Star Trek: Reboot! (Fandom Overview)

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Woooohoooo! <--- I feel this is an appropriate response to the original crew of the Enterprise making a come-back. After all, Kirk/Spock is the pairing that started the juggernaut that is slash fandom. And is it any wonder? This fandom has it all... The infuriatingly "lucky" Human! The logical half-Vulcan! Pon farr! Mind melds! Sex pollen Inhibition-lowering substances! Swordfights! BFF soulmates! Sarcastic Doctors! Dying for each other! AND IT'S ALL CANON. :)

And now, with the Reboot, there's the added bonus of the whole story going AU. Awesome. That means anything goes!

So, just in case there's some poor lonely soul out there who has no idea who the hell Kirk and Spock are or what I'm talking about, behind the cut is a quick run down on who's who in the Star Trek Reboot universe.

The Premise

Much like other recent revisionings of old tales, the Reboot is all about the young and shiny characters -- basically it's a Star Trek College AU. You see, the Enterprise crew we know and love have been graduated from Starfleet Academy early and sent off into battle due to a mysterious attack on Vulcan.

The key points are these: in The Original Series universe, the Romulan homeworld was destroyed in a natural disaster, despite Spock Prime's best efforts. As a result, a Romulan nutjob called, appropriately, Nero, manages to go back in time with his state-of-the-art mining ship, and immediately starts altering history. Because he's a nutjob, he decides that it's all Spock's fault and the best thing to do is kill everything Spock holds dear -- Vulcan, Earth, Starfleet. In the process, Nero kills Kirk's dad way before he originally died, destroys a big chunk of Starfleet, implodes Vulcan and most of the population, including Spock's mother, and nearly destroys Earth.

Yup. Big changes to the timeline, and there's no reset button in sight.

Enter the Rebooted Crew.

Look, I can't even do justice to the ways all the ripples affect the characters. You have to know Original Trek to really get it, and if you know already, you don't need me summarising it. The big things are that Kirk is a lot more self-hating due to a shitty childhood, and Spock is a lot more emotional, while still presenting a front of Vulcan calm. *shivers* Together it's pretty much fireworks from day one. Apart from that, Uhura is the really big change; she's a kick-ass xenolinguist, and also Spock's girlfriend. Yeah, none of us saw that coming, but it's kind of hot. Oh, and Spock Prime came through from the future too, and turns up to mind-meld with Reboot Kirk at a key moment, which has spawned about a gazillion fics already.

I've tried summarising the rest of the plot about six different ways, but I keep getting caught up in backstory and stuff, so I've decided brevity is the better option. Instead, I shall just say that if you want a more detailed plot summary, I've linked to some overviews for both Original Trek and the Reboot at the bottom of this post, and they should fill you in on all the juicy bits.

And now the part you've all been waiting for...

The Characters

James T. Kirk - Jim (Chris Pine)



Captain James T. Kirk might be the youngest starship captain in 'fleet history, but before that he was just plain old Jim Kirk, a rabble-rousing bad boy from Iowa who rides a motorbike and hangs out in bars, getting drunk, picking up women and fighting three-against-one (he's the one). Then he gets double-dog-dared by Pike to enlist in Starfleet, and that's pretty much all it takes. He's a rebel looking for a cause, and with the Enterprise he's finally found it. Oh, and he hangs off ledges and cliffs a lot. Don't ask me; it's a thing.


Spock (Zachary Quinto)



Half-human, half-Vulcan, all bad-ass. Spock's a rebel with a cause right from the start: he really hates it when people diss his mother, and he'll say so with his fists, or by giving the Vulcan Science Academy the shove and going to Starfleet instead. Then one day his world gets turned upsidedown by some upstart called James Kirk who cheats on the test Spock designed, the Kobayashi Maru. Kirk just pisses him off like nobody else, which is kind of a problem for a Vulcan, so Spock does his very best to make Kirk go away, up to and including strangulation, not that it works. It's just as well first, second and third impressions don't stick though, because Spock ends up First Officer of the Enterprise, with Kirk as his Captain.


Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy)



I know, I know, Spock Prime in the movie is an old dude, but I couldn't find a decent picture, so you've got Young Spock Prime here. This is the Spock who gave his life so Kirk Prime wouldn't end up in a no-win situation (a la the Kobayashi Maru -- oh the irony). He travelled through time in the wake of Nero, and mind-melded with New Kirk, telling him how to take down New Spock in order to gain control of the Enterprise. Spock Prime also considered Kirk Prime his t'hy'la (friend/lover/brother). Seriously, it's canon.


