So what will fandom do when Star Trek XI is a huge hit?

[Superman]

Basil said:
I very much recommend the kissing of women as a hobby.

This would end up being a quite expensive hobby for Mr. Bailey, as he'd surely have to pay any woman for even this small a service...

And oddly enough, though I do despise Bailey in general, I find I have to agree with him here. Sadly, he's right about the repercussions of a successful new Trek, though I'm hoping it doesn't unfold in quite the way he's described with such prescient wisdom here.

\S/

 

[Kurgan]

Trek fandom will take the most significant step it has taken in 7 years.Who'll be part of it? Those who have always been Trek fans that have the ability to like the old AND the new.Those who cling to one or two particular series and put down the rest won't have a place.Simple as that.Most fans are tired of hearing the arguments(i didn't say friendly debate).There will likely also be new Trek fans that whose
involvement might be only as deep as the new movie and also might be turned on to the previous series and movies as well.How much they get involved and with what material will be up to them.

There's also going to be alot of new and mostly younger actors that will hit the convention scene and will likely draw many first time convention goers as well.How much and to what extent remains to be seen.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

jon17HoHoHo1 said:
I think Doctor Who is a great comparison.

Not sure about the US (still pretty niche over there I would imagine), but over here in the United of Kingdoms its bleeding huge! Its never been so popular.

Walk into any shop and the moment and they are littered, littered I tells yer with a variety of Doctor Who merchandise. Not just the toy stores. Everywhere. Everywhere.

Doctor Who toys are the number one seller over here. Every child wants a Doctor who toy for xmas (I think the DALEK voicechanger is outselling the OPTIMUS PRIME voicechanger...just) Given that the show was cancelled 20 years ago with viewing figures of around 3 and a half million, and hasnt exactly been massively popular until the relaunch - I find that astonishing.

At the time, it was a joke.

Now, it is literally a national treasure again.

Roll on Xmas 2008. "Star Trek Zero" :thumbsup:

This is more or less what I'm thinking. It'll be huge. It'll be cool to be a Trekkie again. It may only last the season, though, since it's a movie event like Spiderman 3 and The Transformers.

 

[ancient]

I'm just glad we aren't getting yet another stale Trek product. The last movie had mold on it. In the years leading up to it the product in general had become so imbred it felt like I was watching reruns when watching a new episode.

Here's to Bringing Back Kirk.

 

[donners22]

I wonder how well it will be supported by the media. I recall when First Contact came out here, the paper with the highest circulation in Australia had a terrific, **** review. It also featured a half-page article on why Star Wars was better than Star Trek, and another column on dealing with Trekkies (which ended with "running away would be your best option").

Compare it with Doctor Who all you like - that doesn't get the treatment Trek does...

 

[Holytomato]

"That's why I want a faithful continuation by some fresh new writers and cast ala Doctor Who."

Define the word faithful. Time Crash was recently shown and fans of the old show screamed, "Its not like it was!!!! "

In nuBSG the toasters are shown and the old BSG fans screamed "Its not like it was!!!! "

The more they scream they more I laugh because they make it obvious how good nu is. :thumbsup:

 

[I Grok Spock]

ManOnTheWave said:

It'll be cool to be a Trekkie again.

This must be some new usage of "cool" with which I am unfamiliar.

 

[Holytomato]

I never did tell you the story of "Holy Tomato and the Nerd Swim Team" did I?

 

[ancient]

It'll be less uncool, anyway.


But regardless of whether the movie flops or tops, I expect the internet to explode. You all better do your part, because I don't want to be disappointed!

So far the bitching has been very mild, considering they've recast Kirk. I was expecting far more deeply philosophical rants. Where have all the nutcakes gone?!

 

[ManOnTheWave]

I Grok Spock said:

ManOnTheWave said:

It'll be cool to be a Trekkie again.

This must be some new usage of "cool" with which I am unfamiliar.

You need not be ashamed to be alive, weeping alone in a basement apartment that may or may not be at a parent's house.

 

[FabiusMaximus]

What will they do? What they have to do. What they always do. Turn bliss into a fighting chance for chaos.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I Grok Spock said:

ManOnTheWave said:

It'll be cool to be a Trekkie again.

This must be some new usage of "cool" with which I am unfamiliar.

Really! I wasn't aware of the fact that it was EVER 'cool' to be a Trekkie....

So I don't know what this 'again' business is all about!

 

[Solkar]

23skidoo said:
Even in the best-case scenario, that Trek XI makes Star Trek relevant again, especially for the mass audience who have dismissed it as a joke, it will forever fracture the face of Trek fandom, because you will have those who want to stick with the originals and those who want to move forward.

