Will J.J. Abrams Take Star Trek Back to the Final Frontier?

"Lost", "Alias", and "Felicity" mastermind J.J. Abrams has officially taken the reins of the Star Trek franchise and is currently working on a script for the 11th feature film. The Internet is abuzz with rumors and here say about Mr. Abrams plans for the project. Will it be the long-discussed "Starfleet Academy" concept with Kirk and Spock meeting as youngsters? Could it be a reimagining of the whole series a la Sci-Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica? Or does J.J. plan on something else???

Many would think that as much of a Trek fan as I am that I would have an opinion on this. I'm very much a stickler for continuity and have hated the idea of a Kirk/Spock Academy flick since it was first proposed towards the end of the Shatner/Nimoy films. Then Trek producer Harve Bennett conceived of the Academy concept as a way to keep the original series franchise going with younger actors taking over the roles made famous by T.J. Hooker and the host of In Search Of... while letting the older actors appear in a framing sequence to pass the torch to the new cast. With the popularity of the Next Generation TV series through the late 80's/early '90's, it was decided that the film franchise would pass to Patrick Stewart and the crew of the Enterprise-D and the Kirk/Spock Starfleet Academy idea was shelved.

Something I have been a supporter of was taking Trek in a new direction as a film series. A new ship...new crew...strange, new worlds...evil, bold, new enemies...and a high caliber cast that could reinvigorate interest in the franchise. I'm talking A-list movie stars. While the films' producers have always cast top-notch acting talent, such as Christopher Plummer, Ricardo Montalban, Alice Krige, and F. Murray Abraham, in supporting roles, none of the actors in any of the films could be considered A-list.

A Battlestar-like reimagining is interesting to think about. However, as talented as Abrams is, do any of us want to spend the next year listening to hardcore, longtime fans moan about changes he makes. What if he makes Spock a female? That is something that could happen. The film will most likely have a strong female as one of the leads. The original Trek has always been an old boys club. They'll need to beef up the female parts and switching a major character from male to female would bring huge amounts of free publicity...if it happens, remember where you heard it first.

So, this brings us to my current feelings on the direction of the series. I DON'T REALLY CARE as long as new fans flock to the new movie and make it a hit. There...I said it. Something we all need to realize is that the current Trek fan base is not the biggest concern for Paramount or J.J. Abrams. The current fan base is responsible for the low ratings of Enterprise and the horrible box office of the last TNG film. Here's how bad things are: I'm a big Trek fan, I paid to see the last movie in a theater, and I can't even think of the title off of the top of my head. In my circle, I'm the pop culture trivia king and I don't know what the movie was called.

If you are a fan of Trek, the one thing you should want is more Trek. This new direction, whatever it may be, could be the series' best chance at avoiding the undiscovered country of no more movies or T.V. series. I want J.J. Abrams do write a kick-ass, take no prisoners, action-packed, thrill-a-minute movie. Not a two-hour big screen television episode. I want movie stars as the captain, trusted crew, and as the villains. I WANT A STAR TREK MOVIE!!! If he can deliver that and bring a huge number of NEW fans to the series, then he can do whatever he wants...up to and including having Spock(played by Angelina Jolie) cry and Kirk(Matt Damon) involved in a previous relationship with McCoy(Reese Witherspoon). That's it, J.J., the triumvirate of friends needs to become a love triangle!!! It's box office gold, I tell you!!!