After almost 3 and a half years, I finally finished what I inadvertently began so long ago. I never intended on watching every single episode of every single Star Trek series, let alone in semi-reverse chronological order. It all started with my curiosity for Star Trek: Enterprise, a show I had only watched a couple episodes of but never got into it. I figured that I would give it another chance. Upon completing the entire series I thought to myself, well, why not watch Star Trek: Voyager, as I had missed a fair amount of episodes in that series. And after completing that, I thought the same for Deep Space 9. By then watching The Next Generation was inevitable. Here I am now having just completed Star Trek: The Original Series with no more Star Trek episodes left unseen. I’m not counting The Animated Series for the same reason I don’t count The Clone Wars as part of Star Wars. Continue Reading »

I have continued my trend of watching all Star Trek series from start to finish (in reverse chronological order for the series, not the episodes) and the other day I finished The Next Generation. For me, this series in particular was the best of them all. Not only did I grow up with it and it played a key role in molding me into the human being I am today, but it is a pivotal series in the evolution of the Star Trek franchise. I think it had the same effect on many people, old and young, and still does so to this day.

TNG was Star Trek at its best when it came to fulfilling Gene Roddenberry’s dream. Roddenberry wanted to create a utopian society. Although he achieved this in The Original Series, this series perfected it. Many people criticize TNG for the lack of conflict between characters. Hell, the show even ditched Gates McFadden for one season and put Diane Muldaur in to spark up friction. Unfortunately that didn’t work because this show wasn’t about conflict, and neither was its cast.

There was some sort of chemistry between the cast members that overflowed into their characters. It isn’t a secret that the TNG cast calls themselves a family and continues to be best friends. They communicate weekly with each other. They’re all part of each others daily lives in some way. I don’t think Gene or Rick Berman knew that the strangers they cast in these roles would click so well together and evolve into something more. Yet these relationships are seen on the show through their characters. Granted, the writers did a good job transferring these real friendships into the characters, but in some magical way the camera captured these emotions and feelings. It’s hard to describe but you can see it and feel it on screen. There hasn’t been a Trek cast like this before and there probably never will be. The magic was genial.

The spirit of Star Trek was well preserved in TNG. Not only was the show heavily focused on exploration and science fiction, but it tackled many ethical and moral dilemmas that still exist today. Part of who I am today I owe to Jean-Luc Picard and Data. In true Roddenberry fashion, Picard was the universal moral compass. Not only was he the eternal optimist, he also saw different perspectives to dilemmas that aren’t normally visible. He was the voice of reason. Whenever there was a large scale moral or ethical dilemma, Picard was there to solve it with his fair and just wisdom.

Data was there for the small scale issues (possibly the biggest issues of them all) that dealt with humanity. Roddenberry’s decision to explore humanity via a machine was probably his greatest accomplishment. The irony alone takes the cake. But over the course of seven years we see Data evolve from a child to an adult in a way that a human would. Data was the embodiment of innocence. If there ever was such a thing as a perfect human being it would be Data.

For a child growing up with this show it its clear what kind of personal impact Picard and Data would have. That’s not to say the other characters didn’t have a profound impact either, because they did. Riker taught me about duty and selflessness. Troi taught me about compassion and listening. Riker and Troi taught me about love. Worf taught me about honor, loyalty, and truthfulness. Geordi taught me about perseverance, overcoming obstacles, and infinite possibilities. And Crusher taught me about friendship, kindness, and strength.

I realize I can go on and on for pages about TNG, dissecting every season, every episode, every guest and villain. I can even babble about the behind the scenes crew such as Herman Zimmerman, Michael Piller, Mike Okuda, Rene Echevaria, Jeri Taylor, and more. But what matters is that Star Trek: The Next Generation set the standards for everything Star Trek that happened after it. It was magic that happened on screen and magic that happened in the hearts of millions. I think everyone should watch this series, whether or not they are a fan or whether or not they like science fiction. It will open your mind and possibly inspire you just a little to live your life as a better human being. As Picard said, “Here’s to the finest crew in Starfleet…”

Continuing my tradition to watch all Star Trek series (in reverse chronological order) I just finished Deep Space 9 from start to finish. Aside from it being Babylon 5 in the Star Trek universe, tarnished with an overly-dramatic lead actor, and having every damn episode be some parallel to a historical event from Earth’s history, it wasn’t that bad of a show. I think all the actors fit the role perfectly except Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko. He would have made an awesome Sisko if he wasn’t so overly theatrical in his actions and dialogue. Every time he was on screen it was as if he was at a stage rehearsal. The way he emphasized words, the way he lifted his hand by his face and clasped three fingers together as if to emphasize a point (sort of like an upside down “mama mia” gesture)…it was all so fake. It was the most unnatural piece of acting I’ve ever seen. I have nothing against the guy, but his performance in the role was equivalent to the performance of a high school theater student.

Anyway, I think the following clip sums up the entire show. It is of Gul Dukat (who by the way was probably the best character and best performed character in the whole show. Marc Alaimo was absolutely phenomenal) doing a rant from the season 6 episode “Waltz.” Can you guess which famous historical character he is portraying?

