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mobilehaathi

macrumors G3
Aug 19, 2008
9,368
6,353
The Anthropocene
Yes my favorite parts were when they filled in backstories that enriched the existing Trek lore. They fleshed out the Andorians and Vulcans quite a bit. Even the Tholians and Tellarites made their appearances. In a prequel series there is so much opportunity to explore existing races, their history, their culture, and their relationships.

But instead we got stories with Suliban, a generic race that comes out of nowhere and has nonsensical motivations. Even worse is the "sphere-builder" race which was probably supposed to feel enigmatic, but instead just feels non-present. Both were forgettable throw-away races which will probably never be used again.
Yeah, they seriously missed great opportunities. The episodes I liked the best (in an overall bad series) were the ones that explored these histories. I enjoyed the Vulcan episodes that revealed an intolerant and autocratic government.

But, as mentioned many times before, I also thought the casting and character writing was poor in addition to awful story choices.
 
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840quadra

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 1, 2005
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Twin Cities Minnesota
But instead we got stories with Suliban, a generic race that comes out of nowhere and has nonsensical motivations. Even worse is the "sphere-builder" race which was probably supposed to feel enigmatic, but instead just feels non-present. Both were forgettable throw-away races which will probably never be used again.
At some point Klingons, and Romulans (TOS), as well as Cardassian and Bajoran (TNG) were also nonsensical and had a nebulous feeling to them.

IMO they did a decent job with introducing new races in ENT, and gave an interesting story arc that hadn't been explored. I personally enjoyed it, but I know I am in the minority on this subject.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
65,136
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In a coffee shop.
Yeah, they seriously missed great opportunities. The episodes I liked the best (in an overall bad series) were the ones that explored these histories. I enjoyed the Vulcan episodes that revealed an intolerant and autocratic government.

But, as mentioned many times before, I also thought the casting and character writing was poor in addition to awful story choices.

Agree completely.

That was a nice narrative (and historical) touch with the Vulcans, because we had grown so used to viewing them as rational 'philosopher kings' when they were at their best.

It is easy to overlook that this was Mr Spock's own character development, his own narrative arc, because in choosing to emphasise his Vulcan heritage (at the possible expense of not allowing himself to express - or to suppress - his human side), philosophy, "logic", morality and culture were all going to ensure that the version of the side he chose to express would be the best possible expression of that culture.

And, yes, agree (again) re Enterprise; poor casting, poor character development, and too many poor stories.
 
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ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,909
A Tarantino Trek

Tarantino pitched a Star Trek movie to JJ Abrams and Paramount. They said yes and even agreed to an "R" rating. (Deadline.com has a good track record as a source.)


Also, Patrick Stewart just stated he would come back to Trek in order to work with Tarantino. In the past he's said that he's done with the Jean Luc Picard character and would only come back for extraordinary circumstances.

 

gkarris

macrumors G3
Dec 31, 2004
8,301
1,061
"No escape from Reality...”
A Tarantino Trek

Tarantino pitched a Star Trek movie to JJ Abrams and Paramount. They said yes and even agreed to an "R" rating. (Deadline.com has a good track record as a source.)
..
Also, Patrick Stewart just stated he would come back to Trek in order to work with Tarantino. In the past he's said that he's done with the Jean Luc Picard character and would only come back for extraordinary circumstances.


aka, $$$$$

Us "Nostalgia Blind" old folk will take a pass - not interested in any movie script where 80% of the words is "M***** F*****"... :eek:
 

bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
5,952
17,447
aka, $$$$$

Us "Nostalgia Blind" old folk will take a pass - not interested in any movie script where 80% of the words is "M***** F*****"... :eek:

Though you'd have to admit.. having Samuel L. Jackson as an older Worf would be some funny a** ****! :p

BL.
 

mobilehaathi

macrumors G3
Aug 19, 2008
9,368
6,353
The Anthropocene
A Tarantino Trek

Tarantino pitched a Star Trek movie to JJ Abrams and Paramount. They said yes and even agreed to an "R" rating. (Deadline.com has a good track record as a source.)


Also, Patrick Stewart just stated he would come back to Trek in order to work with Tarantino. In the past he's said that he's done with the Jean Luc Picard character and would only come back for extraordinary circumstances.

And Leonard Nemoy was in JJ Abrams' hideous excuse for Star Trek.

Tarantino and Star Trek? Nah.
 
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bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
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And Leonard Nemoy was in JJ Abrams' hideous excuse for Star Trek.

Same with Majel.

And Whoopi is trying to get on Discovery. The good thing about her is that Gene created a character for her that could appear at any time, in any timeline of the universe, regardless of series.

Tarantino and Star Trek? Nah.

But imagine the bloodbath from the Klingons and their fights with a bat'leth! And their songs about the fight and honor and Kahless, with a few "m**********rs" interspersed!

You couldn't write that comedy! :p

BL.
 

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,909
And Whoopi is trying to get on Discovery. The good thing about her is that Gene created a character for her that could appear at any time, in any timeline of the universe, regardless of series.

Hmmm, that's interesting to me. Back in the 90's I intensely disliked movies that Whoopi starred in, and I had blamed that on Whoopi herself. So when Whoopi became a character on TNG I was heavily biased against her.

But Whoopi really won me over with her portrayal of Guinan. Her acting, delivery, and looks were perfect for the role. Of course the writers did their job too with great dialog and an interesting character. Some Trek fans have said that her acting is terrible, for which I disagree. Her acting is very understated, yes, but that's perfect for the role. Also, Guinan seemed like a better counselor than Counselor Troi.

I felt Counselor Troi was always better in her role as senior officer as a diplomatic or tactical adviser, and I appreciated that the character sought to become part of the command staff. But now I'm rambling.
 

