What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Lord Garth]

I've got a zinger. Are you ready?

I re-watched "If Memory Serves" earlier today and I don't give it a 10. I give it maybe an 8 or 9. I have to think about it. "What?! You don't give it a 10?!?!!" I know, I know...

 

[BillJ]

I've got a zinger. Are you ready?

I re-watched "If Memory Serves" earlier today and I don't give it a 10. I give it maybe an 8 or 9. I have to think about it. "What?! You don't give it a 10?!?!!" I know, I know...

You sick, buddy?

 

[fireproof78]

I think he's been replaced by the pod people...

 

[FederationHistorian]

What am I talking about? Renee Picard makes a discovery on Saturn that allows for Earth to eventually solve its pollution problem. If she's prevented from making their discovery, Earth becomes more polluted and Adam Soong invents biodomes that keep Earth's atmosphere intact (without an Ozone) but doesn't stop pollution.

How that leads to Earth becoming a Dictatorship, I don't know.

Well, without the Europa mission, Ricardo has nothing to do with fixing climate change; he does not fix it at all with his friends. So maybe he works with his mom in the Mariposas instead, since Rios is not there.

Though it would mean Ricardo and the Mariposas are much more important to Earth’s future than have been presented. And Picard’s word to Rios to “make a good future” has a more important meaning than people realize. Maybe Rios stops the rise of the dictatorship that leads to the Confederation of Earth while working with the Mariposas, whereas Ricardo leads to or even assists in the rise of the dictatorship.

 

[Tallguy]

Well, without the Europa mission, Ricardo has nothing to do with fixing climate change; he does not fix it at all with his friends. So maybe he works with his mom in the Mariposas instead, since Rios is not there.

Though it would mean Ricardo and the Mariposas are much more important to Earth’s future than have been presented. And Picard’s word to Rios to “make a good future” has a more important meaning than people realize. Maybe Rios stops the rise of the dictatorship that leads to the Confederation of Earth while working with the Mariposas, whereas Ricardo leads to or even assists in the rise of the dictatorship.

And all of it persists through WWIII.

 

[cooleddie74]

The DY-500-class colony ship S.S. Mariposa from 2123 might be named after Rios' humanitarian organization and efforts prior to World War III.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

After all his Finneganing around, Bruce Mars decided to change his name to Steve Martin.

 

[Lord Garth]

You sick, buddy?

The fever broke in 2023. Probably got eclipsed by another fever.

"Engage!"

 

[Lord Garth]

A Star Trek movie. I don’t know in what form, but I would bet money on it versus The Winds of Winter. Paramount will probably, at the very least, want a film released for the 60th anniversary.

Also, I truly believe Martin is stuck, has been stuck, and part of the reason he has been doing all of these side projects is that he doesn’t really like any of the options he has to untangle the “Meereenese Knot” for the story, since there’s a LOT of converging plot lines left up in the air, as well as trying to do that given the framing device he uses of things being told from a specific character’s POV.

I also wonder if, even beyond those story issues, the reaction to the later seasons of Game of Thrones on HBO has given Martin some pause and made him rethink some things about how he wants to finish the story.

Way back in the day I wasn't going to give the book series a try until each installment had already been published. I think I saved myself some grief on that one.

I'd say a new Star Trek film is twice as likely to come out first vs WoW.

I think the announced Kelvin Prequel Movie was first step in Paramount telling JJ Abrams, "Make a new Star Trek movie and get your act together or we'll find someone who can!" They weren't going to wait on him and his team forever. They don't want Star Trek to be just a TV Franchise. They want it to be a TV and Film Franchise.

I'm going to be bold enough to say that I think Star Trek 4 won't ever be made and Paramount will make the Kelvin Prequel instead. The Kelvin Prequel will actually get to see the light of day, but it'll live or die based on who they cast.

 

[James Cole]

I think the announced Kelvin Prequel Movie was first step in Paramount telling JJ Abrams, "Make a new Star Trek movie and get your act together or we'll find someone who can!" They weren't going to wait on him and his team forever. They don't want Star Trek to be just a TV Franchise. They want it to be a TV and Film Franchise.

I'm going to be bold enough to say that I think Star Trek 4 won't ever be made and Paramount will make the Kelvin Prequel instead. The Kelvin Prequel will actually get to see the light of day, but it'll live or die based on who they cast.

I think a lot will come down to the timing for when/if Paramount is sold, to whom, and what changes in executive leadership may occur. When Disney bought 20th Century Fox, pretty much every film in the planning stages was canceled.

Hell, the (first?) Earth-Romulan War film was out because leadership changed and brought in JJ Abrams in the first place. Would be crazy if history not only rhymed but repeated itself...

 

[TheFlutteringHorde]

Has anybody rewatched s2 of Picard? Does it hold together better on the rewatch or is it still a mess of broken down plotting?

It's still a mess. There are still some fun parts, I'm a sucker for an evil timeline so I enjoyed the hammy Confederation stuff, and I actually really liked some of the Picard past/psychology bits. I thought James Callis in particular did a great job. But then it's also trying to do all the stuff about Q, the Borg, the Watchers, Soong, and spends what feels like an incredible amount of time with an FBI agent's uninteresting backstory in a basement.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I think the announced Kelvin Prequel Movie was first step in Paramount telling JJ Abrams, "Make a new Star Trek movie and get your act together or we'll find someone who can!" They weren't going to wait on him and his team forever. They don't want Star Trek to be just a TV Franchise. They want it to be a TV and Film Franchise.

