Posted on 03/13/2002 3:13:17 PM PST by ReveBM
Okay, let me first off say that I am a big fan of the newest Star Trek series, Enterprise. I thought that the last series, Voyager, had gotten tired and had too many episodes revolving around the masturbatory holodeck. And, don't even get me started on the series before that, Deep Space 9, with its "angry pissed-off black man in space" theme.
The new Enterprise series has a freshness about it not seen in my opinion since the original series of 1967-69, what with the swashbuckling Captain Kirk. A good slice of the new series' appeal for me is its handsome, rugged, all-American Captain, Jonathan Archer.
One particular episode, though, rubbed me the wrong way. If you've watched the series you may remember the pivotal episode where they visit the "Great Plume of Agasoria", a stellar object that has religious significance for many alien peoples. Smack in the middle of this episode, the alien doctor pointedly asks Captain Archer whether he has a faith (I don't remember the exact wording, he may have used religion or some other wording).
Captain Archer's response: "I try to keep an open mind".
Let's step back a bit and realize that in the Star Trek universe at this point Earth is just emerging from a hard 100+ years of recovering from nuclear war. If there were ever a time for people to turn to God, perhaps it would have been in the aftermath of that holocaust. However, not so for the boys at Star Fleet.
Perhaps in the Star Trek future, people who are religious do not go into space, staying on their farms (as shown in the first episode of the series) or perhaps forming small communities on spacefaring cargo ships (as shown in another episode). However, religious people don't seem to go into Star Fleet, to my knowledge. It's fine and understandable to run across aliens who are committed religiously, particularly the Vulcans, but I have yet in my memory to run across a significant Star Trek character who is committed to Christianity. You might think I'm harping on Christianity in particular, but it's not only a major and still-growing religion in our world today, but it's the dominant religion in the United States, which fields a large portion of visible Star Fleet personnel, perhaps due to the San Francisco location of its training center (or perhaps many other people in the world died during nuclear war)?
Wait, I get it, maybe religious people are somehow screened out during Star Fleet Academy, perhaps for unacceptable views they might have on one or another topic.
Let's also not forget that in the future, at least according to Star Trek, there is no capitalism at some point. The description of how this happens and in what century is vague, but I vividly remember more than one Star Trek Captain saying that in the future they don't use money anymore, just look to expand their "human potential". Thank God for the Ferengi.
Star Trek is written by writers and reflects their view of what the future will be like. They obviously seem to assume that Christianity and capitalism will die out over the generations. This reflects the fondness of liberals in particular to enter our schools and inculcate our young people so that they don't have unacceptable, politically incorrect views among the future generations, whether regarding homosexuality or some other topic.
It would have been extremely refreshing to have had Captain Archer at LEAST say "Yes, I have a faith, but it's very personal to me" and leave it at that.
Whether Christianity could survive the discovery of intelligent life on other planets is a topic for another day. I have read some science fiction suggesting it could. Others may disagree.
Have a nice day!
I always hated what TNG did to Star Trek history. In the original there was a eugenics war, the nations of the world united after this and went on to populate the solar system. They sent the first insterstellar voyage to Alpha Centauri where they established contact with the Centaurians, one of which was Zefrem Cochrane, the first warp capable starships were built by the time the first interstellar mission returned to Earth. The idea that an alcoholic Cochrane could've built a warp-capable ship in a post apocalyptic world is laughable.
If they are different species there will be no issue.
The chick who's tears made men their slave,
and the green dancing girl were not of the human species,
although they appeared to be humanoid.
Actually, he was abducted by an intergalactic child molester known as the Traveler.
Since the original Kirk Star Trek the shows really have dealt with "earth based" religions (you know what I mean) other than Chakotay's (sp?) dealing with his Native American heritage. There may be other references I'm missing.
The Next Generation sort of dealt with the "all powerful Q" but even with his powers, he was certainly flawed.
I haven't watched Enterprise that much because of when it's on (I'm probably usually on FR). But I'm not bothered by the lack of "Christian" characters. I can't imagine they would be portrayed in a favorable light. So, I'm actually happier they just leave them out.
"Are we going to take the elevator? But it's so expensive!"
Second favorite line:
"It's very wet on the Ferengi home world. In the Ferengi language there is no word for crisp."
I was a longtime Trek fan, but B5 edged it out for me on a number of fronts. One of the most remarkable was that the series' creator, J. Kichael Straczynsi, though an atheist, peopled B5 with sincere and credible practitioners of recognizable human religions, along with alien religions.
Trek is totally counter, by contrast. But then Roddenberry was a thoroughgoing humanist who hated Christianity.
Dan
Voyager did this already with the Hirosians (spelling and phonetics questionable - it's been a while).
No, the replicators are like Napster. Someone has to create the original, and he wouldn't do it without patent protection, etc., and if you eliminate legal protection for property, there won't be anything to replicate -- except food stamps.
Voyager did this already with the Hirosians (spelling and phonetics questionable - it's been a while).
I never got the impression that those shows were anti-hunting. I would compare them to the movie predator which I don't think was anti-hunting. From what I heard about the upcoming show, Archer declares that Earth stopped hunting generations ago. Which is interesting since in the opening show a farmer shoots a klingon with what looks like a (laser) shotgun. Why a farmer would have a hi-tech gun if there's no hunting, and Earth is a peaceful paradise, is never addressed.
I don't remember getting an anti-hunting message from that episode at all since the scene you describe is only used to give a reason to launch Enterprise.
10 sharp. The only show the whole family watches together.
That may bore you, but I appreciate the info. Thanks. I can't figure out the relationship between country music and Star Trek, though.
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