when it comes out from Rubies.
Okay, these things have to be SMALL. Look at the picture of the entire Trek display. The case with the props is small compared to the rest of the display.
It’s funny about everyone complaining that the communicator looks like a cell phone when the cell phone designers based it on the TOS communicator flip top. if you do ANYTHING that faintly resembles the original, it WILL look like a cell phone.
What do you folks WANT?
According to this It’s A Wrap auction, one of the original earpieces is 2.75 X 1.5 X 1 inch
http://startrekpropcollector.com/trekauctions/items/8708
Going by the estimation that the earpiece is the same size and is 1 inch wide, I made a picture guide of the relative sizes:
http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/410/trek09propsizesma7.jpg
Looks like the “tricorder” is about 1.3 inches wide and the communicator is 2.4 inches wide, making it about the size of an iPhone or iPod touch.
Thought that might be useful.
#230
If you hate it so much, then JUST DON’T SEE THE MOVIE AND STOP COMING TO THIS SITE AND RUINING IT FOR EVERYONE!!!! More room in the theatre and bandwidth on this site for me.
“What do you folks WANT?”
You would have thought that was obvious by now.
Thanks #234! It does help. I was staring at the whole display picture trying to estimate sizes. I’m going to be in Vegas this weekend so I’ll see it but it’s nice to know now.
Here is JJ’s middle finger to Trekkers that have supported this franchise with their hard earned money and emotional attachment for 40 years.
For every hard core Trekker he’d rather have 18 Joe Schmoe’s from the trailer park schlop on over to the place where they show moving pictures and gaze the new “flick”, “Hey Bobbi Jean, did ya see those new gizmo’s that pointy ear guy has, great! Pass me some more popcorn! Uh uh uh”
#54: “a trek movie where nothing matters.”
You say this as though the previous Trek movies matter. Trek has a long, long history of contradicting itself. You can either accept this and realize the value of Trek is in its *essence* rather than its *trappings* or continue to subject yourself to the cognitive dissonance of pretending the changes for this new movie are somehow unprecedented.
Trappings are fashion and are therefore time-locked. TOS looks very much like a show out of the 1960s, not anything like a realistic view of the 23rd century will be like. The TOS movies look very little like the TOS series, yet also purports to be the 23rd century, but they’re just as inaccurate.
To get hung up on the trappings and details is to operate under the assumption that Trek is trying to give us a vision of life in the future in terms of those trappings and details. It’s not, and it never has. The trappings and details have always been a reflection of the contemporary audience that watches it.
1960s Trek looked like “1960s in the future” and 1980s Trek looked like “1980s in the future.” Why can’t 2000s Trek look like “2000s in the future”?
OK lets stop with saying some people are not ‘fans’ if they don’t agree with you and telling others they should leave because they don’t agree with you. Everyone here is a fan and is welcome here.
“Bones’ Medical Tricorder” Is correct! The Medical Tricorder was always different from the standard Field Tricorder that could read all sorts of different information (such as life signs, connect to the Enterprises’ main computer etc) The medical Tricorder was simply a pen like device that Bones would wave over patients and be able to tell what was wrong with them. Sometimes he would look down at another device as if he was reading the information off of it. (I guess the pen like device gathered the info and sent it to the other device)
Dude…Anthony…do you really want people here who have not NOTHING but s**t all over this movie (before they’ve seen more than 2 minutes of the film) and the hard work you’ve done on this site? I’m sorry, but if they’re going to bash a Star Trek movie before they’ve even seen it then I’m going to say that they aren’t true fans.
#243 “The TOS movies look very little like the TOS series, yet also purports to be the 23rd century, but they’re just as inaccurate.”
..they also had Shatner, Nimoy and De Kelley. The props aren’t quite as important when THE triad is in the house.
Doesn’t Spock have a Tricorder hanging off his belt in the destruction of Vulcan clip from the trailer? That would seem to confirm that this is an update of the salt shaker scanner.
I like the communicator, and Uhura’s earpiece natch.
It’s pretty interesting to sort out the elements that were slavishly copied–like Uhura’s earrings and earpiece, Spock’s hair, Chekov’s v/w issues… versus those that were updated or just inexplicably different–like Chekov’s ‘fro. [Personally, I think they should have updated the Vulcan wigs. It's not logical to have a hairstyle that's so easily mussed up on a dry windy planet.]
TOS never really explained camera feeds to the bridge screen. Presumably there were cameras on the communicators and/or tricorders, so the lens is a fair update of the silver disc.
anyone shocked by the fact that the communicator looks similar to a cell phone apparently doesnt understand that the design for the flip open cell phone was completely inspired by Trek! So no Trek isnt trying to emulate a cell phone, Trek emulating one of their original designs that was also the inspiration of a REAL technology. See, to all you Jedi out there, THAT was one of the things that was always cool about Trek!
The laptop is wildly uncreative, pariah-level nerdy, and very cheap as a form of customization.
I’d rather buy something that looks like it came off the set. Parents can buy this laptop for their teenagers to forestall premarital sex.
#243 “1960s Trek looked like “1960s in the future” and 1980s Trek looked like “1980s in the future.” Why can’t 2000s Trek look like “2000s in the future”?
Mainly, because it is a movie about the Trek that looked like 1960’s in the future.
Granted, you can date the show by the styrofoam rocks or beehive hairstyles, but I’d test ANYONE to drop a phaser or communicator from TOS in front of a 15 year old and watch them pin point the time it was made. Some things from TOS scream 1966…but the communicator and Phaser aren’t two of them.
This is what always got me about the previous ST movies. Star Trek props are iconic. Everybody knows the Star Trek props. All they have to do is ENHANCE them. Not obliterate and replace them. Here we go again.
I agree with 250! Apple needs to comeout with a line of Trek inspired designs…since the Bridge already looks like the Apple store!
I like them. I don’t think they are important to how good the film is, but they look pretty and the communicator agrees with the iconic design of the orginal, so what’s not to love?
I agree though, can’t wait to see the phasers and Spock’s tricorder. McCoy’s late night entertainment device though will be just fine and dandy if it makes the right noises.
