FREEZE, Earthling!
Things I Hate About Star Trek
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FREEZE, Earthling!
Well, we're going to have to agree to sort of agree but also sort of disagree here, Sharr. I agree that "man" can be gender neutral (e.g. "all mankind"), and I use it that way at times myself, but it most definitely isn't always.
And in the early days of scifi, the "Earthmen" aliens referred to or pointed funny-looking rayguns at were all actual males. I am not a nut about changing "man" to non-gender-specific terms - "personhole" in place of "manhole," for example, is just silly - but I liked it when "no man" was replaced with "no one." It made it absolutely clear and it didn't even mess up the cadence. And besides, it opened going boldly to non-human species as well. But I don't want to hijack the thread, so if somebody wants to talk about this some more, maybe we should create another thread.
And in the early days of scifi, the "Earthmen" aliens referred to or pointed funny-looking rayguns at were all actual males. I am not a nut about changing "man" to non-gender-specific terms - "personhole" in place of "manhole," for example, is just silly - but I liked it when "no man" was replaced with "no one." It made it absolutely clear and it didn't even mess up the cadence. And besides, it opened going boldly to non-human species as well. But I don't want to hijack the thread, so if somebody wants to talk about this some more, maybe we should create another thread.
Thor Damar said:Mind you Terran might be a better name for ourselves if we ever meet other sentient beings out there.
Friendly but with a take no BS attitude
I've always really liked "Terran." In the old days of scifi, back when the men had adventures in space and women either stayed home or just stood around looking pretty, we humans were called "Earthmen," and I think "Terran" would have been a great non-gender-specific substitute. Who can I write to to get that change implemented? (I'm kidding, but I wish I weren't!)
Thor Damar said:
A lot of the regulars became interesting...but they sure didn't start that way, and precious few of the guests became so, alas.
Oh, which brings up another addition to our list: Terran stuff often looked bland, too. The clothing was bland (a total yawnfest - it's a very sad thing when the most colorful things most people wore were their uniforms), the interiors of the ships were bland (there were some terrific exteriors, of course), the space stations were bland, and you never saw anybody having a really riotous good time. What's the deal with that?
Edit: My theory, which I have no data to support so perhaps "theory" isn't the right word, is that the developers of Trek were trying so hard not to look like 1950s scifi that they allowed their sense of style to become constipated. There's got to be something between Flash Gordon and muted pastels, for goodness' sake.
There is, Cardassian art deco!
^ You know I love Cardassian design, but...would a little bit of color killed them?It is very Art Deco, but it's kind of Deco Goes Goth.
What kind of colour, may I ask? I like the colour tones for the spaceships and the weapons fire along with the cityscape. (but not the TNG version, pink WTF
).
^ Oh, I don't know...something besides gray? It's a crazy idea, I know.
You can't judge a Cardassian by the colour of their skin, but instead judge them by the content of their character.
(I couldn't resist. Sorry)
^ That last paragraph? Absolute truth IMHO. One thing that we humans are not is dull, heck we're so bloody imaginative that we inverted boredom!
The mainstream Humans were too dull and self righteous and the MU humans were stupid, cruel and greedy with no redeeming qualities (with the exception of Smiley).
Mind you Terran might be a better name for ourselves if we ever meet other sentient beings out there.
Friendly but with a take no BS attitude
No way. We're Humans, from the planet Huma.
Fwiw, I've never liked the trope of aliens referring to us as "Terrans." Why does a Greek word suggest a more alien description than an English one? Where would they even get it from? Why use a term from a marginal alien language instead of a dominant one?
Thor Damar said:
I didn't mean the Cardassians should change color. I mean, I'm not all that interesting a color myself. But a nice rug, some hangings in some color besides gray or grayish...it would really perk things up. [slightly pretentious fashionista tone]Red would probably be very flattering to their skin tone![/fashionista tone]
No way. We're Humans, from the planet Huma.
Fwiw, I've never liked the trope of aliens referring to us as "Terrans." Why does a Greek word suggest a more alien description than an English one? Where would they even get it from? Why use a term from a marginal alien language instead of a dominant one?
Would you really call Greek "marginal"? I don't know how many species names on Earth have Greek orgins, but the answer would be "a lot." Not as many as Latin, of course.
No way. We're Humans, from the planet Huma.
Fwiw, I've never liked the trope of aliens referring to us as "Terrans." Why does a Greek word suggest a more alien description than an English one? Where would they even get it from? Why use a term from a marginal alien language instead of a dominant one?
Would you really call Greek "marginal"? I don't know how many species names on Earth have Greek orgins, but the answer would be "a lot." Not as many as Latin, of course.
Less marginal than Polish or Serbo-Croat, I guess. My point is no one calls Earth "Terra."
Thor Damar said:
I didn't mean the Cardassians should change color. I mean, I'm not all that interesting a color myself. But a nice rug, some hangings in some color besides gray or grayish...it would really perk things up. [slightly pretentious fashionista tone]Red would probably be very flattering to their skin tone![/end fashionista tone]
They have some interesting interior designs, check out Ghemor's rooms in 'Second Skin'.
And Myasishchev, I was referring to Humans using the term as a description of ourselves to aliens. Although given our diversity we would probably end up with dozens of different descriptors.
And Cyke101, darn right I did!
^I know, Thor. I left out a step in my thinking--I was remembering the countless examples of aliens spitting out "Terran" for reasons unknown. 
Now I always liked "hew-mon."
And the REALLY fascinating thing is to listen to the difference between the way he spoke when he played Dukat and when he played Macet. Such similar characters on the surface--same species and rank, and yet the mannerisms and speech patterns are just strikingly different!
Oh, and JustKate...I've been meaning to show you this: http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=86983&page=2
Scroll down to the end of the thread. True, it's not a lot of color, but I think it works...
No way. We're Humans, from the planet Huma.
Fwiw, I've never liked the trope of aliens referring to us as "Terrans." Why does a Greek word suggest a more alien description than an English one? Where would they even get it from? Why use a term from a marginal alien language instead of a dominant one?
Would you really call Greek "marginal"? I don't know how many species names on Earth have Greek orgins, but the answer would be "a lot." Not as many as Latin, of course.
Less marginal than Polish or Serbo-Croat, I guess. My point is no one calls Earth "Terra."
Guys, Terra is in Latin. The Greek word would be Gaia. So, Gaians maybe? I think it sounds good
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