Star Trek discussions

[CBM]

Hi...

 

As one may be able to guess.. I am a huge trekkie!

 

And I wanted a place to talk about star trek.

 

I will begin...

 

In Star Trek : The Next Generation - Relics (S6:E4) ...."Scotty" is given a starship and states he will not be going to the colony because he is not yet old enough to retire...

What might he have done, where did he go if not to that colony?

 

[ChopBlock223]

I like Kirk a little bit more than Picard.

[QuaketallicA]

7 hours ago, ChopBlock223 said:

I like Kirk a little bit more than Picard.

 

Thus began the great flame war of '96, the red death, a calamity so great it did not end till Bones pronounced all the red shirts "dead, Jim" and all the Picardites had their The Klingon Language, 3rd Edition textbooks torn asunder.

[QuaketallicA]

On a serious note I'm actually watching TNG for the first time. When I first started, I hated the show, felt like a poor rip-off of some of the weakest TOS scripts, but gradually during the 2nd season each character started to win me over, as the actors really settled into their roles and the writing improved. Measure of a Man was such a standout gem amongst the otherwise mediocrity. Then the third season comes along (which I'm currently on) and it's like every (or nearly every) episode is a knockout masterpiece. I really love it now, totally on par with or even better maybe than the original.

[QuaketallicA]

@CBM From your name, am I correct in assuming you're also an X-Files fanatic?

[Lippeth]

10 hours ago, CBM said:

In Star Trek : The Next Generation - Relics (S6:E4) ...."Scotty" is given a starship and states he will not be going to the colony because he is not yet old enough to retire... 

What might he have done, where did he go if not to that colony?

I always got the impression that he intended to die on the ship, while riding off into the sunset, so to speak. His tech skills were outdated and had nothing to offer Starfleet anymore. Essentially an extra fancy and preemptive jettison.

 

I've seen random Star Trek episodes here and there all my life, but last year I finally had the opportunity to really dive in, and I binged TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY within a two year time frame. I tried Enterprise but it took me a week to get halfway through the first episode it didn't really feel like my kind of thing. DS9 almost had me feeling that way at first; the Cardassian/Bajoran conflict seemed to drone on and on a bit too much for my taste, but I was excited about Ferengi and by the end of the series I was wrapped up in the serial style melodrama. I always preferred the less serious one-off concept episodes throughout every series to the more serious conflict drama stuff, and what made DS9 stand out was all the episodes dedicated to side characters, and so many weird and interesting one-offs. The other series' had their share as well, and are just as enjoyable.

 

I have a hard time with the films, there's something that doesn't give me that Star Trek vibe, I think it's the pacing and lighting, but I'm sure I'll learn to enjoy them for their own style.

 

Random opinions:

Definitely prefer Riker without the beard, and Sisko with the beard and shaved head. I think Neelix and Naomi Wildman are good characters, and think Pulaski was great, though it was nice to see Crusher come back. It was a bit upsetting that Ro Laren wasn't in DS9, but Kira grew on me a lot, though her acting style took a while to get used to. Changelings look disgusting, and Odo looks worse in every season while everyone else's look improves besides the other changelings. Lwaxana is always great to see and her voice fits perfectly as the ships' computer, and the tone shift for DS9's computer really fit the show's style. Kirk>Picard>Sisko>Janeway, but I like them all in different ways. Janeway almost bothers me with her line delivery and Andy Griffith style smug authority, and Sisko looks like he's asleep half the time in the earlier seasons, but they both have a lot of great moments.

[Master O]

@CBM If you're looking for a Star Trek fan discord, you can go to https://discord.gg/startrek as well.

 

I haven't seen Next Generation yet, only The Original Series.  My favorite episode is the Squire of Gothos and how Kirk was basically trolled by Trelane the entire episode and that Kirk couldn't do anything about it.

 

 

[Rudolph]

Check out Star Trek Continues.

