# What if Star Trek never went off the air? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925 "2014-03-17T16:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/21 "2014-03-17T20:34:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Still, serious and action are not mutually contradictory - look at Sturgeon’s Amok Time. However I’m almost finished watching TNG all the way through, and I’m struck by the much smaller percentage of shows with fisticuffs as compared to TOS. The thing about episodes like “Amok Time,” “City on the Edge of Forever,” “Doomsday Machine,” “Trouble with Tribbles,” _et cetera_, was that they were written by great _writers_ who _specialized_ in science fiction (as opposed to simply “good science fiction writers”) and knew how to blend the thought-provoking with the dramatic and comical skilfully. An excellent example is _kun at kalifee_, which seemed entirely, uhm, _logical_ within the context of Vulcan culture, and the “combat to the death” at Spock’s wedding was not mere gratuitous violence. Like these and other well-written _ **TOS** _ stories, my favorite _ **TNG** _ episodes didn’t require fisticuffs or gunplay: “Elementary, My Dear Data,” “The Drumhead,” “Measure of a Man,” “Time Squared,” “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” and “Relics” were all thoughtful and vastly entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/22 "2014-03-17T20:37:20Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > He must’ve, for his uniformed cameo in _Nemesis_. That must be the movie I fell asleep halfway through. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/23 "2014-03-17T20:47:30Z")
Um, The Original Series is NOT actually off the air. [It’s alive and kicking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G-ziTBAkbQ) … on Youtube. Two new seasons so far. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/24 "2014-03-17T21:11:01Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Um, The Original Series is NOT actually off the air. [It’s alive and kicking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G-ziTBAkbQ) … on Youtube. Two new seasons so far. I really _want_ to watch this, but I find I can’t do so for more than a few minutes at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/25 "2014-03-17T21:17:15Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I really _want_ to watch this, but I find I can’t do so for more than a few minutes at a time. I managed to get through the whole second episode with the Orion slave girl, but it really wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/26 "2014-03-18T17:50:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Why stop at First Officer? In the non-canon novel _Imzadi_ by Peter David, Wesley (no T!) becomes captain of the U.S.S. Hood in the future timeline. > [@terentii](#): > > He left his hippie commune and re-enrolled at the Academy?!? 😕 :eek: :dubious: The novel was written before Wesley’s final appearance where he went off with the Traveler. Anyway, it was an alternate timeline in which Deanna was long dead. Riker restored the original timeline, so Wesley may or may not have become a captain in the future. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/27 "2014-03-18T18:40:27Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Well by the end of the run of TNG, that series was running out of storylines, and the characters were already growing stale. If I watched anything from the seventh season at all, it was because I knew it was the last year on air and I expected they might surprise us with some serious twists. Instead, we get the most implausible romance in the history of dramatic TV (Word and Troi), and a virus that turned everybody into devolved animal forms. Hey that devolving episode was terrific! Don’t besmirch spider Barclay! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/28 "2014-03-18T19:59:30Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Um, The Original Series is NOT actually off the air. [It’s alive and kicking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G-ziTBAkbQ) … on Youtube. Two new seasons so far. Grant Imahara is Sulu! SQUEEEEEE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/29 "2014-03-18T20:30:37Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > … and a virus that turned everybody into devolved animal forms. No. “Threshold” wasn’t until Voyager. I just saw Threshold for the first time a few days back. I needed to share this. No really, I need group therapy after watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/30 "2014-03-18T20:44:51Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > No. “Threshold” wasn’t until Voyager. > > I just saw Threshold for the first time a few days back. I needed to share this. > > No really, I need group therapy after watching it. No, actually _Genesis_ was worse then _Threshold_ in totality. But only slightly. The mutant-slime creature offspring of Paris and Janeway, however, is the low point of the entire series. And it’s even worse, when you realize the Voyager crew could get back by using the Warp 10 drive, and then using the treatment that brought Janeway and Paris back from slime-creature-ness. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/31 "2014-03-18T20:49:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And it’s even worse, when you realize the Voyager crew could get back by using the Warp 10 drive, and then using the treatment that brought Janeway and Paris back from slime-creature-ness. Explaining the presence of all those little tadpoles would be embarrassing. I have forgotten how Janeway and Paris got back to Voyager, how they were returned to human form, and what happened to their little tadpoles. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/32 "2014-03-18T20:54:11Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Explaining the presence of all those little tadpoles would be embarrassing. > I have forgotten how Janeway and Paris got back to Voyager, how they were returned to human form, and what happened to their little tadpoles. Tuvok and company found them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/33 "2014-03-18T20:57:15Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Tuvok and company found them. And the tadpoles were left to live out their (probably very short) lives on the alien planet. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/34 "2014-03-18T21:08:26Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Tuvok and company found them. And deduced that the slimy salamanders were actually Captain Janeway and Mr. Paris? :dubious: How were they changed back? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/35 "2014-03-18T21:20:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And deduced that the slimy salamanders were actually Captain Janeway and Mr. Paris? :dubious: How were they changed back? from Memory alpha: Paris and Janeway are reverted back to their Human selves using The Doctor’s anti-proton treatments, although Paris is extremely embarrassed about having mated with the captain. In other words, the doubletalk field generator, or a wizard, did it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/36 "2014-03-18T22:04:45Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > although Paris is extremely embarrassed about having mated with the captain. You would think that Chakotay would kill him. =) ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/37 "2014-03-18T22:09:49Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > from Memory alpha: > > Paris and Janeway are reverted back to their Human selves using The Doctor’s anti-proton treatments, although Paris is extremely embarrassed about having mated with the captain. > > In other words, the doubletalk field generator, or a wizard, did it. While I wouldn’t have minded mating with the _ **Ryan’s Hope** _ or _ **Mrs. Columbo** _ era Kate Mulgrew, even I would feel somewhat embarrassed about tapping the Captain Janeway/Voyager model. She didn’t age well. ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/38 "2014-03-19T02:28:45Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Imagine if from the original series through today, there was always a Star Trek show on network TV. Maybe, say, the original series held out and got a huge ratings spike, so NBC kept it running with cast shifting somewhat over the course of decades and then, say, it segued into The Next Generation (or not), and so on. > > What would that change? Would Trek be an even bigger part of pop culture? Even with a shifting cast and crew and writers, could a scripted series run that long successfully? I think so. Lots of shows have had long runs: Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, My Three Sons, Mission Impossible, Law and Order, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/39 "2014-03-19T03:14:02Z")
We wouldn’t have _Galaxy Quest_. Enough said. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925/40 "2014-03-19T03:24:10Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > He must’ve, for his uniformed cameo in _Nemesis_. Either that or he showed up at the wedding thinking it would be a traditional Betzoid ceremony and the extra dress uniform was all that was on hand at short notice. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-star-trek-never-went-off-the-air/683925.md?page=3)