I'm going to be bold enough to say that I think Star Trek 4 won't ever be made and Paramount will make the Kelvin Prequel instead. The Kelvin Prequel will actually get to see the light of day, but it'll live or die based on who they cast.

Abrams was reportedly attached to the prequel, too. And there was a good while there when he was not attached to ST4, though he currently is again. Whatever the problem is with ST4 it's coming from the studio, not from Abrams. Personally I think they still don't have a clue what they want or how much they're really willing to spend on it after Bey failed (except that they clearly don't want to pay the amount already specified in the cast's contracts).

 

[Lord Garth]

Abrams was reportedly attached to the prequel, too. And there was a good while there when he was not attached to ST4, though he currently is again. Whatever the problem is with ST4 it's coming from the studio, not from Abrams. Personally I think they still don't have a clue what they want or how much they're really willing to spend on it after Bey failed (except that they clearly don't want to pay the amount already specified in the cast's contracts).

Something fishy's going on. You don't greenlight an additional project when the main one can't even get made.

 

[BillJ]

The Prime Directive, as practiced in the 24th century, is monstrous.

 

[Dee1891]

The Prime Directive, as practiced in the 24th century, is monstrous.

I think it's irrelevant and difficult to practice, if one is going to engage in exploring.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Something fishy's going on. You don't greenlight an additional project when the main one can't even get made.

I think 'something fishy' ultimately just amounts to Paramount can't afford to pay A-tier blockbuster salaries for a franchise that doesn't consistently get A-tier blockbuster box office but they're also scared to death of rebooting to a different version of Trek movies because the Abrams franchise films, for all that they weren't successful enough for the price tag, were still vastly more succesful than any other Star Trek movie except the first one. And on top of that, their finances aren't great in general and Trek is one of the only franchises they have with real potential, so they also can't afford to just put it aside and let it rest for a decade.

So they're just mentally overloaded and endlessly running around in circles hoping to stumble into the perfect solution to their problem.

 

[Lord Garth]

I think 'something fishy' ultimately just amounts to Paramount can't afford to pay A-tier blockbuster salaries for a franchise that doesn't consistently get A-tier blockbuster box office but they're also scared to death of rebooting to a different version of Trek movies because the Abrams franchise films, for all that they weren't successful enough for the price tag, were still vastly more succesful than any other Star Trek movie except the first one. And on top of that, their finances aren't great in general and Trek is one of the only franchises they have with real potential, so they also can't afford to just put it aside and let it rest for a decade.

So they're just mentally overloaded and endlessly running around in circles hoping to stumble into the perfect solution to their problem.

I think adjusting box-office grosses for inflation would paint a different picture. Going to see a movie now is far more expensive than when I was a kid (meaning the '80s and '90s).

Adjusted for inflation, here's how the Star Trek movies did in 2017 dollars:

Cutting-and-pasting from here:

(3) Star Trek Films Ranked by Worldwide Box Office Adjusted for Inflation : startrek (reddit.com)

1. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): $495.20 Million
   
2. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979): $454.28 Million
   
3. Star Trek (2009): $436.97 Million
   
4. Star Trek Beyond (2016): $346.96 Million
   
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986): $265.19 Million
   
6. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982): $229.56 Million
   
7. Star Trek First Contact (1996): $213.91 Million
   
8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984): $187.21 Million
   
9. Star Trek Generations (1994): $180.33 Million
   
10. Star Trek Insurrection (1998): $160.65 Million
    
11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991): $152.05 Million
    
12. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989): $109.68 Million
    
13. Star Trek Nemesis (2002): $87.85 Million

The Kelvin Films did better than most of the others, except for TMP, but not dramatically better in the case of TWOK, TVH, and FC. All of which are also very well-regarded.

 

[Planxty]

I think putting adjusting box-office grosses for inflation would paint a different picture. Going to see a movie now is far more expensive than when I was a kid (meaning the '80s and '90s).

The ticket prices (and ridiculous cost of concessions) is part of what's made me stop going to see movies for the most part. In addition to no longer being a 13-year-old boy... which it seems like most of these stupid comic book movies (yes, I said it) are geared to.

going to the movies is significantly more expensive now that it was when AOS came out, I was a broke college student at the time but still went to the movies pretty regularly, but it’s not worth it anymore, and streaming isn’t profitable enough for it to do what we want it to do

 

[cooleddie74]

Even TFF breaks three digits in the box office if you adjust for inflation. Poor NEM. It can't catch a break even after 21 years of the change in monetary value.

 

[Citiprime]

I've always been a little creeped out by the Starfleet Honor Guard in TOS. There's something about the crossed-arms pose that always looked wrong to me. It's a military greeting that seems more at home in the Mirror Universe than the Prime Timeline.

Also, for all the people who want to argue Starfleet isn't a military, I don't think many scientific organizations greet diplomats/government officials brandishing firearms.