Star Trek

[Trenchfriend]

Shatner, always ready for a gag.

 

[Zombie_61]

Shatner, always ready for a gag.

To him, it wasn't a gag. He and the other Star Trek actors had difficult times after the show was cancelled because they were so closely identified to their respective characters that no one wanted to hire them, so Mr. Shatner made a few attempts at a singing/spoken word recording career. So did Leonard Nimoy, but the only member of the cast who could actually sing was Nichelle Nichols. No one among the general public took their efforts seriously and even Mr. Shatner has commented, "They didn't understand what I was doing," but he went along with the gags when people poked fun at his efforts and eventually developed a sense of humor about it himself.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Nimoy had things a bit easier -- he went straight from Trek to "Mission Impossible," where he was able to distance himself a bit from the whole Spock thing for a while. But Shatner couldn't seem to catch a break at all -- for a while, he seemed to be making most of his living as a celebrity guest on game shows -- I can remember him doing one of these, "Hollywood Squares," I think, actually in character as Captain Kirk. He also did a strange Western/Adventure-type series called "Barbary Coast," which seemed like it ran five minutes or so.

The most interesting thing he tried during these "wilderness years" was a live-TV drama on CBS called "The Tenth Level," dealing with the famous Milgrim experiment in psychology. I remember watching this when it aired and was struck by how utterly not-Kirk Shatner was in it. He was a much better actor than his descent into self parody ever wanted to admit.

 

[scottyrocks]

Nimoy had things a bit easier -- he went straight from Trek to "Mission Impossible," where he was able to distance himself a bit from the whole Spock thing for a while. But Shatner couldn't seem to catch a break at all -- for a while, he seemed to be making most of his living as a celebrity guest on game shows -- I can remember him doing one of these, "Hollywood Squares," I think, actually in character as Captain Kirk. He also did a strange Western/Adventure-type series called "Barbary Coast," which seemed like it ran five minutes or so.

The most interesting thing he tried during these "wilderness years" was a live-TV drama on CBS called "The Tenth Level," dealing with the famous Milgrim experiment in psychology. I remember watching this when it aired and was struck by how utterly not-Kirk Shatner was in it. He was a much better actor than his descent into self parody ever wanted to admit.

What about TJ Hooker?! Captain Kirk in a cop uniform.

 

[Zombie_61]

What about TJ Hooker?! Captain Kirk in a cop uniform.

Ha! I tried to watch that show once. Barely made it half way through the episode before I decided having a leg amputated with a rusty hacksaw would be preferable to finishing it. Also, quite possibly one of the worst toupees Mr. Shatner has ever worn; I think he borrowed it from Burt Reynolds.

 

[Trenchfriend]

What about TJ Hooker?! Captain Kirk in a cop uniform.

I commended that before, but again:
Whoever had the brilliant idea for ST: II to mix J. T. Kirk and T. J. Hooker style together, deserves a medal of honor!

Imagine, they wouldn't have done that. Would ST: II became the legend, it is today??

Man, when the USS Reliant appears I always want to scream:
"KIRK, SHIELDS UP, **** STARFLEET-PROTOCOL!!"

 

[Frunobulax]

Ha! I tried to watch that show once. Barely made it half way through the episode before I decided having a leg amputated with a rusty hacksaw would be preferable to finishing it. Also, quite possibly one of the worst toupees Mr. Shatner has ever worn; I think he borrowed it from Burt Reynolds.

Just turn down the sound and wait for Heather Locklear's scenes.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hooker was the start of Shatner's descent into self parody. Nobody could have worn a rug like that without irony.

Nimoy had his problems too during the '70s. At the height of his "I Am Not Spock" phase, when he was doing things like "Equus" on Broadway, Gene Roddenberry -- who was even more strapped for money than the actors were -- licensed this ad to be slapped on billboards nationwide:

To say that Nimoy was outraged would be a vast understatement. He and Roddenberry hadn't been on good terms before, but this incident nearly broke their relationship for good.

 

[Bushman]

Shatner, always ready for a gag.

I'll always be partial to Nimoy's Tolkienian ballad of a particular hobbit. Though technically, this was done in between seasons.

 

[Zombie_61]

I'll always be partial to Nimoy's Tolkienian ballad of a particular hobbit. Though technically, this was done in between seasons.

I give Mr. Nimoy credit for doing a "straight" version of the song that let the subject matter identify it as a novelty song.

 

[Trenchfriend]

"Kim Cardassian?"

"Who likes Cardassians??"

 

[Trenchfriend]

Comparison:

 

[Trenchfriend]

Remember this big crawl?

 

[Edward]

I'm glad you mentioned Enterprise. That should be the starting point for the series as canon.

Terrible theme song, but what I saw of the show was nice. Scott Bakula was great - actually met him about ten years ago when he was doing an off-West end play here in London. Genuinely lovely guy, and he hadn't aged a day since Quantum Leap in the 90s!