One thing that might happen, though, is it might also in a perverse way UNITE the already fractured fandom. Right now Trekkies are split into TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT camps, with the occasional overlap and of course the last camp which is "All Series". I think the new film may result in there being only 2 camps at the end of the day: pre-Trek XI Trek and post-Trek XI Trek, and that actually might be better than the infighting we've seen over the last decade or so, taking us back, in a sense, to the simpler says of 1987 when the only fistfights (verbal and otherwise) that broke out were between TOS and TNG supporters.

This assumes Trek XI does its job and is a hit.

If it fails, then it'll simply create an additional faction of fans who enjoyed it and will be forever fighting against those who despise it. Like VOY and ENT fans.

Cheers!

Alex

I don't know that unification is possible, considering the splintering goes back (at least) to the second season of TOS, which some people reject. Some people rejected TMP because it didn't really seem like Trek to them.

I'm 36 and grew up with TOS in reruns, enjoyed all the TOS movies, TNG, DS9, then was really disenchanted with the TNG movies, Voyager and ENT.

I love the renaissance we're experiencing in TOS ... TOS-R and such. I'm really looking forward to this film ... if nothing else, it will be a refreshing change from the bland, stale product we got from Berman, et al. People joke about TOS having cardboard sets, but everything Trek (except DS9) from 1994 on was like video cardboard for me.

I think this film presents a real opportunity for renewed interest and relevance. I'd like nothing better than for this to be, essentially, the pilot for a new series set in the TOS era, whether it focuses on the Enterprise or not. That's the era that I grew up with, and that's an era I'd like explored more.

And it's a bit cathartic in a way ... I think fandom for a long time has been pretty possessive of Trek. Casting new characters in some of the roles I think marks a bit of a release. I feel a bit like I'm letting go in the interest of drawing in a new generation. We can be respectful of the past without slavish devotion or throwing it away completely, and I think the people behind this project understand that and are striving for a good mix.

I can't wait.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

CindyLouWho said:
Really! I wasn't aware of the fact that it was EVER 'cool' to be a Trekkie....

So I don't know what this 'again' business is all about!

Sure. When TWoK came out in 1982, it was popular with both Trek fans and non-Trek fans alike. The same with TVH (even moreso). Nobody was embarrassed to say "I'm going to see...(those films)".

...However I suppose, these films could fall under ancient's "less uncool" remark.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

Jackson_Roykirk said:

CindyLouWho said:
Really! I wasn't aware of the fact that it was EVER 'cool' to be a Trekkie....

So I don't know what this 'again' business is all about!

Sure. When TWoK came out in 1982, it was popular with both Trek fans and non-Trek fans alike. The same with TVH (even moreso). Nobody was embarrassed to say "I'm going to see...(those films)".

...However I suppose, these films could fall under ancient's "less uncool" remark.

Okay...well 'less uncool' I can buy.

But I don't think we have ever tipped the scales out of the red on the cool-o-meter.

 

[ancient]

But I don't think we have ever tipped the scales out of the red on the cool-o-meter.

A critically low mega-Fonzie reading? Damn.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Jackson_Roykirk said: When TWoK came out in 1982, it was popular with both Trek fans and non-Trek fans alike. The same with TVH (even moreso). Nobody was embarrassed to say "I'm going to see...(those films)".

No, but TWOK wasn't the big deal of the Summer, either. It opened well, but other movies - "An Officer And A Gentleman" and "E.T." in particular - were the really big hits that people talked about.

 

[Outpost4]

You are right that these were bigger movies that summer but TWOK held its own. Remember all the great reviews it got? From Rolling Stone to the New York Times, it was very well received.

NOW this is more like it: after the colossal, big-budget bore that was ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture,'' here comes a sequel that's worth its salt. The second Star Trek movie is swift, droll and adventurous, not to mention appealingly gadget-happy. It's everything the first one should have been and wasn't.
.
- New York Times, Janet Maslin, June 4, 1982

 

[Plum]

I remember it playing against E.T. and, man, I went to see E.T. and the theatre had people sitting [/i]in the aisles[/i]! That movie wasn't big, it was huge!

Really, I think the thing people noted about ST:TWoK was that anyone bothered to see it.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

DrunkenSanta said:
You are right that these were bigger movies that summer but TWOK held its own.

Yep, it made about eighty million dollars - a successful film ("Porky's", BTW, made over one hundred million; that was also the Summer of "Rocky III" which finished as the second most successful film of the year). Nonetheless it was not one of the big hit, must-see movies that Summer - just a movie that did well.