One of the primary reasons I've continually returned to watching Star Trek over the years is its adherence to delivering vital sociopolitical messages and commentary in an entertaining and futurist setting. This has in fact been stated both implicitly and overtly in most of my blog postings here. In 1995 William Shatner described this aspect of Star Trek merely as a method for drawing in the audience. Considering the cultural zeitgeist of that era,I'd tend to disagree. Which is why here I am going to be showcasing one individual Star Trek episode,from each spin off that to me best demonstrated Gene Roddenberry's message and vision.
ENTERPRISE-"CHOSEN REALM" (JANUARY 24'TH,2004)
When NX-01 is searching for a weapon a race called the Xindi plan to use to destroy Earth, they encounter a group of religious zealots who,after Captain Archer and his crew help repair their damaged ship,attempt to take over Enterprise to fight their leader's holy war regarding their mythologizing of the Xindi spheres. After retaking Enterprise,the crew return them to their home world where they find a horrible sight-the end result of their war. A level of religious fanaticism of a type that can (and in this case did) destroy a society is showcased here-one of the this controversial series' stronger episodes,personally.
STAR TREK-A TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON (FEBRUARY 23'RD,1967)
Captain Kirk and the Enterprise are assigned with a Federation Ambassador to open up a space port on a planet that,as it turns out, is using computers to fight a politically correct version of war with its inhabited planetary neighbor-colonized by some of their own people ironically. When their leader insists the Enterprise crew have been declared a casualty of their cyber warfare,he tricks the Ambassador to beam down-to report to suicide chambers par the agreements for their conflict. Kirk is put in the position of using force to destroy their battle computers in order to show them the physical consequence of war. This anticipates strong the "war as entertainment" scenario that humans are still facing today in this powerful and original anti war story.
STAR TREK:THE NEXT GENERATION-"THE DRUMHEAD" (APRIL 29'TH,1991)
Investigating the treasonous actions of a Klingon medical exchange officer trading secret information to the Romulans,Captain Picard brings in Admiral Norah Satie in to investigate the matter further. After her evidence shines a light on the Klingon's actions,she begins fingering a half Romulan med tech on the Enterprise even after his innocence in discovered. Observing the witch hunt occurring around him,Picard is able to suss out the Admiral's true intentions by evoking her father whom she hero worships. In this story,acted to pieces by Patrick Stewart and Jean Simmons as Admiral Satie,this story thoroughly explores a scenario not unlike a 24th century McCarthyism in which Captain Picard utters perhaps Trek's most cynical line: that there will always be someone such as Admiral Satie who spreads fear in the name of righteousness.
DEEP SPACE NINE: "DUET" (JUNE 13TH,1993)
When a Kobheerian freighter arrives at DS9,Kira is disturbed that the Cardassian passenger being dropped off by the freighter is afflicted with a disease that could've only been the result of an accident at a labor camp that Kira helped liberate. While interrogating the Cardassian,an investigation by Dax reveals that she is actually interrogating the sadistic Gull Darhe'el who was responsible for atrocities against the Bajorans at the labor camp. It is later revealed that this man was actually his file clerk who'd had cosmetic surgery in order to pose as Darhe'el in order to make a political statement about Cardassian improprieties to the Bajorans. Upon letting him go,he is killed by an angry Bangoran...by his own admission simply because he's Cardassian. This dragic drama is a wonderfully executed "bottle episode" similar to "The Drumhead"-only a 'Schindler's List' style scenerio mainly between two characters. A superb look into a misdirection that,for a change,could actually lead to a peaceful resolution to past misdeeds.
