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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph [NERRRD] Observations, rhetorical questions, comments & 55 Years of Star Trek (General Thread)

Discussion in 'Community' started by Darth Guy, Jun 10, 2009.

  1. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Star Trek Thread Index:
    -Discovery ("Let's Fly!")
    -Strange New Worlds ("Hit it.")
    -Lower Decks ("Warp Me!")
    -Prodigy ("Go Fast.")
    -Picard ("Engage!")

    -For Enterprise, The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and the first ten films (TOS/TNG), use this general thread. However, you can still find the SFAF Archive Thread for Voyager here for reference purposes.

    Kelvin Timeline Films:
    -Star Trek (XI) (SFAF Archive Thread)
    -Star Trek Into Dartkness (XII)
    -Star Trek Beyond (XIII)

    Misc:
    -To Boldly Go Where Many Geeks Have Gone Before (Episode-By-Episode Thread)


    ****************ORIGINAL OPENING POST FOLLOWS***************

    (post tagged as spoiler to make it collapsible)

    So I spent a little money and got all 7 seasons on DVD (for a good price). I don't particularly enjoy many of the episodes from seasons 1 and 2, but just having 3-7 would be weird. Anyway, watching episodes randomly and out of order has brought new things to light and reminded me of others.

    1. Dr. Crusher/Gates McFadden reminds me of my mom way too much. That would mean I'm Wesley, which is fine as long as I get to date a http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Robin_Lefler]young[/URL] Ashley Judd.

    2. Riker is an even bigger horndog than I had believed. He constantly flirts with the hot female junior officers in Ten Forward and on the bridge while on duty. He even HolfHulEUb4[/media] to hit on Data's daughter.

    3. Pointy sideburns!

    4. Those ****ing Excelsior,

    [image=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/0/05/USS_Excelsior.jpg]

    Miranda (plus the very similar-looking Soyuz),

    [image=http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/0/05/USS_Reliant.jpg]

    and http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Oberth_class[/URL]]Oberth-class ships. They're nearly 100 years old during TNG (reused models from the first six movies) yet the damned things are still apparently the backbone of Starfleet even during the later Dominion War where they basically get slaughtered every time they're seen on screen. Admirals inexplicably use Excelsiors as their flagships in lieu of the much more advanced, much bigger, much more powerful http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Nebula_class]Nebula[/link[/URL]] and http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Galaxy_class]Galaxy[/link[/URL]] classes, deciding to give command of those behemoths to lowly captains instead. I understand budget constraints, but ILM had three modern classes to use (I guess the Galaxy shouldn't count because the Enterprise-D had to be unique or something).

    5. Why is the therapist the most unstable member of the senior staff by far? She had insane mood swings (because she's an "empath") throughout the first couple seasons which more-or-less resulted in her crying and wailing all the time. But when she temporarily lost her abilities, she flipped the **** out even though nothing else changed. Yeah, the point was that it was like going blind to her, but isn't the shrink supposed to know how to deal with that stuff better than laypeople? Whoopi Goldberg could out-counsel her any day. When the centuries-old bartender can do your job better, I think it's time for a career change.

    6. Picard is horrible with women. I think the only good one he landed was that piano player who left after she nearly got killed on planet whatever. Otherwise he either falls for
    http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Vash]the[/URL] most evil, manipulative ***** around or doesn't make a move on the woman he's constantly pining for (Crusher) because of some huge guilt complex regarding the death of her husband.

    7. La Forge has even worse luck. Poor nerdy guy.

    8. 13eDfrMgFQM[/media] is a goldmine of awesome facepalms.

    9. I love that Gene Roddenberry gave Trek an atheistic bent and the producers continued that tradition after his death. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Who_Watches_The_Watchers[/URL]]"Who Watches the Watchers" is particularly blatant and entertaining.

    10. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Macet]Gul[/URL] Dukat from DS9 was in the first ever Cardassian episode... or at least the actor was. I didn't know that.


    More nerdy nonsense may follow.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 4, 2023
  2. Jedi-Anakin-Solo

    Jedi-Anakin-Solo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 26, 2001
    Quark was the first Ferengi* ever seen too.


    *Actually not the same character, just the same actor, Armin Shimmerman.
     
    Juliet316 likes this.
  3. DarthNotsonice

    DarthNotsonice Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2005
    Did you notice The Devil playing one of the atheist Proto-Vulcan, Mintakans?o_O
     
  4. Emperor_Billy_Bob

    Emperor_Billy_Bob Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2000
    That's probably because the Dominion is awesome more than anything else.

    Victory is Life!



    You can tell that when Gene was making TOS, he wanted to go full on atheistic, but the network held him back.

    Particularly evident in "Who Mourns for Adonis". The entire episode is undercut by:

    ""I can give life or death. What else does mankind demand of its gods?"
    "Mankind has no need for gods. We find The One quite adequate."

    - Apollo and Kirk

    The whole point of the episode is how humanity grew beyond its Gods, but apparently the Christian god doesn't count?
     
