Star Trek TNG Encounter at Farpoint: sundry points made and remade.

I was going to do a kind of good idea/bad idea list of moments from the first episode that never happened again, but there aren't that many and that sort of thing happens again throughout the first season.  However, I will mention the good idea of the forward facing shot of the enterprise.

The falling forward movement in the very opening is a great look for the Enterprise.  With the right effects around it, it would've been a great shot to reuse in a battle sequence.  Enterprise to the rescue!

Also, I'll mention the idea that Riker could hear Troi telepathically because they'd had an intimate relationship.  It's something that never happened again in the series regarding any relationship had between human and empathic races.  It's probably a good thing that they scrapped this idea.  It would've complicated things.

I also forgot to point out yesterday that one of the things that they introduced into this incarnation of Star Trek was the notion that the First Officer leads most of the away teams.  I liked this immediately.  It makes sense to protect the captain.  Also, they could make the captain more of an adult without losing the playfulness that often comes with away team antics.  And even the dangers.  The captain commanding the endangered team from the ship is a powerful look at the captain's character.
                           









And really, I don't mean to harp on the whole man-skirt rant from yesterday, but I remembered another point that I forgot to make.  After they decided that men would wear skirts

in answer to the misconception that the short skirts from TOS were a form of objectification of women, TNG proceeded to be even more sexist than the American society they were condemning.

Notice how Tasha Yar got to wear pants.  It's because she had the athletic, tomboy build and doing what, in the 60's, would've been considered the man's job - head of security.  Meanwhile Troi gets the "cheerleader outfit" (Sirtis' own words) because she's got the pretty hairdo and headband and the exotic alien powers and the gentle personality; more lady like.  Perhaps they noticed this too and that's why they gave her some long pants to wear immediately afterwards... Still, I snicker at the attempt to keep women in a perpetual state of victimhood and seeing it backfire.  I'll stop talking about man-skirts now.  Promise.  There's so much more of this nonsense in the first season, there'll be other opportunities.

Besides, I don't want anyone to think that I hated this episode.  It's one of the best ones in this particular season because of a unique villain like Q, the wonderful but not overused special effects, and the strong script.  I wouldn't be yammering on about TNG if I didn't love it all, good and bad.  Hashtag Love!

Star Trek TNG Encounter At Farpoint cont.'d

Here's an interesting picture of the cast.  They seem to have originally put Tasha Yar in a skirt as well.  I'm glad the whole dress nonsense stopped, but what is really embarrassing is why it was there in TNG to begin with.  Nichelle Nichols said on numerous occasions that they didn't put her in that skirt to objectify her.

She explained that it was part of the women's liberation movement and getting to wear the short skirt with all the leg and kick pants showing was a liberating and freeing feeling.  I can't believe how stupid and gullible political correctness has made people.  So, in the 80's they now assume that sexual equality was represented by putting men in the dresses too. Now we're going to emasculate men as revenge for women being objectified by the short skirts in the 60's... smh.

Or, I guess you could call them tunics.  Whatever. I could go on and on about how doing "black face" in the Vaudville and early cinema times was simply a celebration of other cultures when they weren't allowed into the mainstream, but now it's considered racist and we're banning the black centaur women from Fantasia, etc.  This man dress thing is another example that keeps cropping up throughout the first season. and one of the reasons I squirm with discomfort when watching the earliest episodes of TNG.  Personally, I just thought the skirts seemed unprofessional, even in the old show. I know it's a fantasy show, but they took care to make it seem realistic, and since the women's movement involved bra burning and scantily dressing just to prove a point that had long been proven, it was really time for the skirts to go.

The plot of the pilot episode was actually a very simple one.  I'd label it as a classic Roddenberry plot, comparable to the plots devised for TOS.  It was actually simple enough to fit into one episode, but, of course, being the first episode of the next big thing a lot of time was devoted to character introduction which is not a bad thing.  It was a well constructed script.  Not everyone in the first episode was seen all at the same time.  It also took time to show everyone how this show was different and could stand apart.  In particular, the way this new Enterprise could separate the saucer section and now had a battle bridge that would only be sparsely manned in case of very dangerous situations.

