Star Trek VII and VIII

So although I didn't really feel compelled to see the first two Star Trek films in the series (as they belonged to the cast of The Next Generation), Evan had them both on VHS (yes, VHS), and especially considering that VII has a few of the original series' cast members in it and VIII was supposed to be fairly good, I figured I might as well check them out. Unfortunately, the only good thing that came from this viewing was a deep appreciation for how relatively cool and un-nerdy the original series cast was.

Listen, I grew up watching TNG like many kids my age, and I loved it then, but I've since come to realize how utterly nerd-infested everything after the original series and its six films really are. I mean, as it turns out, most of the die-hard fans of the original series (especially when it was airing in the 60's) were hippies who were getting a trip off the show, not socially-retarded nerd fanboys. In fact, I would be surprised if many of the fans from the original show even liked being associated with the current trekkie crowd.

So, the two movies were pretty shitty (even the even-numbered one). I mean, try as they might with Hollywood-style budgets, both of them somehow managed to feel like glorified extended episodes or specials instead of true films. And look, as much as I might complain about some of the first six Star Trek films, NONE of them felt like glorified TV episodes. Ultimately, I think I would attribute the great difference in nerdom between the two series' films to how long the shows were allowed to garner a true following. When it comes down to it, the original series wasn't all that well-liked when it was actually airing (i.e. not on reruns) and as such only lasted for three seasons (and barely, at that). Compare this to TNG's seven season run and numerous (and very similar) spin-offs, and you've got a show and cast doomed to only being a decent TV show, not a film (much less four of them!).

So, I now feel very confident saying I'm a big fan of the original series' cast, so much so that I'm thinking of trying to pick up the entire three season DVD collection. Shatner and crew might not have been amazing actors, but at least they didn't let their work digress into something only slightly better than Babylon 5 or Stargate: Atlantis. Ugh... And no, I'm not going to watch the remaining two TNG films. Supposedly they're even worse than VII and VIII!