Ah, how cool is this? :)
Sorry Geeking out for sec… MAY CANT GET HERE FAST ENOUGH!!!!!….ok got that out of my system! thanx!
Well, you have to be allowed to criticize things. To the people who love everything: they could have repainted a Star Wars ship as the new Enterprise and you still would have loved it. Are you mindless drones ?
Besides you don’t have to love everything about a movie, to make it one of your favourites. I hated the fx on Babylon 5, still I think it’s one of the best SciFi shows out there besides Trek.
My point from before being. Looking at the design changes made to the ship/bridge and the fact that there are cars/cycles in this movie, I would have expected the design of the communicator to be a bit like this:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2009/01/pharos_ces0008main.jpg
and the tricorder to resemble something like this:
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/01-07-09movitmini.jpg
Giving them the right colour and sounds and it would have worked. Especially when JJ stresses the fact that he wants to build a bridge to the present.
I think updating a look isnt all bad as long as something seems the same. For instance as long as the communicator flips open and we here some kind of deet da deet sound i think it would be cool. I am thinking there will likely be some familiar sound effects.
I am thinking the thing with the cars and bikes is that they are likely viewed as nostalgic ols technology that is fun and intriguing to mess around with in their time.
#256 “Giving them the right colour and sounds and it would have worked. Especially when JJ stresses the fact that he wants to build a bridge to the present.”
The problem is those items in your picture are the present. Trek shouldn’t “build” on what we have today. It should INVENT based on theory of today that speculated the theory and tech of tomorrow.
I don’t want and interior that looks like the space shuttle, linking the fufture to today. I don’t want a communicator that looks like an i -phone. You want to date this movie in 5 years, that’s the fastest way to do it. Make it NEW, make it fresh and unregognizable. That is why the communicator and phaser of TOS remain fresh. The look, the style was invented for Star Trek, not borrowed from something already on the shelves.
(About the “medical tricorder”)
PAGING Austin Powers in the 23rd Century…
“We found your p—-s pump, baby.”
;-)
Oh behave! yeah..yeah baby yeah!!!
Everything looks cool IMHO. Wonder what is up with the “Tricorder” though.
#258
The props of Star Trek mostly looked the way they looked because the designers had to make due with parts they could find on shelves in DIY stores etc. They simply didn’t have the resources to create something from scratch or digitally for that matter. I don’t want to say it has to look exactly like these examples just “like”. Does a portable handheld device have a touchscreen ? Of course it does. Will it have one in the future ? I don’t know. Maybe it will have some kind of 3D projection system. The point is, these props look neither like the future or the present. Uhura’s earplug is ok because the argument here would be “faithful to Trek”. The rest well, it’s neither Trek nor something that looks functional or modern.
wow. these props suck.
except for uhura’s earphone, which is a straight rip from the original prop.
#233 – You are going into overload here. Chill. Nothing is a “disaster,” you are just over reacting.
#262 incorrect.
the designer was the legendary wah-chang and he wasn’t limited by what he could find in his junk drawer.
#262 incorrect.
the designer was the legendary wah-chang and he wasn’t limited by what he could find in his junk drawer.
#194 – Please do not speak for me or anyone else other than yourself every again. Thanks
#262 “#258
The props of Star Trek mostly looked the way they looked because the designers had to make due with parts they could find on shelves in DIY stores etc. They simply didn’t have the resources to create something from scratch ”
…that would be news to the late Wah Chang, the genius sculptor who manufactured the TOS communicators, phasers and tricorders!!
Looks like Starfleet in this incarnation really like their ships with plenty
of bright neon and white plastic, and their gear with shiny chrome.
Just what you’d expect on a military vehicle?
But seriously, wiring visible through a clear plastic handle? Hmmm.
#269: “Just what you’d expect on a military vehicle?”
Of course not. You’d expect black leatherette, painted plastic and glued-on rhinestones for controls. You’d expect “uniforms” made out of stuff from the Hancock Fabrics bargain table and spacesuits made of silver lame.
The ship…a heresy.
The bridge…ugly
The props…a joke.
I don’t know how much more of a disaster it can be.
TOS was also referred to as ‘Star Trek Classic’. Classic is a good name for it. You don’t mess with a classic. For many, many, many Trekkers TOS is sacred ground. If this movie took place after Nemesis, I’d predict no one would have any problems with the ‘changes’ they’ve made. However, since this movie is partly to take place in Trek’s PAST, isn’t it logical the ship, bridge, phasers, communicators and tricorders resemble a ’60’s look? The costumes are good, I’ll give cred there. Why couldn’t they have used the same judgment on the bridge, ship, communicators, etc. that they did for the uniforms and ear piece? It looks like a hodge podge of some things retro and other things not. Nothing flows together.
#266 + 268
And what did he use to create those props ? Was he sitting in the the caverns of mount doom forging in secret a master replica ? No, he used materials available to him. Look at the tricorder http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/0/0e/Starfleet_tricorder%2C_2260s.jpg/732px-Starfleet_tricorder%2C_2260s.jpg and you’ll recognise what some of the elements really are.
Levar Burton once said about directing his first episodes of Trek, that when he wandered with a designer through the sanitary section of a store, he would see toilets, but they would see starship parts :)
Trek has always used and reused stuff that already existed. Half of the ships seen in DS9 are kitbashs.
I think the “tricorder” is Bones’ medical kit mislabeled, personally.
#271
Exactly my point. There is no clear line in this design. Nobody thought about it beforehand. It was just made and mashed up. There apparently was no one to ensure that the probs were believable in context or worked together. If the future is supposed to look like this, I’ll stay with the present, since it’s more advanced.
I also agree with the speculation that it may be the universal translator used in both “Arena” and “Metamorphosis.”
I kinda like those props, although the communicator cover looks like a cheap piece of plastic. It could be more textured.
I have a hunch the new movie will introduce a variety of holographic heads-up displays throughout Starfleet tech.
The main bridge is now a window with heads up displays and overlay.
The red ‘bar scanner’ things on work stations could easily be holographic heads up projectors for each user that don’t crowd other crewman’s field of vision.
The communicator lens could just as easily be a two-way projector and camera.
… and how else would that Medical Tricorder/Scanner display information?
