Are the Cardassians the most interesting Race in the Star Terk Galaxy?

[GeorgeKirk]

I didn't care for the way the Klingons became a pretend-Viking monoculture, either. And I hate how they always bring knives to a gun fight and manage not to get cut down like field mice under a lawn tractor.

[Thor Damar]

Tuln wrote:

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For real insight into the Cardies, read "A Stitch in Time" by Andrew Robinson

Read it and loved it. I think it's one of my Favorite pieces of trek Lit along with "The 34th Rule" by Armin Shimerman and David R George.

[Thor Damar]

GeorgeKirk wrote:

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I didn't care for the way the Klingons became a pretend-Viking monoculture, either. And I hate how they always bring knives to a gun fight and manage not to get cut down like field mice under a lawn tractor.

Watch " Way of the Warrior", Garak guns down dozens of Klingons and Dukat gives a good showing of himself as well.

[shanejayell]

Gul Macet is probably one of my fave characters in post series DS9 books. He's a good guy yet his resemblance to Dukat nearly gets him shot a few times...

[2 of 10]

Sorry to interrupt to Cardi Love-Fest, however, IMO the BORG where most interesting Race in Trek. The Collective like Seven is unique in all the Galaxy. I can't imagine Trek without the BORG, how bout you

[Temis the Vorta]

The Cardies are certainly the best written and acted race. But done properly, I think the Romulans and the Borg - yes, the Borg - would be duking it out for top billing.

Here's typical “speech” (babble) by the Space Cavemen (TNG-type “Klingons”):

“Meesa H-O-N-O-R! Yousa H-O-N-O-R? Meesa honor Exskreez me! Yousa come up heres fight meesa you insult meesa H-O-N-O-R Hello daddee! It be bad bombin' but yousa must fight meesa to death,H-O-N-O-R! Meesa H-O-N-O-R! Yousa no H-O-N-O-R! Exskreez me!”

I see your point, but these "Gunguns" at least have the sense to come out and say, "weesa pretty annoying, hah? No wonder weesa make all the prequels suck."

Sorry to interrupt to Cardi Love-Fest, however, IMO the BORG where most interesting Race in Trek. The Collective like Seven is unique in all the Galaxy. I can't imagine Trek without the BORG, how bout you

I think a lot of folks hate the Borg with the fiery passion of a billion supernovas, because of how badly they've been bungled by pushing them out there as this unstoppable, existentially terrifying force, and then neutering them by having Janeway et al turn them into chumps. But given the proper respect, yes, the Borg could be among Trek's best.

[trekkerguy]

Star...



Turk?!?


Just messin. No, they got alot of face time for sure,
but I found the Romulans far more interesting.

[Nerys Ghemor]

I agree that the Borg got screwed over by bad writing. That never happened to the Cardassians--and I think the fact that they were set up as so multifaceted from the very beginning meant that viewers were less likely to infer the actions of one Cardassian onto another. It was a lot harder to destroy them.

[Myasishchev]

2 of 10 wrote:

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Sorry to interrupt to Cardi Love-Fest, however, IMO the BORG where most interesting Race in Trek. The Collective like Seven is unique in all the Galaxy. I can't imagine Trek without the BORG, how bout you

Yes, and it would be better. Or at least, Trek without anything after BoBW or possibly I, Borg, would be.

The Borg, after I, Borg, were probably the most boring and routinely mishandled Trek species ever conceived. Klingons might have been a monoculture, but at least they had *a* culture. The Borg were apparently all a bunch of unwilling victims, and despite the obvious advantages the Borg way of life had, and this undermined any treatment of them as anything other than the Big Bad, and that's not why I watch Star Trek. I'll grant my memories of VOY are hazy, but I believe that to be a basically accurate characterization. I certainly don't recall anyone trying to defend being a Borg, although it doesn't really seem all that bad.

After I, Borg, they were nothing more than a bunch of Space Zombies. First Contact is a rather dull remake of Night of the Living Dead, except the house is the Enterprise, and we get to see a ten-second, anticlimactic space battle that's been tacked onto the front end.

