Enough with the reboots

Over at Aint It Cool News, there's a Star Trek story that caught my eye, concerning the possibility of Matt Damon in the role of Captain Kirk in an upcoming prequel film. In the same story is a link to a 14-page treatment (link to PDF) for a new Trek TV series, conceived by J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel a couple of years ago, in which they proposed a "reboot" of the Star Trek universe.

In this reboot idea, a new continuity would be established and the five year mission of the original Trek would be retold with a new cast and a new vision of the future. Part of the justification of this plan is that fans would accept the changes to these iconic characters because they accept similar reboots in comic books.

I think the idea of a Straczynski-penned Star Trek is pretty interesting (I loved the story arc of Babylon 5), but I have to ask: Why do creators of sci-fi entertainment insist on telling the same stories over and over again? What makes them think that we want to see the same stories told and retold again and again? Why is there no creativity in trying to move the existing continuity forward?

"Fans want to see Kirk and Spock at Starfleet Academy!" Umm, no we don't. "Fans will love a prequel series set before the formation of the Federation!" No, we didn't. Enterprise was cancelled after 3 seasons. What fans want are entertaining, well-written stories, with interesting characters that develop over time. These elements have been lacking in recent Trek series. Trek fans also love the continuity, the consistency of the Trek universe and its history.

I'd like to see a new Trek series set a hundred years or so beyond what we know from previous series and films. Here's an example of a setting. For some reason, technology is failing: maybe due to the factors described in that "warp fields are destroying the fabric of spacetime" TNG episode, or maybe there is some unknown enemy causing the technological failure. Every planet is not squeaky clean and the Federation is crumbling due to Starfleet's not being able to police the galaxy like they once could. In an attempt to hold on to their political power, the Federation has resorted to some unsavory practices and some planets are beginning to break away and govern themselves. Familiar aliens like Vulcans, Klingons, and Romulans are around, and all the races are dealing with the technological crisis in different ways.

Our heroes are the crew of the Federation's flagship, all new characters we haven't met before, struggling to keep the peace in an increasingly hostile environment. If there are any recurring characters at all from previous series, maybe have Data (played by a different, young-looking actor) or Wesley Crusher (grown up into a kick ass mystical master of time and space) return, but otherwise keep cameos to a minimum.

Above all, tell good stories. Respect the intelligence of the audience. Have characters that evolve over time as a result of the events they experience. But I guess these things are too much of a challenge for the Trek creators. So, screw it, let's do Kirk and Spock again. Yawn.

And that's the news

Sage is with me for a couple of weeks so posting may continue to be relatively light for a while. We were in Atlanta this past Sunday and we toured CNN and the Coca-Cola museum; we made a video of a newscast which you can download here (mp4, 30mb). Larry King is clearly the weakest link.

Report from Wine Country

What a week. I traveled with some friends out to California for four days in wine country and then a couple of days in San Francisco. We drove all up and down Napa and Sonoma valleys tasting the products at numerous wineries and vineyards. I did my best to stick to the inexpensive tastings ($5 to $10) but I did splurge once on a $25 tasting which, perhaps not surprisingly, was the yummiest wine that I sampled.

Some highlights from the trip: taking a bunch of pictures, meeting various winery dogs, a not-too-sweet Riesling at Casa Nuestra, killer sandwiches at Taylor's Refresher, an entertaining pourer at Dutch Henry, a really cool behind-the-scenes look at Vincent Arroyo (thanks, Dave!), a non-erupting geyser (i guess technically that would be a hole), the cave at Bella, the peaceful gardens and multiple cats at Preston, the aforementioned $25 taste on the nice terrace at Opus One (no link because their site is annoying), some real yummy pizza at Pauline's (can't find website) in SF, and walking a lot more than I should have. Seriously, I walked all across the city... oh, and I sneaked into a church to take a leak.

Overall a great trip, that wasn't too expensive -- splitting hotel rooms is the way to go. I bought two bottles while I was there, both from Rosenblum in Healdsburg, CA. One is a zinfandel that I liked a lot when I tasted a sample, and the other is a chocolate port that must be experienced to be believed. I plan to hold onto these for a special occasion; I hope I can resist the temptation to open them before that.

Gone wine drinkin'

Here's a quick update from the road. I made it back from Vancouver successfully (the flights back were not nearly as torturous as last week's), and now I'm off on a vacation to wine country.

I'm sitting right now in an Embassy Suites in Napa, California, having a complimentary breakfast and getting ready for a full day of tasting as much wine as possible while paying as little money as possible. I'm not sure how well the plan will work.

My posting may be light until next week.