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By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 23:57:33 on Jun 18, 2008

Best post of the week, NKDi. Congratulations !

Gustavo

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RE: Okay, Bob | Report this post to moderator
By: Captain's Blog (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:23:30 on Jul 09, 2008

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I don't know. I wouldn't call it "too jokey". I think Stargate is very good at doing both funny and serious episodes.

I think part of Trek's downfall has been the inability to adapt to the newer generation of fans.

Just look around these boards. I don't mean to offend but there are some people here who clearly believe Star Trek was given to us from on high and that Roddenberry was some kind of demigod. These are the people who give Star Trek fans a really bad name, and who have in my opinion, ruined the franchise. Not every form of entertainment has to be SERIOUS BUSINESS that requires a zealous fandom that is out of touch with reality. The Stargate fans are simply a more pleasant and fun bunch, and don't seem to have the vocal nutcases ruining things for everyone else.

I got my introduction to Star Trek with TNG. I thought it was great, I bought the tech manual and all that jazz and thought... "This is pretty neat, its nice to see some science fiction that isn't too campy."

But, times have changed. As the world changes, so does what the people enjoy for entertainment. Star Trek is no exception, and failure to adapt killed Enterprise. Now, they certainly tried to adapt, but they failed. Enterprise ended up appealing, for the most part, to nobody. Not the old Trekkies, and not the new generation of sci-fi fan.

Stargate represents the sci-fi fan of the 21st century. They want a dynamic show, and don't care about technobabble contradictions or pointless minutiae. They want B5-style story arcs, but with plenty of standalone episodes like Trek. They want dynamic characters shaped by their experiences, not the Trek cardboard cutouts. Look at how different the main cast of SG-1 are from Seasons 1-3 to seasons 5-7. Try the same thing with TNG and all you'll notice is Riker growing a beard and putting on weight, Troi's outfits changing, and Data inexplicably putting on weight.

The sci-fi fan of the 21st century doesn't want to be intellectually challenged by absurd amounts of technobabble, and they certainly don't want to be preached to morally every episode.

I think we, as Star Trek fans, are far too snobby and end up just looking ridiculous to everyone else. Why should we get another series? You know the guys at Paramount are going "A shame the Star Trek fans would crap themselves if we had a Stargate-style Trek show, it could revive the franchise for another 20 years."

I'd encourage you all to think about that for a minute. Is the fact that Star Trek is "serious business" what is killing it? Generally speaking holding onto the past is an unhealthy thing. There is a difference being being nostalgic, and being a stubborn mule.

There's a reason Stargate ran 10 seasons and Atlantis will be running at least 5 (probably more, Season 4 has been their most successful yet, getting out from under SG-1's shadow did wonders for that show.), and a third series is in the works.




The Stargates shows only stayed on the air because they're on the Sci-Fi Channel - Enterprise had more viewers. And SG-1 was cancelled twice even on cable TV. Atlatis' fourth season was not well received.

The SG series do have lots of technobabble. And they mainly use humour to disguise a lack of originality - making references to things they're ripping off.

The characters are also pretty 2D, and the episodes are largely repetitive shoot 'em up stories, which go around in circles.

You can be either too jokey (SG) or too serious (B5 and BSG) - whereas Trek usually got the balance right, apart from maybe the more minimalistic Enterprise.

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"I would be happy for Star Trek to come along decades later with a new group of minds. I'd love someone to say, 'Besides this one, Gene Roddenberry's was nothing!'" - Gene Roddenberry

"...I think it would be wonderful years from now to see Star Trek come back with an equally talented new cast playing Spock and Kirk and Bones and Scotty and all the rest, as they say tomorrow's things to tomorrow's generations..." - Gene Roddenberry

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