Trekkies Are Too Forgiving!

Trekkies are too forgiving. They are so forgiving that they even tolerate poor writing!

I don’t like sci-fi, fantasy, or animals that talk.

My only exception is Star Trek, the original series

I do like Star Trek, the original series (1966-69). This sci-fi television show used superior writing. It often made social commentary on contemporary topics but changed the setting to the future and other locations. The writers employed this excellent technique to produce outstanding episodes.

Using the present time and place alienates an audience, and they don’t want to watch. Using a different time and place writing was a technique used by writers for centuries to comment on their present society without looking preachy or scolding.

The best in sci-fi writing

The best example of social commentary in the original series was in “Let That be Your Last Battlefield,” where racism is explored between two aliens who, at first appearance, look exactly the same

However, Beale and Lokia, the two alien characters in the episode, find their differences unacceptable and a source of strife and discrimination between the two “races.’

Spock – excellence in character development

Spock is the best-written character in all of science fiction. Being half human and half Vulcan gave him an internal battle between reason and emotion. This played out in several episodes. When Spock was fully in tune with his Vulcan side, he always resorted to using logic and vocalized this to other shipmates. Sometimes it became a pun used by Spock’s friends at the end of an episode to poke fun of him.

Spock is just a reflection of humanity. We all have that internal conflict. The writers were genius in displaying the conflict within a character with pointy ears who didn’t look human. Again, using a human-looking character would be hitting too close to home and alienate viewers.

The Next Generation – a failure!

My wife, to this day, watches everything Star Trek. I, however, don’t, and it is because of the faulty writing in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I gave that show a chance, but due to the insulting flaws in writing that have NEVER been explained, I have written off the following shows in the Star Trek franchise forever. Not until the errors are addressed will I ever watch any of the successors to the original series forever.

The series following the original series, with their lack of credible writing, are nothing more than soap operas in space.

Flaws in Vulcans

Vulcans were important characters in the original series, but in the installments to follow, they lost essential characteristics.

They no longer performed a mind meld or the Vulcan death grip. Spock implemented these Vulcanise tools often.

When I watched The Next Generation, I kept waiting through many episodes for the current Vulcans to use these devices. They never did.

Now decades later, I ask my wife, who watches everything Star Trek with total forgiveness of poor writing, about the mind meld and death grip, and she informs me that Vulcans haven’t used it since.

Poor writing, in my opinion, and since I don’t think of Star Trek as god, I find it unforgivable and grounds to boycott the franchise.

Yes, Spock.

Vulcans forgot how to do the death grip and mind meld after the original series.

“Really? Illogical.”

Changes in Klingons

The Klingons, who were the enemies of Captain Kirk and the Federation of Planets, became their allies in The Next Generation. This was an update from the original series, where Russians were now allies with Americans and working with them on the Enterprise.

The other more obvious change in Klingons was the bumps on their foreheads. This was NEVER explained. Again, I asked my wife, and she states that to this day, it still has not been explained.

Worf from The Next Generation on the left with a bumpy forehead.

A Klingon from the original series with a smooth forehead on the right.

All the Klingons will say is that they don’t want to talk about it. This is unacceptable. Only a delusional fan who is obsessed with the series would fall for this lame excuse. My wife finds this explanation satisfactory.

All it would take is two sentences to explain this dramatic change of appearance. It could be explained by saying that a cosmic ray hit the Klingon planet or fell into a giant wormhole, and that event changed the Klingon DNA forever.

The writers could take the story even further with an episode to explain the change. Smooth foreheaded Klingon mothers could be mortified by giving birth to bumpy-headed babies. There could be an eventual conflict between the smooth and bumpy Klingons. There is so much potential with these storylines. Racism could be explored with these visual differences. There could be no limit to the possibilities with these stories however, the writers of The Next Generation missed this golden opportunity.

Don’t laugh, Worf. The writers NEVER explained the bumps on your forehead!

I do love it when Klingons sing their operas. They are beyond cool.

Viewers Failed

The Star Trek franchise has failed the viewers by NEVER explaining the changes in Klingons.

I think Spock would find all of these writing flaws unacceptable and “not logical,” and even he, like me, would stop watching all installments of the Star Trek franchise after the original series.

It’s only logical.

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