Spock's Presence

Just watched the new Star Trek film by J. J. Abrahms at the Cinema 1. And Al Roker was right to say that no a single frame was wasted in this film. He made this comment as he was exchanging words with Matt Lauer on the “Today Show” this morning. They had the original Mr. Spock as guest in that program… of course, I stayed on long enough to watch the interview.

Al Roker briefly talked to Leonard Nimoy about the new film. Nimoy said that he accepted to do the appearance after he had read the script. He probably found logic in the “return” after 129 years.

Yup, according to the film, Spock returned 129 years to the film’s presence. In the film, he is “trapped” in a icy, cold planet where the young Kirk (played by Chris Pine) is also “dispatched” by Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) after being accused of insubordination. At these times, both Spock and Kirk have not yet established the friendship that journeyed to strange new worlds and discovered new life forms.

In the film, the paths of Kirk and Dr. McCoy aka “Bones” (played by Karl Urban) is established and Spock and Kirk are at odds with each other. I was surprised to learn that Spock had become captain of the newly-built Enterprise after Captain Pike had “surrendered” to the Romulans?

Gene Roddenberry in 1964 described Spock as "probably half Martian, he has a slightly reddish complexion and semi-pointed ears.” Back in the 60s, NBC officials were reportedly "afraid" to a have an alien with pointed ears as it would scare away children. But Roddenberry prevailed.

Leonard Nimoy, who played the original Spock in the first TV series said that “he liked the character's newly logical nature, observing that the character is struggling to maintain a Vulcan attitude, a Vulcan philosophical posture and a Vulcan logic, opposing what was fighting him internally, which was human emotion." Trek historians say that if Nimou turned down the role of Spock, Roddenberry would have opted for Martin Landau. Remember, Space 1999?

I was surprised to learn of a romantic relationship between Uhura and Spock? Which will probably be the ultimate test for Spock’s emotion in the next movie.

Another surprise was to see Winona Ryder play the role of, Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother. Did she really fall and die when the planet exploded?

Today, Spock is one of the most famous and intriguing TV characters and his presence will continue to resonate across TV and cinema.

Live long and prosper!

Star Trek coming soon!

In a few days, the long wait is over. Kirk and Spock in the latest Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams will make their presence felt in movie screens here in the Philippines. And I feel that this film would be a good “reboot” for the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991. He was one of the earthlings to have his ashes “buried” in space.

The 11th film from the Star Trek franchise will feature the early years of the main characters of the original series. And that means Kirk and Spock and the rest of the first crew of the Enterprise.

The story follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) studying at Starfleet Academy and his first meeting with Spock (Zachary Quinto). Eric Bana plays a Romulan. Now, that would be interesting.

What I am eager to see is the redesigned bridge. The team brought in Star Trek veteran John Eaves.

The bridge retains it’s oval shape, railings, the captain's chair, and viewscreen but has been aesthetically altered with bright colors.

McCoy’s sickbay is reportedly more modern while the transporter and engine rooms have an industrial look. The beams in the transporter also swirl rather than speckle. I looked up what speckle means in my laptop dictionary? It refers to a small spot or mark, often a small irregular patch of contrasting color.

The Starfleet uniforms still follow the original color coding (command officers wear gold shirts, science and medical officers wear blue, and Operations (technicians/engineers) and security personnel wear red). However, the female officers' miniskirts are slightly longer than the original from the 60s.

Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects. Abrams worked with visual effects supervisors Roger Guyette and Sherri Hanson, with whom he teamed up before in Mission: Impossible III.

Music is by Michael Giacchino who kept the original theme by Alexander Courage. This film was written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced by Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.

The characters and the stories have surely traveled long and far since the premiere of TV series back in September 8, 1966.

And will definitely go where no one has gone before!