[CBM]

16 hours ago, QuaketallicA said:

@CBM From your name, am I correct in assuming you're also an X-Files fanatic?

oh yes... the truth is out there!

 

3 hours ago, Rudolph said:

Check out Star Trek Continues.

cool! I love all those fanmade startrek series and films almost as much as TOS,TNG,DS9 and YOV

 

3 hours ago, Master O said:

@CBM If you're looking for a Star Trek fan discord, you can go to https://discord.gg/startrek as well.

 

I haven't seen Next Generation yet, only The Original Series.  My favorite episode is the Squire of Gothos and how Kirk was basically trolled by Trelane the entire episode and that Kirk couldn't do anything about it.

 

 

cool! I will be sure to check that out

 

15 hours ago, Lippeth said:

I always got the impression that he intended to die on the ship, while riding off into the sunset, so to speak. His tech skills were outdated and had nothing to offer Starfleet anymore. Essentially an extra fancy and preemptive jettison.

well if he wanted to just die, then he would have gone to the colony to live out his final years but he instead wanted to do something else... but we were never told exactly what he wanted to do with his new shuttlecraft

 

 

[Rudolph]

@CBM Star Trek Continues is the only one I genuinely like and at no point made me cringe. That said, it takes some time to get used to Vic Mignogna as James T. Kirk. Not that he is a bad actor or anything, but he has a higher-pitched voice than William Shatner and he lacks the warmth. Also, in some scenes, he comes across as a bit creepy - especially in light of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him. Incidentally, he is most convincing as Mirror James T. Kirk! :P

[CBM]

6 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

@CBM Star Trek Continues is the only one I genuinely like and at no point made me cringe. That said, it takes some time to get used to Vic Mignogna as James T. Kirk. Not that he is a bad actor or anything, but he has a higher-pitched voice than William Shatner and he lacks the warmth. Also, in some scenes, he comes across as a bit creepy - especially in light of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him. Incidentally, he is most convincing as Mirror James T. Kirk! :P

Until I see it then Id have to take your word for it :-)

However I do have trouble getting past the cardboard vibe in TOS and fanmade TOS

[Azuris]

Bet i will be followed and murdered:

 

Watched Nemesis this Weekend with my Girlfriend, because she never saw it.

I liked it back then and i still do, she also liked it.

 

I do not care that they had some Trouble with a pre Warp Civilization, Kirk did it as a Hobby ;P

[magicsofa]

16 hours ago, Lippeth said:

Kirk>Picard>Sisko>Janeway, but I like them all in different ways. Janeway almost bothers me with her line delivery and Andy Griffith style smug authority, and Sisko looks like he's asleep half the time in the earlier seasons, but they both have a lot of great moments.

Yeah... Janeway and Sisko both have this issue where they seem like they are about to start laughing. They have a little bit of Geordi syndrome in my opinion. I think it feels worse if you watch either show directly after TNG, which is the order most people watch them. I can see why people love Kirk's character, but nobody can beat Patrick Stuart's acting. Pair him with Brent Spiner and it's just out of control. They crush every scene into little bits. If you aren't much of a theater nerd then it's probably not as pleasing to you, but for me the stupid parts where Picard and Data are doing Shakespeare really tickle my fancy. And there's just all these ridiculously small moments that show you how good acting can make an otherwise mundane scene into pure magic. Such as:
 

 

[Rudolph]

@Azuris Eh. There are much worse things to Star Trek than Nemesis.

 

For instance, the fact that the final episode of TOS was "Turnabout Intruder", which asserts that women are just biologically unfit to be starship captains. Thankfully, Star Trek Continues retconned that baffling plot point with a somehow convincing explanation.

[Liberation]

Re-watching the whole lot atm, except TOS, which I can't be bothered with anymore. Just finished TNG and about 5 episodes into DS9.

I actually love star trek, it's not quiet my fav scifi, but it is so good really.

