What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[Richard S. Ta]

I don’t mind The Lights of Zetar. Saw that recently. It suffers from being slightly undercooked as a concept, but it has some really nice details and moments.

The Cloud Minders… I didn’t know it was considered to be bad?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The Cloud Minders… I didn’t know it was considered to be bad?

Gerrold (story by credit) has been critical of the results.

 

[CoveTom]

If I recall correctly, Gerrold was mostly critical of the solution they contrived. He felt that having a simple, quick fix of "gas masks" undercut the point, which was to force the society to look at their behaviors and realize they were wrong.

 

[CoveTom]

Okay, so Gerrold was more upset than I recalled. Here is a direct quote from him from his book The World of Star Trek. Please note that the wording is entirely his, not mine. No offense is intended by quoting it here.

"But in the telecast version, the whole problem was caused by Zenite gas in the mines, and "if we can just get them troglytes to all wear gas masks, then they'll be happy little darkies and they'll pick all the cotton we need"...Somehow, I think it lost something in the translation."

 

[Christopher]

Perhaps some dinosaurs, gorn sized dinosaurs, developed a space program and made it off in time, ala When Worlds Collide. That's a premise worthy of Star Trek, not the xenomorphic berserker trope that we see.

Controversial?

If this gives you a story for a novel and it sells, give me a shout out in your intro, whomever you may be. I'm throwing this idea into the Universe.

Diane Carey and paleontologist Dr. James I. Kirkland already wrote that novel, Star Trek: First Frontier (August 1995). It wasn't about the Gorn, but it did focus on a sentient species descended from raptor dinosaurs taken from Earth by Preserver-like aliens, and who used the Guardian of Forever to go back in time and prevent the asteroid impact.

Plus, of course, there was Voyager's "Distant Origin" two years later. I always liked to assume that the Voth's ancestors were taken from Earth by the same aliens that took the raptors in the novel.

 

[Rahul]

I do like both "Spock's brain" and VOY's "Threshold".

They're stupid, trashy fun, that ground you in so far as you become aware it's a tv show after all, but a sci-fi one with crazy concepts, and you remember them years later.

TNG's "Beverly fucks a Victorian ghost" story or "the Voyager crew spends time in an Irish village hologram", or "PIC spends it's whole 2nd season in the present day" are much, much worse, because they are just plain boring & don't even have a single idea or sci-fi concept that's worth thinking or remembering about.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

For me the main difference between dull and dumb when it comes to my appreciation of an episode is that sometimes 'dumb' hits me later when I'm thinking about it or chatting to people, while 'dull' is unmissable. (Sometimes, but maybe not often.)

Plus I suppose it depends on how much love I have for the series, as if I don't respect a series to begin with then I won't mind as much if it's being stupid as it's what I expected from it anyway. It hits much harder if I care. In fact dumb can have collateral damage, hitting other episodes too, while dull is a more contained kind of bad.

 

[Tallguy]

I think Spock's Brain gets more hate just because it's easy to make fun of the title. It's easier to laugh and say to someone less familiar with Star Trek "Spock's Brain, right?" than "Oh! Lights of Zetar, eh?"

(It's just SPACE!)

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Perhaps for those who aren't aware of the film the title may be spoofing, it just sounds like nobody tried hard to think of a good title, and the sense that they didn't put much thought into it colors people's opinions of the episode in general.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Eh, the show was on the ropes, Spock was the most popular character and they wanted people to tune in to the new season. Makes sense to start with an episode called ‘Spock’s Brain’.

It is most likely the most stupid title in all of TOS. I think @Tallguy is on to something with that. It’s been easy fodder for writers of other shows to write about characters who talk about Star Trek and ‘Spock’s Brain’ sounds funny for that kind of thing. I guess.

 

[The Salt Umpire]

Diane Carey and paleontologist Dr. James I. Kirkland already wrote that novel, Star Trek: First Frontier (August 1995). It wasn't about the Gorn, but it did focus on a sentient species descended from raptor dinosaurs taken from Earth by Preserver-like aliens, and who used the Guardian of Forever to go back in time and prevent the asteroid impact.

