This summer, there’s a veritable cavalcade of films coming out which take preestablished properties, and takes them to places seldom imagined by the original creators or fans. Two of these films, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek, look to take their respective franchises to heights yet unimagined. In the case of Star Trek, the series is being rebooted and reimagined for a new generation of audiences, with the hope of reigniting interest in the franchise beyond the hardcore fans. But, in the end, it’s still ultimately Trek: Kirk and Spock and Bones, transporters and phasers and warp engines. In the case of Transformers, the franchise bears nearly no resemblance to the cartoons and toys which inspired it. And that is a major problem.

Lately, there’s been serious discussion of a Robotech film, headed by Tobey MacGuire, who somehow obtained the rights to the film. You might recall this being discussed during a previous episode of the podcast. There’s been some traction to these rumors of the past few months, though nothing solid has formed. But the mere concept of a Hollywood version of a Robotech (Macross) adapation makes me shudder based on what Hollywood has done to franchises of the past.

Case 1? Transformers, as I alluded to earlier. A franchise beloved by twenty to thirty somethings, the ultimate result of Transformers on the big screen is something of a betrayal to the legacy of the cartoon. No longer were the Autobots simple vehicles, but crazy, over the top, overcomplicated transforming devices which transformed not for the sake of going in disguise, but for blowing out a CG budget. Optimus Prime went from being a noble leader to an overgrown, clumsy giant who used outdated slang.

Case 2? Speed Racer. While Speed Racer was never exactly realistic, it at least kept to an idea of racing that was somewhat familiar. The Wachowski Brothers took the kernal of the television series and turned it into…something else. No one was quite able to decipher what was going on, much less me.

Hollywood seems to be incapable of comprehending what made the franchises they adapt so endearing and engaging in the first place. The reimaginings seem to be more for the purpose of presenting a package to an (assumed to be) idiotic consumer with no idea of what the source franchise is or what made it great in the first place.

An example of a reimagined property done right, which several point to as one of the best franchises of all time, is Battlestar Galactica. While the creators of the new television series didn’t necessarily adhere closely to the source material, much in the same way Michael Bay didn’t, this was overlooked for the fact that the new franchise was excellent. It didn’t dumb down the roots of the franchise, but rather smartened it up, made it mature and gritty and worthwhile in its departures from its roots.

If Hollywood has anymore childhood franchises it looks to acquire, it must be painstakingly clear to everyone involved: make it clear you understand the audience of the franchise you’re pulling from, and if you make dramatic changes to the franchise in question, don’t dumb things down, but play up the intelligence factor. We’re not dumb.

CommentsArticles, Feature Article disaster, Hollywood, idiocy, movies, reimagine, remakes, Speed Racer, Star Trek, Transformers

Over the weekend, a post was made over at io9 asking what happened to the cheerful optimism of science fiction past. The essay points out that, indeed, in order for science fiction to viewed as “high brow” and serious, science fiction must portray the future as a dour, bleak vision with no concept of the clean, sterile vision the Star Trek’s of years past held. A key component of to these visions of the future is the period when they were conceived. Star Trek is a product of the Cold War, when the threat of nuclear war threatened daily life. Yet, there was endearing hope and optimism about the future, and that permeates throughout the entirety of Roddenberry’s vision of the future.

Fast forward nearly fifty years, and optimism and hope seem like worn out cliches. The advancements so craved in the Cold War never came, and humanity still struggles with nearly all of the problems presented before us decades earlier. Battlestar Galactica acts as a barometer of where we stand as a culture, with no possibility or hope for a clean, sanitized future.

