Am I the only Trekker that finds Gene Roddenberry's future human an unworkable proposition?
Don't get me wrong, I love Star Trek (especially DS9 and Enterprise). But I hate the humans who inhabit the Star Trek universe. What a boring group!
The perfect humans who inhabited Roddenberry's universe aren't true examples of humanity. There is practically no diversity. Everyone is basically the same, as if all of humanity in the 24th century were physically perfect and enjoyed sipping hot drinks, reading Chaucer and listening to Mozart or Miles Davis in their spare time. Well, there's nothing wrong with that if that's what recrystalizes your dilithium. But not everybody likes that. I know I sure don't. Give me some 24th century rock and roll, show me a group of humans drinking too much, complaining about their stupid jobs and low wages, or engaging in "illogical" behavior like smoking or using drugs. You know, being human.
I think this is one area where Star Wars and George Lucas just totally trumps Star Trek. The believability of the human denizens of a futuristic fictional universe.
We've made some huge strides in the last several thousand years. But anyone familiar with Greek tragedy or the writings of our ancient Chinese, north African, and middle eastern forbearers can tell you - we haven't come that far. We are basically the same people with the same motivations. We hold to many of the same religious beliefs and philosophical positions and to the moral and ethical standards of those belief systems. And warp drive, first contact or global catastrophe in the form of a third world war won't change man's basic nature.
Which is why I enjoyed Deep Space Nine and Enterprise so much. Those two series got away from the beautiful people who spoke perfect English and viewed religious belief as a handicap rather than a positive extension of a person's character. I also loved the Ferengi. There's nothing wrong with accumulating a little latinum or hitting on your Dabo girls, Quark. Play on my brother.
One final question (sort of).......if, according to Picard in First Contact, "money does not exist" in the future, who pays the bar tabs of all those Starfleet officers drinking and eating at quarks? What does Jadzia gamble with? How does the UFP finance it's Starfleet or handle interstellar commerce? Again, this is an area Star Wars handled in a believable fashion.
Hopefully any future Trek series will be a little more realistic in it's depiction of human beings.
Roddenberry's future man
in Ten Forward
Posted · Edited by Khan Noonien Singh Jr
Am I the only Trekker that finds Gene Roddenberry's future human an unworkable proposition?
Don't get me wrong, I love Star Trek (especially DS9 and Enterprise). But I hate the humans who inhabit the Star Trek universe. What a boring group!
The perfect humans who inhabited Roddenberry's universe aren't true examples of humanity. There is practically no diversity. Everyone is basically the same, as if all of humanity in the 24th century were physically perfect and enjoyed sipping hot drinks, reading Chaucer and listening to Mozart or Miles Davis in their spare time. Well, there's nothing wrong with that if that's what recrystalizes your dilithium. But not everybody likes that. I know I sure don't. Give me some 24th century rock and roll, show me a group of humans drinking too much, complaining about their stupid jobs and low wages, or engaging in "illogical" behavior like smoking or using drugs. You know, being human.
I think this is one area where Star Wars and George Lucas just totally trumps Star Trek. The believability of the human denizens of a futuristic fictional universe.
We've made some huge strides in the last several thousand years. But anyone familiar with Greek tragedy or the writings of our ancient Chinese, north African, and middle eastern forbearers can tell you - we haven't come that far. We are basically the same people with the same motivations. We hold to many of the same religious beliefs and philosophical positions and to the moral and ethical standards of those belief systems. And warp drive, first contact or global catastrophe in the form of a third world war won't change man's basic nature.
Which is why I enjoyed Deep Space Nine and Enterprise so much. Those two series got away from the beautiful people who spoke perfect English and viewed religious belief as a handicap rather than a positive extension of a person's character. I also loved the Ferengi. There's nothing wrong with accumulating a little latinum or hitting on your Dabo girls, Quark. Play on my brother.
One final question (sort of).......if, according to Picard in First Contact, "money does not exist" in the future, who pays the bar tabs of all those Starfleet officers drinking and eating at quarks? What does Jadzia gamble with? How does the UFP finance it's Starfleet or handle interstellar commerce? Again, this is an area Star Wars handled in a believable fashion.
Hopefully any future Trek series will be a little more realistic in it's depiction of human beings.