1) City on the Edge of Forever: No one else but Kirk and Spock. The writing is great, the pacing is great, the tension is great.
2) Balance of Terror: Close contender for best episode. An excellent update of destroyer vs submarine.
3) Amok Time: We see Vulcan for the first time, with a brilliant performance from Leonard Nimoy.
4) The Enterprise Incident: Secret orders? Neutral Zone? Kirk as a Romulan? Warp speed!
5) The Trouble With Tribbles: Nice tension mixed with good comedy, an excellent template for the 30th Anniversary.
6) Patterns of Force: Space Nazis! A glimpse at what the Cardassians would become.
7) Journey to Babel: A classic political episode with an intriguing mystery plot behind it. Plus, Bones gets the last word.
8) Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: Racism is bad, segregation is bad, but at a time when they were still holding out hope that segregation would return, this was an excellent episode.
9) Bread and Circuses: Let the 1968 Hunger Games begin! For once, we know that religion exists in the Federation, plus one of the best taunts of the Prime Directive.
10) Arena: Kirk fights a stunt man in a rubber suit. Often mocked for its campiness, but I feel that having Kirk fight an alien for amusement is an interesting concept.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Profile of Liska
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| Jennifer Lawrence as Liska |
Genesis of the Character
Liska is a female Vorta, one of the most feared servants of the Founders and capable of ordering a Jem'Hadar soldier to kill himself without hesitation.
Like Tarska Hesar, Liska also comes from the Dominion War Sourcebook by Steven S. Long. Unlike Hesar, though, Liska had a character profile with some descriptions and a full range of statistics.
I don't know how, but when I read over her I thought "Yep, I'm making a gay character." At the time, I was just writing scenes regarding the villains of what would be a Star Trek RPG campaign. The campaign fell through, but I wanted to keep writing the Dominion characters.
Reboot for the Dominion
As awesome a civilization as the Dominion is, I felt they were a little underdeveloped. We only saw the Founders, Vorta, and Jem'Hadar during the war. I can understand; television budget calls for a small number of recurring characters. As I started actually writing fanfiction, I decided that I would need to reboot certain aspects and expand on others.
First, I decided to focus on the Vorta, as they are the most like the opposite of humans. Well, more like modern-day humans instead of Trek humans. Vorta are driven by impulse, ambition, desires, and basic needs, whereas the humans of Trek no longer have those essential drives as they are viewed negatively. Of course, this can be tied back to Gene Roddenberry who said "money doesn't exist in the future!"
Anyway, one thing about the Vorta established was that they are cloned. However, honestly, I did not like this concept too much. Wouldn't it take a long time to create a genetic template and educate them, rather than just picking the best of the best of the best to become clones? After all, the Vorta have free will, unlike the Jem'Hadar.
With the help of Charlotte, I developed a new concept for the Vorta. They are a race that reproduces sexually. However, about 0.05% of them are actually clones. The clones mostly serve in the military, but do perform other tasks such as administration, trade, research, etc.
A Gay Vorta, or a Vorta who happens to be gay
One major problem when writing gay characters, especially if you are not gay yourself, is how much of that you wish to incorporate into their character. Sometimes, this fails. According to the Nostalgia Critic, Doug Walker, during the 90s, writers would have gay character announce that they were gay every where they went and to every single person they met. Another analogy is how they wrote Captain Janeway. She was written, depending on whether or not Jeri Taylor was there, as "the woman captain," whereas Captain Sisko was just "the Captain" and not "the black captain".
In my early writing of this character, I struggled to find a good blend for Liska and her lover Eris. How much of the time do they spend announcing to their fellow officers that they are lesbians? Well, after a while, that gets a little stale. Eventually, I focused more on their work trying to conquer the Federation and had their relationship be secondary. After all, fighting a war is a bit more exciting that just having people saying they love each other.
Personality
Liska is driven. She wants to see the Dominion victorious against any power which challenges it. She is also immensely capable, determined to win no matter the cost. Despite this, she is also able to see the big picture and notice when she is unable to go further. As such, she is a bit more conservative at fighting than Hesar, which I intend to explore further. After all, the best way to create drama is to have characters who contrast each other, something Gene Roddenberry did not seem to figure out.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Profile of Arjagul Tarska Hesar
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| Nathan Fillion as Tarska Hesar |
It has been close to a year, during which I was able to find employment. However, I am back and am taking this blog in a new direction. I will now be discussing things which I am absolutely certain you wish to know about: my Trek fanfics.
