STAR TREK
September 8, 1966
40+ years and still trekking....
Cool happenings....
Annual Star Trek Creation Convention in Las Vegas!
https://creationent.com/cal/st_lasvegas.html
William Shatner and Chris Pine finally meet -- the 2 Kirks! JJ Abrams bought a couple of tables at Shatner's Celebrity Horse Show and the whole new cast was there.
Trek gets another Newsweek cover!
President Obama discusses the new Star Trek movie with Newsweek....
And the last movie you saw?
Now, movies I've been doing OK [with] because it turns out we got this nice theater on the ground floor of my house … So Star Trek, we saw this weekend, which I thought was good. Everybody was saying I was Spock, so I figured I should check it out and—[the president makes the Vulcan salute with his hand].
Very good.
Yes, absolutely.
Did you watch that when you were growing up?
I used to love Star Trek. You know, Star Trek was ahead of its time. There was a whole—the special effects weren't real good, but the storylines were always evocative, you know, there was a little commentary and a little pop philosophy for a 10-year-old to absorb.
A lot of U.N. stuff.
Yes, exactly, right.
Star Trek Exhibit at The Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA in February 2008
Entrance to the Exhibit
Incredible model of Enterprise!
Simulator rides were available
The Big Three costumes!
Classic TOS Bridge
TNG Bridge
Vulcan costumes, including Spock's robe
My Con buddy and the Guardian of Forever
Thanks to SA for the photos!
Gorn display at the former Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel
My mom at a Trek Con with Friend!
Great website -- https://trekmovie.com
Star Trek - JJ Abrams, 2009
What did I think? It's complicated....
I thought it looked beautiful and expensive on screen which was nice to see and that JJ's directing was surprisingly good. (It was really something on IMAX!) Some reviewers commented on the breakneck speed of action but it worked (and also helped hide some plot flaws). But please ditch the lens flares, thank you. I never really cared about the changes to the Bridge and ship -- bigger budget and 40+ years made it a given. However, I did think Engineering was silly -- a cross between a brewery and a water park and created solely for that ridiculous scene with Scotty. I liked the uniforms save the need to put the women in miniskirts. Back in the 60s, that was a sign of empowerment for women; today it's just for eye candy -- the lack of rank on their uniforms proves that point.
I was surprised that I found the script and story so lacking. Contrivance built on coincidence built on random chance for important plot points made it all hard to swallow. What exactly was Nero doing for those 25 years? (And please don't tell me I need to read a comic book to know. That shouldn't be necessary.) Additionally, how did he know WHEN Spock was going to arrive anyway? And I found it beyond belief that he and especially his crew could sustain their grievances for so long. And then there's the Spock, Kirk and Scottie planet coincidence. Young Spock leaving Kirk stranded? How many regs did he break there? Why did Vulcan need to be destroyed anyway? That was very had to take and I'm not sure it was necessary. Amanda's death? Additionally, the humor was too broad in places for me. And why did it take Kirk to remind Pike about the phenomenon, especially given he'd written his thesis on it?
Overall, the cast was very likeable and I thought Chris Pine was fabulous. Loved Christopher Pike and Kirk's dad. Winona Ryder did a great job as Amanda and I wished she'd had a bigger role. Simon Pegg was wasted and I'm not sure I bought him as Scotty to be honest. I loved seeing my favorite, Leonard Nimoy, as Spock again. (However, it did seem odd to me that he didn't appear all that upset at the end of the movie despite the major shift of the Universe.) Zach Quinto was a little shaky but then the role was rather written that way so I'm not sure it's on him. The Spock/Uhura romance was jarring as portrayed and not very believable although I really liked Zoe. She seemed like a real woman which is a rarity in sci fi. (I doubt Spock would have engaged in a relationship with a cadet and student under him.)
By far my biggest problem however was the end of the film: from Cadet to Captain of a starship??? Absolutely implausible and it really was a let down. I don't care that he saved Earth and all, it's just beyond believability. Commands aren't prizes; they are the end result of decades of excellent service and accumulation of skills. Throughout the movie, the Kirk of this altered Universe showed no indication he could follow an order or had the discipline that the job requires.
So overall I can't pretend I wasn't disappointed in the film. It could have been so much better, even excellent, with just a little more logic and tweeking. (Pushing Kirk's promotion to Captain back a few years at the end, for example.) Oh, I'm glad it's made money and did well cause I always want fandom to continue. It just seemed to me to be a pretty confection suited to our attention-deficit culture of today rather than the deeper Trek I've loved for so long. (Just my honest opinion.) And given its cost as compared to what it's earned....was it worth it? I honestly can't see this version enduring as the Original did.