How else do you make these devices futuristic? We already have 52″x1″ plasmas and touch screen wrist phones [see gizmodo.com today]. Any use of conventional display screens in the new movie is going to look like ancient history
Uhura’s ear piece – Courtesy of Nichelle Nichols
Kirk’s Communicator – Courtesy of Nokia
Bones’ Medical Tricorder – Courtesy of Fredrick’s of Hollywood
That said, I’m still looking forward to May!
#278
Full ack. I still wonder how magnifying something on the main “window” works. If it’s an overlay, they could have gone with a screen. The window makes the bridge more vulnerable.
geez..
lazy designers..lol
ever since TWOK.. when in doubt, place a “logo” emblem on it..Silly communicator, although i guess it signals the nearest apple store for you to buy the IPHONE Trek licensed product version WITH the logo just like that of course, other wise how would nerdboys “know” its a trek product.:)
Probably same designers did these that put the superman shield all over his lame costume redesign 2 years ago. HMM..
more cowbell as the design talent mantra of current hollywood design kiddies raised on Macintoshes.
247: “..they also had Shatner, Nimoy and De Kelley. The props aren’t quite as important when THE triad is in the house.”
The characters aren’t the actors. William Shatner isn’t 32 any more. You can’t go back.
251: “Mainly, because it is a movie about the Trek that looked like 1960’s in the future.”
And TMP wasn’t? TMP looked very much like “late 70s in the future,” yet is only set two or so years after TOS.
This brings up another point. TMP was a reboot. Yes, yes, I know. The Enterprise was “refit” so technically it’s the same ship. Except that’s nonsense. Far more of the TMP Enterprise is different from the TOS Enterprise than is the same. They wanted a sexy new starship for the big screen and they got one. They only threw the “refit” element in as a token attempt to make it “make sense” to people.
And yes, I know, the TMP Enterprise is based on the Phase II Enterprise, but they were using the “refit” excuse there, too, and just borrowed it for TMP.
So if you’re cool with one or two lines addressing the “refit” of the Enterprise as justification for the change in the ship (oh, and the uniforms, and the transporter effects, and the hand phasers, and the wrist-based communicators, and the tricorders, and the shuttles, and…), why aren’t you cool with “time travel” as justification for the prop/costume/ship changes for this new movie?
After all, a change in the timeline actually makes *more* sense than a refit that actually changes more than it leaves behind.
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/constitution-refit.htm
“Granted, you can date the show by the styrofoam rocks or beehive hairstyles, but I’d test ANYONE to drop a phaser or communicator from TOS in front of a 15 year old and watch them pin point the time it was made. Some things from TOS scream 1966…but the communicator and Phaser aren’t two of them.”
And if you dropped the new communicator prop into their hand and the original TOS prop into their hand and asked them which looked like it was from the 60s and which was from 2009, you’d either get blank stares or correct answers, but I doubt anyone would think the TOS one was the more recent one. And neither is likely to look like what people will be using for communication in the 2260s. They’ll both be about equally inaccurate.
I am curious what the new phaser looks like, though…
What the hell are those? The communicator has the right shape but thats the only thing thats right, still, it’s not to bad.
“Tricorder”: To be honest, when I saw it, I thought someone was playing a trick on us (the fans)! I agree with #3, it looks like a lightsaber! It’s possible whoever labeled it screwed up and it’s really Sulu’s sword.
Uhura’s comm unit: Well thats more like it! Looks very much like the original.
I am certainly one of the ‘canonistas’, but I don’t whine about this design at all. Why? Because I’m not naïve enough to think it’s gonna look like the 60s, because that would be nothing but ridiculous. It works perfectly in Phase II, but not in a big-scale production like this. I think that all in all the design are sufficiently close to canon.
Some people need to chill. At least wait until the movie is out, aight?
It’s not a dildo, it’s likely not a lightsabre (though it would be cool if it were) and I doubt it’s a tricorder. More likey it’s the medical scanner thingie Bones used to have.
Also, remember that we don’t even know which timeline this is from…
And don’t trust the labelling, of course this isn’t the tricorder, it’s his scanner. Do you think the people who labelled that stuff care about exactly what it’s called? Most likely not. So, once again, chill.
I think Apple could have designed a better looking communicator. Also it looks kinda bulky to me.
I went down and checked out the props yesterday and I really liked what I saw Uhuras earpiece was spot on and the communicator had some design from and enterprise and the original series and it has a hinge to flip open. The medical scanner I liked a lot it was all made of over the counter parts like Bones original salt shaker it actually had a key lock at the end very retro design. So kudos to the designer.
McCoy’s Medical Scanner is kept up his sleeve, is spring loaded and shoots out when needed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxb630ipsbs&feature=related
I won the messenger bag at SD Comic Con. It’s awesome!
#281 “The characters aren’t the actors. ”
Not any more…but they have been the ONLY actors to portray THOSE characters for the past 42 years….that accounts for something.
Hmm! The communication earpiece looks just fine, a nice homage to the original version.
The communicator…does look like a magnifying glass. Have to wait to see this one in action before deciding whether it’s a good or bad design.
As for the Tricorder…
Egads! It looks more like a rectal probe or something. That’s supposed to be a tricorder? Nope. Sorry. Not believable.
Not a good average we have going here.
I really don’t see it as a canon vs. new issue regarding the production designs. I just don’t like the aesthetic direction.
For me, the designs don’t really make sense and look more like they’re rip offs than natural design linage. For instance, if the circle is a screen, why wouldn’t you protect it with the flip? Regardless of 23rd century materials, I would imagine you’d still want to protect one of the most important parts of the device from abuse in the field.
At the same time, the black material itself doesn’t suggest function either. Yes, it still flips, but the old design always suggested the flip was an antenna. The plasticky look simply makes it look like a protective cover, a la late 90s Palm Pilots.
Finally, my opinion is that the brass flip is one of the most iconic parts of Star Trek, like the domes and the warp engines. Thus, I think it was an unwise decision to eliminate or camouflage it so much.
I think my opinion will change if the functionality of the device is also different, but at this stage, I’m skeptical. At this time, everything just feels new for being the sake of new.
