STAR TREK: Which one is your favorite

[Mark Arbour]

I was reading the Star Trek thread on the new movie and felt it begged for a poll, so I figured I'd set one up.

 

I remember when I first heard about "Deep Space Nine" my subconscious interpreted it as "Deep Throat Nine." That may have made it my personal favorite. Instead, I have to give the nod to TNG.

[W_L]

I have to give it to DS9 for trying to balance idealism with reality. Although in a head to head battle, Babylon 5 and DS9 should both be ranked in their category of sci-fi.

 

For movies, I love Wrath of Khan, which has the best elements and themes of movies with a Star Trek setting. Birth, life, and death along with aging and progress. Khan himself is a product of new age genetic engineering and Kirk is visibly older with the need for glasses. Genesis is the beginning of new life, while paralled to the death of Spock. Hands down the best movie in my view.

 

Star Trek IV; Voyage Home, I just like how the 23rd century meshed with our modern technologies. By the 1980's, cell phones imagined on Star Trek had become practical in reality with the first models. Medical equipment had grown and developed due to Star Trek. It's another parallel between reality and fiction. It makes you grateful to have Star Trek.

 

Star Trek: First Contact, Epic space battle and a story of mankind's first steps towards exploration after a nuclear war. It's a story of hope and reaching out to our greatest potentials. There is also a 2nd level allusion that you can acknowledge technologically, humanity destroyed ourselves through nuclear war. The Borg represent the technological nature of humanity and how discovery if used wrongly can destroy us, but the Enterprise crew represents the original Trekkian premise of Benign technology used to raise us beyond our pity difference and reaching a new level of galactic awareness.

 

Well that's it for my film critiquing. Join me next time, when I take on the Star Wars Trilogies: Why I hate the new one? :P

[Mark Arbour]

I have to give it to DS9 for trying to balance idealism with reality. Although in a head to head battle, Babylon 5 and DS9 should both be ranked in their category of sci-fi.

 

For movies, I love Wrath of Khan, which has the best elements and themes of movies with a Star Trek setting. Birth, life, and death along with aging and progress. Khan himself is a product of new age genetic engineering and Kirk is visibly older with the need for glasses. Genesis is the beginning of new life, while paralled to the death of Spock. Hands down the best movie in my view.

 

Star Trek IV; Voyage Home, I just like how the 23rd century meshed with our modern technologies. By the 1980's, cell phones imagined on Star Trek had become practical in reality with the first models. Medical equipment had grown and developed due to Star Trek. It's another parallel between reality and fiction. It makes you grateful to have Star Trek.

 

Star Trek: First Contact, Epic space battle and a story of mankind's first steps towards exploration after a nuclear war. It's a story of hope and reaching out to our greatest potentials. There is also a 2nd level allusion that you can acknowledge technologically, humanity destroyed ourselves through nuclear war. The Borg represent the technological nature of humanity and how discovery if used wrongly can destroy us, but the Enterprise crew represents the original Trekkian premise of Benign technology used to raise us beyond our pity difference and reaching a new level of galactic awareness.

 

Well that's it for my film critiquing. Join me next time, when I take on the Star Wars Trilogies: Why I hate the new one? :P

 

One nitpick WL, an issue that came up in my forum. Cell phones weren't really common until the mid-90's. My latest story, "A Summer Love," takes place in 1991. Then, cell phones were still the size of bricks, for the most part, so most people had CAR phones. If you think about it, the Cell Phone phenomenon is a relatively recent thing. I often wonder what has transformed our society more: The Internet (knowledge, data on demand) or The Cell Phone (the ability to be in communication on the move, virtually anywhere).

[Dandevdrew]

It's a close run thing for me between :TNG and DS9.

 

:TNG on the plus side was the idealism, the cast, especially Patrick Stewart (Why he hasn't been knighted yet is a mystery to me. If you ever get the opportunity to see him on stage you'll know just what a great actor he is ) and for me it was the series that hooked me in as a fan.

 

On the minus side, they didn't actually do a lot of going where no one has gone before. A great majority of episodes revolved around the enterprise going from one known planet to another known planet to provide diplomatic services/medical help, while the sub-plot was usually Data exploring some element of the human condition. As Picard's archaeology professor said to him "You're just like a Roman centurion, patrolling a bloated empire."

 

I totally agree with what W.I. said about DS9 about the balance of idealism and reality. I think that they dealt with issues better than :TNG e.g. The terrorism v freedom fighter debate. Also in later seasons we had a lot of Klingon orientated episodes and that's always a plus in my book.

 

It took me a while to get into Voyager. For the first few seasons I had this theory that they were the B Ark of Star Fleet and the Marquis. I will explain: For those unfamiliar with Douglas Adam's Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, the people of the planet Golgafrincham decided to get rid of their useless third of their population (hair dressers, middle management, telephone sanitizers etc.) by making up as story about impending planetary doom. They packed off the useless third onto one giant spaceship called the B Ark.

