The 100 Greatest Things About Star Trek Part 3
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50. Section 31- It was nice of DS9 to do a commentary on the utopian society of Star Trek. Regardless of how far we might advance as a culture, human nature is what it is. We’ve seen this over and over in Trek– we’ve seen humans steal, mutiny, and commit murder, yet somehow there is no crime, no war, and no racism in the 23rd and 24th centuries. Surely there must be some catches to such a perfect society, and one of them is Section 31. It’s a fantastic paradox to Starfleet, an ends-justifies-the-means organization that will do absolutely anything for Federation interests and doesn’t answer to anyone. It was set up in the original charter and since no one knows exactly who is working for it, Section 31 can’t be shut down. This showed a dark side to Starfleet that was previously unexplored and although Trek’s largest appeal is its positive view of the future, this was a fresh idea at the time and a smart reality check.
49. “The Menagerie”- I include this episode rather than “The Cage” because, despite the fact that TOS’ original pilot was extremely original for the time and is still quite compelling, “The Menagerie” managed several great feats for the series. It’s the show’s only two-parter and it uses footage from a show that otherwise couldn’t have been aired, since “The Cage” was rejected by the network. Rather than just looking like a flashback episode, the events of “The Cage” are used to advance an equally compelling story about Spock putting his life on the line for his former Captain. It also included that scene with the Orion slave girls, who couldn’t have become so popular without it, and the ever memorable chair that the paralyzed Captain Pike sat in, which had a light in the front that beeped once for “yes” and twice for “no.”
48. TOS crossovers into other series- Some of the most memorable episodes from the later series are appearances from Kirk’s crew, including TNG’s “Relics” with Scotty, DS9’s “Trials and Tribble-ations” and Voyager’s “Flashback.” Interesting and unpredictable ways were found to use these characters again as opposed to seeing them all at 100 years old, such as Scotty being found in a transporter buffer and seeing Sulu in a memory from a mind meld with Tuvok. This helped to show that the later shows didn’t forget where they come from and these episodes always helped to reinforce what Trek has always been about.
47. Controversial episodes- Although it presents a positive view of the future, Trek has never been afraid to get its hands dirty. It has done a lot of things first in trying to promote things like cultural diversity. Examples are the first interracial kiss on television in TOS and DS9’s lesbian themed episode, in which Jadzia rediscovers an old love whose symbiote is also in another host and both of them are women.
46. Station Deep Space Nine- This makes the list out of sheer originality. Before DS9, no station had ever looked like this before. The circular design outside and the architecture inside, based on Cardassian anatomy, were both quite clever and impressive to see, especially on a television budget.
45. Romulan politics- It’s a shame we didn’t see more than we did, but it was always fascinating to watch a culture based on deceit and paranoia. Romulans were always second guessing each other and other races and one upping each other. It was good to have a race we could see this with since political espionage wasn’t a theme that could very often be explored with Starfleet.
44. Delta Quadrant- Voyager took us to whole section of the galaxy we had never seen before and explored it for seven years. This gave us a number of great, unusual species, including the Hirogen, the hunter species and the Vidiians who harvest body parts. And it allowed the Borg to become a regularly recurring villain since the Delta Quadrant is their point of origin.
43. TNG title theme- This music originally was the theme to The Motion Picture and it was so catchy and memorable that it was rearranged, sped up, and used as the theme to TNG. It’s also used in many of the other films.
42. The death of Spock- Spock’s death at the end of Wrath of Khan is an incredible ending to a classic sci-fi film. He gets a sacrificial, epic, and respectful death worthy of him, unlike some of the attempts that came later (Data, Tucker). It comes as a surprise (at least, it probably would have back then) and is a great set-up for the sequel, though it wasn’t known at the time if Spock would be resurrected or not. This also introduced the concept of the Vulcan katra.
41. TOS episode titles- TOS has titles people are familiar with even if they’ve never seen the episodes. They’re often quotes of literature and when they aren’t, they sound like they should be. Many sound like titles of sci-fi pulp stories of the same period and they make me wish more of the later series’ titles had been more clever– some got close, but then there were the ambiguous ones like “The Battle” and “The Ship.” How can you write titles like those following such TOS greats as “The Conscience of the King” (a Hamlet reference), “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” (taken from a line of George Herbert’s poem “Jordan”) and “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.”
40. Dominion War- It seems almost counter-intuitive to depict a two-season war in Star Trek, yet DS9 pulls it off nicely. Even if you’re a peaceful Federation, you have to go to war if someone like the Dominion threaten your entire way of life. DS9 was very realistic about it– like most real wars, this one too was about politics, imperialism, and religion among a number of other factors. It was complex and not simply about good guys versus bad guys. In the end, not everyone is even still on the same side. We see how war changes people and we’re reminded that no matter what someone believes, he may be forced to fight for it.
39. Food- It’s pretty amazing how much original food items are in Star Trek. In fact, you can even make some of them yourself, and many are really tasty! Gagh and hasperat are among them. Trek is all about complexity and detail; you can tell a lot about a culture based on what they eat– the Klingons eat serpent worms when they’re still alive and the Bajorans like spicy foods, for example. Check out the Star Trek cookbook for recipes.
38. Trials- Major characters have been put on trial for all sorts of things in Star Trek, proving once again that it’s more than just a sci-fi series– it can be a mystery show or even a law show. “The Menagerie,” as mentioned above, is a good example. One of my favorites is “Court Martial” in which Kirk is put on trial for allegedly breaking protocol which seems to get a crew member killed. Another great one is “The Measure of a Man” in TNG, where Data is put on trial to determine whether or not he is alive.
