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You F--king Vulcan!!!

I think swearing does make dialogue more natural, but only when used when necessary. Usually swearing indicates exasperation or panic, and those are good times to use them. For example if the captain is chilling out all calm and relaxed and a phaser beam flies over his head, he'd probably yell "Shit!". Bit more natural than "Oh dear, we appear to be in quite the pickle, number one." And since it's been brought up, we all know how silly made-up space swear words are. BSG only works because we've been conditioned by the show not to chuckle or smile every time someone says "Frak". I know I did for like the first half of season 1.

But if swear words are used too casually ("Engage the fucking warp drive and get us the fuck outta here, you fucking bitch. I got shit to do.") then it certainly gives the wrong impression of our heroes.
 
Star Trek has always been fine without swearing and I see no reason to change that, though I do admit that I enjoyed the way Data said, "Oh, shit". And every time McCoy says, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?", Vulcan sounds like "fucking" to me. I'm glad there was never any swearing on TNG other than the one bit with Data. I saw a blooper reel of the actors saying stuff like "shit" when they screwed up their lines and it just sounded weird, especially coming out of the always so "civilized", dignified, and cordial Jean-Luc Picard.
 
That reminds me, did anyone else find it hilarious when Scotty was muttering unintelligible swear words at the transporter in the animated adventures? He reminded me of Yosemite Sam. :)
 
Spock: "Live long and prosper, bitch."

Kirk: "Beam me the fuck up."

McCoy: "He's deader'n shit, Jim."

Joe cusser
 
Part of it depends on who's writing the dialogue. David Mamet and David Milch are both masters of naturalistically weaving profanity into their dialogue. I couldn't imagine Glengarry Glen Ross or Deadwood, or NYPD Blue (where the use of profanity and nudity had to be negotiated literally down to the word and body part with ABC's Standards & Practices) being half as effective with 'polite' language. Yeah, they're different genres and different time periods, but that's not to say a Star Trek where the captain drops the F-bomb from time to time couldn't be just as compelling a drama as the best of what we've had so far.
 
I'm not a major fan of swearing in programmes - though that's not to say it can't be used to good dramatic effect. The rare times we've had swearing on Trek, it's been well placed, and adequately got across whatever emotion the scene requires.

As for F and C bombs... absolutely not. Trek has been family friendly for 40 years, and it'd be a shame if all that changed just to keep it in vogue and edgy.

Having said that, as Astraea said, we've be conditioned to accept 'frak' in BSG - though I thought it did seem a bit immature at first, it has been used to good effect. And we had the English-to-Chinese switching in Firefly. So it can be done convincingly, which I think is better than using strong language.
 
Zion Ravescene said:
I actually believed that in Star Trek II, McCoy exclaimed to Spock in the engine room scene "Are you out of your f***ing mind?" instead of "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" :lol:
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Interesting. I had the exact same reaction to Scotty saying "get your Vulcan Hands off me!" to Spock in "Day of the Dove".
 
It probably would seem weird if they were talking like sailors throughout the show, but I don't understand this whole aversion to sex and profanity people have in Trek. Yes, TOS had to do without... because it was the 1960s! But they more or less kept it at that level throughout the 80s and 90s, and by the time Enterprise tried its decon gel scenes and Archer wishing he could knock the Vulcans on their asses, it came across as a.) too little, too late, and b.) silly and immature.
 
cardinal biggles said:
It probably would seem weird if they were talking like sailors throughout the show, but I don't understand this whole aversion to sex and profanity people have in Trek. Yes, TOS had to do without... because it was the 1960s! But they more or less kept it at that level throughout the 80s and 90s, and by the time Enterprise tried its decon gel scenes and Archer wishing he could knock the Vulcans on their asses, it came across as a.) too little, too late, and b.) silly and immature.
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But if done well, I think they should. It would help quell the 'dorky vanilla' perception many have of TREK in the 'real world'. That my main point.

Rob
 
I think a lot of it depends on the context and the character. It should not be used in every day casual situations by every character. But I could picture Scotty swearing up a storm when he's under a deadline to fix something before some crisis happens.

The fact that the show does use alien (particularly Klingon) curse words and, especially with Enterprise, pretty much any network approved curse word, that the future is not free of curses (it's just the desire to appeal to family audiences and to air on network TV is the restrictions they have in mind).
 
Most people don't curse like they're in a Tarantino flick. I think it would be out of place in the context of Star Trek.


I don't mind the use of "fake" swears, like "frack" and "frell" and "felgercarb," when used in their respective series. When people run around using them in real life, I want to smack them silly with a cricket bat. It is the single most annoying thing in fandom after personal hygiene.
 
Alidar Jarok said:
I think a lot of it depends on the context and the character. It should not be used in every day casual situations by every character. But I could picture Scotty swearing up a storm when he's under a deadline to fix something before some crisis happens.
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O'Brien managed to sneak one or two in under the radar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9FJLzMgKwQ

He's the sort of person I'd imagine would swear like a trooper while on duty...
 
In that case...it helps that the word in question is not viewed as obscene in the States, whereas in the UK it is. ;)
 
Yes, but in the UK you have been able to say f*** on tv for several decades.

I doubt anyone would be seriously offended by the word Miles O'Brien used in the UK any more.
 
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