Star Trek

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 4:39 am

It seems I've been doing a lot of quoting from Trek lately, so I thought I'd see if there are any other huge fans here. Eh? Eh? Show of hands?

I know the official names of most of the episodes of The Original Series, and can probably do a good bit of the dialog along with the TV. One of my favorite TV shows ever. And yet, much as I love it, I have to admit, and it took quite a while to admit it, that I think The Next Generation is even better.

Post by **Reisheiruhime** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 5:16 am

Next Generation rules!!!

I'm a little bit of a Trekie myself. Our cable went out though.

no Star Trek... Waahh

Post by **Lord Mhoram** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 7:40 pm

Haven't watched too much of the old stuff, but the new stuff on CBS I think? is crap.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 10:04 pm

Lord Mhoram wrote:Haven't watched too much of the old stuff, but the new stuff on CBS I think? is crap.

It's on UPN, but I'm not too thrilled with it either.

Not that the others didn't have flaws. One episode of TNG was abominably bad in the areas of science/logic. Painful to watch!

Post by **Worm of Despite** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 10:12 pm

I'm no fan of Star Trek, even though I own all the movies for some reason. They're great and all, but I don't watch 'em anymore. And I stopped watching Star Trek completely, being that Jeri Ryan is on Boston Public these days. Geesh, just when I thought she was all but a folder on my favorite places, somebody had to bring her back to memory.

Post by **Zahir** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 10:48 pm

I watched the original series so many times, and frankly was deeply disappointed with TNG until the third season. Even then, I got real impatient with things like "particle of the week" and "the regulars all always get along."

DS9 was the best trek yet, imo. Certainly it took the most dramatic chances. Sisko committed murder to save the Federation, for example. Wow.

VOY just didn't work for me. ENT is pretty much the same. In fact, trek has become a very fomulaic franchise blown out of the water by such shows as Babylon 5 and Farscape. Still, they've almost all had some interesting characters. Seven of Nine, Kira, Garak, Ro, Worf, etc. Notice what they have in common? Not a straightforward human among them. And the way gimmicks were routinely introduced all the time--Geordi's VISOR being the worst. Meanwhile inconsistency coupled with a refusal to challenge some very simplistic assumptions continuously grate on my nerves.

A couple of years back, on a list devoted to on-line rpgs, someone asked for an idea for a Trek storyline. My idea (which still seems pretty cool to moi) was essentially about a race who got royally shafted by the Prime Directive and were out to force the Federation to repeal--or at least radically overhaul--the whole notion. Sparked quite a debate. Or should I say screaming match? But I suppose that's when I realized a big bunch of Trek's audience really loved comfortable little assumptions about life that have precious little to do with actually dealing with it. Which is a shame really. In the late 1960s Trek was groundbreaking. Today it seems dated, and fairly slavish remakes of the formula come across as more dated still (after all, they don't have the excuse of being made in 1969).

Okay, I'm unclicking my soapbox icon now...

Post by **Damelon** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:48 am

Zahir wrote:A couple of years back, on a list devoted to on-line rpgs, someone asked for an idea for a Trek storyline. My idea (which still seems pretty cool to moi) was essentially about a race who got royally shafted by the Prime Directive and were out to force the Federation to repeal--or at least radically overhaul--the whole notion. Sparked quite a debate. Or should I say screaming match? But I suppose that's when I realized a big bunch of Trek's audience really loved comfortable little assumptions about life that have precious little to do with actually dealing with it. Which is a shame really. In the late 1960s Trek was groundbreaking. Today it seems dated, and fairly slavish remakes of the formula come across as more dated still (after all, they don't have the excuse of being made in 1969).

Okay, I'm unclicking my soapbox icon now...

You rabble rouser! Heretic!

Actually, it sounds like an interesting plot. They never, that I recall, had a real plot that dealed with conflict that could be involved by so scrupuously following the Prime Directive. (The one in TNG where the woman wanted to have sex with the "alien" Riker I don't count.) The only plots I remember, reaffirmed the wisdom of it without really challenging it. Although I must say that I never got into Voyager or DS9, and havn't seen Enterprise.

Post by **The Leper Fairy** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 5:31 am

My dad's a trekkie... he went to his friend's Halloween party as a Klingon.

Before we got it on our cable, we would have somebody in like MN tape it for him and then send them to him periodically...

