Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The New Star Trek

Well, I just got through watching the new Star Trek movie. This is such an iconic franchise that most purists like myself have reservations whenever anyone tampers with the universe. I really stopped watching Star Trek after the "Berminization"of the whole thing after the death of Roddenberry. There are things that you just don't tamper with. Rick Berman ruined the whole thing with his "take" on Star Trek. The ideals that Roddenberry had were compromised in the pursuit of ratings.

However, it can be argued that the franchise needed something fresh, a new approach. I can't say I am a fan of J.J. Abrams. I have gotten lost with "Lost" which is so convoluted that I could not follow it anymore. So I approached with some trepedation this "re-imagination" of the franchise. My disapointment is tainted with my experience with the "re-imagination" of the Battlestar Galactica franchise which was totally messed up. While that take on BSG was more "realistic," I eventually was turned by the constant violence and lack of humanity, heroism and nobility in the characters. I want to watch something that uplifts me, not brings me down and BSG depressed me. Therefore, I was prepared not to like Star Trek.

There are still some aspects in this one I don't like. For one thing, Dr. McCoy should be much older than Kirk and not go through the academy with him. The characters are united much too early, but I suppose one must get all the principals together in order to jump start the franchise. Also, there is a romantic relationship implied that really turned me off and was definately not a part of the original franshise.

However, the new re-imagination is a fresh approach to the Star Trek universe that is filled iwth action. The movie is like a roller coaster ride. Star Trek was never really a roller-coaster. It was a more an allegory that told us stories about how we delat with each other using the Science Fiction as a backdrop. It told stories about how we deal with rascism, war, genocide, love, hate, etc. It was a drama that, at times, delved into the action adventure genre, but did not remain there. It was limited by its budget and technology and yet still managed to entertain. Given the new franchise's nearly unlimited budget, we are going to be treated by more action-adventure stories in the future. Given its box office take so far and fan reaction, we are likely to see more of these in the new franchise. Time will tell if these new stories will be any different than the old ones.

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I am interested in CNG vehicles because they are good for the environment and aren't powered by dead Marines. I still have a little hope for the world. Read the musings and enjoy.