DS9 is probably my favourite for story lines. TNG is amazing and certainly the best crew. Voyager is good, the doctor is my fav character, good to see the borg more as well. 

 

Enterprise is actually really good as well, you just got to give it 2 seasons of "ok" star trek, "Regeneration" being the highlight episode, before getting to the better stuff.

[omx32x]

im not a massive fan but i like star trek especially the next generation

 

the first one is good too but i fell like the episodes are 50/50 they are either really interesting or boring

[Aaron Blain]

I've recently been reading the work of 'cybercommunist' economist/engineer Paul Cockshott, who is working on the software needed for the future of direct democracy and post-monetary rational economic production envisioned by the likes of Asimov and Buckminster Fuller. I've been describing him to my friends as "full-on Star Trek". So I've had Trek on the brain a lot lately.

 

I'm a TOS guy myself, because I prefer the disconnected pieces of speculative fiction along the lines of The Twilight Zone. I do like TNG a lot too, though.

[Seeker_of_Truth]

22 hours ago, QuaketallicA said:

On a serious note I'm actually watching TNG for the first time. When I first started, I hated the show, felt like a poor rip-off of some of the weakest TOS scripts, but gradually during the 2nd season each character started to win me over, as the actors really settled into their roles and the writing improved. Measure of a Man was such a standout gem amongst the otherwise mediocrity. Then the third season comes along (which I'm currently on) and it's like every (or nearly every) episode is a knockout masterpiece. I really love it now, totally on par with or even better maybe than the original.

 

From about the 3rd season on TNG really comes into it's own. Measure of a Man was probably one of the best (if not the best) episode of the 2nd season, but I think it's fair to point out there was a writer's strike in '88, so I feel the season suffered because of it.

 

 

I've watched all the Star Trek series and movies more than once (with the exception of the current runs since they're still airing). I've got to say TNG is my favorite with DS9 and ENT a close second. Voyager really never did it for me, but I've been thinking about doing another watch as I haven't watch the series in a number of years now. As far as the current stuff goes, Lower Decks has been good, and I've liked the little they've aired of Prodigy thus far. Picard is fine and Discovery has been just okay; it has some moments, but I still think it has to make up some ground after the early seasons.

 

 

[Redneckerz]

Currently in DS9 S4 episode 16. Out of the 3 major ones, DS9 was the least watched from me back in the 90s when i was a kid and VOY was my main. So 1.5 years ago i started binging VOY, and at the beginning of this year, TNG. I finished that in september or so.

 

So now i am at DS9. And its very different to both VOY and TNG - but its so much more coherent. I am also one of few who thought VOY's absolute cringe tier writing was hilarious and great.

 

I haven't watched any Star Trek series post VOY, with the exception of Picard and the nu-gen movies. Picard is, again, very different, but its good. I did watch every classic Star Trek movie though, so... i guess im a Trekkie? Not a very dedicated one though, i couldn't tell one episode from the other, but i can tell all the characters apart.

 

I don't know, Star Trek always had my preference over Star Wars - Which i very much like aswell, its just that.. storywriting goes a long way in Trek, exploring unusual thems, and establishing a lot of air time for character development, especially in DS9. I like the small-talk scenes and the details that come up with them - and having those details have some kind of effect or reference later on in the series. It is neat.

[Liberation]

10 hours ago, Seeker_of_Truth said:

From about the 3rd season on TNG really comes into it's own. Measure of a Man was probably one of the best (if not the best) episode of the 2nd season, but I think it's fair to point out there was a writer's strike in '88, so I feel the season suffered because of it.

 

Yeah this for sure, there are some cracking episodes in both S1 and 2, however there is also a lot of really strange shit as well.. S2E1 being a bit of an odd start and the writers strike certainly being felt by the end of season 2, the final episode is just totally skippable.