Also, the tricorder… I really hope it’s a hypospray.
good grief.. who cares if the props are not exact matches. They look great! This is a reboot, not an exact copy. Some things will be different. Get over it and enjoy the new movie when it comes out!
If they get the sounds right — if the communicators chirp, if the tricorders whirr, if the equipment bweeps and whines on cue — then the designs are okay with me.
20:
Why do cell phones look so much like communicators?
i’ll bet some of the whiners here half-expect these things to actually do, IN REAL LIFE, what they’re expected to do. geesh. I’d be happy with a salt shaker or a lit up, sleek cylindar for a tricorder…cuz its Star Trek…more concerned about the story over the props. as a note…if this is pre-2260’s shouldnt the communicator look more like McCoy’s device…transparent with wires and all?
I think that these props are The Awesome.
296: Not all cell phones look like communicators. Just the flip-top ones, but that’s more of an awesome design feature for the real world so you can get more gadgetry in the same space, and protect the keypad, a huge gripe among earlier cell phones being that you would dial unintentionally by accidentally applying pressure to the keypad.
Seriously, not all cell phones look like communicators. Not all cell phones ever did. The earliest cell phones looked like military field radios…because that’s where they come from.
Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy that they have changed all thoes tired looking old props and ships for something that looks fresh and futuristic.
And for all you canonistas, please stay home and wait for the DVD. I don’t want to hear your sensless whining while I am trying to enjoy this kick-ass movie!
271. John from Cincinnati – January 8, 2009
The ship…a heresy.
The bridge…ugly
The props…a joke.
I don’t know how much more of a disaster it can be.”
Don’t I recall you saying that you couldn’t wait for the movie in other threads? Was that the other John?
Different timeline… things CAN be different. Have an opinion, but there’s no reason to overload.
#291: “Not any more…but they have been the ONLY actors to portray THOSE characters for the past 42 years….that accounts for something.”
Unless you count the novels, which kept Trek alive during the dry spells prior to TMP and during the iffy days prior to TNG…
Read Strangers From the Sky, or Final Frontier (not the ST5 novelization), or Enterprise: The First Adventure (which surely contradicts what we’ll see in this new movie). Read Uhura’s Song or How Much for Just the Planet? or The Final Reflection.
You’ll see Trek as a thing much greater than a hokey TV series.
#68 Anthony Pascale: “for the record I have not worn wingtips since I worked for a bank”
I’ll do you one better: In a previous career, I used to pack heat at USDOJ. I wore wingtips with my uniform – I thought they added class. They tried for months to get me to switch duty footwear, but hard as they looked, they couldn’t find one damn regulation that forbade them, so they finally gave up. Some of the brothers in the facility nicknamed me ‘Vanilla Ice’.
God as my witness, I am not making that up. It takes a real man to wear wingtips. LOL
Don’t think Wah Chang would be as happy with the new ones ..
I absolutely love how there are a ton of people who have yet to see the movie, see the plot, feel the characters, but are still complaining.
Really, don’t go see it. If there is ANYONE in my theater who starts complaining, I might just bring my Bat’leth….
———-
And to everyone else:
There will always be whiners. They make up only a tiny percent of the movie-going population. This is why movies such as X-Men, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Star Wars 1, 2, and 3 were such smash hits.
They whiners may seem plentiful on the internet, but there’s not actually that many of them. “The needs of the many” and whatnot.
hello all, i am so happy that there is a film in the TOS era coming soon. mock the sets,
mock the actors,
mock the props,
mock the team bringing to us……. ,
i wont because im over the moon!
when this movie comes out in a few months time i will be in a far away land called helmand province again. i will miss this release in the cinema, and hopefully pick up a dvd release later in the year.
i have been watching a lot of post’s on this sight for a while ..and to be fair it has been on and off, only when i can hit the net..and trekmovie.dot.com is one of the first sites i hit when i can.
anthony thank you…!
i know from the late ’70’s in the UK im a fan thru and thru, but i ask please do not mock whats going to be delivered to us with this new film….watch it,embrace it, hate it or leave it..but please have the openess to an event..so far this film looks great and respectful…..as does in my own honest opinion these peices of equipment.
anyhoo…..take care all and lets have an EVENT when you can fit it in!
take care and have a great 2009 fellow fans xxx Tom
#215. Xai
Wow, you said something funny and it was at the expense of someone associated with the project. When did you have your new-style medical tricorder removed?
excellent props. i’m glad that they didn’t pander to the canon freaks and duplicate the crappy cardboard sh*t from the TOS. these whining nerds mistake a low budget for creativity.
Just FYI, I wear wingtips and will continue to for life… and I’m in my 20s. Young fogey. :P
To think about it, having radically different props would actually disturb me a lot less than having a radically different Enterprise. Equipment change can be quite rapid. A ship though, doesn’t get refitted that often.
Anyway, wonder when we’ll see the props for the phaser and normal tricorder.
#307… you’re posting comments in a sub-section of a web site dedicated to a new Star Trek movie…specifically an entry that is pretty much just a picture of some of the new props. I’m not sure you can be trusted to judge who a “whining nerd” is. While the one finger points at us, three point back at you. Consider the one finger I’m showing you to be aimed straight up.
I have officially lost all faith in this film. :(
310 – re: 307 LOL! About time somebody offered that pompous ass a Great “Bird” of the Galaxy.
312,
Heh heh heh.
311,
Just because the props look different is no reason to lose faith. Give it a chance.
In the future, all Starfleet Captains will be issued Communicators with the necessary Snow Globe technology attached. They predict fluffy cheery snow activity so they know when to fashion a fireplace in case they need a romantic environment to impress green alien chicks.
I have officially more faith in this film.
All the haters are going to be eating crow and jumpng on the band wagon when this movie turns out to be a HUGE success. Just like when they were “boycotting” TNG before it was even on the air…and SURPRISE…it brought in a bigger audience than TOS ever did in any of its forms. Suddenly they became diehards and claimed that Star Trek should always look forward…of course. And that we should embrace change/diversity of ideas.
But for now, we have to hear all of the naysayers nitpick things to death. “It’s too retro.” “It’s not retro enough.” “The communicator has a delta insignia on it!” Horrors!
At least some of us can laugh about it.
#316: When you say “all the haters,” do you mean all two of them?
