See, articles like this drive me crazy. Either the movie will have TOS characters, or it won't. Just cop to it, okay, please? Don't give us this dodge-and-parry BS! We're not asking to give away the whole plot, but at least admit to what you've got in mind! It doesn't make any sense to get all in a whinge about his story being misreported if he isn't going to deny what was stated.
Prequels don't work. Abrahms is smart enough to know this and so is (wll maybe not) Paramount.
I dont want to see anything take place without one of the established crews. I dont want to see people imitating Kirk and Spock. I dont want to see the beginning of the Federation. All bad ideas and they will find this out once the movie opens in a couple of years.
Part of the draw for Trek fans is seeing their favorites on the big screen. If they had trouble getting people into the theatre for the last two movies you actually think people are going to want to see this? Is a non Trek audience interested?
Bad idea from the get go. Horrible!
Abrams good, Academy bad. Hopefully things get worked out, but as long as he's saying nothing is set in stone, plot wise, then I'm hopeful a more appropriate storyline will be chosen. Unfortunately Abrams' comments could be interpreted as saying the film itself is not a done deal, either.
This wouldn't be the first time a reputable source got things wrong. Remember CBS and the George W. Bush fiasco a year or so ago - the one that cost Dan Rather his job? Happens to the best of them.
Al
Surely they wouldn't have posted it if there wasn;t any substance..?
And the moon landings were faked, too... JMS' little conspiracy theory means he will never produce any Star Trek. Which is just as well, as there is enough fan fiction out there.
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If you'd like a terminological correction in verbiage, I will grant you an "DS9 `inspired by' B5"; it would perhaps be more diplomatic. :)
However, the.,
"it never happened, it was a conspiracy theory, and even if it did, JMS has paid and will forever PAY in eternal retribution by Paramount - just for mentioning it publicly"
..subcutaneous inference in the response is an interesting one though.
I'm not sure what to think.
Am I, by implication, meant to be afraid?
*check pulse*
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm(n) it doesn't appear to be working as yet.
Maybe I'm having a delayed reaction.
My point was not that DS9 was a rip-off, but rather that DS9 was HIGH QUALITY Trek despite its incept background.
I don't think we are on the same page.
In retrospect, that's my error, I didn't consider the potential inflamatory nature of that sentence on those still nursing that bit of DS9 history as an unhealed wound.
I empathize, I've been there, but I got over it and love DS9, and I think so ought you.
But if denial is your preferred balm of choice, so be it.
A bit of unsolicited advice though, toss away at will: I find that whenever I want to remain in denial, never under any circumstances should I attempt to have an actual open public discussion on the issue.
Things will come to light that you don't want to know and that make it very difficult to maintain that denial.
Better to absorb it, integrate it, and become stronger for it.
That's what I think at any rate, you of course must do what you think is best.
Michael X.
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Michael X. Maelstrom, The Avante Guardian, Tag. 
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M o n t r e a l, Q u e b e c, C a n a d a, E a r t h, S o m e t i m e s.
I really think the story will change. If there is even a finished script, when someone new somes on it almost always gets scrapped or totally revised.
I think Abrams and Section 31 were made for each other.
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breakin' it down
I don't get where all these posts already trashing JJ Abrams handling of Star Trek are coming from. The guy just inked the deal to take the reins of Trek XI. Nothing has been set in stone as to how he is going to handle it.
Rick Berman gets trashed based on his piss poor track record where Star Trek is concerned. For him, the evidence has been in for a long, long time. JJ Abrams track record on other highly respected projects does however earn him at least the benefit of the doubt.
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Respectfully,
Von Bruno
vonbruno@aol.com
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I agree that Abrams has an awesome track record. My wife and I love both Alias and Lost. However, I think most of us are just scared of the unknown. Personally, I'd hate to see an outsider come in who has no idea what's going on and make a mess of it. (Again, I'll use the example of the rediculous Dukes of Hazzard movie.)
