The Status of Star Trek - ...or lack thereof

[ijdgaf]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]This post contains some fairly big [bost_uid0]spoilers[/bost_uid0] for "The Expanse", and some general plot threads for next season and the rest of the series. Nothing groundshattering, but here's the [bost_uid0]warning[/bost_uid0] (bolded for ease in viewing )
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For a while, I was convinced that [iost_uid0]Enterprise[/iost_uid0] could become a great series. Sure, it's had a rough start, but the seeds are all there. We have a time period we knew next to nothing about before, we have a mostly good cast, and we have writers with experience. I've said it time and time again; the show has potential.

Lately though, several things have really been turning me off to the show. Most gushers assured the world that TPTB would never turn to the borg, and lo and behold they did. It's not that the episode was terrible, but rather it was something we didn't need to see. Completely irrelevant to the premise, and answering no questions which it didn't pose itself.

That's not the main one though. Has anybody been following Braga's interviews lately? Here's a quote from one:

[quoteost_uid0]Sure, we could have made it the Romulans that attacked Earth. But haven't we seen the Romulans for the past 15 years? Do we really just want to keep seeing the Romulans? No. We've got to do new stuff. We've got to keep pushing the boundaries.[/quoteost_uid0]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we've seen the Romulans once on the show, and it was a strong episode, cloaking issues aside (I kid). Essentially, the producers are perfectly willing to utilize a species which has been done to death before and has no place in this timeframe at all. Yet when they contemplate using a race which plays a critical role in this century and has been used sparingly on all other series, they decide instead to "keep pushing the boundaries". Oh yeah, and the Romulans were first introduced 37 years ago, not 15; but that's small stuff

Braga's new direction is a new catsuit and hairstyle for T'Pol, and [iost_uid0]another[/iost_uid0] completely new and completely devastating alien race which we hadn't heard of before. I know that we shouldn't have heard of every major or minor conflict to occur between now and the 24th century in Trek history, but there's only so many times you can introduce a new baddie and keep things exciting. This has nothing to do with plot and everything to do with ratings. Suliban/Kazon getting tiresome? Bring on the Xindi/Species 8472! Of course, we all know that we saw Species 8472 for a whopping three episodes. I know this plot is supposed to last longer, but please -- we know what's going to happen. When the Xindi stop bringing in the ratings, we'll get something else. Trial and error until they get it right. It's a tiresome process, and it's a shame the franchize has come down to this.

There's a post in the Enterprise section of the TrekBBS where an individual heard some comments from Braga at a convention. Essentially, Braga's explanation for the errors in continuity (which I find no real issues in to speak of) were due to [iost_uid0]Enterprise[/iost_uid0] being in an alternate timeline from the events of [iost_uid0]First Contact[/iost_uid0]. Not surprisingly, this one really got to me. For starters, this is supposed to be [bost_uid0]STAR TREK[/bost_uid0], and a prequel at that. An alternate timeline has to be one of the biggest copouts I've ever heard. If you're going to make a prequel series, make one. If you're going to make a [iost_uid0]Star Trek[/iost_uid0] series, make one. And, surprise surprise, if you're going to make a prequel [iost_uid0]Star Trek[/iost_uid0] series... make one. Don't give false expectations, don't make up excuses as you go for your mistakes, and don't piss off the only people who watch your show!

I'm tired. It's all utter nonsense. After all, it's just a TV show right? Maybe. But it's also my childhood. It's something I care about, and I care about its future. [iost_uid0]Enterprise[/iost_uid0] really has me worried that there simply is no future. The franchize I love has been hitting failure after failure as of late. From hypocrisy to just plain bullsh@$, I'm tired of being disappointed with something I used to love. I really think we need a break. Give the producers some time to think about what makes a compelling show. Give the producers time to think out their ideas completely. Supposedly this series has a direction, but I just don't see it.

Thus ends my rant/essay. Feel free to disagree, but I hope I at least raised some questions. I don't know that I've ever posted anything like this before, so beware of incoherency; I'll clear up anything I can .

Take care,
-gaf[/colorost_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000ost_uid0]I completely agree IJD - if Braga was after something as new as he seems to be, then a prequel series is certainly not the way to do it. It's just a pity that no-one told him that. We could have had something so much better - something set in the Delta Quadrant as a follow up to [iost_uid0]Voyager[/iost_uid0] would have been nice, or perhaps something really different that hasn't been done before. All [iost_uid0]Enterprise[/iost_uid0] has really done for Trek as a whole is make it that much harder should there be any new (and hopefully) better series proposed in the future.[/colorost_uid0]

[Nate the Great]

It's the Night of the Living Post!

I just had to respond to:

"Sure, we could have made it the Romulans that attacked Earth. But haven't we seen the Romulans for the past 15 years? Do we really just want to keep seeing the Romulans?"

YES! I want to see Romulans! I would've been tickled pink to see an actual Romulan-Earth war. You know, the one that we know occured in the past and established the Neutral Zone? A Romulan infiltrating the Enterprise impersonating a Vulcan.

[ijdgaf]

Whoa. Lo and behold, the Xindi made... how many appearances in Season Four?

IJDGAF has an IJDGIFT. LOLZ all around!

(I am so damned tired from that OotP premiere. Gah.)

[Celeste]

Can you believe it? My theater isn't showing Harry Potter until tonight at midnight! It's opening a day later! Those b*stards!!

[Nate the Great]

Where have all the dolphins gone? Long time passing?
Where have all the dolphins gone? Long time ago?

Is this joke as obscure as I think it is?

[Nate the Great]

Oh, and there IS a connection. It's just really disjointed.

[NAHTMMM]

^

Old song --> Dolphins --> Vogons --> Xindi?

[Nate the Great]

I have no idea what that joke was supposed to be. None at all. It's all Vogon to me now.

[mudshark]

He's saying Pete Seeger is a Xindi.

Or something. I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

[Nate the Great]

Well, let's try to reconstruct it backwards. The final joke is a combination of dolphins/h2g2 and Bob Dylan. Then...

Oh, dash it all. Probably I was just remarking that people shouldn't obsess about things being postponed, because they'll be yesterdays news/obsolete/hackneyed soon enough anyway.

[mudshark]

What the zark has Bob Dylan got to do with it?

[Nate the Great]

Bob Dylan. Blowin' in the Wind. Where have all the flowers gone?

[mudshark]

I rest my case.

[Nate the Great]

I presume that you rest your case that expecting me to make sense is a waste of time.