Leonard McCoy - Bones (Karl Urban)



How awesome is the Chief Medical Officer! He joins Starfleet because his wife "got the whole planet in the divorce," and in the process gains a best friend in James Kirk. Just one small catch -- he's space phobic! But he's just as irascible and funny as you'd expect. Except for that bit where he called Kirk a stallion, because that was weird subtext right there; slashy, no doubt, but weird.


Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana)



Dear Uhura,

All of us in fandom would just like to say that: 1) we like that you are a xenolinguist and are awesome at it, 2) we really hope you get to wear a whole uniform in the next movie, and 3) go you for not picking Kirk! I think I speak for fandom as a whole when I say that choice is very refreshing. Although I kinda hope you get to do more than be a love interest, even though Spock is cool. You deserve to be a captain one day in this 'verse. As the only major female character, we pin our hopes on you continuing to be awesome like that.

Love us.


Hikaru Sulu (John Cho)



His first attempt at helming the Enterprise is a little rocky, but Sulu being awesome with a sword will never get old. Sadly there wasn't room for him to do much else in the movie, but the swordfight was totally worth it. Go Sulu!


Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin)



The tiny Wussian baby genius on the wessel, and so adorable he might as well have had 'mascot' tattooed on his forehead. He saves Kirk and Sulu's lives with a nifty transporter move, and speaks in the funniest fake Russian accent ever. In fanon he and Sulu totally rule the betting pool on the ship, and we can but hope that something equally fabulous appears in future canon.


Montgomery Scott - Scotty (Simon Pegg)



Scotty, even more eccentric than in the Original Series, and also funnier. Notable for needing a towel, accidentally losing Archer's dog in a transporter test, and for having a sidekick with, it must be said, weird sexy vibes. Where are you going with that, Powers That Be?


Nero (Eric Bana)



Ah, Eric Bana has finally found the perfect role. Every scene-chewing moment is perfect in this. That's mainly what he does: act craaaazy, chew the scenery and punch Kirk, so it's just as well he does all three with panache.


Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood)



The father figure for Kirk, inspiring him to join Starfleet. Ironic, really, as it was Spock he mentored in the Original Series. The key thing he does plotwise is put Acting Captain Spock and Acting First Officer Kirk in charge of the Enterprise when he goes off to face Nero. Then he gets tortured and paralysed. :(

Other Notable Characters

• Sarek, Spock's father (Ben Cross)
  
• Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother (Winona Ryder)
  
• Winona Kirk, Kirk's mother (Jennifer Morrison)
  
• George Kirk, Kirk's father (Chris Hemsworth)
  
• Gaila, Uhura's room-mate (Rachel Nichols)
  
• Captain Robau, captained the Kelvin (Faran Tahir)
  
• Admiral James Komack, one of the few named admirals in both 'verses and so crops up in the fic (Ben Binswagner)

Predominant Ships

• Kirk/Enterprise (lol... I couldn't help myself :)
  
• Kirk/Spock
  
• Spock/Uhura
  
• Kirk/Spock/Uhura
  
• Chekov/Sulu
  
• Kirk/McCoy

Online Fandom

For canon information about characters, histories, etc, check out the Star Trek wiki, Memory Alpha.


Guides

• Star Trek and Star Trek/2009 Film on Fanlore

Overviews

• Wikipedia's Plot Summary
  
• I have been and always shall be...your friend by starryeyedmagic (picture heavy; compares the Original to the Reboot, with a focus on Kirk/Spock)
  
• Star Trek: The Original Series the crack_van overview by myhappyface

Original Series ship_manifestos

• Where No One Had Slashed Before (Kirk/Spock) by killabeez
  
• Between Friends (Kirk/McCoy) by syredronning
  
• More than the Sum of Its Parts (Kirk/Spock/McCoy) by syredronning
  
• Spiced Peaches, the Spock/McCoy Story: one, two, three, four, five by montgomeryscott

Archives

• Kirk/Spock Fanfiction Archive (both TOS and Reboot)
  
• FanFiction.net: Star Trek: 2009
  
• Archive of Our Own: Star Trek: XI

Communities
There are many, many, many communities for both The Original Series and Reboot. I've tried to link to the major fic-related ones here -- it is not a definitive list. If you look at the userinfo pages for the larger communities, they will often link you to smaller, more specialised communities.


