What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Farscape One]

the worst was trying to start a Spock/Bones dynamic between her and Data. But it came off so much meaner because she was way more condescending and Data by nature didn’t punch back. Spock would at least throw a barb back at Bones.

gimme Crusher and the will they/won’t they with Picard.

When I was a kid watching TNG first run, I hated Pulaski because she was mean to Data from the season premiere. As the season went on, my opinion softened because of her staunch support for Data in "Pen Pals". As I have gotten older and rewatched the show, I have come to really appreciate not just her character, but her growth. She got, arguably, more growth in a single season than half the cast of TNG in 7 years.

I agree completely it seemed more mean spirited than Spock/Bones, for the reasons you stated. As I've gotten older, it feels more natural, ironically, that Pulaski would be that way initially toward an android.

 

[Dee1891]

I wish the Discovery crew had not attempted to re-create the Federation as it used to be, centuries ago. I wish another political organization

I will die on that hill too! Didn’t like her as a kid watching the show, but now find she’s just light years ahead of Crusher. She has a personality for a start, and Diana Muldaur has so much more screen presence than Gates McFadden.

I have to admit that I found her more interesting than McFadden's Beverly Crusher.

 

[plynch]

Pulaski isn’t mean to data. She and the writers, I thought, did a good job of that. He doesn’t feel. And she is candid. She thinks he has value, though.

Crusher so dull.

 

[eschaton]

Crusher so dull.

All of the main TNG characters are dull, other than Picard, Worf, and Data. At best they are defined by one personality trait (Riker is a horndog, Geordi is awkward with women) and at worst they are simply defined by their rank and relationships to others (Troi is Riker's ex, and the ship's counselor, while Crusher is a doctor, mom, and kinda sorta had a thing for Picard).

Seriously though, you cannot even write a full paragraph of character study on most of the TNG cast. That's how paper-thin their characterization was.

 

[at Quark's]

^True. In that sense even the weaker Voyager characters -not a show renowned for how it treated those - probably had a bit more characterisation to them.

 

[Tupperfan]

There are more hours of bad Trek than good Trek.

 

[Orphalesion]

Pulaski isn’t mean to data. She and the writers, I thought, did a good job of that. He doesn’t feel. And she is candid. She thinks he has value, though.

So being horribly prejudiced and devaluing a person to the point to calling him an "it" counts as "being candid" now? And Data does feel, even if he feels differently from the average human, the show never succeeded in making him completely emotionless. At Tasha's funeral he even states he feels worse for himself than for Tasha, for example.

Crusher so dull.

Nope, there was enough to Crusher's character, the writers just didn't take advantage of that.

 

[eschaton]

One of my most controversial opinions is Neelix was actually a good character! Certainly one of the better ones on Voyager.

Was he annoying at times? Absolutely. But they wrote him to be annoying. Not to mention thin-skinned and pathetic. He was flawed in ways that Trek otherwise didn't allow characters to be flawed at the time. Characters aren't required to be likable, but they should make you feel something.

Once they dumped the horribly ill-conceived relationship with Kes he worked so much better though.

 

[at Quark's]

^I think his character had great potential. We can see it in episodes like Jetrel, Mortal Coil and Fair Trade. If only they had tapped that side of him a bit more, instead of almost exclusively using him as a clown.

 

[1001001]

Pulaski’s attitude toward Data was not only unprofessional, it should have been grounds for a reprimand, at least.

She sucked.

 

[Lynx]

I will die on that hill too! Didn’t like her as a kid watching the show, but now find she’s just light years ahead of Crusher. She has a personality for a start, and Diana Muldaur has so much more screen presence than Gates McFadden.

I like Crusher better than Pulaski.

When I first watched the series back in the 90:s, I was annoyed when Crusher was dumped and didn't like Pulaski at all.

In later years, I hadve changed my mind about Pulaski. She wasn't so bad at all. But I still prefer Crusher and I'm happy that she returned.

However, it would have been great to see Pulaski show up as recurring character in the series and maybe in DS9 too.

One of my most controversial opinions is Neelix was actually a good character! Certainly one of the better ones on Voyager.

Was he annoying at times? Absolutely. But they wrote him to be annoying. Not to mention thin-skinned and pathetic. He was flawed in ways that Trek otherwise didn't allow characters to be flawed at the time. Characters aren't required to be likable, but they should make you feel something.

Once they dumped the horribly ill-conceived relationship with Kes he worked so much better though.

I wrote this comment about Neelix a couple of years ago:

As for me, I don't dislike or hate Neelix.

I can joke about him sometimes, criticize his behavior sometimes, laugh at his way of being sometimes but I actually like him.

