Star Trek

Obi · Fri 01/08/2008 05:07:38

Using a unique set of algorithms I was able to compress the whole of Star Trek: The Next Generation into 4 pictures.

And finally

Evil · Fri 01/08/2008 08:52:46

You're perspective is way off. You really should read the tutorial thread in the critics lounge.

monkey0506 · Fri 01/08/2008 10:25:57

Or, instead of 4 frames, the entire thing can be summed up in one YTMND.

You're The Youtube Man-Hog!

Domino · Fri 01/08/2008 16:01:22

Great stuff, gave me a good laugh!!!

BTW, Picard is the best Star Trek captain!!!

Makeout Patrol · Fri 01/08/2008 20:03:42

Actually that's pretty much all of star trek with the exception of the original series which I have never actually seen

I don't really 'get' Star Trek. Every problem seems to be solved with a bunch of big words that don't actually fit together followed by a bunch of people standing in front of a control panel saying "IT'S NOT WORKING! IT'S NOT WORKING! ..........IT'S WORKING!"

My question is basically "how the hell does anyone relate to this?"

Paper Carnival · Fri 01/08/2008 20:33:07

I once watched a documentary about Trekkies.

"Star Trek is a way of life."

And I thought I was a geek.

Darth Mandarb · Sat 02/08/2008 15:08:18

I saw that documentary ("Trekkies")

My first knee-jerk reaction was "wow ... these people have issues"

But then, after some thought on the matter, I came to the conclusion that these people are just choosing a life style. That's all. They related/admire the star trek life (as portrayed in the shows/films) and choose to emulate it. Sure it's a little weird if they don Klingon makeup and what-not but really, who cares? It doesn't hurt anything/anyone.

It's (basically) no different than large groups of people who dedicate themselves to a life-style laid out in a few books that are over 2000 years old.

And, as far as I'm aware, there's never been a documented case of a trekkie hi-jacking a plane, or a large group of trekkies crusading into a foreign land to spread the "light" of Roddenberry.

** Darth goes off to find his tricorder **

Stupot · Sun 03/08/2008 00:33:23

This is a video of Spock sticking his fingers up at a bunch of Star Wars Nerds (like Trekkies are any cooler).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pQj_bwMf7DM

Pumaman · Sun 03/08/2008 13:14:47

Quote from: Obi on Fri 01/08/2008 05:07:38
Using a unique set of algorithms I was able to compress the whole of Star Trek: The Next Generation into 4 pictures.

I think you forgot one:

Andail · Sun 03/08/2008 14:40:38

That's exactly how I feel about Star Trek. A technical problem of some kind occurs that I not only don't understand; nobody can possibly understand it since it's made up and thus impossible to relate to.

Also, all the other species from various planets and whatnot look exactly like humans, except for some extra wrinkles on the forehead. I mean, use some freaking imagination when you design your aliens.

Makeout Patrol · Mon 04/08/2008 00:10:36

On the plus side cell phones are pretty handy, thanks for that idea star trek

AgsUser007 · Mon 04/08/2008 06:07:38

There have been several television topics about Star Trek, but its not the technical stuff they want you to relate to. As the story progresses, each person is dealing with an issue, and the other people are all friends of that one person, and they try to help each other out. There have been many many times where I would take a real life situation, and applied it to Star Trek, and it made sense, not only to me, but the others around me as well.

The Star Trek with Picard, (St:Tng) made more sense than the original did, and there was a main "moral of the story
" that as we go through life, we try and better ourselves, even with the many many problems we face everyday.

As for the technical stuff, the writers or producers, decided that because its so technical and most people won't understand what any of this means, we'll provide a means to understanding, which was done so that they created a book titled, Star Trek Technical Manual. And in this book explains every single technical detail that is talked about on the show. So if you REALLY wanted to understand the technical stuff or what it meant, searching online is one way, or reading this book.

Redwall · Mon 04/08/2008 15:02:36

If you want Star Trek without technobabble and with relateable characters... Battlestar Galactica. The show-runner is a former Trek writer who got into some rather public disputes with the Trek producers over these sorts of things, and Battlestar was him doing it his way, basically. (And it turned out very, very well.)

Quintaros · Mon 04/08/2008 19:32:58

I'm a Star Trek fan. Primarily the original series but I also enjoy The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

Obi's cartoons are funny because they're true. Star Trek definitely has recycled many plot elments ad nauseam. If the cartoons were lampooning TOS it would have to include mentions of an omnipotent being seeking worship from humans, a powerful computer that supress human creativity and freedom, and a remarkably earth-like alien planet that never recovered from the collapse of the great depression.

The excess of humanoid looking aliens is partially due to budget constraints and partially due to one of the major themes of the show that humanity is universal. Still, there were occasions when very alien-looking creatures were brought to the screen:

The technobabble complaint is not something that I will defend. I know the producers had technical consultants to bring an element of scientific plausibility to most things but the problem isn't that the science is bad but that the drama is.

There is nearly 700 hours of Star Trek produced. I'd say only about 1/3 of those are even good. But some are great. I'm sure I could get anybody with an open mind to appreciate it through judiciously selecting good introductory episodes.

Makeout Patrol · Mon 04/08/2008 20:56:12

Quote from: Redwall on Mon 04/08/2008 15:02:36
If you want Star Trek without technobabble and with relateable characters... Battlestar Galactica. The show-runner is a former Trek writer who got into some rather public disputes with the Trek producers over these sorts of things, and Battlestar was him doing it his way, basically. (And it turned out very, very well.)

I'm a pretty big fan of Battlestar Galactica, but you have to admit that all the interpersonal drama is absolutely terrible. Every season starts of really well, slows down in the middle, has one or two nearly unwatchably terrible episodes in there, and then gets awesome again at the end.

