Eric Bana was actually very effective as the Romulan villain, but the scenes set in his ship were very Next Generation and didn’t seem to match the rest of the movie’s ideals.
Star Trek
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Excellent and insightful thoughts as usual, Ben.
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
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Thanks WJ. 
What I perhaps failed to get across in my comments was that it was the <I>feel</I> of these scenes that felt more TNG than what the rest of the movie was (I won't say TOS since it wasn't really that either).
The scene set-ups, the way certain characters behaved...it just seemed, to me, to be a step down back to TNG rather than keeping up the brilliant freshness of the rest of this new take.
But what you say about Nero's ship design is a very good point, even if that wasn't really what "bothered" me about those moments.
What I perhaps failed to get across in my comments was that it was the <I>feel</I> of these scenes that felt more TNG than what the rest of the movie was (I won't say TOS since it wasn't really that either).
The scene set-ups, the way certain characters behaved...it just seemed, to me, to be a step down back to TNG rather than keeping up the brilliant freshness of the rest of this new take.
But what you say about Nero's ship design is a very good point, even if that wasn't really what "bothered" me about those moments.
Ben,
Think of this...
Antonio Banderas as You-Know-Who...
It could happen for all we know.
How many memorable Trek villains are there any way?
I think a big screen update for "Space Seed"/"TWOK" may be in the works for a sequel.
Somehow, I don't think Klingons or Romulans are in the queque just yet. Maybe for background, yes, but not as the main villain.
A villain with gravitas is what's needed.
P.S. -- I actually felt the villain WAS one of the big weak points for Star Trek (2009). There wasn't enough set-up for Nero, Bana's performance lacked the gravitas of Plummer's General Chang and Montalban's Khan, and the Spock-Prime mindmeld set-up for the subplot of the movie was not great.
Yeah, to think the galaxy was under the threat of a coal miner? Not so impressive in retrospect.
The fact that I have to buy a comic (Star Trek: Countdown -- not worth the cash IMHO) to get more info on Nero is NOT a good sign for the script.
(That's very much in keeping with the spirit of The Next Generation's tendency to talk things to death instead of showing them.)
This is another case of a film with a not-so-great script getting saved by performances, character chemistry, and action.
What's new with Star Trek?
Think of this...
Antonio Banderas as You-Know-Who...
It could happen for all we know.
How many memorable Trek villains are there any way?
I think a big screen update for "Space Seed"/"TWOK" may be in the works for a sequel.
Somehow, I don't think Klingons or Romulans are in the queque just yet. Maybe for background, yes, but not as the main villain.
A villain with gravitas is what's needed.
P.S. -- I actually felt the villain WAS one of the big weak points for Star Trek (2009). There wasn't enough set-up for Nero, Bana's performance lacked the gravitas of Plummer's General Chang and Montalban's Khan, and the Spock-Prime mindmeld set-up for the subplot of the movie was not great.
Yeah, to think the galaxy was under the threat of a coal miner? Not so impressive in retrospect.
The fact that I have to buy a comic (Star Trek: Countdown -- not worth the cash IMHO) to get more info on Nero is NOT a good sign for the script.
(That's very much in keeping with the spirit of The Next Generation's tendency to talk things to death instead of showing them.)
This is another case of a film with a not-so-great script getting saved by performances, character chemistry, and action.
What's new with Star Trek?
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Two more things to type today before I give it a rest ---
A) "KKKKKHHHAAAAAAAAANNNNN!"
B) As of this past weekend --
RIP, The Original Star Trek 6 Sept 1966 (Canadian premiere; US premiere 8 Sept 1966) - 8 May 2009 -- never forgotten, always remembered on home video and infinite television reruns
Star Trek: Phase II (alternate reality) lives 8 May 2009 - ?????
A) "KKKKKHHHAAAAAAAAANNNNN!"
