What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Jayson1]

Of course subspace communication exists. Lots of follow ups can basically be done from people sitting in a chair in front of a computer monitor.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Isn't this why 2nd Contact and Long Term Exploration Missions exist?
Enterprise-D is for 1st Contact, quick Orbital Planetary Mapping, pass on the information to StarFleet and move on to see what's next.

 

[Tallguy]

After the Enterprise makes first contact, they send in the real science ships. Y'know, the ones with the pink chairs and the captain who doesn't know when to raise shields.

Hey, Kzinti are pink. It's the color of FEAR.

But that's where the name comes from. "Captain, the Klingons are here!" "Oh, BERTH!"*

* Apologies to Dr. Oberth. Woah. I just realized that when The Naked Now was made, Hermann Oberth was still alive!

Of course subspace communication exists. Lots of follow ups can basically be done from people sitting in a chair in front of a computer monitor.

With several hours or days of turn around time? Oh, there I go, thinking TOS again.

 

[1001001]

Maybe there is some other class of ship that comes in afterwards. Some sort of class named for an United States state. Massachusetts class? No, too east coast...

 

[FredH]

Although I've long felt that the way Trek approaches exploration makes little sense. If you're going to explore a planet, you don't just drop in for a few days, visit one place, and then leave. Exploring a whole planet would take years or decades. I've often thought a more plausible and interesting approach would be to devote an entire season to exploring a given planet, with multiple nations and cultures and biomes and historic ruins and developing cultural conflicts and so forth, and then start over with a different planet the next season.

Thing is, while I’d love to see such a series, I suspect not enough of a general audience would stick with it — at least not without traditional TV “adventure” plots shoehorned into it (something along the lines of Earth 2?).

 

[Tallguy]

Thing is, while I’d love to see such a series, I suspect not enough of a general audience would stick with it — at least not without traditional TV “adventure” plots shoehorned into it (something along the lines of Earth 2?).

Perhaps if it were structured as a workplace comedy?

 

[Farscape One]

Thing is, while I’d love to see such a series, I suspect not enough of a general audience would stick with it — at least not without traditional TV “adventure” plots shoehorned into it (something along the lines of Earth 2?).

I really liked EARTH 2. A shame it didn't get a second season.

 

[Christopher]

Thing is, while I’d love to see such a series, I suspect not enough of a general audience would stick with it — at least not without traditional TV “adventure” plots shoehorned into it (something along the lines of Earth 2?).

I don't see why not, since it fits the season-arc model that's so common these days. Naturally there would be recurring characters and political intrigues within and among the planet's different nations and factions. Think of how Enterprise devoted its entire third season to a single region of space and the factions therein.

My point is that a realistically portrayed inhabited planet would have a rich enough variety of regions and cultures to sustain a whole season of storytelling -- unlike the usual fictional "planets" we see that have less cultural or ethnic variety than a single neighborhood of a major city.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

My point is that a realistically portrayed inhabited planet would have a rich enough variety of regions and cultures to sustain a whole season of storytelling -- unlike the usual fictional "planets" we see that have less cultural or ethnic variety than a single neighborhood of a major city.

How about Bajor, we got to see various parts of it over the course of DS9.

 

[fireproof78]

Hey, Kzinti are pink. It's the color of FEAR.

I thought that was yellow...?

View attachment 51061

"But, where would I find such a ship? Why am I asking you?"*


*All due respect and credit to Mel Brooks.

 

[Christopher]

How about Bajor, we got to see various parts of it over the course of DS9.

Yes, the planets and cultures that make recurring appearances do get more development, although sometimes they stay pretty stereotyped. We saw various places on Bajor, but the whole planet was still portrayed as having a single planetary culture, with some regional variations. I'm talking about something that has the kind of cultural diversity Earth has, with numerous different cultures with their own distinct histories, languages, beliefs, etc. (I've tried to portray that in my Biauru stories in Analog.)

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Yes, the planets and cultures that make recurring appearances do get more development, although sometimes they stay pretty stereotyped. We saw various places on Bajor, but the whole planet was still portrayed as having a single planetary culture, with some regional variations. I'm talking about something that has the kind of cultural diversity Earth has, with numerous different cultures with their own distinct histories, languages, beliefs, etc. (I've tried to portray that in my Biauru stories in Analog.)

The amount of diversity our little Planet called Earth has is crazy.

Just the sheer amount of languages & dialects that go with each language is insane.
This isn't even factoring other things like histories, beliefs, etc.

 

[cooleddie74]

At least Xindus, the Xindi homeworld destroyed in the 21st century, had a vast, almost ridiculous range of native cultures since there were five (and at one point six) sentient species on just that one planet.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

At least Xindus, the Xindi homeworld destroyed in the 21st century, had a vast, almost ridiculous range of native cultures since there were five (and at one point six) sentient species on just that one planet.

It would've been cool to see the Avian Xindi's.

Too bad they're extinct.

 

[cooleddie74]

I never looked to see, but I wonder if some fan used the Xindi-Avian skull prop to Photoshop what a living one looked like.

 

[Farscape One]

One of the most unique races in the franchise. I like that the Xindi were 5 different species. (6 if you count the extinct Avians... which I always found somewhat ironic. The one species that had natural flight couldn't just... fly away. Or rather, build ships to fly away. There's some dark humor in that.) A lot of story potential with that idea.

 

[Candleicious Ghost]

One of the most unique races in the franchise. I like that the Xindi were 5 different species. (6 if you count the extinct Avians... which I always found somewhat ironic. The one species that had natural flight couldn't just... fly away. Or rather, build ships to fly away. There's some dark humor in that.) A lot of story potential with that idea.

Probably the fault of the reptilian Xindi. They never seemed to get on with anyone

 

[Farscape One]

Or maybe the Insectoids. They weren't exactly all about hugs, either.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Or maybe the Insectoids. They weren't exactly all about hugs, either.

Primates are. Just ask @Jayson1

 

[cooleddie74]

The Xindi characters never really explained what happened to the Avians, only that they had gone extinct in the generations preceding the attack on Earth. They may well have already vanished before Xindus itself was destroyed in the early 21st century.