[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?

[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!

;-)

[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.

[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"

[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..."

[Flyer]

Emotion, passion, "faith" were always extolled; reason and logic shown to be empty, inadequate, and worthy only of derision and mockery

That's the trouble with tribbles. . .

---

[jalisco555]

Hilarious article. I must dissent with the author's opinion on Stargate SG-1. I'm working my way through the first season on DVD and I kind of like it. The blond Captain (she must get promoted to Major in a later season) does get on my nerves sometime.

[SubMareener]

Gene Roddenberry discribed Star Trek as "Wagon Train" set in the stars. That is all he was trying to do.

[Cincinatus]

Click HERE for another FR thread a long, long time ago on this very topic, in a galaxy far, far away..

[Tokhtamish]

An episode I truly despised about ST-TNG was the one where they reintroduced the Romulans.

First the Enterprise found this capsule of frozen 20th century people they reanimated. One of them was a stock capitalist who kept demanding to "call his office", as if his old company were as eternal as the Catholic Church. He threatens to use his influence to get Picard fired, not comprehending that his rolodex of bigshot friends are all dead. What does Picard do ? He personally goes to him and pleads with him to stay off the intercom. Who is the captain of that ship ? Who is in charge ? Kirk would have thrown his ass into the brig which would have been the correct thing to do with someone disrupting ship functions.

The capitalist is a self-important fool who does not understand that his power and wealth are all gone and Picard is incapable of enforcing discipline.

[Scully]

Saturday morning ping!

[Publius6961]

You think that the old Star Trek was bad?

I must confess that I was a real fan, collected every episode, knew them by name had favorites and not so favorite...

Got my daughter hooked on it (her favorite was Devil in the Dark but then she read Charlottes Web 37 times, before she set aside childish things.)

My favorite was always Requiem for Methuselah.

Regardless of how spotty the original was, I happened to stumble on a new incarnation called simply "Enterprise".
Starring that time travelling do-gooder from "Quantum Leap"

I managed to force myself to watch about half of it.
When this captain berated and threatened to shoot the captain of a freighter who had the temerity to resist space pirates, I bailed.

The obvious parallel to trying to "understand" evil (911) instead of blindly lashing out (survival is "lashing out" in the 25th century), made me sick.

Good riddance to bad rubbish...

PC and multiculturalism and cultural relativism.
Bah. Humbug.

[Consort]

"NOMAD" looked like a prototype for a hydrogen fuel cell that will soon be available.

[Consort]

[Young Werther]

Hey! Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire sang, "..that's entertainment!" That's what all the flavors of Star Trek and the various off-shoots are. Want intellectual SciFi? Try Asimov and Clarke who found it more difficult to portray emotion. Asimov writes about this lack in the sidebars to his stories.

BTW I was reminescing about the summer of '62 which was my first year as a lifeguard. I discovered the James Bond novels that summer. I read "Gone with the Wind" and in the following two years would relish the serialization of the new Bond novels in Playboy. Yes, I READ Playboy for the articles!!!{I also have this bridge that I can sell you to cross the Florida Swamp land I would like you to consider buying.}

[Cacique]

sci fi bump