Nicely said, Frakes. Hard to argue.
I do not find it hard to argue.
Regardless of wether I like the TOS characters or era, I find something very uncreative, pathetic and even frightening about Star Trek just giving up, rolling over and just sticking with the TOS characters from now on till the sun goes nova.
How AWFUL would it be if there never, ever again was a female lead but Uhura, never ever again an Alien character but Spock? Never ever again a captain but Kirk? That's awfully restricting.
And I would say the same about ST remaking TNG forever and ever, only that it at least has more and movie varied characters.
It's a general trend in our culture in the last few years that we look back rather than forward. Nostalgia is running out of control as the past is somehow seen more desirable as the future. People cling to "used to be" and "back then everything was cooler!" like frightened children. There used to be a time when films could be creative or even art. Today its all brand recognition and adaptations (even of effing boardgames!) and remake and reboot after remake and reboot.
Star Trek is supposed to give us hope for the future, yet now its also become a victim of nostalgia.
I don't see creating a new crew as watering down the franchise. Creating 3 series at once again would be watering it down (as we have seen in Enterprise) as well as stuffing Kirk's era full of more and more events or endlessly retelling it.
A new crew could be a anew start, drawing a line again and just going forward from there.
And if sticking forever in a loop with the TOS era is the only way for ST to live, then I, personally wish it would die or have stayed dead.
Again I do not begrudge anybody their enjoyment of the new movies, I am just not a fan of the general trend they stay for.