My Anticipation

As I posted a little earlier, I'm a big Star Trek fan. So when it was announced that a new Trek movie was in production with JJ Abrams in charge, I damn near had a Klingon kitten. So I watched the teaser trailer and felt indifferent. Abrams has already talked about approaching this as a reboot of the franchise and the theme of the trailer illustrates that. But, I circled Christmas day on my calender as the theatrical release date and began the countdown.

However, I find out yesterday that the release has been pushed back to May of 2009. Initially upset (I'll have to white out my calender) I then did some investigating. I find out that Paramount pushed the release back to make it a summer blockbuster contender and avoid holiday competition. My gut reaction was "what kind of BS is this?" What kind of holiday competition is a Trek movie concerned about? And the fact this is supposed to be a blockbuster contender? This just rubs me the wrong way. I feel like the movie is being marketed as a money maker, and not a true addition to the franchise.

I'm anticipating the movie, but the more I find out about it, the more apprehensive I get.

My Review (of The Good That Men Do)

I'm a big Star Trek fan. Not the costume wearing, convention going, Klingon speaking fan--but the other kind of big fan. My favorite, out of all the series, was Star Trek Enterprise, taking place 100 years prior to Captain Kirk. It lasted for four short seasons (arguably the first two being the best) and had a horrible series finale. The Good That Men Do is an attempt to appease Enterprise fans by rewriting a bit of canon to give a more fitting end to the series and my favorite character, that of Trip Tucker. I picked up the book first without knowing a thing about it--really by just looking at it's cover. I think the cover art is fantastic and that the title embodies what Star Trek is all about, the goodness of man, the self sacrifice, and heroism.

First of all, you have to understand the book is written for a Star Trek fan, with lots of technical jargon and references to the overall Enterprise story line. However, there is still a lot of exposition concerning events of the fourth season of Enterprise that lead directly up to the book. Often times, these passages read more like an episode synopsis than a fluid narrative and it can be quite annoying. Some of the analogies made throughout the book are a bit too Trekish as well.

For fans of the show, the story does not disappoint. It's right up there with most of the other over-the-top Trek story lines, specifically reminding me of Unification from TNG. The Good is an enjoyable read if all you're looking for is something entertaining. There is nothing cerebral here and most of the time, if you put too much thought into the story, you start to find holes--not plot holes but story holes that just don't always add up.

My biggest complaint about the book is that the ending does nothing to tie up the Enterprise franchise. It instead opens a door to the possibility of another franchise with the character of Trip Tucker as the star. Star Trek is plagued by so many literary franchises anyways that this isn't really the best of ideas. I got the feeling after reading the final chapter that I was being set up for a sequel, just like watching a bad movie.

As a Trek fan though, I couldn't have asked for more from the story. It was exactly what I was looking for; a more heroic fate for my favorite character.