» News
J.J. Abrams Has The Right Idea For Star Trek – Aim To Please New Fans Not Old Ones
“Star Trek is a Dead Franchise” is a saying I’ve been using around The Movie Blog for a long time. And it’s 100% true. However, I’ve also always said if they “re-boot” the franchise, reinvent it, put it into the hands of a gifted storyteller and leave the old, tired, done-a-thousand-times Star Trek universe already in existence behind… then it would be a dead franchise that can be resurrected.
I said in a post some time ago “forget about the old Star Trek fans (of which I’m one), just focus on making the best movie you can, and forget about what the old fans think. The old fans didn’t save all the shows and movies up to this point”.
Well… it looks like J.J. Abrams understand this and he isn’t worrying himself about the old fans… but rather being more concerned about getting NEW fans!!! The good folks at Rope Of Silicon have this quote from J.J.:
”For people who’ve never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don’t know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind.”
It sounds like he’s 100% on the right track. There may be hope for Star Trek 11 yet. Now, if he can just dispel the rumors of a Prequel I’d be really happy.
i wonder if they are going to changed the enterprise…it’s a cool-looking ship, but it looks so fragile at the same time, you hit one of those 2 engines and thats it.
i hope J.J can pull it off, I don’t think he’ll do a bad movie, but I have a reason to believe he’ll do a “forgettable” one
The new blood JJ’s brings is the right thing to do.
Trek fan since year 1.
I’m getting old………..
I really wonder what he is going to bring to this..I loved MI 3, but havent seen either Lost or Alias..
btw, has anyone heard the Daniel Craig rumor? Its pretty much the same as the Damon rumor, but just replace his name with Craig’s..
John,
Check out this story involving Peter Jackson and NewLine –
– http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=39462
Already writing it… but thanks anyway
i’m not sure what your complaint is about (probably because you
never 100% explained what you meant by “reboot” the franchise).
please give specifics on what you mean by that. also give some specifics about what you think should be done.
It certainly ISN’T true that you need to know much about Star Trek
to understand Star Trek tv shows and movies, because the the series and movies were always self-contained aside from DS9. All you needed to know to understand a star trek movie/tv
were that they were on a starship, and that they are the good guys. Everything else is simple stuff. Every episode was self-contained, and
that means you can watch them as individual stories that don’t involve
the past much.
What i think is the problem with the star trek movies is that they don’t
have good stories. Once they find a good story then feature any crew and
it would work, and you don’t need to reboot anything.
I think your complaining about Star Trek not being like Star Wars.
you’ve said before how they don’t have fast space battles, and the
crew is always talking about how the shield is down so and so percent.
ok.. reboot.. but if you change Star Trek, change the ships, make all the space battles fast, then it wouldn’t be Star Trek anymore.
by reboot, do you mean change absolutely everything? and not have a ship that’s shaped like a weird duck’s bill?
if that’s the case then, look at DS9. DS9 was radically different from
any Star Trek incarnation. in fact so radically different, you couldn’t
even tell it was a Star Trek show.
Hey JohnTucker,
No, DS9 was the same old Star Trek we’ve had for decades. A re-boot is more than just making ships look different… heck, it doesn’t matter if all the ships look the exact same.
Re-boot also doesn’t mean all space battles at all.
The best example of a re-boot is Battlestar Galactica. Same BASIC story, but reimagined, redefined… and 1000x better than the original.
The same cheesey, campy, fluff that is Star Trek was great for a time… but that time came and went over a decade ago.
The original interview (by Entertainment Weekly) says nothing about a reboot, nor does JJ Abrams contradict his prior statements, which repeatedly express a respect for canon and empathy toward Star Trek fans.
In May, 2006, during an interview with the Irish Times: “Being involved with a series that has a passionate and vocal following makes me incredibly sympathetic,” said JJ toward Trek fans. “They have put up with so many incarnations along the way. These fans, they are a smart bunch. They are an intelligent group. We are very respectful and we have no intention of subverting the material.”
In July, 2006, Abrams told TV Guide that his film “very much honors the canon of Star Trek. On the other hand, it won’t be like anything you’ve seen before.”
Hopefully JJ Abrahams can “reinvent” Trek the same way those geniuses over at Sci-Fi channel reinvented Battlestar Galactica -which John reveres so much. As long as Rick “the Prick” Berman isn’t at the helm the product will be better off.
Battlestar Galactica is dead -not Star Trek. Deal with it.
Why J.J. Abrahams? Yeah the first season of LOST was good, the original idea and first couple of seasons of Alias were good, but neither is really Sci-Fi. MI:III offered nothing new, or different.
You want to re-boot Star-Trek get a sci-fi MOVIE guy to do it, not a TV guy. Ridley Scott, James Cameron, you know someone who knows what their doing.
JJ knows what he’s doing. You need a good story teller.
