PICARD: We've eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions. We've grown out of our infancy.
There's two reasons why I really, really despise this bit. One is that you could put just about any agenda into what Picard says and have it make just as much sense because this is based on a presumed social transformation. Suppose you wanted to preach Puritanical ideas about sex - just a few word changes and finishing up by saying we've grown out of our adolescence, and it'd be exactly the same argument. It's towering arrogance to presume that "growing up" means adhering to your own personal values.
But even worse is how hypocritical this message is. If you're a Marxist, that's your business. If you want to preach Marxism, hey, knock yourself out. But the DVDs for Star Trek were astronomical [in price, $140 for one season when they were first released] - because Star Trek is a cash cow, you see. I have a real problem with shelling out that kind of money to acquire something that says it's infantile to acquire things. That seems just a little hypocritical, don't you think?
And it's not just the suits at Paramount or Viacomm that are involved in this. The next episode, The Child, was hastily made because there was a good chance that there was going to be a writer's strike - and there was. It's fine that they wanted more money for their work. But, again, I despise people who preach their tirade against money and then discuss how they're going to get more money for themselves.
And finally, Gene himself wasn't immune to this. Not only did he want his share of Star Trek, he wanted other people's shares to. Did you know there are lyrics to the TOS theme song? Gene wrote lyrics, without the intention of ever using them, for that theme song because in so doing he would get a share of the royalties for the theme. A share taken out of the pocket of the actual composer, I might add. You know, ripping off a composer trying to make a living is bad enough. But then using the show to preach your Marxist agenda is just adding a whole new dimension of being a douche-bag. And yet, what a perfect allegory for 20th century communism, huh? You rip off the guy who is doing the actual work and all the while talk about communist doctrine. Kudos Gene!
