Thursday, January 24, 2008

Spock reboots

J.J. Abrams is doing the franchise reboot for the next motion picture installment for Star Trek. I saw the trailer this past MLK Birthday when I saw Cloverfield, which was pretty good, save for the underlying plot involving a dude and a girl. C'mon, people....it's a creature film not a love story.

I know some people don't get 'it' with Star Trek. I got into it because my parents were into it. Other people I know who don't like it mentioned that their parents weren't into it. Maybe it's a generational thing, unless you're also prone to sf (sci-fi) tales, but there's something compelling about the Star Trek mythos.

Tons has been said about how Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future was a welcoming and refreshing optimistic view, as historically speaking I'd go so far to say that the sf genre leaned towards dystopic themes (think Philip K. Dick, Heinlein, Bradbury, Vonnegut). I think that's what makes this body of work so enduring. The audience wants to hope...dare I say...they have the 'audacity' to hope for a better future: one in which mistakes of the past are used as lessons and guidelines for building a brighter tomorrow.

Regardless, any TV show that spawns 11 movies, and generates enough inspiration to have an aircraft carrier and a Space Shuttle named after a fictional vehicle, is doing something right.
...digging the threads...ah...the 70s...I think they existed for the sole purpose to fuel Will Ferrell-driven movies.

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