Why Star Trek Beyond Should Actually Be the Blueprint for New Trek

[@rmsgrey]

My immediate takeaway the first time I watched Beyond is that they finally managed to make Chris Pine's Kirk feel like someone who actually belonged in the captain's chair rather than a cocky cadet who got chosen to represent the entire Federation because Star Fleet is run by actual lunatics.

[@jlighter1]

The Abrams-Trek movies really came into their own over time. I think each successive one was better because they got more comfortable in the roles and in not just playing as many callback hits as possible. _Beyond_ was the culmination of that

[@ProdCritic]

I genuinely loved Beyond when it came out. I’m also surprised nobody has asked Simon Pegg to write his own Trek show.

[@loftus4453]

I wonder if Pegg would do that if given the opportunity. I’d love the final product I’m sure. He understood why TOS worked in the first place and absolutely nailed the character interactions in Star Trek Beyond. Pegg for show runner!

[@dnotive]

Simon Pegg is the real unsung hero of this movie IMHO, with secondary props to Justin Lin for recognizing that the script was a bit limp and trusting Pegg to rework it. I remember hearing something about Simon Pegg just camping out on Memory Alpha for a weekend to make sure he had all of the Star Trek chronology correct.

[@domoarigato3000]

He was attached to write a galaxy quest tv show a few years ago. No idea what happened with that.

[@mrdadelus]

He’s busy but yeah- I hear yah.

[@JonDoyle-h9l]

@@domoarigato3000 That would have been cool.

[@DarthCalculus]

Just occurred to me, (Kelvin) Spock is looking at a memorial of his prime self, while Kirk is the same age as the father he's mourning. Both are face to face with a "what could have been" mortality angst

[@sapphicdisaster8390]

That Avasarala easter egg of yours was just perfect

[@Platypi007]

Agreed!

[@CortexNewsService]

I scared my cat with how loud I laughed at that.

[@julias5980]

We'd goddamn like some Expanse content!

[@HolgerNestmann]

It clicked for me like 3 minutes afterwards. Just great

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

What I like about the Yorktown is that not only it is a "neutral grounds for diplomacy" (not a planet that might be disputed), it is also a flex to the federations new friends and a deterrence for its potential enemies. A flex being a marketing plot for independent nations to join the alliance by seeing what it can offer and a deterrence because if they can "waste" resource this massive of a scale, how much more if its the weapons they gonna throw at you if your hostile.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Much like the early US space program in our own history, which is one of the things that inspired Star Trek.

[@DoctorMysterio15]

​@@MattMcIrvinDon't you love when things come full circle?

[@Christopher_Vose]

I always thought it was suspension of disbelief shattering. That thing would take centuries if not longer to build. It was bigger than a planet.

[@GreekRoyalty]

The Yorktown introduction scene was genuinely the first "WOWWWWW" moment I had watching a Star Trek movie in the theater. Ever. The music and the visuals truly awed me in a grand, cinematic sense that seeing no other Trek in the theater did, of course, I'm not old enough to have remembered seeing a Trek movie debut in the theater since probably Undiscovered Country. Yorktown truly felt technologically fantastical in a visual sense that Trek really sometimes lacks in their theatrical releases. V'Ger and the Enterprise's self destruction would be my other "Wow" moments had I been old enough.

[@GreekRoyalty]

@@Christopher_Vose I like to think it wasn't built all at once, but was planned to be built in phases, designed to be expanded upon from the beginning, so as the Federation grew, so too would the station

[@firefly4f4]

Quinto and Urban absolutely nail their roles as younger versions of their respective classic characters. I always thought they were good in the roles, but they're amazing in this, getting the friendly antagonism between the two perfect.

[@zenmastermtl]

Karl Urban is one of the most underrated actors of our time. He has been consistently good in everything I've even seen him in.

[@bernardlyons2422]

This might be heretical, but i love Quinto’s interpretation of Spock.

[@TheDoctorD100]

@@zenmastermtl From Dredd, Lord of the Rings, Xena, fighting Bruce Willis in RED and killing the Rock in Doom, the guy is totally awesome

[@firefly4f4]

​@@zenmastermtl Urban's Dredd deserved far better than it got. That was fantastic.

[@snakebitcat]

Urban and Quinto had even better chemistry than Saldano and Quinto did, and they captured the spirit of Kelley and Nimoy bickering in TOS beautifully.

[@MartinPittBradley]

I suspect the disappointment of Khan hurt Beyond, but Beyond did have yet another, tired, revenge-obsessed villain. They need to get out of that rut.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@TheLAGopher Same. I really disliked Beyond when it came out, but I came around a few years later. It stands proudly as one of the best Star Trek films ever.

[@olencone4005]

The marketing for it before release was REALLY bad... I wound up skipping it in the theater and waiting for it to hit streaming, because the ads just made it look like some kind of ridiculous Mad Max knockoff :(

[@philopharynx7910]

All three Kelvin timeline movies are retellings of TWoK. 1) Bad guy is pissed at the Federation. They have lost people close to them and there is a real argument that the Federation bears some responsibility for this. 2) The bad guy acquires some exotic weapon that is not easily countered. 3) The Enterprise is the only group available to oppose the bad guy. 4) The heroes win, but they lose something important to them (at least temporarily).

[@ikaruseijin01]

The fact they cast Benadryl Cummerbund as Khan instead of the dozens of really good Indian actors... or at least cast someone who could pass as Indian given Khan was... you know... Indian... was enough to convince me it would be absolute garbage so that's the point most of my Trek friends and I washed our hands of Abrams and anything he did. So I never saw Beyond and never will since I won't reward the studios for employing bad actors/directors/producers. Trust me, nobody was more disappointed than myself. Someone mentioning his involvement in Star Wars as a reason why we hate his work?... I mean come on nobody who is a fan of Trek gives a crap if a director did other science fiction work outside of the Trek universe. We hate Abrams because he's a terrible director. He's screwed up the Star Wars movies too. The man should be banned from doing more work especially established franchises since everything he touches turns to garbage. If he wants to ruin stand alone stuff, let him, but keep him away from cherished series.

