Do you often wish that you were living in Star Trek now?

[mythme]

I must admit that I've had this on-going story that I write for myself as a sort of warm-up for my "real" writing endeavors. It's a bit like DS9's "Things Past" where a person and those around them can become trapped in their likes or obsessions. So a few of my friends and I skip around from mind to mind and in mine we are in the Trek universe. We wake up in a shuttlecraft and my friends need to depend on my Trek knowledge to survive. We first needed to deduce what century we were in, what quadrant, what antagonists we might face, etc. I have to teach the others how to operate the tech, plot coordinates, learn cultural peculiarities, and so forth. And, no, I don't always know everything which sometimes lands us into trouble.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Plus the smug, self-righteous attitude Picard displays along with all this 24th-century paradise?

Wow. You just figured out how to be self righteous about not being self righteous.

No, she's right. Picard did tend to cop an attitude about how 'evolved' people in the 24th century were, especially in "The Neutral Zone". We could chalk it up to Picard simply reacting to Ralph Offenhouse, but he treats Lily the same way in ST:FC.

This is not to say that Picard doesn't have some good points, but he does tend to gloat a bit.

Then again, he's not alone. Remember "The Bonding", which seemed to suggest that people in the 24th century don't mourn deceased family members?

 

[sbk1234]

In the future, Earth is a paradise ...

What with the complete absence of gays and all.

Not wanting to get into a political discussion on this, largely because we probably agree on this one, but the fact that canon Trek hasn't shown an openly gay character doesn't mean that they don't exist, any more than it would mean that not showing people of any particular group doesn't mean that they don't exist, either.

I will gladly state that Star Trek has been behind some other shows like Doctor Who, for example, in portraying greater diversity. Perhaps that's just American TV for you.

 

[Pondwater]

. I would like to know has anyone ever wished that they were living in the Star Trek Universe? And if you did live there say 24th century Earth. What would you do?

There are times, yes. Especially when it comes to anything medical related. And the replicators, to be able to enjoy bowls of Rocky Road and Moose tracks ice cream.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If I couldn't be the cargo captain that I'd like to be? I honestly don't know if I'd fit in.

Then again, would I want to? We love Star Trek because it's an escape from reality. If it somehow became our reality? That might take away some of the allure.

 

[The Wormhole]

When I was in high school and everyone started with that "what are you going to do after you graduate? What are you going to do with your life" shit, it really bothered me because what I wanted to do was join Starfleet, which of course isn't possible on account of Starfleet's non-existence.

 

[T'Girl]

I can give Scotty a pass for giving Nichols the keys to transparent aluminium, because maybe the reason he sought out Nichols in the first place was because he DID come up with the formula.

Similar to how Prime Spock gave Alternate Scotty the formula for long range beaming.

... and Moose tracks ice cream.

I'm almost scared to ask.

 

[Enterprise1701]

I don't think I would want to live permanently in Star Trek. On one hand, there would be no anthropogenic global warming problem, replicators, transporters, holograms, and nonhuman species to meet. On the other hand, I might be a redshirt or a victim of a Borg or Dominion attack.

 

[The Wormhole]

I might be a redshirt or a victim of a Borg or Dominion attack.

That's simple enough to avoid, just don't join Starfleet. The average civilian lives a luxurious life in complete safety in Trek. Hell, since Earth is a money-less society, you don't really have to work for a living.

 

[BillJ]

I'd rather try and make the here-and-now a little better than live in someone else idea of 'paradise'.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

... and Moose tracks ice cream.

I'm almost scared to ask.

Here you go.

 

[2takesfrakes]

It's amazing to think what we could've accomplished, already, if there were political will for it decades ago. Like in the 70's during the Energy Crisis, if they had Gone Green, maybe we wouldn't be sweating our asses off, right now. Hunger in the world should not exist - there's really been no reason for it, for a very long time.

All kinds of things that I wouldn't equate with STAR TREKian Utopia, but if fans of the show wanted Gene Roddenberry's Bold Vision to take credit for it ... fine. All kinds of things that were always within our reach, but never our grasp, over yay, these many decades. Our world would be an even more amazing place right now, when you think about it. But ... that was not to be.

 

[Timewalker]

I'd say yes. No poverty, no war, insane amounts of comfort and luxury but a fair even playing field route to positions of prestige, 150 year life expectancy. Exciting frontiers in every direction. Of course I'd rather live there.

Plus the smug, self-righteous attitude Picard displays along with all this 24th-century paradise?

Wow. You just figured out how to be self righteous about not being self righteous.

What does your analysis of the portrayal of one character have to do with what it is like to live in the 24th century in general? We have similar attitudes today about people's behavior from centuries ago.

Or did you just randomly interject this into an unrelated conversation because you like talking smugly about Picard's smugness?

I tend to think the apparent blandness on Earth is production fail rather than an indication of actual boringness. I tend to think life for an average family on Earth is more like the holodeck family Torres programmed for the Doc.

Wow. You just figured out how to completely miss the point.

Picard displays a smug, self-righteous attitude of "We're perfect" (or at least perfect in comparison to mere 20th-century humans), but you can't say he developed that attitude in a vacuum. It came from somewhere, and I daresay it's probably because by that time, Earth is a tame paradise where nobody has to struggle (and therefore there's less probability of people becoming greedy or selfish when it comes to material possessions - you can always order whatever you want from the nearest replicator).

But Picard has always chosen to overlook all the planets in the Federation (and on the fringes) where life is not one of tame luxury. I bet if Tasha had heard him say that, she'd have given him a "WTF?" look. Lily's calling him on his self-righteous BS in "First Contact" is the reason she's the only character in that whole damn movie I actually liked.

That's how it was on TNG (except that Riker occasionally played jazz).

