KC Podcast - Episode 117: Passing the Baton

The True Spirit of Star Trek

Firstly, I have long been a fan of Star Trek. That's the Original Series, by the way; I've never liked The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, or Voyager. So my love of Star Trek centers on those first three seasons with Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest. I've seen the episodes, I've read tons of the books, I have an entire action figure set of the original crew. Secondly, I love what J.J. Abrams has done with Star Trek.

Wait a minute! True, die hard Trekkies are supposed to hate the new movies! What is this madness?

Well bear with me for just a moment. After seeing many criticisms of J.J. Abrams from the "die hard" fans out there on the Internet, I thought I'd take a representative example and see how the criticisms stack up with the original series:
J J Abrams ruined Star Trek in the sense that he wasn't really being true to what Star Trek was about. Star Trek has always been cerebral, with questions of morality and philosophy being the focus of many episodes of the show; where conflicts are more often mental and physical instead of purely physical conflicts. We're faced with themes that make us question ourselves and the way we think about the world. Themes of equality, justice, sacrifice.
Let's break that down a bit, shall we?

Star Trek has always been cerebral...

  ...with questions of morality and philosophy being the focus...
...where conflicts are more mental and physical instead of purely physical conflicts...
We're faced with themes that make us question ourselves and the way we think about the world


Hmmm... Maybe this commenter really is onto something. Let's try one more just for the sake of experiment.
Star Trek was about the human spirit and the beauty of love, respect and understanding between all species (definitely a metaphor to all races of humans). Star Trek had a beautiful soul thanks to the wonderful heart and brilliant mind of Gene Roddenberry. JJ Abrams...has ripped the soul out of Star Trek and has transformed it into any ol’ action movie. Sure, it appeals to non-sci-fi-nerds, and so, people who don’t like Star Trek are exposed to Star Trek…but which Star Trek are they exposed to ? They are not exposed to the beautiful, philosophical dream of a better world Star Trek, they are exposed to a crappy action militaristic might makes right Star Trek.
 ...the human spirit and the beauty of love, respect and understanding between all species...
They are not exposed to the beautiful philosophical dream of a better world...
 
...they are exposed to a crappy action militaristic might makes right Star Trek...

Yeah, J.J. Abrams, what were you thinking? You should know better! Star Trek is heavy, cerebral stuff. The Original Star Trek set the standard for serious philosophy in a television series, and any movie that doesn't treat Star Trek as an intellectual high water mark for our society is simply.... oh wait a second! Was that a Tribble!? Awesome!


Comments

Erica said…
That's what's missing from the new Star Trek! J.J. Abrams needs to hire more tribbles.
WAB said…
Also, Benedict Cumberbatch. a;flksjdf.