 

And that's what I thought Star Fleet and the Marquis had done with their useless personnel. They couldn't sack them, (the unions wouldn't have it ) so they packed them off to the bad lands and off to the Delta quadrant to keep them out of harm's way, so that they could get on with their nice little war with the Dominion.

 

Many an episode I'd have to watch them work out the blatantly obvious while shouting at the TV "It's an effing temporal flux", only to have to sit through 44 minutes until they work out that it was a temporal flux.

 

But that aside, I actually ended up really liking Voyager.

 

I won't go into the original series or Enterprise, because one, I have spent too long waffling on, and two, I've posted views on those two shows in the other Trek thread.

 

As for the films:

 

First Contact is my favourite, closely followed by The Undiscovered Country. Then it would be a tie between Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home, with the former only just coming out in front.

[W_L]

One nitpick WL, an issue that came up in my forum. Cell phones weren't really common until the mid-90's. My latest story, "A Summer Love," takes place in 1991. Then, cell phones were still the size of bricks, for the most part, so most people had CAR phones. If you think about it, the Cell Phone phenomenon is a relatively recent thing. I often wonder what has transformed our society more: The Internet (knowledge, data on demand) or The Cell Phone (the ability to be in communication on the move, virtually anywhere).

 

I agree, my IT professor showed us one of the old phones; they were huge! (Both literally and figurately for the advancement)

 

However, I still am convince that Star Trek aided in the development of cellphone technology and micro-processing.

[Mark Arbour]

I agree, my IT professor showed us one of the old phones; they were huge! (Both literally and figurately for the advancement)

 

However, I still am convince that Star Trek aided in the development of cellphone technology and micro-processing.

 

I think you're right on that. It's hard to dice it out, parse it to say which movement came from where, but I have to believe that the various series stimulated the imagination about what could be possible.

[JamesSavik]

I like Babylon 5 better.

 

The aliens were more than people with butts on their heads nor did the humans have a politically correct stick up their ass.

[W_L]

I like Babylon 5 better.

 

The aliens were more than people with butts on their heads nor did the humans have a politically correct stick up their ass.

 

DS9 tried, but Berman only let it go so far as one episode, "In the Pale Moonlight", which is now ranked as one of the top 10 episodes of Star Trek both in reception and controversy.

 

If Ira Behr and Ron Moore both had their say; Star Trek would never had needed a restart. Think 4400 government conspiracy mixed with Battlestar Galactica occupation arc, all based on Cardassia after the Dominion war, what you get is a show that take Star Trek planet-side in the future where people have everything they need, but still have issues over politics and policy with one another. Interpersonal conflicts and political conflicts could have brought the 24th century into the early 21st century.

 

For their independent sci-fi series:

 

The 4400 was good, but Ira Behr lacked focus on the storyline to follow through. He was one of the conceptual writers for the Borg on TNG, so he is brilliant conceptually; he just needs a stronger pairing.

 

Ron Moore is the famous show runner of the successful and powerful Battlestar Galactica's re-imagining, but where his failure might be found the last seasons drift and long winded patterns without closing out arcs.

 

Those two guys needed one another without Berman's intrusion into Star Trek show running; they are great show-runners independently, but they each are missing what the other has.

[Sir Galahad]

I liked B5 as well, even have all the DVDs! I could never get into DS9, it just never held my interest as well as TNG or Voyager. But when all is said & done TNG has got to be my favourite series & First Contact by far the best movie.

[hh5]

my brothers are all STOS - maybe add the animated series too.

 

me - all of it is ok - it gives variety to what star trek is

 

but I just hate when they use what they know now and re-do the graphics designs or engineering designs of the old stuff.

 

thats where it might be hurting the STOS fans

 

just to make the new fans happy that the old looks like the new.

 

 

I can tell you that ST5 Movie was definitely one that should not have been published.

now someone can start a thread on that response.

[Myr]

I have ALL the Babylon 5 stuff, All the STar Trek Movies, and all the shows, except the Original series on DVD.

DS9 (post season 3 when it tried to emulate the story arc of Babylon 5) is my favorite.

I really really really loved JMS's (babylon 5) concept of a television novel instead of random missions like all the other treks...

[hh5]

I have ALL the Babylon 5 stuff, All the STar Trek Movies, and all the shows, except the Original series on DVD.

DS9 (post season 3 when it tried to emulate the story arc of Babylon 5) is my favorite.

I really really really loved JMS's (babylon 5) concept of a television novel instead of random missions like all the other treks...

 

my old co-worker is die hard - babylon fiver

all other series and stories are a re-hash of other stories

[W_L]

I have ALL the Babylon 5 stuff, All the STar Trek Movies, and all the shows, except the Original series on DVD.

