Thirty Days of Star Trek: Most Shocking Moment
Day 10 - Most Shocking Moment
Because storytelling in tv has changed so much in the intervening decades, this is one of those things, like Vader’s original revelation to Luke near the end of Empire Strikes Back, that I guess is almost impossible for younger viewers to feel in the same way, but: „I am Locutus of Borg“, the Best of Both Worlds I cliffhanger.
Something like that just never happened to the Captain of a ST show, which back then meant: they didn’t happen to Kirk. Getting captured, sure, getting tortured - and manfully resisting - sure, but being turned into a Borg, with all the inside out violation of body and mind that implied, and set on destroying as much of humanity (for lack of a better term) as possible: nope. It made Picard instantly more vulnerable and real to me that it could happen to him, and it was horrifying in a way that was intensified one and a half episodes later when it became clear that another Star Trek first was happening: he still wasn’t okay and over it once the two parter was concluded.
Since then, of course, any amount of trauma has been visited on leads of Sci Fi shows, in Trek and out of it (John Crichton waves) , often longer and worse (if one violation can compete with another) than what happened to Picard, not to mention that with all the anti heroes on tv, leads have been committing dark deeds without any Borgification assistance. Having a past to feel guilty about isn’t anything unusual anymore. Regular characters dying is something that happens, even in Star Trek.
Which is, perhaps, why none of the later events ever felt to me as shocking as this one.
Day 1 - Favorite TOS Episode
Day 2 - Favorite Federation Race
Day 3 - Favorite Starship
Day 4 - Favorite Captain
Day 5 - Saddest Event
Day 6 - Happiest Event
Day 7 - Favorite TNG Episode
Day 8 - Favorite Federation Enemy
Day 9 - Favorite Character
Day 11 - Crew Position You Would Want
Day 12 - Crew Position You Wouldn't Want
Day 13 - Favorite DS9 Episode
Day 14- Favorite Time Travel Episode
Day 15 - Favorite First Officer
Day 16 - Favorite Voyager Episode
Day 17 - Favorite Trek Novel
Day 18 - Favorite Non-Aligned Race
Day 19 - Favorite Enterprise Episode
Day 20 - Character You're Most LIke
Day 21 - Least Favorite Character
Day 22 - Favorite Trek Film
Day 23 - Best Trek Tech
Day 24 - Best Overall Space Vessel
Day 25 - Favorite Discovery Episode
Day 26 - Planet You Would Most Like To Visit
Day 27 - Character You Would Date
Day 28 - Name Your Own Starship
Day 29 - Favorite Trek Quote
Day 30 - Favorite Trek Series
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1357116.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Because storytelling in tv has changed so much in the intervening decades, this is one of those things, like Vader’s original revelation to Luke near the end of Empire Strikes Back, that I guess is almost impossible for younger viewers to feel in the same way, but: „I am Locutus of Borg“, the Best of Both Worlds I cliffhanger.
Something like that just never happened to the Captain of a ST show, which back then meant: they didn’t happen to Kirk. Getting captured, sure, getting tortured - and manfully resisting - sure, but being turned into a Borg, with all the inside out violation of body and mind that implied, and set on destroying as much of humanity (for lack of a better term) as possible: nope. It made Picard instantly more vulnerable and real to me that it could happen to him, and it was horrifying in a way that was intensified one and a half episodes later when it became clear that another Star Trek first was happening: he still wasn’t okay and over it once the two parter was concluded.
Since then, of course, any amount of trauma has been visited on leads of Sci Fi shows, in Trek and out of it (John Crichton waves) , often longer and worse (if one violation can compete with another) than what happened to Picard, not to mention that with all the anti heroes on tv, leads have been committing dark deeds without any Borgification assistance. Having a past to feel guilty about isn’t anything unusual anymore. Regular characters dying is something that happens, even in Star Trek.
Which is, perhaps, why none of the later events ever felt to me as shocking as this one.
Day 1 - Favorite TOS Episode
Day 2 - Favorite Federation Race
Day 3 - Favorite Starship
Day 4 - Favorite Captain
Day 5 - Saddest Event
Day 6 - Happiest Event
Day 7 - Favorite TNG Episode
Day 8 - Favorite Federation Enemy
Day 9 - Favorite Character
Day 11 - Crew Position You Would Want
Day 12 - Crew Position You Wouldn't Want
Day 13 - Favorite DS9 Episode
Day 14- Favorite Time Travel Episode
Day 15 - Favorite First Officer
Day 16 - Favorite Voyager Episode
Day 17 - Favorite Trek Novel
Day 18 - Favorite Non-Aligned Race
Day 19 - Favorite Enterprise Episode
Day 20 - Character You're Most LIke
Day 21 - Least Favorite Character
Day 22 - Favorite Trek Film
Day 23 - Best Trek Tech
Day 24 - Best Overall Space Vessel
Day 25 - Favorite Discovery Episode
Day 26 - Planet You Would Most Like To Visit
Day 27 - Character You Would Date
Day 28 - Name Your Own Starship
Day 29 - Favorite Trek Quote
Day 30 - Favorite Trek Series
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1357116.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.