Genesis of the Character
Tarska Hesar is a Cardassian general during the Dominion War. He became famous for his conquest and defense of the Kalandra Sector.
Much of my fanfiction revolves around the Dominion War, and particularly the Dominion itself. As there is very little material out there detailing certain aspects of the 24th Century, I use the Last Unicorn Trek RPG sourcebooks. Sadly, Last Unicorn went under before they could publish a book about the Dominion, and fans who have published their own sourcebooks have yet to write one. The closest I have been able to use is "The Fires of Armageddon: The Dominion War Sourcebook" by Steven S. Long for story ideas and characters.
Of the many characters listed in the DWS, Tarska Hesar and Liska are the ones who rose to prominence in my work. They serve as the opposite of the Damar-Weyoun partnership shown in DS9; these are characters who might not like each other, but are determined to both win the war.
Historical Inspiration
My favorite general of World War II is Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who became famous for his leadership of the German Afrika Korps. As someone who wants to include more militarization in Trek, I looked to history for inspiration and naturally decided upon World War II to draw it in.
For those who do not know, Rommel was rapidly promoted during the first half of the war, going from a division commander, to a corps commander, then commanding the entirety of the Africa front and then the coastal defenses in France. Historians have determined that he was a great commander up to the corp-level, beyond which he came overconfident and hampered his own campaign. Despite this, he is one of the few, if not the only, German generals remembered positively in the West. Churchill himself even offered his praise for the man who routed British forces in North Africa many times.
The history of Hesar reflects this. He starts out as a gul (colonel) commanding a division attacking an Andorian colony. Just as his staff is killed, he decides to go out in a blaze of glory only for the Andorian defenders to surrender to him. He is then promoted by Gul Dukat, the leader of Cardassia, to arjagul (general) and command of the Sixteenth Order. I intend to expand more on his career between the conquest of Kalandra and his Ramadan Offensive in later works.
Personality
Tarska Hesar is unlike the typical Cardassian officer. He is hard-driving, but he is also fair. His word is final, but he listens to his subordinates and carefully takes in their advice. In addition, unlike many other works, he has a good relationship with his Vorta counterpart. Other fanfic authors treat their Vorta as power-greedy jackals who are willing to throw their Cardassian troops into the meat grinder. My Vorta are different, which I'll expand upon later.
Finally, there is a major aspect about Hesar that I draw in from Rommel. Hesar may not believe in what the Dominion stands for, but the Dominion is the governing body of Cardassia. He believes in his country, whether it is right or wrong. It also helps that the Vorta he was paired with are a bit more fair than you would expect.
Well, that's Tarska Hesar. I'll be discussing my other characters at a future point, and I'll talk to you later. This is Lieutenant Fedora, signing off.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Final Thoughts on Battlestar Galactica
Well, last night I finished the final voyage of the Battlestar Galactica.
And it was AWESOME!
I know, the ending is a "love it or hate it" thing, but I liked it. It tied back to the original series, which suggested that "life here began out there". In a way, that notion of thinking is fascinating. If we are in fact space travelers, then where were we from?
One thing I liked was the flashbacks. It gave glimpses into the lives of almost all the main characters in the time before the fall of the Twelve Colonies. The one I particularly liked was Baltar and his father. Even though he had previously said he completely turned his back on his family heritage, seeing him having his father on Caprica did in fact give a subtle hint that he isn't a completely selfish jerk. To me, that was a bit of foreshadowing to his decision to stay on Galactica for its final mission.
Once again, I feel this to be what Voyager should have been. The latter had all the elements in place to be an epic series, but it didn't make use of them. BSG had all the elements and made fantastic use of them, such great use that fans of the original series actually decided to tune in for Part 2 of the miniseries. I have seen the first episode of the original, and while it is pretty awesome, I do feel that it is a bit too fantastical for my tastes (like using a new word instead of "year").
