What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Amasov, Jun 20, 2020.

  1. Orphalesion

    Orphalesion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    But again, as long as it is Starfleet regulation for a counselor to have the option to dress in civilian attire, which it must have been, there is no inherent need for her to be in uniform instead and it was just another "my way or the highway" moment for Jellico. Whether you prefer the change is irrelevant to that.
    Of course I myself have pointed out that parts of Troi's attire (the flowing skirts, the high heels, the free flowing hair) could be a hazard in certain situations, but that's not how Jellico justifies it, he just tells her that he wants it that way.
    But again that shouldn't bring him brownie points. It's the 24th century were people are supposed to judge Data by his abilities. Only because the Queen of the Screech Harpies (Polaski) treated him like a machine at first doesn't mean that it's normal for people to do so, I had the impression that her mindset was deliberately shown as antiquated.
     
  2. Oddish

    Oddish Admiral Admiral

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    Maybe antiquated, but widely shared. It's interesting that despite Data being the second officer on the flagship and with undoubtedly stellar fitness reports, no one in Starfleet ever offers him either a first officer slot or other commander's berth.
     
  3. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I always figured uniform regulation was set by the CO.
     
  4. Oddish

    Oddish Admiral Admiral

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    Starfleet might have uniform codes, but a captain might choose not to enforce some of them. Or, they might get looser over time (again at the captain's discretion), which is why Worf's hair got longer as the series progressed, and why Bajorans were allowed to wear their earrings.

    It is rather interesting, btw, that male officers were expected to wear short hair... surely there are some cultures (human and alien alike) in which male hair is worn long.
     
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  5. Orphalesion

    Orphalesion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    There most be a starfleet-wide regulation that decides what is permissible and what is not and, at least for the timeframe of TNG this must have included that counselors are allowed to wear civilian clothing (at least at the CO's discretion)
    And I'm just saying that Jellico shouldn't be commended for enforcing his own preferences. And even in the wider story-arc of TNG find him telling Troi to wear the uniform problematic, since the change stuck. A major change in her character happened because some man told her to change it. No bueno.
    I think Troi should have decided for herself that she wants to wear the uniform (in season 2 or 3 preferably)

    Of course it was all just a flimsy excuse to give Marina Sirtis' breasts more screentime (about which she wasn't happy anyway)

    See I don't think there was any such regulation. We do occasionally see male extras with mullets, so I think Worf's shorter hair in the early seasons was a personal choice, which would fit with him being the overly-correct type.
    We do see a couple of Klingons with short hair similar to Worfs's in DS9.
     
  6. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The Klingon exchange officer in "The Drumhead(TNG)" also had shorter-than-usual hair for the time period.
     
  7. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I was not commending so much as stating he was not as unreasonable as often portrayed.
     
  8. Orphalesion

    Orphalesion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No, not you, Oddish listed it as one of the "competent" things Jellico supposedly did.
     
  9. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Oh.
    Well, then.
     
  10. Farscape One

    Farscape One Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Regarding Data and his ability to command an XO who is insubordinate...

    He did pretty damn good on the Sutherland when Hobson was clearly racist against him.
     
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  11. Oddish

    Oddish Admiral Admiral

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    He saved Earth from the Borg in BoBW, then stopped the Romulans from doing a coup on the Klingon homeworld. Either of those actions would have justified full commander rank and the first officer slot. Problem is, Riker just wouldn't budge.
     
  12. Grendelsbayne

    Grendelsbayne Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The idea that Jellico's treatment of Data isn't a recommendation because everyone should be like that really doesn't hold up to what actually happens on the show.

    In addition to Pulaski's scepticism, Starfleet was of the opinion that Data was literally their property until a judge decided otherwise (and only did so after very heated debate), his career was suspiciously dead in the water in comparison to not just Riker but even Worf or Geordi or Wesley, and he had to fight to assert himself as Captain of the Sutherland because his subordinates didn't believe an Android could be a good Captain. It's pretty clear that there is intended to be a significant streak of anti-android prejudice in the 24th century, even if it is only a minority of people. (And you also see a lot of similar themes unfold in regards to intelligent holograms as well.)
     
  13. Coops

    Coops Captain Captain

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    Probably not controversial but I'm loving that Trek has come full circle and now exists in TV World only again. I'm not convinced 'going to the cinema' as we remember it is going to survive the double bat'leth attack of Covid and online streaming. Even though there's still plenty of people who want to go and watch stuff the cinema industry was struggling beforehand and I think we're going to see lots of venues close down.

    So, Trek on TV. Here's to the future:beer:
     
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  14. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I mean, I never bought in to the idea of "Trek belongs on the small screen" line that was constantly tossed about. In every iteration there are ups and downs, and the format has not been my issue.
     
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  15. Vger23

    Vger23 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Totally agreed.

    People tend to gravitate toward what they grew up on, for example. I primarily grew up on the TOS films, although I started with TOS in re-runs in the late 70's when I was very young. And, my "definitive" Star Trek experience is in the motion picture format. I like Trek on TV as well, but not nearly as much as a huge Trek movie event.
     
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  16. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I can understand that.
     
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  17. FredH

    FredH Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    In pretty much every major franchise, Trek or otherwise: Those particular iterations that set angry fans' teeth on edge? If those same viewers had never heard of whatever franchise they feel is being ruined, and came to whichever particular movie/series/whatever it is as a casual viewer of this new piece of sci-fi over here, they'd probably be perfectly, if casually, okay with it.
     
  18. Oddish

    Oddish Admiral Admiral

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    TNG and DS9, considered these days to be the best iterations of Trek, both had significant detractors when they started out. Most new Treks do, I think. The only one that seems to have been relatively well regarded right out of the gates is "Lower Decks".
     
  19. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Lower Decks is deliberately comfort food style to tickle the ears of Trek fans of the TNG era.
     
  20. eschaton

    eschaton Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't think there's a must that Trek be on the small screen. However, IMHO what has helped trek historically has been its versatility - that it can go from action-adventure to character drama to comedy, all with the same characters.

    Given how modern cinema works, it's highly unlikely a Trek movie will ever be made which isn't at least a wannabe blockbuster (something which was the case not just for all the Kelvin movies, but the TNG movies as well). I mean, even if there was a banging script which was a "TVH redux" involving the Kelvinverse - a light comedy with a relatively small budget - the salaries demanded by the cast would probably make it untenable.

    Maybe the one exception is if they did an all CGI-movie, since that is a proven format for family-friendly comedy which also does quite well in the theater. I wouldn't be surprised if we see this eventually.