TOS Movie Era: Neglected?

[valkyrie013]

True,
Also look at the "Lost Era's" that we have as well, you have 2161 to Discovery as 1, in that Era there is No romulan contact ( maybe some spy stuff, or a here or there, but there not there) and, according to Disco, not much Klingon stuff either except the odd ship captain.
Then the "Lost Era" between 2293 and 2365, not much there as well, after 2311 there's no romulan, and the Klingons are on the road to peace with the feds, only a few good books there, and Picard on the Stargazer.
Guess I'm considering another "Lost Era" between 2271 and 2285, since there is not much there either. But there you can have Klingons AND Romulans!
Few things one could expand on, Birth and childhood of Demora Sulu, and how Sulu handles it on the ship,

 

[Dukhat]

Then the "Lost Era" between 2293 and 2365, not much there as well, after 2311 there's no romulan, and the Klingons are on the road to peace with the feds, only a few good books there, and Picard on the Stargazer.

I've often felt that this era would have been perfect for a new Trek series, exactly because there's so little known about it. As you say, the only major events we know of were the Tomed Incident and the Treaty of Algeron in 2311, the destruction of the Enterprise-C in 2344, and the unknown date of the Cardassian war. That's pretty much it. That's 72 years of practically a completely unknown era to be tapped. Had DSC been placed in this time period instead of ten years before TOS, it would have made much more sense.

 

[Damian]

Few things one could expand on, Birth and childhood of Demora Sulu, and how Sulu handles it on the ship,

The novel "The Captain's Daughter" by Peter David does delve into Demora's past, including who her mother was and how he came to learn about her.

 

[BillJ]

In Foul Deeds Will Rise...

I feel bad saying this, I read this when it came out and can remember nothing of it. Not something I often do with your Trek books.

 

[Greg Cox]

I feel bad saying this, I read this when it came out and can remember nothing of it. Not something I often do with your Trek books.

It's the "Return of Lenore Karidian" book.

But I know the feeling. Sometimes I'm like, "Hmm, I'm pretty sure I've written a scene like this before, but which book was that? For what franchise?"

Or when people ask me detailed questions about the plot of a book I wrote seventeen years ago . . . .

"Um, I don't remember."

 

[JonnyQuest037]

The novel "The Captain's Daughter" by Peter David does delve into Demora's past, including who her mother was and how he came to learn about her.

One thing I really liked about that book was that PAD figured out a way for Sulu to have all the adventures he had in the movies and still be a responsible father who was there for his daughter. It was smart of the editor to hire a father with daughters to write that book. (I have no idea if that was in the decision making mix or not, or if it was just serendipitous. Either way, I think it helped the book.)

Or when people ask me detailed questions about the plot of a book I wrote seventeen years ago . . . .

"Um, I don't remember."

I remember back in the 80s, there was a Starlog editorial about some woman who was impersonating Diane Duane, to the point that she was getting booked to appear at cons. IIRC, a con organizer approached this woman in a mall to tell her about their convention because the organizer noticed that she was reading a Star Trek novel. The woman said, "Well, yes, I know a little about Star Trek. I'm Diane Duane." And then she held up a copy of The Wounded Sky that she was reading. The real Duane was quoted in Starlog saying, "I don't read The Wounded Sky very often, if at all. I know what's in it. I wrote it."

 

[Damian]

"Um, I don't remember."

The beauty of that is that you can re-read your own book years later and it will feel like a new story .

Then you can say when you're done, "Damn, that was a good book, whoever wrote that was a genius"

 

[Damian]

You know, though, that does make me wonder, do authors read their own books at all down the road? Sometimes you hear band members from rock groups that say they don't like listening to their own albums. Is it the same with an author? Will an author sit down and read one of their prior novels from the past like they would any other book?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Then you can say when you're done, "Damn, that was a good book, whoever wrote that was a genius"

I know you were just making a joke, but this reminded me of something...

