So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet personnel?

[Jedi_Master]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

It's very obvious their looks are used to 'sell' them to the audience. Watch any behind the scenes stuff on the DVDs and they always mention about needing to find actresses that are attractive and appear intelligent to be the toughest casting, though sometimes it does seem that they forget the latter part and see whose got the biggest cup size--the bigger that is the tighter the outfits can be.

The uniforms help. I recall an interview with Grace Lee Whitney where she reminisced about being fitted with costume for her Trek film roles and said one of the key elements of the costume was the 'space bra' that 'pointed you to the stars'.

 

[SPCTRE]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Out of universe:

Fat people don't get very far in Hollywood.

If they're males, it's much easier. And since the majority of film producers remain male, several have privately casted actresses they want or consider to be ''rhymes-with-cluckable.''

G. R. himself claimed he casted Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith to "score with her".

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Out of universe:

Fat people don't get very far in Hollywood.

If they're males, it's much easier. And since the majority of film producers remain male, several have privately casted actresses they want or consider to be ''rhymes-with-cluckable.''

That's the trick isn't it? Men can be bald, fat, ugly, etc. and still get work and a gorgeous female costar. Women on the other hand...

A previous comment mentioned Jimmy Doohan. He may have been overweight in the last few Trek films (as was Shatner) but when he first starred in TOS he was fit and trim.

I understand that's the case and I'm no fool. I realize the majority of the ST audience comprises heterosexual males and most of them like to watch attractive young women with great bodies in tight clothes.

But ST is so damn overt about it and the discrepancy between the men and women is ridiculously obvious. I mean practically every main female is a knockout. The men have some but I think Chris Pine is the only one you could call a legit equal to the women in overall attractiveness. Shatner was good looking but had to wear a toup and started getting a paunch as early as season two. TOS Scotty, Riker, Dorn and Brooks are big strapping men, which is a look a lot of people like, but I don't think, with maybe the exception of Riker, they were cast for their sex appeal.

Hell the guy with the best body in the whole franchise wasn't even a regular character. It was 60 something year old Ricardo Montablan in TWOK.

Look at Star Wars. Sure Carrie Fisher is hot and despite her character being a no nonsense ass kicker they managed to get her body into a metal bikini. But I think most people would agree that Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Admiral Ackbar are all extremely attractive men. So there's at least parity. Even on the prequels you had Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor to counter Portman.

Same with Bond. Yeah he nails endless hotties, but Bond himself is a usually a male model swimsuit quality actor.

The ratio of like 10-15 hot bodied women to 1 good body guy in ST is just SO obvious, especially for a show that has prided itself on being so progressive.

Oh Ilea there's another one. Yeah the bald thing kind of distracted you from it. But the woman who played her was "Miss India" or some other country from that region. So she obviously cut a nice figure.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Out of universe:

Fat people don't get very far in Hollywood.

If they're males, it's much easier. And since the majority of film producers remain male, several have privately casted actresses they want or consider to be ''rhymes-with-cluckable.''

G. R. himself claimed he casted Andrea Dromm as Yeoman Smith to "score with her".

Anyone who has read up on GR knows what the great passion of his life was (Hint: it wasn't Star Trek) and his motivations behind the actresses he cast. But he was kicked out of the loop after TMP and the cycle still went on and does to this day.

 

[SPCTRE]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

I realize the majority of the ST audience comprises heterosexual males

That is most certainly not the case.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

I remember having seen the Kes actress Jennifer Lien with a lot of additional weight, not only 3-5 kilos. After filming a show the actresses are free to let themselves go.

Not if they want to keep acting they aren't.

You really think they would have let Kristie Alley reprise her role as Saavik after she gained all that weight?

Yet it seems like Paramount never told Doohan and Shatner to lay off the buffet and hired them a personal trainer before the last few films.

Valeris. There's another one I haven't mentioned yet.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

I realize the majority of the ST audience comprises heterosexual males

That is most certainly not the case.

