reSTARTreked

I think enough time has passed that I can comfortably talk about the new Star Trek film, helmed by JJ Abrams of "Lost" fame. I am a Star Trek fan from years ago. The Original Series! (TOS) I have seen every episode dozens of times, have read all the related books, watched all the subsequent spin off series.. TNG, DS9, VOY, and Enterprise. Of all of those I was still a TOS fan. The Enterprise series was good too. I enjoyed the idea of what happened before the famed crew of the Original Enterprise took her out into the final frontier for her first five year mission.

But when the new Star Trek became a blip on my sensors, I was excited, happy, and very apprehensive. It was going to be a younger Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all of the Enterprise crew. And it was going to be a story of how they all came together on the Enterprise... but wait. I already knew how they came together. It had all be laid out for us in countless episodic background stories and together it became Star Trek canon law. How in the world would Abrams be able to retell all that again without screwing it up and giving new audiences something they can grab onto, especially if they are younger, like my kids and only have a smattering of exposure to the Original Trek history.

Well, he did it. And he, or his writers, did it well. By starting off with James T. Kirk's father and changing history from there, he was able to completely make a whole new history with changing the history I am many others have come to know and love. I will not tell you how he did it or the story line or anything like that, except that instead of fixing the timeline like has been done in so many other Star Trek episodes, Abrams let the "broken" time line become the norm and no attempt to fix it was made. The new time line would now be the norm and it is this that makes me so excited! There is now the opportunity for a whole "new" history and new adventures for Star Trek using the characters that made it the cult classic it is! Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the belvoed characters have a new lease on life. It is great! I am excited again about Star Trek! There are even Star Trek action figures back on the toy shelves!

If you have not seen the new movie, you should. Some of you out there probably won't just because it is Star Trek, or you don't want to have to think about new characters and time lines, but that is your failing. Give it a chance. I will say, the new Trek is better appreciated if you know the history, but even if you haven't been a fan or even seen much of it, you will like this movie.

The only nit-pick think I have about the show is; 1.) Kirk was supposed to be born in Riverside, Iowa, not in space. 2.) Vulcan ships don't have weapons.

Other than that, I can live with it and embrace it fully!

Live Long and Prosper!