Star Trek
// May 13th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Reviews, Reviews - Flicks
A reporter once interviewed Gene Roddenberry (the creater of Star Trek) when Star Trek: The Next Generation first premiered and remarked on his choice of the patently-hairless Patrick Stewart for the role of Picard: “Look, it doesn’t make any sense. You’ve got a bald actor playing this part. ” In reply, Roddenberry supposedly quipped: “In the 24th century, no one will care.”
I like this quote particularly because I believe it epitomizes the very essence of the Star Trek series; from its inception in the mid-60s, to the numerous syndicated spin-offs, and the Hollywood productions which now number in the double digits. The Star Trek universe is all about the pursuit of (mostly) pacifistic diplomacy and the promulgation of brotherhood amongst the many, often war-faring, species scattered throughout the galaxy. At least, that’s what Roddenberry originally shaped it to be; and continued moulding until his untimely death in the early 90’s. Flash-forward to 2009 and we’re suddenly faced with a reboot of this beloved series that possesses one of the most rabid fan-bases on the planet. Tasked with crafting a ‘darker reimagining’, the question remains: does director J.J Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield) fail to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle panache that its predecessors possessed? Or does Abrams, despite the odds, manage to set phasers to FUN?
