I can still remember watching the first ST movie when it first debuted in theaters in 79/80. I was completely blown away by the production greatness. That movie cost a lot of money back then and one could see every dollar spent on screen. I sort of felt the same way with the next few ST movies but by the time they released ST V it was all starting to look too cheap for my taste. Ok, a big budget isn't everything, ST TMP wasn’t a perfect movie, but even if money can't guarantee complete happiness, it can still buy you a good deal of fun.
It seems to me that Paramount is planning to spend some good money with this new ST, which is enough to make me happy. Personally I can not stop dreaming about what they could do with the characters of Kirk and Spock a lot of money and modern technology. If I did understand JJ Adams’ previous comments, he is planning this movie as the starting point for a longer series, and I just can't wait...
Greetings. I'm new to posting but I've been lurking the site for a while. Some background about me: 24, got into TNG during the "Best of Both Worlds" era, graduated to the feature films, DS9, Voyager and have only mildly tapped into TOS. Love many of the novels. What do i think of the Kirk/Spock movie idea? Fine. At first I was like, uh no. But I did like Star Treks 1-6 very much. And at this point in the franchise's life, I'm tired and I just want to paraphrase Doctor Crusher when she was forced to activate the EMH in "First Contact": do a dance, sing a song. Do SOMETHING. If JJ Abrams can't get the job done, maybe it's time we throw in the analgesic cream.
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Must...build...time...machine
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"Gods drunkenly cried juvenile acne, lop ears, the Lafontaine park, retirement at 60, disappointing love, public washrooms and raging toothaches"
tupperfan.blogspot.com
A bunch of people already think that the concept is set in stone. But I bet that this poster was only created with Photoshop by an artist at startrek.com.
I bet that the poster won't even make it outside of internet based. It's just to create a stir in the internet.
By the way, I'm not complaining, I don't care what the concept is, I'll probably like it.
If Abrams listened to the whining fans we would end up with Shatner squeezing into a Starfleet uniform making a fool of himself in the 24th century fighting Species 8472 on the USS Voyager with Picard making a cameo in the Enterprise-F and Voyager stopping by DS9 to pickup some more former Trek actors. Then the USS Titan shows up with Captain Riker and they all have a big group fanwank. Whoopee! :)
Get real folks, its time to get back to basics. If you just can't stomach someone else being James T Kirk then stop whining about it, it won't change anything.
Paramount has done everything right since canceling ENT and giving Rick Berman the boot.
From what little has been revealed about ST:XI, I'd say the studio and J.J. Abrams are still doing the right thing for the franchise: Let a creative A-team tap directly into the pop-cult phenomenon that is Kirk and Spock. Tell a good story. Respect Gene Roddenberry's purpose in the use of archetypes (especially with half-human Spock).
The right "fans" are already hissing about how awful it's going to be. This too is a good sign.
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Captain Picard as LOCUTUS Action Figure
Perfect!
Just enough to whet the appetite...
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Flavius: What do you call those?
Spock: I call them ears.
Flavius: Are you trying to be funny?
Spock: Never.
Looks good. I don't know about DS9 being the best written; few if any were done by sci writers, people who created their own classics independently (Fantastic Voyage, Psycho, Demon With a Glass Hand). But maybe 4400 is considered a classic, or will be by some. Don't want to start a pissing contest, especially since what's best is subjective to a great degree.
For the first time in many many years, I was really excitetd about STAR TREK again.JJ is "the man", he is just insanely talented (Alias and Lost ROCKS!)and when I heard he was taking over I thought this was the miracle Trek needed.
And now this. A re-cast TOS movie.
I know that for many people only TOS is Trek, but I'm 27 and "my generation" grew up with TNG and DS9. I know that TOS is where it all began and it's a sweet and funny little nostalgia show for many, but for us, my Trek friends and me it means nothing. I watched a couple episodes in repeats, but that's it.
TNG was the highest rated Trek series EVER, while, and I know that this is subjective but, DS9 and especially its last 3-4 seasons were the best written Trek EVER. While VOY was where it all started going very repetitive, recycled and very, very boring, it had some cool ideas (Species 8472) and I always liked Kate Mulgrew.
Ever since the end of DS9, there has been nothing getting such a positive fan response as a "Supercrew" movie. Give Nimoy a cameo as he is still "legally alive" in TNG/VOY era, and bring in Janeway as an Admiral (as she is one according to canon) BUT, please, for God's sake, put the TNG and DS9 lead cast at the heart of it!