B) As of this past weekend --
RIP, The Original Star Trek 6 Sept 1966 (Canadian premiere; US premiere 8 Sept 1966) - 8 May 2009 -- never forgotten, always remembered on home video and infinite television reruns
Star Trek: Phase II (alternate reality) lives 8 May 2009 - ?????
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- Location: The US of A
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I thought the film was quite enjoyable, and the score has really grown on me with repeated listens. I felt the climax of the film was a little rushed, and not quite as exciting given what came before.
I am not a Trek fan or a Trek foe--I just haven't gotten around to seeing a lot of the episodes or movies. But if there is one thing this movie has accomplished, it has made me want to go watch more of the original series and the films.
I am not a Trek fan or a Trek foe--I just haven't gotten around to seeing a lot of the episodes or movies. But if there is one thing this movie has accomplished, it has made me want to go watch more of the original series and the films.
Don't start with the movies...
Start with the original Star Trek TV series and try to watch the pilot episodes BEFORE the production series.
So, the best way to get into it in order
a) "The Cage" -- the original pilot episode for Star Trek featuring Christopher Pike as Captain of the Enterprise. Spock's in this one as a science officer, too, but is clearly subordinate, more emotional and not a higher rank than Lieutenant in all likelihood. The First Officer is a woman referred to only as "Number One" in the pilot. She's never called anything else!
After NBC rejected "The Cage," a second pilot was ordered. Footage of the Enterprise from the original pilot was incorporated into the opening sequence for every production episode and roughly 85% of the original pilot's footage was edited into Star Trek's only two-part episode, "The Menagerie." "The Menagerie" was also a title Roddenberry had considered as an alternate name for the first pilot, too.
Taking place roughly 12 years after "The Cage" --
b) "Where No Man Has Gone Before" -- the second pilot episode of Star Trek. After "The Cage" was rejected by NBC, the executives gave Star Trek another chance and ordered a second pilot episode. Written by Samuel Peeples, a good friend of Gene Roddenberry's, it solidified Roddenberry's ideas for the show and introduced Captain James Kirk! Kirk (William Shatner) replaced Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) as the series' central character when a deal couldn't be made with the actor who played Pike. Spock is also present as First Officer and Chief Science Officer in this pilot and is closer to the way he is in the regular series.
Unfortunately, Star Trek was NOT aired in the order the episodes were produced and the only times the episodes were released in production order were for the VHS and original DVD releases. Since then, the episodes were released on laserdisc and in the DVD season sets in air date order. This is not a problem for most episodes in terms of continuity until you see "The Cage" or "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and notice the changes in the sets and costumes and behavior of some of the characters. The differences between the pilots and production episodes are sometimes jarring.
c) NOW watch the regular series, First and Second Season in any order you like. You can skip Season Three of the Original Star Trek. Everybody pretty much agrees only half the episodes that year are anything much better than mediocre.
d) NOW start to watch the movies in order starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. STTMP supposedly takes place around 3 years after the end of Kirk's Five-Year Mission on the Enterprise but in actuality was filmed around 10 years after the Original Series ended! The Enterprise is massively upgraded in this film and two character analogues to Riker and Troi are introduced in the film. It's a slow-paced film but essential to catch up on what's happened with the characters since the end of The Original Series.
Roughly 12 years AFTER the events in STTMP --
e) The Star Trek Genesis Trilogy -- Star Trek II-IV -- the BIG story of the original six films with the original cast/crew.
f) Star Trek V -- watch or skip it; it really doesn't make any difference if you see this... Most regard it as a forgettable movie in the series. Really, it's the second worst film of the original six after STTMP.
g) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country -- The next best film featuring the original cast after Star Trek II in my opinion. It's a silly detective story, yes, but has great action sequences, the best Klingon character in the films, and a heartfelt conclusion. At the time the film was released (1991), nobody was sure that it really was the final reunion of the original Star Trek cast on film...
h) There are also episodes of Star Trek: TNG that tie into both Star Trek VI and the current Star Trek (2009) movie. The only two that are essential to understand what happened to Spock are "Unification" Parts I and II, an STTNG Fifth Season episode. It features the only appearance of Spock on TNG. In addition to Spock, Dr. McCoy appeared in the first episode of TNG and Scotty appeared in the Sixth Season TNG episode, "Relics." Scotty, Chekov, and Kirk appear in the first TNG feature film, "Generations" where Kirk literally steals every scene he's in with Picard. The first 12-15 minutes of that film with the original series characters are far, far better than the rest of the movie...