[@carlyletoussaint1406]

Maybe Pegg was saying what Into Darkness should have been.

[@euansmith3699]

Karl Urban doesn't need a story line to explain his inclusion in a film. 🤩👍The guy is just a rock solid star. Him being in the cast elevates the production. #restinpeaceSkurge

[@MattMcIrvin]

Cupid!

[@irregularassassin6380]

I love Karl Urban. He's one of my favourite actors right now. Every role I've seen him in is just pure gold, and he's so versatile. I always forget that he played Éomer in LotR too. Is there nothing the man can't do?

[@thomasbarca9297]

I hope Karl Urban actually joins SNW as Bones

[@juanrisa945]

No but he wanted one. Or at least do more than just complain about everything.

[@irregularassassin6380]

One important thing to note here is that the designer of the USS Franklin claims to have *never* seen the NX-01 Enterprise. He said he was tasked with designing a Starfleet ship that looked "hundreds of years older" than the USS Enterprise. If we take him at his word, the Franklin looking so close to the NX-01 is an example of convergent design evolution and _not_ an example of fan service. I think that's really cool! It was also originally supposed to have its nacelles on pylons below the ship, but they were moved to be above the ship to facilitate the cliff-diving scene.

[@darwoodtechnology]

The Section 31 film and the entire "dark and edgy" trend the writers try often makes me think none of them really understand Gene's vision behind Star Trek. To them, it is all just space battles and war rather than someone trying to think, discuss, or argue their way out of a problem. Also, the thing that really irked me the most about Into Darkness was JJ Abrams repeatedly saying "It's not Khan. It's a totally new character." Then the twist is so poorly hidden with a hamfist reveal that made me hate paying money to see the film in a theater. That moment was something Abrams clearly envisioned would send the people in the theater going nuts with shock and amazement, but instead you could hear audible sighs of exasperation from people certainly also rolling their eyes during my screening.

[@krazyglue60]

I really liked how they made Jaylah a completely new alien but didn’t try to explain her whole race’s history. It’s just accepted that she is who she is. They go to great lengths to even accept that she doesn’t “get” how names and titles work, and they don’t waste a lot of time trying to explain it. They see it as just another difference that doesn’t really matter in the big scheme of things. It’s not that important. What IS important is being able to work together, and they focus on that instead. It was just so refreshing and I loved it.

[@MarcMcKenzie-qb6or]

I loved her so much--then again, I also thought that Sofia Boutella just nailed it as Jaylah. One of the best "new" STAR TREK characters.

[@kaitlyn__L]

That's a great point. It doesn't stand out on its own, but yeah, if we'd had a "you see, my people don't use names" line THAT would've been a real sore-thumb situation.

[@terprubin]

I've gotten so used to Ethan Peck as Spock that seeing Zachary Quinto in the role again made me do a double-take. I think I need to go rewatch the Kelvin movies.

[@MarcMcKenzie-qb6or]

The two of them did a talk a couple of years ago--there might be clips of it on KZbin. Both of them are fantastic as a younger Spock.

[@francoislacombe9071]

A crewman that sneezes acid when they have a cold sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. 😬

[@devifoxe]

I don't know, It sound same level of bad with sneezing bio weapons...

[@agent_meister477]

Just ask Ellen Ripley.

[@aldrinmilespartosa1578]

@@devifoxe which is bad too

[@irregularassassin6380]

Never let it be forgotten that Bolian poop is so acidic it can cause plumbing problems.

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

They should probably wear a mask.

[@nergregga]

I love the exchange between McCoy and Spock about the pendant Spock gave to Uhura. "You gave your girllfriend radioactive jewelery?"

[@jordansean18]

Lol I always read that as "you put a tracking device on your girlfriend??" 😅

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@jordansean18 I read it as both - "You gave your girlfriend a radioactive tracking device?" 🤨

[@MavenCree]

"You gave your girlfriend a tracking device." The pause after... 😂 Even Jayla gives him the side-eye. 🤣

[@ComradePhoenix]

@@jordansean18 I always figured the tracking device thing was unintentional when he gave it to her.

[@bernardlyons2422]

“That was not my intention.” …after one of the best pauses in Trek

[@ChristopherMB87]

I was waiting for an Avasarala reference, and I was not disappointed. If I still wore hats, it would be off to you, sir.

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

Starbase Yorktown does look like a giant snowglobe in space. I wonder what Tommy Westphall would imagine while he stared at THAT.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

I love how they imply that cancer just isn't a thing anymore since Spock gave Uhura a radioactive necklace and the biggest concern is that it's a tracking device. Breast cancer? Skin cancer? Meh. Bones can take care of that on his lunch break.

[@ajkandy]

Lots of things are _mildly_ radioactive - bismuth, for example, the key ingredient in Pepto-Bismol. And bananas. Not enough to cause harm, though!

[@GSBarlev]

@@ajkandy Bingo. In my undergrad physics labs, we did experiments with radioactive button sources (the kind they sew into you to treat cancer) as well as as a friggin' neutron source. In the intro to the lab, we were all advised to be super careful, because we were dealing with really dangerous materials-the *lead bricks* we'd be using for shielding and that, if we got on our hands and then rubbed our faces, could seriously poison us.

[@gustavgnoettgen]

​@@ajkandy I guess her pendant is not just mildly radioactive if they can use it to track her. But that's just a theory...

[@mr.radovic702]

@@gustavgnoettgen a FILM THEORY!!!! THANKS FOR WATCHING

[@johnpotts8308]

@@gustavgnoettgen In "The Voyage Home", IIRC Bones gives somebody a pill to cure their cancer. So it's about as serious as deliberately giving somebody a cold.

[@rett_nord]

i guess the lesson here is that every good genre movie/show needs Shohreh Agdashloo to star in it.