37. EMH- Similar to Data, Voyager’s doctor is interesting because he is an artificial life form who grows beyond his programming and is eventually considered a living member of the crew by his crew mates. The Doctor goes through an incredible transformation over Voyager’s seven year run, from simply an automated holographic doctor with a bad bedside manner to giving Seven of Nine social lessons seasons later. His arrogance makes for great comedy, as well as some of the editions he makes to his programming, like becoming the ECH (emergency command hologram) in an emergency. I’ve also met Robert Picardo at a convention and I think he’s one of the most talented and under-appreciated actors in Hollywood.
36. Gul Dukat- What can I say? He’s Sisko’s Khan. Dukat is the most twisted and psychologically fascinating villains in Star Trek. From the way he tries to justify the horrors of the Bajoran Occupation to his bizarre relationship with Kai Winn and worship of the Pah Wraiths, he is Sisko’s opposite and remains a worthy and terrifying adversary to the end.
35. Data- A character who needs no introduction. Being an android, Data was a major outlet for exploring what it means to be human. He is both comic relief and a subject of serious, philosophical debate, helping us ponder questions of what it means to be alive and why humans feel the way they do. Data is a great character because, while he is trying so hard to be human, we the audience realize that he must have some degree of humanity already simply because he has this strong passion for something. And of course, his lack of understanding humans gets him into a lot of amusing and awkward social situations.
34. “The needs of the one versus the needs of the many”- This is a common theme throughout Trek first referred to by Spock in The Wrath of Khan, who claims that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. In The Search for Spock, Kirk argues the opposite– it isn’t logical, but it is human. These are the great ethical conundrums that make Star Trek great. When should a crew put themselves at risk for a single individual, and vice versa? Spock’s answer is most logical, and yet Picard, Janeway and the like seem to subscribe to Kirk’s idea more often and prevail.
33. Borg Cube- One of the things that make the Borg so terrifying. They send one cube against your entire fleet and you still hardly stand a chance. I loved the simplicity of the cube and how it didn’t have to be aerodynamic like a lot of Federation vessels– it’s in space! The Borg had other kinds of ships later but I never understood why.
32. TOS title theme- The original theme music is one of the most familiar television tunes and makes the list, like several other things, based on how memorable and integrated into our culture it is. The words, however, are not on the list. Yes, there are official lyrics, and they’re pretty bad in my opinion. The opening notes of this theme are included in the TNG theme and at the beginning of every movie theme.
31. “Far Beyond the Stars”- Surreal sixth season DS9 episode that draws a parallel between racism in the 1940s and the events of the Dominion War. Sisko takes on the role of a black sci-fi pulp writer trying to get by and all of the supporting characters are played by the main cast. We get to see the inner workings of a pulp magazine, the familiar cast out of their regular alien makeup, and a strong, heart-filled story that makes us question whether this figment of Sisko’s imagination is more real than his life in the 24th century. What more can you ask for?
30. The “Space, the final frontier…” monologue- That first phrase and “to boldly go where no man has gone before” are constantly quoted in today’s pop culture. It’s a speech that gives the series a mission statement and constant goal to strive for. Naturally, we aren’t always “going where no man has gone before” in every episode, because it’s sometimes fun to see how things are going where we’ve already been, but it’s an idea that I think still fascinates a lot of people. Everyone wants to do something no one has done yet and with modern technology and a lot of history behind us, that becomes harder and harder. What makes it an even better speech is that every line can be pulled apart, analyzed and interpreted, like classic literature.
29. “I’m a doctor, not a…” lines- Doctor McCoy had nearly a dozen of these in TOS. They’re another of those iconic, clever Trek formulas that everyone watches for and they enhanced that charming-yet-sarcastic personality McCoy has. They were a great throwback when the Doctor used them in Voyager but it didn’t have the same effect. Classics include “I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer,” and “I’m a doctor, not a mechanic.”
28. Half-breeds- Yet another interesting Trek formula which helps explore characters’ humanity. Being both human and some other species makes it hard for a character to find his/her identity and it makes for great conflict. This tradition begins with Spock and continues throughout Trek– we see it with Troi in TNG, Torres in Voyager and a number of others.
27. Sarek- When I think of Vulcans, I think of Sarek. He is the perfect example of what Vulcans stand for, which is why he doesn’t always get along with Spock. Their rivalry was always interesting to me because Spock doesn’t like to consider himself human at all, yet he can’t get along with his Vulcan father. Sarek is like a lot of human fathers in that he is very stubborn and wants his son to be just like him. But he’s always wise and has fantastic lines of wisdom every time he appears. He’s one of those characters that only appears a hand full of times but you can’t wait to hear what he’s going to say when he does.
26. “The Inner Light”- Picard lives an entire life in only a few hours when his mind gets linked with an ancient alien probe. This one is full of heart and lets Patrick Stewart– a powerhouse Shakespearean actor– really act, as he carries the episode all by himself. Picard has to accept that he is forced into this new life as some other man and there’s no way to get back to Starfleet, because as far as he can tell, there is no Starfleet. He eventually makes a life for himself, accepts his new life, and we see him live all of it, from young to a very old grandfather. This is also the appearance of the very famous Ressikan flute which Picard plays. One of the most memorable things about the episode is the tune Picard plays with that flute.
LLAP
-Cap’n Logan
Tags: Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, Movies, science fiction, Star Trek, Television, The Next Generation, Voyager