Things that date Trek

[Brennyren]

But the stack of PADD's is basically a visual shorthand for a stack of paper work.

I know what it's intended to represent. On a literal level it still makes no sense, and it does date the show. What's worse is that I'm pretty sure we knew that was silly when the episodes originally aired -- the Voyager ones, anyway.

 

[Sophie74656]

I actually remember some video durring the early run of Voyager discussing technology. They were talking about how much of the Trek technology no longer seemed as awesome and futuristic because of our own technological progress.

 

[Nyotarules]

I know what it's intended to represent. On a literal level it still makes no sense, and it does date the show. What's worse is that I'm pretty sure we knew that was silly when the episodes originally aired -- the Voyager ones, anyway.

Exactly it makes as much sense as a contemporary show set in the 1990's with someone at an office desk surrounded by multiple, large back computer desktop monitors.

 

[Mytran]

LOL, it’s more because they seemed to be compulsory uniform for women rather than an option. Number one wire trousers in Tge Cage so it was probably at the insistence of the networks.

We also saw not one but two women wearing trousers in The Man Trap, so it would appear that most female crew members opted for the minidress uniform variant.

This mirrors real life, where it was actually Grace Lee Witney who spearheaded the minidress costume. Women being able to show off their legs was a symbol of liberation back in the 1960s (although I'm sure none of the execs minded either)

 

[Sophie74656]

We also saw not one but two women wearing trousers in The Man Trap, so it would appear that most female crew members opted for the minidress uniform variant.

This mirrors real life, where it was actually Grace Lee Witney who spearheaded the minidress costume. Women being able to show off their legs was a symbol of liberation back in the 1960s (although I'm sure none of the execs minded either)

I'm sure the execs loved the idea of the women looking sexier. Mist of the guest stars wore sexy outfits....or barely anything

 

[Hey Missy]

I noticed CRT really became a thing on DS9. The station had CRT screens all over the place

I always thought the abundance of CRT monitors on DS9 were to show how crappy Cardassian technology was compared to the Feddies.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

To mention a minor example I cited in an earlier discussion. Should DS9 be made today, I'm fairly certain that the habit of Vedeks grabbing the ears of people unasked to feel their pagh would have been left out -even if only to avoid any possible association with stories that surfaced relatively recently about clerics. And I think that if you really start searching for it, you would find hundreds of such 'small' examples.

The comparison isn't perfect unless the other party is a Ferengi, given the sexual significance they place on ears.

 

[at Quark's]

The comparison isn't perfect unless the other party is a Ferengi, given the sexual significance they place on ears.

In order for the comparison to be perfect, wouldn't the Vedeks have to attach sexual significance to the ears?

Anyway, I don't think the comparison needs to be perfect. I think they would simply try to avoid any such possible association the audience could make, and that could also be triggered by such an only partially accurate comparison of clergy grabbing body parts unasked.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

On the other hand, were DS9 made today, they probably would have done an episode that specifically addressed this.

 

[at Quark's]

^that is a distinct possibility, yes

 

[Steven P Bastien]

... how impractical the uniform is, pulling down her mini dress to avoid showing her underwear on the bridge took up most of her time that should be spent doing her duties.

The thing I always observed much more often was crew members needing to pull down their shirts after they stood up from sitting. I expect that future fabrics will have better properties than those in present-day costumes.

 

[Tuskin38]

There’s the Vengeance attack on Starfleet head quarters during STiD too.

The attack on Earth in ENT: "The Expanse" and all of season 3.

Vulcan being destroyed in ST'09.

The Vengeance crash in ID (which, to quote Team America: World Police, was 9/11×10,000)

I didn't realize you meant the allegory, I thought you mean direct references like in dialogue or something.

I know Season 3 was meant to be a response to 9/11.

But I don't see how Vulcan being destroyed or the Vengeance crash are references to 9/11. Unless one of the people who wrote the movies actually came out and said that.

 

[ChasFink]

To be fair, the damn things didn't have sights on them anyway.

Actually, the TOS phasers (as designed) did have sights. That silvery rectangular thing on top of the type 1 hinged at the front and lifted up, and the idea was that the user would look into the back of it, viewing through the wide rectangular area on the front. That's why the type 2 had the opening on the front to allow the sight to still work. Not that anyone ever seemed to use them, though.