LiveJournal

trek_news (newsletter)
st_reboot (Reboot fanworks)
startrekfic (Reboot fic)
trekfics (fic for all Trek incarnations)
st_xi_kink (Reboot: anonymous prompts, all pairings, with a huge outpouring of fic)
newtrekslash (Reboot slash fanworks)
reboot_genfic
kirkspock
spock_uhura
chekov_sulu
mccoy_slash
kirkspockuhura
kirk_mccoy


DreamWidth

• trek-news-feed (LJ newsletter)
  
• startrek (all Trek discussion and fanworks)
  
• ncc-1701 (Reboot fanworks and meta)
  
• startrek-reboot (Reboot fanworks and discussion)
  
• singularity (Reboot fic)
  
• trekfics (fic for all Trek incarnations)
  
• star-trek-flashfic (all Trek flashfic)
  
• vulcanreforged (fanwork about post-destruction Vulcan)
  
• kirk-spock

Comments

[jimaine42.livejournal.com]

:-) I have to say, this overview, in itself, cracked me up - your description of the characters is...*360° smile*

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! They crack me up, so it's a pleasure to share the joy. :)

[chaletian.livejournal.com]

*g* I think you encompassed the cracky joy that is Star Trek very nicely there!!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! They are adorably cracky, aren't they?

[secondalto.livejournal.com]

Just a note, Anton Yelchin IS Russian so his accent is in no way fake.

But overall, great over view.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Oh, maybe I got it wrong. I mean, I know he's Russian, but I read an interview where he said he put on that accent as a homage to Chekov Prime, because the 'w' thing is actually more Polish. I'll go and double check.

Glad you liked the overview, though. :)

[secondalto.livejournal.com]

I think I read the same thing that maybe he made it a little heavier than his normal accent, but that to me doesn't equal fake.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess our mileage varies on this one. I very much read it as the actor exaggerating to the point of caricature for humour value, but that's just my take on it.

[just-for-kicks.livejournal.com]

Does he really have an accent? He doesn't sound like it in the Jimmy Kimmel inteview (http://community.livejournal.com/crack_van/3809137.html) (he says he moved to the US when he was like a year old), but maybe he's trained himself out of it?

[ionaonie.livejournal.com]

Seriously? He added the extra fake? Awesome *g*

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

It is, isn't it? :)

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, here it is: "Yelchin decided to carry on Walter Koenig's speech patterns of replacing "v"s with "w"s, although he and Abrams felt this was a trait more common of Polish accents than Russian ones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_(film)#Cast)." But who knows how accurate it is.

[radioactivepiss.livejournal.com]

Well to be fair he's lived in the US all his life. In interviews he has an American accent, doesn't he?

[lydia-petze.livejournal.com]

Nice overview ;-) And what I personally, as a Bones girl from way back, am loving about nuTrek, is that FINALLY we're getting some new pairings! I never had a problem with K/S, I read plenty of it myself, but Bones is getting some love now too (well, quite a bit of love, actually ;-)) and that makes me a happy camper ;-)

Mmm. Stallion.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Hahaha. Indeed. I've been enjoying seeing all the new pairings pop up too, especially Chekov/Sulu. But I agree that it's nice McCoy is getting some action; in fact, I thought Kirk/McCoy was the most obvious ship in the whole movie.

[drlense.livejournal.com]

This is GREAT! Really nicely done overview- especially the part about Uhura picking Spock in a refreshing way. :D

(But um, I thought it was Tyler Perry's character that oversaw Kirk's hearing? IMDB has him as Richard Barnett- I think he was the only admiral that talked...)

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thanks, and you are probably right about the Admiral -- I suspect I got my canons confused. I shall go re-word. Thanks!

[hawkmoth.livejournal.com]

Tyler Perry played Admiral Barnett and was in charge of the hearing/end ceremony. Admiral Komack sat next to him, and I had trouble with that watching the movie because of the position of the name plates.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

I admire your precision and dedication to the truth. Thanks for clarifying. :)

[ionaonie.livejournal.com]

I love, just love this overview.

Plus, it's given me more stuff to explore. Thank you *g*

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome. :)

[barbiejedi.livejournal.com]

Hate to quibble on details, but Nero's ship was a mining ship, and he and Spock fell through the black hole Spock's ship created. Though it'd have been awesome if the Trek Universe had figured out how to build a TARDIS. XD

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

No problems with the quibbling. I remember Nero's ship being a revamped mining ship, but I'm completely blank on the whole timetravel mcguffin. I must have been looking at another part of the sceen or something.

