To boldly go where no one's gone before

[MNJetter]

This first post is nominally a continuation of the thread from All Things Japan that ended up digressing into a discussion about Ferengi, but I wouldn't mind having a general Star Trek thread in addition, which is why I made the thread title pretty generalized. Maybe if people post here I'll actually start lurking around Entertainment instead of just GD and All Things Japan.

Anyway...yes, the Ferengi made their biggest appearance in DS9. I like their depiction of Quark so much better than any of the early TNG appearances. But that doesn't change the fact that they were invented for TNG.

That's an interesting point, about different races representing different stereotypes. The only one I know for certain is the klingons, which Gene Roddenberry himself claimed to have styled after Japanese samurai culture. Romulans were Soviet Russians. Vulcans are pretty obviously Romans of the stoic philosophy. I think the Cardassians as Nazi Germans is a fair assessment, at least in their original concept for the early seasons of DS9.

I heard somewhere that the Ferengi were supposed to represent the dangers of extreme capitalism. I think the female oppression thing happened because they wanted the Ferengi to show contempt for anything other than money, even in their own culture, and because they wanted the Star Trek audience to close their minds off a little and view Ferengi culture in a negative light.

[bluestars87]

I like Star Trek...a lot. I'm going to get criticized for saying this, but I loved the original series the best.

[Fred]

I liked the original series the best as well. I grew to dislike TNG after an early episode involving the ownership of Data.

[D-pad]

TNG was extremely superior. Picard ftw.

[Roxie]

I'd probably need to rewatch TNG. I was like, 7 when it came on air

[Urameshi YuSooKey]

I really enjoyed TNG as well. They really touched on a lot of social issues. Enterprise never could hold my interest. The opening ruined it from the beginning. Star Treks don't have lyrics!

[stsparky]

They all work okay. The one before Enterprise lacked something ...

[harper]

Voyager? I liked Voyager, though it wasn't as good as DS9 or TNG. I've enjoyed all of the Star Trek series. Enterprise didn't do well in the ratings, but I liked the show a lot.

[stsparky]

Voyager! The whole mutiny and anti-team nonsense crap bugged me. I liked the holo-doc and Janeway.

[h2orowe]

The only episode of Star Trek I watched was a Deep Space Nine episode involving the Ferengi and it seemed kind of racist to me. Normally, I'm not the LOL GUNGANS ARE JUST SUPPOSED TO BE JAMAICANS HOW OFFENSIVE kind of guy, but the Ferengi seemed to come off as blatantly racist against Jews by playing off their stereotypes.

[bluestars87]

Tuvok from Voyager was cool. Just a no-nonsense approach. But of course that was expected since he was a Vulcan. Spock seemed like a better guy to be around though...

T'Pol, the Vulcan from Enterprise was super hot though.

[Fred]

T'Pol was way hot. 7 of 9 was also way hot.

[Saitou Hajime]

I've never watched Star Trek before, but have been thinking of giving it a shot. I "hated" it as a kid because I love Star Wars, pretty much. Is it a good idea to watch the various series from the first one and then in order, or start with something newer than the original? I'm guessing it's not necessary to watch each of the series, but I'm sure I'll be missing out on references and history by skipping any.

[bluestars87]

I've never watched Star Trek before, but have been thinking of giving it a shot. I "hated" it as a kid because I love Star Wars, pretty much. Is it a good idea to watch the various series from the first one and then in order, or start with something newer than the original? I'm guessing it's not necessary to watch each of the series, but I'm sure I'll be missing out on references and history by skipping any.
I'd watch the series in order if I were you. But that is because I'm a nerd. If you want to start with the best, go with Star Trek: The Next Generation. That was one of the best shows of the 90's. Even people not into science fiction liked it. And throughout all seven seasons of the show, barely any references are made to the original series. You can count the references on one hand.

[mawande]

TNG, the best? It's appallingly PC, very bland throughout most of the series. The first year particularly was mostly them re-using old Star Trek plots (it was a running joke, in fact). I couldn't figure out why anyone liked Riker-the-Chinless-Wonder. No wonder he grew a beard. And for pretty much all of the new stuff there was never, not once, something that really dealt with social issues. Puh-lease!

At least in the old series you had a character have to let something horrible happen in order to save the future.

[bluestars87]

TNG, the best? It's appallingly PC, very bland throughout most of the series. The first year particularly was mostly them re-using old Star Trek plots (it was a running joke, in fact). I couldn't figure out why anyone liked Riker-the-Chinless-Wonder. No wonder he grew a beard. And for pretty much all of the new stuff there was never, not once, something that really dealt with social issues. Puh-lease!

At least in the old series you had a character have to let something horrible happen in order to save the future.
Just saying, it's the most popular. And for people that have never seen Star Trek, I think it's the best one to start with.