Because so far, in over 300 posts on this topic, only two people have used the word “hate” to characterize their own opinions. By contrast, seven (including yourself) have spoken of the hate of others.
I invite you to consider why this disparity might be so. “Hate” seems much more common in the eye of the beholder around here, than it does in the actual opinions of the fans.
#47 “Bone’s thingy looks like an homage to the humble otoscope and the original universal translator … But whattup with the wire inside the clear part ”
That wire inside the clear part is probably the updated version of the little twirly-thingy in the TOS tricorder scanner. (http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DC17743)
Set it spinning and Throw some moderately intense light on it from below (hence the longer size of this scanner? to accomodate a light source and motor?) and it could produce some interesting effects.
317
agreed.
When did offering a critical opinion become being hateful? And isn’t offering a a critical opinion just as much in keeping with the idea of IDIC as continuous praise?
Mr. Orci asked us fans to keep an “open mind” about this film, and I am, but that does not mean that I, or any other fan, should check our intellect, judgment or sense of aesthetics at the trekmovie.com door.
The Communicator looks uber bland and dopey. The Med Tricorder looks like its should be the Med Scanner. I kind of like the carrying case.
Side arms?
But Star Trek is supposed to be about peace and love and getting high on spores and singing, “Yeah Brother”
Oh wait, I forgot who wrote and directed this one.
Hey, let’s have a Shoot ‘em Up! Does the Enterprise turn into a giant robot? The Battleship Yamato did dint it? Or was that another Anime? Battletech? Mighty Morphin Ninja Turtles?
Let’s get David Gerrold and DC Fontana to collaborate on the next one and everyone can be gay (Gerrold’s greatest desire was to get gays on Trek) and we can stick to canon (DC knows more about Spock than Nimoy does) Can Charles Napier come back and sing Yeah Brother in the gay Trek?
Bob0, when do you start writing Battletech?
Time for some more bloodwine…
In all seriousness,
good job getting the pics, AP
And upon second look, yes the scanner and the communicator are probably about as small as an MP3 player.
In my mind, I also based the scale on the communicator and what I knew a communicator to be.
These are like cricket phasers.
No wonder the uniforms have pockets. I’d be losing the damn things if they weren’t on my key ring.
It would be awesome if they had iPods in the 23rd Century. I can see it now.
Chekov: Keptain, Klingon wessels off the starboard bow!
Kirk: Not now dammit! I’m trying to download the new iTunes update. Spock, why didn’t you do this earlier like I asked you. Now I can’t listen to the new Fall Out Boy.
Spock: I will not allow you to lecture me.
Kirk: Then why don’t you stop me.
Well, the prop related boards are universally panning these designs.
And before any of you folks that ‘dont care’ but insist on calling folks that do whiners these boards are overflowing with professional builders and designers.
The response is overwhelmingly negative.
306. Red-Shirted Monkey – January 8, 2009
I’m not feeding trolls in here.
If you feel the need to be on the attack some more, let me know and I’ll get an email address to you so we can discuss your preoccupation with that misnamed tricorder.
324. The Angry Klingon – January 8, 2009
and these prop-boards are where?
People will bitch about anything…won’t they?
From bar code scanner back to salt shakers and peppermills…wonder how much money the set and prop guys pocketed after all of their ‘design work’.
This isnt a freakin low budget movie but it seems it was treated as one
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=14007
In the 60s they had a pretty small budget so they had an excuse.
Eh. To me, you either try something really, really new and far out… or you better well damn steal the best from the original ideas. The communicator looks a tad underwhelming, but at this point, it’s really not a big deal. The movie isn’t out yet. They changed the specs on that stuff almost every movie since TMP… and yes, tho, TMP was a reboot, all it’s tech DID look related. ;-)
@329:
TMP was not a reboot.
Cool…this will be the best Galaxy Quest movie yet!
Never retreat
Never surrender
[...] friends over at Trekmovie.com have posted the first images of some of the props we’ll see in the new up and coming Star [...]
#331: By Grabthor’s Hammer, I hope you’re right!
327 – Yes. They’ll even bitch about people bitching. Remember — YOU are “people” too. So maybe start with the person in the mirror?
64 – “All that matters is that there’s something being released on film with the name “Star Trek” on it. All other concerns are frivilous and petty.”
Frivolous and petty things like good acting, directing, storytelling? Those sorts of things?
Have you thought about working as a suit at Paramount? ;)
#301 “Read Strangers From the Sky, or Final Frontier (not the ST5 novelization), or Enterprise: The First Adventure (which surely contradicts what we’ll see in this new movie). Read Uhura’s Song or How Much for Just the Planet? or The Final Reflection.”
Read them all. Whose voice did you plug into the role of Kirk Spock and McCoy when your mind acted out the pages, Harrison Ford, Nipsey Russell and Will Geer?
When I read them I heard Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley .
#316 “Just like when they were “boycotting” TNG before it was even on the air…and SURPRISE…it brought in a bigger audience than TOS ever did in any of its forms. Suddenly they became diehards.”
…not exactly. In the wonderful “Making of Ds9 ” book, the authors noted how TNG, in its peak, reached the same amount of weekly viewers as TOS. The longer run of TNG doesn’t mean it was more successful, it was simple economics. Paramount had control and they needed 7 years to successfully strip the show in syndication.
And believe me….I know a LOT of TOS fans who NEVER became diehards after TNG…those were just the johnny come-latelys, who were never huge fans of TOS to begin with.
SChaos#323- LMAO!
296, 295.
Wow, am I the only nerd here who’s seen HOW WILLIAM SHATNER CHANGED THE WORLD? Fascinating little movie. There’s a whole section in there on cell phones — essentially, the guy who invented the mobile phone was inspired by Star Trek communicators.
339. I meant 298, not 295.
#330—”TMP was not a reboot.”
Nor is this film, since previously established continuity is not discarded, but actually essential for the story to progress to this point.
“Reboot (fiction), to discard all previous continuity in a fiction series and start anew .”
#317,
Well said.
Apparently negative opinions are not allowed here.
