Trek, as a whole, needs one thing only, in most cases, to survive. Just look at recent Trek, from TNG onwards, and you can see that somethings gonewrong in the past decade..
TNG: Good overall execution, still my favortive of all of the series (though thanks to SFC, that opinion is shifting
). Much better consistency, more characeters, but there seems to be a lack of equal "depth" between Riker, Picard, Data, Troi, Worf, Geordi, Wes (Yeah, he WAS a regular
), Yar (She should've stayed IMO), Pulaski, and Crusher. It seems as if the writers decided to focus on Data and Picard the most in terms of "fleshing out", and the others' personalities suffering slightly as a result. But, everyone has something to be proud of in their backround, like Geordi's VISOR or Pulaski's relationship with Kyle Riker.
Overall, a worty companion to TOS.
DS9: N/A Truthfully, I haven't seen enough to give a full opinion. But, from what I have seen, it's a refreshing change. Although we have familiar elements scattered about, TNG and DS9 coudn't be more different. Sisko seems a little darker than Picard, which isn't bad, but he still has strong values behind him, just bigger problems to face. I nearly die of a heart attack from watching Odo and Quark dance around one another, both balancing the line between "Law" and "Crime". Bashir and Garak make an interesting pair, yet they both have their own unique histories and qualities (which is true for all). As for Kira, well, let's just say she's a little...uhh, "confused" in terms of what her place is, Very human, which gives DS9 bonus points!
Overall, another proud bearer of the "Star Trek" name.
VOY: Can we say "WEEEEEEEE'VE LOST IT!" in terms of purpose and direction? Aside from the advancements of "secondary characters" like Seven and the Doc, I couldn't give a damn about Capt. "Lameway" and the Mega-übership
Voyager. There's just too much PC and "ascaredness" in the excecution of...EVERYTHING. It's as if they don't even
want to change the characters, the surroundings, or have long lasting plot arcs. It's "Hey, it's THE BOOOOOOORG! LET'S KILL THEIR F**KING A$$ES!!!" every week, with treknobabble and guest stars spread about here and there, as a distraction. Sometimes, the protagonists are often much more worthy of
their own series, and yet VOY is still bland as cafeteria food?
Overall, "I think I'm gonna be sick.." is the best description.
ENT: Thank god VOY died in 2001, atleast replaced with something more deserving of the "Trek" banner. I must honestly say, the setting of the story is quite interesting, and has the potential to be as intricate, interesting and detailed as the TOS-TMP era. Not only are we treated with an attempt at decent episodes, we actually care about the
main characters this time around. Sure, Archer's a bit screwloose, but who
woudln't be, considering that he's supposed to be melting under the spotlight? That's intriguing enough to watch regularly. T'Pol has a bit of conflict inside her, which is typical Vulcan. Again, interesting and intrugiung. But, although the writers have made good attempts at making good, edgy conflicts and stories, those episodes are often separated bu crappiness of VOY-grade level (aka Toddler-on-steriods-and-Ritalin grade).
Overall, "The worst has passed...We think." My opinion is still hanging, along with most Trekkies.
What does this mean? Well think about it for a second. TNG and DS9, while benifitting from fresh new ideas, also had one extremely vital compnent. The core spirit of TOS. The will and desire to "go boldly where no one has gone before," often to very tarred and taboo groud (I can't even begin to list these), but still delivering powerful messages of hope, opportunity, and overall optimisim.
I think that other have pretty much explained VOY and ENT elsewhere, so I shall now conclude.
It doesn't matter if ENT was instead set in the 25th or 57648565th century, time and setting are subject to choice. What truly defines Trek is quality storytelling and clear messages, which cannot be comprimised, not by law, not by studio policy, not by the mighty Rick Berman himself...
Topic: Rumors swarm of ENT's cancellation (Read 15689 times)