The First Trailer

[Overgeeked]

What exactly is "Star Trek" about the Martian?

Could you slap a Star Trek coat of paint on The Martian? Probably, but I don't think it would translate very well.

I grew up on The Original Series. Where Kirk fought Gods, Pizza Burgers and a guy dressed in a lizard suit. Star Trek, for me, was about big, brash fun on the Final Frontier.

Pulp sci-fi is in its DNA. Where the good guy punches the bad guy, saves the day and gets the girl. Kirk and Spock are every bit as much comic books superheroes as Superman, Batman or Captain America. It is a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

I'm not denying that pulp science fiction is at the heart of TOS, just recognizing that TOS is the third most watched series of the franchise behind both TNG and VOY (hey, look, science and science fiction, gasp), that making a generic space action movie with the TOS characters doesn't stand out in the rehash happy movie landscape, and that Star Trek as a franchise isn't just about pulp science fiction yet that's all we've got so far with these movies. It's a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

 

[Mountie1988]

You're right. So I changed it to 1998. Because in 1996 it defeated the Borg. But since Insurrection...

In 1996, it didn't defeat the Borg. It sat dead in orbit around Earth while the Borg worked to assimilate it. If Data has truly turned, it would've been lights out for the Federation.

Yeah, why did the Borg try to assimilate it? Honestly their mission was doomed from the beginning, because they did not travel back in time before attacking Earth, stupid.

But yeah, I totally agree. Enterprise had nothing to do with defeating the Borg

 

[BillJ]

I'm not denying that pulp science fiction is at the heart of TOS, just recognizing that TOS is the third most watched series of the franchise behind both TNG and VOY (hey, look, science and science fiction, gasp), that making a generic space action movie with the TOS characters doesn't stand out in the rehash happy movie landscape, and that Star Trek as a franchise isn't just about pulp science fiction yet that's all we've got so far with these movies. It's a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

Neither TNG nor Voyager ran for thirty years in syndication. Every day we are removed from them, the more forgotten they become. Yet the original series continues to chug along fifty years after it premiered.

 

[dahj]

Honestly their mission was doomed from the beginning, because they did not travel back in time before attacking Earth, stupid.

But then they wouldn't have gotten their hands on all that phat techno loot that the Federation had produced over the centuries...

 

[Amaris]

What exactly is "Star Trek" about the Martian?

Could you slap a Star Trek coat of paint on The Martian? Probably, but I don't think it would translate very well.

I grew up on The Original Series. Where Kirk fought Gods, Pizza Burgers and a guy dressed in a lizard suit. Star Trek, for me, was about big, brash fun on the Final Frontier.

Pulp sci-fi is in its DNA. Where the good guy punches the bad guy, saves the day and gets the girl. Kirk and Spock are every bit as much comic books superheroes as Superman, Batman or Captain America. It is a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

I'm not denying that pulp science fiction is at the heart of TOS, just recognizing that TOS is the third most watched series of the franchise behind both TNG and VOY (hey, look, science and science fiction, gasp), that making a generic space action movie with the TOS characters doesn't stand out in the rehash happy movie landscape, and that Star Trek as a franchise isn't just about pulp science fiction yet that's all we've got so far with these movies. It's a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

No, not science, TNG and VOY contain great volumes of technobabble, and there is a massive difference.

Kirk and Spock are more readily recognizable than Picard or Janeway. They're more iconic, they're more colorful and, dare I say, more interesting.

 

[Mage]

Fun trailer, looks like the movie will be entertaining as f***.

 

[EJD1984]

Looks like there may be a new Enterprise A by the end of the movie.

With a new design?

 

[Ubik]

I don't understand.....I don't understand. I'm gobsmacked by that trailer, and by the reaction here. I don't understand how anyone can get legitimately excited about a Star Trek movie that looks or feels anything like that. It looks EXACTLY like EVERY OTHER ACTION MOVIE. Is that the idea now? To tone down Star Trek's literary ambitions, thematic ambitions, quality storytelling, everything that made it unique and LESS popular than other action franchises, until it exactly resembles all those other franchises, so that now EVERYONE can love it? Why? Why? What advantage is there in that for anyone? (Aside from the potential economic advantage for Paramount.) What advantage is there in turning Star Trek into exactly the same kind of story as everything else? That's entropic. That's depressing. I'm not saying Star Trek was better than every other franchise. But it was different. It wasn't Star Wars. It wasn't Terminator. It wasn't The Fast and the Furious. It was its own thing, and it was unique, and it was special. And now it's not. Now it's fun and exciting and action-packed...just like THOUSANDS OF OTHER MOVIES. Fun and exciting and action-packed is EASY. Disney and Marvel have cornered the market on that. Maybe Force Awakens will be that. Jurassic World is that. It's fucking EASY to make something fun and exciting. But why is that the exclusive goal? Almost none of the best Star Trek episodes or movies fit that description. They're so much more than that. Kirk used to read Dickens and quote D. H. Lawrence. Now he listens to the Beastie Boys.

