What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Rahul]

I didn't weigh in on this topic for 31 years, but now I finally am. DS9 vs. B5. DS9 is not a rip-off of B5. The similarities are superficial. The characters' counterparts are very different, the set design is very different, the backstories are different, and the character dynamics are very different. Visually, some things I like better about B5 and some things I like better about DS9.

While not plagiarizing, these two shows definitely mirrored & shadowed each other, not necessarily the plot details, but the themes and topics in their week-by-week storytelling.

Once DS9 saw what B5 was doing with their alien politics, they strongly pivoted to do similar things - all the Klingon/Federation , Klingon/Cardassian, Romulan&Cardassian/Dominion skirmishes and little wars early on were straight up borrowed from B5. As well as the fleet battles, and the major arc of the "dark power" lurking in the background, manipulating and stoking flames, and later full on open war about the fate of the galaxy. These things do not root from TNG or TOS or Star Wars.

OTOH B5 is very clearly "Star Trek but not Star Trek". Basically Trek without the things JMS didn't like about Trek, and a different type of storytelling in a very similar universe. Other properties like Stargate, Battlestar, Farscape or hell even the original Star Wars were much more different than the Trek shows of their times.

It's kind of strange how DS9 unequivocally "won" in the long run, and B5 is almost unwatchable and forgotten today. They were on much more equal footing back then. Imagine as if "Discovery" and "Orville" would be equally talked about and influencing each other. And now one is lauded for being so "different" then the other Trek shows of its time, while the show influencing it the most is completely forgotten & irrelevant now.

 

[Lord Garth]

While not plagiarizing, these two shows definitely mirrored & shadowed each other, not necessarily the plot details, but the themes and topics in their week-by-week storytelling.

Once DS9 saw what B5 was doing with their alien politics, they strongly pivoted to do similar things - all the Klingon/Federation , Klingon/Cardassian, Romulan&Cardassian/Dominion skirmishes and little wars early on were straight up borrowed from B5. As well as the fleet battles, and the major arc of the "dark power" lurking in the background, manipulating and stoking flames, and later full on open war about the fate of the galaxy. These things do not root from TNG or TOS or Star Wars.

OTOH B5 is very clearly "Star Trek but not Star Trek". Basically Trek without the things JMS didn't like about Trek, and a different type of storytelling in a very similar universe. Other properties like Stargate, Battlestar, Farscape or hell even the original Star Wars were much more different than the Trek shows of their times.

It's kind of strange how DS9 unequivocally "won" in the long run, and B5 is almost unwatchable and forgotten today. They were on much more equal footing back then. Imagine as if "Discovery" and "Orville" would be equally talked about and influencing each other. And now one is lauded for being so "different" then the other Trek shows of its time, while the show influencing it the most is completely forgotten & irrelevant now.

I'm a brand-new B5 Fan, so I can't go in-depth yet. I'm a fan-in-training.

As far as The Orville, if anything, I always thought of it as a rip-off of TNG not Disco. They wanted to be like Traditional Trek, like SNW does now. Though I'm not an SNW Fan, SNW pulls it off better and doesn't have the gross-out Seth MacFarlane humor.

 

[Danja]

As far as The Orville, if anything, I always thought of it as a rip-off of TNG not Disco.

That's part of its appeal for some fans ("The Orville does Trek better than Alex Kurtzman!")

Now that Disney owns Fox, it's received a heavy infusion of Star Wars in recent years.

 

[fireproof78]

That's part of its appeal for some fans ("The Orville does Trek better than Alex Kurtzman!")

Now that Disney owns Fox, it's received a heavy infusion of Star Wars in recent years.

That's because they no longer fear the banana.

 

[FredH]

Contra some other opinions in this thread, I’ve always felt that the clear (if denied) competition between Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine made both shows try harder and be better than they otherwise would have been. There are rough spots (and also very high points) in both, but both remain important milestones.

 

[Lord Garth]

That's part of its appeal for some fans ("The Orville does Trek better than Alex Kurtzman!")

Now that Disney owns Fox, it's received a heavy infusion of Star Wars in recent years.

My stance is: if I want to watch TNG, I'll watch TNG, not the off-brand version.

I wasn't into Seth MacFarlane's work even when I was in college, when a lot of my friends became obsessed with Family Guy. This was in 2002.

 

[James Cole]

It's a shame your second viewing can't be of the original version with the Stewart Copeland soundtrack, but I'm sure that'd be awkward to find

That score was sooo 90s in an awesome way.

It's on Prime Video in the US

clean link, click extras

Amazon.com

[edited with a direct link]

 

[Starry-eyed]

Jeri Ryan gets a pass for her behaviour on Voyager, because she is beautiful & played the victim card very well.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Jeri Ryan gets a pass for her behaviour on Voyager, because she is beautiful & played the victim card very well.

Still, she's no Ethan Phillips.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I have one.