"Daybreak" is another example of how Voyager could have ended. As I said in my comments on the episode, if time travel is so easy, why didn't Sisko try to avert the Dominion War? "Daybreak" didn't have some crappy time travel scheme to alter the past so Galactica got to Earth or prevent the destruction of the Colonies. It was a simple final battle for an old ship on its last mission, the ship and its commander due to retire together before the apocalypse happened going for one last spin.
Don't get me wrong. I do love both franchises, but in watching Battlestar, it was refreshing to see a sci-fi show with so much...uh...what's the word...oh right, "common sense". For example: kinetic weapons, the bridge being deep within the ship instead of at the top (though we did kind of get that with Defiant), and no anomalies. If there is a future Trek series, I personally hope it takes a lesson or two from the brave crew of the Battlestar Galactica.
And it was AWESOME!
I know, the ending is a "love it or hate it" thing, but I liked it. It tied back to the original series, which suggested that "life here began out there". In a way, that notion of thinking is fascinating. If we are in fact space travelers, then where were we from?
One thing I liked was the flashbacks. It gave glimpses into the lives of almost all the main characters in the time before the fall of the Twelve Colonies. The one I particularly liked was Baltar and his father. Even though he had previously said he completely turned his back on his family heritage, seeing him having his father on Caprica did in fact give a subtle hint that he isn't a completely selfish jerk. To me, that was a bit of foreshadowing to his decision to stay on Galactica for its final mission.
Once again, I feel this to be what Voyager should have been. The latter had all the elements in place to be an epic series, but it didn't make use of them. BSG had all the elements and made fantastic use of them, such great use that fans of the original series actually decided to tune in for Part 2 of the miniseries. I have seen the first episode of the original, and while it is pretty awesome, I do feel that it is a bit too fantastical for my tastes (like using a new word instead of "year").
"Daybreak" is another example of how Voyager could have ended. As I said in my comments on the episode, if time travel is so easy, why didn't Sisko try to avert the Dominion War? "Daybreak" didn't have some crappy time travel scheme to alter the past so Galactica got to Earth or prevent the destruction of the Colonies. It was a simple final battle for an old ship on its last mission, the ship and its commander due to retire together before the apocalypse happened going for one last spin.
Don't get me wrong. I do love both franchises, but in watching Battlestar, it was refreshing to see a sci-fi show with so much...uh...what's the word...oh right, "common sense". For example: kinetic weapons, the bridge being deep within the ship instead of at the top (though we did kind of get that with Defiant), and no anomalies. If there is a future Trek series, I personally hope it takes a lesson or two from the brave crew of the Battlestar Galactica.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Let That Be Your Final Battlefield
Season 3 of the Original Series is rather infamous. By Season 2, the network decided they had had enough and wished to pull the plug on it. A fan letter campaign managed to save the show, but those network executives decided on a more devious means to kill the show: by slashing the budget (to the point where Gene had enough money to make a good radio program) and of course, moving it to the Friday Night Death Slot. As a result, the season lagged, as evident from the fact that "Spock's Brain" kicked it off. Of course, a few gems managed to find their way into this mess of a season.
This episode opens with the rarest of occasions: the Captain actually talking in his Captain's Log. I'll say this, I do like the idea of the Captain's Log. It's an efficient way to dump exposition in a reasonable fashion within the confines of a television episode. Still, I am often peeved when I see the captains in highly dangerous situations and taking the time to update their log, especially in "Q Who?" when Picard says "We are unable to outrun the Borg!" Do they just have microchips implanted in their heads? "The Cloud" seems to suggest that, when Janeway seems to just think and the computer deletes the last bit of her log.
Back on topic, the Enterprise is on a mission to decontaminate a planet. One of the species has become infected and if they fail, they'll have to implant another species to avoid eco-collapse or the alliance with the Klaggialliavoa will be threatened in the name of Spode! While on route, they come across a shuttle that a starbase reported stolen. This is back in the days when Starfleet had about a dozen or so bases around, because Gene hadn't yet realized how big the galaxy is.
