Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could find?

[CaptainStoner]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

the job of a councellor was dropped in ds9, voy, and ent. really, wasn't it pathetic every time picard turned to troi for her educated guess, and she tried to look important and babbled something like 'i feel loneliness'. yar also pales compared with worf, tuvok, and in particular odo.

Actually, Ezri Dax came on as Counsellor, a very important role when one considers the large amount of very weird shit that happens on a Star Trek show.
I was occasionally annoyed with Troi's writing, however, the "i sense gastric distress" kind of cliche doesn't actually reflect the character's development through the seasons.
And I disagree about Yar. Odo is a more interesting character IMO, but Yar does not pale in comparison. She would have done well in a DS9 environment.

 

[DevilEyes]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

the job of a councellor was dropped in ds9, voy, and ent. really, wasn't it pathetic every time picard turned to troi for her educated guess, and she tried to look important and babbled something like 'i feel loneliness'. yar also pales compared with worf, tuvok, and in particular odo.

Actually, Ezri Dax came on as Counsellor, a very important role when one considers the large amount of very weird shit that happens on a Star Trek show.
I was occasionally annoyed with Troi's writing, however, the "i sense gastric distress" kind of cliche doesn't actually reflect the character's development through the seasons.
And I disagree about Yar. Odo is a more interesting character IMO, but Yar does not pale in comparison. She would have done well in a DS9 environment.

Yar had the potential to be a good character, with her backstory - except for Crosby's stiff acting - but from what was actually on screen... she wasn't really. Maybe her character would have gotten better developed if she had stayed on the show. Yesterday's Enterprise was her only really good episode.

Marina Sirtis gave Troi a certain warmth that made her more likable than she should have been considering the lame writing for the character. Troi did get better as the show went on, but the writers never stopped giving her annoying cliche storylines of a caring/victimized female (how many times was she mentally raped?). Her best episode was the one where she was pretending to be someone else, Face of the Enemy.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

And Tasha Yar managed to kick ass and still be a likable woman. But it seems that if a woman isn't bitchy and kicking every guy in the balls just for the hell of it (Kira Nerys? or nuStarbuck?) then she's "not a strong woman"

More like, she has to have some character depth, development and an actress with some acting ability, to be a good character, rather than just to be there so we could see "oh, here's a hot kickass female! Wow, she can fight! How cool! Here's a strong woman!".

While I'm with ElfEars on the Kira issue- Kira was not the type of female character you're describing, GalaxyX, I agree with you both that all too often strong female characters are made shallow, "tough" types out of a bid to be non-stereotypical, without any actual thought going into the character. Sadly, making a female character one of those shallow, "kickass" strong women is just as sexist and unfortunate (in my eyes at least) as making her a stereotypical ultra-"feminine" character. As someone who prefers "strong" females (both character-wise and in reality as potential lovers), it irritates me when such women are reduced to something so lacking in depth.

I must insist, though, like ElfEars said in her post, Kira was certainly not that sort of character. In fact, she's one of my favourite female characters on TV.

 

[DevilEyes]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

And Tasha Yar managed to kick ass and still be a likable woman. But it seems that if a woman isn't bitchy and kicking every guy in the balls just for the hell of it (Kira Nerys? or nuStarbuck?) then she's "not a strong woman"

More like, she has to have some character depth, development and an actress with some acting ability, to be a good character, rather than just to be there so we could see "oh, here's a hot kickass female! Wow, she can fight! How cool! Here's a strong woman!".

While I'm with ElfEars on the Kira issue- Kira was not the type of female character you're describing, GalaxyX, I agree with you both that all too often strong female characters are made shallow, "tough" types out of a bid to be non-stereotypical, without any actual thought going into the character. Sadly, making a female character one of those shallow, "kickass" strong women is just as sexist and unfortunate (in my eyes at least) as making her a stereotypical ultra-"feminine" character. As someone who prefers "strong" females (both character-wise and in reality as potential lovers), it irritates me when such women are reduced to something so lacking in depth.

I must insist, though, like ElfEars said in her post, Kira was certainly not that sort of character. In fact, she's one of my favourite female characters on TV.