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Nice overview!

As far as pairing related comms go, there's also kirk_mccoy. :)

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

How did I miss that? *adds* Thank you.

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Oh! And also, reboot_genfic. :D

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *adds*

[dashakay.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the awesome overview! Like many, I suspect, I'm sort of overwhelmed by the absolute explosion of this fandom. I can't wait to read your recs.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it rather took me by surprise too; and I hadn't expected how much I instantly wanted to read stories myself. There's something so cool about the first slash fandom being the big thing again.

[kadymae.livejournal.com]

Predominant Ships

Kirk/Enterprise (lol... I couldn't help myself :)

Ahem, I'd just like to observe that Scotty couldn't wait to get his hands on "her ample nacelles, if you know what I mean." ;)

Loved this overview. Thank you.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! Good point. Scotty is such a great character. :)

[meishali.livejournal.com]

I don`t really have anything else to add other than *SQUEE*!!!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

*joins you in the squee*

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Oh, well done! Love the summary. And the reboot, purrrrrr.

A question, though: Where in canon does t'hy'la show up? I remember it from the pocket novel, 'Dwellers in the Crucible' (circa 1985---a really beautiful piece of human/vulcan OC heavily-implied femslash that I love so much I still own the copy I had as a teen). I've seen the term crop up from time to time in fic since, but I haven't been heavily involved in trek fandom since, well, I was a teen.

I would love it if t'hy'la WAS canon, though. Help?

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

In answer to your question, it depends on how you define canon. I've been wracking my brain, and I can't remember if it's said directly in the movies, although I'm sure it is at the very least strongly implied. But it is certainly referred to by Roddenberry in the books, and specifically about Kirk and Spock.

Here's what the Memory Alpha wiki says (for the entry on the novelisation of the first movie (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Motion_Picture_(novel))):

t'hy'la
Vulcan term for friend, brother, and/or lover.

This term, originated in Roddenberry's work, was used in several later novels by different authors.

There's also a famous footnote, which is discussed in this lovely essay: 'The Footnote' by Judith Gran (http://www.alternateuniverses.com/judygran/footnote.txt). The key bit is:

The text tells us that Spock thought of Kirk as his "t'hy'la," a Vulcan word that, the editor's [Roddenberry's] note tells us, can mean "friend," "brother" or "lover." The editor then quotes verbatim a comment supplied to him by Kirk on "some speculation over whether they had actually indeed become lovers." It is this comment of Kirk that is riddled with ambiguity and that requires analysis in detail.

Hope this helps!

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this!!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome. :)

[feelforfaith.livejournal.com]

A fantastic overview, especially the characters :D. Thank you!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the recs just as much. :)

reboot

[laceymcbain.livejournal.com]

Great overview! You rock. And honestly, I snorted at the predominant ships: Kirk/Enterprise. But yeah, it's there. (Like Sheppard/Atlantis, except moreso.)

Re: reboot

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you're reading in this fandom. Maybe there will be fic too? *hopeful*

And yeah, we don't get to see Kirk fondling the ship so much in Reboot (yet), but it was totally a canonical pairing in the show -- it was a plot point! :)

[radioactivepiss.livejournal.com]

This sums up Star Trek perfectly. ♥ Also Kirk/Enterprise is basically canon, and the sooner we realise this, the better. :D

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Yup. Kirk + Enterprise 4 eva! :)

[colebaltblue.livejournal.com]

That was a fantastic overview. Very, very, complete and yet very, very, amusing! Bravo! Can't wait to read your rec's!!

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the recs. :)

[psycho-tabby.livejournal.com]

Heya C, awesome overview. Do you know of anyone (yourself?) making rec lists for this fandom recently? All the ones I've been able to find were last updated 09. Cheers.

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

Hey there. :)

Yes, I'm still actively reading Kirk/Spock, so I have more recent recs on delicious (although I'm a bit behind on my recs -- many open K/S tabs I need to bookmark): http://www.delicious.com/rec_room.

Use the tags to winnow down to what you want. If you click onto my subscription feed, you can also find other people's Kirk/Spock bookmarks. It's pretty active, with several per day.

I haven't had time to find other reccers lately, but that should scratch your itch. Happy reading.

[psycho-tabby.livejournal.com]

Cheers!