I always though intelligent people examined things from MANY angles, including negative ones. To me, someone who is always positive no matter what nonsense is fed to them is just as brainless, foolish, insensate, senseless, silly, unintelligent, weak-minded, witless, asinine, delusive, idiotic, inane as the so called “haters” who hate everything. Just two opposing sides of the same dumb coin. (God I love Dictionary.com)
I for one am looking forward to the movie immensely, but if I see something I don’t like I’m going to express my opinion about it.
I though this was a free country?
What am I a dirty stinkin’ red now?
; )
Peace.
#317
Maybe I picked an inflammatory word too whimsically when I said “haters.” But you have to admit, there’s a big difference between constructive criticism and the belligerency found here among many posters. (Please…don’t feel the need to go back and count.) I’ve just always been amazed at the rampant closed-mindedness among a group of people that seem to be drawn to a universe grounded in the opposite. Another one of the mysteries of the human condition I guess.
From Websters….
Hater (See Also: Haters)
n. A 21st Century nomenclature for an individual, or groups of people, characterized by rigid and unusually critical points of view on subjects for which they profess a strong affinity, while having little or no practical experience with requisite skills or affiliation. The term was first popularized by participants of social networking websites such as aintitcoolnews.com and FaceBook. Common signature phrases associated with these individuals include; Not Canon, This Is A Disaster, My Childhood Has Been Raped, I Have Lost All Faith, I Could Have Done Better on My Own Laptop and I’m Boycotting.
Imagine if the world were populated by more positive people. Might it not be a more giddy, euphoric, harmonious, inspiring, progressive, joyous, exhilarating, carefree, light-hearted, civil, cooperative, wonderous, exciting, stimulating and desirable place to live?
BTW Spockboy…love your work! Keep ‘em coming, brother.
Uhura’s earpiece is perfect!
As long as that communicator flips open, it is too!
Obviously not a holo-emitter, that round part is like the round frequency display on the original, it’s just more glassy & probably displays a more 3D version of that sweet, sweet retro hypnotic pattern on the classic communicator.
All sizing arguements are ridiculous! It’s NOT a cel phone! It can broadcast from planet to space on multiple subspace frequencies! Can your Moto do that? Plus, there’s been at least 2 major wars since our time(eugenics & WW3), some technology we have now might have been lost during the wars & is only now beeing built upon.
That has to be a medical scanner, a tricorder has a display screen. But seeing how badly they screwed up the Enterprise, anything is possible!!
345. They screwed up the Enterprise? I didn’t think so. At all.
Hey Bones, Luke called, said he wants his lightsaber back.
“Hey Bones, Luke called, said he wants his lightsaber back.”
Hi Chris (347)
That’s a very clever and funny observation. Almost as clever and funny as the previous 47 times this thread that joke’s been made!
Congratulations!
Allan Asherman wrote in his “Star Trek Compendium” about the early September, 1966 World Sci-Fi Convention where Star Trek was first introduced to the public. They had a table on it with photographs of Shatner and Nimoy and an original phaser and communicator prop. History repeating itself??
OK, so Slarfleet is run by the government., right? Since when has government furnished equipment been sensible? It’s entirely likely they chose the clunkiest version of each device (or even designed it outright themselves) due to government-centric concerns, such as (a) ruggedness in the field, (b) appropriateness to the mission, and (c) None of that “personal” junk that device manufacturers are always throwing in for marketability. So, it’s all plain and simple in appearance and can survive a good beat-em-up scene.
I know, I know. It’s all retro looking and all, and not true to TOS. But, consider this…
Uhura’s earpiece: She has to be able to HEAR the faintest of sounds (faint distress calls, damage reports, etc.) in the noisiest of environments (bridge during a battle). How many Bluetooth headsets have you owned that had great volume in a noisy environment (none, I’ve ever tried). Her earpiece actually looks like it has some amplifying oomph in that regard. Afterall, that’s most likely why she has an earpiece in the first place; speaker output would be drowned out by all of the bridge noise.
Kirk’s communicator: OK, it looks like a cell phone. Well, why not?! The one from TOS looked like a flip-top cell phone too. It was a bit boxier, though. Now, apparently, they have 2-way video comm capability. Great! That’s the way it should be. Do you really think the next century and beyond won’t have handheld vidcomm capability? It’s also worth noting that in Next Gen they abandoned handheld altogether and went with “comm badges”. That’s perfectly understandable — it frees their hands. The vidcomm capability migrated into their tricorders — perfectly believable.
McCoy’s lighsab…er…tricord…er…medical thingy: OK, that one’s a stretch. It’s not at all like a tricorder (unless they’ve retroactively invented mind interfacing), because it has no obvious I/O interface. I agree with most others that it’s only the “probe” portion of it. In TOS, it was a modified salt shaker. It’s somewhat understandable that in the “olden days” it was larger. I.e. it became miniaturized over time. Afterall, we are talking about sensor technology that today fills up the space of an oversized canopy bed. By McCoy’s time they’ve managed to shrink it (just the sensor portions) into the size of a flashlight, and by the timeline of TOS, it’s the size of a salt shaker. Wow! Now that’s miniaturized.
#326 “and these prop-boards are where?
..since you asked….here’s one. There are more.
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=55447
What is the point of having 40 plus years of history and mythology if anyone and his mother can come along and ‘reimagine’ that history at a whim? This is NOT the same as the costume/prop changes for the movies; they were natural progressions of time moving on and improvements being made. IF this movie is supposed to be from a time before TOS, then they should try and be as true to the original history/myth as possible. Anything else is just Hollywood fluff, and the Star Trek franchise is doomed…
#352—”What is the point of having 40 plus years of history and mythology if anyone and his mother can come along and ‘reimagine’ that history at a whim?”
The “history” to which you refer is not being reimagined. That “history” remains intact, as part of the timeline which leads the story to the point where a villain travels back in time to alter the past.
That history is not only intact, but absolutely essential to the story at hand. Without it, Nero cannot take action to alter the past, nor can Spock (Nimoy) do whatever he does to counter that action.
And I would hardly consider all the years without a TOS-era story constituting a “whim”…but that’s just me.
“IF this movie is supposed to be from a time before TOS, then they should try and be as true to the original history/myth as possible.”
It isn’t supposed to be that. It is a story which takes place in an altered timeline prior to the period of time in which the original adventures depicted in TOS take place.
