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Star Trek: Pick A Plot

Posted by chrisd on from the we're-still-gonna-line-up-for-em dept.

Vinnie_333 writes "This article on the New York Times sounds out on the often repetitive plots of the 10 Star Trek films to date (this include ST: Nemesis, coming soon). It refers to the film franchise as '10 films with 5 plots' and lays them all out in front of you. This does have a ring of truth. As a fan of Sci Fi (but not particularly Star Truck), I have to admit that there are only so many unique plots out there, and most of them have been well used by HG Well's time. Star Trek is, after all, a genre franchise and the story lines are held back by certain restrictions of the genre." I personally would pay Berman/Braga et al $20 if they never have a holodeck or time-travel-based plot ever again.

4 of 633 comments (clear)

  1. Truth about plots . . . by Dausha · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, if you really want to admit it, there are only about three plots. You have Man against Nature, Man against Man and Man against Himself.

    I would suppost that Man against computer (or Superman against computer) could be any of the above.

    --
    What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
  2. Technobabble... by Bonker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I read an article about TNG production a little while back. Rather than coming up with a exotic particle/lifeform/radition of the week to save the day, TNG scriptwriters would often just write in a placeholder to be replaced with a tech-adviser's technobabble at a later date.

    Scripts would look as so:

    GEORDI: Let's [technobabble] the main thrusters so that we can [technobabble] the Borg.

    Etc...

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    The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
    1. Re:Technobabble... by ErfC · · Score: 5, Interesting
      GEORDI: Let's [technobabble] the main thrusters so that we can [technobabble] the Borg.

      I heard a while back that Levar Burton was so used to technobabble that he would generally just ignore whatever's in the script and ad lib something, and his ad libs usually sounded better. Which makes sense -- he'd been spouting technobabble every working day for years.

      --

      -Erf C.
      Cthulu always calls collect...

  3. Plot vs. Motif by pmancini · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are so many places they could go with their plot motifs (Man vs. Himself can be seen in the motif of a stranded person surving the odds and their personal self-doubt until rescued, for example.) Science fictions offers endless variety of these!

    Cambellian science fiction was all about asking "What if?" Where has that gone with this franchise? Technobabble, non-sense and special effects usually. The problem Trek has been accused of often is not thinking about the consequences of certain technologies. Great examples are missed opportunities with cloaking and teleportation or explaining how the toilets on the Enterprise work (if in fact they are connected in some obscure way with the food replicator).

    In stead of asking a What If question about technology we are usually instead given a song and dance routine by Data, a sexual episode between data and a real woman, a lame space battle (sit down B5 folks already) or some dumb ass plot where they come across a planet populated ONLY by Gangsters/Sou Chefs/Half Naked Californians.

    Oh, and one more plot about dystopia and I will scream.

    I'm not asking that they make their movies as stunningly boring as, say anything written by Robert L. Forward (*great* scientist - lousy story teller in my humble opinion). But get some real writters: David Brin, Greg Bear, Vernor Vinge even! These guys could take that Franchise where No Science Fiction Franchise has ever gone before!

    Well, that's my piece. Thanks for listening.
    --Peter