What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[cooleddie74]

"MR. VICE PRESIDENT, PLEASE, GIVE MY REGARDS TO THE PRESIDENT."

"OH, YES, I'LL BE VERY HAPPY TO DO THAT, HOLLIS."

"I, UH, HOPE THAT WHATEVER PROBLEMS HE FOUND SO IMPORTANT NOT TO BE HERE TODAY, I HOPE HE HAS CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS WITH THEM."

"WELL, THAT'S REALLY VERY SPORTING OF YOU. I'M SURE THE PRESIDENT WILL BE VERY
PLEASED TO LEARN OF YOUR SUPPORT."

"THE PRESIDENT WOULD GET CONSIDERABLE MORE OF MY HUMBLE SUPPORT IF HE WOULD ONLY BE A LITTLE MORE
HELPFUL WITH THIS PROGRAM HERE."

"NOW, HOLLIS, YOU KNOW THE PRESIDENT IS MOST INTERESTED IN THIS PROGRAM."

"I AM MOST INTERESTED IN A LOT OF THINGS, INCLUDING MY WIFE'S BRIDGE GAME.
THAT IS NOT THE SAME AS SUPPORTING SOMETHING."

 

[drt]

I’ve always took that as bad, abysmal, writing that confused the concept of Galaxy with that of a solar system.

Hey, it's not the original Battlestar Galactica. They were so doggedly bad about that I can't decide if maybe it wasn't on purpose, like the meanings had been switched in Colonialese.

 

[Iamnotspock]

My cousin David Huddleston's in that one so I cut it some slack.

The definitive Santa Claus.

 

[cooleddie74]

Also a Lebowski Achiever!

 

[Tallguy]

My cousin David Huddleston's in that one so I cut it some slack.

Dude!

 

[cooleddie74]

Cousin on my Dad's side. He left the area and rarely came back to town for events once his acting career took off but I heard about him growing up.

 

[Citiprime]

I always interpreted Spock's description of the Romulan supernova being a threat to the galaxy as a figurative description, not meant to be taken literally, of the political aftereffects that the destruction of Romulus and the fall of the empire might cause.

We know the Romulan refugees caused splits in the Federation that led to a secession crisis and resulted in Starfleet pulling back.

What we don't know is whether the fall of the Romulan Empire caused a civil war within the Romulan Empire for control or border wars. I could see the Klingons taking advantage of the situation to annex Romulan systems, with basically the situation from TNG's "All Good Things..." happening in a way.

So that's how I interpret Spock's description to Kelvin Universe Kirk, that he was trying to stop an event that could have galaxy altering consequences that would threaten billions of people far beyond Romulus.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The domino effect, not the event itself. Yeah, that makes sense. Cripple a major power and you upset the balance of power, which can have catastrophic consequences.

 

[fireproof78]

"A lie?"

"An exaggeration."

 

[Macintosh]

It's an interesting enough plot point (and we can't do Praxis twice.) Of course the notion that the Romulan supernova would "threaten to destroy the galaxy" is JJ BS.

I assumed this was meant metaphorically or politically, rather than literally.

 

[F. King Daniel]

A giant fucking amoeba is gonna destroy the galaxy and you watch one handed. Jar Jar Jaybrams threatens to destroy it and it's an unforgivable mistake that needs to be fixed.

Come on guys it's all dumb bullshit.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

False equivalency. JJ has repeatedly proven himself to be the Michael Bay / Simpson & Bruckheimer of sci-fi. Translated, there's not a creative, rational thought to be found, only overblown noise. That is not Star Trek.

 

[F. King Daniel]

False equivalency. JJ has repeatedly proven himself to be the Michael Bay / Simpson & Bruckheimer of sci-fi. Translated, there's not a creative, rational thought to be found, only overblown noise. That is not Star Trek.

But "Spock's Brain" is. But you forgive it because you like that brand of stupid.

 

[Tallguy]

But "Spock's Brain" is. But you forgive it because you like that brand of stupid.

I suppose.

I don't think Spock's Brain deserves the special hate that it gets, but is that really the episode you're going to hold up as "JJ Trek is just as dumb as THIS?"

