Still trying to keep an open mind...

[meirwen_1988]

about the new Star Trek movie. As I said to a student, I can't begin to count the number of different "origins" versions of my favorite comic book characters I've read over the years, so why am I so protective of Star Trek.

Still, my favorite, absolute favorite episode of Star Trek is "Balance of Terror." Yeah, it's just Run Silent, Run Deep in space, but I still love it. The most important canon thing that happens in it is that, for the very first time, the Federation learns what Romulans look like.

So, I read today that in the new movie Sulu skewers a Romulan.
Frankly, unless that Romulan is wearing an encounter suit worthy of Kosh, I'm wondering how it can possibly be true that they don't know.

Don't mess with me, people--I have a White Star and I know how to use it!

Comments

[jlbooth76.livejournal.com]

I think this is one of those times when it might be helpful that I'm a fan with a bad memory for details. Though the article I read during Darius' appointment yesterday left me with mixed feelings... the alternate universe approach to freeing up the storytelling ('we don't want to worry about conflicts with all the accumulated history') while I understand that it makes things EASIER, I'm not sure it will make them BETTER. We'll see.

[anglesandlight.livejournal.com]

Um, didn't "Silent Running" take place in space?

My favorite(s) is/are "Paradise" or "City on the Edge of Forever".

Yep, I'm a geek, but appearently I do not hold a candle to you! (I bow in admiration) :)

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

She probably meant "The Enemy Below" or perhaps "Run Silent, Run Deep".

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Nope, actually meant Run Silent, Run Deep (Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden). That's what I get for posting before I'd finished the morning caffeine dose!

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

If you haven't seen The Enemy Below, I recommend it to you. But you have - the Balance of Terror plot is a nearly complete homage to it.

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

I see what you mean (read plot synopsis). Netflix, here I come.

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Hmm, thinking about it, depending on how widely seen the Romulan is, it might not be a continuity glitch. Kirk, Spock, and Sulu can all know, but Stiles is the one who makes a big deal out of it.

This makes a bit of sense, in that it was made clear in the Next Generation that Spock must have already known anyway - the whole business about reunification pretty much implied that Romulan-Vulcan common ancestry was a commonly known fact already.

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Except that there is all that dialog about the previous encounter with Romulans being entirely ship to ship, before ship to ship visuals were possible. ;-)

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Yup, that doesn't necessarily strike me as inconsistent. Suppose the plan is that Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and McCoy are keeping the secret because they're afraid the general reaction will be what Stiles in fact does. Now the idea is, since with improved technology the secret is about to come out anyway, it's best if Spock reveals it, since that will give some credence to the idea that the Vulcans and Romulans are not in cahoots.

It's a stretch, but I think you can make it fit if you want to. And really, there is enough screwing around with the time continuum in the trek universe that there's always the easy out of some patching of the original time-line wasn't quite complete to fall back on. :)

[hawkyns.livejournal.com]

I'm not impressed so far. They've said that this movie supposedly takes place before the first encounter with the Klingons. That's already at odds with the story so far, since Klingons are encountered during the prequel series, "Enterprise". And the way this one is being pushed as 'not your father's Star Trek', it would seem that they intend to ignore what already exist in favour of their new story line.

Hmmm... Wonder how a White Star would fare against a Kahless class dreadnaught......

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Isn't that really a destroyer v. carrier question, in which case it all comes down to a question of the skill of the commander and opportunity.

[hawkyns.livejournal.com]

Too many variables. The White Star is listed as the most powerful ship in the Alliance in the tech manual, but also listed as a fast attack ship, a monitor class, and also said to be not as powerful as a battleship. Which is correct? On the other side, there are two Kahless'. The original, a four engined, uprated version of a Drell class, and the new one, a C7 class based on the Bird of Prey design.

Geek? Nah, not me.

[anglesandlight.livejournal.com]

Whoa! I think that I will stay in the shallow end of the pool...I am dearly impressed with your knowledge of all things geeky!

Going off to re-inspect her geek creds, I do believe that I am still in the apprentice stage. I know, I can draw up the plans and see if that gets further along in the geek scale! :)

[(Anonymous)]

Well, it was the most powerful during the Shadow War--highly mobile and powerful (Alliance of Light), but after that they ( now the constituted Interstellar Alliance) developed the Victory Class heavy destroyers (Excalibur and the Victory). The Victory class has some of the mobility/agility problems of a dreadnought, but has not only White Star level firepower, but also a level beyond that.

I'll see your geek and raise you one. ;-)

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

BTW, "anonymous" here is moi--I hadn't remembered to log back in. And to clarify, I think the White Star was the most "valuable" ship during the Shadow War, because of it's unsurpassed mobility and disproportionately (to size) firepower and targeting accuracy, but certainly the battle cruisers were stronger, especially the Minbari ships of the line.

