What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[ananta]

Ok this might be controversial, but I don’t think the Voyager theme is particularly good. I find it rather bland, much like the series itself. I love Jerry Goldsmith immensely, I still find it hard to believe he’d compose such a tame, prosaic and forgettable theme. It’s pretty but it really lacks teeth.

 

[ScottJ85]

Ok this might be controversial, but I don’t think the Voyager theme is particularly good. I find it rather bland, much like the series itself. I love Jerry Goldsmith immensely, I still find it hard to believe he’d compose such a tame, prosaic and forgettable theme. It’s pretty but it really lacks teeth.

You've just perfectly described my main gripe with Voyager - it feels formulaic, like someone had a checklist of Trek elements to a committee that just went through and made sure all the boxes were ticked.

 

[Qonfounding Ghooool]

I don't care for the version of the ST:TOS theme with the vocalization.

The sudden key change at the end of it sounds like the singer sat on a hat pin.

TOS-R is far worse. The snare drum that comes up right on cue is louder and even pompous and the vocalization is over the top. The original is half-hokey but is far more even and flowing.

 

[Tuskin38]

Is saying Voyager is a bad series a controversial opinion?

 

[RichT]

More controversial opinions:

• The Star Trek: Generations Overture (as the soundtrack CD calls it) is the very finest piece of Star Trek theme music ever written.

• Deep Space 9's theme tune is superior to Voyager's (at least before they went all "Chariots of Fire" with it from season four on).

• Deep Space 9's final series is a crushing disappointment after seasons four through six being some of the best episodic TV sci-fi ever written. The Dominion snatch defeat from the jaws of victory because The Plot Requires It, Dukat completes his descent from complex and fascinating character to two-dimensional fundamentalist lunatic, and Ezri is unbearable.

• The USS Voyager is the most well-designed, consistently thought-through starship in the whole of Star Trek. The USS Defiant is one of the most badly-designed, inconsistently thought-through starships. How big is it again? Where are its impulse engines? Did they get bored after designing the front half and give up on the back half?

 

[GhoulEddie74]

Geordi had the right to chew out Scotty when he was bothering him too much and trying to take personal control over Geordi's own engine room. I'll always like Scotty a lot more than I probably ever will Geordi as a character but 2369 Scotty freed from a transporter buffer and thinking he can school another Enterprise's chief engineer when there's 75 additional years of engineering development to first absorb was an obnoxious pain in the ass.

 

[FormerLurker]

I want to hear the season 1-3 DS9 theme performed on a Uillean Pipe. That would be cool.

 

[Mytran]

The USS Defiant is one of the most badly-designed, inconsistently thought-through starships. How big is it again? Where are its impulse engines? Did they get bored after designing the front half and give up on the back half?

Not that I disagree with your main assertion, but the Defiant's impulse engines really aren't one of its problems:
http://www.scalemodelling.gr/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ΣΤΑΤΙΚΟΣ-ΜΟΝΤΕΛΙΣΜΟΣ-Τεύχος-10-560x340.jpg

 

[Lord Garth]

Controversial Opinion: If you like Star Trek II-VI and the later seasons of DS9, please don't hide behind "Gene's Vision" when complaining about DSC and PIC. Tell us why you really don't like those shows. The characters, the writers, the style, fine. But don't say "Gene's Vision". Unless you're somehow prepared to explain how "In the Pale Moonlight" or "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" is Gene's Vision. Or how TUC is his Vision; when after seeing a screening of the film (two days before he died), he called up his lawyer to try to get 15 minutes of footage removed from the film. If you can explain those, then I'm all ears.

 

[ananta]

Geordi had the right to chew out Scotty when he was bothering him too much and trying to take personal control over Geordi's own engine room. I'll always like Scotty a lot more than I probably ever will Geordi as a character but 2369 Scotty freed from a transporter buffer and thinking he can school another Enterprise's chief engineer when there's 75 additional years of engineering development to first absorb was an obnoxious pain in the ass.

Nah, I hated Geordi in this episode—and a number of others frankly. The guy was a creep with women and a bully at times (thinking of how he treated Reg in ‘Hollow Pursuits’ as well as Scotty here). While I generally loved ‘Relics’, the fact that Jimmy Doohan was so charming made it all the harder to see him being treated as annoyance and a waste of space. I mean, it’s really hard not to feel for him. Geordi just needed to show a little patience and respect for his elders. One of the things that bugged me about TNG, and I’m not sure if anyone else noticed it, was that whenever it did do a crossover with TOS it was usually with a bit of a smug, condescending attitude. There was a less than subtle inference that TNG’s characters were somehow superior, with the original crew portrayed as ramshackle cowboys whose ways of doing things (ie, “cowboy diplomacy”) would never be tolerated in the super-enlightened 24th century. It just rubbed me up the wrong way. Geordi’s attitude here exemplified it for me.