I will make another diversion to say this: I...LOVE...the remastered episodes. Yes, there are puritans out there who will join the angry Warsians in destroying the blu-ray edition, but personally, I have no problem with the changes to TOS. Unlike the Original Trilogy, these changes are improving effects that were SEVERELY lacking (especially in Season 3). They aren't rewriting history by having the Enterprise firing first against the Romulans. They're adding to the continuity; in "The Enterprise Incident", they added the original Romulan Bird-of-Prey since they had lost the model back in the 60s (although personally I'd have one Klingon design and two Birds-of-Prey for a nice command ship with escorts shot).
They bring in the shuttle in a not-reused-from Season-1-stock-footage (thanks to CGI!) and Kirk and Spock discover the pilot: a man who is white on one side and black on the other (no, not the human skin tones, but the actual colors). The Big Three ponder over whether this is a one-of-a-kind entity before waking him. Lokai introduces himself as a political fugitive from the planet Cheron, located in the "southern-most part of the galaxy". To those who don't know, the proper terminology in galactic directions is coreward, rimward, spinward, and trailing.
Then, the Russian whiz-kid reports a ship approaching. They can see it on sensors, but not visually...and for this incredibly idiotic scene, please mail all your blame to the 1968 executives at NBC. The ship disintegrates and deposits its passenger Bele, who is of the same race as Lokai (species-race, not the idea of race used to differentiate outsiders in order to destroy them). We then get the beginnings of buildup to the episode's conclusion. Bele pulls off his best Dukat impression, saying that they were helping Lokai's people while Lokai says that Bele's people were butchers and enslavers.
After this, Kirk learns that Bele has literally taken control of the Enterprise with the power of the mind (his people can do that, you know). Then...ugh, we get the one really bad part of the episode: the self-destruct scene. Kirk, Spock, and Scotty activate the system, and I have to wonder...what the hell was Starfleet thinking when they designed their self-destruct system?! It takes a good two minutes to set it up before the countdown starts, right in the presence of the alien in control of the ship. By having three officers verifying it by slowly giving the command codes, ample time is given to any hostile force to simply kill the officers. By, anyway, the franchise must continue so Bele relents and the self-destruct is deactivated.
The Enterprise returns on course to the infected planet. Meanwhile, Bele and Lokai try to appeal their sides to the crew; Lokai trying to convince the junior officers while Bele goes for the senior staff. As they go on, it's shown than neither side is right and neither side is wrong. They're both guilty of atrocities in the name of their sides. Also, it's a tad ridiculous when Sulu says "But all that racism was in the 20th Century. There's no such thing today", again cementing the 20th Century as a horrible time period in history. As we all know, once the year 2000 rolled around, there was never again any racism, or paranoia, or reckless sustained conflict, and I'll just shut up now.
One thing I especially like in this episode is that it shows just how unflappable Kirk is. Ever since Lokai comes aboard, all Kirk wants to do is hold him accountable for his one obvious crime: stealing a Starfleet shuttlecraft. He makes it especially clear in his dealings with Bele; his immediate duties come first before anything else. This helps set the standard against which the other Trek captains will be based on; how great is duty to them. Picard: able to talk down even Godlike beings. Sisko: willing to bend the rules to win a war. Then we get Janeway who dismantles a potential ticket home because it didn't work the first time and the countless atrocities committed by Captain Jonathan Archer which will probably have to wait for a future post.
After Bele tries to get Kirk and Spock on his side, Scotty has one of his most badass moments: being in command of the Enterprise during a decontamination mission. The remastered version truly improves this scenes. After that, Kirk orders them back to starbase, but Bele once again seizes control, this time knocking out the self-destruct. One can only wonder why he didn't knock it out the first time when Kirk was gloating about how he's in charge, but the episode is almost over. They come across Cheron, once again transcending possibly thousands of lightyears in a matter of hours. They arrive and...yeah, it's a pretty sad sight.
Spock reports that the entire population is dead, killed off by the brutal racial conflicts. It is quite painful to watch, not just the idea of an entire race nearly extinct, but now the two known survivors...still hate each other. They still blame each other for their world's annihilation and proceed to run through the corridors before beaming back, no doubt to continue their cat and mouse game for another 50,000 years on a dead world. Kirk manages to pull off at least some emotion during this, but then, he's Kirk. It would take his best friend dying or something to get him to truly show emotion within his awesomeness.
