Trek Films
Well I still need to see The Motion Picture but other than that I have now seen all the TOS Trek movies starting with The Wrath of Khan and ending with The Undiscovered Country
My feelings for the films are mixed. I definitely prefer the TV series. With all it's campy 60's style, it was fresh, unique and just fun. The Original series was not perfect and yes there were definitely some things later series improved on but a lot of that comes with the time that these other series came on and how TV had changed. So yes Star Trek TOS wasn't perfect but it was definitely revolutionary. I think it is easy to take it for granted today when a lot of the things it introduced had not been done before.
Sadly at only 3 seasons though TOS was cancelled before it's time. It had a cult following but not enough to keep it on the air. It was only when the series went into syndication (and episodes could be played whenever) that it really caught on and became crazy popular which allowed the franchise to grow into a cultural phenomena. It was just a bit too late. The series of course did not have a good finale (and although I did not watch it myself yet I heard it was one of the bad episodes of the series).
Now comes the film series. Starting with the motion picture more than 10 years after the series ended. The Wrath of Khan was about 15 years after the series ended. TMP wasn't a success but it was good enough to allow WOK to be made which was a whopping success and lead to 5 more movies. More importantly unlike the TV series it allowed for the original Star Trek crew to have real growth, development and an actual ending to their adventure. That's actually pretty amazing and most fans of cancelled series are not anywhere near lucky.
As for my feelings on the movies I think all of them are flawed (including the critical favorite Wrath of Khan). They all have aspects I dislike or I think are downright silly. I actually don't think any Star Trek movie is great. But then as far as TV series into movies go they are better than most. For one thing I think they do great things for the characters. Star Trek TOS (like every other show in the 60's) was episodic. There wasn't room for character growth. But in the Star Trek movies the characters are allowed to grow.
The TOS movies are actually the exact opposite of JJ Abrams reboot. The reboot movies look at the characters in their youth, but the TOS movies actually allow the characters to age and that is an important aspect of their characters in the films. The characters were very good friends in the original series, but in the movies they have become like family who will throw everything away for each other. This is why I can even enjoy a very flawed film like The Final Frontier which has some of the very best character moments of the films.
The final film ends with the TOS crew being instrumental in bringing peace with the Klingons and Federation. The Klingons were probably the most used "villains" of TOS so it seems like a fitting last mission that really ties everything together and was a nice pathway into TNG.
And sorry for all the Trek posts lately. I think it will likely continue. A lost of the anime I am watching is underwhelming me or even pissing me off right now (except Chihayafuru which is still amazing) so I guess I am a bit more focused on this now.
My feelings for the films are mixed. I definitely prefer the TV series. With all it's campy 60's style, it was fresh, unique and just fun. The Original series was not perfect and yes there were definitely some things later series improved on but a lot of that comes with the time that these other series came on and how TV had changed. So yes Star Trek TOS wasn't perfect but it was definitely revolutionary. I think it is easy to take it for granted today when a lot of the things it introduced had not been done before.
Sadly at only 3 seasons though TOS was cancelled before it's time. It had a cult following but not enough to keep it on the air. It was only when the series went into syndication (and episodes could be played whenever) that it really caught on and became crazy popular which allowed the franchise to grow into a cultural phenomena. It was just a bit too late. The series of course did not have a good finale (and although I did not watch it myself yet I heard it was one of the bad episodes of the series).
Now comes the film series. Starting with the motion picture more than 10 years after the series ended. The Wrath of Khan was about 15 years after the series ended. TMP wasn't a success but it was good enough to allow WOK to be made which was a whopping success and lead to 5 more movies. More importantly unlike the TV series it allowed for the original Star Trek crew to have real growth, development and an actual ending to their adventure. That's actually pretty amazing and most fans of cancelled series are not anywhere near lucky.
As for my feelings on the movies I think all of them are flawed (including the critical favorite Wrath of Khan). They all have aspects I dislike or I think are downright silly. I actually don't think any Star Trek movie is great. But then as far as TV series into movies go they are better than most. For one thing I think they do great things for the characters. Star Trek TOS (like every other show in the 60's) was episodic. There wasn't room for character growth. But in the Star Trek movies the characters are allowed to grow.
The TOS movies are actually the exact opposite of JJ Abrams reboot. The reboot movies look at the characters in their youth, but the TOS movies actually allow the characters to age and that is an important aspect of their characters in the films. The characters were very good friends in the original series, but in the movies they have become like family who will throw everything away for each other. This is why I can even enjoy a very flawed film like The Final Frontier which has some of the very best character moments of the films.
The final film ends with the TOS crew being instrumental in bringing peace with the Klingons and Federation. The Klingons were probably the most used "villains" of TOS so it seems like a fitting last mission that really ties everything together and was a nice pathway into TNG.
And sorry for all the Trek posts lately. I think it will likely continue. A lost of the anime I am watching is underwhelming me or even pissing me off right now (except Chihayafuru which is still amazing) so I guess I am a bit more focused on this now.