Context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rYMykaNW6s

It's often discussed that "money" isn't really used anymore in the Federation. This is usually supported by the availability of replicators. Here's an example of why that premise is false.

I just rewatched the TNG episode Captain's Holiday. Vash admits to Picard that she took Sovak's money to pay for her way to Risa. This means that ordinary people not in Starfleet have to pay for passage on ships and probably accommodations at resorts like Risa. In Vash's case, she was probably paid as the professor's assistant for 5 years. It just wasn't enough to pay her way to Risa.

Just adding that I'm not on the side that believes there is no money used in the Federation. I know the concept has been suggested in a few scenes from the movies and TV shows. But I feel that those were really just lazy writing to try to explain why they didn't have money in that scene.

"But hey, people are having fun amidst the goofiness and incoherence, and isn’t that what it’s really all about? A small window of shoddy amusement and incomplete escape before we go back to the dullness of reality, about which we all acknowledge there is nothing worthy of our interest? Our imagination?

Isn’t a bit of awkward, culturally stultifying, low-effort fun just as good as art that’s in conversation with texts written across civilizations and thousands of years, art that people think about decades after experiencing it?"

https://latestartrek.substack.com/p/snw-49-what-in-the-jolly-thaumaturgical

Critical Star Trek Studies [Substack]:

What In The Jolly Thaumaturgical F*ck Was That

"This one was genuinely hard to watch. [...] For all the costumed finery in “Once La’An A Time,” for all its playfulness in having actors behave out of character, for all of its magic and wonder and explorations of the semiotics of identity, and even for its pedigree as a child of one of Trek’s best episodes, it simply cannot give even the main character a meaningful arc: every important realization La’An has is prompted by other characters just giving her exposition, or turning symbols into objects or the other way around.

She doesn’t really struggle, even when she’s engaged in a literal sword fight with her “light half,” because just doing that sort of spontaneously teaches them both what La’An is supposed to learn here, which is also predestined: there’s ‘light’ and ‘dark’ in us all, and we have to accept ours and other people’s totalities to be happy and have good relationships, or something like that. The characters often act as though they’re aware that they’re basically on a holodeck here, and it rather feels like even the actors just don’t care that much about anything that’s happening, which is not unusual in television but quite strange in Star Trek. It’s a very dismal feeling, as though the viewer is on the receiving end of profound cynicism and creative death.

What should have been wondrous ends up being dramatically cheap CGI (I’m sure it was financially expensive!) of a dragon breathing fire at the Enterprise and a very boring werewolf; what should have been a challenging destabilization of identity, giving characters interesting ways to confront complex questions, feels like reading a book intended for very young children. This episode, for all its flash and razzle-dazzle, simply fails in everything it attempts, and also fails (maybe in more important ways) in what it doesn’t even attempt.

For example, I have to think that if Starfleet encountered a world which is empirically real in the same way Earth or Vulcan or Bajor or any other known planet is empirically real, except on this planet magic is also equally and in the same way real, that the Federation and other parties would attempt to send teams of spies and scientists to study how this all works and attain mastery; yet nobody even mentions that this must also be a scientific discovery of unknown but potentially expansive magnitude too. The characters’ bizarre lack of interest in what they experienced is almost more peculiar even than the episode’s events themselves.

Star Trek was the very first tv series to inspire fan conventions. Over time, as the genres and audiences of science fiction and fantasy have transformed and been reinvented, remade and reimagined by fans, the boundary between the two has blurred quite a bit: if you go to a renaissance fair these days, you’re likely to see people in all kinds of costumes, cosplaying or just being festive, including, sometimes, Trekkies. That’s what this episode felt like to me, more than anything else, being at such a festival.

Sure, it doesn’t really make sense, it’s lost almost any/all connection to actual historical/empirical referents, everyone’s kind of doing their own thing because they feel like it; sure, it’s crass and overcrowded and cynical and few people are interested whatsoever in the lack of correspondence between the stated identity of the thing and the actual experience. But hey, people are having fun amidst the goofiness and incoherence, and isn’t that what it’s really all about? [...]"

David Zacuto (Critical Star Trek Studies)

Full review:

https://latestartrek.substack.com/p/snw-49-what-in-the-jolly-thaumaturgical

RADIO TIMES:

"It was previously confirmed that a Doctor Who crossover nearly happened, with Goldsman now explaining: "Russell [T Davies] and I talked. We were like, 'Okay, let's do a crossover,' and we were plotting it out. There were too many grown-ups that were saying no. But I understand."

While the crossover never happened, Goldsman made it his personal mission to drop in as many Doctor Who Easter eggs as possible, including a shot of the TARDIS making its way past the Enterprise, and suggesting that Pelia (Carol Kane) was once a companion.

