spock's ship star trek 2009

STAR TREK (2009): Designs For Ambassador Spock's 24th Century Starship

Hit the jump to see vehicle designs, created by Nathan Schroeder ("The Avengers"), for Ambassador Spock's ship in 2009's Star Trek . The ship, known as the Jellyfish, was used by Spock to transport red matter, in the hopes of saving planet Romulus.

The greatest adventure of all time begins with Star Trek, the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before.

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Film / Star Trek (2009)

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Spock: I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it. Kirk: See? We are getting to know each other.

The one where... we go back to the beginning ... with Lens Flare — Lots. And Lots . Of Lens Flare.

Star Trek is the eleventh movie in the Star Trek film series, released in 2009.

The Film of the Series and partial Continuity Reboot from Lost creator J. J. Abrams , featuring the characters from Star Trek: The Original Series played by a new cast, and set in an Alternate Timeline during the time period of The Original Series . Alternatively called J.J. Abrams' Star Trek , Star Trek 2009/'09 , Star Trek: The Future Begins (even though that "subtitle" is actually the tagline ), and Star Trek XI/11 to keep confusion in check with the other Trek films.

In 2233, The Federation starship Kelvin comes across a "black hole"-like spatial phenomenon near a distant sun. Emerging from it is a massive ship called the Narada captained by a Romulan named Nero ( Eric Bana ). Nero kills the Kelvin 's captain, and deploying weaponry vastly superior to that of the Federation ship, the Narada forces the Kelvin crew to abandon ship, with many crewmembers lost. While the survivors flee the devastating battle, a young boy is born amongst them: James Tiberius Kirk , son of the first officer of the Kelvin ( Chris Hemsworth ), who sacrifices himself and the ship to buy time for his crew's escape. This incident ultimately sets a new series of events in motion; one of them being James T. Kirk ( Chris Pine ) growing up an angry, rebellious young adult until he is recruited by Captain Christopher Pike ( Bruce Greenwood ) to join Starfleet.

As Kirk makes waves at Starfleet Academy, the Narada and Nero emerge again after years in hiding. The Federation scrambles its fleet to confront the warship, deploying the flagship Enterprise , commanded by Pike, for the first time. All the rest of the fleet is destroyed, with the Enterprise only surviving due to a brief delay in getting to the battlefield. When the Enterprise engages the Narada , Pike is taken hostage. When they learn the Narada is from the distant future and begin to put together the events that lead to that future, it falls on Kirk and Spock ( Zachary Quinto ) to overcome their initial mistrust of each other and on the ship's green, hastily put-together crew of cadets note  actually, concerning those with major roles, it's three cadets (one of whom is a lieutenant, and another of whom is already a qualified doctor), an ensign, a lieutenant, a lieutenant commander who was Reassigned to Antarctica , and a commander who was told You Are in Command Now —( the young TOS characters )—to somehow save the day.

The film also stars Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy , Zoe Saldaña as Nyota Uhura, Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, Ben Cross as Sarek, Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson and Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime.

The first theatrical Star Trek film to feature any of the original characters in 15 years . Released seven years after 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis (the biggest gap between films to date) from which it takes a major Tone Shift and, believe it or not, to which it is also a loose Stealth Sequel .

Star Trek is the first entry in what has been officially dubbed the "Kelvin Timeline" that continues with the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and the 2016 sequel Star Trek Beyond .

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Star Trek (2009) Guest Reviews

Star trek (2009).

Stardate not given: Spoiler alert. If you don't like spoilers, don't read below this sentence. Early 23rd century, USS Kelvin is attacked by a ship crewed by the Romulans from the late 24th century. Captain is killed, ship crippled, crew abandons ship, George Kirk, who was put into command by the Captain shortly before his death, pilots the ship on a suicide course into the Romulan ship to allow the shuttles a chance to escape. While on the shuttle, George Kirk's wife gives birth to James T. Kirk. As an adult, Captain Pike recruits Kirk to join Starfleet, while at the academy, the cadets (I assume the ones near graduation) are placed on active duty status, assigned ships, and ordered to Vulcan to help defend it against an attack. Vulcan is destroyed, among the dead is Spock's mother. Pike is taken hostage by the Romulans, Kirk and Spock don't get along, Spock ejects Kirk from the Enterprise onto another planet in the Vulcan star system where Kirk meets the Spock from the 24th century as well as Scotty. Spock assists with getting Kirk and Scotty onto the Enterprise and heads to Earth to take down Nero before he can destroy the planet. Upon saving the planet, destroying both ships from the future (including Spock's ship), and saving the life of Captain Pike, Kirk is given the (absurd) promotion from cadet to Captain and command of the Enterprise.

Overall, I loved this movie. It's not a "Star Trek 2" or "First Contact" but it is worth checking out. You don't have to be a Trek fan to understand what's going on, but it was written for Trek fans to enjoy.

First, let me go into the bad: The before mentioned of Kirk's instant jump from Cadet to starship commander. Yeah Pike put him into command while the Enterprise basically had a boat load of children, but still, Kirk should have at most, gone up to Lt. The Enterprise model wasn't impressive to me. It was wrong. From having the front window on the bridge section being the view screen to engine exhaust ports on the rear of the nacelles, the entire model just felt wrong. Also the racist Vulcans. Vulcan society looks down upon Sarek for marrying a human and at Spock for being half human.

The good: The costumes were fantastic, and the sets from the Enterprise to Nero's ship were all great. Nice mix of push buttons and levers on the bridge as well as the highly industrial look of the engineering sections of the ships. The transporter isn't the super fast machine it was on Enterprise or Star Trek: The Next Generation movies. These transporters were what should have been on Enterprise, having to stand still, taking a long time to dematerialize and rematerialize. The shuttles had a good mix of old school Star Trek design, but updated to still keep the look from the old series, but not looking campy. There is no reset switch in this movie. When it's over with, Vulcan is still destroyed and the Vulcans are an endangered species, Spock doesn't go back home, and Kirk doesn't get to relive his childhood personally knowing his father.

This movie completely rewrites 'Star Trek', giving it new life by allowing a new TOS series (they already have the sets built) to take off if the Powers That Be so decide, and if they go that route, and seeing the changes that happened in this movie, I would like to see the changes with TNG and DS9 as well. I really wouldn't expect to see much change with a Voyager series based in this new time line.

This movie is also shows pain and death in a way that no other series dealt with. Most memorable death was early in the movie was a woman screaming and crying as she held on for dear life before getting sucked into the vacuum of space. Also the scene on Vulcan where the council was evacuating and one was squashed under a falling statue.

I was on the fence about the Enterprise's rapid firing phaser banks. There were more on this ship than on the model from TOS, and the original never fired as rapidly as this one did. But given the loss of the Kelvin, I guess Starfleet put more research into weaponry.

Annotations

• New timeline differences: Kirk grew up with a step father who collected cars, Spock lost his mother, George Kirk sacrificed himself to save his crew and family, Vulcan is destroyed and a Klingon planet is destroyed (possibly Rura Pente).
• Remarkable quote: "It would seem self serving to give you the usual greeting, so I will simply say, 'Good Luck'." -Old Spock to Young Spock.
• Remarkable product placement: The Nokia phone/radio in the Corvette.
• Remarkable first for Star Trek: A car chase between a kid driver behind the wheel of a corvette and a cop on a bike, while a song by the Beastie Boys play.
• Remarkable props: Sulu's segmented sword, the parachutes, the phasers that flip between 'stun' and 'kill' by flipping the emitters.
• Remarkable nods to Trek: Admiral Archer and his beagle (talked about, not scene), Pike in the wheel chair, Kirk cheating at the "Kobayashi Maru", "I'm a Doctor, not a physicist." and "That green blooded..." lines from Dr. McCoy, final line in the movie is the same speech that ended "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" spoken by the same actor, the gag about Chekov's accent.

Rating: 8 (Jason Feagans)

Date 2258: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

I'll preface this review with saying that I've never been opposed to a complete reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Especially after the failure that Nemesis was, and the cancellation of ENT, only something radical could save Star Trek from itself. In fact, I had been pretty confused that they never fully admitted to calling it a reboot, as if just to appease fans. But now that I've seen it, I must say they did something very clever.

You see.. this is an alternate reality created by Nero and Spock-Prime. Now, the immediate question that matters for any alternate reality is "why should we even care about this, and not *our* Star Trek universe!?". I think they addressed this in two ways:

First of all, this movie is mostly about characters, and boy, does it have those. "Star Trek" is full of action, comedy and even a bit of romance, and the main characters are just really good. Chris Pine's Kirk may lack the philosophical angle that Kirk had in TOS, but he's definitely got the bravado, the stubbornness and the sense of humor of the original. Quinto's Spock has the advantage of looking uncannily like the original, and he seems a bit more 'bipolar' than the extraordinary Spock portrayed by Nimoy. It helps to show a progression in the character. Nimoy's Spock is more balanced than he's ever been before, comfortably talking about his friendship with Kirk-Prime, and yet clearly still the logical Spock we love. Finally, Karl Urban's McCoy is perhaps the best character in terms of similarity to the original. The first scene he has with Kirk immediately establishes him as the character we know and love, and it's good to have the friendship between Kirk and McCoy established very early on.

A second way in which the new setting is 'sold' to us, is via Spock-Prime. Not only did Nimoy give his blessing to the movie by appearing in it, his character actually is the element that ties this new Star Trek to the old one. Spock, now one of the leaders of the surviving Vulcans, seems to settle into this new Trek with full confidence. Spock is happy to be here, and so should we.

At the end of the movie, with the Enterprise flying away with Spock's "to boldy go" speech, the big question that arises is: What now for Star Trek? The characters are fine, but they definitely have to evolve as an ensemble. Sulu, Scotty and Chekov are mostly background characters in the movie, and the Spock/Kirk/McCoy trio didn't have that many scenes together. It will be interesting to see a more settled Captain Kirk, with McCoy and Spock as his 'alter-egos'.

In conclusion, this movie seems to hit the right notes, and is very enjoyable for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. I'm sure that it will fill online forums with discussion for years to come, but I think that even the most die-hard fan will find something to like in this movie. A 9 out of 10 (there's always something to improve), and definitely in the Top 3 with Wrath of Khan and First Contact.

• Remarkable character: Nyota Uhura (that's canon now) has a surprisingly large role, maybe even more prominent than McCoy. She has a love interest for Spock, and gives him the comfort he needs after his homeworld is destroyed by Nero.
• Nitpicking: My only real nitpick would be the use of actual industrial sites to represent the 'bowels' of the ship. It kind of works to give a sense of scale to these areas, but at times the big iron beams and concrete floors just don't look like a starship at all. I would've preferred an actual newly designed Engineering set.
• Remarkable timeline changes: Nero appears in 2233, causing the death of George Kirk. James T. Kirk isn't born in Iowa, and never gets to live on Tarsus. He only joins Starfleet on Pike's insistence. In 2258, Vulcan is destroyed , with just 10,000 Vulcan survivors, who eventually plan to settle a new Vulcan colony by the end of the movie.
• Remarkable scene: The Iowa bar is my probably my favorite Kirk scene. His outrageous and often hilarious courting with Uhura, his macho behavior towards Starfleet cadet "Cupcake", it just seem to work so well.
• Remarkable ship: The Enterprise. I was a bit apprehensive about the redesign, but the newly designed Enterprise just seems instantly recognizable.
• Remarkable visual effects: The visual effects in this movie are unlike anything ever seen in Star Trek. From extreme close-ups to extreme wide shots, the ships look amazing. And inside the ships, my favorite new element are the transparent viewscreens.

Rating: 9 (Harry Doddema)

Stardate not given: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

In short: Did I like it? Oh, yes. Did I love it? Doubleplus yes.

Reboot? Well... it does not ignore the events of the 700+ episodes and 10 other movies. Instead, we get a time travel story which changes the *whole* timeline. Original Series continuity? Gone. The Next Generation? Gone. Deep Space 9? Gone. Voyager.. gone too. I frown at the thought that the only thing that seems unaffected is Enterprise which never lived up to its premise till season 4. As an avid fan, effectively erasing that much continuity to evade the words "reboot" is, well, a tad bit too much. As much as I hate reboots, I wish it was one.

Nero was an ok villain. I would have definitely liked to see more of him onscreen. He got a Star-Trek style explanation of his motives (which is: he is not just an evil megalomaniac genocidal creep), but we never really got to know him better, he remains too much in the back. I little more interaction with him would have served the movie better, because apart from his back story which takes up about one minute in the movie, he is never really more than your generic genocidal maniac. He doesn't seem to have any doubts about his goals, any reflection on himself. Pity.

The Vulcans are much, much more emotional than ever before, and this includes Spock (well, that's one case I can understand) it just doesn't really feel well with me, supposing we are talking about the same Vulcan from TOS.

The characters are all likeable (well, we know them already, don't we?), the acting is generally solid, and the humor never fails short. The pacing is fast, but good, and you never start pinching in your seat. The effects are also very well done.

I still don't like the all-too sterile Enterprise bridge, or neither the redesigned ship itself. She just doesn't seem to have good proportions in my eyes. The one from the TOS movies looks better any day (or for that matter, the 1960's one too..)

Verdict: 8/10

Rating: 8 ( Mark Bakos )

Stardate 2233: While studying a spatial anomaly that looks like a storm in space the USS Kelvin is attacked by a 24th century Romulan ship commanded by Nero. During the attack first officer promoted to Captain George Kirk sacrifices his life while saving the life of his crew, wife, and new born son James Tiberius Kirk. Years later an angry young Jim Kirk is recruited by Christopher Pike to join Starfleet. During his third year in the academy and while beating the Kobayashi Maru test designed by Spock, the new recruits are assigned to their ships and sent to answer a distress signal from Vulcan which is under attack. The planet is destroyed by the Romulans while Captain Pike is taken hostage and the newly commissioned Enterprise is damaged, amongst the casualties is Spock's mother Amanda Grayson just a few survive. During its hasty retreat toward a rendezvous point with the fleet, acting captain Spock maroons Kirk on a planet of the Vulcan system where he is saved by Spock from the 24th century. The new pair go to the Federation outpost and meet Montgomery Scott. Kirk and Scott are beamed to the Enterprise by Spock where Kirk, after following advise from the old Vulcan, takes command of the Enterprise and sets a course to Earth. As the Enterprise approaches Earth, Spock and Kirk beam over to the Romulan Vessel where Spock takes his future self's ship in order to save the Earth while Kirk rescues Captain Pike. With both future vessels destroyed, James Kirk is promoted to Captain and given command of the Enterprise while the future Spock joins as part of the new Vulcan council and set to a new colony.

The story in itself is one that can be enjoyed by Trek fans and non-Trek fans alike. While still avoiding the whole reboot of the universe it has to be taken into account that yes all that was written and established during the original series and movies will never happen or at least be changed in someway will leave the door wide open to new stories or takes on known Trek Lore. The cast does a good job in performing especially Carl Urban who managed to get the pacing and timing perfect of the late DeForest Kelley to a point that if he could have gotten a bit of a southern twang you wouldn't be able to differentiate them. The visual effects prove yet another master piece on behalf of ILM giving the whole unity to the Starfleet vessels. And the tiny nods to the already stipulated and now gone canon proves that at least some of the research was done on part of the writers, although the fact that Uhura is ordering a Cardassian drink on a time when no first contact has been made, and Scotty has a Tribble for pet. The sets on the other hand would have to be the worst in the history of Star Trek including the cardboard and paper-mâché sets of the Original Series with all due respect to the new production designer but the highly industrial look of both the Kelvin's hangar bay and the Enterprise's engineering section that do look more like a factory than a modern day sailing ship's engine room, without mentioning that the viewscreen, is an actual window now as if the whole solid wall of the bridge of the Enterprise-E in Nemesis wasn't fragile enough and how is it possible that there is a large corridor behind the bridge when it is supposed to be on the top of the module. The exhaust pipe lights of the warp engines another thing that just would've wish they could leave either the engines of the movie models or the tv show ones. The low reverb and roar of the engines of old being replaced by an annoying turbine sound for them was yet one of the things that I keep telling to myself what the hell are you guys thinking.

Rating: 6 ( Luis R. Camarillo )

I saw the new Star Trek today here in Australia where it's released a bit ahead of the US. I must say I'm somehow sceptical, making me thinking this movie only deserves 5/10 (though actually this is a bit too simple to be evaluated in such a way).

Overall, I think the film is enjoyable and a good moment. Any fan or casual viewer will appreciate the vision Abrams has given us of the 23rd century. The computer generated effects feels very good and there are a lot of details to catch. There's a lot of action, the rhythm and editing are relatively well done, though it's getting too fast sometimes. But it also convey some emotions, I was especially moved during the introduction when Kirk's father struggle to save as many as possible of his crew, sacrificing himself in the process.

The actors play well. I haven't seen much of TOS but I did see the TOS-based movies and I think they get the characters relatively well despite the obvious changes brought into the timeline by the film's events. I found the new McCoy and Scotty quite funny — the former giving the famous "I'm a doctor, not a ..." and the latter bashing this poor little alien — but I was surprised by the relationship between Uhura and Spock. This was interesting, and serves making Spock more human and Uhura friendlier I think, since she appears really as someone very arrogant at some times. I just think that Chekov's accent is exaggerated. How could StarFleet, even when it has no available ship with active crew in the vicinity (how surprising...) accept that such a man having difficulties to be understood even by the sophisticated Enterprise's computer be drafted for immediate service? Sure, he appears to be some sort of little genius but is that enough ? How about English lessons (and the translator ?).

There's a lot of humour there and references to the "real world" or other movies. The Nokia phone and tune in the teenager Kirk's car was priceless...

Also, Nero's ship's inside (and Kirk & Nero's actions there) looked really as homage to Star War Episode I.

Now if you move to details or the general alterations to the timeline, it gets darker. Science and "Trek-science" are both portrayed with some huge approximations. A single "supernova" threatening the whole galaxy? It does not look like a lethal Gamma ray burst, rather like every single star would be suddenly exploding. There are strange black hole things going on. How could Nero's ship be taken into the black hole without being destroyed in the 24th century and then, latter in the film, first stand with a formed black hole just in the middle of its superstructures and then, a few minutes after, be sucked into it? And anyway, a black hole would certainly not behave like that.

The orbital jump is a good scene but has some physical or logical faults. How the guys slowed down to enter the atmosphere at a reasonable speed? Because when they were in this shuttle they were in orbit... As soon as they went outside, they just fell to the planet... Now, okay, I could forgive that and say there was some unshown deceleration time.

The classical problem of sound in space is actually better served than elsewhere. At some points, at least 2 times I can remember properly but there might be more, the viewer moves from a sound-rich environment inside a ship to the silence of space (when one crewman is ejected outside of the Kelvin and when Kirk et al. space dive. But numerous other times you have the ships doing their usual noises...

In terms of "inside universe" technologies the transporters get the most bizarre. Scotty goes as to claim that he can teleport living beings between different systems, light-years across. And we are shown that the Enterprise hiding in Titan's upper atmosphere (that is a bit too sharp in terms of when you are in/out of the clouds) can teleport people in Earth's orbit.

I think the engineering room was okay though it looks too "obsolete" at some points. No warp core (seems like we got five instead...) ? Why no large computer access point like on the bridge ? They'd make sense in engineering too. And they should at least have hidden the very 19th century pipes' wheels... Also it's a bit difficult to understand the new warp drive mechanism. Plus as usual the speed and relative time is fuzzy at best. It looks like they take 5 minutes to go from Earth to Vulcan yet we hear Scotty saying that boosting the ship to Warp 4 would be something difficult... There seems to be exhausts involved in the process at the end of the nacelles too.

While San Francisco looked awesome (as well as the Vulcan city , the stalactite-like buildings are nice), it had the problem of looking too like Coruscant. Maybe it was intentional but I have always pictured Star Trek's Earth not to be a planet housing metropolis with building rising several kilometres in altitude!

To conclude on that part, sometime it's a bit gross how the characters progress. Kirk moves from cadet to captain in a couple of what seems to be days.

Now on to the major problem for me: the timeline alteration. The crew discuss that onscreen and appears to become aware of that really fast. The way they use the word "alternate universe" is a bit strange character-wise because it looks like they admit they are themselves the alternates while I guess anyone would assume from its conscious perception that his/her reality it the non-alternate, main one. I guess this is a way the writers have found to try to calm down people that will start to complain about all the changes here. To be frank, I could have accommodated the changes brought by the first set of Nero's action, i.e. the impact on Kirk's early life. But when it comes to destroying Vulcan, nope, that's too much. Bernd said at some point the following: "Many fans, including Orci himself, are apparently under the impression that the alterations of the timeline in the new 'Abramsverse' are small enough that they could only invalidate some events of TOS but would ultimately not affect the 24th century as depicted in TNG/DS9/VOY." Well, Orci and these fans' vision cannot be more untrue. Destroying Vulcan — as well as large numbers of vessels both in Federal and Klingon fleets — simply cannot be correct by some "the universe is setting itself right" mantra (which, objectively, does not make a lot of sense to me). You remove Vulcan, you invalidate all the episodes and movies that have revolved around it or included it, close and far from the film's date. When Orci tries to explain that the older continuity still exist somewhere in the multiverse, he seems to imply that the film could still lead to the following Trek without any much problem. That does not work (Bernd's explanations for that are quite good) and I think they should have from the beginning told us this was going to be a full-fledged reboot. Including elements to make the movie a Star Trek movie, even when they are faithfully followed, but destroying the timeline we know by removing such an iconic planet as Vulcan doest no make a prequel, it makes a reboot. A "mild" one so to say, but still one. That's my main disappointment from this new Star Trek. It is not the original Star Trek, but a new one. I saw in a review that this move allowed for the future Trek to be free of the "we all know how the characters ended" that plagued it (according to the reviewer) but that only makes sense if one assumes that the whole new Trek is going to be prequel. Moving to the future (post Nemesis) would have been quite a potent idea, even keeping the possibility to bring back into the film Nimoy!

I'm sure however that the film will have a success and lead to some sequels and perhaps a new television serial. But to me, and I guess a lot of people, this Trek will never be "the" Star Trek we know. It will be Abrams' Trek.

• Cool real-world reference: The Nokia phone and its ring tone!
• Shocking scene: The destruction of Vulcan
• Remarkable quote: "I may throw up on you" -McCoy to Kirk

Rating: 5 (Sébastien Demmel)

Well, I just saw the new movie the other night and although I was skeptical from the day I first heard about the general storyline and stayed skeptical with every new information that became available, I must say - damned, what a great movie, what great actors, what thrilling action and what new views of familiar things!

Even the new Enterprise looked good, but I think that can be mainly attributed to the fact that the one side view that has been available now for some time could only be seen for a few seconds on screen. All the other views just showed parts of the ship. From a prop fan / phaser fan point of view, there is not to much to be seen, no close-ups I remember or anything. But I went out of the theater and for the first time in years had the urge to see that movie again soon. That has not happened in a long time.

I am trying not to give too much away, but I am pleased with the way they explained the difference to the Star Trek we all knew up until this movie. The look of things is familiar, yet advanced (although even TOS can look good on screen today, it has been proven often in the last years), the aliens do look like more than just a few forehead appliances, the men are bold and the women good looking.

If there are things that did not quite work out for me yesterday evening, then it would be these things.

Two are purely from a visual point of view.

• The engine room set just plainly looks like a cheaply redressed factory or power plant. With all those steel beams and pipes it just does not fit with the rest of the interior design, namely the bridge and the corridors. Sorry guys, that set I just did not buy. And it did not even convey that sense that this ship is really big. Sorry, no way! On the other hand, I did buy the look of the shuttles. Just take a look at contemporary trucks with their dirty and used surfaces, purely designed to fulfill a task, not to look like a slick sports car without any use. Definitely one skepticism deleted or explained away.
• Although a minor thing, but using a 20th century forklift so far in the future just does not work either (hangar set at Star Fleet Headquarters). It just plainly looked cheap the +5 seconds it was visible (carrying something that looked like a Euro palette)
• That Nokia product placement in the Corvette scene.
• I would have loved to find out how they got the Enterprise into space.

From a story line point of view (BEWARE - SPOILER AHEAD!) I really had a problem how Scotty suddenly became Chief Engineer. McCoy's succession in the chain of command had been stated in on-screen dialogue, but I never heard why Scotty became chief engineer and how he suddenly gained all knowledge to even eject the warp core(s) successfully. Hey - even Geordi couldn't get it to work on numerous occasions.

Of course the movie had quite some scene and dialogues that we saw and heard before and that they surely included to calm us longtime fans - but hey, it worked, I had a good time finding them. Being it the Vulcan school type of thing, that reminded me of the test scene in "Star Trek IV", the Kobayashi Maru test and the apple, that was clearly a tip to the hat for that "Star Trek II" scene in the Genesis cave. And I am sure that I remember even more great scenes as soon as I send this review.

So let me close with the recommendation that you should really see this movie, for me, it worked as advertised - entertaining for the regular moviegoer, fun and action packed yet full of big and small references to what we have come to admire in the past +40 years. I am really looking forward to the next time I will see this movie and hopefully some more with those actors.

Rating: 10 ( Thorsten Wieking )

I'm a Vulcan fan. I'm such a Vulcan fan that I went to the premiere of the J.J. Abrams's Star Trek film in my TOS minidress and woochie space ears. And overall, as a Vulcan fan and a Trek fan, I wasn't disappointed.

The new reboot was largely an energetic, action-packed film that had plenty in it to satisfy the casual or serious fan. In fact, of the people I saw the movie with, it was those who hadn't watched much Star Trek at all who seemed the most confused by the time-travel-based plot. They also seemed to miss many of the character and episode references that really made this movie terrific. Despite the creative team's best efforts, I really think this was a movie for the fans.

Their attention to detail was particularly evident in the casting. Nearly every casting choice was spot-on. The core trio of Spock, Kirk, and Bones, especially, were well-cast, though Simon Pegg also deserves a nod as Scotty.

But, like I said, I'm a Vulcan fan. And, man, did Zachary Quinto fill some very tall boots terrifically well. His portrayal of Spock felt very close to the best Spock TOS episodes -- "Amok Time", "This Side of Paradise" -- episodes where his emotions often bubbled over. It's a large part of what makes Spock compelling as a character, of course, and Quinto does a good job of tapping into this.

Other details about Vulcan are also quite nice and seemed to have stuck closely to the continuity established in the novels. I've already read about objections to the barely-concealed prejudice that Spock faces, but it felt true-to-novel-canon, at least. The details seemed particularly redolent of my favorite Vulcan novel, Sarek .

It might seem strange that someone that's interested at all in canon be all right with the premise of the film. However, logically, this can only stand beside our established continuity, rather than replace it; older Spock's intact memories are a nod to this, and of course, if this didn't create a whole new timeline it would create a tremendous time paradox. I'm fairly certain that by naming Nimoy's character "Spock Prime" in the credits, the writers were showing their awareness of this. I'm fairly certain that Star Trek Prime, so to speak, still exists -- only without Spock. What a shame, though it's better than wiping out the timeline completely.

There are some silly bits to the film, sure, like Kirk's quick advance to captain. But the only bit I'm still unsure about is the new relationship between Spock and Uhura. While I really enjoyed the fleshing out of her character (again, in keeping with the novels' continuity, she becomes a linguistic genius and even gets a first name), and while I think a relationship between the two of them isn't too far a stretch, I think that if Spock here is anything like Spock Prime, it won't end happily. And I'd hate to see Uhura finally get fleshed out only to become someone's girlfriend.

But that might just be the fangirl in me talking, wanting new, young, sexy Spock all for myself.

Rating: 8 ( Phoebe )

Stardate 5-7-09: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

OK, I literally just sat down from watching the movie. In my opinion as a film, it rates a solid 10. Plenty of emotion, loads of action, some interesting technobabble, etc. As a Star Trek movie, I say 8.

Given that this film is a "parallel" timestream I can forgo most of the continuity breaks with two major exceptions.

• The Enterprise From the saucer back/down to the main deflector I can let it slide but after that.... It reminds me of the inflatable Enterprise from TAS and the Ramada Hotel chain. The nacelles are grotesque to be blunt and the engineering hull makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I stopped at BK on the way home and I have to say I think they kid's meal toy of the Enterprise is about as accurate a model as the CGI one from the film.
• Spock & Uhura Need I say more? Although I could potentially forgive (this being an alternate timestream and all) I really wished they had waited until the last third of the film to bring it up. The way it was done made it appear that this relationship has been going on for some time. It was very un-Spock like, especially considering that I really enjoyed the performance of the character.

The casting choices were all very good, Kirk and Chekov being the weakest in my mind with Scotty coming in third. I also thought that Karl Urban would have made an excellent Gary Mitchell if that character would have come up.

On to the villain . He seems pretty smart for some lowly miner (no offense to any miners out there), but then again he seemed at once both cunning and idiotic, rather reminiscent of the villain from the Thunderbirds reboot a few years ago.

You'll notice that almost every Star Trek cliché phrase is used in this movie, albeit appropriately. Also I thought the scene where Chekov tries to "log in" to make the announcement quite obviously manufactured just for laughs; I don't remember Walter Koenig having that much trouble ever... and since when do you need to give a password to use the intercom?

I'll need to watch the film again but I thought that at the climax the warp core was supposed to be ejected... but it looked to me like they tossed the antimatter storage pods out the back...

I'm glossing over a ton of details but it's late, I'm tired and I'll leave the professional dissertations to Mr. Schneider's capable hands.

• Nitpicking: I'll keep it short. The use of an "authorization code" to make a ship-wide announcement. Huh?
• Remarkable quote: "Punch it!" (Cpt. Pike)
• Remarkable scene: The death of Vulcan
• Remarkable ship: The Romulan mining ship... thing. I think that's what it was. Maybe the Transformers are included in this new timestream?

Rating: 8 ( Raven )

I have a flight to catch in the morning and gotta make this quick. I really liked this movie. I thought it was a step in the right direction. However, with me it is easier to talk about the things I didn't like. Namely, they essentially kill of the Romulans and the Vulcans! I personally would like to know that in the future Romulus and the new Vulcan colony thrive. But that's just a personal thing.

I think there is a common opinion that the engine room sucks. It DOES look like a factory. It doesn't look like it belongs with the rest of the ship. Space Mutiny anyone??? That should be number one on the list of changes.

Well that's really all, I'm fine with timeline changes, its just a shock, which I think its supposed to be.

Rating: - (Jonathan Hunter)

*****SPOILERS*****

This is Star Trek. True, the Enterprise doesn't look exactly the same. True, they either changed the warp factor or moved Vulcan closer to Earth... seeing as how the fleet got from Earth to Vulcan in three minutes. True, they kill Spock's mother. Oh yeah, they destroy Vulcan too. BUT, none of this takes away from the fact that this feels like a Star Trek movie. Time Travel and alternate realities aren't new to the Star Trek mythos -- Star Trek practically created them. But this film takes and interesting spin on the idea, and a conversation that takes place on the bridge between our beloved characters explores this idea. Once it is established that this is an alternate reality...there is NO reason why the Enterprise must look the same, etc. True, I felt like weeping like a 5 yr old when Vulcan imploded... I mean, that's the Holy Grail of Trek. But I think that was the point. The audience needed to sympathize with Spock and the surviving Vulcans.

On to the characters, they are all perfect. Chris Pine IS James T. Kirk (even without the Shatnerisms ;) ). Zachary Quinto IS Spock, even though he is a much more troubled Spock, you still feel this is the green blooded, pointy eared Vulcan you've come to love. I cannot say enough about Karl Urban's portrayal of Bones, so I'll leave that to you. Let's just say that DeForest Kelly would be proud. Zoe Saldana portrays Uhura very nicely, and actually gives this character a new face, almost a complete face lift. Her acting is superb, and you just feel like she belongs where she is. Everyone else on the crew...are their characters. You never for one second feel like they are impersonating or mocking. They respect them, and bring their own take to the classic series. Christopher Pike was an excellent addition to the film, and I am very pleased with his character. (Note: hint to TOS, he may be more like the original by the end than in the beginning, but I'll leave that for you) Now, onto Nero. I love the villain of the story, and this is NO exception. You really feel for this guy. I even feel more for him than I did Kahn. Eric Bana did his best work here, no question.

The special effects are superb, I'm not gonna begin to describe them because I can't do them justice. The music is probably the best out of any Trek film or show, although I was honestly bummed that they didn't incorporate the original score until the end. But, that's just my opinion.

Go see this movie. Whether you are a die hard Trekker or Trekkie, or just casually enjoy watching the series, you won't be disappointed. Go in with an open mind, and you will find that this is Star Trek...

Oh, Nimoy's performance as well was great, and his "Space, the Final Frontier" speech at the end couldn't have felt better. Talk about giving you chills up and down your spine. But take the advice of someone who loves to pick apart movies...go see it. You won't be disappointed.

• The USS Kelvin... wow
• The USS Enterprise... more wow
• The Narada... WOW!!!!! Talk about size...
• Remarkable scene: Scotty is responsible for losing Admiral Archer's beagle. Nice hint to Enterprise...

Rating: 10 ( Norm Ressler )

"Star Trek XI" is the worst of the Star Trek movie entries. It shoves "Star Trek V" to next to the worse Star Trek Movie slot.

Abrams ignores 43 years of Star Trek history in order to bring in new "fans". In order to have the creative freedom he desires he gets Paramount to agree to a revisionism of the series.

The Movie is very bad. There is no plot, no script, no story. It goes too fast. (One wonders if this is done so people will not have time to focus or think on the bad movie they are seeing.) Also the photography is very poor. You can barely see the film.

However the worst thing about the movie is that they destroy Vulcan. They ignore canon. This movie is not Star Trek. It is Abramsprise.

0 stars out of 10

Rating: 0 (Magnum Serpentine)

Stardate 2233.4 (new stardate system): Goes Boldly

On May 7, 2009, I watched STAR TREK (dubbed "Star Trek 2.0" in some fan circles), and I thought I'd share my spoiler-free thoughts.

To quote Kirk from Star Trek: Generations, "It was...fun!" This film felt more genuinely fun than any of the previous films. The purpose of this movie was to introduce Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the gang to a new audience, and the characters all come across as likable and charismatic. None of these characters is a point-for-point copy of its 1.0 counterpart, and as much as I like our TOS heroes from Trek 1.0, I'm glad that the 2.0 characters are free to evolve as they will without being constrained by 40-plus years of continuity. Having said that, there are moments when McCoy 2.0 is uncannily similar to McCoy 1.0.

The visual effects are impressive -- especially the first few shots of the USS Kelvin. The planet Vulcan has a cool new look -- the jagged landscape resembles the Vasquez Rocks on steroids . I like the new transporter effect, although it reminds me somewhat of an effect from The Green Mile.

This is an all-new Trek universe, but there are several tips of the hat to Trek 1.0. For example there is a reference to a character from the prequel TV series Enterprise. The original series sound effects can be heard from time to time. Majel Barrett gives her final performance as a ship's computer voice. It's somewhat ironic that the only two TOS regulars who have parts in this film are also the only two TOS regulars who had parts alongside Jeffrey Hunter in "The Cage."

Some fans won't like the changes -- some of which are very notable -- in this new timeline. None of them bothered me, but I've wanted a "reboot" of the Trek world for years.

Leonard Nimoy portrays an older Spock. I won't describe his back story, since that would spoil the plot somewhat, but I will say that there is a scene between Nimoy's Spock and Kirk 2.0 which is at times touching to this old-school fan.

The story is okay. It doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but the same can be said for the stories of all previous Trek films. The story also isn't "hard sci-fi" by any means. There are also no long stretches of characters sitting in a briefing room and spewing nonsensical technobabble at one another. There is some nonsensical technobabble, but it's brief, and it's delivered with some levity.

I'd watch the film again in the theater, and I'd watch a sequel. On a scale of one to ten, I give the new STAR TREK film a solid 7 or 8.

Rating: 8 (Greg Tyler, Trekplace.com )

[WARNING: This review contains some minor spoilers]

The controversy surrounding this motion picture has been unprecedented in the franchise history. Fans will argue for years on where this film is placed in the canonical universe of Star Trek. First off, I'm a purest at heart and my greatest fear for this movie was that it would trample all over the universe and characters I'd come to care about. Yet, I wanted to give it a fair chance and try to take an objective approach in analyzing the story depicted. After all, it's been quite some time since Trek has hit the big screen and even longer since a trek film did well. So, in order to do this we must look at the movie from two different contexts: how does the movie stand on its own and how does it fit within the franchise.

The film itself was almost a masterpiece. First off the acting was superb. Chris pine nailed the character of Kirk without imitating Shatner. The whole time I was watching his performance I was thinking this is Kirk and not some caricature of Shatner's performance in the role. Furthermore, it wasn't Chris Pine playing Han Solo/Indiana Jones playing Kirk. Zach Quinto's portrayal of Spock was almost as compelling, though I think Quinto will be one of those actors who always plays himself and then the role (like George Clooney for example). I was hoping for a little more range out of him. During the "angry Spock" scene where he and Kirk fight; his performance reflected way too much Sylar and I kept waiting to see the top of Kirk's head to fall off while he absorbed Kirk's supernatural ability to seduce any women of any race with just the raise of an eyebrow. Urban's portrayal of McCoy was spot on and the most believable of all the roles. Unfortunately, he wasn't give near as much screen time as I'd have liked. Zoe Saldana's Uhura was very compelling. John Cho's Sulu was adequate, but very stiff. Anton Yelchin's Chekov is decent as well (although Yelchin overplayed the Russian accent a little too much for my taste). On the downside I had trouble getting used to Simon Pegg as Scotty. He doesn't look a thing like James Doohan. I also didn't buy his origin story. Though, he does provide some genuinely funny comic relief in the film. Bruce greenwood's Pike was very well played as well. Lastly, Nimoy's portrayal of Spock Prime was nothing short of sensational and his role was far from a cameo. It was integral to the plot and the movie simply could not have been done without him. It was such a joy to see him in the role one last time and he truly gave it his all. The last outstanding "character" was the USS Enterprise herself. When I first saw the design I was extremely skeptical, but I have admit that that the new Enterprise has grown on me considerably--especially having now seen it on the big screen and in the context of the film. While the bridge certainly looks like an Ipod store the overall design was still reminiscent of the original. The only part I had trouble with was the engine room. It looked like they rented a waste reclamation plant then threw up some flat screens with Enterprise Okudagrams. Sure they were trying to give a sense of mass and space to engine room, but I just didn't like it. This is the only part of the ship that seemed "alien" to me and was in no way even slightly reminiscent of any Starfleet engine room we've seen before. There was no sign of a warp core, matter/anti-matter injectors etc. And since when do starships have multiple warp cores? That being said I still like the overall design and to see the ship in action added a context to the design that just can't be gleaned from the production photos.

A film like this is only as good as its villain and I have to agree that Nero is the best we've seen since Kahn. My only disappointment is that the movie didn't flesh out his motivation as well as I'd like. But if you read the movie prequel/TNG sequel graphic novel Countdown ; you'll get a much better picture of who Nero is and his motivation for revenge.

The story was absolutely compelling and the pacing never let up. The climax packed a wallop. Most of all it struck the perfect balance between action and character. Undoubtedly, the film's greatest strength lies in its character development and interactions. The classic troika of Kirk, Spock and McCoy is still there, yet there were very few Kirk/Spock/McCoy moments. I was very impressed with how involved Uhura was in the story.

Now to the questions of canon. I won't list all the canon violations I spotted. Everything from ship and station design to uniforms was changed. And since when did Vulcan have a blue sky? 90% of these canon violations are explained by direct dialogue in the movie as being the result of Nero's time travel. This includes everything from the ship, equipment and uniforms differences to other instances such as Kirk's meeting w/ Pike, face to face w/ Romulans, etc. And unlike most other time travel stories in Star Trek, there is no magic reset at the end of the story, so we are left with the damage Nero caused to the timeline.

Do I buy their explanation? I will grant that it's reasonably plausible (for science fiction), but the film creates quite a dilemma for hard core fans. Ultimately the film creates and alternate timeline that invalidates several TOS episodes such as "Balance of Terror", "Obsession" and aspects of "The Menagerie", "The Cage" and "A Piece of the Action" not to mention every single TOS, TNG, DS9 or VOY episode that features the planet Vulcan. There are surely more. And the question is already begged whether the characters from TNG, DS9 and VOY will even exist in the new timeline. Ultimately these questions are never answered in the film. Though some of this may be inferred if we take into account the events of the graphic novel Countdown as canon. Countdown was intended as a prequel to the film. Though no other graphic novel or comic has ever been treated as canon before that I'm aware of. What the events of this film does do is wipe the slate clean for future installments, so in that respect it is clearly a reboot, yet all along the way JJ Abrams pays homage to the all trek before with everything from sounds effects to Tribbles and much of Spock Prime's dialogue.

Conclusion: In spite of all this the film in my opinion is the best Trek since "The Wrath of Khan" or "First Contact". What JJ Abrams has done is literally the impossible: not only to make Trek relevant again, but also appeal to both fans on newcomers alike. And he absolutely succeeds. The story was compelling, the screenplay topnotch, the acting superb (mostly), and the special effect astounding. Most importantly it clearly follows in the spirit of what Gene Roddenberry envisioned for these characters and this universe. Is the film flawless? Absolutely not. Are all canon violations explained away? Most, but not all. (Keep in mind every series and movie--especially ENT and ST:N--had serious canon issues as well.) The bottom line: ultimately and most importantly this movie is still Star Trek. If you are even a casual fan of Star Trek, I recommend and encourage you to see this movie at least once.

• Nitpicking: Vulcan's blue sky. Multiple warp cores on the Enterprise.
• McCoy: "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
• Spock Prime to Kirk: "I have been and always shall be your friend."
• "Remarkable scene": The shoot out with Kirk and Spock in the bowels of the Narada

Rating: 10 (J. Stewart)

This movie is excellent, no matter how you look at it. It's fun, it's exciting, it's action-packed. Does it force you to think about issues in a different light, as "true science fiction" is supposed to? No, but I don't think it needed to do that at this point. That's what the inevitable sequels are for.

Overall, its an origin story. But unlike most movies focusing on the origin of characters you know, besides the fact that these characters are different versions of the ones you may know, I believe the movie stands on its own without considering anything that came before it or what might come after it. It's fun and unpredictable, with an amazing cast and special effects. The whole thing (sound design, production design, costume design, characterization, plot) keeps enough of what made The Original Series and its characters great while changing things enough to keep even the most die hard Trekkie interested in what's going to happen. It also managed to give every crew member (especially the usually underused Chekov and Uhura) an opportunity to contribute more than in any Star Trek (movie or episode) before, which is an impressive feat.

Honestly, the stuff that I explained in my PREVIEW was the only part that really bothered me. After seeing the movie, I can see that they could have marketed and sold this movie as a reboot of the franchise (like Casino Royale) and the general audience would be fine with it. Adding the elements from the "Prime" reality and having to explain what happened in the future (and having to explain that its not the future of what we're watching now) slowed the film down a bit toward the middle, but it does tie into the plot directly and allow 40 years of Trek history not to be erased. Don't get me wrong, I liked the concept, I just think it could have been handled a bit differently.

Some people may complain about the coincidences that led to everyone being at the right place at the right time. I'd admit that some of it was a stretch, but unlike most origin stories, we didn't have to spend the whole movie maneuvering to get to certain positions to make a difference; they were all thrust into the positions, through coincidence or willpower or simply because they belonged in those positions. And that's good enough for me.

Usually during movies, no matter how much I look forward to them, part of me is wondering how long its been on and how much is left in the movie. That didn't happen in this movie. I got lost in the film, and even thought I knew the basics of what was going to happen because I can't resist spoilers, I was still surprised and pleased every second. That's the sign of a good movie, at least to me.

Things I loved:

• The casting: Every main character was perfect. Each actor brought their own interpretation to the role and even though they looked and sometimes acted different than the Original character, you could tell that they were the same ones. Yelchin brought a thicker, more real Russian accent to Chekov while keeping it over-the-top (a bit too far maybe?), and Pegg actually made Scotty sound Scottish (since his in-laws are Scottish and he's British, he knows the accent). Pine brought an arrogance to Kirk that was reminiscent of Shatner's most shining moments. Quinto played Spock so cold that even the slightest hint of emotion on his face was like an explosion. Saldana made Uhura more real than just the girl who answers the phone. Urban seems to be the only one who tries to actually sound and act exactly like the real McCoy (HA!), but he does it perfectly.
• The nods to the Original Universe: Besides Urban's McCoy, there were many things kept from the Original that I appreciated being there. The primary color uniforms, along with the sound of the intercom button being pushed and the communicator being opened were the most obvious. So was Chekov's inability to pronounce the letter "V". Putting Pike in a wheelchair and having him wear a modified admiral's uniform from The Motion Picture at the end were a bit more subtle. Seeing Kirk cheat on the Kobayashi Maru test while chewing on an apple (just as he was doing when he told his son about it in "Wrath of Khan") was just plain awesome (having Spock be the designer of the test was just icing on the cake). Also, everyone got to say their classic lines and none of it felt forced or made me cringe (see Fantastic Four, which does make me cringe)
• What happened to Vulcan: Nothing says "everything is different now" more than blowing up one of central planets in the Federation and making Vulcans an endangered species. It changes Spock and even the face of the Federation. Killing Spock's mom fits into that too. I didn't expect that at all. And people watching the movie wouldn't either. "Of course Kirk and Sulu will stop the drill in time to save Spock's home -- oh, wow, I guess not. Spock will save his mom -- oh, I guess not."
• The characters' reactions to time travel, alternate realities, and older versions of themselves: All these huge concepts are being thrown around and their reactions range from "Bullsh**" to not even reacting when they see themselves 120 years older (they are Vulcan, of course). Scotty was also very accepting of Spock Prime also.
• The special effects: From the epic space shots to the extreme close ups of the hulls to the viewscreen that is actually a window, Star Trek has never felt more real. The ships fly with weight behind them and "up" is relative, which is rare for any movie.
• Simon Pegg: His portrayal of Scotty is an instant classic.

Things I'm not so sure about:

• Spock/Uhura: It gives Spock an emotional bond that he never had before and gives Uhura more depth, but it just seems weird. It's hard to get used to Spock kissing anyone.
• Engineering: I'm torn on the industrial complex as the secondary hull. I mean, it makes sense to have the contrast between the shiny main areas of the ship and the grungy below decks, it just seemed off or too contemporary. Again, its probably just that I'm used to the shiny engine room with the one warp core at the center.
• Trans-warp beaming (a real nit pick): I liked Scotty's explanation that he couldn't make it work because it was like "shooting at a bullet with a smaller bullet while blindfolded and riding a horse" , but the logic behind Spock Prime telling him that Scotty Prime figured it out didn't make sense. First off, the transporter technology in this new reality seems far different from the one in the Prime universe, what with its swirly lights and taking forever. Second, when did Scotty Prime figure this out? And why did they never use it? I've not seen the official explanation, but I assume that since Scotty is still alive in the Prime universe (he was in an awesome episode of TNG called "Relics" where he helped the Enterprise-D and then took a shuttle and was not heard from since) that maybe he just came up with it after Nemesis but before the events that send Spock Prime to the alternate reality. But I had to make that up to make it fit, and that's not right.

Things I really didn't like:

• Nothing: Honestly, there was nothing I didn't like about this movie.

Rating: 10 (Drew (doubleofive) Stewart)

I LOVED the new "Star Trek" film. I held it equal with "Wrath of Khan", but in the end, it wins hands down. Some of you know that I was genuinely worried about parts of this film. Trust me...it's all explained by the end of the film. Nero's time travel seriously messed up time. Then, he did it again. That being said, there is no "reset" button, and the damage is done for good. Elder Spock is the only remaining survivor of an alternate reality, (e.g. all of Star Trek as we know it from TOS upward), and the future of the young Enterprise crew is still undetermined; anything can happen. Yes, it defies and slaughters canon. But, the catch is, it acknowledges that it does so. In a scene towards the middle of the movie, Spock deduces that, because of the changes in time, their lives and their destinies are changed from what they could have been. Elder Spock even admits to Kirk that his past did not work out the same way as it works out for the young crew, and is genuinely surprised by some of the things that have happened. With that out of the way, what is there to fear? All designs and advanced technology can be easily explained. Meeting the Romulans IS explained. Really, there is nothing to worry about. This is truly a perfect example of film making itself. The special effects are better than any others I have ever seen. The acting is phenomenal. It's like...everything we love from TOS and the TOS movies, and nothing we don't on crack. The only canon quibble I have with it is the location of Delta Vega. Apparently, this is either another Delta Vega than the one in "Where no man has gone before", or it's a genuine mistake. Whichever it may be, the planet Vulcan can be seen in very close proximity to Delta Vega. That's probably the only problem with the entire movie. What really pleasantly shocked me was the emotionality and comedy this film had. There are several laugh out loud moments, especially for fans who will get all of the in-jokes and allusions to the Original Series. It also brought a tear to my eye. I won't give away too much, suffice to say that Kirk's father is the real definition of a hero. Aside from the whole ice planet thing, this is a perfect Star Trek movie. Michael Giacchino's score is amazing; without it, it just wouldn't be as great a film. What else can I say? By far, this is the best, and most exciting movie that I've seen since 'Return of the King' in the theater.

In closing, I want to share how special this event was to me. There was a large amount of Trekkies who came to the theater in full Starfleet uniforms last night. That in itself was touching. Star Trek is a franchise that has gone through so many makeovers, re-dos, and buff ups; and it's made some pretty bad mistakes over the years. But, the fan base is still so passionate. I got in a discussion with a thirtysomething guy a couple of rows behind me while the lights were still up. He had his wife, and parents and sister with him; all sporting Star Trek t-shirts. He reminisced with me about how his dad used bring home old beta tapes and VHS tapes of Trek movies, and how he was raised on the Next Generation t.v. show. That spoke volumes. My two friends sitting on either side of me however, had never seen ANY Star Trek before. Bottom line: everyone was pleased when the credits rolled. It made everyone that was there happy. It was the most fun I've had in a theater because people laughed, and clapped in unison at the best moments of the movie. The Kobayashi Maru test was one of my favorite parts in the film, because it happened exactly as it was spoken of in "TWOK". Just great moments like that made the film. The first time Leonard Nimoy appeared onscreen. The people clapped. When Scotty yelled over the engineering room, into the wall communicator "I'm givin' it all she's got, Capn'!" , the people cheered. The whole experience was great for newcomers, and a love fest for old fans. What a crowd pleaser. The action and special effects were breathtaking, while the acting was spot-on. And, during the last few seconds of the film, when the beautiful new Enterprise slowly flew on the screen, and Leonard Nimoy's voice recited the "Space: the final frontier..." speech while the TOS theme began to play, I thought to myself 'This is it. This is everything I love about Star Trek summed up in one film'. I got chills.

J.J. Abrams was infamously quoted for having said that he was not making this film for the fans. He might not have had the fans in mind while directing the movie, but I'll tell you what: Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci had them in mind. They did a marvelous job, and Abrams' directing was spectacular. You see, Star Trek has always had the potential to be THIS great; it just hasn't been able to manifest itself all of the time. It needed a bold new group of people to spice it up a little. My advice to Trekkies like myself? QUIT WORRYING. This movie is better than we deserve. The cast and crew has signed on for two more sequels if this film does well at the box office. Come on guys; as Trek fans, we need to support it. I'm definitely up for second helpings. But, most of all, I think Gene Roddenberry would have been proud that his message of gender and race tolerance; and the thrill of exploring the unknown still lives today. It is my opinion that J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek' will live long, and prosper.

• Nitpicking: The location of the planet Delta Vega was incorrect.
• Remarkable quote: Kirk: "Who is that pointy-eared bastard?" , McCoy: "I don't know; but I like him."
• Remarkable scene: The Kobayashi Maru test! I loved seeing this play out.

Rating: 10 (Mitch)

Spoilers abound.

I can't remember the last time I was in a film that kept you at a sprinting pace for two hours. Star Trek was a great science fiction show, and the beginnings of a new series (more likely a trilogy) of movies.

There is so much right with this film that I can completely ignore anything that is wrong with it. A lot of other reviews will talk about how the engineering set looks cheap, or how there was gratuitous use of lens flare, or how Chekov's accent might be too strong. The great thing about this movie, is that none of that matters, and none of that detracts from the best Star Trek film ever, for fans or non-fans.

Some people have said that this is just making Star Trek a run of the mill action film. I completely disagree. Transformers was just an action film, it was not "about" anything profound. This was different, this was about personal character growth, and learning how and why people can meet their full potential. The two main characters in the film, Kirk and Spock, are both clearly competent but both held back by both the death of a father figure for Kirk, and the death of the mother figure for Spock as well as the absence and coldness of his father. Kirk learns that he can overcome circumstances to be a true leader, and Spock begins to truly balance his Vulcan-Human elements to learn that what he always knew was not a defect truly is his greatest strength.

The supporting characters all shine. We all knew Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and Walter Koenig were class actors, but their characters did always reflect that, sometimes reduced to being cliché stereotypes (which was still progressive for the 1960's.) Here, though, every character is someone who you care about and who you want the future movies to tell you more about. Uhura is confident and brilliant, but also has a clear feminine side which is not submissive. Sulu is more of an action hero here but that is still a huge step up from just piloting the ship. Chekov is a brilliant wunderkind whose services are invaluable. Scotty is humorous (like the original) and a miracle worker, literally. While McCoy did not get top billing the way Kirk and Spock did, he is clearly not only an important part of the "troika" but also has a much stronger relationship to Kirk.

Finally, the Spock-Uhura romance is not only a brilliant new idea, but also a great homage to how it was meant to be Spock who would have the first inter-racial kiss on TV in "Plato's Stepchildren" before it was changed to Kirk. The movie is full of brilliant new ideas and is no longer constrained by canon dictating the look, feel, or plot of the movie. From now on, every consequence matters, and from now on, the directors and writers of the TV show can make the 23rd century look like the future.

This movie may not be overloaded with themes and morals the way "The Wrath of Khan" or "The Undiscovered Country" were, but it still has a Star Trek sensibility about the greatness for human (and alien) achievement and that timeless sense that the Characters really will "boldy go where no man has gone before." This film has been a long time coming, and the franchise is better for it.

• Best innovation: Not being held back by canon, but using canon to tell new stories.
• Most improved character: Uhura. 'Opening Hailing Frequencies' is now one of the most important jobs on the Bridge, executed flawlessly.
• Best action moment: All of it. The entire film feels like two hours of action.
• Great moment in character: Kirk on the Kobayashi Maru, knowing he has won while the rest of the cadets and officers look on in disbelief.
• Remarkable visual: The Enterprise rising out of the atmosphere of Titan.
• Leonard Nimoy wins: Old Spock meets new Spock and explains that he convinced Kirk that he could not reveal the existence of Old Spock because he implied (lied) that it might destroy the fabric of space-time.

Rating: 10 (Noah)

Ok, let me get this straight? Old Spock, who knows about slingshot time travel and all the modern technology from his era, quietly goes off to found a colony for the few remaining Vulcans instead of going back in time and saving Vulcan, his mother, and all of the events (that worked out) for the last 125 years or so?

And the Federation and Star Fleet, knowing they could save the original timeline, not to mention one of their three founding member planets (and six billion Vulcans) also do nothing.

It's ok to go back and get whales to save Earth, but hey Vulcan hard luck? The Klingons must be thrilled. For God's sake go back, get the ship, advance in time, dump the red matter in the sun (before it went Nova) and everything is saved - including the Romulans of the future? Maybe someone hates people with green blood, because the Vulcans and the Romulans get the short end of the stick in this one.