[@1monki]

The visuals are great, not only because they look "cool;" they capture what makes Trek unique. Yorktown is the best visual statement of the United Federation of Planets, making it a great statement of the franchise's themes. The Enterprise exploring its way through the nebula is an update of the Enterprise trying to leave the galaxy in the episode "Where no man has gone before." Keenser sneezing acid shows the usefulness of Starfleet's diversity. I'm still waiting for a Lt. Gasous Cloud Entity to appear on the crew. Getting closer...

[@Orlando_from_The_Bronx]

The crewmember with the crab legged head was an homage to HR Giger. Her name was Ensign Syl, which while not using the same spelling (Sil), is the name of the female monster from Species, which HR Giger helped design; it looks nothing like Ensign Syl, though.

[@ZJBorg]

The biggest thing that hurt this movie was the initial marketing. The first trailer I think scared some original Trek fans into thinking it was a “Fast and Furious” type film (since that’s a film the director was known for) and if you weren’t a Trek fan it didn’t really stand out. Then toward the release of the film they released advertising that spoiled the Kral is actually a former Starfleet officer twist! WTF? I mostly agree, this film was my favorite honestly of the three Kelvin films for its originality and it’s one of my favorite of any Trek films. It does feel like an original Trek episode and, honestly, I wished they could have had a series walking out of the theater. I think an underrated part of this was finally nailing McCoy’s dynamic within the crew and with Spock and finally really utilized Karl Urban. He and Quinto’s chemistry felt as close to Nimoy-Kelley as we can ever get. And the callbacks/easter eggs in there made sense within the plot. It seemed as though they already acknowledged that certain adventures that had happened in the prime timeline had also happened in some form in the Kelvin timeline but didn’t go crazy with exposition. I believe Kirk’s log entry and point in which the movie occurs signifies the exact point at which TOS had stopped. That right there is something current creators would have lost their mind at in terms of emphasizing IN THE STORY. Instead it was a subtle thing Simon Pegg baked in there and only revealed in doing press for the movie. Kinda wish he’d get more chances at creating Trek content. As an original Trek fan I’m always annoyed at how so many dismissed these movies as having no message and just being mindless action. This one in particular was pretty well crafted and definitely had some poignant themes.

[@georgefrankly]

that "everything I need to know I learned from Star Trek" shirt is crazy; I have the exact same print on a poster... that I got at a convention 30 years ago.

[@lisaboban]

"It doesn't get away with everything it tries." THAT is a brilliant way to summarize "Into Darkness". As someone who watched TOS in its original run (Yes, I am old), I really liked the reboot. I rewatch them regularly. "Beyond" is a great model for Trek moving forward. Too bad they won't follow your advice. Sigh...time to rewatch!

[@josephglatz25]

Honestly, I hate Star base Yorktown so much. I think it's design is really really stupid. It's just not space efficient, and for something that's supposed to service tons and tons of starships and build new ones if need be, having such a tiny chunk of its internal volume to its actual space dock just doesn't make any sense. If being a great big space habitat is the point, then again I ask, why is it mostly empty space? I hate the fact they just wanted it to look cool and paid no attention to the design's functionality. And one more pet peeve: most of the city sections of Star base Yorktown were filmed in Dubai, which gives me the feeling that the real driving factors behind the design of Yorktown was that the producers, directors, and crew management really wanted to have a vacation in Dubai. And while I'm at it, fuck Dubai. If there's a city that could be less like the future as shown in Star Trek, it's Dubai, run by a stupendously wealthy group of oil magnates, eager to grab as much Western investment money as it can get its hands on, and utterly dependent on a horribly underpaid working class with little to know legal protections. I hope in fifty years, Dubai will be a sand-eroded ruin in the desert.

[@GSBarlev]

Your points are all good ones, but from a Watsonian perspective (read: in universe), it's very much in keeping with the core tenets of Federation peacetime aesthetics that the architecture would be impractical and designed more _to awe and inspire_ than to actually deliver on any stated purpose. This is the philosophy that leads to the Galaxy Class having room for families and is *_precisely_* the sort of thing that Krall despises.

[@josephglatz25]

@@GSBarlev But the form of the Galaxy class makes sense, given its role. Its form reflects its function. Big ship with lots of space for stuff to hang out in deep space for a long time, with space for families because crew might not want to leave their families behind of 10 years at a time. Starbase Yorktown on the other hand, fails on every count. It isn't a practical design with added grandeur, its a confused mess designed by some concept artists who don't care about world-building. Its design quirks exist more to serve the final action scene than any other reason. It feels inorganic to the universe it exists in. Artificial, created as an action set piece and nothing more. Honestly, Yorktown and other niggling details of Star Trek Beyond have really kept me from fully being able to like it as a film. It's leagues ahead of the raging dumpster fire of Star Trek Into Darkness (sorry Steve, but I can think of few movies I enjoyed less than that heap of shit), but thanks to a lot of little factors and a few things I can't quite put my finger on, I just don't enjoy it.

[@misterrea861]

spoiler alert: the writers are morons

[@massmike11]

The Yorktown station is just a symptom of “make it bigger it will be cool” it’s just stupid.

[@danielland3767]

Okay one more thing, what I loved about Trek 09 is that it did what every show in Trek (minus LD) does, show you the best of Starfleet and how against all odds you see the best. Trek 09 showed me how talented and down right brillant the Flagship crew of the fleet is and it shows, Uhura get field promoted to bridge coms officer when the main one cannot do what the required yask is and the battlefield promotions stick. I loved that Kelvin showed me how badass the TOS crew was in the Prime Timeline and i love it for that.

[@kenirainseeker539]

This movie was also after Nimoy died, and was released after Anton Yelchin died...RIP

[@jlworrad]

Yorktown definitely hints at Simon Pegg’s love of Iain Banks’ Culture novels.

[@alanpennie]

Ah! A touch of Look to Windward. Of course The Culture owed a considerable debt to Star Trek.

[@jlworrad]

@@alanpennie Absolutely! It’s lovely to see such a feedback loop of imagination.

[@hettfield]

My only complaint really is that they do the revenge-villain plot AGAIN. There seem to be no other kind of villains in Star Trek movies.

