What are your controversial Star Trek opinions?

[cooleddie74]

I kind of like the idea that early Starfleet was an organization that sometimes relied on nepotism and doing favors. Before the Federation was born Starfleet was purely Earth-based and had a limited number of ships, only a handful of which could reach Warp 5 as of 2155. Archer getting the job because his dad developed the Warp 5 engine and he was a good test pilot works for me.

 

[eschaton]

I honestly wish they leaned into Archer being an incompetent buffoon a bit harder. My biggest issue with the show is after they destroyed his character in the first two seasons they then expected us to take him seriously.

 

[Paul755]

So much hate for Archer. Wow.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Archer has... issues.

The writers were aiming for 'flawed, inexperienced and more like a modern relatable human' but ended up giving us a man whose main redeeming trait was his stubborn insistence on getting the job done. He didn't seem to have any command experience, after his first year in space he already seemed bitter and frustrated about being a starship captain, and his short-tempered temperament was a bad match for his actor's nature.

 

[100Pic]

Controversial option off of a few comments previous - asides from the jealousy stuff around Kes, Nelix is one of my favourite Voyager characters. I think he’s great fun!

One thing a lot of people don't think about is that Star Trek was broadcast television — emphasis on the broad — in that it was designed to appeal to a broad range of people. Characters like Wesley Crusher and Neelix were probably meant to appeal to younger viewers. I was 13 years when Voyager first aired, and I loved both Kes and Neelix. I've heard others say something similar regarding Wesley Crusher and TNG.

Just some food for thought.

Also, Neelix's character improves as the show goes on.

 

[Imaus]

Archer has... issues.

The writers were aiming for 'flawed, inexperienced and more like a modern relatable human' but ended up giving us a man whose main redeeming trait was his stubborn insistence on getting the job done. He didn't seem to have any command experience, after his first year in space he already seemed bitter and frustrated about being a starship captain, and his short-tempered temperament was a bad match for his actor's nature.

He at least should had had other commands for local SolSys patrol and the early human colonies, or something. By his record alone - a test pilot, working on the warp 5 project - he should had just been the CE or an advisor, if that. We know he got to Commander somehow by 2143; gets the NX by 2151. It took until 2145 for them to breach Warp 3 in the Warp Delta (which by itself is not...that much of a problem, but still feels...oddly squished); then they take six years to build the NX? He could had done so much in that time; but it all just goes back to my own quibs with Enterprise's history/world-building.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

On a totally different note, I thought Galaxy Quest was boring I don’t enjoy it at all.

I've never dared voice it until I read your post, but I agree.

#MeToo

 

[Oddish]

Travis had the potential to be one of the show's most interesting characters. But not with Berman and Braga at the helm and writing.

The same could be said for every character on every show. What was done with Kira could have been done with Chakotay. What was done with Nog could have been done with Travis and Harry. And so on.

Yep. Born in 2126 aboard a low-warp Earth cargo freighter where he spends almost his entire life before joining Starfleet. He had a head start on everyone else in the senior staff except for T'Pol and Phlox.

And as far as we can tell, he never made a mistake in his four years at the helm. Unlike most of the others, who were stumbling right and left.

Controversial option off of a few comments previous - asides from the jealousy stuff around Kes, Nelix is one of my favourite Voyager characters. I think he’s great fun!

Neelix is as awesome in his own way as Tuvok is in his. Like Travis, they could have done a lot more with him.

I've never dared voice it until I read your post, but I agree.

No one should be afraid of expressing a reasonable and honestly held opinion. I realize that the reality may differ from the ideal (I could tell you some stories), but the statement remains true. And besides, nothing is going to be universally popular.

 

[Vale]

Also, Neelix's character improves as the show goes on.

 

[Methuselah Flint]

I prefer the third season of TOS, always have. Despite the fact as a whole the earlier seasons are better, it was the one I grew up watching first, so it has a certain nostalgic appeal.

 

[at Quark's]

Neelix is conceptually a great character, and his more grating characteristics become perfectly understandable and even forgivable once you consider his tragic past. It's just a pity that this character was taken seriously only on rare occasions (we could have used more episodes such as Jetrel and Fair Trade).

 

[Oddish]

Fun fact... two Voyager cast members cameoed in "First Contact". Picardo played the Enterprise E's EMH, and Ethan Phillips turned up in the holodeck, sans his Neelix makeup.

 

[Disco]

This a fascinating thread and shows the breadth of opinions.

On Neelix he didn't grab me when I first watched VOY and I didn't consider the issues with Kes. Both obvious now. I do think he improved greatly.

