Slashdot Mirror
Details About New Trek Series?
John B. Random writes "I see that Science Fiction Crowsnest has got it's hands on the leaked details of the new Star Trek show set to replace Voyager, Star Trek Excellent." Stupid name but the plot did actually read interesting.
It sounds like you are uncomfortable with gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. That's too bad for you, but there is help available. The majority of mental health professionals call that homophobia and are happy to help you overcome that anxiety.
I'm gay and what you said is offensive. Just because you don't want to see "yucky" homosexuality on TV doesn't mean I don't. Maybe I want to see a gay character in Star Trek? After all, I loyally watched ST:TNG for many, many years.
It's probably difficult for you to understand, as you think we're "yucky", but queers have to put up with straight poeple flaunting their sexuality in our faces every day.
So, basically, asking to see ourselves portrayed on TV isn't asking much.
OK, I'm probably going to piss off a few folks here by saying this, but I just have to say it.
Ever since Roddenbary died the series has been running on inertia. I would equate the lax plot and writing styles (nevermind the always shoddy Voyager series) to the malaise that set in under John Nathan Turner's tenure as Doctor Who's producer (might I add his tenure resulted in the death of that once fine series?). We have a producer (Berman) who seems more interested in flash and money than pushing the bounds of modern science fiction, which Roddenbery did so well during the original series and during the majority of TNG (you could see when Berman and co. really asserted their influence-the latter half of season 6 and season 7 of TNG were the worst of the lot). What Paramount needs is to get someone in there who really wants to get the franchise back on its feet and return it to its roots-well thought out and inventive stories. Instead I'm seeing more and more stories which rehash the series past without any real creative influx-anyone who remembers the last 9 years of Doctor Who (especially 1984-1989) and the new adventures will agree with me.
What happens after six months? It seems to me when the Federation's horde of Defiant-class starships show up and beat the living daylights out of everything in the quadrant (pursuant to the prime directive, of course), the meat of the story would be gone. Not a recipe for a long-running series (unless of course they get blasted into the Epsilon quadrant or the prophets disappear the Fed fleet or whatever).
Also: The USS Excellent? What, is this in homage to that 20th century classic Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure? How about the USS Homicidal Insanity, the USS Asswhupper? Hell, why not just have the Enterprise show up and save the day (neither the Voyager nor the Defiant look as cool as the old Galaxy class did).
In any case, so long as they don't wait three or four series to get cool like the last three series have, this plot looks promising.
----
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Holodeck mishaps that lead to danger and amusing adventures
Technobabble to cover up piss-poor plots
Major Kira
Incredibly powerful technology that's a plot device one week and never mentioned again
Major Kira
A brand-new alien race that's vaguely based on an old earth culture
Episodes written by more than eight people
>TOS covered the Federation when it was already mature
:)
umm, how do you define "mature" in a manner that allows sending Kirk around the galaxy in a heavily armed ship?
That was the real problem with the newer series: they introduced adult supervision:)
Look at our galaxy from the top (so it looks like a giant circle) and divide it into 4 pie slices. Each slice isn't two-dimensional, but it still ends up cutting the 3D galaxy into 4 manageable chunks. That's how they do it in the Star Trek universe.
Of course what *I* want to know is how they deal with moving borders. Our galaxy is hardly keeping still, with the outer edges moving slower than areas nearer to the core. After a few years (hundred years, thousand, whatever), the "quadrants" will start getting swirled around unless they keep re-adjusting the borders.
Actually...if you go back and watch even the pilot movie, you'll find foreshadowing of the coming war. One specific bit to watch for: G'Kar offhandedly mentions that "there are no Narn telepaths". The entire first season is strewn with things that didn't seem to mean much when first seen, but after seeing the entire 5 years - have great significance.
So it wasn't like they threw in a war to make things interesting (the way DS9 obviously did) - the entire series basically -was- the Shadow war..the leadup to it, the actual battles, and the aftermath (along with a few interesting asides).
JMS (the creator) basically had the entire thing planned out, beginning to end, and that's what made B5 so great..a single pretty coherent vision of a BIG story. Unlike the Treks, which have become: what are we gonna do -this- week? (Although DS9 did break from that a bit, but it was still kind of hacked-together)
Star Trek aliens had makeup on something more than their faces/necks. I realize this will likely be moderated Flamebait, and so be it, but honestly, I find their aliens/races rather uninteresting.
