The new hand phasers suck, in fact...

[Chrisisall]

I think he means Retinax V, which makes his statement both a TWoK reference and personal dig (joking, I presume) about someone's eyesight.

Yes, exactly (Romulan ale should be against the law...

ONLY the phasers in ST III were a logical
Your opinion, only.

But of course.

And what the hell is "gos-se"?

Seems to be one of the Chinese words which were mixed into the dialogue on Firefly. This one carries a meaning equivalent to "crap", as far as I'm able to tell on short notice

Precisely.

Someone needs to teach you the difference between fact and opinion.

Tell me when he comes in. (Vague Superman II ref)

The new phasers are just fine. Certainly no worse that the original version that looks like it was powered by the little cricket phaser that was piggy-backed on it.

Just saying.

LOL, "cricket phaser", heh heh

You wouldn't want the camera to linger too long on most of the TOS phaser props. A very few looked nice

I know, the dummy phasers came in okay & really crappy modes.

 

[Peter the Younger]

I disagree. The TOS phaser was classic, of course, and the STIII phaser was a natural progression from that and looked great, but the BEST is obviously the "assault phaser" from STV and STVI. Never before or since has a phaser looked so cool:

As for the new phasers - I like the overall shape and design okay, but the flip barrel has got to go.

Those were my favorite. Still no trigger guard though.

 

[davejames]

The only thing I didn't like about the new phaser is that it didn't shoot out a phaser beam, and instead just those little pulse blasts that you could barely see.

At the very least they could have made the pulses bigger and more dramatic like the phasers in the ENT pilot.

 

[Chrisisall]

The only thing I didn't like about the new phaser is that it didn't shoot out a phaser beam

That one aspect might have redeemed them in my eyes... oh well.

 

[Rackon]

Hmm...well...since I never felt a continuous beam was "realistic" I was perfectly happy to have pulses instead. Was plenty dramatic enuff for me...cuz in the final analysis, for me Trek ain't about phaser blasts.

 

[Chrisisall]

I never felt a continuous beam was "realistic"

Are you dissing TOS?
I think he's dissing TOS!!!

HERBERT!

 

[Anticitizen]

Eh, I'd apply these criticisms to all the props in the film. In forty years, who's going to remember this:

Whereas, I'd almost bet real money that forty years from now, people will still recognize this:

 

[davejames]

Hmm...well...since I never felt a continuous beam was "realistic" I was perfectly happy to have pulses instead. Was plenty dramatic enuff for me...cuz in the final analysis, for me Trek ain't about phaser blasts.

Realistic, no. But certainly a lot more visually dynamic.

Frankly after all the flash and spectacle we got throughout the rest of the movie (and the much flashier updating of the warp drive and transporter effects), the humdrum phaser effects kind of came as a big disappointment to me.

 

[davejames]

Eh, I'd apply these criticisms to all the props in the film. In forty years, who's going to remember this:

Whereas, I'd almost bet real money that forty years from now, people will still recognize this:

I'm definitely not crazy about the new communicators, but to be fair we never really got that good a look at them in the film.

Wheras the TOS version has been a staple of popular culture for the last 40 years.

 

[SalvorHardin]

I'm definitely not crazy about the new communicators, but to be fair we never really got that good a look at them in the film.

Wheras the TOS version has been a staple of popular culture for the last 40 years.

And it has the added advantage that it was created at a time when cell phones were not available to everyone, from toddlers to great grandfathers.

Anyway, I like my phone better than both. And in 40 years from now I bet I'll like my then phone device even more.

 

[Chrisisall]

http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/phaser.jpg

How can you not love this design???

http://http://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/pmst09/Phaser_HiRes_v2.jpg

[Hotlinked images converted to links. Images posted inline should be hosted on webspace belonging to you. - M']

How can anyone say this one is better?

 

[SalvorHardin]

I hope at least you realize this is just a cheap toy version and not the actual prop of the new phaser

http://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/pmst09/Phaser_HiRes_v2.jpg

How can anyone say this one is better?

 

[Chrisisall]

I hope at least you realize this is just a cheap toy version and not the actual prop of the new phaser

http://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/pmst09/Phaser_HiRes_v2.jpg

So was the one above it. And it's pretty accurate, BTW. Maybe that's WHY we didn't get such a clear view of it in the film, eh?

 

[SalvorHardin]

I hope at least you realize this is just a cheap toy version and not the actual prop of the new phaser

So was the one above it. And it's pretty accurate, BTW. Maybe that's WHY we didn't get such a clear view of it in the film, eh?

Toys from toys have differences depending on who makes them, how much they invest in it and if they are targeting 10 year olds or grown up nerds. The overall shape may be the same as the prop but the coloring and texture is not at all accurate.
I'm too sleepy to go dig up the picture of the real prop now but I'm sure someone will post it.
Not that it will change your mind or anything. I just think when we compare, we should at least compare similar things.

As for why we didn't get a movie close up...
If they didn't like it, they wouldn't have approved the design in the first place. So to assume they are hiding it just because you find it ugly is a bit...well you get the point.

Anyway,enough with that.
I like the old phaser and the new one for different reasons.
I don't see why it always has to be an "either the old or the new" situation.

 

[EnsignRicky]

I liked the hand phaser used throughout most of TNG. I had one of the toys, back in the day and it felt very natural, very point and click. But yeah, the original series one will always be my favorite. I don't much care for the new one, it reminds me more of the Galaxy Quest nebulizer but not as interesting. Though I didn't mind the imaginative way they fired, that flipping colored nozzle thing just didn't do it for me. But that's just my opinion, no more or less valid than anybody else's.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Eh, I'd apply these criticisms to all the props in the film. In forty years, who's going to remember this:

Whereas, I'd almost bet real money that forty years from now, people will still recognize this:

I'm definitely not crazy about the new communicators, but to be fair we never really got that good a look at them in the film.

Wheras the TOS version has been a staple of popular culture for the last 40 years.

Yeah, the new communicators do suck. Still like the new phasers, though.

 

[Chrisisall]

Toys from toys have differences depending on who makes them, how much they invest in it and if they are targeting 10 year olds or grown up nerds. The overall shape may be the same as the prop but the coloring and texture is not at all accurate.

Playmates targets eveyone broadly, so their stuff tends to be pretty accurate, even if REAL close up examination reveals screws & raised trademark info.

If they didn't like it, they wouldn't have approved the design in the first place. So to assume they are hiding it just because you find it ugly is a bit...

Major Motion Pictures are made by committee; it's entirely possible that Abrams (or an associate) was shown a conceptualization, and approved it before seeing a rough model, then later when shown the finished prop thought "Whoah, that's not what I THOUGHT it would look like!" But then, running short of time on the production, used it anyway.

 

[Jeri]

Will somebody answer me this please: I mentioned this upthread, but we do see a phaser close up in the movie. Is this not the one you're discussing?

It's a huge closeup, during the scene in the Narada cargo hold, where Kirk is covering Spock while he melds with the stunned Romulan. The phaser and Kirk's face are right next to each other in the close up.

 

[M'Sharak]

http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/phaser.jpg

How can you not love this design???

http://http://img.trekmovie.com/images/merchandise/pmst09/Phaser_HiRes_v2.jpg

[Hotlinked images converted to links. Images posted inline should be hosted on webspace belonging to you. - M']

How can anyone say this one is better?

Please don't hotlink images.

 

[Chrisisall]

[Hotlinked images converted to links. Images posted inline should be hosted on webspace belonging to you. - M']

Sorry, I'll remember that.