It feels to some of you guys like the original TOS? Really? Which episode, City on the Edge of Forever? The Doomsday Machine? Balance of Terror? At its best, the original series was a thoughtful, dramatic, cerebral show. And hell, why stick to just the original? The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine also have their share of brilliant episodes - The Measure of a Man, The Best of Both Worlds, Yesterday's Enterprise, Darmok, The Inner Light, and onto DS9, Duet, The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight...I can go on and on. But seriously - WTF? How is this new shit good enough? If you're making a movie, a massive Star Trek movie, a thing that only comes out every few years, then you should aim for the sky, aim to be the BEST FUCKING MOVIE you can make. Make it a classic. Compete with the best. Mindless fun? The best of Star Trek, of ANY series, was NEVER mindless fun. I'm not saying it can't have comedy. Trouble with Tribbles is high comedy at its finest. The Voyage Home is great fun. But it's not "mindless fun." Even the comedy of Star Trek can be brilliant. But this? This? I just don't get it. Why? This makes me sad. And that people on a Star Trek message board think this is a promising look at the future of the franchise...? I don't even know what to say. I guess you and I just haven't been watching the same show for the last few decades.

 

[Mountie1988]

Honestly their mission was doomed from the beginning, because they did not travel back in time before attacking Earth, stupid.

But then they wouldn't have gotten their hands on all that phat techno loot that the Federation had produced over the centuries...

dammit, you're right. can somebody post that to Mr. Plinkett from Red Letter Media from Milwaukee so he'll remake his commentaries?

 

[BillJ]

You're right. So I changed it to 1998. Because in 1996 it defeated the Borg. But since Insurrection...

In 1996, it didn't defeat the Borg. It sat dead in orbit around Earth while the Borg worked to assimilate it. If Data has truly turned, it would've been lights out for the Federation.

Yeah, why did the Borg try to assimilate it? Honestly their mission was doomed from the beginning, because they did not travel back in time before attacking Earth, stupid.

But yeah, I totally agree. Enterprise had nothing to do with defeating the Borg

Everyone has their favorites Trek's and I can understand the Abrams/Lin films not being everyone's cup of tea (Voyager/Deep Space Nine aren't my cup of tea). What drives me crazy is when people try to pick them apart based on things that Trek has always done.

More often than not, the Enterprise has been a punching bag in the films. Why start criticizing it now?

 

[Mountie1988]

Looks like there may be a new Enterprise A by the end of the movie.

With a new design?

If the bureaucratic mentality truely is the only constant in the universe Kirk will command a freighter.

And by the way, why should there be an -A ?? It's not like the original 1701 was legen... wait for it... dary

 

[Amaris]

I don't understand.....I don't understand. I'm gobsmacked by that trailer, and by the reaction here. I don't understand how anyone can get legitimately excited about a Star Trek movie that looks or feels anything like that. It looks EXACTLY like EVERY OTHER ACTION MOVIE. Is that the idea now? To tone down Star Trek's literary ambitions, thematic ambitions, quality storytelling, everything that made it unique and LESS popular than other action franchises, until it exactly resembles all those other franchises, so that now EVERYONE can love it? Why? Why? What advantage is there in that for anyone? (Aside from the potential economic advantage for Paramount.) What advantage is there in turning Star Trek into exactly the same kind of story as everything else? That's entropic. That's depressing. I'm not saying Star Trek was better than every other franchise. But it was different. It wasn't Star Wars. It wasn't Terminator. It wasn't The Fast and the Furious. It was its own thing, and it was unique, and it was special. And now it's not. Now it's fun and exciting and action-packed...just like THOUSANDS OF OTHER MOVIES. Fun and exciting and action-packed is EASY. Disney and Marvel have cornered the market on that. Maybe Force Awakens will be that. Jurassic World is that. It's fucking EASY to make something fun and exciting. But why is that the exclusive goal? Almost none of the best Star Trek episodes or movies fit that description. They're so much more than that.