I've loved Star Trek since before 1st grade. I'm only 30, but back then I watched TOS reruns, and I remember TNG coming out. I just don't want to see it get rediculous. As long as they have someone over Abrams' shoulder making sure the storyline stays true, I'm fine with it.
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"Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?"
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I agree that Abrams has an awesome track record. My wife and I love both Alias and Lost. However, I think most of us are just scared of the unknown. Personally, I'd hate to see an outsider come in who has no idea what's going on and make a mess of it. (Again, I'll use the example of the rediculous Dukes of Hazzard movie.)
I've loved Star Trek since before 1st grade. I'm only 30, but back then I watched TOS reruns, and I remember TNG coming out. I just don't want to see it get rediculous. As long as they have someone over Abrams' shoulder making sure the storyline stays true, I'm fine with it.
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"Are you out of your Vulcan Mind?"
i would like star trek 11 to feature william shatner as henry falkner inventer of the photon torpedo to bring star trek full circle.
shatner would star and leonard nimoy will cameo as a photonics engineer who works under him. i cant decide whether or not he should be vulcan. probably not cos that will be typecasting nimoy.
the remaining original series should be as follows:
walter koenig should play bert grimshaw, cybernautics expert who trains a young noonian soongh (brent spiner), prequelling the data android.
george takei will play botonist jinsung wang, a by the book florist with a hidden agenda.
nichelle nicholls will be a betazoid named madeleine cosby who forsees the fall of the galactic federation in a wet dream.
james doohan and deforest kelley should have cgi roles with voice alikes. the doohan cgi would be an orion smuggler called henry spender and the deforest kelley cgi will play martin hammershaw an alien kidnapped gunslinger from the wild west who awakes from cryo-stasis.
finally majel barrett roddenberry will return as the only original actress to portray their original character nurse chapel who is now a senior expert on humpback whale integration after time displacement.
patrick stewart and jonathan frakes will also cameo as rusty henstridge and joe clapperson, respectively. they will both be rescued from harry mudd (ricky gervasi) in the opening scene and killed at the end of the movie to satisfy classic fans.
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William Shatner as any character other than Captain Kirk, post-Generations, is a collosal waste of time and talent.
The CHARACTER is the draw. I can look at a younger version of Kirk and crew with an open mind.
I'd rather see Shatner and Nimoy maybe doing some sort of story where the current situation relates back to something they did on the Enterprise 1701. That way you can recast AND have the originals at the same time, bring back Kirk, get people interested and have the best of all worlds.
Looks like it could still be a Laurel & Hardy silent film with a Donald Duck insert and two ferengis selling cola but stumbling over a Dalek causing a fire in the ships torpedo room.
The possibilities are endless.
I remember vividly reading an article in Starlog magazine back in 1986, as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had been released and TNG was just beginning production, and they included some "tidbits" of what the new Trek series was going to be about. I don't recall whether they actually quoted Roddenberry or not, but the one line I do recall was that they claimed Data was going to be "an evil Betazoid" character.
In the intervening years, I've come to realize that Paramount is good at nothing if not misdirection, especially when it comes to Star Trek. If nothing else, it builds anticipation. It also leads to dashed expectations, depending on the fans involved. They're (the Paramount public relations department) very good at planting stories in various Hollywood trade papers and national entertainment magazines. The initial story about Abrams doing Trek XI may have been something along those lines. The subsequent article with his quote is either an attempt at damage control, or a clever plot by Paramount to get people guessing.
I suppose it worked.
They did do one thing right, though...they immediately quashed any speculation that Rick Berman would be involved. Good move on their part, and immediate positive buzz for the movie. Now we wait until 2008. But there can only be two possible outcomes for this franchise in the hands of a new director: either it succeeds beyond anyone's wildest dreams (see: Christopher Nolan and "Batman Begins") or it could be large amounts of suckage (this is my worry about Bryan Singer and "Superman Returns"). If the latter, Star Trek will die, of that I'm sure. If the former, then we'll see another new TV series in short order.
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A generation which ignores history has no past and no future. -- Robert Heinlein
PCLinuxOS
falcon
I kinda of got the feeling from reading that short story that Abrams may be thinking of bringing back the older post Generations versions of Kirk and Spock.
