What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[fireproof78]

Sometimes it's like people have never actually watched the show.

I don't think many watch the show with their current age mindset. They watch it based upon their first encounter with Star Trek. It's that comfort food viewing style and reassurance of what might be that drew them in in the first place.

For me, the hardest part was when I realized how completely implausible much of TOS was from a tech side. Once I managed to accept that, I appreciated Trek more.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I don't think many watch the show with their current age mindset. They watch it based upon their first encounter with Star Trek. It's that comfort food viewing style and reassurance of what might be that drew them in in the first place.

For me, the hardest part was when I realized how completely implausible much of TOS was from a tech side. Once I managed to accept that, I appreciated Trek more.

True, my teen perception of Trek is very different than my current one. Once I looked through the "hype" it began to change. Still love TOS, though

 

[Tallguy]

So... IS there any science fiction? All of these sci-fi shows and movies are NOT sci-fi. What is?

(The ghost of Harlan is laughing at me. Or shouting at me. Hard to tell.)

 

[Tomalak]

For me, the hardest part was when I realized how completely implausible much of TOS was from a tech side. Once I managed to accept that, I appreciated Trek more.

Warp Drive, Transporters and Time Travel are at best implausible as far as our current scientific understanding goes. So that's three of the main bases for Star Trek stories!

 

[Nerys Myk]

So... IS there any science fiction? All of these sci-fi shows and movies are NOT sci-fi. What is?

(The ghost of Harlan is laughing at me. Or shouting at me. Hard to tell.)

Huh? All that's being said is Star Trek isn't the flavor of Sci-Fi that people like to think it is.

Didn't Harlan dislike the term "Science Fiction"?

 

[fireproof78]

... IS there any science fiction

Yes.

All that was noted was that Star Trek was not premiere or hard sci-fi, not "there's no sci-fi."

 

[CorporalCaptain]

My controversial opinion: Star Trek is science fiction.

Eat that, fellow Trekkies*!

* - and Trekkers!

 

[Tomalak]

Most definitely! But the "fiction" part is at least as important as the ”science".

 

[cooleddie74]

Sometimes it's like people have never actually watched the show.

If they did their posting careers here wouldn't last long.

 

[cooleddie74]

So... IS there any science fiction? All of these sci-fi shows and movies are NOT sci-fi. What is?

(The ghost of Harlan is laughing at me. Or shouting at me. Hard to tell.)

Arrival.

But that wouldn't translate well to a weekly series for lots of reasons.

 

[TrickyDickie]

Arrival.

But that wouldn't translate well to a weekly series for lots of reasons.

Well....they could do the other one. The one with Charlie Sheen. They could call it 'Two and a Half Aliens'.

 

[knightgrace]

Very bad, bad pun there.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" is the title of a canon episode.

Let the volcanoes explode!

 

[Nerys Myk]

"Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" is the title of a canon episode.

Let the volcanoes explode!

Vulcanism

 

[cooleddie74]

Mount St. Laya.

 

[TrickyDickie]

Very bad, bad pun there.

Pyrocaustic flow there.

 

[cooleddie74]

Definitely an EtNA and not an EtYES.

 

[Farscape One]

Very bad, bad pun there.

Just add tiger blood and then it'll be winning.

 

[Tallguy]

Arrival.

But that wouldn't translate well to a weekly series for lots of reasons.

But that has TONS of non-scientifically proven or provable ideas. Precognition? Telepathy? Anti-gravity?!? (It's been a while since I saw it. Do they just travel for a really long time and so sidestep FTL? Or was that another movie?)

I think people get a little precious about what is or is not sci-fi considering lots of classics from the genre would never cut the mustard by these standards.

And Lucas helped himself to Dune and Foundation and whatever else and then when anybody criticized him said "Well, this isn't really science fiction" and to back that up said "It's not like 2001: A Space Odyssey." LOTS of science fiction isn't like 2001.

My test is generally this: If you're putting a book or a movie on the shelf at the library or the video store, where do you put it. I have yet to see Star Wars or Star Trek put anywhere other than science fiction.

Didn't Harlan dislike the term "Science Fiction"?

Yes. I'm sure at some point Harlan disliked the term Harlan.