Start with the original Star Trek TV series and try to watch the pilot episodes BEFORE the production series.
So, the best way to get into it in order
a) "The Cage" -- the original pilot episode for Star Trek featuring Christopher Pike as Captain of the Enterprise. Spock's in this one as a science officer, too, but is clearly subordinate, more emotional and not a higher rank than Lieutenant in all likelihood. The First Officer is a woman referred to only as "Number One" in the pilot. She's never called anything else!
After NBC rejected "The Cage," a second pilot was ordered. Footage of the Enterprise from the original pilot was incorporated into the opening sequence for every production episode and roughly 85% of the original pilot's footage was edited into Star Trek's only two-part episode, "The Menagerie." "The Menagerie" was also a title Roddenberry had considered as an alternate name for the first pilot, too.
Taking place roughly 12 years after "The Cage" --
b) "Where No Man Has Gone Before" -- the second pilot episode of Star Trek. After "The Cage" was rejected by NBC, the executives gave Star Trek another chance and ordered a second pilot episode. Written by Samuel Peeples, a good friend of Gene Roddenberry's, it solidified Roddenberry's ideas for the show and introduced Captain James Kirk! Kirk (William Shatner) replaced Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) as the series' central character when a deal couldn't be made with the actor who played Pike. Spock is also present as First Officer and Chief Science Officer in this pilot and is closer to the way he is in the regular series.
Unfortunately, Star Trek was NOT aired in the order the episodes were produced and the only times the episodes were released in production order were for the VHS and original DVD releases. Since then, the episodes were released on laserdisc and in the DVD season sets in air date order. This is not a problem for most episodes in terms of continuity until you see "The Cage" or "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and notice the changes in the sets and costumes and behavior of some of the characters. The differences between the pilots and production episodes are sometimes jarring.
c) NOW watch the regular series, First and Second Season in any order you like. You can skip Season Three of the Original Star Trek. Everybody pretty much agrees only half the episodes that year are anything much better than mediocre.
d) NOW start to watch the movies in order starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. STTMP supposedly takes place around 3 years after the end of Kirk's Five-Year Mission on the Enterprise but in actuality was filmed around 10 years after the Original Series ended! The Enterprise is massively upgraded in this film and two character analogues to Riker and Troi are introduced in the film. It's a slow-paced film but essential to catch up on what's happened with the characters since the end of The Original Series.
Roughly 12 years AFTER the events in STTMP --
e) The Star Trek Genesis Trilogy -- Star Trek II-IV -- the BIG story of the original six films with the original cast/crew.
f) Star Trek V -- watch or skip it; it really doesn't make any difference if you see this... Most regard it as a forgettable movie in the series. Really, it's the second worst film of the original six after STTMP.
g) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country -- The next best film featuring the original cast after Star Trek II in my opinion. It's a silly detective story, yes, but has great action sequences, the best Klingon character in the films, and a heartfelt conclusion. At the time the film was released (1991), nobody was sure that it really was the final reunion of the original Star Trek cast on film...
h) There are also episodes of Star Trek: TNG that tie into both Star Trek VI and the current Star Trek (2009) movie. The only two that are essential to understand what happened to Spock are "Unification" Parts I and II, an STTNG Fifth Season episode. It features the only appearance of Spock on TNG. In addition to Spock, Dr. McCoy appeared in the first episode of TNG and Scotty appeared in the Sixth Season TNG episode, "Relics." Scotty, Chekov, and Kirk appear in the first TNG feature film, "Generations" where Kirk literally steals every scene he's in with Picard. The first 12-15 minutes of that film with the original series characters are far, far better than the rest of the movie...