This episode manages to pull off something that Star Trek has become renowned for: social commentary. We see the pain and suffering created by something so simple as difference in skin tone, while not doing it completely in a preaching way. Aside from writing, the acting is pretty well off, with Bele and Lokai both trying to impress parts of the crew to their side. This and "The Enterprise Incident" are two episodes I would strongly recommend from Season 3. The two beings who have nothing left just continue their fight, with hate being all that they know.
Final Score: 9/10
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| ...and...that is just about... every reason why I am...awesome. |
Back on topic, the Enterprise is on a mission to decontaminate a planet. One of the species has become infected and if they fail, they'll have to implant another species to avoid eco-collapse or the alliance with the Klaggialliavoa will be threatened in the name of Spode! While on route, they come across a shuttle that a starbase reported stolen. This is back in the days when Starfleet had about a dozen or so bases around, because Gene hadn't yet realized how big the galaxy is.
I will make another diversion to say this: I...LOVE...the remastered episodes. Yes, there are puritans out there who will join the angry Warsians in destroying the blu-ray edition, but personally, I have no problem with the changes to TOS. Unlike the Original Trilogy, these changes are improving effects that were SEVERELY lacking (especially in Season 3). They aren't rewriting history by having the Enterprise firing first against the Romulans. They're adding to the continuity; in "The Enterprise Incident", they added the original Romulan Bird-of-Prey since they had lost the model back in the 60s (although personally I'd have one Klingon design and two Birds-of-Prey for a nice command ship with escorts shot).
 |
| Unlike the Ewoks, I am iconic enough to not be digitally altered! |
Then, the Russian whiz-kid reports a ship approaching. They can see it on sensors, but not visually...and for this incredibly idiotic scene, please mail all your blame to the 1968 executives at NBC. The ship disintegrates and deposits its passenger Bele, who is of the same race as Lokai (species-race, not the idea of race used to differentiate outsiders in order to destroy them). We then get the beginnings of buildup to the episode's conclusion. Bele pulls off his best Dukat impression, saying that they were helping Lokai's people while Lokai says that Bele's people were butchers and enslavers.
After this, Kirk learns that Bele has literally taken control of the Enterprise with the power of the mind (his people can do that, you know). Then...ugh, we get the one really bad part of the episode: the self-destruct scene. Kirk, Spock, and Scotty activate the system, and I have to wonder...what the hell was Starfleet thinking when they designed their self-destruct system?! It takes a good two minutes to set it up before the countdown starts, right in the presence of the alien in control of the ship. By having three officers verifying it by slowly giving the command codes, ample time is given to any hostile force to simply kill the officers. By, anyway, the franchise must continue so Bele relents and the self-destruct is deactivated.
 |
| Alright, your blessed planet is saved. Now, where the devil are my Sporebucks? |
One thing I especially like in this episode is that it shows just how unflappable Kirk is. Ever since Lokai comes aboard, all Kirk wants to do is hold him accountable for his one obvious crime: stealing a Starfleet shuttlecraft. He makes it especially clear in his dealings with Bele; his immediate duties come first before anything else. This helps set the standard against which the other Trek captains will be based on; how great is duty to them. Picard: able to talk down even Godlike beings. Sisko: willing to bend the rules to win a war. Then we get Janeway who dismantles a potential ticket home because it didn't work the first time and the countless atrocities committed by Captain Jonathan Archer which will probably have to wait for a future post.
 |
| So, which of us will be the Doctor and who will be the Master? |
Spock reports that the entire population is dead, killed off by the brutal racial conflicts. It is quite painful to watch, not just the idea of an entire race nearly extinct, but now the two known survivors...still hate each other. They still blame each other for their world's annihilation and proceed to run through the corridors before beaming back, no doubt to continue their cat and mouse game for another 50,000 years on a dead world. Kirk manages to pull off at least some emotion during this, but then, he's Kirk. It would take his best friend dying or something to get him to truly show emotion within his awesomeness.
This episode manages to pull off something that Star Trek has become renowned for: social commentary. We see the pain and suffering created by something so simple as difference in skin tone, while not doing it completely in a preaching way. Aside from writing, the acting is pretty well off, with Bele and Lokai both trying to impress parts of the crew to their side. This and "The Enterprise Incident" are two episodes I would strongly recommend from Season 3. The two beings who have nothing left just continue their fight, with hate being all that they know.
