Dr. Rothenstein: Yes, I did Billy.

Mr. MacMahoth: What did you think?

Dr. Rothenstein: Well. Billy. The opening sequence was great. The new actors were great. The special effects were awesome. The new Enterprise was dazzling. The story sucked.

Mr. MacMahoth: OMG. Why would you say that?

Dr. Rothenstein: It was not a Star Trek origins story like it claims to be in the trailers. “The Future Begins” my ass. The future just freaking ended.

Mr. MacMahoth: But the movie does tell the about the childhood of Kirk and Spock and how they got to be officers aboard the Enterprise.

Dr. Rothenstein: No it doesn’t. It tells a story of an alternate Kirk and Spock. It wipes clean the forty-year history of Star Trek. Everything I knew about Trek is gone. Reset by a time warp incident before Kirk is even born.

Mr. MacMahoth: Well, that is stupid. Why would that do that? Sounds like they spent $140 million to make a Star Trek origins story that really is not a Star Trek origins story.

Dr. Rothenstein: That is exactly what they did. And they don’t care.

Mr. MacMahoth: Why would they not care?

Dr. Rothenstein: Becuase this movie was not made for Star Trek fans. It was made to excite non-fans.

Mr. MacMahoth: That sounds stupid. Why would they do that? Why alienate Star Trek fans.

Dr. Rothenstein: I guess because the fans were upset by the other dumb Star Trek movies and the Star Trek franchise is tired hearing their fans complain. So they decided hey forget the fans, we will make a movie that is for non-fans.

Mr. MacMahoth: Isn’t that sort of like designing a baseball game that is of no interest to baseball fans?

Dr. Rothenstein: Indeed it is. Also, J.J. Abrams did not want his creativity to be restrained by having to write stories around the original Star Trek story line.

Mr. MacMahoth: (Laughs). Sounds like he has no creativity in the first place if he can’t spin a story that honors the original Star Trek story line.

Dr. Rothenstein: That is what I was thinking.

Mr. MacMahoth: So if J.J. Abrams did a documentary about the American Revolution…

Dr. Rothenstein: He would have a villain go through a time warp in the first few seconds of the documentary and reset the time line so he his creativity would not be restrained by the historical facts of the American Revolution.

Mr. MacMahoth: Didn’t Star Trek II become the most beloved Star Trek movie becuase it kept the purity of the original Star Trek story line?

Dr. Rothenstein: That is true.

Mr. MacMahoth:  So if it appears logical to stay true to the original Trek to excite fans and non-fans alike; why change?

Dr. Rothenstein:  The original fans are all over the age of forty. I guess the Trek franchise consider them all too old to worry about.

Mr. MacMahoth:  I’m only thirty and I saw and loved the original Trek shows. The old shows still play on Classic TV cable channels.

Dr. Rothenstein: Well, hell, you may be too old also.

Mr. MacMahoth: I think I am understanding. The Star Trek franchise is making Star Trek movies that ignore Star Trek sacred text to attract the non-fans. Sort of like making Chick-Flicks for guys. Football games for non-sports enthusiasts. Wrestling for people who hate violence. Cooking steak for vegetarians. Giving cats to dog lovers or giving dogs to cat lovers.

Dr. Rothenstein: You got it.

Mr. MacMahoth: So what are going to do?

Dr. Rothenstein: I am going to keep watching the original Star Trek shows, and Next Generation shows on DVD. Forget the new Trek the way it has forgotten the old Trek.

I, however, am displeased with the film. I am actually sad about the direction the film has gone. Let me explain. I am a die hard Star Trek fan. I have enjoyed and loved all of Star Trek with the exception of the ST: Enterprise, the death of Kirk, and the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III. I am mostly forgiving of the Star Trek flaws over the years because I realize, that a franchise as large as Star Trek, is going to have continuity and consistency errors. The freaking franchise has over 715 hours of play time. That is massive.

Anyway, I viewed the new film with my son and his friend. They loved the film and my son asked me why I was so disappointed. My son does not know Star Trek history and neither does his friend. And I did love this film until near the end.

I was disturbed by (spoiler alert) the death of Spock’s mother and the destruction of the planet Vulcan. In a typical Star Trek story such tragedies are corrected by the end of the film. This film did not correct those tragedies.