Voyager was a whole different thing. Janeway was a galaxy-class grouch without her coffee. Thanks to Tom Paris and his love for the 20th century, they did have 20th-century stuff on the holodeck, and B'Elanna made him a TV for their quarters. It wasn't unusual for Tom to relax in front of the TV with a tub of popcorn or a pizza.

I give DS9 (later episodes) Enterprise and Voyager credit with making humans seem more contemporary.

Now plays and theater can be entertaining, but TNG made it seem like they were only type of entertainment there was.

And with the idea that TV viewing is extinct, it makes you wonder, "exactly what are they getting at?" This is what people do??

And seriously how many times has tea been offered in this universe? No matter how far away, the age or how different the species is, tea is the beverage of choice, the choice of champions.

There's like well over 70 references to this stuff on Trek lol. Where's the soda, the coffee, wine coolers, beer, smoothies, etc, etc, etc...

If you look at the way characters tended to dress and act, especially in thee earlier episodes of TNG, it's right out of the 19th century. ... did it ever give anyone watching the feeling they would be out of place in a society that was depicted this way? Enough to pass on it?

I wouldn't get along with a shipful of tea drinkers. Not that I like coffee - hate it - but I don't like tea much. It's just barely palatable with a lot of honey for flavoring. So since pop doesn't seem to exist in the 23rd/24th centuries, I'd have to settle for fruit juice or cocoa.

Plus the smug, self-righteous attitude Picard displays along with all this 24th-century paradise?

Wow. You just figured out how to be self righteous about not being self righteous.

No, she's right. Picard did tend to cop an attitude about how 'evolved' people in the 24th century were, especially in "The Neutral Zone". We could chalk it up to Picard simply reacting to Ralph Offenhouse, but he treats Lily the same way in ST:FC.

This is not to say that Picard doesn't have some good points, but he does tend to gloat a bit.

Then again, he's not alone. Remember "The Bonding", which seemed to suggest that people in the 24th century don't mourn deceased family members?

Thank you, Mr. Laser Beam.

And yeah, you're right about the non-mourning. I thought it was just so damn stupid to have this poor little kid who'd just lost his only parent, evidently stuck in their quarters alone, and still expected to dress nicely and have a picture-perfect hairstyle. From my own experiences with the sudden death of close family, dressing nicely and having one's hair perfectly combed is the last thing on one's mind.

 

[Nightdiamond]

I might be a redshirt or a victim of a Borg or Dominion attack.

That's simple enough to avoid, just don't join Starfleet. The average civilian lives a luxurious life in complete safety in Trek.

Just to show how far it can go, in TNG, the one where Troi takes the 1st officer's test. She orders (holographic) Geordi to crawl into a shaft flowing with lethal radiation, that they all know he wont survive.

It's a simulation, but what they're were saying was that a Starfleet officer should be ready to sacrifice their life at any moment.

The expectation was for Geordi to just go in there there with no hesitation and die a painful death with no treatment just to save the ship-- in theory, that sounds noble, but is it realistic?

In Disaster, Ensign Ro wanted to separate the ship and leave possibly hundreds of other officers and families stranded to be blown up, because she thought the other half of the ship was about to explode.

Her reasoning? The crew members trapped in the exploding part of the ship wouldn't want them to spend all that time trying to help them and should just get out with their own lives.

W>T>F?? What good is living in Utopia if you're a red shirt and life seems so cheap?

Sometimes they make it look like Starfleet officers are a little too expendable.

 

[Amaris]

Actually, I'd rather live in Equestria. 4 or 5 years ago? Sure, world of Star Trek and such. Now? Not so much. Although, now that I consider the whole picture, I could have my own holodeck and make my own Equestria, or look for an alien race that consists of magical ponies and their fair minded rulers.

Hmm... now I have to go think.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The future Earth seen in the new movies looks amazing. It's only the constant fear of destruction and giant spaceships falling out of the sky that would preclude my wanting to live there.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'd move to DS9 tomorrow if I could--even just to work on the glop-on-a-stick kiosk!

 

[meshman63]

I'd like things to be better like in Trek. Life now-a-days is filled with disasters, killings, politics,hate crimes and, greed. I like it that in Trek, all of this stuff has gone away and things are good.

 

[T'Girl]

It's amazing to think what we could've accomplished, already, if there were political will for it decades ago.

Less a lack of political will, and more a lack on the part of society.

My own state has done pretty good, the majority of our electrical power comes from hydro-electric dams (which eco-idiots hate), and nuclear power (which eco-idiots hate more). The fact that both of these are very "green" seem to make no difference.

Not that we don't employ some fossil fuels.

Proven technology could make the environment better, and keep grandma from freezing in the fall/winter/early spring. If only people would take advantage of that old tech.

... if fans of the show wanted Gene Roddenberry's Bold Vision ...

There are aspects of "Roddenberry's bold vision" that I find undesirable and personally troubling.

 

[2takesfrakes]

There are aspects of "Roddenberry's bold vision" that I find undesirable and personally troubling.

Oh? Like ... like what, T'Girl? You see, it is actually relevant to this thread and may help the Original Poster view the topic with an astonishingly different perspective.

I for one am not entirely certain what the question means. I know about life in STAR TREK terms only in the broadest possible brush strokes. No details were ever painted in about any of it. No war is easy to understand. Things like that. But this "no money" business, for example ...

How are things acquired/owned in a world without money? Is it "First Come, First Served" for things like, oh ... Scotty said he'd just bought a boat in TUC. Was he just lucky enough to have gotten to it before anyone else? Or do Famous Celebrities get first dibs on everything? Does "status" still exist, sans money, and does it, then, imply "purchasing power" that maybe Joe the Plumber in 23rd Century America can't have? Must Joe strive harder to improve himself, lest he be stuck living like Trailer Trash?