[Article rec] Minimalist Magic: The Star Trek Look

[my_daroga]

Minimalist Magic
The Star Trek Look
By Mervyn Nicholson (thanks to zainin666 for the link)

"By treating the style of the original series as integral to the show - and not as a kind of regrettable defect - we can get a better grasp on the Star Trek phenomenon itself."

This article covers a lot of territory under the umbrella of discussing Star Trek as

Comments

[thundercrap]

This same method was utilized by Paul Darrow in Blake's 7. Season 3 especially ended up drawing a lot of people in as fans (including me), and that's because Darrow's drama was much more compelling than Blake's somber, flat, brooding angst. Whereas Darrow looked like he wanted to confront everything that came his way with a high heeled swagger.

Despite the exaggerating people do when they make fun of Shatner, he talks the way I've noticed many midwesterners to talk. So I think for where he grew up, compared to Data's family being Chinese and Picard being French, he was pretty accurate.

[my_daroga]

I have never seen Blake's 7! I should. But yes. There is a certain comfort, I think, in sometimes having that heroic figure out front. Given, I love anti-heroes. I love movies about serial killers. I mean, I'm not all sunshine and puppies. But Kirk makes me happy.

I don't think he's that bizarre, frankly. And I think most impressions of him are just very exaggerated. There are some unnecessary pauses, but I've seen the same in Shakespeare.

Wait. How is Data's family Chinese? I haven't seen the show since it was on. I am going to re-watch, but... yeah.

[thundercrap]

Soong is a Chinese name and Noonien Soong in semi-canonical works is acknowledged to be of Chinese descent. Which, okay, I guess it's a fun political statement.

Blake's 7 is pretty fantastic. Dayna Mellanby is one of my favorite female characters ever (I put up a few of her scenes here) and Kerr Avon has some good lines.

[my_daroga]

I guess I just assumed the name was... something they liked, rather than a statement of actual ethnicity. Which is interesting in its own way. Like Simon and River Tam. Were they supposed to be Chinese?

I'll have to watch when I get home, but I did see archery and some bralessness, so that is pretty much enough to count her a-ok in my book.

[thundercrap]

It could be. I think in either case it might be a statement that race matters less. They didn't feel token charactered up, either.

She's pretty independent, which I appreciated. And could still wear pretty clothing on occasion without being ridiculous about it.

Gender issues in shows is one of my big ranting points ( see here). I'll say here instead of my other journal that I hate the character of River Song. She started out with potential, and originally I liked her, but she quickly became a human macguffin who serves no other purpose than to be a future love interest and curiosity for the audience. Moreover a creepy one, because every time she meets him she has the same desperate, "Is it you!?" reaction of girlish desperation with what otherwise is a commanding personality. She turns into a ridiculous love-sick poppet because the Doctor tamed her brash and bad-girl ways as men are supposed to do with temperamental women. Moreover, it doesn't even feel like there's a plan with her

[my_daroga]

It could be. I think in either case it might be a statement that race matters less. They didn't feel token charactered up, either.I think there are arguments on both sides, and depending on the day, I could take either one. It's interesting, though

[thundercrap]

I think Moffat went, "I want to do this same story better than RTD did it!" Because there are elements that are too close of a repeat, considering I know that Moffat was a classic Who! fan

[my_daroga]

That's an interesting observation re: mystery and Seven, who I only remember from when it was actually on. (Ahhh, PBS in the 80s!) I liked Tennant, found him engaging, and for my part I'd have been fine with a story that was more or less about how he was amazingly fucked up. But it read more, to me, like "listen to my mainpain and how it makes me even awesomer." And I have trouble straddling that divide: it's hard for me to enjoy the escapist adventure when Issues keep coming up, so I either want the Issues (told well) or the adventure with less interference from my D: face when he does something totally appalling and the narrative doesn't call him on it. (I know, I know, I want a lot.)

Mickey was lost and I was so turned off by how he was treated--both by the Doctor and the writers. They seemed to hate him. But then, I sort of think they hated Martha, too, and others along the way.

The movie was fun. It was Star Wars Episode IV all over again.

Ahaha. Yes. My thoughts exactly. With an added, "But I already have Star Wars."

[thundercrap]

That's precisely how it turned out. Old Who vs. Nu Who I often describe as Journey to the West vs Dracula. One an Immortal going on a journey and your reactions of, "What the fuck is he doing now?" and the other an Immortal pining for his lost kingdom and love, no matter who he's with.

And god, Mickey got treated like scum. Thankfully my friendy is going to play him at my sandboxy place. It always makes me feel better when they don't get the raw end of the deal.

I thought I was the only one to have noticed. "Guys... guys this... this was fun... but it was Star Wars... Did anyone notice? No? O-Okay then. :["

[my_daroga]

That's a good summation. And yay Mickey! He deserved better.

You were not the only one. It was cemented, too, by assorted interviews which (while trying simultaneously to inform you that "this is not your father/grandfather's Trek" and "no Trekkie could possibly be disappointed") outright said, "You know those parts where they'd sit around talking about ethics and delegating and figuring out how to handle stuff? Yeah, that's boring, so we got rid of it."

And I was like... But that's why I love TOS!

[thundercrap]

And yet they try to recapture a friendship between Kirk and Spock after placing a woman uncomfortably between them. I got pretty angry when I was informed by many people how Spock was going to be so much better and more awesome since he made up with his father so early on and that it was just always right that he was with Uhura.

I was all, "He shot her the fuck DOWN in the show! I don't even know where this came from!"