As for the Shatner/Kirk controversy....I don't see that it would have been any more jarring to include him than some of what did make it into the movie. As described by the writers in an interview, the cameo seemed intriguing and might have worked. As a Kirk/Spock- Shatner/Nimoy fan, I will always mourn the missed opportunity to see the boys together one last time. (But while I remain a Shatner-as-Kirk fan, I do think the starship has now sailed and he shouldn't be in the next film. But whatever they do, they need to just be honest up front and not play a year's cat and mouse game again.)
Going forward, there's lots of talk about including Khan in a sequel. While TWOK is my favorite movie and Khan a wonderful villain in it and the TV episode it's based on, I hope they don't go this route. What's the point of rebooting and changing so much if you are just going to redo the Original Series storylines? They need something stand alone in the next movie. (And no more time travel please.)
Box Office History for Star Trek Movies
Click on column header to sort
| Released | Movie Name | 1st Weekend | US Gross | Worldwide Gross | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/7/1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | $11,926,421 | $82,258,456 | $139,000,000 | $35,000,000 |
| 6/4/1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | $14,347,221 | $79,912,963 | $96,800,000 | $12,000,000 |
| 6/1/1984 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | $16,673,229 | $76,471,046 | $87,000,000 | $18,000,000 |
| 11/26/1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | $16,881,888 | $109,713,132 | $133,000,000 | $24,000,000 |
| 6/9/1989 | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | $17,375,648 | $52,210,049 | $70,200,000 | $30,000,000 |
| 12/6/1991 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | $18,162,837 | $74,888,996 | $96,900,000 | $27,000,000 |
| 11/18/1994 | Star Trek: Generations | $23,116,394 | $75,671,262 | $120,000,000 | $38,000,000 |
| 11/22/1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | $30,716,131 | $92,027,888 | $150,000,000 | $46,000,000 |
| 12/11/1998 | Star Trek: Insurrection | $22,052,836 | $70,187,658 | $117,800,000 | $70,000,000 |
| 12/13/2002 | Star Trek: Nemesis | $18,513,305 | $43,254,409 | $67,312,826 | $60,000,000 |
| 5/8/2009 | Star Trek XI | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | $756,595,859 | $1,078,012,826 | $360,000,000 | ||
| Averages | $75,659,586 | $107,801,283 | $36,000,000 | ||
NEW HOME FOR STAR TREK: THE EXPERIENCE
In the Star Trek universe, dead isn't dead.
A spokesman for Vegas entertainment website AmericanLowLife.com is reporting a potential "meeting of the Experiences," with the Star Trek version moving downtown to a new home along the Fremont Street Experience .
Rumors have the Trek museum, shops and rides moving into the Neonopolis , a retail and entertainment center on Fremont Street's eastern end. Requests for confirmation from Neonopolis representatives have gone unheeded so far, but hailing frequencies remain open.
Some artwork of mine.
CONVENTIONS
I've been attending conventions -- or "cons" as they are known in fandom -- since I was 13. My bestfriend in grade school and I went to one held in Downtown Los Angeles at the Bonaventure Hotel. We started attending "Dougie" cons at various LAX hotels before moving on to the Creation Conventions and some fan-run events. I remember the joy of seeing the actors and the Dealer's Room!! We'd end up broke by the last day, splitting a sandwich at lunchtime in the hotel restaurant and then fasting until we got home late that night. In the early days, actors would mingle with the con-goers and were much more accessible. In college, we'd rent one hotel room and pile in 20-deep to save money. There were also the days when we'd dress up. (I still own my TWOK Captain's Uniform which I haven't worn since the Halloween parties at College.)
I also had the pleasure of attending 2 World Science Fictions Conventions as well as numerous multi-media cons across the country. I used to attend Comic-Con in San Diego more regularly but it's just gotten so huge I can't cope. I attended the Grand Slam back in the Pasadena days and regularly go to the Las Vegas Creation Con each year. I've been to cons in NYC, Florida, Huntsville Alabama (fabulous Anniversary con!), San Diego, all parts of Southern California, San Francisco, Texas, Chicago and I can't remember where else.
Leonard Nimoy and Zach Quinto at the Creation Grand Slam Convention '08
#1 Vulcan T-shirt
Kirk & Spock -- my favorite characters
Live Long and Prosper.....