Page A3 / The Joan De Arc Crusader / Saturday, December 24, 2016

Front Page A1 / Editorials A2 / Nostalgia A4 / Crossword A5

Trek at 50: shields up!
by J. Bueker

     Star Trek turned 50 this year, and I am delighted to report that the legendary sci-fi franchise has most assuredly lived long and prospered. (Okay, I have that painfully obvious allusion out of the way).
     So. Who could have imagined that this short-lived 1960s TV experiment would not only endure but become a permanent fixture in our popular culture? There were numerous memorable programs aired on the boob tube during the ‘60s, and yet the one that has not only survived but thrived down through the years is the one about the libidinous spaceship captain and his pointy-eared first officer. Fascinating.
     The reasons for this singular success are complex and remain debated. But Star Trek was a game changer. The show aggressively expanded the scope of social boundaries on TV and served up genuine cultural commentary in the guise of popular science fiction, and did so with panache. Here we found genuinely cerebral explorations of the human condition.
     The adult themes of the show eluded us kids on Joan De Arc of course; we were instead enthralled by the cool starship, the futuristic devices, the indelible alien life forms, the spectacle of red-shirted crewmen disintegrating in phaser fire. The show offered exceptional entertainment that resounded across all age groups, unlike the relatively silly childhood fantasy Lost in Space (which we also adored).
     The true power of Trek did not become apparent until the early ‘70s, years after its cancellation by NBC, when the show entered syndication and abruptly assembled a much larger following than it commanded during its original run. And this is where things really started getting weird.
     Star Trek “conventions” began popping up around the country, attracting thousands of fans hungry for more Trek and determined not to let the show die. Soon these deliriously devoted diehard followers had entered the popular vernacular as “Trekkies,” a term denoting fans enamored with appearing publicly in Trek-related garb and demanding the prompt revival of their beloved program. Meanwhile, rather than fading into obscurity, Trek fan magazines, books, and series merchandise began to flourish as never before. Such developments were simply unprecedented for a cancelled TV show and were particularly notable given the fact that Star Trek never received favorable viewership ratings during its brief three-year run.
     The surprisingly persistent demand for the show finally culminated in its resurrection in the form of a 1979 motion picture entitled, appropriately enough, Star Trek the Motion Picture. This first film was generally panned as a tedious disappointment, but it was nonetheless a financial success and made possible a masterpiece sequel, The Wrath of Khan, which would secure the franchise’s fortunes for many years to come. Over the next few decades, new Trek films and TV series would issue forth with momentous regularity.
     What a great story, huh? Pretty amazing, really. And yet now, on the landmark 50th anniversary of the beloved and phenomenal cultural juggernaut that is Star Trek, I am sad to report that all is not well in Trekdom. Yellow alert!
     Alas. We now live in the era of J.J. Trek.
     Now this is just my opinion, of course. Long-time fans are actually bitterly divided over the merits of J.J. Abrams’ “reboot” of the Trek franchise, and I readily admit that these new films are not entirely devoid of laudable qualities. The casting of the iconic roles from the original series is fairly good overall, and the films do make sincere attempts to pay homage to creator Gene Roddenberry’s original vision.
     However, it appears to me that these filmmakers do not really grasp what Star Trek is all about. Or more likely, the current Hollywood mentality dictates a different direction for the franchise that is designed to match the demographic of today’s movie-going audience rather than the ethos of the original series. I could explore numerous examples of this failing, such as the unfortunate emphasis on explosions, lens flares, and breathless “fast n’ furious” style action sequences at the expense of imaginative stories, meaningful character interactions, and good old-fashioned Trek philosophy, but I will focus on the one transgression I regard as the most egregious: Spock.
     Of all the cool things in Star Trek, of all the wonderfully inventive characters, conceptions, and conceits the show presented to us down through the years and across all the series and movies, the most splendid of all is Mr. Spock. Leonard Nimoy’s half-Vulcan/half-human science officer was nothing less than one of greatest fictional characters of the 20th century.
     Sadly, the Spock we see in the new films is largely unrecognizable. He is highly emotional, disturbingly violent, and inexplicably involved in a high-profile romance aboard the Enterprise with communications officer Lt. Uhura. Um, huh? The whole notion that Spock would have a girlfriend on the ship, or anywhere else for that matter, is absolutely unthinkable. I thought this was common knowledge.
     Now the idea of Spock having feelings for Uhura is entirely plausible, and this was vaguely hinted at in early episodes of the original series. After all, the dude is half-human. However, Mr. Spock would ruthlessly suppress such feelings at all costs to maintain his veneer of pure Vulcan logic and non-emotion. This is precisely what made the character so compelling in the first place!
     One can argue, and some do, that this is a different timeline, and Spock has been deeply affected by the destruction of his home planet (yes, that’s right, they’ve destroyed Vulcan) and the death of his mother, blah blah blah. But this is actually the precise problem. The J.J. people have used the new timeline as an excuse to transform Star Trek into something else entirely.
     Some fans like this alternative stuff. I cry sacrilege!
     Sigh. I don’t know, maybe I’m just an old guy unamenable to change. And perhaps I shouldn’t be too hard on the new films, particularly given the standard to which they must aspire: the original Star Trek was simply incomparable. The writing in the original series was probably a little too intellectual for today’s dumbed-down audiences anyway. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are fine young actors, but Kirk and Spock they are not. And after all, who could be?
     I will concede that the Trek reboot has had one indisputably positive consequence: the new films have revitalized interest in the franchise generally and made possible a new TV series, which premiers next year on CBS. One of the writers for this new incarnation of Trek is none other than Nicholas Meyer, the genius who wrote and directed the matchless Wrath of Khan. This bodes well for Trek’s immediate future.
     And really, in the final analysis, the tube is where the finest Trek happens anyway. Star Trek was originally conceived as a one-hour weekly TV show, just as we were introduced to it back on Joan De Arc Avenue those 50 years ago, and this is surely where it belongs. I look forward to this latest take on Gene Roddenberry’s ageless creation.
     We shall see where the Final Frontier leads us next.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ JDA

Front Page A1 / Editorials A2 / Nostalgia A4 / Crossword A5