What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[eschaton]

I adore ENT and you're right. Season 2 is the worst. By a tangible margin.

Eh, I dunno about that. Season 2 had higher highs and lower lows than Season 1.

The only episodes from Season 1 I genuinely like are The Andorian Incident and Shuttlepod One, but in Season 2 I like Carbon Creek, Minefield, The Seventh, Cease Fire, Judgement, The Communicator, Congenitor, and Regeneration.

Season 2 also mostly dropped the idea that Archer should be portrayed as a stupid, petty, thin-skinned racist who only got his job due to nepotism (other than in A Night in Sickbay, of course).

The problem was the idiocy of Season 1 was largely replaced with bland nothing. It's like they realized their idea for the initial dynamic for the show didn't work, but they had no replacement idea other than going full-bore Voyager.

 

[cooleddie74]

No show needs to become full-bore VOY. I know. I watched VOY.

 

[Vger23]

No show needs to become full-bore VOY. I know. I watched VOY.

Savage.

 

[Citiprime]

No, my point is people on this site act like TOS is the greatest ever and everything afterwards is trash. It's annoying.

I haven't felt that. If anything, I feel it's a spectrum. Some love TOS. Some are indifferent to it. And some feel it's problematic as hell and like every instance where there's a revision that "corrects" it.

Controversial opinion: I always break down the different eras of Star Trek and fans' reaction to them in Biblical terms, which I guess is surprising for a franchise that's atheistic.

• Old Testament: TOS, TAS, and to some extent the TOS cast movies. TOS is the basis from which all Star Trek originates. It has elements and ideas that are really, really interesting and evocative that have become standards by which every iteration of Star Trek tends to use as a baseline. And it also has parts that are very weird and strange when compared to everything else. Just like how people tend to forget the parts of the Bible where we're supposed to stone someone to death for planting different crops side by side or working on Sunday, most fans just ignore the goofy parts like "Spock's Brain" and exact duplicate planet Earths ("Miri") that exist because of ... some reason.
• New Testament: The Berman era of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT. I'd argue TNG is an evolution of TOS in the same way the loving God as benevolent father in the New Testament is a shift in tone and vision from the wrathful God as divine judge from the Old Testament of the Bible. The rough edges of TOS are worn away for a more idealized Utopia in TNG that offers a message of universal acceptance and salvation through the underlying values of Trek. Both VOY and ENT reinforce those ideas, positing Starfleet as a force for good that exemplifies how humanity and ultimately the galaxy will be brought together through science, technology, and tolerance. DS9 in many ways is akin to the Apostle Paul's letters where he's trying to give form and meaning to the message. DS9 fundamentally wants to believe in all of the things that Picard gave beautiful speeches about, but understands that trying to apply Trek's values in the real world goes beyond just a speech.
• The Book of Mormon: The Kelvin Universe and the Paramount+ shows. Mormons consider themselves Christians. They believe in the crucifixion, resurrection, and divinity of Jesus Christ. But many Christians don't believe Mormons are a "real" denomination of Christianity because of the additions they've tacked on within their dogma. Ever since 2009, all of the new Star Trek offerings still are based in the ideas of TOS and the original elements of the franchise, and there are fans who love what's been done. But a small but significant minority of Trek fandom look at these films and TV shows as basically the equivalent of Joseph Smith claiming to be a prophet of God and saying he found gold plates with additional material to the Christian God's message. It's story additions that are either argued to be tangential, wrong, or not accepted as something that should be incorporated into the canon because they're not "real" Star Trek.

 

[1001001]

No show needs to become full-bore VOY. I know. I watched VOY.

Okay, controversial opinion:

I fucking LOVE Voyager.

I LOVE it.

Off the top of my head, 3 or even 4 episodes of Voyager make my All-Time Top Ten.

By far they had the best stand-alone Sci-Fi episodes.

And Janeway kicks ass.

I go back and forth on VOY or TNG being my favorite. Most days TNG wins that battle, but VOY is right there for me.

That is all I have to say about that.

 

[Vger23]

Okay, controversial opinion:

I fucking LOVE Voyager.

I LOVE it.

Off the top of my head, 3 or even 4 episodes of Voyager make my All-Time Top Ten.

By far they had the best stand-alone Sci-Fi episodes.

And Janeway kicks ass.

I go back and forth on VOY or TNG being my favorite. Most days TNG wins that battle, but VOY is right there for me.

That is all I have to say about that.

Honestly, I didn’t really dig VOY at all when it first aired. I didn’t dislike it…I just didn’t get grabbed by it for whatever reason.

I re-watched / first-watched it (I really only saw about 30% of it in first-run) within the last 2 years and I really enjoyed it. There’s something very homey/comforting in the way it all plays out, and there’s some cool little sci-if concepts in there at times.

