Why Didn't They Do a True Reboot?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Yep, if they'd rebooted the thing folks would just scream bloody murder that they "disrespected the fans" and were "too lazy" to work within the old continuity.

If they'd tried to work within the old continuity, any liberty they took with the minutiae of a forty odd year-old TV series would have been used as grounds to dismiss the entire project.

They did the only really important thing: they succeeded in entertaining enough people, including most long-time fans, to bring Trek back from the dustbin yet again.

 

[Harvey]

Since Nimoy was still alive, I have no problem that Abrams, etc. put him in the movie. Why not take advantage of the possibility of featuring him in a ST movie one last time?

Now, if the series is remade in another twenty years, and the original cast is dead, it would be a lot harder (and a lot less worthwhile) to connect it to the past series.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If Abrams terms it an "alternate timeline", he isn't refusing to admit anything, he's just essentially calling the thing a rockfish....

I think I've haddock enough of all this reboot talk.

 

[lurok]

Yep, if they'd rebooted the thing folks would just scream bloody murder that they "disrespected the fans" and were "too lazy" to work within the old continuity.

If they'd tried to work within the old continuity, any liberty they took with the minutiae of a forty odd year-old TV series would have been used as grounds to dismiss the entire project.

They did the only really important thing: they succeeded in entertaining enough people, including most long-time fans, to bring Trek back from the dustbin yet again.

^^this. And I'm ashamed of myself for even contributing to this bs thread (but I'm a sucker for a catchy title )

 

[DestinyCaptain]

They could have done anything they wanted to do. Aside from those of us that know the 60's Trek., I have run into very few that know what Trek is beyond the name. The connection to TOS is mostly for us older people. The kids that this film was clearly geared would have never known or cared if it wasn't about Kirk and Spock. Understand, I don't hate this movie. It's well produced. It's well directed. It's pretty. It's full of pretty people. But I find it pretty much devoid of substance. I find the uneven and seemingly random choices of what to keep and not keep from the old distracting at best. But mostly, mostly... I didn't care about ANY of it. This is exactly the same way I felt about Transformers 2. In many ways I think this film is like that movie, minus the outta nowhere ghetto bots. That was just offensive. Trek11 is slick, loud, flashy, and lacks that something to make it special. I would have really like to see some one, anyone add something new to Trek and create a unique thing. I do acknowledge that many of the decisions made with respect to the film were made by committee, just as much of Trek has been for far too long. Anywho, I know my opinion is not popular so I'll be on my way...

 

[Merky]

It doesn't hurt for someone to try and give a few nods or respect the fanbase that has supported the show for so long.

 

[number6]

^ And yet that's exactly what they did and more.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Perhaps at some point we'll get past how they were able to create a new Trek universe from the old one day...maybe...hopefully?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

It would have hurt the movie very much to show the kinds of "respect" that some fans seem to think they were due.

 

[Merky]

Self entitlement and respect are two different things. Sometimes fans need to pull that stick out of their ass and take off the goggles.

 

[94253]

I like all the Trek shows and movies, including J.J.'s. Also, many of my friends who never paid attention to Trek in the past are now into it after the hype J.J.'s film brought. I think the 2009 film accomplished a lot in that sense. Even if it doesn't adhere to everyone's definitions of what it should or shouldn't be, I think it was a good thing.

 

[Ryan8bit]

I think they gave it way more respect than it was due. I mean, after hundreds of hours of episodes, the oh so revered continuity started to collapse in on itself. To even want to pay attention or make any sense of that means something, and I think it's far more than I would have done in their place.

I would have been fine with a reboot, especially if it removed a lot of the nonsense used to make this plot happen, but I think the way they did it is a bit more respectful. It's a tough line to walk though.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't know why people can't just accept that TPTB were in a no-win scenario and did the best job they thought they could of handling it. No matter how they handled it people would have complained.

QFT. They were walking a tightrope above a moat filled with sharks, crocodiles and hungry octopi, and they managed not to fall off. Give the poor guys some credit.

I'm a huge Star Trek fan, but I was in favor of doing a "hard reboot" of the franchise. I was simply interested in a film with a less convoluted story.

Cheer up, only the first movie needed to be convoluted. Now that that's out of the way, they can just forget they're in an alternate universe and progress as though it were a true reboot.

See? All the advantages of a true reboot and 50% less bitching. Well maybe 35%-ish...

They could have done anything they wanted to do. Aside from those of us that know the 60's Trek., I have run into very few that know what Trek is beyond the name.

You're right, I think they mainly showed respect for TOS because they're fans (particularly Orci), but they could have made some utter travesty with no connection to Star Trek, less intelligence and style than a Transformers movie, and still made tons of money.

We should all be grateful they didn't do that and really give us something to bitch about. Because that's the most likely alternative to what we did get. The notion that we might have gotten some mythical "perfect" movie, from an industry geared towards the tastes of 12 year old boys, is absurd. Have you seen the crap Trek is competing with in the multiplex?

 

[Lord Garth FOI]

They intended to limit the number of people they pissed off and/or confused, and it worked.

Agreed

It was a reboot. 100% reboot. Total and complete reboot.
They only came up with the non-reboot rationalizations (much like White House publicists) so many in our merry group wouldn't have a bitch fit

 

[BillJ]

They only came up with the non-reboot rationalizations (much like White House publicists) so many in our merry group wouldn't have a bitch fit

But why? I've been told time and again that I (being a long time fan) wasn't the target audience for this movie. I was also told there were enough Trekkies out there to make an impact on the box office.

 

[creek_chub]

Aside from those of us that know the 60's Trek., I have run into very few that know what Trek is beyond the name. The connection to TOS is mostly for us older people. The kids that this film was clearly geared would have never known or cared if it wasn't about Kirk and Spock

While I wouldn't probably consider myself a "kid," I also wasn't even a twinkle in my mother's eye when TOS was on the air. That being said, my husband and I most likely would not have had much interest in going to see this movie if it hadn't been Kirk and Spock. And that's not to say either of us had an active interest in TOS, we knew the basics of the show and who the characters were, but neither of us were "fans."

I don't know, maybe we're the exception, not the norm. Except I find that hard to believe when I've talked to those younger than myself who knew who Kirk and Spock were even before the movie.

 

[Set Harth]

It was a reboot. 100% reboot. Total and complete reboot.

Featuring characters who remember the entire backstory of previous canon, having lived through it and participated in it. That does not happen in a true reboot.

 

[Avon]

a true reboot being what exactly?

take the name 'star trek' and coming up with an epic tale about the migration of a community of stars that must triumph over adversity by outwitting an evil black hole? starring tom cruise.

 

[chardman]

Eh, I call BS on their whole thing.
They wanna have their cake and eat it, too.

Well, seeing as how there's no point in having cake if you don't plan to eat it, and you can't eat cake if you don't have any. The two states aren't at all mutually exclusive, but are, in fact, pretty much mutually reliant.

And what's this nonsense of being "head over heels" in love? Isn't one's head normally over one's heals? It's pretty much the default state, whether one is sitting or standing. There's nothing remotely remarkable about it. Thus the old adage is akin to saying "I'm completely normally positioned in love". WTF?

 

[Devon]

And why do they call it "Ovaltine?" The mug is round, the jar is round. They should call it "Roundtine."

Gold, I tell ya! Gold!