I realized as the end credits rolled this film is NOT about the Kirk and Spock that I grew up with. It is NOT the Star Trek I grew up with. It is an alternate Star Trek. It is NOT my Star Trek.

J.J. Abrams has used this film to erase the Star Trek I know and love. This disturbs me. Being a Star Trek fan I am well aware of parallel universes, alternate time lines, and the general weirdness of Star Trek BUT this film completely destroys my Star Trek. It takes it all away. The Kirk and Spock, the Picard and Riker, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager and all that I watched are GONE.

There will no longer be a planet Vulcan for Picard and Riker to visit in ST-TNG because it is gone. Kirk will be spared the grief of finding his dead brother on an alien world because he is now an only child. Vulcan is destroyed, Spock’s mother is dead, Kirk’s father is dead, and my Spock is trapped in an alternate Trek universe. I am truly heart-broken by all of this.

I won’t cry and my sadness will not change the success of this film nor should it. But I will not buy the DVD and I will not accept this film as Star Trek canon. This Star Trek is not for me. It is not for the fans of my generation.

Having said all of that. This film was the best damn Star Trek action adventure film I have ever seen. The special effects and the fast paced story line is the best Trek has had to offer. I was in love with this movie until the end. But my Star Trek is dead. This is a new Star Trek.

It will be interesting to see how fans accept this film after the newness has worn off. Will fans still like this movie in six months?

Star Trek as a franchise has had its pains. Cheesy special effects, bad movies, and character back stories as well as story plots that contradict older story plots. That is just to name a few of the flaws in the Star Trek franchise. I was hopeful that this reboot would restore dignity to a franchise that has suffered over the years from various producers at the helm. I was hopeful that this origin story would explain, what many Trekkies, already know about the origins of the Kirk and Spocks first mission aboard the Enterprise.

The advertisements for this movie explains it all. “Forget What You Know.” My generation (the fortysomethings) know too much Trek. The twentysomethings will probably enjoy this rollercoaster ride of a Trek film. I did not. This movie uses a time warp strategy to wipe the slate clean. They essentially create an alternate Trek Universe by reseting the Star Trek timeline in a time warp accident by the movie villain Nero. The new timeline is reset as James T. Kirk himself is being born.

Even with all the dazzle, the great special effect, an excellent cast, great action and adventure, I cannot accept this film. My Star Trek of forty years is dead. And I thought destroying the Enterprise in Star Trek III was bad. I also thought that killing off Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations was stupid.

Star Trek Eleven does something far worse. It kills off the Star Trek Universe that I have known and loved (despite its flaws) for over forty years. This is unacceptable. I compliment Gene Roddenberry’s vision of always looking forward to the future. Despite the dispproval of fans in the 1980s Roddenberry did not rehash the original series but created a new crew in a future setting. This worked well by not containmenating the timeline of the original series. Deep Space Nine took place in a time line after the Next Generation. Then Voyager occured after Deep Space Nine. Granted Roddenberry was not longer in conrol of Star Trek after the Next Generation and passed away but he was always looking forward.

Star Trek: Enterprise was a disappointment because that show was looking backwards. It tried to tell stories of space adventures that occured before Kirk and Spock were born. Bad idea. Fans were not impressed. Star Trek Eleven tries a plot ploy that is even worse. It says lets forget about all those forty three years of Star Trek and lets just start over from an alternate timeline.

After the screw up of Star Trek Five: The Final Frontier I wondered if the Star Trek franchise could make a bigger screw up. I figured producers had learned from the long and boring Star Trek: The Motion Picture to avoid bad story lines. But I was wrong. Star Trek: Nemesis which really was not a bad film at all but was released at a time when the fans were just worn out from Trek overload was by far a better film than Star Trek Eleven.

As a matter of fact; all of the Star Trek, good and bad, before this Star Trek Eleven was okay in comparison to Eleven. I think I have finally given up on producers being able to make a good Star Trek film. A number Twelve would have to fix the damage that Eleven has done by correcting the stupid idea of an alternate Trek Universe. High budget special effects does not make this good film. The fast paced story does not make this a good film.

Had this movie been a science-fiction film that was not a part of Star Trek it would have been a good film. Please for the love of Gene Roddenberry do not screw up Star Trek anymore. Burn this film, cut your losses, and release the original Star Trek show on DVDs at half-price.