Belated Star Trek review
May. 17th, 2009 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ishtar79I have two Dreamwidth invites, does anyone want them?
I’ve watched Star Trek for the second time, so I’m overdue a post on it.
I didn’t know what to expect from it (the first time). I was never a fan of the original series (DS9 is my Trek), so in that sense it made it easier going in with less fannish baggage, though I didn’t expect to be particularly blown away other.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
-Ok, this Kirk? Was awesomecakes. Part of the reason I could never get into the original was Shatner’s epic scenery chewing and the fact that I could never root for the character. With this Kirk…look, it wasn’t that there weren’t moments where I kind of wanted to bitchslap him for being a bit of (ok, a LOT of) an ass, but it seemed the text fully acknowledged his occasional doucheyness, and what’s more, *embraced* it. And for all his attitude and GIANT EGO, you could actually see why every single member of the crew was 100% behind him by the end (also, the whole allergic reaction scene had me in stiches both times, and unlike the lulz Shatner gave me, it was because it was supposed to be funny). He’s the guy who’ll randomly insult you and then jump of an impossibly high platform just to save your ass. How can you not follow him pretty much anywhere?
-I admit, I was highly skeptical when I heard who they cast for Spock and worried about Quinto and his prominent eyebrows would do the character, but seing this just confirms that the reason Sylar bored me to death in Heroes is the show’s general subpar writing, as opposed to Quinto’s acting skills. He utterly sold me, and thought he hit the perfect balance between emotion and restraint, and holy shit, when did Quinto become hot to me? This is new.
-Speaking of hot, Spock/Uhura: I ship it. I absolutely LOVED Uhura in this one (and hell yes, love for movie!Kirk aside, who the hell wouldn’t prefer Spock?). I know there have been some complaints about the lack of female characters in the movie, but given that it mostly focused on the core cast and Uhura got to do as much as the other crew members who weren’t Kirk or Spock, I don’t see how it could have happened any other way (and the skirt thing: a) it was positively nun-like compared to the skirt length in the original b)I thought the movie did a great job of updating the original series uniforms and c)as a woman who enjoys short skirts, I’m offended by the implication there’s something inherently bimboish about them).
Less pleasing is that fandom is showing its ass already. I wish I could say the misogyny (now with extra racism!) is surprising, but it’s really not. I’m surprised at the blatant ugliness in the comments though-it’s not the first time slashers have let their misogyny flag fly when bashing anything that gets girl cooties in their pairing, but the gendered insults and undercurrents of real anger are just…gah. Fandom, how I hate thee sometimes.
-Just how AWESOME was McCoy? Snarky impatient misanthropes FTW! I loved he had no restraint on who he unleashed his snark upon, loved how equally affectionate for and utterly exacerbated with Kirk he was, loved how he constantly felt surrounded by clueless kids (ha, his line about Chekov’s age? Would totally have been my reaction). He should have his own advice column: “Your problems come from being an idiot. I’m a doctor, not a sounding board for the emotionally stunted, go away!”.
-Every single casting choice was spot on, and I want to SQUISH the whole cast (once I got over tiny problems like Chekov’s ‘ironic’ bad accent-yes, I know it was a tribute, but damn, he sounded like an oldschool Bond villain. An ADORABLE Bond villain, but still!).
-Unexpected Nimoy was unexpected. I’d somehow managed to stay unspoiled for his cameo, so it almost made the Random Trek/Ice Age tribute/infodump worth it. I was highly amused that his primary role in this is as a stand-in for the slashers. God only knows what NC-17 fic Kirk glimpsed while inside Spock Prime’s brain.
-I was so certain that they would somehow ‘fix’ the timeline (years of Trek, Voyager especially, have conditioned to the inevitability of the reset button at the end). And then…they didn’t. Holy shit. Vulcan is actually gone. That took some balls of STEEL in their part. And I think it’s actually a good thing: for one thing, taking the coward’s way out would have lessened the emotional impact of the plot (and the radically different path Spock is set on as a result), for another, part of my distaste for prequels is knowing how it all ends. Now? We truly are entering new territory without fears of Jossing (and the alternate timeline still exists, so I couldn’t get too weepy about the future Trek shows).
-So…Scotty was in the shithouse for disappearing Admiral Archer’s pet beagle. Timeline-wise, it can only be descendants of Captain Archer and Porthos, but still: what a random Enterprise shoutout.
Can the sequels be out NOW please?
