Fairly clear | Report this post to moderator
By: psp1 (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:33:22 on Jul 29, 2007

It seems fairly clear why it is much harder to bring Shatner back as Kirk than Nimoy back as Spock. Nimoy has aged quite gracefully, and anyone can recognize him as the young Spock growing older. Alas, that is not true with Shatner, as pretty well everyone knows.
So if you present them both together, Spock's first question could be: My God Jim, what happened? How did you let yourself go this way?
That plus what time frame you can use pretty well kills the notion. If you go back pre-Generations, there is no way you can convince the audience that Shatner is Kirk. He has deteriorated visibly in the last 15 years. Same problem with Nexus- take a look at Shatner in Generations and him now. The Nexus is supposed to freeze time and you are not going to convince anyone time is frozen by throwing the current Shatner up there.
So that leaves an extremely aged and deteriorated Captain Kirk. The only possibility I can think of is that you do a kind of Kirk does not fit in the Nexus story- his spirit is too vital for that sort of idyllic and mundane existence. So his body reacts by aging - the 'powers that be' in the Nexus are really puzzled, and they decide the best thing to do is to advise him to eject back into the real universe to the right time period. Even this seems a little gimmicky and unnatural.
Or maybe we can say Kirk's body was whisked off the planet by the Talosians and they did their best to repair him, but all they could do was the current version.


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The search for Kirk | Report this post to moderator
By: Gary M (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:39:41 on Jul 29, 2007

Okay...let's get Spock to steal the Enterprise and travel back in time to beam Kirk off that bridge! It would have been better with Scotty...but James Doohan is no longer with us.

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oh my GOD! WOW! | Report this post to moderator
By: Allenburch (Odo's file, contact) @ 18:00:41 on Jul 27, 2007

Just watched the ComicCon YouTube-Video and the J.J. Abrams team has definitely got this whole Star Trek thing figured out! SPOCK IS BACK! (in more ways than just "the one")

This low profile fan in Sonoma just about jumped a hole through the floor when Nimoy walked out on the stage! (home office research consultant; )

This rivals the other great 2008 Paramount sequel we're all going to help break records on: The man with the hat is back! Indiana Jones IV!

J.J. also said something about looking for a young Kirk. Bravo!

Now, hmmmmm, J.J. mumbled something else about not bringing back the remaining guy to make this whole Star Trek thing complete, just to get him in the movie. I understand.

Now, hmmmmm, (tap, tap)....how to get the remaining guy in the movie and for it to not just be nice, but kick-a$$ awesome!

hmmm...still thinking...

He definitely needs to be returned to the living, not just some warm fuzzy before death setting.

He needs to return to the living in a way that we don't expect, hopefully in a way that's not already been done and not in a way that's total wormwood.

still thinking..

jeeeeeze, this is tougher than I care to admit.

Maybe part of the solution is that it should just be a simple return, without any explanation made in vain, and done with a smirk. A classic SHATNER smirk!

Heck, make him a member of the Q-Continuim or put him in a Federation-Timeship, I don't care...

JUST PLEASE BRING CAPTAIN SHATNER BACK IN THIS MOVIE!

-ABC

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Let's be honest. | Report this post to moderator
By: Wanderer01 (Odo's file, contact) @ 15:38:57 on Jul 27, 2007 | (1)

Shatner does not belong in a Star Trek reboot. It's not only that he's let himself go, aging far worse than Nimoy - can you imagine mountain-climber Kirk putting on that much weight? - but that he represents a part of Star Trek best left in the past.

When Bond was rebooted in Casino Royale, they dumped Q and Moneypenny but kept on Judi Dench as M. Why? Because she was never the problem with James Bond in the first place. On the contrary, she was always a strength, and why fix that which was never broken? Nimoy as Spock was never broken: he was always a strong actor - best of the original cast, in my mind - and was always a classy presence in fandom, never being obnoxiously attention-seeking or catty toward fellow cast members.

And Shatner?

Iconic though his performance as Kirk was, he can't really act. We all love the character of Kirk, but Shatner's success in the role owes more to personality than craft. Certainly, you may point out his Emmy nominations and wins for "The Practice," but there he's essentially playing a thinly veiled parody of himself, and Emmy's really don't mean anything. (See the annual omissions of "The Wire" and "Battlestar Galactica.") The man is not talented.

Off-screen, while Nimoy quietly dedicates himself to his photography, only occasionally condescending to an advertising gig, Shatner sells his persona as much as possible. (And Nimoy only ever appears
alongside Shatner.) I actually saw him pitching for a medical malpractice legal aid service on daytime TV recently. When not doing that, he's doing his part as "The Shat," being roasted, bickering with George Takei, appearing on radio talk shows, appearing on his website, "writing" stories that if not for the quality of his ghostwriters would be the most contemptible fanwank, etc.

Shatner represents parts of Star Trek best left behind: the hamminess, the attention-mongering, the endless commercialism. Like Rick Berman or Brannon Braga, he should be forgotten.

Abrams knows it: he's just too polite and conscious of Shatner's ego to come out and say it.

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The Shat? | Report this post to moderator
By: cdydatzigs (Odo's file, contact) @ 12:06:01 on Jul 27, 2007

Quote:
"The truth is: it needs to be worthy of him - it needs to be worthy of you - it needs to be worthy to the movie. We cannot just shove him in. It would be a disaster. You would hate it, he wouldn't like it...it would be bad."

Enough said.

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Lead-In, Lead-Out | Report this post to moderator
By: TRexx (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:56:10 on Jul 27, 2007 | (2)

Quote from StillKirok:
How could they be trying to work him in and not have him in the script?


From the get-go, Nimoy opined that he and Shat might play bookend roles, or to set up the story. As Nimoy said, just after he got the call from Paramount, last year: "They might possibly want Bill and I to set up the story as a flashback" (report).

So, only the lead-in (and, perhaps, lead-out) portion of the current script need be edited to add Shatner, and this can be done later in the production schedule. The main story, about young Kirk and Spock, wouldn't require rework.


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RE: Logical...and promising... | Report this post to moderator
By: StillKirok (Odo's file, contact) @ 11:06:16 on Jul 27, 2007

But people aren't stupid. They KNOW the character comes from Shatner and Nimoy, and we already HAVE an older Spock. They don't NEED to introduce a 40 year old legendary character.

Telling the origin does not require ignorance, and Kirk and Spock have been a part of our culture in the same manor as Superman and Batman.

As for simplicity, yes, it can be done simply. Depends on how they want to use older Kirk. It depends on whether the character is going to be a significant part of the movie, or just a cameo.


As for not believing Abrams--I won't buy it until I see it.

What he did yesterday was blow smoke up our butts. He and Shatner have spoken since Shatner announced he wasn't in the film. Why would Shatner still take that stance if Abrams said that to him? And why wouldn't Abrams tell Shatner that he's still interested?

This comment is inconsistent with Abrams' ACTIONS.

So no, I don't believe him.

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Logical...and promising... | Report this post to moderator
By: OneOfMany (Odo's file, contact) @ 08:19:15 on Jul 27, 2007

Now, this may be the Trekfanboy in me, but I think with Nimoy and Quinto on board and Abrams trying to get Shatner in, I think the movie is going to be great. It does clear up some things, that it will take place in both the 23rd and 24th centuries.

And I suspect, that Shatner's involvement will be hush-hush until late in the game. I really do believe that he'll be in it and it will be meaningful. I would not be surprised if they brink Kirk back to life in some way...thanks to the help of both 23rd and 24th Century Spock.

I can't believe it's 17 months away.

One of Many



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"Well, I've got pictures!" - Phlox, The Cogenitor

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