If this turns out to be a TOS movie, and re-cast on top of it, then even being a life long Trekkie, JJ or no JJ, I am not going to watch it! I'd rather watch The Final Frontier, Insurrection and Nemesis on loop for 24 hours.
:(((
PS: this might be "whining", but I think this forum is for us Trekkies to express our opinions and we are all entitled to it.
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I'm 28 and I "grew up" on TOS. I respectfully recommend that you check it out...it is most certainly NOT a "sweet and funny little nostalgia show" - if it was, it wouldn't have started a 40 year cultural phenomenon. Many of the stories are still very relevant to today's world.
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Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying,
And dying to me dont sound like all that much fun...
-John Mellencamp
Political tags-such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth-are never basic criteria.
The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Samuel T. Cogley, Attorney at Law
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oh come on, you know you will watch it. If anything just to see how its done.
Amazing, I too am 27 and I see Trek in an entirely different way than you do. Yes I grew up watching first run TNG but to be honest I was quoting Trek well before 1986. My parents were Trekkies (I remember going to a convention at like 4 or 5) and my parents both wearing Vulcan ears. Im sorry did I fail to mention I was an embarassed kid alot? anyways...
Trek is TOS. It may have had the least amount of episodes, and total screen time but hands down its the best. For one, it started this whole thing. Everything else is just a spinoff. TOS even aged better than TNG, 40 years later and I can find episodes that still hold meaning AND entertain. TNG barely entertains, you want meaning? look elsewhere.
If TOS is recast, then so be it. Its the natural progression, go back to what works, and keep it simple.
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Today is a fabulous day to dye - The Metrosexual Klingon.
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Dude, nobody but die hard fans care about anything but TOS. Take a look at the box office for Nemesis. Also, nobody watched Ds9,Voy or Ent for free at home. What makes you think people are going to pay to see them now?
When TOS hit syndication it became a cultural icon that none of the other series have even come close to matching.
Star Trek to the vast majority of people is Kirk and Spock. That is why you are getttinga TOS film. It's as simple as that.
How about setting up a new T'Poll to see what everyone thinks? :)
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I wish this film a lot of luck, but I just think it's WAY to soon to be doing more TREK. The harecore fans will come out and see it, but the mainstream, just don't care anymore--actually they never did; The TREK films never did big-bang boxoffice to begin with. PARAMOUNT destroyed TREK with WAY to much product, all in too short a time frame and most people are just trekked out--not just from viewing TREK, but from constantly hearing about it as well.
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I agree with nearly everything you said but one: I'm a hardcore fan and I'm still NOT going to go see this in the theater. I'm definitely waiting until the DVD. I'm not interested in seeing Kirk and Spock recast. The macabre part of me would be more willing to accept a recasting effort if they were both dead, but as long as they live, I just feel it's just another ripoff of old stories that should have been told, but never were.
As for the release date (2008), I wonder if TPTB are still trying to ride Lucas' coattails. As I see it, the prequel idea for ENT was inspired by the SW prequels. SWTV is supposed to debut in 2008 in the same time frame of the SW universe everyone wants to see more of (between Ep 3 and 4 when Vader kicks butt, bounty hunters thrive and the galaxy is gritty). It seems to me that TPTB want to also return to a popular era of Trek in 2008 as well.
It's way too soon to make judgements, but I'm still ticked that Paramount ruined the only TV show I watched. As I have said before, if they want my money, they'll have to earn it back. I'm not going to the theater just because a movie has a Star Trek label on it.
If Shatner and Nimoy are not given roles as Kirk and Spock (perhaps remenescing about their early days)I for one have no intrest in this film.
I don't like the idea of the roles being recast. But, I could live with it IF and only IF Shatner and Nimoy are given at least a cameo role.
Their return would give this film the credibility it will need to succeed.
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Isn't that just a little stubborn? Sooner or later, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy will no longer be with us. Sadly, that is a fact of life. And if Star Trek is to persist, we may have to expect that Kirk and Spock will return in some form or another. Why not sooner rather than later?
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what if they don't even want to be in it? what will you say then? Nimoy has been pretty public that he's in no hurry to play Spock again(BTW His last scene in Unification pt.2 was about the best sendoff one could hope for his character) and Shatner, even if he's in it for one scene, it'll feel like a gimmick. As long as the story is compelling i'm for it. this whole "if Shatner's not in it the movie sucks" is really off putting.
