Is J.J. Abrams' Star Trek the Version Roddenberry Would Have Done on TV?

It was inevitable that we'd eventually see Captain Kirk in more graphic fights, presenting more graphic details of his womanizing and using language you wouldn't expect to be used in the Starfleet Academy. No, this isn't a projected dream from William Shatner while napping on the set of "Boston Legal" or while filming a Priceline ad. It's a fresh new look at one of the most famous Sci-Fi captains in Sci-Fi history through the filter of modern-day film that allows much more in the popular summer movie fare each year. And it's not just the vices of Captain Kirk that we're getting privy to in J.J. Abrams' reboot of "Star Trek" opening on May 8 this year. We'll also see the rougher-edged, youthful sides of all the first "Trek" characters most of us have seen in various pop culture incarnations for close to 45 years now. Just about all those incarnations have been consistently conservative.

Of course, this gives rise to what original "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry may have had in mind from the beginning. While my friend, writing associate and "Trek:TNG" screenwriter here Will Stape would probably know (check out his expert writings on all things "Star Trek" here on Associated Content), it seems to be a tossup for more casual "Trek" fans whether Roddenberry really would have enjoyed seeing the more ribald side of the characters he created and set a particular persona for from the start.

Most Trekkies are already complaining about what J.J. Abrams may have done to Kirk, Spock, Scotty, McCoy, Uhura, et al, in destroying their quasi mythical sides that arguably became less dimensional as time went on through the feature films. The original 1960's "Star Trek" series may have been the best place so far to delve into certain sides of each character's personalities, which wasn't all that unusual in an ensemble show. Most shows that featured a large cast meant seeing one of them eventually featured in a particular episode doing something unusual or showing a side of their personality that took away the threat of being just one-dimensional mannequins standing or sitting behind the ship's consoles.

As insinuated as it was, though, most of the vices of Capt. Kirk had to be watered down (no, not Kirk himself) in order to get past the nervous network censors who had fits over one controversial word in a script. Certainly the 1960's "Trek" series pushed a lot of boundaries--and insinuations of one-stardate-stand sex between Kirk and the beautiful female aliens was always there. We also had a few "damns" and "hells" thrown in, mainly as angry exchanges from Kirk or McCoy. Overall, however, the universe of "Trek" was intellect over anything else and careful attention to being family-friendly.

But had there not been a standards and practices on network TV in the 60's, would Roddenberry have created a more adult "Trek" universe akin to the J.J. Abrams revival? When you see the insinuations of the character's personalities and vices, there seems to be indication that he would have. After all, Roddenberry did envision "Trek" as a western in space. Dealing with that world isn't always pretty, even though network TV managed to for three decades.
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Had network TV been a different place in the 60's, it's possible that the American populace would have burned itself out on graphic sex, violence and profanity by now. Despite television like that dominating on HBO and other cable networks for decades, people still watch the basic networks where graphic sex and violence isn't always to be found yet. It all depends on the context of the show and whether it works better with it or without. In the world of "Star Trek", there probably wouldn't be any argument from a longtime Trekkie that the original vision of the show was just fine the way it was.

Showing more graphic detail of Kirk getting it on with green-skinned female aliens, more graphic language and more intense violence would have just distracted from the cerebral ideas "Star Trek" was emphasizing and continued to. Roddenberry likely realized this from the start and perhaps would have had an ethical wrangling of his own if network TV was no-holds-barred 45 years ago. Those questions of whether the dominance of intellect and social issues in space can still be emphasized with graphic sex, violence and profanity around would have been one of the most interesting dilemmas a TV producer would be able to have.

The standards "Trek" set in our real world (unlike the explicit, alternate universe version where everybody has goatees) was too powerful to be altered. As we know, Roddenberry set the same bar in the feature films outside of having slightly more intense violence that really doesn't match with today's violence. Sex and language were pretty much non-existent. The first generation characters, in all their respective cameos and re-appearances over the years, have pretty much kept those personas all intact to honor the late Roddenberry's legacy.

That's going to be the biggest challenge of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek", particularly when it's akin to daringly altering any other famous character in the literary, film or TV world. Then again, J.J. Abrams may have inherited that what-if world Roddenberry never had the chance to explore. Abrams has already proven that he can bring an intellectually-stimulating story while also slamming viewers over the head with over-the-top violence, heavy-duty profanity and maybe a little sex. If he can pass that test with "Star Trek", then perhaps he can win over the fans used to the classic way of handling the diffuse "Trek" world.

If not, then there could be an ironical split in the fanbase with as much warfare as there is between the Federation and the Borg. That means longtime fans branding the Abrams version of "Star Trek" non-canonical for years on end as the sequels pile up. It also means the Abrams fans accusing the other fans of being crazy when Leonard Nimoy gave his blessing to the Abrams movie franchise and appeared in a (holographic) cameo besides.

Whichever side ultimately prevails, the balance of intellect with the more graphic nature of movies is one challenge that every producer should have in order to create something more meaningful. Abrams may be one of the few at the moment who can do that and bring an intellectual curveball for "Star Trek" while still keeping its core essence...

Official site for the new movie:

http://www.startrekmovie.com/

Will Stape's Associated Content Source page:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/31137/will_stape.html