It would seem to me watching them in "chronological order" would be weird. I'm sure it has a lot to do with watching them in real time as they were produced, so it kind of seems watching them that way could be confusing.

Certainly something I can never experience, but it also seems some of the canonical standards developed in TOS could be confusing once introduced in the newer series, somewhat out of order.

Not to mention Klingons and their heads.

It's akin to what order to watch the Star Wars films in ( though of course there's no debate there that one should start by not watching Episodes I-III at all ).

Re the Klingon thing, they did address that in a DS9 episode where they timetravelled into TOS...

That's the REAL problem with Star Trek. Between the broadcast television series', the theatrical movies, and the "pay to stream" television series' that are playing by an entirely different set of rules for legal reasons, so many people have been responsible for so many different incarnations that the only part of Star Trek that no longer fits in is the one that started it all--the original series.

To some extent, it needs to be treated like ancient history - or myth. I.e. there will always be some level of contradiction in the timeline, and, well, that's how it is with all the great mythical heroes. Robin Hood, Arthur, Mad Max...

Enterprise, for all its weaknesses, actually did a pretty good job of reconciling the smarmy smooth-headed TOS Klingons with the HONORABLE SPACE VIKING Klingons of the TNG Era. I was quite impressed with how they handled that, only to have Discovery come along and completely botch it up again. CBS-Paramount can say what they want, but I prefer to think of all the streaming-Trek shows as a weird holodeck fantasy program Barclay came up with one night when he was bored.

What if Barclay himself is merely a story made up by Captain Murdoch to while away the hours in the asylum?

Taken on its own merits, "Picard" isn't bad. The problem is that it's not the Picard we know from 7 years' worth of TNG. I just can't see that man becoming the man shown in the new show. I tried, and I just can't.

The real problem with Streaming Pile of Trek is that you just can't get the depth of character development in a ten show season that you could get in a twenty-six show season. This idea that each season has to be a "ten hour movie" just doesn't give you the space to do stand-alone episodes that mean nothing to the advancement of the plot but allow space for the characters to grow. That's not a weakness, really, of the shows themselves -- it's a weakness of the modern idea of what "television" is supposed to be.

I think it's entirely possible - but it does mean that the story arcs need to be either shorter or spread across more than one season. I don't mind ten good episodes as long as they aren't trying to shoehorn in too much content... but then here in the UK our shows do have much shorter series in general. Six episodes is normal for a series of a sitcom. Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes together only numbered thirty episodes, while Line of Duty, after five whole series, has had only twenty-nine episodes, and will likely conclude at around 36 for its entire run. I have mixed feelings on that - more is great if the quality stays up, though I'd also prefer a show ended when I still wanted more than outstayed its welcome.

 

[scottyrocks]

The only streaming-Trek I've seen is the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery that they broadcast on CBS a little over three years ago. After reading all of the complaints about the show on another forum I frequent, I'm glad I refused to pay for CBS All Abscess just to watch a show that was Star Trek in name only. I wouldn't mind watching Star Trek: Picard and/or the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Spock, but, again, not paying extra for the privilege.

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier.

Just as Lizzie claims with DS9, you have to stay with it for it to make STS (Star Trek Sense).

The first season plot and character development was slow for a while, but necessary for what led up to the last episode, and season 2 - in fact, during the buildup in the last scene of the last episode of season 1, I was so excited I literally jumped out of my seat during the final 'reveal' (no spoilers). To me, it was all worth it. Then in season 2 it became Star Trek.

Where season 3 is going I have no clue.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Hooray! I was hoping to bump into a Star Trek thread on here. I am a huge fan of TNG, I am currently watching the series on the Hero and Icons network.

 

[Zombie_61]

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier.

Just as Lizzie claims with DS9, you have to stay with it for it to make STS (Star Trek Sense)...

Normally I try to give new shows a chance by watching at least the first half of the first season. That usually gives me a fairly decent sample size to determine what the show will be like and whether or not I think I'll like it. But with STD I didn't have that opportunity. CBS aired only one episode, and I saw nothing in that episode that would make me want to pay to see more. So I'm out...until they drop the monthly subscription cost to about a buck a month, that is; then I'll consider it.

 

[Trenchfriend]

That basic thought went through my mind as I watched Picard, but I chalked the changes up to the fact that people change over time. I know that I have, and I could ultimately believe that the Picard in Picard could be the Picard in TNG after 20 more years of life experiences that we have not seen.

I don't think, Jean-Luc Picard would have retired in reality. Even, if he quit with Starfleet, he could still be in diplomatic service for Federation Council. Would he really give up his lifework?

 

[MichaelRhB]

I don't think he's the type to retire to his vineyard and make wine for the rest of his life. He would have done something that had to do with either Starfleet or the Federation in his retirement.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't think, Jean-Luc Picard would have retired in reality. Even, if he quit with Starfleet, he could still be in diplomatic service for Federation Council. Would he really give up his lifework?

As I said, people change, and often do unexpected things. Where Picard was at the beginning of Picard was in the realm of possibility, afaic.