Oh, pshaw. As if Star Trek in TOS, TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT was going all 'canon' in the first place. TOS set the canon and even they called Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets different things in the first few episodes.
It's entertainment. I liked ST:2009. A lot. Thought they did a pretty fun job of it. And I'm a pretty addicted Trekkie myself. The people, besides Abrams, that did that are still available TO DO THAT again, and I bet Paramount just... lets that happen, and picks one of the others to direct it. I, for one, hope they pick one who's not so fond of the flares...
However. Trek, to me, was *never* meant to be movies, but a series on the tube. Movies are *supposed* to be bombastic for a couple of hours... series can do that one or two in the show, but then deal with the characters, canon, etc, ad nausem.
This is why ST:2009 is a fun ride... but as a series show, it of course sucked because it went against all canon... but then, they were completely destroying, a la Back to the Future II, the 'canon timeline', and you just have to throw all that out from the moment Nero's ship shows up and blows the hell outta the Kelvin...
There is just ONE thing that bugs me about the 2009 movie and that is this: George Samuel "Sam" Kirk. What happened to Kirk's older brother?
http://www.startrek.com/database_article/george-samuel-kirkWhere was he when Winona was on the Kelvin with George? Back home? This is not explained, and that, friends, THAT bugs the HELL outta me... Of course, he could have been just back home with the grandparents... but then why would *Winona* be on the Kelvin, pregnant, in the first dang place?!
And another thing. Since when did Orion girls get to be Starfleet Cadets in Kirk's time? I'm betting that's retro'd as something to do with the Klingons gettin' hold of Nero's ship and beatin' the hell outta the Orions or something, and so they scattered... and there a green chick goes, to Starfleet Academy?!
Huh. I hate ST:2009 now. Hell yeah, I agree. Abrams sucks, frack his flares, and that movie sucks. ST:ID will suck a black hole's worth, and Star Wars 7, 8 and 9 will suck so much MORE THAN ANYTHING GEORGE LUCAS DID TO 1-3, the UNIVERSE will IMPLODE.
You heard it here first, watch.
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I am a sarcastic leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar. I'm sure Fanboi Abrams will make SW 7/8/9 into awesome spectacles worthy of Lord of the Rings/Titanic type accolades and such. Maybe even a best picture Oscar for the 8th and 9th, and they *sweep* every major award in one of their years. Or not. Time will tell.
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As far as blowing up Vulcan... yeah, well... Nero was nutz, see the BTTF:II thing, and voila, it works.
Vulcans *were not needed* by the time that happened. That is not to belittle their importance, but it is to say a thing that is a truth: The argument about Vulcans being a steering factor was true... in the past. In ST:2009, the establishment of 'how things are meant to be' in the Federation and Starfleet is now a set of rules, and Vulcan's influence is heavily diluted due to the Andorian, Tellurite, and of course Human, among quite a few other species, being involved in the state of affairs. And there will be Vulcans, they are going to a colony world... it just won't be Vulcan, the planet. They'll still have a voice. And that voice will be as strong, because Sarek and a few others will still be there, helping to guide the Federation along it's new path, as yet undetermined...
The ongoing mission will still go on. Just took a left is all.
/I, for one, am SO looking forward to Star Trek Into Darkness... Hurry up, May 17th, 2013!