J.J. missed the entire point of Star Trek. There are always ways to beat the odds and make a better world through intelligence, hard work, and a willingness to look at the event in a different way.

Instead we get arrogance, easy achievement and defeatism.

Lots of polish, but no heart, and completely soulless. I am glad Gene is dead already, because this would have killed him.

Rating: 3 (Mark Corrinet)

Stardate not given: The Star Trek Movie... I put this review on my own site, InBrockton.com , but thought you might like to see it.

Well, being the Trekkie that I am... I saw "Star Trek" on opening night.

It was quite an action packed movie, but make no mistake about it. Other than the names of the characters, and the shape of the ships, Star Trek based on this formula will never be the same again.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

They did a very good job of resetting the franchise with various plot devices. They mentioned several times in the movie the differences in fictional realities so well even a die hard Star Trek fan will be able to live with. There are a lot of references to the other movies, as well as the lives of the 1970's series crew lives to tell the old class of fans that they will not be abandoned, but that life as you knew if for your favorite show (or 5 shows) is now over.

Go see it! The cast is great. While being able to put their own spin on the characters, they have kept the same traits as the originals. Chris Pine does justice to Kirk's confident swagger, and Karl Urban is right on the Dr. McCoy sarcasm. And Simon Pegg is simply hilarious as Montgomery Scott.

One thing that was a little disconcerting was the look of the interior of the Enterprise. Other than the futuristic bridge, the inside looked like a brewery. It looked like all those movies where people are running around in factories with pipes going everywhere and stainless steel tanks all over the place, interspersed with an occasional touch screen panel. I guess they ran out of money at that point.

J.J. Abrams was right... This is not your father's Star Trek!

Rating: 8 (David Heidke)

The Enterprise and its crew in this 2009 iteration are indeed boldly going where no one has gone before and taking me along for the ride. But I felt like it was the cruise in young Kirk's convertible -- giddy and exciting at first, with rushing wind and pulse-pounding music, only to end with the car wrecked at the bottom of a chasm and our fresh-faced hero (to me possible referencing the attitude of the film-makers) declaring "is there anything wrong, officer?"

In the interest of full disclosure, I fill my niche in that demographic of Trekkers who first saw the original series during it's run in syndication in the early 1970's and since have felt a deep kinship (and yes, at times a sense of entitlement) in and with all the series and movies that followed. Despite my dedication, however, it was not lost on me that this Star Trek universe was suffering a crippling arthritis, at least in the movie theaters, limiting it's ability to tell new stories due to the baggage of 40 years of canon. And since movies have mostly (I use this term instead of always since many movies are pure art) been about money, and people pay to be excited, it was only a matter of time until the keys to the classic car were going to be handed to someone who might appreciate the design and a bit of the history, but was otherwise going to strip it down, add an MP3 player and sub-woofer, and drive it really, really fast. Thus is born Star Trek.

At first I thought this film should be reviewed on it's own merits, but then I realized that since summer "remake (and this is one) films" really do capitalize on their titles and relationship to past franchises or movies. Thus it is extremely fair to also view this with a critical demeanor refecting any unique elements that have made Star Trek successful or interesting in the last few decades. So I will hopefully entertain with a few comments.

I've never written a screenplay or novel or anything longer than twenty pages of short-story. I've never had anything published that doesn't have reference numbers and footnotes. My qualification here is the same as anyone else's: I've read a lot of novels and plays, seen quite a few productions, and watched (embarassingly) a lot of television and movies. The story in Star Trek is disappointing. Without a doubt a lot happens (Kirk's father dies, Vulcan is destroyed, um..., bad guy dies after threatening Earth), but it doesn't feel true to the narrative. Because of all the sound and fury (fill in the remaining quote here) the actual plot didn't become apparent (or transparent) until after I left the theater. This film mainly worked for me on the level of a reunion. Kirk and Spock and McCoy and Scotty all come together (for the first time relative to the time-line established by the film, but really for the umpteenth time in Trek history) and this tale would have no emotional depth, no tug on the heartstrings, if it wasn't for those 40 years of history. So for me, upon reflection, I see a series of scenes that could be labelled "Kirk meets Spock for the first time," or "Kirk meets McCoy for the first time," all of which rely on us knowing in advance how these characters will ultimately relate. Everything that comes in between is just that: fill that comes in between.

The use of "Old Spock" or Spock Of The Original Series (SOTOM) is really not necessary, and for me in many ways distracting. I see it as a ploy (and it worked on me if not for me) to bring old Trekkers back, fold this new vision into the old continuity (thinly), and provide a send-off dignitary for the new movies. Nero's actions in the past are entirely independent of SOTOM, and the "future" tale of SOTOM's actions that make him responsible for all that has transpired is one of the low moments for me in this film. To recap: in the future Romulus is threatened by a supernova and old AMBASSADOR Spock, among all others in the universe, is sent, ALONE, without the aid of Romulans (who can build HUGE ships by the way), the Federation with Picard or Data or the Enterprise-E, F, G, H, I or J or whatever, in a brand-new, specially-designed, one-of-a-kind, hastily-just-constructed ship to drop a DROP of a huge sphere of "Red Matter (read deus ex machina)" to collapse the star and save Romulus. There is no back-up plan and he fails. This really pisses off Mr. Nero in his giant Romulan mining vessel whose interior is OSHA's worst nightmare, and in his attempt to kill Spock, is thrown back in time where he thinks not of using the opportunity to warn his friends of their future dire predicament (or even to go play the Romulan lottery and win BIG!) but to go smash Vulcan to bits so that SOTOM will have an emotional break down. He then maroons SOTOM on Delta Vega (within sight and ear-shot of Vulcan?) so that he can provide the necessary back story to our here-to-for clueless audience. And I thought Kirk's journey to meet God at the center of the galaxy in Star Trek V sounded ridiculous when I wrote it out. I heard one review that called the physics in this film "dodgy." I have to agree. SOTOM's story in the future is just so implausible as to be "unfixable" for me. The Romulan supernova crisis is gibberish. The star cannot be the Romulan star because collapsing it wouldn't help the planet anyway. If it was a nearby star and they saw it coming, they would have several years at least to evacuate the planet since the most deadly effect would possibly be hard radiation traveling at the speed of light. Creating a black hole in the star's place after the fact probably wouldn't help with any radiation already released. (OK, I'll allow the "subspace shockwave" AKA Star Trek VI but this didn't destroy a starship, let alone a planet.) Time travel due to the unintended black hole is even more of a stretch. Furthermore, why doesn't this occur again at the end of the film when all of the red matter is released? To finish up with the whole red matter/black hole issue: why does Nero need to drill holes in planets to collapse them? It is obvious that one drop of the stuff can create a singularity powerful enough to swallow the mass of an entire planet. Such a singularity wouldn't care one bit if it was on the surface of the planet or at it's center of mass. Nero could waltz around and drop planet-engulfing bombs at his whim. The action sequences with the drill are therefore needless, and only serve as an excuse for "interference" to isolate the characters in danger because of the inability to use the transporter, and the ship on account of communication disruption. The rest of the story, such as it is, revolves around our characters meeting and relating and Spock's reaction to the destruction of Vulcan.

This is a remake. History can be changed and is. Kirk now begins life as a hell-raising orphan and Spock becomes Anakin Skywalker from the planet Krypton. The Enterprise is built at Riverside, Iowa, and Pike is the first Captain on its maiden voyage. The physicality of this new universe is up for grabs, so why not the relationships? Because it was the triad of Kirk's intuition, Spock's logic, and McCoys' passion that made the original show work. At least the movie stays relatively true here. Chris Pine surprised me with his acting range and a few truly "Kirk-esque" smirks that would please Mr. Shatner. Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock physically looks the part, but I did not feel he epitomized the dignity or quiet restraint evident in the portrayal by Leonard Nimoy in the original series. Furthermore, his (sexual?) relationship with Uhura was confusing and felt forced. Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy has potential as his performance was enthusiastic and authentic. He unfortunately is not given much to say in the film other than our irascible doctor's trademark euphemisms.

What about the other players? Unfortunately they are all dispensable. Uhura was of course scripted to provide sexual tension for Kirk and Spock and the running gag of discovering her first name, but otherwise the character herself is bland. As much fun as it was to see "Scotty" he is really not integral, nor were Chekov and Sulu, and the fact that the whole of the original crew are here assembled so conveniently actually is disappointing because there are no "first meetings" left to explore among the primary characters in future films.

The design and cinematography of the movie is, for better or worse, what I have come to recognize as consistent with the first decade of the twenty-first century. Color is muted. Camerawork is dynamic but irritatingly shaky à la "reality show." Cuts are rapid-fire (I can feel my pupils dilate) but it makes action very hard for me to follow (I admit to being an old man.) The visual effects are very detailed, but persist in the distracting camera focus and motion. This reminded me very much of "Star Trek meets Ronald Moore's Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars with a touch of Cloverfield's cameraman." I could write volumes on my opinion regarding the look of the USS Enterprise, interior and exterior, but will refrain with the exception of asking "Why does the engineering section look like a chemical factory/water processing plant and dairy? And where did they steal Time Lord/Irwin Allen technology to make the interior so much bigger than the exterior?" The owner of this website is much more erudite than I when describing starships and I am certain to find a future discussion of the Enterprise's flaws and merits.

Overall, I found the film enjoyable and funny at times. The principal actors are suited to their roles and will need time to grow into them. I do see a future for Star Trek, and as I indicated in my opening paragraph, have been intrigued, even if not thrilled, by all things Trek.

My rating: 7/10 (I added one point just to be nice!)

• Remarkable error: The entire physics of red matter and black holes
• Remarkable quote: Old Spock: "I will refrain from my customary salutation as it would seem self-serving."
• Remarkable scene: The USS Enterprise stalls by space dock with the "parking brake" on.
• Remarkable ship: USS Enterprise. Still crazy after all these years.

Rating: 7 (Ben Siva)

"Star Trek (2009)" is a reboot. There is no question about it: Vulcan is destroyed and the technology (even before Nero messes with the timeline) is totally different looking. This movie is also a lot darker than all other Trek. Aside from this, the movie is a good movie and the reboot was done *fairly* sensitively.

The look of "Star Trek" seemed to be inspired by 22nd century ENT and its representation of 31st century tech, 29th century tech from VOY, Annorax's tech, and Star Trek Nemesis (especially the Scimitar/Romulans and the darkness of the story).

• Interesting quote: "Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence." -McCoy to Kirk (This quote seems very familiar to me, but I can't remember where I heard it before.)

Rating: 8 (Nathan)

Everyone has reported the story already. So I'm not going to repeat.

I loved this movie, it was an exciting visual feast, hugely enjoyable, so many mementos of series I loved... The action was great, the starship fighting was great, I loved the design apart from the "old rusty factory complex" interiors of some parts of Federation's starship. The characters were great apart from Bones, for lack of face time.

But in a sense, my problem with it was not the breaking with the canon's continuity or with the Enterprise's shape... it was that it was a Star Trek movie... that felt like a Star Wars one. I couldn't help finding parallels in the 2 stories.

Maybe I got it all wrong?

And the Romulan ship was a mining ship? Did I get that right? I mean, that's one mean-looking mining ship!

Rating: 10 (Roberto)

Stardate 2228.04-2255.09: Alert Spoilers

Star Trek has a legacy that's been around more then 40 years now. This movie tops it making it "More Than Meets The Eye." It bares the heart of Star Trek and what it really means, "Family", and I shall give you examples throughout the Original series we see how the TOS crew come together in time of need facing every obstacle and enemy same in TNG and Voyager especially in Voyager. This movie shows how the Family became a Family. How Kirk Became Captain. How Spoke, Bones and Kirk become friends and I say wow that is what I expected, this movie is one for all. It also leaves us an opening too in one part of the film after Vulcan got turned in to a black hole by Nero. Spock quoted this "were now in a alternate timeline" that says that history must be changed and again with Kirk to Ambassador Spock "You cheated" and from there I saw it from in his eyes how the second and third movie might turned out. I can say it will be one for the history books in order the Original Timeline to happen Kirk must cheat death yet again and who knows it might just finally happen. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is with Scotty beaming in to the water treatment area also I liked the fact that the ship looks so nice in the out side but engineering looked so outdated "huh, looks more less advanced than Original Enterprise for you nitpickers out there" and also I liked the fact when Chris Pine (Kirk) sate in the captain's chair I just saw William Shatner there when he was on the chair in the Original series. Amazing. I love Bones the most he was perfect from being the actor to being a Zombie Killing Hero in Doom to an old country doctor. Oh boy, I could not tell it was him same with Zack "Spock" He was amazing, it looks like looking in to the mirror same with the rest of the cast, especially Chekov. I loved this movie, it is F%#&@ amazing and like I said its More Than Meets the Eye (No there are not robots in designs that's silly). I refer to it because it's how I can describe this movie by, though 5 words. This is Grand Convoy signing off from my first review.

Rating: 10 ( Grand Convoy )

I can't add much in the way of any new information as most of the other reviews have covered pretty much everything, but I do have a few problems with the movie.

• I understand about the whole alternate time-line premise but why would the "Enterprise" be so drastically different from the TOS one? If nothing else couldn't the nacelles be the same angle and dimensions as the TOS ship from the original time-line?
• Why would the time-line be so easily erased and carelessly discarded when in the 29th century there was a whole Temporal Prime Directive in Starfleet with ships like the "Relativity" there to protect and enforce it? There was also crewman Daniels in ENT there as well so where were they throughout all of this? Going further, in "First Contact" the crew of that "Enterprise-E" was hell-bent on going back to 2063 to fight the Borg and make sure the "Phoenix" made its flight to meet with the Vulcans - the very people responsible for helping Humans get into space and establishing the UFP. What if Picard had just let them assimilate Earth and do virtually nothing as future Spock has done?
• How would Spock find it logical to let billions of his own people die and not try to correct this? He has multiple methods of time travel at his disposal: the tried and true sling-shot effect, La Forge's "modifications" to the "Enterprise-E" that let it get back to the exact point in the 24th century after the Borg cube was destroyed and oh yeah, his own timeship. Would it have not made more sense to inform Starfleet of the late 24th century of Nero's intentions and retrofit a ship, say the "Enterprise-E" with Spock's temporal modifications (time core)...or even use La Forge's "modifications" from "First Contact" to go back in time days or weeks before Nero went back in time and stop him? Spock just decides to let established history be destroyed along with billions of lives to take a few thousand surviving brethren to a new colony (homeworld). I don't see the logic. But I suppose that leaves the possibility of a sequel open. Maybe Spock will reconsider his lack of proper action and hijack the "Enterprise" and take it to the 24th century and try again. I guess maybe that would be impossible if that timeline has been altered or destroyed though. I guess in all actuality "what's done is done" and there may be nothing that can change things back to how they used to be...unless of course the "Relativity" has some sort of temporal shielding that prevented it and its crew from never existing. In that case it could return to the 24th century and stop Nero directly...who knows?

Rating: 7 (Jeff)

The good first: The acting was terrific. I really felt that this Spock and this Kirk, and so forth, were their latter day counterparts. The choice of actors was pretty good too. I was particularly struck by the selection for Sarek. He didn't really look that much like Mark Lenard, but he did look a lot like Leonard Nimoy. He might have been a better casting than Lenard! All the visuals were also extremely pretty.

Here's where the bad starts, however. The movie was a little too visually demanding. Sometimes (oftentimes, actually), it was much too dark and hard to see anything, and sometimes it was glaring. I also felt like I was fighting the camera the whole time. One cool shot is sufficient per movie; We don't need 30. And, while we're on aesthetics, the music was ok, but I would have loved to hear at list a hint from the TMP theme that I think has become the leitmotif for the Enterprise. Relatively minor point.

The script wasn't lacking in nods to the original series and to the movies, which were appreciated. But that doesn't make a movie Star Trek. This is where my disappointment really comes down. There were other problems, some of them related. The weird tattoos all over the Romulans were, to use a blunt term, stupid. There was no explanation for them and they came off as a terribly cheap way to make them look scary and evil. The peril scenes every couple of minutes got pretty gratuitous, as did the random people getting squashed by things all the time. The whole space-diving scene stretched credibility until it tore completely.

• How on (or above) Earth could they survive that? I'm no physicist or physiologist, but I do remember 9.8m/s^2 is the rate a falling body accelerates toward the Earth. Neglecting also the (I'm guessing pretty high) heat from friction of entering even the high atmosphere, that seems like it would get them going awfully fast to be suddenly arrested by their parachutes (it's similar to the scene when Spock catches Kirk right before he hits the ground at the beginning to Star Trek V, but this was more integral to the movie and thus less excusable).
• This is a big one: Why didn't they have phasers? What's all this "hand-to-hand combat" stuff? You have ray guns! Sulu can pack an unfolding sword but no one brings a phaser? If the writers really just wanted the desperate fight scene, they could have had the wind blow the phasers away. They didn't have to include such a blatant logic hole. I could have done without all the dangling precipice scenes anyway.

As I said, I was left wondering what made this movie Star Trek. First, the "alternate timeline" thing made the whole story pretty much irrelevant to everything we know as Star Trek. I don't think we're ever given any really compelling reason to care at all about this story. That may be a little harsh, as the characters given in the film are sympathetic in their own right, but the fact that they aren't the Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc., that we know and love, takes away from my interest.

I also felt that in several instances the film betrayed some very important ideals of Star Trek. Two scenes to epitomize my point:

• First, the shameless Nokia placement in the car. So, Nokia's still going strong 250 years into the future, eh? Even in the Federation, where, as Picard put it, the "economics ... are different" and people are no longer out for monetary gain, like, say, corporations are? It stretches credibility again, and just generally not... Star-Treky. The whole world felt too familiar. Star Trek was never a mindless utopia, but it is predicated on the notion that by this future the world, and human kind, is measurably better than it is now.
• When Kirk and Spock let the Romulans die in the black hole. This is kind of reminiscent of how the Enterprise let Ru'afo die at the end of Insurrection, which bothered me then too. Again, the writers could have easily avoided the problem with a throwaway line about how the gravity made transporting impossible or something (maybe they did and I missed it, but I don't think so). But instead, the Enterprise crew not only leave the villains to their demise, but actively help them along. It's not just out of character for Spock and Kirk as individuals, it's not how Star Trek views the world. Right or wrong, Star Trek beams those Romulans on board and saves their lives. I think that's an important part of the vision of Roddenberry.

Now, if this movie had been something more akin to what the reimagined Battlestar Galactica was compared to the original, something totally artistically fresh and relevant, then I would have let more heresies against the spirit of Roddenberry slide. But, I don't think the film warranted that. It was a very slick action movie with some good acting that was mildly entertaining. But it wasn't Star Trek, not as I know it, and it doesn't replace it with anything as worth having as Star Trek.

Rating: 5 (Ethan Fulwood)

Finally got to see Star Trek yesterday, and it did leave me with a few points to ponder. So ponder I did.

First of all, there's no getting around the fact that I was sorely tempted to launch a size 11 at the screen in the car chase scene. A juvenile delinquent Kirk driving his step-dad's classic roadster off a cliff, all to the tune of Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, cool. Even great. But the bloody Nokia product placement? At the rate companies are folding in the current recession it's doubtful Nokia will be here in ten years, much less 250.

The new Enterprise: ugly as sin. Admittedly, the original series ship looked like it had been put together on a budget of 50p (mainly coz it had), but the new one is just hideous. It's difficult not to be childish about a ship that looks like it's been glassed in a nightclub and stitched together by a blind doctor. The new bridge looks like an Apple paperless office concept, and couldn't they be bothered to design an engine room? Looks like they've just gone down the local gasworks!

The plot: bloody awful. It seemed like the writers had gone through every episode of all five series, making notes. I was noting that this bit had been used in one episode, that bit in another... Much like Die Another Day recycled ideas from the previous nineteen Bond movies.

So, anything good? Yes, plenty. The film is saved by some outstanding performances and snappy dialogue. It's a great popcorn movie that has a plethora of big explosions, laugh-out-loud moments and good acting. Just think of it as a Casino Royale-style reboot, not a direct prequel. Still not as good as "Wrath of Khan" though. I'll get me coat...

Rating: 7 (Dave Bowling)

Stardate 2233.4: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

First I want to review the new cast: Pine as Kirk is good, not great but good. Quinto as Spock reminded me a lot of his Sylar-character from the heroes-show and not about Spock. Urban's McCoy is outstanding, even if he had not much to do. The other crew members are also not important enough to say much about them. But Chekov was ridiculous and Uhura a bit arrogant and portrayed to aggressive for this character. Scotty was insane and mirrored nothing from the old Scotty. The villain, Nero , was lame and boring and acted like a clone of Shinzon from "Nemesis". It might have something to do with the fact, that he had fewer screen time than any villain before in the movie-series.

Second, I want to speak about the movie:

This movie is a reboot, despite everything the producers have told us fans multiple times. The USS Kelvin looked too little like a TOS-ship, Spock's Jellyfish doesn't use the TNG-style stardate, like it should if it's out of the "Prime-Universe". Because of that, I will review the movie as a reboot and not as a continuation of the known Star Trek series. I have to admit, that the first 20 minutes of the movie are far the best I've ever seen in any Star Trek: Action, drama, great special effects and good use of cutting and camera-movement. The only thing I was a bit disappointed was the collision between the Narada and the Kelvin. A tiny explosion... is that all what happens, when a 200+ meter long starship dives in another starship? That explosion should have wiped out the Narada, but OK, I can live with that. Seeing Spock as a child and his interaction with the Vulcan kids was great and I also liked little Jim Kirk in the car. The first thing I was really disappointed was the Kobayashi Maru test. That lame trick was all, Kirk came up with? Oh man... Well, perhaps my expectations after Kirk's comment from TWOK were to high. After the emergency call from Vulcan all cadets get promoted and served as crew of seven starships. That's unrealistic and a stupid trick to get our heroes aboard the Enterprise. I don't like that. I also think it was a missed opportunity not to show the battle over Vulcan. There were just wrecks, when the Enterprise arrived. The fight on the rig-platform was good, not great but good and Sulu's enfolding Katana is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. But after the rig-fight the movie went totally down. Not because Amanda Grayson was unnecessarily killed and Vulcan got destroyed. It was, because the story lost every aspect of action and suspense. Spock's explanation, that the timeline has changed and they are all living now as alternate-version of the characters we know from TOS robbed me from every interest I had. Their destinies are no longer important, because these characters could never become the heroes from TOS. Nothing great happened after Vulcan's destruction. Two big monsters on Delta Vega (it has to be another planet in the Vulcan-system BTW and not THE Delta Vega from WNMHGB) that want to eat Kirk. It was clear he would not get eaten, so it was a lame and boring scene for me. The meeting with Old Spock was more confusing instead of make the things clear and it felt very forced and constructed. The entire supernova- and black hole-stuff didn't make any sense and showed how little the writers and producers care for physics or even Star Trek-physics. The first meeting with Scotty was also weird and confusing (and let me think of transporter range). So, Kirk got back on the Enterprise and took command. I was hoping that the movie got past all the boring stuff and action and suspense would return now. But that doesn't happen. Kirk and Spock sneaked on board the Narada and stealing Spock's Jellyfish. It was not the Enterprise that took the action, destroying the rig and saving the day; it was the Jellyfish and I don't like that. I thought it was lame and boring. The Enterprise only appeared late in the climax und shot down Narada's torpedoes, so that the Jellyfish could destroy the Narada with a suicide-run. The battle was over and Nero and his comrades defeated. Now the movie missed the only opportunity to show a real Star Trek-moment in the movie. Instead of rescuing the Romulans - even if they don't want to be rescued, what I doubt if I remember the fleeing Romulans, except for Nero - Kirk ordered to fire on a doomed and half-destroyed ship. That was cold blooded revenge, even murder and made me really angry. The final moments of the movie were as boring and lame as it's middle part. Star Trek is not a good movie, even if you don't compare it to some other bad Star Trek movies. The logic is absurd and the physics pure fantasy. Why did Spock not join Kirk and Scotty, beam on the Enterprise and make a time jump, back to stardate 2233.4, save the Kelvin and stop Nero? Or save at least Vulcan? Why don't the Vulcans evacuate their planet? Are there no shuttles or ships on the planet's surface? How could Nero easily destroy seven big starships in just a few minutes, when he can't even stop the far older Kelvin from its suicide-run?

Another aspect I don't like about this movie is the decision to avoid ANYTHING that was established or shown before. The spacedock looked entirely different, they left out any technology from TNG (what you would expect at least on the Jellyfish, a Federation ship from the year 2387) or even Enterprise (the only mention was Admiral Archer's beagle ). The design decision are not my favorites too. The Enterprise is ugly for my taste. It don't have the elegant lines of the TOS-one or the Enterprise-A. Its dimensions are wrong and the saucer is a cheap copy of the refit saucer. The bridge is more confusing as I feared. I was not able to make Out who is sitting who. The main engineering is perhaps the most awful set design ever. First it's far too big for the tiny drive section of the ship and second it looked like a water plant or a brewery (what it was in reality) than an engine room. The warp cores (five at least) are redressed tanks full with Budweiser! And I really don't like the window in the bridge what is also used as viewscreen. But I like the design of the Narada, a really threatening ship, especially when it's first appearing. I also like the Kelvin, even when she's looking more advanced than the TOS-Enterprise. My conclusion: Better than Nemesis, because of the movie's first minutes. But for me it's in the same line with Generations, The Final Frontier and Insurrection. Definitely no match for TWOK, "First Contact" and TUC.

• Remarkable Starfleet ships: The USS Kelvin and the one ship with four nacelles
• Remarkable enemy ship: The giant Narada
• Remarkable quote: "Have you lost your Vulcan mind?" (Dr. McCoy)
• Remarkable scene: The Enterprise surface from Titan's heavy atmosphere
• Remarkable prop: Sulu's unfolding Katana
• Remarkable mistake: The Enterprise ejects its warp cores directly between the giant nacelles. Making a dangerous situation even more dangerous!

Rating: 5 (Tobi Fischer)

Stardate not given: A disgruntled Romulan named Nero travels back in time in order to extract revenge on the Federation.

A bizarre film, that tries to satisfy existing fans while also attracting new ones. Sadly, it only succeeds in the latter. Any Trekker worth his salt will be appalled by the events of this movie, and how everything that happened in TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY and the other ten movies will now never occur. JJ Abrams has created a new Star Trek universe, which lacks the enjoyment and wonderful sense of optimism that the rest of the franchise has had. As a sci-fi action film, it's not bad, but as a Trek film, it's very average. We can only hope that, should Star Trek ever return to the small screen, the producers will take a page out the book of the producers of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and pretend the events of this film never happened.

• Remarkable error: Uhura orders a "Cardassian Sunrise", over a hundred years before the Federation will make first contact with the Cardassian Empire.
• Remarkable ship: Nero's "mining ship". Granted, it's from the future, but that's one tough "mining ship" to break through the defences around Vulcan, destroy a task force of Constitution-class ships, cripple the Enterprise, and destroy any defences around Earth.
• Remarkable scene: Kirk's Kobayashi Maru test - probably the best bit of the film.
• Remarkable dialogue: "I am Spock." - "Bullshit." -Spock Prime and Kirk

Rating: 3 (Sean Freeburn)

Stardate 10.5.2009: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

"NEW BEGINNING OF STAR TREK"? I don't think so.

If I were only a typical movie consumer, I would give this movie ok, let's say 5 points for action, effects, etc....

But I always liked STAR TREK UNIVERSE and this movie is one of the biggest disappointment I ever saw from this universe. (In comparison with STAR TREK V - what is here rated as worst star trek movie, I think ST V had at least the typical spirit of star trek and old school concepts.

This movie.... I just say, I awaited much more or at least something. But what I saw was a stupid, violent young Kirk, emotionally based Spock, some kid named Chekov, and sexy chick (that is in relation to Spock) named Uhura. And after this movie was gone from the screen, I asked my self what I was watching?

"Some super galactic adventure of new age?" or "a spaceship filled with teenagers"? I don't understand why L. Nimoy could take this role in this film? And how can somebody (the director) make a movie from Star Trek universe, when he did totally different movies before? It's like I try to make a cake, but I'm not a cook, and I never before tried to do such a thing. I'm sorry to all, but English is not my primary language, but I try to adapt. :)

Another movie, I never see again. It's Star Trek, but sorry folks, not the Star Trek that I know for more than 20 years. I saw every movie, every series that went so I know what I'm saying. I like changes, but not changes of this size! For me it's only another space adventure of some kind, but this is not Trek. And I don't understand another folks, like fans and people who like sci-fi, that have accepted this.

For the future, I hope, this wasn't really the "new beginning". I hope that old faces and people, that had formed this universe so long don't let this happen again.

I give this movie as fan only one point, and that for L. Nimoy.

But that's all.

Rating: 1 (J. Smida)

Let me begin by saying that with the Star Trek franchise the way it is and with the premise of the new movie, I don't believe that it could have been made any better.

As a movie by itself (without any reference to any other Star Trek movies), "Star Trek" was great. Thrilling, epic, with a good balance between dialogue and action, the film was much better than the average action film one sees at theatres nowadays. The acting was superb. Special effects were top-notch (and the space camera jiggling seemed influenced by Battlestar Galactica). Everything was compelling and convincing. The film was also a little dark, which seems to be the trend nowadays with the James Bond reboot and the "Dark Knight". My friend, who has never seen any Star Trek, thought that this was one of the best movie's he's ever seen.

The relation of the film towards the rest of the Star Trek universe is a little less perfect. I balk a little at the realization that either basically all of the Trek movies and episodes in the past have been disregarded or that this is an alternate timeline/universe from the main one we have been following for so long; however, I feel that the movie was well made enough so that the alternate universe annoyance can be largely ignored (Isn't all of Star Trek made up anyways? What's the harm in making up some more Star Trek? Everything else still happens I guess - in an alternate universe). If they had decided to preserve the timeline, where would they have made the movie? After "Nemesis" with a "Search for Data" movie? An "Enterprise" movie? Maybe the next film will restore the timeline.

I thought that the design of the new Enterprise was excellent. It was a little disturbing when I first saw it, but I think that it looks good enough. Everything is so shiny. I also always thought that the engineering sections in the old Trek stuff was always a little unrealistic (is the only thing transported in tubes antimatter/deuterium?), so seeing some tubes actually transporting water and stuff was interesting. Everything being so shiny (on the bridge and stuff) was nice too.

I thought that the actors/actresses captured enough of the feel of the original series cast. They may have not been as cerebral, but that's for later - "Star Trek" was a coming-of-age movie. They were believable as Kirk, Spock, McCoy, et al. The only real difference is Quinto's Spock's more prevalent emotions; I'm a little uncomfortable with this. I thought, however, that the exploration of Spock's past (Human and Vulcan components) was great; this had been touched on a lot in past episodes, but never explored to the depth that it was in this film. Very pertinent to today's cultural mosaic of a world.

In comparison with the other Trek movies, I'd say that "Star Trek" is an equal with, if not better than "The Wrath of Khan" or "First Contact". Lots of action, intensity, and emotion.

The music was great. On first listen, the main theme of the movie seemed incongruous with those of other Trek movies, but that was because it was dark: a fact that matched the darker feel of the film itself. I liked the melding of the new musical material at the end with Alexander Courage's original composition.

In conclusion, "Star Trek", the 11th film of the franchise, takes the Star Trek universe in a desperately needed bold new direction. It has breathed new life into a listing franchise. I don't think that they could have done a better job.

• Remarkable open end: What's going to happen in the next movie? Is the timeline going to be restored? If not, how does "Spock Prime" (the old Spock) still exist?
• Enterprise - With a facelift, she looks great and shiny! Very elegant redesign. I like the look of the ship's bowels.
• Kelvin - Interesting ship. I felt sad to see her destroyed.
• Narada - Very sharp and aggressive. Maybe reminiscent of V'Ger (especially in terms of the docking port entrance).
• The Vulcan science ship - Seems to match the Star Trek: Enterprise's Vulcan ship lineage.
• Remarkable quotation: Sarek: "You will always be a child of two worlds, and fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is: which path will you choose?"
• Remarkable scene: Enterprise rises from Titan's atmosphere.
• Remarkable prop: Sulu's sword/katana. I wonder if this is Starfleet standard issue?

Rating: 10 (Dean Wang)

Stardate 2258: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

After literally years of waiting, this Trekkie finally got to see J.J. Abrams' "reimagining" of the Star Trek. I've been following the development of this film since 2006, when it was first announced by Paramount. I've read every rumor, ever spoiler; followed every leaked picture and production development. So when I sat down at my local theater with my fellow nerds, I was a nervously excited mixture of hope and fear. I was confident that this movie would at least provide better entertainment that the franchise's last couple of outings (1998's abysmal Insurrection and 2002's insulting Nemesis), but I was far from sure whether or not it could measure up to the franchise's bright spots (like the 1996 thrill ride First Contact or the widely-regarded gem of Trek movies, 1982's The Wrath of Khan). Would the new actors inhabiting the roles that I'd grown up with do them justice? In his quest to make Trek more appealing to the non-nerd masses, would Abrams sell out the heart and soul of Star Trek?

I'm happy to report that after just one showing I can confidently say that the worst of my fears most definitely did not come true. This new Trek manages to hit all the important elements that have made great Star Trek films great, and very few of the ones that have made bad Star Trek films bad.

Warning: There may be some minor spoilers below as I discuss particular aspects of the film that I did or did not enjoy. I'll do my best to avoid anything major, but if you're living in a 100% spoiler-free bubble until you can see the movie you may want to skip this review.

Overall, my impression of Star Trek was quite positive. The film opens with a heart-pounding sequence with some of the most desperate and bombastic space combat ever seen in Trek. It is immediately apparent that the visual effects budget of this film has surpassed that of any of the last several films combined. The action is fast-paced, sometimes frenetic, and shaky-cam and lens flare abound (which annoys some, but I was able to adjust to it rather quickly).

Following this sequence, we have a short interlude in which we see the upbringings of young Kirk and Spock. These sections are interesting, but I'm glad they opened with an action sequence rather than these flashbacks, because to be honest they're a little slow. Good, but slow. The decision to not start the movie with the childhood of Kirk and Spock was a good one, and proves that Abrams knows his audience (both the mainstream audience and the Trekkie audience).

Then we launch into the meat of the film: Kirk, Spock and the gang at Starfleet Academy, an emergency in space that requires the untested recruits to drop everything and rush off to save the day (a very well-done version of the classic Trek MacGuffin, as seen in The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home and others). Dramatic and once-again fast-paced adventure ensues. There is starship combat, there are fisticuffs, there is swordfighting, there are a plethora of classic Trek one-liners bandied about (sometimes feeling forced, but for the most part feeling natural).

There are three elements that I look for in any Star Trek film: Good interaction amongst the core crew (the Kirk-Spock-McCoy triumvirate from the original cast films set the standard for this), a resounding sense of adventure and the exploration of the unknown (as much as some people didn't care for it, The Motion Picture excelled at this) and kick-ass, take-no-prisoners starship combat (e.g. The Wrath of Khan, The Undiscovered Country and the Battle of Sector 001 in First Contact).

2009's Star Trek, for the most part, delivers on all three of these criteria. While the Kirk-Spock-McCoy relationship is still in its infancy, there is definitely chemistry between them and some memorable scenes. The sense of the unknown is not so great, but the overall adventure level on the movie is through the roof. And the starship combat, while a little overwhelming and ill-defined (we're seeing these new ships for the first time and their enemy is a little vaguely-defined visually), is still explosive and adrenalin-pumping.

Now for some specifics...

Plot: Many Trek fans bemoaned the discovery of time-travel as a significant portion of the film's plot when it was announced last year. I'm as weary of time travel as any Trekkie out there, but at this point I've come to accept it as a regular part of Trek. It would have been nice if they'd found a different way to justify their changes to the canon, but as it stands the time travel explanation was well-done (as well done as a time-travel explanation can be) and it does satisfactorily explain changes in the established canon (at least as far as this Trekkie's concerned).

The villains in the movie could have almost been anyone. Their only purpose is to unite the new crew under Kirk's leadership in order to save the day, and they perform that task admirably. In many ways though, they're a little forgettable. That's not a bad thing though. In past films where we've had particularly memorable villains (e.g. Khan Noonien Singh or General Chang), those villains have been facing an established crew that we already know well. They have had to become a larger part of the story in order to make the film work. In this new Trek, we're learning about our favorite characters all over again and - thanks to the aforementioned time travel situation - we're not starting out with a crew of Enterprise that is 100% established as a close-knit team. The new movie has to be about their journey from a rookie starship crew to the beloved family of characters that we all hold dear. The villains in this Star Trek do their job well by moving the plot forward, but never getting in the way of the development of the main characters.

Characters: I was pleasantly surprised by how well the new Trek was cast. Of course I'd read up on each of the actors as the announcements came about who would be playing who over the last year or two, but I didn't know half of the young cast and those I did know were still unknown quantities when it came to their performances as classic sci-fi characters.

James T. Kirk, played by Chris Pine: This was the most pleasant surprise of all. I though of Pine as a teenaged hearthrob who would be lucky if he could hold his own against the rest of the cast, let alone actually be James T. Kirk. He avoided doing a Shatner impression, but managed to deliver the same swagger, hubris and humanity that embodies the Kirk character. He was very much exactly how I'd imaged a young Kirk behaving - brash, confident and very much leap-before-you-look. I look forward to how he'll play the character over the course of the (presumed) sequels.

Spock, played by Zachary Quinto: Quinto was one of the first actors to be announced for a role in Star Trek, and I was initially very pleased. He certainly looks the part, and from his role on Heroes I knew that he could handle the intensity of the Spock character. Over time though, I grew nervous (after seeing clips and hearing rumors) that we might see less "Spock" and more "Sylar In Pointy Ears." I'm very pleased to say that this wasn't the case at all. Except for one prominent emotional outburst (which has been shown in most of the trailers), Quinto pulled off the classic Spock stoicism very well, while always hinting that there was something just under the surface - emotions he hadn't quite learned to completely master yet.

Leonard McCoy, played by Karl Urban: More than any other actor in Star Trek, Urban does an impression of the character's original inhabitor (DeForest Kelley). Still, it never comes off as crass or mocking and for the most part it works very well. There are one or two times that his McCoy one-liners feel forced, but in general they fit in and add to the comedy.

The Kirk-Spock-McCoy relationship doesn't get a chance to fully flower in this movie (mainly because Kirk and Spock spend most of the film as rivals, not friends), but you can definitely see the seeds of the triumvirate taking root. I hope they explore this as fully in the new Star Trek universe as they did in the old.

Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana: Although she has a bigger part to play than she did in most TOS episodes (and most of the films), it still feels like Uhura is a bit underused in this movie. She plays a fairly prominent part in the Academy scenes, but once they get to Enterprise she kind of fades into the background (with one or two exceptional scenes with a certain science officer). Still, that's not out of line with how the rest of the "secondary" bridge crew is traditionally used. I didn't get a good gauge on how well I liked Zoe Saldana in the part, but I get the sense that she'll do fine with it going forward. I'm particularly interested to see how a certain unforeseen romantic relationship will develop.

Hikaru Sulu, played by John Cho and Pavel Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin: There's only so much an actor can do with a secondary character, but Cho and Yelchin do it well. Sulu's swordfighting and Chekov's accent were minor annoyances, but nothing of any real importance. Chekov's accent began to grow on my and Sulu's swordfighting was brief and pretty awesome in its own right.

Montgomery Scott, played by Simon Pegg: I love Simon Pegg. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of the best comedies in recent memory. However, his portrayal of Scotty is essentially in the film solely for comedic relief and it annoys after a while. Not badly, but it does annoy. Despite his Scottish accent being far more accurate than James Doohan's, I think Scotty of all things is the character that I felt most put-off with by having to accept a new actor in the role. I'm hesitant to blame Pegg for this, as most of the shortcomings of the character were written into the script. I'm hoping they'll make the character a little bit better mixture of drama and comedy in the next film. Scotty rarely gets the spotlight, but when he does it came make for some of the most dramatic moments in Trek ( "He stayed at his post...when the trainees ran!" ).

Christopher Pike, played by Bruce Greenwood: This was one of the true delights of the entire movie. Bruce Greenwood was born to play a Starfleet officer, and from his encouragement of young Kirk to join Starfleet to taking the Big Chair on the bridge of Enterprise, he adds gravitas to any scene in which he makes an appearance.

The villain known only as "Nero," played by Eric Bana: I've always liked Eric Bana, especially his turn in Black Hawk Down and even Hulk (which was very flawed compared to its 2008 counterpart, but Bana did an admirable job with the part in my opinion). As mentioned, Nero is merely a catalyst for the crew's coming together, and isn't meant to be a primary element in the story. However, Bana does a pretty good job with what he's given. Nero is at times a little campy, and his portrayal occasionally becomes a caricature of itself. But none of that detracts from the film and I think it's mostly due to how the character was written and directed.

The rest of the cast holds up the backdrop of the film well, but there are few other standouts.

Special Effects: There's just not much to say here other than "awesome." Paramount hired Industrial Light & Magic and spent a fortune on the effects, and it shows.

Aesthetics and other Nerd Stuff: This is the area where Trekkies are most likely to take issue with the new film, and I'm no exception. I want to make clear that none of the criticisms that follow swayed my generally favorable opinion of the film, but they were minor annoyances. And that's not to say it was all bad, either.

For instance, one of the "new" things about this Trek that I liked was the fact that they replaced the formerly-internal viewscreen with an actual window at the front of the bridge (over which data could be overlayed). It made sense, given that the requisite technology for this sort of thing is at hand even in our time. It was a small thing, but I liked it.

I also liked: The "new" uniforms (except the red cadet uniforms, but hey - they're cadet uniforms for a reason), the "new" warp effect (not necessarily better than the old, but I liked it), the "new" transporter effect and...after getting a good look at it and seeing it in action, I actually like the redesigned Enterprise. The Kelvin, other Federation spacecraft and Spacedock were also well done.

What I didn't like: The new hand-held phaser is crap. I'd read about the details when the new toy was released but wasn't prepared for how stupid it looked on-screen. I won't "spoil" it for you, but you'll definitely know what aspect of the prop I'm talking about when you see the movie.

The interior set for engineering onboard both Kelvin and Enterprise was completely lame. I don't know why the rest of the ship is shiny and well thought-out and engineering has to look like a poorly-maintained nuclear power plant. I always liked the idea of the warp core being the "heart" of the ship and making it all distributed throughout a giant space was annoying.

Some of the other tech stuff bothered me. The means by which they achieve the time travel and by which the baddies get their "ultimate weapon" is kind of goofy, but ultimately not important and kind of ignorable. The villain's vessel is scary, but confusing and nonsensical in its design.

For the most part, the other starship interiors were good. The Kelvin bridge was nicely done, and the so-called "iBridge" on Enterprise was not as irritating as I thought it would be (I still think it was a little overboard, but I got over it quickly).

In conclusion, my general impression of the film is definitely positive. I think J.J. Abrams succeeded in making a film that, although it has minor flaws, achieved his goal of not only bringing in a wider audience to the Star Trek universe but also managing to make a Trek film that the fans can enjoy (at least this fan did). And, if the public's reaction to the movie is anything like the reviewers' reactions (from both fans and professional critics) that I've seen, it will hopefully help ignite a rebirth of the franchise that will keep it going for another 40+ years.

Rating: 8 ( Sam Ferguson )

Stardate 2233.04 to 2258.42: In an alternate universe, Starfleet cadets end up on the USS Enterprise and become unlikely heroes in defending the Federation from a terrible threat from the future.

This film brings us back to the origins of the crew of the original USS Enterprise. In doing this, it attempts the near impossible, to appeal to new viewers while trying to remain faithful to more than 40 years of pre-existing Star Trek material. To appeal to new viewers, the look and feel of TOS had to be updated, but then this will contradict with the pre-existing material. The only logical way to overcome this was to move the story to an alternate universe. This frees up the set designers to introduce sets which look cool to new viewers, and directors to create completely new storylines. These, combined with bucketloads of special effects makes Star Trek XI an excellent movie. But I do not think that it is an excellent Star Trek movie.

Moving to a new universe however is very disappointing. Sure this is better than an outright reboot, but this means that for the first time in 40 years, we cannot add the events seen on screen (apart from those of the 24th century) to the Star Trek universe as we know it. I loved to see how Kirk cheated in Kobayashi Maru, or how he met Spock for example, but we can only speculate if things happened even remotely similar in the original universe. Any future movies or TV series will undoubtedly be set in this new universe and further add to this problem. On a side note, the official Star Trek Countdown visual novels were great in closing out the stories of Spock on Romulus and the TNG crew, and explaining things like how the Narada got from a simple mining ship into a terrible weapon and why its crew has those silly tattoos.

Alternate universe aside, I feel there is no reason to change the look of the USS Enterprise purely just for it to look cool to new viewers. I cringed when I saw the disproportional stardrive section and the ugly nacelles of the new design. The original design to me is as historic as the real-life tall ships like Endeavour or HMS Victory and I feel that it has been desecrated. The internal sets were not right too, from the Apple store bridge to the engineering sets which do not look like they belong on a starship. Also why completely change the effects for transporters, weapons fire, etc? I think these changes are completely unnecessary and only serves to cement my perception that the creators of this movie do not care about TOS.

Story-wise, this is a fast paced action movie with lots of fighting. To call it Star Trek seems a bit strange as trek implies a journey or exploration and discovery, which are elements in the best Star Trek stories. I am giving it a 5 as on one hand, it is a great movie to watch, but on the other hand, it is bad for the Star Trek universe that we know and love.

Nitpicking: In my opinion there is visual evidence that suggests that Nero's Narada and Spock were not transported back to the past of the original Trek universe, but the past of an alternate universe. That is, the history of an alternate universe was changed. The crew of the USS Kelvin already have metallic Starfleet arrowhead pins, while we know from TOS that this symbol is unique for the USS Enterprise and only subsequently adopted for the rest of Starfleet. The destruction of the Kelvin, terrible as it was, is not enough to explain how Starfleet technology looks so different. Also any such major change in the timeline will certainly prompt the gang from the 24th century, or even 26th or 29th century timeships to follow the Narada back in time to attempt to correct the changes. Also it would be technically incorrect to call the explosion that destroyed Romulus a supernova, as it still exists after the explosion. The shock wave must have moved at FTL speeds, similar to the explosion on Praxis.

• Remarkable quote: "An alternate reality?" -Uhura. Indeed it is...
• Remarkable dialogue: Spock talking to other Spock
• Remarkable scene: Showing the Vulcan Science Academy hanging like stalactites on a cave
• Remarkable prop: Kirk's stepfather's antique car, with a possibly antique Nokia phone.
• Remarkable fact: Nero's crew are smooth-brow Romulans. In this alternate universe, the numbers in the Stardate before the decimal refers to the year.

Rating: 5 (Tze King Lim)

The new film Star Trek, directed by J.J Abrams has not only wowed audiences of today, but had re-invented the phenomena. Maybe not even re-invented, but erased the entire trek chronology "in favour of its new matrix." Spock with his time tampering ad his assumption that he alone, albeit with help from the Vulcan Science Academy, would be able to prevent the Romulan Sun to go Nova. Needless to say an event like that would alter the political and military situation in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

But, one would assume that the Romulans themselves would be able to evacuate their own planet. But apparently not. The planet was destroyed, Spock along with Nero and his excessively large mining vessel thrown back into the past. With this event, it really did erase everything we know of Star Trek and its entire chronology and setting an open canvass for new stories. One would wonder what the future of Picard, Sisko or Janeway would be now that Nero messed up the space time continuum?

Overall the story was very well produced, with great acting and some noticeable homages to the style fo the old crew. There is a significant amount of humour in this film, in fact it went back and made Star Trek the adventure genre that it was intended to be. So, no real spoilers, just an opinion on what happen and will happen in the newly re-created show.

• Remarkable nitpicking: Uhura mentions some sort of Cardassian beverage. Yeah, those guys don't show up till later.
• Remarkable quote: "Did you leave the parking brakes on?" -Capt. Pike's inquiry to Sulu's navigational faux pas
• Remarkable scene: The intro of the fleet. The destruction of Romulus. The destruction of Vulcan. Kirk having sex with a green woman . First person to die on Enterprise Away (Kirk, Sulu and Olsen) was wearing red.
• Remarkable prop/ship: The new fleet. Three nacelled ship, one nacelle ship, the Narada the Jellyfish ship.
• Remarkable fact: The Vulcans are now a distinct minority within the Federation. "An endangered species." Their way to reproduce is quite limited.

Rating: 10 (HM3(SW) Jeff Priela (USS Ponce LPD-15))

Stardate 2233.44 and 2258.42: The new movie (contains some spoilers)

The most impressive special effects I've seen in ages. I loved the opening sweep of the USS Kelvin the sound track added levels of poignancy to the movie. It is interesting to note that the only tv series which isn't altered by the new movie is Enterprise. It is hard to fault this movie and it is nice to see that the writers remembered that in the original series it was Spock or McCoy who tended to be successful with female encounters. I would have loved to have seen more of the fleet that was sent to Vulcan but it was nice to see T'Mir and Surak classes in the movie.

• Remarkable quote: "Out of the chair." (Captain Spock to First officer Kirk)

Rating: 10 (amos greig)

Let me say first that I really enjoyed this film. Once I got over how Nero changed the Trek universe I have lived with for the last 40 years.

Only a a couple of things really bugged me;

Uhura and Spock. It just didn't seem right to me, ok, I'll get over it.

Someone else mentioned this also, but what happened to their phasers when they parachuted onto the drill platform. If Sulu could bring a sword...

Transwarp beaming of Kirk and Scotty to the Enterprise. I didn't think that the transporters on a shuttle were capable of beaming over great distances, let alone at transwarp speeds. Was the Enterprise not that far away?

Rating: 9 (Les)

Stardate 2258.42: Worlds will live. Worlds will die. And the universe will never be the same. It's the Crisis on Infinite Star Treks.

Actually, I wrote the review in Portuguese and put it up on my blog's accessory pages. Bernd, please take no offense, I really only mean to diversify. The review is here: http://sratoz.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/star-trek-redux/ .

• Tip of the hat: Kirk eating apple as Kobayashi Maru comes to his fruition -- much like he ate another while explaining his cheating to Saavik...
• Plot hole: Spock would never have thrown Kirk out of his ship, no matter what. This is completely out of character.
• Character flaw: Spock would never kiss anyone in front of third parties. That would be an assumption of emotion and an impairment of ship's efficiency. Not to say, he would never have dated an apprentice! There is still some ethics in the 23rd century.
• Deus ex machina: There is no causality that would make Kirk land on the same planet where Spock-Nimoy had been stranded. That was a rabbit out of Abrams's hat and completely unjustified.
• A nod to the classics: All mandatory noises are there: the viewscreen's "caged bird", the transporter's whine, the alarms...
• Tip of the hat: George Kirk had been so named in the books. And, in an aside, Winona was the name of Jim Kirk's mother , as is the name of the actress who portrays Spock's mother ...

Rating: 9 (João Paulo Cursino)

First of all, seeing the first images of the new Enterprise and the general style of the movie I was not very enthusiastic about watching it. But, I have been a Star Trek fan for 22 years now and so far, I have given every incarnation a chance and therefore it was a must to see the movie. Was I disappointed when I left the cinema? Well, I did not expect much and the movie has not surprised me in a positive way. All in all I will just give it 4 out of 10 points. Two points for the many well-placed in-jokes and references to TOS. I particularly liked the scenes on Vulcan with young Spock and the other Vulcan boys, a perfect reference to TAS: "Yesteryear". The other two points go to Leonard Nimoy, it was just great to see him again especially since I already wanted to see him in "Nemesis". I also agree that the actors did their best to fit into their roles, I just felt that Scotty and Chekov were a bit over the top. The Romulans, unfortunately, play the standard villains and their leader Nero is just a copy of Khan or Shinzon. The whole story did not impress me at all, the entire time travel business was not at all convincing and the destruction of Vulcan did not really shock me, I just found it very irritating that nothing was done to reverse it. Abrams himself said that he is more of a Star Wars fan than Star Trek... agreed, he made the movie in many ways similar to the SW franchise... but Star Trek is NOT Star Wars and despite the different look I always expect to see Star Trek as I know it. This movie certainly does not belong to the Star Trek I like. Finally, I am happy for everybody who enjoyed the movie but I will not watch it a second time.

• Remarkable error: Vulcan's blue sky, the "Factory Look" of the engine room, the multiple warp cores of the Enterprise, bad science concerning the black hole phenomenon...
• Remarkable scene: Uhura embracing Spock... what the hell???
• Remarkable ships: The new Enterprise... the ugliest Enterprise ever including the "Apple store" bridge. The Kelvin... actually an interesting design, if one overlooks the interior. The Narada... and I thought it could not get worse after the Scimitar.
• Remarkable fact: Since when do we build our starships on the ground?

Rating: 4 (Timm)

Stardate not given: [SPOILERS] The long-awaited reboot of the franchise arrives. A rebellious young Kirk hooks up with Spock and McCoy aboard the Enterprise where they are instantly thrown into the action against Nero, a vengeful Romulan from the future and the killer of Kirk's father. Captain Pike, in an effort to protect his crew and give Kirk and Sulu a chance to save Vulcan, gives himself up to Nero. Unfortunately, Kirk and Sulu don't manage to save Vulcan, where Spock's mother dies before him as he tries to save her. After ditching Kirk on Delta Vega, Spock warps off to join the rest of Starfleet. With help from Montgomery Scott and future Spock, Kirk returns to the Enterprise and takes command in time to thwart Nero's plan to destroy Earth. Captain Pike survives and Kirk is permanently promoted to Captain, along with the crew we all know so well of Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, McCoy Scotty and Spock.

To be clear, this IS a reboot. TNG, DS9, VOY, maybe even ENT... forget them; there is every possibility none of them happen the way fans remember. And personally I have no problem with that. Star Trek is all about accepting diversity and change, so why shouldn't we welcome a new and fresh vision of the show and movies we all love? Just because this story changes the timeline and ditches everything that came before it doesn't mean we have to choose between one or the other.

That said, I'll say a little something about the movie as a whole.

Abrams had an impossibly high bar to jump over, and he managed the impossible. Spock, Kirk and McCoy steal the show and are flawless representations of the characters we remember so well. Kirk is slightly more dogged and brash, Spock is younger and his human side shows more, but for the most part they are all the same. The Enterprise looks fine. When I first saw it I didn't like it, but after seeing it in action I don't have a problem with it. The initial introduction of the ship was a throwback to the Motion Picture introduction of the new Enterprise, which, despite being less grand and majestic (and shorter), shared the feeling of wonder and awe at seeing THE ship.

Nero, the bad guy, was a disappointment. As a character he had real potential, but the fast pace of the movie and the emphasis on the heroes prevented him from really developing as a character. Sadly the need to focus on other things left him out of the spotlight, and we as fans were left with a generic, run-of-the-mill bad guy.

To get more nit-picky, I was disappointed with the engineering room; and I've read a few things from people online who echo this sentiment. It looked much too out of place with the rest of the ship. It looked more like the bowels of the Titanic or the inside of a factory. I'm guessing Abrams chose it for its size so that it would convey the feeling of the Enterprise being big.

Chekov's accent was way too thick and overdone.

Where are the shields? The dialogue kept mentioning the weakening shields like we are all familiar with in Trek battles, but we never saw them on screen. Fail Abrams.

The bridge viewscreen being a window of glass? Come on.