Season 3 certainly starts picking up, but I found season 5 and 6 probably the best all rounders. Season 7 is great, but a few episodes are just garbage tbh, although understandable considering the amount of episodes.

 

10 hours ago, Seeker_of_Truth said:

Picard is fine and Discovery has been just okay

 

I liked Picard, bit brutal in places so a massive shift from the family friendly trek of old, but eh, it's ok and the season 2 trailer looked pretty awesome.

Discovery is interesting, I like all the characters, although Michelle Yeoh's character is/was just outstanding. Good use of the mirror universe and a interesting future lies ahead! Not started season 4 yet, will wait for the whole thing to be aired so I can just binge watch it.

 

22 minutes ago, Redneckerz said:

I don't know, Star Trek always had my preference over Star Wars - Which i very much like aswell, its just that.. storywriting goes a long way in Trek, exploring unusual thems, and establishing a lot of air time for character development, especially in DS9.

 

I know this is an old argument, which was better etc etc, but I've always viewed them as very different things, I like star wars but it is just generic scifi which anyone can watch. While star trek I feel you have to be "a bit more" into scifi to appreciate or like. (Same with other scifi tv programs)

[CBM]

What about the Q?

 

In TNG S6E15 (tapestry)... it is suggested that the Q acts as the divine entity for the human race, making us get reborn in to new lives until such time that they think we are ready to become Q ourselves ... similar to what some religions already think.

 

so are the Q really ... "god"  in the star trek universe?

[Martin Howe]

57 minutes ago, CBM said:

so are the Q really ... "god"  in the star trek universe?

I can't believe the Universe is run that badly 😛

[CBM]

3 minutes ago, Martin Howe said:

I can't believe the Universe is run that badly 😛

And ensign Picard has no desire to perform for Q's amusement :)

 

But despite Picards dislike for Q, it certainly looks like Q is running the afterlife of humans

[Liberation]

1 hour ago, CBM said:

so are the Q really ... "god"  in the star trek universe?

 

I've never viewed the Q as that. I think it's fair to say that there would be alien races on different planes of existence that are all powerful, who like to cause mischief for their own amusement.

 

Q has always just been annoying to Starfleet, the adults of the galaxy trolling the youngsters.

 

Except in the new season of Picard coming up... That looks pretty serious :-)  

[CBM]

9 minutes ago, Liberation said:

 

I've never viewed the Q as that. I think it's fair to say that there would be alien races on different planes of existence that are all powerful, who like to cause mischief for their own amusement.

 

Q has always just been annoying to Starfleet, the adults of the galaxy trolling the youngsters.

 

Except in the new season of Picard coming up... That looks pretty serious :-)  

well I refuse to watch the Picard series as it seems to serve just one purpose... to destroy Picards legacy

[RHhe82]

I really started watching Star Trek some 10 years ago, when I got hold of TNG DVD's. As a kid, I loved TNG and considered VOY and TNG the best of the series, and DS9 was the "boring trek" I don't think anyone really watched.

 

But, somewhere near when I hit the age of 30, I watched all the TNG-era treks and ENT. Now I still love TNG, but I like DS9 a bit more. Or actually, considerably more, it's easily my favourite of the series. Sure, it stands on the foundation laid by TNG, but it really takes full advantage of the part of the universe it inhabits. We see actual character development, and character-driven stories. Most of all, it explores morally gray areas, the heroes and villains aren't a black-and-white affair. All this without resorting to gloominess and sentimentality of the newest treks. Section 31 and the magnificent portrayal of Luther Sloan by the great William Sadler comes closest, and even that organization is presented without painting it all black and evil. Something Discovery failed to do in its second season.

 

In other Treks, we are usually rooting for the some core group of main cast, but DS9 utilizes its main cast effectively, even Jake Sisko feels like an actual human being unlike young mister Crusher in TNG. But that's not all, there's also a big group of recurring characters that are explored in greater depth than many of the main cast of other series. Just try to compare VOY's Harry Kim or Chakotay to Dukat, Weyoun, Winn Adami, Garak, Nog.

