Does Star Trek Even Make Sense?

Sierra Times ^ | May 1, 2003 | J. Neil Schulman

[patriciaruth]

Cold fish were Kirk's forte.

[Green Knight]

Whoops. Best make those hotlinks.

The Federation - Marxist?
Star Trek Philosophy
Star Trek/Star Wars/Babylon 5

[RWG]

One never knows when brainstorming a mediocre question if it will lead to the sparkle of a true gem...in earlier days, the saying was why blend good **** with bad ****, it ruins the good **** and doesn't help the bad **** enough to make any difference.

[patriciaruth]

So, if you feel you are up to your hips in &^&*, then why did you jump in in the first place?

[RightOnline]

Well, of course, the intellectual arguments have been made, cussed, and discussed.........so I'll just point out that Seven of Nine from Voyager was the hottest thing on the airwaves in many a year (for you who either missed her or were blind). Who else could make you hot for a Borg, I ask you???

[patriciaruth]

Ping.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Yea but can you think of anytime during the show, when Kate was in a real romantic relationship?

[Hawkeye's Girl]

Three times. That hologram guy, that alien guy when she was stolen by that species who needed workers, and that other alien who liked pecan pie.

[Hawkeye's Girl]

And that's not counting the time when she and Tom hooked up when they were lizards and had kids, which is reason enough to hate both Voyager and Janeway.

[patriciaruth]

As I mentioned above, I stopped watching Voyager in 2000, so I can only recall a few episodes.

2000 was a watershed year for me. I listened intently to Keyes arguments in the primary and became pro-life. I called the Secret Service to report Craig Kilborne for inciting the assassination of an elected official, which is illegal in California, and can be a death penalty offense if someone takes you up on it. I joined the NRA. I got a DISH and started watching FNC. I sent my joint bank account to Florida. And I also stopped watching Voyager.

[piasa]

2. Will Stryker was a 14 year old Ensign that hadn't even been to the Academy yet. How would you like to serve under that?

I thought that was Wesley Clark, I mean, Wesley Crusher...

I have an allergy to serving under anyone named "Wesley." What kind of sicko would name their son "Wesley," anyway?

[Paul C. Jesup]

Don't remind me of that episode, I have tried so hard to forget that part.

[jejones]

In the 60's the original crew was always spouting off for liberal causes that were that era's hot issues.

Oh, you mean like on "The Omega Glory"? :)

That said, yes, ST has usually dealt with popular issues of the time, and the leftward lean got more extreme as time went on.

[jejones]

1. Data the android held rank in Starfleet. How would you like to compete for rank against, or serve under a robot?

I'd prefer it to dealing with some humans I know.

2. Will Stryker was a 14 year old Ensign that hadn't even been to the Academy yet. How would you like to serve under that?

You mean Wesley Crusher. (Bad name choice, that; I couldn't hear "Doctor Crusher" without thinking of the World Wrestling Federation, though seeing Gates McFadden reliably deleted that image from my mind.) I'm not clear on matters of rank, but does anyone serve under an Ensign?

[jejones]

But TNG was good all the way through...

Eh? Three words: "The Naked Now."

[mhking]

The point is that the morality and politics of Star Trek verges on incoherence. In other words, it’s typical of the sort of writing you’d expect from current-day American liberal TV writers.

You have but to blame Rich Berman and Brannan Braga for that.

Now, Berman is going to shift gears next season (it'll be hinted at later this month in the cliffhanger episode, "The Expanse").

In that episode, the Enterprise's mission will change - a technolgically more-advanced race, the Xindi, will come to Earth and utterly and ruthlessly decimate everything from Florida to Venezuela. They'll claim that they have evidence that Earth will be responsible for destroying their homeworld 400 years hence, so they're coming to Earth to stomp on it first.

Archer has to lead his crew to an uncharted portion of space to stop the Xindi from following through on their threat.

If done right, the story has the potential to be good, but I don't give much hope, knowing how Berman & Braga love to screw up things...

[jejones]

With all due respect (and recognition that in this context, as a man, my opinion is, as a Borg would say, irrelevant), IMHO Riker looked far better with the beard.

[buccaneer81]

Mark Lenard (Spock's dad, later) showed up first as a Romulan ...

Mark Lenard is the only actor to have played a Vulcan, a Romulan and a Klingon. (For those who don't remember the Klingon gig, check out the opening scene in STTMP).

[parcel_of_rogues]

Yeoman Janice. At the age of 13 was there any other reason to watch this show?

[Darheel]

Gul Darheel was a great character, just cool enough to get airtime, just mean enough to cause chaos. But, my screenname is NOT based on him, it has a secret meaning.