Would you rather have a movie with Shatner with a crappy story or a good story w/o Shatner. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but c'mon it would be like saying, "I'm not going to watch Godfather II if Brando's not in it. HE's the true Godfather, not this DeNiro a-hole"
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"I once asked Axl why he left off the "e" in his name. He started crying and said he thought he spelled it right." -Slash
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Brando played Vito Corleone for one film. Shatner has been Kirk to the public for 40 years. You can't really compare the two.
In a perfect world Shatner and Nimoy would simply play older versions of Kirk and Spock. Much like Sly Stallone is doing with Rocky. And Harrison Ford is doing with Indiana Jones.
I guess it's not ok to age in the ST universe.
On the other hand maybe your right and new actors can pull off the roles. But, I just can't see it happening. These actors (no matter how good they are) are going to be judged against cultual icons. They will be put in a no win scenerio.
I think I'd rather see all new characters if Shatner and Nimoy aren't involved.
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Quote:
Brando played Vito Corleone for one film. Shatner has been Kirk to the public for 40 years. You can't really compare the two.
A comparison seemingly in favor of Shatner if one weren't so arbitrary and intentionally blinding themselves to the impact on the audience, which is what I believe the previous poster was trying to get at. And yeah, Shatner was Kirk to the public for 3 seasons and 7 movies. Is Shatner as Kirk any more recognizable to anyone than Brando as Vito?
Yet DeNiro as Vito is just as accepted because the second movie was just as good as the first.
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IMHO Kirk and Spock have had their day and their farewell with the Shatner and Nimoy playing them. You used Stallone and Ford as examples. From what i've read, the new Rocky movie is actually a pretty good story so no problem there.
But Stallone wants to do Rambo IV as well. The dude is in his 50's. And you think he should put the bandana on again? And Ford, Indy has the perfect ending in Last Crusade and now the 60 year old Ford (who I think is awesome BRW) want to put on the fedora again? I'd rather have anew guy be Indy.
Look at Bond. Connery originated Bond and they've replaced him 4 times. And that "Shatner's been Kirk for 40 years" thing doesn't quite work for me. He's been Kirk for 3 seasons and 6 1/2 movies. Take a page from Spock in ST 6 when he tells Valeris of the meaning of the painting in his cabin, "It is a reminder that all things end."
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"I once asked Axl why he left off the "e" in his name. He started crying and said he thought he spelled it right." -Slash
I really feel for paramount and more so for J.J. Abrams. Judging by the response on this board already to something as simple as this poster trek fans are just never happy.
comments like don't get your hopes up... or it's 'old looking' 'i hope they use the next gen one' .
God trek fans are the biggest bunch of whiners - the dude's trying to do something classy - simple, (shall I say it) bold design which says a lot about the next movie - we're going back to the original series!
It's a teaser poster just like they did with generations boldly go. Unless of course they go with the extremely effective Batman advertising - just the logo what else do you need?
The command insignia is the most identified one especially in non trek circles hence not confusing the issue with the science insignia.
They haven't even shot one frame yet and people are already writing the film off. God I wouldn't sign up to try and make you people happy. I hope that JJ goes to hell with them I really like TOS and I'm going to make a movie that I would enjoy and if the overly negative fans can't deal with it perhaps they can just watch their cheap fan fiction movies.
Wait until the damn film is made before passing judgement or try and show paramount that as a fan base we're not just a bunch of whiny nerds and that we support star trek.
I'd really love it if some of the negative people out there could back up their reasons why this is going to suck so much give a couple of good reasons?
Kirk and Spock are cultural icons that the public instantly recognise, the actors who played them are too old to play action heros at this stage - other cultural icons like james bond have been played by other actors to success. The filmmaker in question obviously knows star trek and has at least some fondness for the series. It doesn't appear as yet that they are skimping on the project unlike previous films. It sounds like they're going for A grade actors. At this stage and I'm only guessing (but being positive) you won't need too much prior knowledge to enjoy.
Yeah this project sounds like it'll suck.
get a life.
**** I've calmed down a lot since posting this a couple of minutes ago and just want to point out that I'm all for healthy debate on the new trek film but I'm reacting to all the negativity out there about the new film which I personally hope is going to be awesome - I just get so tired of all the bitching about how bad trek is all the time and I may have blown up over some very minor comments - but I still believe that the trek community tends to be overly critical to a point where you wonder what artist would want to try and make us happy and that we should all lend our positive support to the next film so that non trek people don't get put off****
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Quit your day job
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The real bitching hasn't begun yet. You just wait and see. What I mean is, it could be a lot worse.
