(Originally posted on LiveJournal)
My day started with going out to the archery range and doing a bit of shooting. Then I headed over to my regular comic shop to pick up the week’s comics (because I hadn’t gotten there on New Comic Day – AKA Wednesday). And then, to the ArcLight Theaters where Star Trek was showing. I had not actually had anything to eat, so I selected a show 45 minutes later, so I could get a burger.
Happily fed, I went into the theater and got comfortable.
And thoroughly enjoyed the film.
My friend eldritchhobbit (on LiveJournal) has compared Star Trek to the Arthuriad. And I agree with her in a lot of ways.
Yes, Star Trek created a “universe” that has sustained several points of entry, that are not recapitulations of the Original Series, and that is an impressive accomplishment. But it is not that factor which leads to the comparison with Arthurian tales.
There was something about the stories of King Arthur and his court that captured imaginations from their first appearances. For two centuries during the Middle Ages, many, many writers poured out Arthurian stories of their own, centered around Arthur, his queen, his knights and his opponents. You could certainly compare it to very popular fanfic. Not the first, to be sure (Odysseus got much the same treatment back in ancient times, as did Hercules), but one of the most durable. What captures us as readers is not the “universe”, it is the characters and their particular dynamics and issues. Key to the Arthurian stories is the tension between Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot, were all love each other, hate the possibility of betraying each other, and yet are trapped by their positions and emotions. Even if one were writing a fiction about Gawain or Galahad or any of the other knights, in the background there remained that potent triangle, suspended in a dream of a Better Place.
What gave the Original Series of Star Trek its staying power is the combination of an astute creator in Gene Roddenberry and a felicitous selection in the casting. The original cast breathed life into these characters in such a way that they made us see that future world beyond the flimsy plywood sets, cheesey sound-stage “planets” and visits to Vasquez Rocks for “location” shooting. The way the cast played the characters made all the difference between “cartoon” and mythology. Was Shatner an actor with a propensity for hamming it up? Duh. But think about it, all those idealistic speeches Kirk gave (my favorite being the “yes, we’re barbarians, but we can decide not to kill — today” one) – they call for an actor who can sell them with passion. And Shatner did. And with each instance, the shape of the character deepened – rogue, persistent explorer, the one who could lose but not be defeated (remember the end of “The Squire of Gothos”?). And around this flamboyant character, we had his satellites – Spock (“Always at his side” as was said in “The City on the Edge of Forever”), McCoy with his passionate insight and stubborn cautiousness that would force Kirk to find the justification for his impulses; Scotty, Sulu, Uhura – all adding to the core of the mythology that grew.
What the original audience always wanted, was more with THEM – those people. But for something that began as a television series, with specific actors, the tales of the original characters got tied to the progressing age of the actors. And that was something new in the literature of fanfic generating mythos (what IS the plural of “mythos”?). More depth was added to the characters and their relationships because of this.
What the audience got was not as much of the “more of these characters” as they wanted, but rather substitute circles of characters from the same universe. I don’t say this to denegrate any fan whose first encounters with the Star Trek universe came with Next Generation, or DS9, or even (though I pity you) Voyager. It just wasn’t the same thing.
So…. when Paramount made the decision to go back to the original characters, recast and essentially reboot the story, I was wary. It could be very right or it could be very wrong.
They got it right. The same, with just a touch of difference to make it its own.
I’m not going to go into the plot twists that make it possible to keep the original stories in your heart and yet embrace this “new start”. I will say that they are (wonderfully so) Pure Star Trek. But I also commend the direction and the new cast for understanding that they were called upon not to do imitations of the original actors, but rather presentations of the essences of the characters. And they did. You can easily imagine this Kirk and this Spock and this McCoy doing the things that the “original” Kirk, Spock and McCoy did. They found the heartbeats.
Which brings me to the title of this entry —
The Hat
The film absorbed me so, that after the credit roll ended (yes, I stayed to the end, so I could smirk at the acknowledgement for Vasquez Rocks – which served as Vulcan in the movie), I got up and walked out of the theater without my beloved fedora. I was absorbed in my reaction to the film as I got in my car and drove the couple of miles back to my apartment. I parked my car, reached for my purse and my — EEEP! MY HAT! I suddenly realized I had left it sitting on the empty seat next to me in the theater!
I rushed into the apartment and tried to find a phone number to the ArcLight that was NOT an automated listing of showtimes. The so-called guest services number rang and rang and rang – for six minutes (or rather two three minute calls, since on their end, it seemed to hang up on you if it wasn’t answered in three minutes). No answering machine, no hold message telling you how long it would be before someone could speak to you because they were very busy. Nothing.
