How do you solve a problem like Star Trek.... Where are we going with Trek

[Ajid]

So we have Star Trek Beyond this year, and a new series next year. It's the big 50 and like many of you I'll attend a convention this year. For me it'll be my first convention.I don't want to talk about the films or the new series just about what Star Trek should be.

Star trek through it's many incarnations has always been groundbreaking but from TOS to ENT it's been a lot of different things.

Star Trek(Known now as The Original Series.) did an awful lot of things for the first time. The majority of this series dealt with new worlds and new civilisations more than any since. Frequently the enterprise had the ability to wipe out a planet but would seek an alternative solution. The rest of the time it was in the reverse situation. The Romulan and klingon encounters were the examples of on the same level civilisations meeting.

The next generation. At this point the groundbreaking firsts of TOS where well known and in the first season it tried a little hard to do the same. From season two onwards this became an adventure story but the universe was in a much more balanced state, there were more species of a similar level to humans and familiar issues were a little over laboured on occasion. But to me this will always be the Star Trek that struck the balance.

Deep Space Nine. By far the most dramatic and thought provoking incarnation. I think of this very much as what it is, a spin off of TNG 5that focussed on the problems and normal political madness of a society. I'm fond of it in a fair few ways. It actually reflected humanity much better than its predecessors and as the others had reflected society this did it better. But there was always something about it that was a tad to dark. This was the beginning of the fall and with episodes like "Somewhere beyond the stars" also a pinnacle of the Rodenberry vission of star trek.

Voyager. Well I actualy really enjoyed voyager. But I can say little about it. It felt like normal life compared to the rest. And the Borg issues, well one ship ...... I won't start. I enjoyed it but I have no idea what the point of it was.

Enterprise. Well, we all know why this was made. Star trek made Viacom a lot of money and they wanted to make some more. The odd episode was good. This series was not about the founding of the federation, it never could be. It tried so hard to be.

I think star trek needs a change in culture, and that's the last thing an on demand service like that of the new CBS offering offers. It needs standalone episodes that make people think. It needs hope, it needs failure and desperation. It needs loss and it needs that thrill of discovery.

Well that's what I think.

What do you think?

What makes star Trek well... Star Trek?

 

[logan_run]

I like to see a star trek radio series, they are trying this with twilight zone they shoudl try this with trek. trek shoudl return to freet.v. or a web based cartoon like they were going to do in 2005.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Personally I loved Enterprise - save for the damned final epp! I thought it was the best of the Treks. And the original series was the poorest as it was literally cowboys in space.

Where Enterprise suceeded beyond every other Trek before it was in delving into the races, cultures and people in huge detail. And in opening up the vulcans in an entirely new way. A people determined to remain true to their value of logic over emotion, but struggling with it - and the ethical / moral problems that arise when you take this path. I think for some it became too much about the drama rather than the space adventure. Forthose like me, it opened a window wide on many of the issues of humanity.

As to where Trek goes - I didn't know there was a new series coming. Personally I'd like to see more Enterprise - and that damned final epp fixed. Also I'd like Braga and Berman prevented from ever writing a final epp again. They've failed three times now. Voyager's final epp broke the temporal time prime directive so would be undone later by the authorities. Deep Space Nine - ohh dear God - it was like a new final epp every week as each cast member was farewelled! And TNG only got through it because there never really was a final epp.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[BAYLOR]

What they should do is do series based off the Kelvin Timeline.

 

[Glaysher]

One of the things that I don't like about the new Star Trek is that it doesn't feel like some of the characters, particularly Kirk, earned their positions. In TOS, there are constant references to Kirk having lower ranks on other ships, that he studied hard at the academy, etc. Pine's Kirk messes around at the academy, gets a captaincy straight away after one incident,

Spoiler

Gets the Enterprise destroyed by no greater threat than Shatner's Kirk faced in TOS where he used brains to save the ship when overmatched yet still is offered the position of Admiral. At least when Shatner's Kirk got the Enterprise destroyed, it was because of a vastly undermanned crew and struck a blow at the enemy at the same time

 

[logan_run]

I like to seen the nu trek start with kirk as 2nd in command of the enterprise under captain kirk .by the end of the film pike is promoted to commodore .kirk is captain. this way we could of seen the character of kirk . glaysher is correct what he said about kirk. It not Chriss Pine fault how the script is written nor more then it was nimoy"s fault for the script of spocks brain in the t.o.s series.

 

[Galactic Journey]

Star Trek(Known now as The Original Series.) did an awful lot of things for the first time. The majority of this series dealt with new worlds and new civilisations more than any since. Frequently the enterprise had the ability to wipe out a planet but would seek an alternative solution. The rest of the time it was in the reverse situation. The Romulan and klingon encounters were the examples of on the same level civilisations meeting.

What makes star Trek well... Star Trek?

A strong tradition of written science fiction. A dramatic amount of innovation. Strong social progressivism. A consistent, approachable universe. An intellectual focus (with occasional excusable lapses).

Trek is my favorite show, and I'd love to see more shows in the original universe, but for a show to be this generation's Trek, it'll need to be something completely new.

I think Firefly had a chance to be that for the early 2000s. I think Babylon 5 had a chance to be that for the 1990s. Your mileage may vary -- obviously, Firefly was aborted (and Serenity suggests it wasn't going anyplace good). B5 jumped the shark for me after Season 1.

Video "Science fiction" these days tends to be of the science fantasy (Star Wars, NuTrek) and comic books (Marvel/DC) variety. You might enjoy them. Even I sometimes do. But it's not Trek, the original science fiction television show. Does anyone want space science fiction anymore?

 

[Dave]

I can't say I agree with some of the comments here, but I've written pages at Chronicles on this subject already, and I'd just be repeating myself to answer.

Does anyone want space science fiction anymore?

Of course they do! And some of us here are watching The Expanse.

 

[Galactic Journey]

I can't say I agree with some of the comments here, but I've written pages at Chronicles on this subject already, and I'd just be repeating myself to answer.
Of course they do! And some of us here are watching The Expanse.

The Expanse has been recommended to me by a few folks, and I do like David Straithairn...

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Firefly could never have been Trek. It had far too many problems - all based off that one original anachronistic bungle. Look there is absolutely no way that anyone going into space is going to bring with him his great grandpappy's six guns, civil war uniform and start speaking like John Wayne while driving covered wagons. And yet such is the genius of Joss that he almost pulled it off and made me forget that.

However, as well as the Expanse there's Killjoys, which is great fun, and Dark Matter which really rocks in places.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Galactic Journey]

I greatly appreciate the recommendations! Looks like a lot has happened since I retreated to the past...

As for Firefly, I was okay with the anachronistic touch -- it was stylistic affectation, a sort of short-hand for "this is a different culture, but one that's approachable."

I did find it strange that, for a show that slavishly adhered to some tenets of physics (no sound in space, for instance), even when Mal's ship lacks the ergs to make air, gravity is still maintained at 1g!