What was up with the phasers? I couldn't really tell but they seemed to have revolving barrels or something. Kinda stupid if you ask me. I guess it was just something to make them look "cooler" without actually having any rational explanation for it. Oh, and beams. I miss the beams. For some reason I've always equated beams with Star Trek and energy pulses with Star Wars.

Kirk rose up in rank way too fast. He went from cadet to Captain in a day.

The action was good, but unfortunately its pervasiveness made the movie a bit too fast for me. The humor was amazingly well placed and thought-out.

I'd like to say more but my memory is already slipping on the details. I'll have to go see the movie a second time. I'd definitely recommend this to everyone, Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. Hopefully a sequel will be made that will be free of all the expectations this one was under and have the advantage of a greater appreciation of this new universe. 9/10 (nothing's perfect, right?)

• Remarkable ships: The Enterprise AND the Kelvin . Both uber badass.
• Remarkable quote: "All I've got left are my bones." (McCoy, explaining where his nickname came from).
• Remarkable dialogue: "Do you have a numb tongue?" - "NUMB TONGUE?!?!" (McCoy trying to treat Kirk)
• Remarkable character: Captain Pike. Originally a throwaway hero, now a father figure for Kirk. Awesome.
• Remarkable scene: Engineer Olsen. Even in alternate realities redshirts die dumb deaths.
• Remarkable fact: Five warp cores? Or was it six?

Rating: 9 (Dylan Riley)

Stardate not given: This is my Star Trek review, posted previously at my website, Steve Likes to Curse, as part of Star Trek Week. I felt like sharing.

I haven't been watching Star Trek as long as some. The television series had been off the air for eleven years when I was born, and the first entry of the film series had already come and gone. Still, we go back a ways. When I was around eleven or twelve my dad and I went up to spend the weekend at the clubhouse at Woodmont, a private hunt club he and my grandfather used to work at as guides. Hank, the club manager and my self-appointed honorary uncle, met us outside and stage-whispered to me that "Star Trek: The Search for Spock is on tonight at eight o'clock!" So we sat there in the great room of the Woodmont clubhouse, the three of us, and watched Star Trek III together.

And let me tell you what I remembered most fondly about that when I thought back on it earlier today. We didn't nitpick the bridge looking different than in Star Trek II, or Lt. Saavik being played by a different actress. We didn't question the plausibility of Kirk, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov being able to steal the Enterprise and fly it to Vulcan all by themselves. We didn't struggle to explain why the Klingons in the movies looked entirely different from the Klingons in the TV show, but no one seemed to notice — if we brought it up at all, it was to laugh at it affectionately. We smiled, we joked, when Kirk disintegrated a Klingon with a quick-draw phaser blast, Hank's eyebrows went up and he said "Nice shot." We never got hung up on technicalities or minute matters of canon or continuity. In short, we enjoyed ourselves, and we didn't ask anything more of Star Trek than it wanted to give us.

That — and rather long-windedly, at that — is why I enjoyed the new Star Trek film. It was made by writers, producers, and a director who are obviously great fans of the franchise — not canon nazis, not zealous super-fans who insist that every utterance, every fleeting visual agree perfectly with everything else in the last 42-years' worth of this stuff. It is the least nerdy, most accessible, and most fun Star Trek film I have ever seen.

But that isn't to say it's the best. The highest compliment I can pay this movie, which I liked a hell of a lot, is to say that it didn't feel like the eleventh Star Trek film. It felt more like an adaptation of the original television series, as though the previous ten movies had never happened. Objectively, very little in Star Trek is all that original. The characters, played by new actors, with a few tweaks here and there, are essentially the same as they were on TV in the 1960s. The scenario, involving a time-traveling alien bent on revenge, with the Enterprise the only thing standing in his way, is fucking Star Trek 101. But it's remarkable what a fresh set of eyes can do. J.J. Abrams and the rest of his production team have really accomplished something with this film's look and feel. Star Trek hasn't been this fresh since Nicholas Meyer took the helm for Star Trek II. And the work of Abrams and company here is even more impressive. Meyer had to work with the leftovers of Star Trek: The Motion Picture; Abrams is starting over entirely.

Bernd Schneider can relax — the ship still has the same configuration as before and Spock is still a dude (both of him). But this version of the Star Trek universe seems much closer to our own reality than its predecessors. Passengers on shuttlecraft are obliged to buckle their seatbelts, photon torpedoes actually look like torpedoes, and generally the various areas of the ship we see feel more like locations than sets erected on soundstages. Ship-to-ship communications sound much like the transmissions sent by NASA astronauts, which I thought was a nice touch. And the various buttons and gizmos at the fingertips of the crew look like they have actual functions, instead of being random looking arrangements of jelly beans and Jolly Ranchers.

To these design touches, Abrams adds a multitude of lens flares and naturalistic camera moves, including a nice one where the shot tilts to the side after a ship jumps to warp speed, as though the camera has been caught in its wake.

There's more to recommend Star Trek than the visuals. Like I said, the story moves along familiar lines, but Abrams and his writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman manage to give the presentation a mythic quality. And key scenes, particularly the prologue involving James Kirk's doomed father, and a brief scene between Spock and his father following a devastating tragedy, pack an impressive emotional wallop. The filmmakers hit the perfect tone, too — sincere but not over-serious, irreverent without lapsing into self-parody.

Composer Michael Giacchino helps give this Star Trek fresh ears, too, writing a brand new score that avoids all the familiar musical themes until the Alexander Courage theme from the original TV series plays over the closing credits. And while not all the dialogue is great, it's almost entirely free of the meaningless technobabble that has infested Star Trek shows since the beginning. By the time the Star Trek: Voyager series came along, entire scenes consisted of nothing but conversations based around inertial dampers and Heisenberg compensators. Here, the tech talk is fleeting and mostly kept to the background.

Don't let me leave you with the impression that everything works here. The acting is terrific for the most part — particularly Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the new Kirk and Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, and the flawless Bruce Greenwood as Captain Pike — but one big soft spot is Leonard Nimoy, in a small but important role as Old Spock, who, like the villainous Romulan Captain Nero, has accidentally traveled back in time from the next century. He gets a great entrance, a brilliantly staged scene with Kirk in an ice cave that reminded me of the frozen wilderness that frames Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. But there's something very off about Nimoy's performance. He's too loose, too comfortable, too much of himself, maybe. He speaks and acts nothing like Spock ever has, and most of his line readings sound like narration from a video game.

The script goes a little heavy on the foreshadowing. Young Kirk hears repeatedly about how he will be a great starship captain one day, both from Old Spock and from Nero, but do we really need that? Isn't that a foregone conclusion? That heavy-handedness and some very clunky dialogue spoil what could have been a great moment when Nero tells Kirk that he was "a great man. But that was another life." At least that's how the line went in the trailer; in the film it's got lots of extra words and doesn't have nearly the same impact.

Additionally, the rapidity of Kirk's rise to the captaincy and the assembly of the classic crew is a stretch, I think. Kirk goes from a third-year cadet to the captain of the fleet's brand new flagship within — what, a few days at the most? It's not totally implausible; Abrams presents Starfleet as a smaller, more upstart organization than we've seen before, so promising new officers getting fast promotions, especially following heroic, galaxy-saving adventures, isn't out of the question. And getting Kirk into the big chair by the end is the whole point of the movie. But it all happens awfully fast, and it seems like lots of faceless superior officers have to bite the dust to clear the road for Kirk, McCoy, and the rest. Still, I much prefer rushing things a little like this to the George Lucas route of dragging a threadbare prequel plot out for three fucking movies to tell a story that nobody needed to see in the first place.

And while this movie handles humor a lot more adroitly than Star Trek traditionally has, there are some failed attempts at low comedy, particularly when Kirk experiences complications from a vaccine, like swollen hands and a tongue that goes numb while he tries to relay critical information. Kirk's annoyance at McCoy constantly sticking him the neck with syringes to treat the symptoms is funny, at least.

So no, it's not a perfect movie. It's still a damn good one. Nothing that's going to change your life, nothing you're going to remember thirty years from now, nothing that ought to be studied frame-by-frame in film class — but a hell of a lot of fun, and an impressive fresh start for the Star Trek franchise. Ever since I first read Harlan Ellison's original screenplay for the classic TV episode "The City on the Edge of Forever," I've thought it would be a good idea to recast the classic crew with younger actors and go back to telling Captain Kirk stories for awhile. Star Trek is a great first step down that road. It feels as rousing and new as any movie based on a 40-year-old television series could be, and provides the Star Trek franchise with the fresh breath of life it so very much needed.

I wonder what Hank would think of it.

Rating: 8 (Steve Shives)

As a bright, loud, jangly summer blockbuster, ST XI succeeds admirably. -- As a thoughtful movie about beloved characters, it pretty much fails.

The pacing is frantic, the story is thin, the characters and acting are variable.

This movie feels made by someone who was told what Star Trek should be, but had never seen it themselves. I guess that's true considering only one member of the producing crew seems calls themselves a fan (but of TNG, primarily, not the story they are telling here).

The plot is fairly ludicrous, and this movie focuses on the least important part of the story. They should have made a movie out of the prequel comic and focussed on the epic threat to the universe and one man's need for revenge instead of these stupid chases and pointless phaser-fights.

But this is the problem with most action pictures starting with James Bond and continuing through to Michael Bay and beyond. There is only enough story to get from one action set-piece to another without really examining the motives and qualities of anyone involved. Instead of looking at what festering hate does to a man like Nero (for 25 yrs!), our heroes are only concerned with cutting the red or blue wire. Some movies can skate by like that, but Star Trek has generally given us more.

Again, this is summer blockbuster movie-making, not thoughtful science fiction. Time-travel, duplicate characters, black-holes, faster then light travel, and transporting are treated like items on a checklist instead of the ingredients for an epic space opera.

This even has an obligatory romance motivated by nothing and telling us even less about the respective participants.

Pine and Quinto are fine in their respective roles of Kirk and Spock, bringing the necessary emotional underpinning to their otherwise underwritten characters.

Karl Urban as McCoy seems to be over-acting the worst of the character's traits and is given a couple of terrible "I'm a doctor... " lines out of sheer fan-service. I want to see more of the bitter divorcee.

John Cho as Sulu is solid. Anton Yelchin brings a youthful exuberance that suits the young Chekov. Unfortunately, both Sulu and Chekov are made to look like fools in their introductory scenes.

Zoe Saldana as Uhura is lovely and smart, but never gave me the idea that she has ever been near Africa. Sulu, Chekov and Uhura all get a little more screen time than we've seen in the past and it's all welcome.

Scotty shows up late in the story primarily for a little comic relief. Simon Pegg plays Scotty with a light touch, but the character as written is made to look more like a lucky fool than brilliant & dedicated.

As an origin story, no one really gets their due (except, maybe, Spock). All of the other characters are sketched in movie-making short-hand without any sense of why they are doing any of this and why they want to do it as a group.

Eric Bana as Nero is menacing enough but has so little screen time and so few lines, it barely registers that he is a Romulan or why he's here.

Leonard Nimoy is underused and could easily have been replaced by a character named 'Ambassador Exposition'. He is given a nice farewell scene and funny line, but young Spock seems singularly unaffected by the whole chain of events.

This movie is fast and loud, underwritten and over-produced. The acting is good and the direction shows a sure hand, even if it's all lost in the flash edits.

As a movie it is an efficient thrill delivery system, but hardly thoughtful science fiction or satisfying space opera.

As a long-time fan, I can only accept this as taking place in a completely parallel universe (or that it is a reboot regardless of what anyone says to the contrary).

Little here conforms to anything we have seen previously and even Spock Prime is a stranger to these eyes. A little bit of my fantasy life died today.

Rating: 3 (AdmNaismith)

Stardate not given: A thrill ride with a heart and a great reboot to the series in a stroke of genius by the filmmakers.

In short, I give it an 9 out of 10. Otherwise, spoilers ahead.

This is not Roddenberry's Star Trek. This is not Wise's Star Trek nor Harve Bennett's nor Nicholas Meyer's. It is the amalgamation of each with bits of the four spin-off series, yet is nothing like any of them. This is a liberated Trek that is able to pull the fruits of its choosing from the tree while not being tethered to canon. It's exhilarating, innovative, and damn good-looking. It's not a perfect movie, but it's a thrill ride with a heart. It's akin to peeling through your childhood neighborhood in a Mustang when you've previously only seen the view from your bicycle. It feels familiar, but it's a whole lot faster.

The window to this new world is Jim Kirk. The premise of an alternate timeline is pitch perfect, and its explanation three fourths through the film ripples back to the opening scene to establish this James T. Kirk as a completely different character than the one portrayed by William Shatner. Shatner's Kirk was born and bred Starfleet, and by the time we meet him, even in the original series, he's an officer through and through, a thoroughbred captain with a honed balance of bravado and experience. It's important to understand that Chris Pine's Kirk (and his inevitable crew) is displaced. It plays as a tragedy the more I reflect on it. The Nero may not have accomplished everything he set out to do, but he won. He won the moment his ship unwittingly traveled back in time and destroyed the USS Kelvin. Shatner's Kirk was born on that ship and probably spent his infancy and toddler years there in blissful security and stability. Pine's Kirk is born into chaos and war, with the death of his father and the destruction of his would-be home. He's orphaned from Starfleet, and this film is about his journey to find his destiny. New Kirk makes Old Kirk look like Picard by comparison. This is a true maverick. By the end, when the usual suspects are functioning officially as a crew for the first time, we get the eerie sense that this was meant to happen regardless of any time-space continuum anomalies.

Only this time, it's different, and that's pure genius on the part of the filmmakers. They can play in this universe on their own terms and with distinctly different versions of our fundamentally similar characters. It's this attribute that feels uniquely J.J. Abrams and makes me long for the opening episodes of Lost again. The Romulan ship's appearance parallels the crash of Oceanic flight 815, and the familiar Star Trek characters are effectively lost. Aside from Kirk, the best example is Quinto's Spock. He is still the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer we'll rely on for reason and quiet leadership, but he has suffered loss greater than any of us could imagine. Add to this meeting his older self and being told to trust his feelings, he's on a much different path than Nimoy's Spock, who always seemed more Vulcan than human.

The film has its flaws. The beginning feels like paint-by-numbers filmmaking, maybe because the first 20 minutes contain 90% of what we've seen in the trailers and clips, so I was able to anticipate it. Sometime along the 40-minute mark, though, I felt a lurch in my stomach. I can't be here expecting a recreation of the original series, I realized. This is all uncharted territory, and it's exciting as hell.

The three-year jump cut was jarring. I don't need to see Kirk's every moment in the academy, but a little peek inside that time period would have been interesting.

The ending reminded me of superhero origin movies — this was a fun adventure, but it was foreplay, the set up for what's to come. It begs to be continued, and I was left thinking, "Okay. That was cool. Now where shall we go?"

Like all good Trek movies have ended.

Rating: 9 ( Chad-Michael Simon )

Stardate not given: Synopsis in main TOS listing

As Captain Picard once said, "Well... it seems we're truly sailing into the unknown" .

One of the many great things about this movie is not only it has the concept of "This is not your father's Star Trek", while still being "your father's Star Trek". In short, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek is not a reboot, but the same old Star Trek pushed into unknown territory.

The movie is not one big homage to the original series, but flows with not only the original series, but the entire legacy as well. And as any good Star Trek film, or any good sequel/prequel/installment, you don't need to know any of the other movies to understand it. What is even better that even with the alterations to the time line, much of what is known about Star Trek's legacy is still maintained, including the Kobayashi Maru scenario.

From a Trekkie's point of view, that even the course of Star Trek history has been drastically changed, it doesn't have the "screw the original series" feel, but rather that we are now boldly going where no one has gone before, and what is to happen with Star Trek with these drastic historic changes. Sailing into the unknown.

Star Trek blends comedy, suspense and action perfectly, though it hardly give you time to breathe. Basically, the one scene from The Last Samurai where Tom Cruise took out 3 assassins at once and later the events caught up with him. This is the feeling you get from this movie at the end. Where it all finally comes together. With all that, it also has the same fantastic feel as did the original Star Trek did, making the old seem new again, and not betraying Star Trek at all.

The Enterprise is a beauty. Keeping it true to Walter "Matt" Jefferies original design, while re-envisioning the look of the 23rd century by today's standards and keeping it true to Star Trek legacy. The design of the bridge, transporter room, everything, as though the designers have the technology to extract imagination directly out of imagination itself.

Onto the characters. Chris Pine's portrayal of James Tiberius Kirk (why he left it as James T.) is shown a someone who is very impulsive, cocky, and ready to use his fists, while at the same time showing his light hearted side and that sense of apprehension. In other words, exactly like James T. Kirk. He does not portray him as William Shatner did, but that would be more like a parody as shown many times over.

The case of the 2 Spock's, their performances are, I wouldn't say identical, rather they are almost indistinguishable from each other. Both Zachary Quinto who does a nice performance of the same old Spock we all know and love, and Leonard Nimoy able to go back to his famous role after 18 years.

Probably the best performance is Karl Urban as Doctor Leonard McCoy where he is not doing an impression of DeForest Kelley as McCoy, but that his performance is almost a dead ringer for that of DeForest.

Altogether, this is by far the best Star Trek I have ever seen, and recommend it to both the fans and the non-fans.

• Remarkable error: Kirk's eyes were originally brown. They are now blue.
• "Your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. He saved over 800 lives, including yours." (Pike, to Kirk)
• "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." (McCoy)
• Remarkable ship: The Enterprise. What a beauty! Making it look like the ship was from the 23rd century from the vision of the 21st century, while at the same time keeping it true to the original design. And the saucer looks more like the saucer from the motion picture, making it easier to refit the Enterprise for the motion picture.
• Remarkable set: The bridge. The look of the bridge is still true to the design but like the rest of the Enterprise, making it look like it actually belongs to the 23rd century from the view of the 21st century.
• Remarkable fact: The origin of Bones' nickname: "All she left me was bones."

Rating: 10 (Robert H.)

All right, I will address some of the negatives presented here and elsewhere. There will be spoilers, so you have been warned.

• Yes, Vulcan got eaten. A planet was destroyed much like Star Wars or the threat presented in Nemesis. Could they have come up with a different threat? Perhaps. But recycling a threat did not hurt Star Trek IV any.
• The movie moved too fast. I do not think so. It was two hours of action packed excitement and I was able to easily follow what was going on. The film had to introduce all the characters and provide an origin of this new universe, so it had a lot of ground to cover.
• Parts made no sense (i.e. Kirk getting command of the Enterprise). True, some elements were a stretch, but we have seen similar implausibilities before in 'Trek; people serving for fifteen years on the same ship without promotions regardless of a war going on, for example. Or people staying the rank of ensign for seven years. At least in Kirk's case it was about a reward for saving Earth and avenging Vulcan. -- Trek reviewer sfdebris pointed out in one of his reviews that people are willing to provide a suspension of disbelief if the story is written well enough, and where this movie was concerned I was quite willing to cut the writers a lot of slack because I enjoyed myself a great deal.
• Alternate universe? Sure, why not? Is it any sillier than seeing God in the middle of the galaxy? Or the massive plot holes delivered in Insurrection? Or the Star Trek II rip off that was Nemesis? And the way it was presented does not invalidate the good (and bad) 'Trek presented before.

Honestly, I loved this movie. I laughed, something I have not done with a 'Trek movie in years. I gave a damn about the characters, something I have not done since First Contact (and that includes the television series Voyager and Enterprise). The visuals were stunning, something the past two films were sorely lacking. And the cast was spot on while Picard and company felt tired and worn out in the last couple films.

I pray the movie does well enough so I can see more of Pine, Quinto and company return again and again.

Rating: 8 (katefan)

Stardate 2233.04-2258.42 (or something). Stardate 2233.04: Federation survey vessel USS Kelvin NCC-0514 was attacked by Nero and the Narada that emerged form the 24th century. With the Kelvin's captain killed and the ship heavily damaged, acting captain George Kirk ordered the crew to evacuate the ship as he plots a ramming course towards the massive Romulan ship, destroying the Kelvin and saving 800 lives...and causing an alternate timeline. Stardate 2258.42-.46: Federation starship USS Enterprise NCC-1701 investigates a disturbance and a swarm of a destroyed fleet over Vulcan which was caused by the massive Narada. Captain Christopher Pike, after leaving Spock in command, and on his way to the Narada, ejects James T. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, and Olsen (redshirt with bullseye) onto the Narada's drilling rig. Olsen was killed in action, and Kirk and Sulu was nearly killed before beaming out. Vulcan was destroyed by Red Matter that was deployed inside the planet's core. Kirk, having been knocked out, was ejected to Delta Vega, where he met Spock Prime. Kirk has learned that in the year 2387, Spock saved the galaxy, but not before Romulus was destroyed by the Hobus Supernova. Nero wanted revenge, so he was pulled into the black hole to destroy Vulcan....and his next target is Earth. They meet another person named Scotty, who, like Kirk, was exiled to D.V. Using the Transwarp formula, Kirk and Scott were beamed back to the Enterprise to relieve Spock of command. Elder Spock's plan worked, and Kirk assumes command of the Enterprise and rescue Pike, saves the Earth, and destroys the Narada with Spock's help. After the "Narada Incident", Pike's promoted to Admiral (and in a wheelchair), and Kirk's been promoted to the full rank of Captain, and with Science Officer Spock, Dr. McCoy, and his new crew of the Enterprise, they will "explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before."

I'm a man of few words, so I'll just come out and say it: It's my first review I've done with this movie. I'll say what I've said about this movie: I LOVE THAT MOVIE! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL! It was incredible, wonderful, funny, yet dark, and filled with danger (I lllooooooove danger ^^). It's sad to see Amanda die, though...and the planet Vulcan destroyed.

• "I may throw up on you." -McCoy
• "So, the Enterprise has had its maiden voyage, has it? She is one really fine lady. I like to get my hands on her ample nacelles if you'll pardon the engineering parlance" -Scotty
• "Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. Solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait till you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're so relaxed when your eyeballs bleed. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence." - "I hate to break it to you, but Starfleet operates in space." - "Yeah. Well, I got nowhere else to go. The ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones." -Kirk and McCoy
• "Space: the final frontier. These are continuing the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before." -Elder Spock (final lines)
• Remarkable scene: In the bar in Iowa, during the fight, Kirk "accidentally" grabbed Uhura's breasts, and got smacked. Later, in the Academy, Kirk sees Uhura from under the bed as she strips her uniform, but she can hear him breath though his mouth. If I were him, I'd stay quiet as possible. ^_~
• Remarkable prop/ships: I love the new phaser design. Switching emitters from stun to kill is impressive. At first, I didn't like the new design of the USS Enterprise, but now that I've seen her in action, and that I understand that it's in the alternate timeline, I got used to the new design. I wish the DST would make that model better than Playmates.
• Remarkable fact: The Klingon D-7 battlecruisers still retain their hull design in the "no-win situation".

Rating: 10 (Eric Gardner)

Stardate not given: The USS Kelvin is in the process of investigating a mysterious "lightning storm in space" when a massive ship giving off a Romulan energy signature emerges from this distortion. When the Commander of the menacing ship forces the Kevin's Captain to fly a shuttle aboard for "negotiations", first officer George Kirk takes command. He gives his life helping his crew and family, including newborn son James T. Kirk escape by shuttle, altering history forever. Several years later an angry Jim Kirk is encouraged by Captain Christopher Pike to join Starfleet. He does, and in his third year he is thrown into a desperate situation in which he and the young crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 must face the very same vessel that destroyed his father's ship. This massive ship, which is revealed to be from the distant twenty-fourth century, destroys the planet Vulcan using a substance only known as "Red Matter" which is dense enough to create black holes, leaving the Vulcan race only ten thousand strong. After meeting Ambassador Spock, also from the future, Kirk learns that the Romulan Commander Nero is seeking retribution for Spock's and the Federation's failure to save Romulus from destruction in Nero's time. Armed with this knowledge now Acting Captain Kirk sets off on a quest to defeat Nero and save not only Earth but the entire Federation from Nero's wrath.

This movie made extensive (unacknowledged) use of the "Butterfly Effect", which states that even the slightest change to history could change the present until it is barely recognizable. Though no technology from the future made it to Starfleet of the past, the USS Enterprise was an entirely different and in many ways vastly superior ship. Also, believe it or not, Spock and Uhura (yes, Uhura) have a relationship in this new timeline. This is just one aspect of this much more Human Spock's personality that is explored in this movie. Aspects of Starfleet technology was just completely different, such as segmented warp cores and view screens that double as windows. But (and this is coming from an avid fan of the original Enterprise) the redesigned ship was simply beautiful. The situation that lead to Kirk taking eventual command of the ship in a time of crisis was entirely plausible and entirely Star Trek. The young actors played their parts exceedingly well, and at times I even forgot that I was looking at anyone but the characters that I loved from the original series and the subsequent movies. Kirk was confident and was stricken with a perpetual swagger. McCoy was pompous and sarcastic. Scotty was loud and brash and full of his own brilliance. Chekov was young and overly eager. Sulu was, well, Sulu. And Spock, despite his differences, was just as logical as always, and just as perpetually torn between his two heritages. The way that the characters all came together despite the differences in the timeline was inspiring, though somewhat unlikely. Despite all of the technological differences and new special effects, the movie gave me chills at times. J.J. and his writers reminded me that Star Trek is not about the props and the effects, but the people, and the story, both of which were, in my opinion, portrayed perfectly.

• Nitpicking: The movie was filled with minor differences that just weren't necessary. Though the "Butterfly Effect" can be used to explain all of them away, it reaches a point where it's just too convenient. Many of these differences, though not the end of the world, just didn't sit right with me.
• Remarkable quote: "I am and always shall be your friend" -Ambassador Spock to Cadet Kirk, "The wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All she left me was my bones." -Leonard McCoy to Kirk.
• Remarkable scene: Ambassador Spock's conversation with Commander Spock. As if Leonard Nimoy were passing the torch to this new actor who would inherit from him a difficult and beloved character.
• Remarkable prop: Hikaru Sulu's compound Katana. I just loved it, and I want one.
• Remarkable fact: Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is marooned on Delta Vega for beaming "Admiral Archer's prized Beagle" to another planet to prove a point to a colleague. I laughed so hard.

Rating: 9 ( legendhiro )

Stardate not given: Most entertaining of Star Trek films

Of all Trek films, this is the first one that did not feel like an extra long TV episode. Consistency may not have been adhered to to everyone's liking but I was a rousing story with very good acting and fleshing out of characters. The movie could be interpreted as Trek is essentially starting over but I think that could be a good thing. I'll still keep my DS9 DVDs, my models of ships from the previous Trek incarnations and collect new ones, both from this movie and previous ones, as they become available.

There were some set that I would have like to have seen done better (engineering, mostly) but I enjoyed this Trek film more than anyone previous.

Rating: 9 (Michael Paquette)

Es war der Schöpfer der gefeierten Science-Fiction-Serie Babylon 5, Joe Michael Straczinsky, der Star Trek einmal mit einem edlen Sportwagen verglich. Paramount als Rechteinhaber war dermaßen besorgt einen möglichen Wertverlust zu riskieren, dass der Wagen kaum noch das Tageslicht sah und in der Garage verstaubte. So geschah es, dass Star Trek irgendwo in den Neunzigern, kurz nach dem Höhepunkt seiner Popularität, stehengeblieben war. Fast all die Entwicklungen der modernen (TV-)Science-Fiction wurden verschlafen, was letzendlich zur Absetzung der zwar leidlich bemühten, aber nicht mehr zeitgemäßen Serie Star Trek - Enterprise und damit zum vorzeitigen Ende des Franchises führte.

Fast auf den Tag vier Jahre später nun schickt J.J. Abrams sich an all die Versäumnisse der späten Berman-Ära aufzuholen und das Vehikel Star Trek mit Vollgas wieder auf Kurs zu bringen. Und zwar im Rückwärtsgang.

Die Idee, die Abenteuer des jungen Kirk und Spock auf der Akademie in einem Film zu thematisieren, war schon zu Zeiten des ehemaligen Trek-Produzenten Harve Bennett im Gespräch. Dieser war 1991 nicht der Meinung, dass man dem Kinopublikum noch mal die alten Herren der Enterprise in ihrem nunmehr sechsten Abenteuer zumuten könne. Ganz abgesehen davon, dass sicherlich auch Überlegungen, dass junge, unbekannte Schauspieler mit Sicherheit weniger kostenintensiv für die Produktion wären als Shatner und Nimoy eine Rolle spielten. Diese Idee war und ist im Fandom bestenfalls...umstritten, zeigt aber auch welche Faszination von der Konstellation der klassischen Trek-Figuren ausgeht. Kirk und Spock sind das Herz und der Verstand der Serie gewesen, dies zu erkennen sollte dem Autorenduo Kurtzman/Ocri nicht schwer gefallen sein.

Diese schaffen es eine interessante und spaßige Story auf die Leinwand zu bannen, die durchaus den Geist von Star Trek atmet. Zumindest jedenfalls den Geist von Star Trek im Kino. Denn auch in den vorangegangenen Kinoausflügen der Enterprise könnte man bemängeln, dass die Geschichten oftmals reichlich dünn waren. Daraus resultiert die Meinung, dass Star Trek seine Wirkung wahrscheinlich nur im Fernsehen voll entfalten kann und die Filme eine Art kurzweilige Dreingabe dazu sind. Vollkommen logisch und nachvollziehbar ist das Script jedenfalls nicht immer. Das Ende verlangt zum Beispiel sicherlich ein bisschen Augenzudrücken, denn dass Kirk direkt von der Akademie zum Captain befördert wird, ist wohl nur der Realität des Films und einem potenziellen Sequel geschuldet. Doch um der Wahrheit die Ehre zu geben: damit wird ja beinahe eine Tradition aufrecht erhalten, denn wie der erste, sowie der vierte, fünfte und siebte ST-Film zeigten, hat sich Kirk ohnehin nie in einem anderen Rang als dem des Captains wohlgefühlt.

Und wirklich unverbraucht ist die Geschichte um Zeitreisen (Teil IV und VIII) und Rachsucht (Teil II und X) natürlich auch nicht, weder für das Kino generell, noch für Star Trek. Gänzlich neu hingegen ist die Präsentation. J.J. Abrams inszeniert den elften Teil der Reihe rasanter als jeden Vorgänger und schöpft sein großzügiges Budget von 150 Mio. Dollar dabei sichtlich aus. Zum Vergleich: der erfolgreichste Star-Trek-Film, Der Erste Kontakt, spielte 1996 weltweit überhaupt "nur" 146 Mio ein. Und dennoch fühlt man sich nicht überrannt und als Zuschauer nicht ernst genommen, wie es in so vielen anderen Filmen dieser Tage der Fall ist. Star Trek XI ist einfach ganz anders und doch irgendwie vertraut, der Spagat gelingt tatsächlich, was z.B. im Score deutlich wird. Für viele ein Schwachpunkt der Produktion, halte ich die Mischung aus klassischen Trek-Arrangements und Micheal Giacchino Kompositionen sowohl passend als auch gelungen. In mir erzeugten sie dieses Kribbeln endlich wieder ein Enterprise-Abenteuer auf der Leinwand erleben zu dürfen.

Auch der Vorwurf, Star Trek würde unter Abrams' Egide zu einem seelenlosen SFX- und Action-Vehikel verkommen, muss sich als falsch herausstellen. Mehr geschossen oder gekämpft als bspw. in Star Trek - Nemesis wird hier auch nicht. Vielmehr untersucht Abrams die Beziehung zwischen Spock und Kirk, zwei Figuren, die unterschiedlicher kaum sein könnten und sich doch so gut ergänzen.

Doch gibt es auch Schwächen und diese zu verschweigen wäre nicht richtig. Abrams hat ein modernes Actionabenteuer auf die Leinwand gebracht, mit allen Vor- und Nachteilen. Ein Kinofilm des Jahres 2009, mit Lense-Flares, Wackelkamera und allem, was dazugehört. Bisweilen können die flotten Sprüche der Protagonisten doch etwas von der Geschichte ablenken, besonders Chekov und Scotty scheinen manchmal nur als Witzfiguren zu fungieren. Und auch McCoy wird, zumindest was Story-Relevanz betrifft, ein bisschen außenvor gelassen.

Andererseits: Zachary Quinto zuzusehen, wie er dem (jungen) Spock Leben einhaucht, ist eine wahre Freude und die äußerliche Ähnlichkeit zum Original bisweilen verblüffend. Die wirklich Entdeckung hier ist aber Chris Pine, der als James Kirk nicht versucht das eher eigenwillige Schauspiel William Shatners zu kopieren (wie es Karl Urban erfolgreich mit Ur-"Pille" DeForest Kelley gelingt), sondern stattdessen wahre Präsenz und Leading-Man-Qualitäten beweist. Auch Chris Hemsworth als George Kirk hinterlässt trotz seines kurzen Auftritts einen sehr starken Eindruck, von ihm hätte ich gerne mehr gesehen.

Auch Eric Bana als Nero macht seine Sache ordentlich. Dass der Romulaner kein vollkommen übergeschnappter Bösewicht mit Hegemonialansprüchen ist, sondern im Grunde nur ein Arbeiter, der versucht seinen Schmerz zu kompensieren, ist meiner Meinung nach eine große Stärke des Films. Neros enormes Potenzial als Führer spiegelt sich in Kirk wider und ist ein Hauptaspekt der Geschichte des Films. Der Unterschied zwischen den beiden ist nur, wofür sie ihre Kraft einsetzen. Auch wenn Banas Bösewicht nicht besonders viel Screen-Time eingeräumt bekommt, funktioniert die Figur dennoch besser als so manch anderer Antagonist in der Geschichte der Reihe.

Das größte Geschenk an die Fans ist aber mit Sicherheit Leonard Nimoy. Zu ihm braucht man im Grunde nicht mehr viel zu sagen, denn er atmet Spock geradezu nachdem er die Rolle 40 Jahre lang gespielt hat. Es war das erste Mal, dass ich im Kino Szenenapplaus erlebt habe, als der alte Spock das erste Mal auf der Leinwand in Action war.

Und natürlich bringt eine Neuinszenierung (um das unangebrachte Wort "Reboot" zu vermeiden) auch viele Neuerungen mit sich. Das geniale Design der Enterprise von Matt Jefferies wurde verjüngt, zwar ist diese Ikone so immer noch erkennbar, ersichtlich ist der Grund dafür hingegen nicht so recht. Auch die Kostüme, sowie die Sets wurden, mal mehr, mal weniger erfolgreich, einer Verjüngungskur unterzogen. Besonders sauer stieß mir dabei der vollkommen austauschbare und unlogische Sternenflotten-Maschinenräume auf. Diese nehmen sich eher wie industrielle Produktionsstätten aus und strapazieren die Kontinuität und innere Logik der Trek-Geschichte doch schon arg.

Und es lässt sich nun mal nicht jeder Logikfehler mit einer neuen Zeitlinie oder einem Paralleluniversum hinwegdiskutieren. Warum Beamen bspw. 100 Jahre nach Star Trek - Enterprise dermaßen große Schwierigkeiten macht, ergibt einfach keinen Sinn. Aber wer auf der anderen Seite argumentieren mag, dass der junge Kirk hier mit einer alten Corvette über die Felder Iowas heizt, wohingegen ihm das Konzept von Verbrennungsmotoren in der TOS-Folge "Epigonen" noch vollkommen fremd war, der zielt einfach vollkommen am Kern der Überlegung vorbei. Star-Trek-Filme, wie sie waren, waren ganz einfach nicht mehr rentabel, weder finanziell und in vielerlei Hinsicht auch narrativ nicht. Und wenn es diese kleinen bitteren Pillen sind, die man schlucken muss, um sein Lieblingsfranchise weiter auf der Leinwand erleben zu dürfen, dann sei es eben drum.

Der lakonische Titel Star Trek allein, ohne Unter- oder Nebentitel ist ein deutliches Zeichen an Sachunkundige, dass sie sich diesem Film gefahrlos ohne Vorkenntnisse näher können. Und in der Tat: es funktioniert! Star Trek ist ein zeitgemäßer Sci-Fi-Film geworden, dem dennoch nicht der gewisse Charme abgeht., der das Franchise ausmacht. Er handelt von Schicksal und Entscheidungen, von Potenzial und Selbstverwirklichung. Und wenn der junge Kirk sich entscheiden muss, wo seine Loyalitäten liegen, wenn er beschließt dass das Wohl seines väterlichen Freundes Captain Pike schwerer wiegt als Bestimmungen und Regeln, fühlt man sich angenehm an die ersten Star-Trek-Filme erinnert.

Ob Anleihen an Star Wars (Monster) oder Battlestar Galactica (Warp-Effekt, Doku-Stil) bspw. nun nötig waren oder nicht, darüber lässt sich streiten, andererseits entspricht es durchaus auch der Tradition der Franchises auf einander Bezug zu nehmen. Entgleisungen wie Product Placement mögen heutzutage vielleicht an der Tagesordnung sein, ich persönlich finde sie aber besonders in einer geldlosen Gesellschaft wie der Föderation mehr als unangebracht. Wenn Kirk sein Nokia-Telefon betätigt, fühlte ich mich auf sehr unangenehme Weise in das Jahr 2009 zurück versetzt. Dies ist eine Kröte, die ich nur sehr ungern noch einmal zu schlucken bereit bin.

Hat Abrams es nun geschafft Star Trek für die Zukunft fit zu machen? Ja und Nein. Ja, er hat Star Trek verjüngt, doch hätte er die Besonderheiten der Reihe etwas mehr herauskehren können, um sie vom derzeitigen Sci-Fi-Einerlei abzuheben, dennoch gelingt ihm ein großer Film mit kleinen Schwächen. Oder mit anderen Worten: Mission erfolgreich.

Star Trek hatte eine Verjüngunskur bitter nötig, um als popkulturelles Phänomen erhalten zu bleiben und außerdem laufen uns Trekkies die früheren Inkarnationen von Roddenberrys Zukunftsvision nicht davon.

Rating: 8 (Trip)

Stardate 2233.4: A reinvention of Star Trek, based on the early years of Kirk, Spock and co. The film is aimed at both the casual Trek fans, and the new. A strong plot, excellent cast, and brilliant special effects.

Honestly, when I first heard a new Star Trek film was in production, I was overjoyed. That joy turned to sorrow as I heard the movie would be a prequel, set in a time before TOS, and would once again involve time travel.

Having seen the movie however, I was quite satisfied with the result. There was a strong story base to it, a well-written cast, wonderful special effects, and a fair amount of humour to the film.

• The new Enterprise - After seeing the design, I originally didn't like it at all. I thought it was too futuristic for the era it was set in. However, having watched the film, and having seen it in action, I've come to terms with it not being so bad. The only thing I'd change are the nacelles and size of the deflector dish (these, in my opinion, still seem out of place).
• The fact that we got to see several Federation designs, not only with the Enterprise and Kelvin. Granted we didn't get to see a lot of them in great detail, but for the most part, we got the general gist if their shape and size. I had feared we'd only get to see two new designs, and we saw more. I was quite impressed with that.
• The D7 / K't'inga during the Kobayashi Maru - A welcome sight I thought. Granted the Klingons were never shown, it was nice to see a friendly design on the screen.
• The humour - Always good to see in any movie, even if a serious one. The fact Sulu left the brakes on was good, along with Scotty being beamed into a water tank, and beaming Kirk / Spock onto the main bridge. Must love the humour if nothing else, I thought it was a winner.
• The cast and crew - Got to hand it to them, they did a great job. Each of the actors portrayed their role well, and done a superb job. I thought that Scotty was a bit different from the character we've come to know over the years, but everyone else worked well in their redefining moments.

Normally, I'd bring up the USS Relativity, USS Aeon, and Daniel, but to be honest, I see little point. I have ultimately decided that the Trek timeline we know and love, is in fact, three. I know some people will argue this, but to be honest, it is the only conclusion that gives anything any meaning.

First, we've have the 'original' timeline. That being, TOS, TNG, DS9, and VOY, along with all the movies from The Motion Picture, through too Nemesis. That would be the first (and original) timeline. Following that, we'd have the ENT timeline. I believe this is a completely different set of events, more specifically because we've never heard of the Suliban or Xindi since. And thirdly, we'll have this latest one, following Abrams's timeline.

Some people may say that the ENT timeline could be the same one as Abrams's new one, but I'd like to keep them separate until the Xindi show up with Spock.

• Ship size vs ship crew: The USS Kelvin (a ship smaller than the USS Enterprise) somehow had 800+ crew on board. The USS Enterprise (Constitution Class) is about 1/4 the size of the Galaxy, and the Galaxy housed around 1500 people. I cannot personally understand how so many people were living aboard such a small vessel.
• The Federation fleet: I am beginning to suspect that those heading the Federation are in fact, dumb. Why is it, that it seems every capable ship is sent away from Earth during a crisis? When Nero's ship came to Earth, there was no defence. No fleet standing there ready to fight for the Federation. Sure, a lot of their ships were in that one sector (I forget its name), and the rest were around Earth, but then went to Vulcan. Why? Even if Vulcan was in trouble, why send every last resort out to help? If there were a cloaked Klingon or Romulan fleet just popping by, Earth would have been easy pickings.
• The Klingon Empire: We saw none, apart from two or three D7 / K't'inga class vessels in the Kobayashi Maru program. It would have been nice (I think) to see some Klingons in action. There was mention of Nero taking out a Klingon fleet (of 47 ships). We should have got to witness this.
• Vulcan: This adds something to this new 'refurbishment' of Trek. Vulcan (throughout all past shows) has been a planet of considerable importance, it was one of the planets that helped found the Federation. Because of the events in the latest film, we've got two conclusions. We either assume that the new planet the remaining Vulcans go too, is renamed to Vulcan, and named that way onward, or, the planet name 'Vulcan' died with the destruction of it. There are two ways of looking at that, if we take the first, then everything we've seen in any show and movie can still be made sense of. If we take the second, then that contradicts everything in every other show (excluding the Enterprise show).
• The Romulan Star Empire: Two issues I have, firstly being that the Romulan people couldn't tell their sun was going to explode (in such a case, they'd have had plenty of warning), and secondly, I find the idea of a bald Romulan, with Tattoos insulting.

Rating: 8 (Ashley Stephens)

Stardate not given: By now, everyone knows the plot, so let's move right into it, shall we?

Okay, now that the fanboys have weighed in, gushing about cool explosions and "bad-boy" renegades being promoted to ship captain, can we please have some adult reflection? Let me state from the outset that I am not a fan of J.J. Abrams other work. I was dismayed to hear that he would be at the helm of this "re-imagining" (more on that idiotic term later) of Star Trek, and my worst fears certainly have been realized.

Gene Roddenberry's original Star Trek was an adult take on the world around him, using science fiction as allegory for contemporary affairs. Yes, it was limited not only by technical restraints, but of social convention of its time. Roddenberry's bridge crew were highly trained, sophisticated professionals. There was the much lauded integration of the bridge crew; albeit with an American white, male captain. Remember, though, this was intended for an American audience in the 1960's.

For the next generation, Roddenberry is quoted as saying that this was Trek as he intended -- without studio interference and using superior technology unavailable before. Again, the characters were intelligent professionals and the stories were -- for the most part -- mature works of science fiction.

Star Trek XI, however, does away with any pretext of maturity and professionalism and reverts to the tired cliché of the loner rebel. He alone knows what is best and it is his very refusal to follow the system that allows him to succeed. Yay! He argues with his superiors. Yay! There's conflict among the group of "professionals" who should never be allowed within a mile of the bridge. Yay! Stuff blows up.

Most important of all: Yay! The audience skews young. This is a movie by adolescents, about adolescents and for adolescents. This movie is New Coke: far more concerned with milking a few dollars out of a franchise/brand name than in being true to the product.

Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is a Hollywood entirely bereft of original thought. The very term "re-imagining" is a bastardization of the English language. You either imagine something or you do not. Then, you copy it or you change it. Once changed, it is no longer the original. If J. J. Abrams -- or anyone else -- wants to make a science fiction film, have at it. Create some characters, a background universe, a story, etc. The only thing this movie creates is an excuse to hijack the Star Trek brand for marketing purposes.

What next? I've got an idea for a perfectly well-adjusted teen from a loving home in California. He has long blonde hair and gets on well with the jocks and the brainiacs in his school. Oh, he has magic powers and his name is Harry Potter. Should make a fortune with teeny-boppers.

No good? Okay, I've got another one. Now, I admit this is so far fetched it will never fly with the studios. Take a Victorian era private detective. Only, instead of getting by on deductive reasoning and looking for clues, he's a man of action! He's hot with the ladies and not afraid to kick some bad-guy butt with his own hands. I call him Sherlock Holmes and he's nothing like that brainy panty-waist in the old books and movies. Oh, what? It's already in the works? It figures.

I thought true Star Trek fans were better than that, but apparently, I'm mistaken. I'm sure this is a fine movie for 15 year old boys, but it isn't Star Trek.

Rating: 1 (Paul)

All of the contributing factors listed below, led me to the final rating of 7.5, it is not my favorite movie in the world and it is not my least favorite. The film did well in the merchandising aspect and perhaps this might persuade Paramount to launch a series in the right timeline. But still, Star Trek II is my favorite no matter what. Star Trek lived up to what I thought it would be... a jerky camera action film, not Sci-fi or Star Trek... That is just my honest opinion, I encourage you to make your own conclusions...

Character: The Villain was never developed and he seemed shallow and also he seemed to be a Carbon Copy of Shinzon from Nemesis, and Nemesis was definitely the worst Star Trek Film to date, in my opinion.

Plot: The Climax was terrible, and it was also predictable. Spock crashes his future self's timeship into the ship and it blows up.. ho hum... it was not very moving and it left me saying, "That was it?"

Music: The whole music score was terrible... there was no clear theme, and the Star Trek Motif that was used in all films to date, and was never used once. The Music was terrible, even my dad, the person who doesn't really care about a movie's soundtrack said it was terrible, and he thought the movie was great. The score was just a mishmash of the generic action movie music and a pit of random themes from other Star Trek themes, that did not go well together. Such as the string part that sounded like the beginning of the Star Trek II theme.

Opening: There were no opening credits, this created a problem because there was no clear ending of the prologue and the start of the actual film, also this is the area that the Movie's main theme is played and is for me one of the most important parts of the film. It sort of gives an atmosphere of the movie. The Star Trek II/III theme still gives me goosebumps and I've seen the movie 30 times and I listen to the score often.

Plot: The fact that this timeline is able to continue unsettled me. This means that TOS, TNG, all the movies, DS9 and Voyager no longer exist. Abrams rewrote history and destroyed 40+ years of Star Trek and I won't forgive him of that. Gene must be turning in his capsule. I seriously hope that eventually they kill of this timeline because for me, this movie is not worth forty years. Yes is surpassed 1, 5 and 10. But those can be beat by any movie and I am almost sorry I've seen those movies. It also did better than IX, but the story was pretty predictable there. And I guess it beat Generations, because Kirk could have died better...

Camera techniques: I did not like the jerky camera through out the whole movie, it looked to me as though the whole film that the cameramen were amateurs. I also did not like at how bright some of the scenes were, it was like staring at the sun for 5 minutes it hurt my eyes like hell. The camera angles of the film were pretty bad...

Rating: 7 ( Kurt Keller )

I'm torn apart here. As a Trekkie I have to say this is not "my father's Trek" and definitely not my Trek. But as a movie (action sci-fi movie) it was great. I've watched it with a few non-trek friends and they liked it, they even asked me to lend them my Star Trek DVDs. So that part, to catch new Fans has worked well. But now to the criticism:

Good: I liked the many hints and references to "my" Star Trek. The effects were well done and I love the soundtrack. I loved Urban as McCoy and Quinto as Spock . The rest of the cast was somewhat between good and okay. Through the many references the movie is really funny for a Trekkie. (I liked the Tribble and Archer's dog). Also Paul McGillion is in the movie.

Bad (or not so good): I don't like the new design of the constitution class, especially the iBridge . The Narada looked nothing like a Romulan ship.

Somewhat fuzzy: The story wasn't groundbreaking, but acceptable (we have to wait what they will do with the next film(s), I hope we see our loved timeline restored). Most of the changes in the timeline is a result of Nero's time travel and therefore understandable.

Uhura dating Spock? Okay this is interesting, but is he experiencing Pon Farr during the movie?

So my conclusion: Every Star Trek Fan should give it a try, I don't think everybody will like it, but hey, we are supposed to be very tolerant ;)

If this movie succeeds, we could save Star Trek. Yes, I think (even and especially)) with this movie, it is worth saving.

• "Polarize the viewscreen" — What the heck? This would do what exactly? - Where are the shields? There are no effects when the Enterprise or the Kelvin was hit (torpedoes as well as wreckage)
• What happened to my beloved phaser beams? The Kelvin had them, but the Enterprise goes back to the NX01-plasma weapons or to pulse phasers(?).
• Big story issue: What kind of supernova threatens a whole galaxy???
• Also what happened to the warp flash? There are many ships seen jumping to warp but no flash.
• I thought the NCC-1701 was launched in 2245. But the movie says it is 2258. So "The Cage" hasn't happened because the Kelvin was destroyed? Not likely...
• Birthdate of Pavel Chekov doesn't fit. Now it is 2241 instead of 2245. Also because the destruction of one ship?
• If you fight a supernova with a black hole, I suggest you should evacuate all planets in the vicinity, because a singularity is just as dangerous as a nova. So why isn't Romulus (and not mentioned Remus) evacuated.
• The stardate is changed, now it states the year and a fraction.
• Who thinks that a (glass) window on the bridge can replace a viewscreen, even with a HUD? Isn't it logical, that this easier breaks than a bulkhead?
• The engineering deck looks like a big wastewater treatment plant.
• How many warp cores does the Enterprise have?
• What is a transwarp-transporter and why can it beam through active shields?
• Bones: "I'm a doctor Jim, I'm busy." and "I'm a Doctor, not a physicist."
• Spock Prime: "I am and always will be, your friend."
• Engineer Olsen is the first Redshirt.
• Tribble on Scotty's desk on Delta Vega
• The Enterprise flies through the wreckage in Vulcan's orbit, the ship is very maneuverable.
• The Enterprise emerges out of Titan.
• Kirk and Bones in the shuttle (first meeting)

Rating: 7 ( Patrik Burbat )

I am a hardcore Star Trek fan. I was a little nervous about this movie after seeing how everything was different; but after I watched the movie, I loved it. Some people here seem to forget that this is an alternate timeline. With that said, things can be slightly different or radically different. I like how there's a connection between the old timeline via Spock Prime with the new timeline. I love the new possibilities that can happen with this new timeline. Overall great movie and just the type of reboot the franchise needed.

Rating: 10 (JR)

This movie is utter trash. I must say, the beginning scene stood out as pretty damn epic, but after that, the film quickly deteriorated. There is little to no character development with the exception of Kirk, Spock, and Bones, only one of whom (Bones) had an astounding actor (Karl Urban). Uhura was there for romance scenes, Scott was put in to spout one-liners, and Chekov was obviously just a waste of space filled in order to make the audience chuckle at the actor's (Anton Yelchin's) horribly fake Russian accent.

The story behind the criminal's intentions aren't revealed until the fourth quarter of the film, and the backstory is truly abysmal with enough pseudoscientifc nonsense to make any Enterprise fanboy cringe and the worst criminal reasoning in Star Trek since Soran from "Generations." The time paradoxes are badly thought out and make little sense. During said first three quarters of the film, the cast of the film chase the bad guy around and try to stop him. This is utterly boring so the director and writers and such try to make up for this by "pace faking" by making characters argue and be violent and have romance scenes in-between the boring conflicts.

The directing thoroughly lacks in logic, as bringing phasers along instead of fist-and-sword fighting Romulans on an orbital platform with gigantic fiery exhaust ports is obviously highly illogical. Another stupid thing that I didn't understand at all is why the film opened up with a fight. They have a little utilitarian ship in the middle of space and a portal opens and a big dark spiky ship comes out so they start firing at will without checking if the mysterious enemy has shields powered or weapons ready. They just go by "It's big and dark and it just appeared in front of us. We didn't try hailing it because every ugly thing in space is obviously evil." It of course does actually turn out to be evil, but that is not Star Trek.

There are also the canon and plausibility concerns, which are wrecked entirely, so it doesn't deserve to be called Trek. Everything else mentioned here (excluding Karl Urban) just made it even worse.

• Nitpicking: Those lens flares are seizurriffic. They appear from nearly every light source in half the film and take up nearly the whole screen. Oftentimes they even appear from sources off the screen. They gave me a slight headache by the end of the film.
• Remarkable dialogue: "Hello Christopher. I'm Nero." -Nero
• Remarkable scene: Newly promoted Captain Kirk fighting the suddenly appearing "mining vessel" from the future and ending it with a pretty epic bang.
• Remarkable ship: The new Enterprise's stardrive section looks like a disco outfit of some sort.
• Remarkable fact: "Red matter" can do one of two things: make a black hole or send things back in time. There is no explanation given as to why it would do one or the other, no matter how it's applied or what it is intended to be used for.

Rating: 0 ( Lee Wolfgang )

I caught the film on Thursday (7 May, 2009) afternoon here in Singapore, ahead of the US release. There were no preview sessions the night before...guess the hype generated for this release just isn't anywhere near the ridiculous levels we saw for the SW prequels or LOTR. I did manage to book a ticket for a digital screening at 1630 local time (UCT+8) and strolled into a near empty hall with only about twenty or thirty other patrons in attendance. Never mind. So was it good? Well, yes and no. It didn't exactly disappoint because I actually had no expectations. Not much anyway. But it definitely didn't seem or feel like the mover and shaker that some early reviews had made it out to be. Allow me to explain.

The good stuff first. This is one ST film that wears its 'Trek-ness' (or at least certain aspects of it) proudly and unashamedly on its sleeve. Which means a reasonable dose of space battles, fist-fights, male bonding, technobabble (toned down somewhat compared to your average ST episode on TV) and an almost naïvely optimistic outlook in equal measure. Maintaining these essential qualities while making sure that any film carrying the 'Trek' brand carries enough attractiveness to the 'mainstream' crowd to ensure a level of commercial viability hasn't always been an easy task. The whole cinematic canon of the Trek universe is littered with lamentable duds. This isn't one of them. For all its weaknesses, 'ST IX' feels every bit like a big-budget success. And it's one heck of a typical summer blockbuster we're talking about...the sort you sit through with your upsized cola and popcorn, emerging through the exit with a big smile and a quiet reminder not to dwell too much on the inconsistencies and utter lack of substance you've just witnessed. Despite what you might think, it's a thrilling ride, overflowing with non-stop adrenaline and action, a journey punctuated by panoramic vistas of extraterrestrial environments and gobsmacking settings saturated with futuristic technological wizardry. The visual effects are certainly awesome...make that 'over-the-top' awesome. Space battles are rendered in excruciating detail...with light and shadow fighting for your attention, the screen awash with the dynamic ferocity of nausea-inducing cuts...and rapidly-shifting angles that try to capture the claustrophobia and dread of deadly combat in the vacuum of space. Though some might disagree with the heavy-handed camera-work and aesthetics that are biased towards contemporary sensibilities, the technical achievements of the film are astounding. And the homage-heavy script works to a large extent...though the constant nods to TOS did feel a bit tiresome after a while. The casting was pretty spot-on and the acting is on the whole, above average too. Pine and Quinto seemed to have slipped into their roles as if they had always been the Kirk and Spock of yore, while adding some new and interesting twists to their characters. Karl Urban was particularly effective at evoking the neurotic charm of the McCoy we all love. Would have loved to see a bit more of him, especially in verbal spars with Spock, though. The rest of the cast were also reasonably effective, but were hampered by time and script constraints...most of them were hardly fleshed out and just blended into the background like the clichés they had always kinda been. A bit harsh perhaps, but given the nature of the film, maybe that was always to be expected. And like every good rendition of Trek, this one has a very human heart at its centre. Grief, loss and vengeance. The search for one's true self. Accepting one's destiny and calling. The meaning and importance of friendship and family. You know...generically heartwarming stuff. While the film never really explores any of these themes in any depth, they are all still there as a presence that is superficial, no doubt, but also in another sense, more than enough. And since J. J. Abrams is helming the action, you can also expect some screen-time to be devoted to colourful showcases of teenage angst...as well as much emo pouting and posturing to give it all some pertinently youthful vigour and sheen. Which isn't necessarily all that bad a thing (although I would have preferred more philosophizing and moral conundrums, rather than just scowls and tempers). Updating the Trek franchise for a new generation can't possibly be something that deserves to be totally condemned. The fans are growing old. It's now or never. So...sure, it isn't a thinking guy's sorta movie (whatever that means) or even anything remotely smart...but I think 'ST:XI' still captures the spirit of Trek pretty well while translating those intangibles into a new idiom capable of speaking and reaching out to a larger audience out there. For that alone, I personally think sci-fi fans in general, and specifically trekkers of any shade, ought to embrace and support this film...if not wholeheartedly, at least cautiously. It wouldn't hurt to give it a chance, right?

