Fan Fare

Launching a Star Ship? Nah, just the “Star Trek” DVD

(writing, reporting and video by Frank Simons)

With Hollywood glitz usually reserved for the launch of a Star Ship — namely the Enterprise — Paramount Home Entertainment on Tuesday released director J.J. Abrams’ recent re-boot of “Star Trek” on DVD and Blu-ray. It’s little wonder that Paramount pulled out all the stops to “premiere” the DVD. The movie was a big hit this past summer ($384 million at box offices), and Abrams is a star director having created “Alias” and “Lost” for TV and directed “Mission: Impossible III.”

So, Monday night at Los Angeles’ historic Griffith Observatory, high above the galaxy that is Hollywood, Paramount threw a star-studded bash the likes this planet had never seen for a “Star Trek” DVD. Abrams and many of the film’s stars beamed onto the red carpet just steps away from the Observatory’s Leonard Nimoy (that’s Spock to you older Trekkies) Event Horizon Theater. They were all smiles when discussing their big hit this past summer, but remained tight-lipped about details of the upcoming sequel.

“I haven’t made any decisions,” was the oft repeated answer to questions regarding a possible release date, if Abrams was officially on board to direct, and whether or not the film would be released in 3-D. Although Abrams did say he was “open” to the possibility of a 3-D sequel, one thing he was 100 percent certain about was that there would not be a “Directors Cut” of the current film.

“Star Trek” — The actors strike back!

The movie “Star Trek” has wowed critics and audiences and made $79.2 million in the U.S. and Canada since opening on Thursday. But not everyone is thrilled. Some hardcore fans accuse director J.J. Abrams of flubbing the movie by straying from the established “canon,” in other words introducing elements and events that diverge from the way things happened in Star Trek television shows and movies until now.

On NBC variety show “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, “Star Trek” stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy took the “Trekker” fans on directly in a comedy piece, with a pair of “SNL” actors playing the part of outraged fans sitting in the audience.

 ”We understand you are concerned about the way we are handling your beloved franchise,” said Quinto, who plays young Spock in the movie. ”But don’t worry, we’ve gone to great lengths to ensure that this film fits in flawlessly with the established canon.”

Then Pine, who plays Captain Kirk, tried to explain how the movie portrays the famed Star Trek transporters.

“I swear that the transporters on this enterprise utilize the Heisey … Oh God I have no idea what I’m talking about,” Pine said.

Well, the “Trekkers” have noticed the jab they took on “SNL.” On the fan site Trekmovie.com, one commentator using the name James Heaney wrote, “Oh my Q… Chris Pine doesn’t know what a *Heisenberg compensator* is? We’re all screwed.”

Then there’s their reaction to the movie. On the Twitter feed TReKiE, one commentator using the name DestroyTwitter wrote that he thought the film was “clearly made for the masses.”