My father, who was an Episcopalian minister, had dementia the last few years of his life. My mother self-published a book of some of his writings before he went, and sometimes we read an old essay or sermon that he'd written to him, just to entertain him. He didn't remember writing them, so when we were done, he'd say, completely sincerely, "That was well-written." It was kind of sweet.

You know, though, that does make me wonder, do authors read their own books at all down the road?

When I get my comp copies of the magazine I write for, I read my own articles. But that's more of a "...How does this read with fresh eyes? What works? What doesn't work? How can I do better next time?" kind of thing. It's the same reason I listen to my own podcast when it comes out.

Sometimes you hear band members from rock groups that say they don't like listening to their own albums.

Back in 2003 I saw Liz Phair make an in-store appearance at Vintage Vinyl in Edison, NJ. I requested an older song of hers, "Jealousy." It was maybe 8-10 years old at that point. She replied, "Oooh, I don't know if I remember how to play that one." I found it fascinating that a musician could forget how to play a song that she'd written herself.

 

[Damian]

When I get my comp copies of the magazine I write for, I read my own articles. But that's more of a "...How does this read with fresh eyes? What works? What doesn't work? How can I do better for next time?" kind of thing. It's the same reason I listen to my own podcast when it comes out.

Yeah, I imagine some authors read some things they write just to see where they do things well and where things maybe need work.

But I wonder sometimes, will an author read one of their prior books like we would read it, just for the enjoyment of it. Perhaps that sounds a bit narcissistic, but I don't think there's be anything wrong with it, esp. if it's a book you wrote years ago that you barely remember.

 

[Khan 2.0]

it is curious that in an era of 80s resurgence that 80s Trek is somewhat lacking compared to TOS..

I guess to do with the fact TOS (and now gradually DIS & of course Kelvin although for how much longer?..) is just more prevalent in the current 'zeitgeist' via books/comics/novels/toys/misc, internet/SM/memes, streaming/TV e.g. in UK the Horror channel constantly shows TOS in its entirety at 6pm daily (after Turnabout Intruder it goes back to Man Trap and starts over) - with the next Trek show at 7pm goes through all the spin offs either TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT (each series has one run through, whereas its a constant stream of TOS). its very rare any of the Trek movies show on regular freeview TV.

TWOK aside (which has attained a sort of transcendent mythical status in Trek/SFdom) its like TOS movies which were the driving force of Trek in the 80s (comics/novels etc) are now almost like a footnote in Trek compared to TOS/TNG (&Kelvin/DIS) in the eyes of newer fans and 'regular' people who might have some knowledge of Trek.. like TOS movies are now the 'old' trek for the oldtimer fans even over TOS!

no doubt its mainly due to the Kelvin movies being big budget modern day version of TOS (even rebooting TWOK into TOS era!) enticing new fans to watch the earlier 60s version (and maybe also something to do with the actors being much older/middle aged in the slow burn/darker/more realistic movies. but all young and hunky in the fast paced/colourful/comicbooky TOS)

 

[Greg Cox]

I'll be honest: by the time a book of mine is published, I've written it, revised it, gone through the copyedit, proofread the typset pages . . . after all of that, .I never want to read the book again. Years later, I may sample a chapter or two of an older book if I stumble across it, just to see how it holds up, but, as a rule, I don't reread my old books unless I need to for research purpose.

"Hmm. It's been a few years since I wrote those UNDERWORLD books. Maybe I should go back and reread the last one just refresh my memory . .... "

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I can't listen to audio versions of my book either.. I'm glad they exist, and I'm sure they're done well, but I wrote all those words . . . the last thing I want to do is hear somebody read my own words back to me.

 

[Lance]

It is curious, and I'd never considered it before reading this thread. I think it's probably right that the "tight-knitted" nature of the movies is the big reason they don't get tapped. The two potential gaps, TMP to TWOK, and TFF to TUC, are much more limited in terms of scope for storytelling than TOS. And it would stretch credibility to try and set any stories in the middle of the genesis trilogy. Maybe only The Captain's Daughter did it successfully.