Furthermore, it seems that they mix at will, and the mixing doesn't do much to produce a more exciting race, and the ony way you can tell the difference is if you watch the show more than once, or memorize all the different tattoes they like to wear. Or their big hair and ridged foreheads (re: Klingons).
I'm not saying Star Trek isn't a good show, because I like it and I used to watch it every day (back in the days when I watched T.V.) but I don't anymore, and I love Star Wars a heck of a lot more than I like Star Trek, maybe because they seem more creative or something.. It couldn't be the fact that their alien races actually look like alien races, or that they have lightsabers, or....
But back on topic, I think this is interesting, and I'd certainly try it out. Yay Star Trek!
Insert mind here.
That's right, we follow the adventures of the intrepid crew of the USS Red Dwarf, a ship crewed entirely by (for some reason) the english. And a cat. And a hologram. And (later) a mechanoid. And (even later) a woman.
OK, you guessed: Actually, we just retread the old Red Dwarf episodes with a new Trek-type opening sequence (the voiceover would be dymanic, featuring Holly's introduction to the series and the requisite joke about gym teacher's IQ).
Disadvantages: Lack of women in skin-tight outfits. Advantages: Lack of women, surplus of beer.
So, it's cheap to produce and Rick Berman wouldn't be able to fsck it up. Any takers?
----
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Or did Steven R.'s idea get shot down at the :-)
start?
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
Just what the world needs: another moralistic, SF TV series. The theme I've noticed throughout the posts in this topic is that ST episodes are rehashed versions of episodes from the original series, the aliens (and characters) are shallow and two-dimensional.
What is worse is that it is bad science fiction. Aliens that coinicidentaly look like humans and parallel cultures from our own world. Pseudo-scientific explanations run amok (its all quantum physics you know) as if it were some kind of New Age Scientist meeting. Maybe this was all quite sophisicated stuff during the sixties and seventies but this is the post-Alien nineties. Do we need to be patronised like this?
What is worse, I feel that the latest Star Trek series (DS9, Voyager, whatever) betray the original vision of the great liberatarian, Gene Rodenbury. The mordern federation has become a disturbing vision of a vaguely fascistic utopia. Did you know that GR intended to have gay characters in the next series of ST:TNG, just before he died. I don't see them in any of the new series? I guess it didn't fit the whole Star Trek corporate identity.
But for a younger audience, I think it fits most peoples' definition of "good television" for children. It's a fairly "geek" oriented show, emphasizing knowledge of science and technology, showing both men and women in roles of responsibility. These same smart scientific folks are also fit and athletic, which is important in this day and age of couch potatos. There are also good messages in all of the shows, which, if you agree with the messages, are good for kids to see.
Admittedly, this makes it annoying for the rest of us that don't need the moral lessons, but I would love to have my children (if I had any) watch star trek with me. I'll be sad if there isn't a Star Trek to watch when I do have kids.
As for today, though, I think DS9 was the first Star Trek series that lost the morality message (Wheel of Morality, turn turn turn ;-) and became more of a science fiction soap, with a running plot line. That, I liked. I was sad to see it go.
Sujal
politics, food, music, life: FatMixx
(This is waaaayyy off the original topic, but I'm going to post it here, 'cause it's relevant to the thread we're in...)
First off, there is considerable evidence that Homosexuality is GENETIC, and not a physiological condition. This is not proven yet, but it's definately a strong possibility.
Thus, you aren't going to "Cure" a homosexual, any more than I could get a "straight" person to change.
The AMA and the American Psychologists Association have wised up, and no longer consider homosexuality a "disease" or "correctible-condition". It's who gay people are. Period.
Also, there is considerable natural evidence that homosexuality occurs in a large number of mammals. Many primates have been observed engaging in homosexual behavior, and it's also been seen in animals such as wolf/wild dog packs.
Like the poster above pointed out, black skin in humans is an adaptation to an outside stimulus. So is homosexuality. The stimulus in this case is overpopulation. I liken genetic homosexuality as a mutation (remember, mutations can be either Good OR Bad, depending on environmental conditions). It seems to be getting expressed more and more these days, which leads to the question: how badly are we overpopulated that environmental effects are causing this to be expressed? Thus, homosexuality IS A FAVORABLE ADAPTATION IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS. It may not be favorable for the individual to pass on his or her specific genes, but it's beneficial to the SPECIES.
