Should I Be Ashamed as a TOS fan to like the Rebooted Movies?

[JKM]

I first became a Star Trek fan through JJ and then went back and watched TOS and loved it. Most of TNG bores me to tears though. I'll watch it only if nothing else is on and nothing else to do. I agree with whoever said its more likely fans of TOS like the JJ films than not. I admittedly have weird film/tv taste though.

 

[Xaios]

No reason at all.

My ST credentials. Favorite series is DS9. Also highly enjoy TNG, TOS, JJ-verse movies and the TOS movies (which, for some reason, I can't lump in with TOS even though I have no problem doing so for the TNG movies). Enterprise seasons 1 and 2 are generally bad, but 3 and 4 are pretty solid. Voyager I could do without.

 

[Dales]

be proud of both. I am

 

[Shikarnov]

I'm a TOS fan, and I detest the Abrams movies... And even then, I don't think you should be ashamed. There's no shame in enjoying entertainment, nor in recognizing that one person's taste differs from another. IDIC.

 

[fireproof78]

I'm a TOS fan, and I detest the Abrams movies... And even then, I don't think you should be ashamed. There's no shame in enjoying entertainment, nor in recognizing that one person's taste differs from another. IDIC.

Quoted for emphasis. The idea that TOS and Abrams Trek are incompatible is an argument might as well be applied to TNG and TOS. There are differences, due to different writers and emphasis and characters.

In my opinion, Abrams Trek got a lot of the elements of TOS right, in the adventure, and the strong characters. It also decides to take a different take on why Kirk becomes Kirk and Spock becomes Spock. It's different, but for me, growing up with TOS on VHS, I love the different take on Kirk and Spock and the crew. It's very fun for me to explore the characters and psychology of those characters.

And, given that Trek has been used to talk about exploring the human condition I think Abrams Trek is closer than many recognize.

 

[VulcanMindBlown]

I first became a Star Trek fan through JJ and then went back and watched TOS and loved it. Most of TNG bores me to tears though. I'll watch it only if nothing else is on and nothing else to do. I agree with whoever said its more likely fans of TOS like the JJ films than not. I admittedly have weird film/tv taste though.

That's interesting, I've always wanted to meet a hardcore trekkie who first saw Trek through J.J. Abrams. You do consider yourself to be a hardcore trekkie since you are on here, right?

 

[Kor]

It seems like those two things aren't compatible.

Sure they are.

I find the new movies to be way more compatible with TOS than a great deal of Trek from 1987 to 2004 ever managed to be.

Kor

 

[VulcanMindBlown]

What do you mean by "philosophical"?

It's more about the thrill. Star Trek has always been about promoting diversity and social commentary. The rebooted movies (which I assume the next one is, based on the trailers) are about the edge-of-your-seat action and I had to rewatch the part of Into Darkness where Khan explains the basis of the plot.

I liked both TOS and ST11, and I feel no shame. That said, I find a lot to dislike in ST11, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy it.

I dislike STID very much, but it's not because of TOS.

I guess what I'm saying is that I've heard a lot of talk from people who were fans of TOS (especially hard core fans and those back-in-the-day) that is wasn't as good as Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley. I'll give that those actors were great, but they can NEVER be repeated ever again. I like how the new ones are more updated and action-y. There still is the original-style humor, but it can be accessed by a more modern audience.

In Conclusion:
I always thought of Star Trek has been done better in small increments (though some stories, like DS9 and S4 of ENT, and the books, needed more time to carry the ideas of the plot) and always going back to certain themes like IDIC, exploration, and certain races like the Ferengi on DS9, that wouldn't do as well in a movie. However, I did like TWOK, TSFS, TVH, and TUC, but they weren't nearly as good as the shows or as dramatic as I would like them to be. Star Trek: First Contact was cool, but beating the Borg this often takes out the scary-drama. TOS, the television show was very campy and it is hard to fill those hallowed shoes. I still liked those movies of TOS that I mentioned, but it can't beat the show. That's the best explanation that I have.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It's more about the thrill. Star Trek has always been about promoting diversity and social commentary. The rebooted movies (which I assume the next one is, based on the trailers) are about the edge-of-your-seat action and I had to rewatch the part of Into Darkness where Khan explains the basis of the plot