I'm not a hardcore Trekker by any count. I know my Constitution-class from my Sovereign-class, my Jem'Hadar from my Kazon. But that's about it. I was never one of those guys in the 'reboot-over-my-dead-body' camp. It's just Hollywood entertainment, a capitalist enterprise, above all. And if the film's makers think a bit of tinkering and rethinking can help realign Trek to today's market demands and rake in the dollars for them, who is really gonna stop them? It's their right, no? As a fan, you can choose not to watch it or even come up with detailed, logical and well-argued treatises that try to explain why this reboot thing is heresy, but if this new franchise ultimately goes on to become a major commercial success, who is to dictate what is right or wrong? The Trek you know and adore will still be the same Trek in your mind and imagination. And that's good enough. Seriously, after the last Trek outing in the cinemas ('ST:N'; Jeez...what's with the Remans? Vampiric goblins?!?), what could be worse? Nonetheless, this film is not perfect. Which one is? Though this one is probably still far from it. Like the vast majority of summer blockbusters, it's not a film that will hold up under any degree of close examination. It's nothing unique or unexpected, of course. Nobody's expecting anything like '2001', 'Solaris' or 'Gattaca', right? As with much of Trek (particularly the films), 'ST:XI' is hampered by a plot which doesn't really make much sense, busloads of truly bad science (even by the standards of the in-universe technobabble that is 'Trek science', it is still pretty atrocious), as well as a tendency to gloss over logical inconsistencies and loopholes the size of Kansas by turning up the speed at which the plot unfolds. This, I guess, is my principal complaint about the film: if you take it as it is without too much consideration, it's a reasonably tight and pleasant action flick...but dwell on it for one second too long and you'd just realise just what a nonsensical mess it all is.

I really cannot understand why they're bothering to deny that this film is a reboot. it IS a REBOOT, whichever way you choose to look at it. Having said that, it must also be mentioned (yet again) that Trek continuity and canon are far from being the unproblematic issues that some assume them to be. Almost every official rendition of Trek has managed to confound the problem. And if you factor in TAS, RPGs, video games, novelisations etc., it just becomes almost ridiculous. Oh sure, we've all heard the oft-quoted excuse that only what we've seen and what has happened in the official films and TV series can be considered rock-solid canon but even if we restrict ourselves to these primary sources without getting into too much nitpicking, much of that is self-contradictory too. Let's face it, the different folks behind the different Trek iterations never really had a master continuity bible to follow...not even Roddenberry himself...so what's next? It's too late to get a Leland Chee, that's for sure. A reboot to set things right, to settle at a new beginning? Unfortunately, that wasn't quite what we got with 'ST:XI' either. One might even say that much of the logical weaknesses of the film actually laid with the decision of Abrams, Orci and their team to somehow reincorporate this film into the existing continuity. Smart? Might have been. Paying some lip-service to the concerns of existing fans worldwide can't be that far off a marketing strategy. But in the end, this misguided attempt just felt like a glib, cheap and lame move to shut the fans up (much like how they incorporated all those plainly obvious and cheesy in-jokes into the script...one too many of these fan-pleasers and it all just felt utterly contrived). And believe me, it was very, very lame. Attempting this continuity mind-meld just created unnecessary problems that magnified existing inconsistencies, ultimately pushing them into the foreground and showing them up to be the potentially show-stopping minefields (for some people) that they were. I will only touch on a few here, just to give an idea of the thoughtlessness of the folks behind the film. The writers' solution to the continuity paradox is actually a very Trek one: time travel. In terms of hard sci-fi (typically more literary than cinematic), time travel is usually quite difficult to resolve intelligently and coherently. But of course Trek is a rather soft space opera so time travel has played a big part in many of Trek's adventures from TOS to ENT. With varying degrees of success, it has to be said. And in this particular case, the entire premise just doesn't quite hold up. Other than violating the physical laws of causality (as with most Trek renditions of temporal tampering), this one also didn't quite sit well with existing in-universe depictions of time travel, even if some of them do already contradict each other. Well, surely Spock has at his disposal, one hundred and one means of effortlessly travelling forward and backwards through time, if only to put things 'right' (it looked simple enough in 'ST:IV' and 'ST:VIII')? Staying behind to fight and deal with the crisis on Nero's terms seem so defeatist, insipid and un-Trek. So is there one master PRIME timeline or a near-infinite assembly of parallel but alternate universes co-existing within a larger multiverse? Is there a 'right' timeline that 'ST:XI' is just an aberration of? None of these points are exactly made clear. And what of the temporal regulation and enforcement authorities in the far future (as depicted in more than a few ST episodes, notably ENT) who seem to have some meta-temporal ability to examine the ebbs and flows of clashing timelines as well as the cause and effect of different events? Where is Daniels (of the 31st century) when he is most needed? Shouldn't his employers have noticed any of this? Surely the meaningless slaughter of billions of sentients deserve some attention? And despite Nero's thirst for vengeance, he ought to have been smart enough to just deliver the relevant information to the Romulans of the earlier era first and foremost...surely, given the head-start that they'd have enjoyed, the sharp end of the pointy-ears would have been able to prevent the catastrophe (or at least, start planning a long-term evacuation of the home worlds...why they didn't quite evacuate Romulus given their fore-knowledge of the impending disaster, certainly long enough for Spock to work on a miracle cure in Nero's original timeline is also anybody's good guess). No destruction of Romulus (and presumably, Remus) equals no loss of family equals no grieving Nero (prime or alternate?) equals a smarter way to deal with life's problem. Violates causality, in some sense. But at least his alternate self in the future of this new timeline would have had a fighting chance of survival with his family intact. Ermmm...so why didn't he? Because he has pointy ears and green blood? Come to think of it, someone in the creative team must hate Vulcanoids...c'mon, they destroyed both Vulcan and Romulus in 'ST:XI', didn't they? Where's the local advocacy group for Vulcans and Romulans? Somebody ought to speak up against this 'genocide'. Haha, I guess I'm personally aggrieved because they also happen to be my two favourite alien species in Trek...

That whole thing just doesn't add up. I'd rather have gibberish-sounding technobabble solving the problem of the week, rather than have a situation resolving itself through an inane level of violence and sheer stupidity. At least it would have shown that humanity is capable of some approximation of thought, reason and progress. All we get here is the suggestion that wide-eyed gung-ho adventurism buoyed by personal charisma and a reckless, swashbuckling, maverick leadership style is preferable to professionalism, introspection, deliberation and consensus. Prime directive or not, when do we bomb the XXXXing natives into submission next, eh? But everyone knows what really sells movie tickets these days... The nods to canon also do not make sense because the film violates existing canon in so many other ways. I think canon isn't just about the events that have unfolded onscreen and the things that characters have said and done (as well as implied or referred to), but also the visual continuity...the look and feel of technology and everyday life, as well as the internal consistency of all the secondary features of this make-believe universe. In that sense, Trek's recent outings (especially ENT) have long violated the principle of a believable, self-consistent continuity. I guess that has always been the pitfall of doing a prequel...how do you portray a level of technology that is still believably futuristic to today's pampered audiences, that doesn't quite descend into the pits of kitsch and camp (there's no escaping these adjectives looking at TOS), while fitting as an integral part into a coherent, evolutionary whole? How much retconning can one do, before declaring it a reimagination or a reboot? The ST universe presented in 'ST:XI' is obviously different to the Trek many of us are used to. There's no going back to the shiny toy phasers, communicators and tricorders of TOS. And there shouldn't be a need to. Trying to explain away the continuity differences and divergences in-universe by claiming that they exist as a result of Nero's intervention is just so ridiculous that it doesn't even warrant a mention. Dates that don't fit. Technology that seems out of place (including a very derisible and off-putting piece of product placement by Nokia). How can any of these things pretend to even share a common past (until the aforementioned point of departure) with the old Trek universe (despite its inconsistencies)? There simply is no escape (or excuse). This is a reboot. Admit it so that we can all move on. And all that noodling around with alternate universes and points of divergence isn't brilliant at all (as some of the film's defenders seem to feel)...it's just sad, in fact. For all that talk about faithfulness to canon, one can easily spot several rather silly points of contention. The reference to Klingon 'warbirds' (though there was a precedent in ENT, which B. Braga referred to as a mistake), the uncharacteristic appearance (hey, the protruding brow bridges are gone yet again, lo and behold...and Shinzon's haircut, or lack thereof, seems to be all that is the current rage in the Star Empire, at least amongst space miners with a penchant for hip and street-smart subcultural styles!), behaviour, organization and technology of the Romulans, the Federation's level of acquaintance with and knowledge of the Romulans (not all of which can be so easily explained by Nero's materialization in the past), the potentially troubling appearance of a Tribble and a Cardassian beverage, the altered stardate system, the backstory of the Enterprise's construction etc. etc. etc. ST isn't just some cut-outs and quotes from a bunch of stock characters. Its believability and consistency as a created universe is also a reason for its popularity. If the creators behind this one wanted to start with a clean sheet, they should have...instead of throwing in some superficial, shallow scraps to appease the fans (and only end up making things worse), they should have spent (a lot) more time trying to come up with an involving, articulate, comprehensible and intelligent story (one unencumbered by the past) that really tries to live up to the best of Trek's values.

Even leaving aside the whole hornet's nest of problems associated with trying to link 'ST:XI' back to the existing Trek continuity, the plot is full of weaknesses that just can't be ignored. Suspension of disbelief? If it all works, this suggestion wouldn't even crop up, would it? One of the most glaring and preposterous points is Kirk's miraculous promotion. Obviously none of the writers have ever done any time in the armed forces or any other sorta uniformed organization. Cadet to Captain in the space of days? Ludicrous doesn't even begin to describe it. Chain of command, gentlemen? Rank structure, please? Everything is just kinda thrown outta the window to tell a reactionary tale of a petulant and untested rookie rising to greatness because...well, mediocrity is just not his birthright. And do remember, up to that point in time when he appointed himself the Enterprise's stand-in commander, new and 'improved' Kirk still hadn't really done anything to show just how good a 'leader' he is. And real leadership goes a lot beyond throwing tantrums, punches and bedding aliens. But it's his destiny, I figure... Hmmm, is it me or has ST become a lot more right-leaning? How many more 'reimaginations' are we from the unapologetically regressive conservatism and monochromatic moral canvas of SW? I honestly don't know. And as for the fortuitous meeting of Spock (Prime), Kirk and Scotty on Delta Vega, it just felt completely unbelievable. Talk about cosmic coincidences, right? Cheap and hardly satisfying. And let's not even start with those frankly absurd creatures on Delta Vega. Hey, whaddya expect? They can't even seem to decide if 'captain' more properly describes a position or rank...tsk...tsk... And why do the immediate orbital neighbourhoods of both Earth and Vulcan look so bare? Where are the space stations? Where are the ships and fleets? Where are the planetary defense systems, for gawd's sake? And ermmm...why are there only 10,000 Vulcan survivors? Even if they're a xenophobic civilization and all, they were already a major power before joining the Federation. What happened to all their colonies? What happened to all their off-world scientists, explorers, engineers, traders, industrialists and more...not to mention, Starfleet employees of Vulcan descent deployed elsewhere...They couldn't ALL have been back on Vulcan by some sheer coincidence, no? That 10,000 figure just made me laugh out aloud. It just beggars belief. And sums up the casual nature of the writers' understanding of internal consistency. And as for Spock witnessing the destruction of Vulcan from Delta Vega (though one recalls a somewhat analogous scene in 'ST:VI', when the destruction of Praxis sent out subspace shockwaves and was even viewable by the Excelsior's presumably very capable sensors in 'real-time')...either the formation of black holes can generate explosions that travel at superluminal speeds or Delta Vega is really located within the Vulcan system (which should mean he's probably dead meat too, given his proximity to the black hole). Neither which makes much sense. The portrayal of singularities is extremely laughable and unscientific too. Just take it as yet another plot-advancing device. The same goes for the phenomenon that destroyed Romulus, which is described as a supernova. I don't really think the existence of a single supernova can be described as a galaxy-threatening event...perhaps something along the scale of a gamma ray burst might do the trick but a puny supernova? See, I think the writers really had comedy in mind. And how exactly would Spock's 'red matter' thingy have helped the Romulans, if the problematic star in question was really the central star in the Romulans' home system? Would replacing an exploding supernova with a gravitational singularity actually make a whole load of positive difference? And given the nature of the device, why bother drilling holes into planets? Would sucking the planet from within work better or provide better fireworks that cater more to Romulan cultural sensitivities? The more you think about it,...

I do like certain aspects of the ship's design, even if it doesn't quite make sense. It's bright and airy and represents a triumph of style over function, but there's still quite a bit to be delighted with about the bridge, complete with flashy displays, bright lights and other unnecessary embellishments, for one. Though I can't figure out what's with the busy long corridor which it opened up to that was glimpsed at one point in time. If the bridge is truly mounted on top of the saucer unit (as depicted), shouldn't it then be empty space behind all that action? On the other hand, the engineering section sucks. Big time. I knew they wanted to evoke the immensity of the Titanic's innards as it was depicted in Cameron's film, but surely the industrial analogy has to end there. This is the future, for gawd's sake...no engine room in a starship is gonna look like some sewage treatment facility, complete with old school water pumps and heavy-duty piping, not to mention period-looking nuts and bolts. It is not only aesthetically revolting, the entire look just doesn't hold up at all. If this was another comedy moment, the writers and designers certainly outdid themselves here. In terms of depictions of warp propulsion, weapon operations and other manifestations of ship-related technologies, 'ST:XI' deviates quite a great deal from much of what has long been established as principles in the ST universe. No nods to canon there. The warp drives look, handle and behave differently. Ditto the weapons. Even if you were just looking at the design of the Enterprise, it's pretty obvious. No question about it, it's a different beast for a different universe with a different set of sensibilities and a very different code of internal consistency. Which goes back to the point about 'ST:XI' being the first major Trek reboot. It is a reboot in every sense, down to the nuts and bolts, literally even. One that was perhaps permanently maimed from the onset by a pathetic need to incorporate itself into the internal logic and continuity of the existing Trek universe. It shouldn't have bothered. Like I said before, it fails to bring out the best of both worlds and just feels at the end of the day, marooned and unsure of what it actually is or ought to be. I don't think all reboots are necessarily doomed to fail. Just look at BSG...Ronald D. Moore (Trek alumnus) took a tired-looking, cheesy '70s-era sci-fi also-ran and fundamentally remade it into a compelling, courageous and very relevant examination of the human condition. His reimagined series isn't perfect either but it stands head and shoulders above the competition. BSG is so addictive and watchable not because it's good sci-fi drama but because it's good drama. Period. ST is a very different creature from BSG so we can't expect the same sorta approach to be taken when a remake is considered. Still, 'ST:XI' could have been more. But it just isn't. It isn't a bad film; it was rather enjoyable, in fact. But the creators ought to have had the courage to make it weightier and meatier, to have, for example, confronted more contemporary issues head-on without too many prejudices and constraints. Wouldn't that have been a better and more pertinent update? Instead of a classic that could have spoken to both fans and non-fans today and in the years to come, all we got were badly thought-through plot-lines, crowd-pleasing one-liners, gratuitous violence and pseudo-intelligent continuity contrivances. All of which fail to disguise the incontrovertible truth that the film is nothing more than a teenage action flick that doesn't quite live up to its hype...a vacuous two-hour ride full of thrills and spills and nothing much more.

Rating: 6 (Monty Cantsin)

Let me preface this by saying that I really really enjoyed watching this movie. It was fun. It was exciting and I loved the little nods and homages to what I suppose now is the previous incarnation of Star Trek. On the merits of the new Star Trek as a movie, I rank it on par with First Contact, below Undiscovered Country and Wrath of Khan.

The acting for the most part was tremendous, though I wish Scotty had been more than comic relief. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu were all very good, and Karl Urban's McCoy was outstanding. At some points he must have been channeling DeForest Kelley, because I could hardly tell the difference. Leonard Nimoy as Spock (or Spock Prime) was fantastic. After the gutwrenching destruction of Vulcan, I was glad Nimoy was there to remind us that everything was going to be OK.

Now to address the 1000 pound elephant in the room. Let's call this movie what it was...a reboot. This is no longer the Star Trek I grew up loving. I won't go into the details of whether or not this is a good thing, as many people here have covered that at length already. I do like that the creative team for the movie seems to have taken some steps to "protect" in a way, the original continuity. In fact, since this movie has already been so successful, I hope it will spur a new TNG movie in the original continuity (many of the principals have expressed interest), at the very least to give Picard and Co. a proper send-off.

Personally, I don't know how I feel about the reboot. I loved this movie, but I can't get past the pit in my soul where Vulcan used to be...

• The destruction of Vulcan. No other scene in the movie drove home so poignantly that this is not the same Trek.
• It's about time we saw the Kobayashi Maru!
• Remarkable quote: "Since my standard farewell seems self serving, I'll just say good luck."
• Remarkable homage: Too many to count. Some of my favorites were Sulu's martial arts training in fencing, Admiral Komak at Kirk's hearing, Pike ending up in a wheelchair at the end of the movie, and of course Scotty being punished for experimenting on one "Admiral Archer's" favorite Beagle
• Remarkable fact: It is somewhat comforting to know that people will still listen to the Beastie Boys in the 23'd century, though being from Wisconsin, I was hoping that Miller would have driven Budweiser out of business ;D

Rating: 9 (TheLearnedHand)

Not going to do an in-depth review, it's actually my first time doing a review for a Star Trek film so I'll keep it as simple as I can.

I enjoyed it, but it also wasn't without its flaws, so here's what I didn't like:

The underuse of characters and overuse of others, first off Karl Urban's performance as Bones was the highlight of the film for me as the resemblance to DeForest Kelly in TOS was uncanny, really didn't have much to do and just stood in the background once the momentum got going after a promising introduction where we understand he's just been divorced and left with nothing but the option of joining Starfleet. While I understood this was an origin story, a little too much was given to Kirk and Spock, their respective childhood sequences could've been left out and I would've been happy. Young Kirk driving a Corvette off a cliff while listening to the Beastie Boys couldn't have been more out of place, and young Spock being subjected to insults from other Vulcan children, including one calling Spock's mother a whore and Spock's violent retaliation, weren't in good taste. So in place of these useless scene's which served no purpose, as we see more of Kirk being a directionless rebel as pointed out by Captain Pike, played by Bruce Greenwood, and Spock's heritage and the dilemma it presents are represented again and again, it would've been nice to have had a couple more scene's with that original dynamic of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. In terms of character overuse, Uhura, I don't think she really needed as much time as given, and her relationship with Spock, wow, couldn't really see that coming, it wasn't a completely convincing sort of relationship with only a very minor hint to it, but it still didn't satisfy.

Nero, Nero really was a bit underwhelming as well, his motivation's were only brushed over, and his recollection of the destruction of Romulus didn't have the emotional impact I expected, so with that it just comes down to the tried, and tried again path of making the villain for a Star Trek film one seeking vengeance against a main character, with the destruction of Earth a secondary motivation. Yawn. His time-travelling could've brought with it a bit more than what we've seen Khan, the Borg Queen, Shinzon and now Nero aimed to do, but it was nothing more than bloodlust and destruction he was interested in. I really wanted to see something more original, like an explicit directive to change history for the worst, as if he were acting on part of the Romulan Empire, say, a disgruntled group who didn't want the peace with the Federation that was implied at the end of Nemesis.

And Spock and Kirk, now Spock. It was inspired casting with Zachary Quinto as Spock, he looked the part, and his performance had been the most intriguing interpretation of the character for a while, from the logical Spock we know, to the extreme anger he displays, tenderness towards Uhura, definitely a highlight. And Chris Pine as Kirk...there were times I bought it, and other's where I just felt it was just a character who happened to have the same name. He definitely showed familiar qualities in Kirk, such as the pause in his speech and movement before his utterance of "Bones..." in the final scene, and the swagger and all too familiar bravado and of course, his nailing of a hot Orion was definitely dead on, but other times it wasn't THAT convincing a performance.

The same I felt for other characters, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty really didn't feel like the original characters, Anton Yelchin did great providing the perfect exaggerated Russian accent, and it was a nice homage that Sulu's combat experience amounted to fencing, Scotty's sense of humour too, Simon Pegg did well with the role, which was a bit limited though.

The story, yes, it 'reboots' Star Trek, as the trailer indicated, 'forget everything you know', all that has been built up for 40 years is now in another universe, literally. The addressing of this luckily wasn't too confusing and was put very simply, and wasn't really made to be as big an issue as it was, so we can put that to bed early. As I've discussed, Nero's plan really didn't boil down to anything more complex than getting payback, which was boringly predictable. Seeing Kirk go through Starfleet and Spock being there as well was more interesting than I expected, and it would've been nice if a bit more of that was seen. It was great to see Pike command the ship and his relationship worth Kirk, it may not have been much, but Bruce Greenwood's portrayal was convincing before he goes missing for the majority of the movie being tortured by Nero. The destruction of Vulcan was an interesting dynamic that could've gone either way, it certainly was a choice to cement this film in another reality from the one we know, and the ramification's of this will surely be seen in the next film beyond Spock's initial reaction.

Some other things. The Enterprise, how I hate it, it's ugly inside and out. Engineering for instance, did the budget run out prematurely? There's also some useless padding, I already mentioned the scenes with young Spock and Kirk as being unnecessary, well there's that, there's the scene with Kirk being terrorised by monsters on Delta Vega as well as the needless chase though Engineering after Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Enterprise and Scotty winds up in the plumbing where Kirk chases him round till he releases him, it all seemed rather useless, some other comedic scenes I wasn't fond of either, like Kirk's reaction to a viral infection causing his hands too swell up and lose the ability to speak. The effects of the ships going to warp were great, but not when we actually see the ship travelling at warp. The shaky cam was overused to the point of irritation, every fight scene, every battle scene was muddled and unclear, I understand this is the new trend in any film with an action sequence, but I hate it immensely. The primary action sequence weren't helped by this, and it felt like it was back to the normal Trek solution with Scotty ejecting the warp core (or was that cores as 5 things were ejected) to allow the Enterprise to escape from the singularities pull.

And old Spock coming back was great, Leonard Nimoy did really well as expected.

To sum it up it was an enjoyable movie, standouts were Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto, the effects. Chris Pine's performance was satisfying but there were times where there could've been more, I wanted more from Nero's story than just another vengeful villain wanting to destroy Earth. I wasn't expecting much from the remaining cast and even then we didn't get much more from them than we did from Scotty, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu than we did in The Original Series. The supporting performances were good, Ben Cross as Sarek was a wonderful character, but he and Pike were the only characters who stood out as much as the main 3. Never the less it was still a great film, and perhaps a great introduction to this new stage of the franchise, it wasn't perfect, and I wasn't blown away, but I still liked it enough to give it 8/10. As for the ramifications, I guess it can still be as acceptable as people find The Animated Series, and judging from the reactions so far it looks like this is sadly the future of the series which has its merits but also its drawbacks, but it's still Star Trek to a degree and still has the potential to be something worthy to stand alongside the series that's been with us for nearly 40 years so only time will tell. Till then, I liked it, while it may be quasi-Trek, it was still a damn good movie. To me it would sit probably as the 3rd best Trek film, "First Contact" sits on top, followed by "Wrath of Khan", this, then "The Undiscovered Country". It sorely lacked the intelligence and the profound nature of the two films that better it, but it was still an enjoyable ride.

• "We could name him after your father." - "Tiberius? You kidding me? No...that's the worst! Let's name him after your dad. Let's call him Jim." -George Kirk and Winona Kirk
• "I don't need a doctor, damn it, I am a doctor!" -Leonard McCoy
• "I am Spock." - "Bullshit." -Spock (Prime) and James Kirk

Rating: 8 ( Cameron )

What is Star Trek? I see in some reviews that this new movie is not 'Star Trek." Well, what is Star Trek, then? I just got into Star Trek myself. I've only watched up to season 6 of TNG. I say this for two reasons: I want you to know where this review is coming from, and I want to show that the movie has attracted at least one new fan. Regardless of whether the movie is good or not, isn't that worth it?

But back to the main question at hand, that being what is Star Trek. Some people, it seems to me, believe Star Trek is all about the science and technology. To them, its all about warp coils, dilithium chambers, and subspace fields. I don't think any of this is Star Trek. Treknobabble, as I've heard it called, may move the plot along, but I don't think this is the essence of Star Trek. I say this because a lot of people seem to be hung up on the technical side of things in this movie. What does it matter if there are 5 warp drives, or if there's a hallway behind the bridge, or if the viewscreen is actually a window. I think you're missing the point.

Star Trek, like all good stories, is about people. Without characters you like, Star Trek would be nothing. This is a movie about a group of people coming together, some by chance, to defeat a more powerful adversary. I think that all of the actors embody their characters very well. By the end of the movie, you start to see them as the characters you remember from TOS.

Yes, there are discontinuities from the original series that are hard to explain, such as the enterprise looking newer than it should. First of all, time travel is very tricky to predict. How do we know that after the Kelvin was destroyed, the federation didn't decide to develop technology at a faster rate to fight this threat? Or that since the fleet needed to respond to Vulcan's disaster so quickly that the Enterprise wasn't finished, thus leaving engineering looking like a water park? What if encountering the Narada right there at that exact time, caused the fleet to shift patrols, leading to an earlier encounter with the Cardassians? Stuff like this can be explained. But second, we know it's a new timeline. Why not just watch and roll with it? If you go into and movie looking for problems, you're gonna find them. To quote another movie, "Haven't you heard of suspension of belief?"

The story was good, and reading the 'Countdown' comic prequel probably enhanced the experience, and also answers a few questions. A big one would be that the Narada is so huge because even though it's a mining ship, the Romulan remnant fitted it with some sort of Borg reverse engineered add-on that enhanced the ship tremendously. Also, Nero's wife and soon-to-be child were on Romulus when it died, and he blames the Federation for their deaths. Those are just two questions asked in other reviews that I wanted to comment on. I also like that since they started a new continuity, they really shook things up with the destruction of Vulcan. Obviously I was upset when it went, but I'm glad they decided to keep the audience on their toes, changing things in a big way showing that this is not the same as the original series we're used to.

Overall, as a new fan, not yet set in my ways, I found this movie to be very entertaining. It's easier for me to overlook the chronological and technological 'faults' because I went into this movie without a firm background on what is and isn't 'supposed to be'. It contained plenty of audio and visual nods to the original series, and the performances themselves were nods, from Chekov's pronunciation, to Sulu's fencing ("The Naked Time"), to alot of the quotes. Anyway, I just wanted to respond to some of the reviews I read. If it doesn't make sense, well, I'm a doctor, not a critic.

• Remarkably absent: "He's dead, Jim." Everything else was in there.
• Remarkable performance: Karl Urban as McCoy. That first dialog where he was talking about his fear of flight, he captured the exact mannerisms and way of talking as DeForest.

Rating: 9 (Tom I)

This movie was something I was anticipating for quite some time. Let me start by saying that I am a hardcore fan, seen nearly all of the original series, all of TNG, DS9 and Voyager, and some of ENT. In fact, Star Trek was one of the reason I went into science and engineering (BIG Scotty fan!), and have always enjoyed the science it showed alongside (mostly) good writing and stories. And while I have all the previous movies, my favorites being TMP, VI and First Contact, because they were very nicely written and shot, with great character moments that didn't hamper the movie. After seeing this XI, I can honestly say that it is a very good Star Trek movie, having all the characteristics I outlined. However, that's not to say that it didn't have it's problems.

I'll first give the good parts. First and foremost, the characters were spot on. Every character had their definable moments, even Spock Prime and Capt. Pike. Chris Pine and Karl Urban were spot-on, so much so that I had goosebumps when I saw some of the preview material and the moments in the movie, specifically the shuttle scene where McCoy was introduced and Kirk starts instigating Spock. Though Zachary Quinto played Spock a little hot-headed, he got Spock down. And Zoe Saldana's Uhura was very good and very nicely written, though not as sultry as Nichelle Nichols. As for the plot, yes, it does resemble Star Wars, but then it was pulled off very good.

Now the bad. Why are there windows on the bridge? On top of that, the bridge isn't above everything else, it's connected to corridors! Though I have qualms about the new sets, I enjoyed them except for the notable exception of the bowels and engineering. As much as I like the fact that they were going for realism, a water treatment plans makes not a 23rd-century power-generation plant, which is what engineering basically is. And what's with all the cross-beams and having the ability to see through decks? The bowels seemed to big for the volume of the ship, and also is bad design for a pressurized vessel, where the open design can make a big area of the ship unusable if a small space was damaged and opened to vacuum, versus the original timeline's design of making separate decks, where specific areas can be closed off in case of a breach.

And as for that whole 'new timeline' talk, I don't believe it. On my way back home that night, my friend and I were discussing time travel, and we brought up conflicting theories. After thinking about it for some time, I am starting to believe that there wasn't so much a 'cleaving' of the timeline as it was time-travel into a parallel universe. My reasoning lies in the beginning sequence of the Kelvin, the prevalence of the Enterprise patch as the Starfleet symbol throughout, and the design departures in both the Kelvin and the Enterprise. It would be akin to an anti-Mirror Universe, where everything is practically the same but with some differences here and there. I think that the red matter not only created a black hole, but one where, if went through in a certain trajectory, can bypass the singularity and emerge into another universe at different times. In my opinion, that's the only way it can all work.

Besides that, the pace of the movie was a little fast, not really that much breathing room in it to let some things expand. The pace was so fast I felt that Spock Prime talked faster than normal because of it.

In conclusion, even though it had it's problems, Star Trek XI was very enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing it again.

• The death of George Kirk and the birth of James Kirk was very emotional, a major example of where JJ's influence is different than previous directors, writers and producers. I almost cried!
• The introduction of McCoy, done so well by Karl Urban you would swear he was DeForest Kelley.
• Remarkable fact: McCoy was nick-named Bones because his wife took everything but his 'bones'.

Rating: 9 (Charles H)

This will be a short commentary, but, as Pericles once said, "to the brave, a few words are as good as many." This was a decent action film, warranting a 5-7 in most cases, however, given that they *called* it "Star Trek" with the *explicit* intent of attracting new fans whilst rewarding the old who, through decades of dedication and dollars spent, deserve a little rewarding (it even makes sense from a business perspective, since these are also the people most likely to pick up your merchandise), it ends up scoring much lower than that.

It is a mediocre film which lacks everything that made Trek great and possessing everything that made Trek a bore. Silly "Deus ex" plotholes, lazy writing, utterly nonsensical ship design/Naval protocol/stellar distances/scientific inconsistency run rampant throughout every moment of the film. At the same time, the stately, romantic (in the classical sense), serious, *adult* themes and feel is utterly lost in favor of what is, essentially, a futuristic coming-of-age story.

Finally, the *conscious* rejection of the Original Continuity in favor of a mediocre New Continuity is an insult layered atop injury for Trek fans. Come to think of it, the destruction of Vulcan is actually rather fitting and symbolic of the film as a whole, given that J.J. Abrams is exactly the kind of person who, upon discovering that there was nothing new or worthy for him to add, simply decided to destroy what was already there.

Rating: 1 (Matt)

I'm glad I waited until a second viewing before writing this review (although this means I lost my chance to make it on the first page and thus few people may actually see it, but anyway...). If I had written the review when I first saw it on Thursday, I would have given it a seven. Now, since I saw it again today (Tuesday), I'm giving it a ten. When I first saw it, it was hard for me to get past the difference in the look compared to what I'm used to. There was much I saw today that I didn't notice the first time. The acting is amazing. All the actors did a great job in this movie, especially Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. I especially liked Eric Bana as the villain. This was a much different type of villain than what we're used to.

Another thing I noticed the second time was the music. When I first walked out of the theater Thursday, I didn't remember any musical score, except in the end credits. When I saw it Tuesday, though, I realized that it had a fairly good sound track.

There were may plot holes in the story, though. First off, if Nero ends up in the past and gets the red matter, couldn't he simply destroy the sun that went supernova before it destroyed Romulus? It seems like a better plan than destroying Vulcan and all of the Federation (which, by the way, would not seem to help his planet like he said it would, since it was not the Federation or the Vulcans who made his sun go supernova.)

Ok, so the black hole destroyed the supernova, destroyed Vulcan, and destroyed Nero's ship at the end of the movie, why were Spock's and Nero's ships able to go through it in the future and not just survive, but travel through time? Does that mean that the supernova and Vulcan are both going to show up somewhere in another time period?

Another issue: why does Nero have to drill a hole to the middle of the planet before he can use the red matter? I would think that it would accomplish the same goal even if it was right next to the planet.

Why did Nero blame Spock for the destruction of his planet when Spock was the only one who tried to prevent it? Well, perhaps on this line, seeing every member of his species being destroyed might have made him lose it a little. I would think that Spock would be the one person that he wouldn't go after.

Overall, I don't really mind most of the changes in this version of Star Trek. The lens flashes (which I didn't even notice until Bernd Schneider wrote his review) and some of the camera work was a little annoying, but, like I said, I barely noticed it until it was brought up. The coincidence of everyone ending up on the exact same ship was also brought up in the review. I do not really think of that as a great problem, though. If you consider the theory of everything happening in different realities, then in some reality the chief engineer who died could of become captain, or every single main character could have been on a different ship, but in this reality, everyone happens to end up on the same ship.

The engine room looked a bit weird. I do not think that the writers really took into consideration what everything does when they made it. So, they just picked a location that looked industrial, with pipes all over the place, and filmed there. It really didn't fit. But, on the other hand, I hope to god that they do not change it in the next movie, because I really like consistency (if not at least within this new series).

When I went to see it the second time, one thing that ran through my mind was: "If I want to refill my popcorn, when could I do it." I realized that there wasn't a single point in the movie that I wouldn't care to miss. It was amazing all the way through from beginning to end.

I really appreciated all the humor in this movie. It made it really good. And, as I said before, the acting was wonderful. You could see the rage behind Nero's face when he realizes that he is in a different time. You can see him slowly losing sense on the close-up of his face before they capture Spock (And that was without any lines!).

One thing that amazed me in this movie was the first scene. They nearly made me cry for someone that I had only known for 5 minutes. It was such a powerful scene, and it was wonderfully constructed. So, aside from all the nitpicking, which doesn't really stand out that bad, anyway, (unlike in other movies,) I think that this was a great movie. It has lots of potential and great actors to carry this series forward.

• "You whistle really loud." -Kirk
• "Hi, Christopher. I'm Nero." -Nero
• "I have your gun!" -Kirk
• Remarkable genocide: Both Vulcan and Romulus (Along with Remus, I would assume,) are destroyed at some point in this film. Although, Romulus is only destroyed in the original universe. It does not have to be in this series.
• Remarkable coinage: I hereby coin the name "Universe 001" to describe Roddenberry's Star Trek, and "Universe 047" to describe Abram's Star Trek. May these terms be used for decades to come.
• Remarkable possibility: Although the future of Universe 047 has been changed, its past hasn't. The Botany Bay is still floating around somewhere. Imagine the possibilities.

Rating: 10 ( Andrew Mueller )

I saw the movie a few nights ago with a friend who knew little of Star Trek. Not surprisingly, as the movie is beautiful and quite well crafted, my friend enjoyed it. I, who knows a fair bit about the Star Trek universe (I've seen every movie and every episode of every series at least twice), enjoyed the movie as well, but had to 'pretend' that this was not Star Trek, but some generic sci-fi flick. This was difficult to do, since the character names were all familiar.

The entire premise of the movie - as Star Trek - is ridiculous and there were far too many poorly thought-out sequences, many (if not most) of which were covered in the various reviews on this site, so I won't belabor the issue by bringing them up again.

I do have a comment for the film-makers, who will likely never read this: I understand that this movie is a reboot of sorts (alternate universe notwithstanding) and that you wish to draw in new fans who have little, if any, knowledge of Star Trek. I agree that this is a good thing. But why go out of your way to irritate as many Star Trek fans as possible? Aside from the improbable assembling of the crew members we all know and love, and the redesign of the ship (which looks fine, assuming it is roughly the same size as the TOS ship), not one change to canon served any purpose in the telling of story. Not one contributed to the improvement of the movie. Not one was in any way necessary as far as I could see.

The ship being built on the planet surface? In Iowa? Why?

The romance between Uhura and Spock? Why?

Cardassian Sunrise beverage? Why? (check the timeline of the Federation's first encounter with that race)

Ship's interior completely out of scale (shuttlebay, engineering). Why?

Minutes to travel from Earth to Vulcan? Why?

Cadet to Captain? Why? (and WTF?!?!?!)

There are so many more changes to canon I could point out but I've run out of time and must actually get some work accomplished in my studio. Note that this post only points out changes to canon and not the multitude of other problems.

In closing, it seems to me that it would be inexpensive for the studio to hire a Star Trek geek or two (not me, but the truly knowledgeable fans) to supervise and point out problems. At that point the director could listen, nod and then either agree to a change or cuff the offending fanboy/expert and proceed with his work.

Rating: 0 (Marc C.)

OK - I am not going to add much to what has already been said. Are there inconsistencies? Yes. Did some of them drive me crazy? Yes. Did I thoroughly enjoy the movie, however? Big time yes. As a Star Trek fan since my first year of high school in 1986, I have been disappointed by the 'staleness' of the franchise over the last 10 years or so. For at least the last decade, Star Trek has really only appealed to hard core fans - and that is a big problem. This movie brings a fresh perspective while still staying true to the universe.

I tend to agree with those that don't buy this as a time travel story. I am leaning toward viewing this as a parallel universe scenario, which would leave the original history safe and sound someplace else.

If Star Trek has taught us one thing, it is that ANYTHING is possible.

Rating: 8 (Brian)

Okay, I went to see the movie because I got to go for free. I want my money back.

I'll keep it short.

• Kirk had no character development - Pike was much more interesting.
• The story was... uninteresting - really, it's an alternate universe, who cares if everyone dies.
• There was no need to re-make the universe in JJ's image - there is a LOT of cool history built into the series and books that could have been exploited.
• Enterprise went from being a really cool "Tall ship" and a character in it's own right to a silly-looking toy, filled with what appeared to be a brewery where engineering should have been.

Honestly, there were a few okay moments, but this movie does for Star Trek what Phantom Menace did for Star Wars.

Nothing that happened in this movie needed to happen. The characters were well portrayed, but poorly written. It was relatively pretty, but had no substance. It really looked like J.J. had wanted to do Galactica, but got stuck with Trek.

I know a lot of you loved it and will not like what I am saying, but I'll stick with my guns. If they really wanted to re-make the universe, they should have gone with a Mirror-Mirror movie.

Rating: 1 (John Adams)

I write this review after only seeing a screener of the movie a couple of times and reading the novelization of the film. Being an avid Star Trek fan for many years I was anxiously awaiting the release of this film. The trailers were awesome and really built up the anticipation for this movie. Without the advantages of viewing a high quality video I didn't get to witness the eye candy that has made such an impression for a great deal of viewers. To start, here is what I liked:

• As everyone mentions, the visuals are state of the art.
• Carl Urban's McCoy is hands down the best characterization of the entire film.
• Scotty's comic relief was well received and was a nice enhancement to the character.
• That's the way that computer controlled phaser batteries should work!!! Sweeeeeeeet!
• Uhura's character finally got some credible substance to it. To bad they had to cheapen it by making her the sex object of the movie.
• The transporter effect was fabulous. An excellent and well thought out improvement.

What I didn't like:

• Nearly total disregard for any scientific consistency. (See Bernd's review)
• The Enterprise was just another space ship. Unlike previous Trek which presented the Enterprise as an important and memorable character. It didn't need an excessive "beauty run" like in the TMP but something would have been nice to establish a connection to the "new" Enterprise.
• Uninspiring plot. The time travel/alternate timeline routine has been done to DEATH in Star Trek. Hello! Something original and thought provoking please!
• Nero is a pitiful villain - enough said.
• Because of 3 and 4 above there is not a convincing development/build-up of an all powerful threat/enemy to overcome. The Narada is big and powerful but absolutely uninspiring of real dread and Nero is just a place holder because the ship has to have a captain. Without this there really isn't a well defined and definitive climactic moment for the movie to pivot on.
• As mentioned before and must be mentioned again - main engineering is absolutely HIDEOUS. Being an engineer myself I am definitely biased on this point since the established Trek did a very credible job of portraying future engineering. This turned me off and aggravated more than anything else in the movie. I sure hope they jettison these disgusting sets for future movies.
• There really wasn't any thought provoking elements of any great merit in the whole movie.
• Chekov's character was horrendous. I was praying that a torpedo would hit the bridge to put him out of my misery.

I could go on but I think that makes the point.

Other thoughts:

• I couldn't tell from the video I saw but it looks like the bridge was relocated to the bottom of the saucer section. What was that for?
• Kirk, Spock and Sulu's characters were ok but nothing special.
• What noteworthy accomplishment did Kirk achieve to be promoted from a cadet straight to a Captain!
• The "new" Enterprise is rather ugly. It lacks the simple clean elegance of all the other Enterprises.

At the end of the movie I was left with a rather bad taste in my mouth. Granted I did not get to feast on the visual extravaganza that is very well done in the movie but without it the movie is very uninspiring. I did have a nice time with some of the comic relief and the space battles (or more like slaughters since the fighting was heavily one sided). Kirk's cycle was cool, Sulu's swashbuckling was impressive and the musical score was perfect but that is not enough to make the movie good. J. J. Abrams succeeded in rebooting the Star Trek franchise but at the cost of booting out the brains behind Star Trek. He has pandered to the modern movie audience who has been wined and dined on action, special effects and sexual themes and morphed the Star Trek franchise into this mold. What has resulted is just another plain vanilla sci-fi movie that has a thin veneer of Star Trek without any substance. To sum up my review, the kindest title I can give the movie is "Star Trek: Shattered Universe" but the most apt is "Star Trek: Lobotomized"

What will the singularity do this time?: Why does a black hole at the "beginning" of this adventure cause the Narada to go back in time but at the end of the film it (correctly) crushes and destroys it?!?!?! What's up with that!

• Greatest character: Carl Urban's McCoy is absolutely fantastic. I watched the movie a second time to enjoy his performance and also to try to find something else to enjoy with the movie.

Rating: 3 ( Ryan Shultz )

Stardate 2233.04: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

Well my turn.

Just seen the film and those who are negative about it have hit the nails so well hard on the head, that it would be pointless saying what is already said; and well said may I add. Despite their decrees, this is a reboot of a film, with a plot that is designed with the soul purpose to cool ardent gullible Trekkies and woo fresh meat to the fold.

When I watched it a voice, a niggle, was telling me that this is NOT STAR TREK - despite what many would, have, and will say, there are certain things that make Star Trek unique amongst Sci-fi - here, that uniqueness was obliterated. Battered shuttles, dingy sets on Starfleet vessels(!), ships WELDED together with torches(!!!!), industrial works(!!!!!), no warp core and so on and so forth.

Also there are no original elements in this film; too many references to other pictures (Starfleet looking like Coruscant; Speeder bike, Robocop/Boush policeman; shuttles reminding me of Starship Troopers(!!!); parachuting stunts out of James Bond) or references to previous Star Trek films (villain with big spaceship planning to destroy worlds (Nemesis); absurd tech to do it with (Generations); unique deadly substance as plot device (Khan, Nemesis, Generations)). Combine this with a ridiculous plot of "blockbuster proportions" the net result is a mess of a film.

There are lots of things in this movie I do like, the humour is good, the acting is excellent, but overall it's just a blockbuster film reflecting a TV program in the same way Lost in Space and Mission Impossible did.

For a claimed $150Million budget, I expected a helluvalot more.

The powers that be decided to rub out Star Trek roots and start afresh - you cannot do that. It's like having a favourite ice cream, then some idiot decides to buy the place that makes it, cut away certain ingredients for costs or whatever, and resell it to me saying "it's the same but better!"

Nope it's an insult.

It has wowed many because its a 'fresh attempt', but I think that this "purging of the past and eradicating of what we know" is a very bad idea and will backfire. A blockbuster audience is a fickle thing and will look for bigger rides - they are a feeble base for you have to keep giving more - but as a result you alienate other people. In addition, if you make films with massive thrills and have to pile more - it can end up looking stupid.

As quoted by one critic - "having such a spectacular launch, will the next film fly or will the lot come crashing to the ground?"

The fact that the latest film has only stayed one week up the charts at No1 (being knocked off by Angels and Demons!!) and has not recuperated money to make it a box office hit in short time (compared to Wolverine) says it all (may have grossed over $100Million-plus on the opening weekend - but it cost $150Million, and then there is the profit margin and future films to compete with).

I think come a year from now people will look back and regard this film as a novelty at best and "a pathetic relaunch attempt" at worse.

Nutshell - not bad - but it's not Star Trek.

• Remarkable error: When Captain Robau of the Kelvin heads to the shuttlebay. Considering that the shuttle bay is ABOVE the BRIDGE, how did he get to it via a lift TAKING HIM DOWN into the ship? Ah the stairs!! Does not look like a very long staircase to me!
• Remarkable scene: The opening of the film when the USS Kelvin encounters the Narada, the fight that ensues, the death of Robau, the desperation but heroism of the crew, and the demise of George Kirk and the birth of his son - that was not just a moving good scene - it's also great cinema.
• Remarkable ship: The USS Kelvin - a ship that BELONGS in Star Fleet. Style, design, look - ticks all boxes for me.
• Remarkable fact: The interior of the Robau's shuttle - the curtains he goes though - they exist in real life and are used to prevent the entry of insects - look around a butchers or any food manufacturer. FACT!

Rating: 3 (Chris)

Stardate 2258.0: The New Star Trek movie! Star Trek XI, the next installment in the Star Trek series! This movie explores strange new worlds like never before! Fly at warp speed with a young Enterprise crew! MAJOR SPOILERS!

I like this movie. The movie took me up into Space, I felt like part of the action. Nero played a great bad guy, as well as the perfect Star Trek villain. Eric Bana was almost better then Khan. Pine played the bad boy Kirk so well, everything he did seemed to fit. Zachary Quinto played the perfect Spock, riddled with emotional turmoil. Then Leonard Nimoy came in. Starting off with his famous quote, he made the movie. The idea of time travel made the movie that much more interesting. The re-design of the Enterprise made things more exciting. The phasers on the Enterprise were very cool. They only showed pulse phasers and photons, but by showing pulse phasers they stayed true to the original series. JJ did a great job with this movie and I am looking forward to a Star Trek 2!

• Remarkable homage: In the first scene, the shuttles look like the Galileo 7
• Remarkable quote: "You Bet your ass captain!" -Scotty
• Remarkable dialogue: Kirk and Bones in Starfleet Academy
• Remarkable scene: The shuttle flight to the Enterprise
• Remarkable prop/set/ship: The phasers. The bridge. The Enterprise.
• Remarkable fact: Narada has Borg tech upgrades.

Rating: 10 ( Captain Kirk )

This was an interesting movie from many perspectives.

First and foremost, from a marketing perspective, it was brilliant. To be very succinct, it essentially made the general public forget anything they ever perceived about Star Trek.

Secondly, from a design point, they made it look, feel, and sound, more like a super hero flick, taking advantage (and smartly so) of what is popular at the moment. Advertising ON Heroes is a great example of their target audience. It was a movie big on weak and quick character development, explosions, and ADD inspired quick cut scenes, shaky cameras and bright flashy lights. Unfortunately, it was small on substance.

From a perspective of a fan such as myself, who loved how the Star Trek universe was a cohesive story that takes place over 100 years, I found the movie disappointing. There is more then enough room in the existing Star Trek universe to sustain new and compelling stories that are relevant to today's savvy viewer. I will never understand why they couldn't have created a "new" crew and new ship, to have adventures during TOS timeline. I will never understand why Spock decided that a new timeline was the only possible outcome despite history suggesting otherwise.

I could pick apart every little thing in this movie, from the ship, characters, plot, soundtrack, etc. But if I did that, I'd hate the movie and be deprived of a pretty decent movie. However I say this with the disclaimer that I have to ignore, disregard, and pretend that I've never seen or heard of Star Trek before. And that's tough because I love Star Trek.

On its own - it was a good, fun movie. I would recommend it. But from a Star Trek fan perspective, I hate it. So that's why I'll give it a 5 out of 10. It's great on it's own, but has absolutely no place in the REAL Star Trek universe.

Rating: 5 (Ivan Zammit-Susin)

Stardate 2233.04-2258: The confluence of Red Matter and a subspace annihilating dying star throw an insane Romulan and Ambassador Spock back in time creating a divergent reality. Can Spock help an alternate version of his friends and himself save Earth and stop a madman wielding a weapon of incredible destruction? Only if James T. Kirk can find the hero within...

I have been a Trek fan for a long time. I love DS9, even Enterprise- only Voyager and the film "Nemesis" left me cold. I was very concerned with this film, yet intrigued. How was I going to feel about a reboot? Would this still feel like Trek?

Turns out I am pretty good with it, and hell yes, it feels like Trek. Absolutely. For the first time in a while, I watched Star Trek and didn't say "well, that was acceptable Trek," but rather "wow- I had a great time!" Is this movie perfect? No- there's some sequences which made me wince (Scotty in the pipes, cavernous pip-filled engineering), and an awful lot of coincidence. Also, though I appreciate the effort on the part of the writers to appease the 3% of the potential audience who care to tie it to TOS, the alternate universe MacGuffin here doesn't quite explain all the differences. It's certainly a more honest effort that B&B made in Enterprise, and the movie shows a lot more internal consistency than Voyager. Regardless, with the possible exception of Scotty, these were good modern versions of the characters who made me love Star Trek in the first place. The sheer enjoyability of this film covered a variety of sins.

Best of all? My profession allows me to work with a variety of people- including some kids barely out of high school. When 19 year old kid and his wife ask to borrow my classic Trek episodes, something they had never considered before seeing this film, how can I fault the movie? If it's going to work like a gateway drug for TOS, I have to support the film. (Oh my joy when he came to work Monday quoting "The Cage...")

As a comic book fan, I have lived through a few canonical reboots of my favorite DC characters. In the end, Superman is Superman whether or not he was sent by Jor-L or Jor-El. Batman is Batman, even when he isn't "The Batman." Kirk may have blue eyes, but the cocksure adventurer who cuts Spock off with a curt "It'll work- trust me" about his plan is certainly the same character who could talk superintelligent space probes into offing themselves.

The movie is fun, fast, and not stupid. There's some things I have to reach to explain (did Kelvin have 800 people because it was taking a colony to say...Tarsus IV? Is the Enterprise curvier due to the Kelvin's sensor readings of the Narada?), sure- but didn't we do that in the 70s and 80s to explain their inconsistencies? We did that because we loved the heart of Star Trek, and that heart appears in abundance in this film.

My biggest problem on my initial viewing became one of the movie's strengths; the destruction of the planet Vulcan. So much of my Trek recognition and appreciation comes from how we regarded Vulcans and Vulcan in the 70s and 80s (hence my issue with early ENT). Watching Vulcan die made my stomach hurt. Then I realized- the movie, dramatically, had involved me viscerally. I realized that the "temporal reset button" I had become so accustomed to had been yanked out from under me. I had no idea what they might do next- I could get NEW Kirk/Spock/McCoy Trek stories... and not know what could happen. That was... fantastic, exciting, if I could just let go of things like whether or not Kirk had hazel eyes... I decided I would. I decided the benefits entertainment-wise, and Trek-future wise, were worth the sacrifice of Vulcan. Further- think of the dramatic possibilities facing Spock as a member of a race of only 10,000. How long until Sarek wants Spock to leave Uhura and marry this nice Vulcan refugee named T'Pring...?

Is it the best Trek movie? No. Is it a Sci Fi classic which changed the world? No. Is it a worthy addition to the Trek family? Yes. Did it make me smile and remember why I loved Trek in the first place? Hell yeah. Now- let's see them pull off a sequel.

• Nitpicking: The early appearance on the Narada of a certain Romulan sidearm; 800 survived on 22 shuttles? That's a tight squeeze. Slusho? Seriously?
• Remarkable quote: "You ARE fine without it..." -Kirk to Uhura in the bar
• Remarkable dialogue: "You once asked why I married your mother; I married her because I loved her..." -Sarek
• Remarkable scene: The minute Kirk walks on to the bridge with Spock after leaving Narada; he IS the #&*^#% Captain!
• Remarkable ship: The Enterprise- I hated her when I first saw her, I don't believe she's 700 meters long, but when she pulls out of Titan's atmosphere, she was awful pretty. When she warps in to save Spock, she's gorgeous. Every time I look at her, I like her a little more.
• Remarkable fact: My 19 year old colleague is now a dozen episodes into season one of TOS...and still loving it.

Rating: 8 (Dan Foster)

Stardate 1277.1: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

Here's an old saying I've always been in full agreement with: Star Trek is like sex - even when it's bad, it's pretty good! So then, how am I to explain how underwhelmed I felt upon leaving the theater after having seen this film? I suppose it can be chalked up to expectations. Namely, I expected to see Star Trek, but instead what I saw much more closely resembled Starship Troopers. Not that I'm knocking Starship Troopers. I actually liked that film for what it was, but it definitely wasn't Star Trek, and neither is this. Contrary to popular opinion, some of the previous Trek films WERE fun and watchable. 2, 4, 6, 8, all the rest we love to hate, right? Kidding, of course, because I'm one of the rare breed who actually liked 3, 7 and 9 (joystick notwithstanding), wasn't completely thrilled with 6, and didn't absolutely loathe 5. Even 10 had its moments, although you can't blink or you'll miss them. One thing Treks 1 - 10 had in common that 11 lacks is the ability, at some point during the movie, to make me CARE what happens to the characters involved. I usually want the good guys to succeed and the bad guys to fail, but in this one I could hardly have cared less if any one of them had fallen off a cliff and died. After all, these are alternate versions of the characters I've been getting to know since about 1982, and they've all lived long and prospered and croaked (except Spock, of course). The producers passed up on a wonderful opportunity to really explore the backstories of these characters, which is something else I was expecting in vain. But then I guess with there being seven of them, you'd probably need more than one movie for that ("Star Trek Origins: Bones" anyone?).

