Star Trek XI

I have to say, this is starting to scare me. And at the same time, I'm starting to get excited. After all, arguably ignoring Enterprise (though Season 4 was pretty awesome), Star Trek has, in the long run, been solid through and through in both its TV series and its movies, so why would I have any reason to worry that XI would be any different? I'll tell you why- Because good ol' J.J. is trying to bring it to the younger generation. Now, said like that it sounds like a pretty good idea, but he's doing it at the expense of plot (potentially). I hate to generalize, but using Enterprise as an example, we can see that prequels are really not the way to go here. I mean seriously, they can be interesting, but there are infinitely more things you can do and more interesting plot twists you can have if you do a sequel instead of a prequel. After all, can we trekkies really ever accept different actors than Shatner and Nimoy as our beloved Kirk and Spock? It's doubtful that the majority would, but I'd like to think that I'm capable of accepting the change. That is, if the new actors are phenomenal.
Matt Damon wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought 'phenomenal', but here we are with rumors of him sitting in the captain's chair, fresh off the set of 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. Or is it Legacy? I never did see Supremacy. Maybe that was because the first one was your cliche hot sercret agent thriller with shoot-'em-up problem solution, predictably resolved sexual tension, and a cop-out, confusing ending that just screamed 'let's leave room for a sequel just so we can make another crapload of money.' I'm sure the books were good, though; they get high praise. Oh, wait- Disgression!
But seriously, I have nothing against Damon. I really do have mixed feelings on the prospect of his casting, seeing that I know that it means there is no room for mistake- when you cast a guy like Damon in such a classic role as Kirk it's either going to be the best thing for Trek since Connor Trinneer (I'm a bit of a fan) or the biggest disgrace since T'Pol.
And once again, everything really comes down to the script- Damon can be a solid actor when he tries, but if the script- the true soul of the movie (and yes, I may feel that way partially because I'm a wannabe scriptwriter myself)- is mediocre, the franchise might not be able to take it, and with Berman and Braga off the game anything can happen. After all, Deep Space Nine was a hit with the fans, and though Voyager's a great show it never did and still doesn't get the publicity it truly deserves, and of course by the time Enterprise actually decided to turn itself into a quality show it was too little too late my cuddly little friend. So the way I see it, XI can either redeem the franchise or finalize its significantly reduced quality. I fear for the latter, but hope eternally for the former.
Will J.J. be able to modernize the franchise without hurting the franchise? Only time will tell.

French is the language of love, so my funnies say.