Why I love "Star Trek" (or, positive things to balance my gripes) (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

There is a healthy and interesting thread about the problems us Trekkies have with Star Trek. But I like to balance critique with praise, so here's a thread about the things I (we, hopefully) love about Star Trek.
For me, the number one aspect of the show, is the characters. Data, Worf, Geordi, Q, The Borg, Quark, Jem H'dar (sp?), The Grand Nagis are among the many characters that I fought deeply interesting.
The second best thing, closely related to the characters, was the shows' humor. I loved the casual banter and friendly jokes made between friends, especially the Bashir/O'Brien banter of DS9. Q mocking Riker, Geordi and Data, and various cracks from Tom Paris, were what gave the show its humanity.
Third: some of the best bad guys on video. The Borg was pure genius. The Dominion and Jem H'adar were what got me watching DS9. Borg revisited in Voyager always got my attention. And I look forward to some interesting Klingon challenges in Enterprise.
Fourth: The even-numbered movies
Fifth: there is no fifth
Sixth: the odd-numbered movies (they meant an even-numbered movie was due in another year or two)
Seventh: Head-trip shows. My favorite episodes, aside from Big Battle shows, were the about reality (or the lack thereof). Data's dreams, Riker's incarceration via induced hallucinations, Picard's tortuous interrogation, Sisko's delusions about DS9 being a delusion, etc.
Some believe 7 is a "perfect" number, so I'll quit there

 

[Rex Bachmann]

DaveF wrote:

Sorry to rain on your parade with sort of an off-topic, but, as the originator of that other thread, I just wanted to make one thing perfectly clear from the get-go:
Me Trekker. You Trekkie!

 

[DaveF]

I have no idea what you mean.

 

[CharlesD]

Trekker/Trekkie:
One is the geeky hard-core goes-to-conventions-dressed-in-a-starfleet-uniform type fan, the other is the geeky doesn't-usualy-go-to-conventions type fan.
I forget which one is which

 

[Mike Broadman]

Yuch, as trekker vs trekkie argument. Please don't tell me you're serious about that crap.

Unlike most people in this forum, I love time travel episodes. TNG with the number '3.' City on the Edge of Forever. The "year of hell" on Voyager. I love all that stuff.

Klingons. They just rule. Very ancient Sparta-like. Almost any episode focusing on Warf.

Spock. How can you not love that guy?

Romulans. Very bad-ass.

"There are... four... lights!"

 

[DaveF]

There are... four... lights

Gives me chills remembering that line.

I'm a sucker for a good time-travel episode. I remember "Time's Arrow" being very fun; the episode where Data goes back in time to San Francisco, ca. 1850, chasing down no-gooder aliens. I also really liked the Voyager episode where Harry Kim in the future is a disgruntled, disaffected man, because he screwed up, killing the entire crew in a slipstream accident. So he's going to fix that by sending nav info back in time to the younger Kim.

Trek/er/ie - I had no idea there was such a semantic distinction. I thought both were just labels for Trek fans and enthusiasts, from the casual viewers to the hardcore convention goers.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Dave, trekkie was the original term for a Star Trek fan. As Trek became bigger, that term was used derisevely (nerd, loser, etc). So, Trek nerds got together and decided to invent a new word- trekker. A trekker is supposed to be a "normal" person that likes Star Trek a lot, while a trekkie is a big ol' loser who obsesses over the every stupid detail and dresses up in the costumes.

or

A trekker tries to get his girlfriend to paint herself green. A trekkie wouldn't have a girlfriend.

Of course, it's all a bunch of hogwash.

Anyway, back to the topic.

One more plus of TNG is the acting performances of Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner. Two of the greatest in all TV history.

 

[DaveF]

I agree about the various performances; especially Spiner. I'm disappointed he's not been in much beyond Star Trek (I only remember seeing him in his small role in "Independence Day")

 

[DaveF]

"Parallels", when Worf is jumping between quantum realities, and "Frame of Mind". The one with Picard's death

Agreed! The Worf episode was when they strongly explored a romance between him and Deanna.

Yes, I recall the flute from "Inner Light" being used in a couple later episodes.

One of my favorite lighter moments, was Troi coming to talk with Riker, while he was playing trombone. They had a breif conversation with him responding with his trombone. I believe it was a later episode, when Deanna was working towards her Commander ranking.

And the banter between O'Brien and Bashir on DS9, during Worf's Bachelor "party" was painfully funny!

 

[DaveF]

I think Spiner has easily given as much depth to Data as Nimoy did for Spock.

He has given the best "emotionless" performance since Nimoy.

 

[David Von Pein]

Is there anyone else out there like me ...... Someone who's never once seen even a single episode of ANY of the "sequel" Star Trek TV series?

 

[Ric Easton]

No.

 

[Ric Easton]

But speaking of that original series reminds me of one of my favorite things about Star Trek. The friendship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. While most of the time Spock and McCoy were trading barbs, I think it was pretty obvious that they had a great respect and fondness for one another.

While many of you have spoken of the friendships in the various series, I don't think any of them had come close to duplicating the magic that the original 3 had when they were on the screen.

Uh, except for that embarrassing campfire scene from Star Trek 5!

-Ric

 

[Joseph Young]

Speaking of their banter in ST 5:

Kirk (to Spock) "I oughta knock you on your god*amned a**!"

McCoy: "You want me to hold him, Jim?"

-j

 

[Calvin Watts III]

I love Star Trek.

And,having co-hosted 2 scifi public access shows,one specific to Trek, I have had many fun experiences with the whole universe.

Some of the Trek actors can be very "snooty", & let the 'star' status go to their head. But others are some of the nicest people that you ever could meet.

It's good to see that Nemesis is getting good buzz, & that Enterprise is doing as well as it is.

Trek should be around for a long time to come...

Calvin

 

[DaveF]

The friendship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy

It's been a while since I've seen any TOS episodes, but I vaguely remember that.
David VP -- you're not going to find the Star Trek non-viewers in this thread
I've avoided info about the next ST movie, but I'm glad to here it's getting good reaction from those in the know. I hope it's a good one.

 

[AllenD]

Other things I like about ST TNG:
Am I the only one that liked the 'Broccoli' episodes?
The line "There are...four...lights!" stirs so many emotions when I think about it.
I can ruminate all day long about The Prime Directive.
When Wesley Crusher finally left the show.

 

[DaveF]

Am I the only one that liked the 'Broccoli' episodes?

Which episodes were those?

 

[DaveF]

Buzz - I agree. That's a great moment.
I also love the scene, in another episode, where Data is leaving temporarily and he's enlisted Worf to care for his cat, Spot.
Data: "You must feed him. And pet him. And tell him he is a pretty cat, a good cat."
Worf (half-grimacing): "I will feed him."
That exchange cracks me up!
Something I really like about ST, is how it uses it's fantastical setting to tell all sorts of stories, both sci-fi and drama, and comedy.
Which makes me think of that DS9 episode, with the station crew competing against some rivals (I forget who) in a game of baseball! There were some great Worf-isms there.

 

[AllenD]

Which episodes were those?

Dave,

Lt. Reg Barclay, AKA "Brocolli", is played by Dwight Schultz. He was in a few episodes: Hollow Pursuits, The Nth Degree, Ship In A Bottle, Realm of Fear, and Genesis. Genesis is one of my favorites, btw. It's the one where the Enterprise crew de-evolves. Can't wait for the box sets!