Star Trek XI (The Spoilery Thread!)

[aurelemsrealm]

I'm a fan of anything sci-fi, particularly Star Trek, but I'm not overly critical of the details. I have a tendency to rewrite it in my head as I watch it. I guess it's inspiration for the stories I'd like to write if I was less distracted with things like school, work, or life in general. Famed sci-fi author would definitely be a dream job for me if I would stick with one idea long enough to develop it.

The only Star Trek episode to really ever disappoint me was the final episode of Enterprise. That one felt too much like their way of saying let's just get this over with already. Despite the critics, I always liked the series and movies. I own copies of all the movies, even the ones everyone said were bad, and a few assorted episodes on VHS.

I liked the new movie. I was a little annoyed that they destroyed Vulcan, but I can live with the alternate timeline. In fact, the idea of time travel and alternate realities fascinates me. I wish they'd develop the story lines of the dark mirror episodes. That would interest me, anyway.

[Rapscallion]

The only Star Trek episode to really ever disappoint me was the final episode of Enterprise.

Someone managed to forget 'Shades of Gray'.

Rapscallion

[Jester]

I'm refering more to highly-publicized, recent/current films and shows. You'd think this late in the game, it'd be more common. Instead, we have to go back a decade or two or bad movies (Resident Evil? Blah!).

Shame I never got into CSI though...

And I only watch Xena for the eye-candy. Ares is rawr!

Please. And....please. There are tons of current shows AND movies that have strong female leads. You don't have to go back decades, those were just the things off the top of my head. And the fact that you never watched CSI doesn't change the fact that there are three shows right there with strong female characters.

I watched Xena for the eye candy as well (I worship Gabrielle!), but the show was actually very well written and very well done, even better than the show it was spun off of, Hercules.

I have one problem with Uhura, and its an estics thing
the original Uhura Nichelle Nichols ... wasn't fat but wonderfully curvy with just alittle bit of pudge to fill her out. very sexy but definitely not skinny.
Zoe Saldana the new Uhura looked like a twig i could snap in two with no really effort.

First, I think you mean to say it's an "aesthetics" thing.

Secondly, if you think about it, the difference in body type is not that much of a difference. When we meet Uhura in the original series, she is not a fresh-faced cadet, but is somewhat more mature, as is the rest of the crew. As people age (humans, anyway, and Uhura was human...can't comment on the other species in the show!), they often fill out, putting on some poundage here or there, and not always in a bad way. Being in my thirties, I can very much appreciate this fact of life.

[Slytovhand]

I saw it the other day, on the big screen (and unfortunately, a few minutes late ), and firstlly... I have to agree with Jester and Cinemaguy... and add in... what the hell is the flagship of the entire (soon to be) Federation doing with a bunch of noobs on deck? I don't care how brilliant they are, you have captain and lieutenants and all those ranks in between (not sure of my naval rankings, sorry...). Sure, maybe a couple of young ensigns to show them the ropes if they're actually brilliant... but not a whole ship-load of them! Not without much better and experienced people with them... so, no, Chekov (and Sulu) do not get to take command of the flagship... nor Kirk (except I spose you can allow for Pike's personal motivations)..

One thing that has always gotten my goat... his name is PaVel AndreiVich ChekoV... how the hell can he not pronounce a V... from a culture that doesn't even have a letter W!!! (let alone, why hasn't the computer voice recognition picked up his particular voice patterns? Oh, he's not really supposed to be there, cos the real officer is AWOL!!!)

I liked the Spock/Uhura thing... it made it more of a different universe thing.

Marooning Kirk? Sorry, that's going to be a court-martialing! (not to mention, totally illogical... after all, even if Spock hates Kirk - and since he's Vulcan, he can't!, marooning an officer who's just graduated a 4 year course in 3 is just stupid!)

And yes, I saw the red shirt death coming.. I agree, shouldn't have happened so stupidly

One thing for me (and perhaps a few Aussies) was watching Eric Bana. I know, he's done a few movies now in all seriousness, and done a great job... I just keep waiting for him to drop into "Poider" accent and lines... (please, go YouTube and look up his stuff from Full Frontal... it will totally change the way you see him!)

Back to the OP... Wolverine was meh... watchable, but certainly no X-men movie!

