Boldly Go… To The Beginning

As the days count down to May 8, so too does the speculation of whether or not J.J Abrams’ vision of (IMHO) one of the two most iconic and enduring franchises in sci-fi  will live up to the legend.  Even if you have never seen one of the hundreds of Star Trek television episodes (spanning over 40 years, 5 spin-offs, and an animated series), any of the 10 big screen movies, or could careless… unless you live under a rock, you have at least heard of the phenomenon in some way.  Last night, a group of movie goers who thought they were walking into a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were given a huge surprise.  Patrons at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, TX were greeted by the movie’s writers and the “old” Spock: Leonard Nimoy, himself and given an advance screening.  Unlike the recent problematic internet leaking of another summer blockbuster: X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Of course, in today’s world I would not be surprised to hear that Star Trek has by now made its way onto downloads… if so, I don’t want to know.

Personally, I want to know as little about the movie as possible; but the trailers look amazing.  What I want from the movie is basically what I enjoy most about the original series.  A good plot, a good villain, action whether it be on land or in space (however, a good ship to ship confrontation with phasers and photon torpedoes blazing is always enjoyable.  However, what I enjoy most about the old show is the chemistry between the three core characters: the devil-may-care, go where angels fear to tread Captain Kirk; the logical, usually stoic half-Vulcan/half-human Spock; and the certainly outspoken, cantankerous, passionate Dr. Leonard H. “Bones” McCoy (my personal favorite of the original characters).  Some of my favorite moments revolve around heated displays of verbal one upsmanship between the first officer and the chief medical officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Most often, Captain Kirk would be the man in the middle who had to ease the tension.

Overall, I hope to be entertained and feel like I am stepping back into the world of 22nd century excitement.  The actors on screen may not be the same, but hopefully the characters they portray will be recognizable.

May 8th seems like an awfully familiar date to me… wonder why 😉  Maybe if I check out my coutdown widget….