January 15, 2007 11:50
Star Trek to World: I'm Not Dead Yet
I can't quite get my mind around the fact that J.J. Abrams now basically owns the entire Star Trek franchise. After the success of Alias Paramount handed him the whole thing, like a Hummer or a couple extra points on the back end. Star Trek is a living, breathing cultural entity. You can't just give it to somebody.
Except you can and they did. Abrams cleaned house, ousted all the old franchise stalwarts, and last week he told EW that his plan for Star Trek XI will focus on the early post-Academy years of Kirk and Spock, and that he's got a complete script in hand. Quote: ''On the one hand, for people who love Star Trek, the fix that they will get will be really satisfying,'' says Abrams. ''For people who've never seen it or know it vaguely, I think they will enjoy it equally, because the movie does not require you to know anything about Star Trek. I would actually prefer [that] people don't know the series, because I feel like they will come to it with an open mind.'' Lots of good intel and linx here.
Playing oddsmaker feels a little ghoulish -- I'm like a Roman soldier shooting dice at the foot of the cross here -- but it's worth noting the following:
-- Abrams was also handed the Mission Impossible franchise to revitalize. He made MI3. Boo.
-- The track records of the screenwriters are awful (incidentally the co-screenwriter is Alex Kurtzman, not Alex Christian, as EW reports)
-- on the other hand, he could take the franchise in a darker, crueler, grittier direction, the way Bond went this year. Let's hope Abrams was taking notes when he saw Casino Royale.
At the very least I think cleaning house was a necessary first step. I've been on Trek strike since Insurrection, when the rot really set in. (Really, Jonathan Frakes, how could you light Gates McFadden so unflatteringly?) Someone is going to make Star Trek XI, there's too much money to be soaked out of eternally hopeful Trekkers. If there's a nuclear holocaust, and only cockroaches survive, those cockroaches will make Star Trek XI. I don't see how Abrams can do worse. Let's light this candle. Less talk, more synthohol.
About Nerd World
Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman blogs about anything and everything that could be plausibly labeled geeky--science fiction, fantasy, video games, comic books, tech stuff, and so on. If it could get you beaten up in junior high, it's fair game. About the Author
Matt Selman
Matt Selman has worked on eleven seasons and over two hundred episodes of The Simpsons. He currently serves as an Executive Producer. About the Author
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Reader Comments (3)
Boo? You must be joking.
J.J. Abrams taking over the reins is the best thing that could happen to this tired franchise. I'm certain he knows how to revive it--as long as he makes the next chapter the way he made MI3.
It would be interesting to see a darker version, but I don't think it's a necessary step. After all, the best movie of the franchise, in my opinion, was pretty much a comedy (Star Trek IV). But I guess the Trekkers will always prefer Star Trek II.
Posted by Stefan | January 15, 2007 3:23 PM
Wow, Lev.
When I first saw this blog, I was a bit confused. I asked myself: What is one of the nation's top book critic doing with a nerd blog? I expected long literary critiques about the cultural impact of technology or scathing analyses of book-scanning and copy-right infringement.
But after reading this post, it is clear that you really do care, deeply care, about Star Trek.
Now the only question in my mind is where do you fit in the hierarchy?
http://www.brunching.com/geekhierarchy.html
Posted by Anne Sandhill | January 15, 2007 3:55 PM
Well, something has to be done. I do believe the franchise needs a revitalization more than another upgrade, knock-off or clone. I frankly miss Star Trek. I’ve been watching it since the late 60's. And not to start a “which is the better” thread (I’ve enjoyed all the incarnations played upon), I personally thought DS9's overture kept the spirit of Star Trek alive, while taking a different narrative approach, which, I believe, lead to more diverse and original storylines.
A house cleaning is always a good thing. Batman Begins and even the new Battlestar Galactica have done quite well with good captains at the wheel. Let’s hope Abrams does the same.
Posted by AdamC | January 16, 2007 2:21 PM