[Fred]

I pretty much agree with Mawande. The show was too PC for me.

[Roxie]

you can't be "PC" and not deal with social issues. that's for a whole 'nother thread.

[Mastiker]

My roommate and I watched all of TNG in a couple of months, excitedly watching four, sometimes five shows a night, staying up until the sun came up. After that we figured we'd try watching the original series.

It took us three nights to watch the first episode. We kept falling asleep in the middle of it. Another two nights to watch the next episode. I managed to watch six whole episodes before giving up, while my roommate got all the way to seven. I could list specifics about what was wrong with it, but probably the most important thing was that it was just plain boring. I've tried watching all the Star Trek series, and the only series I could sit through more than a handful was TNG.

I'm not saying it was perfect - god knows it's full of faults. But at least it entertained.

[Urameshi YuSooKey]

The way I see it: T.N.G. > DS9 > Star Trek > Voyager > Enterprise

The only episode of Star Trek I watched was a Deep Space Nine episode involving the Ferengi and it seemed kind of racist to me. Normally, I'm not the LOL GUNGANS ARE JUST SUPPOSED TO BE JAMAICANS HOW OFFENSIVE kind of guy, but the Ferengi seemed to come off as blatantly racist against Jews by playing off their stereotypes.
That was kind of the point of all the races in the Star Trek universe. Kind of a societal analysis through the entertainment medium. Kind of like the Chappelle show was meant to be.

Funny thing is, nearly all those people behind the Ferengi makeup really were Jews.

[bluestars87]

The way I see it: T.N.G. > DS9 > Star Trek > Voyager > Enterprise
I think that is how most fans see it.

[japanat]

Bah... You can't... beat... Kirk... for timing... and fighting... and bizarre conversation rhythms.

I grew up watching the original in syndication, and was severely disappointed by TNG's pilot. We laughed our asses off when the saucer came off the Enterprise and looked like a Barcalounger! Wesley was just a whiner, and his magical new powers felt like a jump into fantasy.

My favorite characters were Bones, Quark, the Cardassian tailor. I didn't like Riker, Cisco, Wesley. And when Roddenberry's wife was in the original series, I fell in love...

[Fred]

Spoke was (and still is) my favorite character. I think it has as much to do with the actor as it does the character. He is a far better actor than Shatner in my opinion.

[h2orowe]

Bah... You can't... beat... Kirk... for timing... and fighting... and bizarre conversation rhythms.

I read the reason he spoke like that was because he was a trained Shakespearean actor and only spoke in Iambic Pentameter.

[Citizen]

DS9 > TNG = TOS > Voyager > Enterprise

And Wrath of Khan is the best movie.

[MNJetter]

Nuh-uh, STIV is the best movie. Where else can you find Spock trying to figure out a grammatically correct way to insert profanity into a sentence?

I like all the shows for their own reason, in no particular order. TOS had Spock, TNG had the best plots (in seasons 3+), DS9 had Avery Brooks (god, he's an awesome actor), and Voyager had the Doctor. I can't say anything good or bad about Enterprise, since I've seen all of like 20 minutes of one episode. But it has my favorite theme song. :D Russell Watson ftw

TNG, the best? It's appallingly PC, very bland throughout most of the series. The first year particularly was mostly them re-using old Star Trek plots (it was a running joke, in fact). I couldn't figure out why anyone liked Riker-the-Chinless-Wonder. No wonder he grew a beard. And for pretty much all of the new stuff there was never, not once, something that really dealt with social issues. Puh-lease!
:rofl: Bwahahaha

[harper]

I love Star Trek IV, but Wrath of Khan is easily the best of the Star Trek movies. I do like the new Star Trek movie that came out this year, though.

[MNJetter]

I loved the new movie. Saw it twice in theaters, even. They managed to retain the best part of that unique something that identified the original series, while dropping the few not-so-awesome parts of it, and creating something new and fantastic that could reach out to a mainstream audience as well. I can't wait for sequels, since they were obviously setting up for them.

[bluestars87]

I loved the new movie. Saw it twice in theaters, even. They managed to retain the best part of that unique something that identified the original series, while dropping the few not-so-awesome parts of it, and creating something new and fantastic that could reach out to a mainstream audience as well. I can't wait for sequels, since they were obviously setting up for them.
I didn't like the new movie that much. I think everything was too "neo" to me. The Enterprise looked "sexy", but I will always prefer a more "graceful" design like in the original series and movies I-VI. And I didn't find the music very memorable...something James Horner and John Williams were great at. I guess it was worth the money I paid to see it though.

[MNJetter]

True, I wasn't a huge fan of the music. That is to say, I usually pay attention to soundtracks, and I don't even remember what this one sounded like, despite having seen it multiple times.