It feels to some of you guys like the original TOS? Really? Which episode, City on the Edge of Forever? The Doomsday Machine? Balance of Terror? At its best, the original series was a thoughtful, dramatic, cerebral show. And hell, why stick to just the original? The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine also have their share of brilliant episodes - The Measure of a Man, The Best of Both Worlds, Yesterday's Enterprise, Darmok, The Inner Light, and onto DS9, Duet, The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight...I can go on and on. But seriously - WTF? How is this new shit good enough? If you're making a movie, a massive Star Trek movie, a thing that only comes out every few years, then you should aim for the sky, aim to be the BEST FUCKING MOVIE you can make. Make it a classic. Compete with the best. Mindless fun? The best of Star Trek, of ANY series, was NEVER mindless fun. I'm not saying it can't have comedy. Trouble with Tribbles is high comedy at its finest. The Voyage Home is great fun. But it's not "mindless fun." Even the comedy of Star Trek can be brilliant. But this? This? I just don't get it. Why? This makes me sad. And that people on a Star Trek message board think this is a promising look at the future of the franchise...? I don't even know what to say. I guess you and I just haven't been watching the same show for the last few decades.

Wow, all that from a 90 second trailer! You must save a ton of money from not needing to go to the movies.

 

[Vger23]

I don't understand.....I don't understand. I'm gobsmacked by that trailer, and by the reaction here. I don't understand how anyone can get legitimately excited about a Star Trek movie that looks or feels anything like that. It looks EXACTLY like EVERY OTHER ACTION MOVIE. Is that the idea now? To tone down Star Trek's literary ambitions, thematic ambitions, quality storytelling, everything that made it unique and LESS popular than other action franchises, until it exactly resembles all those other franchises, so that now EVERYONE can love it? Why? Why? What advantage is there in that for anyone? (Aside from the potential economic advantage for Paramount.) What advantage is there in turning Star Trek into exactly the same kind of story as everything else? That's entropic. That's depressing. I'm not saying Star Trek was better than every other franchise. But it was different. It wasn't Star Wars. It wasn't Terminator. It wasn't The Fast and the Furious. It was its own thing, and it was unique, and it was special. And now it's not. Now it's fun and exciting and action-packed...just like THOUSANDS OF OTHER MOVIES. Fun and exciting and action-packed is EASY. Disney and Marvel have cornered the market on that. Maybe Force Awakens will be that. Jurassic World is that. It's fucking EASY to make something fun and exciting. But why is that the exclusive goal? Almost none of the best Star Trek episodes or movies fit that description. They're so much more than that. Kirk used to read Dickens and quote D. H. Lawrence. Now he listens to the Beastie Boys.

It feels to some of you guys like the original TOS? Really? Which episode, City on the Edge of Forever? The Doomsday Machine? Balance of Terror? At its best, the original series was a thoughtful, dramatic, cerebral show. And hell, why stick to just the original? The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine also have their share of brilliant episodes - The Measure of a Man, The Best of Both Worlds, Yesterday's Enterprise, Darmok, The Inner Light, and onto DS9, Duet, The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight...I can go on and on. But seriously - WTF? How is this new shit good enough? If you're making a movie, a massive Star Trek movie, a thing that only comes out every few years, then you should aim for the sky, aim to be the BEST FUCKING MOVIE you can make. Make it a classic. Compete with the best. Mindless fun? The best of Star Trek, of ANY series, was NEVER mindless fun. I'm not saying it can't have comedy. Trouble with Tribbles is high comedy at its finest. The Voyage Home is great fun. But it's not "mindless fun." Even the comedy of Star Trek can be brilliant. But this? This? I just don't get it. Why? This makes me sad. And that people on a Star Trek message board think this is a promising look at the future of the franchise...? I don't even know what to say. I guess you and I just haven't been watching the same show for the last few decades.

This goes right to the post I made earlier:


BillJ wrote: View Post

I grew up on The Original Series. Where Kirk fought Gods, Pizza Burgers and a guy dressed in a lizard suit. Star Trek, for me, was about big, brash fun on the Final Frontier.

Pulp sci-fi is in its DNA. Where the good guy punches the bad guy, saves the day and gets the girl. Kirk and Spock are every bit as much comic books superheroes as Superman, Batman or Captain America. It is a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.


Vger23 wrote:

I agree with you. That was definitely the reason I fell in love with Star Trek. It was also helpful that it WAS a scifi/fantasy/superhero story that had an adult sensibility to it as well. I think the new movies do that well, but we "overlook" that sometimes because the revisionist history has made Trek something more important and intellectual than it ever really was.

You have to remember that there are fans whose entire value systems, as they associate with Star Trek, stem from the idea that we "the fans of Star Trek" are somehow above the mundane low-brow entertainment that the little people enjoy. There is a huge section of the fanbase who TRULY buys into this...and it's very difficult for them to see it any other way because that belief is part of their esteem and identity.

