CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar 2 - Electric Boogaloo-Fanboys gone WILD-too many hyphens

Unless you have any sci-fi cons of variable quality on the calendar you should be ok...

 

Petty personal grievances, kick the can down the road, and buy some stuff from us!

That's the content donors want...

 

I've never read the whole Axanar script, but from what I've heard about it, all this drama is probably more entertaining anyhow.

 

You can catch some of it in their comic book adaptations. The artwork is not too bad, TBH, but it's mostly just a lot of people yelling at each other between "pew pew" scenes.

The Scene 1: "Fire photon torpedoes!"... Scene 2 ... Scene 3: "Photon torpedoes FIRE!" bit is particularly cringe-worthy. Not well written at all.

 

Quite. But my question was asked in a particular context.

If you follow the bouncing ball through the thread, the apparent context was (paraphrasing, not a direct quote), "Fans of Axanar don't group together because of real-world politics, what they have in common is that they think that the writing in modern Star Trek sucks."

The implied subtext of my question is, "Why are people who are dissatisfied with the writing in contemporary Star Trek flocking to Axanar? If they find good writing represented in the script for Axanar, what about it do they see as good? Or is it that Axanar is drawing them in for reasons besides its writing, and if that is the case then just what is the draw?"

 

Personally I think the concept of Axanar is brilliant- we get to finally see an epic battle which turned the tide of a war with the Federation's greatest enemy at that time. There are only a couple unseen yet mentioned events in TOS like that, the great Romulan war is another.
This drew me in the first place and I was really excited someone was attempting to show this on screen after so many years. I was not driven to it by disappointment with the Trek franchise, I would have been just as happy to see this if it was featured in any of the other series as well.

Sadly this was not to be. Instead of creating the promised fan film, events took a darker turn and fan films, some of which were exceeding well done, got crippled by the collateral damage.

 

OK, I have fixed the missing link so you can lift the restraining order.

 

I'm not sure it is just the writing, though obviously that was mentioned. I think it is just dissatisfaction and when modern Trek isn't doing that then they go to other places. Axanar is not good writing-period. But, it offers up a very nice looking package that caters to the need for modern Trek to look like old Trek.

Now, that is entirely a generalization, but my recent observations have been seeing a lot people wanting Trek to look a certain way.

 

I suspect that's getting close to the mark. yeah.

Clearly in some circles, beyond just the look, there's also the desire for new Trek to dovetail seamlessly into the original continuity, i.e. without significant retcons.

Under this perspective, the spore drive is too major a retcon. Burnham being Spock's sister, also too major. Going into another timeline for new out-of-continuity adventures of the original characters? Crossing the Rubicon.

New Voyages/Phase II and Star Trek Continues had devoted followers, at least some of whom appear to reject the new franchise offerings.

To some, the first rule of a fan film is to base everything around one of the greatest hits. Looking inside a tantalizing box that was referenced in the original but was otherwise unopened (which is what the Battle of Axanar is) is akin to that, I think.

There's a sentimental appeal to reminiscent fan films. Fan films can be kind of like a love letter, or, well, a fan letter, to the franchise from an admirer.

And, yeah, fans are vulnerable, and they can be taken advantage of, because of their ardent devotion to the thing they love.

 

This does appear to be the perspective, yes. And, as you note, the fans have a deep devotion to this franchise which makes them far more sensitive to the lack of continuity within the product. Which is why I think things like Axanar hit so close to home is because there is a passion for the product in fan productions that is going to be lacking in CBS productions. And, honestly, I think that passion covers a multitude of sins because they at least appear to care while CBS does not.

So, as much as I think fans want good stories I think they also want, as you say, a lot of sentimental feelings, and passion towards the franchise. And that usually looks like trying to recreate the past.

 

OTOH that "care" is mostly expressed in fawning devotion to the letter of the law (continuity) and not the spirit of the law (the underlying anti-war, humanist message of the show). So fans of a certain stripe can point to this surface adherence to the rules and say "true Trek!" while ignoring that under the surface it's nothing of the kind.

 

^ There's probably a story in the idea that the seeds of Garth's madness were laid by the conflict he experienced between Federation values and the necessities thrust upon him by the circumstances of war. Garth is, after all, ultimately a tragic figure. I agree that evident aim of the film about him being to glorify his exploits is contrary to the themes universally prevalent in Star Trek canon.

 

Is Axanar good writing? I'm no judge, but after trying to watch Discovery, and giving up on it, I thought Prelude to Axanar was a good story, and looked great. Again, I'm no critic, but it appeared better than some of the Trek I've seen from Hollywood. Can you please everyone all the time? No, but to me any decent Trek is better than no Trek at all.

 

Was there a story in Prelude?

 

Ok Alec...

 

I thought so, the rise of Earth on the interstellar stage, how the expansion of the Federation irritated the Klingons, basically the lead up to part two with character development in a documentary like format. How the diversity of the different Federation races and their differing fighting tactics frustrated the Klingons...

 

Everything you've mentioned there, except the characters being interviewed for the documentary, is backstory in Prelude, not story.

 

A story nonetheless. Point is, I liked it, other people's mileage may vary.

 

No problem. Some of us were just curious what people found appealing about Axanar (and/or Prelude). You like the backstory.

 

Prelude to Axanar is a gussied up trailer. That's it.