All the time. DS9, much as I love it, was more guilty of this than the other shows.
Favorite "Oee Off" humor Episodes
- Thread starter mysticgeek
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All the time. DS9, much as I love it, was more guilty of this than the other shows.
Why? What's so bad about an American made show depicting American customs? If Star Trek had been made in England, I would expect it to be predominately English by design.
Right--it's like how Doctor Who strongly reflects its origins, but nobody criticizes it for that.
^Actually, I would especially NuWho. Cardiff pretending to be London, most of the eps taking place in 21st century London and the Spice Girls songs surviving for five billion years
The Doctor should act British but we don't want to hit our foreign friends over the head with British 'culture' or at least what passes for it on Television over here.
The Doctor should act British but we don't want to hit our foreign friends over the head with British 'culture' or at least what passes for it on Television over here.
I love Fascination
. The whole thing feels like the writers know it's ridiculous and they just don't care. It's more fun than pretty much any DS9 episode I can think of!
^Actually, I would especially NuWho. Cardiff pretending to be London, most of the eps taking place in 21st century London and the Spice Girls songs surviving for five billion years
The Doctor should act British but we don't want to hit our foreign friends over the head with British 'culture' or at least what passes for it on Television over here.
The point is that like ST, Doctor Who is made for the home audience. Like I say, it's not a bad thing but there's no getting away from the fact that ST's view of the future has a few token 'other' people and a whole lot of North Americans.
That's the good thing about fanfic...it tends to be better about this.
My main human OC, for instance, is Greek. And he has one of those long names TV producers tend to think Americans are too stupid to learn how to pronounce and spell correctly. But you know what? In reality, some people have those kinds of long names, and I want my work to reflect REALITY.
My main human OC, for instance, is Greek. And he has one of those long names TV producers tend to think Americans are too stupid to learn how to pronounce and spell correctly. But you know what? In reality, some people have those kinds of long names, and I want my work to reflect REALITY.
I'm British and I can definitely see how Doctor Who would seem excessively British to foreign audiences, but come on, Take Me Out to the Holosuite would have much more universal appeal if it was about football! Most people actually understand that game...
Which football? That's the question.
There's "American Football" (The NFL), and what we Amercans call "Soccer" Football (FIFA).
That's the good thing about fanfic...it tends to be better about this.
My main human OC, for instance, is Greek. And he has one of those long names TV producers tend to think Americans are too stupid to learn how to pronounce and spell correctly. But you know what? In reality, some people have those kinds of long names, and I want my work to reflect REALITY.
Yup. And it's ironic: We can pronounce "Arnold Schwarzenegger" just fine--even if we have to research like mad in order to learn how to spell it....
When you consider that, "Makis Spirodopoulos" suddenly doesn't seem that far gone, as far as "American Recognition" is concerned.
Yes, Dr Who is equally as over-the-top English as ST is American, and I'm half English! lol
I actually don't think Trek goes that far, though. Aside from a few eps like 'The Omega Glory', I don't think Trek emphasises its American-ness that much.
I actually don't think Trek goes that far, though. Aside from a few eps like 'The Omega Glory', I don't think Trek emphasises its American-ness that much.
I agree. Plus, when you look at Sisko's love for baseball--remember that even among humans it's seen as odd (which, if it were a totally "American" show, would likely not be the case).
Doctor Who...well, suffice it to say that its...extreme Britishness is one of the reasons I don't want to watch it. The same goes for Monty Python and the like. I just don't feel connected to it, like I'm really getting it, and that doesn't encourage me to keep going.
Doctor Who...well, suffice it to say that its...extreme Britishness is one of the reasons I don't want to watch it. The same goes for Monty Python and the like. I just don't feel connected to it, like I'm really getting it, and that doesn't encourage me to keep going.
It's not a humorous episode, but one scene from "Strange Bedfellows" always makes me laugh.
Weyoun 8 walks into the room to meet Damar for the first time.
Damar: over-the-top - Well hello.
Damar cluckles about Weyoun 7's death.
Weyoun 8 walks into the room to meet Damar for the first time.
Damar: over-the-top - Well hello.
Damar cluckles about Weyoun 7's death.
^Also:
"No. Hm-hm-hm--Maybe you should talk to Worf again!
"
"No. Hm-hm-hm--Maybe you should talk to Worf again!
"
Here's a Link to the history of the Football NAME
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_American_football_called_'football'
As to the OP I've watched the show but never looked at the title of the episodes
I could say I liked the Morg episode where he actually moved
Another one I liked was the one where Quark found the container that was filed with JUST gold dust as if it was worthless compared to Gold Pressed Latinum (I think he was in a lot of trouble in that episode)
I've never been bothered by the "Britishness" of Doctor Who, nor has it ever stopped me from watching or enjoying it.