Put another way, my only major beef with ST 11 is that it seems targeted at those who want their sci-fi movies to be heavily populated by space battles and fistfights, those who aren't mature enough to feel anything beyond the adrenalin rush induced by flash, motion and noise, and those who would spit in the face of anyone asking them to think for a moment that anything is more important in life than their own self-gratification. It's a pretty big beef, indeed.

• This is the 23rd century. The inside of a starship is supposed to look relatively high-tech. It's not supposed to look like the inside of a foundry (Kelvin) or brewery (Enterprise).
• (Channeling Tom Hanks) "There's no destroying Vulcan in Star Trek!"
• Building a starship on the ground makes about as much sense as cooking in the shower.
• I know Romulans are related to Vulcans, but this is the first I've heard they're super-strong like them.
• Orion women have pheromones powerful enough to enslave men. Is Uhura really all that, or did Kirk's girlfriend have her glands removed?
• Final words: J. J. Abrams said Star Trek fans should not go see this movie. I wish I had listened to him.

Rating: 5 (J. S. K.)

I have been a devoted Star Trek fan from the sixties when I was a toddler I have loved every series, and I really looked forward to this movie, and while I did like it to me it wasn't quite ''Star Trek'' oh it was a great movie great SciFi but not my Star Trek, just like Daniel Craig is a great actor makes a great spy but to me isn't James Bond, the biggest disappointment for me was the destruction of my favorite two planets in the Trek universe, Romulus and Vulcan and the unrestored timeline.

One has to ask what they pay the guys who insure the Temporal Prime Directive for, though they dropped the ball on the whole Xindi situation, still killing off Vulcan and Romulus not to mention crippling the Klingon Empire just strikes me as bad for the franchise, it's TOO way off canon Star Trek myth, this upsets The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager timelines too, now the Borg could prevail over Earth or the Dominion could take over the Alpha Quadrant, I can only hope in a sequel Q shows up and zaps the timeline back to normal ,I also did NOT like turning the Romulans into rejects from Road Warrior, I could understand if THIS particular crew shaved and tattooed themselves in mourning but the scene of Spock prime on Romulus showed them bald and the women looking like Bo Derek, I don't know I am just too Trek Traditional I guess.

I would like rather have seen a storyline with the Kzinti or the Skorr threatening the Federation or if a temporal theme was going to be used maybe send a renegade Dominion ship back to try and engeneer a victory in the Dominion War, or even better a story in the 24th century timeline.

I DID like the movie though the actors would get a 10 in my book the storyline a 3,the flagrant casting aside of the timeline a 1 and the action and special effects a 9 overall rating a 7, also was a bit disappointed we didn't see Nurse Chapel.

Rating: 7 (Dave)

After learning of the general plot, this became the first Star Trek movie to hit the big screen that I was not excited about. And watching it today, I still feel the same.

To begin with, the plot is silly. There are simply too many coincidences, with the biggest one being Kirk being dumped on that ice planet as with Spock and Scotty (and don't even get me started on the naming of that planet). And why are the people put in command always leave the bridge for something else?! And old Spock not even trying to correct the timeline?!

For Trek history, the Kobayashi Maru test is another disappointment. That was it?! All he did was programme the Klingons to drop shields?! Seriously?! And gone is the optimism in Star Trek. I mean, did they really have to blow up Romulus and Vulcan, and kill George Kirk and Amanda Grayson for the movie to feel epic?

While the Enterprise bridge doesn't look as bad as on screen caps, the engineering (both Enterprise and Kelvin) feels too industrial. It feels more like this thing is running on coal rather than anti-matter. And the warp core being a few different pods?! Really?!

The new Enterprise still looks funny. The nacelles look like a toy. And there is no on screen evidence to back up its ILM official huge size. The Kelvin is another sore. If it is supposed to be built before the timeline tempering, would it have killed them to put the secondary hull below and the nacelle on top like every Federation starship in that era?

This movie failed to appeal to this long time fan. And I brought a friend whose knowledge include "Broken Bow", "Trouble with Tribbles", and "First Contact" (movie), and the response was "none of it makes sense" . So I guess it failed to create a new fan either.

Rating: 0 ( felixernie )

Well, so here we go. Star Trek (XI). It's different, very different, however I feel it was needed, before ANYONE hurls abuse at me, Star Trek WAS failing, ask people you know how was Star Trek PERCEIVED pre this film??

(I for one grew up with Star Trek, I'm 3 years older than the franchise, and it needed new input). Anyway I went down to my local Odeon cinema with my girlfriend (Melanie), (a bit of a trekkie too), and this is what we thought.

Funny we felt it WAS a bit Star Warsy, with a bit of Battlestar Galactica thrown in for good measure. Got the feeling there was a definite tongue in cheek feel to it, the Kirk/Uhura arc was quite a laugh, the look on Kirk's face when Spock "got the girl" so to speak, was the best bit.

Nero - AH, a loopy Romulan. The Narada was a mining vessel, Red Matter? Interesting idea. Puzzle: how come it was armed to the teeth??

Likes: the USS Kelvin, somehow this vessel just looked good to me, when someone does a cutaway, would love to know how the warp engine works? Could have done with more markings/colour, i.e. Starfleet pennant.

Yes we liked the new Enterprise, OK it has been scaled up to a ubership, a bit daft, but I wasn't too fussed - needs more windows though!!. The internals look fresh, like the bridge design definitely like the one on say the Enterprise-J perhaps?! The ships entering warp: engage - and gone! Took me by surprise, (and my girlfriend, all she said was, "Oh F**K"!!).

Dislikes: The engineering sections (Enterprise & Kelvin) - WTF??? (My girlfriend, ended up in fits of hysteria at that, everyone else though I was mucking about with her!). But seriously a brewery? Is JJ a complete idiot, where's the warp core, the matter and anti-matter feeds, and steam?? As an engineer, BIG mistake, REDESIGN PLEASE for next installment.

WTF bit: Err, the entrance to the shuttle hangar deck, support struts, hazard to incoming/outgoing traffic, the ATC guys would have nightmares!! (just kidding).

OK, YES, as I said at the start, its different, very different, but it's still Star Trek, and people are going to see it. The point is, people are interested again, which means new stories, and Star Trek continues - isn't that the point?

I guess there will be a lot of you, who will slag me off for these remarks, but, that's your life, I for one will give this new direction a chance.

Keep trekkin' (from Me) and love (from Melanie).

Rating: 8 (Ian Keenan)

Stardate 23.06.2009: Does it boldly go, or does it self destruct? A look at the re-boot of Star Trek, with film number eleven.

Firstly a disclaimer:

I do not pretend that I know all there is to know about the canon of Star Trek. I have enjoyed the various series and movies over the years as a fan, but do not rivet count every detail of every ship (though I accept and am happy to conform to the view that certain details in the film may be flawed).

Where to begin? The film is not mediocre as has been suggested, however it is not a serious work of fiction either, and therein lies a reason for some quarter's criticism of this film and its ultimately extreme reviews.

On the one hand, as a serious continuation of a franchise that started in the 1960s, the film scores highly with me because it feels like Star Trek. There's the sense of camaraderie between the crew that was always needed to be there, there's the comic timing of Simon Pegg as Scotty, a nod back to the real reason for James Doohan's character. All the ingredients are there — the characters themselves, their styling, both in costume and in drama.

Much has been said of the actors, and I will not add to this debate further- however, I would like to submit the view that Chris Pine as Kirk worked to the extent that he has room to grow and develop as an actor of Kirk. The one thing that Star Trek has never had, that reboots such as Batman, Superman, and other generic comic book superhero drear fests indulge in, is other actors playing the same role — how many Batmans have we had currently? There are only two James T.Kirks, and I think that is why there is so much to be said on Pine's character by Trekkies.

I feel that certain arguments are clouded because of the respect garnered for Shatner's portrayal of Kirk — and that is to be admired, not insulted. However, by treating Pine as a different Kirk, and not Shatner's Kirk — does he portray a confident young man, who doesn't believe in a "no win scenario"? I think so. If anything, his over exuberance brings a fresh look to the series that has had several generations of films with actors playing the same characters over forty years. Only Kelsey Grammar as Frasier comes close to beating that!

If we apply that to the rest of the cast, who could not be dazzled then, by Zachary Quinto's portrayal of Spock. Further, the fact that we have one of the original cast members playing alongside his protégé and we do not detect any less than a natural progression from one performance to another is indicative of how good Quinto in Nimoy's role is, and vice versa!

Karl Urban is another character who richly deserves praise for his measured and thought provoking role as Leonard McCoy — he's by no means the real McCoy, but his inflections and reflections were definitely in DeForest Kelley's vein.

In all, the cast of Star Trek was impressive, and meaningful — no one felt particularly out of place or surplus to requirements. On the other hand - the whole concept of the academy movie was flawed with the coincidental entrances made by certain characters. Getting all seven of the major roles together on the one ship was difficult enough, but how do we disregard the fact that for Scotty to be on the Enterprise in the new movie, he is marooned on the very planet that Kirk is then marooned by Spock on, later in the film, and then becomes chief engineer - all in day's work! "She cannae take it, Cap'n"!

With regards the sets, they were vibrant where they needed to be, and a fresh look to the Enterprise was a necessity. What we received in terms of the NCC-1701 was something that again, splits popular opinion. Either, it's a fresh take on a classic design, or to the other extreme, sacrilege in its entirety.

I happen to love the new design — when it is placed side by side with the original, the dated look of Jeffries original design becomes clear — looking flimsy by comparison. A design classic it may be, but the original Enterprise does look dated, a relic of the 60s yet supposedly 23rd century. The new Enterprise retains the same basic shapes and proportions, but updates the design to make it more believable in fitting with space flight designs today. That said, the size of the new Enterprise could be anything between 300 and 700 meters long, according to various sources and this esteemed website. Therein lies the biggest problem with this film — consistency.

This lack of consistency can be found in the science behind the film, which was lacking at times — many mentions of super sized Enterprises and short times for long journeys have been made. I feel that for the casual viewer the script scientifically not making any sense has been rendered irrelevant.

The job of the film is to entertain — and if you came away feeling thoroughly entertained, as I have done — well, then it has done its job. That said, being fair to the diehard fans — I can see why it provokes such an extreme reaction from certain quarters. Star Trek, in terms of plot, has been a modicum of consistency. Writers on every single incarnation of the franchise have gone back to the previous shows to try and write in allusions, characters and ships from times past. This film puts a big question mark on that idea of writing consistency, and that is where it falls down.

Star Trek was never going to be the perfect film for everyone. Its very nature means it will appeal to more of a mass audience than the diehard Trekkies. I can only think that a good thing — because if this becomes the entry level into more people discovering the serious, thought provoking sides of Star Trek as found in its many previous incarnations and films, and liking them, then it follows that the franchise will continue with a new audience, boldy going were no fans have gone before.

• "Jim I have been, and always shall be, your friend" -Leonard Nimoy (Spock Prime)
• First reveal of the completed USS Enterprise - seen in an Imax, it takes the breath away as much as the same ships' first reveal in the film franchise.
• "Out of the chair" -Zachary Quinto (Spock)
• Disaster Master Nero to Zero: Eric Bana's portrayal of revenge-mad Nero was fantastic, if made nonsensical by a severe lack of plot. Still, he provided the best line that never made it to the film: "The wait is over".
• Disaster Master's Apprentice: Chris Pine on edge - there's only so many times that nearly falling off a cliff or other high place and scrambling for safety can be played on in a film. This film tried it at least four times. It didn't work at least three times.
• Disaster Master's Starship: This ship made absolutely no sense to me. I get that its a mining ship in a previous life, but where did all the weaponry come from? And why is a drill necessary to destroy a planet if you have something that can create miniature black holes?

Rating: 9 (Simon Martin)

I am of several minds about the Star Trek reboot, some positive and some not. I suppose I should start with what my inner nerd didn't like, then what my inner storyteller didn't like, and finally what I did like about the film. And to be clear, I did like this film and plan on seeing it again at a brew-pub second run theater, but it is not without its flaws.

Here's what got my inner nerd honked off. The science was terrible, even by Star Trek standards. I don't like how it completely disregarded canon, especially in ways that made no sense at all. Why are the characters the wrong age relative to each other? Why is the Enterprise new when it is supposed to be around 15 years old at the time of the film? How big is this new Enterprise? Why does all the tech look and act differently? How does a military support ship from 130 years in the future defeat 40+ Klingon war ships? Why does Spock act like the one from the films rather than the uptight one from season 1? Why is the Enterprise being built on the ground ? What is up with the new Enterprise design, it looks like the unholy fusion of a Constitution and Sovereign class ships?

My inner storyteller got mad at things in Star Trek too. Nero doesn't seem to have a legitimate gripe, he just acts crazy, but not believably crazy like Khan. While he does a better job of having goals and working towards them then Trek's previous big screen "Romulan" bad guy, his goal still doesn't make much sense. He seems to be more interested in taking revenge on Spock for failing to be a hero, than preventing the destruction of Romulus in the first place. Also, this felt hollow for a Star Trek film, lacking anything truly thought provoking. The nonsensical set design on both ships made me cringe. I was actually disappointed with the action. There was enough of it, perhaps a little too much, but there was no definitive space battle like that has been three of the four good Trek films of old. The one at the start was alright, but watching an elephant step on a beetle just isn't compelling. I also couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a fun action adventure film, or a darker drama. It doesn't walk that line very well, so it would have been better to choose one path or the other. I guess The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly does that the best.

Now for what I liked about Star Trek. This movie was fun. The acting was good, with no one standing out as being bad. Of the three well established characters, only Spock stood out as being a little off. This was because, as I mentioned earlier, he acts like a later Spock, one who has assimilated a little into terrestrial culture. Uhura was the only main character to change significantly, which was actually a good thing, since she didn't have much of a character before. She went form a telephone operator to the sonar technician in "Hunt for Red October". There are many references to running gags from the series. The visuals were good, and not overly busy. Most of the action felt good and intense, without being frantic and hectic.

Conclusion: When I think of Star Trek as an entertaining adventure flick, I like it. When I put my storytelling glasses on, it's a better than average summer blockbuster. My Trek glasses must be bifocals, because I didn't like the irreverence for the established lore and canon, but I did like the portrayal of the characters and the light hearted mood of the original series. As much as I may complain about its abandonment of 40+ years of Trek, I recognize that a major change was necessary. Voyager, Enterprise, a mediocre, and a bad film left fans wanting better. And we got it. It's not perfect, but it's a much better starting point than The Motion Picture. Here's hoping Star Trek XII follows in the footsteps Star Trek II. And J.J. Abrams, if for some bizarre reason you read this, I got three words for you regarding the next one: Kahn versus Tribbles!

Comparisons: A better prequel than the three Star Wars movies. Not as good a remake as Battlestar Galactica. Fifth best Star Trek film, between First Contact and The Search for Spock.

Familiar themes: Time travel, crazy bad guy, Enterprise vs uber ship, anonymous red shirt ensign dies on away mission, the Enterprise is all that stands between Earth and annihilation.

Story: 4/10

Action: 9/10

Immersion: 7/10

Rating: 7 (Stephen Hitchcock)

Stardate 2258.42: Synopsis in main Abramsverse listing

After having watched the movie three times I finally feel I get the movie enough to write a review about it. Star Trek is a good movie and it's even a good Star Trek movie. It's still not Wrath of Khan (TWOK) but it has beaten First Contact for the #2 spot. Still it's not a perfect (Star Trek) movie and that's what I'll try to explain in the next few paragraphs.

The most noticeable thing that any Trekkie will spot immediately is that it completely reimagines the original Star Trek. There's no getting around it, it's a BSG-style reimagining (although it doesn't go as far as to make Spock a woman) and you have to except that or else you're going to be bummed out for the entire movie. They bring in a time travel plot to explain this change but that just doesn't work when you think about it. But at least they tried and it would've been worse if they just jumped into the new universe without connecting it with the old one.

The first few minutes of the movie you'll be on the edge of your seat, even more so if you watch it in a movie theatre where Michael Giacchino's music (more about the music later) really helps elevate the experience to an epic scale. That ten minute intro is perhaps the finest scene in the entirety of Star Trek's movies and TV series. It's gripping and breathtaking. Even the title screen is a tearjerker. You have to see it to experience it.

After that the movie goes off in the wrong direction. The whole cop chase feels a bit too contrived. It does succeed in it's goal to show off that Kirk's a rebel but it does it in a wrong way. Also what's with that Nokia product placement? Luckily it picks up after that and the quality goes up in a straight line until the end. Especially Kirk's scenes are fun to watch and Pine does an excellent job to show us some of Kirk's characteristics.

From there on out the main plot unfolds and while it never reaches the same heights as the intro it's still a great ride. There are a few moments when Abrams drops the ball but those do not outweigh the good scenes. Especially the ending is very well done and it's only beaten by TWOK's ending.

Now that I've briefly gone through the movie I want to delve a bit deeper into the various aspects of the movie and point out the things I liked and disliked.

Cast: The recast characters are all very well done. Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Karl Urban (McCoy) really nail the essence of the characters from TOS. Even though the Spock in this movie might seem emotional and erratic at times this is very well explained in the movie. It lends greatly upon Nimoy's character after TOS who grew more in touch with his human side an almost undeveloped something in TOS. When he is being logic, he's almost exactly like a (albeit younger) version of Nimoy in TOS. Urban does a great job but since the Kirk-Spock relationship is paramount in the movie he doesn't get to add much to the character. I want to see more of him in the sequel. Zoe Saldana's Uhura is perhaps the most reimagined character of the crew of the Enterprise something I praise the writers for. A pretty standard character in TOS she is transformed into someone who can hold her ground and can compete with the best man around. That is truly something that fits in with Roddenberry's utopian vision.

Chris Pine as Kirk is good but not the best. I think this mostly has to do with him not being the character he is in TOS and beyond. Unlike the others (except Chekov, but he's always been a kid) he's still not mature enough. I'm confident this will change in the sequel as during the moments he was the captain he was very convincing.

The rest of the characters get very little screen time and thus cannot reach the same depth as the other characters. Yet when they do appear on screen they do their best. Anton Yelchin does a better job as Chekov then I thought. The real let down is Scotty. He's not a clown, but for some reason Pegg seems to think so. Perhaps it's the writers fault as well. He's a bit too much comic relief. The miracle worker attitude and the few serious lines he gets hold promise though.

Another letdown is Nero. Eric Bana does a great job but his character is given very little depth. There was one moment when he could've explained a lot of his motivation and origin but for some reason the writers and director let that opportunity slide. Luckily I read the Star Trek: Countdown comic books which explain a lot of the plot holes in the movie. Nero is a much better character in those comics and it's a shame that they didn't follow through on that.

Bruce Greenwood as Pike is arguably my favourite character. While Pike is nothing like it in "The Cage" Greenwood and the writers make Pike into a character that feels natural. It feels as if always was to be this way. The characters of George Kirk, Winona Kirk and Captain Robau are also very well done. I wish I could see more of them.

In the end I almost always forgot I was watching new actors play my favourite characters. And that's what it's about.

Design: The most striking difference between old Star Trek and new Star Trek is the look. Almost everything was redesigned. The starships I have no problem with. With the exception of the Enterprise's huge nacelles everything looks great and not too farfetched. The interior designs I'm not so happy with. Especially the Enterprise's bridge and engineering are just awful. While the Kelvin's interiors have the same basic design as the Enterprise's (as they are redresses) on the former it feels more like a whole. On the Enterprise you have the iPod-white bridge versus the grimy engineering section (which is too big by the way). It just doesn't work. Hopefully they'll tone it down a bit for the sequels. It's great for Abrams that he saved money by making a brewery into an engineering section but it just doesn't work. The more futuristic looking concept art of engineering was much more appealing. Industrial doesn't work with Trek.

Luckily the design is not as important as it is mostly about the story and the characters. So only during a few scenes it bothers a bit.

Sound & music: For this aspect of the movie I have nothing but praise. The sounds either sound like TOS or are pulled straight from it. The music is probably one of the highlights of the movie. Michael Giacchino did a great job. When you can't imagine the movie without the music then you know you done a good job as a composer. The new Star Trek tune fits the movie much better than the old one. It really captures that Star Trek feel. Overall the soundtrack is among the greatest in the Star Trek pantheon. It's right up there with Horner and Goldsmith.

My only gripe is that they did not put music under the Kirk-taking-command scene. That was such an awesome moment in the trailer but in the movie it was pretty dull even though it was such a life-changing moment for Kirk.

Continuity: Star Trek's biggest problems are the continuity issues. Some can be excused. But some are just blatant errors that Abrams didn't have to make. Especially the Delta Vega thing annoyed me. It's just unnecessary name dropping.

About the whole Vulcan-getting-destroyed thing, I think it's the best thing Abrams could've done. It shows that he's willing to do things. Old Trek was safe. In the end everything was still the same which made it often lack excitement. Abrams basically kills off a character (Vulcan). That's always a hard thing to do but sometimes it can be the right thing to do. First of all it offers great storytelling ideas for novels and such. The Vulcan race and culture still survive so nothing of that is lost. I don't see what the problem is.

The future: What excites me the most about the movie is its possibilities. I like to compare Star Trek to Batman: Begins. Both are very good movies, they made about the same money on the same budget and they both rebooted/reimagined a popular universe. If one can see what can grow out of Batman: Begins (The Dark Knight) than imagine what's possible with Star Trek II. I also like how it opens up a whole new universe for us fans. It's pretty much like after Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Fans were shown a whole new universe (new characters, a new Enterprise, Klingons with ridges!) and nothing was certain. With TNG you kinda knew what could happen because the universe was fleshed out by three series and four movies. It's a good time to be a Trekkie.

Rating: 8 (Robau)

I went into the theater for the first time fully prepared, if need be, to think it was the best movie I saw, yet consider it no more canon than "The Empire Strikes Back". It was an awesome movie, and once it was over, the whole theater, an audience which knew their Star Trek well enough that Sulu's admission that his hand-to-combat was fencing drew huge laughs, stood up and applauded. The interest I've seen it create in the rest of the franchise, especially TOS, should not be underestimated - my teenage sister, who I don't think had ever seen a full episode (she saw TMP at 4 and V'Ger creeped her out), saw it the first weekend, borrowed Season 2 on DVD, and returned it months later, asking along with questions ("Is Commodore Decker the '7th Heaven' guy's dad?", "Did the Nazi planet people really have to have such blatantly Jewish names?", "Is that why evil twins always have goatees?", etc.) which left absolutely no question that the episodes had been watched. I can certainly see why some fans would be less reverential then I am, and I have the utmost respect for that opinion. But when all is said and done, I never doubted that a great number of the people who made this movie loved "Star Trek" and had a mission to do right by it - something you don't always see in films like this.

Some of my feelings...

The Ship - I'd describe it as, what it might've looked like had the TMP refit made more of an effort to keep the TOS shape - I do wish they'd done the red nacelle lights like in the drawing, but for a spacecraft created for a less than high-budget TV show in 1964, I thought it was pretty damn faithful.

Designs - They took it too far, especially engineering, but I kind of like the idea of the somewhat more "industrial", lived-in quality (the dented, weather-beaten, paint-chipped look for the shuttles was a definite plus).

Uniforms - I liked the variety, and that Starfleet personnel didn't wear the exact same thing all the time, that the red-blue-gold was the specific shipboard uniform, not the only thing in your wardrobe. I loved that they managed to take the TOS design and make it look like something you'd actually see a military officer wearing.

The Cast - A big plus. I liked the type of people used - no real "stars", but I recognized all of them, and they got people who knew this was not just any film role. And while I believed all of them in the role, Kirk will always be William Shatner, Uhura will always be Nichelle Nichols, etc. The only one I visualize as "the" character is Bruce Greenwood as Pike - the transporter room scene is Sarek's finest hour, but I still and always will see Mark Lenard when I hear the name.

Shatner - The sad truth is, I'm glad he wasn't in the movie, because accepting William Shatner in his current physical state as Kirk would require a greater suspension of disbelief than any continuity violation.

Vulcan Youth - I regard the scenes of young Spock's ass-whooping of the school bully and joining Starfleet once he realizes that the Science Academy elders regard him as someone who overcame the "disability" of of not being fully Vulcan as the "prime" canon story as much as if they were a flashback in "Journey to Babel".

Known Romulans - Realistically, I think that, with our own advances in fiber-optics since 1966, the idea that there was no visual contact during the Romulan War, and therefore the Romulan-Vulcan similarity known to the Federation, is obsolete (there are a few other things, like the Ferengi raiding NX-01, where I think the "error" is more likely than the continuity it violates), but that doesn't mean they should've done it.

Klingon Warbirds - Should've been called battle cruisers (I'm actually OK with the term in "Broken Bow", since it was used by one of the Vulcans - I don't see anything inconsistent with Starfleet and the High Command having different names for various ship), but at least they were D7/K't'ingas and not some completely new ship.

What's She Doing There? - Orci and Kurtzman said Winona was a Starfleet officer (which also explains why she was off-world for the 'Vette scene), but I don't really buy that, since must not have been much of one if just having one Starfleet parent instead of two was the difference between raising Shatner/Kirk and Pine/Kirk.

He Can Drive? - I'm glad they got rid of the Uncle Frank scene, since it would've established that the Corvette was George Kirk's, and assuming he's the good father Nimoy/Spock implied he was, I can't imagine he wouldn't have Jimmy how to drive it, which would spit in the face of "A Piece of the Action". At least as it was shown, the stepfather could've easily been the real owner.

Bar Drinks - I have no problem whatsoever with of "Budweiser Classic" - I'm a little biased because it's my beer of choice, but one of my favorite things about Star Trek is the idea that a Humanity which has not only reached the stars but welcomed their inhabitants to Earth with open arms still loves riding motorcycles and takes undue pride in the athletic successes of their alma maters - and my slight objection to "Cardassian Sunrise" has to do with the second word, not the first; whether the Cardassians had been encountered in 2255 or not, I assume the idea was to take part of the name of a human cocktail, like tequila sunrise, and add an alien race to the name, and such a drink would probably not be named after a miserable swamp-hell like Cardassia Prime.

All that aside, there are plenty of inconsistencies...

• Regardless of whether she was built in space or on the ground, the Enterprise that James Dean Kirk gazed upon from his motorcycle looks pretty damn complete for a ship that's three years from service, especially knowing that her "prime" counterpart was effectively disassembled and rebuilt from the ground up in two-and-a-half.
• His obvious role as Kirk's sidekick requires the two of them to stick together, but since Starfleet Academy is supposed to be like West Point or Annapolis, there's no reason for McCoy, who had already finished med school, much less college, to be there.
• God knows Kirk must've been pretty damn cocky at the Academy, but that was just a little too obvious.
• My respect for Tyler Perry, and the gravitas he brought to the role, doesn't make it any more believable that the commandant of the military academy serving and interstellar government which includes species with lifespans of centuries would be a 40-year-old Human.
• Even if near-complete gender-equality (I can't really say there's full equality when Crusher and Troi's uniforms are about four sizes tighter than Picard and Riker's) wasn't one of the staples of the "better" future Trek is beloved for, regarding Kirk's behavior toward Uhura, (who, given her appearance and intelligence, probably gets worse than than 9 times out of 10 when she goes to a bar - after they got back to San Francisco, probably took a swing at them for making her look like a damsel in distress) if that lame, harmless pass drove those cadets to pick a fight with Kirk, I don't see how they lasted a year at the academy, much less "Cupcake" quite possibly being Security Chief on the Enterprise.
• If ramming the Kelvin into it did as much damage to the Narada as you're led to believe, you'd think someone (if Starfleet, evacuating anyone you could, if Klingon - and I'm half-convinced there was a cloaked battle cruiser or two watching the opening scene - an easy ticket to Sto-vo-kor) in the other battles would've thought to ram it.
• The smile on my face when I heard Scotty say whose pet he lost doesn't change the fact that, even if Human lifespans have started to increase, Archer being not only alive but at least somewhat active in Starfleet at 146 is quite a stretch.

All in all, though, one of the things I really liked about the movie is the fact that it acknowledged "Enterprise" (and no offense to the rest of the crew, but the fact that it is Kirk himself who is aware of Archer and his dog strikes me as about as a huge compliment). I do kinda wish they'd had a quick cameo of one of the cast, but as the movie was, the two ideas I had (T'Pol as a Vulcan Elder, one of them or their child on the Academy panel) wouldn't have worked; in T'Pol's case, I can't imagine someone who fell in love with Charles Tucker III silently accepting the comments that drove Spock to Starfleet, while if she was aboard the Enterprise, I assume she could've assumed command if Spock was "compromised" (I think she would've taken the ship to Earth, but that doesn't let Kirk become Kirk) - as for the other, I'd figured days, not minutes, would pass the test and the hearing, during which time Kirk would've learned everything he could about those on the panel, finding various "no-win" situations where they emerged victorious, and confronted them, reminding, say, Admiral Phlox of Starfleet Medical that, had he and Archer just accepted Trip's condition, and not made the clone, in "Similitude", Earth would be an asteroid field today. Granted, I am a sucker for setimentality, and definitely would've had a lot of things like that (had Robert Duncan McNeil on the panel as an Admiral Paris, thrown in a line to McCoy's shuttle rant implying that Emony Dax might have something to do with his divorce, had Jose Tyler be the guy with lungworms).

If I Were Spock, I'd Be Pissed - So would I, but -

• We're not Spock
• If my future self told me it was for the best, I'd take me seriously
• In many ways Spock's own conduct is a can of worms best left unopened
• If someone really, really wanted to nitpick, you could probably say that Spock's placing of Starfleet duty over Sarek's life to the point that Amanda isn't sure she can even reach him is inconsistent with the idea that Spock's decision to choose Starfleet over the Vulcan Science Academy was essentially a "Fuck you" to those who he feels disrespected her, the claim that he never loved her is what makes him lose it, and Sarek's admission that he did love her is really how he gets it back.
• I was a little disappointed that Nimoy's "Space, the final frontier..." said "where no one has gone before" - especially since TATV reverted to "no man" . ENT I think clearly made the old version make more sense, because pretty much everywhere they went was somewhere that no (Hu)man had gone before, but someone almost certainly had.
• Nero talks about a safer Romulus free of the Federation. Without the Federation, the Romulus lost to the supernova is a Dominion slave-world.
• Comic nitpick: When Kirk, Spock and Pike are beamed back from the Narada, if I was deaf and hadn't seen the rest of the movie, I would've thought the other transporter guy was Scotty.
• Remarkable scene: Sarek's finest hour, knowing when the logical action is to throw logic out the window when his half-Human son needs his father.
• Remarkable dialogue: Uhura's Dumb Redneck line to Kirk - I can't decide if it's a slap in the face to Roddenberry's vision or, being said by an African to a white American, a sign of just how far Humanity has come.
• Future: I hope they don't do Khan, mostly because I think Spock Prime told Starfleet Command something to the effect of, "If any starship encounters about 70 people on an old derelict sleeper called the Botany Bay, don't revive them - trust me on this one."

Rating: 10 ( Ten-Pint )

Stardate not given: The best film since "The Undiscovered Country".

I am a big fan of Star Trek having seen all the episodes and many documentaries. I thought this film was fantastic.

I can accept this timeline exists as an alternative reality, whilst the timeline we watched the last 40 years exists still. I accept this because neither of them exist at all! It is not real!

Once people accept that they can enjoy the film, it looks different because special effects have improved. It was a nice touch for them to include some original sound effects. I liked the bridge I believe its white decor is a nod to the bright optimistic look of the original series. Most films have much darker lighting these days.

The film achieved a lot and gained the praise of Leonard Nimoy (a man who turned down a part in "Generations" as he saw his role as insignificant.) and Majel Barrett. These two are well qualified to know what makes good Star Trek. It's far better than Enterprise or Voyager. Neither of which I believe deserve to be called Star Trek.

The biggest compliment I can give it is that it took me back to my childhood. I felt like I was watching the original series again. It gave me the fun and excitement of watching the original cast as a kid which is no small feat to accomplish.

• Remarkable scene: McCoy risking his career to get Kirk aboard the Enterprise.
• Remarkable quote: "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?"
• Remarkable ship: The Enterprise. New yet respectful of the original.
• Remarkably unremarkable tech: The transporters. Nice to see they have risk and aren't used constantly.

Rating: 10 (Nathan G)

Stardate not given: An abysmal assassination of 40 years of Star Trek!

I don't even know where to begin... But I suppose I should start with my initial impression. When I heard of the new Star Trek movie being shown in the theatres, like every Star Trek fan, I was ecstatic! Then, unfortunately, I went to actually SEE it... and the torture began.

I won't write any extended rants on all the innumerable abominations in this movie, I will simply list the most glaring ones below, explain why I was almost tempted to grace this piece of thrash with 1 point, and express my sincere hope that *someone* will pay back that Abrams cretin (I promise I would if I could find him) for assassinating Star Trek!

Torture 1: Special effects: For the first 15-20 minutes of the movie, my eyes began to hurt from all the lens-flare effects every 5 seconds, strobing at all imaginable and unimaginable frequencies almost as if intended for the viewers to go blind! To say that the special effects were overdone is an understatement: glow, glow, glow. Glowing panels, glowing screens, glowing status displays, glowing ships, glowing interiors (the "Enterprise" bridge being a prime example -in quotes because that ship is NOT the Enterprise, no matter what anyone says. Half the time the lens-flare effects and various blurs kept me from even seeing clearly what was going on... but I seriously doubt I was missing much! Still, regarding special effects, therein lies the one reason I almost give this abomination 1 point...almost: The destruction of Vulcan! 6 billion of those smug, condescending, arrogant bastards with a superiority complex dead! Something I have been wishing forever, and especially since DS9 episode "Take me out to the Holosuite". Finally!

Torture 2: Characters: Oh my... Kirk - immature irritating idiot with a penchant for starting brawls. I really liked that bar scene where those five cadets beat the hell out of him! And still less than he deserves! Spock - ironically, the only character who even remotely resembles Nimoy's performance in the Original Series. I admit, he even gained my approval when his character (as a boy, different actor, obviously, but still) attacked that Vulcan boy calling his mother a wh**e. I only wish he pressed the attack further... Still, as an adult, he definitely IS Spock, hiding his thinly veiled contempt for humans beneath his veneer of "logic". Well, at least now that his world is gone, that insufferable superior attitude should change. Old Spock - Leonard Nimoy's cameo appearance was nothing more than a form of "blessing" for this movie. For him even to agree to take part in something like this shows than Nimoy's standards have lowered in his old age, for I can't imagine his younger self ever appearing in this! I never liked his character, true, but he always did play Spock with absolute conviction and believability! Not anymore. Uhura - I really liked Nichelle Nichols as the original Uhura. She had style, character, attitude and intelligence AND a pretty face! The new one... all that is left is a pretty face. Admittedly, a VERY pretty face (and the rest is not bad, either), but Star Trek was never about characters as shallow as that! She is supposed to be a prodigy with languages (speaking "all three Romulan dialects" ), but I wish she had a chance to demonstrate her skills somewhere in the movie! But as it was, with Romulans speaking in English all the time, her role was reduced to playing hard-to-get flirt with Kirk, and having a crush on Spock. Well, at least she gave me something nice to look at! Sulu - At least one consistency with the Original Series, they remembered that Sulu is supposed to be an expert at fencing. And that skirmish on the beam emitter with the Romulans proved his more than passing knowledge of some karate moves as well! Now, if the actor (whose name I don't know or want to know) only looked and sounded REMOTELY like the original Sulu, another of my favourite Original Series characters, I would be as happy as a dog with four legs! But obviously, I expect too much. Chekov - From a small driven chief of security with a BIG attitude and courage as he was in the Original Series, my favourite Star Trek character of ALL time was reduced to an insecure skinny boy with a talent for science and transporter operations. At least he had some role in the plot... Conclusion: to cut this short, because it would go another 20 sentences at least, the only two characters who even halfway met my expectations were Spock and Bones (I can imagine Bones like that when he was young).

Torture 3: Sets: Aagh! "Enterprise" engineering - a water treatment facility! "Enterprise" bridge - a white-ish-silvery-bluish strobing lightshow! I don't understand how anyone can stand being there for more than 5 minutes without going crazy! Kelvin interiors - a mess of girders, welded walkways and steaming ducts! Filthy, disorganized, chaotic. More like a malfunctioning oil platform or a refinery building site than an interior of a starship! I actually liked the Kelvin bridge, however: Subdued lighting, efficient, militaristic feel! If only the "Enterprise" bridge was like that... Ships: "Enterprise" - once again, I don't care what anyone says, THAT is not the Enterprise! What an eyesore! Ugly, oversized nacelles, with massive impulse thrusters at their ends, the "neck section" over three times as wide as that of the original Enterprise, backward-swept primary saucer hull...sheer horror! What a far cry from the simple and austere, but elegant design of the original. Warp sounds and effects: That irritating "pop" sound when entering warp, and the white-ish streaked blur that is meant to represent warp travel? I don't think so!

• Remarkable scene: The destruction of Vulcan . Long time have I waited for that... A shame it never happened, for this is NOT a Star Trek movie...
• Romulans! THOSE ARE ROMULANS?!? (inspiration: that line by Bashir in "Trials and Tribble-ations" - "Those are Klingons?!" ) My reaction when, halfway through the movie, I finally realized those primitives and their abomination of a ship are supposed to be Romulans. The mysterious, suave, arrogant, unpredictable, devious and sophisticated Romulans being reduced to a rabble of primitive bald tatooed thugs?! If these were Middle Ages, Abrams would be burned on a stake for this sacrilege by the Inquisition! And I would be the first to light the fire! 
• And, of course, let's not forget the Narada: A "simple mining vessel" , the size of 20 D'deridex class Warbirds, and about 5 times their firepower, hideous, misshapen, without ANY features remotely identifying it as a design of the Romulans, whose ships are renowned for their stylishness and elegance (the beautiful Norexan class warbird Valdore from "Star Trek Nemesis" being a prime example). Simply abominable!
• Red matter: It creates black holes. How? Why? Not even a flimsy explanation how a single drop of... something... can possibly rupture the fabric of subspace and create a singularity! Enough said.
• Old Spock's line: "a star went supernova, and threatened to destroy the galaxy" is simply absurd! How can the explosion of one star destroy the GALAXY?!? Idiot!
• The plot: No structure, no reasons, no logic of any kind. Why did the supernova that destroyed Romulus occur? Exactly when did this happen, in relation to the events of Star Trek Nemesis and all the events since, as described in the many books written by many brilliant authors about post-Shinzon developments in the galaxy? It doesn't. It NEVER HAPPENS! This is NOT STAR TREK! This is a twisted perversion of one man! Abrams. Who had the AUDACITY to kill 40 years of Star Trek! I'll waste no more time on this!

Rating: 0 ( Darko )

There is little that can be said that wasn't said by the reviews before this. But there is still some.

Generally the biggest flaw in the film is that it's riddled with logic flaws. A whole lot of them are already listed on this site, but there are some more: very obvious one is that you only need a small fraction of Red Matter to destroy a planet and to stop a supernova from expanding. Now how much of it was ignited when Spock hit Narada? That's right, it was the *whole tank*! Not only should that destroy both Narada and Enterprise in a second, but also the whole solar system and probably the whole quadrant!

Another logic error that wasn't mentioned is the viewscreen. Even current day software can keep the correct aspect ratio on any screen, so why is the transmission on the viewscreen stretched so horribly?!

And I'll mention some of the noted errors as well. For one, anyone who have ever seen a single Star Trek episode knows that phasers are hitscan beams, not projectiles! In fact, even those who haven't watched any can tell that, because it's in its name, phaser - phase laser/phase maser, and lasers are beams of light, not projectiles! So to me the scene when Sulu-alternate was ordered to fire all phasers looked like if he was thinking "I don't know how to fire phasers, so to compensate, I'll fire more photon torpedoes!"

The characters - they are not the same as those from TOS. They are like something between them and the Mirror universe, although that might have been the whole idea. Still, those characters are not the ones I know!

The graphics is good, though. That's something to be expected. I don't even mind the Apple bridge - it might be confusing just because we were never shown it long enough to see what panel does what. Talking about that, the pace of the film was way too fast. There were dramatic moments in TOS, such as TOS: "The Doomsday Machine" and TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome", but they were never rushed and there was always enough time to think over what we know. While here there is nothing but action, action that we don't understand because we were never given enough time to realise what was going on. And even the action was chaotic, people running around the bridge in a dangerous situation instead of concentrating on their task!

The sound is probably the best part of the film. There are a lot of original sound effects used, and you could see the difference between outside and inside space. And I liked the funny sound the Jellyfish made. Also, I don't think that space scenes should be all silent, since sound is where we can get quite a lot of information from. Talking about music, I didn't notice it that much, but it didn't stand out as bad so it was probably good.

About the whole reboot thing - I'm being optimistic and hope that all future films and TV (internet?) series will return to the prime universe. It was never destroyed and Abramsverse is officially regarded as an alternative one. So, just like there never was a film or series where everything takes place in the Mirror universe, neither should there be anything in the Abramsverse.

To sum it all up, the film is nothing special, has huge logic flaws and generally not very worth watching. The best part of the whole film was the end credits with Nimoy's speech, original music and planets. Hence I give it 3/10.

• Remarkable prop: Sulu's sword. That was a nice touch, although I'd prefer an extending rapier instead.

Rating: 3 (GreatEmerald)

There are things I like about the J.J. Abrams version, and some huge problems. I will start with the problems because I would like to finish my review in a positive tone.

The first I came across this "reboot" (since when does rebooting a computer change everything unless you install a new operating system?) as we have taken to calling this, was in a graphic novel which explains much of the omitted information in the movie. Such as the cranial/facial tattoos being a symbol of mourning for the Romulans; or that Data has been 'rebuilt' since Nemesis and assisted in the mission which sends Spock into the 'parallel' universe. (This may actually have been more interesting than some of the standard Hollywood clichés we were fed as part of the string of coincidences in this offering.)

This is the BIG issue. You can't say that the 'parallel universes' exists now when two planets and almost their entire populations were removed from the 'Prime Universe' this far in the past. What happened to the temporal prime directive or those who seek to preserve it? It is spurious reasoning to assume that because 'Prime Spock' told Kirk to take over the captaincy of the ship in order to preserve the timeline all will work out as we know it did. It is almost impossible to accept that a Vulcan of his scientific acumen would actually believe this is all it takes to rectify the loss of so many Vulcan and Romulan lives; all of whom have some interconnection in everything that follows no matter how minor. The logic is flawed in this premise. What happens to Tuvok in Voyager? What of the Romulan fleet which helps to hold off the Dominion fleet in DS9? These things can no longer exist as there are not enough people to rebuild those cultures in under 100 years. (Unless they genetically engineer new people or breed like flies.) Perhaps Mr Abrams should have made a movie of Andromeda instead.

This does have the potential to be rectified, given that Ark episodes have been used by writers such as Robert Hewitt Wolfe to great effect in the past we may be able to assume that this is a sneeky 'alternative universe trilogy' as there is the possibility of a set up for this, but as stated in the main review, that is starting to become a bit Star Wars, but hey, that was a great movie too. Perhaps 'New Spock' will remember what occurs and complete the loop in the timeline. It's been used as a continuity device before. As long as 'Prime Spock' remains in this timeline then all others are fundamentally changed because of it. I think the rest of the issues I have with this installment are well covered by the first review. I won't labour the point by rehashing them further here. I'll move on to what I did enjoy about this movie.

Some of the backstory worked well for me, some didn't. I found young Kirk self centred, opportunistic and annoying. 'Prime Kirk' was some of these things, but the underlying philosophy of the Star Trek universe seemed to be missing in him, more so than just because he lost his father (which only slightly explained his ridiculous behaviour).

I enjoyed all the actors, I thought they were well cast and did a great job with the material they had to work with. Any problems were script related in my opinion.

I enjoyed seeing the construction of the Enterprise, I thought it was interesting to build it in the desert and I am sure there would be some way to get it into space (eventually) so I won't begin on the physics of such an endeavour. I even liked the redesigned lines of the ship, I would wonder if budgets were bigger for TOS if Gene Roddenberry wouldn't have approved it way back when. The interior left me cold though.

As an introduction for movie goers who have no previous experience with Star Trek it is a great action packed story; though too Hollywood Blockbuster with very thin plot structure which belies the depth of the Trekaverse those of us who have grown up with it know it to be. I am interested to see where it leads but will have to reserve full judgement until it is completed and we understand the full vision (or lack of same) of the writers producers and directors. Let's just hope it's not a lame glossy rehash of a great story dragged down to the lowest common denominator like 'Batman Returns' was.

Rating: 0 (D-Druid)

I have just watched the film for the first time. I had been avoiding it as I dismissed it as non-canon and a teenage action flick. I was wary when I first heard about the movie, because of the basic synopsis- the TOS crew basically all meet up just after they're old enough to vote and hop on board Capt Pike's Enterprise. As you know the TOS ensemble came together in batches over the 2 pilots and "Corbomite Maneuver", with Chekov not appearing until Season 2. That to me remains the biggest inconsistency to add to the ones listed elsewhere. But I'm a sucker for (another) alternate timeline story so I watched out of interest. I didn't initially realise that the entire film was an alternate timeline, but Vulcan blowing up was a slight hint. I assumed that the rest of the film would be about the crew correcting this small change in history à la First Contact and COEOF- when they didn't I understood the nature of this "reboot". I'm partly reassured about its canon status, as I can see that the alternate timeline plot is a device to (try to) explain the differences from TOS, and this demonstrates that this was written by someone who cares about the overall Trek narrative. To me any debate about multiverses, while interesting in itself, is here less important than trying to understand how Nero's intervention causes all the inconsistencies, because only that would settle any doubt about how seriously to take this and future films.

Rating: 5 (David Lake)

Stardate 2258 (Actual stardate unclear): See original EAS synopsis.

When I first heard of a new Star Trek movie with new actors playing the original cast, I didn't scream, I didn't wine and complain, and I didn't get angry like many Star Trek fans out there. In fact, I was overjoyed. After waiting months, I saw the film on opening day and, after the Kelvin prologue was over, I nearly shit bricks. Never in the history of Trek movies has a beginning scene been so down-right awesome! I am open to any new Trek ideas, alternate realities or not, and I just can't see why so many people hate this.

I am a huge film buff and personally, I think J.J. Abrams's directing was spot-on. The design and effects were second-to-none, and everything was beyond my expectations.

I loved this film, filmmaking and story wise, and of course, Trek wise. I can't wait for the sequel!

• Remarkable ship: The USS Kelvin has to be the best ship of the movie. Not only does it look completely realistic, but it also seems like a submarine. Congrats to whomever designed that.
• Kirk is eating an apple during the Kobayashi Maru, just as he was in ST 2: WOK when he was talking about it.
• Uhura asks for a Budweiser at the bar since they used a Budweiser plant as Engineering.
• Sulu says he has training in fencing as a nod to his fencing sword in "The Naked Time."
• Engineer Olson dies while wearing a red suit.
• One deleted scene shows Jim and George Kirk as kids being yelled at by their step-dad, who tells Jim to wash his car. Later he finds the man's keys in the car.
• An alternate version of the Kirk-Orion girl scene, in which he persuades her to (unknowingly) activate a computer virus that changes the test the next day.
• A great scene in which Nero is interrogated by Klingon prison guards and then breaks out (Which I felt was worthy of inclusion).
• Nurse Chapel is called for, but only a voice is heard.
• James Cawley, who plays Kirk in the Star Trek: New Voyages web series, plays a Starfleet officer.
• Tyler Perry, who usually stars in only his own films, makes an appearance as a Starfleet board member.
• Remarkable prop: Uhura's communications ear-piece is a reproduction of the original one in TOS.
• Uhura speaks all three Romulan dialects.
• Kirk, apparently, is a "mouth-breather".

Rating: 10 (David Graham - real last name hard to pronounce)

A long time after its release, I have finally watched the 2009 Star Trek movie (which I will henceforth refer to as Star Trek XI, to distinguish it properly from the other works of Star Trek). The movie being a reboot, and hence only "Star Trek" in name, I was not eager to watch it in cinema back when it it had appeared. Now that the second movie set in the new continuity has appeared, I decided to watch Star Trek XI on free-tv in order to decide whether it would be worthwhile to add the new "Star Trek" to the list of SciFi universes I watch and love (e.g. Star Trek, Babylon 5, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, ...).

The movie did not leave a positive lasting impression, however. Much has been written about the general shortcomings of the story already, so I will just highlight some of the central issues.

In addition to the "Enterprise against all odds" motive, parts of the movie carry on with the stupid "except for the main cast, all other people are incapable morons" theme. This starts with the contrived situation that the Enterprise saves the day while whole Klingon and Starfleet armadas are completely destroyed. The same applies to the fact that all the cadets are assigned to various ships, but the only ship to actually achieve something is the Enterprise again. In the end of the movie, when Kirk is directly promoted to Captain (someone must have severely misunderstood the concept of ranks or titles), again it seems to be only him while all the people in the background seemingly have not achieved anything. Not only is this awfully unfair towards all the officers who might have fought equally hard battles, but happened to be somewhere else than in front of the camera, also does the cadets' applause and everyone's smiling shed an even worse light on Kirk's arrogant behaviour. It creates the impression like he can get through with everything in his cavalier attitude, as his one-time achievements are simply too outstanding for him to be criticized based on any shortcomings in his behaviour.

In all, I think it is good that this movie is about starship crews in a fictional future universe. Otherwise, it could come off as quite insulting to all the people who have undergone years of training and gathered years of experience in their tasks that in Star Trek XI, a group of barely graduated cadets (I cannot help the impression that without the emergency situation at Vulcan, the cadets would not have been "thrown" into active shipboard duty quite that quickly) saves the day and exclusively gets all the praise in the end.

Also, I wonder why it was deemed useful to keep knowledge from the user that our protagonists clearly must have. A prime example for such scenes is Spock and Kirk's arrival at the Starfleet outpost on Delta Vega. Judging from the music and way the whole scene is presented, the viewer is obviously supposed to believe that the two Starfleet officers have discovered an eerie alien outpost, until they actually meet Scotty. This is only plausible for the viewers - Spock and Kirk must have been aware all the time that they're just dealing with a Starfleet outpost. I simply cannot believe a building like that wouldn't feature a single written text anywhere around the doors that would give away the human origin of the building. There must be at least some warning or information signs somewhere, even if we assume they could really simply enter without having to use any locking/authentication mechanism. The species of Scotty's alien colleague Keenser must have been known to them, so what's the point of acting as if they didn't know what they had just found? Finally, I doubt they'd have found the outpost in the first place if they hadn't known where it was located. Mind you, when Spock and Kirk first see the building, it's just emerging from the mist. Hence, it is safe to say that you're absolutely lost on that planet unless you know exactly where you're going. In all, letting the revelation that we are facing a Starfleet outpost seem like a surprise is a very cheap way to artificially create some suspense.

While some scenes were thusly enhanced to be artificially suspenseful, actual suspense was taken away in other situations: As in many more recent action-/adventure-oriented movies, the humor is totally overdone. I just cannot stand movies where characters seem forced to deliver single lines which are just funny in the complete context. Kirk's "I might throw up on you." , repeating what McCoy said earlier, is still on the verge of silliness. Hadn't Kirk been a character in a movie, would he really have said that just then?

Another example is Keenser. He's obviously supposed to be a Starfleet officer (he even states so himself). Nonetheless, the way he is treated by the director of the movie makes me imagine a cute little (talking) alien (?) dog much rather than a human Starfleet officer. Keenser's silliness got totally over the top in the final scene. Either he is working on that equipment he had climbed onto or the equipment was meant for staying there (at least if you belong to a species that doesn't always stay on the ground). The way it's presented he seems like a small child or a cat jumping onto the table or something. Think about it: If Keenser were actually a human officer, would the same scene have come off as equally "funny"? If a sentient alien character can better be replaced with Spot than with a human, you know something is wrong.

To clarify what I think is a problem with all this: I am not opposed to funny movies. I can thoroughly enjoy them, and when I watch a movie as a funny movie, not so many things have to make any sense - breaking the 4th wall, as well as quite some other devices which actually disregard continuity, make for good laughs. However, I also used to like another kind of movie. One that filmmakers nowadays seem to have forgotten about: Movies which are exciting to watch, yet which do take themselves seriously. As far as I recall, Star Trek II could do without a freshly grinning Kirk saying anything "cool" such as "Assimilate this" right before the Reliant (and Khan) were blown up. Neither did we need to see a mixture of stupidity and surprise in Kruge's face in Star Trek III right before he fell down into that canyon, to tell the audience: "Laugh now." Star Trek IV was on the verge of silliness in this respect, but its humorous lines do not stand out that much, as the whole situation was not that critical - the crew were not directly threatened during their stay on Earth for most of the time. All of them worked well without any pet-like alien officers. In my opinion, such an overdose of humor massively takes away excitement from the movie. After all, even in most critical situations, we are supposed to laugh instead of worry for our heroes. Star Trek XI totally continues this trend.

The movie is supposed to be a prequel to TOS. As it's in a different timeline, it could as well have been parallel to TOS. The past of most (if not all) of our main characters is different here, anyway, so they probably evolve into somewhat different persons. Most notably, Kirk is most probably not promoted directly from Cadet to Captain in the prime universe; we know that he used to serve on the Farragut for a while. Also, he was not (wannabe) king of the hill at the academy all the time, but also got picked out by exceptionally misbehaving cadets such as Finnegan.

Anyway, so, some things changed in the new timeline. What happened to the Kelvin's uniforms? While I may excuse that the TOS style was mimicked with a black undershirt and a department-coloured shirt without a collar over it, what's the point in having the Kelvin crew wear futuristic blue uniforms (that look suspiciously similar to those shown in several episodes of TNG, DS9 and VOY as "far future" uniforms)? The Kelvin uniforms were only visible for a few scenes, anyway, so would it really have damaged the "cool visual impression" of the movie that terribly if the Kelvin crew had worn the blue and yellow turtleneck shirts seen in "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" as a little nod to continuity and so-concerned fans? (It certainly was not for the turtleneck - Admiral Pike wears a good approximation to the ribbed turtlenecks in the end and it looks good.)

But apparently, continuity was not a concern for this movie. Too many things differ from previous installments.

Just consider Earth, which was shown as quite a beautiful paradise on Star Trek before. What we see of 23rd century Earth in Star Trek XI isn't that interesting or attractive. We are shown that instead of Starfleet only accepting the best and the brightest young people into their academy (cf. Wesley's tries to get into the academy in the 24th century), dislikeable bullies (the security officers) and arrogant wannabe-alpha males (this movie's Kirk) seem to form the core part of the cadets. This is corroborated by the fact that there seems to be a regular transport for new recruits to the academy. It sounds like Starfleet cadets are usually recruited off the streets as if Starfleet were an army just looking for cheap cannon-fodder. And really, the fact that 17-year old people such as Chekov serve on Starships makes me think that starship personnel cannot possibly be very well-educated before being sent on missions.

I general, I wonder how useful it was to reboot the continuity. At first, it might certainly attract viewers to hear about Klingons. If you really think about it, however, what does "Klingon" actually mean? If in universe B, some things can be different from universe A, every single detail we associate with Klingons could be different in universe B. That is, unless universe B states explicitly the respective details are the same in universe B. At which point the alleged burden of canonicity would have been carried-over to universe B, making the whole attempt to depart to a new continuity futile.

The fact that this was done by J.J. Abrams, who had done excellent work with Lost and Fringe, two series which rely heavily on story arcs based on tiniest details, lets the reboot appear even worse. It looks like someone who is well capable of creating exciting stories while staying within the boundaries of continuity is just too lazy (or too smug?) to appreciate any continuity constraints set by anyone beside himself.

