Orci on Start Trek, timelines, canon and everything (SPOILERS)

Bob Orci on Start Trek, timelines, canon and everything (SPOILERS)

Interesting Q&A over at Trekmovie. Pretty much confirms a lot of what we've been thinking the past weeks

The full thing can be read here http://trekmovie.com/2008/12/11/bob...-movie-fits-with-trek-canon-and-real-science/

A brief summary of the interview.

I found this answer quite funny:

 

FINALLY. Perhaps now the canon cry babies will shut the hell up.

 

Ya gotta love that quantum multi-verse.

 

I'm now sick of reading the words 'quantum mechanics'.

Could the interviewer have asked the same question any more times? Orci must have been pulling his hair out at having to go on about the exact same thing with each question.

 

So it's not an origins story then. It's about a completely different set of characters in a completely different Star Trek universe. They may as well have just given the characters different names, (including the ship).

I also heard that in this alternate universe, hamburgers eat people!

 

Bitter, much?

 

No...read again

He doesn't say what happens with hamburgers though... We'll have to wait until May for that

highly unlikely. I expect even more violated childhoods coming.

 

There was nothing bitter about my comments. They were quite reasonable responses to the interview.

It's not going to be an alternate universe? They aren't going to be completely different characters? This isn't a completely different ship?

Did we just read a different interview above?

The hamburger statement on the other hand was my flippant view on alternate timeline stories. That and my fear of hamburgers turning on their masters!

 

You know, to be honest, I get what they were trying to do with the "alternate universe\some things change because of time travel" thing.

But I don't really like it, that they chose to explain the visual or other changes and deviations from canon like this.

I would prefer they had not tried to reconcile things at all.
I would prefer they had gone the way of "It's a movie made in 2008-9 and we simply decided to update the old designs and simply disregard or change some canon facts. Deal with it."

Oh well...Still looking forward to May

 

I would have preferred this too. I dunno, this really dampens my enthusiasm a bit. Just seems like an easy out to me.

 

Yes, you read a different interview.

These are the same characters. Because of intervention from the future, they are forced to zig when they should have zagged, hence the parallel universe/parallel adventures. Its not rocket science.

 

I also wonder if any of this is influenced by the fact that the movie and TV rights lie in different hands. If there is a new show, is it possible it'll be set in the 'original' quantum reality?

I know, a new series, if there ever is one, is likely a long way off. Still, it makes me wonder.

 

These aren't the precious canon cry babies characters now, they're alternate versions. Why continue crying? Your Kirk is happily chugging along in the other timeline.

 

One thing Orci is saying is they've basically retconned what time travel tended to mean in Star Trek. Timelines are no longer "set right," but whole new universes are formed. That is, according to the latest and greatest current and most accepted and tested and breath-freshening theory out there -- quantum theory.

Man, I don't know. Something about all this sounds like a cheat, but I don't have time to give it enough thought today. They are the characters, but they aren't the characters. We're seeing them at the start of their careers, but these will be different careers. Something about this isn't very satisfying. Sounds like they are trying to have their cake, and eat it, too. (Though in some universes, the cake has you and eats you. ) If that's the case, then I'd have rather seen a clean cut with the past and a complete reboot.

Well, the movie may still be rip-roaringly entertaining. And that's the most important thing in the end.

 

Finally...the voice of reason makes itself known!

It was never about an origins story, and everything to do with TPTB re-imagining a once-lucridive cash cow. Let the crying stop, Leningrad has fallen, that sort of thing.

Take this new film for what it is.

 

Glad to finally see this resolved but, wow, Orci sounds like his understanding of science goes about as deep as watching "Parallels." The guy comes off as seriously wanting some kind of external "scientific" justification for his story choice, and that just ain't there, buddy. Check these out:

Does this dude have anything in his bag of tricks other than ludicrous hyperbole?

I'm excited for the alternate timeline, but this interview just turned me from being very excited about this film to fearing it's going to be as shittily written as The Island or Transformers. Orci's not exactly making himself out to be an intellectual giant here.

Anyone care to comment on how "awesome" and "current" and "most advanced of the sciences" quantum mechanics is? Especially, this watered-down version of the DeWitt many worlds hypothesis?

 

I'm pretty sure this is what they've been trying to do from the start, but people kept bitching about that too.

They should really just keep their mouths shut. They'll never please everybody.

 

Well, he wasn't answering any particularly hard or incredibly intellectual questions here either.

And while I agree that mentioning the "most current and awesome scientific theory" all the time got ridiculous and annoying, I got the impression that it was just a deliberate over the top reaction since he was being asked almost the same thing over and over again.