Del Toro had never done a film like “Pans Labyrinth” before… and looks how that turned out.
he should stick to lost as he shouldnt just waste that show as a stepping stone.
John,
Have you seen Del Toro’s ‘Devil’s Backbone’?
Or Cronos…?
In theory, the world of Star Trek can be rebooted without losing continuity. There are instances in episodes where a crew would ‘go back in time’ and a paradox would emerge (or an alternate timeline)…and then have some effect later on.
While I’m NOT a huge JJ fan, I’m less of a Rick Berman/Brannon Braga one.
I’d much rather see a ST film with a NEW CREW, NEW CAPTAIN. Enterprise F. No more red shirts; anyone can be expendable. Sequels/ actor doesn’t sign on? Replace him/her and rotate. Simple stuff.
i would argue that Star Trek (aside from DS9) never had much of a continuity to begin with since the episodes were all self-contained. sure sometimes they have 2 parters for season finales and premieres, but Star Trek was never about huge stories that continued for episode after episode. You don’t have to have a deep knowledge of old Star Trek episodes to watch the show and let make sense to you. characters might make a remark or two about old situations, but that would be all.
“Re-boot also doesn’t mean all space battles at all.
The best example of a re-boot is Battlestar Galactica. Same BASIC story, but reimagined, redefined… and 1000x better than the original.
The same cheesey, campy, fluff that is Star Trek was great for a time… but that time came and went over a decade ago.”
Yeah, John, Star Trek needs to follow the Battlestar Galactica model. That way the ONLY Trek movies we’ll ever see will on TV or (Gasp!) straight to DVD. Trek has been on the air in one incarnation or another for forty years. Looks like three and a half seasons is all Battlestar’s got in it. Would anyone want Trek to go the way BS is going? I think it’s safe to say only the die-hard blinded-by-their-love-for BS cabal will love it no matter how few people watch that show. Trek is still alive and well (the traditional aspects still work, no matter what John says)and Trek will thrive now that Rick Berman has been taken out of the picture.
Battlestar Galatica is DEAD! Trek Rules! Deal with it!
Hey JaySmack,
HAHAHA! You’re logic is so full of holes it’s crazy.
First of all, every media outlet has proclaimed BSG as one of the very best TV show of all time (A couple have called THE best TV show of all time) Look up the articles in Rolling Stone, Boston Herald, USA Today, L.A. Daily News.
Secondly… BSG has never been a movie franchise. It’s never tried to be a movie franchise. For you compare the quality of BSG to it’s movie success is like saying “Babe Ruth wasn’t a great althlete. He hardly threw any touchdowns at all”.
You also said one of th starngest things:
“Trek is still alive and well”
REALLY?????? Are you being serious or making a joke? Even the most die hard of Star Trek fans admit this franchise has been in the shitter for almost TEN YEARS.
Just look at the ratings and the box office results for this franchise. It has been in steady decline, and even the fans say it’s sucked.
There is one major criteria for proclaiming Star Trek “dead”. In almost 20 years it has been slowly loseing fans, and at the same time has failed to gain any NEW fans.
You also seem to have this idea that because start trek was ONCE great, that means it still is. It’s not. Star Trek was REVOLUTIONALRY and totally VISIONARY for it’s time. To say it’s dead now isn’t an insult at all to how great this franchise once was. But facts are facts… it sucks now (and I’m one of it’s fans), and has sucked for a very long time.
You’re logic is like saying “Mohammad Ali could kick the crap out of Mike Tyson”. Ummmm…. noooooooooo. Maybe at one time he could have. But not now. That’s not taking away from how great Ali WAS… but he isn’t any more.
So go ahead, keep living in this fantasy. It’s ok.
Out of curiousitly (I’m dying to see how you’d answer this) If you took a poll of people who have watched the various Star Trek offerings in the last 10 years and asked them how many of them love it… what do you think the percentage would be?
Now, ask that same question of people watched the new BSG.
Which one do you think would have a higher percentage? Yeah… Case closed.
;)
Cheers dude.
~John
Dear dear John…
“First of all, every media outlet has proclaimed BSG as one of the very best TV show of all time (A couple have called THE best TV show of all time) Look up the articles in Rolling Stone, Boston Herald, USA Today, L.A. Daily News.”
HAHAHAHA!!! Judging from their current ratings the critics are the only ones still watching.
“Out of curiousitly (I’m dying to see how you’d answer this) If you took a poll of people who have watched the various Star Trek offerings in the last 10 years and asked them how many of them love it… what do you think the percentage would be? Now, ask that same question of people watched the new BSG.”
