Re: Is Everyone Cool with the Idea of a Recast for Star Trek
Plum said:
I've no problem. It's a Hollywoodland franchise and they are making a new one. But of course, the 'trekker' crowd is very commited to an idea of continuing Trek as a sort of history, as the TNG era shows and movies did. Sorta. ENT too, I suppose.
And that's the problem. Over 40 years and something like 750 episodes, Star Trek has become so top-heavy in terms of its own continuity that for it to get a new lease on life, it needs to start fresh. That's why I wish Trek XI were a reboot or a reimagining rather than simply a continuation of what has gone before.
This differs from Doctor Who, which now has more individual episodes than the entire Trek franchise. For one thing the format of the show allows for continual reinvention, and its canon is far more fluid thanks to the idea of alternate timelines. Whether one personally agrees or not, Paramount and the makers of Trek from Roddenberry to Abrams have always considered the Trek canon to be one timeline, which has created a continuity straightjacket for so many writers. Couple this with a fanbase that treats Trek canon as religion, and you make it very difficult to come up with new Trek for either the big or small screen.
Making matters worse are those who want Star Trek to be a completely different show. I lost track of how many times I heard people wanting Enterprise to be more like BSG, even though BSG was created as an anti-Trek. The only way for Trek to be like BSG is for it to be reimagined.
Instead, Abrams has decided to make a film that, he hopes, falls within the canon. And I fear that will alienate the new viewers he wants/needs to attract to keep the Trek franchise viable. And his casting of Nimoy, instead of generating goodwill from the fanbase, has instead generated animosity and conflict because it's reopened the 13-year-old wounds of Generations and Kirk's fate.
So yes, I'm cool with the recasting, but feel that Abrams and Paramount wimped out. Instead of presenting us with a brand new Star Trek and starting fresh (leaving Roddenberry's original Trek to be continued by the novels, comics, fanfilms, etc.) they're wanting to stick within the canon, and IMO it won't work. And the fanbase in particular is going to go nuts if the Enterprise is redesigned. New actors are one thing -- it's a necessity that we have to accept -- but the changing of hardware is where the rubber will meet the road for this film.
Cheers
Alex
