Hollywood (CA) - Paramount has teamed up with J.J. Abrams (of Armageddon and Mission Impossible III fame) to create a new Star Trek The Original Series (TOS) movie, set for release May 8, 2009. This movie will reclaim Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty and the rest in their familiar roles. However, they will be played by new actors. In addition to the new faces, the story line will not be completely true to the original. Like other recent efforts, Paramount hopes this reimagining will kick off a renewed interest in an aging franchise.


Trailer in HD released today

Watch the "Star Trek" movie trailer in HD at Star Trek - The Movie.com or Apple.com for Trailer2. Updated: Some users have left comments and emails about being unable to view the Trailer2 with the new content. The web site appears to be having some technical difficulties right now. So, here is a TG Daily slideshow showing some scenes from the trailer:

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Author's opinion

I watched the trailer today and was very disappointed. I would expect the role of Kirk to be played by the best of the best, something the TV series Enterprise tried to capture with the race between Jonathan Archer and A.G. Robinson for commander of the first Enterprise.

Archer studied, pushed, pressed and was fighting hard for the position. When Starfleet finally chose A.G. over him, it was for ideals and principles believing him the better man. Though A.G. later died climbing Mt. McKinley and Archer was ultimately chosen to command Enterprise, it was still a close race to begin with and a hard decision for Starfleet.

When I watch this trailer, I don't see a hard fought decision, or even the best of the best. I see a reckless daredevil young Kirk crashing a car off a mountain, barely escaping with his life. And the later adult version of this daredevil kid then commanding what is undoubtedly a trillion dollar starship, and one used to defend the Earth and the Federation of planets from its enemies - of which we know at that time the Klingons are but one?

Well, call me a realist but I just don't see it happening in this way even in the world of sci-fi. I'd like to believe that being the best of the best still means something. And that's where I've always held Kirk, especially in the early TOS episodes.

There's a great line given by Eric McCormack in the movie Free Enterprise, starring William Shatner. I can't remember the exact quote, but basically McCormack says to Shatner (after Shatner asks him to fix him up with a girl), "Bill, when you played Kirk on Star Trek you were such a man. You were the man all of us wanted to be. Calm. Cool. Collected. Isn't any of that based on the real you? Isn't there any of that inside you can draw from?" And Shatner shakes his head indicating "Nope, I'm a not him."

Still, that's the Kirk all of us remember. The calm, cool and collected leader sitting in command on the bridge of the Enterprise. The man who, when every other crew member was about to lose it, Kirk was there almost Spock-like in his calm demeanor. He knew things, was confident and led in that way.

This movie is going to do a lot to meet me at that point of that memory. I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, however, and wait and see before casting final judgment.

Apple site

Nov 17, 2008 14:17     

I went to the link and it Quicktime. I do not wish to install Quicktime on my systems from past Quicktime takeovers so to speak....but thats just me. I'm going to take Mr. Hodgin's word for it....sounds off the beaten path that Gene R. originally created.
Quasar report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Evolution

Nov 17, 2008 14:33     

RCH: you determined that from a minute-long movie trailer? The evolution of Kirk from reckless youth to passionate officer can best be termed "character development". After all, this is the same character who employed a "unique" solution to beat the Kobayashi Maru training scenario, the "corbomite" bluff to gain time against a huge adversary, and a stolen starship to save his best friend. He doesn't like to lose. :-)

Zotz report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

what freaking trailer did he get that opinion from?

Nov 17, 2008 15:33     

Both trailers I could find are almost frame for frame exactly the same. Shows the ship being built in dock, woooooo, whoa... gosh.... what a revelation the new one is...
MorituriMax report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Abrams

Nov 17, 2008 16:12     

Abrams has been known to keep details on projects under wraps until they come out (e.g. Cloverfield), so I would be surprised if we say anything more than the teasingest of teasers for trailers.
Jim L report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Watch your back Kirk

Nov 17, 2008 17:04     

Spock is Sylar
Dave report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Actually, if one reads the books, Kirk is described...

Nov 17, 2008 17:21     

Actually, if one reads the books, Kirk is described as an out of control daredevil teenager, dealing with the trauma of PTSD after being caught on a planet when the governor made himself a dictator and tried to kill half the population. Only after his father got thru to him, did he buckle down and have an exemplary early Star Fleet career, including successes that lead to him being the youngest man ever promoted to Captain in Star Fleet (until some years later when Jean-Luc Picard lowered the age by a few months)

Michael report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Why bother??

Nov 17, 2008 17:39     

Can't they do something more orginal than re-hash (or more like change) the past about a group of characters that already have a 3-year show and six movies about them? You'd think they'd have learned their lesson from the awful Enterprise series. I'd rather watch a movie set after the last TNG movie (maybe with a new crew).
Mat3 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

AWESOME!

Nov 17, 2008 17:45     

Looks awesome! Can't wait! Hell yes Kirk is a daredevil, just like many of us. Being a daredevil and the best are *NOT* mutually exclusive.
Dozer42 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Which one is better?