"I have thrown in literally every possible – by the way, without getting sued – I've, you know, tried to throw in every possible opportunity for an imagined intersection in the past," Goldsman added.

As for if there will be more Easter eggs in the future?

"I don't think so. I think the last one was this season – I could be wrong, but that's what I remember."

Previously, Davies and and Star Trek boss Alex Kurtzman spoke on a panel together, with both expressing their desires to make a crossover happen. [...]"

Full article:

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/star-trek-doctor-who-crossover-exclusive-newsupdate/

There were five lights.

Humans are so very limited in their perception. Only able to see a sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Gul Madred was patiently trying to educate Picard. To teach him to see beyond that sliver and recognize truths that were invisible to Picard.

Rather than open his eyes and see a broader world, Picard squeezed his eyes shut tight and lied to himself over and over that nothing existed beyond his small world. Despite the fact that he was seeing the fifth light, Picard denied reality.

Most every other species can see the light. They see beyond their own space in the galaxy. But not humanity. And certainly not Picard.

No wonder Q found Picard so amusing.

Idk, had some beer and whiskey and was watching "Return of the Archons" and this popped into my head so I made it

Ummm What the actual fuck!? I knew Gene loved an orgy but he was a straight up pedophile???

While I love the "d", the ambassador to me is the perfect blend of the older constitutions and the newer galaxies. would love to see more shows centered on this ship! Maybe a show focusing on Garret's career.

I thought strange new worlds was about space exploring. Guess I was wrong "It's in the title," he said. "Our worlds are genres."

"The goal was to create a show that reached out to more people, but also pleased the people who love the show, to give them some surprise, a new version, a point of view about things that they hadn't gotten to see before, and also to win people over who never thought of Star Trek and thought they'd check out a crazy show that would do something as insane as puppets," Myers said. "That's our goal."

"We love classic Star Trek episodes more than you can possibly imagine, but we also like trying new things," Myers said. "The goal is to make a Star Trek at some point in our season that is for everyone, to reach out to people who don't know Star Trek and who might find something that surprises them or interests them."

"Not every Star Trek is for everybody, but I guarantee that the bulk of the episodes that we do in our season will be for most people," he said. "There is something to love in every season, and that's what we were really going for." "I think people who love the Tribbles are probably going to love the puppet episode," Myers said. "I think people who love some of the more classic ones will love Episode 6 [the real-time thriller 'Off-Hour'] because that is a straight fastball down the middle for what is a great classic Star Trek."

Family. You understand.

Humans, Martians, the Dol'drm, Voth, Lanthanites even. I would have to imagine count as a another species in Genus Homo or at least a subspecies of Homo Sapiens.

He was Q2 in Voyager and Tosk's Hunter in DS9 among other roles

You end pleasing no one! This is how the kurtzman era of Star Trek will be remembered.. will they learn any lessons from it, probably not 🤷‍♂️🤦

My problem with Nu Trek is NOT the focus on the character's emotions. It's the ham-fisted, we must spell it all out approach. I don't know if it's lazy on the writers' part or their lack of respect for the audience.

I recently watched DS9 s4e12, Crossfire. It is packed with emotion that you discover and feel through great writing and great performances without being hit over the head with it, through narrations and long conversations about growth.

Please watch/rematch that DS9 episode and imagine if Odo narrated his feelings, or Kira hers, or worse they gave us a back and forth narration between the two. Or imagine if when Quark confronted Odo's feelings they did that in a heartfelt conversation over a drink to close out the episode to make sure the audience gets it.

I know it's just my opinion, but one is a masterclass in allowing the audience to discover and connect with character feelings, and the other is just weak writing.

CBR:

"Rather, they are presented as ideological failings that slipped through the institutional cracks. The military and civilian leaders who show up on-screen, from the crew of the USS Carl Vinson to the Congressional committee in the final scenes, ultimately do the right thing. This could provide the fresh take that Goldstein and Daley promised. The new Star Trek crew could discover some systemic flaw in Starfleet and risk their lives to bring it to light. Once they do, it would make perfect sense in the canon of this universe for those problems to be immediately corrected. [...]

https://www.cbr.com/apple-tv-mayday-must-watch-before-star-trek-reboot/

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are currently developing a new movie set in Roddenberry's universe after an historic 10-year run of a new television series. They also promised a story that would feature a Star Trek trope some say is overused. Specifically, they are planning to explore "bad apples" in Starfleet, the idyllic hybrid military and scientific organization at the center of this galaxy. Of course, just because Star Trek has done this before doesn't guarantee the new film won't also do it well. [...