VOYAGER-"JETREL" (MAY 15'TH,2013)
A freighter from the Haakonian order,a species who had annexed Neelix's home world of Talax after a war,approaches Voyager searching for Neelix. The man in question is Ma'Bor Jetrel-a scientist who developed a weapon of mass destruction that destroyed the Talaxian moon Rinax and all of its inhabitants-save Neelix. Jetrel presents himself as trying to treat Talaxians with an illness resulting from the weapon-an illness he insists Neelix has. Jetrel's actual plan involves using biomatter and Voyager's transporters to re-animate those killed by his weapon. In reality Jetrel himself has the disease,not Neelix and is trying to undo his mistake before he passes on. Though his experiment fails,he and Neelix come to a amicable resolution upon Jetrel's death. This episode is an excellent example of Star Trek's "hey,its happening on another planet" idea of projecting implicit social messages. The story of Neelix and Jetrel could easily be between any citizen of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945 and those involved in the first two atomic missions. Neelix's guilt about him being a war resister,feeling he betrayed his own family to death,adds extra wait to this story as well
*In addition there are many honorable mentions. Episodes of this same orientation I simply could not list in this manner. Here they are in order of accompanying series:
"The Apple" (TOS)
"Let This Be Your Last Battlefield" (TOS)
"Justice" (TNG)
"The Measure Of A Man" (TNG)
"The High Ground" (TNG)
"The Masterpiece Society" (TNG)
"The Quality of Life (TNG)
"Journey's End" (TNG)
"Paradise" (DS9"
"Past Tense Parts 1 & 2" (DS9)
"Bar Association" (DS9)
"Doctor Bashir,I Presume?" (DS9)
"Far Beyond The Stars" (DS9)
"Covenant" (DS9)
"Death Wish" (Voyager)
"Remember" (Voyager)
"Living Witness" (Voyager)
"Memorial" (Voyager)
"Author,Author" (Voyager)
Here we have 25 excellent examples of,what within the Star Trek universe is best symbolized by the Vulcan symbol IDIC,which you see in an artists rendering above. Of course it stands for infinite diversity in infinite combinations. Through its highly topical story telling Star Trek has always been able to put a perspective on many different issues humanity still cannot face in real life. There are some who many argue Star Trek's absence from television is partly due to the fact that non sci-fi programming is now free to make more explicit social commentary. Since its clear that televisions adaptability to topical storytelling on real life issues still not as concrete as it may seem, Star Trek's message and presentation of the future is all the more important.
The relationship between Star Trek's last television series to date,Enterprise,and the viewing public is more involved and complex than one might think. I include myself in that public of course. Almost from day one,this heavily promoted and discussed prequel to the known Star Trek universe,was viewed as an epic fail. And is continually cited as being the ruin of Star Trek in the public eye. After the success level of the previous three Star Trek spin offs,how could the next wind up airing only a season longer than the original Star Trek series had? Personally I don't know those answers exactly. Only the people who were involved in it's production and promotion would know the exact answers. All I can do is tell you my story. And possibilities as to what happened to Enterprise. And consequently to Star Trek itself.
It all started twelve years ago today in fact. I was living with family. My mother was at work. It was about 8PM in the evening. I was eagerly anticipating the premier of this prequel to the Star Trek universe I so admired and was inspired by most of my then 21 years of life. I sat in the bedroom directly across from where I am writing this now. It took a bit of adjustment to bring in UPN,which at the time (not having cable) could only be bought in through the UHF frequency. Even though the static was heavy,I set up the VCR to record this two hour episode called "Broken Bow" and proceeded to watch it myself. By roughly 10PM,the two hour premire was over. And my mother was home. Being a Star Trek admirer herself,she wanted to know what the new show was like. I will tell you generally what I expressed to her that evening.
"Broken Bow" was the story of the unfortunate first contact between humanity and the Klingons,or rather one Klingon in the mid 22nd century. The new and somewhat unseasoned crew of the new Starship Enterprise discover on their journey that this first contacts failure was manipulated by a genetically engineered sect of a race called the Sulliban. That is the premier in a nutshell. What I told my mother that night was that this was by far the least satisfying of all the Star Trek premiers I had seen thus far. The story dragged along at a very slow pace-the use of menacing silences and horror elements were quite out of place from Star Trek as I understood it. And there were too many intense plot detours in the story that simply made it next to impossible to follow.
