Star Trek: The Next Threaderation

[El Barto]

There are actually a few t-shirt designs for that.


Anyhoo, I can't picture Picard being a BC Rich sort of fellow. Gretsch maybe, but seems more like the pretentious type who'd play some custom built one-off sort of guitar.

Also, was he of the sinister persuasion? Never noticed.

[Kotowboy]

I can see Picard playing an acoustic but not an electric.

[Orbert]

He looks pretty badass in that picture, though, combining the sleeveless look with his bald head.  Badass enough to play the Rich.

[El Barto]

He looks pretty badass in that picture, though, combining the sleeveless look with his bald head.  Badass enough to play the Rich.

Yeah, I agree with all of that. It's just that nobody cool plays BC Rich, do they? I'm thinking Lita Ford and Slayer off the top of my head.

[Orbert]

Oh, I gotcha.  You were going the other way with it.  I guess I'm so old that I still think BC Riches are cool.

[BlobVanDam]

BC Riches are cool.

All of the shirts I have of '80s icons playing guitars feature Gibson Explorers though (and strangely with a '70s Strat neck), so they're my shirt guitar of choice.

[Nefarius]

Picard on a metal festival stage?
Three words: Electric Ressikan Flute!

Greetings...
Nef

[Kotowboy]

Picard Joins Jethro Tull .

[El Barto]

I'm not sure, but in TMP I think Spock goes almost the entire movie completely ignoring McCoy, despite numerous attempts to talk to him.. I don't recall him saying a single word to him until the final 5 minutes. Spock either ignores him outright or tells somebody else the answer to McCoy's questions.  In retrospect it seems like there's some real animosity there.

[Orbert]

I think in TMP, the idea is that Spock has been off trying to "become more Vulcan".  The whole thing with the Kolinar and all that.  McCoy always did bug the hell out of Spock, being so human and emotional.  Spock has returned to The Enterprise out of sense of friendship and obligation to Kirk that he probably doesn't fully understand himself, and because being on board will help him investigate that thing that's apparently calling to him or something.  But he wasn't looking forward to having to put up with McCoy and his shit.  Vulcans aren't without emotion; they just suppress them and/or ignore them, but they still manifest themselves in various ways.

If you asked Spock, he'd play the "logic" card and say he didn't speak to McCoy because he didn't need to, and engaging in small talk is a waste of time.  But I don't think he ever really liked McCoy.  I think they gained a much better understanding of each other after the deal with Spock's khatra passing to McCoy and back, but let's face it, Spock in TMP is pretty cold.

[El Barto]

Nah, they never disliked each other at all. They fought all the time, but then so do brothers. They were friends and that came up numerous times during TOS.

[Orbert]

They respected each other, and they got along pretty well when Kirk was around because they both considered him a friend.  But for all the times they helped each other out, they always played it like it was the right thing to do, duty, etc., but we were meant to understand that they really liked each other and just weren't going to say it.  I really wasn't sure if they liked each other.  If it was a friendship, it was a friendship borne of familiarity and respect, and in an odd way, I guess you could call it affection.  But really liking each other?  I just never quite bought it.  That's why STIII felt so big to me.  After being inside each other's heads, literally, for a while, they finally reached a point where they understood each other.  Singing around the campfire together at the end of STV, that felt like three friends.  Real friends.

Maybe I'm looking for an arc that really isn't there, and even finding it.  But I never felt like they were real friends until the movies.

[El Barto]

Well, Spock referred to him as one of his closest friends in Amok Time. Plus, there are episodes that actually focus on the two of them a bit and you get a sense of friendship there, as well. You've got Tholian Web where McCoy acts like the biggest douche in the universe, yet there's still some comeradere there, and you get that Spock still values his input (even before Kirk's message recommending just that). You've also got the Immunity Syndrome where there's clearly some rivalry going on, but also a sense of personal concern. All in all I thought there's was a very interesting dynamic.