Final Score: 9/10
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Announcement and Ramble
Well, I've been rather busy this week: campaigning, writing lesbian Vorta stories, taking lessons from The Christian Left, arranging my triumphant return to my friends. Above that, I am still watching Netflix: Voyager, Battlestar, and more recently, The X-Files.
I've reached the halfway point of Voyager Season 2, with the following episode being the infamous "Threshold". Everything inside me is telling my brain to not continue, and in some ways, I want to listen. It's a boring show. They had a funeral for a redshirt...that we didn't even see him before so we cannot even care! However, it might be my German efficiency or my Russian stubbornness, but I will watch every episode of Voyager. Once I do, maybe the Janeway fans who accuse people who don't like it of being misogynistic pigs will take me seriously. Honestly, I know several women who don't like Janeway...
As for Battlestar, I find this to be a masterpiece. I find it to be everything that Voyager could have been: conflict amongst the crew, breaking the rules, a Mexican in command. If it seems that I am constantly comparing shows, I am. I still feel that Voyager wasted so much potential and could have been an epic space opera. For reasons which I posted last week, I am still finding trouble liking it.
Now, The X-Files used to scare the crap out of me. Finally, I have started to watch it. I'm on episode 2, and already I find it to be a pretty interesting show. Still, the acting could do with some tweaking here and there, but I've been told that the show does improve. Mulder and Scully have some pretty good chemistry, even if David Duchovny does tend to overact (remember when I brought up the acting?). The theme song...is still hauntingly beautiful. I would sometimes listen to it younger and cower in fear. It is simple, yet elegant. Creepy, yet fascinating.
Anyway, I will be writing proper reviews in the weeks to come. Next week I'll take on racism with "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and then I will be giving a positive review for an episode of Voyager. Which episode will that be? Well, stay tuned!
I've reached the halfway point of Voyager Season 2, with the following episode being the infamous "Threshold". Everything inside me is telling my brain to not continue, and in some ways, I want to listen. It's a boring show. They had a funeral for a redshirt...that we didn't even see him before so we cannot even care! However, it might be my German efficiency or my Russian stubbornness, but I will watch every episode of Voyager. Once I do, maybe the Janeway fans who accuse people who don't like it of being misogynistic pigs will take me seriously. Honestly, I know several women who don't like Janeway...
As for Battlestar, I find this to be a masterpiece. I find it to be everything that Voyager could have been: conflict amongst the crew, breaking the rules, a Mexican in command. If it seems that I am constantly comparing shows, I am. I still feel that Voyager wasted so much potential and could have been an epic space opera. For reasons which I posted last week, I am still finding trouble liking it.
Now, The X-Files used to scare the crap out of me. Finally, I have started to watch it. I'm on episode 2, and already I find it to be a pretty interesting show. Still, the acting could do with some tweaking here and there, but I've been told that the show does improve. Mulder and Scully have some pretty good chemistry, even if David Duchovny does tend to overact (remember when I brought up the acting?). The theme song...is still hauntingly beautiful. I would sometimes listen to it younger and cower in fear. It is simple, yet elegant. Creepy, yet fascinating.
Anyway, I will be writing proper reviews in the weeks to come. Next week I'll take on racism with "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and then I will be giving a positive review for an episode of Voyager. Which episode will that be? Well, stay tuned!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
My problem with Voyager
As I've said before, Enterprise was the only series which I watched as it aired. When watching TNG and TOS, I tend to restrict myself to the best episodes and occasionally the "so bad it's good" ones. DS9 was the first series I watched following the release of Trek XI, and it was amazing. It was one of the most enjoyable programs I saw from start to finish.
That said, I am now watching Voyager. Now, I have friends who like Voyager, and we have friendly discussions over the quality of the program. However, once when I tried to bring up my problems with it, someone accused me of being a misogynistic and shameless conservative idiot who hates the idea of a woman being in command.
To quote Penn Jillette, this accusation...is bullshit.
