ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
Ah, but one of the threads is dedicated to Leonard Nimoy Prime, while the other one is devoted to the Leonard Nimoy from the new timeline.
Fun Star Trek: The Original Series
- Thread starter Doctor Omega
- Start date
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
This show has been a huge part of my life since birth. Being born in the late 70s, I grew up on reruns, comic books, and even had records of stories (with really bad "sound alike" voice actors). It was my first real introduction to sci-fi, even before DOCTOR WHO and STAR WARS. The writers used this show the way every great fantasy writer does, which is to use a fantastical setting to discuss real world issues, which causes the viewer to actually see what the subject matter is and learn from the lesson (or not, as we see every day in our modern world). Roddenberry wanted to create a WAGON TRAIN to the stars, and it certainly works. Equal parts sci-fi/fantasy, western, philosophical treatise, and political study. It captured the time it was created in, and yet presents a future that all humankind should be striving to achieve.
That being said, it's not perfect. Far from it. When people bash later incarnations of TREK and talk about how it doesn't meet the brilliance of the original series, I feel as though they should take off the rose-colored glasses and re-watch some of those episodes. I'm taxing my BRAIN as to which episodes they might give a SPOCK'S look at, but I'm certain it will come to me.
That being said, it's not perfect. Far from it. When people bash later incarnations of TREK and talk about how it doesn't meet the brilliance of the original series, I feel as though they should take off the rose-colored glasses and re-watch some of those episodes. I'm taxing my BRAIN as to which episodes they might give a SPOCK'S look at, but I'm certain it will come to me.
Hux
Member: Rank 6
I think the show gets a little more credit than it deserves regarding a progressive vision. The women are still essentially stewardesses and sex objects and there's no sign of anything outside the social norms and conventions of the time in relationships. Roddenberry views race relations as the only major objective but even that wasn't entirely convincing. People point to the Kirk/Uhura kiss but seem to forget that Kirk was being forced by aliens to kiss her -- he's actually fighting against it as though it's a terrible fate.
What makes it all the worse is the fact that the later incarnations (TNG et al) also maintained a very conservative and conventional outlook on issues of gender and sexuality.
The show's been dining out on its progressive reputation for decades but really doesn't deserve to. The new show looks like it's finally gonna address some of those issues (years after other shows have already been there and done that).
That all being said, it's still a classic that broke barriers and influenced countless generations.
What makes it all the worse is the fact that the later incarnations (TNG et al) also maintained a very conservative and conventional outlook on issues of gender and sexuality.
The show's been dining out on its progressive reputation for decades but really doesn't deserve to. The new show looks like it's finally gonna address some of those issues (years after other shows have already been there and done that).
That all being said, it's still a classic that broke barriers and influenced countless generations.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
Scotty was the finest chief engineer of them all. Not that I didn't like Trip or Geordie, they were both great. But Scotty had a swagger to him. And his appearance in the TNG episode "Relics" was terrific.
And he was a bad ass. Dude was with the troops that stormed Normandy on D-Day, and was shot three times. One bullet even took off his right middle finger. That's why you rarely see that hand in the show.
And he was a bad ass. Dude was with the troops that stormed Normandy on D-Day, and was shot three times. One bullet even took off his right middle finger. That's why you rarely see that hand in the show.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Your thoughts on this regular character - and on the actor that played him.....
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Dropped from the show during the first season....
Grace Lee Whitney battled her demons and found peace and salvation in her later years.....
Was this, ultimately, a life of tragedy - or triumph?
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Your thoughts and views on this Star Trek character - and the actress who originally played her.....
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
What are your thoughts and views on the original character of Sulu and the actor who plays him?
ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
The televised interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura was certainly novel for that era, but it was not the first time one had been filmed and broadcast in America.
And it was a terrible fate. Both Kirk and Uhura were being made to act against their wills by a group of bullying beings with superior mental abilities, who were treating them as nothing more than puppets for their personal amusement. Besides, technically speaking, whenever an individual - regardless of gender - is forced to participate in an intimate act against their will, it is a form of rape.
I agree. The first pilot might have been progressive with a woman as 2nd in command. But the network interference changed that, and although the expanded universe gave them broader roles, effectively the three main women characters (Uhura, Chapel, and Rand) were receptionist, nurse, and secretary.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Your favourites from fifty years of comic strips.......
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
There was a great Twentieth Anniversary issue that DC put out. It involved time travel, with the Original Series crew meeting their future selves from sometime after Search for Spock. It made little sense in a few months, because the older crew were traveling aboard Excelsior. But there was a nice moment between both Scottys when the younger version asks what happened to the Enterprise, and the older version tells him he doesn't want to know.
I never read them steadily, mostly because there were always plot points that contradicted the shows and movies.
I never read them steadily, mostly because there were always plot points that contradicted the shows and movies.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Yes, I remember that issue. It made for a few poignant moments when Uhura etc were comparing notes with their older/younger selves and deciding that they would still have made the same decisions.
Another issue was penned by Walter Koenig called Chekov's Choice. It was run of the mill really.
DC had sequels in their issues to original series shows such as The Apple etc.
I quite liked that run, but then Paramount seemed to clamp down and they had to get rid of Bearclaw and all the other characters that they had created. Not sure who was behind that edict.
But like you said, continuity was all over the shop up to that point.
Another issue was penned by Walter Koenig called Chekov's Choice. It was run of the mill really.
DC had sequels in their issues to original series shows such as The Apple etc.
I quite liked that run, but then Paramount seemed to clamp down and they had to get rid of Bearclaw and all the other characters that they had created. Not sure who was behind that edict.
But like you said, continuity was all over the shop up to that point.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
I remember picking up just one issue of The Next Generation comic, which dealt with Q taking Picard on a trip to the past to deal with his brother's death at a protest, or some such thing. It just never made any sense since according to the show, he only had the one brother, and he didn't die until the movies, and wasn't politically active or anything. The same went for the first round of the Marvel Star Wars comics. At least when Dark Horse had the franchise, they could all fit in the canon of the time, and now work in the Legends line. And there were no space bunnies.