Mousse

macrumors 68040
Apr 7, 2008
3,648
7,082
Flea Bottom, King's Landing
But Whoopi really won me over with her portrayal of Guinan. Her acting, delivery, and looks were perfect for the role. Of course the writers did their job too with great dialog and an interesting character. Some Trek fans have said that her acting is terrible, for which I disagree. Her acting is very understated, yes, but that's perfect for the role. Also, Guinan seemed like a better counselor than Counselor Troi.
I gotta agree about Whoopi. Those movies she made during the 80's and 90's...ugh:rolleyes:. But as Guinan, she was the perfect actress for the job.:cool: One more thing, IMO, Guinan was a better councilor than Troi. Picard always went to Guinan for guidance over a difficult decision, not Troi. And she was a better shot than Worf (TNG: Redeption part 1). It kinda makes me think she was a temporal agent sent from the future to keep Picard from changing the timeline.:D
 

bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
5,952
17,447
Hmmm, that's interesting to me. Back in the 90's I intensely disliked movies that Whoopi starred in, and I had blamed that on Whoopi herself. So when Whoopi became a character on TNG I was heavily biased against her.

But Whoopi really won me over with her portrayal of Guinan. Her acting, delivery, and looks were perfect for the role. Of course the writers did their job too with great dialog and an interesting character. Some Trek fans have said that her acting is terrible, for which I disagree. Her acting is very understated, yes, but that's perfect for the role. Also, Guinan seemed like a better counselor than Counselor Troi.

I felt Counselor Troi was always better in her role as senior officer as a diplomatic or tactical adviser, and I appreciated that the character sought to become part of the command staff. But now I'm rambling.

I gotta agree about Whoopi. Those movies she made during the 80's and 90's...ugh:rolleyes:. But as Guinan, she was the perfect actress for the job.:cool: One more thing, IMO, Guinan was a better councilor than Troi. Picard always went to Guinan for guidance over a difficult decision, not Troi. And she was a better shot than Worf (TNG: Redeption part 1). It kinda makes me think she was a temporal agent sent from the future to keep Picard from changing the timeline.:D

It was stated by the moderator when she appeared at her first ST Convention, which was the 30th anniversary of TNG convention in Las Vegas. Almost every episode of TNG had her in it or playing a major role in it. When you think about it:
  1. The Child.
  2. Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1 and 2.
  3. Time's Arrow.
  4. Measure of a Man.
  5. Yesterday's Enterprise.
  6. I, Borg.
The list goes on. And when you think about it.. it was seasons 3 and 4, which was arguably the best seasons they had, was when they were nominated for an Emmy.

Her panel was really funny, and interesting, especially when she tells the story of how and why she wanted to get on the show. They didn't approach her on the idea: She called Gene and Levar to ask to be on the show. She also goes into The Color Purple and Ghost.

In fact, here is the panel. Very informative and entertaining. Enjoy. My favourite part:

Patrick Stewart, thick British theatrical accent: Hello, Whoopi.
Whoopi: W'sup, Pat!!

:p:D

 
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obeygiant

macrumors 601
Jan 14, 2002
4,201
4,127
totally cool
5u3ycavsd4x01.png


In an alternate universe...
 

bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
5,952
17,447

Just caught this episode last night..

"Computer create an adversary that would confound, Data"

No offense intended here to Diana Mauldaur, but Gene screwed up royally in season 2. What he ended up doing was firing Gates McFadden. That's why she wasn't mentioned anywhere at all in season 2 except for taking over as head of Starfleet Medical. IIRC (she mentioned some of this on her Panel at the ST: 30th Anniversary Convention), she was pregnant at the time, and instead of waiting for her to have the baby, she was fired. Gene went with Mauldaur obviously for the experience (she was on TOS), but she really didn't fit in; the chemistry wasn't there.

Ironically enough, any last mention of her as Katherine Pulaski was in Season 3 episode 3, where Crusher mentioned that she was familiar with Pulaski's technique of erasing memories from a person's mind.

Don't get me wrong, there were some phenomenal episodes in season 2 that she played a great part in, but you can tell that they were still trying to find their feet.. they were trying a bit too hard, and thankfully since Whoopi joined in that season, that did save the entire series.

BL.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
65,136
47,525
In a coffee shop.
No offense intended here to Diana Mauldaur, but Gene screwed up royally in season 2. What he ended up doing was firing Gates McFadden. That's why she wasn't mentioned anywhere at all in season 2 except for taking over as head of Starfleet Medical. IIRC (she mentioned some of this on her Panel at the ST: 30th Anniversary Convention), she was pregnant at the time, and instead of waiting for her to have the baby, she was fired. Gene went with Mauldaur obviously for the experience (she was on TOS), but she really didn't fit in; the chemistry wasn't there.

Ironically enough, any last mention of her as Katherine Pulaski was in Season 3 episode 3, where Crusher mentioned that she was familiar with Pulaski's technique of erasing memories from a person's mind.

Don't get me wrong, there were some phenomenal episodes in season 2 that she played a great part in, but you can tell that they were still trying to find their feet.. they were trying a bit too hard, and thankfully since Whoopi joined in that season, that did save the entire series.

BL.

Agreed: There were some excellent episodes in Season Two, but Season Three was where the series really found itself and relaxed into a sense of its own identity.
 

Lioness~

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2017
3,395
4,227
Sweden
I was more into Stargate at the time when Star Trek was most popular I think.
I saw some but didn't get hooked.
The earliest Star Trek I was too young for I guess.
Have something to dive into when time allows in the future.

Love most sci-fi. Star Trek Discovery that's going on now is cool :)

startrek_small.jpg
 
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