Plus, of course, there was Voyager's "Distant Origin" two years later. I always liked to assume that the Voth's ancestors were taken from Earth by the same aliens that took the raptors in the novel.

I'd never read that one.

 

[Christopher]

I'd never read that one.

It's great. Star Trek and dinosaurs? What more could you ask for?

 

[fireproof78]

I think Spock's Brain gets more hate just because it's easy to make fun of the title. It's easier to laugh and say to someone less familiar with Star Trek "Spock's Brain, right?" than "Oh! Lights of Zetar, eh?"

(It's just SPACE!)

It reduces Spock to comedy fodder. It's deservedly hated.

 

[Starflight]

TNG's "Beverly fucks a Victorian ghost" story or "the Voyager crew spends time in an Irish village hologram", or "PIC spends it's whole 2nd season in the present day" are much, much worse, because they are just plain boring & don't even have a single idea or sci-fi concept that's worth thinking or remembering about.

With you on "Threshold" and "Spock's Brain", but "Sub Rosa" is absolutely sublime. It's my favourite of the shit episodes by far, every moment is gold. Just from memory:
- the entire notion of a "Scottish highlands colony"
- Ronin standing at the back of the funeral trying to look mysterious and sexy
- Ronin blandly explaining his reality-busting history to Beverly as she hurls herself around the room like Lilian Gish in The Wind ("I was born in 1647 in Glasgow...")
- the orgasm scene
- Beverly and Troi awkwardly discussing the orgasm scene in terms no two friends would ever use
- the Scottish guy getting zapped to death after sticking his entire head inside the console
- Beverly's grandmother waking up in her coffin and absolutely wiping the floor with Geordi
- Ronin leaping at Beverly like a frog before being vapourised in mid-air

 

[Tallguy]

It reduces Spock to comedy fodder. It's deservedly hated.

So does The Immunity Syndrome. And The Paradise Syndrome. Journey to Babel?

I don't think there are any funny Spock moments in The Galileo Seven. But Spock's not very smart in that one.

 

[fireproof78]

So does The Immunity Syndrome. And The Paradise Syndrome. Journey to Babel?

I don't think there are any funny Spock moments in The Galileo Seven. But Spock's not very smart in that one.

I don't agree at all. None of those have Spock play the buffon.

 

[Starflight]

I always want to smack Kirk at the end of "Galileo Seven".

"I see. You mean you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst."

Firstly, stop laughing you bastard, you've lost like three crewmembers. Secondly, HOW WAS IGNITING THE FUEL NOT LOGICAL. It literally gave the Enterprise the signal needed to rescue them. It was surpassingly logical, it was T'Pau-tier logic. He should have been given the Vulcan Medal of Supreme Logic for that, while Kirk should have been handed the Unbelievable Dunce Clown Award.

 

[fireproof78]

I always want to smack Kirk at the end of "Galileo Seven".

"I see. You mean you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst."

Firstly, stop laughing you bastard, you've lost like three crewmembers. Secondly, HOW WAS IGNITING THE FUEL NOT LOGICAL. It literally gave the Enterprise the signal needed to rescue them. It was surpassingly logical, it was T'Pau-tier logic. He should have been given the Vulcan Medal of Supreme Logic for that, while Kirk should have been handed the Unbelievable Dunce Clown Award.

Death should always be treated as a joke...right?

 

[Christopher]

Secondly, HOW WAS IGNITING THE FUEL NOT LOGICAL. It literally gave the Enterprise the signal needed to rescue them.

Because logic dictated that the Enterprise would have already left the system and nobody would've been in range to see the flare, making it a pointless gesture. Spock acted emotionally by gambling on the irrational hope that Kirk would have stuck around anyway in defiance of his obligations.

 

[Warp Core Breach]

I don't think Spock really played a buffoon in "Spock's Brain". The character writing was a little bizarre in "That Which Survives", though.