  5. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Yeah, I can imagine how CBS would've been nervous about exposing a 1960's television audience to a hardcore atheist's imagination. :p

    11. Ronald D. Moore (later of DS9 and the reimagined BSG) got his start on TNG. I've found that although he was considered the Klingon guy, he (co-)wrote some of my favorite episodes... which were not really Klingon eps.
     
  6. Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon

    Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2000
    I just re-watched that a little while ago, and that line made me cringe.
     
  7. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Don't be hatin' on the Excelsior. The old movies (except the first one) were awesome.
     
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  8. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Enterprise-B type > original Excelsior

    [image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/e/e7/USS_Enterprise-B_in_drydock.jpg]

    Hmph.
     
  9. Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon

    Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2000
    Fixed.

    TMP is too long, but it's still fun.
     
  10. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    It still amazes me how Starfleet let so many civilians on those Galaxy class ships, especially after seeing at least three of them blow up.
     
  11. JediOverlord

    JediOverlord Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 28, 2000
    Obscure trivia fact, somewhat regarding ST:TNG- One of Johnathan Frakes' first acting jobs was dressing up as Captain America for Marvel Comics, appearing at store openings and the like.
     
    Darthmaul208 likes this.
  12. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    I don't about Yamato, but Odyssey had offloaded its civilians before being destroyed (and obviously Enterprise's crew and passengers survived in the saucer section). Surely the numerous Galaxies that fought the Dominion didn't have civilians aboard. I wonder what they did with all that extra room.



    Yeah, in theory its nice to have your family along but you don't want them getting killed by Romulans or forehead-aliens-of-the-week. There were countless times in TNG where civilians were not only in danger but were the primary targets. Stupid Starfleet.
     
  13. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    The idea of so many civilians on those ships became more and more absurd as threats to Starfleet grew throughout the run of TNG and DS9.

    You'd think it would justify at least one or two smaller attack ships to escort the Enterprise, being the flagship and all.

    Oh yeah, and the DS9 Technical Manual explained how Starfleet stripped the big ships of all unessentials for use in the Dominion War, but I forget the specifics. :-B
     
  14. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Maybe a couple Mirandas. They're basically the starship equivalent of redshirts.
     
  15. Healer_Leona

    Healer_Leona Squirrel Wrangler of Fun & Games star 9 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2000
    I love the series and wish to own it someday.

    I will enjoy follwoing this to see what observations are had.
     
  16. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
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  17. Dark Lady Mara

    Dark Lady Mara Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 1999
    You know, it's always bothered me that the part of the ship the civilians are supposed to go to for their safety in the event of separation, the saucer, is the part that doesn't have warp drive. What good is that supposed to do them in a hostile situation if they can't flee? Also, I could be remembering this wrong, but I'm pretty sure in the TNG era there were no battles at warp speed. Ships dropped out of warp to attack. It was only around ENT or so that the writers decided that warp speed firefights should be possible. Ergo the part of the ship the civilians are on needs warp drive way more than the section that'll go into battle.
     
  18. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    I remember the Enterprise and a Borg cube fighting at warp. :p And I pretty much agree about the saucer section; maybe Starfleet didn't trust civilians to handle warp drive.
     
  19. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    I think the separation idea was just for warp core failures.

    Part of that reasoning comes from some production notes I read somewhere where someone (I forget who) wanted to put the bridge in the middle of the saucer section where it would be more secure. Roddenberry argued the ship would be armed enough to stop all attacks on the exposed bridge at the top. So they left it there.

    The saucer section does have its own torpedo tube, plus plenty of phasers. Maybe they were confident enough it would hold off all attacks until help arrived.

    But yeah, while the Galaxy looks amazing, it's far from a practicle design.
     
  20. Emperor_Billy_Bob

    Emperor_Billy_Bob Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2000
    What I find hard to believe is the following -

    Kirk and his crew spend 97% of their time encountering omnipotent aliens who usually are on the verge of destroying them because humanity is violent and savage.

    Now, at this time, the Federation is pretty much the nicest place there is, especially when the other interstellar empires are viewed for what they are - all looking to murder each other and piss in the Federation's cheerios.

    Why the hell didn't these omnipotent superbeings wipe out, say, I dunno: the Borg, the Dominion, the Klingons, the Romulans, etc etc etc who are all pretty horrible.
     
  21. zacparis

    zacparis VIP star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2003
    They're not all that horrible. The Klingons became allies and the Romulans kept to themselves most of the time.

    And the Dominion, well, what did the Federation expect when it discovered a shortcut to the Gamma Quadrant and started acting like it was their playground. Did they not bother to check whose flag was there first?
     
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  22. JediOverlord

    JediOverlord Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 28, 2000
    I heard the reason they didn't do saucer separation much after the pilot was because it slowed down storytelling, not to mention expensive as heck special-effects wise.
     
  23. Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon

    Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2000
    E_B_B, don't forget about how humanity has a wide variety of diverse cultures, whereas each alien race has one and only one. OK, sometimes two, if they need to have an episode where the humans come in and fix things.
     
  24. Qui Gon Jim23

    Qui Gon Jim23 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2002
    Vash is hot.
     
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  25. Alf_Ramsey

    Alf_Ramsey Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2009
    That's probably why Kirk got so much hot alien tail. The females must have been really frustrated sexually.
     
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