This was such a smart, smart improvement since the ship was depicted as having so many people on board (even in TOS it was over 400, I believe) and although the ship's ideal purpose was one of diplomacy and mundane tasks, it was in one dangerous situation after another because it wouldn't have been much of a show otherwise.

The antagonist for this episode was Q and he was a very charismatic and formidable presence.  I've complained in general about the political implications of TNG before and I'll probably complain specifically with each episode.  I think this is an attack on the progress of civilization.  To paint America and even Europe in the colonialist sense; conqueror's; pillagers; quick to go to war with people who are different than us because that's the only reason, in the person's mind who believes such things.  However, John de Lancie was charming enough to make that part of the script bearable. Omnipotent beings were not a new idea, and even in TNG there were allusions to other types of omnipotent creatures, but the Q Continuum, was a very unique idea and my hat's off to the writer's for coming up with something unique right off the bat when so much of the first couple seasons was just copycatting of TOS.
I also thought it was clever that there was a Klingon in Starfleet now, but they chose not to address it.  To me, that's more of what equality is. Equality means that nobody is given special consideration because they're different.  Nobody on the bridge thought it was unusual that a Klingon was serving in the Federation.  After a few episodes though, it became obvious that they just hadn't thought this character through much yet and had no immediate plans (at least in the first season) to develop him, making him almost a throw-away character... just there to be the muscle... which was disappointing.

On the whole I rate the pilot episode 4 of 5 stars for special effects, a well balanced script and the smallest hint of originality in Q.

Departing with music from the soundtrack.  I mentioned yesterday that I like music scores and they're very much a part of directing the audience's emotions even without them knowing it.  This is the pretty music played at the climax when the two ship-like aliens are reunited.  Aww!  Lol!

Star Trek TNG Encounter at Farpoint

Without further ado, I'll begin reviewing every episode of Star Trek TNG.  But I won't do it overwhelmingly.  I tend to ramble on when I start writing out my opinions, so today I thought I'd start with some interesting video to get warmed up.

Beginning with the trailer for the first part of Encoutner At Far Point Part 1:

It's an exciting new beginning to Star Trek.  Still colorful, but brighter.  You get to see that the command color has changed from gold to red.  There's Klingon crew member and an intriguing bad guy.  Lot's of familiar theatrics.  Bigger sets and more extras to give it a more believable atmosphere. And even though the effects budget was considered low at the time, they spent a lot of it to make a good first impression with the pilot episode.  Even as much as I say I cringe when watching the first two seasons, I can't help but be hooked in by this trailer.  There's a lot of promise for a great show in it.

Next a montage of best moments.  I have to agree for the most part.

I was so happy to see Deforest Kelly in the first episode.  His character's name was not mentioned.  I think it was very brave of them not to work in too many guest appearances of people from the old cast.  They were determined to stand on their own. Not like they could've had them all turn up aged like this, but they could've inserted them in small roles as bar tenders as kind of a wink-wink to the audience, but they didn't go in that direction.
I noticed that they never used this particular Enterprise entrance into the scene as with the opening of this episode again and I always thought it was kind of a shame.  It was a unique perspective.

I also found an interesting comparison of Encounter At Farpoint in SD and HD. 

I'm just blown away by how far technology has come even since this show was on the air.  All of it's effects were raising the bar at the time and even when they're put under the HD microscope they stand the test of time.  And the music score alone is a bonus.  I love various music scores from movies and television.

Top Ten Lists

As you may have noticed, my weekends are busy and I don't have a lot of time to sit and blog.  So I thought I'd start the weekend with some Mojo lists.  Once I start watching these Mojo videos I find it hard to stop.  Here's a few that I was watching and loving today.

