Straczynski on Trek

[Lord Pendragon]

I remember reading something that according to Roddenbery he envisioned the humans of the 24th century wouldn't have personal conflicts...

Which sounds like the most unrealistic idea ever thought up. And it makes for boring TV.

It's not supposed to be realistic. It's supposed to be an idealised Utopia. Mankind, evolved beyond the pettiness and selfishness that drives it today. I've always liked it. Cynical as I am about the Mankind of today, I like to imagine that Roddenberry's Federation is a possible future.

That said, I am a professed fan of TNG and DS9, and never found either of them boring television. The fact that he envisioned no inter-human conflicts does not mean Star Trek has no conflicts, as I think many Trek series have proven.

You know what I do consider "boring television"? Reality TV. It's the most realistic programming on the tube, and complete and utter garbage.

 

[Starman]

Well, it's a moot point, now.

http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17287

Starman

 

[DaveMage]

I guess we'll see in a couple years from now...

 

[Arnwyn]

Based on the single sentence of your reply, I find it difficult to respond other than to ask for some elaboration.

Oh, heavens, I wasn't expecting a response. It was just an observation of mine.

Your reply doesn't give me any idea of what you disagree with, what you want from Trek, or where I should elaborate.

I suppose I might as well elaborate. For me, any concept of "realism" has long since been blown right out the window. When Trek has thousands of races, all of them simply humans with funny heads, they all speak freaking English (no 'universal translators' needed), and everyone is doing weird things with 'tachyons', well, any talk of realism/versimilitude/believability simply becomes meaningless. There just isn't any. (Thus, pointing out specific instances causes my eyes to glaze over as I point out every other thing in the whole series.)

So, I agree with your complaints about realism. However, considering virtually every other single thing is unrealistic, I disagree it's a problem. Trek is what it is. (And realistic, it ain't.)

 

[Tkolhoff]

Series refocus

I think it would be interesting if someone put togehter a show that was based on a different race in the ST universe. Klingons or something.... then they could revisit some old story ideas where the other races had parts to play but we would see it from a different viewpoint.

TK

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Well, it's a moot point, now.

http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17287

Man, I had all these cunning arguments lined up to both highlight my brilliance and demonstrate that I am a true sci-fi TV genius. Now there's no point I guess.

Drat.

 

[Villano]

I remember reading something that according to Roddenbery he envisioned the humans of the 24th century wouldn't have personal conflicts...

Which sounds like the most unrealistic idea ever thought up. And it makes for boring TV.

Yeah, I remember someone on DS9 talking about this. That's why they had so many alien characters. Humans don't disagree.

 

[Mallus]

TOS had its stupid episodes, it had its bad episodes, but I never felt that my intelligence was being insulted in the way that TNG+ has.

I'm guessing this is going to be a pretty big list, but what episodes of TNG really standout insulting-your-IQ wise?

In retrospect, I think TNG has amiable characters, a few steller episodes (like "Darmok" and "The Offsrping"), and a lot of really really dull ones. At the time I enjoyed them, but I find I can't watch them over.

Let's take as an example the most blatant example of preaching in TOS, the Black/White Episode.

"Let This Be Your Last Battlefield"... Sometimes I think televised SF should strive to be no more sophisticated than this... My take on it is that was both insulting and powerful/elegant, like most good allegories. Its quintessential Trek.

But again I never felt that my intelligence was being insulted by the way that they were trying to make their point.

I never felt insulted by JMS... just angry at him for not getting help from other writers who could write the material he wasn't good at.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Before I started reading JMS's Amazing Spider-Man I thought he could do no wrong. Now I know better. How could the guy who created my favorite Sci-Fi show do such a horrid job on Spider-Man? I like the "history" of Star Trek and I get the feeling that JMS would want to retcon it so it is more like he thinks it should have been. I think he'd be better off doing his own thing rather than trying to remake Star Trek.

 

[myrdden]

When you've got the whole galaxy to play with, you don't need to completely reboot, or move to the distant future, to do new storylines.

Take, for example, Peter David's "New Frontier" books. They are what you get when you allow a competent (if not stellar) writer to work in a new part of space. Posit a region on the border of Federation space that has not been interesting or important until now, and give it a good reason to become important.

All of a sudden, you've got new planets, new races, new storylines, while still having access to older elements if you want them. For David it generated some of the better Trek fiction in print. For DS9 it yilded some of teh best Trek TV around.

Well put Umbran. This is what I am hoping happens in the future.