Now, I like Sisko. I feel he is the best captain in the franchise. I have come into contact with plenty of people who don't like Sisko, or DS9. I have never accused them of being racist towards him, and of course I listen to the reasons why they don't like DS9 (mostly revolving around "it's not Star Trek since they stay in one place"; well, DS9 did do some exploring, but I understand). They have an opinion, I disagree with it, but we still stay on good speaking terms.
Overall, this show is just...bad. It is using plots that have already been seen to death on the other series. They aren't making good use of what they have, which is plenty of material for story arcs and character development. I'm literally struggling to maintain interest in this series, a show that was the first sign Trek was running out of gas. My problem with Janeway isn't that she's a woman; it's that she's not a very good captain.
Again, I want to stress that this is my opinion. I'm looking at both sides and drawing my own conclusion. If you feel that Star Trek: Voyager is the best series and that Janeway is a model for women everywhere, that's fine and that's your right. That being said, the moment you try to plug your ears and ignore any criticism of the show, the characters, or Brannon's writing, accusing objectors of being idiots, you have more or less lost my respect. If you think this is a great show, I'm willing to listen to why you think so, and more importantly, I'm expecting you to know why I see it as a low point.
Now, I feel this is overdo. In watching the first season and a half of Voyager, I will now explain my problem with it.
1) Plot from a plot hole: While it's always fun to point out the plot holes of a movie or show, it doesn't really help when the movie or show is dependent on a plot hole. Take a look at "Caretaker". The episode establishes that Janeway is an excellent scientist. So...why is she being sent on a counterterrorism mission? Sisko, his staff of combat veterans, and the Federation's first true warship are stationed right next to where the Maquis live. Who cares if it was Janeway's security officer? If they wanted it done well, why not just ask Sisko? He hasn't gone anywhere around this time, and he seems to spend most of his time at the door waiting to exit for some new mission.
2) What amazing teleportation tech you have: Upon arriving in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager immediately comes into contact with people who are astonished by their transporter. Talk about this tech seems to spread like wildfire and the whole quadrant is astonished. Okay, I like how the Delta Quadrant is extremely disorganized compared to the orderly Gamma Quadrant and a bit less advanced, but there has to be some logic here. If everyone has warp drive and disruptors, shouldn't they have transporters as well? That would be like if Iran had nuclear reactors and used biplanes and muskets in its military.
3) Wait...didn't we hate each other...: One thing I love in drama is character conflict, two people from different sides who try to plot against each other. "Caretaker" tried setting this up, by establishing that Tom and Chakotay hate each other. And then...it all gets resolved at the end. Yeah, way to throw away years of potential plot lines! Also, the fact that the Maquis and Starfleet crews are able to integrate so flawlessly really bugs me. Once again, look at Battlestar Galactica. There is tension between the civilians and the military at the end of the miniseries, tension which I can assure you does not go away by the end of the show.
4) Remember, writers, to tell and not show: Let me stress this again: when writing, it's better to show, not tell. I know it's a TV show and severely limited by time, but the plot of "The 37's" was just bloody embarrassing. How could we feel for the crew and their dilemma when we don't see for ourselves what the cities look like? I should have stopped watching with "The 37's", but sadly I still have five and a half seasons to go, and I cannot help but think it gets worse from here.
5) Consistency? What's that?!: I cannot stand inconsistency. Possibly the biggest offender is Neelix. I like the concept, a scavenger who knows his way around the Delta Quadrant, but he seriously lacks in this. What's more, he is horribly inconsistent. In one episode, he knows everything about the Kazon; in another, he is such a bad cook that he makes the ship itself sick! Look, Neelix should be either the comic relief or the scavenger with a heart of gold. He is not in any way resembling Quark.
In all, I can say I am not enjoying the show. It's a mess of plot holes and inconsistency that would make Tommy Wiseau blush. I will one day finish watching Voyager, even if it takes me years to do so. Even to make it worse, the Kazon are horrible villains! It's hard to take them seriously when their hair looks like a collection of things from the dump. Whenever I see them, I wish they would just take off their ridiculous makeup and start quoting Nietzsche, like the bad guys on a more interesting show (my first Andromeda reference!). Yes, Voyager has its high marks, but they are far too few and in between.
