Why do you like Star Trek?

[Profit]

Until recently, I've always thought that most Trekkers loved ST for the same reasons I do. However, after reading posts on this site and discussing this with others I have come to attention that this is not the case.

Thus, my question is why do you like Star Trek?

I have always had a warm heart for ST because of it's philosophical/ethical qualities. I mean, the technology is just silly, it isn't particularly esthetical, the plots aren't that riveting and the action is downright ugly.

//KJB

[AslanC]

Which Star Trek are you talking about? TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager? The Movies? All of them?

[qerlin]

Best thing are the ship designs. Love 'em.

My favorite are the movies, primarily ST II and the Director's Cut TMP: the characters are well done, the ships had a much more realistic feel than any ther period, and the technobabble was kept to a minimum. I love the movies, the rest I just like...

I like TNG okay, more because it was the only decent sci-fi at the time. The frist two seasons were dogs, with a few gems in them, but it improved rapidly through the rest of the series, once the characters were established.

TOS: Okay -- but it's bad. Really bad. If it werent for the fact it blew the doors off the otehr sci-fi of the time, I'd never have watched it. Can't watch much of it now.

DS9: beginnng to wish I'd stuck it out a season or two.

Voyager: oh, god...I can't watch it. It is truly awful. The techno-crap, the cruddy acting, the awful writing...

Enterprise: I like it for the same reasons I liked TOS when I first saw it -- the spiritof adventure, the characters. They've cut way back on the technobabble and that's made it much more tolerable to me. Bakula's the weak point for me; Trinneer makes the show.

Overall, I always prefered B5 to the TNG/DS9/Voyager stuff, and Farscape blows the doors off Trek for me.

[AslanC]

The Spirit of Adventure that seemed to die with TNG was what attracted me to TOS. The bare kuckled sensability and the fantastic fantasy world it was.

This carried into the much lamented TAS (Animated Series) which I can sometimes watch... sometimes.

DS9 was watching the counter balance to the perfect fantasy world of TNG. Seeing the grit and watching the Federation dirty its hands to survive.

Voyager has the sci-fi I like, but the scripts were habitualy weak and the acting often left a lot to be desired.

Enterprise has yet to grab me. And as someone who stood up and cried for everyone to give Bakula a chance, I am now eating crow pie. He and Mayweather just need to be gotten rid of and new actors brought in to replace them.

This is of course, IMHO.

[REG]

Originally posted by Profit
Thus, my question is why do you like Star Trek?

Had you asked me when I was 14-15 years old, I'd say the swashbuckling style of the starship captain, the alien yet logical second-in-command, the down-to-earth ship's doctor, the futuristics technology, the ships, the aliens, and chicks in short skirts. As a kid, it was an escape from being a small-town boy living on an island that HAD one movie theater (it was shut down due to infestation and financial problem) and not enough exposure to Star Wars.

Nowaday, it is still an escape. But I look at it differently, like how people would live in such a universe, how they govern themselves, what regulations, protocols, and procedures does the starfleet have that is learned by its officers and crewmen, debating Kirk's action and repercussion, etc.

Oh, yeah. My childhood home island once again have a movie theater ... a four-plex, actually.

[C5]

I like Star Trek because I happen to love technology a lot, and I love the way ST technology seems all powerful.

I also just love the utopy of Star Trek (TNG era). I know it's a dream, but hey, for me, that's what imagination is for !

I also like how the writers managed to build a coherent universe (save for those continuity errors wich never bother me much).

I like Star Trek because many episodes carry messages of tolerance, understanding, or simply critic of our current faults.

And finally I like Star Trek because of the stories... many of them just rock. I like Science fiction, and many Star Trek stories are very good science fiction stories.

Oh, and I also love the fact that every ST series had its share of humorous episodes - I really appreciate when a series can make fun of its characters.

As for my favourites - well, I simply can't stand TOS except for a dozen of really good episodes, I have some preference for DS9 over TNG (not much) because there's a better continuity from one episode to another... and I really have nothing against VOY or ENT so far (only saw the first 2 seasons of VOY and some episodes of ENT).

[Capt.Hunter]

While the cool technology and the storylines do it for me, the main reason is that it shows that you can put aside differences and learn to cooperate. Cheesy I know, but god knows our world could do with more cheese (preferably some really strong stuff like Roquefort...)

[Ramage]

I come at my love of Trek from the basics.

I am a Kennedy Space Kid.

I was only 4 when JFK was killed, but as a munchkin my little red wagon was, in my eyes, Freedom 7. I followed every launch with deep excitement. And, yes, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when we first landed on the Moon.

Star Trek, in its initial incarnation, embodied everything that the attempt to land on the Moon stood for in my heart -- a hopeful future, a chance to see beyond borders, the excitement of adventure pushed ever further outwards into the stars. I also see a lot of my political attitudes mirrored in the show.