Spock's Brain was from a 1960's TV show that had just gotten it's budget slashed. It was one episode out of twenty something.

Star Trek 09 cost $150 million dollars and was made by a guy who kept saying he didn't like Star Trek very much and was pretty open about what he DID like which was coincidentally his next job.

All things considered it's amazing that we got as good as we did. Like I mentioned elsewhere, he's a genius at casting.

 

[Vger23]

Wow. I feel like I just teleported back to May, 2009

 

[Tallguy]

Wow. I feel like I just teleported back to May, 2009

Oh no. Now we have another Star Trek movie and two more Star WARS movies for context!

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I suppose.

I don't think Spock's Brain deserves the special hate that it gets, but is that really the episode you're going to hold up as "JJ Trek is just as dumb as THIS?"

Well put. He had to select one episode and set it against:

Star Trek 09 cost $150 million dollars and was made by a guy who kept saying he didn't like Star Trek very much and was pretty open about what he DID like which was coincidentally his next job.

This.

JJ did not understand or care for ST and that disdain was smeared all over theater screens. He's simple-minded and that's exactly the kind of person who did not need to be anywhere near ST.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I sometimes wonder if "Vulcan Hello/Binary Stars" is a bit clunky because it most scenes were originally to be utilized in flashbacks, with the show presumably beginning with Burham on the prison shuttle.

I remain convinced it was originally intended as a single episode, and then they bloated it up with additional footage. BOTBS being really really short in particular sticks out to me.

Also, the Sarek scenes are 100% filler that seems to have been added later.

That makes a lot of sense. Opening with Burnham on the prison shuttle is certainly a compelling way to open the show.

I remember being annoyed with "The Vulcan Hello" when it aired on CBS because it was really just half of a pilot. I didn't feel like I could properly judge DSC yet because I hadn't even been introduced to all of the characters in the first hour. Imagine judging TNG by the first hour of "Encounter at Farpoint" when you hadn't even seen anything with Riker, Crusher, and La Forge yet. It didn't really compel me to immediately sign up for CBS All Access in the hopes I might like the rest.

I'd agree, save for the outside-show context. Season 3 was clearly a giant September 11th/War on Terror analogue, and Enterprise, like much of Hollywood at the time, decided it wanted to normalize the idea of torture as an interrogation tactic, because the U.S. did it, and hey, we were the good guys!

It is not only morally reprehensible, it also just doesn't work as an intelligence gathering tactic, and helped to spread the false, dangerous idea that if there's a "ticking time bomb" that engaging in sadism actually leads to actionable results.

It's worth noting that ENT S3 writer (and S4 showrunner) Manny Coto went on to write for 24 after ENT, a show that did a LOT to popularize that BS "torture is justified in extreme circumstances" POV the US bought into hook, line, and sinker after 9/11.

All you mention here... it's one of the reasons why I think DS9 is probably the most true successor, in spirit, to TOS of all the spinoffs. At the very least, in terms of realistic decisions vs. idealistic decisions. Definitely in terms of balancing light-hearted and dark episodes/themes.

100% agreed. David Gerrold wrote in The World of Star Trek that the essence of a good Star Trek story was "Kirk has to make a decision." DS9 remembered that with Sisko. Star Trek is less about giving us answers than making us think about the questions. (Or it should be, anyway.)

 

[Turtletrekker]

I assumed this was meant metaphorically or politically, rather than literally.

I thought so as well until I saw The Force Awakens where the whole galaxy was able to see the Starkiller Base death ray with the naked eye, and then I realized that JJ Abrams just doesn't care about accurate science.

Regardless of how it was actually meant, I personally take it as the rest of you do, as being metaphorical and or political in nature. In the end, it doesn't really matter. It's all goofy fun anyway.

 

[Vger23]

100% agreed. David Gerrold wrote in The World of Star Trek that the essence of a good Star Trek story was "Kirk has to make a decision." DS9 remembered that with Sisko. Star Trek is less about giving us answers than making us think about the questions. (Or it should be, anyway.)

Agreed wholeheartedly...