I don't appreciate the way they called Stargate a mediocre movie.  Hopefully they're just referring to box office receipts.  It was a great movie.  Here are their Top Ten Sci-Fi Televison series.  I've loved a few of these myself.  And Star Trek gets itself in there twice... *snicker*

Next is the Top Ten Star Trek Villains.  Obviously, I wish they wouldn't include New Trek, but I agree with most of these.  And their favorite is my favorite.  <3

This is my favorite of all the videos I saw today.  I've seen and loved most of these Top Ten Sci-Fi Movie Duels.  This is a great list.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Star Trek The End: Star Trek Reboot

I had already decided that I would quit all forthcoming Star Treks when I was gifted the 2009 reboot movie so I watched it patiently.  It didn't offend me in the same way that the new Star Wars movie did.  The Star Wars film was being marketed as a sequel and that's why it riled me. (See two previous posts on the subject from last month.)  This was advertised as, more or less, a remake.  Perhaps a little prequel thrown in since the characters were first meeting, but you can't just recast all of the old characters and call it something new.  It had some nice homages.  Zachary Quinto is a dead ringer for Spock and Karl Urban's interpretation of McCoy is fairly true to Deforest Kelly's portrayal, which meant a lot to me since Bones was my favorite character of the first show.  But, my base opinion on all of this reboot nonsense is a very simple one:  If you're out of original material, it's time to stop.

I've been thinking a lot lately of the vitriol being spewed forth from people who get on message boards and in comment sections towards those who don't approve of the new movies and reboots of most things in general.  All though there are some out there that just go for Abrams' jugular, from what I've seen, everyone that shares my view has at least one or two good reasons and can explain them coherently. Whereas, those who accept the new reboots and remakes can do nothing but call people of my opinion "haters."  Like that means something.  But the more I think of it, the more I think I can understand where these types are coming from.  They've never had anything original to call their own in their generation.  Raised on brain dead reality shows and quite a few remakes in general, they have nothing that can mean something to them (except perhaps Harry Potter.) This trend of remaking things isn't actually new.  I've noticed that for the last 20 years or so, there's been an awful lot of remakes.  All in the name of better special effects.  When it started to strike me as getting out of hand is when Total Recall was remade.  Really?  I mean, I understand that every generation has it's hands in the classic literature adaptations that have been made and remade since cinema was invented.  No problems there. Total Recall was a great movie, but a classic?  I don't know.  Perhaps one day they'll understand when J.K. Rowling passes on and people start to reboot Harry Potter.  Then perhaps they'll understand why "canon" and original vs. expanded universes are so important to a well built story.

This meme of J.J. Abrams in an interview with John Stewart is meant to be funny, but it explains so much of what the reboot fad is all about and the people that are into the new stuff.  It's done from the perspective of someone who grew up either with the originals or watching them from the sidelines and haughtily saying, "I think I could do it better," and then telling the generations they're marketing to that grew up without it that since this is how it should have been (in their minds), it's okay to tie it intimately with the old franchises as though it were a genuine part of it.
You may say, "Doesn't everyone who write fan fiction basically saying that they can do it better?" Yes, they are. And while a lot of it is embarrassing, some of it is very good.  I liked the Dark Shadows movie.  I saw a lot of versions of things I've read in fan fiction floating around in that movie.  But it wasn't being touted as the legitimate successor to the original show or concepts. It was done for fun.  As was Maleficent.  Maleficent didn't adopt Aurora, okay.  That wasn't a part of Sleeping Beauty in any way, not even the original fairy tale.  But, it was a stand alone example of an imaginative retooling of the story.  And there was no demand for us to accept either as anything but a coloring book style of our old favorites.  That's how I see the new Star Trek movies, and I'm sorry, but this is just where I get off the ride.  That's not hate.  That's critical thinking. That's the mind of someone who doesn't like everything waved in front of her just because it's got a familiar name and logo stamped on it.  That's knowing when to stop ingesting something before it makes you sick and there's nothing wrong with that. Make no mistake, burnout can happen to anyone, even those who are in my age range and on board with all the changes, hailing them as "breathing new life into the old stories."  I'll just keep the material that was built specifically on the original foundations and continued in creativity and originality.  I'd rather binge watch Star Trek Voyager (my lease favorite of the Trek series) than continue into the "next generation" of film productions.

