And ST:TMP is downright nonsensical. As one example, Harlan Ellison may have been the first person to mention in print - in 1980 - how ridiculous the premise is that a machine civilization capable of interpreting Voyager 6's simple programming into an elaborate imperative to learn everything, and then capable of building the most huge and advanced space vehicle we've ever seen, would have stumbled over correctly reading the device's name. That happens for one reason, and one reason only - in the hope that the audience will be surprised by the reveal. There is no possible internal justification for it that isn't stupid.
Uh ... whoever said the super-advanced civilization that named V'ger "... stumbled over correctly reading the device's name" in the first place? They read the original name even with the space dust, decided the obstructions on the identification plaque coincidentally gave the new machine a unique identity that still reflected its origin, and moved on. A mentality that said, "The original probe was Voyager VI, but we have re-designated it V'Ger to distinguish it from the original, simpler device."
I never thought the machine creators were that dumb.
I think there will always be problems portraying non-humanoid mentality on screen without baffling the less astute members of the audience, that's why Trek rarely bothers with non-humanoid characters and it's also what I loved about the Vorlons and Shadows in B5. I never thought that V'ger really was a child, it was just Spock's way of simplifying what he'd learned from the mind meld so that the meatbags, I mean carbon units, could understand.
Oh, I don't think Dennis, or Harlan for that matter, are in any way less astute. I think they're both deliberately twisting context and content in a snarky attempt to crank up over-protective fans of earlier films. Plus, an obvious shortcoming of
Trek09 is its credulity-straining series of coincidences, along with weird motivations for the antagonist, inconsistent use of the red matter technology, and curious indolence of the Klingons while they sat on 24th century Romulan technology for 25 years and kept it convenient for Nero to retrieve when his wait was over. By pointing out or manufacturing deficiencies in the earlier films, such fans can feel better about NuTrek's glaring deficiencies.
It's weirder behavior than that elicited by the
Star Wars vs.
Star Trek crowd, since it's an intra-franchise rivalry. But maybe I'm putting too savage a face on affairs. Maybe we're all more like teenage brothers gathered around the dinner table, taunting and teasing each other with fraternal goodwill, and I should relax my grip on my steak knife whenever Dennis, Number6, Devon,
et al post.
Over-protective fans, Psion! Breathe in. Breathe out. Just picture them all naked and smile amiably.
You're right about alien mentalities. I never really got as much out of
Babylon 5 as I'd hoped when JMS first started telling us about it back in the day when he visited GEnie with regular updates about his concept for a TV series. But the Vorlons were amazing. From their ships to Kosh, I just couldn't get enough of them. Absolutely brilliant execution!
How the hell does TOS contradict ENT when the show was made thirty years before???