Sounds more like the hype, than what Star Trek (TOS) was really about. It was an action adventure show that blended the issues of the time into the action along with a touch of drama and a hint of romance. It wasn't a weekly, hour long dissertation on diversity or other issues. Heck TOS's record on diversity isn't all that great, especially on gender issues.
I got the plot of STID on the first go. The allegories to present day issues as well. ( Ooooh, philosophy)
All the Trek films from TWOK on have been action-y. The only exception would be TVH, which was a fish out of water comedy.

I guess what I'm saying is that I've heard a lot of talk from people who were fans of TOS (especially hard core fans and those back-in-the-day) that is wasn't as good as Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley. I'll give that those actors were great, but they can NEVER be repeated ever again. I like how the new ones are more updated and action-y. There still is the original-style humor, but it can be accessed by a more modern audience.

It doesn't get anymore "hard core fans and those back-in-the-day" than me. Fan since 1966.

In Conclusion:

I always thought of Star Trek has been done better in small increments (though some stories, like DS9 and S4 of ENT, and the books, needed more time to carry the ideas of the plot) and always going back to certain themes like IDIC, exploration, and certain races like the Ferengi on DS9, that wouldn't do as well in a movie. However, I did like TWOK, TSFS, TVH, and TUC, but they weren't nearly as good as the shows or as dramatic as I would like them to be. Star Trek: First Contact was cool, but beating the Borg this often takes out the scary-drama. TOS, the television show was very campy and it is hard to fill those hallowed shoes. I still liked those movies of TOS that I mentioned, but it can't beat the show. That's the best explanation that I have.

TrekTV and TV it's self are a different animals than film. The TV test for NuTrek will be how the the 2017 TV show will stack up to TOS, TNG and the rest.

People lose me when they call TOS campy. It was no more camp than any other hour long drama in the late 60s. It definitely wasn't Batman. Individual episodes might go camp and over the top, but the show wasn't camp.

 

[JKM]

That's interesting, I've always wanted to meet a hardcore trekkie who first saw Trek through J.J. Abrams. You do consider yourself to be a hardcore trekkie since you are on here, right?

I guess that depends on how you define "hardcore". I haven't been to conventions and done the dressing up thing. I would also say I'm a Star Wars fan and visit or used to a star wars board. I even used to write fanfic for SW but don't anymore. I'd still call myself a bigger Trek fan than SW though and I do read Trek fanfic. I also probably won't see STB at a midnight showing. More because I have to work the next day than anything else though. I need my beauty sleep.

 

[nightwind1]

I've been a fan of Trek since I was five years old, when it premiered in September, 1966. And I LOVE the Abrams films just as much as ANY Trek. They're FAR better than STV, Nemesis or Insurrection.

 

[Galileo7]

No. I have been a Star Trek fan beginning as a young boy in the '70s watching both TOS reruns and the Saturday morning TAS. Since I began with the Kirk era TOS and TAS, I was glad to see J.J. return to a Kirk era.

 

[Greg Cox]

No need to be ashamed at all. There's no rule that says you can't enjoy both. And who cares if they're "incompatible"? They're not supposed to be compatible, continuity-wise.

As a lifelong TOS fan who has been hooked on Trek since the original series first aired on NBC, I don't feel obliged to reject the new movies. I can appreciate both on their own terms, the same way I do the various different versions of PLANET OF APES, SUPERMAN, Dracula, etc.

And I'm looking forward to the upcoming XENA reboot as well . . .

 

[stardream]

I am a fan of TOS but I like the direction JJ took with the movies. My brother hates them but then he has never watched the New BSG either.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

No. Also, people who thought "Into Darkness" had no deeper social meaning obviously watched a different movie than I did, because it was loaded with stuff about how a nominally good guy becomes obsessed with the enemy and BECOMES the enemy, and tries to start a pre-emptive war, which seems fairly current-events-related to me.