DS9 (post season 3 when it tried to emulate the story arc of Babylon 5) is my favorite.

I really really really loved JMS's (babylon 5) concept of a television novel instead of random missions like all the other treks...

 

No one really knows now if it was emulation or if it was just Ron Moore doing his show running with little story concepts from Ira behr. We know now that Ron could do large Arcs like he did in Battlestar Galactica, so it could have been a bit of both.

[JamesSavik]

I really really really loved JMS's (babylon 5) concept of a television novel instead of random missions like all the other treks...

 

 

I suppose as a writer, this is why I like B5 best. When you look at some of the trek series as a story arc, a lot of the episodes have major continuity issues.

 

This is something that I try hard to avoid in my own writing.

 

It sucks to be reading (or watching) something and have a character die and then be resurrected in chapter 30 without devine intervention or an explanation.

[W_L]

I suppose as a writer, this is why I like B5 best. When you look at some of the trek series as a story arc, a lot of the episodes have major continuity issues.

 

This is something that I try hard to avoid in my own writing.

 

It sucks to be reading (or watching) something and have a character die and then be resurrected in chapter 30 without devine intervention or an explanation.

 

As a writer, for me, it depends on what I write. Some stuff is episodic like Love and Again with certain small arcs for fun, but other stories are grander and pretty extreme.

 

Exodus will have a chapter 2 in about a month; it took me about three months to write it looking back and forth at notes and technology concepts.

 

Episodic is easier to write and shorter in concept. Grand stories like B5 are extremely difficult and it took JMS years to do it. I realize his difficulty, now.

[Emulated]

Sigh. I can't answer the poll. I can't decide which is my favourite.

 

It's a close tie between Voyager and Enterprise. DS9 would come second, then TNG, with TOS in last place.

 

As for the movies, it would be: First Contact, the Voyage Home, and Nemesis.

[Sir Galahad]

Sigh. I can't answer the poll. I can't decide which is my favourite.

 

It's a close tie between Voyager and Enterprise. DS9 would come second, then TNG, with TOS in last place.

 

As for the movies, it would be: First Contact, the Voyage Home, and Nemesis.

Enterprise?! You serious? I thought that was the biggest pile of dog poo. Bad scripts, totally wrong concept, badly cast....the list goes on!

 

Voyager on the other hand.

[Emulated]

Enterprise?! You serious? I thought that was the biggest pile of dog poo. Bad scripts, totally wrong concept, badly cast....the list goes on!

Awesome scripts, EXCELLENT concept, great cast...the list goes on!

 

 

Voyager on the other hand.

Glad we can agree on something.

[Sir Galahad]

Awesome scripts, EXCELLENT concept, great cast...the list goes on!

Which was obviously why it was axed!

 

To be serious, nothing was right about it. Almost every trekky I know hated it, and obviously the network agreed. It just didn't fit right after Voyager, and sad to say, was a total letdown!

[Myr]

Enterprise was axed because it was broadcast on a network that had about 20 TV stations. Voyager barely scraped by for the same reason. (UPN). Had it done syndication (Like TNG and DS9), it would have been better off...

For all that, they ruined a great opportunity. They finally figured it out because Season 4 was the best season.

[Mark Arbour]

Enterprise was axed because it was broadcast on a network that had about 20 TV stations. Voyager barely scraped by for the same reason. (UPN). Had it done syndication (Like TNG and DS9), it would have been better off...

For all that, they ruined a great opportunity. They finally figured it out because Season 4 was the best season.

 

Yeah but there was still that theme song.

 

What were they thinking?

[Razor]

The one that's on a TV in someone else's house, because then I don't have to stare at it wondering what the hell is wrong with everyone's foreheads. JK! ~runs to avoid the wrath of the trekkies~

[W_L]

The one that's on a TV in someone else's house, because then I don't have to stare at it wondering what the hell is wrong with everyone's foreheads. JK! ~runs to avoid the wrath of the trekkies~

 

Blasphemy!!!!!

 

Time to send some one to the ice planet of death!

Some Trekkies are a little extreme, one reason why I left the Church of Trek.

[Mark M]

Is the motion picture the one coming out tomorrow which i'm going to see?? cuz it looks awesome! anyway i think nemisis is cool otherwise. havent seen many. lol

[Dandevdrew]

Is the motion picture the one coming out tomorrow which i'm going to see?? cuz it looks awesome! anyway i think nemisis is cool otherwise. havent seen many. lol

 

 

No, I'm afraid not. The Motion Picture was the first Star Trek film released in 1979. It was the one that went on for hours and hours, whole new civilisations could have risen and fell in the time it took for that movie to play out. Ok, so maybe not quite. But I do seem to remember that it ran on for a very long time.

 

The new film is simply called 'Star Trek'. I guess a lot of hours of movie exec brain storming went in to thinking up an original imaginative title like that.