[smileyeagle1021]

even if Spock hates Kirk - and since he's half Vulcan, he can't!,

there... edited it for you

And I can accept the young inexperienced crew on the flagship... it was an emergency situation... the story kind of leads you to believe that the Enterprise wasn't really ready for it's maiden voyage... that they were waiting for officers to return from the main fleet and didn't have that luxury, so they made do with who they had available.

And may I say also, leave Checkov alone... I've had a celebrity crush on Anton Yelchin for a while now... he can do no wrong nor can his role do any wrong
That and I know the accent isn't really accurate, but damnit, it's sexy

eta- why can Chekov pronounce the 'v' in Chekov but can't pronounce 'v's in anything else? (I still think the accent is sexy though )

[CaroPhoenix]

Hubs and I just saw the movie today and I loved it! I want to go see it again, but I prolly won't go to the IMAX theater that we went to today.

First let me say, I loved the Uhura/Spock love story. It makes Spock that much more believable and for him to fall for a human female? Life Father, Like Son.

Christopher Pine did well ... as Kirk. I know no one they got could portray Kirk as well as Shatner. (And for the record, I love love love love (did I mention love) Shatner and as Kirk he's the model for all other men in my life to emulate).

I love the alternate reality thing now. And as for Chekov being a 17 year old genius? Who does that sound like? I think it sounds like that other character who was a "boy genius" ... wasn't that character's initials Wesley Crusher?

Now, I'm all geared up to write a FanFic (which I've never done) of the new Star Trek alternative universe. I'd explore the new Vulcan world. How does it compare to the old? Does this mean the Romulans are going to be more high and mighty than they ever were? Would they become allies to the Federation or still side with the Klingons? How does this make TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager all different? I would love to see new TV Shows. Made-for-TV movies. New books. More new movies.

As for the alternate realities? Y'all have to keep in mind that J. J. Abrams is very heavily into that as he's also in charge of the show "Fringe".

And for those who are interested, you need to read the comic/TBP, "Countdown" which gives the major background for what happens in the future. (Hubs and I were really glad we read it before seeing the movie).

[aurelemsrealm]

Someone managed to forget 'Shades of Gray'.

Rapscallion

I had to go look that one up because I couldn't remember it. That episode didn't annoy me. No, for me, it was the last episode of Enterprise which was the worst Star Trek episode ever.

[Sliceanddice]

And may I say also, leave Checkov alone... I've had a celebrity crush on Anton Yelchin for a while now... he can do no wrong nor can his role do any wrong
That and I know the accent isn't really accurate, but damnit, it's sexy

im gay and i have crush on him too, and i still contend that his accent is realish seeing as hes a Russian born actor with Russian figure skater parents who wanted him to be a Russian figure skater

oh oh and i thought of how the youngens got to run the show, Sulu was an officer just alittle green. and remember level 6 got hammered and alot of people died and spock was an officer i believe if he wasnt an officer he was kind of high up there for scotty.

[Shards]

Chain of command style arguments, the point is this:

A skeleton crew was held back at Starfleet academy with the Enterprise and other ships, not a full-roster, or even close to a full roster. The rest of starfleet was in the midst of a separate mission that was taking up the majority of their forces and personnel in a different system. I inferred it was a separate war, but it's really left up to the viewer. What isn't left up to you is that the cadets were graduated early to make up for a serious deficiency in manpower for an emergency mission. Sulu was already an officer as were Scotty and Spok. Finally, the first hits on the Enterprise did wipe out a significantly trafficked area of the ship, specifically the area around the medical bay. Think about it, when building a ship, does the Medical Bay go closer to or further from the high traffic areas in order to have the greatest chance of successfully keeping a proper crew in good shape? Now think about the rampant destruction of that area of the ship during the cutaway scene that showed us Bones initially taking command of Medical.

The main characters were being promoted/used in the bridge because they were the main characters and it was plot-convenient, yes, but they were also filling those roles because they were pretty much who was left both on deck and fit for service. Admittedly, it's a weaker rationale than many we see in Sci-fi and fantasy books and movies, but it's no worse than other things that have flown in previous ST cannon.

[smileyeagle1021]

. Admittedly, it's a weaker rationale than many we see in Sci-fi and fantasy books and movies, but it's no worse than other things that have flown in previous ST cannon.