I’ve watched Star Trek for the second time, so I’m overdue a post on it.
I didn’t know what to expect from it (the first time). I was never a fan of the original series (DS9 is my Trek), so in that sense it made it easier going in with less fannish baggage, though I didn’t expect to be particularly blown away other.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
-Ok, this Kirk? Was awesomecakes. Part of the reason I could never get into the original was Shatner’s epic scenery chewing and the fact that I could never root for the character. With this Kirk…look, it wasn’t that there weren’t moments where I kind of wanted to bitchslap him for being a bit of (ok, a LOT of) an ass, but it seemed the text fully acknowledged his occasional doucheyness, and what’s more, *embraced* it. And for all his attitude and GIANT EGO, you could actually see why every single member of the crew was 100% behind him by the end (also, the whole allergic reaction scene had me in stiches both times, and unlike the lulz Shatner gave me, it was because it was supposed to be funny). He’s the guy who’ll randomly insult you and then jump of an impossibly high platform just to save your ass. How can you not follow him pretty much anywhere?
-I admit, I was highly skeptical when I heard who they cast for Spock and worried about Quinto and his prominent eyebrows would do the character, but seing this just confirms that the reason Sylar bored me to death in Heroes is the show’s general subpar writing, as opposed to Quinto’s acting skills. He utterly sold me, and thought he hit the perfect balance between emotion and restraint, and holy shit, when did Quinto become hot to me? This is new.
-Speaking of hot, Spock/Uhura: I ship it. I absolutely LOVED Uhura in this one (and hell yes, love for movie!Kirk aside, who the hell wouldn’t prefer Spock?). I know there have been some complaints about the lack of female characters in the movie, but given that it mostly focused on the core cast and Uhura got to do as much as the other crew members who weren’t Kirk or Spock, I don’t see how it could have happened any other way (and the skirt thing: a) it was positively nun-like compared to the skirt length in the original b)I thought the movie did a great job of updating the original series uniforms and c)as a woman who enjoys short skirts, I’m offended by the implication there’s something inherently bimboish about them).
Less pleasing is that fandom is showing its ass already. I wish I could say the misogyny (now with extra racism!) is surprising, but it’s really not. I’m surprised at the blatant ugliness in the comments though-it’s not the first time slashers have let their misogyny flag fly when bashing anything that gets girl cooties in their pairing, but the gendered insults and undercurrents of real anger are just…gah. Fandom, how I hate thee sometimes.
-Just how AWESOME was McCoy? Snarky impatient misanthropes FTW! I loved he had no restraint on who he unleashed his snark upon, loved how equally affectionate for and utterly exacerbated with Kirk he was, loved how he constantly felt surrounded by clueless kids (ha, his line about Chekov’s age? Would totally have been my reaction). He should have his own advice column: “Your problems come from being an idiot. I’m a doctor, not a sounding board for the emotionally stunted, go away!”.
-Every single casting choice was spot on, and I want to SQUISH the whole cast (once I got over tiny problems like Chekov’s ‘ironic’ bad accent-yes, I know it was a tribute, but damn, he sounded like an oldschool Bond villain. An ADORABLE Bond villain, but still!).
-Unexpected Nimoy was unexpected. I’d somehow managed to stay unspoiled for his cameo, so it almost made the Random Trek/Ice Age tribute/infodump worth it. I was highly amused that his primary role in this is as a stand-in for the slashers. God only knows what NC-17 fic Kirk glimpsed while inside Spock Prime’s brain.
-I was so certain that they would somehow ‘fix’ the timeline (years of Trek, Voyager especially, have conditioned to the inevitability of the reset button at the end). And then…they didn’t. Holy shit. Vulcan is actually gone. That took some balls of STEEL in their part. And I think it’s actually a good thing: for one thing, taking the coward’s way out would have lessened the emotional impact of the plot (and the radically different path Spock is set on as a result), for another, part of my distaste for prequels is knowing how it all ends. Now? We truly are entering new territory without fears of Jossing (and the alternate timeline still exists, so I couldn’t get too weepy about the future Trek shows).
-So…Scotty was in the shithouse for disappearing Admiral Archer’s pet beagle. Timeline-wise, it can only be descendants of Captain Archer and Porthos, but still: what a random Enterprise shoutout.
Can the sequels be out NOW please?
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 11:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 11:55 am (UTC)I think a Trek background makes the experience more fun due to getting the little references, but honestly, I don't think it's a requirement to enjoying it.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 09:10 pm (UTC)I am sorry that some people are being assholes about it but omg, not sold on this, not at discount rates.