CONTROVERSIAL OPINION

I’m intrigued by the prospect of Starfleet Academy and am really looking forward to it.

 

[fireproof78]

I have one.

CONTROVERSIAL OPINION

I’m intrigued by the prospect of Starfleet Academy and am really looking forward to it.

I second this!

 

[Farscape One]

Being completely honest... I have never been less excited about a new STAR TREK series than ACADEMY. At first, I was thinking 'ugh'... but casting Holly and Paul has raised it to a 'hmm' and a shrug.

I will, of course, give it a shot and try to keep an open mind. But my expectations are extremely low because the nature of the setting is just ripe for it being a 90210 or CW teen show. Not my genre, and I hope they don't fall into that kind of trap.

 

[fireproof78]

I've wanted an Academy series for 20 years.

Like the Pike series, it will be nothing like what I actually wished for and hopefully will land somewhere in the middle of entertaining while appealing to my kid side.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm dead-neutral about Starfleet Academy. I've got nothing. I won't really know for sure what I think until I actually see it. Usually I'm looking forward to something (or not looking forward to something) as soon as it's announced. For some reason, I have no opinion this time.

Agree. Any show they set on a space station from now on will have something in common with both of those, unless they intentionally decide to write something completely different.

I do find the coincidences in names, specifically Leeta/Lyta and Dukat/Dukhat interesting, though.

Likewise the non-corporeal Prophets/Pah'wraiths and Vorlons/Shadows, even if the Shadows are intradimensional rather than non-corporeal, but to corporeal beings that makes little difference. (The fact that Species 8472 look like grayish Shadows is no coincidence, the CGI was done by the same company and they used the wireframe set of the Shadows as a base for Species 8472.)

Another thing that stood out to me while watching "The Gathering" was the Changelings. Except they use holoprojection to change what they look like.

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I'm actually watching "The Gathering" three times before I post my review in the DS9 Forum in the DS9/B5 thread I have. The first time was to take it all in. And it was a lot to take in. Then I said to myself, "I can't write a review about this! I saw it, but I haven't learned all the names and I feel like I barely know what I'm talking about!" So I decided to watch it a second time. To go more analytical. Then I realized, "Nope. Nope. Too much to analyze being this new to it."

So, I've only gotten to watch "The Gathering" fully once. I had too many distractions and I've now finally tuned them all out. I'm going to split what I'm focusing on in two more views. The second watch: I'm focusing on the production values, the concepts introduced, and comparing the differences between DS9 and B5. Get all that out of the way. Then, for the third watch, I'll focus on just the story and the characters.

Then I'll be able to write my review and have it feel like it's up-to-standard.

 

[Commander Troi]

I have one.

CONTROVERSIAL OPINION

I’m intrigued by the prospect of Starfleet Academy and am really looking forward to it.

I'm interested to see how they're going to approach it. Casting Holly Hunter definitely increased my interest.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I'm interested to see how they're going to approach it. Casting Holly Hunter definitely increased my interest.

I don’t know any of the actors… I’m just looking forward to something fresh. I really enjoyed Gen V recently so I’m totally up for a teeny-school show within the Star Trek world.

 

[Lord Garth]

SFA is really college and, personally, my high school and college experiences were very different from each other. I think it'll be less "teen" and more "young adult". Though, I think it'll still be "coming of age".

 

[Mage]

At this moment, SFA is not something that has me thrilled. It could be great, and I'll definitely try it out. But the concept of a show set at the Acadamy never did it for me, and as fun as it was to the explore the 32nd century a bit in Discovery, another show set in that period is not something I personally need.
Having said that, I'm not the only Star Trek fan out there and there's plenty of Star Trek (old and new) that interests me. So if this isn't for me, but others love it, I welcome its addition to the franchise.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

SFA is really college and, personally, my high school and college experiences were very different from each other. I think it'll be less "teen" and more "young adult". Though, I think it'll still be "coming of age".

Yeah, teeny is wrong. As you say, young adult.

I like that we get to explore that time period a bit more.

 

[Citiprime]

Being completely honest... I have never been less excited about a new STAR TREK series than ACADEMY. At first, I was thinking 'ugh'... but casting Holly and Paul has raised it to a 'hmm' and a shrug.

I will, of course, give it a shot and try to keep an open mind. But my expectations are extremely low because the nature of the setting is just ripe for it being a 90210 or CW teen show. Not my genre, and I hope they don't fall into that kind of trap.

I will say ... The two Paramount+ shows I had the least interest in when they were announced and thought they would just be an animated comedy and kids show wearing Star Trek's skin, Lower Decks and Prodigy, have ended up being my favorites of their offerings.

So, I had the same "ugh" feeling when Starfleet Academy was announced, and in my heart of hearts I'd much rather this be Legacy, but I'm keeping an open mind and I'm hoping to be surprised in the same way.