OFFICIAL N-G.com Star Trek Thread

SouthtownKid

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We need STK’s official ranking of all Trek Movies from best to worst, including the Chris Pine Trek franchise.
There's a quote from something and I can't remember where. "At least they were up front with their bullshit." I'd rank the JJ Abrams movies higher than they deserve just on account of their lack of pretension. It was less offensive to me their disinterest in telling a real Star Trek story because they never pretended they were trying to, and it wasn't the original actors other than Nimoy. They were making movies to compete with Fast and Furious, not with thoughtful science fiction. Which doesn't really exist much now to compete against anyway. So run-and-gun Chris Pine and Zachary whatshisname bothers me infinitely less than Picard and company shooting a laser machine gun off the back of a racing, bouncing space dune buggy.

So the Trek movies ranked in order would be:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture -- not good, but at least an honest attempt at actual Star Trek.

Star Trek 2 -- most entertaining, with little flashes of horror like you'd see in TOS. I could imagine that Original Series soundtrack sting Duhhh duuuh DAH-NAHH playing when they put those worms in Checkov's ear.

Star Trek 6 -- solid premise, mediocre execution. But after 3 (which walked back everything that was good about Wrath of Khan), 4 (which was a joke), and 5 (which was just pure shit), 6 seems pretty great.

_________

After those three movies -- 1, 2, and 6 -- everything is garbage. And like I said at the top, I'd kind of rank the three JJ Abrams movies at the top of that garbage heap. There was no sense of deep disappointment as their was with the TNG movies. There was no dragging the original series through the mud like with the original actors doing their Save the Whales Comedy Variety Reunion Tour show. The Abrams movies were exactly as advertised: dumb action. Like, what if Star Trek was first created today, for today's audiences. Made by a bunch of idiot assholes.
 

Lagduf

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You know, I feel the same way about the Abram’s Trek. It’s its own thing and I’m okay with that.

There were three films? I thought only two.

The only thing I don’t care for is the destruction of Romulus thing in the main timeline but, whatever.
 

StevenK

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In the main I didn't mind the casting for the new Trek movies. I thought Kirk, Bones and Spock were spot on. Scotty was just irritating though.

I kept thinking how much Doohan would have been pissed at his character being a continual punch line, after how angry he was with Shatner for limiting his character in the first place.
 

SouthtownKid

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You know, I feel the same way about the Abram’s Trek. It’s its own thing and I’m okay with that.

There were three films? I thought only two.

The only thing I don’t care for is the destruction of Romulus thing in the main timeline but, whatever.
The third one has Idris Elba in it. Star Trek Beyond, it was called. Co-written by Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz Simon Pegg, who you'll remember played Scotty in th Abrams movies. Apparently he was a Star Trek fan as a kid, and in a bunch of interviews prior to release, he talked about how the third movie, under his co-writing, was finally going to become proper Trek.

NOPE!

It's probably the least good of the three.
 

famicommander

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The problem with the JJ Trek movies is they removed all the stakes.

By the end of the second movie they've literally cured death and made starships obsolete. They can raise the dead and instantly beam anyone or anything to anywhere in the galaxy from anywhere else.
 

SouthtownKid

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The problem with the JJ Trek movies is they removed all the stakes.

By the end of the second movie they've literally cured death and made starships obsolete.
That's not even one of the top 20 problems with the JJ movies.
 

joe8

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We need STK’s official ranking of all Trek Movies from best to worst, including the Chris Pine Trek franchise.
I would rank them roughly like this:
II>VI>IV>1>III>First Contact>Star Trek (2009)>Generations>Nemesis>Star Trek V>Insurrection>Into Darkness>Beyond

IMO, the TV shows are the real Star Trek- TOS, Animated Series, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise.
 
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Fygee

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The problem with the JJ Trek movies is they removed all the stakes.

By the end of the second movie they've literally cured death and made starships obsolete. They can raise the dead and instantly beam anyone or anything to anywhere in the galaxy from anywhere else.
They essentially ignored all that with Beyond, and rightly so.

Into Darkness was a prime example of what happens when you get way, way too crazy with mcguffins and lame "mystery box" style storytelling. Fans are going to see these things for what they are a mile away.

Star Trek is one of those shows where every now and then a certain batch of writers and producers don't understand the lore and limitations set in the universe. Hell, look at Star Trek V. The Enterprise went to the center of the galaxy like it was a short trip, but it would have taken Voyager 40 years to reach it from a similar relative distance.

Obscure fact, back when Star Trek TOS' first pilot was being written and produced, the idea of eliminating starships altogether and just transporting was floated to save on the budget. Gene put the kibosh on that. And yet, in 2012....
I would rank them roughly like this:
II>VI>IV>1>III>First Contact>Star Trek (2009)>Generations>Nemesis>Star Trek V>Insurrection>Into Darkness>Beyond

IMO, the TV shows are the real Star Trek- TOS, Animated Series, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise.
For me:

II -> First Contact -> Beyond -> IV -> VI -> III -> TMP -> 09 -> Generations -> Nemesis -> Into Darkness -> V -> Insurrection
 

Lagduf

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I finally finished Lower Decks. It’s enjoyable but leans a bit too hard in to the 4th wall at times and references obscure Trek shit for non-sequiturs or cheap jokes.