But I don't envy Abrams either. Neither did I envy B&B. The internet has removed the filter that used to exsist between producers and consumers. If you're a consumer and never tried to sit in the other chair, you won't understand how criticism is viewed through their eyes. It hits them a lot harder, when they're being scrutinised for doing their best with all their heart. You may think its crap. So that's what you're gonna tell them. Well, many consumers only care about their RIGHTS to get treated like kings. They're PAYING for this stuff right? (wrong, people download illegally... never mind)
Besides the "free speech" means that any sort of filtering is OH SO EVIL because its the same as censorship!!!
The internet brings us one step closer to telepathy. This changes the world. So the new generation of producers need to realise (and most of them probably HAS realised) that "the crowd" is never satisfied. Only individuals can be satisfied. The more the better of course. But there are always mean-spirited personal attacks. Many people are easily upset, and many people has not learned to refrain from foul language. So the producers of ANY product can't afford to invest their emotions as much anymore. Their job is just a job, and they're doing it primarily for their own sake.
CONSUMERS, on the other hand need to realise how the internet is a powerful tool and needs to be brought under control for everyones best sake. If we can't install a filter, we need to filter our thoughts before we express them.
This, I have pointed out many times. Bottom line is, we must give the producers some slack, some credit, especially when we're upset over their decisions.
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Sorry...not being negative or trying to rain on the parade, but come on....how can you remake TOS ? That series had magic that will NEVER be replicated. Shatner is Kirk, Nimoy is Spock.
Well, damn. This was definitely not the direction I was hoping for. Oh, well.
Gustavo
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TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor
gl2000@uol.com.br
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"...but come on....how can you remake TOS..."
Really? ;)
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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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I couldn't agree with you more. What's ticking people off is that Abrams is being tight lipped about any details of the film. Any information he's given fits into any era of the franchise. I say good for him. Trek fans have become acustomed to know what's going to happen before a movie is released or a television show airs. Personally, I'm excited about him being in charge. First, he has such a diverse resume of drama, mystery, and science fiction that I think he could combine elements of all of those genres into the film and do it well. Second, he's stated that he is a long time Star Trek fan (as opposed to that jerk who did Nemesis who said he had never watched Star Trek so he felt he could be objective on new ideas. Yeah, let me know how that worked out for you) so I think Abrams wants to see the next chapter done tastefully. Now as for this matter of the teaser poster. I wouldn't bet big money that it will be an Original Series era production. That could very well just be some stock graphics Paramount had on hand. Abrams has said that it will be a mixture of new and old. At this point, I'm just happy that Paramount is giving the franchise another chance under a well established hand. So, if fans can stop the whining and stop speculating, lets see what the man has to offer. And you better learn some patience. The year on the calendar is 2008. That's could go up to nearly 30 months if they target a Thanksgiving/Christmas release so just sit back and enjoy the ride.
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Sarge-Couldn't have said it better. Give the guy a chance before you tear it to shreds! Abrams appears to be a hardcore TOS guy....he knows he can't bastardize it...and this is definitely a TOS film about Kirk and Spock, hence the command gold and the science blue. I wish him luck....it takes alot of balls to take on a project like this that will be speculated and criticized by the fans and the mainstream media alike. Rebooting an iconic series like TOS is fraught with landmines. I wish him the best. If it works, then Trek will breathe again. The franchise really hasn't been truly healthy since TNG went off the air.
I just wish that for the downloadable desktop wallpaper, they'd used the correct insignia on the blue shirt.
Blue Shirt Version
*sigh*
Oh, well. I suppose you can't have it all, right?
Simple, striking, awesome. Best TREK poster in a long, loooong time. Certainly better than those last two unforgivably terrible posters for NEMESIS.
I mean, c'mon... what self-respecting TREK fan DOESN'T want that new poster on their wall???
I remember another movie that came out with a really simple poster that really got fans of a particular franchise excited. It showed a boy walking in the desert with a shadow that looked like Darth Vader. We all know how that movie turned out.
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"Maybe in another thousand years, we'll have teleportation and all that other Star Trek stuff. But with our current technology, we can't even make William Shatner's hair look real." --- Bill Maher
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And I would answer that with: J.J. Abrams is infinitely more talented than George Lucas, who's a terrible writer, lousy with actors and depends more on Yes men and other people's imaginations than any real talent of his own. One season of "Lost" is 1,000 times better and more fulfilling than the last three STAR WARS films combined.