All in all, I would like to wish all Trekkies a Happy Premiere Day (9/8/66), and a reminder that despite this low, Star Trek does have its high points.
That said, I am now watching Voyager. Now, I have friends who like Voyager, and we have friendly discussions over the quality of the program. However, once when I tried to bring up my problems with it, someone accused me of being a misogynistic and shameless conservative idiot who hates the idea of a woman being in command.
To quote Penn Jillette, this accusation...is bullshit.
Now, I like Sisko. I feel he is the best captain in the franchise. I have come into contact with plenty of people who don't like Sisko, or DS9. I have never accused them of being racist towards him, and of course I listen to the reasons why they don't like DS9 (mostly revolving around "it's not Star Trek since they stay in one place"; well, DS9 did do some exploring, but I understand). They have an opinion, I disagree with it, but we still stay on good speaking terms.
Overall, this show is just...bad. It is using plots that have already been seen to death on the other series. They aren't making good use of what they have, which is plenty of material for story arcs and character development. I'm literally struggling to maintain interest in this series, a show that was the first sign Trek was running out of gas. My problem with Janeway isn't that she's a woman; it's that she's not a very good captain.
Again, I want to stress that this is my opinion. I'm looking at both sides and drawing my own conclusion. If you feel that Star Trek: Voyager is the best series and that Janeway is a model for women everywhere, that's fine and that's your right. That being said, the moment you try to plug your ears and ignore any criticism of the show, the characters, or Brannon's writing, accusing objectors of being idiots, you have more or less lost my respect. If you think this is a great show, I'm willing to listen to why you think so, and more importantly, I'm expecting you to know why I see it as a low point.
Now, I feel this is overdo. In watching the first season and a half of Voyager, I will now explain my problem with it.
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| The best way to improve this scene is to have a Mexican actor whose face looks like the dark side of the moon. |
1) Plot from a plot hole: While it's always fun to point out the plot holes of a movie or show, it doesn't really help when the movie or show is dependent on a plot hole. Take a look at "Caretaker". The episode establishes that Janeway is an excellent scientist. So...why is she being sent on a counterterrorism mission? Sisko, his staff of combat veterans, and the Federation's first true warship are stationed right next to where the Maquis live. Who cares if it was Janeway's security officer? If they wanted it done well, why not just ask Sisko? He hasn't gone anywhere around this time, and he seems to spend most of his time at the door waiting to exit for some new mission.
2) What amazing teleportation tech you have: Upon arriving in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager immediately comes into contact with people who are astonished by their transporter. Talk about this tech seems to spread like wildfire and the whole quadrant is astonished. Okay, I like how the Delta Quadrant is extremely disorganized compared to the orderly Gamma Quadrant and a bit less advanced, but there has to be some logic here. If everyone has warp drive and disruptors, shouldn't they have transporters as well? That would be like if Iran had nuclear reactors and used biplanes and muskets in its military.
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| It's okay, Aron Eisenberg. You'll grow up to have a far more interesting character than this bit part. |
4) Remember, writers, to tell and not show: Let me stress this again: when writing, it's better to show, not tell. I know it's a TV show and severely limited by time, but the plot of "The 37's" was just bloody embarrassing. How could we feel for the crew and their dilemma when we don't see for ourselves what the cities look like? I should have stopped watching with "The 37's", but sadly I still have five and a half seasons to go, and I cannot help but think it gets worse from here.
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| Young Chakotay, I survived three days in the Adirondacks and intend to hike Hadrian's Wall. I think you can suck up this little nature hike! |
In all, I can say I am not enjoying the show. It's a mess of plot holes and inconsistency that would make Tommy Wiseau blush. I will one day finish watching Voyager, even if it takes me years to do so. Even to make it worse, the Kazon are horrible villains! It's hard to take them seriously when their hair looks like a collection of things from the dump. Whenever I see them, I wish they would just take off their ridiculous makeup and start quoting Nietzsche, like the bad guys on a more interesting show (my first Andromeda reference!). Yes, Voyager has its high marks, but they are far too few and in between.
All in all, I would like to wish all Trekkies a Happy Premiere Day (9/8/66), and a reminder that despite this low, Star Trek does have its high points.
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