Star Trek: Lost Voyages of the J.J. Abrams Universe - Unedited Version

Does anyone care about JJ Abrams "alternate reality"? I know I don't. We were promised a "prequel" to Star Trek, showcasing Kirk and company in their academy days, and instead we got some alternate reality version that differs greatly from the true Trek canon. Abrams took the sleazy way out rather than have to adhere to the real canon and timeline. Less work and now he has a completely blank slate to deviate as much as he wants. That's not Roddenberry's Star Trek. It's his own new creation.

I don't know about you but the Kirk I know wasn't such a punk, and the Spock and Ohura I know would never be "hooking up". The guy obviously had no concept as to what those characters were about and he didn't care so he took the Sleazy way out.

Can you tell I'm not a fan?

btw, that is a perfect example of how a director that is not at all in tune with the subject matter can totally take a dump all over a franchise character. I worry we will see the same thing with Joe Johnson and the Captain America film.

niknik, I have to respectfully disagree with you. By creating the alternate timeline -- and acknowledging it as such within the film -- the filmmakers were able to take into consideration 40 years of canon but not be a slave to it.

The truth is that by the mid-200os, Star Trek as a franchise was genuinely struggling. The last two films did not do well, there was no longer a TV series, the Star Trek magazine was ceasing publication and the website itself was rumored to be getting ready to shut down. The franchise absolutely needed to appeal to a new audience and that's precisely what JJ Abrams and his team accomplished.

And as to the characters -- yes, Kirk started out as a punk in this timeline, being raised without his father. Spock and Uhura never would have "hooked up" if it wasn't for the loss of Vulcan; that personal devastation to Spock causing Uhura to reach out to him and him responding to her. Yet through all the deviations, by the end of the film the family had been brought together and I have no doubt that in future films they will maintain the Roddenberry philosophy while continuing to make Star Trek acceptable to a modern audience.

I figure I can enjoy these new adventures and pull out the Blu-rays of the original when I have the need. Best of both worlds.

I am an old school fan having grown up on the original series and followed STTNG and the films and so on, and pretty much all of the fans in my circle agree it was the old "bait and switch" routine. We were looking forward to a prequel that was promised and got something completely different. Not Roddenberry's Trek at all. Seems like a cop out. Like Abrams just couldn't or wouldn't handle staying in the actual Trek universe so he took the easy way out. Very disappointing to many old school trekkies.

Don't get me wrong. It was an entertaining film on it's own merit, but as a part of the Trek legacy I felt ripped off. Deceived. If I could do it all over again they wouldn't get my money at the box office.

Maybe it's a generational thing. If you are under 30 and not as attached to the Trek of old, a different new take on Trek looks "cool". I'm not in that crowd. Like I said, the film itself was good, I just hated the fact that it wasn't "the real" Kirk and crew. Instead they gave us these alternate reality dopplegangers. Fakes. Frauds. Copies. I would have loved it if they would have stayed within the real Trek universe and told the story of the REAL James Tiberius Kirk and crew.

@niknik and EdGross. I am old enough to have watched the original series through Enterprise. I appreciate the reboot as a chance to tell new stories and put a spin on the old ones. There's not going to be any pleasing the old fans who refuse to let go of the original universe. But if they had stayed with the original universe, it would have restricted the stories and limited the amount of new and fresh material (as well as reached a heretofore unheard of level of predictability). Change is the only constant in the universe. It makes sense that Star Trek would demonstrate that.

I didn't have a problem with the alternate reality presented except for one thing. Near the end of the movie Kirk offers aid to Nero's disabled ship which Nero refuses. Kirk then at the suggestion of Spock (of all people) then proceeds to blast the ever living hell out of a defenseless opponent. This is not Star Trek in any way shape or form. In the original series episode Arena Kirk refused to kill the gorn even when he knew his ship could be endangered. The whole Star Trek philosophy can be summed up with the phrase"We come in peace but we will defend ourselves if necessary" It was not necessary to blast Nero therefore this is not Star Trek.

Great argument Jarren. Well thought out and insightful. To make it clearer for you: when one is adapting a preexisting property one's job is to capture the essence of that property. Its okay to jazz things up but it should still remain true to the ideals of the original material. Having Kirk blast a defenseless enemy goes against everything Star Trek is all about.