Random Star Trek thoughts

[Totenkindly]

Shatner also seems to be a twatwaffle. Harrison Ford is a gruff fucker. I think I might get along with Mark Hamill though.

I think part of it is that Hamill seems very accessible -- he puts himself out there online and at cons and seems smart, savvy, great sense of humor, doesn't take himself that seriously, has passion over good things / for humanity. Some of the other folks are more reclusive, so we don't know who they are, and aren't as transparent.

I’m remembering why theater culture was such a turnoff for me. Shame, because I so loved acting, but so despised the people that formed the culture

I think you have to have a pretty big ego (good or bad) to endure all the jockeying for roles, and to trust your instincts / believe all the stuff that you think you can sell on stage, and also the drama chops. So you are going to get some pretty big personas there to deal with. There are good apples and bad apples, but you have to have a real tenacity and make your presence known, I think.

Film is nice because it leaves more room for the introverts, since the cameras / presentation style allows for more nuanced / low-key people to shine.

I could be completely wrong, but that's the first thing I think...

My nuance is in my head and what I think; I can't exude it very well physically. I either fail, or it sucks all my energy out. I sometimes have people ask me to repeat something because my voice just is not very loud as well. But I admire really great performers, as something I cannot do well myself.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

the funny thing is that this happens twice. Harry turns into a moody badass in the one where the Voyager crashes on that planet after using his failed slipstream prototype, then he turns into a badass captain in the finale episode Endgame, but of course old lady Janeway goes back in time and erases that future timeline. I bet he's still an ensign by the time of the new Picard show. Dude can't catch a break.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I think the people who say the TOS era look is too dated are full of shit (looking at you, Discovery fans). It just needs a slight tweaking and decent production value behind it. The Axanar fan film shorts are perfect evidence that this aesthetic holds up pretty well with a few slight updates. The Enterprise episode "In A Mirror Darkly" also proved it holds up pretty well. The Phase II fan episodes also make that era's aesthetic look a lot better. Disco fans always strawman TOS defenders by saying shit like "you want them to return to the crappy sets, low budget look and miniskirts of the sixties Trek." But that's not true. I just want that updated and with a higher budget behind it. I really hope the Pike show moves closer to that look, but I'm really not holding my breath there.

I gotta say, for a fan production, I think this looks worlds better than JJverse and Kurtzman Trek. Most of these actors also do a better job than the cast of Discovery. It's pretty fucking sad when a 15 minute fan short made on limited funds looks better and has more drama and tension than the show officially being produced by Viacom and CBS. In a just world, this is the show we'd have gotten, and it wouldn't be locked behind a pay wall.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Cut dialogue from STII. I had no idea that the producers had intended for Sulu to get his own command as early as this in the series, and knowing this makes it clearer why Takei may have been butthurt about not getting a captaincy until part VI. Knowing he was up for command, it makes it clear just how much he gave up in part III to help Kirk and McCoy. I have to wonder if his involvement in stealing the Enterprise and assaulting Starfleet security officers didn’t play some role in Starfleet Command delaying his promotion several years. I’d also like to imagine alternate scenarios in the film series where he became a Captain much sooner.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I think there are three main timelines in Star Trek. Prime, Kelvin and Disco. Prime is everything seen from TOS to Nemesis. Disco universe timeline is set motion in First Contact, a split off from the prime due to the Enterprise E traveling back to the mid 21st century. The series Enterprise, Discovery and possibly Picard are set in this timeline. The Kelvin timeline is a branch off from the Enterprise/Discovery timeline resulting from the events seen in the first scene of JJverse Trek.

To put it in nonlinear terms: the events of First Contact in 2063 result in a branch off timeline where we see the events of Enterprise and Discovery. In 2033 Discovery timeline, the events of Star Trek ‘09 cause a further branch off timeline where the Kelvin movies occur. All fingers point back to First Contact.

Although it occurred to me there may in fact be 4 timelines if we consider the events of Star Trek IV.

I do not mean there are only three (or four) timelines in the ST universe, because the TNG episode “Parallels” establishes there are countless parallel lines. I mean that all of the various series and films can be pegged into one of these three or four timelines (with the exception of the occasional episode like Yesterday’s Enterprise)

I have a separate theory on the mirror universe but will get into that at another time

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Right now I wish I could put on a soft, fuzzy onesie, curl up next to Mr. Spock and have him tell me logical things.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I think every timeline has its own mirror universe. Sort of like an upside down as established in Stranger Things, except instead of being populated by lovecraftian horrors, they are populated by nearly identical people and societies somehow morally and/or ideologically opposite to their counterparts in the “normal timelines”.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Star Track season 3 is a greater improvement on season 2 than season 2 was on season 1. I must confess I opted to skip to season three after the double helping of stinkers that was "Up the Long Ladder" and "Manhunt".

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Star Track season 3 is a greater improvement on season 2 than season 2 was on season 1. I must confess I opted to skip to season three after the double helping of stinkers that was "Up the Long Ladder" and "Manhunt".

