Kurtzman on Recasting Original Star Trek Characters

[Tuskin38]

http://trekcore.com/blog/2019/01/alex-kurtzman-on-recasting-original-star-trek-characters/

Some tidbits:

Kurtzman felt comfortable doing this because they did it already in the films.

DSC Pike will be different from Kelvin Pike

Excited for Number One since she’s essentially a blank slate

Ethan Peck was only one of a few hundred people they saw, and Leonard Nimoy’s family ‘blessed’ the casting.

Ethan had no idea he was auditioning for Spock during the reading.

Kurtzman knows there needs to be a really good reason why Spock never brings up Burnham in later series.

 

[DaveyNY]

Interesting.
I like how it gives us a lot of details without giving anything away from seeing the shows.

 

[Jadeb]

Maybe Calypso is a clue to why Spock never mentions Burnham — the Discovery is lost and Starfleet classifies the whole thing in the Talos IV “punishable by death” top-secret category.

Might be fitting if that is her first act as captain. She finally gets the chair and sacrifices herself to save everyone and (knowing Discovery) all of existence, atoning for the war she sorta started.

Maybe that even reboots the timeline so the war never happened, though that might be seen as a cop-out.

 

[NeoStar9]

I really don't think there needs to be a reason outside of Spock doesn't talk about family and she's a new character. However it's very likely he knows some super hardcore fans that need everything explained would not let this one go. He'd be hounded to hell and back if he didn't provide more.

Though I really wonder if it will be something simple while some are expecting a huge reason.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I really don't think there needs to be a reason outside of Spock doesn't talk about family and she's a new character.

I agree. We've all mostly accepted that Spock didn't bring up Sybok (until circumstances forced him to do so) because he doesn't talk about his family. So that's a good enough reason for me.

Or Spock not telling Kirk that the important dignitary he is about to receive from Vulcan for a very important conference is his father. However, I blame Starfleet equally for that one. You gotta figure that (a) Starfleet had to know who Spock's father was, and (b) Starfleet would have told Kirk, given the importance of the Babel conference.

But it's Star Trek, and it's just a TV show, so I can excuse these things and chalk them up to things that were done by the writers "for the sake of story, drama, and plot".

 

[Kane_Steel]

I really don't think there needs to be a reason outside of Spock doesn't talk about family and she's a new character.

The simple explanation is that these two are different characters;

Speck is not Spock. I predict Discovery S2 will makes things a lot easier to see the series as it's own separate thing, as they take whats familiar and iconic..and make it less recognizable.

 

[Tuskin38]

The simple explanation is that these two are different characters;

Except they're not. There is not enough evidence to suggest that, and more evidence to suggest they're the name.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

The simple explanation is that these two are different characters;

Speck is not Spock. I predict Discovery S2 will makes things a lot easier to see the series as it's own separate thing, as they take whats familiar and iconic..and make it less recognizable.

Give it a rest! The interview under discussion -- with the showrunner -- explicitly says they're the same character.

 

[Cake]

Give it a rest! The interview under discussion -- with the showrunner -- explicitly says they're the same character.

They are also saying that DIS and TOS are part of the same universe, but there are so many contradictions between both already that it is easier to look at both series as its own thing. I also doubt that DIS will add anything to the Spock character to make him more interesting or likeable, which is another good reason not to look at it as TOS Spock's younger years. I prefer my own imagination or what books or even fanfics wrote about his younger years.

 

[Tuskin38]

They are also saying that DIS and TOS are part of the same universe, but there are so many contradictions between both

You can find contradictions in every series and movie. DSC is hardly unique.

 

[Vger23]

They are also saying that DIS and TOS are part of the same universe, but there are so many contradictions between both already that it is easier to look at both series as its own thing. I also doubt that DIS will add anything to the Spock character to make him more interesting or likeable, which is another good reason not to look at it as TOS Spock's younger years. I prefer my own imagination or what books or even fanfics wrote about his younger years.

How can you "prefer" (which implies comparison) when you haven't even seen the DSC take on the character yet?

Man, talk about early bias...

 

[Cake]

You can find contradictions in every series and movie.

DSC is hardly unique.

DIS is the worst though so far. It is timewise so close to TOS that it should be very similar, but is completely different in every way. TNG, DS9 and VOY had the advantage of being set far more in the future, which explains a lot of differences. What they did with ENT was also not ideal, a lot of contradictions, but at least spirit wise it felt like the Starfleet we saw in ENT might be an early version of the Starfleet we saw in TOS.

 

[Tuskin38]

DIS is the worst though so far. It is timewise so close to TOS that it should be very similar, but is completely different in every way. TNG, DS9 and VOY had the advantage of being set far more in the future, which explains a lot of differences. What they did with ENT was also not ideal, a lot of contradictions, but at least spirit wise it felt like the Starfleet we saw in ENT might be an early version of the Starfleet we saw in TOS.

DSC is no worse than any of the other series.
It fits with TOS fine.

