I like to think that while Humans dominate the Earth-originated Starfleet, there are other agencies within the Federation that have ships where there are no Humans at all.
How to change from Homosapiens only club?
- Thread starter valkyrie013
- Start date
Even Starfleet had ships crewed by other species, if TOS and the Intrepid are any indication.
Kor
I get my Trek diversity fix from the novels.
The humancentric nature of TV/movie Trek is annoying but it is what it is, unless the cost of makeup becomes really cheap or someone has the creative idea to make the lead character a nonhuman it will continue.
The humancentric nature of TV/movie Trek is annoying but it is what it is, unless the cost of makeup becomes really cheap or someone has the creative idea to make the lead character a nonhuman it will continue.
I'd love to see a cost comparison between prosthetics and the muppets that Farscape used.
Zahn, Chiana, Dargo all had a bit of cosmetics and/or prosthetics. Rygel and Pilot, on the other hand, were purely muppets, yet they were fully realized characters (well, I would have enjoyed a bit more Pilot).
So, it's just background filler and that's it?
No. But interesting visuals are important. And SciFi is, at least in theory, is a genre were they can get really creative, including with the visuals.
If we say that's not important, then why even have fancy or exciting. Just put two actors in theater blacks and film it on some empty stage. Oooooh riveting!
I find it more fun to just play along with it. As in, perhaps there's an in-universe explanation for why even centuries later, humanity is still at the forefront of Starfleet exploration, even though they are but one species amongst a bunch in the UFP, & probably only represent a handful of its worlds.
I like to trace it back to an early quote from Lwaxana Troi, of all people.
However, I like to think it also hints at a deeper truth about the humanity of Star Trek as well. Surely Star Trek races are, more than any other sci-fi franchise, defined primarily by the fact that each exhibit a particular personality trait as their primary dimension, i.e Vulcans are logical, Ferengi are greedy, Romulans are duplicitous, Klingons are warlike, and so on.
So what if Star Trek's humans are like that too? & what would be their most defining singular dimension? Their charm. Where Vulcan's have logic, Humans have charm. They made peace with the Klingons for god sake. That's bloody legendary charm. They are born diplomats in that universe.
So considering Starfleet's charter, doesn't it make a fair amount of sense that the people who would most populate their ships be the ones most suited for that endeavor? We'll keep sending the Hue-mons. Those guys don't quit until everybody likes them.
And of course it never gets brought up, because unlike Vulcans who never tire of reminding everyone about their logic, the minute you have to tell people about your charm... you cease to have any.
I like to trace it back to an early quote from Lwaxana Troi, of all people.
Certainly that's a gag on how we've seen the Kirk types doing that very thing, as I'm sure was also the case with Deanna's father. There's something funny about imagining a Starfleet officer falling for the hyper sexual alien lady from Betazed, & that's how we got Deanna, as if it was an episode out of the Kirk lore.Lwaxana Troi in Manhunt said:
However, I like to think it also hints at a deeper truth about the humanity of Star Trek as well. Surely Star Trek races are, more than any other sci-fi franchise, defined primarily by the fact that each exhibit a particular personality trait as their primary dimension, i.e Vulcans are logical, Ferengi are greedy, Romulans are duplicitous, Klingons are warlike, and so on.
So what if Star Trek's humans are like that too? & what would be their most defining singular dimension? Their charm. Where Vulcan's have logic, Humans have charm. They made peace with the Klingons for god sake. That's bloody legendary charm. They are born diplomats in that universe.
So considering Starfleet's charter, doesn't it make a fair amount of sense that the people who would most populate their ships be the ones most suited for that endeavor? We'll keep sending the Hue-mons. Those guys don't quit until everybody likes them.
And of course it never gets brought up, because unlike Vulcans who never tire of reminding everyone about their logic, the minute you have to tell people about your charm... you cease to have any.
Yes. But it should have a purpose. If it is an alien, make it truly alien.
But interesting visuals are a purpose in a genre like SciFi; they serve world building, atmosphere, excitement. And that's not unimportant. Maybe an interesting make-up job alone isn't enough for a whole character (though which alien main character was only makeup in Star Trek?) but certainly for a recurring background one like Linus the Saurian in DISC.
And what is "truly alien"? Can you name a character as an example? I think something along the degree of Quark, Kes or Spock is alien enough for me. We got interesting stories out of them and their cultures.
The only character where I thought it was superfluous that she was alien was Troi, because 1)they didn't make her look alien 2)we never learned anything interesting or alien about Betazoids, who should really have been very different from humans due to their telepathy 3)there were already telepathic humans in TOS
You really just need to look to DS9 to see how Trek can do aliens well, with the likes of the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, Klingons and Dominion all fleshing out the universe and making it feel far richer and more diverse. Also they would've had much the same budget as TNG and VOY yet they managed to fill the Promenade with aliens, not to mention all the Dominion occupation episodes of the station where all of the makeup/prosthetics needed would be far greater due to the number of Cardassians and Jem'Hadar going around (in addition to all the Ferengi, Morn, and all the other aliens that still linger on the station).
That's because they sacrificed on a lot of the other aspects a show like TNG spent money on, being that they were centralized on the station most of the time. They weren't exploring new worlds, with vastly bizarre special effects, like energy beings & whatnot. They deliberately made a more character driven show, which invested in having more of those suited up actors. TNG had to kind of jockey that with other interests. TNG was actually a bolder concept because of that. It's a real juggling act they had to keep going
I'd be far happier with a character driven show around a large group of aliens and a small number of humans with good talent behind the acting and writing.
