Re: We'll we (finally) see...
Geez....you couldn't have missed the point by more if you'd tried.
I was not talking about BSG characters moving to Trek, or BSG-like characters being on Trek (although frankly, I think VOY could and should have been more like BSG...and would have been alot better for it - but that is another topic for another time - and forum).
I was talking about writers, and how well they write relationship-related stuff. Because the topic of this thread is gay relationships in Trek.
Generally speaking, I am of the opinion that Trek writers have a long and colorful history of sucking at writing 'ships. The 'ships on TOS where little more than womanizing conquests, the 'ships on TNG were shallow and underdeveloped, the 'ships on DS9 (with the exception of Sisko/Kassidy) were creepy, the 'ships on VOY were out-of-the blue and undeveloped (and ended up pissing off tons of fans), and the 'ships on ENT were about the same as on VOY.
What I was saying in my post was that there are several shows that were much better at this sort of thing than was Trek. In particular, I think that the Joss Whedon shows (Buffy/Angel/Firefly) are much better at this. And certainly Farscape, Roswell, and B5 fall into that category also - in fact, they do it better than does Joss.
However, it does seem that Ron Moore had some talent in this area, as his work on Roswell...and to a lesser extent, BSG illustrate.
And yes, I think the 'ships on BSG are well written, for the sort of show it is. BSG is a dark and gritty show, with dark, gritty and hard characters who have to be hard to survive. They work hard under incredibly dangerous circumstances, and they play hard to blow off the steam. That is sorta the point of that show - to explore what different sorts of people do under incredible, unrelenting pressure and constant fear. What that show IS is an exploration of the dark underbelly of human nature - including the dark underbelly of how people conduct their relationships (both romantic and otherwise) with each other.
So...are the 'ships on BSG all happy-shiny? No...but they fit the show. A show in which the situation is FUBAR, and the characters fight not to become FUBAR themselves...some with greater success than others.
This has nothing whatever to do with whether a Tigh-like character should be in Trek. Or whether or not Starbuck would fit in in Starfleet.
It has do so with the relative quality of writing (particularly of 'ships) in various shows. And in that regard, as dysfunctional as the relationships are in BSG, they are still better written for the sort of show it is than, say, Chakotay and Seven of Nine, which was perhaps the most horribly written 'ship in the history of the 'verse.
Babylon 5, Farscape, Buffy/Angel/Firefly, BSG, and Roswell are all leaps and bounds ahead of Trek in this area.
Yeah, BSG is leaps and bounds ahead of Star Trek in characterization:*A drunken XO who in any modern Navy would be told to get his drinking under control or be thrown out:People like these would be great in any Trek show-yeah, right! Most likely they'd be told to get their shit together or get the frack out of the Service(es) pronto. And in Starfleet, that would be pronto. Also, characters like this would piss off most of the fan who expect their Star Trek characters to be better than that, ensuring a rapid ratings drop if these characters were in a series, as well as a ton of negative mail. And then we'd be back here complaining about it like always.
*A whiny CAG (later Commander, now a civilian) who can't seem to pull it together:
*A self-destructive Viper pilot who wouldn't be able to exist in any air force we know of.
When is it going to get through to some people that Star Trek ain't like that, and deal with it?![]()
Geez....you couldn't have missed the point by more if you'd tried.
I was not talking about BSG characters moving to Trek, or BSG-like characters being on Trek (although frankly, I think VOY could and should have been more like BSG...and would have been alot better for it - but that is another topic for another time - and forum).
I was talking about writers, and how well they write relationship-related stuff. Because the topic of this thread is gay relationships in Trek.
Generally speaking, I am of the opinion that Trek writers have a long and colorful history of sucking at writing 'ships. The 'ships on TOS where little more than womanizing conquests, the 'ships on TNG were shallow and underdeveloped, the 'ships on DS9 (with the exception of Sisko/Kassidy) were creepy, the 'ships on VOY were out-of-the blue and undeveloped (and ended up pissing off tons of fans), and the 'ships on ENT were about the same as on VOY.
What I was saying in my post was that there are several shows that were much better at this sort of thing than was Trek. In particular, I think that the Joss Whedon shows (Buffy/Angel/Firefly) are much better at this. And certainly Farscape, Roswell, and B5 fall into that category also - in fact, they do it better than does Joss.
However, it does seem that Ron Moore had some talent in this area, as his work on Roswell...and to a lesser extent, BSG illustrate.
And yes, I think the 'ships on BSG are well written, for the sort of show it is. BSG is a dark and gritty show, with dark, gritty and hard characters who have to be hard to survive. They work hard under incredibly dangerous circumstances, and they play hard to blow off the steam. That is sorta the point of that show - to explore what different sorts of people do under incredible, unrelenting pressure and constant fear. What that show IS is an exploration of the dark underbelly of human nature - including the dark underbelly of how people conduct their relationships (both romantic and otherwise) with each other.
So...are the 'ships on BSG all happy-shiny? No...but they fit the show. A show in which the situation is FUBAR, and the characters fight not to become FUBAR themselves...some with greater success than others.
This has nothing whatever to do with whether a Tigh-like character should be in Trek. Or whether or not Starbuck would fit in in Starfleet.
It has do so with the relative quality of writing (particularly of 'ships) in various shows. And in that regard, as dysfunctional as the relationships are in BSG, they are still better written for the sort of show it is than, say, Chakotay and Seven of Nine, which was perhaps the most horribly written 'ship in the history of the 'verse.

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