 

If as a kid I liked Voyager, then as an adult it was such a letdown. Mind you, it's not a bad show as such, but I watched it right after finishing DS9, expecting it was more of the same quality, but in truth it was just another TNG with bigger budget but lazier writing, and while it had a great premise, it let go of any adherence to it and settled for silly anomaly-of-the-week kind of storytelling. Of course, there were great episodes, too, and when it was good, it really was good... but far, far more inconsistent than DS9.

[RHhe82]

On 12/2/2021 at 9:38 PM, ChopBlock223 said:

I like Kirk a little bit more than Picard.

Whenever I’m asked to choose between Kirk and Picard, I pick Sisko, the Samuel L. Jackson of the 24th century.

[Doom_Dude]

When I was a kid the only Trek available to watch was TOS. I watched it whenever it was on and my brother would say those are all repeats, I'd still watch it. Then TNG came along and was excited for new Trek and I found it to be very enjoyable. I prefer TOS, TNG and DS9. VOY and ENT were decent, but then wtf is Discovery. I just can't get into the characters, the spore drives and the odd looking KlingOrcs so I only watched the first season... maybe it got better. A dozen years ago I finally got to see TAS, which was pretty good for ancient animation. I like the newer LOW with it's humor and references to Trek lore and the TNG style.

[CBM]

I like tng, ds9 and voy for different reasons

 

for example voy really explores the borg fully

tng is the foundation and has many many good episodes

ds9 has charecter development and many things not found in the other shows

 

then there is enterprise and its ability to function as a good background story for tng

 

tos is painfull to watch because of the extremely low budget (Having a spaceship made of cardboard destroys my immersion)

 

discovery is pure trash and it got worse with each season

 

a combination of the visuals from discovery and the storytelling from tos might be a winner

 

picard is just made to try and destroy tng

 

lower decks also tries to destroy the startrek legacy

[RHhe82]

1 hour ago, CBM said:

[...]

 

tos is painfull to watch because of the extremely low budget (Having a spaceship made of cardboard destroys my immersion)

 

discovery is pure trash and it got worse with each season

 

a combination of the visuals from discovery and the storytelling from tos might be a winner

 

picard is just made to try and destroy tng

 

lower decks also tries to destroy the startrek legacy

 

I can agree with these sentiments. I respect TOS, but I have never watched it through. There are decent ideas, but far too often execution is so lacking, it's hard to forgive the passage of time. I mean, I hate it when people pass on judgments for past attitudes based on 2020s morality, but sometimes TOS can be really cringeworthy.

 

But I don't really like Discovery or Picard, either. I don't hate them, there are some things I really like in those. For instance, I really liked the character of Lorca in the first season of Discovery - until he was totally destroyed by the writers with a high school grade plot twist. Gone was the PTSD renegade captain, in was the cartoon evil space Trump with all the "Let's make the empire great again"-speeches. It always seems the same with DSC. They show some potential and promise early in the season only to squander it later on with silly plots dealing with threats to whole existence and by treating Burnham like a superhuman that can do no wrong (and even when she does, she's rewarded in the end for it anyway, let Saru suffer consequences of actually trying to do right). Compare it once again DS9: it had a lot at stake, but not the whole universe. There was a war against the Dominion, but if the federation had lost (and it can be argued it was pyrrhic victory in the end) then all would have happened was that federation would have fallen under new rule, that's it.

 

Picard suffers from the same ailment than Discovery. It showed promise, but the writers had to be edgy with torture porn scenes and in the end they resort to Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron -kind of doomsday laser monster trope stupidity.

 

Lower Decks I actually kind of liked. I really hated it when the trailers first came out, and it did take a couple of episodes for me to warm up to it. I don't consider it canon, but rather a fan project borrowing elements from a familiar Trek universe.