Star Trek: a Worf TV Show? (Some Thoughts)
A few weeks ago, the Huffington Post released an interview with Wil Wheaton and Michael Dorn, who played Wesley Crusher and Worf (respectively) on Star Trek: the Next Generation. I recommend reading the whole thing, but for now, I’m only concerned with one quote from Dorn: Business things got in the way in terms of the JJ Abrams movie coming out and CBS/Paramount and their relationship with JJ Abrams. I don’t think they wanted to step on his toes by putting a new series on, but it’s not dead yet. I’ve finished the script and hopefully someone will take a look at this and say “we can do this.” Basically, we’re not that far off from seeing a Captain Worf TV show. Let me say that again: a Captain Worf TV show. By “not far off,” of course, I don’t mean “next year.” This is Hollywood, after all, and even getting into talks with the studios still means you’re about as far from production as we are from going to Mars. Still, in production terms, that’s a lot closer than “I’ve got the rights” or “I wrote something” or “someone answered my phone call.” In other words, yeah, we’re really not that far off from a possible show. The big questions are these: How exactly are they going to fit this show into the universe everyone now knows (Abrams’)? And if they’re not going to integrate Worf into this new universe, how can they justify the character to a new viewing public? First, there are big problems with sticking Worf into the Abrams universe. Even taking into account the ridiculous time travel changes that have occurred, the character of Worf doesn’t appear until well after the events of the first two ST films. He’s from an entirely different era, and his character is so defined by that era that to try to artificially shove him 100 years forward would entail an entirely different set of political conditions, most notably the fact that the Federation and the Klingons haven’t even begun their war in the Abrams universe. Star Trek Into Darkness takes place in 2259 — eight years before the Federation-Klingon war took place in the original universe. And the film makes clear that war is pretty much inevitable, as it was in the original universe. Since Worf’s character is partly defined by the post-war period, after which the Klingons eventually sue for piece (as in The Undiscovered Country), it doesn’t make much sense to shove him into the immediate universe of the Abrams film. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did just that, since this film series seems incapable of inventing new characters; instead, they borrow liberally from everything that came before. One of the other problems has to do with which ST TV shows people are most likely to remember. The Abrams ST films are probably more popular with casual or non-Trek viewers than with the traditional Trekkie crowd. As such, its primary audience likely knows about TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager, but their most recent ST experience would have been with Enterprise. The good news: STE doesn’t violate Abrams’ new canon, since its events, more or less, take place before Kirk’s birth (in fairness, I haven’t finished STE yet, so there may be stuff in there that contradicts this). You could easily suck STE into Abrams’ canon without much problems, which is not something you can easily do with a Worf TV show which springs off of TNG and DS9 (as the title, Captain Worf, suggests). A show set in the Next Gen universe will also have a hard time competing with the film universe precisely because its characters aren’t the dominant representation of ST anymore. They may be some of the most recognizable non-TOS characters in the ST canon, but the universe we’re playing in now would, by its very nature, have to diverge significantly from the world we learned about in TNG. After all, the Vulcans aren’t really there to help out anymore. They’re a decimated species who might, in 100 years, get some semblance of interstellar control back, but they’re basically out for the count right now. And that means Abrams has to take into account that the Klingons will likely have more of an influence on the Federation than they would have had before — they’re minus one formidable opponent. Right. Wandering. This is the problem. The Abrams universe has become, in my mind, *the* ST universe. It’s the one we’re all really talking about as a culture. As much as I want a Captain Worf show set in the TNG universe, I worry that it will only confuse new fans of ST. After all, part of the reason the new ST movies are so action oriented is to snatch up younger viewers. It’s not designed for Trekkies, as much as they might hate the idea. And the worst thing you can do to a newer, younger (and, hey, possibly older-but-never-been-into-ST-before) crowd is confuse them with ST stuff that doesn’t fit. Well, maybe not the worst thing, but it’s a legitimate concern. But who am I to say it won’t work? I’ll watch the show regardless, as will most Trek fans. Worf is a beloved character, and watching him grow as a formidable captain would be pretty awesome. Bogh tlhInganpu’, SuvwI’pu’ moj, Hegh!
Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies Since 2010 (Thus Far)
This is just the beginning. I’m going to make an announcement about this very topic after I pass my PhD candidacy exams in September. For now, however, I’d like to offer a list of films I consider to be “the best” in the SF/F category for the years 2010-2013 (thus far). By “the best,” I mean “films I think are good movies as movies.” A lot of these films were quite popular when they were in theaters, but I’m not concerned by popularity here. I’m only concerned with what I think are well-written and/or well-produced films. A film with a thin plot can still be great if it does something more than just throw lots of action at the audience to hide its flaws (this is why you will see no Michael Bay films on the list). And on that note, I will shut up. The following are the top 10 SF/F movies released since 2010…for now (this list will change as I start to watch things I missed): 10. Chronicle (2012) While I’m not a huge fan of the found-footage film form, occasionally they are done right. Chronicle is one of those times. The semi-diary-format superhero story coupled with a narrative about the psychological impact of parental abuse and death stuck with me after I saw it in theaters. I connected with the main character almost immediately, in part because I’ve had similar experiences (minus the super powers). The director also does a pretty damn good job cobbling together the fictive pieces of the main character’s film diary, gaps and all. That earns it a spot on this list. 9. John Dies at the End (2012) This movie is weird. Really weird. But it’s also the kind of brilliant mix of camp and horror that one expects from Don Coscarelli, Jr. If you haven’t seen the film (and like Coscarelli’s work), I recommend watching it on Netflix. I can’t describe it to you. It’s, as I said, really freaking weird, and relentless in its descent into insanity. It’s sort of what I’d expect someone who just saw Cthulu to dream as they slowly fall to pieces. Only John Dies at the End is hilarious, surreal, and dark. 8. Pacific Rim (2013) You can learn all about my love for this film here. 7. Pumzi (released in the U.S. in 2010) The only short film of this list, Wanuri Kahiu’s incredible dystopian film Pumzi took academic circles by storm in 2010. For such a short work, it manages to bring a lot to the table: a thoroughly African setting (I suspect there are cultural clues specific to Kahiu’s native Kenya, but I know too little about that nation to say for sure); a fascinating post-apocalyptic “green utopian” society; and some interesting uses of technology. I’d say the film is cliche, but the semi-mystic undertones and the ambiguous final vertical panning shot over a seemingly threatening climate on the other side of the mountains make this one of the best films released in the last three years, if only because I’ve had some intense discussions about that ending. 6. Another Earth (2011) While action and straightforward SF films are wonderful when done right, sometimes a character drama in an SFnal universe can make for exceptional cinematic experiences. Brit Marling and Mike Cahill’s Another Earth uses its SF premise (a planet that looks suspiciously like our own earth appears suddenly in the sky) to provide an extended metaphor about second chances. The interaction between Rhoda (Marling) and John (William Mapother) as they both come to terms with the horrors of their connected pasts (unbeknownst to John, whose family was killed in a car accident caused by Rhoda) had me captivated all the way through. And like all good character dramas, the ending provides an ambiguous solution to the primary conflict in the narrative. It’s just a damned good film. 5. Elysium (2013) You can find out what I think about this movie here. I’m likely to write several blog posts about the film, though. I think it’s actually quite an intelligent film, despite all the critics who call it propaganda, stupid, pointlessly utopian, and so on (it is neither of these things). 4. Hugo (2011) The only children’s film on this list, Hugo‘s charming story about family and French cinema deserved a lot more love than it got when the awards season came around. Asa Butterfield’s exceptional performance as the title character, along with equally strong performances by Ben Kingsley and Chloe Moretz, added depth to an already exceptional and brilliantly-imagined film. It most certainly belongs on a top ten list for children’s films from the last decade! For now, I’ve stuck it here. 3. Never Let Me Go (2010) I’m a sucker for Carey Mulligan films, I guess. This low-key dystopia centralizes the personal growth and development of a trio of clones who will one day have their organs harvested by the British state. I saw this film for the first time with my sister, and I recall the feeling of dread and horror that arises in the final moments — feelings that just wouldn’t exist without the direct focus on these three characters as characters. It’s not a film for everyone, but I think it’s easily one of the best SF/F films ever made. 2. Cloud Atlas (2012) This one shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Wachowski sibling’s adaptation of David Mitchell’s epic novel of the same name didn’t get a lot of love from the traditional SF crowd, but I wasn’t surprised by that in the slightest. More critics and viewers loved Prometheus than Cloud Atlas; I think it’s fair to say that the former is a steaming pile of glittering shit stained with oils made from petrified dinosaur crap (here’s what I really think about that movie…). Cloud Atlas, however, is an incredible journey into the interconnected lives of individuals existing across various time periods. Every time I see the film, I make new connections between characters, discover new ambiguities
