New Star Trek series will abandon Gene Roddenberry's cardinal rule

New Star Trek series will abandon Gene Roddenberry's cardinal rule(arstechnica.co.uk)

16 points by rluhar 8 years ago | 6 comments

nabla9 8 years ago |

Good sci-fi extrapolates.

One reason I like Star Trek is that it had some aspects of sci-fi in the social realm. Like the fact that people had culturally evolved a little bit. TNG episode "The Neutral Zone" underlines the cultural differences between Star Trek utopia and the real world.

Too much sci-fi in TV is just projecting current cultural zeitgeist into the future or space. It becomes interesting only afterwards as bottled representation of the past. For example, BSG 2004-2009 stores forever the mental landscape of United States after 9/11.

MR4D 8 years ago |

I'm amazed at this decision. Let's look at it in context:

--CBS wants to present a modern crew (modern to today's standards).

--CBS wants to have a female captain (showing diversity)

--CBS wants to have a black captain (also showing diversity)

But here's the rub. CBS now wants to show that it's leaders are more human than perfect, and show them in a negative light (not all the time obviously).

Pu that together, and you get that CBS is presenting a black female captain who is not as strong as the white males, black males, and white women before her.

I don't get it. Diversity is obviously a good thing, as Gene had a beautiful dream about racism being eliminated. Showing people as more human is understandable, even though Gene thought differently (I have no position on the topic). However, if you really want to promote diversity, why is the first time you decide to show leaders in a negative light also the first time you have a black female captain.

Am I being too sensitive, or do you think this will cause issues, too?

krapp 8 years ago | |

I don't see the "perfection" of previous captains as a strength, so much as a dramatic limitation imposed by Roddenberry's vision. So having a more realistic lead isn't weakness so much as... realism.

And, I would hope we're past the point where casting a black or female lead is still seen as an attempt at "diversity" points.

squozzer 8 years ago | |

Understandable, but my best answer is to say the other series were too naive. Besides, no matter what the series, The Captain Always Wins In The End.

qbrass 8 years ago | | |

She's not captain. She's first officer. edit-- So that doesn't really help her.

lithos 8 years ago |

Well I guess it is closer to what "media influencers" are pushing. Painting leadership in the worst possible lights, that for the good of the main characters to come out things need to end (zombie apocalypse or similar doomsdays), and/or having entire rigged systems against characters.

That being said bigger fans than me have sane claims that Star trek has been about American political counter points (peace and noninterference in cold war, and similar). So if characters are constantly compromising, and actually working on hard problems it might be able to keep those themes (opposed to political deadlock, separation, and short-term gains in reality).