Star Trek Into Darkness...But Then Back to TV, Please

I enjoyed Star Trek (2009) immensely, and I'm hoping that Star Trek Into Darkness will be even better. But as exciting as this trailer looks, it also further convinces me that Star Trek's best destiny remains on the small screen. Huge, action-packed adventures are fine for feature films, but whatever happened to boldly going where none have gone before? Whatever happened to exploring strange new worlds?

Star Trek has always been at its best when it addressed questions of philosophical, moral or scientific importance. We haven't seen a true science fiction issues-based film Trek since The Voyage Home, and even that was in the context of saving Earth (again). You can do the big stories on weekly television too (if not on as grand a scale), but you can also craft more thoughtful stories. And you don't have to wait four years between adventures...

Nonetheless, I've enjoyed most of J. J. Abrams' work thus far and I'm sure that Star Trek Into Darkness will be a rollicking adventure. But I'd like to see more science fiction in my science fiction, please.