Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Evolve or Die, A Star Trek Rant


Those Star Trek people infuriate me. You know the ones I mean. Whether they call themselves Trekkers or Trekkies (and yes, I do know the difference), it makes no difference when it comes to the 2009 reboot of the franchise, and its upcoming sequel in just a few weeks.

Let’s be serious now – if Gene Roddenberry had actually gotten his “Star Trek: Phase II” on the air when he wanted to, would we be still talking about Trek now or would the proposed series just be an embarrassing footnote like “Rescue from Gilligan’s Island” or “The Brady Bunch Hour”? Let's all be thankful that Star Wars was so successful, and Paramount made Roddenberry move it to the big screen.

And while we're being thankful, let's be thankful for J.J. Abrams for finding a way to both be faithful to continuity, and to free himself of it. He paid respect to the fans, and opened up the field for a new generation of fans. It works in the story, and you have the old continuity and the new continuity existing side by side. And come on, it's not like time paradoxes and parallel universes are foreign territory for the franchise. It's almost the norm if you look at the original series.

Let's talk about TOS, as "The Original Series" is called. It may as well stand for The Old Series, because it's dated. Worse than that, "Next Gen" is even more painful when it comes to looking dated. Special effects and hairstyles weigh down TOS, but man oh man, ST:TNG just screams eighties. It's so bad, it's almost embarrassing. And for most of these Trek people, TNG is the gospel canon.

I lost interest in Trek television, when "Deep Space Nine" came along, and once the Captains met in the movies, I was out of there too. "Enterprise" brought me back. The Trek people hate "Enterprise." I think it was great, it not only brought me back to Trek, it brought The Bride as well. The Trek folks whined about how the Vulcan protagonist behaved, behavior that was rationalized in the context of the series by the way.

These are the same people that don't have a problem with Klingons not having ridges in TOS, faulty physics, jumbled histories and timelines, and of course the fantasy of a cashless society. But a Vulcan enacting free will, that's wrong. It's okay for Spock, but nobody else.

Seems to me that the Trek folks have a problem with the mainstream taking their toys. It was okay when no one else liked Star Trek, but when there's a blockbuster movie, they get defensive. And I throw the "Doctor Who" latecomers into the same garbage bin.

I loved Abrams' Star Trek, and can not wait for the sequel. All y'all old Trekkies and Trekkers, feel free to stay home and not see it, just shut up about it. You're ruining it for the rest of us.


6 comments:

  1. Dave Powell6:20 PM

    I'm a Trekker, and I loved both Enterprise (mostly season 1 and 4) and the new movie. I can't wait for the next installment.

    That is all, hahah

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  2. In your review on ATF, you dismiss the older Dark Horse Star Wars comics because it wasn't the "original Star Wars", claiming that if it didn't come from the original three movies, you "just don't get it".

    Personally, I enjoyed the Abrams Star Trek, and plan on seeing the sequel. At the same time, though, I don't think it is fair to look down on the purists who love the original Star Trek and just don't get the new one.

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  3. That's a valid point, Unknown, but I don't tell folks not to read or enjoy those things just because I don't get it. It's just not my cup of tea.

    I'm talking about that very special breed of Trek fan who will treat you almost like a race traitor if you like the Abrams Trek, or even Enterprise or say even the least kind thing about TOS.

    They're out there, and that's who this rant was for.

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  4. I just couldn't get past the opening music from Enterprise. DS9 had some surprisingly good episodes but the franchise was definitely losing steam by then. Looking forward to the new ST as well.

    And Benedict Cumberbatch!

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  5. Never did see Enterprise.

    I am not a hard core fan so I didn't get all riled up one way or another. The Star Trek clash reminds me a bit of the angst between fans of the original Star Wars movies and the fans of the more recent ones.

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  6. Heironymoua1:21 PM

    The irony here is that I know what type of person you are railing on and though I would not have gone as far as your opinion, I do have to smile as I read your words over and over again.

    For those of us who do not boldly go....

    Thanks!

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