[kelfstein.livejournal.com]

The there is nothing quite like a Minbari ship of the line to get ones attention.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I admit, at the end, I was kind of expecting a Superman style reboot: fly madly in the opposite direction and slingshot Time back to its original path, specifically with regard to one particular planet.

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

If anything, this is one of the few advantages mucking around with time travel has to have for this franchise - things have been screwed with so often there's no reason to think there should be complete continuity everywhere.

I particularly liked the one bit in NextGen when the time cops discover they're on the Enterprise, and just about have apoplexy because they mistake it for Kirk's Enterprise, citing the dozens of time distortion incidents he ended up having. (Perhaps at the hands of Trelane or Q, if Peter David is to be believed.)

[swordandmug.livejournal.com]

There was a lot of opposition to the reboot of Battlestar Galactica, but after experiencing it, many found it to be a great idea. The new series lacked the hamminess of 1970s original.

In my opinion, the last gasp of the "true" Star Trek in the original vein was "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," which in many ways was the best of the movies despite the goofy resurrection of Spock in the previous film with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" being the last true representation of the prior era.

The entire second series was entirely different banana all together. ..."Enterprise" was... well, why watch that when you can watch "Firefly" or "Farscape" instead?

[hearne.livejournal.com]

The BSG reboot and how well it was done lends hope, but the real difference is that Galactica had 1 year of episodes and not much else. (G-1980 never happened. nope. Never.) Trek has decades and decades of fairly well established continuity. And the concepts of the Human Condition are polar opposites. Rebooting Trek will be.... difficult.

This is me.. remaining hopeful. *grin*

[swordandmug.livejournal.com]

Can't argue with that. I have watched Star Trek since the original airing of year three (yes, I was a little tike, but I remember it), but if they manage to make a better storyline by not being married to the original, I won't complain. I have accepted changes in Spiderman, the X-men, Batman, and the LotR to my great enjoyment, so there is the potential here as well.

...and yes, B5 is one of the all-time greats.

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd say Undiscovered Country is as good as the best of Star Trek. It is in the "Day of the Dove," "Balance of Terror," Wrath of Khan grouping whereas Voyage Home is clearly aligned with "Piece of the Action," "Trouble with Tribbles," and "I, Mudd." Two different flavors, equally satisfying.

[swordandmug.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.. siting the names of episodes for comparisons, you most definitely are reveling in your geeking! :-D

[anglesandlight.livejournal.com]

I'm there! Yes, "Piece of the Action" is true delight!

Of course when an episode comes back to haunt the characters in another version of Star Trek, then how can you discount "Trouble with Tribbles"? (I am remembering the reaction in Wharf when they played those "old tapes", refering to the way that the Klingons looked like - when the-powers-that-be did not have either the imagination or budget).

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, the unmitigated embarrassment as he sits there in the bar watching the Klingons, Scotty, and other crew from the NCC-1701 brawl was priceless! Almost as good as seeing Jadzia in the little red dress!!

[anglesandlight.livejournal.com]

And then there is, of course, Babylon 5! IMHO (ok, maybe not so humble) :) B5 is the best SciFi show that there is.

Like I said, in my not-so-humble opinion!

I am still not so certain that I really *want* to see the new Star Trek movie, but I may captulate for Mother's Day. We can all go see the movie for $6 each (=$30), so I can somehow swollow that price for it. Besides, it is what the rest of the family want to do.

Personally, I'd just love a Mother's Day that does not involve taking Dan to the hospital/doctor.

[meirwen.livejournal.com]

Has it been any better since you moved south?

[hearne.livejournal.com]

I am in the same boat. (and I wholeheartedly agree about "Balance of Terror!") For a young me, Trek was *it* until Landau and Bain came into my world, flying on models and strings. :) I devoured the books, over and over.. but above it all was canon.. what *really* happened, so to speak.

What I have heard about this one.. makes me nervous. Just the trailers alone.. that *can't* be the Enterprise being built that Kirk sees, right? How they can skip 15 years to allow for Capt. April, and both of Pike's tours before Kirk gets her.. not to mention the time on the Farragut which lead to "Obsession.."
.. etc..
..etc..

Yeah, I know.. way too much detail. Must try to keep an open mind and not get into nitpicking.

[anglesandlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes! Space: 1999! Definately one of my favorites! Because of where I lived, I watched Space: 1999 before I ever heard of Star Trek...

Work with me here, I grew up in Europe until "Life Ended" (TM) on February 14, 1972.

and now to speak the heresy....

[bnsysabeau.livejournal.com]

...just wait a few more years and they'll be itching to do the same to bab 5 too. (ducks for cover)