posted
I am (for the moment) 'at liberty'- and so have decided to watch all of my Star Trek Movies - and as many episodes as I possess (or that the SPACE channel runs).
Oops. Major discovery.
Star Trek - as a collection of tv shows or movies - really isn't all that wonderful. I mean - look at the famous "Even-odd" system of predicting good films. I just watched ALL of them -and the only one I'd put up for an oscar was II. The others ranged from just plain awful (STIII,IV,V - my god, did Takei EVER take acting lessons?) to "fair-but you're paid to do better". Okay, So 'First Contact' was good - but it was by no means 'Forbidden Planet'.
I cut my teeth on TOS- and even I will readily admit that 55% of it is crap.
So why do I love Star Trek so much?
Damnifino. I suppose I like the all-encompassing vision it portrays - the attempt at constructing a fairly believable arc of future history.
I think a very large part of it is the way the fans keep their own world of it alive. Either with BBS discussions such as this, or with their own creative talents. And hey, that's important. During the great Trek Drought between 1971 and ST-TMP, we fans only had each other. If we'd had the web back then, fandom would have been awesome.
But brother - is sure isn't the acting, the directing, the plots, or the continuity.
So I guess I'll never become a Voyager flamer - because from the vantage point of an older fan who was watching 'The Cage' at age 9 in 1969, Voyager isn't all that different from the rest. No Trek episode or movie can ever disappoint me too greatly - because very few have shone brightly enough for me to become accustomed to greatness.
But I still love Trek.
-------------------- 'One man's theology is another man's belly laugh.' - Lazarus Long
posted
I'd have to take the opposite position, actually. I'm currently rewatching TOS, thanks to the (overpriced) miracle of DVD, and I'm somewhat surprised by how much I enjoy it. Having been indoctrinated, I suppose, as a child thanks to early afternoon reruns during the early 80's, I've always thought some of my fondness came from being, you know, five.
And I suppose some of it does. But on the other hand, I really do think it's quality television. Sure, Lazarus was a silly, silly man, and he was not alone. But I guess what I'm saying is that Star Trek in general is a Good Thing. It's better than most of what I watch, anyway.
posted
You're not including Dexter's Lab there, are you?
I didn't watch TOS until after I'd seen about 2 and a half seasons of TNG (2 and a bit to the end of 3). I'd asked for some "old" Trek for Christmas, and my parents got my ST:TMP, and STV. What a choice. Still, I enjoyed them. I actually enjoyed STV far more than ST:TMP. Not for the plot, but because the characters just bounced so well of each other. Better than the TNG characters in a lot of ways. My first expierience of the Spock/McCoy barbs started with the campfire scene, and I look back at that fondly ("I liked him better before he died"). I saw some TOS, and, once I'd gotten over the initial shock at the SFX, I quite enjoyed it. And I still do, although less for the plots, and more for the characters. Kirk, Spock and McCoy do work really, really well together, and are great to watch.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Topic Closed
Printer-friendly view of this topic
