The Sequel Hints for Improving Trek (S.H.I.T.) List

[Jeyl]

More WOMEN roles that

A. Actually do something
B. Aren't limited to fan service
C. Actually do what they say they're good at rather than have it be done off screen only to aid the male character.
D. Aren't limited to making the male characters feel better.
E. Aren't used for emo bait.
F. Aren't written out of the story for no good reason.
G. and again, actually do something.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Well, that wouldn't be very true to TOS would it?

 

[Borgminister]

Well, that wouldn't be very true to TOS would it?

Oh snap!

 

[Kirk1980]

Oh who cares!

It was dumb in TOS, too! Why repeat the same stupid mistakes? I thought all Trek people were conversant with the idea that those who fail to learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

 

[Aashlee]

I agree: Don't do things to please whiny fans. Concentrate on putting out a great, entertaining flick.

More McCoy: I would like to see the development of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triumvirate.

No story retreads from previous "Trek" incarnations. Original material, please.

I didn't mind the lens flares. I thought they added dimension. I'm not distracted by bright, shiny things, so go ahead.

The torch has been passed from TOS to this movie (thank you, Leonard). No Shatner. Thanks.

Be sure that the Spock-Uhura relationship develops in some fashion. They are both serious people who would not have had a relationship in the first place had they not had some deep affinity. To throw it out now would make the relationship in the first movie gratuitous.

Scotty's sidekick can go. No cutesy sidekicks.

I like a previous poster's suggestion about referencing Federation culture in general so we get an idea of the world(s) these characters exist in. That would add some dimension.

 

[npsf3000]

There is one thing that is seriously missing, and must be remedied in the next film without fail.

WHERE ARE THE REDSHIRTS?

I think we all deserve to see some red shirts die.

You could even do a little hit-counter as a cookie in the dvd release.

The Chief Engineer that was killed on Vulcan was a red shirt.

SHIRTS!!!

PLURAL!!!

 

[Cheapjack]

I agree: Don't do things to please whiny fans. Concentrate on putting out a great, entertaining flick.

More McCoy: I would like to see the development of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triumvirate.

No story retreads from previous "Trek" incarnations. Original material, please.

I didn't mind the lens flares. I thought they added dimension. I'm not distracted by bright, shiny things, so go ahead.

The torch has been passed from TOS to this movie (thank you, Leonard). No Shatner. Thanks.

Be sure that the Spock-Uhura relationship develops in some fashion. They are both serious people who would not have had a relationship in the first place had they not had some deep affinity. To throw it out now would make the relationship in the first movie gratuitous.

Scotty's sidekick can go. No cutesy sidekicks.

I like a previous poster's suggestion about referencing Federation culture in general so we get an idea of the world(s) these characters exist in. That would add some dimension.

Agreed. Do something that's genuinely GOOD, rather than just written to make money and please focus groups.

 

[Jeyl]

Do something that's genuinely GOOD, rather than just written to make money and please focus groups.

But wasn't this whole film written for money and to please focus groups? If they didn't want to please focus groups, why all the blatant homages? And aren't movies meant to make money in the first place?

 

[Triskelion]

Well it's a valuable resource, gauging fan reactions. Fans can be extremely knowledgeable, creative, and excellent bullshit detectors. For example, revisiting Khan sounds like a great idea, right? The kind of idea a bunch of suits would like, something they can quantify, something they can talk about. "Bring in that Johnny Depp fella, he's as hot as a barbecued baboon" "No, you want a strong sexy female Khan, like Starbuck but with an ethnic edge and a heart of gold", "No get me that laser-cats idiot, his numbers are through the roof!"

But the fans, you see, can tell you in advance - Khan was Ricardo Montelban, excellent vintage, but played. PLAYED. Not for this project, in this stage of the franchise. Now let's go Where No One Has Gone Before. And you know what that means? WRITING. Good old fashioned pencraft. Put that with the flash and dazzle, you've got a knockout combination. Professional science fiction writing. A monkey with a pen is just dangerous.

My personal take would be, yes, it would be nice to see some familiar aliens, but I love the idea of Man vs Nature for this one. Or at least, no XXX riffs for a while.
Let's see the captain and crew proving themselves. Don't need a big fleet battle for that. You DO however need to see them making character choices in their new roles.

We fans would rather wait for another home run than endure another Nemesis or Day the Earth Stood Still-type exercise.

Orci and Kurtzman are obviously fans. That's all that really matters. Just write from the heart! We'll take that ride with you.


- Oh, and blow shit up.

 

[Islander]

Oh who cares!

It was dumb in TOS, too! Why repeat the same stupid mistakes? I thought all Trek people were conversant with the idea that those who fail to learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

Just having a woman on the bridge, let alone a black one, was breaking bounderies at that time and that was the point of the show. Those bounderies are long gone and you could have all those characters all you want, it would be doll. If you want to maintain the breaking bounderies principles you have to use something awkward now like maybe a muslim woman character (with hijab and all) or a beyond obvious gay character (a pink shirt) or even an handicap person (and no jokes about 1 bleep for yes, 2 bleep for no).