The fact that they packaged that in action-explosions and a girl in skimpy clothing all seems pretty TOS to me.

My father is an Original Gangsta Trekkie, and he really enjoyed the new movies. So did my mother, who is practically Sci-Fi-Phobic.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think people whose favorite iteration of Star Trek is TOS, are more likely to be fans of the JJ films than people who are primarily fans of TNG.

I have a pet theory, based solely on anecdotal evidence, that it's actually the TNG generation that is more likely to have issues with the new movies, as opposed to us old-school TOS fans . . ..

 

[johnjm22]

I have a pet theory, based solely on anecdotal evidence, that it's actually the TNG generation that is more likely to have issues with the new movies, as opposed to us old-school TOS fans . . ..

Yes I agree.

TOS often had some silliness to it. Some campiness (mainly the series, not the movies). TNG was a colder, more serious version of Trek.

The JJ movies, IMO, feel like a cartoon / comic book. So I think it makes sense that people who are primarily TOS fans would be more receptive to them than people who are mainly TNG fans. As someone's who's primarily a TNG fan myself, I can't stand the new Abram's films. I want something more serious.

 

[Greg Cox]

Yes I agree.

TOS often had some silliness to it. Some campiness (mainly the series, not the movies). TNG was a colder, more serious version of Trek.

The JJ movies, IMO, feel like a cartoon / comic book. So I think it makes sense that people who are primarily TOS fans would be more receptive to them than people who are mainly TNG fans. As someone's who's primarily a TNG fan myself, I can't stand the new Abram's films. I want something more serious.

Whereas I grew up on TOS and sometimes, when I see people comparing the new movies unfavorably to TOS, I wonder when was the last time they actually watched the original series.

"They never had gratuitous action or titillation on the original series! Starfleet officers would never stoop to brawling in bars! Uhura never flirted with Spock!"

One of things I actually like about the new movies is that they've brought back some of the colorful, swashbuckling flavor of the original series, complete with space monsters and such, as opposed to the latter-day series which sometimes seemed to forget that TREK was supposed to be fun and exciting as well as high-minded and serious.

In some ways, the new movies feel more like TOS to me than, say, VOYAGER or ENTERPRISE.

 

[Malaika]

tos fan here and I love the reboot movies. It's fun to have another trek to like, for me they are not mutually exclusive and I see them as two separate things that share the same spirit. (I like the reboot precisely because it's not totally like tos)

from what I could notice in years in this fandom, I think most of pre-existing trek fans like the reboot. Those who are the hardest on it tend to be people who don't like ANY of the 'non-tos' trek (or didn't like it originally, see TNG). We have our own version of the star wars fans who don't like the prequel movies and hate on the fans who don't dislike them saying they are not 'real fans'. I guess every fandom has fans like that and they tend to pretend they are speaking on the behalf of the whole fandom so as a result, you might have people who aren't in the fandom who now have this idea that trek fans hate these movies.
For the most part, I often find myself confused/puzzled by some of the anti-reboot arguments I read made by self-professed trek fans online (mostly in comments section of articles about these movies) because, well, from my perspective they claim things about 'canon' that aren't exactly true for tos either and make me question if they had watched the series (and also if they have any idea it was made in the 60s and how outdated it might be nowadays if they kept everything exactly the same), or they just repeat an urban legend, so to speak.

Of course I don't put all the people who dislike these movies in the same box. There are reasonable people who have valid criticism, and then there is personal taste at play: no one is lucky to the extent their movie can be liked by everyone.
But then again, those who don't like these movies have nothing really changed for them and nothing really to lose. You can still like the old thing and no one deleted it. In a way, it's a bit worse for those who happen to like these movies because there is always a possibility to get disappointed by a sequel that doesn't live up your expectations from the other movies.

 

[Greg Cox]

I guess every fandom has fans like that and they tend to pretend they are speaking on the behalf of the whole fandom so as a result, you might have people who aren't in the fandom who now have this idea that trek fans hate these movies.

Just wait until the XENA reboot hits the air. Anybody doubt that we're going to see the same old drama play out?