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Re: TOS S3: Elaan of Troyius
Another episode I loved as a kid, so I may be blinded by nostalgia. Everything was new to me then (including, or perhaps especially, the cliches... both Trek and otherwise) and I remember it fondly as a rip-roaring adventure. The guest star totally owns it with her performance, which holds up well today. In a weird way it reminds me of a PG-rated Mr Rogers' Neighborhood as a simplistic but effective lesson in manners and controlling your emotions, and it's still very powerful if you can accept all the exaggerated characterizations.
Another episode I loved as a kid, so I may be blinded by nostalgia. Everything was new to me then (including, or perhaps especially, the cliches... both Trek and otherwise) and I remember it fondly as a rip-roaring adventure. The guest star totally owns it with her performance, which holds up well today. In a weird way it reminds me of a PG-rated Mr Rogers' Neighborhood as a simplistic but effective lesson in manners and controlling your emotions, and it's still very powerful if you can accept all the exaggerated characterizations.
Re: TOS S3: Whom Gods Destroy
Though I have to say I really love this episode, mostly because it frightened me as a child. And Garth and Marta do come off as tragic. A few really memorable lines. I love how Spock manages to endure all the illogic of the situation. I was really looking forward to the Anaxar fan film until it got shut down after Paramount/CBS(?) decided it was getting too big for its britches, as "Sane Garth" was a character in it.
Though I have to say I really love this episode, mostly because it frightened me as a child. And Garth and Marta do come off as tragic. A few really memorable lines. I love how Spock manages to endure all the illogic of the situation. I was really looking forward to the Anaxar fan film until it got shut down after Paramount/CBS(?) decided it was getting too big for its britches, as "Sane Garth" was a character in it.
Re: TOS S3: Whom Gods Destroy
...Also annoyed when "Insane" is used as a kind of catch-all term for any and all wacky behavior and it always involves thinking you're Napoleon. The nature of Garth's madness is never really explained. Also I would have enjoyed him "waking up" more so we could see him sane.
...Also annoyed when "Insane" is used as a kind of catch-all term for any and all wacky behavior and it always involves thinking you're Napoleon. The nature of Garth's madness is never really explained. Also I would have enjoyed him "waking up" more so we could see him sane.
Re: TOS S3: Whom Gods Destroy
I get annoyed with the passwords-of-the-week that come and go as needed.
I get annoyed with the passwords-of-the-week that come and go as needed.
Re: DS9 S7: Take Me Out to the Holosuite
The Vulcans have a terrible sense of sportsmanship, so the lovable band of misfit non-Vulcans win the game in spirt. The Bad News Bears / Charlie Brown meets Star Trek.
One thing that I have always loved about baseball is that when it comes right down to it, tough it's great to win, nobody really cares if you suck at it. Your skinned knees are your earned participation trophy and everybody goes home with honor.
The Vulcans have a terrible sense of sportsmanship, so the lovable band of misfit non-Vulcans win the game in spirt. The Bad News Bears / Charlie Brown meets Star Trek.
One thing that I have always loved about baseball is that when it comes right down to it, tough it's great to win, nobody really cares if you suck at it. Your skinned knees are your earned participation trophy and everybody goes home with honor.
Re: DS9 S6: Profit and Lace
Quark should get the #MeToo treatment for that scene in the beginning, and so should the producers for putting in the "this is a comedy" soundtrack behind it to remind us that this should all be very amusing. Watching this show in 2018 it has for the most part aged very well, but that scene was agonizing. Maybe the rest of it was agonizing too, but I had to shut if off. A rare occurrence indeed.
Quark should get the #MeToo treatment for that scene in the beginning, and so should the producers for putting in the "this is a comedy" soundtrack behind it to remind us that this should all be very amusing. Watching this show in 2018 it has for the most part aged very well, but that scene was agonizing. Maybe the rest of it was agonizing too, but I had to shut if off. A rare occurrence indeed.
