The world wept in unison yesterday, as the news broke that the new Star Trek film has been pushed back five months, from Christmas 2008 to May (May) 2009.

Supposedly it's about box office potential, and giving it a clearer run... I don't know. I just don't know what to say. There's nothing that can make this better, we're all just going to have to hang in there. If anyone wants to talk about it, you know I'm here for you.

As that other JJ Abrams film Cloverfield hits the theatres in the US, the sudden appearance of this site makes me over-excited, and more than a little impatient...

Star Trek XI posterAnother small snippet of info on the next Star Trek movie has been released, with the news that Star Trek XI will be released on Christmas day.

Christmas day 2008 that is. And that's the US release date - expect the UK release to be some time later, in 2009.

The production company Bad Robot, run by creator of Lost JJ Abrams, has just signed massive new deals with film studio Paramount and TV network Warner respectively - severing ties with Touchstone, with whom they made Lost.

On the plus side, the accompanying press release confirms that one of Bad Robot/Abrams first new projects will be a revival of the Star Trek series. Less good is the uncertainty over Lost, which will presumably carry on without Abrams at the helm. More here - http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/07/16/abrams-deals.html

Interesting blog here from TV producer Bryce Zabel - responsible for shows like Dark Skies and the New Adventures of Superman - on a treatment he worked on with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Stracynski for a new Star Trek franchise.

The pitch was put to Paramount two years ago, and - like the current rumoured JJ Abrams film - the basic idea was to "reboot" Star Trek to its very beginning, with the new adventures of a newly cast Kirk, Bones, and Spock. Since Paramount rejected it, Zabel has now put the full treatment here, in PDF form - http://bztv.typepad.com/newsviews/files/ST2004Reboot.pdf - it's a pretty good read too. Interesting that it also predates the recent Battlestar Galactica reboot, which Zabel names as a good example of what they had in mind for Trek.

It's still a mystery as to what it will be, but JJ Abrams - producer of the newly announced 11th Star Trek film, reported previously - has revealed that it won't be the controversial "young Kirk and Spock" treatment after all.

In an interview with Empire magazine he's scotched the rumour that the new film would be based on the Starfleet Academy script that's been haunting fans for years, but won't be drawn any farther than that. He's still said to be a firm fan of the original series crew however, so James Tiberius and company may still be venturing forth once more. More

Paramount have signed JJ Abrams, celebrated producer of Lost, Alias, and the forthcoming Mission: Impossible III, to reboot the ailing Star Trek franchise with a new feature film set for 2008 - the eleventh in the series.

Centering on the Starfleet Academy days of a young James T. Kirk and Mr Spock, the film will be a prequel of the original series - without boldly going quite as far back as the now cancelled Enterprise. Paramount are naturally hoping for a revival of Trek after its recent failures with Enterprise and the last Next Gen film, Nemesis, which also flopped.

Rumours are circulating that not only is the Star Trek movie franchise not dead after all (despite the fairly dismal performance of last film Nemesis), but the next film may mark the return of original captain William Shatner - sans kidney stone - reprising the legendary role of Kirk.

He'll reportedly be joined by not one but two other captains, Jean Luc Picard of the Next Generation and Johnathon Archer of Enterprise, played by Patrick Stewart and Scott Bakula - in a "mirror universe" adventure bringing all three generations together. It might just be a nice dream, but here's hoping - mor

Somewhat appropriately, the planned launch into space of the ashes of James Doohan - the actor who played hardworking engineer Scotty in Star Trek - has had to be delayed, due to problems with the rocket's engines.

Technicians have not commented on the precise nature of the problem, but hope to have impulse power shortly. Unfortunately the energizer's bypassed like a christmas tree, and they canna change the laws of physics.

God speed Mr Scott.

Following on from my latest obsession, which has involved buying up all the Star Trek Movie DVD's and subjecting Trek-virgin Lisa to them all in turn, I would like to propose the following theory - that the ten Trek films (from The Motion Picture in 1979 to the more recent Nemesis of a year or two ago) are the greatest film series in cinematic history. Forget Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, Star Trek is the film franchise king.

Anyone care to argue? Anyone not seen them? Anyone want to name their favourite, or point out which is worst and why?