How likely is it for viewers of either or both movies to be inspired to watch TOS episodes and become a fan of it?
JJverse converts
- Thread starter Ronald Held
- Start date
It depends on how open minded they are. I grew up watching the original series in the early 70s in syndication and I still love watching it and I love the new movies.
Some people may turn their nose up at the looks of the show (which still hold up for me) but if they really watch it for the stories there are some great ones!
Some people may turn their nose up at the looks of the show (which still hold up for me) but if they really watch it for the stories there are some great ones!
I've seen a few posters with that story come through this site since 2009.
Supposedly there was a spike in Trek DVD sales across all series when the 2009 movie came out. And after Into Darkness premiered, Wrath of Khan was at the top of the Netflix chart for awhile.
The question is if those are converts or fans rewatching what they already like.
I'm 44, and have a friend who's ten years younger. He likes TNG era onwards and most of the movies. Once when watching a TOS episode at my place he commented on the "fake looking planet set", which made it difficult for him to get into the show. I said nothing, but I was inwardly smiling and thinking "point: missed"! It's a damn shame, but this kind of reaction to the "look" and production design of TOS may well cut many out of the loop almost before they begin.
trevanian
Rear Admiral
See, what seems weird to me is that TNG's planet sets for the first 2-3 years looked exactly as bad as TOS planet sets ... but it was 20 years later! So those planet sets looked infinitely worse in 1987 for contemporary viewers. Only AIRWOLF had fake outdoor sets (one of them anyway) that could rival the TNG ones for awfulness. I mean, HIDE & Q must not have even shot the planet hell horizon line right, because it actually looks like it is only a few yards deep before the horizon.
Exactly, I always wondered about that. I would think people would be less forgiving of TNG's shitty sets but apparently not.
I've known quite a few 20's and under people who loved the JJ films and started watching Trek because of it, but none of them watched TOS to date. Definitely seems to be a big hurdle, the age and effects.
Those people are weak.
I took my stepson to "Into Darkness" and he loved it. Shortly after, he started showing interest in TOS (through Me-TV). I told him to forget Me-TV and start watching my DVDs. That sealed the deal and we watched the entire series together. Now we've started on TAS.
Our college-age nephew is a huge Star Wars fan, but he liked Star Trek 2009; so when he visited, I played him the (second) pilot of the Original Series. He was polite but yawning by the time it was over.
He had to ask me whether the episode was well thought of, whether people thought it was a good episode or not; I guess he couldn't tell for himself and wanted to know if it was representative. I told him that I thought the story and acting were good, but that it was very early in the series and some things evolved afterward.
He was just visiting at Christmas when he was here, so I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to show him another episode or if he will look on his own. From time to time on my Facebook page, I post Star Trek stills from Memory Alpha and Trek Core, in case he can see them.
I think he said he's seen Next Gen and liked it alright; but it's really hard to convert someone who only has six movies to deal with in order to be a fan -- to a thing that has 700+ episodes and 12 movies.
I feel confident the reason Star Wars has more fans than Star Trek is that it is easier to get into -- in addition to being fantasy, where Star Trek has science fiction that involves human beings and Earth.
Our nephew is a good kid; but it probably helps if a young person has a kind of academic interest in history or fondness for the mid-century modern era. I don't know how many of those there are. I don't give up on them, though; tastes change over a lifetime and usually they deepen.
He had to ask me whether the episode was well thought of, whether people thought it was a good episode or not; I guess he couldn't tell for himself and wanted to know if it was representative. I told him that I thought the story and acting were good, but that it was very early in the series and some things evolved afterward.
He was just visiting at Christmas when he was here, so I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to show him another episode or if he will look on his own. From time to time on my Facebook page, I post Star Trek stills from Memory Alpha and Trek Core, in case he can see them.
I think he said he's seen Next Gen and liked it alright; but it's really hard to convert someone who only has six movies to deal with in order to be a fan -- to a thing that has 700+ episodes and 12 movies.
I feel confident the reason Star Wars has more fans than Star Trek is that it is easier to get into -- in addition to being fantasy, where Star Trek has science fiction that involves human beings and Earth.
Our nephew is a good kid; but it probably helps if a young person has a kind of academic interest in history or fondness for the mid-century modern era. I don't know how many of those there are. I don't give up on them, though; tastes change over a lifetime and usually they deepen.
I would think it would be like wondering how many people became fans of Lost in Space after the movie. Probably not many, they are such different beasts. "Does Uhura just sit there the whole time?"
Speaking of TOS vs TNG, I think TNG might work better for young people (God I sound old) because take away the dated FX, hairstyles and what not it still presents itself much like a contemporary show. TOS on the other hand is gloriously 60s which I think may be more challenging for them to relate to.
Speaking of TOS vs TNG, I think TNG might work better for young people (God I sound old) because take away the dated FX, hairstyles and what not it still presents itself much like a contemporary show. TOS on the other hand is gloriously 60s which I think may be more challenging for them to relate to.
It sounds as if very few by percentage. ...
I watched the TOS series because of the movies
To clarify I did watch the series when I was a kid. I can recall that much but besides remembering Spock & Kirk I couldn't tell you anything about the series at all.
After the 2009 film I watched a few of the "best episodes" I enjoyed the TOS episodes I saw but not to the point that I can say I became a fan.
Then after I saw Into Darkness I decided to watch episodes again and something just clicked that hadn't before. I definitely checked more episodes this time and I also discovered how much I love McCoy. I remember in 2009 I focused just on the Spock/Kirk friendship but this time I realized that McCoy was also an important aspect and well I think he was that missing link for me. I like Kirk/Spock/McCoy more than Spock/Kirk.
As for the JJ movies. I enjoyed them well enough but I can't say I think they are the most amazing thing ever. They feel like a typical action movie. Maybe a bit better than a typical action movie, but I like the original series a lot more. I might not even have gone to Into Darkness except I am a big fan of Cumberbatch.
And also I have always liked classic TV and film so watching the original series after the movie was not a weird transition for me personally. In fact you can say I wanted to watch classic Trek because it is classic.
edit: I was born in the 1980's so I grew up during the TNG era (which I also watched but can barely recall much from it). I never saw any of the TOS movies until recently, probably because neither of my parents were fans.
trevanian
Rear Admiral
Would it have helped to mention that the 2nd pilot was (maybe still is, I dunno) the only TV episode in history to be deposited in the Smithsonian?
With the surprising-to-me large percentage of youngers who don't seem to 'reach' TOS, I'm wondering if any of them can get through FORBIDDEN PLANET or THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL or COLOSSUS THE FORBIN PROJECT, to name 3 pretty solid pics (even if FP has got some 50s-isms that are flinch-worthy.) I'm thinking 2001 would be totally off the table for most, if it is a matter of attention span.
I don't think it's a matter of attention span. I think it more comes down to the fact that the world newer generations have grown up in is very different than the world we grew up in.
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