He is a huge TOS fan. I think that would be more interesting than seeing a Starfleet Academy film.
The quote clearly says that he is going to produce with an option to direct. He might find a different director, he might not. I wont be surprised if Abrams' stint at the helm does not last long enough to produce an actual film.
I'm still skeptical about using the TOS look and feel in a modern production. Computers just dont go click clack click clack and give answers in robotic voices. I mean...they COULD, but it would be a drastic waste of memory and processor cycles.
Hmm. A few days ago I opined that Abrams probably wouldn't be doing a direct ripoff of the Bennett SFA premise, and because of that we shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet about the new movie. For that apparently inflammatory statment, The Noble Robot tried to rip me a new one. Well, where you at now, NoRo?
As is usually the case, initial reports turned out to be misleading. I'll be very interested to hear the full details of Abrams story idea, when he's ready. Hopefully, the Starfleet Academy aspect will be minor, if it's there at all.
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Bingo. It is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early to make ANY conclusions about Trek XI.
Let's all just be excited that A) New, fresh, and very talented blood is helming this, B) that this new blood has great respect for Star Trek, and B) that Berman has nothing to do with it.
Are points A, B, and C guarantees of a great movie? Of course not. But I'd say that it increases the chances of a great movie by a significant degree.
LLaP
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THAT is the Exploration that awaits you: not mapping stars or studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of Existence.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm(n)
Speculation and Analysis: looks like SFA may be out, reading between the lines sounds like he wants Trek XI to be a harbinger for a TOS -reboot-.
^Raise-Eyebrow.
In fact if you look at Variety's original article, it doesn't actually say it's an Starfleet Academy oriented series, it only mentions that they meet there.
I'm getting a startlingly familiar "let's rip off Star Trek: New Voyages" Paramount exec thinking deja vu feeling about all this.
Not that it necessarily matters, DS9 was a "let's rip off JMS's Babylon-5 concept" to begin with, but it turned out well, and the empathy for JMS having his series premise stolen by Parmaount (who turned down the production of his series at the last minute and launched DS9 instead) also rocketed B5 into the genre spotlight.
So, although I detest the Hollywood thieves-guild executive mentality, even if it is the case that they're ultimately planning to riff on New Voyages (and reboot TOS with new actors and a continuing TOS mission/new voyages *cough*) it does not necessarily co-relate to bad product.
Guess we'll just 'ave to wait and see.
*pause*
I hate waiting.
(Shrug)
Michael Maelstrom.
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Michael X. Maelstrom, The Avante Guardian, Tag. 
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M o n t r e a l, Q u e b e c, C a n a d a, E a r t h, S o m e t i m e s.
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Not that it necessarily matters, DS9 was a "let's rip off JMS's Babylon-5 concept" to begin with, but it turned out well, and the empathy for JMS having his series premise stolen by Parmaount (who turned down the production of his series at the last minute and launched DS9 instead) also rocketed B5 into the genre spotlight.
While I like your style of writing, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about here.
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"A billion robot lives are about to be extinguished! Oh, the Jedis are going to feel this one..."
-Hubert Farnsworth (Futurama: Crimes of the Hot)
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"The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!"
-Shran (ENT: Proving Ground)
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Quote:
While I like your style of writing, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about here.
Danke for the former remark. Likewise, I find your humourus style refreshing and quite a bit of intelligent fun. :)
On the issue of the DS9/Bablyon-5 _Paramount_ connection, I would simply advise running a google search to see whether I "know what I'm talking about" or not.
As I see it, it's however _irrelevant_. At least to my intended point.
I have no intention of becoming involved with or engaging in empty Republican-Democrat style political hyperbole and positioning 'ere. No thank you.
Particularly since that lot once polarized cares little for the facts, they seem to care only for who can scream loudest from the highest perch. :)
Just remember, Global Warming is "an emerging/unreliable science" or "a lie"
because 2 politicans with microphones and no scientific credentials whatsoever lobbied by big biz (who don't want to pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions)
..somehow..
manage to have a stronger voice than 1000 scientists who actually have some scientific knowledge and experience in the field.
