tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post4037259584354007541..comments2023-01-21T12:14:17.714-08:00Comments on Miserable Pile of Secrets: Star TrekHenryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-84257419592834182562009-05-21T18:33:12.790-07:002009-05-21T18:33:12.790-07:00Yes, I do think that's a factor, which was why I t...Yes, I do think that's a factor, which was why I thought it important to note Next Generation's place in my childhood.<br /><br />But I also think the two crews differed in ways that made the originals more adaptable to film.<br /><br />First, the original series cast had been together for almost twice as long going into Wrath of Kahn, and there was an easy rapport there that the viewer could instantly grasp. By comparison, the Next Generation characters always felt more disparate as individuals who had developed independently.<br /><br />Then, within that original series group, the movies smartly kept the focus around the dynamic between the three main characters. Fans of the other crew members might have felt shortchanged, but, even then, I think that Scotty and Chekov were able to convey a lot of personality with very little screen time, whereas it takes a while to get to know characters like Geordi and Dr. Crusher. It seemed to me like the Next Generation movies struggled to find places even for Riker to appear.<br /><br />Finally, movies 2-6 featured an actual ongoing arc, with major threads introduced and developed within and across the films. The Next Generation movies felt more standalone (perhaps at times disposable).Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-3603647954498035732009-05-20T23:50:10.914-07:002009-05-20T23:50:10.914-07:00Hmm, true. I also think of the Next Generation sh...Hmm, true. I also think of the Next Generation show first, because that's where the characters became themselves and had their finest moments, whereas the movies sometimes (not always) seem like "Data celebration day" and whatnot, sometimes actually stalling the stories of these people. <br /><br />However, if I may infer that you don't think of the old Trek movies as being as "inconsequential" relative to their characters and TV source material, do you think it's because you have much less affection for the original Star Trek series? I don't know how much Star Trek old you've ingested, but I can tell you that most of my Kirk/Spock diet consisted of the movies. How could I reminisce on the original stories of these characters when I never watched the show, certainly not at an age when it would have affected me the most profoundly?Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-25305634012999302312009-05-20T23:24:59.671-07:002009-05-20T23:24:59.671-07:00I enjoyed all of the Next Generation films, but, a...I enjoyed all of the Next Generation films, but, as a fan who grew up watching and loving the TV show, I think I was disappointed at how inconsequential the movies felt as chapters in the ongoing stories of most of those characters. As solid a movie as First Contact was, as the years passed, I noticed that, any time I thought of Picard or Data, it would always be classic episodes of the show that came to mind. I hardly ever thought about the films.<br /><br />We'll see whether my present enthusiasm for the new Star Trek endures. Much of my excitement is due, not to anything in the movie itself, but to the potential for a sequel that will do what Spider-Man 2 or The Dark Knight did.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-83997449208255396522009-05-20T15:46:13.713-07:002009-05-20T15:46:13.713-07:00I always thought that Star Trek: First Contact sto...I always thought that Star Trek: First Contact stood shoulder to shoulder with the best of the "old generation" movies. I like how it created a history for the world that would become Star Trek (a history that worked very well and was taken up by later installments/episodes in the franchise), and I loved the gee-whiz surprise at the end. I might add that it handled time travel more elegantly than the new Star Trek movie did. I also thought the music was very moving, and it just occurred to me that Star Trek seems to bring the best out of composers. <br /><br />Nemesis was also a very good movie, but it definitely required that you be invested in the characters coming into the movie. If you didn't already know something about Data, for example, the movie wouldn't have the intended impact. And both Nemesis and Insurrection felt small-time, like expanded television episodes, and Star Trek is definitely capable of more on the big screen. <br /><br />What bothered me most about the new Star Trek was the plot holes - more prevalent than in any of the other Star Trek movies, I thought. But this was clearly a character-driven project, and it succeeded so well on that account that I was just barely able to get over my tendency to ask "but what about . . ." and "why didn't they just . . ."Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.com