Deep Space Nine during the late nineties was probably the last time people “loved” the televised Trek and that was 6 years ago. Not surprisingly DS9 was also the last Trek show Rodenberry was involved in the creation of. And to be fair the current producers of BSG -Manny Coto and that other guy- were showrunning DS9 at that time when fans were most enthused over it, which only underscores my argument that anybody’s better than Rick Berman. Personally, I know it was all downhill for me after that. Rick Berman has done damage to the show, no two ways about it. But all this “reinvent the show” crap needs to stop. “Reinvent” Trek is what Berman did and that’s what wrecked it. Trek’s problem isn’t the red costumes (as some fool said) or the aliens -it’s the idiot in charge. Trek’s in the unique position to make a comeback whenever they want. That speaks to the strength of the franchise. I sincerely doubt BSG will EVER hit the big screen (no matter how many critics applaud it) unless fans like you take to robbing banks! LOL!
But to answer your question: In a poll I imagine the folks who watched Trek would have a higher opinion of the episodes that aired over the last decade than the ones who’ve watched BSG for the last three years. Granted BSG fans like you are rabid, snarling and wildly passionate for the show (kinda the way I was for The Practice) and while you make tons of noise for your beloved show, there’s fewer and fewer of you every week. Every show gets cancelled eventually, but for all the “acclaim” it gets BSG is sinking way ahead of schedule, don’t you think? That should tell you something. The show’s boiling it’s viewership down to it’s core audience who, obviously, ain’t that big. Don’t believe me? Look at the ratings. I’m not going to say BSG is a bad show (though I have said that in the past) but face it -critical acclaim doesn’t mean anybody’s watching and at the end of the day that’s all that matters. Hold a poll and Trek would win hands down and it wouldn’t just be name recognition either.
The problem Trek’s had is that what’s been on the air since Berman took over in 1991 has NOT been Trek at all. Berman threw out all the Rodenberry stuff in his relentless effort to “reinvent” the franchise in his own image. In 1994 the reasons he gave for his destroying the franchise was the same as yours :Trek’s getting old, we’re losing viewers, we need to attract new ones, Trek needs to reinvent itself. Sherry Lansing put her friendship with Berman ahead of the Trek franchise, and worse Berman’s got one of the strongest contracts in the industry, and from there nothing could stop him from killing it. I’d love to know the specifics of what you think would “fix” the show -bet it’ll sound just like what Trek was before Berman took over. A few bells and whistles more perhaps, but nothing radically different. There’s nothing “wrong” with Trek that what’s right with it couldn’t fix.
Look at BSG, and you’ll see that the story elements you love so much about it are the very things Rodenberry himself did (and did better than BSG!) and it’s what Trek used to do until Berman tried to reinvent it.
Now here’s a question I’m just dying to have you answer John.
What does it say about BSG that it’s already puttering out after three years and some change? Ratings are in the tank, viewers are jumping ship. Everytime I talk to some BSG fan they bring up, “Oh, but the critics! They love the show!” The critics aren’t the ones who Sci-Fi channel’s depending on for ratings. The fans are. The same fans who aren’t watching.
BTW, if by “reinvent” you mean innovate, that’s not the same thing. When Rodenberry introduced an android who wanted to be human, a Klingon security officer and the Q in ST:TNG that wasn’t “reinventing” Trek it was merely innovating by introducing new story elements. An update is not reinvention. Trek could use good storytellers at the helm (like the great final season that Manny Coto produced for the last season of Enterprise) and new story elements. I’d agree with that, if that’s what you’re talking about. But what happened with BSG was a complete overhaul, owing very little to the original series. THAT’S a reinvention. That would also be the final nail in Trek’s coffin.
HAHAHA!!! Oh Jaysmack..
Ummm… I’ve seen the ratings. Have you? Where are you getting this:
“What does it say about BSG that it’s already puttering out after three years and some change? Ratings are in the tank,”
Where did you get those figures? Most people agree the show hasn’t “puttered” out… it’s getting better and better. Ratings for the show were up last year… and SLIGHTLY down this year. So where are you getting these wild claims?
Also, you seem to want to equate “quality” of a show with it’s size of audience. That’s like saying the bigger a movie’s boxoffice return is, the better the movie was. So in your opinion… Titanic is the best movie of all time.
No matter how good a show is, unless someone sees it at least once to try it… there’s nothing you can do. Withouth 1 single exception… EVERY SINGLE person I know who has watch at least 1 episode of BSG has become hooked. Star Trek could never say that.
Being on a tiny network isn’t helping BSG. But oh that’s right… you only think a show is good if it’s popular. Ummm… well there’s no debating that with you.
And yes… “the critics” got it right on. BSG is a VASTLY superior show than Star Trek ever was (and I’m a Star Trek fan).
But that doesn’t mean anything to you apparently… so I guess you consider Britney Spears as one of the world’s best singers… cause she has sold lots of albums.
To earch their own I guess.
It’s quite funny when two people are angry with each other but hide it with “hahaha” happiness.
I’m not “mad” at John. I hope he isn’t mad at me. I’m just trying to get him to see how great Trek still is, but he’s blinded by too much MSG -er, BSG.
All I have to say is John, you’re wrong…about everything.