Star Trek Movies and TV Shows: Ranked by Me
On August 11th, Badass Digest released a Trekkie-voted ranked list of all the Star Trek movies to date (plus Galaxy Quest, for some reason). It’s a strange list, to say the least. Why is Galaxy Quest on there? Other than the fact that it’s a mostly-direct parody of Star Trek, it isn’t actually a Star Trek movie. And why did they stick Star Trek Into Darkness at the end, when it’s obviously not the worst film on the list? OK, so I have a good answer for that last question. We talked about this a little in a recent Shoot the WISB episode. Basically, the reversal of the Khan narrative probably came off as a slap in the face to Trekkies. I even think it smelled disgusting, even though I kind of like the idea of switching things around. After all, Spock isn’t supposed to be an emotional man, so the idea that he’d break down after the supposed death of Kirk adds some weight to the moment. But…it wasn’t handled well. There wasn’t enough character development; the death of Kirk was handled in the way you’d expect a comic book to handle it: he’s dead…wait, no, not really, here’s some magic *poof.* At least in Wrath of Khan, Spock died. He was dead dead dead. The film never says “hey, we’ll magic him into existence…right at the end.” If you’ve never seen Search for Spock, you really do think the guy has friggin died. And that’s a big deal. The audience sometimes needs that slap in the face. But I digress. Prepare to be pissed off. The following is my ranked list of Star Trek movies, minus Galaxy Quest: 12. Star Trek (you can see why I still hate the film here and here) 11. Star Trek: Insurrection (the villains just didn’t do it for me; it felt too much like an unnecessarily extended episode of the regular show, and the absurdity of the plot never seemed to gel or follow through for me, despite some nifty action sequences in the end) 10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (I want to like this film, but too much of this film’s central elements are ridiculously underdeveloped; for example, both Sybok and the “god” thing at the end are given almost the same amount of characterization, despite the fact that the latter is only in the film for maybe seven minutes — we never really know who Sybok is, except that he’s kinda nuts) 9. Star Trek: Nemesis (there are certainly a lot of problems with this film, most notably in the convoluted plot; however, Tom Hardy does a fantastic job as Shinzon, and Captain Kirk really does almost get sucked dry like a character in a vampire movie, which seemed pretty cool to me) 8. Star Trek Into Darkness (though I quite enjoy this sequel to Abrams’ first ST film, it certainly suffers from reboot-idis; case in point, the fact that the writers could not include Khan in this version of the universe without making annoying and poorly conceived references to the original Wrath of Khan. More on my thoughts, along with some others, here) 7. Star Trek: Generations (I think if I watched this movie again, I’d like it a lot less than I do in my memory; that said, I love the continued development of Data as a character, let alone the fact that this film really does give a lot of closure to the original TNG series — plus, saucer separation = awesome) 6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (the one thing the original ST movies did well was comedic development between the principle cast; having Spock’s katra, or soul, trapped in McCoy’s body pretty much makes for comedic gold. Add in Christopher Lloyd as the villain and you’ve got a pretty decent ST film) 5. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (while the villain doesn’t have quite the prowess of Khan, his obsession with Shakespeare adds a certain creep factor to this otherwise straightforward political assassination thriller — overall, I thought it did pretty damn well for itself, particularly considering the political implications of an alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire) 4. Star Trek: First Contact (the Borg are probably my favorite villain species in the entire ST franchise; the best part of this film, however, involves seeing humanity make that first stretch to the stars and all that comes with it) 3. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (I know a lot of people hate this movie, but I’ve always found it infinitely fascinating; it kept with the original narrative of exploration at the heart of the show, and the discovery itself was so cool) 2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (you all know why this is in the top two slots; everyone loves this movie) 1. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (my grandma loved this movie, and so she made me watch it…a lot. Obviously, it still has a special place in my heart, and it played a crucial role in my childhood love of whales and the ocean. Also: the movie still makes me laugh) And here’s my ranked list of Star Trek TV shows: 6. Star Trek: the Animated Series (it exists, and that’s good enough for me) 5. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (there are aspects of this show I really like, but the fact that it takes until season two for anything interesting to happen and that some of the actors are just horrible makes me unable to move this higher on the list) 4. Star Trek: the Original Series (it’s classic, I know, but I didn’t grow up on the original series, so I can only put it in the #4 slot because of its classic nature — don’t kill me) 3. Star Trek: Enterprise (everyone hates this one for some reason; I liked the attempt to have a single narrative riding through everything and the focus on humanity as the new kid on the proverbial block. I’m also in agreement with
Infographic: Ray Bradbury Predictions Fulfilled
Admit it — this is pretty damn awesome. Now they just need to do that for all the other great SF writers…