"MY science fiction is about thoughtful contemplation, scientific discovery, and the betterment of mankind, and therefore I am a smart, intellectual, thoughtful person more than the droves of idiots who enjoy other forms of entertainment."

And every time one of these new films comes out and does well, it's a threat to that belief system. It's even more evil when other fellow fans believe that the new films are entertaining.

And so then everyone goes berserk and world wide web wars ensue. It's always a hoot, but it's the same every single time Star Trek does something different. It actually gets kind of boring.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Martian is at almost at $600 million. That was a pretty awesome "Star Trek" movie. Not to mention other movies like "Interstellar" or "Avatar". They could make a blockbuster movie that feels like Star Trek, but instead they chose to turn it into an action franchise. There's so many sc-fi action films coming out these days that it makes the Star Trek films feel generic. I'm sure I'll see Beyond and enjoy it, but I'd love to see a Star Trek film that makes me the feel the same way that "The Martian" did.

What exactly is "Star Trek" about the Martian?

Um, everything? Are you seriously asking this?

Exploration of an alien planet, lots and lots of sciencey stuff, the whole world coming together to bring Matt Damon home, lack of explosions, and optimism.

None of that exclusively defines Star Trek. And its not like the current films lack those. But Trek is not about exploring planets. Yeah, they do that, but its not a defining characteristic. Its just something used to set a story in motion. ( could as easily be meeting character X or being involved in situation Y)

Trek's not about "science" either. It's used a plot element to move a plot forward or create/solve a problem. It rarely central to the theme of the story. And lets face it, some of it is dodgy in the real world.

United the world.... Uh, how is that Star Trek? Yeah, Earth is united...blah blah blah. But Trek isn't about Earth. ( or it shouldn't be) Trek usually has one guy solving a problem, occasionally with input from his friends.

No explosions. Seriously? Trek is full of explosions. Ships, planets, moons, rocks, phasers....do I have to go on? Its an action adventure show, not My Dinner With Andre Kirk didn't talk Khan into surrendering in "Space Seed", he hit him with a dampener rod a few times.

What was pessimistic about the last films? The heroes came out on top. The villains got their just desserts. Earth was saved. Sounds like Trek to me

 

[Amaris]

What exactly is "Star Trek" about the Martian?

Um, everything? Are you seriously asking this?

Exploration of an alien planet, lots and lots of sciencey stuff, the whole world coming together to bring Matt Damon home, lack of explosions, and optimism.

None of that exclusively defines Star Trek. And its not like the current films lack those. But Trek is not about exploring planets. Yeah, they do that, but its not a defining characteristic. Its just something used to set a story in motion. ( could as easily be meeting character X or being involved in situation Y)

Trek's not about "science" either. It's used a plot element to move a plot forward or create/solve a problem. It rarely central to the theme of the story. And lets face it, some of it is dodgy in the real world.

United the world.... Uh, how is that Star Trek? Yeah, Earth is united...blah blah blah. But Trek isn't about Earth. ( or it shouldn't be) Trek usually has one guy solving a problem, occasionally with input from his friends.

No explosions. Seriously? Trek is full of explosions. Ships, planets, moons, rocks, phasers....do I have to go on? Its an action adventure show, not My Dinner With Andre Kirk didn't talk Khan into surrendering in "Space Seed", he hit him with a dampener rod a few times.

What was pessimistic about the last films? The heroes came out on top. The villains got their just desserts. Earth was saved. Sounds like Trek to me

Not just any Trek, but classic Trek! This movie has TOS fingerprints all over it!

 

[Ubik]

I don't understand.....I don't understand. I'm gobsmacked by that trailer, and by the reaction here. I don't understand how anyone can get legitimately excited about a Star Trek movie that looks or feels anything like that. It looks EXACTLY like EVERY OTHER ACTION MOVIE. Is that the idea now? To tone down Star Trek's literary ambitions, thematic ambitions, quality storytelling, everything that made it unique and LESS popular than other action franchises, until it exactly resembles all those other franchises, so that now EVERYONE can love it? Why? Why? What advantage is there in that for anyone? (Aside from the potential economic advantage for Paramount.) What advantage is there in turning Star Trek into exactly the same kind of story as everything else? That's entropic. That's depressing. I'm not saying Star Trek was better than every other franchise. But it was different. It wasn't Star Wars. It wasn't Terminator. It wasn't The Fast and the Furious. It was its own thing, and it was unique, and it was special. And now it's not. Now it's fun and exciting and action-packed...just like THOUSANDS OF OTHER MOVIES. Fun and exciting and action-packed is EASY. Disney and Marvel have cornered the market on that. Maybe Force Awakens will be that. Jurassic World is that. It's fucking EASY to make something fun and exciting. But why is that the exclusive goal? Almost none of the best Star Trek episodes or movies fit that description. They're so much more than that.