With such fond memories of the relatable acting of Scott Bakula and the equally talented,if relative newcomer Jolene Blalock how could this have happened to Star Trek? I remember watching the first season on television.Most of the second as well. And over the next four years watched the show only sporadically. It continually changed time slots,for one thing. Than finally in the spring of 2005 the shows finale "These Are The Voyages" aired-which was sadly even more disappointing and disjointed than the premier had been-at least to my eyes. Star Trek was no longer airing new episodes,in any form on television after that. And as cynical as this may sound,even I as the eternal Star Trek optimist knew that it wasn't coming back. At least not anytime soon.
Recently I've had to view J.J. Abram's prequel Trek films as entirely separate and unrelated to Gene Roddenberry's vision. Lately when viewing Enterprise in perfect clarity on DVD,a light I didn't see at that time has emerged from it. The flaws in the writing and pacing are still painfully obvious. Yet the potential for the great storytelling and character development that defined Star Trek is definitely there. Internally one reason for Enterprise's lack of popularity in its time was how it initially rejected its connection to the Star Trek universe. In fact the name Star Trek was unused in its title for its first two seasons. This showcased possible embarrassment and even animosity amid the old and new writers for the series towards Roddenberry's vision of the future. Yet it's also important to look at the context of the time period as well.
When Enterprise premiered twelve years ago tonight,there is some likelihood that many television viewers may have barely noticed. Enterprise had premiered only a couple of weeks after 9/11. As the media was mired in tales and the ensuing censorship within pop culture about the World Trade Center attacks,futurism seemed to be the furthest thing from people's minds. Most people I knew barely seemed to know about Enterprise or any other TV show-as the saturation news about Al Quida ,Osama Bin Laden and suicide bombings repetitiously created an atmosphere of enforced patriotism. As literally the first Star Trek series premiering in the post 9/11 world,Enterprise wasn't always able to effectively explore the harder sociopolitical messages it's predecessors had been able to.
Star Trek has always thrived in times of cultural hardship. Such as the 1960's and it's upside down counterpart the 1990's. In these times the Star Trek universe offered hope over cynicism. And wonder over despair. We had characters who knew what they stood for and had firm values that embraced all humanity and whomever else came along. In the post 9/11 world in which Enterprise inhabited the cynicism that existed on the fringe of American culture in particular in the final decade of the 20th century became deeply imbibed in in everyday life itself. Racism,hopelessness,needless violence and everything Star Trek stood against became part of the American mainstream and much of the worlds as well. During Enterprise's run from 2001 to 2005,the culture which had allowed Star Trek to thrive and grow in the past as its own force could no longer sustain itself let alone the iconic science fiction cannon of Star Trek.
The most important factor to Enterprise's fate is that the plot of the show itself embraced the uncertainty of its time. These people were completely improvising the creation of the Star Trek universe that inspired so many people to great things. It seemed to abandon the idea of going forward to "boldly go where no one has gone before". These people weren't always bold,had no idea where they were going. Personally? I have a feeling that the more distance and time that people have away from the frightened and disconnected era to which Enterprise was connected,the more that the series' virtues could be re-evaluated. That wouldn't be too far removed from how the critically acclaimed yet realistically unpopular the first Star Trek series was in its time. It took time (and it that case televised syndication) to make that work. Now that Enterprise is being issued on Blu Ray,there might be a successful fork at the end of Enterprise long and weary road.
Star Trek The Next Generation was a defining reference point not only in my life,but in the lives of many people I know. I've already discussed that here of course. One thing I did do recently was go onto YouTube,probably the most pronounced social media site online alongside Facebook to see how the modern day public will respond to a program that has passed the quarter century mark in age a year ago. Living in an age when high level cynicism has become very much the mainstream attitude of most people,its very satisfying to note most people still respond to Star Trek: The Next Generation as an important sociopolitical guide post as opposed to merely an entertaining television program.
