Anything You Would Improve Upon?

[T'Girl]

Reduce the moral nature of Picard slightly, but keep his strengths, such as his intuitiveness, wisdom, culture, discipline, etc. Make Picard do bad things, if it serves a greater good or purpose.

Picard wasn't my favorite character, only my third favorite captain. But his social consciousness was his defining characteristic, it separated him from the pack, turning him into another Sisko (second fav captain) would reduce the man, not enhance him.

Show an episode with Chakotay's mom and tribe.

Instead of making up a fictional native American tribe, have Chakotay be be from a real tribe, have him be Zapotec or Mayan and embracing that culture, or just have him be a Mestizos like the actor was.

 

[Anji]

The good, the bad and the ugly. I've loved it all. It's been one helluva ride.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I really think that the writers were saying that religion is actually detrimental to the progresss of science and could lead a culture back to superstition and fear. In fact, religion itself is in essence a protection from the fear of the ultimate unknmown, and that is death. I think, finally Trek came out and said what it has implied all along, adn I admire it for doing that.

Or do I need to remind you all that Roddenberry was an atheist.

 

[Mary Ann]

I'd like to reiterate changing Wesley's role (or pushing him out of an airlock, frankly). Having Wesley play such a major role on the bridge never worked for me. Who the hell has a teenager at the helm of a starship, especially the flagship, for *any* reason? Wes should have been under Geordi's guidance in engineering and performed his rescue-of-the-week from there. He should have earned his way to the bridge, just like every other crew member.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I can't help but think that reaction to Wesley might have been different if he had been introduced from the start as a gifted young Starfleet cadet serving aboard the Enterprise as a midshipman rather than just some gifted kid who got special clout from the Captain...

 

[Admiral Shran]

I really think that the writers were saying that religion is actually detrimental to the progresss of science and could lead a culture back to superstition and fear. In fact, religion itself is in essence a protection from the fear of the ultimate unknmown, and that is death. I think, finally Trek came out and said what it has implied all along, adn I admire it for doing that.

Or do I need to remind you all that Roddenberry was an atheist.

Science and religion are not mutually exclusive or detrimental to each other. It's only in the flawed application of one that the other tends to be harmed.

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind" - Albert Einstein.

 

[Anwar]

Religion was originally created because people simply wanted to find understanding in nature and the world (and their own lives), bring some order and meaning to what was just mere day-to-day existence. Science is just another method of understanding how nature and life work.

So they're very similar, and CAN co-exist. But that doesn't mean Trek can't make the statement it made.

 

[Admiral Shran]

^ I don't see how. Seeing as how the statement is clearly meant to say that they shouldn't co-exist.

 

[Anwar]

Trek is fully entitled to say that they can't because Trek is its own thing and is free to make its own statements. Whether or not you agree with them is rather irrelevent to the fact that Trek is allowed to SAY them.

 

[Warped9]

Religion was originally created because people simply wanted to find understanding in nature and the world (and their own lives), bring some order and meaning to what was just mere day-to-day existence. Science is just another method of understanding how nature and life work.

Science tests its ideas to learn whether they're correct or not. Religion doesn't do that--it accepts the ideas without evidence based solely on faith.

Science works towards measurable results. Religion is subjective superstition. Religion may offer explanations (it's God's divine and unknowable plan), but it's based solely upon subjective faith.

 

[Mary Ann]

I can't help but think that reaction to Wesley might have been different if he had been introduced from the start as a gifted young Starfleet cadet serving aboard the Enterprise as a midshipman rather than just some gifted kid who got special clout from the Captain...

Good point. This scenario would have been more believable.

It would have been fun to witness some of the smoldering resentment towards Wesley that must have occured among cadets and ensigns.

 

[T'Girl]

Science and religion are not mutually exclusive or detrimental to each other.

Science is just another method of understanding how nature and life work.

Religion is subjective superstition.

A interesting improvement to Star Trek would be two new characters, one a person of profound faith, the other a adamant atheist. Make them best friends, while it would never be the main point in any episode, there would be a on going C story arc of the two of them arguing, joking, pushing their individual interpretation of the events in various episodes. Think of the friendly arguments between McCoy and Spock. Just something in the background.

It would show that in the future there is diversity of thought on the matter of religion.

 

[Cheapjack]

I don't think so.

'And 400 years over that, you were murdering each other in quarrels over tribal god images'.

They're way beyond that, in the 24thC.

And, apart from that, they've had the Bajorans, and that has already been explored. They were treated with mild amusement.

 

[T'Girl]

they've had the Bajorans

And the Vulcans of course, I like the episode where Neelix reads the letter from Tuvok's wife where she talks about taking the family to temple and Tuvok tell Neelix that the temple of Amonak is the most sacred on Vulcan (Hunters). Hard to say if Tuvok's faith is the same as Spock's family's polytheistic faith (Yesteryear).

They were treated with mild amusement.

Especially after the Prophets made the Founder's fleet "go away." I wonder if the Jem Hadar considered converting to the Bajorian faith after the Dominion war, the Bajorian's did have the stronger gods.

 

[Cheapjack]

Sisko did express frequent bafflement of the Bajoran faith, and a willingness to explain it in rational terms.

And Q did mention tribal god images.

And Kirk wasn't too impressed,at any point, by a superior being who could nullify his weapons and refused to worship him.

And, too my knowledge, the Vulcans only worshipped many gods in their savage past and were closer, now, to Buddhists, than anything.

 

[T'Girl]

And Kirk wasn't too impressed,at any point, by a superior being who could nullify his weapons and refused to worship him.

Kirk: "We (plural) find the one quite enough."

Or words to that effect, although Kirk's referance to THE ONE might be Neo from the Matrix movies.

Vulcans only worshipped many gods in their savage past ...

Not supported by on screen canon.

 

[Cheapjack]

Roddenberry put the one reference in, to satisfy right wing Americans, i think.

The STV novelisation spoke of Vulcan's past savage gods.

I think DS9 gave too much screen time to the Bajoran faith. ST has mainly said that humans are not inpressed by feats of overwhelming technology and do not fall on their knees to people who have it. People in the 24thC in TNG thought that what your thoughts on the afterlife were, were a matter for yourself and not to be forced on others. DS9 gave too much screen time to the Bajorans.

 

[xortex]

McCoy, 'Well, thank angels and pointed pitchforks.' Spock, 'There was no deity involved. It was my cross circuiting to B that saved the Captain.'
Actually there was one episode that I would have liked to improve upon - The Enterprise episode with the emotional Vulcans. The real Vulcans should have shown up and tried to destroy them forcing Archer to protect them. Then at the end they would have handed them over to a race called the Romulans who fight for them.