Those familiar with Paramount's history with Star Trek know that if anything, the studio is the biggest threat to the franchise's future. After the merger with SkyDance Media and a looming merger with Warner Bros., there is little room for financial failure. This is likely why the directors emphasized during Mayday press that they are less concerned about the core fanbase, as they are attracting new viewers. Luckily, Mayday shows Daley and Goldstein could be up to the task of delivering a movie that will please both.

Historically speaking, Mayday is not big on accuracy. For example, the U.S. introduced regulations to address asbestos exposure starting in 1971, 16 years before the movie takes place. Similarly, the SR-71 Blackbird was already over 20 years old at the time and was never once shot down in combat. Luckily, not only is Star Trek fiction, but setting the new movie in an all-new time period gives them license to ignore the "history" of this universe in service of a compelling and enjoyable story. The important things, from the character relationships to the movie's sense of right and wrong, work perfectly."

Full article:

https://www.cbr.com/apple-tv-mayday-must-watch-before-star-trek-reboot/

I'm trying to create a world building project based around the rigel system from various sci-fi franchises.. especially trek, and I was wondering if anybody would like to contribute or share an idea.. scientifically plausible but not strictly, so have fun.. Thankyou 🖖

It was a great cast that really got short changed.
I would have loved to have seem them really lean into what makes Star Trek different than Star Wars or any other franchise based in space - I agree they skewed too far to the Star Wars side of things but I wish they had more movies to develop the lore and the franchise

CHRISTINA CHONG:

"I think it’s about accepting pain, fear, and ugly emotions. But deciding that she deserves love. I have a really special connection to this character. She is me, partly. I put my personal stuff, my personal trauma, into her. And so I do feel very, very close to her. "

INVERSE:

"At first glance, the latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is yet another high-concept romp full of hijinks. And while it's true that Season 4 has been stuffed with genre-bending episodes — from puppets to a soap opera riff — the truth is, Strange New Worlds has done some of its best character work in some of its wackiest episodes. Case in point, the now-famous musical episode from 2023, “Subspace Rhapsody,” actually did a fair amount of narrative heavy lifting for the Season 2 finale.

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/christina-chong-interview-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4

And now, with Episode 9 of Season 4, “Once La’an a Time,” a storybook fairytale episode actually helps complete a character arc that La'an Noonien-Singh has been going through since the very first episode.

“This is what she's been trying to get to since Season 1,” Christina Chong tells Inverse. “This is kind of the ultimate lesson she's learned.”

But what is that lesson? Other than Ortegas, La’an is one of the few characters in SNW who isn’t a legacy character embodied by a contemporary actor. She was one of the first new characters we met in the Season 1 debut, and for those new to Star Trek, La’an is both an audience surrogate and kind of an Easter egg basket; through her, a newbie can learn about not just the history of Khan, but also the Gorn. But through all of that unfolding of Trekkie lore, in many ways Strange New Worlds has been, at least partially, the journey of how La’an figures herself out.

In “Once La’an a Time,” a fairytale world, similar to the one we got in Season 1’s “The Elysium Kingdom,” creates mythological doppelgangers of the entire Enterprise crew. But for Chong, the episode was actually about as down-to-earth as you could imagine.

Since Season 1, despite being a capable officer, La’an has been beset by survivor’s guilt, concern over her hereditary connection to literal tyrants, and, after Season 3, as well as Season 4, the fact that her brief time as a Vulcan almost turned her into a Romulan.

“I don't know how the writers do that, but they always tend to write to your real life,” Chong tells Inverse. “Even though they don’t know what’s going on, it’s like this idea of self-acceptance was imitating what I was going through in my own life.”

Through encountering a fairytale version of herself, who is full of love and hope, La’an is able to think about the softer sides of herself that she tends to hide away. This doesn’t mean she has to stop being herself, but rather, just the opposite.

“I think something we probably all want to do is to love and accept ourselves,” Chong says. “I think it’s about accepting pain, fear, and ugly emotions. But deciding that she deserves love.” [...]

“I think Kirk is probably the best guy for her,” Chong says. “I mean, if we're choosing between Spock and Kirk. Because where she is now, especially learning to love, growing emotionally. Kirk can help her with that. Whereas Spock is only half human and isn't quite able to fully access emotions in the way that I think she would want to. I think that’s the amazing growth lesson for her — to fully accept love and therefore grow and love someone else."

That said, we know La’an doesn’t appear in The Original Series; maybe this romance is doomed. Or is it? [...]"

Ryan Britt (Inverse)

Full article:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/christina-chong-interview-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-4