From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos
From Address: urban@panix.com (Michael Urban)
Subject: Re: Star Trek: Am I the Only One?

In article ,
Steven L.  wrote:
>>>
>> And yet most of the complaints include something about how the
>> characters act _nothing_ like the previous bearers of those names.
>
>That's right, the critics of the movie fall into two camps: Those who 
>think the movie was too derivative of past Trek, and those who think it 
>was too different from past Trek.
>
>My theory is that just the shock of seeing entirely new actors playing 
>the old familiar parts has unnerved a lot of Trek fans.

And yet we have fan-film projects like "New Voyages/Phase II" which
have had new (and frequently inexperienced) actors in the familiar
roles - even playing alongside the original actor, in the case
of Walter Koenig.  It is not clear how many fans of the original
series (however you define that classification) have been turned
off by this compared to those who have embraced it; nor indeed 
is it clear whether the existence of such projects may have
made it easier for fans to accept the new actors in Trek09.
Note that Abrams gave James Cawley, who plays Kirk in 'Phase II',
an appearance as an extra on the bridge in the present film.

I was not terribly impressed by Trek09.  I was more or less
entertained while in the theatre, but only through a willful effort
of turning off my brain while watching.  The clumsy plot devices,
the absurd sounds-like-science (yes, even making allowances for
Star Trek standards thereof), the overemphasis on 'action' rather
than anything remotely intriguing or ingenious - all added up to
a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing (I will refrain
from calling it a tale told by an idiot, however).  I fall
into neither of your 'two camps'.

.Mike

PS.  Oh, and if they're going to lift a scene almost bodily from
the animated episode 'Yesteryear', shouldn't they give some
kind of credit to D.C. Fontana?  Gotta love Hollywood.
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