Re: DS9 S6: Inquisition
Starfleet Brass is consistently portrayed as a bunch of hard-nosed types that are frequently dead wrong or full of rogue elements, insane captains, and dangerous secrets. Starfleet seems to spend half of its time at war. If your society is at war that often, ain't no way it's going to stay idealistic.
Humans are far from perfect in Star Trek despite their high ideals, which are just that... ideals. Even Roddenberry wrote that way. They have to work at it. Sometimes they fail.
PS - The Federation was a bit of a retcon in TOS, for awhile it was "United Earth" or some such.
Starfleet Brass is consistently portrayed as a bunch of hard-nosed types that are frequently dead wrong or full of rogue elements, insane captains, and dangerous secrets. Starfleet seems to spend half of its time at war. If your society is at war that often, ain't no way it's going to stay idealistic.
Humans are far from perfect in Star Trek despite their high ideals, which are just that... ideals. Even Roddenberry wrote that way. They have to work at it. Sometimes they fail.
PS - The Federation was a bit of a retcon in TOS, for awhile it was "United Earth" or some such.
Re: DS9 S6: One Little Ship
"We All Live in a Little Run-A-Bout... Little Run-A-Bout... Little-Run-A-Bout... "
I didn't like seeing the Jem Hadar reduced to Hogan's Heroes levels of obvious, petty and stupid villains, but it was a good episode regardless.
The idea of Jem Hadar POWs makes no sense, because they'd run out of the ketracel white pretty fast, right?
"We All Live in a Little Run-A-Bout... Little Run-A-Bout... Little-Run-A-Bout... "
I didn't like seeing the Jem Hadar reduced to Hogan's Heroes levels of obvious, petty and stupid villains, but it was a good episode regardless.
The idea of Jem Hadar POWs makes no sense, because they'd run out of the ketracel white pretty fast, right?
Re: Trek's Musical Problems
("if I can recall a single post-TOS Star Trek TV score", that is.)
The early Borg stuff... BIG exception... but I still can't recall any "riffs".
("if I can recall a single post-TOS Star Trek TV score", that is.)
The early Borg stuff... BIG exception... but I still can't recall any "riffs".
Re: Trek's Musical Problems
TOS music, though often parodied (such as the infamous "fighting music" which I think originated with "Amok Time"), is truly memorable and has stood the test of time. So have some of the movie scores. Though I'll be damned if I can recall a single Star Trek TV score. The music is just sort of "there"... incidental, barely noticable. The suspense-building chords near commercial breaks and the ending codas are the only things I really notice. In fact I'm surprised to hear anybody even talking about the music. I don't take music for granted, but the message from TNG-onward Trek is that music is usually not very important and I felt trained by the TNG very early on to simply ignore it most of the time. Unlike TOS and the films, I can't match a single character or theme to a single leitmotif... if they're there, I don't find them compelling.
TOS music, though often parodied (such as the infamous "fighting music" which I think originated with "Amok Time"), is truly memorable and has stood the test of time. So have some of the movie scores. Though I'll be damned if I can recall a single Star Trek TV score. The music is just sort of "there"... incidental, barely noticable. The suspense-building chords near commercial breaks and the ending codas are the only things I really notice. In fact I'm surprised to hear anybody even talking about the music. I don't take music for granted, but the message from TNG-onward Trek is that music is usually not very important and I felt trained by the TNG very early on to simply ignore it most of the time. Unlike TOS and the films, I can't match a single character or theme to a single leitmotif... if they're there, I don't find them compelling.
Re: DS9 S6: Rocks and Shoals
The image of the evacuation from the sinking fighter, as well as the arid landscape, seemed like a deliberate shout-out to the beginning of "Planet of the Apes". Near the end it started to feel like a classic Western. I love it when Trek shoots on location. I bet those costumes and make-up were very uncomfortable out there, though!
The image of the evacuation from the sinking fighter, as well as the arid landscape, seemed like a deliberate shout-out to the beginning of "Planet of the Apes". Near the end it started to feel like a classic Western. I love it when Trek shoots on location. I bet those costumes and make-up were very uncomfortable out there, though!
