10 Ways To Save Star Trek
Last week's news that "Lost" creator and "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams was taking the reins of the next "Star Trek" movie set off a flurry of buzz in the geek world. Paramount knows it needs to revitalize Trek (the studio is desperate for any kind of franchise), and Abrams is the sort of legit talent Trekkies never thought they would see come on board. This intriguing news was tempered though when it was learned that Abrams' pitch involved a prequel featuring younger versions of Captain Kirk and Spock. Because the new flick isn't expected to come out until summer 2008, perhaps these 10 suggestions to save the franchise can help change Abrams' mind.
No Prequels
Unless you're telling the history of lightsaber-wielding Jedis, prequels don't work (and even the "Star Wars" example is debatable). No one is going to die, nothing tragic is going to happen and no real drama is going to take place because nothing significant is at stake. So, of course, Abrams is doing a prequel.
Don't Make the Starfleet Academy Movie Fans Have Hated for Years
So, of course, Abrams starts out his flick with young Kirk and Spock ... meeting at the Academy. Memo: Nobody wants "Felicity" in space.
Stay Away from Time Travel
Time travel has been so overdone in this franchise that it's become just another Trek cliché. Avoid all clichés.
Bring Back Spock, Old Spock
Leonard Nimoy and Spock are both still alive, people (the Vulcan was last seen helping the underground on Romulus). Couldn't a new movie set in the "current" Trek universe with a new cast include Spock as a nod to the old-school show's fans?
Make It Cinematic
Just how epic a filmmaker can Abrams be? One of the biggest problems with the last few Trek movies was that they felt like extended TV episodes (see "Insurrection"). To really reignite the franchise, the movies need to have a grand scope like a true epic. Trek hasn't seen anything like that since the Enterprise was stolen way back in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock."
Ditch the Annoying Characters
Let's be honest, did anyone care that Data died in "Nemesis"? No, Brent Spiner is a fine actor, but Data was the first of the annoying characters that began to fill the series when former producer Rick Berman was brought on board (also see Quark, Neelix and Dr. Phlox). Yes Trekkies, I know Gene Roddenberry created Data, but the man wasn't infallible either.
Nix the Uniforms
If you want to get teenage boys interested in the franchise, you have to radically redesign the uniforms, whatever the era. Jumpsuits that look like they were ripped off the guy running the Tomorrowland ride at Disney World aren't going to cut it.
Don't Film on the Paramount Lot
There's a whole production crew on the Paramount lot that has worked on the Trek features and TV shows forever. Nothing would give the franchise a better jolt than hiring a whole new crew and filming in Canada or London away from the industry glare.
Spend Money
People will only take this movie seriously if the Enterprise's sets don't look like they're being held together by masking tape (imagine them in person) and the CGI doesn't look like it was done on someone's home computer (again, see "Insurrection").
Hire Real Movie Stars
If Abrams thinks he's going to convince someone such as Jake Gyllenhaal to play a young Kirk or Topher Grace to play a young Spock, he's sadly mistaken. None of those guys wants to risk the embarrassment of mimicking those iconic characters. New characters? Maybe.
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Originally Posted by Brett
heh, same here actually. in fact i just picked up all 4 movies w/the next gen cast on it for like $25 bucks. 