#352
It’s FICTION! There is no history of mythology.
of = or
I think i just figured out what the ring on top of the scanner was, its mccoys bottle opener. whenever he needs a cold brew and needs to open the bottle he just reaches into his medikit and pulls out his bottle opener scanner.
354 – Please define fiction and please define mythology and please explain the difference. Use both sides of the paper if necessary.
Too bad the folks from Lenovo don’t know the difference between a Tricorder and a hypospray, which is what that object obviously is
352…
Star Trek is already doomed. The only thing that will save it is the new movie. If it isn’t a major hit…as in $250mm or more…say ‘bye-’bye. At least for a long, long time.
351. Star Trackie – January 9, 2009
Thank you.. I will look.
it’s not a tricorder or a scanner, it’s a hypo.
The fact that some of us can find fault with even these tiny props makes me ashamed to be a Star Trek fan.
I really don’t get some of you people… if you don’t like the new movie or the props or the ship, then don’t go watch it and stop visiting the site. Let the rest of us who are looking forward to it enjoy it in peace.
I think I should stop reading the comments section, it just works me up…
#363
“I think I should stop reading the comments section, it just works me up…”
Good idea. Since you’re not open for different opinions, why bother with discussion ? If everbody had the same opinion, discussion would be really boring. Besides expressing a negative opinion about part of a movie does not say anything about wether one will like it or not.
I just saw a trailer and I can’t believe!
They ruined series with “Star Trek: Enterprise”, and they are doing the same thing with this movie, now!
Disaster!
Regarding that visible wire–I wonder if it’ll even show up onscreen. This may very well be the closest look we get of that tricorder/scanner, and that wire may not have been intended to be seen. It’s probably an essential connection to make something function on the prop.
And just for clairification, according to ST Lore, it was ONLY after the Enterprise finished its 5 year mission as the ONLY suvriving original Starship that the Arrowhead/Delta Shield was adopted by Starfleet for use fleet wide. Before that every ship had its own design.
The Medical Scanner was a modified Salt Shaker in the 1960’s. Now if they ever need a salt shaker they can use this modified toilet paper roll. The term “Tricorder” refers to the 3 things the box is supposed to do. Bad terminology for McCoy’s Scanner, which really does one thing – if the salt stops on the left, he’s supposed to say “Jim, this Redshirt may actually survive the night.” If the salt stops on the right, he’s supposed to say, “He’s dead, Jim!”
That’s not a Communicator. It’s a blackberry and I-Pod rolled into a cellphone. Not gonna fool me.
And don’t let ‘em fool you. That other thing Uhura wears like a blackberry is only a futuristic ultrasonic Q-Tip.
Gran Torino … now THAT’s a movie worth seeing!
The first prop looks more like ta remote control for the spacedock door.
(Kirk’s communicator I meant, not “the first prop” as it actually the second….. *embarassment*)
Hey Bob Orci- I know what that tricorder is made of. Nice “easter egg” and tip of the hat to the fienbergers of old. Please give the propmakers my best and a hearty “bravo!” from Bob Dobalina.
And the decline and fall continues.
The problem with the ‘tricorder’ design is not so much that it is a change from the old but that it looks far too close to another iconic design, the already mentioned lightsabre. To me, this is bad from a ‘brand identity’ angle.
AD
It’s Uhura’s vibrator! Hahaha!
#372
sigh
McCoy’s scanner prop in orginal TV series was NOT a salt shaker. Some silver salt shakers WERE used as laser scalpels. They did not get much screen time. The scanner that McCoy is frequently seen using — the one with black rubber grip and clear tube on top that has something spinning inside — that was NOT made from a salt shaker.
Not that anyone here truly cares about this detail.
And for goodness sake, stop comparing the movie scanner to a lightsaber. Liughtsabers were much larger and made mostly of machined aluminum. Just because something happens to be cylinderical, it automatically becomes a lightsaber. If someone said it looks like a flashlight, I’ll give you that.
I think the new props look interesting….but I don’t think HOW they look will have any impact on how good the story and characters are — we’ll have to wait until May for this discovery.
Cell phones look like communicators because the cell phone designers (at Motorola) were Star Trek fans. It is also why you can use your voice to call someone.
YOU GUY’S CAN TALK ABOUT THE NEW TOYS THAT STAR-TREK IS PUTTING OUT. I’VE BEEN WATCHING STAR-TREK SINCE IT CAME OUT AND YES THAT MAKES ME OLD, BUT I’VE SEEN MANY, MANY CHANGES IN GENE RODENBERRY’S STAR TREK EPISODES AND THE PROP’S THAT WERE USED BACK THEN TO THE PRESENT DAY.
EVEN AFTER HIS DEATH, THE FUTURE PRODUCERS STILL CARRY ON THE TRADITIONAL SAYING “WERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE”.
FROM THE PREVIEWS OF THE NEW STAR TREK MOVE COMMING UP IN 2009, IT SHOWS WERE SOME OF THE KEY PLAYERS WERE STARTING AT, FOR EXAMPLE JAMES T. KIRK WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY AND GROWING UP BEFORE JOINING STAR FLEET COMMAND.
THIS WILL BE AN INTERESTING MOVIE SINCE ITS GOING TO SHOW SOME OF THE ORGINAL KEY PLAYERS ON HOW AND WERE THEY WERE GROWING UP.
WELL, I WILL BE LOOKING FOR YOUR COMMENTS, AND I KNOW THERE ARE SOME OLD TREKIE FANS OUT THERE.
JUST A REMINDER, FROM THE FIRST STAR TREK T.V. SERIES AND PROP’S THAT WERE USESED, TO THE PRESENT DAY,
SINCE THE ORIGINAL T.V. SERIES ENDED, IT SEEMS THAT ALL THE PROP’S (DEVICE’S) WERE IMPROVE EACH TIME A NEW STAR TREK T.V. SERIES OR MOVIE WOULD COME OUT OR A SPIN OFF.
AS SPOCK WOULD SAY, “LIVE LONG AND PROSPER”.
FROM AN OLD TREKIE FAN!!!