I was actually kind of horrified and amused to find myself shipping K/S, because I NEVER shipped K/S on TOS. In large part because I watched TOS for the first time when it was first aired, sitting in my dad's lap, and I identified Daddy with Kirk because Daddy did, so thinking of TOS K/S is like trying to imagine my father kissing a guy. *so not happening*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 09:12 pm (UTC)(thank you metafandom...i think...)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 09:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 09:44 pm (UTC)Er, I went off in a tangent. My point being, people ship what they ship. It's the way some people expressed said tendency I found problematic.
LOL at the story about your dad. I once got over a crush on a certain actor who shall remain unnamed when I realised some of his convention behaviour reminded me of my father. I mean, I was in my early twenties, but still, talk about your instant cold shower.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 12:45 pm (UTC)Ahahaha, I bet! ;-)
part of my distaste for prequels is knowing how it all ends. Now? We truly are entering new territory without fears of Jossing
I don't mind prequels, but yes, the fact it's actually a new universe makes things more interesting!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 02:17 pm (UTC)But setting my contempt for him aside, I LOVED this production, I expected to hate Sylar as Spock, but I really enjoyed him. I enjoyed all of them! And Simon Pegg as Scottie was genius!
"I was so certain that they would somehow ‘fix’ the timeline (years of Trek, Voyager especially, have conditioned to the inevitability of the reset button at the end). And then…they didn’t. Holy shit."
Exactly! That was amazing, and really opens things up! This always all kinds of freedom in different aspects of these characters' personalities being developed... and basically a completely different universe (since so often Vulcan was the diplomatic corps).
It was a bold, but necessary choice... Now if Abrams would just hire some good women writers ....
Roddenberry had envisioned female captains & first officers from the very beginning, but evidently our new time line doesn't think so.... *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 05:52 pm (UTC)Oh, I know that, but in this instance, he just took on an existing cast, and like I said, I was happy with Uhura's portrayal.
Exactly! That was amazing, and really opens things up! This always all kinds of freedom in different aspects of these characters' personalities being developed... and basically a completely different universe (since so often Vulcan was the diplomatic corps).
It blows my mind trying to envision the Federation's future without (a strong) Vulcan.
Roddenberry had envisioned female captains & first officers from the very beginning, but evidently our new time line doesn't think so.... *sigh*
Well, somebody mentioned elsewhere that one thing those skirts do, is make women easy to distinguish in crowds. Starfleet certainly had a good mix of male/female cadets. I'm reserving judgement until the next movies, this was very much focused on the main cast.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 06:11 pm (UTC)I get that they were wanting to reestablish the basic members of the Enterprise crew for future episodes, without being hampered by past canon, but in this case it hampers the future by not having expanded Uhura's role (which is what I would have like to have seen... let her have a more action role). Basically I just feel that it is something he never even considers, and I feel it shouldn't be ignored.
See? In MY best scenario Uhura would have volunteered as having marshal arts skills, and then when they landed on the drill we would discover that Sulu just uses a sword, and Kirk just uses his fists, but Uhura (and of course the Romulans would have had 3 men on the drill instead of just two) would have serious ninja/karate skills.... That is just me off the top of my head, there are a lot of places she could have been given more to do that would hint to her having a larger role (and not just as romantic ingenue).
But obviously I loved the movie and I will be going to the sequels!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 03:24 pm (UTC)And I totally want to second this short skirt judgment. Sure if a skirt is too short it's ridiculous but I've certainly worn short skirts and I don't think they ever made me look like or be a bimbo. It's just a fashion. If women wear short skirts in this time period there's no reason to think Uhura would be judged that way for it. But again, maybe it's my own taste. I don't see anything not serious about a short dress with a high collar and high boots.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 04:59 pm (UTC)Just wanted to add some props to this statement – this is a very serious fashion combo, especially for the individual who knows how to work the aesthetic. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 05:56 pm (UTC)And yes, the length of a skirt is not reversely relative to one's IQ, God! On a shallow note, I seriously dug Uhura's boots. With a little tweaking, that uniform would make a very wearable outfit.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 05:16 pm (UTC)I'm woefully behind on all this Dreamwidth stuff, but I got my original LJ via invite code so if your offer's still available, why not. Holler if you need my "proper" e-mail – I think you may have it already but if not I'll send it your way.
