Yeah so I’m still looking for gainful employment after 2+ months.
Anyway the original Star Trek has been playing at lunch time, and it’s the only thing I’ve been watching with any regularity. Sure it’s hokey as hell, but I’'m loving it.
I now realize that the subject matters mirrored what was happening during that (1960s) era. They tackled racism, youth culture, war, religion, etc. but all within a 25th century view. All of the episodes I’ve seen impart a cultural message which I missed in my youth. And damned, Jim Kirk is a great captain to boot!
Yeah, they tackled those subjects with great subtlety and care, like when the race where where half had a face that was black on the left and white on the right and the other half had the opposite came from the “southern side” of the galaxy. They combined several anvils into a superanvil to smack you on the head with.
Many years ago, a friend’s boyfriend told me that that episode was about – you might want to be sitting to absorb all the nuances about to come – racism. I stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was being ironic, but he was dead serious. I finally said ‘You don’t say.’ and resolved never to discuss any literary matter with him. Oh, and the moral of that episode? Apparently, they came out against racism.
Huh, I’ll see your Bele and raise you an “e plebneesta”. You know, the story where they find a planet where some of the aliens are called Khoms (and are evil Asians) and the others are called Yangs (and are upstanding whites) who happen to have a holy book that’s a copy of the American Constitution :dubious: AA Gill of The Time liked it though (linky).
In comparison, at least the Nazi planet was designed to be a Nazi planet by some batshit crazy historian…
Complain all you want. For all the stupid episodes, I offer up episodes like Arena, or City on the Edge of Forever, which weren’t quite so beat you over the head with the message.
It might be worth noting that Nichelle Nichols was frustrated by the erxtremely minor role that Uhura played during most of the first season, and contemplated leaving the show. None other than Martin Luther King Jr., counseled her to stick it out, because her very presence was a message in itself. A handsome young black woman is part of the bridge crew, the command crew, of a top-of-the-line vessel, efficiently carrying out and occasionally giving orders – and nobody thinks the slightest thing about it. If that doesn’t seem important today, that’s the success of the message – because to fr too many, it was back then.
Why do you think that Nichols and Takei have been close personal friends for 40 years?
Yes, by current standards, ST’s Sixties preachiness was not exactly subtle. But it tackled a lot of issues that others in the “vast cultural wasteland” wouldn’t at the time, inspired a lot of women and minorities to become involved in the space program and the sciences, influenced a lot of the sf that followed, and gave rise to a then-unprecedented publishing, TV and movie franchise.
And according to Newsweek, the President is a fan (he once joked that Michelle’s sparkly belt buckle must be made of dilithium crystals).
Heck, I give TOS the edge over TNG simply because while TNG would get preachy and technobabble-force a happy ending, TOS was occasionally content to admit “this situation stinks, it’s awful and ugly, but we’re gonna go through with it anyway, because what choice do we have?”
Yeah, I do prefer the TOS over TNG; I guess I think TNG should have known better than to be so dang hamhandedly preachy, whereas TOS was pretty naive that way. Also I just want to punch Number One in the face a lot of the time.
But I like DS9 best, and we just started watching our way through the series. I never saw the first season or two, so I’m having fun.
Racism? Really? The hell you say! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s pretty obvious to me that the episode is about the importance of frequent handwashing.
