Star Trek????
I know more than half of my audience left when they read the title. 
My reputation is ruined, and I’m likely to be thought of as an idiot, a nerd, or a combination of the two…
I’m stretching out on a very nerdy limb right now to say this
However, before I loose the OTHER 50%, I’ve written this is for all of you guys that haven’t given Star Trek a chance because you’ve heard of unemployed nerds wearing cheap costumes, shouting made up words in their struggle as social outcasts XD
Before I knew what Star Trek was, the FIRST thing I’d think of were these guys…
At this kind of a place…
With people like this…
And of course this guy…
Before I knew what Star Trek was, I imagined most of the episodes would look something like this…
and this… this just cracks me up
He just looks so HAPPY!
I never really understood what all the hype was about… why would anyone like shows so weird… I always associated it with cliche camera angles, laser guns and cheesy action sequences with overly dramatic taunts from aliens with tentacles or something stupid…
They always took themselves too seriously… I didn’t think much of the plots and dismissed the whole franchise as a lost cause…
Until…. (I know that’s such a cliche thing to say)
Once upon a time… (another cliche)I happened to see an episode, because it HAPPENED to be on… and I ACTUALLY liked it… enough to watch another… and another…
I was really surprised…
These characters weren’t shallow, dark, and aggressive… they were funny, and full of real depth…
It was then that I learned that the show I was watching was “Star Trek: The Next Generation”…
You see, Star Trek isn’t ONE show… it’s actually 5… Each of them with a totally different view on how a show should look and how the characters should act…
They all wear the same uniform (roughly) and speak the same lingo (roughly), but the flavor, the dynamics of the story telling are completely different…
Different cast, different writers, different directors… different shows…
Don’t get me wrong, the clips you saw above ARE Star Trek… just… not the Star Trek I like…
Star Trek “The Next Generation” is by FAR my favorite… It has SOME action, but only when all peaceful solutions are COMPLETELY exhausted… It’s the most character focused of the Star Treks… the majority of the spotlight is on character development, growth and interaction… action sequences are more a MEANS to show the characters in a certain light… In “The Next Generation” The action is like the scenery with the character’s personalities being in focus…
You see, just as the flavor of each series is different, so is the philosophy that governs their actions…
The Philosophy of “The Next Generation” is “Find a peaceful resolution at all costs, even if sacrificing yourself is necessary to undo a mistake”
They don’t go in “guns blazing”… they talk it out… and proceed with caution… Respecting the true implications a wrong choice could have on a planetary scale…
Consider the scenarios…
You come across a foreign vessel that’s being attacked by another foreign vessel, do you defend them?… If so, why?… who’s to say it’s not a criminal fleeing from law enforcement… If not, why? It could be a helpless trader being mugged…
A primitive civilization is dying from a plague, you have the cure, but if you aid them, they may never discover the cure on their own, and now they’ll need your assistance if they encounter a new plague. Now they’re dependent on YOU for survival…
A future version of yourself explains you should alter your path… if you do, will your future self still stand before you, or vanish as a result of the time line alteration?… If they DO vanish, would you even remember they came at all?… after all, what would there be to remember? Might the fact that they came back be an indicator that you did not heed your own warning, or might it be safe to say none of this ever happened in the first place?…
Many of my posts are based on thoughts that started in such shows…
This is Star Trek: The Next Generation
I don’t expect that you will completely understand the clip I’m about to show you… in fact, out of context, I don’t totally understand it myself… but that’s not the point, try to appreciate the chemistry, this group of people have… observe the dynamics, and try to imagine if you DID understand what was going on, and you WERE comfortable with this group of people, if you’d like watching them wrestle with philosophical dilemmas like these…You might be surprised this is the same franchise as the one you’ve seen from above…
(Sorry about the bad audio quality)
Notice how they’re not shooting lasers… there’s no silly alien costumes… (well not much)… and there’s nary a fast paced action music to back up overly dramatic catch lines
If you’d like, try this clip… it shows a great deal into the personality of the Captain of the fictional ship…
BTW, Patrick Stewart is my favorite actor
DO NOT WATCH THE WHOLE CLIP…. I mean… like you COULD, but really only the first 4 minutes apply… if you keep watching it’ll get confusing…
Anyways, to sum this post all up, if you go out and decide you love Star Trek, or completely disregard what I’m saying, it’s all the same by me…
But in my opinion… there’s allot more to it than people let on… at least than society wants people to think there is…
-Paul
PS: If you absolutely MUST watch another clip… this would be the last one I’d show… I don’t want to COMPLETELY overwhelm you…
