Cary,I really think you're overstating and overthinking this. If this is THE ship, then, yes, I am disappointed that it looks less like the original than I had hoped. I showed this picture to a friend of mine who, while not a huge Trek fan, is a sci-fi fan and he said, " It looks the same." So I do believe that it is we, the select few, who are really obsessing about this. The casual fan and non fan are not going to see this and be as bummed out. They want to see a Star Trek movie and are less concerned with these trivial bits of minutae.
Frankly that's what I want to see, too.
Well, I'll certainly be going to see the film (once) anyway.
It may be a great film. Or not. And the "set-dressing" isn't gonna establish that either way.
I just think it's unfortunate that the people doing the flick seem to have chosen to make changes that don't really seem to add to the experience for anyone (fan or non-fan).
I actually think we largely agree here... and if I'm overstating it, it's because for 43 years now I've known that ship. From the time I was a lil' kid, I told everyone that when I grew up I "wanted to build the Enterprise." There's a degree of emotional attachment that I feel.
This is what the "new movie" crew, and the "forget TOS" people on here for that matter, seem to not realize. For those of us who've been there from the beginning, this ship is something we have an emotional attachment to.
So... let's give a parallel. It's a movie that's out right now called "Changeling." In this movie, a woman loses her son... and they bring back a kid who meets the description of that kid... but who isn't the kid she knows. It's not her son.
But c'mon, he's a boy, he's the same age, same height, etc, etc. The thing is, he's not the one who she's emotionally connected to. He's not her SON.
That's sort of how some of us feel right now. We're being told that this is "the Enterprise" but we know that it's not. It's not "the Enterprise with a little plastic surgery." It's just another ship... but we're supposed to accept it as such.
So, for those of us who are reacting, perhaps, a little bit emotionally here... that's it, really. For those of you who don't get it, maybe if you think about it that way, you'll start to.
I think I'm done with this topic now. But just FYI... thanks for the nice reply, Six. Your point is well-taken.