I'm not here to get into a debate about gender and sexuality. That's my impression about the audience. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong and I don't have the means to take a scientific poll. And I didn't say the VAST majority, just a majority which would be at least 50.1% which I feel is pretty reasonable guess.

Don't turn this into a "I can't believe you're being so f'n prejudiced" attack. Because that's bullshit and I'm not going to sit here ant take it if it becomes that.

I said in my OP my view is that of a heterosexual male and I'm not presuming to speak or discriminate from any other combination of gender and sexual preference because I'm not them and I don't know how they feel about this topic and I won't insult anyone else by presuming to know otherwise.

So please don't go there.

 

[Kilana2]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

I remember having seen the Kes actress Jennifer Lien with a lot of additional weight, not only 3-5 kilos. After filming a show the actresses are free to let themselves go.

Not if they want to keep acting they aren't.

You really think they would have let Kristie Alley reprise her role as Saavik after she gained all that weight?

Yet it seems like Paramount never told Doohan and Shatner to lay off the buffet and hired them a personal trainer before the last few films.

Valeris. There's another one I haven't mentioned yet.

I didn´t mean to say they should let themselves go, but most did. Even Kate Mulgrew put on some weight. Gaining weight of an actress suggests "I don´t want another acting job". Jennifer Lien stopped acting, if I´m not mistaken. Then she is free to do whatever she wants. But I hardly recognized her. And it would be healthier to keep in shape. It doesn´t mean to be skinny close to anorexia. Roxann Dawson is quite trim, by the way.

 

[Melakon]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

The days of plain-looking actresses who consistently got all the maids, housekeepers, governesses, and old crones like in Margaret Hamilton's portfolio pretty much evaporated as the old studio system of contract players died out. Actors now are free agents, competing against others who look exactly like them for lead roles, so they try to look the best they can.

 

[Cyke101]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

I realize the majority of the ST audience comprises heterosexual males

That is most certainly not the case.

I'm not here to get into a debate about gender and sexuality.

Not to get between the two of you, but the topic of this thread -- indeed, the title itself -- will inevitably lead to debate and discussion about gender. That's how it was framed and that's where the topic idea came from in the first place. You bring up a topic about gender, people will indeed talk about gender in various ways. It's not about confrontation. Gender is complex.

It's like a thread about cities; eventually people are going to talk about the amenities and resources of those cities, then eventually the people and the food, and sports teams and schools, and so on and so on.

 

[wildsulu]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Some people say US tv is more about hot actors than for example UK tv. I would agree. But I enjoy both kinds of productions.

(and if you want a strictly in-universe interpretation: Then yes, having some nice Tan & Audicity puts you right on the flagship. Blame it on Riker! Or... Khan managed to genetically make all women look like models?)

 

[Makarov]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

They pretty much just cast good looking people in all the roles. It's not part of the story. The guys look as good as the women. Seven of Nine was kind of a desperate attempt at using looks to get ratings though.

 

[Cyke101]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

When we ignore the female/male thing for a minute I think that current Trek is even more about hot actors than TOS. In the new movies there's hot Kirk, hot Uhura, hot Bones, hot Carol Marcus, even Keenser is very hot for his species.

But it would be good to have more "normal good looking" people, as opposed to models (f/m). I would like that. Like for example Hoshi. Unfortunately her role is not very prominent.

One way to do that is to cast 'normal good looking' actors but make them very charming or intriguing; like Picard, Bashir and of course Spock.

I've long preferred Hoshi over T'Pol. Yeah, we all have different tastes, but I considered her just more attractive.

Also, I think Hoshi was the first person, or at least the first woman, to score on the NX-01, so I applaud her sexual empowerment.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

That is most certainly not the case.

I'm not here to get into a debate about gender and sexuality.

Not to get between the two of you, but the topic of this thread -- indeed, the title itself -- will inevitably lead to debate and discussion about gender. That's how it was framed and that's where the topic idea came from in the first place. You bring up a topic about gender, people will indeed talk about gender in various ways. It's not about confrontation. Gender is complex.

