Aliens

[David.Blue]

My one interest in TREK aliens is a desire to explore each further. I regard the most realized alien civilization ever presented were the Cardassians--they seemed to have a rich, complex society with enough hints to believe a lot remained "off stage." Somehow they felt real in a way the Klingons, Romulans and Vulcans never quite did. Perhaps because we got so many tiny details that coalesced into something that felt real. The intense sense of family, the existence of dissenters from the government line (not in the abstract--their dissenters felt like individuals), the eerie 'exposed bones' architecture, etc.

Too often aliens in TREK represent one facet of our own personalities, often done crudely. Ferengi are greed, Vulcans stoicism, Romulans ruthlessness, Bajorans religion, etc. I'd rather see the races we already know explored further. The Vulcan serial killer in DS9 for example, or the Klingon scientist on TNG.

 

[Esirprus]

^ 50% of the main characters (though I'd prefer less than that, though can understand that some viewers might be turned off by too many aliens) but in total have humans comprise at most 10% of the overall crew.

Agreed. There are plenty of easy near-human aliens to choose from to get humanoids up to an overall 50%. While I acknowledge that Star Trek is ultimately about humans, there's no reason that exploration into the human condition can't be done well with nonhumans (Spock, Data, Worf, etc.).

I still stand firm though: I won't be on board with any of this unless I can have a talking monkey Chief Engineer. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Why am I continually surprised when someone mentions something to what's already intended for inclusion?

 

[Tim Walker]

Actually, I like Scotty's sidekick in JJTrek.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Actually, I like Scotty's sidekick in JJTrek.

He's a far more compelling character than Nuhura

 

[Tim Walker]

Assimilated ex-member of Species 8472.


http://sto.gamepedia.com/Assimilated_Undine

Definitely very alien, including the Borg (hive mind) mentality.

It would be cool to see.

 

[MantaBase]

I think of Star Wars when I think of this question. SW handled aliens much better IMO. It's is still (up to now) a white humanoid male centric universe, but aliens were integrated far better. I understand for a TV series there are budget issues, but I also think that is a bit of an excuse.

I don't have a problem with most aliens being bipedal, and bi-symmetric. There are evolutionary reasons for that to be common (but not exclusive). But the body-types don't need to all be human. With CGI in it's current state, you can CGI modify a character (add a tail, add arms, etc...) without a huge budget problem. Body siuts can change body type quickly. With character design that focuses on economy you can be pretty creative. You can make appliances for say a character that has spider type eyes (8 of them) and they can be quick to apply - kids at Halloween do incredible things - and it doesn't take 3 hours in a makeup chair to do it.

It bothers me that the corridors of 1701D had less diversity than the bridge crew.

But the #1 and #2 things I would like to see are:

Language! SW handles this well with the techniques of two characters understanding each other even when they are speaking different languages. Han and Chewy, C3PO and R2D2, Leah (SP?) and Jabba, etc.... And subtitles when needed. Seriously....and entire galaxy that speaks fluent english? That has to go.

Sidekicks! Kept to a minimum - but I would like to see this.

Scotty and his companion do this (both of the above) in the reboot and it works very well! It's a good engine for humor and character development.

Just my thoughts.

And yes, I would like to see more Terran primates as characters.

 

[Tim Walker]

I have to give JJTrek credit for one innovation-Scotty's sidekick.

Nice little touch there.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re:Book-copywrite 2013

Signatures Of Life Science Searches The Universe by Edward Ashpole.

Discussion of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

The author considers that ETs may actually be AIs (Artificial Intelligence).

Yes, a scientist thinks that there may be machine/robot civilizations out there.

Trek hasn't really done this yet. Something to consider if you want a fresh direction for Trek.


He also commented that it has become acceptable for scientists to search for signals from ancient probes.

 

[Tim Walker]

There are hints in NuBSG and Andromeda that a machine intelligence might be strange to biological beings.

As for portraying a robot civilization in live action, I think that a "tin can" robot could be convincing. A robot need not be an android like Data, or a man in a robot suit like Bicentennial Man or the original BSG/

 

[Brainsucker]

Too much Alien will make it feel... "Is this a kid show?" Because that what I feel when watching Guardian the Galaxy, and some other show that use cute small talking creatures with animal detail.

