This weekend my husband and I dumped, I mean, “left” the kids with my parents this weekend so we could go out for dinner and a movie that didn’t involve animated characters or musical numbers. The movie, Quantum of Solace, wasn’t very good (much to our disappointment) but I did get the unexpected pleasure of seeing the trailer for the new Star Trek movie.
For those who don’t know, the new Star Trek movie has a bit of buzz around it. Directed by J.J. Abrams, an admitted non-Trekkie who also directed one of my favorite shows (Alias), the new Star Trek movie explores the lives of the original Star Trek cast (Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, etc) before they became the crew we knew from the original series. The movie stars a bunch of young actors I’ve never heard of, as well as Zachary Quinto from Heroes (another of my favorite shows).
When the trailer started there were two people standing in front of me, and I think my husband was worried that I was going to throw my drink at them if they didn’t sit down.
Although most of my friends and listeners know I enjoy science fiction, there is no question that it surprises people when they find out the true extent of my interest in science fiction, comic books, cartoons, and all things “geeky.”
I enjoy watching cartoons (Spiderman and Star Wars Clone Wars) and reading comic books with my son. The SciFi channel counts as “must see” TV for me (Stargate Atlantis, Eureka, and Battlestar Galactica are current favs). And I look forward to every super-hero themed movie, although the ratio of bad movies (Captain America, Fantastic Four, Punisher) to good (Batman Begins, Spiderman, Iron Man) still favors the former.
That all being said, there is a special place in my heart for Star Trek. I’m not sure which I saw first, Star Trek or Star Wars, but I do remember that my mom introduced me to the Star Trek franchise when I was a kid. I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation religiously through high school and college, and watched the other series as my schedule would allow. Recently, I have rediscovered Voyager and Enterprise, which are playing on Sci Fi in high rotation.
Like most sci-fi franchises, I’ve been through the great (Wrath of Kahn) and the awful (The Final Frontier) with Star Trek. They are all cheesy (that’s part of the joy) and it doesn’t make sense that everyone is running around in color-coded jump suits.
I know that even with J.J. Abrams at the helm, the chances are this movie could be simply awful. Or it could be amazing.
Either way, count on this mom to be there to find out.
