Star Trek - one thread for all things Trekkie
So I started watching DS9 from the beginning this time, starting with season 1, episode 1. Boy, I am glad they came up with the Dominion War in later seasons because I don't see how the series would have gone form more than a couple of seasons with those early generic episodes.
Aravis Kenobi
New member
^They have some pretty stellar stand alone episodes later on, like the 1950s one. Personally I think the writing in DS9 was superior to that of Voyager...
Aravis Kenobi
New member
So, I'm just going to come out and say that I'm becoming a bit of a hypocrite Friday.
If you know me well enough, you know how vocal I am about Abrams and his blatant disregard for what Gene Roddenberry has created. I even saw the headline of an article that read, "J.J. Abrams Doesn't Like 'Star Trek'" (it was a video and I didn't feel like watching proof of what I already knew to be true). I will give Abrams one point in his favor: he got the casting of Bones right, and this seems to be the consensus between even the most pure of Trek fans (let's face it: I have a bigger crush on Karl Urban because of his role in the films).
Anyway, on to explaining my first sentence: my sister and brother-in-law invited me to go see the sequel with them on Friday, and I agreed mostly because it is a chance to spend time with them before I head home on Saturday. Plus, they have a gift card from Fandango, so I'm hoping there will be enough left over from their tickets so I won't have to pay for mine.
If you know me well enough, you know how vocal I am about Abrams and his blatant disregard for what Gene Roddenberry has created. I even saw the headline of an article that read, "J.J. Abrams Doesn't Like 'Star Trek'" (it was a video and I didn't feel like watching proof of what I already knew to be true). I will give Abrams one point in his favor: he got the casting of Bones right, and this seems to be the consensus between even the most pure of Trek fans (let's face it: I have a bigger crush on Karl Urban because of his role in the films).
Anyway, on to explaining my first sentence: my sister and brother-in-law invited me to go see the sequel with them on Friday, and I agreed mostly because it is a chance to spend time with them before I head home on Saturday. Plus, they have a gift card from Fandango, so I'm hoping there will be enough left over from their tickets so I won't have to pay for mine.
Aww, that's not hypocrisy. especially if it's not your money going to Abrams' movie. And I think it's great you'll see the film. Maybe it will change your mind.
I can't wait to see it! But I will have to wait because i know my husband will refuse to go opening weekend, and the following weekend we are out of town at my niece's wedding.
Saturday night I was at my brother's house in PHX, and we watched a Star Trek ToS rerun, with Dr. Roger Korby, Christine Chapel's old fiance who was presumed dead on an ice planet he was exploring. he has a giant scary android named Grok that starts killing people. It's a pretty good one, especially when Kirk realizes that Korby is making an android Kirk with all Kirk's own memories and brains -- so he quick has to think of something to say that's so unlike anything he would ever say that Spock will know it's not true Kirk but a poisonous look-alike.
I forget what the name of the episode was, but when we saw it on the screen my brother guessed it was the one with Korby and said, "We'll know for sure in the first shot if Christine is on the bridge ..." Which she was. My sister-in-law said, "How can you tell what episode it is just by that?" And my brother said, "You see it twice a year for 30 years ..." Hoo-ha! So true.
I can't wait to see it! But I will have to wait because i know my husband will refuse to go opening weekend, and the following weekend we are out of town at my niece's wedding.
Saturday night I was at my brother's house in PHX, and we watched a Star Trek ToS rerun, with Dr. Roger Korby, Christine Chapel's old fiance who was presumed dead on an ice planet he was exploring. he has a giant scary android named Grok that starts killing people. It's a pretty good one, especially when Kirk realizes that Korby is making an android Kirk with all Kirk's own memories and brains -- so he quick has to think of something to say that's so unlike anything he would ever say that Spock will know it's not true Kirk but a poisonous look-alike.
I forget what the name of the episode was, but when we saw it on the screen my brother guessed it was the one with Korby and said, "We'll know for sure in the first shot if Christine is on the bridge ..." Which she was. My sister-in-law said, "How can you tell what episode it is just by that?" And my brother said, "You see it twice a year for 30 years ..." Hoo-ha! So true.
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Aravis Kenobi
New member
Doubtful that it will change my mind. I've seen the first one countless times, and each time I get angrier and angrier at what Abrams did to the so-called 'origins' of the characters. I do that with Dawn Treader too, so I just quit watching.
"What Little Girls Are Made Of" is not one of my favorites, though on the note of Christine Chapel, I would like it if she and Dr. McCoy had a thing for each other in the new movies. Abrams does have a chance to right THAT wrong, if he chooses to do so.
"What Little Girls Are Made Of" is not one of my favorites, though on the note of Christine Chapel, I would like it if she and Dr. McCoy had a thing for each other in the new movies. Abrams does have a chance to right THAT wrong, if he chooses to do so.