Too bad David Feintuch isn't alive still to write this chain of events... that man is a genius in stretching chain of command while still making it credible... after all, he was able to justify turning a 17 year old midshipman into captain of an FTL vessel

[Slytovhand]

and i still contend that his accent is realish seeing as hes a Russian born actor with Russian figure skater parents who wanted him to be a Russian figure skater

The Russian language doesn't have a W, but it does have a V... nuff said! (Ya govoryu nemnozhko po-russki).


Hmmm - Shards, you have a point about the background bits, but... they were on deck before the Enterprise saw battle! Given that the call came through before they left Earth, and they were going to an emergency situation, I'd think they'd all call up their best personnel ASAP... and that's what transporters are for!

Last episode of Enterprise SUCKED!!!!! Oh I hated that one! Sure, they needed an ending episode in a hurry, but to completely stuff around with what they were trying to do??? Bleh!

[smileyeagle1021]

Last episode of Enterprise SUCKED!!!!! Oh I hated that one! Sure, they needed an ending episode in a hurry, but to completely stuff around with what they were trying to do??? Bleh!

Umm... I think that it might also have something to do with Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis being in the episode more than anything else. You could just tell those two were so out of place.

[Shards]

The Russian language doesn't have a W, but it does have a V... nuff said! (Ya govoryu nemnozhko po-russki).


Hmmm - Shards, you have a point about the background bits, but... they were on deck before the Enterprise saw battle! Given that the call came through before they left Earth, and they were going to an emergency situation, I'd think they'd all call up their best personnel ASAP... and that's what transporters are for!

Last episode of Enterprise SUCKED!!!!! Oh I hated that one! Sure, they needed an ending episode in a hurry, but to completely stuff around with what they were trying to do??? Bleh!

As I recall, Scotty got put on the crap-shack he was stationed in because he had a debate with his professor on the potential range of transporter capacity. So, considering that his professor is implied to be a relatively intelligent man with some experience over him, that means that the idea of long-range (as in inter-system) transport has not been performed, let alone perfected, in this continuity.

Also, yes, this was an emergency situation, but we never see the situation that has the rest of the professional starfleet personnel occupied, how do we know it isn't equally pressing? Again, it's left to the viewer to decide what the situation they're in, which is implied to be several systems away from earth. I chose to believe they were taking part in a war, which makes the lack of available personnel even if they could get back somewhat more believable.

[smileyeagle1021]

As I recall, Scotty got put on the crap-shack he was stationed in because he had a debate with his professor on the potential range of transporter capacity. So, considering that his professor is implied to be a relatively intelligent man with some experience over him, that means that the idea of long-range (as in inter-system) transport has not been performed, let alone perfected, in this continuity.

Also, yes, this was an emergency situation, but we never see the situation that has the rest of the professional starfleet personnel occupied, how do we know it isn't equally pressing? Again, it's left to the viewer to decide what the situation they're in, which is implied to be several systems away from earth. I chose to believe they were taking part in a war, which makes the lack of available personnel even if they could get back somewhat more believable.

First, yes Scotty was exiled to Delta Vega because he tried to prove that interplanetary transport was possible... and ended up losing Admiral Archer's prized beagle in the process... which proves that it most definitely is not able to be performed in an emergency situation.

And Shards, you make a good point about the war. The attack on the Kelvin, by a Romulan ship, near the edge of Klingon space probably made the entire region unstable. Even in the original continuity there was an ongoing instability between the Federation and the Klingons... surely that would make it worse... maybe even turn it into an actual shooting war. And yes, I know the real reason for the Enterprise's more militaristic look and greater fire power was probably because it looks hella cool that way... but it could also be explained by the fact that this continuity there is a war going on.

[Slytovhand]

Umm... I think that it might also have something to do with Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis being in the episode more than anything else. You could just tell those two were so out of place.

Actually - no.

Ok, that type of storyline was dodgey and really didn't help, it's more that throughout the whole episode they went on and on and on and on about Trip's getting killed.

Also, they basically said that the relationship between Trip and T'pol was over and ended, yet the preceeding few episodes made it fairly clear that they intending it to go further (probably hinting towards a half-human/half-vulcan... just like Spock!!)

Also, how did Trip die?? That was complete and utter crap! He's an intelligent man, and been in far worse situations than that... to just up and kill himself in such a stupid, idiotic manner....<sigh>

Nope, hated it!

(oh, and Archer sure didn't seem overly put out to give a speech straight after one of his bestest buddies of over a decade has died..!!! Meh! You got the feeling no-one in that episode wanted to be there...)