Star Trek is full of extremist one trick pony races

[dogoftheunderworld]

I recall when Voyeger came out, they had a lot of trouble making tech look "futuristic" enough because of so many current inventions (touch screens, flat panels, tiny cell phones, home networking, etc.). Since Voyeger was supposed to take place even farther into the future than NG (if even by a few years). It was one of the reasons the ship had living tissue "brain cells" as part of the computer system.

 

[Elf Witch]

I've been watching ST:Voyager on netflix lately. First time I've seen these episodes since they aired.

as usual, I have comments on and observations as if TV was real life.

Bear in mind, I like Star Trek. I think it is mucho better than Star Wars. The Enterprise can defeat the Death Star because Star Trek is better than Star Wars.

I realize, there might be some people who disagree that Star Wars is better than Star Trek, but this thread is about Star Trek.


I'm up to season five of Voyager and such rapid viewing makes certain patterns more obvious than when watching it 1 show per week.

The writers portray alien races as single job function extremists. It's no wonder that Humans are better than any other race, when every other race seems to glom into a single extreme political stance or social function.

Hozari: a race of bounty hunters. Gee, T'mee, what do you want to be when you grow up? A bounty hunter, duh!

Malon: a race of garbage dumpers. Even the guy who disputes, "we're not just garbage haulers, I'm an Artist!" has the corellary, "but I haul trash to pay the bills"

I imagine that on ST:TOS, this writing style was a novel means to illustrate the problem with extreme view points like hating somebody because the color of their skin was the opposite of yours.

Used occasionally, it's a useful tool. But packed into episode after episode, season after season and then watched serially in rapid succession on Netflix, it becomes blatant and old.

If they were writing ST today, I would expect to see an episode where one of the current political parties ideals was shipped to an alternate Earth where only they ruled, and then the crew would travel there and see what was wrong with that world.

If ST hadn't bludgeoned the heck out of that tool, it might have been a decent episode and a subtle illuminating tool. Now it would be seen as a political attack and bias by the opposing party viewpoint.

PS. I also hate the dumb as heck way that the 24th century has to manually distribute DataPadds with information on it. This show was airing in the Windows95 era. You've Got Mail has been in the theatres and America is familiar with the concept of e-mail. we can give the Okuda's credit for inventing the iThing, but apparently they all missed the point that data is TRANSMITTED OVER NETWORK, and not passed around manually. We might as well have ensigns in miniskirts walking around with clipboards to be signed.

Here's how tech was supposed to work: Each crewman is issued a DataPadd that is keyed to them, maybe it's DNA secured. It has wireless access to the ship's server and thus can show them messages, task lists, act as a remote screen into the system, etc. Neelix does not need to fracking walk around the ship handing out messages from home.

Anyway, that just about covers my view on what's wrong with Star Trek, despite the fact that I like Star Trek.

But if they just had the data sent straight to the data pads then there would be no interaction no drama.

TV shows can'rt exactly mimic real life because that would be boring.

I think you are right about the races they are all the same it is not like with us humans who had one world and have hundreds of different cultures. But that would be very difficult to show and to develop.

In the end you have to either accept the limitations or let it ruin your enjoyment of the show.

 

[Elf Witch]

that is a good summary of what I'm observing.

I guess the next question would be, "to what end?"

Considering Trek's target market is people who agree with Trek, while the writers might feel like they're addressing some huge social issue, the audience already agrees with them, so they are preaching to the choir.

I doubt there were any racists who saw the half-white/black people ST:TOS episode and decided, "OMG, racism is wrong, I should totally rethink my outlook on life."

Here is the thing Trek may not be able to change someone whose outlook is set in stone but it can influence someone whose outlook is not.

I love my family but they are very racist ,a product of their upbringing. I am not like them at all and I think it has to do because at seven years old I was planted in front of the TV watching the original run of Trek.

As a teen I very much into from watching the reruns, reading the novels as they slowly came out and writing bad fan fic.

So the simple moral stories of trek help make me the person I am today.

 

[Umbran]

PS. I also hate the dumb as heck way that the 24th century has to manually distribute DataPadds with information on it. This show was airing in the Windows95 era. You've Got Mail has been in the theatres and America is familiar with the concept of e-mail. we can give the Okuda's credit for inventing the iThing, but apparently they all missed the point that data is TRANSMITTED OVER NETWORK, and not passed around manually. We might as well have ensigns in miniskirts walking around with clipboards to be signed.

Or, maybe they know something that you, still mired in the beginning of the electronic era, have forgotten for a moment.

The written word is about the *slowest* from of communication available to humans. It is convenient in certain instances, yes. But, if you actually want to communicate with another person, the best way is still face-to-face. Meeting face-to-face builds connections, teams, and communities in ways that e-mail doesn't. Face-to-face communication carries nuance in 30 seconds that can take pages in plain text.

So, maybe in the Trek Universe, they looked at our edition wars and stuff, and saw how lousy text is as a medium, and built their processes to be more personal.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Bear in mind, I like Star Trek. I think it is mucho better than Star Wars. The Enterprise can defeat the Death Star because Star Trek is better than Star Wars.

I realize, there might be some people who disagree that Star Wars is better than Star Trek, but this thread is about Star Trek.

Now, your opening post would have been much, much better without this unwarranted opening of trek/wars hostilities. It wasn't what you wanted to talk about, so why include it?

Please don't do it again.

CorAzer kindly pointed out that I failed my reading comprehension a little sorry!

 

[Cor Azer]

Now, your opening post would have been much, much better without this unwarranted opening of trek/wars hostilities. It wasn't what you wanted to talk about, so why include it?

Please don't do it again.

Without speaking for Janx, I figured he did it to link to two rather humorous Basic Instructions comics.

If we can't laugh at our own hobbies, then we're no better than the animals. Except the weasels.

 

[Goodsport]

There were some episodes here and there throughout all the Star Trek series' that defied the "the entire race thinks and acts the same" concept.

"Duet" (from the first season of ST: DS9) certainly played with that concept and then twisted it on its head.


-G

 

[Goodsport]

But if they just had the data sent straight to the data pads then there would be no interaction no drama.

TV shows can'rt exactly mimic real life because that would be boring.

The same can be said for most martial arts films, particularly ones made in the west, where the fighting movements are usually much more exaggerated than they would be in real life.

If anything, most martial artists would rather dispatch their opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible, which actually wouldn't necessarily be all that cinematically pleasing.


-G

 

[Elf Witch]

The same can be said for most martial arts films, particularly ones made in the west, where the fighting movements are usually much more exaggerated than they would be in real life.

If anything, most martial artists would rather dispatch their opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible, which actually wouldn't necessarily be all that cinematically pleasing.


-G

It is the same on soap operas fans demand as favorite couple finally get together and get married. The actors often hate it because often that is the end of story lines for them. Happily ever after is boring to watch.


It is also why in action films they only run out of bullets when it is dramatic otherwise they usually don't bother. They want to keep the action going.

 

[Cor Azer]

Happily ever after is boring to watch.

That's why Joss Whedon has pretty much never let a couple last in his shows.