One of the things I do in my spare time (ha) is occasional feature news reports for public radio.  I will be doing a news feature in the next few days about a pipe organ that is about to be rehabilitated at a cost of around $250,000.  The organ was made in the 1930s by a famous builder, the Skinner company.

Most of the Skinner organs have been heavily modified, to the point that the original makers might not recognize the instrument.  "Cobbled yup beyond recognition" is the technical term.  :-)  This particular pipe organ, however, has NOT been modified, and in fact has not been playable for some years. One might think that this is the perfect opportunity to "restore" this particular instrument to its original condition, given that it is historically important.  Instead, however, they are going to do a "historically sensitive" rehabilitation because in its original form, the pipe organ would not be suitable to play much of the serious organ music written in the late 19th and 20th centirues.

It struck me this morning that this is a metaphor for Star Trek.  Some fans would like to see a true "restoration" of the franchise.  Others suspect that the new Star Trek movie will be "cobbled up beyond recognition."

What Star Trek really needs is an historically sensitive renovation.  Obviouslty we will have new actors, sets and special effects.  The best solution, however, will be to preserve the feel and mood of the original, and at least the major points of continuity.  That way, the original fans will likely come along, while the movie will be able to find a new generation of fans.

If, instead, they try to "new coke" us with an unrecognizable product that only gives lip service to the original, the movie will fail at the box office and the franchise will probably become pretty passive for a long time.