Trurl - I would disagree with the adjective "mindless."  I think KHAN was a pretty well-written story, if not particularly original.  There's a difference between escapism and mindless escapism, although I suppose the line separating the two is going to be different for everyone.

I Will Probably - No, I'm fairly sure you're wrong.  I don't remember any other Star Trek story where an exploding star threatened a galaxy, which contains billions of stars and is incredibly vast.  Hey, I could be wrong.  But if you find another story making that mistake I'll happily qualify my issue.  (If anyone's…

I Will Probably - Well, I'm not "pretending" anything.  I saw the film several times and never heard the line you mention, nor did anyone I know who saw it, fans and detractors alike.  I looked "red matter" up on Memory Alpha, and the description you give refers to a line in the novelization, not the movie, which…

I Will Probably - The difference, which I seem not to have expressed clearly, is that a "new Trek cycle" would be just that.  Like, say, James Bond.  Technically Connery, Moore, et al are all supposed to be playing the same character (up until Craig) but they seldom refer back to earlier versions of 007, there's not a…

The problem is that before the Internets started raising holy hell, there was no investigation.  They took his word for it and just let him go.  I agree that mob justice is wrong and people need to cool it, and who knows, maybe the Martin kid did attack him (though even if he did punch Zimmerman in the head for…

Who's posting from this account, Stevie Wonder?

I'm not sure how much can be blamed on the actors.  They're doing what is in the script.  I thought Pine was terrible, but that's because he wasn't Kirk, he was this other, angsty, brooding, dickish, annoying Kirk, so it's hard to judge him fairly.  As written, his character is awful.  I didn't like Spock and Uhura…

Ironically enough, that would not be considered "hard SF." 

Spinrad's point is that his contract (so his lawyers claim) give him the rights to his script, not Paramount, and that the plans to finally film it were with an amateur group that gives their fan films away for free.  Paramount (and Abrams, or so he believes) is being needlessly dickish.

I have, ILDC, and it's one of the few with which I largely disagreed with him.  He does have a point (that many here make) that the series was moribund and shitty by the time the reboot came around, no argument there.  And it was exciting.  But, for me, there was no sense of consequence, nothing felt at stake, I…

Ah, things often flashed and exploded, Cookie.  Usually when Kirk asked them to define "love."  BUT, there were wonderful stories and ideas in there as well.  This just felt kinda stupid and soulless to me.  KHAN (for example) was a great adventure, but it wasn't JUST that.  Middle age, fear of mortality, fear of…

That is a fair point, Happy.  Like it or not, this movie worked for a lot of people and brought the franchise back from the dead, so that at least is a positive.

Well then…I'm…sorry I made you discuss this?

Would STAR WARS count as "sword and planet" or "planetary romance?"  I'm not sure.  Those stories usually have at least some sex appeal or raciness.  Han and Leia are mostly chaste (on screen) and Anakin and Padme…ugh.  Beyond awful.

Well I guess J.J. Abrams HAS done some good, then!  How about that.  :)

Honestly?  I would have just preferred a straight reboot.  Dragging in the time travel thing was weird for many reasons.  I guess it's like…hmmm…Sherlock Holmes.  It would be strange, and unnecessary, if they shoehorned in an older Jeremy Brett (assuming he wasn't dead, that would be even weirder) into the new RDJ…

Yeah, but it's not made-up science.  I mean, things like supernovas.  Those are real, and they don't act the way the movie said.  That's literally a one-second fix: call it something else.  "Space-time rip" or something.  Make it up!  The movie is just loaded with stuff like that.

Why are you still arguing about this?  I thought your job was hanging by a thread or something.

Hey, I'm sorry your life sucks so bad.  Have you considered heroin?

And in the reboot's defense, a lot of Trek fans DID love it.  Which is even weirder to me.  But, whatevs.