Science fiction as a cultural artifact also allows for analysis of broader cultural attitudes. Consider the Western and Eastern views on a touchstone of science fiction: robots and artificial intelligence. In general, Western civilization regards these topics with fear and suspicion, as reflected in films such as Terminator and A.I. Artificial life is regarded as something be suspicious of, since it is unnatural and different from us. In contrast, Eastern civilization, specifically, the anime of Japan, take a diametrically opposite stance on robots and AI from Western counterparts. Consider giant mecha shows such as Gundam and Macross: robots in these series are regarded not with malice (specifically), but as tools for furthering the progress and enhancement of lifestyle for man. It should come as no surprise that many of the advancements for the practical implementation of robots in our daily life are in fact, coming from Japan.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to a single central tenet: science fiction is the best method for describing life and times during a single snapshot of history. The Day the Earth Stood Still demonstrated the absurdity of the Red Scare of the 1950’s, Star Trek conveyed the optimism and hope of the 1960’s, and Battlestar Galactica encapsulated the doom and gloom misery of the post-9/11 era. Science fiction remains the enduring barometer for where our culture has been, where it is at the current moment, and where it’ll be heading in the future.

CommentsArticles, Feature Article battlestar galactica, commentary, culture, hopemania, science fiction, Star Trek

Taken from Aint It Cool News:

“I told my agent and told the people of J.J. Abrams’ team I want to create another ‘Star Trek’ series and have an idea that I’m kicking around,” acclaimed TV writer Bryan Fuller said in an IF Magazine story posted March 2. “I would love to return to the spirit of the old series with the colors and attitude. I loved ‘Voyager’ and ‘Deep Space Nine,’ but they seem to have lost the ‘60s fun and I would love to take it back to its origin.”

I started following Bryan Fuller’s career shortly after watching Dead Like Me, which to this day remains in my top 10 list of best television series ever. I’ve enjoyed everything he’s written, and he’s cited as scripting perhaps the best episode of Heroes to date: Company Man. While I think Heroes is complete and utter garbage, Fuller’s work on the show sparked my interest. So, to hear that he wants to do a new Star Trek television series is rather exciting.

Granted, it’s all just talk at this point, and J.J. Abrams has the final say for two years as to whether or not new star trek material can be made. But, if something like this were to be green-lit, I can guarantee you that I’ll be there come series premiere.

Also….I want the new Star Trek movie to come out NOW!

Thoughts? Comments? Post them below or e-mail me.

CommentsArticles Bryan Fuller, J.J. Abrams, Star Trek, television, tv

Of course, we can’t let Mattie go posting a Star Wars piece without countering with a Trek post. This scene from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is one of my favorite Trek battles of all time. It exemplifies everything which made the Trek movies of the 80’s great: a sense of tension and atmosphere, similar to naval warfare. The opening minutes of the scene, with the forlorn faces of nameless crew personnel listening as Kirk gives terse orders and Spock counting down from the audio feed of the bridge. The audio-only transmissions between Kirk and Chang, an invisible enemy tearing apart the ship while it helplessly drifted along.

Star Trek VI was actually the first Trek film I ever saw. My parents rented it from the video store because they knew that I was a big fan of Star Trek. For my birthday the previous year, they had bought me a huge toy Enterprise-D, which made tinny little phaser and photon torpedo firing sounds. When I saw Star Trek VI and the battle between the Enterprise-A and the cloaked Bird of Prey, I was put on the edge of my seat. It was a spectacle I had never seen before.

For me, the standard by which the new Star Trek movie will be judged by will be the Nicholas Meyer Trek films. Massive starships like the Enterprise don’t zoom through space, the glide. Though I’ve only seen glimpses from the trailers, I’m hoping the space battles of the film are closer to the Meyer style of battle than, say, the Star Wars or Babylon 5 style, where capital ships rip through space with agility that doesn’t typically behoove objects of that size.

CommentsArticles battle, Chang, Kirk, Meyers, naval, Star Trek, warfare

I make no qualms about loving Star Trek. I am a huge Trek fan. When I was a kid, I would play with tricorders and put my tiaras over my eyes and pretend I was Geordi Laforge. A friend of my family as a little kid used to make Star Trek models. It was amazing going into the basement and seeing the original Enterprise built to scale. So yes, I am a Trekkie. Which is why this chart done by io9 has me in stitches.

It takes all of the plot points of past Treks and throws them all together for you to create your own Star Trek adventure! I can’t wait to shout out “Khaaaaaannnn!”

CommentsArticles chart, Star Trek, Trekkie