If it's a character driven alien then I'm all for it. But just for background just because...Star Trek then I'm going to struggle a bit with that. As much as I love Abrams Trek there were several aliens that were thrown in as just background and it is super frustrating because there is nothing more to it.
But, that's me. I just want good characters. That's it, alien or not. If it comes down to money then give me good human characters. That's OK.
But, that's me. I just want good characters. That's it, alien or not. If it comes down to money then give me good human characters. That's OK.
Here are some numbers. If we restrict ourselves to main cast members, we can look at how large a percentage alien characters constitute of each cast.
Here are the numbers, aliens : humans.
TOS: 1:7 - 12.5%
TAS: 3:6 - 33.33%
TNG: 3:6 - 33.33%
DS9: 6:4 - 60.00%
VOY: 5:5 - 50.00%
ENT: 2:5 - 28.57%
KEL: 4:7 - 36.36%
DIS: 3:7 - 30.00%
PIC: 3:4 - 42.86%
LD: 3:5 - 37.5%
Quick explanations:
Here are the numbers, aliens : humans.
TOS: 1:7 - 12.5%
TAS: 3:6 - 33.33%
TNG: 3:6 - 33.33%
DS9: 6:4 - 60.00%
VOY: 5:5 - 50.00%
ENT: 2:5 - 28.57%
KEL: 4:7 - 36.36%
DIS: 3:7 - 30.00%
PIC: 3:4 - 42.86%
LD: 3:5 - 37.5%
Quick explanations:
- TOS: This is based on grandfathering in the "also starring" cast of TOS as the 1960s equivalent of main cast members as the TOS movies did. I count Spock as alien even though he is half-Human, since he was raised on Vulcan and is native to that culture.
- TAS: I count M'Res and Arex as separate main cast characters even though they're played by actors who play other main cast characters.
- TNG: Following the precedent of Spock, I count Troi as alien, since she is half-Betzoid and raised on Betazed, native to that culture.
- VOY: Following the precedent of Spock, I count Torres as alien even though she's only half-Klingon. I count the Doctor as alien even though he has a Human appearance, since he's an EMH. Determining how to count Seven of Nine is a challenge; she's biologically Human, but she's been modified by the Borg and was raised in that culture. My number is based on counting her as Human, but if we want to count her as a de facto alien, then the ratio becomes the same as DS9's, 6:4.
- KEL: I would count Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhurah, Sulu, Chekov, Keeser, Spock Prime, Carol Marcus, and Jeylah as the equivalents of main cast members for the Kelvin Timeline films.
- DIS:
I am also not including the "also starring" supporting cast (even though I really don't even know what the meaningful difference is between them and the main cast are anymore, except that the "also starring" actors get paid less).I'm counting Ash Tyler as an alien, since he's technically a modified Klingon with a Human's memories.
- PIC:
This counts Soji as an alien, since she is a Coppellian android who recovers memories of that culture. I do not include Picard himself as an alien, in spite of his new android body, because he was not raised in Coppelian android culture and because he only gains the golem body at the very end of S1.
I would count "non Earth" or alteast non Sol based humans, humans for Alpha Centauri, or Deveva, or some other colony planet, as "alien" Atleast to some point, maybe some outer colony that have a radically different culture from Earth. Like maybe an "Amish" world that has thrown away most technology, but like the Amish, they know of "higher" culture, and have the option of leaving if they want to. Or maybe a planet that is human, but is run by a dictator, or some other type of bad place. like Tasha was on her home planet.
So if you want a good portion of humans, then atleast try to diversify where they come from, even from different planets.
So if you want a good portion of humans, then atleast try to diversify where they come from, even from different planets.
I voted no. On Earth, Humans get a Human-centric show. On Andoria, Andorians get an Andorian-centric show. On Tellar, ... 
Ship Environments are the limiting factors such a atmosphere (O2 content etc.), pressure, temperature and gravity. Vulcans like it too hot and lower pressure for humans. Andorians like it too cold for humans. Etc.
Short term visits are tolerable-to-uncomfortable with possible drugs/treatments to offset the negative conditions on their biology; long term assignments are most likely intolerable-to-impossible unless there is a close biological match.
Ship Environments are the limiting factors such a atmosphere (O2 content etc.), pressure, temperature and gravity. Vulcans like it too hot and lower pressure for humans. Andorians like it too cold for humans. Etc.
Short term visits are tolerable-to-uncomfortable with possible drugs/treatments to offset the negative conditions on their biology; long term assignments are most likely intolerable-to-impossible unless there is a close biological match.
^ Humans need different environmental conditions. Just look at men and women in an office and there is never agreement on the temperature, with studies showing women prefer it around 24C and for men its 21C. And since women are often in skimpier clothing then that temperature would probably need to be higher to compensate for the reduced amount of material.
Almost every race has been shown to work effectively in a standard M-Class environment onboard ships, whilst environments in individual quarters can be adapted and modified for numerous different environments, and the holodecks can recreate any conditions, so crewmembers would only need to endure the standard environment for 6-8 hours before being able to relax in something closer to their personal preference. If a vast sprawling interstellar alliance can't sort out the a/c in the individual quarters then they have some serious issues.
Almost every race has been shown to work effectively in a standard M-Class environment onboard ships, whilst environments in individual quarters can be adapted and modified for numerous different environments, and the holodecks can recreate any conditions, so crewmembers would only need to endure the standard environment for 6-8 hours before being able to relax in something closer to their personal preference. If a vast sprawling interstellar alliance can't sort out the a/c in the individual quarters then they have some serious issues.
It's good to have more aliens just to show that the crew really is diverse and have personal differences that they deal with amicably, but don't go overboard in blowing the budget on that either.