It feels to some of you guys like the original TOS? Really? Which episode, City on the Edge of Forever? The Doomsday Machine? Balance of Terror? At its best, the original series was a thoughtful, dramatic, cerebral show. And hell, why stick to just the original? The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine also have their share of brilliant episodes - The Measure of a Man, The Best of Both Worlds, Yesterday's Enterprise, Darmok, The Inner Light, and onto DS9, Duet, The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight...I can go on and on. But seriously - WTF? How is this new shit good enough? If you're making a movie, a massive Star Trek movie, a thing that only comes out every few years, then you should aim for the sky, aim to be the BEST FUCKING MOVIE you can make. Make it a classic. Compete with the best. Mindless fun? The best of Star Trek, of ANY series, was NEVER mindless fun. I'm not saying it can't have comedy. Trouble with Tribbles is high comedy at its finest. The Voyage Home is great fun. But it's not "mindless fun." Even the comedy of Star Trek can be brilliant. But this? This? I just don't get it. Why? This makes me sad. And that people on a Star Trek message board think this is a promising look at the future of the franchise...? I don't even know what to say. I guess you and I just haven't been watching the same show for the last few decades.

Wow, all that from a 90 second trailer! You must save a ton of money from not needing to go to the movies.

Perhaps I should have specified that my assumption is that the film resembles the trailer. This trailer is how they have chosen to sell the film. That means they WANT audiences to think of it this way. Of course, it goes without saying, that if the trailer is deliberately misleading (and why would anyone do that?), and the movie turns out not to be what it is deliberately trying to convince me that it is, then my worries will have been unfounded. Granted.

 

[Tai]

They blew up the ship! I'm jumping for joy!

 

[BillJ]

Not just any Trek, but classic Trek! This movie has TOS fingerprints all over it!

All we need is a giant cave shaped like a lizard head!

 

[Dales]

Could you slap a Star Trek coat of paint on The Martian? Probably, but I don't think it would translate very well.

I grew up on The Original Series. Where Kirk fought Gods, Pizza Burgers and a guy dressed in a lizard suit. Star Trek, for me, was about big, brash fun on the Final Frontier.

Pulp sci-fi is in its DNA. Where the good guy punches the bad guy, saves the day and gets the girl. Kirk and Spock are every bit as much comic books superheroes as Superman, Batman or Captain America. It is a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

I'm not denying that pulp science fiction is at the heart of TOS, just recognizing that TOS is the third most watched series of the franchise behind both TNG and VOY (hey, look, science and science fiction, gasp), that making a generic space action movie with the TOS characters doesn't stand out in the rehash happy movie landscape, and that Star Trek as a franchise isn't just about pulp science fiction yet that's all we've got so far with these movies. It's a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

No, not science, TNG and VOY contain great volumes of technobabble, and there is a massive difference.

Kirk and Spock are more readily recognizable than Picard or Janeway. They're more iconic, they're more colorful and, dare I say, more interesting.

Picard is as iconic that is why we have the kirk vs picard: who is the better captain debate.

 

[Goji]

Could you slap a Star Trek coat of paint on The Martian? Probably, but I don't think it would translate very well.

I grew up on The Original Series. Where Kirk fought Gods, Pizza Burgers and a guy dressed in a lizard suit. Star Trek, for me, was about big, brash fun on the Final Frontier.

Pulp sci-fi is in its DNA. Where the good guy punches the bad guy, saves the day and gets the girl. Kirk and Spock are every bit as much comic books superheroes as Superman, Batman or Captain America. It is a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

I'm not denying that pulp science fiction is at the heart of TOS, just recognizing that TOS is the third most watched series of the franchise behind both TNG and VOY (hey, look, science and science fiction, gasp), that making a generic space action movie with the TOS characters doesn't stand out in the rehash happy movie landscape, and that Star Trek as a franchise isn't just about pulp science fiction yet that's all we've got so far with these movies. It's a shame some fans can't or won't wrap their minds around that.

No, not science, TNG and VOY contain great volumes of technobabble, and there is a massive difference.

Kirk and Spock are more readily recognizable than Picard or Janeway. They're more iconic, they're more colorful and, dare I say, more interesting.

Absolutely. I'm delighted that these new films have restored the original characters, and much of the original design elements, to their true place as the face of the franchise.