Thought we might take a break from the nitpicking and fussing, and have a positive discussion.
In your opinion, what's the best part of Trek?
In your opinion, what's the best part of Trek?
What's the best part of Trek?
- Thread starter Jedi_Master
- Start date
In my opinion, the best part of STAR TREK is how you can watch it as a kid, literally, a small child of say, 8, maybe younger ... and enjoy the adventure of it, the fantasy involved with it and all of that. And then, as a teenager, you can start relating to its content, its messages and characters, in a way that might not have been possible, at an earlier age. And then, as an Adult, the nostalgia keeps STAR TREK relevant for you. And the escapism of STAR TREK has been there for most people's entire Lives. I mean ... Shatner's like what, now? Pushing 90? STAR TREK's always been there, it's like a touchstone, if entertainment can ever be that.
*Cough* at least 80% of the conversations are mostly positive *Cough* negativity bias *Cough*
On a high level it's an optimistic voice on humanity in a sea of pessimism. Decades of world building have created a beautiful world that you can tell any kind of great stories in which can talk about the human condition without making you hate humanity.
On a high level it's an optimistic voice on humanity in a sea of pessimism. Decades of world building have created a beautiful world that you can tell any kind of great stories in which can talk about the human condition without making you hate humanity.
Like Cheerios and Jim Beam, Star Trek has been there all my life. I've never existed in a world without it.
I grew up on Navy bases and later on was a navy officer myself. The two biggest influences on me pop-culture wise were Wars and Trek. Each made it's own indelible imprint, but the Trek one started far earlier.
On the one hand, I had Luke and Han. To a certain degree, I eventually became a pilot because I wanted to be Luke Skywalker and/or Han Solo. Nobody could really be a Jedi, but anyone could be a fighter pilot if they worked hard enough and the dice went their way. I didn't get to be a fighter pilot, but I got to be a navy pilot. Good enough- no complaints.
On the other hand, we had Trek. Everybody in the Navy when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's knew Star Trek, and everybody loved it. Captain Kirk was the man- he always got the job done, he always pulled his ship through no matter what, and he cared deeply about his crew and their welfare. For young kids aspiring to be sailors and officers, the crew of the Enterprise represented an ideal we could all relate and aspire to: service, integrity, devotion to duty, and never say die. This had a lot to do with the fact that the show was created and written largely by WWII veterans, and their values were interspersed all through it.
To me, these things will always be the best part of Trek. It's always been more than just a show: it's been a class on the human condition, and to a large extent, an ongoing course in ethics and ethical behavior. Who can forget the dressing down Picard gave to Crusher in The First Duty, and the ethical lesson contained therein? This is the sort of medicine the upcoming generation needs more than anything else, because society and current-day family life (or lack thereof) is failing to provide it.
For me, that is what will always be best in Trek- doing the right thing is the moral of the story.
I grew up on Navy bases and later on was a navy officer myself. The two biggest influences on me pop-culture wise were Wars and Trek. Each made it's own indelible imprint, but the Trek one started far earlier.
On the one hand, I had Luke and Han. To a certain degree, I eventually became a pilot because I wanted to be Luke Skywalker and/or Han Solo. Nobody could really be a Jedi, but anyone could be a fighter pilot if they worked hard enough and the dice went their way. I didn't get to be a fighter pilot, but I got to be a navy pilot. Good enough- no complaints.
On the other hand, we had Trek. Everybody in the Navy when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's knew Star Trek, and everybody loved it. Captain Kirk was the man- he always got the job done, he always pulled his ship through no matter what, and he cared deeply about his crew and their welfare. For young kids aspiring to be sailors and officers, the crew of the Enterprise represented an ideal we could all relate and aspire to: service, integrity, devotion to duty, and never say die. This had a lot to do with the fact that the show was created and written largely by WWII veterans, and their values were interspersed all through it.
