As if it was needed there is confirmation that the next Star Trek film is to be a great step backward. Perhaps this isn't as dire as the original concept for Star Trek XI, which was to be - apparently - set in the very near future and to not really be about space but nuclear war... or something similarly half-baked.

Of course, this was to be expected. When a director/producer is given what is generally considered to be a beloved franchise, the last thing you ever want to hear out of their mouth is the confession that they're a "big fan" or "have a lot of respect for the films". This is code for either "never seen it" or "don't care", or most likely something that amounts to the fact that their vision must be paramount above all other considerations. Continuity, fans and logic are not considerations when it comes to this vision.

While it's easy to see why Abrahms wants to go back to Kirk et al - he's got no idea what to do, they're still probably the best known Trek characters, it lets him put in younger, edgier actors like MATT DAMON - it seems to be ill conceived. If a prequel didn't work before, it seems naive to think a prequel/remake combined is going to fair any better. Not just that but you're messing around with characters that are very much identified with specific actors. Shatner's OTT hamming up, Nimoy's indifference, DeForrest Kelly the drunk... Scotty the fat bastard - these are all images that are well engrained upon the collective consciousness of Western society.

So, really there are two options available. Either try and redo it, being as true to the original as possible... which is going to be - at best, hard - or just strike out in a new direction and thus, more or less invalidate the reason for using the characters again... except if you say "this will have Kirk in it!" you can guarantee that slavering fanboys will turn out just to see that - even if they have gone "BUT IT'S NOT SHATNER" for eighteen months solid.

Not to mention the issue of the set... will things be recreated verbatim from the 1960s show? Or will we have that perverse situation of things looking more hi-tech, despite it being set before the first show of the TV series? Enterprise still looked helluva better than TOS ever did... and there's also the most pertinent question for Trek fans...

Where will this put any potential TV show? Presumably, if the film is a success - and it could go either way - it will be an incentive for either further films or continuation of the television franchise... Given the likelihood that the film will have big name actors - its seems hard to imagine a TV show containing the same cast...

All in all, this selection of premise is poor - not as bad as the uber prequel idea - and if it's thrusting big name actors into the well established roles, it's going to take a feat of supremely good writing, acting and directing to make this film come close to being a fan pleaser. Of course, the proles are who will doubtless be targeted for the commercial success of the film because, even if there is a loyal Trek following, willing to see the film several times to make it "succeed" they pale to the demographics of the many. So, don't be too surprised if you get Matt Damon or similar hamming it up in a summer popcorn movie because this could be another great step back for Star Trek... and of course, if the film doesn't break even or just scrapes it - Star Trek might well not get parole from purgatory.