Moral of the story: People accept or refuse "facts" based on far more than the weight of evidence. In fact, polarized people with an agenda tend to base their "facts" on anything but the evidence.
*tug down on shirt*
(I would have thought that) by now most SF'ers know about DS9's incept history and that it was no longer an issue - my point was that it -Didn't Matter- in relation to series quality.
BOTH DS9 and Bablyon-5 delivered excellent series, regardless.
Ergo my (intended) point:
even if TREK XI is meant to harbinger a -TOS reboot- series.
and even if that is based on Paramount having made that decision based on their having decided to "steal" "lift" "be inspired by" ("pay homage to" - Ed) - pick your verbiage - the core design elements from fan-produced and currently high-profile 'buzz'ing Star Trek: New Voyages.,
point was, even if that were so, it does -not- necessarily correlate to bad product: as _DS9's QUALITY_ is testament to.
Michael X.
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Michael X. Maelstrom, The Avante Guardian, Tag. 
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M o n t r e a l, Q u e b e c, C a n a d a, E a r t h, S o m e t i m e s.
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I've actually done research on this very topic back with I was Netflixing the B5 series a year or so ago. While there is evidence supporting both camps, but I believe that this is the most comprehensive resource on the debate.
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"A billion robot lives are about to be extinguished! Oh, the Jedis are going to feel this one..."
-Hubert Farnsworth (Futurama: Crimes of the Hot)
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"The Andorian Mining Consortium runs from no one!"
-Shran (ENT: Proving Ground)
If Empire Online is right and the movie is not about Young Jim Kirk at the Academy, maybe Abrams is talking about the possibily of bring back Shatner and Nimoy for one last movie together. I sure hope so.
Gustavo
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TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
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oh, god. The Bring Back Kirk people are going to flip.
Here's the thing...Shatner is too old to play pre-Generations Kirk...and they better not screw up and have him not in the Nexus. Generations is not perfect, but its canon. You know?
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Click here to check out my band, ego tree , and the Ego Tree site at myspace. Listen to/buy the CD for $9.99! ALSO AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!!
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--oh, god. The Bring Back Kirk people are going to flip.--
Funny, "those people" didn't do anything but put a link to the article.
The only people flipping are the ones that are sad that Trek isn't going in the same direction that TOTALLY DESTROYED the franchise and turned it into a boring joke. "Keep doing it OUR way! So what if we've had 15 years of a totally forgettable VOID?"
The saddest thing is that the best they can come up with for a rebuttal is "Shatner is old."
The Empire article makes nothing clear but absolutely does not refute anything Variety claimed in their's, except for in the title (which leads me to think it's hype). But I am encouraged by what Abrams has to say in reaction to the leak. It's possible that when distilled to 6 or seven words like "young Kirk and Spock's teenage academy adventures" Abrams feels it does serious injustice to the idea they have for Star Trek's new film. And it gives me hope that he is sensitive to the necessity that these characters not be resurrected through a hokey gimmick. Or at least that the movie, as ultimately presented, doesn't come off as a hokey gimmick, even if a leaked 7 word blurb does.
Empire is strangely contradictory in this article. They start off saying it's not Kirk and Spock, but they provide no quote from Abrams to that effect, and then they go on to include a quote from him that suggests it's true. Perhaps clarity will emerge over the next few days...
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It's a rip-off. / We're stepped on, and cheated! / We're flat, stone-cold lied to / But we're not defeated / No!
Halen. "The Dream is Over."
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Tell me about it. It's seems like whoever wrote this was trying to manufacture doubt.
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The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
only hollow rhythms resounded from within.
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does that surprise you, coming from the producer of Lost?
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Enemies strengthen you. Allies weaken. I tell you this in the hope that it will help you understand why I act as I do in the full knowledge that great forces accumulate in my Empire with but one wish--the wish to destroy me. You who read these words may know full well what actually happened, but I doubt that you understand it.