Star Trek is not hard scifi.
Am I the only one wanting a reboot that is a harder sci fi?
- Thread starter SalyutBuran
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A show with Star Trek’s philosophy that takes place in a more believable universe would be awesome. Not sure it’d feel like Trek but I’d watch it.
The hardest part for us is caring about CHOAM (book version only).
The Expanse scratches my "hard SF" itch. It's not particularly hard, but I like it a lot.
Star Trek scratches a different itch. Well, sometimes it scratches an itch. Sometimes (particularly lately) I think it GIVES me an itch. Like hives.
But hey, at least I've got a new Lower Decks to watch tonight, so
Star Trek scratches a different itch. Well, sometimes it scratches an itch. Sometimes (particularly lately) I think it GIVES me an itch. Like hives.
But hey, at least I've got a new Lower Decks to watch tonight, so
I would suggest discontinuing use immediately.
A hard scifi trek would have warp ring ships, a much less inhabited universe, and probably focus more on future Earth and local bubble politics than grander stuff.
It's not that such is bad. Or even unwanted. But to call it 'Star Trek' would be hard. The first race humanity deals with are the Vulcans, who are, for all intents and purposes, Space Elves. The Kzinti United Earth fights are big violent misogynistic cats. So on and so on.
It'll be better for a new series to come about that competes with both Trek and the Orville and the Expanse. Something where somehow, FTL is possible, by the obvious Alcubierre drive, and doesn't violate causality (good bye, time travel plots, and honestly, good riddance) and so on.
It's not that such is bad. Or even unwanted. But to call it 'Star Trek' would be hard. The first race humanity deals with are the Vulcans, who are, for all intents and purposes, Space Elves. The Kzinti United Earth fights are big violent misogynistic cats. So on and so on.
It'll be better for a new series to come about that competes with both Trek and the Orville and the Expanse. Something where somehow, FTL is possible, by the obvious Alcubierre drive, and doesn't violate causality (good bye, time travel plots, and honestly, good riddance) and so on.
The Expanse makes a respectable attempt at it, though.
I tried it, honestly found it fairly dull.
If your sci-fi is “hard” for more than four hours, see a doctor immediately!
It's a slow burn, it really picks up towards the end of the first season. I nearly gave up on it myself.
Not sure if a "harder sci-fi" reboot of Trek is possible. The franchise is too far along with its portrayal of "science" and "technology" that rebooting with a more real-world plausible science would remove too many of the elements that make it Star Trek.
Now you could have a drama show set entirely on a planet with minimal use of sci-tech and the focus being more on the characters (eg. Starfleet JAG), but i'm not sure CBS sees an audience for something like this as of now and the next few years.
Now you could have a drama show set entirely on a planet with minimal use of sci-tech and the focus being more on the characters (eg. Starfleet JAG), but i'm not sure CBS sees an audience for something like this as of now and the next few years.
No thanks,
I also don't get why so many people hold "Hard" SciFi as such an ideal. There's nothing wrong with soft scifi.
I also don't get why so many people hold "Hard" SciFi as such an ideal. There's nothing wrong with soft scifi.
But how can show everyone I'm intellectually superior, then?
But how can show everyone I'm intellectually superior, then?
Why? It's easy: all you have to do is endlessly point out things that everybody already knows (like that alien species wouldn't be able to inter-breed in real life, or that it's unlikely that there would be so many humanoids around) and by calling everything that doesn't fit your high standards of rock-hard scifi "Science Fantasy" instead
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Indeed not, but I think specifically with Star Trek it has this veneer of false hardness because it makes such extensive use of scientific terminology and concepts. I think that is why so many in Star Trek fandom are obsessed with "hardness". I doubt people in the Star Wars or Babylon 5 fandoms feel the same way, precisely because those franchises don't make a point of pretending to be harder than they are.
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