 

[Orphalesion]

Controversial Opinion: If you like Star Trek II-VI and the later seasons of DS9, please don't hide behind "Gene's Vision" when complaining about DSC and PIC. Tell us why you really don't like those shows. The characters, the writers, the style, fine. But don't say "Gene's Vision". Unless you're somehow prepared to explain how "In the Pale Moonlight" or "Inter Arma Enim Silent Legs" is Gene's Vision. Or how TUC is his Vision; when after seeing a screening of the film (two days before he died), he called up his lawyer to try to get 15 minutes of footage removed from the film. If you can explain those, then I'm all ears.

Do people, outside of some silly youtube channels maybe, even use the "Gene's Vision!!!1!one!" argument anymore?
At least around here I can only remember seeing it used sarcastically.

 

[Lord Garth]

Do people, outside of some silly youtube channels maybe, even use the "Gene's Vision!!!1!one!" argument anymore?
At least around here I can only remember seeing it used sarcastically.

It happened yesterday. Go to the Disco Forum. I won't gratify it with a link.

It's happened a few times in the Picard Forum too.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Controversial Opinion: If you like Star Trek II-VI and the later seasons of DS9, please don't hide behind "Gene's Vision" when complaining about DSC and PIC.

Gene's vision was, to paraphrase Zephram Cochran, dollar signs and women.

Tell us why you really don't like those shows. The characters, the writers, the style, fine.

Yes to all of those for Discovery. Still not built up the drive to watch Picard yet, also need to decide where I want Amazon Prime in my life and make my addiction to the site even greater

 

[tomalak301]

Geordi had the right to chew out Scotty when he was bothering him too much and trying to take personal control over Geordi's own engine room. I'll always like Scotty a lot more than I probably ever will Geordi as a character but 2369 Scotty freed from a transporter buffer and thinking he can school another Enterprise's chief engineer when there's 75 additional years of engineering development to first absorb was an obnoxious pain in the ass.

I'm glad you brought this up because whenever I see someone criticizing Geordi and his treatment of Scotty, I get a little annoyed. Scotty is out of time (Hince why the episode is called Relics) and Geordi is chief engineer of the flagship in the 24th century. The whole reason why this criticism is a thing is because Scotty appeared in the original series. Realistically, he was just in the way and I was really happy TNG covered it that way. Also, the ended up working really well together and Scotty got one of the Enterprise-D's shuttles. I think that's good respect to a legend. I have the same gripe when DS9 bends over backwards trying to worship Kirk in Trials and Tribble-ations.

 

[tomalak301]

Controversial Opinion: If you like Star Trek II-VI and the later seasons of DS9, please don't hide behind "Gene's Vision" when complaining about DSC and PIC. Tell us why you really don't like those shows. The characters, the writers, the style, fine. But don't say "Gene's Vision". Unless you're somehow prepared to explain how "In the Pale Moonlight" or "Inter Arma Enim Silent Legs" is Gene's Vision. Or how TUC is his Vision; when after seeing a screening of the film (two days before he died), he called up his lawyer to try to get 15 minutes of footage removed from the film. If you can explain those, then I'm all ears.

"Gene's Vision" is one of the most nauseating things about Star Trek and the convention scene. I actually cringe every time it's brought up when I go to Vegas. With that said, I rank Picard last when it comes to my ranking of favorite series mainly because of how depressing it was and how bloodthirsty it was. To me it didn't really feel like the kind of Star Trek I would like, but I do plan to rewatch the series (Minus maybe episode 5) so my opinion could maybe change.

 

[Orphalesion]

It happened yesterday. Go to the Disco Forum. I won't gratify it with a link.

It's happened a few times in the Picard Forum too.

I'll take your word for it.
And seriously it's just laughable. I mean I understand not liking stuff, I don't like Picard myself and Disc is not my favourite, but why can't they just say they don't like it instead of inventing a silly reason like "gEnE's ViSiOn"?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'll take your word for it.
And seriously it's just laughable. I mean I understand not liking stuff, I don't like Picard myself and Disc is not my favourite, but why can't they just say they don't like it instead of inventing a silly reason like "gEnE's ViSiOn"?

In my experience saying you don't like it for other reasons sees you branded as a toxic fan.

 

[Lord Garth]

In my experience saying you don't like it for other reasons sees you branded as a toxic fan.

I have to head out the door momentarily, but I don't think you're a toxic fan.

 

[Orphalesion]

In my experience saying you don't like it for other reasons sees you branded as a toxic fan.

I'm very sure that happens, so I 100% believe you.
But I remember when I detailed my personal reasons for not liking Picard I felt that it was generally accepted by other posters.

 

[ananta]

I think it’s hilarious the way people have an almost religiously idealised idea of what GENE’S VISION actually was. I read Gene’s novelisation of TMP last picture and let’s just say, a large part of Gene’s vision boils down to sex. If all the incarnations of Trek were fully true to Gene’s vision, we’d have a whole lot more nakedness and boobies in particular, as well as ‘love instructors’ (they must be part of CANON cos Gene said so!) crew members having sex in public parts of the ship, Kirk getting boners on the bridge, etc etc. Frankly I’d be all for it. But it’s funny how people tend to cherry pick elements of Gene’s vision and forget the bits they aren’t so keen on. Trek fans are hilarious, I love us. Don’t ever change.