As for Monty Python, I really don't see, what is there that precludes understanding, and what is there not to be connected to? I can think of maybe a couple of sketches that were connected to something typically British that one would have to know about... one was the sketch about the Kray brothers, and... well, there was probably some other, but I can't remember. They did a lot of parodies of stereotypes about the English people, of BBC announcers, businessmen from the City, etc. but those jokes are very easy to understand. It's not like making fun of the military, the church or the TV is something that is so exclusively British. Or else I don't know why I would like it or how it could be so popular with so many people I know, in a country that is not even English-speaking.
As for Trek, there is nothing specifically American about it that it can't be understood, either. Baseball may be one of the exceptions, since since I don't quite understand it and don't find it interesting in itself, but Take Me Out to the Holosuite was quite fun even if you didn't understand the game. Sure, if it was, say, basketball instead, I'd have enjoyed the episode much more. But I'm alright with it. If Trek writers want to introduce a character who loves baseball, that's perfectly OK; if that character were, say, Spanish or Argentinian or Russian, one could accuse them of cultural imperialism, but Sisko is American and baseball is a popular American sport, so that makes sense and there's nothing wrong there.
I am far more bothered by other things in Trek, such as, the majority of characters apparently being from English-speaking countries, judging by their names, with just an occasional Russian/French/Japanese person thrown in for diversity. Or the way that Federation culture seems to be synonymous with human culture, and human culture seems to be synonymous with Anglo-American culture. I love Shakespeare, but why do Trek characters always have to quote from his works? Why couldn't Bashir recommend a novel by Dostoyevski for Garak to read? Why couldn't Picard quote, say, Hugo or Stendhal or Camus? Or Sophocles, Dante, Goethe, Tolstoy... you get the idea. And that's just if you want to stick to the classic European literature from the school curriculum, as Trek seems to prefer - we could also wonder about the culture of the rest of the Earth, or more contemporary literature and music (surely there are people in the Federation who listen to music made after 1950?).
The thing with Trek is, it is supposed to represent a future society of United Earth, not USA or UK. And if we get the impression that Earth culture = Anglo-American culture, this would imply extensive assimilation, and doesn't show the utopian Trek society in a good light.
DevilEyes--Bashir actually SHOULD have recommended a book by Dostoyevsky for Garak to read. I have actually made the case before that Crime and Punishment would be the PERFECT bridge between Cardassian and human culture. Raskolnikov's guilty. You KNOW he's guilty. You know he needs to get what he deserves, and he does. And yet you also have these very human themes of forgiveness and redemption going on...and in the end these happen even as Raskolnikov is accepting his punishment. You also have the very real debate between the Christians and those who believe in the roots of socialism, in the book, and I think that debate would speak to Garak (even if he came down on the side of the socialists, he'd at least SEE how the arguments work).
About baseball in particular, I should point out that it is no longer strictly the "American pastime"...it is also very much loved in Latin America and Japan.
As for Monty Python, there are maybe a few sketches that are funny, but most of the ones I watched I found unfunny and some of them just flat stupid. I'm trying to be generous and assuming that perhaps it's just a difference between American and British humor, but I think there IS a big enough difference that I just find no interest. And with Doctor Who, I have no interest again because the show is just SO overwhelmingly British.
This is not a problem with British PEOPLE, but the entertainment produced over there. BIG difference, before anyone tries to jump on me for that.
About the demographics aboard Starfleet vessels, I understand maybe why the casting calls wound up that way, but that should not be correct for United Earth. Interestingly, this comic really gets it right. Check out the USS Mumbai's crew...
http://www.alleged.org.uk/2007/toss/cast/
And this is also the reason I decided to give my lead human character the name Makis Spirodopoulos and have him be from Greece, in my fanfic. I don't care that people find that hard to spell--too bad, get used to it. That's the real world, folks.
About baseball in particular, I should point out that it is no longer strictly the "American pastime"...it is also very much loved in Latin America and Japan.
As for Monty Python, there are maybe a few sketches that are funny, but most of the ones I watched I found unfunny and some of them just flat stupid. I'm trying to be generous and assuming that perhaps it's just a difference between American and British humor, but I think there IS a big enough difference that I just find no interest. And with Doctor Who, I have no interest again because the show is just SO overwhelmingly British.
This is not a problem with British PEOPLE, but the entertainment produced over there. BIG difference, before anyone tries to jump on me for that.
About the demographics aboard Starfleet vessels, I understand maybe why the casting calls wound up that way, but that should not be correct for United Earth. Interestingly, this comic really gets it right. Check out the USS Mumbai's crew...
http://www.alleged.org.uk/2007/toss/cast/
And this is also the reason I decided to give my lead human character the name Makis Spirodopoulos and have him be from Greece, in my fanfic. I don't care that people find that hard to spell--too bad, get used to it. That's the real world, folks.
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