Have not seen Star Trek yet, am seriously considering it because Mum wants to see it on the big screen very badly. But for me Star Trek isn't fannish, it's part of my childhood. I was massively into Nimoy's Spock, and while the grown-up intellectual wants to be fair, the inner 5-year-old DOES NOT PLAY, DOES NOT MESS AROUND when it comes to Spock. (so no Vulcan!!!1! = MASSIVE FAIL to the inner 5-year old, even though the grown-up intellectual perfectly understands the concept of AU.)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 06:02 pm (UTC)One of the friends I watched it this with had a similar "TOS=childhood" experience, and she enjoyed it. I'm not saying it will be the case with you, but you might as well do your mum the favour. If only to see what everybody in fandom is chattering about. *g*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-18 10:57 am (UTC)I am having a very similar reaction here for a very similar reason. I kind of want to see ST, but I just don't KNOW.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-18 05:34 pm (UTC)Come on, it can't be more painful than Twilight... :P
no subject
Date: 2009-05-20 08:57 am (UTC)Come on, it can't be more painful than Twilight... :P
OMG HOW DARE YOU LEAVE STEPHENIE ALONE TWILIGHT IS BRILLIANT AND EDWARD IS WONDERFUL AND YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS ANYWAY BECAUSE NO SPARKLY VAMPIRE WILL EVER WANT TO MARRY YOU.
Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 05:43 pm (UTC)This reboot does keep to the original's view of women and women's role in the Trek verse, which was changed in STNG, DS9, and the films. Women are treated as support, girlfriends, wives, mothers - they aren't part of the assault team, and they wear sexy clothes. It was a legitimate critique of the original Trek but also a critique of that time period. It is also why a lot of my female friends didn't like the original Trek - and much preferred the latter series.
That said: I am not sure we critique the writers for choosing to go this route, since they were sticking more or less with the canonical view of the original. It would look odd if they did away with how these people were dressed completely or some of the sexism - since the story is told pretty much from Kirk and Spock's pov, and Kirk was chauvinistic and a bit of a sexist jerk - hence Uruha's constant rejection of him. Spock -older and more enlightened, although even on Vulcan - the majority of the elders and students were male. So Spock also that view - she is his student, his support. Note it is Kirk that gets through to him. So the story is told from a decidedly white male perspective but then it always was, so that is in keeping with the original.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 05:49 pm (UTC)Also, you may or may not already know this - but there was an episode in the original where Kirk and Uruha have a wild romance and he kisses her on screen. This was highly controversial at the time. And the network told the writers to pull it - that they could not allow that on screen. William Shatner fought the network and insisted they do the scene.
The way he did it, was he snuck it in and refused to do reshoots. Or something like that. As a result it was on screen and listed amongst the first interracial kisses seen on tv.
Back then - the big deal was interracial relationships. And the reaction against them is not that different than what we currently see with gay relationships. The Kirk-Uruha kiss was considered hot and ground-breaking.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 06:21 pm (UTC)Also, I've been reading up on the details of that first interracial kiss, and according to Roddenberry, the kiss was originally written as Spock/Uhura, and apparently Shatner jumped in all "If anyone gets to kiss Nichelle, I mean Uhura, it'll be ME". This both amuses me and confirms my view of Shatner as a bit of a sleaze.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 06:56 pm (UTC)Shatner stated that if anyone was going to have an interracial romance, that it would be Kirk. Him. He said that if they wanted to make the statement they should do it with the lead.
That's the story that Nichelle Nichols who played Uhura told. The one fans heard was the joke that Roddenberry told, to appease network execs. The true tale was told years later by Nichelle Nichols.
So they wore short dresses, eh?LOL! Yep, it was that time period.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 07:40 pm (UTC)I love short dresses, but I don't think I could pull of the sixties look (other than stuff I wear over my swimming costume when I'm on holiday by the beach). For one thing, underwear design has changed since-an 'oops' moment then would be flashing panties, while I'd be bearing...well, there's no delicate way to say it: asscheeks.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-18 12:32 am (UTC)I wish I could find the link where both Shatner and Nichelle Nichols discuss what happened. It's an interesting reflection on the times.
And shows how far we've come since then. The fan reaction to Uhura and Spock, while disturbing, is no where near what it was like back then. (Actually, I find fan reaction to a lot of things disturbing. Apparently hate groups are utilizing social networking sites and blogs as a means of getting new members and getting their message across. Eww. I'm so happy that I remain oblivious and my flist does not have any of these people on it.)
