There's a deleted scene in which the crew were locked up in Rura Penthe which was cut to time and flow. It'll be in the dvd and possible special edition.

>> The complete and total absence of any defense of the Earth whatsoever. Or orbiting ships. Or anything.

Isn't that because they'd all left to defend Vulcan and then been destroyed by Nero before the Enterprise got there? Wasn't the rest of the fleet at space?

>> Didn’t that just piss off an awful lot of experienced officers who spent years working their way up the ranks to get their own ship?

See above. These ships were under-construction or some such.

>> I would have liked a bit of the theme to have been played in the beginning. Personal preference.

I think they were trying to underscore that this was its own thing. Either that or the characters had to earn the theme as per Casino Royale.

I thought it strange that Spock's father was never named.