But fine, with the reboot, the producers implied that they were going to provide a foundation for a rebooted Star Trek franchise, possibly with new movies and new series. Internal continuity within such a rebooted franchise might be achievable, but I don't see Star Trek XI laying the ground for that. This might be a general problem when a movie is meant to be the origin of a new franchise or universe. After all, movies are very likely to show exactly and only what is necessary to be known for the rest of the movie. In other words, in many movies, every shown detail is of significance during the rest of the movie. This is a strong contrast to pilot episodes of series, which usually abound with facts and details that are not directly related to the episode's main story, but that expand the characters' backgrounds and the universe the series is going to take place in.

An example for this problem in Star Trek XI is right in the main plot, about everything surrounding the time travel. There are quite some logical gaps in there, and the producers insisted that the movie is not about accurate depiction of a time travel, but about the characters. Fair enough for Star Trek XI as a stand-alone installment, but what about any future movies or episodes set in the continuity after the movie, that do focus on time travel? If they are supposed to show a reasonable time travel logic, they may either have to contradict Star Trek XI or they may not be feasible. If Star Trek XI is to serve as the foundation for a new Star Trek, it is ill-conceived at best and lacking long-term storytelling skills at worst to concentrate on one aspect, yet skip details pertaining to another. Every insignificant detail of one movie might be among the most important facts in its sequel.

Nitpicking: So, the Narada has that drilling platform. It hangs down towards a planet on a long tether. Does that tether really have to be that incredibly greebled with all kinds of spikes and extensions? The whole idea of space-jumping down to the drilling platform the way the crew does it is insane. Once they arrive, how do they expect to securely land on the platform (if they do not miss it in the first place)? Olson opens his chute late, but even Kirk and Sulu who do it in time almost fall off the platform and can only rescue themselves by pure chance, by clinging to some parts on the drilling platform. (Luckily, it is incredibly greebled, too.) Moreover, I did not understand why Kirk and Sulu considered it beneficial to take off their helmets immediately after landing. They would have provided a protection both during the close-range combat with the Romulans as well as for the thinner atmosphere and the strong wind at that altitude. -- When Chekov beams out Kirk and Sulu in the last moment before they hit the surface of Vulcan, we can see some small pieces of debris hurtling into all directions. While it is not clear whether those are shards from the transporter platform, parts of the rock that were accidentally beamed up, too, or even parts of the characters' armor/equipment, the impression is created that the debris results from the impact on the transporter platform. If the beamed matter had retained enough of its momentum after rematerialization to shatter something, or to be shattered, though, wouldn't Kirk and Sulu be just as dead as if they had hit the ground on the planet? -- With Vulcan only a few minutes away from total destruction, Spock beams down and takes a tour through a cave system. This is just to tell some Vulcans and his mother that they have to leave. Which they do immediately. Aren't they aware of their situation and is there no other way to convey the message?

Characters and visual design: Most of the Enterprise main cast were well chosen and presented, maybe excluding Sulu and Chekov. Especially in Sulu's case, the reason may lie in TOS, which mostly underused his character, so there were no real character traits or mannerisms that could be replicated by a new actor. As already happened with Shinzon in ST X, I hardly noticed Nero as a character, despite the hype surrounding him and his actor. He seemed more like an extra to me who had a few lines. Sure, the action revolved around him, but as he appeared on screen only a couple of times, the character hardly left a deeper impression on me than Keenser.

Some of the visual effects were totally exaggerated, to a degree were they were worthy of being considered a parody. What's the matter with all the super-bright lights in the opening scene? It's already unnecessary to zoom out from a point much too close to the Kelvin while rotating the camera around the ship so you need a while until you know what you're seeing (mind you, this is usually used only for dream sequences where the character seeing this is disoriented - probably so was the visual effects director?). Later on, the over-illumination continued on the Kelvin bridge. Why do we have to endure lense-flares there all the time, and overly bright lights in the background? Especially the spotlights right below the viewscreens must be awfully distracting when trying to see something with not-so-good a contrast. The same applies to the Enterprise bridge, where every camera move results in reflections of lights flashing over the screen.

On other occasions, the camera permanently zooms in way too closely. This happens in all space scenes with the Kelvin, at the Enterprise's arrival at Vulcan, and also during some character fight scenes. Combined with rapid shots and much movement, you can hardly tell what you are looking at. This way of editing might accurately convey the fact that everything's happening very close to our characters. But then, it also conveys that everything is a total chaos, you quickly lose orientation and you don't know what's happening. Which is not quite that beneficial for a movie.

• Remarkable uniform: Admiral Pike's uniform in the end resembles the one worn by Admiral Kirk in ST I a lot. That was a visual detail I actually liked.
• Remarkable quote: "Going back in time, changing the future, that's cheating" -Spock. My word (related to the whole idea of a reboot)!
• Remarkably absurd technobabble-replacement: Red matter. Oh wow. I did not expect any writer to be that annoyed of anything remotely resembling technobabble to replace any somewhat more complicated technical (or here, scientifically) explanations with totally nondescript alibi-identifiers. But well, now I'm prepared for the next few movies dealing with "the small device", "the rare liquid", "the purple stuff", "the important machine" and "the grey thing".

Stardate not given: JJ Abrams takes decades of story, history, trivia and characters and...throws it out an air lock to appeal to the 'Star Wars' Generation.

I have seen this film multiple times. And each time I watch I find something new to loath. Let me start with my comment above. Appealing to the Star Wars generation. Star Trek is and should be an adult, mature, scientifically informed show or film. It should have intelligence behind it. This is none of those things. Sure modern technology has permitted it to look flashy on screen...but flashy effects a great film does not make.

Lets start with our 'hero' characters. Naturally, Abrams has decided to do a Twilight and attempt to appeal to the teenage Call of Duty audience here. No one on that bridge is above the age of 30 it seems...apart from Pike who is pretty much removed when it becomes necessary. Kirk's portrayal as a rebellious youth who gets by more on luck rather than skill or training is frankly boring. Spock is far too emotional for a half Vulcan. Sulu...meh...Chekov...meh...like the TOS show Sulu and Chekov are here only as background characters. Uhura is also lacking and only to provide something for the fan-boys to w**k over...as is the Orion scene.

Our evil villain...Nero...is a Romulan...and of course Nero is a very Romulan sounding name...oh...no it's really not. Nor is he that much of a villain. He's lame at best. He is portrayed as just 'evil' for the sake of it. However since this was aimed at audiences who prefer their films black and white...this isn't surprising.

Now let's look at the ships. Three in this case. It should be noted that while this film is called...laughingly a 'reboot'...that Enterprise has happened. So...looking at the ships in general...somehow between Enterprise and this film the phasers turned Red...and become pulses. The ship's nacelles become over inflated hot rod phallic symbols...the bridge becomes something like a Apple manager's wet dream...engineering becomes a poorly disguised brewery. The Kelvin doesn't fit with any design lineage that is considered canon, as all Trek fans know that single nacelle ships are against the way warp works. In addition the Kelvin has both red beam phasers and turrets on the top that fire white pulses. The Kelvin class is also rather ugly. When ordering the ship into a collision course the flare for full impulse comes out the warp nacelle...yet another example of Abrams fucking up his Trek. The Enterprise is...ugly. Beyond ugly. She looks worse than some fanboy ships you find on the web. Over sized, with nacelles that look stupid...with bussards of blue not red (and since reading about its design, having learnt they were going to use red orange to start with makes this even worse). She also wallows about like a pregnant hippo rather than gracefully move. The Romulan 'Mining' vessel. Again...couldn't get more fanboy. It looks nothing like a Romulan ship nor does it look like a mining vessel...nor is it armed like one. (Now for the benefits of this review since I can only judge a film on the film I am disallowing the comic they did to explain this).

Plot...is full of far too many holes. How do they get to Vulcan so fast? Why did the Romulans not realise a supernova was going to happen and leave? Why did the Vulcans not evacuate faster? Since when has it become ok to believe you can travel through time with a black hole? (which resulted in the creation of Red Matter to go alongside Anti-Matter..Dark Matter...maybe there will be a Green Matter in the next film?) And all this without even looking at the script errors in the dialogue which are far too many to list. By far the worst hole is Scotty's claim he beamed Archer's beagle. Now...dogs have an average life span of 20 years maybe. Unless it's a different dog...there's no way the beagle in Enterprise would still be alive for him to lose. And...he loses it in the most preposterous way. Beaming worked fine in Enterprise very often...

By far the one thing I hate the most of this film is Scotty. Simon Pegg should stick to what he knows...lame comedy films for cheap laughs. Scotty is and was a dedicated and loyal character, who did his job and beyond, whose first love was his ship and nothing else. Simon Pegg's character is nothing like that and just there for cheap laughs. And by the time he shows up cheap laughs are very cheap indeed.

Now all these problems can be hidden behind the convenient plot usage of an alternate reality. But in my opinion none of this seemed necessary. If Abrams had done his job correctly he would have found a great wealth of materials he COULD have used. However...he did the easy thing of reimagining everything in his own image. It's a cheap film that spent more on its special effects than on what it is important. There have been bad Star Trek films....but this ranks as the very worst attempt. And sets us up equally for "Into Darkness".

• Most annoying character element: Fanboy romance between Spock and Uhura...because every film needs a sexual element these days to get the nerds in right?
• Most awful film feature: Product placements for Nokia and for Budweiser...
• Most awful special effect: Lens flares...with camera shake coming a close second. Lens flares do nothing for this film but make your eyes hurt after a while.
• Opening scene: the Kelvin's officer tells us weapons are offline... however in all the scenes after she is firing.
• Pike: "Divert auxiliary power from port nacelles to forward shields." - this line is so bad it doesn't need explaining...
• Worst prop: Those Federation phasers...really? Spinning round? Enterprise was happy with a button...
• Anything salavagable?: Given where this film lead to, then "Into Darkness"...and being a player of Star Trek Online that is dependant a lot on Abrams and this film...there seems little about it that can be even seen as positive...apart from it ending.

Rating: 0 (Fletch r)

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VIDEO: Profile of the Sound of Star Trek 2009

| December 20, 2009 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 28 comments so far

The Sound of Star Trek (From soundworkscollection.com ) The Soundworks profile of the sound of Star Trek includes interviews with Alan Rankin (supervising Sound Editor), Scott Gershin (Sound Designer), Mark Stoeckinger (supervising Sound Editor), Ann Scibelli (Sound Designer), and Tim Walston (Sound Designer). They discuss many of the aspects for Trek sounds including the ‘warp boom’, weapons, and more. The video has some cool reveals, including where the new door whoosh came from (turns out it is a toilet flush from a Russian train, although perhaps that is TMI).

Sound Oscars for Trek? Although Star Trek is still a long shot for Best Picture, it is considered one of the front runners for the two sound Oscars (Best Sound Editing & Best Sound Mixing). The above Star Trek profile is part of a series being run by SoundWorks, looking at all the contenders for the year. Check out soundworkscollection.com for their profiles for 2012, Up, Watchmen and more (with more to come).

It’s too bad they didn’t touch on the mix parts… I remember reading articles earlier about how they had too much sound, so they reduced the mix. Also someting about the ‘pinging’ of the bridge.

So that’s the one who messed up the doors – if my doors made a sound that loud and for that long I’d make them manual again…

…do people not understand – if it aint broke dont fix it!!!

from a simple sssshhhhhh, to a sound that made every door some sort of high pressure chamber.

Fix the doors lady!!!!!! Forget your russian toilet!!!!

So did these guys work with Ben Burrt?

#6 yeah i agree. My only problem with the sound was the doors. Ironically the new doors make me think of 60’s sci fi and the original ones make me think of modern sci fi. Everything else sounded great.

Overall, I thought the sounds were great except for the doors, as mentioned, and I also felt the photon torpedoes launching sounded weak (in the last battle scene). I thought they should have had a little more punch to them, more so than the phasers. Instead they were kinda anemic sounding to me.

I think these guys initially were working on Star Trek, until Benn Burrt was brought in late in the production. I’m not sure though…. can anyone please correct me ? Because i remember hearing something like that.

Non the less, amazing job Benn Burtt and the entire sound team did with this movie ! Especially Benn Burtt….. His sounds in Star Wars are now part of my childhood memories ! Memorable sound effects !

In the Ben feature he talked about the door sounds being made from an airhose and sneakers on a linoleum floor.

I thought the photon sound was weak compared to the original sound effect. I think one of the best translations was the transporter. It was close to the original.

Ben is listed in the credits here..

http://soundworkscollection.com/startrek

Wait- I really don’t get it. Was this the sound crew that Ben Burrt replaced or did they work together? Please do some digging.

If Star Trek gets an Oscar for Best Lighting, I’m gonna eat my Blu-Ray discs, all three of ’em!!! Then the box…..

More evidence to me that everything is subjective. I am a relative newcomer to Star Trek. and though I can see the merits of this movie over earlier ones, I can honestly say I never really noticed the sound design before, but this one got in the way a lot for me. I found it distracting more than once. There were just too many unique sounds competing for the same airwaves. If this wins an Oscar over Avatar I will be stunned.

Seems they only put in enough original sounds to make us happy. And why change like the weapons fire and doors, but leave the bridge sounds, and the transporter? Why not just use basically the same sounds? Just another reason I didn’t care much for the movie.

And Anthony, If I’m being a “cupcake” maybe you should Bite Me!

Did NOT like the phaser sounds at all. Besides, changing them from beams to ILM/Star Wars-style bolts really sucked. I really miss that uber-cool classic phaser sound. The door sounds had that high-pitched squeal that every sci-fi movie these days seems to NEED to use for some reason. (Much like resturaunts putting red onions in everything… but that’s another story.) The photorps did also sound very wimpy. Yeah, if it ain’t BROKE… (Actually I think Al Howarth’s sound work on TMP was better.)

Yeah, I’m glad the Kelvin used the original style phaser beams, not that I hated the “bolts” as you put it, but it was one of a few reasons that I enjoyed that whole Kelvin sequence more than the rest. However, I did enjoy the movie overall.

I heard on the DVD extras feature about the sound that they couldn’t find the original sound effects, but that is silly, they are on CD even. I’d have rather heard one lifted from the CD master than a weaker recreation that sounded “pretty close” like the doors, photon torpedoes, or transporters.

I’m all for new effects, but not when they aren’t as good as the originals. The torpedoes sounded like a digital dictation recorder sound capture from a video game, no power at all.

Can’t say I really noticed the door swooshes while watching the movie, but given the opportunity now to listen to them specifically, they do seem way over the top. It’s all very well creating lots of points of interest and a rich experience, but sometimes, less is more.

The door swoosh didn’t have to be identical to the TOS one, but something quieter and more subtle would have been better than what we hear in this video. I did really enjoy the movie, but it seems like there’s a lot of style over substance (and common sense).

You all are forgetting so soon? The sounds you heard are from an alternative(parallel) universe, not the one from the past you’re used too! Cough, cough, sputter, wheeze.

The high-pitched sound the Kelvin (and other ships to some extent) makes when it passes in the opening shot is actually one of my favorite things about the movie, I wish they discussed that a little more since it is a bit of a departure from the typical low jet engine rumble used for external ship sounds.

as I understand it, Ben Burtt was brought in late because there was more work than they expected and need his help. He didnt replace as much as he augmented the team

Is it just me, or are the phaser sounds more reminiscent of the fighter guns from Babylon 5?

I award the Oscar for Best Lens Flare to Star Trek.

lol, its not that bad !

I thought the Lens flaring was a refreshing/innovative new style. I liked it. It worked well with the theme of the movie (optimistic bright future)

I especially loved the sound of the transporter too- the best was when Spock was going to beam to Vulcan- I loved the kind of whine right as the transporter is beginning to beam him down- So Cool!!!

Not to beat a dead horse, but a few of us have re-created the original sounds with additive synthesis: http://www.scoreforsale.com/html/trek.html If they wanted them, they could have done an even better job. The truth is they wanted to use their own sounds.

Star Trek timeline in complete chronological order, explained

Check our complete list of the Star Trek timeline in chronological with all movies and TV series to date, including the Kelvin timeline and Prime timeline.

Tom Percival

Published: Oct 24, 2023

Let’s journey through the Star Trek timeline in full chronological order . Ever since it began almost 60 years ago, Gene Roddenberry’s vision of humanity’s future shown in Star Trek has been igniting imaginations.

Now a sprawling franchise, Star Trek focuses on the human desire for exploration seen through the lens of Starfleet’s travels through the depths of space. But with 13 Star Trek movies and 60 years worth of Star Trek series , the expansive franchise has gotten pretty complex, with multiple and alternate timelines all being involved too, and a jumble of prequels and sequels and timelines. So, to clear things up, we’ve broken down every single movie and season of TV to create a clear image of the timeline in chronological order.

The complete Star Trek timeline so far

The current main Star Trek timeline begins in the year 2151, with the first season of Enterprise, and concludes over a millennium later in 3190 with the upcoming Star Trek Discovery season 5 .

After Enterprise kicked things off in 2151, the TOS-era begins in 2259, with the TOS prequel Strange New Worlds. It ends nearly 40 years later in 2293 with the final TOS movie, The Undiscovered Country.

Nearly 100 years later, the adventures of the USS Enterprise-D begin with Captain Picard in 2369. Over the next decade, the Dominion War begins and ends, and the USS Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant and makes it back to Earth in 2378. This era of the Star Trek timeline concludes in 2379 with the final TNG movie, Nemesis.

Lower Decks and Prodigy round out the late 24th century, with the former being set around 2381 and the latter 2383. Then Star Trek Picard brings it into the 25th century, with the events of season 3 and the Borg attack on Frontier Day occurring in 2401, and the Captain Seven on Nine’s Enterprise-G beginning its service history a year later in 2402.

Finally, we have the latter seasons of Star Trek Discovery which have been set in the far-flung future of 3188 onwards after the huge time jump at the end of season 2.

A full list of the Star Trek timeline in chronological order:

• Star Trek: Enterprise seasons 1-4 (Year set in: 2151-2161)
• Star Trek (2009) ( Kelvin timeline – Years set in: 2233-2259)
• Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1-2 (Year set in: 2252)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 1-2 (Years set in: 2259-2260)
• Star Trek: Into Darkness ( Kelvin timeline – Years set in: 2259-2260)
• Star Trek: Beyond ( Kelvin timeline – Year set in: 2263)
• Star Trek: The Original Series seasons 1-3 (Year set in: 2265-2269)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series seasons 1-2 (Year set in: 2269-2270)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Year set in: 2270s)
• Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (Year set in: 2285)
• Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock (Year set in 2285)
• Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (Year set in 2286)
• Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (Year set in: 2287)
• Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (Year set in: 2293)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons 1-5 (Year set in: 2364-2369)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seasons 1-2 (Year set in: 2369-2371)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons 6-7 (Year set in: 2369-2370)
• Star Trek: Generations (Year set in 2371)
• Star Trek: Deep Space 9 seasons 3-4 (Year set in 2372-2373)
• Star Trek: Voyager seasons 1-2 (Year set in: 2371-2372)
• Star Trek: First Contact (Year set in: 2373)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seasons 5-6 (Year set in 2373-2374)
• Star Trek: Voyager seasons 3-4 (Year set in: 2373-2375)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (Year set in: 2375)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7 (Year set in: 2375)
• Star Trek: Voyager seasons 5-7 (Year set in: 2376-2378)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (Year set in: 2379)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks seasons 1-3 (Years set in: 2380-2381)
• Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 (Years set in: 2383-2383)
• Star Trek (2009) (Partly in the Prime timeline – Year set in 2387)
• Star Trek: Picard seasons 1-3 (Years set in: 2399-2402)
• Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3-5 ( Years set in: 3188-3190)

Every Star Trek series and season in the timeline in chronological order

Star Trek: Enterprise (Seasons 1-4)

The mainline Star Trek timeline begins with Star Trek: Enterprise. The four seasons of the show are set in the 22nd century, the earliest point in the Star Trek timeline and a hundred years before The Original Series.

Enterprise deals with the earliest days of humanity’s journey out into the stars, with the crew of the first starship to bear the name Enterprise, led by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). The show covered everything from the first contact with the Klingons to the foundation of The Federation and Starfleet, the Federation’s space force.

Star Trek: 2009, Into Darkness, Beyond (The Kelvin timeline)

The Kelvin timeline is an alternate timeline created by Spock which runs parallel to the events seen in the prime Star Trek timeline. Here, we have the three Chris Pine Star Trek movies in which we’re treated to different versions of Kirk and co. with their adventures playing out in a reshuffled order of events.

Chronologically speaking, the Kelvin timeline fits in approximately alongside TOS as it follows Kirk’s first adventures with the Enterprise, but as it begins with his childhood it technically precedes Discovery. It’s all pretty self contained, so if you just want to stick to the Prime timeline you can skip these for now.

Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 1-2)

Set ten years before the original series, this prequel show follows the adventures of the USS Discovery and her crew as they use their unique spore drive to zip around the Alpha Quadrant (our section of the galaxy). The first season deals with war breaking out between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingons.

Meanwhile, in the second season, the crew (now joined by Captain Pike and a younger Spock) investigates strange signals and a mysterious figure known as the Red Angel. Ultimately the ship and crew are thrown forward in time (don’t worry, you’ll see them again) and presumed dead, while the event itself is covered up by Section 31.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Seasons 1-2)

Following on the adventures of Captain Pike, Spock, and Number One in the aftermath of Discovery season 2, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is another prequel to The Original Series, as it builds up to the events depicted in The Cage.

Strange New Worlds has taken Star Trek in a slightly new direction, and it has much more in common with, for example, The Next Generation, than is does with Discovery. This is because the sci-fi series is taking an episodic approach to storytelling, with each episode largely focussing on one member of the crew while adventures abound. Fun!

Season 2 of Strange New Worlds has continued on in this vein, bringing in Paul Wesley’s Kirk with a recurring role. It’s all leading up to Pike’s accident, and whereupon the command of the Enterprise will be handed over to Captain Kirk on a full-time basis for his five-year mission.

Star Trek: The Original Series (Seasons 1-3)

The original series, the definitive article, if you will, and probably the most recognisable of the Trek series. Set in the 2260s, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise on a five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, and boldly go where no man has gone before.

This is the show that defined what Star Trek is in the public consciousness as a progressive force, introducing the world to Kirk ( William Shatner ), Spock ( Leonard Nimo y), and Dr . Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy (DeForest Kelley), as well as several iconic Star Trek villains, including the Klingons (although they didn’t have the bumpy foreheads), Romulans, and a genetically altered super soldier called Khan (he’ll become important later).

Star Trek: The Animated Series (Seasons 1-2)

Following the cancellation of the original series, Star Trek was resurrected as an animated show, with most of the cast returning to voice their respective characters. While the series was popular in its day, there are some questions about its canonicity.

Officially, the series isn’t canon. However, the events as seen in the show are increasingly being brought into series like Strange New Worlds, slowly making it canon by proxy.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

A direct continuation of the original series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, picks up after the events of Kirk’s five-year mission, in the 2270s. Now an admiral, Kirk and the gang assume command of the recently refitted Starship USS Enterprise to investigate and stop a mighty alien known as V’Ger, which is threatening to destroy the Earth.

A somewhat cynical attempt to cash in on the popularity of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars, The Motion Picture received mixed reviews from critics who didn’t enjoy the movie’s slow pace and lack of drama.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

Finally, we get to the good stuff. One of the best science fiction movies ever, The Wrath of Khan is Moby Dick in space, and it’s brilliant. Set in 2285, an older Admiral Kirk gets the Enterprise crew back together once again to stop the ruthless tyrant Khan (told you he’d come back) from getting his hands on the Genesis device, a machine capable of both terrible destruction and creating new life.

Wrath of Khan is perhaps best remembered for being ‘the one where Spock dies’, but it also introduces several other important plot beats, including the Genesis Device, and Kirk’s previously unknown son David,

Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock

Picking up right where The Wrath of Khan ends, the film deals with the fall out of Khan’s attack and the death of Spock. When Kirk learns that Spock’s Katra (his soul basically) is held in the mind of Bones, he and the crew steal the Enterprise and head off to return Spock’s body to the planet Vulcan so they can bring him back to life.

Things are complicated, though, by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), a Klingon who wants to get his hands on the Genesis device to use as a weapon. The Search for Spock is famous for three things, destroying the original Enterprise, bringing back Spock, and killing off Kirk’s son David, which gives Kirk a serious dislike of the Klingons which will get him in trouble three movies from now.

Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home

Following the events of The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home sees the crew of the Enterprise return to Earth to face their punishment for stealing (and destroying) the Enterprise. Before they can get back home, though, a colossal alien probe arrives in Earth’s atmosphere and starts wreaking havoc.

Realizing that the probe is trying to communicate with the now-extinct humpback whales, the crew travels back in time to the ‘80s to try and find some whales in order to bring them forward in time to save Earth from the probe.

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier

Probably the worst of the original film series, The Final Frontier sees the crew of the USS Enterprise as they confront Spock’s evil half brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill). The villainous Vulcan wants to travel to the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree which lies behind the Great Barrier, a seemingly impenetrable energy field near the galaxy’s centre.

Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

The Undiscovered Country has the Enterprise crew working to figure out who’s trying to sabotage a potential peace treaty with The Federation’s longtime enemy, the Klingon Empire. Along the way, Kirk (who hates Klingons after the events of The Search for Spock) is framed for killing the Klingon chancellor and must escape a frozen penal colony.

Notable for being the final film to feature the entire original crew, the film ends with Kirk musing about a new generation crew continuing their legacy in an apparent reference to…

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Seasons 1-5)

The Next Generation, the best Star Trek series, focuses on the crew of the Enterprise-D. Led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his senior staff William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Data (Brent Spiner), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), and Worf (Michael Dorn), the show was far more of an ensemble than the original series but all the better for it.

During the first five seasons, the crew of this new Enterprise would encounter new species like the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, and more. It also introduced two of Star Trek’s best-known villains, the mischievous trickster Q, who became a series staple and the terrifying Borg, a race of cybernetic zombies obsessed with assimilating other societies and cultures into their own who took an unhealthy interest in the technical might of The Federation.

The Next Generation is the quintessential Star Trek series, and is the franchise at its finest hour. Everyone has their personal preferences, but if you look for Star Trek in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Captain Picard, in his ready room with an Earl Grey, aboard the Enterprise-D.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Seasons 1-2)

The first series not set on a starship, Deep Space Nine took place on a space station, the titular Deep Space Nine. Drawing upon the conflict between the Bajorans and the Cardassians introduced in The Next Generation, the series opens with the Bajorans inviting The Federation to run the station in the hopes they’ll protect them from the ruthless Cardassians who previously enslaved their people.

Led by Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), the station’s crew discovers a stable wormhole close to Bajor that offers a way between the Alpha Quadrant and the unexplored Gamma Quadrant. The first two seasons dealt with the tensions between the Bajorans, Cardassians and Federation, while also teasing a greater threat lurking in the Gamma Quadrant known as The Dominion.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Seasons 6-7)

The last two seasons of TNG run parallel with season 1 and 2 of Deep Space Nine. The writers used this in season seven to further explore the tensions between the Cardassians and Federation when the Bajoran Ensign Ro joins a group of resistance fighters known as the Maquis, a terrorist group who opposed the Cardassian Union and were first introduced in DS9’s second season.

The conclusion of The Next Generation, All Good Things… is a perfect finale balancing a look back through the past with an eye on the future.  If the Star Trek franchise had ended there, no one could have had any complaints.

Star Trek: Generations

The adventures of the crew of the Enterprise-D didn’t end with All Good Things… though, and the series led directly into a slew of films. This started with Generations, which saw the crossover Star Trek fans were waiting for, and the original crew meet the next generation gang.

Opening in the year 2293, way before the events of TNG, the film begins with the death of Captain Kirk, except not really he actually transported to the Nexus, an interdimensional realm that exists outside of normal space-time where all your dreams come true.

Fast forward to the 24th Century, and Picard is trying to deal with the villainous Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), who plans on destroying a planetary system to get into The Nexus. Shockingly he succeeds, and Picard is trapped in the Nexus with Soran, forcing him to team up with Kirk to save the day.

Some people, apparently, love Generations because they get to see these two Starfleet goliaths working together. But, in truth, Generations is up there with the worst Star Trek movies. In a dreadfully dull film, the movie’s biggest claim to fame is Kirk’s anti-climactic death (he falls off a bridge and then Picard buries him under some rocks) as well as the destruction of the beloved, iconic Enterprise-D.

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (Seasons 3-4)

Continuing the plot beats introduced in seasons one and two, DS9’s third season introduces the USS Defiant, Starfleet’s first warship, designed to fight the growing threat of the Borg. The Marquis become more of a threat, with more and more Starfleet officers leaving to join their cause.

Meanwhile, The Dominion makes themselves known to The Federation, a tyrannical race of shapeshifters that seek to impose order across the galaxy by subjugating species they see as lesser. It’s here we learn they’ve already infiltrated all the major governments in the Alpha Quadrant. The series ends with war breaking out between the Klingon Empire and The Federation once again thanks to their machinations.

Star Trek: Voyager (Seasons 1-2)

Star Trek: Voyager was a bit of a different show – the series opened with the USS Voyager and her crew being transported to the Delta Quadrant (a remote, unexplored region of the galaxy) while chasing a Marquis ship.

Trapped and with no other options, the crew of Voyager led by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and their Marquis enemies are forced to unite to survive and begin the long journey home (77 years at maximum warp). Along the way, they encounter new threats like the Kazon and Vidiians while a few familiar faces, like Q, make an appearance.

Star Trek: First Contact

The best Next Generation movie, First Contact picks up soon after the events of Generations with Picard and the crew in a brand-new ship, the Enterprise-E. Their new ship is put to the test almost immediately, though when the Borg launch an attack on Earth. While Starfleet manages to repel the attack, the Borg go back in time and assimilate Earth before they can ever achieve warp speed, effectively wiping out The Federation before it even began.

Thankfully the Enterprise-E manages to go back in time as well and put right what once went wrong. First Contact has the dubious honour of introducing the Borg Queen, who’d go on to become a recurring villain in Star Trek: Voyager.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Seasons 5-6)

Season five of DS9 picks up where the fourth left off with the Klingon’s declaring war on The Federation. Thankfully Sisko and the crew manage to expose the shapeshifter who started the whole thing and broker peace over the course of the season, but it’s all for nought.

The Cardassians join the Dominion and give the tyrannical despots a foothold in our part of the galaxy. The Dominion then wipe out the Marquis, and the cold war spills out into open conflict. The Dominion War has begun…

Star Trek: Voyager (Seasons 3-4)

Voyager’s third and fourth seasons are notable for revealing that the Delta Quadrant is actually the home of the Borg, and from this point on, they become something of a recurring foe for the Voyager crew. Although season three and four do briefly see the two enemies team up to fight off an even worse threat, the multidimensional beings known as Species 8472.

Inevitably though, the Borg betray our heroes, and in the scuffle, Voyager ends up with a new crewmember 7 of 9, a former Borg drone. We also get the interesting if slightly pointless Year of Hell during season four.

Star Trek: Insurrection

Set during the Dominion War, the Enterprise-E is being kept away from the front lines to perform diplomatic duties. This changes when the crew become aware of a plot to steal a planet with rejuvenating properties from its peaceful inhabitants, the Ba’ku. The gang go rogue and manage to save the Ba’ku while also dispatching the evil admiral and his alien allies.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine season 7

The final season of Deep Space Nine sees all the Alpha Quadrant powers, The Federation, Klingons, and Romulans, unite to finally win the war against The Dominion. All involved suffer catastrophic losses, and it’s only thanks to the Cardassian rebellion against their masters that the day is saved.

Star Trek: Voyager (Seasons 5-7)

The Voyager crew continues their long journey home, meeting various antagonistic alien species along the way. Finally, in season seven, the crew make it back to Earth thanks to an alternate version of Captain Janeway, and they cripple the Borg at the same time.

Star Trek: Nemesis

The last Next Generation movie, Nemesis, sees a clone of Picard, named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), overthrow the Romulan Empire and declare war on The Federation. A box office bomb, the film’s only noteworthy contributions to Trek lore is the death of Data, who sacrifices himself to save Picard, and Riker and Troi finally tying the knot before leaving the Enterprise-E to command the USS Titan.

Star Trek: Lower Decks (Seasons 1 – 3)

An animated comedy set on the least important starship in Starfleet, the U.S.S. Cerritos in the year 2380. While most Trek series center around a captain and their senior staff as they go on daring adventures, Lower Decks flips the usual formula on its head and instead focuses on low-ranking officers doing the grunt work.

While the nature of the show is incredibly funny (the ship’s unimportant in the grand scheme of things), it has little bearing on the series continuity, aside from frequent cameos. Still, it’s often very entertaining and the animated series is a worthy (if, very different) addition to the Star Trek timeline.

Star Trek: Prodigy (season 1)

Everyone wanted to see the return of Captain Janeway and explore where her life was taken after her ship’s return to Earth. Well, Prodigy gives us half of that, as a holographic Janeway tutors a group of young rascals who commandeer the abandoned USS Protostar.

Prodigy utilizes its position in the timeline by focusing a lot on Starfleet’s development of new technology, unimaginable even a few decades prior. Star Trek Prodigy season 2 will pick up the mantle.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot mostly takes place in an alternate timeline called the Kelvin Universe. That said, it does actually let us know what happened to the galaxy after the events of Nemesis.

Apparently, the Romulan sun went supernova, and the best efforts of The Federation and Starfleet weren’t enough to save them, resulting in the destruction of their homeworld. This is what causes Nero, the film’s main bad guy, to go back in time in the first place and alter the timeline.

Star Trek: Picard (Seasons 1 – 3)

Set 20 years after the events of Nemesis, Picard’s first season deals with both the fallout from the destruction of Romulus and The Federation’s ban on building androids.

From there, there are mysteries around every corner which are only exacerbated when Q returns in Star Trek Picard season 2 to send Picard and his new-found crew back in time to 21st century Earth.

Star Trek Picard season 3 brought things to a close by reuniting the TNG crew and making the jump to the 25th century, promising more adventures still to come with a potential Star Trek Legacy series.

Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 3 – 5)

The crew of USS Discovery arrive in the far-flung future (32nd Century) and find a galaxy in ruins with The Federation on its knees. The cause of this chaos? An event known as The Burn, during which most of the galaxy’s dilithium exploded, destroying almost every starship in use and making warp travel nearly impossible.

With The Federation reduced to just a handful of planets, the crew of The Discovery use their unique warp drive, the spore drive, to spread hope, rebuild The federation, and work out what caused The Burn.

Discovery season 4 continued the adventures on the frontier of the Star Trek timeline, and Star Trek Discovery season 5 release date promises to bring it all to a conclusion.

That’s it on the Star Trek timeline so far. For more on Star Trek, check out our guide to the Star Trek 4 release date , and see our rankings of the best Star Trek captains and best Star Trek characters. Or, read our  Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2 review  as well as  our interview with Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn .

You can also find our choices for the  best science fiction movies  of all time, and the  best sci-fi series  too before seeing what’s  new on Paramount Plus  this month. Alternatively, keep up to date with what’s going on by taking a look at our guide to every new movie coming out in 2023 and all the best streaming services to watch them on.

Tom Percival After graduating with an MA in journalism from the University of Salford, Tom set out to make a career for himself in the heady world of entertainment journalism. After spending six years working at UNILAD (and moonlighting at the BBC) where he interviewed the likes of Hugh Grant, Hugh Jackman, and Hugh Bonneville (plus other people not called Hugh) he left to find his fortune as editor at The Digital Fix where he spends his days trying to guess if the MCU's Doctor Doom will be in Avengers Secret Wars, thinking about Spider-Man , and watching Game of Thrones in a desperate attempt to untangle the Targaryen family tree . 

Leonard Nimoy’s battle with Gene Roddenberry – and Shatner’s belly – to make The Search for Spock

C aptain Kirk didn’t think that Mr Spock could steer the ship. More specifically: William Shatner had doubts about Leonard Nimoy directing Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He wasn’t sure if Nimoy, a first-time feature film director, was up to the job.  

There were other reservations. The dynamic with Nimoy – his co-star on screen and subordinate on the bridge – had changed. “My friend had abruptly become my boss,” Shatner recalled.  

Shatner also raised concerns about the script – a “tepid adventure” – and asked for a meeting with Nimoy and writer-producer Harve Bennett. He was prepared to walk away from the film.

For Leonard Nimoy, directing was a condition of returning as Spock. The character was killed off – though with a few get-out clauses – in the previous, much celebrated sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (“Khaaaaan!”). To Nimoy’s credit, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock never feels like the cheat that it ultimately is, reversing the galaxy-shaking sucker punch of Spock’s death so Star Trek could live long and prosper at the box office.

It’s sometimes tarnished by the oft-repeated adage that odd numbered Trek movies are a load of old Klingon excrement. But Star Trek III is the bridging chapter of Star Trek’s essential movie trilogy – comprising the second, third, and fourth films – linking Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the critical favourite, with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the most successful film with the original crew.  

“It’s the middle child [of the series],” says Larry Nemecek, host of The Trek Files podcast . “It’s the one with the famous older brother and amazing younger brother. It’s the one in the middle that did the heavy lifting and helped the story along.”

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – now back in UK cinemas to mark its 40th anniversary – did more than resurrect Spock. It was a Trek-verse trendsetter and gave Kirk one of his great dramatic moments (“You Klingon b------!”). And in true Trek form, it provoked controversy among Trekkies by killing off another big name: the Starship Enterprise.

Contrary to a persistent story, Leonard Nimoy didn’t hate Spock – and he certainly didn’t campaign for Spock to die. He did, however, have a complicated relationship with the character. And Nimoy didn’t much enjoy the first Star Trek film – Star Trek: The Motion Picture – released in 1979. “By then I felt I’d taken off the Spock ears for the last time,” Nimoy wrote. 

It was Harve Bennett who pitched the idea of Spock dying in Star Trek II. “Leonard, if you come back,” he said. “I’m going to give you the greatest death scene since Janet Leigh in Psycho.”

A grand death – Spock sacrificing himself to radiation to save the crew – was too tempting. But Bennett came from television – he always had an eye on the next episode. Bennett suggested that before going to his death, Spock should do a quick “mind meld” – a Vulcan psychic link – with Dr McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and tell him “remember” (for reasons yet to be explained). Following test screenings, Bennett also inserted a final shot: Spock’s coffin, which had been shot out into space, sat among the lush forests of the newly formed Genesis Planet – a world grown by life-creating technology.

Nimoy was profoundly moved by seeing Spock perish. Writing in his second memoir, Nimoy admitted feeling like “a co-conspirator in his death... The guilt was awful.”

Nimoy, however, was surprised by the added-in shot of Spock’s coffin. He knew a call from Paramount was imminent. Harve Bennett received a similar call. Just days after the release of The Wrath of Khan – then the biggest weekend gross of all time – Paramount boss Michael Eisner called Bennett and told him to start writing Star Trek III. “The fastest greenlight on any project I’ve ever had,” Bennett said. There were obvious threads to pick up. “The Search for Spock wrote itself,” says Nemecek.  

In the film, Kirk has to retrieve Spock’s body and take it to the planet Vulcan along with his katra – a Vulcan’s living spirit – which was transferred to McCoy via the mind meld. At the same time, the Genesis Planet is developing and evolving at a dangerous rate and is declared a no-go zone – so Kirk hijacks the Enterprise to get there. Part of the fun is that Kirk, by this point an admiral, just can’t stop himself from adventuring. Spock, meanwhile, is reborn as a child on the Genesis Planet but, like the planet, is ageing rapidly. He reaches his painful Vulcan puberty in a matter of hours.  

Nimoy was more enticed by the challenge of directing than he was the money. Both Nimoy and Shatner had designs on directing Star Trek since the original 1960s series, but both were denied. But when Nimoy told Paramount bosses he wanted to direct Star Trek III they were enthusiastic, but weeks passed without hearing anything. Nimoy eventually called Michael Eisner, who had decided that he couldn’t have a director who hates Star Trek. Eisner thought that Nimoy had Spock’s death written into his Wrath of Khan contract.  

The common misconception – that Nimoy hated Spock – was partly born from Nimoy’s first memoir, I Am Not Spock (corrected by his second memoir, I Am Spock). Nimoy met with the studio boss in what Nimoy remembered as a “dramatic confrontation”.

Nimoy told him: “The way I see it, you have two problems. You want Leonard Nimoy to play Spock in Star Trek III, and you need a director for this movie. I can provide you with the solution to both of those problems, or neither. It’s that simple.”

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wasn’t particularly enthused by the idea. He told Paramount, “Well, you’ve hired a director that you can’t fire.”  

Roddenberry had a tricky relationship with the Star Trek movies. As Nemecek explains, he had been effectively “demoted” to an executive consultant role after the stodgy first movie. Roddenberry was kept onboard largely to appease the diehards – to “keep the fans settled down,” says Nemecek. “He was probably the noisiest and most-paid-attention-to executive consultant ever.”

Roddenberry wrote memos and gave feedback on creative decisions. He admitted that he didn’t like the direction of the films and leaked details to weaponise fans’ voices against the producers. Star Trek fandom had campaigned and argued against creative decisions long before social media, dating back to the letter writing campaign to prevent the TV show’s cancellation in 1967. “The DNA of Star Trek fandom has been pushback,” says Nemecek.

Nimoy was wounded by Roddenberry’s initial reaction and was later surprised when he learned his Enterprise crewmates weren’t entirely thrilled about him directing. “People were just wondering what it would be like to suddenly have a director from among themselves,” says Nemecek.   

There had also been some ego jostling with Shatner from the beginning of Star Trek. They barely talked for last few years of Nimoy’s life. (“We don’t have that kind of relationship anymore,” Nimoy said in one of his final interviews.)

Nemecek explains that when Star Trek launched in 1966, TV casts were still based around “the lead, the second banana, and everybody else”. This was before ensemble casts became a TV standard. He continues: “Spock’s popularity came out of the blue and it threw Shatner. I don’t want to say it was jealousy, but he did say, ‘Guys, I am the lead of the show, remember?’ At the same time Nimoy was like, ‘Look at my fan mail! Look at the attention I’m getting!’”  

It led to what was dubbed a “favoured nations” agreement, in which Shatner and Nimoy got equal treatment. If one got a pay rise, so would the other, and so on. It also led to Shatner getting his own turn at directing a Trek movie – 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.  

On Star Trek III, however, Nimoy wanted every crewmember to have a moment – DeForest Kelley as McCoy, George Takei as Sulu, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, Walter Koenig as Chekov, and James Doohan as Scotty. Nimoy took inspiration from his days on Mission: Impossible and gave each crewmember a specialist role in hijacking the Enterprise.

In one scene, Kirk and Sulu rescue McCoy, who – under the influence of Spock’s katra – is being sent to the “Federation funny farm” (sensitivities around mental health have obviously relaxed by the 23rd Century). George Takei was unhappy with one of the guards calling Sulu “tiny” – he complained that fans wouldn’t accept the slur against Sulu’s stature. But when Takei saw the finished film, he had to admit he was wrong. The crowd roared with approval when Sulu flipped the guard over and told him, “Don’t call me tiny.” 

Also joining the cast was Christoper Lloyd, who brought some Doc Brown energy to the Klingon baddie, Kruge. Lloyd was then best known for his role in the sitcom, Taxi, and studio bosses were concerned about casting a comedy actor. The Klingons do feel played for laughs at times. See the moment in which one Klingon accidentally destroys a Starship with a mislasering. “A lucky shot, sir,” he quips. Kruge, who has a pet monster-lizard-dog thing at his side, vaporises the Klingon joker.  

But as Nemecek says, it’s a crucial portrayal of Klingons as “swaggering viking bikers”. It’s only the second time the alien warriors appeared with their ridged foreheads, which were added for the first movie. “Star Trek III set the pattern for Klingons, through all the other movies and TV series,” says Nemecek. “The Search for Spock set up so much that became standard Star Trek – it has these landmark touchstones.”  

Indeed, it’s the first time the Klingons fly a Bird-of-Prey ship (a hangover from the fact the film’s baddies were meant to be pointy-eared Romulans – the original Bird-of-Prey pilots). It’s also the first appearance of the Federation Spacedock and the USS Excelsior. The Excelsior is the latest Starship upgrade, while the Enterprise is about to be decommissioned. Scotty sabotages the Excelsior’s souped-up transwarp drive – the 23rd Century equivalent of tampering with the engine. But he Excelsior still flew around the periphery of the film’s biggest controversy: Kirk blowing up the Enterprise to kill a few Klingons.    

Before The Wrath of Khan, word leaked that Spock would die – the leak came via Gene Roddenberry’s secretary – which led to outrage and even death threats. This time around, Harve Bennett insisted on strict security measures: double-locked offices, script pages delivered on a need-to-know basis, and codenames for the production. The scripts were also chemically treated so copies could be traced back to the original owner.

But the destruction of the Enterprise did leak. The reaction wasn’t quite at the level of “if Spock dies, you die”, but fans were upset.

The controversy was compounded by visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, who declared that he wanted to “take a mallet” to the Enterprise model, which was cumbersome and hard to shoot. He settled for blowing up a smaller version. “I’ve always said I hated that ship,” Ralston told Cinefex. “I tell you it was wonderful: Boom! Goodbye!”   

Shatner recalled that Paramount lapped up the free PR of the Enterprise controversy – the destruction of the Enterprise even appeared in one of the TV trailers. “Paramount’s powers-that-were simply sat back, smiled and rode the wave, milking the controversy for every sound bite they could wring out,” Shatner wrote.  

Shatner was also subject to some amusing behind-the-scenes stories. Costume designer Robert Fletcher told Cinefantastique that Shatner needed 12 shirts: “He diets before a movie and shows up looking terrific. But he would slip as it went along.”  

Robert H Justman, a co-producer of the original TV series, reported a similar problem back in the ‘60s – as the season rolled on “the top of [Shatner’s] pants and the bottom of his tunic moved inexorably away from each other as they got smaller and he got larger”. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry sent memos about Shatner’s weight gain and Shatner, during the third season, went on a crash diet after seeing himself in the dailies.  

But Star Trek III gave Shatner what might be – according to Shatner himself – “Kirk’s finest celluloid moment ever”. These Klingons are occasionally goofy, but they’re ruthless too, as proved when one of Kruge’s warriors stabs Kirk’s son to death. Nimoy told Shatner to play the reaction however he wanted. Kirk stumbles, withdrawing from the immediate trauma, and drops down. “You Klingon b------, you’ve killed my son,” he repeats.  

“Somehow, that never got to meme-hood in the way that ‘Khaaaaan’ did,” says Nemecek.  

Kirk gets revenge in another great moment, fighting Kruge on a not-entirely-convincing volcanic clifftop. Shatner recalled pulling out his classic moves. “The giant windup into a left-handed haymaker, the roundhouse kick, the two quick jabs to the stomach followed by a right to the jaw.”

As ever, the intonation of Shatner’s delivery is imitable – the random breaks and coupling of words. “I. Have had. Enough of. You!” he says, booting Kruge into the lava.  

The climax of Star Trek III is slightly less action-packed. After getting his katra back on Vulcan, Spock – now aged back into Leonard Nimoy – recognises Kirk. “Jim,” he says, “your name is Jim.” Perhaps more important is the film’s parting message: “... and the adventure continues...”

Released on June 1 1984, Star Trek III made $87 million – not as much as Star Trek II but still a success. Even before the film opened, Paramount asked Nimoy to make another. The next film was an even bigger triumph – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a comedic time-travel romp about saving humpback whales. Shatner’s effort, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – Kirk vs God – was less successful.

“Five is the one that everybody loves to kick around,” says Nemecek. He adds: “All the movies, good or bad, have some notoriety. Star Trek III is the one that kept its head down and did its job.”

Even Shatner – despite initial reservations – conceded that Nimoy had excelled in his mission as director on Star Trek III. “Leonard was absolutely great,” wrote Shatner. “Kicked that picture’s a--.” Not the best Star Trek movie, perhaps, but in keeping the film series boldly going, a logical one.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is in cinemas now

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Published May 31, 2024

Robin Curtis Looks Back at Star Trek III: The Search for Spock For Its 40th Anniversary

Curtis on portraying Saavik, being directed by Leonard Nimoy, and more!

StarTrek.com

Forty years ago this weekend, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock inherited the monumental task of picking up the tale of Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew following Spock's tragic death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Written by Harve Bennett and directed by Leonard Nimoy himself, the film dealt with the aftermath of the battle with Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), the evolution of the newly-created Genesis Planet, and Kirk's unsanctioned jaunt to bring Spock's body and katra — a Vulcan’s living spirit — to be reunited on Mount Seleya.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Complete with Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of a ruthless Klingon commander named Kruge, the original Star Trek series' cast's signature camaraderie, and an adventurous spirit, the third Star Trek film welcomed Robin Curtis to the role of Lieutenant Saavik, the Vulcan officer who accompanied Kirk's son Doctor David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) during his expedition to the Genesis Planet. Curtis was kind enough to speak to StarTrek.com and help us celebrate The Search for Spock 's 40th anniversary by reflecting on her time as Saavik and the rare experience of playing a Vulcan while being directed by Leonard Nimoy.

Four decades later, and Robin Curtis recollects that her respect for Nimoy as a director and collaborator was established the instant they met. "Right out of the gate, I could express nothing but praise for working with him, and it's only gotten better over time. Like good wine, my experience with him has aged well," remarks Curtis. "I look back with such fondness at his sensitivity, his respect for other actors, his ability to orchestrate the existing cast — his fellow coworkers for so many years — and newcomers like myself and Christopher Lloyd."

During her audition for the role of Saavik, Curtis had the unique distinction of hearing Nimoy's insight into what an actor can do to truly become a Vulcan. "Mr. Nimoy took such a lovely, intuitive approach to directing. He said, 'Vulcans have 1,000 years of wisdom behind the eyes,'" says Curtis of Nimoy's early advice regarding the Vulcan nature. "When I was given the role, he told me I should look in the mirror [and practice] talking without using my face to express what I was saying. Being so still and so contained near about did me in, and I thought I was failing so miserably at it that I was going to be fired. I didn't feel the innate knack or confidence that I was nailing it."

The challenge of assuming a Vulcan disposition weighed even more heavily on Curtis' shoulders when placed in context with her desire to deliver an excellent performance. "I was as serious as a heart attack on the set! I didn't speak until I was spoken to, which is totally unlike my normally sociable self. I was very earnest, wanting to show and demonstrate that I was grateful for this part. I wanted to do a good job and hit it out of the park," adds Curtis, who sensed that Nimoy appreciated her devotion to the film and her role as Saavik, as well as her overall work ethic and approach to acting.

In spite of her doubts, Curtis had her morale boosted by a pact she made with the director. "I shook his hand on my very first day of filming, and I said, 'Mr. Nimoy, you seem to think I know what I'm doing. And I need to tell you I do not.' And he said, 'Robin, I will take you every step of the way. I will never take you out on the end of a limb and leave you there.' I said, 'Deal.' And we shook hands on it, and he fulfilled that promise in each and every scene," declares Curtis.

Curtis also attests that there were certain scenes which were easier to approach and more straightforward than others. Those involving Saavik and weighty emotions demanded more scrutiny and attention. For example, while holding Saavik, Kirk's son David Marcus, and a reborn Spock hostage on the Genesis Planet, Kruge ordered one of his soldiers to kill a prisoner in order to demonstrate his conviction toward acquiring the Genesis Device. The sentence was inflicted upon David, and Saavik was forced to report the death to the man's father. "That [moment] filled me with anxiety and dread. How could I possibly say that with the Vulcan demeanor?"

Those complexities also rang true on the other end of the emotional spectrum. With a rapidly aging Spock overwhelmed by the urges of the pon farr , or the Vulcan time of mating, Saavik guided him through the intimate process. This scene, with its close contact and affectionate hand gesture, represented another significant Vulcan hurdle to overcome. "The reverence and enormity and profundity of pon farr , and going into this cave with Spock," begins Curtis. "We came to the set with no sense of what that would look like. [Young Spock actor] Stephen Manley and I were both a little trepidatious about what Lenoard was going to have us do. What would a Vulcan love scene or Vulcan foreplay look like? In fact, I've only just learned recently that the simple gesture that Leonard introduced us to that day, the notion of [the characters] joining their fingers, was originally introduced by Spock's mother and Sarek in the television series."

Behind-the-scenes of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Of course, having pioneered the Vulcan temperament for nearly 20 years by the time The Search for Spock entered production, Nimoy was singularly suited to answer questions about such delicate matters. Whether dealing with Saavik's reaction to David's death, the intimacy of pon farr , or any of Curtis' other scenes, Curtis recalls Nimoy's valuable input. "He would take me aside before every scene, and we'd sit down at the edge of the set on the platform, and I'd say the lines. He would moderate me no differently than we do with our cars with the radio volume. I was so grateful for that," shares Curtis.

Shifting her focus to her overall impression of their professional association, Curtis conveys her appreciation for Nimoy's leadership on the film before admitting she does have one slight regret. "I absolutely love the man. Loved him as a person, loved him as a director, and I'm sorry that I was too shy to even hint or suggest that we would have a friendship outside the realm of the shoots themselves."

While their friendship was largely limited to the production itself, the director did leave an indelible impact on Curtis' personal life. "Leonard Nimoy was aware that my father was battling cancer at the time, and it wasn't looking good," notes Curtis. "The best thing I remember about Star Trek is that it was a colossally beautiful distraction from the agony we were feeling as a family. Leonard Nimoy reminds me of my dad, and they were the same age. And [Nimoy] was so sensitive and kind about the idea that Star Trek was such a gift and a bright light for my family in a time of suffering. Ultimately, my dad lived long enough to see the movie. I went home to be at the Riverside Mall in Utica, New York, with my neighbors and family, and my dad made it to the movie theatre. I will always be grateful for that."

Curtis' thankfulness extends to the many fans who regularly compliment her for her tenure as Saavik in The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . "I'm flabbergasted at the multitude of ways that [Star Trek] has enriched my life. My heart explodes over the tenacity of the fans and how the franchise only gets better and richer. People are very generous and sentimental about [ The Search for Spock ]. They understood it was part of a triumvirate [of films]," observes Curtis. Referring to her final on-screen moments in The Voyage Home , in which Saavik and Amanda Grayson remain behind on Vulcan, Curtis jokes, "What did she and [Amanda Grayson actor] Jane Wyatt get up to? [ laughs ] What happened with the pon farr ? Did she end up being pregnant? I think the fans were just as curious as I was."

Perceiving her connection with the fans as a gift, Curtis contemplates an unexpected phone call she received from a medical facility in Cleveland, Ohio. A young man who she had once met at a convention had been taken off of dialysis and given only two weeks to live. The staff member contacting Curtis informed her that the man's last wish was to share a meal with her. "I had shown him some kindness at a convention in Ohio in the '90s, and he remembered," reveals Curtis, who didn't hesitate to make the five-hour drive to Cleveland that very same day. Before leaving, Curtis advised the caller, "You tell him I'll be there for dinner, and I wouldn't miss it for the world." Arriving Friday evening, Curtis spent every waking hour of that weekend with the fan. After departing on Sunday, they talked each day until he passed the following week. "That was a gift to me, and I like to think maybe a small gift to him," explains Curtis, noting that their connection has endured via her ongoing friendship with the fan's aunt.

