The downfall of Star Trek.
So I've been reading through the issue of Star Trek Communicator where they focused on DeForest Kelley after his passing, and I've been reading the other articles too, not just the ones about DeForest Kelley. I am in the middle of one about the end of Voyager's fifth season, and leading into the 6th (this issue is from 1999) and I came across a quote that explains to me why Star Trek ended up jumping the shark for Enterprise, significant portions of Voyager and the recent movies.
Speaking about the fifth season closer/sixth season opener, Equinox, Braga says "It was more character oriented while still being good science fiction." This sentence screams stupidity, and a lack of understanding what good science fiction really is. Good hard science fiction (something Trek never really ever has been, regardless of how much I have loved the franchise overall) is about human nature, human psyche, and how advancements in technology and society interact with these human elements. The quote from Braga implies that character oriented story is something that doesn't naturally belong in science fiction, almost like character oriented story and science fiction are oil and water attempting to be mixed. I want to know how one can really explore and come to understand the nature and psyche of humanity in this way without having a character oriented story.
Such a lack of understanding leads to a show that claims to be science fiction, that is called science fiction by the unwashed masses, but fails completely and utterly at being science fiction. When the people so largely in charge of the project fail to grasp such key concepts like this, you can't help but get things like Enterprise, or movies like Insurrection. This one quote explains so much of what I'd seen done to a franchise I loved, and now am loathe to be involved in outside of enjoying a particular selection of episodes and movies, or being involved in a role play environment where the in game reality has nothing to do with the mess that Paramount has delegated to morons like Braga.
Part of me hopes that Star Trek can rise again now that these bad men have had the reigns taken from them, but so much of what I've heard about the next Trek movie scares me, I suspect the most I'll do is download a copy to watch, or borrow the DVD when my dad buys it like the blind trek whore he is, just to be able to still say "I've seen every trek movie at least once, even the horrible ones."