[Kotowboy]

Star Trek 3

Co-writer J.D. Payne spoke to the LDS Film Festival back in February, and revealed a little bit about what their thinking is for the third movie:

We're trying to set up a kind of situation where you really could — and not in just an 'everything's relative' sort of moral relativism — you could be a good person of any creed or philosophical background and come down on both sides of how you should respond to this opportunity that the crew has.... that also has some pitfalls to it. Where you could argue very, very, very compellingly that 'this' is what you should do, and if you're advocating 'this' then it's actually evil.

It's sort of the Adam and Eve thing, where should we eat the fruit or not eat the fruit? Well, there are some very compelling reasons why they should and why they shouldn't. So, similar kinds of things here that really give the whole movie and opportunity to sort of play with that, and have people come down on different sides and wrestle with it; then come to an ending where you can walk out and say, 'You know, I don't know what I would do.



*releases the wolves*.....

[rumborak]

Ok, it would be *really* cool if the crew got the opportunity to restore the original time line. That would be quite the ethical dilemma. On one hand it would save all of Vulcan, on the other you're essentially killing everybody you know.

[El Barto]

Ok, it would be *really* cool if the crew got the opportunity to restore the original time line. That would be quite the ethical dilemma. On one hand it would save all of Vulcan, on the other you're essentially killing everybody you know.

Since I suspect this is the end of that particular franchise, it'd also be a nifty way for them to turn it into history and we can forget it ever happened. Pretty good idea, actually.

[rumborak]

I'd totally be fine with that, because I agree, this will be the end of this particular crew. Not only that, but they could fold in a ton of original actors into the movie if they do it smartly.

[Kotowboy]

I'd totally be fine with that, because I agree, this will be the end of this particular crew. Not only that, but they could fold in a ton of original actors into the movie if they do it smartly.

Wirst idea ever.  They need to do something completely new.

[El Barto]

If we're talking about a new franchise set in that universe, that'd be a terrible idea. The familiarity with the characters is the only thing that keeps it from being awful. Personally, I'd love to see that crew in a TV series. They'd actually get to do some sci-fi stuff since they're no longer worried about the popcorn crowd and we'd get to see the crew develop. Since I doubt the actors would be cool with that, it's time to call it a day.

[Kotowboy]

Of course the actors would not be cool with NOT doing an action movie with absolutely no script whatsoever.

And I know for a Fact that Zachary Quinto HATES anything with a plot.

Simon Pegg has gone on record as saying that " PLot is over rated - just blow shit up. That's all actors really want.

Studying drama was a waste of time i've found out. "

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Of course the actors would not be cool with NOT doing an action movie with absolutely no script whatsoever.

And I know for a Fact that Zachary Quinto HATES anything with a plot.

Simon Pegg has gone on record as saying that " PLot is over rated - just blow shit up. That's all actors really want.

Studying drama was a waste of time i've found out. "

How do you know this?

[Kotowboy]

I don't. I was making shit up and presenting it as fact.

[rumborak]

I'd totally be fine with that, because I agree, this will be the end of this particular crew. Not only that, but they could fold in a ton of original actors into the movie if they do it smartly.

Wirst idea ever.  They need to do something completely new.

Depends on how it is done. If they just shoehorn the TOS guys in there, sure, that would suck. But imagine some time travel plot that makes them interact with their future selves.

[Kotowboy]

If they restore the timeline - that would mean future movies would be completely neutered because Kirk's life is covered from TOS right up to his death.

There would be no way to fit in any more stories.

I'd be up for as many films as this cast makes. The people who don't like them don't have to watch them - or be safe in the knowledge that

they're set in an alternate universe which has no bearing on the prime timeline at all.

[El Barto]

They're not going to keep making these movies, though. Truth is that they're not profitable enough to keep blowing 200 million a pop on. Now that the actor would demand even more money to continue, that price goes up even further. This will likely be the end of this particular franchise. I like the idea of ending it and making it self-contained.

[rumborak]

I certainly wouldn't mind more movies with the current cast, I just don't see a high likelihood for that. The new crew is comprised of some highly sought-after actors, they won't stick around for long. In my judgment, this new movie will be the last with this crew, and then they might as well close the story arc. After that, I think the only thing to do, provided Paramount is interesting in more Trek, would be a new TV series.