The Search for Spock clearly meant a lot to those who watched it repeatedly, but Curtis' own perception of the movie has evolved since its release. "I saw the film at the time and then never saw it again for so many years. My memory of it was that it was depressing [ laughs ]," confesses Curtis. "The fact of the matter is, everything dies. Genesis dies, the ship dies, Kirk's son dies. Spock comes back to life, but he starts out dead [ laughs ]." As was the case for many of us, the pandemic changed everything for Curtis. "We were all in our houses and seeking connection. I felt like I needed to go back, so I rewatched [ The Next Generation two-parter] 'Gambit,' and I rewatched the movie. And I thought, 'This is funny!' There's a lot of good parts in this film that aren't depressing. I don't know why I had that impression stuck in my brain, but maybe it's because my involvement was very serious. Everything I had to do dealt with great disappointment and loss and tragedy."

Looking back, Curtis cites Sarek's mind meld with Admiral Kirk as her favorite scene, describing the sentiment behind the characters' interaction, the cinematography, and the close up of the actors' faces as "gorgeous." Though she felt the mood on the set of The Voyage Home was more joyful and playful — after all, she still has Polaroids of herself making funny faces with Walter Koenig, George Takei, Kirk Thatcher, and other cast and crew, Curtis maintains fond memories of working on The Search for Spock . "The cast were so generous and classy with me, and they understood the weight upon my shoulders as the newcomer. They were reassuring. I remember Walter Koenig told me to keep a journal. And of course, like a jackass, I didn't listen. [ laughs ]," jests Curtis. "Now, I wish I had kept one."

The Search for Spock 's conclusion exuded hope and wonder, as Spock's body and katra were reunited in a ceremony on Mount Seleya. Following his resurrection, Spock passes by each crew member in attendance, eventually finding himself embraced by the group. Although a glance between Spock and Saavik was fleeting, much preparation went into that moment. "[Nimoy] approached me before the scene and asked, 'How would you feel if you were to suddenly come upon somebody that you loved or were intimate with on a New York City street? How would you imagine that?' In the matter of a split second, so many thoughts went through my mind," says Curtis. "First, what a personal question to ask. Then I felt tenderness, embarrassment, sentimentality, nostalgia, and vulnerability all at once. I looked up at him, then looked down. He said, 'That’s it!' And I thought, ' Oh, okay, I love you! ' It is so lovely and simple when a director does that. No arm wrestling had to happen, he just asked me a simple question and I got [the scene]."

As for The Search for Spock 's ending, when Spock's friends crowd around him on Vulcan, Curtis recollects that she and the other cast members were given a general direction to "be encouraged by that moment and confident that his katra had been restored. Sometimes we don't work those moments out, and it's all on the fly. It was very much off-the-cuff." Whether meticulously planned or inspired by the moment, these scenes combined to create a film that has stood the test of time and established itself as a crucial installment in the pantheon of Star Trek stories.

Starfleet career

Starfleet academy.

During his time at Starfleet Academy, Spock had Onafuwa for Fundamentals of Quantum Stochastics and several other advanced courses. He was commissioned as a Starfleet officer in 2250 with the serial number S 179-276 SP and held an A7 computer expert classification. Later in life, he wrote a memoir about the challenges he faced at Starfleet Academy, titled The Many and the One . ( PIC : " The Star Gazer "; ST : " Q&A "; TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ", " Court Martial ", " The Ultimate Computer ")

Early postings and assignments

One of Spock's early assignments was to the USS Kongo . ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

Serving under Christopher Pike

Arrival on the enterprise.

Spock and Lieutenant Una Chin-Riley in a turbolift shortly after his arrival.

In 2253 , Spock was assigned to the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike . When Ensign Spock was first transported aboard the Enterprise , he bonded with the ship's first officer , Lieutenant Una Chin-Riley (who preferred to be known simply as "Number One"). When they became trapped in the turbolift while on their way to the bridge, Spock asked Una many questions and the two opened up to each other. ( ST : " Q&A "; SNW : " Among the Lotus Eaters " display graphic )

By 2254 , he was promoted to lieutenant . ( TOS : " The Cage ")

Rescuing Pike from the Talosians

Spock in 2254

Later that year, Lt. Spock was wounded in the leg when Pike's landing party was attacked on Rigel VII .

As the ship proceeded to the Vega colony for medical care, a radio wave distress call forced Pike to divert the ship to Talos IV . Still limping, Spock joined a landing party that transported to the barren surface of the planet where Talosians captured Pike.

He was the first of the ship's crew to realize the Talosians had powerful illusory abilities. Spock's final report, along with Pike's, recommended a ban on visitation to the planet. Starfleet's General Order 7 supported that judgment. ( TOS : " The Cage ", " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ")

Searching for the Red Angel

Spock in 2257

Following the end of the Federation-Klingon War in 2257 , Spock took an unspecified leave of absence from Starfleet. He had accumulated a number of months during the five-year mission which, according to Pike, took a toll on the whole crew as well as Spock. Upon reviewing Spock 's personal log entries on the Enterprise , Michael Burnham learned that Spock had been having visions ever since he was a boy, and that he had had premonitions of the mysterious red bursts that the USS Discovery was likewise investigating, which Spock believed were related to his childhood visions of "the Red Angel." ( DIS : " Brother ")

Spock followed his visions to an unknown planet where he encountered the Red Angel. Through a mind meld , he discovered that it was a Human but one clad in a suit far beyond 23rd century technology. Through the meld, he received a vision of the destruction of Earth , Vulcan , Andor , and Tellar , and began experiencing time non-linearly. ( DIS : " If Memory Serves ") He decided to have himself committed to the psychiatric unit on Starbase 5 . In doing so, he requested that Starfleet not inform his family about the matter, including his father and foster sister. While there, he was observed to display acutely emotional dissociation and extreme empathy deficits. When he was told the red bursts had occurred as he had predicted, Spock broke out of the facility, disabling three of his doctors with Vulcan nerve pinches and fleeing on a shuttlecraft . ( DIS : " New Eden ", " Point of Light ", " If Memory Serves ")

Starfleet subsequently claimed that Spock had murdered his doctors and made finding him a priority. The USS Discovery and Section 31 became involved in the search. Aware he was being pursued, Spock abandoned his shuttlecraft in the Mutara sector and secretly returned to Vulcan. There, his mother hid him in a sacred crypt where katra stones shielded him from telepathic searches. Spock had become delusional and incoherent, unable to bear the experience of viewing time non-linearly, and repeated the First Doctrines of Logic and a sequence of numbers over and over. Burnham convinced Amanda to take her to Spock, but Sarek followed Burnham and convinced her that the best way to help Spock was to hand him over to Section 31. Burnham took Spock to the Section 31 ship NCIA-93 where Captain Leland promised he would help repair Spock's mind. However, Philippa Georgiou warned Burnham that Leland intended to extract Spock's memories using a process that would destroy his mind. At Georgiou's suggestion, Burnham overpowered her and took Spock from the Section 31 ship in a shuttlecraft. ( DIS : " Saints of Imperfection ", " Light and Shadows ")

Burnham realized that, since Spock's mind had regressed to childhood, the sequence of numbers he had been repeating was reversed due to his L'tak Terai . In the opposite order, the numbers represented the coordinates for Talos IV . Burnham thus set a course for that planet. There, the Talosians and Vina agreed to help heal Spock and subsequently projected illusions to the pursuing NCIA-93 to allow Burnham and Spock to escape to the USS Discovery which was commanded by his old friend Captain Christopher Pike while the USS Enterprise was down for repairs. ( DIS : " Light and Shadows ", " If Memory Serves ")

Stopping Control

Spock subsequently joined the Discovery 's ongoing mission to investigate the red bursts , discovering that Control had framed Spock for murder ( DIS : " Project Daedalus ") and helping to trap the Red Angel on Essof IV . To everyone's surprise, the Red Angel was revealed to actually be Gabrielle Burnham , Michael Burnham 's mother who was long believed to be dead. While attempting to prevent Control from wiping out all life in the galaxy after gaining full sentience, Gabrielle had discovered that Spock was the only one capable of truly perceiving her and her purpose. However, an effort to beam Gabrielle into their time permanently failed and resulted in the Red Angel suit and Gabrielle getting pulled back into the 32nd century , unable to return due to Gabrielle's time crystal being destroyed. ( DIS : " The Red Angel ", " Perpetual Infinity ")

When the decision was made to send Discovery into the future in order to prevent Control from ever getting its hands on the Sphere data, Spock decided to accompany his sister on the one-way trip. During the Battle near Xahea , Spock helped to guide Burnham's use of the second Red Angel suit from a shuttlecraft, but his engines were damaged and he couldn't return to the ship with her. With Discovery too badly damaged to risk lowering its shields to beam him onboard, Spock was forced to remain behind in 2257 . Burnham promised to send the seventh red burst to signal her brother that they had successfully made it and offered him some final words of advice. Spock told Burnham that he loved her, a sentiment that she returned, before Spock had the USS Enterprise beam him out. From the Enterprise bridge, Spock witnessed Burnham successfully lead Discovery through the wormhole to the future. ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow ", " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

Return to Starfleet

Spock in 2258

After the battle against Control , Spock returned to his position as science officer aboard the Enterprise in 2258 . He was sworn to secrecy, along with the rest of the crew of Pike's starship, to never again speak the name of his adoptive sister or the ship she served on aloud in public again. Four months after the Discovery 's departure, the seventh red burst appeared near Terralysium , confirming to Spock that his sister had made it to the future. ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

In 2259 , T'Pring, his betrothed, proposed marriage to him, which he accepted. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

Later that year, the pirate Captain Angel , lover of Spock's half-brother Sybok, came aboard, manipulating Spock at an attempt to free Sybok from the Ankeshtan K'til Retreat he was currently confined to. Angel ultimately took control of the Enterprise and tried to blackmail T'Pring into releasing Sybok, using Spock as leverage. Spock and Christine Chapel foiled her plans by pretending to be in love with each other and temporarily ending his betrothal to T'Pring. They renewed their bonding afterwards. ( SNW : " The Serene Squall ")

When an alien consciousness from the Jonisian Nebula brought the fairy tale The Kingdom of Elysian to life on the Enterprise , Spock was used for the character of the Wizard Pollux . He didn't remember the events after the ship was returned to normal. ( SNW : " The Elysian Kingdom ")

Spock was part of a mission to the USS Peregrine , which had made a crash landing on Valeo Beta V . Inside the ship, confronted with young Gorn who had just hatched and hunted the landing party, Spock allowed himself to give into his unchecked emotions and rage to provoke and draw out the Gorn. Afterwards, he had still trouble controling his anger as well as his pain and that his mind was weak, but was assured by Christine Chapel that it was not a weakness, but him being Human. ( SNW : " All Those Who Wander ")

Meeting Leila Kalomi

On Earth briefly in 2261 , Spock met Leila Kalomi . Although she declared a love for Spock, his emotional control prevented him from reciprocating until 2267 when he was infected by the spores on Omicron Ceti III . Under the spores' influence, he became peaceful and happy but Captain James T. Kirk infuriated him, which killed the spores and returned him to normal. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

Spock's service under Pike (eleven years, four months, and five days) inspired considerable respect and loyalty from the young officer. In 2267, Spock risked his life and career for the sake of his former captain. ( TOS : " The Cage ", " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ")

Serving under James T. Kirk

Lieutenant Commander Spock in 2265

After Pike's promotion to fleet captain , Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise in 2265 , with Spock as his first officer. An early mission proved disastrous when Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell , a close friend of the new captain, developed enhanced psionic abilities when the Enterprise encountered an energy barrier at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy .

Spock and Kirk in 2265

Spock examined the tapes of an earlier ship, the SS Valiant , that had encountered the same barrier and was destroyed. As Mitchell's powers increased, Spock believed he had become extremely dangerous and feared that he would destroy the Enterprise . He therefore advised Kirk to either strand Mitchell on the uninhabited and desolate Delta Vega to isolate him from galactic civilization or kill Mitchell before it was too late. Kirk hesitated but initially attempted the former, but the scope of Spock's concerns were eventually borne out and Kirk was forced to kill Mitchell. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

The Enterprise repelled the first Romulan incursion of Federation space in over a century on stardate 1709.2. Spock and the bridge crew became the first Starfleet officers to make visual contact with Romulans who finally revealed their Vulcan-like appearance to Starfleet. Lieutenant Stiles briefly suspected Spock of being a Romulan agent until Spock saved his life in the course of battle. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror ")

Spock kidnapped Fleet Captain Pike and hijacked the Enterprise . Pike had been crippled and was confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak, as a result of an accident. Spock wanted to return him to Talos IV ; he wished to return Pike to the Talosians there so he could enjoy the rest of his life in an illusory reality and would not have to continue enduring his disability. After a lengthy inquiry into the matter, and in light of the Talosian-provided images, Kirk allowed Pike to beam down. Commodore Jose I. Mendez also dropped all charges against Spock. ( TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ")

While commanding an away mission aboard the Galileo on stardate 2821.5, the shuttlecraft crashed on the surface of Taurus II . Giant hostile creatures killed two crewmembers while the shuttle was stranded there. Spock, aided by Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott , eventually launched the shuttle. Knowing that it could not break free of the planet's gravity, Spock ignited the shuttlecraft's remaining fuel to use it as a flare. His gamble paid off; it alerted the Enterprise which turned around and rescued the team. ( TOS : " The Galileo Seven ")

Spock in command of the Enterprise after the Metrons abduct Kirk

After being thrown back in time to Earth of 1969 and interacting with that planet's US Air Force , Spock was able to recreate a time warp with a slingshot maneuver around the sun. ( TOS : " Tomorrow is Yesterday ")

Spock being questioned at Kirk's trial in 2267

When Kirk was court-martialed for causing the death of Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Finney , Spock proved that Finney had altered the Enterprise 's computer tapes to frame Kirk, by beating the computer at chess four times in a row, something which would ordinarily be impossible. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

Spock confronts Landru with Kirk

Spock, along with Kirk, helped disable Landru , a computer that controlled the lives of a civilization on Beta III and allowed no free thought or creative thinking. ( TOS : " The Return of the Archons ")

Spock helped Kirk to retake the Enterprise after Khan Noonien Singh , a 20th century Augment dictator whom the Enterprise 's crew had found in stasis , commandeered the starship. He flooded the ship with gas, disabling Khan and his followers. ( TOS : " Space Seed ")

On stardate 3192.1, Spock and Kirk were taken prisoners on Eminiar VII which had been at war for over five hundred years with Vendikar . Computers fought the war virtually so that the destruction of actual warfare did not devastate the two worlds, thus preserving both civilizations. Whenever the computer registered a hit, the affected citizens reported to a disintegration chamber where they were vaporized. When the Enterprise entered orbit around Eminiar VII, it became a legitimate target for Vendikar. The war computer soon declared that a tricobalt satellite explosion had destroyed the Enterprise ; as a result, Eminiar officials expected the crew to report to the disintegration stations. They abducted Kirk and Spock to ensure compliance, but the two escaped captivity and destroyed the computers on Eminiar VII. With the threat of a real war looming over the inhabitants of both planets, Spock and Kirk negotiated a peace between Eminiar VII and Vendikar. ( TOS : " A Taste of Armageddon ")

On the mining planet Janus VI , an unknown creature was killing miners there. After locating the creature, Spock mind melded with it. He discovered that the creature was called a Horta and determined that its killing of the miners was an attempt to protect its young. The miners had been unintentionally killing the Horta's offspring by destroying silicon nodules which were really the creature's eggs. Spock negotiated a pact between the Horta and the miners: The miners would leave the eggs alone and the Horta, in turn, would help the miners locate valuable minerals. ( TOS : " The Devil in the Dark ")

Spock is forced to use a destructive measure in order to protect the Federation

Spock and Kirk later became trapped on Organia during a Klingon occupation of that planet. The Klingons wanted to use Organia as a base in their war against the Federation. The Organian council refused the Federation's help, and after the Klingons invaded and took control of Organia, Kirk and Spock had civilian identities imposed on them, with Spock being given the identity of a merchant . They then became involved in sabotage. After the Klingons captured them, the Organians set Spock and Kirk free. Just as war began to break out, the Organians revealed themselves to be powerful energy beings. They neutralized both sides weaponry and stopped the war. ( TOS : " Errand of Mercy ")

On stardate 3134.0, Spock and Kirk traveled back in time using the Guardian of Forever to retrieve Dr. Leonard McCoy who had entered the time portal and somehow changed history. Spock discovered McCoy saved the life of Edith Keeler who, in the altered timeline, led a pacifist movement that delayed the United States of America 's entry into World War II , thus allowing Adolf Hitler to win the war. Spock persuaded Kirk that allowing Keeler to die in an auto accident was only way to restore the timeline. ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

A neural parasite attacking Spock

Near the end of the year, a Denevan neural parasite that destroyed the colony on Deneva also attacked Spock. He submitted to an experiment that destroyed the creature inside him but also left him blind. However, the blindness was only temporary due to an inner set of eyelids that all Vulcans possessed. ( TOS : " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

Commander Spock in 2267

In late 2267 , the Enterprise encountered a probe called Nomad that had destroyed multiple star systems and their inhabitants. Spock mind-melded with the probe and discovered it was an old Earth probe originally tasked with seeking out new life. Somehow damaged in space, it had merged with an alien probe on a mission to sterilize "imperfect" biological organisms from soil. These two missions had merged into sterilizing or improving anything that was not "perfect." Using its own logic against it, Kirk destroyed the probe. ( TOS : " The Changeling ")

On stardate 3219.8, an alien cloud creature took control of a shuttlecraft carrying Spock, Kirk, and Federation diplomat Nancy Hedford , landing it on a deserted planet. There, they found Zefram Cochrane , the inventor of Earth's warp drive who was believed to have died decades ago. The cloud creature, which Cochrane called the " Companion ", had discovered him and kept him alive and young. The creature had brought the three Starfleet officers to be companions for Cochrane. When Spock tried to repair the shuttlecraft, the Companion stopped him. The situation was resolved when the Companion joined with Hedford, who was terminally ill, and cured her. Hedford/The Companion remained on the planet with Cochrane. ( TOS : " Metamorphosis ")

At some point around Spock's fourth year on the Enterprise , he was offered an assignment with Medusan Ambassador Kollos which he turned down, as he claimed that he " was unable to accept, " as his " life is here, " aboard the Enterprise . The assignment, instead, went to Miranda Jones . ( TOS : " Is There in Truth No Beauty? ")

In 2268 , Spock and other crewmembers of the Enterprise encountered Harry Mudd stranded on a planet of androids . The androids wanted the Enterprise to escape the planet and serve Humans so that they would not have to explore space. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew eventually managed to overload the androids' central control by acting in a illogical manner, causing the chief android, Norman , to have a breakdown. ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

While traveling to a peace conference on Babel , Spock was reunited with his parents. There was still much friction between Spock and his father. When Sarek was accused of the murder of another delegate , it was revealed that he was ill with a cardiac defect which made it unlikely that he could have committed the crime. McCoy was then tasked with performing surgery on Sarek while in a space battle with an enemy ship. It was then discovered that Orions were responsible for the murder, and Spock made himself available for a blood transfusion for his father's surgery because they shared the same rare blood type , T-negative . Recovering in sickbay , Sarek and Spock made peace with each other, even playfully teasing Amanda. ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ")

On stardate 4523.3, Spock helped foil a Klingon plot to poison quadrotriticale earmarked for Sherman's Planet while at the same time trying to clear the Enterprise of a fast-breeding alien species called tribbles . ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "; DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

Spock later visited Sigma Iotia II whose inhabitants had modeled their society on the gangster era of Earth's 1930s . An earlier starship had left behind a book about gangsters from Earth's 20th century that the imitative Iotians had used as a blueprint for their society. Spock played the part of one of the bosses of the main syndicate, "The Federation," and helped Kirk unite the two warring bosses into a form of government . ( TOS : " A Piece of the Action ")

Spock sensing the terrible deaths of an entire Vulcan crew

Spock, along with the Enterprise , encountered a space amoeba that destroyed entire star systems . The USS Intrepid , which was sent to investigate the phenomenon, was destroyed, and Spock felt the Vulcans on the ship dying. In order to gain information on the creature, Spock piloted a shuttle into the amoeba and found that it was about to reproduce by fission. He subsequently destroyed the creature with an antimatter bomb. ( TOS : " The Immunity Syndrome ")

Spock's body was later taken over by Henoch , one of three survivors of an ancient civilization that had destroyed itself. The three had become energy beings to survive and wished to build androids to house their minds. Henoch, the rival of fellow survivor Sargon , refused to relinquish Spock's body and attempted to kill Sargon. He himself was killed with the help of Spock's consciousness and Sargon's wife Thalassa . ( TOS : " Return to Tomorrow ")

Ekosian Nazis capture Spock

Spock came in contact with various other worlds in the early part of 2268. He was captured by Ekosians who had based their society on that of Nazi Germany and tortured him for information about the Enterprise . John Gill , a Federation historian , had visited Ekos and attempted to use the efficiency of Nazi Germany to bring stability to the planet. Toward the end of the encounter, it was found out that Gill was drugged by his deputy Melakon. Through the use of the mind meld, Spock helped bring Gill to almost full wakefulness. ( TOS : " Patterns of Force ")

Spock battled Kelvans who tried to take over the Enterprise in order to return to their homeworld in the Andromeda Galaxy . He helped Kirk stop Ronald Tracey , a Federation captain interfering in Omega IV 's societies by arming the Kohms against the Yangs . He battled the government of a planet where a Rome -like civilization had never fallen and gladiatorial games still took place in the planet's modern era. ( TOS : " By Any Other Name ", " The Omega Glory ", " Bread and Circuses ")

Spock's mindless body equipped with a neural stimulator after the Eymorgs stole his brain

Later the same year, Spock's brain was stolen by the Eymorgs to help power the Great Teacher that controlled their society and provided for all their needs. McCoy was able to reconnect Spock's brain to his body with the same technology used to remove it. ( TOS : " Spock's Brain ")

Spock, along with Kirk, stole a cloaking device from the Romulans. As part of the plan to retrieve the device, he pretended to kill Kirk in self-defense and romanced the craft's commander in order to gain her trust. He initially intended only to carry out his mission but experienced actual feelings for the beautiful and brilliant commander. After Kirk returned to the Romulans' craft disguised as a Romulan and stole the device, Spock stalled the Romulans long enough for the device to be installed in the Enterprise . The ship escaped with the cloaking device and the Romulan commander on board, who made a pact with Spock to keep their mutual feelings for the other a secret. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

Spock later saved Kirk and a tribe of transplanted Native Americans when he helped save their planet Amerind from an asteroid by activating a deflector beam. ( TOS : " The Paradise Syndrome ") He allowed Kollos to take over his body so that he could guide the Enterprise back into the galaxy after a mad Larry Marvick had driven it into an uncharted region. The Medeusans were a highly intelligent species but their bodies were grotesque in form – so much so that gazing upon a Medeusan would cause instant insanity in humanoids. However, it was said that telepathically viewing a Medeusan's mind, as Spock did, was quite a beautiful experience. ( TOS : " Is There in Truth No Beauty? ")

Spock helped save an landing party from the Melkotians who had, as punishment for trespassing, forced them to relive the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral in a recreation of Tombstone , Arizona . ( TOS : " Spectre of the Gun ") He also helped redirect Yonada from colliding with Daran V . ( TOS : " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky ")

Spock took command of the Enterprise when a spatial interphase trapped Kirk between universes. Despite a Tholian attack from Commander Loskene , Spock and the Enterprise crew managed to retrieve Kirk and escaped from the Tholians' energy web. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ")

A race of psychokinetics later captured Spock, Kirk, and McCoy. The aliens forced them to take part in dangerous games and unwanted love affairs. ( TOS : " Plato's Stepchildren ")

After hyper-accelerated aliens took over the Enterprise and hyper-accelerated Kirk to take as a hostage, Spock managed to receive a warning from Kirk and became hyper-accelerated himself but carried an antidote with him. He and Kirk stopped the aliens and retook the ship. ( TOS : " Wink of an Eye ")

Spock was part of a landing party that aliens were using to test the worthiness of an empathic race. A supernova was going to destroy their planetary system, and the aliens wanted to see if their race should be saved. After the aliens tortured Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, the empath Gem healed them. Impressed by this, the aliens saved her planet. ( TOS : " The Empath ")

Spock attempting to differentiate between two almost identical Kirks in 2269

In early 2269 , Spock and Kirk took a new medicine that could cure mental illness to a Federation mental facility. However, under the leadership of former Starfleet captain Garth of Izar , inmates had taken over the facility. Garth captured Spock and Kirk, putting their lives in danger. Spock escaped and found Kirk but Garth, who had developed shapeshifting powers, had assumed Kirk's identity. Spock determined the real Kirk from the impostor and subdued Garth, thus giving him medication that helped his mental illness. ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ")

In the same year, Spock was part of a landing party that found a Human named Flint . He found masterpiece paintings and original classical music. Flint admitted that he had been Johannes Brahms and Leonardo da Vinci on Earth , and that he was an immortal being. ( TOS : " Requiem for Methuselah ")

Spock with Droxine

Spock helped Kirk negotiate a peace treaty between two societies on Ardana . He also became attracted to Droxine , the daughter of Plasus , the ruler of Ardana; he referred to her as a work of art and even discussed pon farr with her. However, nothing ever came out of the relationship. ( TOS : " The Cloud Minders ")

The Excalbians forced Spock and Kirk into a battle between good and evil to study Human concepts. The aliens created images of people who possessed "good" qualities, such as Abraham Lincoln and Surak , against "bad" people such as Colonel Phillip Green and Kahless . ( TOS : " The Savage Curtain ")

Spock, Kirk, and McCoy entered a time portal, and were stuck in different past eras of Sarpeidon which was about to be destroyed by an exploding sun. Spock and McCoy traveled into the planet's ice age where they met Zarabeth , who had been sent there as punishment. Even though McCoy was dying from the cold, Spock wished to remain with the woman with whom he had fallen in love since, in this time period, he had emotions. Eventually, he discovered the portal door and saved McCoy. ( TOS : " All Our Yesterdays ")

After Janice Lester transferred her consciousness into Kirk's body and his consciousness into her body, she attempted to kill Kirk and assume his captaincy. However, Spock managed to expose her and helped to re-transfer Kirk's consciousness into his body. ( TOS : " Turnabout Intruder ")

Spock (left) along with McCoy, rapidly aged on planet

Spock with Klingons from the IKS Klothos

Spock joined a landing party that beamed down to inspect the second planet of the Taurean system . There, he became affected by the glandular secretion of the female members of Theela's species who inhabited there, who were known for controlling the male mind. This drained Spock of his "life force," causing him to age at a rate of ten years per day. Spock escaped the females of the planet and contacted the Enterprise . An all-female security detachment led by Lieutenant Nyota Uhura eventually recovered him and the landing party. By using their molecular pattern stored in the transporter system, Spock and the others were returned to their previous ages. ( TAS : " The Lorelei Signal ")

Spock Two performing a mind meld on Spock

On a mission to Phylos , Spock was captured by Stavos Keniclius who planned to clone him and make an army of Spock clones to enforce an era of peace throughout the galaxy. His first clone, Spock Two , possessed all of the original's memories, abilities, and sense of logic. However, the cloning process left the original Spock near death. Since Spock Two possessed his progenitor's sense of logic, he mind melded with him and restored his mind, most likely transferring his katra back into the original Spock. The original Spock proposed that Spock Two remain on Phylos to help Keniclius rebuild the Phylosian society. ( TAS : " The Infinite Vulcan ")

Purging emotions

After completing the Enterprise 's five-year mission of exploration, Spock chose to return to his home planet. As a result of his occasional displays of emotion during his Enterprise missions, he decided to undergo the kolinahr ritual to purge himself of the last vestiges of emotion. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

V'ger crisis

Two and half years after leaving Starfleet, Spock felt the arrival of a vast consciousness. He aborted his kolinahr training and resumed his Starfleet career both for personal reasons and to help Rear Admiral Kirk during the V'ger incident. Spock's return to Starfleet amazed former colleagues and others but his reputation remained excellent, with Commander Will Decker stating that he was "well-aware of Mr. Spock's qualifications" when Spock offered to again serve as science officer. Within three hours, he helped Scott repair the Enterprise 's malfunctioning warp drive . ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Commander Spock in the 2270s

" Jim, this simple feeling is beyond V'ger 's comprehension. "

Spock's attitude towards his colleagues was far different from when he had served with them during the five-year mission. Wishing to rid himself of any personal attachments to Starfleet, he no longer considered any of the crew to be his friends and barely acknowledged them upon his return except where his duties demanded it. Feeling that the consciousness would answer for his quest, he broke into an airlock and stole a thruster suit . He exited the ship and proceeded to the next chamber of the mechanism, witnessing a planet populated by living machines. There, he attempted a mind meld and he realized V'ger 's quest. Knocked unconscious by the enormous power of V'ger during the meld, Spock was recovered in open space by Kirk. Later, he was in sickbay being treated for neurological trauma. He informed Kirk that V'ger was a life-form of its own, seeking answers to its questions; specifically " Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more? " Grasping Kirk's hand while lying on a biobed , Spock told Kirk that the simple feeling of touching another was something beyond V'ger 's comprehension.

Spock later accompanied Kirk, Decker, and McCoy to the heart of V'ger , guided by the Ilia probe . The group discovered V'ger was actually the 20th century NASA probe Voyager 6 . Spock deduced that the old probe was found by the living machine inhabitants of a planet located on the other side of the galaxy and they built the mammoth vessel so it could fulfill Voyager 's simple programming, " learn all that is learnable ." Spock told Kirk that V'ger had to evolve, as its knowledge had reached the limits of the known universe.

Spock informed McCoy and the others that other dimensions and higher levels of being could not be proven logically and V'ger was therefore incapable of believing in them, needing the Human quality to leap beyond logic. Decker chose to merge with V'ger , and Kirk, McCoy, and Spock escaped shortly thereafter when it and Decker evolved into another dimension. Afterwards, Spock chose to remain on the Enterprise rather than return to his homeworld .

Spock's direct encounter with V'ger showed him that purging his emotions and operating on pure logic would not answer his questions but would simply create new ones. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Death and resurrection

Sometime after the V'ger incident, Spock was promoted to captain and assigned to Starfleet Academy where he trained cadets on the Enterprise which had been retired from active service.

The death of Spock in 2285

In early 2285 , Spock, while on a training mission, ceded command of the Enterprise to Kirk during a mission that involved keeping the Genesis Device from Khan Noonien Singh . When Kirk and the Enterprise defeated Khan, he armed the device. Spock repaired the Enterprise 's warp drive in a severely irradiated portion of engineering in order to save the crew. He saved the ship but sacrificed his own life in the process. Following his funeral service, Kirk gave Spock a "burial by sea" by firing Spock's body into space inside a torpedo casing. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Spock, resurrected on Mount Seleya

Spock's coffin landed on the surface of the Genesis Planet . The radiation emanating from the planet regenerated his cells. Spock was thus reborn as a child but quickly aged to adulthood. However, his mind was a complete blank. Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise 's senior staff disobeyed Starfleet orders so that they could retrieve Spock's body. On Vulcan, Spock's living body, now at the age of his death, was reunited with his katra which Spock himself had placed in McCoy prior to his death via mind meld. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

After his katra and body were re-integrated, Spock trained for three months with the help of his mother to bring his knowledge and intellect back to where it had been before he died. Answering many complicated questions at rapid fire during his memory test , he had difficulty answering the question " How do you feel? ", something he felt was irrelevant, though his mother disagreed. Returning back to Earth aboard the HMS Bounty with his Enterprise crewmates to offer testimony in their defense to the Federation Council , Spock and the crew discovered that the planet was under siege by a mysterious alien probe which was causing critical damage to Earth's oceans and subsequently Earth's ecosystem. Analyzing the transmission the probe was producing, Spock concluded that the probe was transmitting the songs sung by whales , specifically humpback whales . Spock informed Kirk that the humpback whales had been extinct since the 21st century and suggested the crew travel back through time to acquire humpback whales. Spock's calculations from memory for the slingshot effect around Sol proved instrumental in the Bounty 's successful journey back to the year 1986 .

Spock, with Kirk in San Francisco in 1986

Upon the landing of the cloaked Bird-of-Prey in Golden Gate Park , Spock teamed up with Kirk and together they set off in search of humpback whales. The pair discovered George and Gracie at the Cetacean Institute in Sausalito . Spock jumped into the whales' tank and mind melded with Gracie, discovering she was pregnant . After traveling back to 2286 with the whales and cetacean biologist Gillian Taylor , Spock and the rest of the crew saved Earth once again by releasing George and Gracie into the San Francisco Bay from the sunken Bounty . The whales successfully communicated with the probe and it left Earth's solar system . After the dismissal of all charges to the crew of the Enterprise , save for Kirk, Spock spoke to his father and asked him to relay a message to his mother: That he felt fine. Spock went on to serve as a Starfleet officer for several more years aboard the new USS Enterprise -A . ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

The Enterprise -A

Prior to the launch of the new Enterprise , Spock was recruited to test the new brig as he was the most "intelligent and resourceful person the designers could find." However, despite his ingenuity, he failed to escape. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

Spock joined Kirk and McCoy for shore leave at Yosemite National Park and observed Kirk climbing El Capitan with his levitation boots . He saved Kirk's life when he slipped and fell off of the mountain, grabbing his ankle just seconds before he was killed by the impact. Later, Spock told Kirk and McCoy that before leaving the Enterprise -A, he had studied all the details involving "camping out" and roasted a marshmallow over a fire . Spock's shore leave was interrupted when Commander Uhura brought the shuttlecraft Galileo to the trio's campsite to bring them to the Enterprise as the transporters were malfunctioning.

Spock says goodbye to his half-brother Sybok

Upon the Enterprise 's mission to Nimbus III to resolve a hostage situation, Kirk retained Spock as his first officer. During the Enterprise strike team's rescue mission to Paradise City on Nimbus III, Spock discovered his long-lost half-brother Sybok had been the leader of the Galactic Army of Light , the group responsible for capturing the three diplomats. Sybok hijacked the Enterprise and ordered that it be brought through the Great Barrier . During the subsequent voyage in the shuttle Copernicus to the mythical Sha Ka Ree , Spock tried to console his brother when they could not initially find " God " on the surface.

Shortly thereafter, the landing party encountered the supernatural being when it presented itself to them. Learning of the malevolent nature of the being calling itself "God", Sybok sacrificed his life to save Spock and his friends. Spock and McCoy were beamed up to the Enterprise through the repaired transporter, leaving Kirk alone. The transporter was severely damaged when Klaa's Bird-of-Prey fired on the Enterprise . Spock saved Kirk's life from the entity by commandeering the Bird-of-Prey with the help of General Korrd and firing on it with the Klingon ship's weapons. Later, in the Enterprise -A's observation lounge, Spock reflected on the loss of his brother. Kirk told him that he had lost a brother once, but he was fortunate in that he got him back. Returning to Earth, Spock resumed his shore leave in Yosemite with Kirk and McCoy, this time playing " Row, Row, Row Your Boat " on his Vulcan lute . ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

In 2293 , Spock was chosen to be the Federation's special envoy to the "Gorkon Initiative" as it was he who opened secret talks with Chancellor Gorkon following the Praxis disaster. Spock later committed Kirk to the negotiations with the Klingon Empire. During Kirk and McCoy's subsequent trial and imprisonment for the assassination of Gorkon, Spock took command of the Enterprise and the murder investigation. He led the rescue mission of Kirk and McCoy from Rura Penthe and helped stop an assassination attempt on the Federation President. Though this mission was successful, Spock blamed himself for endangering Kirk and the consequences that followed, a guilt that lasted seventy-five years. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; TNG : " Unification II ")

Diplomatic career

Captain Spock (2293)

In 2293, on the suggestion of his father, Spock opened a dialog with Gorkon in the hopes of initiating peace talks. He recommended an alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Federation at the Khitomer Conference , and Gorkon agreed to negotiate. His recommendation produced a major dispute because the Federation viewed Klingons as outlaws who built their empire through violence and brutality. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, an alliance was nevertheless forged, bringing peace and stability to the Alpha Quadrant that had not existed for two hundred years. Tuvok , who initially opposed the alliance, later noted that " Spock's suggestion, so controversial at first, proved to be the cornerstone of peace ." ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; VOY : " Alliances ")

Also during the Khitomer Conference, Spock opened up negotiations with Ambassador Pardek of Romulus in an attempt to unify Vulcan and the Romulan Star Empire . ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Unification II ")

Ambassador Spock in 2368

Spock and Sarek publicly disagreed over issues involving the Cardassians , leading to a rift in their relationship. ( TNG : " Unification I ")

In his later years, Spock went into semi-retirement, choosing to act as a Federation ambassador, much as his father had done. ( TNG : " Unification I ")

Reunification attempts

In 2368 , Spock undertook a secret personal mission to Romulus , unauthorized by the Federation Council or Starfleet. As he knew it would be risky, he preferred not to involve others and wrapped up his affairs. He acted to facilitate Romulan-Vulcan reunification , avoiding contact with the rest of the Federation as he was reluctant to risk anyone's life but his own on such a mission after the near-fatal consequences to Kirk and McCoy in their involvement in the Khitomer conference. Captain Jean-Luc Picard met Spock on Romulus and informed him of his father's death. Before Picard's departure, the two mind-melded, allowing Spock to realize the depth of his father's feelings for him. ( TNG : " Unification I ", " Unification II ")

In 3189 , a recording of Spock made on stardate 45825 while on Romulus was retrieved from the personal files of Admiral Picard and viewed by Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker . ( DIS : " Unification III ")

"Cowboy diplomacy"

In 2369 , Spock was involved in an incident of " cowboy diplomacy " in which Deanna Troi was temporarily kidnapped to help with the defection of three Romulans, including Vice-Proconsul M'ret , to the Federation. He also had a message sent back to the Federation indirectly through the defector DeSeve . ( TNG : " Face Of The Enemy ")

When an unknown person was beamed on board the USS Enterprise -D in 2370 , Ben told a few junior officers that he heard that this was Ambassador Spock. ( TNG : " Lower Decks ")

In 2380 , Ensign Beckett Mariner asked Ensign Brad Boimler if he knew who Spock was, to which Boimler answered, "I think I know who Spock is." ( LD : " Second Contact ")

The Red Matter incident

Spock arrives too late to prevent Romulus' destruction

In 2387 , Romulus faced destruction when its sun threatened to go into a massive supernova . After a synth attack on Mars destroyed the Federation fleet being assembled to evacuate Romulus, Spock formed a plan which involved injecting red matter into the star, thus creating an artificial black hole which would consume the star instead. Piloting the Jellyfish , an advanced spacecraft equipped with red matter, Spock proceeded to the star to carry out his mission. Before he could, the star went supernova and destroyed Romulus. With other worlds threatened with destruction, Spock continued his mission and successfully created a black hole which consumed the supernova. Before he could escape, however, the Romulan mining vessel Narada , commanded by Nero , intercepted him. Nero blamed Spock for Romulus' destruction and was bent on revenge. The black hole eventually pulled in the Narada and the Jellyfish . ( Star Trek , PIC : " Remembrance ")

Though brought up to embrace a Vulcan way of life that he would eventually commit to as a young man, Spock's encounter with V'ger had a profound impact on his personal philosophy. From that point forward, Spock began to further embrace his Human half and more readily explore the influences and impacts of Human emotion, though he continued to temper his outward expressiveness. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Star Trek )

Spock's self-sacrifice to save the Enterprise from Khan formed the basis of Starfleet's The Needs of the Many holographic training drill , while the rescue of his resurrected self from the Genesis Planet was the basis for the Escape from Spacedock drill. Both simulations were in use by 2381 . ( LD : " I, Excretus ")

Kirk's old bar on Starbase 25 still had Kirk and Spock's names scratched into the counter top as of 2381. ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

Spock was known as " Sprok " to Enderprizians , and was " well-known for his words so wise ", including the phrase " most illogical. " ( PRO : " All the World's a Stage ")

By 2399 , Spock would become known as "The Great Spock". ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

His work towards reunification eventually led Romulans to settling on Vulcan and beginning to merge their society with the Vulcans, later renaming the planet to Ni'Var centuries after Spock's disappearance. However, they eventually left the Federation after the Burn . After reaching Federation Headquarters in 3189 , a year after her arrival from 2257 , Michael Burnham learned of her brother's achievements and viewed a recording of Spock talking to Jean-Luc Picard . Despite Ni'Var's separation from the Federation, Burnham's status as Spock's sister opened the chance for her to negotiate for the SB-19 data. ( DIS : " Unification III ") While onboard the ISS Enterprise , Burnham stared nostalgically at the science station and commented to Cleveland Booker that it had been her brother's station on the USS Enterprise . ( DIS : " Mirrors ")

Spock's legacy further extended into the alternate reality. It was he who located New Vulcan, a new homeworld for the Vulcans following the loss of their old one. ( Star Trek ) Following his death, alternate reality Spock originally planned to resign his Starfleet commission and continue the work the ambassador began on New Vulcan. However, after seeing a photograph of the prime reality Enterprise crew that was among old Spock's personal effects, alternate Spock changed his mind, having come to the conclusion that for now, his destiny lay with his crewmates. ( Star Trek Beyond )

Involvement in the alternate reality

Spock witnesses the destruction of Vulcan

Spock emerged from the black hole in the year 2258 of the alternate reality . Since Nero had emerged twenty-five years earlier , Spock was immediately intercepted by the Narada upon his arrival. Both Spock and the Jellyfish were captured by Nero who had been waiting for him. Spock's life was spared by Nero, although Nero marooned him on Delta Vega where he could witness the destruction of Vulcan from the planet's surface. After Nero used some of the red matter from the Jellyfish to create a black hole in Vulcan's planetary core , Spock watched helplessly from Delta Vega as his homeworld was destroyed.

Spock realizes whose life he just saved

Shortly thereafter, Spock rescued a Starfleet officer from a hengrauggi , only to discover that the young officer was James T. Kirk himself, that reality's Spock having marooned him on the planet for mutiny . The elder Spock was surprised that Kirk was not captain of the Enterprise . When Spock heard from Kirk that Captain Christopher Pike had been captured, Spock knew that Nero was responsible, describing the Romulan as "particularly troubled." Through a mind meld, Spock explained to Kirk his presence in this time period and the reasons behind Nero's actions.

Spock with Kirk on Delta Vega

He then walked with Kirk to the Starfleet Delta Vega outpost , where they met Montgomery Scott . Using Scott's equation for transwarp beaming (which Scott had not actually figured out yet), Spock was able to transport Kirk back to the Enterprise along with Scott. When asked why he would not come with them, Spock stated that his other self must not know of his existence, implying that it could cause some kind of temporal paradox. Knowing his younger self would never take the course of action that could stop Nero but that Kirk would, Spock instructed Kirk to use Regulation 619 to force his younger self to give up command to him by proving he was emotionally compromised. He informed Kirk he knew his younger counterpart was emotionally compromised due to the destruction of his homeworld. Kirk followed his advice and, by emotionally manipulating the alternate Spock, managed to take command of the Enterprise .

Spock meets himself

After the Enterprise defeated the Narada and Nero, the elder Spock returned to Earth. There, he met his less-than-surprised younger self (while Kirk had kept his word, his word was no match for even the intellect of the younger Spock, as he had figured out who Kirk's mysterious benefactor must be) and convinced him to remain in Starfleet. He also explained the reason he had not returned to the Enterprise with Kirk to explain things was that he had not wished to deprive Kirk and Spock of the chance of working together and developing the friendship they were destined to have. He then wished his younger self good luck and walked away.

" Thrusters on full… "

Afterwards, Spock witnessed the official promotion of Kirk to captain of the USS Enterprise , repeating what he knew the crew would say before launch, apparently commiserating on his own experiences as a member of the crew of the Enterprise . He left with an intention to establish a Vulcan colony . His attempts to convince his younger self succeeded and the younger of the two Spocks returned to the Enterprise to act as Kirk's first officer. ( Star Trek )

Spock warns his younger self just who the Enterprise is up against

A year later, Spock was living on New Vulcan, having made a solemn vow not to further interfere with history by keeping information about his experiences confidential. However, when the younger Spock contacted him for information regarding Khan Noonien Singh , the old Spock felt obligated to break his vow. He responded that Khan was the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise had faced, and that it had required a great sacrifice to stop him.

Ironically, the younger Kirk later made the same sacrifice Spock himself had made when facing Khan in the prime reality to save the crew of the Enterprise , though he was revived. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ; Star Trek Into Darkness )

Final death

Ambassador Spock: 2230.06-2263.02

Spock passed away of natural causes on New Vulcan on January 2, 2263 .

Spock and his comrades, 2287

After his death, a small cache of personal items Spock had managed to retrieve from the Jellyfish was turned over to the younger Spock, including a photograph of the prime reality's bridge crew of the Enterprise -A from around 2287 , illustrating to the younger Spock that his destiny was to serve alongside Kirk, McCoy, and the others for decades to come. After struggling at first with whether or not to leave Starfleet in light of the elder Spock's death, this inheritance caused the younger Spock to change his mind and remain with his friends instead. ( Star Trek Beyond )

Alternate timelines and realities

Alternate neutral zone incursion.

Commander Spock in an alternate 2266

In an alternate timeline where Captain Christopher Pike avoided his crippling fate, Spock was his first officer on the USS Enterprise in 2266 during the Neutral Zone Incursion . Having been brought from 2259 by his future self to see the consequences of his actions, Pike enlisted Spock's help to make sense of his presence in the future and what he was meant to do there. During the following confrontation with the Romulans, Spock worked on repairing the weapons systems on the Enterprise and was severely injured, leaving him in a state similar to the Pike of the correct timeline. Spock's prognosis was grim and even if he survived, he was unlikely to ever be the same again. As a result, Spock could not take part in causing reunification between the Vulcans and Romulans and Pike came to believe that he had exchanged his own fate for Spock's. ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

After showing his 2259 self the future, the Christopher Pike of the alternate timeline revealed that he had learned from the Boreth monks that in every timeline where Pike changed his own fate, Spock died as a result. Because of this, in all of those futures, Spock couldn't go on to do the great things that he was meant to do which would change the fate of the galaxy. ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Alternate 2259

Captain Spock in an alternate 2259

In an alternate timeline where Vulcan was at war with the Romulan Star Empire, where by 2259, Spock held the rank of captain and commanded the Sh'Rel .

During an engagement with the Romulans, the Sh'Rel was damaged and he requested United Earth Fleet Captain James T. Kirk of the UEF Enterprise for assistance. Kirk however refused as United Earth had their own problems with the Romulans and could not afford to fight a war on two fronts. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Anything but canon scenarios

First contact day party.

Spock providing entertainment for the First Contact Day party

According to an anything but canon account, Spock provides entertainment for a First Contact Day party . The duty originally was assigned by the captain of the USS Enterprise to Lieutenant Hemmer , the chief engineer , however he turned it over to Spock, since Spock actually was both Human and Vulcan ; and therefore a better choice considering the holiday was intended to be a celebration based upon the first meeting between those two species .

Spock begins with a blooper reel that he had compiled featuring clips of many of the biggest bloopers in Starfleet. Most of the bloopers that had occurred aboard the Enterprise , including a gruesome transporter malfunction , that Chapel, Number One, Nyota Uhura and many others that were present found to be more disturbing than humorous, and finally Uhura tells him that he needed to tone it down a little. She explained that it doesn't have to involve such big bloopers, because those aren't funny at all, especially when death resulted from it. She told him that bloopers should be smaller than that, like when someone accidentally runs into a door that doesn't open in time, or when someone mispronounces his name as " Spork ."

Spock believed that he finally got the idea of what she was trying to say, even though it seemed pretty clear that he still didn't fully understand the concept of humor in the same way that they did. He decided to play one last video in the hopes of making them laugh . It involved an ensign with space diarrhea who, while running, slipped on a freshly mopped floor, which caused him to slam his genitals into the mop , before pooping his pants right then and there. Uhura told him that was the perfect blooper. Spock was finally pleased with his success, and grabbed a mop and chased Hemmer with it, to demonstrate to the crew a "live blooper." ( VST : " Holiday Party ")

Klingons destroy the Enterprise

Spock, minutes before his death

In another anything but canon account, Spock was present on the bridge while the ship was under the command of another captain , while ship was under attack by several Klingon battle cruisers .

During the scenario, Spock reported to the captain that their weapons were disabled and their shields were down. The captain then informed Spock that he knew of a way out. After hearing this, Spock further updated the captain, informing him that their warp and impulse engines were also offline. The captain then turned to Spock, and uttered a figure of speech that compounded the situation by offending a number of the bridge crew. As the misunderstandings continued, Spock interrupted to suggest that the captain avoid the use of figures of speech until they were free of the impending doom. The captain continued to trip over his own tongue, as Spock updated the captain that the hull was breached , and the next shot woulf finish the ship off. As the captain continued on his tangent, the Enterprise exploded killing Spock and the rest of the crew. ( VST : " Skin a Cat ")

Jam session on the bridge

Spock on the viewscreen along with McCoy, Scott, and Kirk

During another anything but canon account, a Post Mainframe Acid-Cardassian Ten Forwardcore jam session broke out on the bridge, during which, scenes appeared on the viewscreen that used sound effects for the song, such as the hum of the transporter when Spock, Kirk, Scott, and McCoy transported wearing life support belts .

Other clips on the viewscreen corresponded with the song lyrics and showed Spock putting his hands around two Klingon's shoulders , as if they were his " buddies ". That was followed by a clip of Spock during the time Nurse Chapel feigned "accidentally" sat down on his lap after she used Harry Mudd 's love crystals on him. A final clip of Spock and Kirk helping one another from slipping in an icy corridor, looped to appear as if they were dancing . ( VST : " Walk, Don't Run ")

Although half Human, Spock's physiology retained most of its Vulcan characteristics such as the green blood, the placement of his liver, ( TOS : " The Apple ", " A Private Little War ") his strength, ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " This Side of Paradise ", " Operation -- Annihilate! ") telepathic abilities, ( TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ", " A Taste of Armageddon ", " By Any Other Name ") and his greater lifespan ( TOS : " The Deadly Years "; TAS : " The Lorelei Signal "; TNG : " Unification II "; Star Trek ) when compared to the average Human. However, it should also be noted that the life he lived was still about forty years shorter than the average Vulcan, who generally lived to be around two hundred years old. His father Sarek, for example, was 203 at his death. ( Star Trek Beyond ; ENT : " Broken Bow "; TNG : " Sarek "; TNG : " Unification II ")

His Human characteristics were obvious when Sarek was in need of a blood transfusion and concern over donating his hybridized blood would be a danger to Sarek's full Vulcan physiology. ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ") The other instance where his Human side was evident happened during the final stages of his Kolinahr ritual acceptance. While on Vulcan performing the ritual, the V'ger probe approached proximity and its own emotional instability affected Spock's Human emotional side which he worked so hard to repress. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture ) Spock's Human side was also present when spores affected him on Omicron Ceti III . ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

Like most Vulcans, he experienced pon farr neurochemical imbalance at least every seven years until the symptoms were remedied through ritual mating or kal-if-fee (dueling). If not dealt with, a Vulcan could die within eight days of the first symptoms. Spock experienced pon farr at least twice, once performing the kal-if-fee with Kirk's assistance, once mating with Saavik while physiologically a youth as a result of his regeneration by the Genesis Device . Both successfully relieved his symptoms of pon farr 's neurochemical issues. ( TOS : " Amok Time "; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

As of Vulcan rituals concerning death, Spock was able to transfer his katra into someone that was close to him – such as a family member – who could then transfer the katra into a large repository on Vulcan. In his case, he picked Dr. McCoy as a host for his katra when he decided to expose himself to fatal warp core radiation in order to restore warp power to the Enterprise . His corpse regenerated when his torpedo casing casket was shot towards the Genesis planet and was subjected to the Genesis cycles that rapidly evolved all life on the planet. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

After Spock received a mind meld from Captain Picard, he seemed to have accepted his Human side. He admitted to being emotionally compromised and showed some emotions when he dealt with Nero destroying Vulcan in the alternate timeline and dealing with his younger self . ( TNG : " Unification II "; Star Trek )

Spock playing three-dimensional chess

On his Human side, Spock once implied he had an ancestral relationship to British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Personal interests

Spock carried a lifelong interest in art, literature, poetry, music (especially the Vulcan lute and the piano), and three-dimensional chess . ( TOS : " Requiem for Methuselah ", " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " Charlie X ", " The Cloud Minders ", " Court Martial "; TAS : " The Jihad ", " The Magicks of Megas-Tu ") He disliked Italian food, possibly because like most Vulcans, he was a vegetarian . ( TOS : " All Our Yesterdays "; TAS : " The Slaver Weapon "; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Relationships

Friendships, james t. kirk.

