Is J.J. Abrams Star Trek the Version Roddenberry Would Have Done on TV?
It was inevitable that we’d eventually see Captain Kirk in more graphic fights, presenting more graphic details of his womanizing and using language you wouldn’t expect to be used in the Starfleet Academy. No, this isn’t a projected dream from William Shatner while napping on the set of “Boston Legal” or while filming a Priceline ad. It’s a fresh new look at one of the most famous Sci-Fi captains in Sci-Fi history through the filter of modern-day film that allows much more in the popular summer movie fare each year. And it’s not just the vices of Captain Kirk that we’re getting privy to in J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek” opening on May 8 this year. We’ll also see the rougher-edged, youthful sides of all the first “Trek” characters most of us have seen in various pop culture incarnations for close to 45 years now. Just about all those incarnations have been consistently conservative. Of course, this gives rise to what original “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry may have had in mind from
