To Boldly Re-go

Remakes, prequels, and sequels have been part of the entertainment industry for decades, but next month’s release of “Star Trek” blurs the distinction between these categories. Telling the story of the young Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock when they meet on the Enterprise for the first time, the new Star Trek takes place in advance of the original television series.

The franchise was badly in need of a fresh start; the classic Star Trek television episodes of the 1960’s and even the Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine series and movies of the 1990’s have a dated look. The transporter, warp-speed, and robotic technologies are still fantastic, if familiar, to sci-fi fans, but already today’s cellphones and flatscreens have surpassed the functionality of the old communicators and video displays on 23rd century starships.

The creators of the new movie have wisely avoided the prequel trap of having to make the story conclude without contradicting how future history must turn out. (IMHO, this was the principal flaw of the cancelled "Enterprise" TV series that took place before Kirk and Spock came on the scene.) If the movie followed the canon faithfully, there would be no suspense because Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise can’t die, or at least won’t for many years.

Per the WSJ:

Through a plot device involving time travel, "Star Trek" wipes clean the history of the franchise to create an alternative universe which re-imagines the early life of Kirk (played by Chris Pine) and his time at Starfleet Academy, where he encounters Spock (Zachary Quinto of TV's "Heroes"), and later sets off on the Enterprise. By going back in time, the film effectively changes the course of "Trek" history, so anything can happen.

Star Trek’s essential appeal has been its optimistic depiction of humanity’s future. If the movie creators can reverse the heretofore immovable arrow of time, we can be more hopeful yet. © 2009 Stephen Yuen