Oooh, good idea! Since he's already put Spock and Uhura together ...
Yah, that's the one "What Little Girls Are Made Of." It's not one of my favorites either, but it's not bad. I did find that Grok SCARY when I was a little kid, they way he went creeping after people. Yikes!
Yah, that's the one "What Little Girls Are Made Of." It's not one of my favorites either, but it's not bad. I did find that Grok SCARY when I was a little kid, they way he went creeping after people. Yikes!
Sven-El
Well-known member
So I saw the new movie last night. And seeing Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as the bad guy makes me more excited for, oddly The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug as he is voicing the eponymous dragon .Every time he was on screen I kept thinking, "he'll be perfect for Smaug!"
Aravis Kenobi
New member
Ink, I think the film's general rating is PG-13, and here are some snippets of PluggedIn's review:
I read the review, so I've read some of the spoilers. Can't say it surprises me.
I read the review, so I've read some of the spoilers. Can't say it surprises me.
Snap! Why do they have to go there? Even at PG-13 I wish they would tone down both the language and the violence. I know they have to make it exciting, but really?
Thanks for the review, AK. I just heard Bob W on the radio ...
I will probably still see it, because I am dying too, but I really don't like that language and gore.
The only time I remember a cuss word on ToS was at the end of City on the Edge of Forever, and Kirk said it because his heart was broken and his world was ending, and you felt like, no wonder. But it was clear then he had been pushed beyond his breaking point ... for them to just litter the movie with cuss words cheapens the whole thing -- like they're just vulgar people who cuss all the time ... Bah. I am a pollyanna.
Thanks for the review, AK. I just heard Bob W on the radio ...
I will probably still see it, because I am dying too, but I really don't like that language and gore.
The only time I remember a cuss word on ToS was at the end of City on the Edge of Forever, and Kirk said it because his heart was broken and his world was ending, and you felt like, no wonder. But it was clear then he had been pushed beyond his breaking point ... for them to just litter the movie with cuss words cheapens the whole thing -- like they're just vulgar people who cuss all the time ... Bah. I am a pollyanna.
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Aravis Kenobi
New member
No, I feel the same way. In fact, it's one reason why I refuse to watch Star Trek IV or First Contact on a Sunday...the amount of vulgar language is enough to make me not watch those two very often (shocking that my other favorites, Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country don't have the type or amount of language present in the other two films).
And now it's looking like I actually will not be seeing the film tonight after all. Well. Drat. Guess I'll be waiting until redbox after all.
And now it's looking like I actually will not be seeing the film tonight after all. Well. Drat. Guess I'll be waiting until redbox after all.
Aravis Kenobi
New member
**SPOILER ALERT**
Do NOT read what I'm about to say if you haven't yet seen the film or if you want to be surprised.
Cumberbatch plays Khan; or at least, a variation of Khan.
**END SPOILER**
Thank you, JJ Abrams, for proving YET again that you cannot be trusted with what Gene Roddenberry created. You have proven my point over and over again. I refuse to give YOU any of my money. I'll wait for it to release on Netflix and I don't have to pay for this piece of trash.
Do NOT read what I'm about to say if you haven't yet seen the film or if you want to be surprised.
Cumberbatch plays Khan; or at least, a variation of Khan.
**END SPOILER**
Thank you, JJ Abrams, for proving YET again that you cannot be trusted with what Gene Roddenberry created. You have proven my point over and over again. I refuse to give YOU any of my money. I'll wait for it to release on Netflix and I don't have to pay for this piece of trash.
Sir Godfrey
Pelegrin Crucis
Star Trek: Into The Darkness
I just saw Into The Darkness and it was intriguing, tantalizing, and delightful! I won't share any spoilers but the character development was brilliant (Abrams does have gift at making you care about the crew of U.S.S. Enterprise). The main villain was brilliant, although I had a hard time not picturing him in Sherlock Holms like attire.
As for the violence, I thought It actually was toned down compared to the Abram's last Trek. Most of the intense fighting scenes have the shaky camera effect and you can barely tell what is happening (too my dismay). There is one sexual scene but it is 3 seconds compared to the 3min one in the prior installment.
There is a scene that might rub some religious people the wrong way at the beginning. There is a very disturbing scene where the villain crushes a man's skull into his brain with his bare hands (you don't see brains, but It's still traumatic).
Overall I prefer Into the Darkness more than the reboot or J.J. Abrams first installment in this Alternative Timeline/Universe Star Trek. I particularly liked that more time is spent planet side than in space or inside the ship. I liked the villain much more in this film than in previous. Nero was archaic and one-dimensional. This villain has more emotion and his ruthlessness is more believable (sorry Eric Bana, you just weren't believable).