Remember it’s still set 9 years before that series.

 

[Cake]

How can you "prefer" (which implies comparison) when you haven't even seen the DSC take on the character yet?

Man, talk about early bias...

I saw DIS season 1 which was crap and I saw the season 2 trailer and read interviews about season 2. It just doesn't give me any hope that DIS Spock will in any way be as good as TOS Spock. It is just unrealistic to expect a better portrayal of Spock from such an inferior Star Trek series. It is not like all the producers/writers from season 1 DIS suddenly changed. There are still the same people producing the series. At best I expect slight improvements. It can hardly get worse. But DIS will never become a masterpiece.

 

[Tuskin38]

I saw DIS season 1 which was crap and I saw the season 2 trailer and read interviews about season 2. It just doesn't give me any hope that DIS Spock will in any way be as good as TOS Spock. It is just unrealistic to expect a better portrayal of Spock from such an inferior Star Trek series. It is not like all the producers/writers from season 1 DIS suddenly changed. There are still the same people producing the series. At best I expect slight improvements. It can hardly get worse. But DIS will never become a masterpiece.

No one is forcing you to watch it.

 

[Lord Garth]

The part I was most interested in, while reading the article, was the casting process. They auditioned over 400 actors. And went through the step of getting the blessing from Nimoy's Family. With a vetting process that rigorous, Ethan Peck has to be good.

Moreover, Alex Kurtzman is right. Working with Leonard Nimoy and knowing Leonard's thoughts about Spock firsthand, give him an insight into Spock's character that someone who didn't know him wouldn't. He's familiar with Prime Spock and Kelvin Spock as well, so that gives him a broad canvas to work from when figuring out how to tell stories about any gaps we didn't see before. Including here.

Ethan Peck seems to recognize the weight of stepping into the shoes of Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto. And if he was chosen out of 400 actors, he's in the top quarter-of-one-percentile of those who sought the part. With all of these factors, I think we're in for a good portrayal of Spock on the acting end. On the writing end, I like to think Spock begins a journey here that ultimately runs straight through TOS and into TMP. DSC would be the starting point, TOS would be the middle, and Spock failing to achieve Kholinar but reaching out to V'Ger instead in TMP would be the ending point.

 

[Donker]

with the showrunner -- explicitly says they're the same character.

Lets be real, it's extremely likely Kurtzman has never, ever watched through a single season of any previous Trek show. He's so consistently wrong on literally everything that I find it hard to believe he's actually ever watched Trek or is a fan of the franchise.

"Well, Starfleet live in a very black-and-white world, they have rules, they have to stick to those rules, you can bend them but you can't break them,” Kurtzman explained. “Section 31 lives entirely in shades of gray. And they do all of the things that Starfleet proper can't do. And that's really interesting, because when you have a character like Georgiou whose conscience is constantly being tested, and her ethics are constantly being tested, she's really in some ways the perfect person to do the dirty work that Starfleet can't do. And, that's an exciting place to explore. It's a little bit gloves off which is what's fun about Section 31.”

There is no fucking way in hell this man has watched Star Trek before. Everything that comes out of his mouth is so wrong on every conceivable level that it's mind boggling. I think even a 5 year old child has a better understanding of Trek than this hack.

 

[Tuskin38]

Lets be real, it's extremely likely Kurtzman has never, ever watched through a single season of any previous Trek show. He's so consistently wrong on literally everything that I find it hard to believe he's actually ever watched Trek or is a fan of the franchise.

"Well, Starfleet live in a very black-and-white world, they have rules, they have to stick to those rules, you can bend them but you can't break them,” Kurtzman explained. “Section 31 lives entirely in shades of gray. And they do all of the things that Starfleet proper can't do. And that's really interesting, because when you have a character like Georgiou whose conscience is constantly being tested, and her ethics are constantly being tested, she's really in some ways the perfect person to do the dirty work that Starfleet can't do. And, that's an exciting place to explore. It's a little bit gloves off which is what's fun about Section 31.”

There is no fucking way in hell this man has watched Star Trek before. Everything that comes out of his mouth is so wrong that it's mind boggling.

I’ve watched every episode and series, and I agree with everything kurtzman says in that quote. Nothing he says in their is a lie or wrong.

I think you need to do your own rewatch.

 

[Donker]

I’ve watched every episode and series, and I agree with everything kurtzman says in that quote. Nothing he says in their is a lie or wrong.

Then frankly, you do not have any sort of comprehension to understand Star Trek. Literally everything he states is wrong on every possible level, nearly every single episode Star Trek is about breaking the rules in some way to explore morality and humanity of the characters and the society they live in.

 

[Tuskin38]

Then frankly, you do not have any sort of comprehension to understand Star Trek. Literally everything he states is wrong on every possible level, nearly every single episode Star Trek is about breaking the rules in some way to explore morality and humanity of the characters and the society they live in.

He says in your quote that starfleet bends the rules.

Section 31 completely breaks them in half and grinds them into dust.