 

[Lord Garth]

I haven't felt that. If anything, I feel it's a spectrum. Some love TOS. Some are indifferent to it. And some feel it's problematic as hell and like every instance where there's a revision that "corrects" it.

Controversial opinion: I always break down the different eras of Star Trek and fans' reaction to them in Biblical terms, which I guess is surprising for a franchise that's atheistic.

• Old Testament: TOS, TAS, and to some extent the TOS cast movies. TOS is the basis from which all Star Trek originates. It has elements and ideas that are really, really interesting and evocative that have become standards by which every iteration of Star Trek tends to use as a baseline. And it also has parts that are very weird and strange when compared to everything else. Just like how people tend to forget the parts of the Bible where we're supposed to stone someone to death for planting different crops side by side or working on Sunday, most fans just ignore the goofy parts like "Spock's Brain" and exact duplicate planet Earths ("Miri") that exist because of ... some reason.
• New Testament: The Berman era of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT. I'd argue TNG is an evolution of TOS in the same way the loving God as benevolent father in the New Testament is a shift in tone and vision from the wrathful God as divine judge from the Old Testament of the Bible. The rough edges of TOS are worn away for a more idealized Utopia in TNG that offers a message of universal acceptance and salvation through the underlying values of Trek. Both VOY and ENT reinforce those ideas, positing Starfleet as a force for good that exemplifies how humanity and ultimately the galaxy will be brought together through science, technology, and tolerance. DS9 in many ways is akin to the Apostle Paul's letters where he's trying to give form and meaning to the message. DS9 fundamentally wants to believe in all of the things that Picard gave beautiful speeches about, but understands that trying to apply Trek's values in the real world goes beyond just a speech.
• The Book of Mormon: The Kelvin Universe and the Paramount+ shows. Mormons consider themselves Christians. They believe in the crucifixion, resurrection, and divinity of Jesus Christ. But many Christians don't believe Mormons are a "real" denomination of Christianity because of the additions they've tacked on within their dogma. Ever since 2009, all of the new Star Trek offerings still are based in the ideas of TOS and the original elements of the franchise, and there are fans who love what's been done. But a small but significant minority of Trek fandom look at these films and TV shows as basically the equivalent of Joseph Smith claiming to be a prophet of God and saying he found gold plates with additional material to the Christian God's message. It's story additions that are either argued to be tangential, wrong, or not accepted as something that should be incorporated into the canon because they're not "real" Star Trek.

Interesting take. I've heard of "The Old Testament" vs. "The New Testament" analogy, though I don't remember from where (it was from some posts I made four years before this one!), but "The Book of the Mormon" keeps it going to a third phase.

I just break it up into generations.

1st Generation Trek --> TOS, TAS, Movies I-VI
2nd Generation Trek --> TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, Movies VII-X
3rd Generation Trek --> DSC/SNW (Modified Prime), PIC/LD/PRO (Prime), Movies XI-XIII (Kelvin)

3rd Generation Trek has different branches to it. Picard really blurs the lines. Especially in Season 3. I came to the conclusion it's a Kurtzman Trek continuation of Berman Trek. So I still put it under the column of "The 3rd Generation".

 

[Farscape One]

I think as a pure science fiction series, VOYAGER delivered. They had a lot of high concepts (especially in the first few seasons), and I credit Brannon Braga for that because he was a very high concept type of writer. I think this is why so many people who aren't really big STAR TREK fans love the show. (I'm referring to people who actually don't really call themselves Trekkies and are, at most, casual viewers of any of the other shows.)

But as a STAR TREK series, it ended up being sort of in the middle of the pack.

 

[Citiprime]

Okay, controversial opinion:

I fucking LOVE Voyager.

I LOVE it.

Off the top of my head, 3 or even 4 episodes of Voyager make my All-Time Top Ten.

By far they had the best stand-alone Sci-Fi episodes.

And Janeway kicks ass.

I go back and forth on VOY or TNG being my favorite. Most days TNG wins that battle, but VOY is right there for me.

That is all I have to say about that.

Deep Space Nine is my favorite, which I think explains why I always wanted the Ron Moore version of Voyager when I watched it as a kid. I would have loved a version where the ship would be falling apart or constantly changing as its refurbished with tech from different species, Chakotay and the Maquis remained a distinct faction within Voyager, and Janeway having to adapt more to keep it all working leading to a ship that's not exactly Starfleet in tone and rules.

 

[fireproof78]

most fans just ignore the goofy parts like "Spock's Brain" and exact duplicate planet Earths ("Miri") that exist because of ... some reason.

Budget. Usually budget.

I haven't felt that. If anything, I feel it's a spectrum. Some love TOS. Some are indifferent to it. And some feel it's problematic as hell and like every instance where there's a revision that "corrects" it.

Controversial opinion: I always break down the different eras of Star Trek and fans' reaction to them in Biblical terms, which I guess is surprising for a franchise that's atheistic.