That feeling was also applied when I watched Star Wars VI. After looking at those small Alien, The show was no longer feel serious.

Of course, that feeling won't applied when you put human in costume Alien. But... can you still enjoy that kind of show? Come on, this is 21st century, not the middle of 20th one. We are the people who have already watch more believe-able Alien. Human in costume is already a past tense for us. Because even the Pirate of Caribbean has a better Alien look creature than Star trek.

The tentacles man in Pirates of Caribbean is more alien than the leather jacket biker gang (with cosmetic) Klingon in TNG show

 

[Tarek71]

Too much Alien will make it feel... "Is this a kid show?" Because that what I feel when watching Guardian the Galaxy, and some other show that use cute small talking creatures with animal detail.

That feeling was also applied when I watched Star Wars VI. After looking at those small Alien, The show was no longer feel serious.

Of course, that feeling won't applied when you put human in costume Alien. But... can you still enjoy that kind of show? Come on, this is 21st century, not the middle of 20th one. We are the people who have already watch more believe-able Alien. Human in costume is already a past tense for us. Because even the Pirate of Caribbean has a better Alien look creature than Star trek.

The tentacles man in Pirates of Caribbean is more alien than the leather jacket biker gang (with cosmetic) Klingon in TNG show

A human in a costume is just fine! There is nothing about it that is outdated or unpopular with fans. Creature effects, puppets, makeup, prosthetics and CGI all combine to create a wide range of aliens.

The biggest, most successful genre movies include popular characters who are humans in costumes.

 

[Tim Walker]

Re: Correction

In the public library I came a came across a Trek novel of the Titan series-Synthesis by James Swallow.

Features a machine/AI/robot civilization.

 

[Mudd]

It would be nice to see something imaginatively like an alien on Star Trek. A first for the new series, eh?

 

[Tim Walker]

I favor quality over quantity. Consider Species 8472-CGI, so affordable only for brief appearances. But impressive!

A scrip would have to make the most of such brevity.

 

[The Overlord]

Too much Alien will make it feel... "Is this a kid show?" Because that what I feel when watching Guardian the Galaxy, and some other show that use cute small talking creatures with animal detail.

That feeling was also applied when I watched Star Wars VI. After looking at those small Alien, The show was no longer feel serious.

Of course, that feeling won't applied when you put human in costume Alien. But... can you still enjoy that kind of show? Come on, this is 21st century, not the middle of 20th one. We are the people who have already watch more believe-able Alien. Human in costume is already a past tense for us. Because even the Pirate of Caribbean has a better Alien look creature than Star trek.

The tentacles man in Pirates of Caribbean is more alien than the leather jacket biker gang (with cosmetic) Klingon in TNG show

A human in a costume is just fine! There is nothing about it that is outdated or unpopular with fans. Creature effects, puppets, makeup, prosthetics and CGI all combine to create a wide range of aliens.

The biggest, most successful genre movies include popular characters who are humans in costumes.

The problem is some of the aliens in Star Trek are just white guys with a few little bumps on their head, rather then something that looks alien.

The Cardassians, the Ferengi, Jem Hadar and to a lesser extent the Klingons are better aliens then some of the lazier alien designs say the Kes, Ba'ku or really any of the one shot Voyager alien races.

Now here is an interesting question, which aliens should be the antagonists in this new series?

 

[Tim Walker]

Assimilated Gorn!

http://sto.gamepedia.com/Elite_Tactical_Assimilated_Gorn

 

[Kor]

We need something totally different....

The black oil from the X-Files.
The aliens from the "Alien" movies.
The assimilated Borg dogs from the Shatnerverse Trek novels.

Kor

 

[Tim Walker]

Assimilated ex-member of Species 8472.


http://sto.gamepedia.com/Assimilated_Undine

Definitely very alien, including the Borg (hive mind) mentality.

It would be cool to see.

I am having trouble getting the link to work in my previous post.

Scroll down to the assimilated Gorn, in the Ground Forces category.

 

[Tim Walker]

Sometimes you can do a lot with a little.

Consider "Deathwalker" in Babylon 5. The Dilgar make up included pointed ears and the verticle pupils of cats. (Was the actress wearing special contact lenses?)

 

[somebuddyX]

Lt. Commander Teselecta.