Why? Because the character had more depth than I think many people realize.

His whole "comical" behavior was actually a result of a terrible trauma in which he lost his whole family. To cope with that horrible experience, he took on his duty to help, to cheer people up and to be as useful as possible for the Voyager crew.

OK, he was overdoing a lot of things which gave the opposite result of what he wanted and he screwed up his relationship with Kes. But that was also a result of the trauma which affected him deeply. He was a very complex person.

If Voyager had had a counselor, that person would have had to spend a lot of time with Neelix because the poor guy really did have some "issues".

Neelix desperately tried to "fit in". Obviously he did know deep down inside that his skills were limited so he tried to compensate for that with a lot of ideas and whims, like his self-made role as "Morale Officer", how he became almost obsessed with the idea of being an "investigating journalist", the Talaxian resort he created at the holodek (which Harry and Tom totally changed) and his bragging about his skills as guide while his knowledge about the Delta Quadrant was limited. That was also one of the reasons why he and Kes started to drift apart as soon as they came on board Voyager.

Kes found a purpose for her life on the ship. A new reality, new people, the Hydroponics Bay, her work in sickbay and an ardent will to learn and explore.

Neelix on the other hand found his skills rather limited and therefore did all he could to get attention, like "look at me, see what I can accomplish". His jealousy over Kes probably had something to do about being jealous of how good Kes did adapt to the new life and become an useful member of the crew while he did find himself limited. Not to mention that his control over Kes started to vanish as soon as they joined the Voyager crew.

I also think that he still had bad memories about what happened to his family so in an attempt to keep those feelings away he tried to be positive, cheerful and tried to cheer up everyone on the ship, like "I want happiness around me so smile!".

Of corse he over-did almost everything he was involved in. His pestering of Tuvok was actually horrible and annoying (but fun to watch) and I can understand Tuvok's frustration over those current attacks from Neelix. But his intentions were good.

So I can't help feeling a lot of sympathy for the furry guy, despite his sometimes annoying behavior.

As for his departure from the ship, I don't think that he became any happier on that asteroid. It wouldn't surprise me if he started to regret it after a couple of months and went away to find Voyager again.

As for the Kes-Neelix relationship, it was OK to start with, due to the fact that he loved her and saved her from the Kazon. But it should have been broken up in season 2 and in a more realistic way than what happened in season 3.

 

[eschaton]

As for the Kes-Neelix relationship, it was OK to start with, due to the fact that he loved her and saved her from the Kazon. But it should have been broken up in season 2 and in a more realistic way than what happened in season 3.

The problem with Neelix-Kes is they couldn't commit to it properly. It's like they realized past the pilot how creepy it was that a two-year-old character (played by a twenty year old) was in a relationship with someone middle aged, and walked it all back. They barely kissed, had separate quarters, and Elogium strongly implied they had never even had sex! Despite the claims that they were a couple, all signs onscreen pointed to a weird toxic platonic relationship between the two of them (with creepy vibes coming off of Neelix), not an intimate one.

Seasons 1-3 could have worked just as well - nay better - if it was established that Neelix just saw Kes as a surrogate for his younger sister. Even the weird hostility towards Tom Paris would still have worked.

 

[fireproof78]

Pulaski’s attitude toward Data was not only unprofessional, it should have been grounds for a reprimand, at least.

She sucked.

Need JAG! Conduct unbecoming an officer.

 

[shapeshifter]

The plan was to attempt recreating the Spock/McCoy dynamic but it failed so they went back to Crusher.

 

[Johnny Luck]

I hate the thought/notion/premise/suggestion/plan/idea/ of Worf being an ambassador.

Klingon ambassador to the Federation, Federation ambassador to the Klingon, whatever, which ever, don't care for it. At. All.

A great warrior such as he deserves better.

 

[fireproof78]

He's now a warrior for peace.

And Worf as a character deserves...nothing.

 

[Orphalesion]

Why would going from a "warrior" to an ambassador be something negative?

Sounds like an improvement to me.

 

[cooleddie74]

Especially if you're Worf. He was raised by humans and has some of our proclivities so not everything in his life is grit and combat.

 

[Farscape One]

Worf as the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire actually makes a great deal of sense.

He understands Klingon nature because he is one. He can best represent and posit Federation ideals to the Klingons in a way that makes sense to them. And he gets to be with his people and still be part of a great House. And he can help guide Martok in some tough calls.

In many ways, he got the best ending he can hope for given the circumstances at that time of his life.

 

[drt]

Seasons 1-3 could have worked just as well - nay better - if it was established that Neelix just saw Kes as a surrogate for his younger sister. Even the weird hostility towards Tom Paris would still have worked.

That’s such a better idea.