[Thor Damar]

trekkerguy wrote:

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Star...



Turk?!?


Just messin. No, they got alot of face time for sure,
but I found the Romulans far more interesting.

Oops my bad on the spelling!

Scrubs does Star Trek, good idea or not?
As for the Romulans I will be discussing them Anon

[Thor Damar]

Nerys Ghemor wrote:

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I agree that the Borg got screwed over by bad writing. That never happened to the Cardassians--and I think the fact that they were set up as so multifaceted from the very beginning meant that viewers were less likely to infer the actions of one Cardassian onto another. It was a lot harder to destroy them.

Yeah, but the Dominion sure tried, the Bastards. I guess the writers through that near Genocide would be poetic justice for the Occupation of Bajor.

As to the Borg, after BOBW the Borg lost their appeal to me they became to easy to defeat and in the end became a running joke. Space Vampires! Stargate did a much better job of it with the Wraith.
The Borg should have only appeared in 2-3 eps max and been established as a vague unknown threat.

[Nerys Ghemor]

Thor Damar wrote:

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Yeah, but the Dominion sure tried, the Bastards. I guess the writers through that near Genocide would be poetic justice for the Occupation of Bajor.

Well...remember that the Dominion HAD demonstrated its genocidal tendencies before. Had Bashir not intervened, the Teplans would've been wiped out slowly by the Blight. And I'm afraid my memory isn't really doing so well on this question, but I think the Dominion had killed other races as well--and threatened to do so to Cardassia before Dukat's alliance. Dukat was arrogant...incredibly arrogant...to think he could keep that in check! If it's anybody's fault, it was Dukat's.

Maybe there was a poetic justice element...but to me, it was most importantly a comment on the consequences of Dukat's supreme arrogance.

[Thor Damar]

Nerys Ghemor wrote:

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Well...remember that the Dominion HAD demonstrated its genocidal tendencies before. Had Bashir not intervened, the Teplans would've been wiped out slowly by the Blight. And I'm afraid my memory isn't really doing so well on this question, but I think the Dominion had killed other races as well--and threatened to do so to Cardassia before Dukat's alliance. Dukat was arrogant...incredibly arrogant...to think he could keep that in check! If it's anybody's fault, it was Dukat's.

Maybe there was a poetic justice element...but to me, it was most importantly a comment on the consequences of Dukat's supreme arrogance.

Agreed on the above, Dukat's arrogance got the better of him. And he seriously thought the desperate times call for desperate measures yet the Feds had extended an open hand to the new Civilian government on Cardassia, but Dukat needed that Statute .

As to those mass murdering bastards called the Dominion, I recall Weyoun stating to Dukat that they would need to kill everyone on Earth to stop rebellion and that the Dominion would have killed every man,women and child on Bajor during the Resistance.
So the Dominion likes to resort to Genocide on a regular basis, that's why we all rooted for the Cardassians!

[Nerys Ghemor]

Thor Damar wrote:

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Agreed on the above, Dukat's arrogance got the better of him. And he obveriously thought the desperate times call for desperate measures yet the Feds had exetended an open hand to the new Civilian government on Cardassia, but Dukat needed that Statute .

But did the Federation REALLY back the Cardassians against the Klingon invasion? Were they really ready to put it all on the line to keep their former so-called "allies" from going after Cardassia? I don't think so--to me it seems like they decided they needed their little alliance more than they were willing to stand up for a democratic government in need. It was all about expediency as far as the Federation was concerned...or so it seems, anyway--they just don't admit it.

(This, of course, still does not excuse Dukat, not in the slightest. But it does make me think that he wouldn't have had as much of an opening to get away with what he did, had the circumstances been different.)

And I look forward to the continuation of your essay!

[xanderwess]

Sure, the cardies are pretty good (really like dukat and demar) but the Vidiians are the ones that make my skin crawl. Messed up. Yuck. Harvesting parts for crissakes? Jeez, makes me wanna run and hide under my bed!