Star Trek

I'm an old school Star Trek fan. I've been watching the original series ever since I was a child, for as long as I can remember. Kirk and Spock were my childhood heroes. Needless to say, I purchased the entire thing on DVD as soon as it became available as a set (recently re-purchased the digital remaster, which was well worth it).

I've seen every Trek movie, even the Shatner-directed Star Trek V as well as the last NextGen debacle, Star Trek Nemesis.

On the TV I enjoyed Next Generation's later seasons (watched season one and quit after too many "Lower shields and surrender the ship" episodes). DS9 I of course boycotted, being a Babylon 5 fan, which that show shamelessly ripped off. Voyager and Enterprise I tried, but it seemed that all the Trek shows started off with this great idea then fizzled off.

So then I heard rumors of a J.J. Abrams reboot of my beloved, vanilla Trek. There were rumors before of a Starfleet Academy movie, featuring a young Kirk and Spock, but this time it seemed to be the real deal. But how do you replace Spock, or Kirk for that matter? Ugh.

I started to get won over when I saw the first teaser poster, which featured Kirk, Uhura, and Spock. Christopher Pine (Kirk) looked like he was trying to seduce a woman, which seemed fitting. But Zachary Quinto looked uncannily like Spock.

As the premier came closer, I kept a close eye on /Film (a site I check daily), as well as the mainstream news outlets. Ever review I saw for the new Star Trek film was not only good, but glowing. Wait, this is a science fiction film right, now a drama?

I saw the film opening weekend, of course. Amazing. I honestly didn't think it could be done, revisit the original series with new actors playing the old characters. But somehow J.J. Abrams has pulled off the impossible, making a great Trek film while keeping all the fan boys and the 'more mature fans', such as myself, satisfied.

The acting was good, each character was represented properly without becoming a parody. Checkov and Uhura benefitted from expanded roles, which worked out well. Kirk and Spock were presented excellently. The actor playing McCoy really surprised me, he's another one that nailed it. Even Scotty and his little buddy were greatly satisfying.

Everyone I've talked to who's seen this film enjoyed it. My buddy Jim had one complaint, that some of the props on the bridge were bar code readers. Personally, my only complaint was with the interior of the Enterprise. Once you get below decks, say to engineering, it seems like a bunch of empty space filled with pipes and support beams. But that is my one and only complaint. I'll probably see this again in theatres, will definitely buy it on DVD.

They better make more, I want to see what becomes of this crew...oh wait, I already have! OK, I want to see how they get there.