Thoughts on Star Trek

*The following post contains spoilers for the new Star Trek movie*

When I first heard about the new Star Trek movie, I was ambivalent. Most of my Star Trek experience is with the Next Generation crew, and a healthy helping of Voyager. I had little to no attachment to Kirk and friends, which is probably why it took me a week to go and see it. The only reason I saw it at all was because countless people including Wil Wheaton, sang it's praises. So today I went to see it. At first glance it was an exciting film with plenty of Trekkie indulging catch phrases, cool action, and even a compelling story with interesting characters. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize a very important, very terrifying possibility:

This film has the potential to destroy the decades of Star Trek canon that generations of fans have come to love.

Before the film came out, many people complained about the time travel aspect of the plot, arguing that the science fiction trope had reached the point of cliché. Maybe I haven't experienced enough science fiction to be tired of it, but I have no problems with time travel, and entered the film with high expectations. But then after walking out of the film, and comparing the events of the film to my knowledge of the events of the Star Trek world, I realized that Vulcan was never destroyed, and Spock never lost his mother. One of the most important aspects of a time travel plot is the point at which the "correct" reality is restored. This never happened. I have no problem with alternate realities, but they deserve only fleeting attention.

This movie will not be the last, it is doing very well in the box office, and there is every reason to believe that there will be a sequel, maybe even two. It is even conceivable that a new TV series will be created. But these potential movies, and series will be based on the alternate reality created by the latest Star Trek Movie.

The Star Trek canon consists of over 600 episodes, and 10 movies. All of that has been thrown out the window. That world, those stories, those people are being abadoned as a relic of the past. This epic canon is being replaced with one that will probably bear little resemblance to Gene Roddenberry's original vision. Star Trek is a story about culture, equality, and exploration. Those core values have no appeal to today's producers of TV and movies, and will likely have no place in this alternate timeline.

Ever since TNG, there has been conflict between those wishing to stay true to Gene Roddenberry's original vision, and stories, and those wishing to follow rating trends by leaping headfirst into the popularity contest modern media has become. It seems as if the latter party has finally won. All Trekkies should bow their heads, shed a tear, and mourn the loss of our beloved world.

Close

If I had to be wrong, this would have been the way I would have chosen it. I just checked the movie results for yesterday, or really the day before yesterday as it is now past midnight. Jumper was the number one movie on Valentines Day. I knew Americans were smarter than they looked. A close second was Step Up 2. I think it is merely the popularity of the song that it got it that far. I want to see what the final weekend numbers are before making any final statements

Number three was not "Definitely, Maybe" but Fools Gold. Apparently lots of people waited till VD to see it. However, DM did beat out Spiderwick Chronicles.

That is all. I'm going to bed.

Movies

There are several movies coming out today, and for no reason in particular, I have made several predictions regarding their success.

The four movies coming out today are "Step Up 2", "Definitely, Maybe", "Jumper" and "Spiderwick Chronicles". By the end of today, the ranking of money made by each of these movies will be as follows:

1. Definitely, Maybe: This film will win on Valentines Day, and then essentially disppear. It is a date movie and that will get it viewers on Valentines Day. But after that people will realize it sucks and it will fade into obscurity.

2. Step Up 2: I doubt this film will be particularly good, but it will get solid earnings on the first day, because of the wildly popular Flo Rida song, "Low". The song is in the movie, and most of its money will be made from fans of the song. I predict it will be a close second to "Definitely, Maybe"

3. Jumper: This movie is the best movie on the list, and will probably dominate the box office becuase it combines the superhero appeal, with some horror/suspense. The reason it is number three is that it is essentially an unknown.

4. Spiderwick Chronicles: Kids movie adaptation of moderately popular kids book. The fans of the book and those needing a kids movie to take their child, or younger sibling to will watch this. Then they will all realize it sucks, and it will also fade into obscurity.

Now these predictions are only for today. By Saturday, the only people going to see "Definitely, Not" will be weepy chicks with too much time and money on their hands, seeing it for the tenth time becuase they lost their boyfriend on VD. No one will have heard of "Spiderwack Chronicles" except the hardcore book fans. Step Up 2, will do alright becuase dancing movies are a relatively safe bet.

On Valentines Day, those brave souls who risked their time and money on the awesome unknown, "Jumper" will realize its awesomeness, tell their friends, they will tell their friends, and word of mouth, the best advertising ever, will have this film dominating by Saturday.

So if you are going to the movies with your girl today and you let her choose the movie, keep these things in mind depending on the movie she chooses.

Definitely, Maybe: Deal with it, you might get some
Step Up 2: Cool, you have girl with decent taste
Spiderwick Chronicles: Find a girlfriend who has moved past the training bra.
Jumper: Your conversation should go something like this:
You: What movie do you want to see?
Her: Jumper
You: Will you marry me?