SAMUEL SANCHEZ
STAR FLEET COMMAND
STAR DATE: 11209
50 years ago mobile phones were things you lugged around in the back of jeep. Now nearly everyone has one in their pocket. Satelites were made up by SF writers long before they became a reality.
So what should you expect from a film set, historically, before TOS? Slightly older designs, possibly. Isnt that what we’ve got?
Dennis,377: Spot on! Making the future a reality before the reality of the future.
Of course, for those with long enough memories (or the DVDs) the Menagerie (TOS) had some older design weaponery too… but that was the bits from the original pilot show – which to my mind looked a bit 50s. (yes I am that old).
However, I do seem to recall that every ship had its own emblem and the one on these would seem to have belonged to the Enterprise. Given there is no other way of identifying a crew member with their ship, this would seem to be a requirement. So if its used here on everything so to speak, that might seem a bit of a faux pas. Its a quibble.
The question will be if the props fit into the story and the story being told is worth telling. I’m keeping an open mind
Ear piece = Great
Tricorder = Probably the scanner
Communicator = I see how the cover would flip up
I read the replies to my post from the other day, and I’ve forgotten there are 2 types of Trek fans…one who will accept anything new and one who won’t…
I guess I’m one of the ones who won’t…
I don’t mind a LOGICAL progression (ie: the communicators became smaller, the uniforms changed, the ships became sleeker)…
but for my money, any movie that takes place during a time that certain people, places and things were already established, and HAD been established for many years, and then all of a sudden are changed wholesale?
Well, it’s not a Trek I want to be a part of…and if I’m whining, then so be it…i paid my money to see ST:TMP, I paid for my Kirk doll and transporter play set….As a fan, I have the right to say if I appreciate the changes or
not. The rabid fanboys can berate me all they want, but it -is- mythology, it -is- part of our modern mythos, even if it is ‘just a TV show’……and a certain amt of respect should be paid to that ideal…They didn’t do it in ST: Enterprise and I fear thae same thing is happening again.
THe Robot B-9 (LOst in Space)
A Colonial Viper (Battlestar Galactia)
The SeaView (Voyage to the bottom of the sea)
A Lightsber (Star Wars)
Jupiter 2 (Lost in space)
D-7 (Star Trek)
Space station K-7 (Star Trek)
The Pod (lost in Space)
23rd Century Tricorder (Trials and Tribble-ations)
A Tribble (Star Trek Tos, Ani, Dsp)
an Eagle (Space:1999)
A Sonic Screwdriver (Dr Who)
Harry Mudd (Star Trek Tos Ani)
The Hover Board (Bact to the Future 2,3)
The Delorian (Back to the Future 1,2,3)
The transporter (All Star Trek)
The T.A.R.D.I.S. (Dr Who)
Shoe Phone (Get Smart)
Pointy Space Ship (Planet of the Apes Orginal)
My friends if you are over 25 as you read this list you had an image come to your mind. Most likly if you are under 25 and watch sci-fi you also had an image. 1 out of 4 will have the same image as the ones over 25. If I say ant you’re not going to picture a spider. If i say Pond you’re not going to picture a building. If i say car you’re not going to picture a boat. This is how it is with the new star trek movie. Mr Abramms can call things what ever he wants! That dose not make it so. The only person to invent Star Trek Is Gene RoddenBerry. Many author, show writes have made this comment: “Gene thank for letting us play in your Universe.” But as far as The new star Trek Movie Being “Star trek”, Galaxy Quest was a lot closer.
Ok I’m writing this here because I have no way to contact JJ Abrams otherwise. Look, As star Trek Fans we have already Lost DeForest Kelley, James Montgomery Doohan, Majel Barrett, a Host or Writers and Crew From the orginal show Today we lost Ricardo Montalban The Best Trek Villian who ever was. And You Sir are getting it all wrong your chariters are not they way they should be Your Time line of events is off your ship and tool used in it are totaly wrong. In other show that you made up you are Great at Your Job. But this, This is not right! not for the people who first scraped by just to put the show together. Not for the fans who worked so hard to get just a little more out of the early episodes, nore the ones who stood in freezing weather to get into a new movie. Please, Fix your mistakes and release it at december. Keep the integity of Star Trek in tact, Be known as the person who Saved Star Trek, Not as the one who killed it to Satisfy His own “Vision” After all It is Gene’s Not yours.
One other thing Don’t make star Trek Die on May 5 2009.
Ps Mr Abrams If You Do Get to read this Pleases Never “Reinvent”
Farscape!
JJ Killed Trek. Plain and Simple. If ever I see him, I will gun his ass down.
You know… I think I have that same communicator…a pair of them in fact. I got them for my birthday in 1977… They are made by Mego. I guess they just got rid of the telescoping antennae…but I do have the same insignia on the front. Maybe they should use one of the phaser toys from the same era for their rendition of the new movie version. I guess it’s easy to get a job in Hollywood these days as a designer! Noone will hold you to account!!! Now what will we destroy next?….
[...] Listen NowTrekcast Sci-fi Supplement1: Stardate 011409 Trekcast’s new weekly Science Fiction and Star Trek news and information show. This wee we look at Diamond Select toys, TV.com’s Star Trek guide and The new Trek movie props. [...]
“Why does the communicator look so much like a cell phone?”
The proper question is, “Why do cell phones look so much like communicators?”
Because the people working for cell phone companies were Trekfen who saw the design of the Communicator as a goal.
There’s simply GOT to be a deal hatching right now to make a cellphone and bluetooth earpiece. Its the two single most logical items to make, and it amazes me they’ve not been done yet. Remember how much money the matrix phones were going for? Peanuts. The manufacturers will make their money back SOLELY on the money one provider pays to make the phone exclusive to them.
Did it not occur to the movie makers that these props had already been disigned forty three years ago. They could have saved a bunch of money and made some fans happy just using the original designs.
OH NO I’m sorry, Then it would not have been JJ’s baby!
My husband (an avid fan and a Trekkie) and me watch the movie the first day it was out (Philippines). We’re planning on watching it again because there’s something we want to check – when they are away from the Enterprise, we don’t remember seeing them use their communicators. They were talking to the ship like on Next Generation episodes – where the communicators were pinned on their uniforms. Is this an oversight? Thank you