You have to understand… the hat has a lot of sentimental value for me. I’ve had it for… 18 years. A black fedora that has been with me almost everywhere in that time. I hate sunglasses, you see, and so the brim of that hat is necessary out in the sunlight for long periods. On top of that, I decorated it with clear beads to look like a spray of water drops caught on it. I love this hat – and it always evokes smiles, especially when people do a double-take, going “Oh! It’s NOT water!” Losing this hat would be… traumatic.
I could get no answer on the phone. But they had an email option. So I typed out a rather heated email, specifying the screen theater I’d left it in, with a full description of the hat. I vented my displeasure at their guest non-service, included my cell phone number in the email. I sent it off, and then decided to drive back to the theater.
I was barely down the block, when my cell phone rang. They’d gotten the email, the hat had been turned in, and I could pick it up in the lobby. I was happy about that, but recommended that they revise their phone service, because it sucked big time – I wouldn’t have minded if I’d just gotten the “We’re so busy we can’t answer you right now, please call back” type message. But no pick up at all? Really bad. She said they were very busy with the Star Trek screenings. But come on, we’re talking about mechanical systems here: it can’t be that difficult to have something installed that answers people with the “We’re so busy” message! Heck, my cable service has that! They can even adapt their message to specific conditions! Why is this so difficult for a major movie theater in Hollywood?
Because it was supposed to be an in-and-out stop, I parked at a parking meter, fed it for 20 minutes and went in. Yes, the hat was there – not at the lobby desk, though. They’d taken it back to the office to log it (I thought “I JUST SPOKE with your rep less then 10 minutes ago, and said I was on my way! Why’d you have to do that?”). The lobby rep called back, asked that the hat be brought to the lobby. The office person said sure, he was on his way. I wait. And wait. And wait. Probably 8 minutes or so. “How far away is the office?” I wondered. I asked the lobby guy to call again, and this time mentioned that I was in metered parking. THAT got the office guy out quickly. My beloved hat was back in my hands. Once my possession was returned to me, I was willing to forgive all — they were indeed very busy by this point (one of the reasons I prefer to go to earlier shows). I got back to my car with 2 minutes left on the meter (good thing I mentioned that, I’d probably still be waiting otherwise).
Happily, the hat adventure does not overshadow my pleasure in this film. I really want to see it again. For itself, and for this new entre into the Star Trek that is closest to my heart, the original. These are the adventures of the Starship Enterprise — of James T. Kirk, of Spock, of Leonard McCoy (who wonderfully has not lost his cantankerous nature!), of Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. Oh, yeah. I hope they boldly go into more adventures, and I hope I get to come along.
Comments
eldritchhobbit – May. 10th, 2009
Great post! 🙂 (And thanks for the shout-out!)
scribblerworks – May. 10th, 2009
I don’t think I’d gotten so far as the ST to Arthuriad comparison in anything but the vaguest of ways. But once I read your comments it leapt up clearly.
And it’s just a dang satisfying movie!
eldritchhobbit – May. 10th, 2009
It was indeed dang satisfying! 🙂
BTW, I posted a link to one of my Trek/Arthurian articles. I don’t know if it’s of interest, but just in case, there you go.
I really loved your insights in this post!
(Anonymous) – May. 12th, 2009
Loved your review.
– Scott McCullar
Fortunately, these are minor tweaks that I have to make. But I still need to make them. I much prefer to have these details correct. Perhaps it’s all those years fact checking for Jeopardy! Either way, getting the details right adds to the subtle sense of reality, I think.
McGee is suffering from writer’s block. He’s stuck on his second novel, being a writer who doesn’t plan out the plot ahead of time. His affectation as a writer includes writing at an old manual typewriter, instead of on a computer. He also bases his characters on the people around him (including his co-workers). So when the models for two characters in his unfinished novel turn up dead, it points to someone who has access to his highly guarded manuscript. Except, that in addition to there being only two people (Tim and his agent) who have seen the incomplete manuscript, McGee shreds everything else. How is the killer reading it?
There was some discussion the other day on coppervale’s (James A. Owen) LiveJournal about those who get discouraged from following their creative impulse. I’m afraid I posted rather baldly about how no amount of encouragement is going to change the attitude of someone who has given up on his or her own creative impulse. I did not mean to imply that someone cannot change their outlook themselves – because I do believe they can. But I really don’t think those who have Decided to Stop can be turned around simply by warm encouragement.
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