One of the hopefully big blockbuster movies for 2009 is another revamp of a familiar sci-fi series that holds an amazing level of devotion within it's fan base.
Yep,folks,we're getting a fancy new version of Star Trek,courtesy of J. J. Abrams,starring a fresh crop of actors and actresses as Captain James T. Kirk,Mr.Spock,Lt.Uhura, Mr. Sulu, Scotty, and Dr. Bones McCoy.
So far,only one member of the old school show that started it all will be included here,Leonard Nimoy,who is set to have a scene with his younger self played here by Zachary Quinto(Sylar Spock! Sorry,I just had to get that out of my system).
I bring up the original version of Star Trek for a reason;this new film version goes back to before the beginning of that show,which many people still view as a hallmark of science fiction television and others as an overrated/over hyped series that refuses to die,due to spawning a number of spin-off shows,each with their own major motion pictures attached.
Me,I grew up with the old school ST,my brother and I even had a few of those early Kirk and Spock dolls(too bad we didn't save those,could've made a pretty penny on Ebay there). While I enjoyed the first batch of ST,I never did get into any of the other series like ST:The Next Generation or Voyager. My intake of sci-fi is more of a come and go variety-my otherworldly tastes are more of the horror/fantasy/superhero genre.
Star Trek fans span quite a few generations and yes,I have been amused by some of the over the top antics from a few of the die hards,but you have to give those folks a hell of a lot of credit for being the first ones to openly express their fandom in public.
Trekkies/Trekkers,whatever you call them, took their love of the show out of the basement and from behind closed doors to make connections with others and share the positive messages about unity and creating a better world to live in that the show,in all of it's incarnations,gave to them.
The Trek fans paved the way for comic book followers,anime admirers and even Harry Potter and Twilight fans to make dressing up as your favorite characters and attending specially themed conventions and other related events as commonplace as family reunions and holiday parades. Even with the odd duck amongst the bunch,it's all good in the sci-fi fan hood:
So,will this new take on Trek please the already converted and bring in new members to boot? Hard to tell at this point,but the latest trailer does flesh out some of the plot line and character set-ups,plus looks sleekly modern yet still within the acceptable city limits of the core premise dreamed up by Gene Roddenberry.
As Entertainment Weekly pointed out in their latest issue,a more optimistic approach to the future may be welcome with the new changing of the guard in our government in the pop culture landscape for 2009.
I'm very willing to have some hope about what's to come,in both the real and the fictional realm and perhaps Star Trek will once again lead us into brave new worlds to help us to boldly go where no one has gone before. After all,they are old hands at this,even with fresh new faces at the helm:
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