[@alanpennie]

Tbf it's always been a winning formula.

[@OscarFowler]

Well, if you go back to ST1, you have a curious robot, ST4 you have species extinction, and in ST5 you have camping

[@unsolicited577]

@@TheLAGopherThe Doomsday Machine!

[@rafaelvargas3259]

@@unsolicited577 Or the aliens from the Andromeda galaxy turning people into cubes. Or something with the First Federation. Or Tholians. Or the planet from Piece of the Action. They surely back-engineered Federation technology by now!!

[@jdavidc13]

I really agree with everything said in this video. I love Star Trek Beyond, and I’ll never forget my amazement when I saw Yorktown Base. It’s literally a shining city in space with all races living together, the embodiment of Starfleet and the Federation. I remember I leaned over and said, “Gene Roddenberry would have loved this!” to the person with me. I also love Kirk’s arc, that he realizes he was born to save people, and that keeps him on the Enterprise. Captain Edison sadly had gotten lost. Great movie.

[@SweetSweetCandyBoyz]

I think the key 'Star Trek: Enterprise' nostalgia reference came down to one simple detail, he introduces himself in his log as a former M.A.K.O - which if you had never seen 'Star Trek: Enterprise', you probably wouldn't have known the significance of that, nor even have noticed it, as it simultaneously conveys that he was a soldier with no more wars to fight, therefore adding the detail that he was a former 'M.A.K.O' is irrelevant, except for fans to go, "ENTERPRISE! THAT'S A STAR TREK ENTERPRISE REFERENCE!"

[@robotti84]

M.A.C.O. as Military Assault Command Operations. So not M.A.K.O

[@SweetSweetCandyBoyz]

@@robotti84 I was hoping someone would correct me

[@francoislacombe9071]

I wonder if these three years of the new five year mission saw Kirk handling the planet killer, Nomad, the big ameoba, the Kelvans, and all those threats to the Galaxy Kirk in the Prime timeline had to deal with.🤔

[@danialwilker]

idk, the missions take place a few years apart from each other, so a lot would be different just from the difference in time, let alone the historical changes that might affect exploration, e.g. the slightly more advanced tech

[@tkayube]

I think there are some comic books that deal with that.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@danialwilker That's a good point. In theory, there's been nothing to disrupt the planet killer, Nomad, the big ameoba, the Kelvans, or other enemies like the neural parasites from "Operation Annihilate!" on their very long treks through the stars. This may even mean that Sam Kirk is still alive (unless he's dead from something else in the Kelvin Timeline canon)!

[@Xenaboy-vt3hi]

Honestly, I feel that most of the more thoughtful television episodes would never have happened in this timeline because everything that happened would be a big action movie.

[@olencone4005]

They reference Mudd in the 2nd movie, so it's at least a partial overlap... since Khan didn't have a full Space Seed intro, they would seem to happen in slightly different ways.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

I'm gonna miss Lower Decks. Yeah, it's silly and has some fan servicy stuff but it has a lot of heart. It didn't deserve to end. I say that as someone who's been a Trek fan for over 40 years. I'm just glad Strange New Worlds is still going. I miss 26 episode seasons, though.

[@TheDiabeticGameMaster]

I haven't been keeping up with the newer stuff but I've been seeing this awful trend with newer shows where they only get 8 episodes. Plz tell me.they are at least giving Trek 12 per season?

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@TheDiabeticGameMaster Just looked it up. Both Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks have gotten ten episodes per season. They've been, by and large, ten decent episodes too. Both shows have some absolute stinkers, but they also have some gold. I will _never_ forgive making the Klingons sing rap in the musical episode instead of opera, though. That's a crime against ... well against the universe as far as I'm concerned!

[@filthycasual8187]

@@irregularassassin6380 Nobody wants to listen to opera, unfortunately.

[@VictoriaKimball]

​@@irregularassassin6380... The Klingons sang in the KPop style, not Rap; and the fact that it's a "crime" is the whole, wonderful point!

[@mateoconk]

@@irregularassassin6380 We deserved to get some Klingon opera.

[@MarcMcKenzie-qb6or]

I admit that I choked up when I saw the dedications to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin at the end of the film.

[@bjiornbjiorn]

I think that Star Trek will always have to deal with an element of legacy. It's just been on for so long that its created its own mythology that people can't help but reference. I do like the idea of an episodic series based on the G, with Seven, Raffi, Sydney, Jack, etc which follows on from the end of picard. However, I do think we need a completely unrelated series to counterbalance something like that. Personally, my preference would be for a modern voyager: an entirely new cast, a new ship with a new registry, new villains, and set far away from any "Legacy Series". I'm not suggesting that you need to go as far as voyager did but even just setting the show on the opposite side of federation space should be enough. I also think it would be fun for the show to be based on a ship that is one of many rather than "the federation flagship", etc.

[@MarcSGA]

Literally laughed out loud at the little The Expanse reference

[@jeffmckinnon5842]

I thought the first "Kelvin" time line movie was the best of the three. The ship was awesome, and modern. The story itself unfolded to be the most valuable event for the future of the Star Trek franchise, as a whole new 5 year mission could now begin again. The audience, and the crew of the Enterprise, are both aware that the timeline has been lived, at least, once before. That is a lot to work with, moving forward.

[@filthycasual8187]

And it also reintroduced classic characters for a new generation of fans who'd never watch the original stuff because of 1960s set designs, effects, and camera quality. As a fan of a LOT of classic television including TOS, that pains me to no end.

[@louisbrantmeyer8786]

Voyager was NOT rotten. Them’s fight in’ words son! I grew up on that show. Why do you think that lol?

[@irregularassassin6380]

Steve Shives has a long history of detesting Voyager. It's his least favourite Trek by far. While he plays it up a bit, and jokingly claims we should dislike it too, he also understands that people do like it, and he does like some episodes from it.