Re: DS9 S5: Empok Nor
I did kind of enjoy seeing a "Red Shirts to the Slaughter" episode again, even if nobody was wearing red. There was even a little bit of slasher movie in this. I would have liked to see more of the ruined station (a la The Constellation in The Doomsday Machine... we know they are the same sets only redressed, which is part of the fun). Garak should have only almost killed that guy... pushed the envelop a bit too far for me. And for all that talk of booby traps, there weren't enough. I would have preferred no soldiers and all booby traps, myself. I enjoyed how the episode was filmed... very unTrekian.
I did kind of enjoy seeing a "Red Shirts to the Slaughter" episode again, even if nobody was wearing red. There was even a little bit of slasher movie in this. I would have liked to see more of the ruined station (a la The Constellation in The Doomsday Machine... we know they are the same sets only redressed, which is part of the fun). Garak should have only almost killed that guy... pushed the envelop a bit too far for me. And for all that talk of booby traps, there weren't enough. I would have preferred no soldiers and all booby traps, myself. I enjoyed how the episode was filmed... very unTrekian.
Re: DS9 S5: Children of Time
I've had a few doomed crushes in my day, but holding out hope for a dead woman for 200 years is Dracula levels of creepy. Odo 2 came off as a little sinister in the end, like a classic doomed "monster in love" (Kong, Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, The Beast or what have you).
I've had a few doomed crushes in my day, but holding out hope for a dead woman for 200 years is Dracula levels of creepy. Odo 2 came off as a little sinister in the end, like a classic doomed "monster in love" (Kong, Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, The Beast or what have you).
Re: DS9 S5: Children of Time
Also HTF did Dax manage to have a suitable non-Trill host all lined up at the end of Jadzia's colony life? Trill biology is supposed to be very complicated, as all the various "Trill medical drama" plots have explained. I would have expected the Dax symbiont to have died away from real Trill medicine and Trill hosts. Oh well.
Also HTF did Dax manage to have a suitable non-Trill host all lined up at the end of Jadzia's colony life? Trill biology is supposed to be very complicated, as all the various "Trill medical drama" plots have explained. I would have expected the Dax symbiont to have died away from real Trill medicine and Trill hosts. Oh well.
Re: DS9 S5: Children of Time
It's not just the 8000 people currently alive, but the temporal existence of all the intervening generations, too. It's not about "death" but rather existence vs nonexistence. Not sure how that math works out, but it's more like 18000 lives or something like that.
It's not just the 8000 people currently alive, but the temporal existence of all the intervening generations, too. It's not about "death" but rather existence vs nonexistence. Not sure how that math works out, but it's more like 18000 lives or something like that.
Re: DS9 S5: Apocalypse Rising
...and the supposed first contact with the Borg, for that matter (TNG? ST:FC? Voy? Ent?). On and on it goes!
...and the supposed first contact with the Borg, for that matter (TNG? ST:FC? Voy? Ent?). On and on it goes!
Re: DS9 S5: Apocalypse Rising
...the same goes for the Trill. In TNG, it was a WTF "who ARE these people?" kind of reaction. In DS9, they are old news to humans as Sisko/Dax illustrate. Or the idea that humans learned about Pon Far from Mr Spock first, when Vulcans had been serving in Starfleet for decades already. Things are presented as new when introduced on the show (if only for the sake of the audience), then they become in-universe old common knowledge within a season or two.
...the same goes for the Trill. In TNG, it was a WTF "who ARE these people?" kind of reaction. In DS9, they are old news to humans as Sisko/Dax illustrate. Or the idea that humans learned about Pon Far from Mr Spock first, when Vulcans had been serving in Starfleet for decades already. Things are presented as new when introduced on the show (if only for the sake of the audience), then they become in-universe old common knowledge within a season or two.