Having grown up on The Original Star Trek Series and Movies I can understand purist peeves and protestations, but I've accepted this new canon of Star Trek. It's not meant to compare with the past triumphs or timelines. It is a Star Trek for a new generation.
I just saw Into The Darkness and it was intriguing, tantalizing, and delightful! I won't share any spoilers but the character development was brilliant (Abrams does have gift at making you care about the crew of U.S.S. Enterprise). The main villain was brilliant, although I had a hard time not picturing him in Sherlock Holms like attire.
As for the violence, I thought It actually was toned down compared to the Abram's last Trek. Most of the intense fighting scenes have the shaky camera effect and you can barely tell what is happening (too my dismay). There is one sexual scene but it is 3 seconds compared to the 3min one in the prior installment.
There is a scene that might rub some religious people the wrong way at the beginning. There is a very disturbing scene where the villain crushes a man's skull into his brain with his bare hands (you don't see brains, but It's still traumatic).
Overall I prefer Into the Darkness more than the reboot or J.J. Abrams first installment in this Alternative Timeline/Universe Star Trek. I particularly liked that more time is spent planet side than in space or inside the ship. I liked the villain much more in this film than in previous. Nero was archaic and one-dimensional. This villain has more emotion and his ruthlessness is more believable (sorry Eric Bana, you just weren't believable).
Having grown up on The Original Star Trek Series and Movies I can understand purist peeves and protestations, but I've accepted this new canon of Star Trek. It's not meant to compare with the past triumphs or timelines. It is a Star Trek for a new generation.
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Aravis Kenobi
New member
I'll have to say that I think we should agree to disagree on this aspect. Abrams has implied/inferred/said multiple times that this isn't necessarily an alternate universe, but what happened BEFORE The Original Series. He has also said he doesn't even like Star Trek and never even really watched it before agreeing to take up this mantel.
And this man is in charge of Star Wars
. I have a feeling (and will be laughing) if the same people who give Abrams a pass on HIS version of Trek drag him over the coals on Star Wars. And if people do as much, I will be quick to remind them of their feelings regarding Star Trek. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, you know. Anyway. I did watch part of Syfy's two day Star Trek marathon Thursday and Friday. I watched some of The Next Generation since I hadn't seen TNG since finishing the series back in the fall/early spring, and I was able to watch all of The Undiscovered Country. It's all better without commercials.
Abrams can say that as much as he likes, the serious fans know it is not true.
It is an alternate timeline.
The most obvious fact that confirms this is the destruction of Romulus and Remus.
In the mainstream timeline, these planets still exist.
Picard, Data and Spock even go to Romulus in the two part episode Unification.
And the players of Star Trek Online know this more then anyone else.
Because the game is based in the Abrams version of the timeline and they notice that there a few plot points that are different to the tv series.
In particular, the Romulan playable expansion that comes out in two days is the most obvious example of this.
The story starts off by saying the Romulans and Remans have no home planets anymore, which forces them to work together just to survive, as they need co-operation to survive without the resources of the Romulan Star Empire, which were lost when the planets were destroyed.
There's also more story details about how the remnants of the Romulan Military Forces and the Tal'Shiar were forced to seek out new allies to keep at their former level of power and influence.
The Romulan Military had to convince the Hirogen armada to join their military.
In Star Trek Online, somehow the Hirogen managed to bring their forces to the Alpha Quadrant.
As for who the Tal'Shiar allied themselves with, I won't say that because it's a game spoiler and if you haven't yet played the game, it'll ruin the surprise when you finally do find out.
Also, is there spoiler code for this forum?
I've never been able to find it!
It is an alternate timeline.
The most obvious fact that confirms this is the destruction of Romulus and Remus.
In the mainstream timeline, these planets still exist.
Picard, Data and Spock even go to Romulus in the two part episode Unification.
And the players of Star Trek Online know this more then anyone else.
Because the game is based in the Abrams version of the timeline and they notice that there a few plot points that are different to the tv series.
In particular, the Romulan playable expansion that comes out in two days is the most obvious example of this.
The story starts off by saying the Romulans and Remans have no home planets anymore, which forces them to work together just to survive, as they need co-operation to survive without the resources of the Romulan Star Empire, which were lost when the planets were destroyed.
There's also more story details about how the remnants of the Romulan Military Forces and the Tal'Shiar were forced to seek out new allies to keep at their former level of power and influence.
The Romulan Military had to convince the Hirogen armada to join their military.
In Star Trek Online, somehow the Hirogen managed to bring their forces to the Alpha Quadrant.
As for who the Tal'Shiar allied themselves with, I won't say that because it's a game spoiler and if you haven't yet played the game, it'll ruin the surprise when you finally do find out.
Also, is there spoiler code for this forum?