When this blog was first started, I openly bemoaned the lack of a new Star Trek on our TV sets-that society had since de-evolved seemingly to a never never land of no return. Even though that was intended quite seriously with no overdo melodrama, it has become clear in some of the responses that I've gotten since starting this blog that any seeds of positive change among human beings,of any sort has very strong roots within those who appreciated Star Trek beyond its entertainment value. So some might argue that makes Star Trek a religion? Not to me. As already stated more a healthful alternative to religion: an obviously fictional universe with just enough grounding in our own reality to make it educationally effective.
Just a few moments ago I was watching a video on YouTube that used the Star Trek The Next Generation episode 'Symbiosis' as an example of current American foreign policy. The episode of course resolves around a culture being exploited by another by use of narcotic trading. The final five minutes of this episode depicts the two cultures as Afghanistan and Iraq-with Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher as the liberal and conservative ends of US foreign policy. In the end Picard of course gives the doctor a speech that greatly inspired me at every stage growing up-as it apparently did this particular viewer. And it involved a law within the Star Trek universe's United Federation Of Planets known as the Prime Directive.
To paraphrase Picard's speech,the Prime Directive basically points out how history has time and time again shown that when a more sociologically and technologically advanced culture interferes with the affairs of another with lesser understanding,the results are invariably disastrous. The captain continues by pointing out that this Prime Directive is not merely a set of laws,but also a philosophy that has been proven quite correct. The fact that dialog is open among these people about such topics-whose mere mention would still be a preamble to war in contemporary society,says quite a lot for its influence in society.
So perhaps its easier to some cynical people to think Star Trek's influence in modern society is confined to the presence of iPhone's, tablets and advanced laptops in our daily lives. Yet the fact that these technologies are often used wrongly might also serve as an indication that humanity at large has not yet achieved the sociopolitical wisdom depicted across the Star Trek universe. Perhaps that is the factor that bread such cynicism in the first place. Even if that cynicism is about Star Trek itself. So for any of you reading this are admirers of Star Trek The Next Generation in particular,I would like to ask all of you to keep this mind while watching it. Does it encourage hatred or cynicism as opposed to the Christian bible,the Quran or even your local newspaper? The answers you find may just brighten your day.
On this evening on September 8'th,1966 the National Broadcasting Network premiered a brand new science fiction program written and conceived by a then relatively unknown television writer named Gene Roddenberry. While two separate pilots had already been created,as well as several episodes NBC decided to air the sixth episode produced as the televised pilot called 'The Man Trap'. Staring mainly William Shatner,Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly this episode was the story of a scientist whose wife had been killed by an shape shifting alien who fed on salt. In sympathy for this species,the last of it's kind,he allowed the creature to maintain the form of his departed wife-and former lover of Doctor McCoy. The episode was in retrospect classic Star Trek: the characters interacted meaningfully and the action was driven by the vital drama and social commentary of the plot.
Interestingly enough,Star Trek's critical history at that time reflected how it was received during it's original airing. While a minority of people praised the show for it's unusually strong writing televised science fiction,most reaction can be summed up by the review of Jack Hellman of Daily Variety: "Not conducive to its popularity is the lack of meaningful cast leads. They move around with directorial precision with only violence to provide the excitement." Yet even from this point a significant and devoted fan base developed for the series who would soon become known as Trekkies-later altered to the less pejorative Trekkers. These admirers of Roddenberry's view of the universe and humanity later contributed to a letter writing campaign so massive Star Trek was renewed for it's unintended third and final season in 1968.