For a good look at how human society might change over time, w/r/t population and sexuality, I suggest you read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's a good Sci-Fi read, and it looks at human evolution on the macro-level (over the course of about 3000 years).
People, you are going to have to accept that homosexuals are here, have always been here, and will continue to be here. I'm rather disgusted to listen to fellow straight folks claim that homosexuals are somehow bad deviants or lesser beings. It makes me sick. Grow Up!
To see how inane you sound, replace the word "homosexual" (or "gay" or "lesbian") with the word "nigger". Oooh. Ooops. You ended up sounding like a nice 1840s intellectual espousing the rightness (and superiority) of whites over the black man. How enlightened.
-Erik
We fear what we do not understand...
There are always four sides to every story: your side, their side, the truth, and what really happened.
Clearly Paramount has been taking sequel-naming lessons from the makers of the animé series Slayers ...
...)
(whose sequels have names like "Slayers NEXT", "Slayers GREAT", "Slayers GORGEOUS"
Well, this isn't exactly related, except that it is a star trek observation.
A few people have mentioned the episode where it was reveiled that all the humanoid races were descended from the one race that colonized many planets before they died off.
Well, I seem to recall another episode where due to some sort of genetic disease (i believe that was the cause), everyone started de-evolving into whatever their race origionally came from. Humans started turning more apelike, and Worf started turning into some sort of large spider like creature.
Dosen't exactly sound much like races that evolved from the same genetic material to me. I know I'm just getting picky, but it would be nice if shows like this checked their old episodes for inconsistencies before coming out with new ones that just blow everything away.
Just my US$0.02... I haven't read the plot for this 'excellent' series yet, since the server's /.ed.
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
Quine "quine?
Yeah. I watch it with the sound off, just to see the lovely Kira.
I've tried it with the sound on a time or two, and found that I wasn't missing much.
Sorry about the apparent flame bait, but I just don't like the series. Didn't like the original with Captain Dork; don't like the sequels. And what I really, really don't like is a galaxy full of aliens with plastic heads and childish personalities.
But Kira, I like.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
What *I'd* love to see is a series in the Star Trek universe, but *NOT* on one of those damn annoying goody-two-shoes Starfleet ships.
:)
Maybe something like a run-down merchant/smuggler vessel working on the fringes of the Federation territory, with a really small crew, perhaps with a Klingon female commander (just think of the possibilities!) and a drunk engineer!
You could have the crew be severely dysfunctional, the ship falling apart half the time & a lot of shows would be about 1) survival, 2) getting themselves out of whatever scrape they got themselves into (which might be the same as #1
It's funny how many lists to which I end up posting about this topic, because in the giant scheme of things, it's Soooooooo not important. But I grew up with Trek; it strangely feels like family. I think it's time to let it go, though. Don't keep making series just for the sake of making series. That's just sad.
Think like a person of action, act like a person of thought. --H. Bergson
I remember seeing ST:TNG with a roomful of college classmates... we were all slack-jawed over how awful it was. To each his own, I guess.
Anyway, there are no new ideas in Hollywood, so why not just embrace that fact.
Star Trek: Raisa -- set your sails for adventure, your mind on a new romance. Each week Isaac, your Klingon bartender, helps a new cast of characters seek whatyamacallit.
Star Trek: Badlands -- okay, so they killed off Sloane. But Sloane's clone and his sidekick Artemus Changeling kick alien tail throughout the wild, wild badlands in the name of the Federation.
Star Trek: Holodeck Island -- the name says it all.
Star Trek Blues -- Due to a major reorganization, security uniforms are now blue. Join the phaser-bait in their squad room, where they wait for the call from the bridge that could mean LIFE OR DEATH! Let's be careful out there...
Star Trek: Ferengi Exposure -- Julian Bashir is just marking time as a frontier doctor on the Ferengi homeworld. He's a fish out of water, but is finally charmed by the locals.
Star Trek Bloopers -- never underestimate the stupidity of the viewership. People can't get enough of the same old clips.
Star Trek: Cadet Squad -- not all Star Fleet cadets can be in Red Squad. Follow the antics of cadets who just squeaked by on the entrance exam.
Star Trek: Riker's Heroes -- what do you get when you mix an inept Vorta jailkeeper, a lovable Jem'Hadar guard, and a raft of Federation inmates? Espionage and sabotage behind the lines in the Gamma quadrant!
That's because Dr. Soong was the only person ever able to create a stable neural net. And he's dead now, so he can't exactly help.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.