Letters about the prospective "Birth of the Federation" series
More general science fiction letters

Trek fans of the 70s remember

I would like to comment on the article you reprinted from Reuters. I know that you can't change what they say, but I find it annoying that they characterize the Star Trek fans of the '70s as putting together conventions to buy and sell Star Trek memorabilia – we didn't.

We got together to talk about Trek, meet other fans, and generally have fun. Viacom/Paramount and Creation Cons have turned conventions into a big money franchise, but we just got together to chat and express our admiration for the writing, acting and vision of the show.

Many people scoff at the idea that a TV show can change the world, how many scientists were inspired to pursue their interests? How many pieces of technology can trace their conceptualization to tech portrayed in the show? How much has the show changed TV itself?

The answers are "many, many, and much."

Sure, that one TV show didn't cure cancer, solve world hunger, or launch the next stage in human space exploration, but chances are that the person or people who do those things will be inspired by Star Trek.

I'm curious -- are there any statistics on the "Trekkies" of the 1970s? The most visible to me were women, mostly in their late twenties and early thirties, but I remember one Trekkie enthusing about an early convention where there was no single age group discernable in the attendees.

I'll reveal my age here; I watched the original series, as did my entire family, hanging on breathlessly from episode to episode, even through the dreary third season.

I remember my junior high school after the first running of "Amok Time". The school split into those who had seen it and those who hadn't, who were haplessly forced to listen to those of us who had.

I wrote a paper in college on why the show had really died. The numbers I found for viewership were not that much more dismal than some other shows that were nursed to triumphant runs, and the demographics revealed that the audience was one that advertisers really wanted to reach.

My thesis was that the show died because the characters never did much that was commercially marketable. I noticed with some amusement that the members of the "Next Generation" crew all had hobbies and special tastes -- "Earl Grey, hot" ranks up there with "shaken, not stirred" in some circles.

They were consumers of the first order, which James T. Kirk et al. were not – except for Scotty's taste for green liquor, that is.

Forbidden Planet remake draws skepticism

Walter Pidgeon wasn't mentioned in your article, and he was certainly a pivotal role. Casting Mobius could make or break the remake, as could the look given to a new Robbie the Robot.

I watch Forbidden Planet at least once a year – it’s one of the ultimate sci-fi movies. I’d like to see a deeper treatment of the Krell civilization in the remake.

Unlike the noble -- but mostly unsuccessful -- attempt by the creators of Mission to Mars to pay homage to Kubrick's 2001, I expect that the projected remake of Forbidden Planet will allow for even more room for error.

You know what that probably means: Market-oriented, bottom-line, high-voltage, flash-in-the-pan fluff -- like the remake of TV's "sci-fi" serial, Lost in Space.

The prognosis is not encouraging. Too few people are able to tell the difference between the sitcom-oriented Lost in Space's "Robot" and the science-fictional "Robby the Robot" in the Shakespeare-oriented Forbidden Planet.

The result will most likely be determined by monsters from the ad -- or ego – department, but one can hope otherwise.

"Yeah, we're gonna show ‘em. We're gonna show those old fart fifties movie makers what they shoulda done."

Zap wowie special FX, mind boogering spaceship -- no wimpy saucer, this'll be a teapot! -- spandex-o-rexic Anne Francis upgrade, high-drek, up-to-date-so-5-minutes-from-now robot with expressions on its cybertoon face, a smarmy kid who says "butt" a lot and dialogue with phrases like "'Yeah, right", all barked out by senior officers and officerettes who graduated from Star Trek conventions.

Sigh!

A classic is just that -- classic! This won't be a remake so much as grave robbery.

Voyager: should it stay or should it go?

I don't think that they should end Star Trek: Voyager next season. The show still has plenty of undiscovered places to boldly go. It also still has a huge following.

UPN needs to get onto the satellite feeds for the new local stations on Dish Network and Direct TV. That would expand the viewing audience for all their shows.

It would really hurt to say "good-bye" to the Voyager crew after getting to "know" them so well over the past 5+ years.

I mourned the passing of Deep Space Nine. I've really grown attached to the characters of both series through watching them week after week for years.

The writers have done such a great job of bringing the Star Trek universe to life. The detail and interlinking of movies and TV series has created a rich legacy.

Hopefully I can watch Voyager in reruns for many years and maybe Paramount will make more big-screen Star Trek movies.

I'm 35 now and I've been watching Star Trek in some form on TV all my life. I can't imagine a time without a Star Trek series.

Voyager has been on the air for five years too many. I watched the first year’s episodes and was insulted and nauseated by the lack of intelligent and creative story lines and character development.

It did not help that every other episode Janeway was threatening to blow Voyager to smithereens – and you know she would do it too, over such trivial crap like if an alien took off with a Federation towel or ash tray.

Anyway, good-bye Voyager and good riddance. Thanks to it I now hate Star Trek where once I loved it.