I don't see any issue with Archer becoming captain. I think what he has is a broad experience and a detailed understanding of the ship. He didn't have command experience but he was respected. I guess more command experience or the XO post might have suited him better.

 

[Paul755]

I think Archer did serve on another ship. Pretty sure he mentions it to Reed in the episode where he tries to have the breakfast together but all Reed wants to do is talk shop.

the nepotism angle doesn’t seem to line up either, otherwise he’d have been given the first test flight not AG. That engine was just as closely tied to his fathers work as the NX-01 was.

it feels like they lost a lot of opportunity to world build because by the end of S2 they had to jump into “save the series” mode. Then got canceled after a shortened S4.

 

[Vger23]

I prefer the third season of TOS, always have. Despite the fact as a whole the earlier seasons are better, it was the one I grew up watching first, so it has a certain nostalgic appeal.

Same

Back in the early days of VCR technology, a local station that was known for playing TOS was "going off the air" and as part of their going-away plan, they did a 2-day marathon of TOS episodes, all from S3, which I recorded when I was really young. So, for a while, that was all I had of "Star Trek." I had the Star Trek Compendium and I'd read about all these episodes I'd never seen from the earlier seasons...(and eventually another local network picked it up and played them)...but S3 has a very good place in my heart because of this.

 

[fireproof78]

Archer has... issues.

The writers were aiming for 'flawed, inexperienced and more like a modern relatable human' but ended up giving us a man whose main redeeming trait was his stubborn insistence on getting the job done. He didn't seem to have any command experience, after his first year in space he already seemed bitter and frustrated about being a starship captain, and his short-tempered temperament was a bad match for his actor's nature.

My biggest struggles with Archer is that the writers couldn't decide what they wanted him to be. He could be stubborn but also negotiate. He could be kind but also an ass. And then he also is supposedly a trained diplomat who causes constant diplomatic mess ups.

Archer suffered because his clear definition was not made.

 

[Imaus]

I think Archer did serve on another ship. Pretty sure he mentions it to Reed in the episode where he tries to have the breakfast together but all Reed wants to do is talk shop.

the nepotism angle doesn’t seem to line up either, otherwise he’d have been given the first test flight not AG. That engine was just as closely tied to his fathers work as the NX-01 was.

it feels like they lost a lot of opportunity to world build because by the end of S2 they had to jump into “save the series” mode. Then got canceled after a shortened S4.

Yea he says something akin to a Captain should not be friends with the crew; but this could also come from him managing the project and keeping land-side.

 

[FederationHistorian]

Archer has... issues.

The writers were aiming for 'flawed, inexperienced and more like a modern relatable human' but ended up giving us a man whose main redeeming trait was his stubborn insistence on getting the job done. He didn't seem to have any command experience, after his first year in space he already seemed bitter and frustrated about being a starship captain, and his short-tempered temperament was a bad match for his actor's nature.

We don’t know that. Archer, when recounting his side of the story regarding breaking the warp 2 barrier, left a seven-year gap between A.G. being picked as the test pilot over him by Forrest (who as probably trying to avoid nepotism with that choice) and being selected by Forrest as captain. Aside from a three-month suspension, Archer still had a career in Starfleet and was clearly up to more, as Starfleet broke warp 3 with the NX Delta and then built the Warp 4 Franklin and then finally Enterprise. In that time, he also met Hoshi and received Mayweather’s commendation letter, and presumably got Starfleet to install the transporter as he was friends with the Ericksons. He was also on Titan as a part of the Omega training mission with Trip and was on guest onboard a Vulcan ship to set up gravitation telescope for a dark matter nebula. he may have gotten command experience in that timeframe.

Archer’s early years in Starfleet are more of a mystery as that seven-year gap. Surely, he held some sort of command then in order to be promoted to commander in the first place, even if it was just on Jupiter Station.

 

[remember...]

I would of liked too seen stewart as data.
A younger actor as Picard but picard would of been killed off in bobw.
Worf would be science officer and wrestle with his pacifist side his parents taught him and his warrior side from his Klingon side.
Wesley would not be a whizz kid but a rebel that just wants to play guitar.rkyker and geordi would act as big brothers and try to install discipline into him by giving him errands to him.
Final frontier
It is revealed uhura and scotty have been married since the time of the motion picture.
Star trek 4.
Savick tells kirk she is pregnant with David's baby.
Star trek 3
The enterprise is not blown up .because they steal the ed xcesipur.John collicos returns as kor.
Star trek 3

 

[tesral]

Archer suffered because his clear definition was not made.

Not an Archer issue, a B&B issue because they did that to a lot of characters, Janeway included. Inconsistent writing is the hallmark of the B&B era.