Network television in its depiction of women and race has come a long way since Star Trek first aired. As objectionable as some of those early episodes might be to us, they were ground-breaking back then and really pushed the envelope regarding civil rights and social issues. Rod Sterling, Gene Roddenberry, and other writers had to use the sci-fi genre to explore these issues because they couldn't do it directly in normal dramas, without censorship. It's ironic, considering how sexist and racist a good portion of the written sci-fantasy book world is and was at that time, while tv and film were going in the opposite direction.
Hee, yes, I can't carry off a bikini or a short dress. Nichell Nichols, the original Uhura ...sigh, I envy her, she still looks good at 60 something.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 06:17 pm (UTC)This reboot does keep to the original's view of women and women's role in the Trek verse, which was changed in STNG, DS9, and the films. Women are treated as support, girlfriends, wives, mothers - they aren't part of the assault team, and they wear sexy clothes. It was a legitimate critique of the original Trek but also a critique of that time period. It is also why a lot of my female friends didn't like the original Trek - and much preferred the latter series.
Oh, I agree. It's why I've tried to watch original!Trek a few times only to give up repeatedly. Not that latter Treks are perfect, but even if you take someone like Seven Of Nine from Voyager, she might have fitted every fanboy's wet dream (and worn the most ridiculous catsuit), but she also got to do DO stuff (sometimes to the extent she made the rest of the crew look kind of like Props in the Seven of Nine Show, but that's another discussion), and was terribly smart, competent and could break your spine with her little finger. So while there were issues with the character, I loved Seven.
That said: I am not sure we critique the writers for choosing to go this route, since they were sticking more or less with the canonical view of the original. It would look odd if they did away with how these people were dressed completely or some of the sexism - since the story is told pretty much from Kirk and Spock's pov, and Kirk was chauvinistic and a bit of a sexist jerk - hence Uruha's constant rejection of him. Spock -older and more enlightened, although even on Vulcan - the majority of the elders and students were male. So Spock also that view - she is his student, his support. Note it is Kirk that gets through to him. So the story is told from a decidedly white male perspective but then it always was, so that is in keeping with the original.
I think Vulcan (and human) society in the original series was sexist though. And on the matter of Uhura, I didn't see her in a support role any more than the rest of the cast (minus Kirk and Spock). She didn't kick ass physically, but the only other minor character who did was Sulu. So in a sense yeah, maybe the series mirrors some of the original's failings, but I really bought into Uhura as a character rather than the girlfriend.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 06:46 pm (UTC)On the other hand they do give her things to do, she actually does more here than she did in the original. So you're correct she's not just a girl-friend.
I couldn't remember if the other woman wore trousers or not in the film. If they did, then the short skirt may just be keeping with Uhrua and well, it would be odd not to see her in them.
You are correct both societies were sexist in the original and here.
Which is to a degree a reflection of our society which continues to be sexist, although far less so than it used to be. In the 1960s - women had to wear skirts in most occupations. Trousers weren't permitted. And the shorter the better in some of them, specifically the airline industry.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-17 06:47 pm (UTC)Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-18 07:50 pm (UTC)You keep mentioning a brief romance between Uhura and Kirk and there has never been such a thing in TOS. The interracial kiss was not voluntary, aliens forced Kirk to kiss Uhura (and Spock to kiss Chapel) in "Plato's Stepchildren" by using telekinesis. Uhura had been friendly with Kirk in TOS but always very respectful and I doubt they would have ever kissed if the aliens hadn't made them.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-18 11:29 pm (UTC)At any rate - what you've done is underline what was going at the time. When Star Trek first aired - an interracial kiss on tv was perceived the exact same way as a kiss between a woman and a woman on network tv was in the 1990s. People flirted with the idea, but they never did it. The fact that the network made a huge stink about Kirk kissing Uhura (again according to Nichelle Nichols) when it wasn't even a romantic kiss...explains why they would never have kissed if the aliens hadn't made them. The reason wasn't because those characters wouldn't have done it - the reason was that back then a white man did not have a romance with a black woman on network tv - it just wasn't done. We have come a long way since then - thank god.
Today, the idea of Kirk and Uhrua sleeping together isn't a big deal.
But back then it was. With any luck in ten years time, it won't be a big deal if Kirk kissed Spock, but we aren't quite there yet.
Re: Short Skirts
Date: 2009-05-19 12:04 am (UTC)