 

[barnaclelapse]

I agree: Don't do things to please whiny fans. Concentrate on putting out a great, entertaining flick.

More McCoy: I would like to see the development of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triumvirate.

No story retreads from previous "Trek" incarnations. Original material, please.

I didn't mind the lens flares. I thought they added dimension. I'm not distracted by bright, shiny things, so go ahead.

The torch has been passed from TOS to this movie (thank you, Leonard). No Shatner. Thanks.

Be sure that the Spock-Uhura relationship develops in some fashion. They are both serious people who would not have had a relationship in the first place had they not had some deep affinity. To throw it out now would make the relationship in the first movie gratuitous.

Scotty's sidekick can go. No cutesy sidekicks.

I like a previous poster's suggestion about referencing Federation culture in general so we get an idea of the world(s) these characters exist in. That would add some dimension.

That sums up, especially in regards to Spock/Kirk/McCoy, getting rid of the sidekick, developing Spock/Uhura and referencing Federation culture. My other biggest thing is to have them slow things down a little for this next one. I'm not saying it has to be TMP-paced, but a little more breathing room for the actors to continue working on their versions of the characters would be ideal. I think there's plenty of room to slow down for that while still maintaing the breakneck action this first film did so well with.

I'd like to see Spock Prime once again contribute something meaningful to the film, and I don't want them to just randomly give him that Vulcan version of Alzheimer's (name escapes me) so we can get a tacked-on death scene to force some drama into the proceedings. His role in this was absolutely perfect. If he does come back, I'd like it to be in that same sort of capacity.

Also, I don't want to see any of the seven main crew members killed off for the sake of shock value. I've been having the weirdest feeling that Abarams might try it in the next film. Probably wrong, but the thought keeps popping into my head.

As far as Shatner goes, I'm really not worried about it. If he shows up, fine, if he doesn't, that's fine, too.

Either one works for me.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

I loved this flick, but a big movie convention still crept in that just won't go the fuck away and I hate that shit with the burning fire of a galaxy-wide FTL supernova.

DEATHS - I'd say lock down The Big Three - they're too cool to die, no one wants them to die and they wouldn't stay dead anyway - but leave the rest up for grabs. If it makes sense in the story to kill Chekov (Chekov understandably makes a bold but wrong move and it's gonna get him and a bunch of other people deader than Vulcan) - then kill the fucker. If it's clearly just an excuse to "shock" the audience (why the fuck is he even on this away mission?) - rewrite time, JJ.

REACTION TO THOSE DEATHS - People were getting whacked on the Kelvin and other people reacted to those deaths, if only briefly, before getting back to the job of getting the fuck out of Dodge. Why? They were all secondary characters. When people died or were in danger of dying on the Enterprise, I got the distinct impression that the main cast couldn't have given a fig beyond a perfunctory reaction shot flinch unless the victim was named in the title credits.

"Thousands of our fellow classmates just got pwned by the Romulan Death Squid when it wiped out Earth's entire reserve fleet in under three minutes? Yeah, that's rough. What were their names again? Trying to fight off apathy...wait, was that Orion chick with those noobs or us?"

or

"Oh, Ensign Rickey and twenty other crewmen bought the moon farm when a screaming green flechette torpedo waltzed through our shields and ripped us a new asshole on deck six? That's rough. But who can muster the energy to care? They're all faceless drones. It's not like we're their superior officers or we spent years at the academy with any of them."

versus

"Spock's down in the dumps? Oh no! What are we gonna do? I'm angsting already. Maybe Uhura should abandon her post to go make out with Spock. Is anyone actually bothered by the billions of deaths on Vulcan or are we all more concerned about how Spock is handling his torn between two worlds shit?"

Everyone on the bridge of Enterprise should have been devastated by the destruction of Vulcan, instead we got the patented movie shock montage of reaction shots, then back to business as usual. Spock should not have been the only one unable to return to duty.

I watched 9/11 unfold on live tv with my family from minutes after the first strike when people were still thinking a Cesna had made a wrong turn, not quite grasping the scale of the buildings or the size of the plane needed to make a smoking hole in its side that big. Everyone reacted differently as events progressed to the second strike, then the reports of attacks in Washington and Pennsylvania, then the collapses, but no one was making jokes or going back to banal bullshit seconds later. I can still see that second plane hit and both those towers come down and if I think about it at all it still bothers me as much today as it did eight years ago.

I didn't know anyone in New York or flying that day, so there was no particular fear that people I intimately cared about were hurt or dead, but it sure felt like I was watching my best friends die horribly.