TNG Season 2 is the most uneven of them all. You get some of the absolute best episodes next to the absolute worst. And the worst episodes of season 2 are actually even worse than season one I think, while the best like Measure of a Man rank up there with the absolute best in all of Trek

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

TNG Season 2 is the most uneven of them all. You get some of the absolute best episodes next to the absolute worst. And the worst episodes of season 2 are actually even worse than season one I think, while the best like Measure of a Man rank up there with the absolute best in all of Trek

Yeah, Manhunt was worse than anything in season 1. See, it's called "Manhunt" because Troi's mom is hunting for a man, isn't that hilarious?

It's not.

And Up The Long Ladder was actually good until they beamed up the colonists and Irish fiddle music started coming out of nowhere. Also, I found it a bit annoying that every single crew member objected to being cloned to save this society... I would have expected more weighing of pros and cons at least; it bugged me that everyone was just stubbornly refusing it and made the crew kind of look like dicks. It all just seemed awkwardly shoehorned in so they could do what I already figured out they were going to do as soon as I learned that the clones were deteriorating ( bringing the Irish stereotypes and the cloned people together). Instead we watch a bunch of dumb hijinks (these people like to drink!) before everyone figures that out.

It turned out that the stuff with the crew refusing to be cloned was actually intended to be a metaphor for abortion which didn't track at all. (You don't carry a clone to term.)

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Yup, and Will Decker was pretty clearly a prototype of Riker

Even the TMP uniforms seem like a rough version of the early TNG uniforms

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Yup, and Will Decker was pretty clearly a prototype of Riker

Even the TMP uniforms seem like a rough version of the early TNG uniforms

Yeah, and the species names are even similar... Deltan vs. Betazoid.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

I kind of prefer the TMP uniforms to the maroon dress jacket uniforms. The maroons look neat, but way too stiff and formal for daily use on a starship. Maybe if they’d kept the TMP style as the standard uniforms and just used the maroons as dress/ceremonial uniforms…

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I kind of prefer the TMP uniforms to the maroon dress jacket uniforms. The maroons look neat, but way too stiff and formal for daily use on a starship. Maybe if they’d kept the TMP style as the standard uniforms and just used the maroons as dress/ceremonial uniforms…

I think those were meant to be a homage to the officer uniforms of the Age of Sail. They have a very "retro" look about them as opposed to the various starfleet uniforms features on the shows, which seem to reflect what was considered futuristic looking at the time for the most part.

 

[BlackCat]

There were some hidden gems in the episodes before the show "grew a beard" so to say. I love me some TNG.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

There were some hidden gems in the episodes before the show "grew a beard" so to say. I love me some TNG.

I liked the one where Data was communicating with that girl who was on the planet that was being destroyed. That was pretty good. Also the one with the crystalline life form (although I suppose it could be argued that it's similar to Devil in the Dark, but that was a good one, too).

 

[Coriolis]

I had almost the opposite impression. In season 1, TNG seemed like it was trying to figure out what it wanted to be. I thought season 2 was much more settled and focused. I wish Tasha Yar had stayed on longer. Data was a trope at first, and really had to grow into a believable character. I had little patience for Troi. There was still too much stereotyping in that show.

I kind of prefer the TMP uniforms to the maroon dress jacket uniforms. The maroons look neat, but way too stiff and formal for daily use on a starship. Maybe if they’d kept the TMP style as the standard uniforms and just used the maroons as dress/ceremonial uniforms…

I preferred the maroon jacket uniforms, too. The TMP uniforms looked like Dr. Dentons, complete with footies. TMP as a movie, however, was extremely underrated, and is probably one of the best in the franchise.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I had almost the opposite impression. In season 1, TNG seemed like it was trying to figure out what it wanted to be. I thought season 2 was much more settled and focused. I wish Tasha Yar had stayed on longer. Data was a trope at first, and really had to grow into a believable character. I had little patience for Troi. There was still too much stereotyping in that show.


I preferred the maroon jacket uniforms, too. The TMP uniforms looked like Dr. Dentons, complete with footies. TMP as a movie, however, was extremely underrated, and is probably one of the best in the franchise.

I liked TMP a lot. I still have to watch 4, 5, and 6.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Vulcans = High Elves
Romulans = Dark Elves
Jem'Hadar = Orcs
Ferengi = Goblins
Klingons = Dwarves
Borg = Undead


I know everyone considers Klingons space orcs but I think their culture is more Dwarven like.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Vulcans = High Elves
Romulans = Dark Elves
Jem'Hadar = Orcs
Ferengi = Goblins
Klingons = Dwarves
Borg = Undead


I know everyone considers Klingons space orcs but I think their culture is more Dwarven like.

Is this Warcraft? Dark Elves in Tolkien mean something quite different; Dark Elves aren't evil, they just never journeyed West to see the Two Trees in Valinor,, although there's not a ton written about them. There really is no difference between Orcs and Goblins except Goblin is used more in the Hobbit and the early sections of Fellowship.