A few thoughts on Star Trek
Image via WikipediaIf you are a complete geek (like myself, for example), then you know by now that a new Star Trek movie is in the works. You may also know that it deals with TOS material, and that the subject matter at hand is undergoing what is popular in Hollywood these days: reinvention. If you are a complete geek, then you already know all of this, and you certainly don’t need me to explain what TOS means.
I’ve flung my ire at creative reinvention (or “reboots” as they are commonly called) a few other times in the past. This particular project is getting a little more press, since trekkies, trekkers and all around trek-heads alike are getting more than a little nervous. Let’s face it, when you start meddling with Star Trek canon you are just asking to be clubbed over the head with a hard-bound copy of the Prime Directive.
However, in this case I am not all that worried. I’m not sure in which category I fall into when it comes to trek fandom, but I’m pretty sure that based on some of my opinions (were they known) I would be a member of some outcast society. Perhaps I would find myself in company the likes of Wil Wheaton:
I’m going to commit heresy right now and say what few people are willing to say out loud: most of the Star Trek movies are absolute garbage. There have been ten Trek movies, and I’d say that two of them are accessible to mainstream audiences, another two are great, and the remaining six are nearly unwatchable. If JJ Abrams wants to make his new Trek movie unlike the 80% of Trek movies that aren’t that good, that’s just fine with me.
Well. That should net him his fair share of hate mail. However, I’ll go one better than that. First off, I agree with him about the movies. Most of them were absolute crap. But then, so were most of the shows too.
Hooboy, here come the torches and pitchforks now. Before anyone gets crazy, let’s stop and analyze why I say that.
- TOS & TNG:
Star Trek TOS and TNG both were pretty much the same thing, just with different casts, a different model ship, and made a considerable time apart. A bunch of people scooted around the galaxy, running into strange things, solving some “unexpected” problem by either reconfiguring something or changing its polarity, and away they went. Nothing grew, no story was being told, and if the characters evolved it was in dribbles by what appeared to be accident.Something else: I find TOS to be damn near unwatchable. Everyone I’ve ever talked to who professes any kind of love for TOS has some sort of nostalgic detail to attach to it. Something like they watched it every day after school with their brother, or he/she and their dad made a point to watch it together. I don’t have any of that, and I never got into it as a kid. So when I go back and watch it now as an adult, all I can see is the cheese, and can find nothing entertaining about any of it. - Voyager:
This was a show with some potential, had it been handled better. The premise was already a bit overused by this point, but that could be dismissed. The writing unfortunately was horrendously flat and I just could not bring myself to care about these characters. Throw in some ridiculous concepts for alien antagonists (can anyone say the Khazon?), and you had several moments where you could do nothing more than roll your eyes. It got better in later episodes with the Borg, but by then my impression of it had pretty much been tainted. - DS9:
Probably the best of the bunch. It took until about 4th season for the writing to really gain its momentum, but by then the characters meshed well and were interesting. It was a grittier approach to Trek than we had seen elsewhere, and it was a bit refreshing. The story arc moved well once it got going, and everyone evolved in their own particular way. - Enterprise:
I wanted to like this show, and for the most part I did. However, somewhere along the line I think they forgot the real premise behind the show, which was to set the foundation for TOS. In their defense, it’s gotta be a hard thing to make a show that effectively re-writes history. But, lets face it, how can you be a show like TOS and not be a show like TOS? How do you walk the line that prevents you from stealing the thunder from everyone’s beloved baby, and still be successful? Combine that with some poor marketing by the host network, and this show was doomed to fail from the start.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to dish on Star Trek on the whole. I find some resonance with the setting, and I think Roddenberry did a great job when he created it. For me, the strength of Star Trek lies in its books rather than its movies or television series.
To get back to the overall point however, is the current fanbase’s fear of the reinvention that is in the works. Ordinarily I would be on the side of the fans, shouting defiance and warning the powers that be to “not meddle where they ought not to be meddling”. However, when I think about it, the reinvention of Star Trek doesn’t really bother me. When I stop and analyze all that has come before it, I begin to think that perhaps Star Trek should be reinvented.
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Believe it or not, there are a few episodes of TOS that don’t make me cringe, that don’t have a nostalgia factor, that I enjoy because I find them genuinely enjoyable. “A Piece of The Action” and “I, Mudd” are episodes I still get a kick out of. On the whole, though, I agree. Most of the shows and movies are very weak and it seems to be the idea of Star Trek that people love rather than the reality.
Yes, I’ll be going to see the movie. If Abrams improves on the original it’ll make the trip worthwhile.