Star Trek: Into Darkness (Review)

Okay, this is old news, and everyone else has already had their two cents worth about this movie release, but now I'd like to put it to bed with my own three cents worth overview.

First off, I'm an unashamed Trekkie, who grew up watching reruns of The Original Series, and saw the new episodes of TNG, DS9, and Voyager as they aired.  In 1998, however, the crappy Canadian broadcast station that aired DS9 and Voyager dropped them, so it wasn't until almost a decade later that I finally had the chance to see the last season of Deep Space Nine and the last three seasons of Voyager (when they came out on DVD), as well as the four existent seasons of Enterprise.  As a teenager, I also read a lot of Trek books, including those by William Shatner, himself.  Okay, Trekkie credentials established.

When they did the first "reboot" with the unimaginatively entitled "Star Trek," I had my doubts.  After watching the movie in 2009, I found it entertaining, but it definitely wasn't the Trek I had grown up with.  To be fair, it was more like Battlestartrek Galactica—a dark and gritty action adventure, which Gene Roddenberry would probably have found distasteful.  Mind you, DS9 was pretty dark at times, but it was flowers and roses compared to this thing that J.J. Abrams directed.

Now, jumping ahead to "Into Darkness," here we have a continuation of that dark and dreary "alternate" universe of Trek, with some familiar villains and a lot more bloodshed.  It was a wild, vicious ride, with a limited storyline that doesn't require a lot of thought from the viewer.  In other words, it's just your typical Hollywood shoot-em-up sci-fi flick. To be blunt, if it weren't branded "Star Trek," this film would be suited to little more than being a cheap made for tv movie they would air on SyFy on Saturday night.  I'm sorry if that comes off as harsh, but it's how I feel after watching this thing in its DVD release.  Of all the Star Trek movies, it had the weakest storyline, bar none.

Spoiler Paragraph:  Amidst that weak story are some pretty lame "revisions" to the franchise.  Since when is Khan's blood a magic healing elixir?  Didn't see that in TOS or Star Trek II.  A Klingon with piercings all along his ridges? A really ugly pop-culture homage mistake there!  Peter Weller as a psychotic, heartless Admiral?  I mean, he's a great actor, but this was a really poor role—his schemes came off as shallow and almost cartoonish.  He should have had a mustache to twirl as he bragged about planning to kill Kirk's entire crew all along.  And this new version of Spock is way too emotional.

Star Trek: Into Darkness is mildly amusing, but it really isn't Star Trek.  I dream of a day they actually bring back a real Star Trek television series; something that has substance, intelligent writing, and a future vision that isn't trying to look like some dark, gritty Star Wars/ BSG clone.  I want the old universe back so bad!  Hopefully, we'll get something going with Star Trek: Renegades!

Star Trek Blogfest 2011

It's time for some frivolous fun.  As a recovering Trekoholic, this particular blogfest seemed right up my alley.  The objective is to list 5 episodes and 5 characters from the various Star Trek series, and explain why they're great.  Is it a coincidence that there were 5 regular television series?  I think not!  To keep things even, I'll feature 1 episode and 1 character from each of the different versions of Trek.  So, let's start off with 5 fine characters:

Scotty –He didn't have as big a role in the original series as he could have, but the chief engineer had his moments.  He kept the ship running, even when it meant violating the laws of physics.  Aye, he did have the power!

Data –The most unique and entertaining of characters from The Next Generation.  Data had the most character development of any Star Trek entity.  He was good for a laugh, and kept the show from being too dry at times.  He also could perform super-human feats of strength and intelligence.  He was the greatest!  I deny the existence of "Nemesis."  What a horrible and stupid movie!

Quark –It's funny how the most alien-looking characters can sometimes be the most human at heart.  Quark is certainly that, whether you look at his greed or the kind and considerate side he hides behind it.  He's like a small-time mobster trying for the big score.  The womanizing was a bit much, though that's Ferengi for you.  Of course, he wouldn't have been half as good without Odo to keep him in check...

The Doctor –I've said it before without shame:  Voyager is my favorite of the various Star Trek series.  Therefore, this was a tough call, but for today at least I'll go with the nameless holographic doctor.  Robert Picardo really is a great actor, and without his particular style of acting The Doctor wouldn't have been able to stand out as he did.  As the series evolved, he could easily switch from comical awkwardness to moral righteousness, and was really the soul of the show.

Trip –Book-ending the character selections with engineers, Charles Tucker the Third was certainly the best from Enterprise.  For a series that had its ups and downs (and died a premature death) he stayed fairly consistent, and was always interesting and engaging.  Screw the series finale: bring him back to life!

Okay, we've gone through the 5 characters.  Now, let's pick out 5 episodes, one from each series.  These aren't necessarily the "best," and my choice of "favorite" changes on a regular basis, but these are among the 5 that generally land near the top at all times.

The Deadly Years –Season 2 of the Original Series had some real winners, and this is one that always stuck with me.  The concept of rapid aging is a nice plot device when used properly, and this is by far one of the best uses, right up there with Stargate SG-1's "Brief Candle."  This episode also has one of the funniest Chekov moments ever:  "If I survive, they're going to run out of samples."

The Inner Light –One of the most emotionally wrenching episodes of any Star Trek series, The Next Generation's mini-epic gives Picard an entire life in 25 minutes, and gives us a tragic yet lovable storyline.  It'll make you sad in a good way.

What You Leave Behind –With Deep Space Nine, it's very hard to pick a single episode, since so much of the series consisted of multi-part epics.  Really, the last 10 episodes were one story, but the finale had to be the absolute best the show had to offer.  So long as you can sit down and watch the previous half-season first, this finale will move you!

The Year of Hell –Everybody loves this 2-parter (well, almost everyone), so it might be a bit of a cop-out to pick it.  It's such a populist choice, and when it comes to Voyager I could pick so many different episodes.  Each season has half a dozen I call "favorites," so for once I'll play it safe.  This really is one of the best Star Trek stories.  Temporal meddling + pending doom = excellence!  (I just wish they would've cashed in on the future potential of this episode, and had us meet some "alternate" versions of the characters later on.  Somebody left their temporal shields online, hint-hint.  Hey, you'll get my meaning after you watch it).

Similitude –Some people have a problem with the whole Xindi saga from Enterprise.  Season 3 was a bit like DS9's last few seasons, in that it was one single storyline, with a few stray side stories peppered throughout.  But among the main story-arc of the season, there were some real nuggets, and this is one of my favorites.  There is some serious emotion in this one, much like we find in The Inner Light.  It's a story of life, plain and simple.

Well, there you have it, 5 & 5.  Now go Trek yourself.  Do it today!