[@rightsarentpolitical]

I both adore it and recognize that there were definitely some "wth" moments, so I completely understand both perspectives lol And there is definitely room for both. There are parts of DS9 I really enjoy and also some "wth" moments, along with Original Series where it's "Kirk, honey, your entire crew is miniaturized in a ship that is literally in the room you are trying to seduce this woman in and telling her that she matters more than your entire ship. Can you just PLEASE keep it in your goddamn pants until you can get them free and just ask her to go with you or something?"

[@allanolley4874]

@@irregularassassin6380 He doesn't really "detest" Voyager he more thinks it is "meh" (mediocrity is in its own way a harsh judgement) and is a bit disappointed in its squandered potential. For the bit though he definitely plays at hating Voyager as in this video. Also he clearly dislikes and evaluates as bad Picard way more than Voyager. I'm pretty sure he dislikes and finds fault with Lower Decks far more than any problems he has with Voyager.

[@ThatSlowTypingGuy]

As I've said since it came out: Star Trek Beyond is one of the best Stargate SG1 movies made yet.

[@russellhowson9565]

That Paris/Avasarala joke is perfect 👌🏾

[@stevewithaq]

I'd say the "Sabotage" sequence is another, sort of orthogonal, form of fanservice - it's very much a nod to the modern music/action sequences in the Cornetto trilogy - one of the few times current music is used in a Star Trek property. Not sure how you'd rank it in gratuitousness - it's clearly included for fans of that series, but also pretty well justified in terms of the plot - even if it was somewhat telegraphed...

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

I think that Sulu's husband might be a bit of fanservice as well, since we're all very familiar with George Takei's gay rights activism. I know that he wasn't thrilled to have his personal life spill over into how the character was written, but I liked seeing Sulu with a husband and child. Giving him a family was just a bit of extra substance for the character, and making him gay is both a tribute to Takei's influence, whether he wants it or not, and a sign that LGBTQ people are commonly accepted in the world of Star Trek, as things should be in a series that celebrates diversity.

[@irregularassassin6380]

It's also a callback to the 2009 Star Trek film. Kirk is listening to the Beastie Boys while driving the car he stole from ... I think his brother. That film established that Kelvin Timeline Kirk likes the Beastie Boys, which is why he says "good choice" when Jaylah chooses "Sabotage." He likes those beats and shouting. It's also cool because the Beastie Boys, apparently, reference Spock in one or two songs! This means, if their whole discography is canon, that there's a cyclical reference to Spock in canon.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@thing_under_the_stairs That was definitely fanservice, and I thought it was unfortunate that Mr. Takei didn't approve. I understand why he didn't, but I also liked it's inclusion. My personal interpretation is that Sulu is bi or pan. That makes both portrayals of the character work. We have our representation and eat it too. edit: That mixed metaphor really didn't work as well as it did in my head ... lol.

[@philopharynx7910]

Star Trek Beyond is, like all other Kelvin timeline movies, a retelling of The Wrath of Khan. It does it very well, and is my favorite of them. But all of them follow the same story beats for the A plot. 1) Bad guy is pissed at the Federation. They have lost people close to them and there is a real argument that the Federation bears some responsibility for this. 2) The bad guy acquires some exotic weapon that is not easily countered. 3) The Enterprise is the only group available to oppose the bad guy. 4) The heroes win, but they lose something important to them (at least temporarily). TWoK and all three Kelvin timeline movies do this. Into Darkness even doubled up on several steps. You are right that focusing on the character stories and development is key. Like you I don't think fan service should be a major plot point. But I don't mind if it's a background element. Just for the love of Sha Ka Ree, get a new outline to work from!

[@StormsparkPegasus]

I like Strange New Worlds and Prodigy. I liked Discovery during the first two seasons, but nothing after that. They obviously had no idea what they wanted Discovery to be. The main issue I have is, I don't like the 32nd century setting. I dislike pretty much everything about that setting. Which pretty much automatically makes me uninterested in the Starfleet Command thing too. It just looks like nearly zero thought was put into the 32nd century, and Discovery was pretty much throwing spaghetti at the wall for the last 3 seasons. Beyond was my favorite Kelvinverse movie. I wanted to see where they would go next but I don't think it's going anywhere at this point.

[@irregularassassin6380]

It drives me nuts that no one uses stairs in the 32nd century!! They just transport everywhere! How are they not all 300 lbs!

[@rafaelvargas3259]

⁠@@irregularassassin6380 Makes me wonder why they aren’t all 300lbs plus like the crew and passengers of the starliner in Wall-e.

[@jmarquiso]

The only thing I'm not a fan of in this film is actualy the reveal of Krull. Not that ihe's from pre-Federation Earth, that part I love. But the awkwardness of a last minute reveal as an unnecessary plot twist. The launch of the Franklin should have been the prologue. Those not familiar with Star Trek: Enterprise should have an introduction to Pre-Federation Earth. It should be obvious that Krull and Idris Elba are the same person. It should be Heart of Darkness. That would allow some more suspense and the reveal is more meaningful than "he's this guy in this old footage. Same guy. This is before we embraced IDIC and what the Yorktown represents..."

[@JonSonOfJoe]

The only gripe I have about strange new worlds is that they killed my favorite character. I will miss Hemmer, gone too soon.

[@christopherscholl639]

I appreciate your critiques of writing and story development.

[@rolandsmash]

My main problem with Beyond is that for the third Kelvin movie in a row, you had a villain who had somehow been removed from his own time period (black hole, cryosleep, alien longevity, whatever) and had a very specific grudge against the Federation and/or crew of the Enterprise that he wanted to catastrophically settle. There are other kinds of stories to tell within the Trek universe than this one over and over!

[@newdawnalex]

That inflection at 16:26 is utterly awesome. Yeah I think I would have given up the Captain's chair.

[@GSBarlev]

Justin Lin is the 🐐 when it comes to identifying the beating heart of a franchise. See: _Tokyo Drift_ And speaking of GOATs: I always forget that -Chrisjen Avasarala- Shohreh Aghdashloo is in this film, which means I'm surprised and delighted every time she appears on the screen.

