Foray into Science Fiction Fandom (2)


The obvious rival for Star Wars is Star Trek. Where Star Wars has elements of adventure, carelessness about technical details, and a basic good vs. evil premise, Star Trek often pulls from an opposite pole.

Star Wars has a kind of retro, nostalgic feeling where Star Trek often makes one uncomfortable with its futurism. We can all imagine driving our uncle's 50s chevy in space, but who imagines the sleek and silent running of ships in Gene Roddenberry's world? My father says that he likes Star Trek specifically because it does take place in our own universe and reveals an optimism about the potential of the human race.

Rather than evolving a set of charismatic characters and setting them inside a war, Gene Roddenberry instead imagined a situation of exploration. He saw the universe vast, and filled with unbounded curiosity and dedication to adaptation. With technology instead of magic, the crews of the galaxy class starships Enterprise, NCC1701 series, embark into parts unknown.
Part of the reason for this difference is the medium of each. Star Wars was a completed story made into film, while Star Trek was an excuse for a weekly show. Wars come to an end (even the one in M*A*S*H, which stretched a 3-year war into an 11-year show), but Star Trek was built for longevity (although it hasn't proven itself as enduring as a single timelord).

Significant characteristics of the Star Trek universe include: teleportation (the "transporter" which eventually requires its own engineer), soundless and frictionless space, silicon-based life, conflicting ideologies not irrevocably divided into structuralist binaries, renewability dependent solely on the next generation of starships and the discovery of new frontiers, and a dedication to curiosity on several different levels.
My favorite things about Star Trek include: Captain Kirk's girdle. The strong relationship to Shakespeare (Shatner was discovered at the Stratford, Ontario festival, and Stewart's connections are somewhat more obvious). Leonard Nimoy (see Catlow). Spock giggling (once every seven years). Picard: a frenchman with an Oxford accent. Data. Troy and Riker. Uhura doing a fan-dance. Captain Janeway - finally a female. Q. Q and Lwaxana (oh my, but was that ever a match made in Picard's heaven). Tasha Yar ordering Warf around. Odo: a man who sleeps in a bucket. Glitter in a glass, Christmas lights, Venus razors, cardboard sets, and sequins on black velvet (very special effects indeed!). Wesley Crusher: a boy treated as what he is. A universe without restrooms. The Holodeck: a window into the fantasies of Broccoli. 3D chess. Guinan and the Borg. Guinan. Seven of Nine and the holographic doctor. The infinite practicality of Red Shirts. A Klingon who can sing. Smart people (Spock, etc). Villains who play games (Kahn tops the list). Tribbles (the single most popular episode of OST). Finally, how can I help but be a fan of a show which can shamelessly name an episode, "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"?

Yes, friends, I am a Trekkie. The worst is yet to come.

Comments

  1. Nancy RocheMay 11, 2009 at 5:14 PM

    I saw Star Trek on Friday, May 8th because my friend Jennifer Worthen donated the fundage. I love her dearly. I loved it. I loved the alternate Universe thing. I loved the Spock and Uhura thing (I'd seen it coming, but never thought it would actually appear. *sigh*). I loved Spock - both of them. I love it all. It was the best movie I've seen in perhaps five years. I don't think it gets any worse than this.

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