Hmmm, well, yes, I can see why you'd have reservations, but on the other hand there do seem to be some refreshingly different ideas in this one - and what I've seen of the cast so far is quite promising. Look on the bright side - it doesn't have Ryker marrying Troi, or somebody tipping Worf into the ocean, or Data complaining about his boobs. But I should declare a bias here; I'm not really a TOS fan although I did start out that way - having seen just about all the films and TV episodes, my vote goes to the sadly under-rated DS9.

I did like their photo of Gary Sinise as the 'lost' Dr McCoy though. He'd've been wonderful casting. Sigh.

Oh, that reminds me - according to canon, Jim Kirk's first spacefaring posting was as ensign aboard the USS Republic in the early 2250s, only to serve as a lieutenant under Captain Garrovick aboard the USS Farragut after graduating from the Starfleet Academy.

He rapidly rose through Starfleet's ranks and was promoted to captain in 2264 (at only 31 years) and received command of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

One has to be grateful to Memory Alpha for their comprehensive collection of fact, right? *g*

They also have an article on The Earth-Romulan War (2156-2160), meaning said war ended 73 years before Jim Kirk was even born, and due to the establishment of the Neutral Zone between the Empire and the Federation, there'd been no further conflicts at all until the Enterprise encountered a cloaked Romulan ship attacking Earth outposts bordering the Neutral Zone in 2266.

Go read some more canon, J.J. Abrams, why don't you?

I just spent 40 minutes writing you a detailed response - almost entirely coming into line with your POV - and then lost it to a computer crash before I could send it. (O, brave new world!) I'll try again later; don't have the heart now, it's too soon. XXX

Don't suppose it will match the effortless elegance of the first version (well, I can dream, can't I?) but we'll give it a go.

When I wrote my original comment - i.e. about the film not being quite so bad as you thought - I didn't realise that you were speaking/writing from the POV of such a serious fan. I've heard/seen a lot of people criticise this film simply because it's easy to be critical about something in advance and I get very fed up of that kind of generalised negativity. Now that I understand your specific objections - and you have a much, much more detailed level of expertise than I could ever claim - I begin to see your point more clearly. I won't pretend any familiarity with the books, either, so their status had escaped me. I can definitely get into line with you on the matter of a 'specifically American future', though; I don't think it annoys me quite as much - maybe, being English, the American hegemony of entertainment media hasn't hit me quite as hard as it would a continental European. I mean, it's already in the right language! On the other hand, however, having seen the way they've monopolised history - airbrushing the Allies out of WWII, for example - I certainly don't want them monopolising the future as well. (Hooray for Obama, perhaps they'll start being a bit more multi-cultural and multi-etnic now!)

Anyway, seeing the vehemence of your objections to the new Trek film and not actually sharing them, I started thinking about what would make me so angry/apprehensive, and the answer wasn't far to seek. I steadfastly refuse to have anything to do with the Batman movies, for very similar reasons. I've been told that I'm stupid, etc., but there is no way that Batman on film can ever be the equal of Batman on the comic-book page. No living human man can embody the character, no matter what clever special effects might be employed to make him look or seem more than he is. There's a mystique to Batman, a 'Batman-ness', that just can't be captured on film - and that's why I stay away.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if it's the absence of 'Star Trek-ness' from the new project that's worrying you? It won't fit established canon, it won't have the Roddenberry vision, therefore it won't be Star Trek. I think I found some of the later incarnations of the franchise easier to take (although a lot of my friends objected to them) because they were so far divorced from the source material (TOS) that it was possible to enjoy them as almost a different show, but with this one purporting to be about the original characters it should certainly fit with the canon that we already know.

On the specifics, the only thing I'll say is that there's many a teenage lecher who learned his lesson and matured into a slightly more respectable character, and there always was a slightly wayward streak to Kirk; I would have no trouble believing that he had a rebellious past! I think it's really a question of seeing how that particular scene plays on the screen; it could be funny, it could be awful. If the idea is to show us that the young Kirk is on a journey and his character is still developing, then the intention is good although the execution may leave a lot to be desired.

So, anyway, from my POV as a more casual viewer I can't see so much to be worried about, but now that you've outlined the context for your concerns I must admit that I do understand why you'd have them. Perhaps this is one of those projects that could never really hope to match up to the expectations and hopes of true fans like yourself; there are just too many compromises involved in bringing something like this to the (big) screen. People are always going to be disappointed, even outraged; but, as we've been shown time and time again, matters of taste and/or faithfulness to the original have never yet stopped any movie production company doing exactly what it wants to do if it thinks it can make money out of it. It's a nasty, cynical world we live in, I'm afraid!

Hey hey!

Not much to add, really, I think we're pretty much on a wavelength now. But no, I didn't look at the trailer. I have a dial-up connection which as you will have gathered can be quite unreliable even with text. The only time I've ever tried to download video it was stupidly slow and crashed several times, so I don't even attempt it any more!

XXX