Four years away from the half century mark,Star Trek seems nonexistent as a television entity. This is an opinion that up until recently I shared. However with something as expansive as Star Trek,one only has to look below the surface to see that apathy towards Star Trek is actually only paper thin. If one goes online to YouTube to any Star Trek related video,the comment threads on the material showcase a universe firmly integrated into the most hopeful side of the world lexicon. Perhaps in the end,the forces that led to the early demise of the original Star Trek series seemed to win out in the end-as it was unfortunate negitive criticism and public apathy that led to it disappearing off the small screen in any form after 2005. Yet the influence that even a sometimes forgotten episode such as 'The Man Trap' might've had on...say a 20 year old collage student in 1966 could actually work wonders on a 20 year old in 2013 convinced they must go to collage to live a productive life-who see no alternative ways to success. And on that level,perhaps Star Trek-in some type of form,still lives.
Within the vast world of Star Trek characters,I cannot think of one particular character more under-appreciated then that of Kes. She was portrayed by Jennifer Lien,a former daytime drama actress who showed tremendous range and versitility in a role that was somewhat unique even in the history of Star Trek: a character whose lifespan would only extend for nine years. At first Kes seemed to be written in to be a romantic foil for Neelix,who was predicted long before Star Trek: Voyager actually aired it's pilot to be the shows break out character. When that concept for Neelix didn't pan out,the character of Kes grew in more ways than one.
The crew of the U.S.S. Voyager first encountered Kes during Neelix's attempt to barter with the Kazon Ogla for water in order to facilitate her release from the Ogla's servitude on the Ocampa home world from which she came. Following Captain Janeway's destruction of the Caretaker's array, Kes managed to help convince Neelix that they should stay on and help the crew that had rescued both of them in their long journey home. While attending the crews first conference after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant,Kes suggested that an hydroponics bay be constructed in order to grow fresh fruits,vegetables and grains to amend their shortened food supply. She also subsequent became a student medical assistant to the ships EMH doctor.
During her time on Voyager, Kes made some very unexpected discoveries. For one,an alien influence was almost able to induce premature labor in her years before expected. Not only that but,following an encounter with an array of Ocampa under the influence of the Caretakers partner Susperia, she began to learn of her unused and advanced psychokinetic abilities. Weary of her lover Neelix's jealousy towards her friend Tom Paris,Kes broke off their relationship following an evil alien warlords manipulation of her emotional thought processes. She began to develop her own life and experiences-at one point even living backwards from the moment of her own death. Following her encounter with the Borg and Species 8472, Kes found her psychokinetic abilities evolving to the point where she decided to leave the Voyager crew and evolve to a higher level. Although this resulted in a revelation that left her vengeful to Janeway and her crew,an encounter with her past self changed her mind in the end as she returned to her home world.
Though characters leave shows all the time, the outing of Jennifer Lien's Kes character was far from happy or willing. Speaking strictly as an outsider reading what was said in various publications at that time, Voyager was not fearing particularly well critically as a series in it's second and third seasons. And the character of Kes was constantly blamed as one reason. Lien portrayed the character with a sweet,gentle manner and a quiet intellect. Someone who was often the voice of reason when some of the different characters on Voyager were in conflict. Despite all this and a character who was full of surprises,fact is she just didn't quite fit the criteria of the shows presumed 18-35 year old male viewing demographic. She was rather unceremoniously replaced by Jeri Ryan's Seven Of Nine-originally intended seemingly to up ratings as a cat suited half human chanteuse Though Ryan's equally strong acting acumen made her more than a worthy addition to the show, Kes remains by far one of my personal very favorite Star Trek characters.
In keeping with Star Trek's second generation tradition of showcasing family life in Starfleet's 24th century galactic ventures, the first post Gene Roddenberry spin off Deep Space Nine presented an idea that was somewhat the reverse of how Wesley Crusher was presented in The Next Generation; a widower single father in a very trying command situation. Cirroc Lofton,who is celebrating his 35th birthday today, portrayed the character of Jake Sisko. He lost his mother in the battle of Wolf 359 with the Borg as a preteen. When Jake first arrived on Deep Space Nine, he found the conditions less the satisfying. Like Wesley Jake was what we might refer to today as a "space brat"-a child raised on different starships travelling from this sector of the galaxy to that. However his destiny would be somewhat different.
