Do I need to watch all of Trek before watching the 2 new films?

Guilty.

 

Me too.
If NEM was more upbeat I wouldn't have minded seeing the TNG cast sign off there too.

 

Though I think the consensus at the time everyone assumed there was going to be another TNG film

 

Really? I remember it being billed as "A Generations Final Journey Begins".

Pretty much closed the books IMO on there being another TNG film even before I went to the theater.

I left the theater thinking no more TNG movies was a good thing.

 

if you watch the new movies first you'd have the great advantage of seeing them for what they are rather than keep trying to see the old stuff in the new. You'd judge the characters for who they are in these movies rather than taking some things for granted. It's a bit like the 'read the book before watching the movie' thing. I used to do that but with time I realized that if I read the book before watching the movie I won't be able to enjoy the latter because I will keep finding the differences and compare the two.
so definitely you don't need to watch tos before the new movies as the two things should be separated anyway.

 

Nope. You can start with action trek for the braindead popcorn eating masses. Maybe it'll interest you enough to look up some of the better more thought provoking intelligent Trek of yesterday.

 

With the exception of some DS9, virtually all Star Trek is self contained. You don't need to watch anything before watching anything else. A reboot by definition is meant to be even more accessible.

 

Oh my God! Will you give it a fucking break? I'm sure there are people who are far smarter and dumber than you who hate/loathe/like/love the Abrams films. Taste does not equal intelligence.

 

If one is twelve or thirteen and has led a pretty insulated life, some of oldTrek may still be somewhat thought-provoking. Outside those parameters the question becomes "what, if anything, have you been reading/watching that any of this seems either original or at all deep?"

 

I admit I could gladly live without hearing the word "masses" in this context ever again. Call me a populist, but Star Trek was never supposed to be some sort of snobby, elitist thing that's too good for the great unwashed . . . .

 

But surely the important contribution fandom brings to anything is the assurance that anyone who's trying to enjoy it is enjoying it wrong.

 

Everyone always forgets about TAS.... alas

 

Oops! Sorry about that.

 

You need to watch every episode and film of Star Trek, read all the books, all the magazines, all the comics, and buy every bit of merchandise available ONLY if you want to qualify for a non-existent Trekkie Nerd card.

 

Don't forget the squillions of fanfics. You have to read all of them too - especially the ones where Kirk and Spock do the nasty. Or you're not a real Trekkie. You're one of the dreaded "popcorn eating masses"

 

Pre-frackin'-cisely!
This is where the whole "self-entitled fan ownership" b.s. comes into play. "Oh, Star Trek is too good for the general movie going/tv watching public."

Hate to say it, but fandom makes no contribution at all as of late, except to bemoan what they didn't like, as if they were the only ones who could truly appreciate whatever said franchise is trying to offer. Having watched "Trekkies" and "The People vs. George Lucas" only reinforces my thinking on this.

,,,,and a partridge in a peaarrrr treeeeee.

I recently introduced my room mate to Star Trek TAS, and I did so with what is probably the best episode of the series, and I think the only one that Paramount seems to even remotely consider canon...."Yesteryear", where Spock goes back in time to save his younger self from dying, and thus altering his existence. (And if you listen closely to the dialogue, you'll hear where a lot of it influenced the dialogue in Star Trek 2009.)

 

I hate to quibble, because I really agree with your larger point about fandom but James Cawley's Star Trek Phase II project was one of the inspirations for Abrams as he began on Trek 09. Obviously, there is now a long and storied history between them, but the initial development, and interest was partially built due to fan productions. I say partially because a movie was coming regardless of what the fans said, but there was a small contribution. Take it for what it's worth

I was always surprised by the aspects of fandom that would wish Abrams and Co. ill at every turn. It's one thing to not like a film, or the direction it is going, etc. It is quite another (and this is not directed at anyone here) to see Abrams called a racist, a bigot, a sexist, an idiot, a destroyer of Trek, and a hack. No offense, but that doesn't exactly inspire confidence

Now, if you will excuse me, I must go read up on my Starfleet Technical Manual and Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise

 

Those are quite good points.

And yes, that was another reason I turned my back on fandom....because of those who seem to think that just because someone made a movie in a way they didn't like, that suddenly there has to be personal attacks and death threats made against the producers, writers, crew, what have you. (I mean, yeesh! Supposedly, Katee Sackhoff received death threats from outraged original series Galactica fanatics when she said: "Hi, I'm Katee Sackhoff. I play Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica. Deal with it." I don't know how much truth there is to that, but, I cannot put it past the darker side of fandom.)

I'm not saying that all fans are like that....but it's safer to simply dissociate from the overall stigma.

I simply love Star Trek (and lots of other sci-fi shows/movies). Yes, I collect miniatures and such so I can do my own 3D CG models and movies. Yes, I get tech manuals and publications when I can. Yes, I wear Star Wars, Galactica, and other sci-fi t-shirts. Yes, I get the blu-ray sets when available, even if I already have them on DVD. I just am not a fan.

Heh...I used to have Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise in the late 80's, before the whole thing with FASA blew up in the early 90's, and Parmount did not renew FASA's Star Trek RPG license. That was an entertaining read, if not an entirely accurate one. I still wish I had it. I used to have the old Franz Joseph Tech Manual too. And the TNG and DS9 TM's as well. So I say read on and enjoy!