Nov 17, 2008 19:45     

Who would you rather have, Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard? as for since i started watching star trek at a young age i like jean-luc picard
jack report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Idiotic Idea

Nov 18, 2008 03:20     

This is the dumbest idea they have ever come up with. If they actually make this, it'll become a parody of the original series, similar to SNL, Tina Fey, and Sarah Palin. What they should've done is "build" a different ship of the same class, with a different name, a different crew, and have a new story line. In the original series, there were many other ships of the same Enterprise class. Can't they come up with a better idea? Are the movie executives so devoid of new concepts they can't, or are too afraid to, create new story lines? The problem with the movie industry is the same people have been in the same positions for far too long. Everything has become stale! "This movie will reclaim Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Scotty and the rest in their familiar roles. However, they will be played by new actors."

Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Which one is better? Neither!

Nov 18, 2008 07:01     

I'd rather have Cpt. Janeway. She rocked.
Tickleonthetum report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

re: Which one is better

Nov 18, 2008 07:30     

Neither. My vote would go to Kira Nerys or John Sheridan - except neither of them were in Starfleet, so I guess I would come back to Picard.
TV John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

A Spin Off not a Rehash

Nov 18, 2008 07:59     

I like the different spin offs of the original Star Trek series since they did not try to duplicate of it but a different point of view; NG was years later, Voyager was a different ship and crew, Deep Space Nine was on a space station, Enterprise was beginnings. I hope they do well but I am not sure I would like the different crew. Most of the remakes are never as good as the original.
TomLeeM/BigWarpGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sick of lame prequels...

Nov 18, 2008 08:57     

Why did they do something so stupid and unoriginal? Really, Enterprise wasn't bad, but that's because it had an original cast and had an alternate timeline issue. Using the same characters played by different actors is lame and insulting. I don't want some random pud playing Spock or Kirk. Try doing something that Hollywood gave up on a long time ago. It's called AN ORIGINAL IDEA. Give us a NEW Star Trek. Call it Star Trek 3 or something. It can still use an Enterprise if you're stuck to that, but we need new characters played by new actors with a new storyline. I liked DS9 because it was an original idea with a drastically different plot than anything previous. Voyager was tolerable but I hate Gilligan's Island ripoffs. Just give us something new guys. I don't know anyone who is actually excited about this movie.

Task report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

To Haters: It needed the reboot!

Nov 18, 2008 09:45     

Abrams has already done what many thought not possible: make Star Trek cool to watch again. This movie is geered towards a young audience. The people that watch Star Trek today are considered "Trekies", which doesn't have a good assoicated conotation with it. The 60's version is old and outdated, and NOT cool to watch. After watching the new Bond movie, you know what most people were talking about after it was over? Not the Bond movie, but the new Star Trek trailer. And you know what every young kid was saying? Every single one that I heard said something to the effect of how cool it looked and how they would go see it. I overheard a few mention that they'd never seen an episode or movie of Star Trek in their life, but they'd go see this movie. If another new story line was launched, then it would just have that same nerdy association with it, and Paramont would only rank in profits similar to what they got out of the last two "Generation" films. This is a good risk they're taking in trying to reboot the franchise. Paramont along with Abrams are trying to bring the Star Trek universe back to not only the mainstream, but reintroduce the franchise to a younger audience. Since I'm only 27, I've only been watching Star Trek since the first movie ever came out, but I've been a fan for a while; since the mid 80s. My point is, I'm giving this movie a chance and a benefit of the doubt. I think its a great idea that in my opinion is quite similar to what's been done reboot wize with the new Batman movie series. After the series "Enterprise" failed, it was clearly obvious that the Star Trek audience was shrinking, and not growing. Either the audience they've had was dying off, or people like myself have just lost interest. This reboot will give us something new with a little taste of old at the same time.

Hemi7382 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re: Which one is better?

Nov 18, 2008 11:51     

1.)Picard 2.)Kirk 3.)Cisco 4.)Janeway 5.)Archer
Action Jackson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

TNG was the best

Nov 18, 2008 12:33     

The Next Generation was the best Star Trek. Jean-Luc Picard was the best captain. Data, Geordie, Riker, Worf and Deanna were the best crew. All ST movies should be based on this series. Live long and ...
# 1 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sylar! ,,,the evil one.

Nov 18, 2008 16:24     

the eveil sylar is now back as spock.... oh my.
yo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Enterprise was better than TNG, Voyager, and DS9 combined.

Nov 20, 2008 21:57     

People must have watched a different series. The one I saw was the first one since the original ST that wasn't a joke. TNG was a bunch of nonsense but still the best until Enterprise. Introducing Q, constant lame holodeck episodes (someone thought ST needed a bunch of Shakespeare plays), tame Klingons, and a weak cast (other than Picard) destroyed what little value TNG could have had. Voyager was worse...much worse. It had little to do with ST and could have been set in almost any scifi universe. The plots, cast, and overall feel of the show was amateurish. DS9 made Babylon 5 look genius by comparison. Enough said there I think. Shame that those last two series did so much damage to the brand that Enterprise was unable to get a longer run.

Fredzed report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

People don't become successful without taking big risks.

Nov 23, 2008 11:09     

People who play by the rules and never take risks never become the best of the best. A character like Kerk would need a history of pushing the bleeding edge. Rule one of life, If you are afraid of loosing you can't win. What is the point of being alive if you can't take big risks?
Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0