I never really got into it though.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 5:31 am

Off the top of my head, I remember two. An episode of TNG, where one planet was selling medicine to another planet's population, because the second all had a disease. This disease couldn't be cured, but the symptoms could be relieved by taking the medicine quite often. Turns out the second planet HAD a disease that this medicine cured very quickly, but left everyone addicted to the drug. The sellers knew what was going on, but the buyers didn't. And their ships were broken, needing repairs by the Enterprise. Although Picard knew that the sellers had, literally, no other industry by this point, they refused to fix the ships. This would put the sellers out of business, royally screwing their economy, and put the buyers through horrible withdrawal.

The other was an episode of Enterprise. A planet had two species of humanoids. One was in charge, more intellectually advanced than the other, who were basically servants. But the smarter ones were dying of some mysterious disease. Phlox (Enterprise Dr.) finally figured out that the disease was caused by a genetic change that was sweeping through the species - because of evolution. He actually figured out a way to stop it, but didn't want to, because he didn't think it was right to mess with the natural process of the planet. Archer eventually agreed, and just gave them some stuff to help ease the symptoms. For those who don't know, there was no Prime Directive yet. Archer talked about how, eventually, there would probably be rules to guide them in such situations.

Post by **Mick Axbrewder** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 2:46 pm

I just saw "A Matter of Honor" last night, where Riker becomes a Commander on a Klingon ship in an exchange program. 2nd season. The series was starting to get REALLY good at the point.

Post by **duchess of malfi** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:29 pm

My husband is a HUGE Star Trek fan. I've probably seen all of the original series and Next Generation several times, but I don't know if I've seen a single episode of the other three series. I work off shifts so don't get to see much prime time television.

So I have been catching a lot of Fist and Faith's references.

Post by **Ryzel** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:01 pm

I am not a really big Trek fan myself, but I have a friend which is very well informed about it and thus I happen to know a lot about it anyway.

I have many of the same problems with the show that Zahir mentioned in general, and I am also especially annoyed at the stupid prime directive. It seems that the enterprise captains vacillate back and forth between ignoring it and following it in a very haphazard manner.

I recall one incident where the enterprise crew gets some shore leave and Wes Crusher breaks a stupid planetary law and is sentenced to some gruesome fate. Eventually Picard decides to just break the PD, take him along and leave. At other times he is willing to risk the entire enterprise, with all its crew and passengers, to avoid breaking it in some manner.

It just does not make sense.

Post by **Damelon** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:13 pm

Most Trekers probably wished that Picard would have left Wes Crusher to his fate.

Post by **Ryzel** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:21 pm

He was really annoying wasn't he? But my friend tells me that he left the show sometime and then he showed up as a visiting character in later episodes and he wasn't all that bad.

But I can mention another irritation: How many times can that holodeck malfunction before they decide it is too dangerous and dismantle it?

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 4:37 am

The main problem I had with Wesley was that he made Picard look so bad in the beginning. Here's this kid who is clearly a genius, and Picard's all, "I hate children! Get this brat out of here!" Jerk. Oh well, that was in the first season, before the characters were very well defined.

The thing that bothers me about Wesley now is, why doesn't he come around at all? The Traveller visited humans, so why can't a Traveller-in-training who actually IS human? Same with V-GER. The original space craft was made by humans. Then it came back to Earth, VASTLY changed, but it still knew where it came from. Then it merges with Decker, becoming a new life form. One who can't come visit once in a while???

I can understand if extremely advanced beings don't want to have anything to do with us. In fact, I never thought Q should have wasted his time. But when the being in question is or was human, I'd expect a little contact on occasion.

Post by **danlo** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 4:47 am

I like Andromeda--they'r constantly ripping off lines from great Sci-Fi writters--Assimov, Heinlien, Brin, Herbert and Gibson. Heck the other week they talked about Warrior Poets--straight out Neverness--I love it! I'm more of a STNG fan and Crusher and Troi don't hurt matters either. I used 2 b in love w/Yeoman Rand but MY GOD 2 much pancake make-up. "Lust Long and Perspire!"

Post by **Ryzel** » Mon Apr 21, 2003 9:56 pm

Fist and Faith wrote:I can understand if extremely advanced beings don't want to have anything to do with us. In fact, I never thought Q should have wasted his time. But when the being in question is or was human, I'd expect a little contact on occasion.

Ozymandias: but you'd regained interest in human life...
Dr. Manhattan: Yes, I have. I think perhaps I'll create some.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 2:56 am

Who watches the Watchmen?

Bangarang!!

Post by **Worm of Despite** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:07 am

Did you just say BANGARANG?!

Ruffio, ruffio, ruf-I-OOOOOO

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:11 am

You're a rude, lewd, crude bag of pre-chewed food, dude!

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