I've never been able to find it!
Sir Godfrey
Pelegrin Crucis
*Uses teleporter and leaves conversation*
Aravis Kenobi
New member
No idea; I think people just highlight their text to a light enough color that you can't see it very easily on the forum.
Of course serious fans know it's an alternate universe/timeline/dimension. The problem I have always had is Abrams NOT making the distinction between the two; instead, HE has claimed (over and over again) that HIS version is THE origin story. I probably wouldn't have much of an issue with the films if Abrams understood the difference between a true alternate universe and the actual origin story of Kirk, Spock, and Co. The Kirk and Spock portrayed in TOS are not the same characters Abrams created; if anything, they are anything BUT the characters we've learned to love. The reason being that, if you remove the things that make them who they are (Kirk's father, Vulcan, and Spock's mother), you have removed the very foundations of those characters and they cannot be the same ones they were before. In fact, if we're talking canon vs. non canon, Abrams' Trek is very non-canon. And if you think about it, Abrams has added a second alternate universe to the Trek mix (the first one being the AU created in The Original Series with "Mirror, Mirror"). In that light, it's interesting. But in the light of Abrams' POV that "I don't care about Roddenberry's work; I'm going to do what I want", well. I frankly don't care.
*Uses teleporter and leaves conversation*
SG, don't take what I'm about to say wrong, but: if you cannot agree to disagree with other fans' opinions, then you most definitely should leave the conversation. Now, I welcome your opinions on this issue as it's a sore spot for fans both new and old (old as in long time, not age!). Now, I also know I am not the only die-hard Trekkie who feels this way; my brother-in-law and I have had some interesting discussions about the film as he feels about the same way I do (and he's been a Trekkie for much, much longer than I!). And I also know that there are fans who, regardless of how you argue it, like Abrams' versions of Trek, and that's fine.
At least Abrams cast a good Bones.
I did see the first movie and as soon as we hit the first battle scene, I realized it was going to go downhill pretty fast.
I was pretty fascinated by the ship tech, so bought pretty much everything in the way of printed blueprints I could lay my hands on.
Therefore, I had a very good idea of how the ships from various eras were constructed.
In Kirk's era, they weren't that advanced.
Compared to Picard's era, the ships of the time had minimal weapons, they had no more then two phaser beams and a torpedo launcher.
So when I saw the ship opening fire with a barrage of shots enough to take out 20-30 projectiles from the future Romulan ship, I realized canon has just been thrown out the window!
No Starfleet vessel of that time had that kind of firepower!
In addition, Starfleet vessels do not have point defense systems at all!
For context, a point defense system is a weapon employed to destroy small targets at close range, typically missiles or torpedos, sometimes enemy fighter craft.
Actually, I've never seen a point defense system on any Star Trek vessel of any period (although Star Trek Online has them as special ship weapons).
The closest thing I can come to this is when the Enterprise-D fired an antimatter spread at a Borg cube.
But even then, that wasn't a weapon, it just scrambled the sensors of the Borg cube so they couldn't detect the Enterprise-D shuttle flying close enough to get through their shields and into transporter range.
It's the 24th century equivalent of shooting fireworks, minimal to no damage, just lots of pretty lights.
I was pretty fascinated by the ship tech, so bought pretty much everything in the way of printed blueprints I could lay my hands on.
Therefore, I had a very good idea of how the ships from various eras were constructed.
In Kirk's era, they weren't that advanced.
Compared to Picard's era, the ships of the time had minimal weapons, they had no more then two phaser beams and a torpedo launcher.
So when I saw the ship opening fire with a barrage of shots enough to take out 20-30 projectiles from the future Romulan ship, I realized canon has just been thrown out the window!
No Starfleet vessel of that time had that kind of firepower!
In addition, Starfleet vessels do not have point defense systems at all!
For context, a point defense system is a weapon employed to destroy small targets at close range, typically missiles or torpedos, sometimes enemy fighter craft.
Actually, I've never seen a point defense system on any Star Trek vessel of any period (although Star Trek Online has them as special ship weapons).
The closest thing I can come to this is when the Enterprise-D fired an antimatter spread at a Borg cube.
But even then, that wasn't a weapon, it just scrambled the sensors of the Borg cube so they couldn't detect the Enterprise-D shuttle flying close enough to get through their shields and into transporter range.
It's the 24th century equivalent of shooting fireworks, minimal to no damage, just lots of pretty lights.
Sir Cabbage
New member
I've not read any of the other posts but here's my two pence:
Didn't think much of the remake.
Watched Into Darkness the other day and it was much better, though it's still nothing amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch, eeee!
Love the soundtrack.
Didn't think much of the remake.
Watched Into Darkness the other day and it was much better, though it's still nothing amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch, eeee!
Love the soundtrack.