Trekology home Battlestar Galactica Star Trek science fiction

 

---

Legendary Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn rejected the use of motion pictures as persuasion, saying, “If you want to send a message, call Western Union.” But, today few in Hollywood will dispute that communicating idea content to an audience using sights and sounds on screen can persuade people to change their perceptions, beliefs, and even their behaviors. Gene Roddenberry chose to use television in this way in the 1960s when he created Star Trek.

Those of us who were teenagers when the original Star Trek premiered on television in 1966 should rightfully feel the deepest emotional connection to the franchise. What a person is attracted to during the important transition from youth to adulthood stays with you all your life. We experienced what is now known as the Star Trek phenomenon before it was called that. We were drawn to Star Trek in the 1960s somehow, some way despite the complete absence of viral marketing on the Internet, incessant commentary from fans and detractors alike in message boards, blogs, or using Twitter and Facebook.

We experienced the original Star Trek when it was new and when its powers were as yet unidentified and unstudied. I am am happy that I am from the huge baby boom generation that first approached Star Trek on a personal level when it was fresh and new at a time ahead of all the spinoffs and all the theatrical releases that followed. I am also happy that I chose to study the Star Trek phenomenon over the years as I report on this website.

I believe that the 2009 Star Trek movie is the best of the franchise. This movie features a young cast (pictured here) portraying characters that to my generation are indelible certainly because we have known them all and have spent countless hours with them over four decades. This movie has been the object of commentaries and criticism online since the news about this eleventh motion picture from Paramount first was announced. You can boil it all down to the one question that has been asked thousands of times over: How could anyone dare to remake Star Trek in the 21st century with a younger cast playing familiar characters?

Just get over it. They did it. This one is the best of the bunch. Those who spend time in inane blogging about unimportant issues like which Captain Kirk is better need to get off the Internet and try to get a life.