Yes, the term "hater" could be more applied to someone who's just sounding off that it's all Abrams' fault.  But, we take the reboots and remakes as a personal affront, so have pity.  One day you'll either understand, or you'll be so burned out on it all you'll end up hating the things you once loved and you'll be in a more pitiable state than us "haters."  In return, I'll apologize for saying that those who accept all of the changed products with no criticism at all have no standards.  It does sound cruel when I say it that way.  That's just how it looks from my perspective.  I'm sure everyone can agree that there's not much original material out there anymore and lament the fact that no one even seems to be trying to create anything new and imaginative.  It's time for a revolution in all fiction genres!  Lol.

Star Trek Beginning to End: Footnote - Major Cast Changes

Before I end these posts on the five big Star Trek series that have aired over the years, I want to give a shout out to the main characters that weren't in it for very long. 

The cast pictures I used in the previous posts were of the casts that I liked best, but they don't represent every character that had more than a reoccurring part in each respective show.  They deserve their own spot of attention.

I've already mentioned Captain Pike and Number One from the original pilot The Cage.I sometimes wonder if the actor who played Pike had known what a runaway smash hit Star Trek would become, if he would've turned the role down.  He died very young at age 42, so perhaps that would've stopped the whole juggernaut short, having to select a new captain for the movies, and it's better this way, but I liked Christopher Pike.  He had a strong command presence.  I'm sure that if he'd continued they would've introduced a suaveness to his character for the sake many brief romances, but I don't think he would've been as cliched as Kirk.  I also wish to reiterate my admiration for Number One as a strong female character.  I don't know where people get the idea that in order to be perceived as strong, the woman must visibly one-up and outdo the man and then rub his face in it, albeit comically.  Number One had silent strength.  She could have been every bit of an endearing confidant to Pike as Riker was to Picard had it gone on.  I assume that if this incarnation had continued that she would be the adult to Pike's more playful nature in the way Spock was to Kirk.  Wikipedia has an interesting article on this character, the mystery of her name and other writings regarding her.  The other character who would have been a main character had the series continued as was is Dr. Phillip Boyce.

He's an old country doctor, a motif they stuck with when casting McCoy, only this one is a little more laid back.  Not as high strung as Bones.  I don't imagine he would've been as much fun either, but I have not way to tell.

Next up from Star Trek TNG is Dr. Katherine Pulaski. 

She appears in some cast photos because she was the doctor in season two.  She has history with the Star Trek franchise appearing in two episodes of TOS when she was young and beautiful.  Or if saying "in her prime" is less offensive, so be it. The fact is, she's a great actress and knew what kind of personality to bring to a Start Trek character.  Unfortunately for her brief time there, she was being built up as a copy of McCoy in relation to her fear of the transporter and the curious dynamic between she and Data as with Bones and Spock.  I blame the fact that they weren't trying to be original and creative at the time... just one of those aspects of the first two seasons that was frustrating to me.  I think she could've been developed very well had she stayed on, but again, these things work out for the best.  Dr. Crusher's presence was much more effective and versatile on the whole.  But, I really did enjoy the actress, Diane Maulder as this character.

There were two major changes in Deep Space Nine. The first was Worf                                            

as a crossover character.  This requires no real explanation, only my personal approval as a really good move.  It's hard to say what will happen with characters when they crossover, but a Klingon in the heart of a good war story is actually a can't-miss scenario.  The other is Ezri Dax who I've mentioned before but I want to expand briefly on again.  People like me who didn't approve of Ezri get labelled as "haters" a lot because we care more for the complexity of a story than those who accept all changes happily, with no apparent standards and expectations. (This doesn't just apply to characters, but also entire movies of fandoms like the new Star Trek sets, which I'll get into later, or the newest Star Wars.)  Like I mentioned before, they started Ezri out right. 