Spock being a Human-Vulcan hybrid shouldn't have been an excuse for why he was the only one to be deeply effected by the death of Vulcan. It should have been the reason he was the only one able to hold his shit together long enough to go hide in the turbolift.

EDIT:

-I liked the Enterprise Brewery.
-Bring back Rachel Nichols.
-Women who actually DO something might be nice.
-No more OTOS guest spots, unless it's Old Spock giving info that triggers the next adventure.
-I want a villain AND a force of nature ... nuTREK up the Borg, baby, circa early TNG/Ent's Regeneration. No Queen, no factions, no Voyager deballsing, please.

 

[Peter the Younger]

Everyone on the bridge of Enterprise should have been devastated by the destruction of Vulcan, instead we got the patented movie shock montage of reaction shots, then back to business as usual. Spock should not have been the only one unable to return to duty.

I watched 9/11 unfold on live tv with my family from minutes after the first strike when people were still thinking a Cesna had made a wrong turn, not quite grasping the scale of the buildings or the size of the plane needed to make a smoking hole in its side that big. Everyone reacted differently as events progressed to the second strike, then the reports of attacks in Washington and Pennsylvania, then the collapses, but no one was making jokes or going back to banal bullshit seconds later. I can still see that second plane hit and both those towers come down and if I think about it at all it still bothers me as much today as it did eight years ago.

I think Spock's reaction carried about as much heft as the movie could support. The guy was perfectly willing to kill himself to stop Nero, that seems like a fairly intense reaction to me.

Having said that, I do see where you are coming from. But I guarantee you if they had struck all the humor from the last half of the movie, the general audience would have hated "the bummer ending", reviewers would have complained about how "the last half of the movie aspires to be some sort of 9/11 allegory in space, and fails." And they would be right, because you can't have Star Trek turn into BSG half way through the movie, it's just too jarring. Sure, you could have written it darker and more dramatically throughout, but then it's not Star Trek.

There is a place for quiet reflections on the aftermath of genocide, but sci-fi action adventure movies are not that place.

 

[pookha]

pookha, I saw earlier where you said all the bulkheads were not in yet due to rushed departure, yes? I liked that one.

really it would make sense for it not to be so open just divide out more in sectional bulkheads.

there is a line from enterprise about how during in solar system testing of the engine they had a problem and had to replace a bulkhead and some thing else.

perhaps they had some thing similar happen and just hadnt had a chance to refit the bulkheads back in before they got called out early.

at least they learned the lesson of installing the weaponry early.

 

[Cheapjack]

Do something that's genuinely GOOD, rather than just written to make money and please focus groups.

But wasn't this whole film written for money and to please focus groups? If they didn't want to please focus groups, why all the blatant homages? And aren't movies meant to make money in the first place?

I mean that they should do something that just isn't immediately recognised as good. Wasn't the TOS nearly taken off air a few times? Wasn't it a couple of years before people realised how good it was? There could be elements of that in the next film. Something that will last, rather than just pandering to current trends and formulas. There are hints around that pure action/adventure is going out of the window.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

And aren't movies meant to make money in the first place?

Yes.

 

[Cheapjack]

And aren't movies meant to make money in the first place?

Yes.

Can't creative works also be made to fill a void in the creator? To make them feel better? To make the reader/watcher feel better? To entertain? I've written poetry I've never made a cent for, but it made me feel better to write it and the praise I got made it worthwhile. A movie has to cover it's costs, I concede.

 

[Cakes488]

Do something that's genuinely GOOD, rather than just written to make money and please focus groups.

But wasn't this whole film written for money and to please focus groups? If they didn't want to please focus groups, why all the blatant homages? And aren't movies meant to make money in the first place?

I mean that they should do something that just isn't immediately recognised as good. Wasn't the TOS nearly taken off air a few times? Wasn't it a couple of years before people realised how good it was? There could be elements of that in the next film. Something that will last, rather than just pandering to current trends and formulas. There are hints around that pure action/adventure is going out of the window.

I hope you're right about pure action/adventure going out the window...but wait that's not accurate either. Why can't there be more thoughtful action/adventure movies....it would be a great combo.
Just as I wish there were porno movies with actual good plots...why can't the a good story be told where they all out fuck...?? WHY????

 

[xman]

I'd like to see the Enterprise fulfilling its mission (ie. " to seek out new life ...) and getting caught in the jam of their relationships. Adventure, yes, but the cast is your strongest asset. Excellent across the board. Do yourself a big favour and invest in some character development. Don't just write another cookie cutter bad guy whose story is the first thing you cut-and-paraphrase. A waste of Bana's talent.

 

[Cheapjack]

I think if they concentrate on the characters, it should be about big people doing big things, professionally, the way the series was.

It shouldn't be about who fancies who, and who's fallen out with who, 'cos they wouldn't share their sweeties. Voyager got like that.