I loved Riker in it.
 

joe8

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They essentially ignored all that with Beyond, and rightly so.

Into Darkness was a prime example of what happens when you get way, way too crazy with mcguffins and lame "mystery box" style storytelling. Fans are going to see these things for what they are a mile away.

Star Trek is one of those shows where every now and then a certain batch of writers and producers don't understand the lore and limitations set in the universe. Hell, look at Star Trek V. The Enterprise went to the center of the galaxy like it was a short trip, but it would have taken Voyager 40 years to reach it from a similar relative distance.

Obscure fact, back when Star Trek TOS' first pilot was being written and produced, the idea of eliminating starships altogether and just transporting was floated to save on the budget. Gene put the kibosh on that. And yet, in 2012....

For me:

II -> First Contact -> Beyond -> IV -> VI -> III -> TMP -> 09 -> Generations -> Nemesis -> Into Darkness -> V -> Insurrection
I would agree, there are a lot aspects of the way a TV series should be made, that was set down by the old series (from TOS to Enterprise). Intelligent stories that make you think, and the focus on topics like technology, human history & politics, sex, and the human condition.

I thought it was when they were creating Next Gen, Roddenberry had the idea of just having the crew transport (teleport) thru the universe, instead of flying in a starship. As by that point, they would have evolved past using a starship. But I think, story-wise, it's better to have a ship.
 
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Fygee

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I don't recall there being any discussion about that with TNG, though it's possible. Gene was known for having radical ideas that often might have made sense in the lore, but didn't make sense for an entertaining show. Or just wacky ass shit like wanting Troi to have three breasts.

However, having Star Trek TNG without an Enterprise would have likely been laughed out of the writers room.

It's confirmed there was some talks about it when TOS was being born due to mid-60s TV having really tight budgets, especially for new shows and a new production company like DesiLu.
 

Lagduf

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Ep 6 SNW - best episode yet, and maybe one of the best episode of Trek - just…wow.

Got chills at the end.
 
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Fygee

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Another great episode.

I knew what was going to happen, but the execution was dead on.
 

Lagduf

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Another great episode.

I knew what was going to happen, but the execution was dead on.

Yeah, it’s clear what’s going to happen more or less but I did not anticipate Seeing the previous first servant, which I thought was a nice touch. Truly Terrifying.

I feel like in a TOS story Kirk would have whipped everyone’s ass and saved the boy, prime directive be damned. So many times Kirk kills the god, the computer, the whatever.

Pike certainly tried and failed through really no fault of his own and we’re left with an ending that isn’t quite so cut and dry. Definitely my favorite of the show so far. Nice play on the the theme of the one vs the many - plays in to Pike’s eventual injury as well.

I wonder if we’ll get a Sam Kirk episode next? So far all he’s done is get zapped in Episode 2 lol.

We know he’ll leave Starfleet at some point for his family so could be an interesting character arc there.

Do we know how many episodes we’ll get in this season?
 
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Lagduf

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LMFAO Sybok.

Why?????? We don’t need retroactive continuity to create a backstory for a character that was poorly written and introduced.

I expect we won’t see more of Sybok but the Angel character is left for future encounters if needed.

I wish we’d see more of Rainn Wilson’s Mudd but I don’t think that will work given the presence of Spock now on the enterprise.

This episode was a bit goofy.

I’m interested to see how they end the season. TNG style with a two part episode linking episode 10 of this season to episode 1 of next?

I wonder if we’ll get some hints at what’s coming… before Ep 10.
 
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Fygee

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I'm totally down for Sybok. With how good this show has been, I feel comfortable with them giving that character a second lease on life.

Angel will definitely be coming back, and I'm sure Mudd will too at some point.

Episode 8 looks to be one of those really weird WTF ones heavily inspired by TOS. M'benga shows up on the bridge and it's suddenly a freaking Renaissance Fair. I'm intrigued.

Totally guaranteed Ep 10 will end on a cliffhanger, big or small. Gotta toss the bait for next season.
 

HornheaDD

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Caught up. I am also in the "More like Whybok" camp. Also, I immediately knew that Angel character was A. the villain, and B. trans.

I dont see why he had to be all over the top after he was found out. Just annoying, and so far the one big 'meh' Ive had for SNW. I thought Discovery had all the rights to wokeTrek. Guess not. If they are gonna start pulling that out of their ass, I'm gonna lose interest real quick.
 

Lagduf

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Angel was a trans man? I guess I missed that.

I thought the character once revealed as the badguy was over the top, but given the silly side story with the captured crew on the pirate ship I just rolled with it…I figured they were trying to do whacky TOS like episode.
 
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