I have to say that Starbuck wasn't written as a shallow, one-dimensional "kickass" strong woman, either. She was written on purpose as a brave fighter and brilliant pilot but a screwed-up and self-destructive person who constantly makes a mess out of her own and other people's lives. It's basically the female version of original Dirk Benedict's Starbuck if he was written in a 21st century drama TV series, where his traits that were originally seen as just charming and likable - gambling, womanizing, rebelliousness - would be more likely to be seen as destructive and as indicators of serious psychological problems. If Ron Moore had kept Starbuck as a male, we'd probably get a character more similar to Sawyer from early seasons of Lost than the TOS Starbuck. But turning Starbuck into a female was more interesting, since those kind of male characters are not so rare these days, and that kind of role was already fulfilled in the show by the new versions of Tigh and Baltar, so there was no need for a male Starbuck as a combination of the two. Kickass women aren't rare on TV and in the movies these days, but you'll rarely see strong women with so many flaws as the women of BSG were allowed to have. Roslin is an another example - she is a stronger person than Starbuck IMO, but she has also has very unlikable traits of her own. The strong but deeply flawed characters on TV (especially in drama) usually tend to be male, while strong women are too often (with some notable exceptions) dangerously close to being Mary Sue-ish. I'm more concerned about that than the danger of them being written as bitches.


(boy, is this off-topic or what...)

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

More like, she has to have some character depth, development and an actress with some acting ability, to be a good character, rather than just to be there so we could see "oh, here's a hot kickass female! Wow, she can fight! How cool! Here's a strong woman!".

While I'm with ElfEars on the Kira issue- Kira was not the type of female character you're describing, GalaxyX, I agree with you both that all too often strong female characters are made shallow, "tough" types out of a bid to be non-stereotypical, without any actual thought going into the character. Sadly, making a female character one of those shallow, "kickass" strong women is just as sexist and unfortunate (in my eyes at least) as making her a stereotypical ultra-"feminine" character. As someone who prefers "strong" females (both character-wise and in reality as potential lovers), it irritates me when such women are reduced to something so lacking in depth.

I must insist, though, like ElfEars said in her post, Kira was certainly not that sort of character. In fact, she's one of my favourite female characters on TV.

I have to say that Starbuck wasn't written as a shallow, one-dimensional "kickass" strong woman, either. She was written on purpose as a brave fighter and brilliant pilot but a screwed-up and self-destructive person who constantly makes a mess out of her own and other people's lives. It's basically the female version of original Dirk Benedict's Starbuck if he was written in a 21st century drama TV series, where his traits that were originally seen as just charming and likable - gambling, womanizing, rebelliousness - would be more likely to be seen as destructive and as indicators of serious psychological problems. If Ron Moore had kept Starbuck as a male, we'd probably get a character more similar to Sawyer from early seasons of Lost than the TOS Starbuck. But turning Starbuck into a female was more interesting, since those kind of male characters are not so rare these days, and that kind of role was already fulfilled in the show by the new versions of Tigh and Baltar, so there was no need for a male Starbuck as a combination of the two. Kickass women aren't rare on TV and in the movies these days, but you'll rarely see strong women with so many flaws as the women of BSG were allowed to have. Roslin is an another example - she is a stronger person than Starbuck IMO, but she has also has very unlikable traits of her own.

Ah, well I wouldn't know, as I don't watch Battlestar galactica. That's why I made no mention of nuStarbuck- I have little to no idea who she is

The strong but deeply flawed characters on TV (especially in drama) usually tend to be male, while strong women are too often (with some notable exceptions) dangerously close to being Mary Sue-ish. I'm more concerned about that than the danger of them being written as bitches.

Oh, I agree.

 

[Tomalak]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

Yeah, the point with Kira (and I suspect Yar if she stayed long enough to find out) was that she had always had to be strong to protect herself and her friends, but there was a definite vulnerability and sensitivity underneath.

She really, really wasn't just "bitchy" and "kicking every guy in the balls".

 

[Myasishchev]

Re: Why did Geordi always try to go for the hottest chicks he could fi

If you look closely at the video for Duran Duran's "Electric Barbarella," you can see Geordi in the background, finally giving up on the flesh-and-blood women who have rejected him, and turning to the comforts of the future's technology.