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What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

Pretty much every time Trek tries to give an in-universe explanation for out-of-universe issues (Klingon makeup, e.g.), it ends up creating an equal or worse problem for continuity.
I dunno, I generally feel most of those in-universe explanations build the world out a little more, giving us a little more to play with each time. (Continuity issues are opportunities you/they can build more stuff out of. Why is it this way? How do we creatively solve the apparent contradiction? What does does that lead to? Etc.)

It only bothers me when they try to explain natural phenomena without looking up the actual explanations that are already out there. Nebulae don’t just suddenly spring into being in the middle of space from nowhere, most of us have heard of the real star named Rigel, that’s not what a time crystal does, etc. (And these are all shows I like.)
 
Chew on this one: Symbiosis is far worse and demeaning than Code of Honor.

Both episodes share this strange quirk of Roddenberry's universe: being an evolved human in the future means being condescending to people with lower levels of technology.

However, Symbiosis reinforces an attitude that is more broadly socially detrimental. Code of Honor, of course, uses blackness and Afro-Muslim imagery to emphasize backwardness and impulsiveness. The new races in Symbiosis may look white (however that works for alien species), it validates approaches to people that can be applied to minorities, to the poor, and to immigrants. You can't get travel faster than light, no treatment for you. Indeed, Picard literally prohibits Crusher from giving a diagnosis. Holy fuck, you can't even tell the people they have an addiction! You don't get medicine, you don't get counseling, you don't even get knowledge of what you are experience. You get withdrawals forced upon you, which in themselves can be life threatening. You don't even get the opportunity to try to pay for the treatments. Imagine the Ligonians being the race at the center of this story.
 
It's as good an explanation as any I guess.

Although FASA had an interesting take on it, claiming that we saw Human/Klingon hybrids on the neutral zone with the Empire in TOS, and apparently Romulan/Klingon hybrids were assigned in ships along that shared border, either used as a psy-op against their adversaries or an easier way to interface with them. The latter is too diplomatic (for a Klingon), so I opt for the former on that, especially in light of Arne Darvin's presence as an undercover operator on K-7 in TTWT. This theory, of course, went into the shitter with "Blood Oath", but it was a good one while it lasted.
 
Pretty much every time Trek tries to give an in-universe explanation for out-of-universe issues (Klingon makeup, e.g.), it ends up creating an equal or worse problem for continuity.
I think I'm going to need some examples for this because I can't think of any real problems right now.

They needed a more expensive-looking ship for The Motion Picture so they gave it a refit. That works.
They explained the departure of Denise Crosby, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton etc. in a way that didn't seem too implausible.
Nana Visitor's pregnancy was worked into the story quite well and Roxann Dawson got a good excuse to show her pregnancy in a two-parter.
Recasting the whole TOS crew got a decent enough explanation in the Kelvin movies.
The change in Romulan makeup was explained very casually and successfully in Picard.

And even the explanation for Klingon makeup just left the universe in a place where either kind of Klingon could show up. There were no problems caused by it.
 
The pandering to the “how come Klingons look bumpy now?”schmucks was then and remains stupid.
What’s the betting that in SNW’s last episode we’ll see a work crew removing touchscreen panels and replacing them with Shatner era buttons and knobs?
 
Goddamnit...

Okay, first let's feel free to discuss Star Wars in the...wait for it...Star Wars Forum!

:lol:

Second, there is absolutely nothing in Star Trek that's worth getting mad about.



Third, @Kamen Rider Blade you are this close to a thread ban. Seriously, disengage and take a couple of days to rethink your approach. You are the problem here.



is that ross? i don't remember that episode XD
 
The pandering to the “how come Klingons look bumpy now?”schmucks was then and remains stupid.
What’s the betting that in SNW’s last episode we’ll see a work crew removing touchscreen panels and replacing them with Shatner era buttons and knobs?
Given Goldman's recent comments about SNW season 5 I'm seeing greater odds for it
 
The pandering to the “how come Klingons look bumpy now?”schmucks was then and remains stupid.
What’s the betting that in SNW’s last episode we’ll see a work crew removing touchscreen panels and replacing them with Shatner era buttons and knobs?

I don't think they were pandering. I just think they thought it would be cool to do a story that explains the Klingon foreheads changes and then they could mix in the augments into the story and bring back Brent Spiner. Lots of fan servicing going on.
 
  • I don't dislike the cut of the Monster Maroons, but I do wish the jackets had been in a less ostentatious color, eg bluish-grey, to really make the undershirt colors & insignia pop.
  • I absolutely loathe the s1-2 TNG uniforms. Those color stripes across the yoke looked frilly and pretentious to me the first time I saw them, and that view has never changed since. :borg:
  • Not a big fan of the TNG combadge. Yes, we get it: You've swapped everything that was a circle on the TOS Enterprise with an oval! Must we do it for the entire universe, too??
  • And I'll never forgive Geordi for leaving that teddy bear behind :klingon:
 
I don't think they were pandering. I just think they thought it would be cool to do a story that explains the Klingon foreheads changes and then they could mix in the augments into the story and bring back Brent Spiner. Lots of fan servicing going on.
Plus DS9 already acknowledged that there'd been a change, and implied that the reason was somewhat embarrassing for Klingons.

I'd say the ENT writers figured out a pretty creative way to work with that (and I'm not even massively fond of the series! :lol:)
 
It was a pretty clever approach IMO. The episodes just weren't that great IMO. None of the guest characters other than Spiner were all that interesting which dragged the story down.
 
The pandering to the “how come Klingons look bumpy now?”schmucks was then and remains stupid.
What’s the betting that in SNW’s last episode we’ll see a work crew removing touchscreen panels and replacing them with Shatner era buttons and knobs?
Honestly, I’d be fine with them doing that, and consider myself neither a schmuck nor stupid. I don’t expect it or feel any need to push for it, but I would find it a pleasant surprise. (“There’ve been a lot of incidences of control interfaces going down from combat damage” or whatever.)
 
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