Basically, Battlestar Galactica is a great show, but it has its problems, too. I'd also point to Firefly, which was another active attempt to make a sci-fi show that people could actually relate to. Joss Whedon has said that he wanted to make a sci-fi show about real people with real problems instead of "diplomats and bumpy foreheads." Again, it has its problems, but it's also a fantastic show.

Redwall · Mon 04/08/2008 21:57:43

Quoteyou have to admit that all the interpersonal drama is absolutely terrible

Absolutely awesome, you mean!

Seriously, the characters make the show. I guess you can point to the Quadrangle of Dooooom in season three, but I saw that as just a big flip of the bird to "shippers" and in that context found it hilarious(ly disgusting).

Firefly (+ Serenity) is of course also great, but I see it as a different sort of show.

Pumaman · Mon 04/08/2008 22:50:48

Quote from: Quintaros on Mon 04/08/2008 19:32:58
Still, there were occasions when very alien-looking creatures were brought to the screen:

Hmm...

The resemblance is almost stunning.

Makeout Patrol · Tue 05/08/2008 00:46:45

Quote from: Redwall on Mon 04/08/2008 21:57:43
Absolutely awesome, you mean! Seriously, the characters make the show. I guess you can point to the Quadrangle of Dooooom in season three, but I saw that as just a big flip of the bird to "shippers" and in that context found it hilarious(ly disgusting).

I suppose that this is a matter of opinion, but your opinion is wrong. Seriously, that episode with the boxing was abysmal. That whole story arc in season 3 with the "I WANNA HUMP YOU AND WE ALREADY ARE BUT I DON'T WANT TO DO IT ANYMORE BECAUSE I'M MARRIED TO SOMEBODY THAT I DON'T LOVE WATCH ME LOSE ROUGHLY 100 POUNDS IN A WEEK" was horrendously difficult to watch. And that episode in season 2 where Apollo is seeing the prostitue may be the worst episode of any show that I've ever seen - none of it was even in character.

That's my problem with Battlestar Galactica. The politics, intrigue, and social commentary are all great; the action scenes are spectacular; the storytelling is generally quite gripping and involving. But the hundreds of relationship subplots are almost all absolute crap, because they constantly ignore all of the characterization that occurs outside of these little romantic adventures, and because it's contrived and cliched and it never goes anywhere and it's just drama for the sake of drama. They don't even seem to care about continuity - for one of several examples, why the fuck doesn't anyone seem to care about Apollo's dead brother anymore?

That said, this show is cool to watch because there are robots and explosions and most of the outdoor scenes are filmed at my university (although it kind of sucks when they close off main passages for filming)

Redwall · Tue 05/08/2008 02:13:13

First, "Black Market", the Apollo + prostitute episode, is, along with "The Woman King", one of two episodes that do not exist for me. They're absolutely, irredeemably terrible (and the people behind the show have admitted it).

Your summary of the Kara/Lee relationship is pretty much accurate, and while I noted it was disgusting (and, yes, occasionally distracting) for the most part I wasn't bothered because it was realistic. People are stupid, especially about relationships, especially when you're as fucked up as Kara Thrace and Lee Adama are. The premise of the show was always to take the worst of humanity--the military's rejects on an about-to-be-decommissioned relic of a ship--rather than the best, which was what Trek focused on.

Quotethe hundreds of relationship subplots are almost all absolute crap, because they constantly ignore all of the characterization that occurs outside of these little romantic adventures, and because it's contrived and cliched and it never goes anywhere and it's just drama for the sake of drama. They don't even seem to care about continuity - for one of several examples, why the fuck doesn't anyone seem to care about Apollo's dead brother anymore?

Unfortunately I really don't know what you're talking about here. For your example, the only people who ever cared about Zak Adama were Adama, Lee, and Kara, and most of those issues got resolved early in season one, and since then they've had several years of post-apocalyptic issues accumulating which are slightly more pressing...? More generally, while the writers have occasionally dropped the ball (Adama going whackjob at the end of season three, for example; and it's all the writers, the actors are impeccable so far as I'm concerned), I find the characterization usually consistent (and often awesome, as in Baltar, Tigh, Roslin, season four Tyrol, and more.) Also, I kind of ignore Lee, because his character is a. one that doesn't work on television very well, and b. often stupid.

Makeout Patrol · Tue 05/08/2008 09:02:45

Quote from: Redwall on Tue 05/08/2008 02:13:13
Unfortunately I really don't know what you're talking about here. For your example, the only people who ever cared about Zak Adama were Adama, Lee, and Kara, and most of those issues got resolved early in season one, and since then they've had several years of post-apocalyptic issues accumulating which are slightly more pressing...? More generally, while the writers have occasionally dropped the ball (Adama going whackjob at the end of season three, for example; and it's all the writers, the actors are impeccable so far as I'm concerned), I find the characterization usually consistent (and often awesome, as in Baltar, Tigh, Roslin, season four Tyrol, and more.) Also, I kind of ignore Lee, because his character is a. one that doesn't work on television very well, and b. often stupid.

Well, almost all of my problems boil down to Apollo - "good episode" Apollo seems to have nothing in common with "WB Network drama episode" Apollo. The problem is that the good episodes seem to be telling us that these characters are all good people at their core, while the bad episodes have them making decisions that are completely against that idea. Like the episode with the secret jury in season 3; that episode wasn't completely terrible, but these are all supposed to be good people, and I don't see any of them - especially Tyrol - making the decisions that they do. That's what I really mean by inconsistent characterization, and it's not limited to those that episode and the prostitute one, either.

I have to be frank - I'd given up on the Apollo character even before the prostitute episode. He is easily the worst character on the show.