The Intellectual Content of Star Trek

The Texas Mercury ^ | August 2002 | Hank Parnell

[sourcery]

Reason and logic were almost always ridiculed on Star Trek. Almost always. Ever notice that? Emotion, passion, "faith" were always extolled; reason and logic shown to be empty, inadequate, and worthy only of derision and mockery. I found that offensive then, as a boy, and I find it even more so now, as a man.

We humans need not fear losing our emotions. Show me an animal that doesn't feel, and I'll show you a dead animal. It's logic and reason we have in very short and apparently extremely limited supply; hence this exhortation to passion over reason always seems to me perverse, and self-flagellant, to say nothing of supremely delusional and suicidal.

I, too, remember being rather annoyed as child at the illogical attack on logic that was a pervasive theme in Star Trek.

[Roscoe]

"Could it be merely a coincidence that they were both written by Harlan Ellison, perhaps the most pretentious non-talent in all of science fiction?"

What about Kurt Vonnegut?

[sourcery]

What about Kurt Vonnegut?

Good choice. Perhaps we should do a poll: Who's the most pretentious non-talent in all of science fiction?

[Redcloak]

Before this gets too far, I am invoking FreeRepublic General Order 24: Any posted article that mentions Ann Coulter must be accompanied by pictures of Ann.

[Jeff Chandler]

My favorite highly acclaimed but really stupid episode, though, was "Amok Time," by the most-acclaimed non-talent that science fiction has ever produced, the vacuous Theodore Sturgeon.

I met Theodore Sturgeon once. He lived in an old house up on a hill behind Dodger Stadium. Can you believe he actually wrote a screenplay for a movie called "Killdozer" about a bulldozer that comes to life and kills people and someone actually PRODUCED THE MOVIE?!

[Ken H]

Nothing has even come close to Twilight Zone in the SF department, IMO.

[Jonah Hex]

My favorite episode isn't mentioned: "The Doomsday Device". A miles-long pacakage of robotic death which eats planets for food, plus a psychotic commodore ..... man, it doesn't get much better than that!

;-)

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I saw the late Robert Urich on the Tonight Show several years ago, Leno made him wince when he mentioned Robert's role in the movie "Killdozer". He hoped people had forgotten about it.

A quote about this movie from the Internet Movie Database Inc.

"If you only ever watch one movie about a killer bulldozer, make sure it's Killdozer!"

[SandfleaCSC]

OK. I agree with you. Star Trek TOS, TNG, and Voyager were socialist, wussy little shows. But what about Deep Space Nine? Except for the first couple of seasons, the show was about fighting off a suicidal and unrelenting enemy who worshipped a false god. Parallels??? Pretty good writing and direction on the show too. IMHO, it was one of the best Sci-Fi serials to date.

Closet ST fan weighing in. Don't tell anyone, I could ruin my reputation.

[TheLooseThread]

I noticed something about the new ST series's vs the original.

In the original the Enterprise would go around kicking butt. We (the federation) were the good guys and we were the best. We had the best weapons (ususally) and were the smartest. It was the 1960's and we weren't ashamed of being the best.

Then the later series, like TNG. Get in a battle? Geez, the shields go down after 3 enemy shots. Use our weapons, humph. Not much effect.

And then I realized. The new series reflected a new time. Think America is the best? Tisk tisk tisk. That would mean our culture was superior. Superior????!!!! You nationalist, racist, whateverist.

I realized that the show did not potray the federation as all powerful and superior, because we are now ashamed of being superior. We are not allowed to be better since that would hurt someone's feelings.

And that, my friend, is why the Romulans are going end up kicking our asses one day.

[XBob]

for one who seems to dislike science fiction, you certainly seem to have 'encountered' a lot. But, you finally got to the important part - the sexy 'aliens'. ( Personally, I particularly liked that one Blue girl villan ( don't remember the episode or her name) but what a face and bod.

And now they have really improved the skin tight 'uniforms', complete with curves in all the right places on Star Trek Estrogen, OH, I mean Star Treck Voyager, which is so overly politically correct that most of the men's spandex uniforms have cut off the circulation between their legs.

But, a for real question, which no one ever asks, when moving forward/backward through time, where would one stand? As the earth would either not be there yet or have moved beyond, thus no place to stand, while in the same place at a different time.

[goldstategop]

Yeah Voyager was too politically correct for some fans. On the other hand the new Enterprise series looks and feels like the original. The first season ended on a twister time travel cliffhanger. Can't wait til the fall to see how its resolved, lol.

[marajade]

I like Enterprise much better than Voyager... But they're doing the same thing they did with Voyager, i.e., showing six episodes and then repeats, showing another one or two shows and then repeats... Its difficult to build viewership when you do that...

My favorite among all the STs is DS9.

I own the OS on DVD complete, all the movies on DVD, and am starting to get STNG on DVD with the first three seasons...

I really want DS9 on DVD bad...

[goldstategop]

I'd like to see DS9 come out in a DVD boxset. I think the last two seasons with its unique "serial matinee" format had among the finest work ever done for television. The telling of the final events of the Dominion War and the liberation of Cardassia was a homage to the classic Saturday matinee serials. You know, the ones where a story was told a chapter at a time in the theater and you were told to come back to watch how the next one unfolded. It also is the first real look at religion (Bajor's Prophets) we've seen in ST. When it finally comes out is any one's guess. In the meantime we will all have to with the TNG boxsets being released once every other month or so til the end of this year.

[agitator]

All of those shows were nothing but military soap operas. That's why my ex liked them so much; of course, she would always vehemently deny that they were military soap operas but that's what they were/are.

Other than the original series that I saw the first time around as a kid, which is hilariously ridiculed here, I couldn't sit through 15 minutes of any of the more recent resuscitations any more than I could sit through "Days of Our Lives - In Space"

[marajade]

Do you like Babylon 5? I'd say its really similar to DS9 and its first season is coming out on DVD in Nov or Dec...

[Caipirabob]

Anyone read the new Star trek comic book? There was some commentary the other day that they have an "openly gay" crew member. His mission apparently is "To go where no real man would want to go..."

[leadhead]

Who's the most pretentious non-talent in all of science fiction?

Everyone except Issac Asimov

[leadhead]

Am I the only one on this thread to remember "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet" or "Space Patrol"? Black and white, fixed cameras, studios in oversized closets, mid-fifties?