It's like a thread about cities; eventually people are going to talk about the amenities and resources of those cities, then eventually the people and the food, and sports teams and schools, and so on and so on.

You are correct. What I'm trying to get across is I'm not saying this to put down any gender or sexual orientation even though I may mention it and I've gone to great pains to try and make that clear.
I just don't want someone who has a chip on their shoulder about something in this because of their personal experiences of feelings coming after me with claws out because they're looking for a fight and trying to paint my comments as something they're clearly not.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

They pretty much just cast good looking people in all the roles. It's not part of the story. The guys look as good as the women. Seven of Nine was kind of a desperate attempt at using looks to get ratings though.

I'm not saying the guys are a bunch of mutts.

But really when you compare the body types of the men to the women.....It's a pretty stark difference. Most of the main women in their prime could be swimsuit suit models as a side job.

I don't think most of the male main characters could pull that off. Yeah there a few exceptions. Sulu was obviously pretty cut in his prime and Pine's a GQ model guy. But I don't think if you put all of them in speedos from their prime on ST and brought in 100 people who are attracted to men and aren't ST fans that the group of people would exactly be blown away in general by what they see.

If you took most of the main or female supporting characters in their ST prime and brought in 100 people who prefer women to look at them in bikinis. I think there would be a lot of wolf whistles and other comments saying how much they like what they are seeing.

 

[Makarov]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Well you have created a gender bias here by saying the unattractive women are few a far between, while also picking apart the male actors you find unattractive. Patrick Stewart was named "sexiest man alive" and yet he's on your ugly list. I'm not sure the women would agree with your list of who is hot or not, so it's going to become a gender debate.

 

[wildsulu]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Also, I think Hoshi was the first person, or at least the first woman, to score on the NX-01, so I applaud her sexual empowerment.

hahahah! Go Hoshi!

 

[Nightdiamond]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

In answer to the question, yes, I think, especially if you look at Voyager.

Seven is introduced mid series, wearing a skint tight catsuit, and after that--- you've heard the expression-- it was "the Seven of Nine show". (who's complaining though)

TNG Troi is a counselor who for some reason gets to wear a casual catsuit with a plunging neckline. By the end of the show she gets promoted to full commander.

Dax--she was very attractive--she was also third in command, really smart, knew how to fight like a Klingon, really funny, it goes on and on..

The funny thing is Trek's attitude that looks don't matter and yet do everything to show off a woman's figure.

Or that they put these women in skin tight outfits to show off the figure, and yet have everyone act as if they don't notice.

Ensign Kim was the only the one that acted like a normal person around Seven. He tried to hit on her.

 

[Melakon]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Ensign Kim was the only the one that acted like a normal person around Seven. He tried to hit on her.

That's why he never became a lieutenant. He was hitting on Janeway's girl.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Re: So how much does having a nice body impact female starfleet person

Well you have created a gender bias here by saying the unattractive women are few a far between, while also picking apart the male actors you find unattractive. Patrick Stewart was named "sexiest man alive" and yet he's on your ugly list. I'm not sure the women would agree with your list of who is hot or not, so it's going to become a gender debate.

Fine. You're right. I'm wrong and I suck. I made all the casting choices personally and made the most of the women with great bodies, big breasts and tight asses.

I'm sorry I've offended some people in the Trek crowd by pointing out the obvious real world issues that creep into the show. I forgot there's no room here to discuss the issues that play into the creation of the show and the motives behind them.

Mods lock the thread. Excuse my attempt to analyze ST as an actual creation by humans instead of sticking to the ST "World". Then we can all go back to pressing topics like whether phasers or disruptors are more effective or what Riker and Troi will name their first child.

Once again I forgot how clearly I try to explain my motives and evidence behind it that some people are unable to read or have a chip on their shoulder from something in their life and they're just daring someone to try in knock it off in here.

Lock it. Delete it. Go about your lives. Keep calm and carry on.