• Old Testament: TOS, TAS, and to some extent the TOS cast movies. TOS is the basis from which all Star Trek originates. It has elements and ideas that are really, really interesting and evocative that have become standards by which every iteration of Star Trek tends to use as a baseline. And it also has parts that are very weird and strange when compared to everything else. Just like how people tend to forget the parts of the Bible where we're supposed to stone someone to death for planting different crops side by side or working on Sunday, most fans just ignore the goofy parts like "Spock's Brain" and exact duplicate planet Earths ("Miri") that exist because of ... some reason.
• New Testament: The Berman era of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT. I'd argue TNG is an evolution of TOS in the same way the loving God as benevolent father in the New Testament is a shift in tone and vision from the wrathful God as divine judge from the Old Testament of the Bible. The rough edges of TOS are worn away for a more idealized Utopia in TNG that offers a message of universal acceptance and salvation through the underlying values of Trek. Both VOY and ENT reinforce those ideas, positing Starfleet as a force for good that exemplifies how humanity and ultimately the galaxy will be brought together through science, technology, and tolerance. DS9 in many ways is akin to the Apostle Paul's letters where he's trying to give form and meaning to the message. DS9 fundamentally wants to believe in all of the things that Picard gave beautiful speeches about, but understands that trying to apply Trek's values in the real world goes beyond just a speech.
• The Book of Mormon: The Kelvin Universe and the Paramount+ shows. Mormons consider themselves Christians. They believe in the crucifixion, resurrection, and divinity of Jesus Christ. But many Christians don't believe Mormons are a "real" denomination of Christianity because of the additions they've tacked on within their dogma. Ever since 2009, all of the new Star Trek offerings still are based in the ideas of TOS and the original elements of the franchise, and there are fans who love what's been done. But a small but significant minority of Trek fandom look at these films and TV shows as basically the equivalent of Joseph Smith claiming to be a prophet of God and saying he found gold plates with additional material to the Christian God's message. It's story additions that are either argued to be tangential, wrong, or not accepted as something that should be incorporated into the canon because they're not "real" Star Trek.

The scariest part of this analogy is that I feel I can have conversations with real life Mormons, Christians, Orthodox and Catholics at my parents house in a calmer more rational manner than Trek fans.

 

[Vger23]

The interesting (one might even say “controversial”) thing about VOY is that it may be the most purely “Star Trek” series besides TOS in terms of its presentation etc.

Id argue that it’s certainly more in line with the original Trek format than even TNG or SNW.

 

[Lord Garth]

When I look at this long enough, with one superimposed over the other, I can see the SNW Enterprise.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Voyager had the best cast of any of the Berman shows, but it was the worst in terms of consistently utilising them.

 

[fireproof78]

Voyager had the best cast of any of the Berman shows, but it was the worst in terms of consistently utilising them.

I will freely admit to Voyager as a once in a while good times show with one of my favorite Trek couples.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I don't know if it's controversial or not, but I think VOY has the best theme and opening of any Star Trek show. Somehow the music and visuals always put me in a frame of mind that evokes the kind of thoughtful, stately, exploratory science-fiction that Star Trek fundamentally should be.

Conversely, I think the SNW theme and opening are the worst (though I like the show). I find it derivative and overly flashy.

 

[Paul755]

I like the Voyager theme a lot. But overall I find the show just kinda…there.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I like the Voyager theme a lot. But overall I find the show just kinda…there.

I think it's fun to choose a random episode to kill 50 minutes, but I recall my marathon years back was a slog. Especially coming off the back of DS9 which was incredibly rewarding to marathon.

 

[cooleddie74]

VOY's theme music may be the greatest series theme of the entire franchise. The series...not so much.

 

[Ovation]

I don't know if it's controversial or not, but I think VOY has the best theme and opening of any Star Trek show. Somehow the music and visuals always put me in a frame of mind that evokes the kind of thoughtful, stately, exploratory science-fiction that Star Trek fundamentally should be.

Conversely, I think the SNW theme and opening are the worst (though I like the show). I find it derivative and overly flashy.

Cannot help but disagree strongly. I find the Voyager theme somnambulant and the SNW one is the only one I never skip. But hey, potayto, potahto.

 

[maneth]

I don't know if it's controversial or not, but I think VOY has the best theme and opening of any Star Trek show. Somehow the music and visuals always put me in a frame of mind that evokes the kind of thoughtful, stately, exploratory science-fiction that Star Trek fundamentally should be.

Conversely, I think the SNW theme and opening are the worst (though I like the show). I find it derivative and overly flashy.

I haven't seen SNW yet so I can't say anything about that theme, but I agree with you on the VGR theme. It's definitely my favorite. My husband and I are currently introducing our son to Trek and we're watching Voyager at the moment. I'm enjoying it more this time around, but it's not DS9, that's for sure.