Re: DS9 S5: Apocalypse Rising
Re: Benzites or whatever. Trek seems to have an automatic RetConning of first contact (and other such milestones, like first X in Starfleet and so forth) when it comes to introducing new alien species. The Ferengi first contact was not that long ago in TNG, now it's like they are everywhere and always have been. It's probably a production decision, it's easier to develop what you've already sketched out and ignore all the generations of cultural blending that would presumably have to happen.
Re: Benzites or whatever. Trek seems to have an automatic RetConning of first contact (and other such milestones, like first X in Starfleet and so forth) when it comes to introducing new alien species. The Ferengi first contact was not that long ago in TNG, now it's like they are everywhere and always have been. It's probably a production decision, it's easier to develop what you've already sketched out and ignore all the generations of cultural blending that would presumably have to happen.
Re: TOS S2: Amok Time
I love this episode but it raises a lot of continuity problems with other stories (Pon Farr this, Pon Farr that).
For one thing, Kirk is an important man... wouldn't T'Pau find out he's alive later? How would she react?
I love this episode but it raises a lot of continuity problems with other stories (Pon Farr this, Pon Farr that).
For one thing, Kirk is an important man... wouldn't T'Pau find out he's alive later? How would she react?
Re: DS9 S4: Little Green Men
I like it when the too-often-ignored, taken-for-granted, and so-called "Universal Translator" breaks down. I like the scrambled English to represent the Ferengi's POV. It sounds like it was chopped into little split-second chunks and the chunks were flipped backwards, but the overall flow of it is forwards.
I like it when the too-often-ignored, taken-for-granted, and so-called "Universal Translator" breaks down. I like the scrambled English to represent the Ferengi's POV. It sounds like it was chopped into little split-second chunks and the chunks were flipped backwards, but the overall flow of it is forwards.
Re: DS9 S4: Starship Down
As I'm happy others have already noticed, the first half is a nice use of the infrequently used "submarine warfare" motif in Trek. Balance of Terror was the first example of this via the introduction of the cloaking device (just a metaphor for submerging, and so on and so on). TWOK also used it to some extent with the Mutara Nebula battle. The second half of this DS9 episode reminded me of Disaster, only much better. TBH I think I'd love a "Poseidon Adventure" style Star Trek feature film... though I guess First Contact was kind of like that.
As I'm happy others have already noticed, the first half is a nice use of the infrequently used "submarine warfare" motif in Trek. Balance of Terror was the first example of this via the introduction of the cloaking device (just a metaphor for submerging, and so on and so on). TWOK also used it to some extent with the Mutara Nebula battle. The second half of this DS9 episode reminded me of Disaster, only much better. TBH I think I'd love a "Poseidon Adventure" style Star Trek feature film... though I guess First Contact was kind of like that.
Re: TNG S5: Violations
This episode is icky, but it seems to be pulling too many punches with all of the murky science fiction metaphors to be relevant as any kind of social commentary on rape, or to even be effective as a mystery. "Mind Rape is Safe-for-TV Rape because it's only Kinda-Sorta-Rape" is the strongest message I get from it, which is troubling at best. This is an example of the show trying to do something brave, but essentially chickening out with metaphors that feel more like euphemisms. "The Outcast" had similar issues. Enterprise did a much better mind rape story about forcible mind melds that actually worked IMO.
This episode is icky, but it seems to be pulling too many punches with all of the murky science fiction metaphors to be relevant as any kind of social commentary on rape, or to even be effective as a mystery. "Mind Rape is Safe-for-TV Rape because it's only Kinda-Sorta-Rape" is the strongest message I get from it, which is troubling at best. This is an example of the show trying to do something brave, but essentially chickening out with metaphors that feel more like euphemisms. "The Outcast" had similar issues. Enterprise did a much better mind rape story about forcible mind melds that actually worked IMO.
Re: TOS S2: Mirror, Mirror
...Though I suppose there could be (probably would have to be) an infinite number of mirror universes.
...Though I suppose there could be (probably would have to be) an infinite number of mirror universes.
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