A disproportionate amount of the crew seems to be Irish, Scottish or Japanese

[Detached Nacelle]

It's almost as if they were 20th century American writers trying to make a TV show to appeal to 20th century Americans viewers.

Only if they were trying to appeal to viewers living in the 1920s-1950s. Most of his references were less than contemporary at the time.

 

[Christopher]

Only if they were trying to appeal to viewers living in the 1920s-1950s. Most of his references were less than contemporary at the time.

Since when have people only been interested in contemporary fiction? Many people are fans of things from before their time.

 

[Tomalak]

In hindsight it would have been quite funny if 90s Trek had contemporary references. Sisko being a Backstreet Boys fan or something.

Didn't someone at UPN suggest getting boybands on ENT?

What might have been...

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Since when have people only been interested in contemporary fiction? Many people are fans of things from before their time.

True but I was replying specifically to the hypothesis that implied people were writing it to appeal to their contemporaries, at least that's how I read 20th century Americans writing for a 20th century Americans.

 

[Captain_Nick]

And a lot of the time, they were just indulging their own interests, e.g. Michael Piller was a baseball fan and Ira Steven Behr was a Rat Pack fan. Which is why having a diverse creative pool is as important as having a diverse cast, so that people with a wider range of interests and cultural knowledge can contribute to a series.

That tracks, as ChatGPT likes to say.

A little more imagination would have gone a long way. Trek has never quite managed to escape the 20th century.

At least TNG gave it a red hot go, I’ve been impressed with the variety of earth references on that series.

 

[Captain_Nick]

It's almost as if they were 20th century American writers trying to make a TV show to appeal to 20th century Americans viewers.

You’re suggesting that it was intentional then and not just lazy writing? That is even more perverse.

 

[Christopher]

True but I was replying specifically to the hypothesis that implied people were writing it to appeal to their contemporaries, at least that's how I read 20th century Americans writing for a 20th century Americans.

That's my point -- that their contemporaries could be fans of things from an earlier generation, not just their own. It's hardly uncommon. Heck, how many Star Trek: TOS fans on this board do you think are old enough to have seen it in first run? For most of us, it's from before our time.

 

[Tomalak]

You’re suggesting that it was intentional then and not just lazy writing? That is even more perverse.

Yes, I'm suggesting it's intentional that the writers used cultural references understood both to them, and to the audience for whom they were writing. That's simply using a common frame of reference to convey a character beat.

I don't understand why you think this technique, common to virtually all popular media, could possibly be "perverse".