There seems to be two camps on this board now - those that are unhappy about how the new film will screw with established Star Trek, and those that tell those people to get over it. Aside from the fact that Trek is personally important to some people there is a very valid reason that an unhappy fanbase is critically important.
The success of a new Star Trek venture is akin to the success of a political campaign. If you don't motivate your base and get a large turnout of your base you won't win. Many believe that a big reason McCain lost the presidential election is that the Democrat base was supermotivated, and the Republican base was undermotivated. Grabbing new voters or bringing people over from the other side is important, but it isn't how you win. (I DO NOT want this thread to degenerate into a political discussion, I'm simply using politics as an analogy). Star Trek isn't much different. Whether it is a new show like Enterprise or a movie like Nemesis that both fell short, success depends on repeat business by the fanbase. With fan support established you can work on expanding it.
Take The Dark Knight as an example. It didn't make all that money on one-time tickets sales. It made so much money because of return sales. I saw the film three times in the theaters myself. In order for Star Trek to have a future on the big screen or small screen this movie has to do better than be profitable; it has to make much money. The way it will do that is with repeat business from the fanbase, and first time viewers that simply think it is so good it is worth paying for a second time.
I suspect that even the people that are genuinely mad at this effort will go to see the film once, at least out of curiosity. But if they don't, and if the base does not turn out more than once, the film probably will not be as successful as it needs to be. That is why Abrams and crew have always tried to be so clever with their language about this film, i.e. not a reboot, not a reimagining, more of an origin story, etc. They knew that they had to keep longtime fans in their camp. The problem is that the product doesn't seem to reflect their descriptions, so far.
Enough of the movie has leaked out that we know that they've tinkered with things a great deal. Now, whether that bothers you is not the point. The fact is a lot of fans are bothered by it, and that's the last thing Abrams needs. He needs an energized fanbase that will support this thing so that it can succeed. You build upon your base, not in spite of it.
So, feel free to give people a hard time for their hard feelings about how the filmmakers have messed with canon and ignored thirty years of design heritage. But by downplaying fan displeasure you ignore a looming problem, in my opinion. Just ask Brannon and Braga.
The success of a new Star Trek venture is akin to the success of a political campaign. If you don't motivate your base and get a large turnout of your base you won't win. Many believe that a big reason McCain lost the presidential election is that the Democrat base was supermotivated, and the Republican base was undermotivated. Grabbing new voters or bringing people over from the other side is important, but it isn't how you win. (I DO NOT want this thread to degenerate into a political discussion, I'm simply using politics as an analogy). Star Trek isn't much different. Whether it is a new show like Enterprise or a movie like Nemesis that both fell short, success depends on repeat business by the fanbase. With fan support established you can work on expanding it.
Take The Dark Knight as an example. It didn't make all that money on one-time tickets sales. It made so much money because of return sales. I saw the film three times in the theaters myself. In order for Star Trek to have a future on the big screen or small screen this movie has to do better than be profitable; it has to make much money. The way it will do that is with repeat business from the fanbase, and first time viewers that simply think it is so good it is worth paying for a second time.
I suspect that even the people that are genuinely mad at this effort will go to see the film once, at least out of curiosity. But if they don't, and if the base does not turn out more than once, the film probably will not be as successful as it needs to be. That is why Abrams and crew have always tried to be so clever with their language about this film, i.e. not a reboot, not a reimagining, more of an origin story, etc. They knew that they had to keep longtime fans in their camp. The problem is that the product doesn't seem to reflect their descriptions, so far.
Enough of the movie has leaked out that we know that they've tinkered with things a great deal. Now, whether that bothers you is not the point. The fact is a lot of fans are bothered by it, and that's the last thing Abrams needs. He needs an energized fanbase that will support this thing so that it can succeed. You build upon your base, not in spite of it.
So, feel free to give people a hard time for their hard feelings about how the filmmakers have messed with canon and ignored thirty years of design heritage. But by downplaying fan displeasure you ignore a looming problem, in my opinion. Just ask Brannon and Braga.
