TNG did start getting gritty, and DS9 was really dark. I think DS9 was really just a ST re-imagining of Bab5, with a lot of current-event context for plot. I can – personally – accept some of that; it doesn’t have to be all rainbows and unicorns, but when it becomes canon that Star Fleet is fundamentally corrupt, and that the Federation isn’t a more enlightened organization of planets and that it’s not possible to have a functioning, effective, benevolent UN UFP… that is depressing. It’s not a future worth fighting for; it’s just today, with high tech. Human society can’t advance, can’t progress, can’t improve. TNG – even with the dark edges – was fundamentally a step forward, even past TOS, which was (as my friend puts it) “the US Navy… in spaaaace”. TOS was set in an interstitial period, where the Federation was still growing. Hell, it was the theme of an entire movie, with Kirk as the “old school hawk, who learns to forgive.” Picard’s command was far more pacifist than Kirk’s, and I think they were generally supposed to be representative. TOS is getting there, TNG had almost gotten there, and then everything after just falls apart and it turns out peace doesn’t work, and it’s only because the CIA Section 31 is assasinating enemies of state that there’s any stability.
I have a really hard time reconciling Section 31 with the Vulcan philosophy TOS’s Spock came to represent as the series progressed.
TOS was schlocky. I just finished binging season 1 again, and maybe the biggest take-away from this time was that the show could have been titled “Time Trek.” So. Much. Time travel – virtual, real, and essentially. But I saw someone made a meme about Kirk’s overacting and my first thought was, “it’s amazing what you have to do to make TV interesting when you don’t have CGI.” ST TOS episodes were an hour long. I read that one story about why Jeffrey Hunter was replaced was because, at the time, TV was basically broadcast theater, and Hunter thought it was beneath him; he wanted to be a movie star. Everything was schlocky, because there was no CGI and all of the actors were theater actors. That’s just how TV was in the 60’s, especially if it was fantasy (or sci-fi). The actors were doing heavy lifting with the limited FX available.
Thanks for the platform. This last watch-through was different; I hasn’t binged an entire season before, and I came away with a lot of thoughts; your comment uncorked the bottle.
TNG did start getting gritty, and DS9 was really dark. I think DS9 was really just a ST re-imagining of Bab5, with a lot of current-event context for plot. I can – personally – accept some of that; it doesn’t have to be all rainbows and unicorns, but when it becomes canon that Star Fleet is fundamentally corrupt, and that the Federation isn’t a more enlightened organization of planets and that it’s not possible to have a functioning, effective, benevolent
UNUFP… that is depressing. It’s not a future worth fighting for; it’s just today, with high tech. Human society can’t advance, can’t progress, can’t improve. TNG – even with the dark edges – was fundamentally a step forward, even past TOS, which was (as my friend puts it) “the US Navy… in spaaaace”. TOS was set in an interstitial period, where the Federation was still growing. Hell, it was the theme of an entire movie, with Kirk as the “old school hawk, who learns to forgive.” Picard’s command was far more pacifist than Kirk’s, and I think they were generally supposed to be representative. TOS is getting there, TNG had almost gotten there, and then everything after just falls apart and it turns out peace doesn’t work, and it’s only because theCIASection 31 is assasinating enemies of state that there’s any stability.I have a really hard time reconciling Section 31 with the Vulcan philosophy TOS’s Spock came to represent as the series progressed.
TOS was schlocky. I just finished binging season 1 again, and maybe the biggest take-away from this time was that the show could have been titled “Time Trek.” So. Much. Time travel – virtual, real, and essentially. But I saw someone made a meme about Kirk’s overacting and my first thought was, “it’s amazing what you have to do to make TV interesting when you don’t have CGI.” ST TOS episodes were an hour long. I read that one story about why Jeffrey Hunter was replaced was because, at the time, TV was basically broadcast theater, and Hunter thought it was beneath him; he wanted to be a movie star. Everything was schlocky, because there was no CGI and all of the actors were theater actors. That’s just how TV was in the 60’s, especially if it was fantasy (or sci-fi). The actors were doing heavy lifting with the limited FX available.
Babylon 5 premiered a month after DS9.
But there’s speculation that someone pitched B5 to the network, and they ultimately tweaked it into DS9.
Great, well written, thoughtful reply. Thank you.
Thanks for the platform. This last watch-through was different; I hasn’t binged an entire season before, and I came away with a lot of thoughts; your comment uncorked the bottle.