Too cerebral

[Warped9]

It happens often enough that an actor or actress doesn't make a big impression early on and then a lucky break puts them in the right place at the right time and they go on to flourish.

If Majel hadn't been GR's openly known mistress one can wonder if she might have been seen differently.

But with that said the way the character of Number One was put across didn't make for an engaging presence. In general many are not drawn to or intrigued by aloof and generally expressionless characters. So to an extent Majel might have also suffered from following exactly the direction she was given for the character and the NBC execs mightn't have really grasped thats what her character was supposed to be.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I heard that Gene was given a choice. The "Alien" or the "skirt".

Sadly, he picked right?

Although, this...

 

[BillJ]

I heard that Gene was given a choice. The "Alien" or the "skirt".

Sadly, he picked right?

Although, this...

Those photoshops are just plain bad.

 

[Warped9]

Those photoshops are just plain bad.

Well they look like quick-and-dirty jobs, but they get the point across.

 

[Guy Gardener]

They make John Byrne crack out 48 pages every (I'm guessing?) 3 months, unless he just hands the publisher a new one when ever he gets around to it. There's been 7 issues and a special in 3 years there abouts.

http://www.idwpublishing.com/product/star-trek-new-visions-cry-vengeance/

 

[suarezguy]

IMO the big issue isn't whether a theme or message is depicted subtly or directly (either can work and both are usually a matter of degrees open to interpretation) but how unique and challenging the theme and concept is; there I think reboot Trek is a lot less ambitious and successful. "Should we cooperate?" and "Don't attack a species that didn't attack you" are pretty bland and very unproblematic issues (although the question of whether "being united against something means anything" sounds a lot more interesting) compared to something a lot more thought-provoking as in a lot of the series episodes like "Will increased power corrupt?" or "Could paradise really be a dystopia?" or "Should you give an attacked group military aid?"

TWOK and FC are wildly popular among Trek fans, and they're full of explosions, guns, and space battles. What messages are in them are generally hidden below the surface, not to get in the way of the action.

They, especially the latter, have action but to me the former doesn't seem like a full-blown action movie and both nonetheless have messages that are clear and important to the story rather than hidden.

 

[BillJ]

They, especially the latter, have action but to me the former doesn't seem like a full-blown action movie and both nonetheless have messages that are clear and important to the story rather than hidden.

What is the message of Star Trek: First Contact?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

What is the message of Star Trek: First Contact?

"Magic Carpet Ride" is a song for the ages?

 

[BillJ]

"Magic Carpet Ride" is a song for the ages?

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[Kor]

Those photoshops are just plain bad.

Byrne's "New Visions" comics are finally kind of starting to grow on me a little, as they subvert our expectations for professional visual arts. I do like things that subvert our expectations.

What is the message of Star Trek: First Contact?

I think it has to do with rising above our petty squabbles and personal pursuits and working toward the betterment of humanity, and not seeking personal revenge. Or something.

Kor

 

[BillJ]

I think it has to do with rising above our petty squabbles and personal pursuits and working toward the betterment of humanity, and not seeking personal revenge. Or something.

It pays lip service to those ideas. But it really isn't about them. It is a zombie movie.

 

[Kor]

I have always thought of FC as a "zombie movie" as well. It's fun to turn off my brain for a couple hours and be entertained by it once in a great while, but to me, it's not really Star Trek.

Kor

 

[BillJ]

...it's not really Star Trek.

I think of it as "Star Trek", but definitely not the best the franchise has to offer.

 

[Maurice]

I think both were true, with one used as an excuse for the other. It was a different time.

"Get rid of the entire cast" as an excuse for getting rid of Majel? I think NBC simply did not like the casting in general.

 

[Noname Given]

Majel wasn't kept up because there was no way in hell NBC was going to allow the producer's mistress to be one of the leads of the show. That was a scandal waiting to happen. The entire story about the 'test audience didn't like a woman first officer' was bullocks.

believe it or not - the test audience reaction to a female in Command wasn't 'bullocks.' I found out from my Mother (now in her eighties) saw 'The Cage' pilot on a night out with my father (I was 2 years old) as he had production friends in Hollywood in the 1960ies. He wasn't in the business - he was a cop, but he'd worked security on location shoots at times.

Anyway, once she told me that, I asked her about that and she said she found Mr. Spock's ears ridiculous - and she said most of the audience did too because she said there was a LOT of laughter when he first appeared on the screen and the ears visible. She also said she remarked in her comments page after the show that having a woman character as 'Second in Command' was ridiculous.

I asked her why she felt that way and she just told me - it was a different time, she never was a feminist; and she also felt if they had shows that had women in more military roles, the people and government might say, "Okay, lets add women to the draft..." - and she didn't want to see my sister possibly get drafted into the Military in the future.

 

[Warped9]

^^ I suspect that mightn't have an overwhelming view given how the series was eventually received.

Nimoy brought a dignity to Spock that really helped sell the character.

As for Number One I really think it was a combination of things that torpedoed the character. Given a different actress and a bit different direction might have had a totally different outcome.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

As for Number One I really think it was a combination of things that torpedoed the character. Given a different actress and a bit different direction might have had a totally different outcome.

Yeah. Along with being GR's extramarital affair, I think she lacked the charisma that's needed in a series lead. She just wasn't suited for a leading role, girlfriend or not.

 

[Warped9]

I also think the concept of the character was flawed.

 

[Vandervecken]

most cerebral Trek ever:

Spock's Brain




Doesn't matter if it isn't grey.

 

[DrCorby]

^^ I suspect that mightn't have an overwhelming view given how the series was eventually received.

Nimoy brought a dignity to Spock that really helped sell the character.

I think they also refined his Vulcan makeup design between the pilots and into the early series, which helped a lot. The ears and (especially) the eyebrows were very starkly defined in The Cage but less angled with more subtle shading later on. Less 50s-era sci fi monster movie; more sophisticated, which went hand-in-hand with Nimoy's portrayal of the character.