@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website cover
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

ValueSubtracted

@[email protected]

Mastodon

Have you ever considered that the Prime Directive is not only not ethical, but also illogical, and perhaps morally indefensible?

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

It does seem like part of the story is missing.

Edit: that said, Propstore does have a relationship with the studio.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Return their original forehead prosthetics!

A behind-the-scenes photo of Terry Farrell in the TNG Trill makeup.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

She never did - they canned it in favour of the shots after screen/make-up testing.

Edit: Bonus, kind-of-gross context!

Initially, the DS9 writing staff simply didn’t like Michael Westmore’s alterations to make the Odan headpiece look more feminine. Apparently, after Terry Farrell had put on the Odan forehead appliance, someone looked at her and said to Westmore, “What did you do to her head, she used to be beautiful?” Instead of changing species, as they’d already come to like the idea of an “old man”, a person with centuries of experience to guide Sisko, Westmore suggested to “just give her spots like we gave Famke,” who played a Kriosian in TNG: “The Perfect Mate”. This make-up was used on all Trill afterwards.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

She dated and split up with Raffi between seasons one and two.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

We generally don’t protect spoilers after about a week. In this case, it’s been nearly a year.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

It’s Prophet Visions all the way down, so “what happened next” is arguably not relevant. But in any case, the author seems to be specifically referring to “Far Beyond the Stars”.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

This is the first we’re hearing of a panel at SXSW, in addition to the screening there:

The hit Paramount+ Original Series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY prepares to embark on its fifth and final season this April 2024. Since its debut in 2017, DISCOVERY has earned widespread acclaim for its dedication to diversity and for redefining the Star Trek franchise for a new generation. The show’s unique strength lies not only in its captivating narrative and award-winning world-building but also in the groundbreaking representation it brings to the forefront. As the lead of the series, Sonequa Martin-Green made history as the first Black woman to helm a Star Trek series and last season broke additional barriers as she became the Captain of the series’ main starship, the U.S.S. Discovery. The show boasts an ethos of inclusivity, also blazing trails in LGBTQIA+ representation in sci-fi storytelling and TV in general, featuring the first on-screen intergalactic same-sex couple as well as multi-dimensional non-binary and trans characters. This final season will see our beloved crew embarking on a new adventure and celebrate the show’s bold storytelling over its past four seasons as it continues to honor Star Trek’s legacy of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations.”

Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, aSonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala and Blu del Barrio are scheduled to participate.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

It’s so rare to see promotional posters these days that are actual cast photos. I miss those.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

The idea had crossed my mind, and the timeline of the “ancient artifact” lines up well enough. I’d also like to see the Romulan supernova addressed…

However, I’d actually prefer it to be handled by “Lower Decks”, which is set in that rough timeframe.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Indeed, the article devotes three paragraphs to that explanation.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

That’s from tie-in material, not the film itself.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Stars go supernova occasionally

Not spontaneously, with only a handful of years’ notice, they don’t.

I’m all for Trek science being a little weird, but it seems very likely that there was some funny business going on for the star to suddenly blow up and threaten the entire galaxy.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

The wiggle room within Star Trek is that the Tkon Empire was supposedly wiped out by a supernova despite being a highly advanced civilization, and in “Second Sight” the DS9 crew boosts the top speed of a ship to warp 9.5, which suggests that a supernova can have superliminal consequences.

But there’s nothing to suggest the Tkon supernova was a natural phenomenon, and the hijinks they were up to in “Second Sight” certainly wasn’t.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Yeah, I agree that that part of the dialogue is problematic. However, “Picard” definitively stated that it was the Romulan star.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

…for what? The Romulan supernova was in the '09 film.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Yeah, I did think that was odd.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

I really don’t get this. He doesn’t resemble Jim Carrey at all, and he certainly doesn’t act like him.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

It certainly would have been interesting to see what they did with her over time. I have my doubts that she ever would have become a very deep character, but I’m sure she would have had some decent episodes.

At the very least, they could have done more to explore her background in a more fulfilling way than they did with the episode featuring her sister.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Well, these were “very Short Treks”, which were a different thing. Just a promotional gimmick, not genuine episodes the way the original Short Treks were.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

I’m hopeful that they fire up the hype machine as we get closer to the premiere date - you don’t want to start too early.

But we’ll see. There are many reasons not to have a lot of faith in the current Paramount regime.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Automatic doors were invented in the 1930s.

“Flip phone”-style form factors were appearing in fiction in the 20s, and had started to appear in actual electronics by the 60s, albeit as full-sized telephones and radios.

The first stylus-friendly touchscreen became available in 1962, and the first patent for such a device was filed in 1946.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

I mean, it’s an Academy. So there are teachers, there are students – I am being so careful, but you know there are teachers, right?

Well, those spoilers probably got her fired…

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

This is not to say that the ’90s shows never delved into the complexity and nuance of this ethos—indeed, playing at the edges of their internal morality was how they derived much of their interest…Things are different in modern Trek.

If you have to include a variation of “sure, it was always like this, but it’s different now,” it’s time to go back to the drawing board with your thinkpiece.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

Sure, and if the core of the article is “today’s values are somewhat different than those of the 90s”…yes, they are, just as the values of the 90s were different from those of the 60s. I think there’s an interesting academic discussion to be had in there, but I don’t think this article is it.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

The newer seasons seem to miss some of this especially on that professionalism front. The kind of “British stiff upper lip” stereotype.

This presumes that that sort of stoicism is particularly aspirational or healthy, and I don’t think there’s anything close to universal consensus on that one.

I think something that gets missed in discussions of “utopia” is that it’s not real. Utopia is not attainable, because there is no universal definition of what that would look like. It exists as a dream of the future, but that’s all.

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

learning to not impose on other civilizations

And even this is the central conflict of many TNG episodes - it’s a little more indirect, but the eternal question of “how do we navigate the Prime Directive” is essentially a conflict between the characters and Starfleet (it’s their rule, after all).

ValueSubtracted Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

in modern Trek they don’t have any ideals to aspire to

I disagree strongly with this, and can’t see how anyone could watch the shows and draw that conclusion.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

I don’t think there’s been any serious doubt about that for some time - at least since the official description of the Academy being closed for a century.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod ,
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website avatar

The limited-time free stuff is pretty cool, but I’m not sure this is a viable business proposition.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • All magazines
    •