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Is TOS still futuristic?
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
The sideburns were very 80's, if that counts.
In fact, fashion, being the cyclical beast that it is, dictates that the pointy sideburns will around in the future. Eventually.
So yeah, the sideburns hold up as being futuristic.
In fact, fashion, being the cyclical beast that it is, dictates that the pointy sideburns will around in the future. Eventually.
So yeah, the sideburns hold up as being futuristic.
Not the way I remember the 80s. We were doing short and spikey back then.
number6
Vice Admiral
I think the question is irrelevant. The question should be "Is TOS still believable?"
In either case the answer is yes. TOS had believable tech.. No one ever needed to discuss what it does or how it works. They just used the devices and they did what they did. That's enough to suspend disbelief long enough to focus attention to the story at hand. That's what kept TOS believable and allowed us to buy into the concept. Occasionally there were references to tapes, tubes, circuits..things that are certainly outdated now, let alone in the 23rd century. Because of the pains the original production team took to make the overall show believable, we could easily overlook the occasional anachronistic failings..
In either case the answer is yes. TOS had believable tech.. No one ever needed to discuss what it does or how it works. They just used the devices and they did what they did. That's enough to suspend disbelief long enough to focus attention to the story at hand. That's what kept TOS believable and allowed us to buy into the concept. Occasionally there were references to tapes, tubes, circuits..things that are certainly outdated now, let alone in the 23rd century. Because of the pains the original production team took to make the overall show believable, we could easily overlook the occasional anachronistic failings..
That's the whole approach that I found lacking in a lot of Modern Trek and TNG in particular. They had to explain how the transporter worked in order to do the Barclay episode. They had to explain how the deflector worked in order to do another. They had to explain how the wrap drive worked in order to do the Naren Shankar episode about Warp 5.5 and Everyone Stays Alive. It happened in VOY too when they explained the ship can't actually turn at warp speed. Just plain bad storytelling.
TOS had it right: The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle is the best for storytelling and believability. If you have to explain something too much, the audience falls out of their willing suspension of disbelief and you lost them. I think it's in The Making of Star Trek where it's said that Joe Friday doesn't explain how his gun works. It's a gun. That's all we need to know. Captain Kirk does explain how phasers on stun works. It knocks the bad guys out. That's all we need to know.
That's why Star Trek is still believable.
Back on topic, I'm not going to debate whether or not Star Trek is still futuristic. We won't know until we get there...
You can't be serious! TOS had the E maneuvering at warp speed in some episodes, most particularly "Elan Of Troyius" and "The Ultimate Computer."
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Sadly, I don't think I'm mistaken. Of course, VOY is not something I seek out to watch these days...
Googled It and Found it:
Janeway: "Tom, what's the first thing they teach you about maneuvering at warp?"
Tom: "'Faster than light, no left or right.' When possible, maintain a linear trajectory. Course corrections could fracture the hull."
Janeway: "Exactly. We'd have to drop to impulse every time we made a course change."
Googled It and Found it:
Janeway: "Tom, what's the first thing they teach you about maneuvering at warp?"
Tom: "'Faster than light, no left or right.' When possible, maintain a linear trajectory. Course corrections could fracture the hull."
Janeway: "Exactly. We'd have to drop to impulse every time we made a course change."
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^ Sadly, this is true.
Though, to be fair to VOY, it was only stated in one episode. The show does, I believe, show the ship turning at warp speed in multiple other episodes. So, I chalk that one up as one the multiple continuity goofs on the writers' parts.
After all, this was a show where they could magically repair the ship to pristine condition each and every week, have an infinite amount of photon torpedos, and a limitless supply of shuttlecraft even though they were stuck out on their own with no support from Starfleet. If TOS requires some suspension of disbelief on my part, VOY REALLY requires it.
So, I honestly can't believe I'm defending VOY, but there it is.
Though, to be fair to VOY, it was only stated in one episode. The show does, I believe, show the ship turning at warp speed in multiple other episodes. So, I chalk that one up as one the multiple continuity goofs on the writers' parts.
After all, this was a show where they could magically repair the ship to pristine condition each and every week, have an infinite amount of photon torpedos, and a limitless supply of shuttlecraft even though they were stuck out on their own with no support from Starfleet. If TOS requires some suspension of disbelief on my part, VOY REALLY requires it.
So, I honestly can't believe I'm defending VOY, but there it is.
^ This!
It's the Heinlein approach. Robert Heinlein was one of the first SF writers to portray a future in which the characters weren't tourists gaping at a world of scientific wonders, but rather just ordinary folks doing their regular jobs, using what to them were everyday tools. That kind of credibility was a major element in Forbidden Planet, which also had a lot of influence on Trek TOS.
^ Yes, I recall Roddenberry wrote something similar in his pitch or production notes.
It still looks futuristicto me, a bit creaky at times. it may not have the flash looks of the latter Treks. But that was bound to happen and it will happen to the crews of Picard and Janeway, one day they will look dated and there will be (maybe us if we're still around) looking back with fond memories. Our problem is that we are bias towards TOS so we don't really notice that 60's look. Really, all the other shows have done is glossed up the image, the stories haven't real;ly changed just the presentation.
I know it started in TMP (at least there it was toned down some), but I've never liked the glow of the inboard part of the nacelles. Like the Christmas Tree lighting of the TMP refit I thought all that extra lighting usually looked gimmicky. Now it has become standard fare.
I've never had a problem accepting the TOS E as an advanced starship without all the fancy lighting f/x. Ditto the hand phasers which to me look like sophisticated devices as opposed to the dustbuster designs of the TNG era which I always thought looked like toys.
I've never had a problem accepting the TOS E as an advanced starship without all the fancy lighting f/x. Ditto the hand phasers which to me look like sophisticated devices as opposed to the dustbuster designs of the TNG era which I always thought looked like toys.