To me, these things will always be the best part of Trek. It's always been more than just a show: it's been a class on the human condition, and to a large extent, an ongoing course in ethics and ethical behavior. Who can forget the dressing down Picard gave to Crusher in The First Duty, and the ethical lesson contained therein? This is the sort of medicine the upcoming generation needs more than anything else, because society and current-day family life (or lack thereof) is failing to provide it.
For me, that is what will always be best in Trek- doing the right thing is the moral of the story.
Short answer: Spock.
Longer answer: Kirk and Spock.
Longerer answer: Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise.
Longer answer: Kirk and Spock.
Longerer answer: Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise.
Kira Nerys (or in other words; great characters played by great actors to portray great writing).
The best part of Star Trek, for me, has changed over time. But the current answer is--imagination (a creative way to say something in popular entertainment) and thoughtful messages. Now, production value has to be there. The words sit on a page until Marc Alaimo explodes in "Waltz" and says "I should have killed them all!" If the cave doesn't look good, then it's distracting, no matter how good the acting. If there isn't a close-up on Remantiklan and Ben Sisko in "Rocks and Shoals," we don't feel the power of their words, their acting, as they battle back-and-forth over whether the Jem'Hadar should abandon the Vorta that betrayed his soldiers. If the make-up isn't capable, then we are distracted by that, when the close-up is done. The production value has to be there for the suspension of disbelief to stay.
That said, the examples I named are from Deep Space Nine--the show about loss and oppression. It is a treatise on both topics. As far as loss--Sisko losing his wife (The Emissary), Jake losing his father (The Visitor), Worf almost losing his wife (Change of Heart)--this tells the stories that when good people are facing loss of something they love, they take dramatic actions.
Oppression--from the race that believes it should be hunted, that there is glory in being prey (I am Tosk), to the Jem'Hadar solider that echoes that sentiment (He has not had to earn my loyalty, Captain. He has had it, from the moment I was conceived. I am a Jem'Hadar. He is a Vorta. That is the order of things.), we can be accustomed to being oppressed. There's the Founders reaction to oppression (What you can control, cannot hurt you) and how that mirrors the Bajorans' oppression at the beginning of the show (They lay down the weapons, invite in Starfleet, and work to re-build their society). There's the political oppression (Cardassians oppress Bajorans, Klingons oppress Cardassians, Cardassians join the Dominion, the oppressors of the Alpha Quadrant, a war breaks out for freedom between the Dominion and the Federation), but DS9 does not leave it at that. A Cardassian lives on the Bajoran station, Jem'Hadar soldiers are slaughtered in a battle they cannot win (feeling for the enemy), a half-Cardassian, half-Bajoran woman lives on the station after being in a forced labor camp, a Changeling discovers his people are oppressors, and leaves his people, but he is tempted to go back, two women try to rekindle a marriage that will get their exiled from their home world, a Klingon is exiled for having honor, and then welcomed back into a new house for having that same honor, a Ferengi marries a Bajoran (with clothes on! Yuck!
), a Ferengi joins Starfleet and loses his leg fighting for those Hu-Mans. People, individuals, criss-cross the political landscape. It's not one person answering for his race.I chose one show--the easiest to access because the universe is so tight--where the themes are most prevalent. But the imagination it takes to compare and contrast, to continue to run a theme through seven years, especially when ratings aren't great, it endures today. It is relevant because oppressing the Muslims, all 1.6 billion of them, is relevant today. Because making people work for slave wages and saying "buck up and be stronger, work harder!" is akin to saying "Only CEOs make profits for their companies." This show, unfortunately, is timely, today, 20 years after it was on the air. Because the struggle continues.
That's the best thing about Star Trek--having to put the pieces together after watching all seven seasons--by myself, without any help from commentaries and interviews, or coming on message boards and seeing it. Just thinking about something--popular fiction, a book--and using my mind. It gave me something accessible and thought-provoking. It was nuanced.
Last edited:
Similar threads
