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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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.