Trek XI = New Doctor WHO?

[Charlie Kelly]

For some of us, the point is not that "new" Trek is like "new" Who in terms of its relationship to what came before--it is that "new" Who is well done and it would be nice for "new" Trek to achieve that level of quality. In that sense, as two "fresh" takes on long-standing franchises, they are comparable.

I can see your point but I still think it is difficult to compare. They are both 'fresh takes' but done in completely different ways.

Charlie

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

If anything, Trek XI will probably be the Star Trek equivelant of the Doctor Who telemovie from 1996. A failed attempt to relaunch the series that ended up being reviled by the fans.

Nope.

Star Trek will have to wait another decade for its RTD esque writer to bring it back to television as a top-quality TV show that will rock in the ratings.

No such thing will happen if this movie fails.

Hell, no such thing will happen. Period. I have spoken.

 

[IcecreamLtDan]

Could be the answer to a trivia question one day.

 

[Lindley]

The Sarah Jane show that was spun off from Who is far more a "kids' show"

Yeah, Sarah Jane Adventures is also the answer to "why aren't kids' shows today as good as they were when I was little?", in the sense that it is. It's like watching an old favorite that you've never seen before.

 

[Kirk1980]

For some of us, the point is not that "new" Trek is like "new" Who in terms of its relationship to what came before--it is that "new" Who is well done and it would be nice for "new" Trek to achieve that level of quality. In that sense, as two "fresh" takes on long-standing franchises, they are comparable.

As long as it's Blink quality and not Voyage of the Damned....we're good

 

[Rarewolf]

Your world of fantasy is far more powerful than anything seen on the screen - this film is going to be box office gold!

Oh I think some Star Trek fans are too stubborn to let it fail - if some would spend $$$ on Enterprise - a lost cause (in that it was never winnable) here cash can perhaps make a difference. But then the Dr Who TVM did well enough rating wise in the UK, and many fans still hated it. (I'm not one who did incidentally)

I think realistically it would have to do very badly to not be a trilogy. Its then a case of can it survive the trilogy.

Incidentally I think who is now at a mid 90s Treks level - keep adding the spinoffs, it will notice when they and the merchandise decline. But perhaps they are better rationed.

One thing RTD was very big on (SM perhaps even more so) keep continuity references to a minimum. This Trek movie sounds like its trying to squeze in as many as possible. The Dr Who TVM tried to explain things that went fine unsaid, and made a right pigs ear of it.

 

[Heeroyuy]

Thought I'd revive this.


It seems that there are certain similarities at this point with the heavy marketing/promotion that WHO received in Spring of '05, and also the critical acclaim (Although WHO lately seems a bit tired, it is getting a new producer and actor though).

Now it remains to be seen if the "ratings"(Box office) will be as good I'm not sure TREK XI will be the pop culture phenomenom that WHO became in Britain, with the stars such as Tennant and Barrowman practically everywhere....so we'll see.


I actually think an interesting comparison would be with Japan's Gundam anime series. After the "Universal Century" story had been to the well too many times (Including the "Next Generation" F91 and V) and became a victim of it's own canon/adherence to continuity (How many Gundams can they fit into the OYW period anyway?), they created Alternate timelines which sort of told the same classic story, but with different takes on it that were 'hip' at the time. "UC" the prime timeline still goes on but it's been mainly reduced to spin-offs instead of TV series/movies. I think perhaps we'll see the TOS/TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT "Prime" timeline continue, but in books and comics, not in film and TV.

 

[btflash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JhAPkkLgtI

 

[seigezunt]

If Trek XI is anywhere near as good as NuWho I'll be ecstatic.

Seconded.

Ditto.

 

[shapeshifter]

I like the NuWho but Trek is my first love. I want Trek to be better than Who.

RTotD: A Dr. Who - Trek crossover comic would be an event.

 

[Theonethatis]

Now...hopefully this doesn't start a riot or anything but I think that Orci, Kurtzman, Abrams et al are doing to Trek what Russel T Davies did to Doctor WHO.

That is: keep the basic concept, strip it down and replace much of the old show with new attention grabbing, mass audience grabbing level writing.

I don't have a problem with an old show being reinvented but like with WHO, I wonder at what expense to the older show? Both old Trek and old WHO were never perfect, had problems and so on but they were still damn good shows.

Yet the vanguard of the newer version always seem to paint the older incarnations as stupid and lacking in flash and style, ignoring the fact flash and style usually weren't what people remembered from either show.

It's been the overall whole of a good characters, good actors, good plots, some great ideas which made each series the successes they were.

I just don't want to end up feeling the same way about new Trek as I do about new WHO.

Give me an update, sure but don't completely do away with everything in favor of making it appealing to the masses.

I Love the new Dr who, So this is good for me.

 

[Vic G]

I love both old and new Who; I have to say, for me personally, some of the episodes of New Who have been some of the most powerful I've seen on TV for a while. Besides, if the new movie can muster up the same amount of mass appeal that RTD has managed for DW here in the UK, then I'll consider it a job well done!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It actually reminds me a lot of the Lost in Space movie. You got the remake/reboot thing going on, lots of flash/boom/in-your-face stuff going on, a more angsty/sexual versions of the relationships, a time travel plot with a future version of one of the characters, a big mu-ha-ha evil guy and so on. For cheesy FX Instead of bullet time we get lens flares though.

At least that's what I get from the trailers so far.

I'm looking forward to seeing it but have some trepidations. I wouldn't mind a story with future Spock, I wouldn't mind a story with our "new" crew but I really don't care for another "pass the torch" thing. We have a villain in a big kewl spaceship doing dastardly things with a giant space drill. We have the whole "EXTREEEEEME!" vibe which kind of reminds me of the overblown bits from Nemesis.

That's the negative bit, I'm hoping that a fresh take and attitude has some positives though, Trek can be a bit creaky sometimes so hopefully that will be better, and I have liked a lot of JJ Abrams' work so I think he has more to bring to the table than the aforementioned project. And I have gotten some level of enjoyment from the Lost in Space movie, it just seemed that it could have been more.

RTD's Doctor Who is a new beast, I don't care for everything about it but I have liked a lot of it. I think it's the nature of these revivals that some things will be lost and that's the part that's hard as a long-time viewer, to try to get past that and enjoy what's been put on the table. I hope in the end it's really recognizable as some form of *Star Trek* and not just some generic space epic.