[@TheWeatherbuff]

Personal Log: Honestly, I enjoyed the "Star Trek Beyond" film. Excellent balance of humor, action and character interaction. The pairing of Spock and McCoy, Uhura and Sulu, and Scotty, Kirk and Chekov was quite brilliant. Jaylah is delightful. The actors nailed everything. I have sent a subspace message to Paramount and the potential producers and directors with my thoughts and requests. Awaiting response.

[@rickosheh848]

Astronomer, geographer and son of a builder here. So: thank you for appreciating Yorktown station. I love it.

[@jordansean18]

As a lifelong trek fan, I absolutely loved the Kelvin movies. No amount of peer pressure will convince me otherwise.

[@alasdairgardiner2313]

I totally agree with you.

[@MarcMcKenzie-qb6or]

Agreed.

[@thecynicaloptimist1884]

One thing I loved about Yorktown was how different it was. It wasn't just another mushroom-style station in space like the Starbases of old we got in the TOS movies and throughout the TNG era. It was really something different and unique.

[@cjc363636]

Excellent points all, Mr. Shives!! And I'm gonna re-watch Beyond soon. Thanks for reminding me of it!!!

[@snakebitcat]

When I was a kid, and TOS reruns were the only Trek we had, I would feel a sense of wonder and joy as I watched the adventures that Kirk's Enterprise got up to. Watching Beyond makes me feel the same way.

[@shinyagumon7015]

I really love the Yorktown aswell, I know some people think it's too technically advanced for the era, but it's both an alternative Universe and not a 60s tv show that had no budget.😅 Also I miss Anton Yelsin😢

[@GSBarlev]

Any criticisms about being "too technically advanced" missed the premise of the Kelvin timeline-the Narada going back in time leveled up *_everything and everyone,_* either directly (from sensor data or the Klingons actually getting plenty of time to take it apart) or by lighting a fire under people's butts (see: _Into Darkness)._ For some specific examples: the Federation fleet makes it from Earth to Vulcan in *seconds,* and _Into Darkness_ has *transwarp torpedoes.*

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

@@GSBarlev Exactly! It makes sense to me that if they had access to technology from the future of course they're gonna take advantage of that and beef themselves up.

[@billmcdonough3950]

You missed the big 'fan-service' / nostalgia-bait of the movie, Steve... 'Ok, this is the third movie, we gotta destroy the Enterprise'. The whole story is built around that nostalgia-bait idea.Don't get me wrong, I think _Beyond_ is far and away the best of the Kelvin-timeline movies, but if we're raging against the constant callbacks, 'The Enterprise gets destroyed and this whole big, experienced crew inexplicably sits around for the months it takes to build a starship instead of getting reassigned the way they actually would' is a huge one, both to Star Trek 3 & 4 (destruction and Ent-A) and Generations / First Contact (the crew isn't given new postings so their unique and valuable experience can benefit a dozen or more other ships, they all just sit around waiting for the new Enterprise to be built).

[@irregularassassin6380]

Perhaps they were put on temporary assignments with the understanding that they would be called back to serve on the Enterprise A?

[@bernardlyons2422]

You could put them into a rest & retraining cycle for 6 months while the next starship is nearing completion on the production line. It can be christened Enterprise when the previous one is destroyed. But your point is correct, you can’t have a crew sitting around for 3-5 years. (For context, CVN-65 took 3 years to build, CVN-80 will probably take 11.)

[@filthycasual8187]

I think Enterprise-A was an already-existing starship that got rechristened after the 1701's destruction. In the original timeline, that is.

[@shamelessnjc]

There’s nothing in the TNG canon saying the weren’t reassigned after Generations, (for example Worf was reassigned to DS9) but the Captain does get to choose his senior officers which is why they would’ve been able to return to the E when she was ready. As for the Enterprise A , I believe she was actually another ship that was under refit, and was renamed Enterprise just for Kirk and his crew, (it never made sense to me that they would’ve built a new Constitution class ship just to retire it 3 years later).

[@madbradfreeman]

You make a compelling case. I'm going to have to dig the DVD out from under the couch and have another look. Thanks for the housework, Steve.

[@lorcannagle]

i liked the beats and shouting

[@zigzackb2036]

I liked Into Darkness up until the Khan reveal. After that, it just went downhill until the end for me.

[@andreaguillade7120]

"Beyond" is a delight of a movie, the kind that leaves you wanting for more. I enjoyed "Into Darkness" but this third installment was the one that felt the most like Trek to me. I loved the more mature tone of the characters, especially Kirk, I loved Spock's conflict, and everyone else had their time to do important things, not just filler. Simon Pegg is a treasure, both on screen and as a script writer. I also need to say that I love your content as a fan of ST TOS

[@Abravado]

08:20 now that was a cinema moment, well done guys. RIP Leonard Nimoy ❤

[@xileets]

7:57 - Read as Secretary-General Chrisjen Avasarala. Nice!

[@christopherdavis3424]

I remember really loving Star Trek Beyond when I first watched it, but I’ve honestly only watched it the one time. I think you’ve convinced me to watch it again here soon. Also, when they put “For Anton” in the credits, man that got me right in the feels.

[@rightsarentpolitical]

Oh man. Seeing him in those photos made me tear up. Poor kid. 😭

[@MasterHiramAbiff]

Hey Steve, love your stuff. I'm surprised you didn't mention the subtle tribute to Leonard Nemoy. Check the registry number of The Franklin. The number 326. That is Leonard Nemoy's birthday. March 26th

[@ajkandy]

The Franklin is also named after director Justin Lin’s father… Frank Lin

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@ajkandy Yep! That's why the kerning between the 'K' and 'L' on the Franklin's registry plaque is slightly wider than the other letters. (See 23:42 in the video for a clear shot of the plaque.) (Apologies if you knew that, but I wanted to mention it for other people who might not.)

