PATREON EXCLUSIVE - Why Star Trek Needs Sci-Fi, but Not in Every Episode | Star Trek Journey 183

this episode had to happen to not just move on post BOBW

trouble is it has to be a balance. Why i'm not a fan of Trek past 2009, because it became all about looking internally and it lost its abiity for Science Fiction and looking Outward.

Yes, Quantum Leap does get better as it goes. You quit too soon.

This is a fair perspective, and what I'm about to say is not an attempt to invalidate it. Given you guys' stated preferences, I'd dig your expansion into non-Sci Fi content. Sci Fi, especially (and I love Star Trek!) sort of dated network TV SciFi, tends not to be the best possible venue for deep character development. When I hear the kinds of stories you're into, I think "Man, Star Trek rocks, but why aren't we watching, like, The Wire on this channel?"

I haven't been very active in the community lately but I have to say I love this addition to your programming

This is the most well spoken I’ve seen Alex. I like it!

Star Trek doesn't need Science Fiction; It IS Science Fiction.

I agree with your point, Alex. This episode is exactly what the show needed after the enormous things that just went down. This isn't my favorite episode, but it's a perfect tangent to compliment the Borg threat. My favorite episode is very sci-fi, and I still predict many, many tears. From both of you.

Counterpoint: I do not look at my screen to see the same things I can see out the window. I can see war and suffering out the window anytime. Good Trek for me are what many call the bad episodes, Lazarus or Vger and the mystery of what is going on and why are they here. When it turns out we've arrived at yet another planet with a Vietnam war playing out it just gets annoying.

I think the real point is the Sci-Fi does not have to be central to everything. The Wire, Game of Thrones, BSG etc are all great in spite of the Crime, Fantasy ( and Incest!) or Sci-Fi respectively. They are great because of the characters you care about and a story that keeps you interested just like Trek.

I don't agree a crime show can exist without a crime. I disagree with this entire premise. Alex, I wish he posted here to explain further, has this fixation on seeing grief and people crying. Crying to me is a gimmick, it's "Terms Of Endearment" writing with a side of Bette Midler singing in "Beaches". It's fine but no more meaningful than laughing. Also, if TOS followed this advice it would have been canceled immediately--if it got on the air at all-- and we would not be on this forum right now. Story is everything, nothing can exist outside the story. You want good characterization but it has to come within the story, not instead of the story.

its perhaps weird because i do enjoy the soap opera aspect of star trek such as this episode Family and I really hate soap operas in general

To me that is what I liked most from TNG was the character development. I loved that they were able to balance the Sci-Fi elements and the drama behind the characters. I am such a fan of character building, maybe because I love to write, that a show will lose my interest if it lacks that. Also all the characters got equal development, From Picard to Wesley yes even Wesley. I was so happy that (maybe a minor spoiler) this continues on into DS9.

When I was ten and this premiered I wanted cool aliens and space battles. As one gets older you realize I am not rewatching these over and over for 30+ years for those elements. It's the characters and the character development that has kept me coming back.

Science Fiction is similar to the competition element of pro wrestling or the hospital in every medical drama. It's merely the structure on which you paint your story. A star exploding is no different from the dying patient, the crazed serial killer, or the repressive Mr. McMahon owner in that these things exist to give the hero(s) some obstacle to overcome.

Good points, guys. Sci fi is a palate which you can use to paint whatever story you want. I don't see it as a type of story in and of itself. Same thing could be said and done with westerns. Medieval fantasy. You name it. Good stories are good stories, regardless of the setting and trappings.

Science Fiction is in every episode of Star Trek. 1. It's set in the future with FTL starships. That's in the core conceit. 2. Even in episodes like "Family," we're still featuring alien, non-human, characters. (Worf and Guinan.) 3. The clash between Picard is tradition versus progress, and it is showcased predominately with technology. The shot of the vineyard with the future city in the backdrop is exhibit A. 4. Picard is torn between two science fiction jobs. Starship captain, or helping build a city under water. Star Trek is always like this. Human stories with science fiction accents. Whether the science fiction is overt and in your face, or not. That is always what Star Trek has done, from the beginning. The best stories showcase a human drama with a science fiction twist.