Lt. Kirk and Lt. Spock meeting for the first time in 2259

Spock first met Kirk aboard the Enterprise in 2259 , when it was under command of Fleet Captain Christopher Pike . ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

In 2265 , after the death of Gary Mitchell , Spock's detached and logical analysis was relied on by Kirk as a supplement to his own intuitive and impulsive nature. Their official relationship deepened into a friendship of mutual respect and love that was, without a doubt, the most important relationship of both Spock and Kirk's life. As Edith Keeler observed of Spock's place in the world, " You? At his side. As if you've always been there and always will. " ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

Spock with Kirk and McCoy

Kirk once described his Vulcan friend as "the noblest half of myself" and declared that Spock's immortal soul "is my responsibility, as surely as if it were my very own." Kirk even told Spock's father that he would never realize how important Spock was to him, and declared that, despite losing the Enterprise and his son, had he not tried to rescue his friend, " the cost would have been my soul. " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

The polywater intoxication that affected the Enterprise crew in 2266 led to a difficult encounter between Spock and Kirk. When Spock was urgently required by his commanding officer, an anguished and reflective Spock was found by Kirk, Spock regretting his inability to express love even for his mother. Trying to bring the first officer around to the moment, Kirk slapped him. Spock's reaction was flat and revelatory, " Jim, when I feel friendship for you, I'm ashamed. " Struck again, Spock responded in kind, sending Kirk backwards over a table. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

Spock was sympathetic to Kirk's plight after the transporter divided the captain's personality into opposite aspects. He referred to his own halves, "submerged… constantly at war with each other." Spock believed that Kirk could survive such a contest intact, and urged him to embrace the part of himself that, seemingly ugly, was crucial to his personality and captaincy. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

Spock comes into conflict with Kirk over destroying a Gorn starship

After Kirk discovered emotional rage was the key to nullifying the effect of the pod plants ' spores , his first step in retrieving his crew was to taunt Spock into anger. Anticipating the result of a Vulcan's strength pitted against him, Kirk wielded a pipe for protection. After calling him an "elf with a hyperactive thyroid" and saying he belonged "in the circus, right next to the dog-faced boy," Spock indeed lost control, nearly killing Kirk before regaining control of himself. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

Kirk holding Spock after his encounter with a Denevan neural parasite

In 2267 , Spock began his pon farr mating cycle, and behaved bizarrely aboard the Enterprise . Kirk called Spock "the best first officer in the Fleet" and "an enormous asset to me" as he pled with Spock to explain his actions. When told that taking Spock to Vulcan was against Starfleet orders, Kirk fired back, " I owe him my life a dozen times over! Isn't that worth a career? " Joining him on Vulcan for his marriage ceremony, Kirk was drawn into T'Pring's scheme to marry another, and forced to fight Spock to the death. McCoy, knowing Kirk was endangered, faked Kirk's death, and the marriage was not consummated. Spock, despondent that he had murdered his captain, was thrilled at the sight of Kirk alive, exclaiming, " JIM! " which McCoy delighted in needling Spock about, once he gained his composure. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

Kirk's understanding of Spock had an enormous impact on the parallel mirror universe , visited after a transporter accident in 2267 . As Kirk's party prepared to return to their proper universe, Kirk implored the mirror Spock to re-examine his role in the fascistic Terran Empire , insisting, " One man can make a difference. " Mirror Spock's consideration of those words led to his rise to dominance and reform of the Empire, with drastic consequences. ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror "; DS9 : " Crossover ")

When Kirk was trapped in spatial interphase during a rescue operation in Tholian space, Spock ordered the Enterprise to maintain its position in an effort to retrieve him, in spite of the danger the Tholians presented and the disruptive nature of the local space. After Kirk's assumed death, Spock and McCoy viewed the "last orders" Kirk had prepared. He urged Spock to use all the Vulcan disciplines at his disposal, tempered with intuitive insight. Kirk believed Spock had the latter qualities, but should they elude him, he was urged to seek out McCoy. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ")

Spock making Kirk " forget " about Rayna Kapec

Kirk once commented to Captain Garth that he and Spock were "brothers". Spock merely responded, " Captain Kirk speaks somewhat figuratively, and with undue emotion, but what he says is logical and I do, in fact, agree with it. " ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ")

When Dr. Janice Lester , a former lover of Kirk's, took over Kirk's body, Spock performed a mind meld on Kirk while he was trapped in Lester's body. Spock believed Kirk was Lester before anyone else, and when Lester as Kirk ordered his execution, he continued to stand by his friend. ( TOS : " Turnabout Intruder ")

Spock with Kirk aboard the Enterprise again in the 2270s

At the end of the Enterprise 's five-year mission, a period marked by his frequent loss of emotional control, Spock chose to leave Starfleet and his friends, to pursue the kolinahr discipline of logic on Vulcan. His return to the Enterprise during the V'ger threat was a cold event, without acknowledgment of his past friendships. In V'ger 's aftermath, Spock finally achieved equilibrium, able to express his friendship for Kirk without the influence of aliens or illness, and notably lacking any threat of physical violence. In 2285 , Spock was calmly able to tell Kirk, " You're my superior officer. You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours. " ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Kirk and Spock, together on Kirk's birthday

Spock's sacrifice of his own life, to save the Enterprise from Khan's detonation of the Genesis Device , deeply affected Kirk. At his funeral, Kirk could only bring himself to say of Spock, " Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… Human. " ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

The revelation that Spock's katra , his living spirit, survived in the tormented mind of McCoy, led Kirk to risk his career, and in turn, his crew's. He first asked Fleet Admiral Morrow for permission to retrieve Spock's body from the Genesis Planet , to bring it, and McCoy, to Vulcan. Kirk insisted that any chance to save Spock's soul was his responsibility, " as surely as if it were my very own. " His request declined, he told his crew, " the word is No. I am therefore going anyway. "

With the help of Uhura, Scott, Sulu, and Chekov, Kirk rescued McCoy from confinement and commandeered the Enterprise from Spacedock One . The renegade mission saw the death of Kirk's ship as well as his son. Finding Spock's body re-animated by Genesis, Kirk brought him and McCoy, to Vulcan for the fal-tor-pan (re-fusion) ritual. The first person Spock recognized was Kirk: " Jim. Your name, is Jim. " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

During their homecoming from Vulcan, and eventually their trip to 1986 , Kirk tried to remind the resurrected Spock, suffering from memory loss, of their friendship and past adventures together. After Kirk and the crew's trial, Spock told his father, his "associates" were his friends. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Spock in an attempt to save Kirk's life at Yosemite National Park

In 2287 , Spock accompanied Kirk and McCoy on a camping trip together at Yosemite National Park , which abruptly ended when Spock's half-brother, Sybok, diverted the Enterprise to Nimbus III . After their adventure on Sha Ka Ree and Sybok's death, Kirk referred to Spock once again as his "brother", and told him and McCoy that they were his real family. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

When Spock later entered the alternate reality , he told the James T. Kirk of that reality of their deep friendship, despite the fact that the alternate Spock had marooned Kirk on Delta Vega . Before returning Kirk, along with Scott's counterpart , to the USS Enterprise (revealing to this Scott an advancement in transporter technology over a century before his prime counterpart perfected it), Spock – who in this reality had designed the Kobayashi Maru simulation and openly begrudged Kirk outsmarting it – was reminded that this could be viewed as "cheating", to which he replied that an "old friend" – namely, Kirk – had taught him how to cheat.

Later, when Spock Prime spoke to his own alternate reality counterpart about that universe's Kirk, he explained that he had resorted to a level of subterfuge in order to inform both men of the necessity of their friendship, both to themselves and to others. Spock Prime explained, " I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize. " ( Star Trek )

Leonard McCoy

The relationship between Spock and Dr. Leonard McCoy seemed a little strained at times on McCoy's part because of his taunts about Spock's green blood and lack of emotion . However, there was an obvious respect and friendship among James T. Kirk , Spock, and McCoy. McCoy, in fact, was one of the two friends Spock requested to join him in his marriage ceremony. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

While he would rarely do so without provocation, Spock was also quite capable of turning the tables on the doctor. During Kirk's court-martial, after an astonished McCoy discovered him in the briefing room playing chess against the ship's computer, Spock casually allowed him to assume the worst (to the point of thanking him after the furious doctor had said he was " The most cold-blooded man I've ever known "), waiting until he reached the door to reveal that he had been victorious in four consecutive games – since the computer, whose account of the incident was the main evidence against Kirk, was programmed to be unbeatable, this proved that it had been tampered with (something only Kirk, Spock, and the "dead" Commander Finney were authorized to do), and cast doubt on the credibility of its account, keeping the trial going long enough to discover that Finney was, in fact, alive.

Later that year, after the Enterprise crew had defeated the androids on planet Mudd (beings almost Vulcan-like in their lack of emotion and their "logical, pragmatic" thinking), McCoy told Spock that he must be quite unhappy to see that "poor, illogical" Humans were able to fairly defeat them, Spock responded that this was quite satisfactory, as nobody needed him and his logical ways as much as a ship full of Humans. ( TOS : " Court Martial ", " I, Mudd ")

Christopher Pike

Spock and Pike developed a mutual respect and fondness for one another during their service aboard the Enterprise ; Pike at one point expressed how important Spock was to him, a feeling Spock reciprocated. ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ") Spock's loyalty to Pike went even so far as to risk court martial in 2267 to kidnap his disabled former captain and bring him to Talos IV to live a life of illusion and happiness. ( TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ")

Sybok, Spock's elder half-brother, encountered Spock on Nimbus III in 2287 , shortly before Sybok hijacked the Enterprise -A for his quest to find Sha Ka Ree in the Great Barrier . Spock had remained silent on the subject of his brother for decades, not even telling Kirk until Sybok had already taken control of the Enterprise . At first, Spock was extremely distant from him, but following Sybok's death, he realized what he had lost. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

Michael Burnham

Michael Burnham was Spock's adoptive sister after her parents' presumed deaths. When she first met him, a very young Spock shut his bedroom door on her after greeting her with a holographic drawing of a dragon screaming. Over time, Spock and Michael grew closer and Spock grew to idolize his older adoptive sister. However, feeling that she placed her adoptive family in danger from logical extremists who targeted her due to being Human, Michael decided to run away. Spock tried to persuade her otherwise, telling her that he "loved her" and would run away with her. To push Spock away, Michael insulted him by calling him a "half-breed" who was "incapable of love." While well meaning, her insults deeply hurt Spock who shunned his Human half in response and grew to no longer trust people. Over the years, Michael tried to make amends, but Spock showed no interest in reconnecting.

After they both grew up and entered Starfleet, they rarely talked to each other. Eventually Spock and Michael were forced to come to terms with each other after the Federation-Klingon War. Michael searched for a missing Spock after meeting his commanding officer, Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise . Eventually finding her brother, she was dismayed to find Spock suffering from a mental breakdown due to an encounter with a time traveler. She was able to help restore Spock's mind with the help of the Talosians, but this did not resolve the animosity between the siblings as they clashed several times with Spock blaming her for causing the Federation-Klingon war and calling her out on her habit of assuming responsibility for all the wrongs in the universe. Eventually, the two came to terms with their respective short-comings and eventually grow closer as they worked together to solve the mystery of the Red Angel.

When Burnham needed take Discovery to the future in order to avoid Control having access to the Sphere information stored in the ship's memory, Spock volunteered to help her. Unfortunately, while helping Burnham prepare, Spock's shuttle was badly damaged. Both distraught that they could not be together in the future, they shared a bittersweet farewell and Spock was transported away after one last "live long and prosper." ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

In the months following Discovery 's disappearance, Spock was unnerved that they had not received a signal to indicate that Discovery had arrived safely in the future. When the signal arrived, Spock found peace. ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

Burnham and Book watch a holo-recording of Spock

In 3189 , Michael Burnham watched a recording of Spock. She told her boyfriend Cleveland Booker that since she had arrived in the 32nd century , she hadn't bothered researching history to find out the type of man that Spock eventually became. But she was proud of who he had became, and she was happy he had found a way to reunify the Vulcans and Romulans. ( DIS : " Unification III ")

Spock with T'Pring in 2267

At age seven, Spock was bonded to T'Pring in a family-arranged Vulcan ceremony described in Human terms as " less than a marriage, but more than a betrothal. " ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

T'Pring formally proposed marriage to Spock in 2259 , but the two had not been married by 2267. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

When Spock experienced his pon farr of 2267 , he succumbed to the madness of the plak tow mating instinct. The Enterprise diverted to Vulcan in time to consummate the marriage. Accompanied by Kirk and McCoy, Spock arrived at his family's ancient koon-ut-kal-if-fee site for the wedding ceremony officiated by the matriarch T'Pau . Unexpectedly – but within the bounds of Vulcan tradition – T'Pring demanded the challenge of kal-if-fee , forcing Spock to earn the right to marry his bride through victory in personal combat. Rather than her prospective consort Stonn , T'Pring chose Kirk as her champion.

Unwilling to appear weak or disrespectful in front of the legendary T'Pau, Kirk agreed to fight his first officer . Between rounds using the lirpa and ahn-woon weapons, T'Pau belatedly revealed the combat was "to the death," and it became clear that Kirk had little chance against Spock in the throes of his blood fever. McCoy intervened, deceptively dosing Kirk with a drug that simulated his death.

Spock's plak tow subsided after his apparent victory. Appalled at the turn of events, Spock calmly questioned T'Pring's decisions. T'Pring admitted her distaste for Spock's growing fame among Vulcans, and her mutual attraction to Stonn. By her logic, choosing Kirk meant neither victor would claim her in the end, and she would have her life with Stonn. Spock acknowledged her way of thinking, referring to it as "flawless". T'Pring, for her part, was honored, but Spock advised Stonn that he would find that " having… is not so pleasing a thing after all… as wanting ."

After returning to the Enterprise , McCoy revealed Kirk's clandestine survival. A rare show of extreme emotion came from Spock when he exclaimed " JIM! " with a beaming smile. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

Christine Chapel

Spock and Christine Chapel met when she was assigned to the Enterprise in 2259 along with Doctor Joseph M'Benga . ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

Spock kissed Christine in a ruse to prevent T'Pring from handing over Sybok to the pirate angel

When the pirate Angel took over the Enterprise , Angel took Spock and Christine Chapel hostage in an effort to get T'Pring to hand over a prisoner that was Angel's lover. To prevent the prisoner transfer, Spock and Christine Chapel engineered a ruse where Spock and Christine had developed romantic feelings for one another and kissed in front of Angel and T'Pring. ( SNW : " The Serene Squall ")

During Chief engineer 's Hemmer 's funeral , Chapel consoled Spock as he was feeling emotions such as rage and pain. Spock didn't want her to follow him but did so anyway and Chapel ended up hugging him. ( SNW : " All Those Who Wander ")

Spock and Chapel entered into a relationship for some time after his engagement with T'Pring ended due to him not confiding in her that he was transformed into a full Human and stripped of his Vulcan genes. The relationship reached its conclusion when Chapel was accepted into Roger Korby 's fellowship . ( SNW : " Charades ", " Subspace Rhapsody ")

Spock with Christine Chapel, being emotionally influenced by the Psi 2000 intoxication

When the Psi 2000 intoxication infected the crew of the Enterprise in 2266 , Chapel admitted her love for Spock, who was thereupon emotionally shocked. Her love for him was an ongoing issue, but never interfered with her professional duties. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

Chapel once housed Spock's consciousness to keep him from being destroyed by Henoch . They were later forced by powerful telepaths to kiss each other, but neither enjoyed the forced situation. ( TOS : " Return to Tomorrow ", " Plato's Stepchildren ")

While under the spell of Harry Mudd 's love potion , Spock became infatuated with Chapel, and was willing to fight for her love. However, the potion eventually wore off and then Chapel, as a side effect of the drug, seemed to hate Spock for a brief time. Spock commented to Mudd that a few brief moments of love being paid for with several hours of hatred is scarcely a bargain. ( TAS : " Mudd's Passion ")

Leila Kalomi

On stardate 3417, Spock was infected by Omicron spores while on Omicron Ceti III by Leila Kalomi , who was serving as the Omicron colony 's botanist. The spores broke down Spock's emotional control, and he confessed his love for Kalomi. Their time together was short-lived, however, as Kirk deduced a method of destroying the spores with intense emotion and induced anger in Spock.

Once free from the spores, Spock freed Kalomi and the rest of the planet from their influence. He later reflected that his time with Kalomi was the first time in his life at which he had felt happy. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

When visiting the planet Sarpeidon Spock got trapped in in the planet’ ice age in the past with Dr. McCoy. When there Spock began to act like the Vulcans of that time period and started to act emotional. There he fell madly in love with her. Eventually McCoy realized what was happening and they were eventually able to escape back to their time period without Zarabeth . ( TOS : " All Our Yesterdays ")

A hologram of Spock was created by the Romulans in 2368 for Sela to use to give a false address to the Federation . It was known by the title " Spock One ". ( TNG : " Unification II ")

During Dal 's setup of the Kobayashi Maru scenario aboard the USS Protostar in 2383 , he requested that the computer select the best officers on his behalf, which included a holographic version of Spock, from the TOS era , as a member of his command crew. ( PRO : " Kobayashi ")

Spock's head on a holographic amalgamation of four other Starfleet officers

The head that resembled Tucker was attempting to freeze the playback of a holographic program that featured Neelix watching a holonovel that was one of many "silly stories " he saw on his PADD . The program seemingly froze, but then Tucker noticed he wasn't actually Tucker, but a strange monstrous combination of the aforementioned Starfleet officers .

• 2230 : Born in ShiKahr on Vulcan
• 2247 – 2250 : Cadet at Starfleet Academy
• Between 2250 and 2253: Assigned to the USS Kongo
• 2253: Assigned to the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike
• Takes a leave of absence from Starfleet following the Federation-Klingon War
• Assists the USS Discovery in solving the mystery of the Red Angel
• 2258 : Returns to service aboard the Enterprise .
• 2259 : Becomes engaged to T'Pring
• 2268 : Is offered an assignment with Medusan Ambassador Kollos .
• 2270: Resigns from Starfleet and returns to Vulcan to undergo the Kolinahr ritual
• 2270s : Returns to Starfleet to help with the V'ger crisis
• Between the 2270s and 2285: Appointed captain of the USS Enterprise
• Dies on the USS Enterprise
• Transfers his Katra to Leonard McCoy
• Is resurrected on the Genesis planet
• Transfers to the USS Enterprise -A
• 2287 – 2293 : First officer/science officer of the USS Enterprise -A
• Resigns from starfleet
• Becomes a Federation ambassador
• Begins attempts to reunify the Romulan and Vulcan people
• 2387 : Attempts to stop a star from destroying Romulus and ends up pulled into a black hole and transferred to an alternate reality.
• 2258 ( alternate reality ): leads the surviving members of the Vulcan people to start a new colony on New Vulcan
• 2263 (alternate reality): Dies on New Vulcan. The age must be around 161 if the time travel in 2387 through the black hole was in very short time and it led him to the same month in 2258.

Memorable quotes

" Is there a valuable question in your arsenal? " " Yes. Do you actually think the beard is working? "

" History will not provide an answer to your query, doctor. Instead you should be asking me, 'How is it I can remember tomorrow?'"

" This will go easier if you answer me. Or it could go harder. " " I beg to differ. Say goodbye, Spock. " (Spock raises his hand in the Vulcan salute) " Goodbye, Spock. "

" Greetings, captain. " " Spock. Are you all right? " " Much better for seeing you in person, sir. Even if we are riding into danger. " (Spock smiles) " Is that a smile I see on your face?" " I believe it is. Yes. " " Well, Welcome to Discovery . "

" I don't suppose the Red Angel offered you any advice on how to handle a situation like this. " " No. But my limited experience as a fugitive suggests only one course of action. " " And what is that? " " We run. "

" I happen to have a Human thing called an adrenaline gland. " " That does sound most inconvenient, however. Have you considered having it removed? " " Very funny. " " Try to cross brains with Spock, he'll cut you to pieces every time. "

" I am endeavoring, ma'am, to construct a mnemonic circuit using stone knives and bearskins. "

" I have never understood the female capacity to avoid a direct answer to any question. " ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

" A curious creature. Its trilling seems to have a tranquilizing effect on the Human nervous system. Fortunately, of course, I am… immune… to… its… effect… "

(To Alice 27) " I love you. " (To Alice 210) " However, I hate you. " " But I am identical in every way with Alice 27! " " Exactly. That is exactly why I hate you; because you are identical. " [The androids violently malfunction.] " Fascinating. "

" Logic is a little, tweeting bird, chirping in a meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers that smell bad. " ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

" Nowhere am I so desperately needed as among a shipload of illogical Humans. " ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

" On my planet, 'to rest' is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass, using energy instead of saving it. " ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

"Enterprise to signaler on planet's surface. Identify self. " (Reads answer) " 'Hip, hip, hurrah…' and I believe it's pronounced 'Tally ho'. " ( TOS : " The Squire of Gothos ")

" 'Fascinating' is a word I use for the unexpected. In this case, I should think 'interesting' would suffice. "

" I have been, and always shall be, your friend. "

" Jim. Your name is Jim."

" If I were Human, I believe… my response would be 'Go to Hell.' If I were Human. "

" Billions of lives lost, because of me, Jim because… I failed. "

" Thrusters on full. "

" Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new lifeforms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before. "

Catchphrases

" Fascinating. " ( Star Trek: The Original Series )

" Live long and prosper. " ( Star Trek: The Original Series )

" Interesting. "

" The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. "

Kirk and Spock

" Have I ever mentioned you play a very irritating game of chess, Mr. Spock? " " Irritating? Ah, yes: one of your Earth emotions. "

" Your illogical approach to chess does have its advantages on occasion, captain. " " I prefer to call it 'inspired'. " " As you wish. "

" You'd make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock. " " That is very kind of you, captain! "

" So, we're stranded here, in the middle of a Klingon occupation army. " " So it would seem. Not a very pleasant prospect. " " You have a gift for understatement, Mister Spock. It's not a very pleasant prospect at all. "

" You didn't really think I was going to beat his head in, did you? " " I thought you might. " " You're right. "

" Well, Mr. Spock, if we can't disguise you, we'll find some way of explaining you. " " That should prove interesting. "

" My friend is obviously Chinese. I see you've noticed the ears. They're actually easy to explain. " [Long pause.] " Perhaps the unfortunate accident I had as a child. " " The 'unfortunate' accident he had as a child. He caught his head in a mechanical… rice picker. "

" Don't grieve, admiral. It's logical. The needs of the many… outweigh… " " The needs of the few. " " Or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test, until now. What do you think of my solution? "

" You know, coming back in time, changing history… that's cheating. " " A trick I learned from an old friend . "

Awards and achievements

Spock in dress uniform 2267

• Twice decorated with the Starfleet Award of Valor ( TOS : " Court Martial ")
• Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor ( TOS : " Court Martial ")
• The Vulcan IDIC ( TOS : " Is There in Truth No Beauty? ")
• An A-7 computer expert classification ( TOS : " The Ultimate Computer ")
• Innovator of time travel methodologies: the warp drive cold start and the "slingshot" maneuver ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " Tomorrow is Yesterday ")
• Twice recommended for commendations by Captain Kirk. ( TOS : " Space Seed ", " The Immunity Syndrome ")

Spock's personnel file

Appearances

• " The Cage "
• " Where No Man Has Gone Before "
• " The Corbomite Maneuver "
• " Mudd's Women "
• " The Enemy Within "
• " The Man Trap "
• " The Naked Time "
• " Charlie X "
• " Balance of Terror "
• " What Are Little Girls Made Of? "
• " Dagger of the Mind "
• " The Conscience of the King "
• " The Galileo Seven "
• " Court Martial "
• " The Menagerie, Part I "
• " The Menagerie, Part II "
• " Shore Leave "
• " The Squire of Gothos "
• " The Alternative Factor "
• " Tomorrow is Yesterday "
• " The Return of the Archons "
• " A Taste of Armageddon "
• " Space Seed "
• " This Side of Paradise "
• " The Devil in the Dark "
• " Errand of Mercy "
• " The City on the Edge of Forever "
• " Operation -- Annihilate! "
• " Catspaw "
• " Metamorphosis "
• " Friday's Child "
• " Who Mourns for Adonais? "
• " Amok Time "
• " The Doomsday Machine "
• " Wolf in the Fold "
• " The Changeling "
• " The Apple "
• " Mirror, Mirror "
• " The Deadly Years "
• " I, Mudd "
• " The Trouble with Tribbles "
• " Bread and Circuses "
• " Journey to Babel "
• " A Private Little War "
• " The Gamesters of Triskelion "
• " Obsession "
• " The Immunity Syndrome "
• " A Piece of the Action "
• " By Any Other Name "
• " Return to Tomorrow "
• " Patterns of Force "
• " The Ultimate Computer "
• " The Omega Glory "
• " Assignment: Earth "
• " Spectre of the Gun "
• " Elaan of Troyius "
• " The Paradise Syndrome "
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " And the Children Shall Lead "
• " Spock's Brain "
• " Is There in Truth No Beauty? "
• " The Empath "
• " The Tholian Web "
• " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky "
• " Day of the Dove "
• " Plato's Stepchildren "
• " Wink of an Eye "
• " That Which Survives "
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield "
• " Whom Gods Destroy "
• " The Mark of Gideon "
• " The Lights of Zetar "
• " The Cloud Minders "
• " The Way to Eden "
• " Requiem for Methuselah "
• " The Savage Curtain "
• " All Our Yesterdays "
• " Turnabout Intruder "
• " Beyond the Farthest Star "
• " Yesteryear "
• " One of Our Planets Is Missing "
• " The Lorelei Signal "
• " More Tribbles, More Troubles "
• " The Survivor "
• " The Infinite Vulcan "
• " The Magicks of Megas-Tu "
• " Once Upon a Planet "
• " Mudd's Passion "
• " The Terratin Incident "
• " The Time Trap "
• " The Ambergris Element "
• " The Slaver Weapon "
• " The Eye of the Beholder "
• " The Jihad "
• " The Pirates of Orion "
• " The Practical Joker "
• " Albatross "
• " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth "
• " The Counter-Clock Incident "
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Star Trek Beyond (picture only)
• " Unification I "
• " Unification II "
• DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " (archive footage)
• " Brother "
• " New Eden " (archive voice footage)
• " Light and Shadows "
• " If Memory Serves "
• " Project Daedalus "
• " The Red Angel "
• " Perpetual Infinity "
• " Through the Valley of Shadows "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow "
• " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 "
• " Unification III " (archive footage)
• " Stormy Weather " (picture only)
• " Q&A "
• " Ask Not "
• " No Small Parts " (picture only)
• " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers " (picture only)
• PRO : " Kobayashi " (hologram; archive audio)
• " Strange New Worlds "
• " Children of the Comet "
• " Ghosts of Illyria "
• " Memento Mori "
• " Spock Amok "
• " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach "
• " The Serene Squall "
• " The Elysian Kingdom "
• " All Those Who Wander "
• " A Quality of Mercy "
• " The Broken Circle "
• " Ad Astra per Aspera "
• " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow "
• " Among the Lotus Eaters "
• " Charades "
• " Lost in Translation "
• " Those Old Scientists "
• " Under the Cloak of War "
• " Subspace Rhapsody "
• " Hegemony "
• " Skin a Cat "
• " Holiday Party "
• " Holograms All the Way Down " (background hologram)
• " Walk, Don't Run " (archive footage)

Background information

Spock was played by Leonard Nimoy in the vast majority of the character's television and cinematic appearances. The Genesis -regenerated versions of Spock at nine, thirteen, seventeen, and twenty-five years of age in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock were portrayed by Carl Steven , Vadia Potenza , Stephen Manley , and Joe W. Davis , respectively. Spock's screams in that film were provided by Frank Welker .

The young Spock from TAS : " Yesteryear " was voiced by Billy Simpson . Carey Scott recorded some dialogue for a younger Spock in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , but his scenes were cut . Spock is also portrayed by an unknown infant in that film. And while Nimoy portrayed the elder Spock in the film Star Trek , his younger alternate reality adult self was played by Zachary Quinto (who reprised the role in Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond ), as well as briefly by Jacob Kogan , who portrayed Spock as a young boy. Nimoy reprised the role of Spock for a cameo in Star Trek Into Darkness . Liam Hughes portrayed a young Spock in the Discovery episode " Brother " while Ethan Peck voiced the adult version of the character in the same episode. Peck also played the character in subsequent episodes of Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Short Treks , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

A deleted scene from Star Trek featured a newborn Spock, portrayed by Jenna Vaughn . As Spock's birth would have occurred before the universe split, technically, she would have been the only performer to portray both Spock Prime and his alternate reality counterpart, as well as the only actress ever to play Spock.

Jane Wyatt , who played Spock's mother Amanda Grayson , was once asked by fans at a convention what Spock's first name was. She replied, perhaps jokingly, " Harold " [13] However, the question itself was flawed, since the episode " Journey to Babel " makes it clear that "Spock" is Spock's personal name.

On the other hand, Spock's family name has never been established in canon . In the episode " This Side of Paradise ", Leila Kalomi says to Spock, " You never told me if you had another name, " to which he replies, " You couldn't pronounce it. " D.C. Fontana – who was considered the "Vulcan expert" of the TOS behind-the-scenes staff and who created such details as the fact that Spock's father was an ambassador and his mother a school teacher – revealed, in an issue of the fanzine Spockanalia , that she had intended his family name to be "Xtmprsqzntwlfd", but since this is unpronounceable, there wasn't really any way to get this said in dialogue during an episode.

The Pocket TOS book Ishmael gives Spock's full name as "S'chn T'gai Spock". This name was also used on a poster for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at the Mission Chicago Trek Convention, but CBS said that it was "incorrect" the next day and had the posters replaced. [14]

Since the release of the film Star Trek , the original reality version of Spock is now often referred to on websites and other media as "Spock Prime", to differentiate from the alternate reality version of the character.

From concept to series

From the start of thinking Spock up, Gene Roddenberry knew he wanted the character to be partly alien, and that he wanted Leonard Nimoy to play the role. Roddenberry later explained, " I made [Spock] a half-caste, because I remember thinking a half-breed Indian would be a lot more interesting than a full-blooded Indian or white, because he's going to be tugged in many different directions. " ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , p. 15)

Gene Roddenberry also wanted Spock's appearance to be very similar to typical portrayals of Satan the Devil. " I did purposely give him a slight look of the 'devil' because I thought that might be particularly provocative to women, particularly when his nature contrasted so greatly to this, " Roddenberry stated. [15]

The following character biography appeared in Roddenberry's original, 1964 series pitch Star Trek is... (and was reprinted in The Making of Star Trek ) [ page number? • edit ] :

In the revised first draft script of " The Cage " (dated 6 October 1964 ), Spock was described thus; " The only exception to the familiar types represented by the crew, Mister Spock is of partly alien extraction, his reddish skin, heavy-lidded eyes and slightly-pointed ears give him an almost satanic look. But in complete contrast is his unusual gentle manner and tone. He speaks with the almost British accent of one who has learned the language in textbooks. " The episode's revised final draft script (dated 20 November 1964 ) excluded mention of the "reddish skin" but otherwise remained the same. Later in the script, one of Spock's statements was directed to be delivered in an "excited" manner.

Gene Roddenberry thought up the unemotional aspect of Spock. Roddenberry explained, " As I created him, I said to myself, 'If I could just get rid of the emotions that plague me and work things out logically… ah , the things I could do! " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 47) Casting Director Joseph D'Agosta added, " On the Spock character, the only guidelines I had were that he had to be thin, and a good actor with no emotion. He was a cold, calculating, logical person. Humor was not even considered at that time. " ( The Star Trek Interview Book , p. 213)

Actor Martin Landau (Commander John Koenig of Space: 1999 ) was an early casting consideration for the character of Spock in TOS. This was before the role went to Leonard Nimoy.

In spite of studio request to get rid of "the guy with the ears," Gene Roddenberry insisted on keeping the character through both pilot episodes of the series. ( Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories ; Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime )

According to Leonard Nimoy, he felt the need to play the character as more emotional when Jeffrey Hunter was playing the internalized Christopher Pike, as opposed to William Shatner 's portrayal of Captain Kirk. ( Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime ; et al.) Also, there was room for Spock's emotional detachment when the similarly emotionless character of Number One was discarded along with Pike, after " The Cage ". ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , p. 15)

NBC 's early- 1966 publicity booklet gave this bio for Spock (reprinted in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story ):

The unemotional quality of Spock's persona was extremely appealing to Leonard Nimoy. " What immediately intrigued me was that here was a character who had an internal conflict, " Nimoy observed. " This half-Human, half-Vulcan being, struggling to maintain a Vulcan attitude, a Vulcan philosophical posture and Vulcan logic, opposing what was fighting him internally, which was Human emotion. There was a dynamic there to work with from an acting point of view. " ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , p. 15)

Gene Roddenberry recognized Spock as a team effort. " I'll take credit for formulating Spock and guiding the character, " he said, " then give as much credit to Leonard Nimoy for making it work, and also credit to the writers who kept it going in many story situations. " [16] On the other hand, Roddenberry proclaimed, in a letter to Isaac Asimov , " It's easy to give good situations and good lines to Spock. " Roddenberry also thought it was easier to write Spock than it was to write McCoy. [17] Nonetheless, the depiction of Spock was still to be further developed as the show began. Recalling the character's genesis, TNG Producer Robert Lewin noted, " Spock was not the hero that he became during the early part of the first series. " ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 71)

The series writers' guide (third revision, dated 17 April 1967 ) gave the following description of Spock ( Star Trek: The Original Series 365 ):

Season 2 salary issue

In the spring of 1967 , before production began on Star Trek 's second season , Leonard Nimoy and his agent got into an argument with the producers regarding the actor's salary (Nimoy felt it unfair that series star William Shatner was paid US$5,000 per episode, while he was only paid US$1,250). The agent wanted US$3000 per episode for his client, and would settle with US$2,500. However, a misunderstanding resulted in the agent believing that Mission: Impossible stars had at least US$11,000 salaries, so he suddenly demanded US$9,000 for Nimoy. The studio, of course, refused. Nimoy threatened to leave the series if the dispute was not solved.

In response to Nimoy's threats, Desilu executive Herb Solow asked Casting Director Joseph D'Agosta to compile a list of possible "Vulcan replacements", in case negotiations went unresolved. Three lists were made of actors who were deemed suitable for the role of Spock:

"A" List: Mark Lenard , William Smithers , Liam Sullivan , Lloyd Bochner , Joe Maross , Donald Harron , Edward Mulhare , James Mitchell , Michael Rennie , Peter Mark Richman , Charles Robinson , Chris Robinson , Stewart Moss , David Canary , John Anderson , David Carradine

"B" List: Anthony James , Perry Lopez , George Bachman , Alan Bergmann , Lee Kinsolving , Blaisdel Makee , Bill Fletcher , Henry Darrow , Anthony George , Curt Lowens , Jacques Denbeaux , Maxwell Reed

"C" List: Lawrence Montaigne , Ron Hayes , Patrick Horgan , Paul Mantee , Bruce Watson , Robert Yuro , Richard Evans , Joseph Ruskin , Ted Markland , Lee Bergere , John Rayner

In reality, these lists were only a psychological ploy to put pressure on Leonard Nimoy and his agent. The only two actors considered as possible replacements were Mark Lenard and Lawrence Montaigne (ironically, both of them appeared as Vulcans in the second season, Lenard playing Spock's father, Sarek).

Eventually, Desilu (at the insistence of NBC ) and Nimoy settled with US$2,500 per episode, plus US$100 for additional expenses, a better billing, a better merchandising deal, and more script input. However, when Montaigne was cast as Stonn in " Amok Time ", his contract had an option of recalling him to be cast as Spock, "just in case." ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp. 317-324)

Animated depictions

For approximately half an hour while Star Trek: The Animated Series was in early development, a boyhood version of Spock was considered for inclusion as a regular character in the upcoming series, along with other child equivalents of the series' main characters. ( The Art of Star Trek , pp. 42 & 43)

While initially developing TAS : " Yesteryear ", D.C. Fontana realized she wanted to feature Spock in the story, since he had always been her favorite main character and was the focus of her favorite episodes from the ones she had written for Star Trek: The Original Series , such as " This Side of Paradise " and " Journey to Babel ". ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , p. 56) She was excited by the prospect of showing "part of what made Spock Spock," delving into his backstory in "Yesteryear". ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 97)

Reappearances

The notion of Spock suffering racial prejudice, alluded to in TAS : " Yesteryear " and the film Star Trek , was shared by the unmade prequel Star Trek: The First Adventure , in which Spock first met Kirk when he was defended by him from bullies at Starfleet Academy.

Gene Roddenberry once distributed a memo to the TNG writing staff which declared that, due to financial considerations, it would probably be impossible for Leonard Nimoy to ever guest star on that series as Spock (though Roddenberry also suggested Sarek appearing in a guest star role as an alternative). ( The Making of Yesterday's Enterprise , p. 22)

In an interview with TrekMovie.com 's Anthony Pascale in July 2007 , Leonard Nimoy explained that he felt Spock had been superfluous in the script of Star Trek Generations and that that was why he had chosen not to appear in the film. Nimoy initially proclaimed, " There was no Spock role in that script, " then elaborated, " There were five or six lines attributed to Spock […] but it had nothing to do with Spock. They were not Spock-like in any way. I said to Rick Berman , 'You could distribute these lines to any one of the other characters and it wouldn't make any difference.' And that is exactly what he did. There was no Spock function in the script. " [18]

In a memo he wrote Manny Coto (on 20 August 2004 ), Michael Sussman suggested that both an elderly Spock and a young version of the character be featured in a story covering an episode or two from the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise , if Leonard Nimoy was interested in appearing. As Sussman proposed, the older depiction of Spock would have been portrayed, in a framing story, by Nimoy, while the young Spock would have been played by another actor (a technique inspired by the portrayal of Indiana Jones in a two-parter from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles called "Mystery of the Blues", which features not only a young version of Jones, but also a middle-aged Jones, played by Harrison Ford ). In the same memo, Sussman envisioned Spock in the 24th century, as a "distinguished and retired Ambassador," being visited by a young Vulcan/Human hybrid who sought advice for balancing the two halves of his own personality. The elderly Spock then began recounting an adventure that took place in the early 23rd century, in which he, as a Starfleet cadet, assisted a middle-aged T'Pol , learning, in the process, "some lesson which helped him choose his own path in life." Sussman went on to suggest that a lot of new details about Spock could be divulged in the story, possibly including that, in his young adulthood, he had been torn between life as a diplomat (like his father) and a Starfleet career. The memo continued by proposing that Spock's mission include the now-aged other senior officers from Enterprise NX-01 , and be "a secret and possibly illegal TBD mission." However, this Spock story ultimately wasn't developed. [19]

Roberto Orci , a co-writer of the film Star Trek , wrote the Spock character as being essential to that film's narrative without considering a back-up story, had Leonard Nimoy turned down appearing in the film. He recalled Nimoy raised an eyebrow at the idea of the destruction of Vulcan . [20] Commented J.J. Abrams , " Leonard was a dream to work with. He was always incredibly encouraging and excited about what he was seeing. He had a couple of thoughts, but he loved everything related to his role […] He was happy to see Spock look so damn good! " ( Star Trek: Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier , p. 240) Abrams also stated, " It's a big deal for him to come back and play this part again. I don't think it's something he expected to do. Directing him as Spock for the first time was as surreal a moment as I've had. It was preposterous, but wonderful. " ( Empire , issue 234, p. 126)

After the making of the film Star Trek , Leonard Nimoy retired (again) from acting and publicly stated that he did not intend to return to the role of Spock again, as he felt that to do so would be unfair to Zachary Quinto. Nimoy even went as far as to say, " I definitely will not be in Star Trek 2," and, " I think I can be definitive about the fact that I will not be in it. " ( SFX , issue #200, p. 68) However, it was eventually confirmed that he would indeed be returning to the role of Spock for the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness . [21] [22] Regarding how J.J. Abrams invited him to make a cameo appearance in the film, Nimoy recalled, " He just said, 'Would you come in for a couple of days and do me a favor.' " Whereas Nimoy had declined to cameo in Star Trek Generations because he felt Spock's part in that movie had been too general, Nimoy was persuaded that Spock had such a specific role in Star Trek Into Darkness that he was willing to accept the part. Addressing why he had claimed not to be in the film, Nimoy, who was very pleased that the truth of his involvement was kept secret, initially said, " I was asked time and time again if I was in the movie, and I managed to avoid answering without lying. " He laughed, but was then reminded that he had flat-out denied being in the film and replied, " Maybe I was confused. Of course, speaking, if you'll pardon me, logically, I wouldn't know if I was in the movie until I saw the movie. " [23] His cameo marked Nimoy's final appearance as Spock and his final role overall prior to his death in February 2015 .

In 2017, Star Trek: Discovery producer Akiva Goldsman said that Spock would not be seen on Discovery . [24] However, two years later, Spock did appear in Discovery's second season , played by Ethan Peck.

Other language voice actors

An excerpt from the German version of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; Weicker, voicing Spock, saying, " Wenn ich ein Mensch wäre, wäre meine Antwort mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit: Fahr zur Hölle!… Wenn ich ein Mensch wäre. " English: If I were Human, I believe my response would be 'Go to Hell!'… If I were Human.

Herbert Weicker was a German stage and voice actor who is widely associated with Spock, since he voiced this character in all German translations of episodes and films with the exception of the first run of Star Trek: The Animated Series .

Similarly, Czech television and film dubs have almost uniformly featured the late Jiří Plachý in the role of Spock, specifically, in the dubs of the TV appearances in Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , as well as in the six TOS era films and the first two Kelvin Timeline films. Zdeněk Junák dubbed the younger alternate reality Spock of the Kelvin Timeline films, while Lukáš Hlavica voiced Spock in the Czech dub of Star Trek: The Animated Series .

Slovak film and television dubs of Spock have included Štefan Kožka for the six installments of the TOS era film series, Ivan Letko for Spock's appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation , as well as Marián Slovák as an older prime timeline Spock and Filip Tůma as a younger alternate reality Spock in the first Kelvin Timeline film.

Spock became one of the most enduring symbols of Star Trek . Accounting for the character's popularity, Gene Roddenberry stated, " I think that everyone was so smitten with Mr. Spock because he stood for loyalty and reliability. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 27, No. 11/12, p. 47)

The popularity of Spock was one factor that motivated Leonard Nimoy into demanding a salary increase for the second season of TOS. " By this time, Leonard's popularity had convinced him of what he already knew: He had the most important role, " Herb Solow observed. In a memo Gene Roddenberry sent Gene L. Coon (on 1 April 1967 ), Roddenberry mentioned Spock having generated "considerable mail volume and public adulation" during the first season. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , pp. 317 & 319) NBC likewise regarded Spock and Nimoy as the most popular part of the original Star Trek series, and believed that losing them would be very unflattering. The popularity of the character was thus influential in Leonard Nimoy's continuation in the part. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , p. 324)

Roberto Orci has cited Spock as his favorite character. [25]

Casting Leonard Nimoy as an elderly version of Spock in the film Star Trek gave irate fans pause, caused them to stand down, and even won them over. ( Empire , issue 234, p. 126) However, William Shatner has been disapproving of how Spock is portrayed in that movie and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness , commenting, " I thought the two Spock appearances were gratuitous. J.J. [Abrams] wanted to pay homage to Spock I guess, but he didn't offer anything to the plot […] I told Leonard, 'You know that you're old when you go back in time and you're still old.' " (" Empire Presents 50 Years of Star Trek " supplement, p. 15)

Spock is referred to as a lieutenant commander in " Court Martial ", though the final draft and revised final draft of that episode's script instead referred to him as a full commander . The Star Trek Chronology listed Spock as having been promoted from lieutenant commander to full commander following "Court Martial". However, in a captain's log entry made by Kirk in " The Menagerie, Part I ", Spock is still identified as a lieutenant commander, as he is again in " Tomorrow is Yesterday ". Spock was first referred to as a commander in " Amok Time ". Throughout all his appearances on The Original Series , Spock wore the rank stripes of a full commander.

Near the end of the Star Trek: Discovery episode " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ", Spock dons his Starfleet uniform for the first time in that show, wearing lieutenant junior grade stripes. However, in the earlier episode " Project Daedalus ", Spock identifying himself as a lieutenant . "Lieutenant" is the proper way to address lieutenant junior grades as well as full lieutenants, however, Spock was stating his own rank while being questioned by Admiral Cornwell and thus would have used his full rank. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Spock was still identified as a lieutenant and wore the correct insignia.

Spock was the inspiration for the Decepticon scientist, Shockwave, from the "Transformers" franchise. Comic book writer Bob Budiansky, who gave Shockwave his name and personality, described the character as "my attempt to take Spock from Star Trek and make him into a Decepticon." [26]

A portion of this article was paraphrased into first person and used as the content of Spock's memoir The Many and the One in PIC : " The Star Gazer ". [27]

Barbara Hambly 's novel Ishmael gives Spock's unpronounceable full name as "S'chn T'gai Spock," with "S'chn T'gai" apparently being the family name as opposed to the personal name. The ebook Seasons of Light and Darkness also uses this name.

According to Diane Duane 's novel Spock's World , Spock was a descendant of Surak .

The novelization of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home states that during the exile of the Enterprise command crew on Vulcan, Spock and McCoy underwent a series of mind melds facilitated by T'Lar to ensure that any lingering parts of the other's personalities were transferred back to the right person. In the days following Kirk and the Enterprise command crew saving Earth from the destructive effects of the whale probe, McCoy went to see Spock, who was temporarily staying at the Vulcan embassy on Earth and expressed worry that any punishment handed down by the Federation might not let him participate in future mind melds if needed. Spock assured McCoy that the fal-tor-pan was complete, and no further mind melds were needed. Spock told McCoy the two would always retain a smart part of each other in their minds.

Spock briefly reactivated his Starfleet commission , with the rank of admiral , during the Dominion War , according to Spectre , a novel on whose writing William Shatner collaborated with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens .

In the novel Crossover , Spock and several unificationists were captured by the Romulan Empire. He was ultimately rescued by Montgomery Scott, Commander Riker , Data , and Geordi La Forge aboard the USS Yorktown that Scott stole from a Starfleet museum using the shuttle he was given by Picard to control the Yorktown 's computer. After believing Scott dead for 75 years, Spock was momentarily startled to see him behind the transporter controls, but quickly regained his control. Scott promised to explain how he reached the 24th century later to Spock.

In the novel The Fire and the Rose , Spock began to lose his emotional control after hearing of the death of Captain Kirk , and eventually returns to Gol to take Kolinahr training again. Spock ultimately succeeded and became truly emotionless, a situation that neither Sarek nor Amanda agreed he should have tried to do. Amanda in particular, felt Spock had rejected his Humanity and therefore in some measure, her by extension. Spock's lack of emotion also ultimately alienated McCoy when he came to ask Spock to stand with him at his wedding to Tonia Barrows and Spock refused. Ultimately, after Amanda's death in a shuttle accident and Spock seeing Sarek grieve for Amanda (which surprised Spock as he mistakenly believed Sarek to have also been a student of Kolinahr ) , and when Spock realized that he can't grieve for Amanda and that he didn't even miss her, he sought McCoy out on Earth to help him engage in an ancient Vulcan ritual to reverse the Kolinahr , allowing Spock to feel emotions again. This accomplished, Spock rebuilt his relationship with McCoy, was able to grieve for his mother and Captain Kirk, and once again found the balance and peace between his Vulcan and Human halves, allowing him to have emotional control again without rejecting his emotions.

In the novel Provenance of Shadows , Spock, having been contacted by McCoy's wife Tonia Barrows , and told that McCoy was taking a turn for the worse, went to see McCoy because he had regretted that he didn't get to see either Kirk or his mother once more before their deaths, and he was not going to make that mistake this time. Spock did spend the day with McCoy and planned to return the next day, but as he left McCoy's house, Spock was left with the impression he would never see McCoy alive again. Spock's feelings are proved correct as McCoy does die peacefully in his chair on the porch that same evening before Spock can return, with Tonia by his side, reflecting on his life and the good work he's done and his family and friends.

In the novel Vulcan's Forge , Spock commanded the science ship Intrepid II in 2294 , a year after Kirk was lost in the Nexus . Within the story, Uhura was Spock's first officer and McCoy his chief medical officer .

Other novels set after Star Trek VI established that Picard was at the wedding of Spock and Saavik met Sarek.

In the novel Yesterday's Son , Spock found out that he had a son with Zarabeth , whom she had named Zar.

In the game Star Trek: Armada , Ambassador Spock was sent aboard a Galaxy -class starship to mediate a treaty between the Klingon and Romulan empires on Romulus. The Borg intercepted this ship and assimilated him. The USS Enterprise -E traveled two days back in time to make sure he reached the peace conference. The plan succeeded, resulting in Romulan and Klingon ships being dispatched to assist the Federation in defending Earth.

Spock in Star Trek: Countdown

In the comic series Star Trek: Countdown , leading up to Star Trek , Spock was aided in his attempts to help convince the Vulcans to provide the Romulans with the red matter necessary to stop the impending supernova explosion by Jean-Luc Picard , who was now Federation Ambassador to Vulcan, as well as by a restored Data , who was now captain of the Enterprise -E. Also, the comic established that Geordi La Forge had designed the Jellyfish , which Spock used to drop the red matter into the supernova. Just after the Jellyfish and the Narada were pulled through the black hole and into the alternate reality, the black hole finished collapsing and the Enterprise arrived in the area finding no indication anywhere that Spock managed to escape. Presuming Spock to be dead, Picard said that he hoped his friend's soul did indeed live long and prosper.

In the novelization of Star Trek , after Kirk told Spock that Dr. McCoy , Sulu , Chekov , and Uhura – all but one of the group of officers who had once been willing to throw away their careers to save him – were all serving on the USS Enterprise (taking McCoy's presence for granted when following the confirmation of the other three), Spock suggested to Kirk that their meeting, and the way the crew was already coming together, was the work of the timeline attempting to "fix" itself. As for the one person not yet aboard the ship, he had been well aware that Scotty was stationed at the outpost, which he had visited on occasion for supplies – though it wasn't clear whether they had actually met – but he had a made a point of keeping his distance. This self-imposed isolation was the only reason that he happened to be at the right place with a torch as the hengrauggi wrapped its tongue around Kirk's leg, which struck him as yet more evidence to support his theory – Kirk's arrival made it clear that the three had converged there for a reason, since he could give Scott the basics of his own invention, and therefore return Kirk to the Enterprise , with a way to take his rightful place in command (seeing that the young officer was obviously unaware of Regulation 619, he admitted to having forgotten how insignificant such things had been to the Kirk he knew so well), and hopefully be able to minimize the damage to the timeline.

In the comic series Star Trek: Spock: Reflections , the events leading up to Countdown were detailed. He traveled to Veridian III after Picard sent him a message following the events of Star Trek Generations explaining what really happened to Kirk regarding his "death" on the USS Enterprise -B to retrieve his body where he brought him back home to Earth to be reburied at the Kirk family farm in Iowa . Spock explained to Picard how Kirk did the same for him, at a terrible cost and that he needed to be equal to Kirk's sacrifice. Picard then tells Spock that he would be welcomed to return to Starfleet duty, in any capacity, but Spock planned to return to Romulus to continue his work. Picard asks whether arrangements can be made to make Spock's presence there official, but Spock declined, saying he has always led "a life of solitude and duty". As Spock remembers how he once worked with remarkable friends and comrades, he tells Picard to treasure those times in his own life, since they will someday end. They exchange the Vulcan salute and Picard walks away, but turned back to see Spock still standing quietly by his friend's grave.

Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto also lent their voices to Star Trek Online ; Nimoy reprised his role as Spock and narrated key events to players, while Quinto voices a Mark VI Emergency Medical Holographic program who helps the player though the tutorial level.

The 2013 virtual collectible card battle game Star Trek: Rivals was using Nimoy's picture for card #103 "Ambassador Spock".

The Star Trek: Ongoing story arc Legacy of Spock focuses on his place in the alternate reality 's new Vulcan settlement . Though initially blamed in part for the ultimate destruction of Vulcan, he is ultimately revered for his dedication to his people and receives a monument that is still standing 3,000 years later. Unlike the other monuments, which are massive, his is life-size, reportedly because he felt to make it any larger would not be "logical".

The Doctor offering Spock a jelly baby

In the third issue of the Doctor Who crossover comic Assimilation² , Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scott investigate a Federation archaeological team on the planet Aprilia III on stardate 3368.5, which had lost contact with Starfleet. Upon landing in the shuttlecraft Galileo , they are greeted by project manager Jefferson Whitmore, who assures them that all is well and gives them a tour of the facility, but Kirk finds the staff suspiciously calm, which Spock agrees with as by Human standards, the research team seemed remarkably placid and unemotional. The team later return to the facility after dark where they meet the Fourth Doctor , assuming he's a member of the research team and he helps them break the electronic lock with his sonic screwdriver and then offers Spock a jelly baby . Together, they infiltrated the facility. There, they find the researchers standing catatonically, with small cybernetic devices in their ears. It is discovered they were under the control of the Doctor's enemies, the Cybermen . A battle ensues and Spock and Scotty use their phasers on two Cybermen, while Kirk and the Doctor handle the Cyber-Controller . The Doctor then uses gold dust to clog up the Controller's respiration, allowing Spock to fire his phaser and destroying it. After the Cybermen are defeated and the Doctor slips quietly away, Spock assures Kirk there are no signs of anymore Cybermen on the planet, but Kirk arranges for a permanent garrison of Starfleet Security personnel to protect the researchers just in case.

In Star Trek Cats , Spock is depicted as an Oriental Shorthair cat .

In the Star Trek: Picard novel The Last Best Hope , Spock left Romulus in the early 2380s , believing there was nothing more he could achieve in the face of the predicted Supernova, but not without taking as many survivors as his small ship can carry with him. He was later contacted by now-Admiral Jean-Luc Picard when his journey brought him to an unplanned rendezvous with the USS Verity .

Spock appears in the video game Star Trek: Resurgence , where he comes aboard the USS Resolute to assist in stopping a crisis between the Hotari and the Alydians.

External links

• Spock at Wikipedia
• Spock at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Spock at the Star Trek Online Wiki
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Shipping out the week of September 6, 2024 — that’s the Friday ahead of  Star Trek Day for those of you paying attention — this three-color vinyl box set features more than 50 tracks from the  Star Trek Into Darkness theatrical score, and comes with interchangeable envelopes to update the outer delta.

The tri-color vinyl set will also include a 16 page booklet with behind the scenes photos and written material by both Giacchino and director J.J. Abrams — and the entire package will be limited to only 1,000 pieces in total, exclusive to North America.

Outside of North America, an alternate clear-vinyl edition will be available for  Star Trek soundtrack fans to collect, also limited to 1,000pc — and that edition will not be released domestically.

You can preorder the tri-color  Star Trek Into Darkness expanded theatrical score box set now at the Varèse Sarabande website for $90 (plus shipping). Pricing on the clear international edition will vary by region and market; check with your local vinyl album stores for availability.

Check back to TrekCore often for the latest  Star Trek merchandise news!

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Star trek doubles down on a controversial kelvin timeline change (for the better).

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Star Trek's Kelvin Timeline Accomplished a Major Starfleet First

Star trek confirms the true power of the mirror universe’s most devious weapon, star trek reinvents dukat as a legitimate starfleet hero.

• The Kelvin timeline brought major changes to the Star Trek franchise, including its first gay character, Sulu.
• "The Knight Errand" in Star Trek Celebrations: Pride showcases Sulu's sword skills and family life.
• Sulu's portrayal as a family man adds depth to his character, making him a true Star Trek icon.

Warning: contains spoilers for "The Knight Errand," appearing in Star Trek Celebrations: Pride!

The Kelvin timeline introduced a number of changes to the Star Trek franchise, and now they have doubled down on one of its most controversial in the best way possible. In the buildup to 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond , it was revealed that Hikaru Sulu, the Enterprise’s helmsman, was gay. The decision was controversial, but in the new Star Trek Celebrations: Pride , fans see it worked out for the best.

The Kelvin incarnation of Sulu returns in the story “The Knight Errand,” by Steve Orlando and Lauren Knight. On a distant planet, Sulu is using his fencing skills in a sword fight with an alien warlord. Hanging in the balance: the life of the away team. Sulu narrates the events as if he is a knight in a medieval story. Fans learn that Sulu is relaying the story to Demora, his young daughter.

As the story comes to an end, fans see Sulu, his husband and Demora enjoying quality time in Sulu’s quarters.

The Kelvin Timeline Gave Star Trek A Shot in the Arm

The kelvin timeline also gave star trek its first gay character.

The Kelvin timeline was introduced in 2009’s Star Trek , directed by JJ Abrams. In it, Spock travels back in time , and is followed by Romulans. The Romulans arrived in the early 23rd century, where they attacked the USS Kelvin , creating an alternate timeline. This allowed the creative teams the ability to tell new Star Trek stories without violating what came before. Changes were introduced to the franchise, such as a sleaker Enterprise in addition to new actors playing established roles. The film was followed by 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness and in 2016 with Star Trek Beyond.

As details about Star Trek Beyond leaked to the press, it was revealed that, in the Kelvin timeline, Sulu was gay. This change was done as a tribute to George Takei, the openly gay actor who first brought Sulu to life. This made Sulu the first openly gay character in the franchise. However, the decision was met with controversy, and Takei himself weighed in at one point. When Beyond arrived in theaters, fans only saw Sulu’s family in a brief scene. For what was to be a milestone in the Star Trek franchise, it was very underwhelming.

Star Trek's Kelvin timeline changed the face of the franchise forever, and it also accomplished a major first, a century before the Prime timeline.

Sulu's Family Offers Possibilities for Future Star Trek Stories

The story proves why sulu is a star trek icon.

Not only does Sulu save the day, but he makes it home in time to tuck Demora in, showing him to be the consummate family man, and reinforcing the Kelvin timeline’s most controversial decision.

Orlando and Knight show that this was the right decision to make. It adds layers to Sulu’s character, and gives him development that was lacking in the classic Star Trek show. In “The Knight Errand,” fans get to see Sulu’s prowess with a sword, as well as his leadership qualities. Sulu cares deeply about the away team, and is confident in his ability to save them. Not only does Sulu save the day, but he makes it home in time to tuck Demora in, showing him to be the consummate family man, and reinforcing the Kelvin timeline’s most controversial decision.

Star Trek Celebrations: Pride is on sale now from IDW Publishing!