[@chelmrtz]

It’s weird that Steve (accurately) cites rehashing plots and bringing back old characters as a problem yet excuses Into Darkness

[@TheRockinDonkey]

I wish Disney had used this approach with the sequel trilogy

[@no-oneyou-know1117]

Have we forgotten how much the prequel trilogy was hated by every Star Wars fan ever? And that was all Lucas. Star Wars has been bad for a long time

[@AncientWonder54]

Wait, what’s wrong with Voyager? I’m only on season 4, so if I’m missing something please don’t spoil it, but can you share some of your general gripes with it? 2:29

[@GSBarlev]

If you made it through the first three seasons, you have -a stronger stomach- have different tastes than me or Steve. I could list all my problems with _Voyager,_ but honestly, it has plenty of things to like-or even love-most notably that being a Janeway Stan puts you in the company of the incomparably awesome Ellie Littlechild.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Steve has done many videos about what he doesn't like about Voyager. I suggest you check them out, since that's easier than trying to explain it all.

[@donsample1002]

The fact that 90% of the episodes start with Janeway making an obviously stupid decision before the opening theme runs? Ensign Kim: Captain, there’s a strange glowing nebula in our path. Captain Janeway: Let’s fly through it!

[@alanpennie]

I think the main objection to it was that it was TNG with less interesting characters. But I wouldn't say it was bad. Its the epitome of *perfectly fine*.

[@thomasjoychild4962]

@@donsample1002 There was coffee in that nebula, as I recall... (in the form of something they could use to power the replicators, but still the line stands :P )

[@IanZainea1990]

21:39 Scotty and Jaylah are my favorite in this movie.

[@GSBarlev]

Jaylah should not have worked on paper. It's a credit to her actor (Sofia Boutella of _Rebel Mooon_ fame/infamy), Justin Lin's direction and her chemistry with Simon Pegg that, far from being the annoying or clichéd "friendly native," she was actually a badass character who fit into and enhanced the story.

[@agent_meister477]

Make my house fly James T...

[@IanZainea1990]

@@GSBarlev yep! A great performance can make a crap script gold for sure! Not saying this was a crap script. But it's the performance that makes or breaks it

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@GSBarlev You're right, she really shouldn't have worked so well. Boutella's performance was undoubtedly helped along by playing opposite the scriptwriter for most of her screentime too. I would imagine she and Pegg collaborated to avoid the pitfalls Jaylah's portrayal could easily fall into. Jaylah isn't my favourite character ever, but I like her, and she works!

[@JLBflix]

As I recall, that pendant Spock gave Uhura originally was his mother's. Which she got from his father. I could be misremembering that (it's been a while since I saw the Kelvin films), but if I'm right, then that joke gets even funnier when you think about that. Sarek gave Spock's mom a radioactive tracking device!

[@ChrisG404]

Beyond was by far my favorite new trek movie. It felt like the most true to trek movie of the three and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@RockyRailroadProductions_B0SS]

I also think that a new Star Trek show needs end credits of Sabotage sung in the style of William Shatner "I can't... Stand... It. I know YOU planned it." (The Sabotage Cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is one of the best examples of things the internet can do)

[@neto135791]

i really love ST: beyond. its the star trek that made me fall in love with the series. i was trully amazed with the USS Franklin takeoff scene.

[@ianzammit4224]

Thanks for the vid, nicely argued. Star Trek’s original opening monologue is the franchise’s essence, a perfect guideline for writers developing new stories for Trek: To boldly go where no-one has gone before.

[@MahraiZiller]

Kudos on the expanse reference. Spat out my coffee 🤣👍

[@thecynicaloptimist1884]

One little metaphorical detail I loved in _Beyond_ is that the entire movie is basically about challenging the Federation's _right_ to exist by using Kirk as a surrogate to explore what Starfleet is all about. The destruction of the _Enterprise,_ the flagship of the Federation, is in some ways a literal and metaphorical deconstruction of what the Federation represents. Kirk then has to rediscover the values and principles of the Federation through his interactions on Altamid, and after discovering his place (and thereby the Federation itself asserting why it has a right to exist), he's rewarded with the _Enterprise-A,_ - the Federation is reconstructed again.

[@toryunaminosaki1022]

My favorite thing about Into Darkness was the way they flipped the script with the classic "Khaaaaan!" moment...although saving Kirk with super blood was a bit much

[@DeadDancers]

…no no no no… only 7 years? That can’t be right. I feel like it was at least 15-20 between the last star trek and the reboot. Wow.

[@butters88871]

YES STEVE, YES! Beyond is the ONLY of the new Trek movies that I can say 'feels' like Trek. Although it is not perfect, it is the best we've been given (in the theatres).

[@deanthemachine8879]

But Steve, Lower Decks uses fanservice in a way that means something to the characters: the characters are fans of a tv show called Star Trek and they talk about it ALL the time 😊

[@Doug-lw5gf]

Heh! Those Old Scientists.

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

I think it also makes logical sense that people in the Star Trek universe would talk about their favourite Starfleet officers the way we do. Like, Of course, these people have heard tales of the various crews so of course they'd have a favourite. It's like us talking about our favourite celebs. Expect that the people in Trek have pretty high chances of interacting with their faves than we do as they're all colleagues (So in reality it's more like working with your favourite co-worker lmao)

[@Drekal684]

Meanwhile, on Doctor Who "Hey everyone, you like Pyramids of Mars? You do! We know you do! Here, have the villain from that coming back 49 years later! Come on, we know you want it. He's even voiced by the same now 90 year old actor, and his performance is as eerie as ever! Let all go watch Sutekh bring his gift of death to all mankind together, okay?"

[@luizeduardoortizduarte4380]

I love the way that strange new worlds deal with old (or future in their context) franchise villains, like Khan, they teased him, but they show him as a kid and add to his character, but he's not back, and most of the antagonists are new people with new stories. I hope they at least develop even more of sutekhs character in the next episode.

[@Christopher_Vose]

"Seen in the later seasons of Discovery", talk about an overstatement.

[@loftus4453]

I loved Star Trek Beyond. It had the humor and feel of TOS. I really enjoyed it. The reason I loved TOS as a kid in the 70’s was the relationships and humor of the main cast. It glued all the wonderful weirdness together into an addictive whole.

