After Forty Years...
I'm beginning to believe that TIME TRAVEL is the ONLY WAY to be able to explain all the differences and intricacies of Trek.
Thanks to "FIRST CONTACT" & "ENTERPRISE" (among other's), we have a lot of wiggle-room.
No. Thanks to writers who want to tell a specific story we have "wiggle room." A great deal of continuity has been sacrificed in all series to accommodate the needs of the story. Look at how many times writers ignore rules about using transporters with shields up, firing phasers at warp, food slots in the transporter room, Spock's actual rank, Vulcan/Vulcanian, the gender of Data's cat, etc.
This is a new creative team. What they choose to do with the franchise is entirely up to them, as long as people go to see it. There are only so many ways of "keeping it fresh" that will satisfy the needs of newer (and younger) audiences without pissing off older fans. The producers have said that there will be plenty of things for "us," while reintroducing a whole new generation to Star Trek. For that to happen, it makes sense to go back to Kirk and Spock. The way I see it, only a vocal few will be pissed of no matter what, especially those who would be upset by things like the colour of Kirk's eyes or whether or not the bridge is rotated off axis to conform to the model of the ship. Those people will never be persuaded to see anything that isn't a strict carbon copy of their personal concept of what Star Trek is or should be. There are far fewer people that care about such trivialities than those who just want to see a great film.
Do I wish that they had kept all the TOS cardboard and blinking lights?? To be sure!! But how many 15-25 year olds are going to find that believable or entertaining?
We can love a classic design, but we aren't in the market group that spends the most money on movies, t-shirts, toys, posters. From what I've seen of most sci-fi fans, most of these people will download the film and never spend a dime on the other stuff (except the toys--damn straight I am buying a phase and a communicator!!). That's not just the few disgruntled fans here, but for the "tech" community at large.
The design of the film certainly hints to something familiar to all Trek fans, but to expect it to be
exactly the same as a TV show in the 60s is wholly unrealistic.
If this film tells a great, compelling story, these minor detail discrepancies are certainly more than forgivable. If the movie sucks, if won't be because of the little arrowheads sewn into the uniforms or the design of the ship.
I think people are overreacting to change and should see it in perspective and context before dismissing it completely.