Jay said:

As a long time Star Trek fan, I think they made the right call. The writers would've been saddled with so much baggage spread across all the previous series and films that doing anything fun or new while staying true to the existing material would've been next to impossible. With a new timeline, they can take the spirit of the original characters and send them on inspired new adventures that are worthy of, but not bound to, the preceding material. I really enjoyed the last film myself and can't wait for the next one.

I'm also incredibly jealous of Simon Pegg for being an unabashed geek who's totally living the dream. Imagine growing up loving this stuff and then being cast in such an iconic role. Lucky bastard.

Also a long time Trek fan and also agree on every point. I didn't even bother with Nemesis, so I was really ready to get back to the spirit of the original characters, as you so eloquently put it. Which they did.

And yes, Pegg is living the dream, and doing a very fine job in the role. I think he's perfect for it. Those were some mighty big shoes to fill and he slipped into them nicely.

Warb, considering we knew absolutely nothing at that point, I still say it was eerily close to what they did - including having Pike as a main character.