From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: liam@valentijn.nu   
   Subject: Star Trek 2009, I saw it this week (spoilers if you haven't seen it   
   yet)   
      
   Mind you, I already saw several trailers and read dozens of spoilers. It   
   wasn't that new to me. :-)   
   Some assumptions I made were wrong. I thought there would be only one age    
   for Nero whilst another poster with whom I had a discussion about this said    
   there were decades between. He was obviously right.  Advance Scout?  Those    
   twelve hundred quatloos are transferred!   
      
   I consider this movie to be a totally alternate timeline, only a few levels   
   more serious than 'In the Pirkering'.   
   When did this timeline start to splice of? I think even before Nero showed   
   up.   
      
   If you look at the scenes involving the Kelvin you see a vessel you would   
   not think possible for that time period. Outwardly it is reminiscent of the   
   classic (non-canon) destroyer / scout configuration of the Starfleet Tech   
   manual of the '70's. But it seems a great deal bigger and more modern too.   
   It had 800 people or more on board and scores of shuttlecraft! And what was   
   a pregnant woman doing on board? Passenger? Was there an early experiment   
   involving family on board starships before the days of Picard?   
      
   If you think about altering the timeline of Kirk & Co.  it automatically   
   involves changing everything they touched, not only in their regular time   
   frame, but also in the times they will visit outside, in the past (or maybe    
   not now in this case). The   
   changes, how small or great they are, could start from the ice age of   
   Sarpeidon to the mid '80's of the twentieth century.   
   So, that might be a secondary effect of a timeline change from the moment   
   the Narada entered the past, thus also effecting everything up to and    
   including the construction of the Kelvin.   
   It could be a cascade of changes. A ripple effect directly into the relative    
   future, the natural way time flows, and indirectly the past because of the    
   loops made by effected time travelers.   
      
   The Narada... Those miners seemed to be part of a different culture than the    
   Romulans we know about thus far. Which can be explained by the fact that    
   most of those had been either in the military or in politics.   
      
   Nero himself was total nut case. He could have used a couple of lessons from    
   Spock when he was younger.   
   The moment he realized he was in the past he might have chosen to head for    
   Romulus and/or slingshot back into the future in order to use the red matter    
   sooner! Romulus would have been saved and he would not need to seek revenge.    
   But then again, I doubt logic was his strong suit.   
      
   The red matter was a curious find for this movie. We know Romulan Warbirds    
   are powered by a singularity but I understand this Red Matter has a    
   different origin. I did half and half expect Sidney Bristow to show up,    
   stopping Nero. :-)   
      
   The heroes. Well, vehicular wise this was a very different Kirk. Not    
   surprising since the focal point of the changes was his life. The same goes    
   for most of the characters. Most close to the originals were Quinto as Spock    
   (mostly because of his looks) and Urban as McCoy (almost too good a match).   
   Really totally different were Chekov and Scott. The latter being borderline    
   ADHD I think. And what was that short angry alien doing there? He reminded    
   me of Zathras a bit.   
      
   Taking a few steps back, taking into account this is a totally alternate    
   universe, I have some mixed feelings about the way the film was made. The    
   first half seemed too loose and fast. Way too MTV. Maybe because it is aimed    
   at a younger age group than mine. The second part of the movie, from Kirk's    
   stay on that other Delta Vega was the better half.   
      
   As a whole it can be seen as a 'Collage Homage' to the classic series,    
   mixing images and sound bites from Treks past into a story that is a bit    
   shaky.   
   I would have made two or three movies from that first half or so (up until    
   the Vulcan distress call) and use those to flesh out Kirk's life in a more    
   in depth manner.   
   But I guess such a thing will never happen because that wouldn't be fast or    
   MTV enough.   
   Speaking of MTV, I think it was funny to hear 'The Beasty Boys'. As being an    
   Abrams product I would expect to hear 'Drive Shaft'. :-) This however was a    
   better choice.   
      
   Bottom line: Do I regret getting this DVD (2 disc edition)? Nope! :-)   
   Will it replace the originals? Never!   
   It starts as this sloppy homage to Trek's past and at the end it finishes    
   relatively well.   
   Relatively because they were not able to save Amanda and Vulcan. But again    
   since I consider those not to be 'our' Amanda and Vulcan, the loss isn't    
   felt that strong.   
      
      
   --    
   Wouter Valentijn www.j3v.net   
      
   http://www.nksf.scifics.com/startrek.html   
      
   Buffy: This is the Initiative Xander.  Military guys and scientists do not    
   make out with each other.   
   Xander: Well maybe that's what's wrong with the world. Ever think about    
   that?   
      
   'Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4x14: Goodbye Iowa'   
      
   liam=mail   
      
      
      
      
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