At the very least I can say that I grew to love all characters in the show. The crew did a good job developing them (with the exception of Bashir. Midway through the series they go, “Oh, guess what, you’re genetically enhanced”) but Alexander Siddig did a good job staying true to the character all the way through. Special kudos to Armin Shimmerman for redefining the entire Ferengi race and society with his performance as Quark. Aside from that, it was a warm and fuzzy show that was loosely hashed together but set forth the future of the Trek universe with the whole Dominion/Cardassian war.

I just finished watching every single episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, from start to finish. Why? Because it’s the only season of Star Trek that I hadn’t avidly watched while it was on TV. The only episode I watched was the pilot, “Broken Bow,” when it launched. Now let me set the record straight by saying that I did not grow up on The Original Series. I grew up on The Next Generation and the movies of the ’80s. I did catch reruns of TOS on TV, but I have yet to see all the episodes (that’s going to happen within the next few months, since I’m watching Voyager start to finish now). I was well aware of the relationships between Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and their crew. I loved the movies, I could watch them over and over again. Even though I grew up with TNG and that is by far my favorite series, I am extremely well versed with the history of the TOS crew, on screen and behind the scenes.

Enterprise was doomed from the start because it was flawed. The first season was actually a pretty good intro season. It thoroughly captured the Star Trek feeling of exploration as well as the history behind the future. The crew’s mission was exploration, however the cowboy mentality quickly was overdone. I understand how the show’s creators were trying to bring back the camaraderie and friendships originally seen with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and they did a wonderful job with Archer, Tucker, and T’Pol. However, there was two radical differences between TOS and Enterprise that killed the Star Trek feel relatively quick.

First off, Kirk and his crew exercised cowboy diplomacy in the confines of structure and cooperation. Archer’s crew was defunct. Every episode seemed to be an authoritative tug-of-war between characters. Whether it was T’Pol constantly questioning Archer’s decisions all the way to the series finale, or Trip taking matters into his own hands and doing what is right for his own conscious, or Archer ruling cockily with an iron fist, the Big Three’s chemistry was not mixing well. Star Trek is supposed to be about embracing differences. Enterprise shunned differences between species by consciously promoting “human rights” and “human ideals” onto other species every episode. Hell, one of the most obvious instances of this occuring was during the fourth season episode “United” when Archer tells Shran and Gral to start acting more like humans. Furthermore, minor things such as the Captain having personal breakfast catering in the mornings and seperate dining quarters took away from the Star Trek feeling by separating the Captain from his crew. In Voyager, Janeway’s major concern was getting to know her crew better on a personal level. In Enterprise, Archer’s major concern was to get to know the crew better over a meal in his private quarters and then ignoring them for the rest of the season. That’s not Star Trek.

The second thing Enterprise did that steered it wrong was the exchange of a peaceful ship of exploration to a warship that had to meddle in everyone’s affairs. Star Trek is not a universe based on war campaigns. From the very first episode we get thrown into a war zone story arc regarding the Temporal Cold War. This arc haunts us through the beginning of the fourth season. The third season is extremely overwhelmed by the war theme. It is reflected in the storylines as well as the crew. Archer changes from being fair and compassionate to being ruthless and barbaric. Torture, piracy, trickery, and brute force are now the arsenal of Enterprise. Sure, there were wars in other series such as Deep Space 9 or mini war arcs like the Borg in TNG but the entire series did not transform itself around them. They still maintained the very ideals Star Trek was built on, something with Enterprise failed to do.

Overall I enjoyed watching Enterprise. I thought that character development between crewmates was superb, even though there were many plot holes and inconsistencies. I developed a kind of bond with some of the characters. The strongest character in the series was by far Dr. Phlox. He was flawless, and by flawless I mean that in every aspect: acting, development, consistency, and ethical standards. The strongest bond was with Trip and T’Pol. I wasn’t one of those fans that got a hard-on every time Jolene Blalock took the screen in her skintight Vulcan jumpsuit. The bond I developed was with Trip and T’Pol’s relationship. There was only one other time in all of Star Trek history where I’ve felt so emotionally strong towards a character or a character’s situation, and that was Data’s death in Nemesis. I found myself itching to learn with every episode of TPol or Tucker would just come out and say “I love you” to each other. They were meant to be, simple as that. Yet they were being forced apart by their surroundings and their own stubbornness. They should have ended up together. The passion and bond developed between those two was by far the strongest I’ve ever seen in Star Trek. It was un-proclaimed love for both of them. Not completing the obvious was a great injustice to the series. An even greater injustice was Trip’s death, as it was resolved in the shittiest way possible. Captain Archer lost his best friend, yet he was able to be all optimistic and smiles about it right after. “Dude, my best bud just died but I’m about to go out and floor these guys with my kickass speech!” There was absolutely no mourning for Trip. Not even T’Pol gave him proper mourning. His death was treated as if he was a red shirt. That’s something I can never forgive Bragga, Berman and Sussman for.

Enterprise is an overall OK series if you just want to watch for entertainment. If anything is to be taken from this series is the character development with each other, instead of their surroundings. The creators nailed pretty close to home to creating a family feel to the crew. They nailed pretty far from home on the things that make Star Trek what it is.