From: Bryon Daly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: L3 Re: Your Favorite SciFi/Fantasy Movie Soundtrack? Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 13:57:03 -0500
"Marvin Long, Jr." wrote:
> Actually, this relationship is one of the best things about ST:TOS in my
> opinion, and I love it as well. But it's not really a relationship that
> grows from episode to episode. (It grows on the viewer, but that's
> different.) The actors get better at expressing it; but you don't really
> see a narrative of character growth and change from episode to episode
> until the movies kick in. On the other hand, this is precisely the thing
> that makes ST:TNG successful and, I suspect, appealing to a much broader
> audience (I know a number of people who love ST:TNG but can't stand the
> original series, and I suspect it's not just the scenery dripping from
> Shatner's teeth that puts them off).
> I think it's their fixedness in these archetypal roles that makes TOS > dramatically weak as a serial, however...
TOS is embedded in the collective consciousness in a way TNG can never even aspire to be. I remember working as IT in San Juan's Public Works Dept. I used to have ERTL's NCC1701-A model proudly displayed next to my server as an in-joke with my programmers, since we used to call the old server "Enterprise". On one occasion, one of the carpenters from the department was working on an addition to my office, and the minute he walks in, he stares at the model, and he goes, "Wait.. isn't that Captain Kirk's ship?
From "Star Trek?". Needless to say, I was very pleasantly surprised.That's how far TOS has traveled; if the Enterprise has gone all the way into the minds of people from all levels of society and all walks of life exchange points of view about science fiction and its' impact, then it really *has* gone where no man has gone before.
The magic of Star Trek: TOS is in no small part due to, in the words of Nick Meyer, "those characters". TOS works due to the familiarity of its' characters with the audience. TNG, nor Voyager, nor DS9, nor Enterprise (I did get to see my first episode wednesday!!) have been able to reproduce the chemistry found between Kirk and company.
One of my favorite episodes of DS9 is "Trials and Tribbleations". Guess why. :) In the opening sequences of this episode, the writers try, in vain, to introduce a concept in DS9 which is almost unfamiliar to DS9: banter in the bridge. A vain attempt to imitate the spirit of familiarity that we found in TOS, but it falls flat. This can never be duplicated.
Also, the scripts of TOS were written, in great part, by great SciFi writers (Ellison, et al) and great SciFi minds like Gene Coon and Rodenberry who understood what SciFi was all about. TNG's Ron Moore and Brannon Braga, who have written or edited almost all of the episodes of TNG and its' re-incarnations, in no way compare to the minds behind TOS. Michael Piller did pen some great moments of TNG, but he eventually ended up relinquished to a second or third place in the staff.
Star Trek is now a franchise. I liked it better when it was a VERY good TV show, with provocative ideas that stimulated the minds of its' viewers. If TNG and its' predecessors could emulate, or duplicate, that effect, I swear to you I would NEVER turn off my TV set.
When I was a 4 year old kid, I used to watch TOS in reruns with MY GRANDMOTHER!!! She was in LOVE with Spock. She found those pointed ears.. "fascinating". ;-)
You'll have to agree with me that when TNG was good, it was GREAT. But when it was poor, it was REALLY bad. I may sound like a purist, but I have always divided TNG into two eras: before Gene's death, and after Gene's death. I humbly think quality control in TNG, and the Trek franchise in general, declined greatly after Rodenberry passed away.
I've also seen comments in this thread related to Star Trek 5, and I'd like to say something about it as well.
I think ST5 is as good as any average episode of TNG or DS9.The problem with the audience's perception of ST5 is very simple: after being pampered with ST2, 3 and 4, the fans anticipation built on a crescendo. I guess we were all waiting for the next ST4. In comes Shatner, and does a movie that resembles more an average-to-good movie with a plot that compares to, or maybe is even better than, any average episode of TOS or TNG.
I remember reading, at the time of ST5's release, how Shatner despised TNG because, in his words, "they can't do ST without Kirk or Spock or McCoy". The production of ST5 was plagued by major problems from the start: the SAG strike and a novice director made a major dent on the film. But, like Leonard Maltin says in his review of the film, "ST5 gets worse before it gets better". If it had been edited correctly, it may had been better perceived.
However, Kirk's "what does God need with a Starship?" and his sequences with Spock and Mccoy on shore leave, including his "I'll die alone" diatribe, are considered by many to be worth the price of admission.
You decide.
<Sigh> Off of my soapbox...
JJ
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