EDIT: Ninja'd by EB.

[Kotowboy]

I know everyone thinks the JJ movies are just Transformers with the Trek crew and I can't disagree enough.

My biggest worry is that Paramount just hands it over to someone like Michael Bay who will just turn it into a slow mo explosion fest with

Kirk wearing shades and firing two phasers then doing a slow mo walk away from an explosion. Shit life that.

That I DO NOT want.

[BlobVanDam]

I know everyone thinks the JJ movies are just Transformers with the Trek crew and I can't disagree enough.

My biggest worry is that Paramount just hands it over to someone like Michael Bay who will just turn it into a slow mo explosion fest with

Kirk wearing shades and firing two phasers then doing a slow mo walk away from an explosion. Shit life that.

That I DO NOT want.

But driving cars off cliffs, getting into bar fights over girls, sleeping around, cheating, and being a general douche is ok, especially if he gets rewarded for it with Starfleet's top ship.

I'm not expecting any of that little interview idea to end up in the movie. I remember with the second movie, they were talking about it not being a typical enemy, and it sounded more like a traditional Trek episode.
Then they just scrapped that and remade TWOK with bigger spaceships and more explosions and less soul.

And I wouldn't be hoping for any return to the prime timeline either. The current timeline is what the new viewers have seen, and they'll want to capitalize on that into the future if/when we get a new series.

[rumborak]

[Orbert]

Those look a lot more like Dreamworks characters than Pixar.  Kirk has a vague resemblence to Mr. Incredible, but other than that, they're Dreamworks-style caricatures.

[El Barto]

And I wouldn't be hoping for any return to the prime timeline either. The current timeline is what the new viewers have seen, and they'll want to capitalize on that into the future if/when we get a new series.

What would be the difference? Unless we get another Kirk, Spock and McCoy with completely different back-stories, then the changes are insignificant. Inexplicably different looking Klingons, a brewery in engineering and a helluva lot fewer Vulcans. Unless they're going to import the reality TV style the Abrams movies had, in which case I doubt people would even consider it Star Trek anymore.

[BlobVanDam]

Insignificant? I don't know how they would be anything alike.

[rumborak]

Those look a lot more like Dreamworks characters than Pixar.  Kirk has a vague resemblence to Mr. Incredible, but other than that, they're Dreamworks-style caricatures.

Nah, they look like Pixar alright. For comparison:

Bones = (from The Incredibles)

Uhura = (also from The Incredibles)

[El Barto]

Just saw an article about some webshow featuring Wil Wheaton playing tabletop games with his various buddies. Apparently it's somewhat successful, at least insofar as webshows are, I suppose. I'm forced to have a begrudging respect for this guy. Here's a kid who's entire claim to fame is being a universally despised character on a hit TV series. Absolutely nobody liked Wesley Crusher and the vast majority of us wanted to see him killed. Yet now you've got Wil Wheaton the normal guy who's doing quite well for no other reason that he's a perfectly likeable fellow. I hated his character but I'd certainly hang out and play D&D with the guy. Seems like that'd be particularly hard to pull off, especially when it's during your formulative teenage years that you're so universally despised. Hell, look at what happened to that Anakin Skywalker dickhead. He's insanely bitter about the whole thing, and he's only 25, swearing he'll never act again.

[rumborak]

I think there's several factors. One, he was older than Jake Lloyd when he appeared in his "most hated role", so he might have been better able to deal with the crticism. Also, Wil had been in "Stand By Me" before that, and that established that he indeed was a pretty decent actor.
Also, the disdain for Wesley was a bit of a slow burn, as opposed to fiery hatred Star Wars Ep I received.

But yeah, of course it also helps if you're a pretty cool dude to begin with

EDIT: What's funny, I personally never considered young Anakin to be nearly as bad as fucking Hayden Christensen. Holy shit, that guy is absolutely incapable of acting.