AFTER you watch the original Star Trek and the movies, there are two excellent follow-ups that spoof Star Trek and its "conventions" (both figurative and literal).
"Galaxy Quest" is considered one of the best non-Star Trek Star Trek movies made. (Yes, I meant to type "Star Trek" in twice.) It's a great spoof of typecasting with a bit of Shatner-bashing in the lead played by Tim Allen. It's otherwise a heartfelt send-up and tribute to Star Trek.
The other thing to watch is the Futurama episode, "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." I consider it the EIGHTIETH episode of the Original Star Trek for personal reasons. It's really my favorite Star Trek spoof, period, since it's well-written and features most of the surviving cast members at the time it was produced (2000) with the notable exceptions of DeForest Kelly/Dr. McCoy (died 1999) and James Doohan/Scotty. Doohan was the only cast member who refused to return in a voiceover possibly due to illness. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years before he passed away.
"Where No Fan" does an excellent job of skewering Star Trek fandom and collector's mentality in general as well as playing around with the clashing egos and eccentricities of the cast members. There is excellent fun had at Doohan's expense with his red-shirted replacement, Welshie -- a character introduced because Doohan "couldn't yodel." What happens to Welshie is something that happens to a lot of red shirts in the original Star Trek! That's all I'll say...
"Galaxy Quest" is considered one of the best non-Star Trek Star Trek movies made. (Yes, I meant to type "Star Trek" in twice.) It's a great spoof of typecasting with a bit of Shatner-bashing in the lead played by Tim Allen. It's otherwise a heartfelt send-up and tribute to Star Trek.
The other thing to watch is the Futurama episode, "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." I consider it the EIGHTIETH episode of the Original Star Trek for personal reasons. It's really my favorite Star Trek spoof, period, since it's well-written and features most of the surviving cast members at the time it was produced (2000) with the notable exceptions of DeForest Kelly/Dr. McCoy (died 1999) and James Doohan/Scotty. Doohan was the only cast member who refused to return in a voiceover possibly due to illness. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years before he passed away.
"Where No Fan" does an excellent job of skewering Star Trek fandom and collector's mentality in general as well as playing around with the clashing egos and eccentricities of the cast members. There is excellent fun had at Doohan's expense with his red-shirted replacement, Welshie -- a character introduced because Doohan "couldn't yodel." What happens to Welshie is something that happens to a lot of red shirts in the original Star Trek! That's all I'll say...
30 years of watching Star Trek will do that to you...
Of course, I lost interest in the "franchise" around the time TNG ended. I just couldn't stay interested in DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise which I found to be even more boring than Voyager was.
I cared more about Kirk's crew and their situations than the rest.
My fandom does have its limits --
I only have one plastic replica of the Enterprise-A, novelizations of the first six movies, an episode summary book, CD soundtracks, and a few technical books on ships. That's in addition to DVD sets of the TOS and most of the Trek movies. I have NEVER been to a Star Trek convention nor do I want to go anywhere in public dressed as a crewmember!
I did, however, see a young woman dressed in a TOS-style command skirt the day I saw the new movie. She's one of the few people I've seen in public that can pull that look off...
Of course, I lost interest in the "franchise" around the time TNG ended. I just couldn't stay interested in DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise which I found to be even more boring than Voyager was.
I cared more about Kirk's crew and their situations than the rest.
My fandom does have its limits --
I only have one plastic replica of the Enterprise-A, novelizations of the first six movies, an episode summary book, CD soundtracks, and a few technical books on ships. That's in addition to DVD sets of the TOS and most of the Trek movies. I have NEVER been to a Star Trek convention nor do I want to go anywhere in public dressed as a crewmember!
I did, however, see a young woman dressed in a TOS-style command skirt the day I saw the new movie. She's one of the few people I've seen in public that can pull that look off...