I actually remember some video durring the early run of Voyager discussing technology. They were talking about how much of the Trek technology no longer seemed as awesome and futuristic because of our own technological progress.

Not to mention because some modern technology tries to give us what we saw in science fiction as kids.

 

[BillJ]

Exactly. And that applies to science fiction in general.

By coincidence, I watched AELITA, QUEEN OF MARS, an old 1924 sci-fi movie, just last night. Is it dated by 2018 standards? Of course, but in time that can become a feature,not a bug. The SF of bygone days eventually picks up a nostalgic, time-capsule quality that can be enjoyable in its own right.

It was funny, actually, to see how many elements of AELITA survived into the TOS era, from the beautiful alien temptress who is fascinated by this strange Earthly custom of pressing lips against lips, to the hero leading a worker's revolution against the oppressive Martian government. (Did I mention that this was a Soviet-era Russian film?)

There's even a "patriotic" sequence, complete with a sickle and anvil, that's basically the Soviet equivalent of Kirk reciting the Declaration of Independence in "The Omega Glory."

The more things change . . ..

Any idea where I can watch this? It sounds interesting.

 

[Kor]

I didn't realize you meant the allegory, I thought you mean direct references like in dialogue or something.

I know Season 3 was meant to be a response to 9/11.

But I don't see how Vulcan being destroyed or the Vengeance crash are references to 9/11. Unless one of the people who wrote the movies actually came out and said that.

I have always thought ST:ID was painfully allegorical, with the terrorist destruction of the Starfleet skyscraper, preemptive strikes at Kronos, and the audience getting bonked on the head with a message of being careful not to go too far in the fight against evil and end up becoming evil ourselves.

It's just that such themes are so common in post-9/11 media that they weren't really noticeable in ST:ID, since it didn't add much of anything new to this discourse.

Kor

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

When else, apart from STID and Enterprise's Xindi attack (also 9/11 partially) have we seen an attack raze a settlement like that?

 

[F. King Daniel]

I didn't realize you meant the allegory, I thought you mean direct references like in dialogue or something.

I know Season 3 was meant to be a response to 9/11.

But I don't see how Vulcan being destroyed or the Vengeance crash are references to 9/11. Unless one of the people who wrote the movies actually came out and said that.

The writers called Vulcan's destruction a "9/11 moment" in interviews, and then mentioned it again when talking about ID. Bob Orci is a huge 9/11 truther.

 

[Greg Cox]

Any idea where I can watch this? It sounds interesting.

I just saw AELITA at a local SF film festival, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's available on DVD or YouTube these days.

Be warned: a good chunk of the movie is actually a melodrama about life in Russia after the first World War, with the actual Mars mission making up maybe only about a third of the screen time, but even the terrestrial stuff is historically fascinating these days in that you see ordinary Russian citizens coping with food rationing, housing shortages, the black market, troubled marriages, affairs, etc.

Apparently, despite all the lip service paid to the glorious Revolution, the film was eventually banned for presenting a too realistic look at the struggles of ordinary people under the new regime.

And, yes, somehow all this kitchen-sink melodrama also involves a voyage to the planet Mars, which is ruled by beautiful queen with a thing for Earth Men . . .

 

[Kor]

I just saw AELITA at a local SF film festival, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's available on DVD or YouTube these days.

Be warned: a good chunk of the movie is actually a melodrama about life in Russia after the first World War, with the actual Mars mission making up maybe only about a third of the screen time, but even the terrestrial stuff is historically fascinating these days in that you see ordinary Russian citizens coping with food rationing, housing shortages, the black market, troubled marriages, affairs, etc.

Apparently, despite all the lip service paid to the glorious Revolution, the film was eventually banned for presenting a too realistic look at the struggles of ordinary people under the new regime.

And, yes, somehow all this kitchen-sink melodrama also involves a voyage to the planet Mars, which is ruled by beautiful queen with a thing for Earth Men . . .

It's definitely on Youtube, more than once, in fact. I'm not sure if that's OK according to copyright rules, so I won't post any links here. It's easy to find, though.

Kor

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm generally down on piracy, but this is a silent movie from 1924. It's very possible that it's public domain now or that the original Russian film company no longer exists. Although I suppose it's possible somebody still controls the rights . . . .

Apparently, it was loosely based on a novel, btw.