Whereas Wesley was a wunderkind with unique abilities that needed to be nurtured, Jake Sisko was a fairly typical teenager who was more interested in his immediate concerns than in hyper achievement. His father,played by Avery Brooks, continually expressed concern not only at his academic laissez faire but in his choice of best friend-the lascivious miscreant Ferengi teenager Nog. Interestingly enough it was Nog's later drive to attend Starfleet Academy that contrasted strongly with Jake's career decision. He made it clear that he didn't wish to follow in his father's footsteps in Starfleet-speculatively because of the death of his mother on a Starfleet vessel. Finding during his years attending the station school run by Keiko O'Brien a talent for writing, Jake realized he had a fertile imagination and started to contemplate a serious career as a writer.
This ambition came to a head when the Cardassians,original owners of the station,joined forces with the imperially corrupted Dominion from the Gamma Quadrant decided to take back Deep Space Nine. Though his father and the other Starfleet personnel fled, Jake stayed behind as a journalist. Of course during the proceeding year he had gained much field experience in that direction as a free lance correspondent during the conflict with the Klingons. When his father left Deep Space Nine to live with what turned out to be his own people in the Bajoran Wormhole, Jake stayed behind on Deep Space Nine-the space station his father worked to rebuild,to continue pursuing his own life. I would like to wish Mister Loften a wonderful birthday and good luck on the hip-hop CD he is supposed to be recording at the present time.
One of the qualities I appreciated most Star Trek: The Next Generation is the idea of a starship where the crew could bring their families on board. Very much born out of the production of the original Star Trek's dissolution of Gene Roddenberry's own family,this concept was also in keeping with Roddenberry's optimism for the future. One of the characters in this show was Wesley Crusher,the adolescent only child of the Enteprise's doctor and widowed mother Beverley Crusher. Whether we Will Weaton for his role in Stand By Me,his left wing politics and LGBT rights campaigning or his recent appearances in The Big Bang Theory he will,to me always have the most influence on me in the role of Wesley-a character named for Roddenberry's own middle name as a futurist version of himself so they say.
Wesley Crusher was a highly intelligent wunderkind,the "Mozart of 24'th century engineering" as a character in the show called the Traveler once implied. One of the most telling qualities he had however was his generally positive interactions with the crew. He only occasionally exhibited signs of cock sure adolescent attitudes. And although his intelligence led him into leading the Enterprise out of dangerous situations faster than the crew could, he was often more than willing to assist the crew-especially close friends Geordi LaForge and Data,in understanding his visions. He was a positive enthusiast and idealist-reveling in the new encounters he had on the ship. However from the start he had ambiguous feelings about going to Starfleet Academy as Captain Jean-Luc Picard was hoping for. After a time there led to a severe downturn in his enthusiasm he embarked on a more esoteric journey to understanding his gifts.
Much to my own regret, most people-especially Star Trek fans,have as equally as much vitriol for Wesley Crusher as I do respect and admiration. Much of this comes from the spiteful humor of 1990's comedians such as Craig Kilborn,one Trekker who delighted in getting hundreds of people to shamelessly laugh at the character. I always had a feeling a lot of this feeling was born of a form of envy-deriving from the young American male "jocks and geeks" style 20th century style social order. Today in the 21st century,as social attitudes are at last expanding there seems to be a strong re-evaluation of Wesley's character. With no narcissism intended the Wesley character and myself have many qualities in common: strong idealist enthusiasm,a keen intellect,personal vulnerability and a tendency to be misunderstood-often misdirected by others. I greatly admire Weaton's portrayal of this character. And am wishing a happy 41 to him and to his family!
