I think the important question here is will the carpet match the drapes?
Ok, it's not that important.
Ok, it's not that important.
Romulans to be bald in Trek XI, and another major spoiler
- Thread starter StarTrek1701
- Start date
Besides, having a handful of bald romulans tells us nothing about Romulans in general, does it?
Maybe these are Hare Krishna Romulans???
I just watched Star Trek III the other day, and I was surprised to see some bald Vulcans in the ceremony at the end of the movie where they united Spock's katra with his body. So, I'm perfectly at ease with the decision to make bald Romulans because if there were bald Vulcans there surely can be bald Romulans too. 
My preference still would have been for the Romulans to look like Vulcans and trust that the audience would be smart enough to tell the difference based on the movie's dialogue and the characters' acting/actions, but oh well. All hail the bald Romulans!
My preference still would have been for the Romulans to look like Vulcans and trust that the audience would be smart enough to tell the difference based on the movie's dialogue and the characters' acting/actions, but oh well. All hail the bald Romulans!
number6
Vice Admiral
Too late, methinks. Since the film includes:
1. Romulans
2. Federation Starships Named Enterprise
3. Time Travel
When Enterprise is <slightly> referenced, Trek fans who hate Enterprise should be suprised. Trek fans who love Enterprise should be surprised and delighted. And non Trek fans won't even know.
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was it around for the movies coming out? I Can imagine THAT discussion. "What the hell is wrong with that Klingons head. Jesus christ they all have it, what the hell is going on here".
Check out some old "Starlogs", or the first articles about TMP in "The Best of Trek" paperbacks.
Some fans were so appalled by early publicity shots of "their Klingons" had been changed for ST:TMP that they wanted to declare that TMP was set in an alternate universe. Not to mention the changes to the Enterprise, the "pyjamas" uniforms, Scotty's mustache, McCoy's beard, Spock's long hair, Kirk's hairline, the intrusion of Decker the usurper...
"Who are those Munchkins!" one fan declared about the Klingons, but everyone seemed to calm down after a few screenings, and TMP is looked upon with fondness by many. Now.
Yep, some Trek fans are in severe need of chilling. I suppose it's a trait of the breed.
Look... I know you keep mentioning this because it's what you remember... and there's nothing wrong with that. But the "fan reaction" to TMP wasn't so much like that. The thing is, there were only a handful of people around at that point who really felt that way but their protestations made for good entertainment. It's like the tiny little group of people who are mad that BSG doesn't still have "funny robots who can't shoot straight." A lot of people would love to see the TOS Cylons done "right" and a lot of people are glad that they got replaced with "Blade Runner style Replicants" in the new series, but very few people really wanted to see the "stumbly-bumbly" portrayal again.
Nevertheless, because it's ENTERTAINING for some folks... especially in light of the tendency for some people to really enjoy tearing others down... those few people somehow get the most "press." Even if there are only two or three of 'em in the WORLD, somehow everyone else gets tarred with that same brush.
Very few fans were really upset with the Klingon "redesign" or the Enterprise "redesign," but those who were got a lot of press. What most people didn't like about TMP, instead, was the PLODDING storytelling style. If the story had been exciting and gripping, nobody would've really cared about a series of strange uniform changes which seemed to be present mainly to justify spending money on new costumes and didn't make any sense in light of the storytelling. How many versions of the uniform did Kirk wear during that movie, after all???
Most people I knew were pretty jazzed about seeing a "real-looking" Klingon starship, and Klingons who looked like the originals but still seemed ALIEN instead of just being humans with dark pancake and bushy eyebrows. (For the record, I was more annoyed with the "redefining down" of Klingon makeup in ST-III... because the TMP version, showing the spinal column forming the "skull" structure, made a lot more logical sense than "fingerprints on the forehead.")
The new uniforms weren't bad... they were just ... BLAH. The only part anyone really hated about those was the presence of the "pajama footies" and honestly, the actors were harsher about that than any of US were!
But those things weren't what the real, substantial criticism of TMP was over... despite how the "TV magazines" tended to want to portray it (with a group of "living in mom's basement" type holding protest signs or whatever... hey, it makes for good press!) The STORY of TMP was what so many of us found... well... UNDERINSPIRING. Which is disappointing in any movie, and more disappointing when you've been waiting for a decade for it to come out. The general reaction was "what a wasted opportunity."
And I haven't seen any significant change in that position over the next three decades since then. Have you guys?
I'm under the impression that very few fans are upset with the recasting, or "going backwards, not forward", or any of the other STXI criticisms, but todays crying fans have a much bigger soapbox than the fans did in 1979.
Well, even here (on the TrekBBS) there have been remarkably few people who just outright oppose either of those things...
Most of what I've seen (and I share a few of those) isn't that I object, so much as it "gives me reason to be concerned." It could be done very well... or it could be done in a way that'll kill what's been there, permanently... a final nail into the coffin, so to speak.
I know, I know, there are people who'll immediately jump in and say "well, Star Trek is dead already." But that's not true. Rather, it's "resting" and I'd have, honestly, much preferred had it been given a loooooong rest before anyone came back and did more.
But even if someone is a believer in the "Trek is dead already" line... there's no question but that it's still held in esteem by some people. So, if that's the case (if it's already "dead")... the risk becomes one of "desecrating the memory of the dearly departed."
In either case, in other words, there's a RISK. And the approach being taken is definitely fraught with risks. It may "revive" the sleeping franchise... or it may kill it off the rest of the way, going so far as to divide those few who might still want it revived into warring factions.
What I think we see here is about that, rather than inherently opposing recasting or whatever. But that's just my impression... and my own perspective for that matter.
No, and hence Nero's ears being chopped off.
^
^^Exactly -- just because we -- the audience -- know that Nero is a romulan doesn't mean that young Kirk, et al. will ever find out.
^^Exactly -- just because we -- the audience -- know that Nero is a romulan doesn't mean that young Kirk, et al. will ever find out.
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I was in college when TMP came out and I have to agree with you on all points. The "mom's basement" group got a lot of press, but those who filled the theater -and fellowshipped afterward- agreed with us. I remember seeing the new Klingons and going, "Oh cool! Now that's a bad guy!" So did many others.
I agree here, too. I feel very positive about this movie. The more I read about it -and what those who HAVE seen it say- the more excited I get.
But my memories are in error?
And that is what you remember. In your part of town.
I entered ST fandom because of TMP. It took a long time before I felt my my views about what made good ST were being accepted by some of my fellow fans. Because there were any number of fans who were displeased by any number of what they considered missteps with TMP.
I'm not going only by what I read. (And things like "Starlog" and "The Best of Trek" carried both positive and negative views and reviews.) It's the people I met and associated with, in various states of Australia, and a convention in attended in the US. I'm also very aware how the media takes and promotes wacky opinions as typical.
But I stand by the claim that general reaction among fans (and a few loud reservations) to the news of JJ making a new ST movie is not all that different to: the coming of TAS, the announcements about "Phase II" TMP, the death of Spock in ST II, his will-he-or-won't he resurrection in ST III, the coming of TNG (being a partial resurrection of "Phase II"), DS9, and so on.
Not everyone in fandom was optimistic about any of these, and not everyone was pessimistic. As we are seeing again now.
Hmmm, so Sulu fights Romulans...Kirk is nearby...I can hear it now, somebody is going to complain that nobody knows Roms look like Vulcans until Balance of Terror, which, of course, happens after Trek XI's plotline.
