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hologramofham • yesterday at 11:39 PM • 4 replies • view on HN

It's a pity that, since STNG and DS9, Star Trek has devolved into nothing but space opera and indulgent character drama.

Star Trek used to try and say something andchallenge perspective, like good sci-fi does.


Replies

selfhoster1312 • today at 7:47 AM

Star Trek still does this, as someone mentioned about Strange New Worlds. Discovery has perspectives about authority and insubordination, about collapse of civilization depending on a single resource (dilithium), and what happens when a principled organization (the Federation) abandons its principles and is only worried about protecting the organization itself.

Starfleet Academy has explorations of what humanity is from Klingon/robotic perspective (very much borrowed from Worf and Data). It asks the painful question of what when the "good guys" are actually the "bad guys" and you end up a stray orphan because your parents are imprisoned for trying to feed you? What then, of improving the Institutions and becoming a better citizen?

Lower Decks also has a ton of lighter-toned ethical/moral explorations and young adults learning to become better versions of themselves. I think it's a very welcome tone change, and it's very accessible to people who haven't watched much of Star Trek, despite having tons of references to the universe.

Star Trek was always a very political soap opera: DS9 was about what the US government would call antifa terrorists seizing power on their planet. This hasn't changed, even though the formats evolved. Some i appreciate more than others, but i welcome this exploration.

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robby_w_g • today at 1:31 AM

I like Strange New Worlds. It’s the closest thing we have to modern TNG and DS9

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hackernud3s • today at 12:41 AM

It could get a bit preachy, honestly.

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tuvix • today at 7:37 AM

Come on now Voyager wasn’t that bad