Overall Star Trek is, to me, about hope. Hope that someday we may put away war on this planet (although never totally), that we may get beyond greed, beyond racism. Star Trek is also about the spirit and the soul, the feeling that We Can Improve Our Lot, but there will be struggle along the way. I guess a lot of this had to do with the knowledge that the crew was fallible and knew it, but always tried to do what was right. Most of the time they succeeded. I was more disappointed in TNG because everything seemed to become too fluffy, but DS9 restored my faith in the franchise. Voyager? Oh well, some things are just better left unsaid and having no tv at the moment I cannot comment on Enterprise because I have never seen an episode.

So ultimately Star Trek is, to me, about hope.

[Perrryyy]

I watch Star Trek for the character development, and stories about "the human condition" as well as moral dilemma, but that's just me

[Liquidator Queeg]

Kirk's Ass.

Ok ... well, seriously ...

Kirk kicked the baddie's ass in most episodes, outsmarted the damn computer or brainiac alien, blasted away with phasers now and then, got the hot babe, tore his shirt, and kept a nice head o' hair while doing so. That's why I love Star Trek.

Thank you, Gene. You rock.

Steve

P.S. Oh yeah, the other shows: Pickerd was kinda cool 'cause he was the bald philosopher. Sisko was cool once he got tough, grew a goatee and got bald. Janeway was, well ... she shoulda got bald. Ahem.

[kimq]

I liked TOS because it was ORIGINAL. Though it shared many inherent weaknesses of other television shows of its era, it had something of value to contribute to the social community.

I liked STNG mainly because of Picard. His diplomatic/scientific character slant made for interesting explorative stories. Picard was the ultimate gentleman officer of his era.

I liked DS9 because it showed a relatively fresh face of the ST universe - open conflict. The fleshing of Garek's character over the seasons was a tremendous interest. Each character had a beginning, middle, and end to their individual stories through the entire series.

Voyager was a waste. I only watched it for Kes and 69...I mean 7 of 9. Other than attractive women onscreen, it was a waste. It was a shadow of TOS in so many ways, and a distorted one at that.

Enterprise started with a beautiful concept of early exploration. The wonder was there. However, it was soon ruined by horrifying continuity errors. The ONLY thing worth my attention in this show is Dr. Phlox. He should take over for Beverly on 1701-E.

[Dan Stack]

I watch cause I enjoy it. The idealism is sometimes nice, sometimes boring. For example, I sometimes felt that the characters in TNG were without passion. I need my conflict. I prefer the DS9 view of the Federation - a Federation that has its ideals tested, that sometimes fails those tests.

In any case, I think there's a few things I like about Star Trek. I love the Napoleonic naval feel of the movies and original series, the lone ship exploring, keeping the peace, etc. I love that feel of being all alone exploring the galaxy. Could be why I like Enterprise too. But the stories and characters have to grab me, something Voyager failed to do for me.

I also love the structure of the universe, the history, the various powers, etc. This is probably why DS9 may be my favorite - it brought all those powers together and really brought us into the realm of galactic politics.

Now if Law & Order has a Star Trek spinoff, I'll be in heaven. "Law & Order: DS11"?

[Ramage]

I rewatched "The Trouble with Tribbles" yesterday and was amazed by how radical of a show it was for its day. I mean, you have to compare TOS to what it was up against (and lost to...) in sci fi shows: Time Tunnel and Lost In Space.

On network television they talked about sex, environmentalism, genetically engineered food, implications of free market capitalism, moral responsibility of those who import dangerous products, as well as the much less dangerous topics of dealing civilly with your opposite numbers during a cold war and military versus civil authority.

Not bad

Oh, and unlike TNG, in TOS they drank REAL booze!

[Sea Tyger]

I first remember watching Star Trek reruns in the late 70's, but I know that I was probably watching it well before that. To an 8-year-old, it was the dashing captain, the logical Vulcan, and the worrysome doctor and their chemistry, along with the downright neat-looking starship and her passionate engineer. My first crushes were Nichelle Nichols and Stefanie Powers (of Hart to Hart fame, if you don't remember).

I've stayed a Star Trek fan partially out of loyalty, something that bad acting, sometimes contradictory storylines, and questionable decisions will not drive from me. I will always be a Star Trek fan, and will always try to enjoy the shows.

As I grew up, I came to understand the messages that the show was trying to convey, and I began to realize that Star Trek could give me hope that we, as humans, can be better than we are, that there is hope for humanity. So, Star Trek inspires me to be a better husband, a better father, and a better Christian (yes, it does, despite the lack of human religion in the shows).

But...I still love it for the downright neat-looking starships...

[Kerlof]

"Nostalgia"

I was about 8 when the original series came out, at that time it was truly ground braking.
It has been because of that an integral part of my childhood. The first movie was aired
a short time after I went through basic training and being stationed at FT Sill OK. I can
pretty much remember each movie by where in the world I was at that time. As for
the Next Generation I caught them more in syndication than when first aired do to wars
and deployments etc. To me the NG was hit and miss as far as episodes went, the best
seemed to be the end of and beginning of season two part-ers, like the Borg etc. There
were of course allot of great one off episodes as well. I missed beginnings of DS9 on
the first run but followed the last two seasons very closely and loved um. Voyager never
really hooked me till the last season and even then there were a few really bad shows.
I think though off to a shaky start Enterprise has potential to really be something special,
at least I hope so.....