She sought out Dax's old friend Sisko first instead of Jadzia's beloved Worf.  This made sense with the way the Trill race had been developed over the previous seasons.  Then, in order to speed things up for the sake of the series coming to an end, they just kind of threw some of that out.  And I'll admit, she probably could handle her serial killer personality with skill considering her occupation.  But, her brief encounter with Worf shouldn't have happened anyway because that breaks the rules that they invented about returning to a past relationship.  Rules taken very seriously for the episode created for it.  Then she settles on Bashir, basically saying he was Jadzia's second choice.  It's disrespectful to all three characters.  I know they didn't have time to explore the fact that she was an unjoined Trill and therefore, presumably, not up for the lifestyle mentally (as a psychologist, no less) and there was endless fodder in that part alone.  The confusion with Worf and Bashir was correct.  But, ultimately, she should've been written out as either transferring or having to return to the Trill home world to pass the Dax symbiont along to someone who was prepared to be a joined trill somehow.  Exceptions can always be made in fiction. It wouldn't have been as happy of an ending, but a little more realistic and would've fit better with the themes of this show.

Forgive me for being cynical but I see the addition of 7 of 9 as the big boob hire for this show. 

As I said before, I know I've not given Voyager much of a chance and I'm sure her character had more depth than that, but you can see already a trend towards strong female characters who are also buxom and physically intimidating as more of a graphic novel heroine than an epic tale character who is, for the most part, not physically remarkable.  And I had the same wariness of T'Pol from Enterprise, to be fair.

Speaking of, I didn't see enough of Enterprise to know for sure if there were any major cast changes over the course of its run.  I'm not counting reoccurring characters in this assessment just like I'm not counting what amounts to secondary characters (as Nurse Chapel, TOS.) If anyone knows of any major cast changes in Enterprise, I'd be delighted to hear of it.

Star Trek Beginning to End: ENT

Continuing in the posts that rank my favorite series in the franchise, but not in order of most to least or vice-versa.  I'll rank them in the order they've run.

The prequel series, Star Trek Enterprise.  I was too busy adulting to devote much time to this one but what I saw of it I liked.  And, of course, I loved Scott Bakula from Quantum Leap, so I was certain this show would be okay.

The concept and time frame of this show made sense.  Shame on humans... I think literally humans and not just Americans... makes more sense when the humans are new and green to interstellar travel and haven't really progressed out from Earth much.  But, they didn't hang on that precept the way early TNG and VOY did.  They did the fun prequel things: early and underdeveloped technology; introducing transporters and improving warp drive; things that are more familiar to modern space stories like decontamination; trouble even getting started. Of course there was a Vulcan on board to help guide.  An alien doctor made sense because they'd possibly be facing extraterrestrial diseases.  And, of course, an English guy.  (Perhaps that's where Voyager took a wrong turn, lol.)  It was a lot of fun at first.  Then it got a little weird.  This series, like the others, was casting about to find a unique primary adversary.  I think they put too much into a time traveling nemesis.  Time travel is a fun concept, for sure.  It's good for an episode here or a movie there.  But, week after week and year after year it gets kind of tricky and begs a thinking person to blow holes in it.  Or at least gives a thinking person something of a headache.  Still, this show had a lot of charm which was helpful in looking past this flaw.

All of the characters were loveable.  I didn't get to see enough of it to get a chance to become attached to a secondary or reoccurring character, but I liked Dr. Phlox and Trip was always adorable.  I was happy to see more Vulcan culture. T'Pol became a little emotional for a Vulcan as it went on, but this series wasn't as simplistic as TOS, so I suppose things like that will happen.  I did like the Trip/T'Pol romance story that weaved in and out throughout the series.  And I loved the little puppy dog!

Enterprise is my 4th favorite and I'll catch up on all of its episodes one day too.  Time travel or not. I love Star Trek.