The lack of other merch based on the era is a bigger question. I had noticed too, for example, that a lot of merchandise used to favour the refit Enterprise, but at some stage the TOS original seems to have supplanted it. And the monster maroons used to be everyone's favourite Trek uniform but in more recent years, it's as though the 1960s aesthetic has been reclaimed as 'cool' by a generation too young to have remembered it.

 

[Hey Missy]

had noticed too, for example, that a lot of merchandise used to favour the refit Enterprise, but at some stage the TOS original seems to have supplanted it. And the monster maroons used to be everyone's favourite Trek uniform but in more recent years, it's as though the 1960s aesthetic has been reclaimed as 'cool' by a generation too young to have remembered it.

This shift started happening around 2006, the 40th anniversary, when TOS-Remastered came out, and the entire Star Trek brand was unified under the TOS logo instead of a unique one for each series (similar to how the 1996 movie Doctor Who logo became the catch-all for every piece of merchandise).

 

[JonnyQuest037]

The fact that the Kelvinverse movies are still fresh in the public's minds doesn't hurt either. TOS has become the default era for Star Trek once again.

 

[Khan 2.0]

guess the only hope now is that Tarantino decides to revisit the TOS movie era (with the JJ crew - some of them be old enough in next couple of years) so we'll see a resurgence of 80s movie Trek!

 

[Lance]

This shift started happening around 2006, the 40th anniversary, when TOS-Remastered came out, and the entire Star Trek brand was unified under the TOS logo instead of a unique one for each series (similar to how the 1996 movie Doctor Who logo became the catch-all for every piece of merchandise).

That's an interesting point too. I think TOS-R definitely seen, for example, the pre-refit Enterprise being celebrated again.

guess the only hope now is that Tarantino decides to revisit the TOS movie era (with the JJ crew - some of them be old enough in next couple of years) so we'll see a resurgence of 80s movie Trek!

That'd be quite cool. The last movie launched a 1701-A, so moving forward with something less TOS-inspired and leaning more into the movie era would be a neat way to refresh things while still retaining faith with the three movies made so far...

 

[Khan 2.0]

That'd be quite cool. The last movie launched a 1701-A, so moving forward with something less TOS-inspired and leaning more into the movie era would be a neat way to refresh things while still retaining faith with the three movies made so far...

yes a revamped 80s Trek movie aesthetic would be a way of 'rebooting' the Kelvin series as opposed to doing just another TOS style (which no doubt would've been Trek Thor)

 

[Lance]

Absolutely Revitalize the look with a modern take on the monster maroons the way the first three movies did with the TOS uniforms, streamline the aesthetic of the sets, use the same actors, but present them (and their universe) in a different way that homages the 1980s movies in a way the first three homaged 60s Trek.

Heck, reintroduce Excelsior and put John Cho's Sulu in command of her. Take the opportunity to shake everything up and maybe, just maybe, inject life back into the Kelvin-verse that'd make it good for at least a few more movies to come.

I still feel like this cast are super talented and perfectly suited to their roles and it'd be a waste not to at least try a last throw of the dice on them.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

yes a revamped 80s Trek movie aesthetic would be a way of 'rebooting' the Kelvin series as opposed to doing just another TOS style (which no doubt would've been Trek Thor)

Why do you say that? Just because it would've featured the return of Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk it had to be a repeat of his most famous role?

Absolutely Revitalize the look with a modern take on the monster maroons the way the first three movies did with the TOS uniforms, streamline the aesthetic of the sets, use the same actors, but present them (and their universe) in a different way that homages the 1980s movies in a way the first three homaged 60s Trek.

The Kelvinverse cast homaging the 80s movies more is the absolute last thing I want to see. All the TWOK bits in Into Darkness pretty much ruined that film and robbed Beyond of the box office it deserved. I want to see new stories with these characters, not bad rehashes of things I enjoyed 30 years ago.

I still feel like this cast are super talented and perfectly suited to their roles and it'd be a waste not to at least try a last throw of the dice on them.

I agree with you there. They deserve at least one more shot.