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The Politics of Star Trek
Claremont.org ^ | 08/25/2015 | Timothy Sandefur

Posted on 09/02/2015 5:26:11 AM PDT by DFG

Leonard Nimoy’s death in February brought to a close his unusual career continually playing a single role for half a century. Between 1966, when the television show Star Trek premiered, and 2013, when the movie Star Trek Into Darkness hit the screens, Nimoy portrayed the franchise’s beloved first officer, Mr. Spock, in two TV series and eight films.

As he acknowledged, the key to Star Trek’s longevity and cultural penetration was its seriousness of purpose, originally inspired by creator Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction vision. Modeled on Gulliver’s Travels, the series was meant as an opportunity for social commentary, and it succeeded ingeniously, with episodes scripted by some of the era’s finest science fiction writers. Yet the development of Star Trek’s moral and political tone over 50 years also traces the strange decline of American liberalism since the Kennedy era.

(Excerpt) Read more at claremont.org ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dcfontana; kirk; leonardnimoy; roddenberry; spock; startrek
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To: minnesota_bound

Even Sheldon Cooper made fun of Wesley Crusher


101 posted on 09/02/2015 9:44:45 AM PDT by SevenofNine (We are Freepers, all your media bases belong to us ,resistance is futile)
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To: IYAS9YAS

#20 He was involved but not fully. He was a known drug addict who could not be entrusted with running a tv show. Others like Gene Coon and later Rick Berman ran the shows.

He was quite the writer. He got hooked on drugs of all sorts. He also constantly cheated on his wives and girlfriends which explains some of the scripts.
His Wiki entry is quite interesting. He did much more then Star Trek.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry

He was lucky to have survived as long as he did.
Wiki: longstanding recreational use of legal and illicit drugs, including alcohol,[198] cannabis, diazepam, secobarbital, methylphenidate, Dexamyl, and cocaine (which he had used regularly since the production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture).[162] The effects of these substances were compounded by deleterious interactions with diabetes,[198] high blood pressure, and antidepressant prescriptions.


102 posted on 09/02/2015 10:00:14 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: minnesota_bound

Star Trek writer reveals ugly side of working with Roddenberry on the sci-fi classic
http://www.blastr.com/2014-9-15/star-trek-writer-reveals-ugly-side-working-roddenberry-sci-fi-classic


103 posted on 09/02/2015 10:00:55 AM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Bidimus1
After G. Roddenberry passed, one of the "old hands" disliked a script... went to the head office and said "Gene wouldn’t like it". Response: "Gene's dead"

He’s dead, Jim!

"He's dead..." :)

104 posted on 09/02/2015 10:00:57 AM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: Mad Dawgg
He's dead, Jim."

he s dead jim star trek nerdy t shirt home he s dead jim star trek ...

105 posted on 09/02/2015 10:03:10 AM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: All
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106 posted on 09/02/2015 10:09:54 AM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: Bubba_Leroy

The first two years of Star-Trek used the finest science fiction writer out there—The quality of the writting was great.


107 posted on 09/02/2015 10:39:22 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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To: DFG
Thanks for the post. This is a very interesting read reflecting the destructive deconstruction of our culture and institutions. This paragraph was very striking.

Roddenberry was so bothered by the film’s script that he angrily confronted director Nicholas Meyer at a meeting, futilely demanding changes. He and those who helped him create Star Trek knew that without a coherent moral code—ideas they considered universal, but which the film calls “racist”—one can never have genuine peace. Star Trek VI seemed to nod contentedly at the haunting thought Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn voiced in The Gulag Archipelago: “No, no one would have to answer.”
108 posted on 09/02/2015 11:25:13 AM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media. #2ndAmendmentMatters)
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To: Buckeye McFrog
Seems to me the Libs are more powerful than ever.

The article is discussing classical liberalism and not the modern perversion and hijacking of the term.
109 posted on 09/02/2015 11:27:01 AM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media. #2ndAmendmentMatters)
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To: PA Engineer

the less roddenburry was involved the better it became.

PC always killed good stories.


110 posted on 09/02/2015 11:28:18 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: ETL

Return of the Archons

seemed more about a 1984 with a two minute hate at each festival.

Political Correctness where the government decided the government was the only decider.


111 posted on 09/02/2015 11:30:54 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: longtermmemmory
Scene from Star Trek's "Return of the Archons"

 photo Landru 03a_zpsqjiltqw2.jpg
________________________________________

Scene from Horror Hotel (aka City of the Dead), a film about witchcraft and devil worship in 1600s New England.

 photo Horror Hotel City of the Dead 04_zpsadlhubxb.jpg
________________________________________

Same film. But many other such films of the time (1960-70s) depicted Satanists dressed in hooded robes.

 photo Horror Hotel City of the Dead 03_zps1ncyognn.jpg

112 posted on 09/02/2015 11:41:53 AM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: Buckeye McFrog; IYAS9YAS
When they ditched the whole “peace and understanding” thing and started battling the Borg, I thought TNG got very good.

That was due to the addition of fellow UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus Michael Pillar to the writing staff. He created the Borg storyline and the focus on action that saved ST:TNG. It's not too much of an overstatement to say that Pillar saved the Star Trek franchise at a critical time when it was languishing.

113 posted on 09/02/2015 12:11:48 PM PDT by tarheelswamprat
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Roddenberry died in 1991, just before Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out, if I remember correctly. It was one of the two (Avengers was the other) movies I’ve ever waited in line to buy tickets. The Star Trek Next Generation TV show was on from 1987 to 1994.

Now, Gene certainly became full of himself and his peace-loving ways were evident, but I don’t know if his death had anything to do with the increase of the show’s stature, concept, or quality.


114 posted on 09/02/2015 12:24:34 PM PDT by ro_dreaming (Chesterton, 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. ItÂ’s been found hard and not tried')
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To: ladyrustic

DS9 was one of the best ST TV series. It wasn’t the ‘Wagon Train to the Stars’, but it was full of political intrigue, action, and good story lines (and acting) by all the major characters.

What’s wrong with Commander Sisko?


115 posted on 09/02/2015 12:26:51 PM PDT by ro_dreaming (Chesterton, 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. ItÂ’s been found hard and not tried')
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To: DFG

bump


116 posted on 09/05/2015 6:35:41 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: IYAS9YAS
Roddenberry even wrote lyrics to the original Star Trek theme. He did so because he was told that under the law, the composer and the lyricist split the royalties 50-50. By writing lyrics, he only had to pay Alexander Courage 50 percent of the royalties. he kept the other 50 percent as "lyricist".

but unlike Star Wars, Bill Murray didn't have to make up inane lyrics (with humorous results.)

117 posted on 09/07/2015 10:12:38 AM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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