Why don't they try this?

[ambelamba]

Anybody played Spore Creature Creator? I just bought a copy from Target. So far I have created only three creatures, and they are all humanoids. But, you can create something really outlandish with this game. The full game version will come out on September.

Well, this is the kind of program that Trek creators need. Why not create new aliens using this program. Of course you won't use the creature straight from the program into a show/movie. Artists can create more detailed and professional looking version to use on the shows and movies, right?

 

[Roger Wilco]

I think the mostly similar looks of the alien species in Star Trek (two legs, two arms, mouth, nose, two eyes, etc.) was more due to budget restaints and difficulty with the make-up/CGI than lack of creativity. For example, something like Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean just wouldn't have been affordable for a Star Trek tv-series.

 

[amdmiami]

The trek aliens got boring because week after week it was just a person with some cheap latex glued to their nose or forehead. I want to see more Farscape like aliens. I don't mind puppets as long as they're done pretty decent.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It's easier to hire a human being to invest humanity into an alien character and make them relatable to the audience than to try to do the same thing with a CGI creation. And even then, the relatability is provided by the voice actor you hire. If the CGI blob can't even speak, good luck conveying any personality or making the audience care.

TOS did it with the Horta, but I've seen far more examples of that sort of thing not working. It is harder than it looks, because without the human actor, you've got to fall back on great writing, and there's another thing that's harder than it looks. There are far more good actors in Hollywood than writers who can whomp you up a Horta on the page.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I think we're all aware by now why everyone looks human or humanoid in the trek universe, its nothing to do with budget, it's because those alen dudes spread there DNA throughout the Galaxy in order to create life.

Ya know what, the more and more I recall of trek the more and more it feels Stargate ripped it off.

Long lost Iconians with their portals = long lost Ancients with their Stargates.

Long lost race seeded humanoid life throughout the galaxy = Ancients seeded the Galaxy with humans.

parasites took control of Starfleet officers to take over the Federation = The Goa'uld.

The founders posing as gods use Jem'Hadar as their means of control = The Goa'uld posing as Gods use the Jaffa for means of control.

 

[Sector 7]

I think we're all aware by now why everyone looks human or humanoid in the trek universe, its nothing to do with budget, it's because those alen dudes spread there DNA throughout the Galaxy in order to create life.

Ya know what, the more and more I recall of trek the more and more it feels Stargate ripped it off.

The founders posing as gods use Jem'Hadar as their means of control = The Goa'uld posing as Gods use the Jaffa for means of control.

It had everything to do with budget. The excuse of aliens spreading DNA came later as an attempt to justify it.
Check your dates. I believe the 'founders' came after Stargate had the Goa'uld.
Most television science fiction 'ripped-off' other science fiction because the ideas are common.
Not a convincing argument.

 

[ambelamba]

It's easier to hire a human being to invest humanity into an alien character and make them relatable to the audience than to try to do the same thing with a CGI creation. And even then, the relatability is provided by the voice actor you hire. If the CGI blob can't even speak, good luck conveying any personality or making the audience care.

TOS did it with the Horta, but I've seen far more examples of that sort of thing not working. It is harder than it looks, because without the human actor, you've got to fall back on great writing, and there's another thing that's harder than it looks. There are far more good actors in Hollywood than writers who can whomp you up a Horta on the page.

If all sci-fi shows have been like Trek there would have been very little innovations in visual effects. As a person who wants to break into animation industry, I am drawn to good visuals.

And when I talked with someone about making a CG animation Trek movie, we joked that 90% of animation will be facial animation.

 

[Mistral]

The Great Bird dictated the use of humanoid "aliens" himself in the show bible. That's what got the ball rolling.The Horta was a rare exception-but it started as a murdering monster so it escaped the "all alien races looking a bit human so the audience could relate" thing.