[@tommcmahon7022]

Excellent summary. The best of your presentations I've seen.

[@culturedboor]

I’ve agreed with you for years about the nostalgia and fan service (perhaps I had a little more patience for it than you, but still) and had occasion to disagree with someone on social media about it after seeing Star Trek: Into Darkness. I felt they had dwelled in that space enough and it was time to move on to more originality. (He was into the whole the people who produced it are the experts and know better than the rest of us and those of us who disagreed should defer to their wisdom and be quiet thing.) But you put it all into words so well! Thank you!

[@Jakeurb8ty82]

I much rather would have preferred if the reboot started with a young Lt. Kirk serving aboard the U.S.S. Farragut. Some of the dc graphic novels explored that and man I wanted more.

[@lesbiandrea]

One of the reasons Beyond works so well is that it’s perfectly paced for its length as well. If Beyond was an 8 hour show with the same plot, it would not work.

[@nekkidnora]

"Uhura's Creepy Necklace" sounds like a very specific D&D item.

[@preciousroy6079]

I'm an _Into Darkness_ hater, but I love _Beyond_ as well. Every part of it fits together, every shot has a purpose, it's perfectly paced and well acted, it's just overall a Good Movie.

[@GSBarlev]

I was honestly surprised that Steve likes _Into Darkness,_ given how it's such a blatant (and poorly executed) rehash of old _Trek_ plots. It's also disgusting that they cast Carol Marcus as a Bond Babe with daddy issues, and *even worse* that they whitewashed Khan (don't get me wrong-Bandersnatch Cummerbund is all right, but that role needed to go to someone whose skin tone was something richer than "translucent").

[@admanios]

@@GSBarlev the excuse that I heard most from apologists was that "Ricardo Montalban wasn't South Asian either!" as if that made all subsequent whitewashing okay.

[@stevenmcmullan409]

Steve: "To borrow a phrase from another sci-fi/adventure franchise..." Me: "I have a bad feeling about th..." Steve: "It's a trap!" Me: "Awww..." :(

[@chaoslord8918]

This is great. I swear, every episode of The Clone Wars, they say "I have a bad feeling abou-" Anakin: "Cut the chatter." My personal favorite though is when Admiral Yularen says C3PO's "No, shut them ALL down! Hurry!"

[@coomtothebroom778]

Weird how Star Trek Beyond gets forgotten like most other movies from 2016, the year when we first started to lose our sanity.

[@DoctorMysterio15]

That's an interesting though, seems like the things in the world have been going south ever since.

[@trippyhare]

"started"...?

[@Doug-lw5gf]

Our timeline diverged when BillC unzipped his pants under the Resolute Desk. If that hadn't happened, Al Gore would have welcomed his help and won the 2000 election in a walk. He would have paid attention to Clinton's terrorism czar and *probably* would have stopped the 9/11 attacks. Even if the attack took place, Gore would not have invaded Iraq at all, and would not have pushed the so-called PATRIOT act into being. We would not have taking our shoes off to board an airplane since then either. Either Gore would have handled al-Qaeda as a police action, or if he did invade Afghanistan, he would have found bin Laden soon because he would have focused on that instead of haring off into Iraq. No Shrub, no way we would have endured the 2016 tragedy you reference. Alternate timelines are real; moving "across" to a better one is, unfortunately, science fiction. 😖

[@matthewsever]

I enjoyed the Sabotage scene since it calls back to the 2009 Star Trek. It was playing when he stole the vette.

[@DarthAzabrush]

Beyond was originally Pegg's Enterprise era story he submitted to Abrams as soon as he got control of the IP. Abrams said it was too geeky and pantsed him. After the critical failure of Into Darkness (or as I call it Number 2) Abrams suddenly thought that MAYBE he should give the guy who actually knew what he was talking about a shot and he dusted off the old script and re-wrote it for the Kelvin universe.

[@agent_meister477]

Yes, Yorktown is amazing, but as far as locales in the Trek movies go, The Nexus is still top of the list for me.

[@Texacate]

I rarely get super emotionally involved in a movie, but when Jayla told Scottie to "Take my house and make it fly" I got choked up. Great writing.

[@colincaldwell6458]

I didn’t hate the first Kelvin movie, even though it had so many “so the movie can happen” plot contrivances that it sometimes took me out of it, but Into Darkness and Beyond make Nemesis look like Citizen Kane. If I wanted to watch fast and the furious, I would. Then I would see a doctor immediately afterwards. Seeing Star Trek characters in the intellectual equivalent of a Michael Bay Transformers movie didn’t work for me.

[@ReaverLordTonus]

Edison/Krall's plan isn't actually anything new. He was basically a disillusioned veteran soldier turned terrorist who thought that to save humanity, it has to suffer great tragedy to unite it and strengthen its resolve. He felt the complacency and weakness humanity had fallen into made the sacrifices he and those under his command made in war meaningless. He was basically a villain from 24, NCIS, Mission Impossible, and other conspiracy shows.

[@TheSweetser69]

This is really good. Thank you. Very entertaining and enlightening. 🖖

[@danielland3767]

The only major annoying thing about Kelvin Timeline is they destroy the enterprise like its an average ship. It is and always have been the flagship of the federation the most all around capable ship in the federation that can hold its own till more specialized ships can come in for whatever mission. Kelvin threw that out the window in Darkness & Beyond, the Enterprise deserved better then being destroyed like it was. Damage is one thing as they did with Into Darkness and making it an actual submarine was neat looking back, but dang i wanted to more after it took out the Narada * Drednaught

[@thepaladxn]

This video changed my mind. I didn't like this movie, but I'm starting to get it, and even if it isn't my cup of tea for a movie, I agree it's a good blueprint for episodic television Trek.

[@CreepingTerror]

I was pretty down on the first two new treks and I was so happy when they knocked it out of the park with Beyond. Also “is this classical music” is just one of my favourite silly jokes in a movie.