I'm not worried.
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Yeah, and we don't know ANYTHING about what Abrams is planning. Quit your bitching.
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Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying,
And dying to me dont sound like all that much fun...
-John Mellencamp
Political tags-such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth-are never basic criteria.
The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Samuel T. Cogley, Attorney at Law
And here I was thinking they were posting fan art. It's a gorgeous poster: evocative and simple. Yeah, it seems to pretty much say it's a TOS movie. I can't see them doing a format in the style of all five series (especially when three overlap).
I'm just astonished that anything is out this early. Two years? Wow. The last time I ever remember seeing posters in theaters that early was for LOTR and Titanic and those were just a year before.
Then again, this may never make it to theaters.
By the way, I think Trekweb now has a good template for a new subject image when it comes to Trek XI news. ;-)
Will any cinemas actually put this up?!
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I just don't know!
To me, I guess it just wasn't what I expected.
Seems to be about retreading on old ground!
Star Trek is about the future - an amazing place, an unkown place, a place of adventure that we would all love to be a part of.
I remember watching those early Trek movies that had such attention to detail, the fact that the production staff always worked their socks off to make us believe that this universe COULD really exist.
I remember watching the trailer for TNG, absolutley AMAZED at how the whole concept felt so realistic in it's development, that it was different yet so familiar, that you believed it was the same universe, only 80 odd years in it's future.
I know that this is only an initial poster, but as a fan, I'm not afraid to see this Trek universe get bigger/ different.
I really like the characters of Kirk, Spock, Mcoy & the gang, but I also like Picard, Riker & Data, Sisko , Dax, Kira & Worf, Janeway, the Doc, Paris, Archer, Phlox & Trip!
I could go on & on.
My point is, I like ALL of the characters throughout the various incarnations of Trek, but I would prefer to see NEW refreshing well thought out characters in new refreshing well thought out situations that really push the boundaries of exceptional story telling.
Two words - Imagination & Quality!
Shiny, nice and clean! This is an example of "simple works best". The message is not to be mistaken, and yet, we're very curious now... :)
In my opinion this looks better than the TNG movie posters; they are messy in comparison.
Maybe the marketing campaign will feature a number of different posters featuring insignias from different eras?
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"He dipped his toes in the pools of normality, then went back to bask on insanity beach" - Aquafibio
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This is the single most exciting thing yet, not actually the poster itself but the fact that there's two years to go and Paramount not only understand the concept of a long-term marketing campaign, but are implementing one!!!
It looks old school all the way!
With all tidbits in all the stories the last few months - my speculation is that ST:XI will be the first voyage of the ENT under Kirk.
Just as CASINO ROYALE will be about Bond earning his 00-status - I say the next ST:XI will be about a man in his mid-30's who becomes the captain of his first starship and the relationship he develops with Spock and McCoy that helps define his own character, builds and strengthens his command. I always felt that Spock and McCoy represent two extremes of Kirk's own character - the serious minded versus the emotion facet of the human character.
TOS was JJ Abrams' era - to him, this is STAR TREK at its heart and core of the franchise, returning to where it began but yes - it will have to be with new actors - which I have no problem with.
I have no doubt JJ Abrams' contract includes approving all marketing material and this is an indication of direction.
It's about revisiting the franchise at the point where it began and those first adventures that had a certain image and flair all its own - like this James Blish novel cover. But not a reboot - just dropping into places of the canon that we've never seen or has been explored.
Isn't this is bit premature? I mean we just had Abrams saying in TV Guide that nothing was set in stone in terms of the plot, and that "it won't be released until it's ready" or some such thing. Yet here we have Paramount already saying 2008 and strongly implying a TOS-era film? I think we've got a case of right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing...
Al
Gold = Kirk
Blue = Spock
TOS Enterprise insignia in the centre
obviously this is happening in the TOS era trek! the texture of the shirt, the logo itself. Now, wouldn't be interesting if they released another poster with the TNG logo on it ...? Definitely intriguing!
obviously this is happening in the TOS era trek! the texture of the shirt, the logo itself. Now, wouldn't be interesting if they released another poster with the TNG logo on it ...? Definitely intriguing!
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You know, that poster is just to get you excited. This has nothing to do with the actual uniform that will be used. They don't even have a script yet.
You guys should think first, before assuming things.
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