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TNG, DS9, and Voyager had great writers. They deftly wove in contentious issues designed to invoke introspection and consideration of one's own positions, prejudices, and biases. They appealed to people of all political persuasions because they didn't cast judgement. "Oh that's what you believe? Well here's a whole planet built on those hypothetical principles. Here are some cool things, and some terrible things. Make up your own mind."
Star Trek writers today have all the tact and nuance of an angry baboon flinging faeces at the viewer while screaming "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" Without exploration of the plentiful and beautiful nuance in life, what's left is a sermon. A preachy, dire, boring sermon. And who better to lead the ceremony each week than the Maryest of Sues, Michael Burnham.
Comparing TNG with whatever the fuck we have today is an insult to Star Trek, and Trekkie Bill knows it.
You've got an interestingly warped memory of these past episodes. Much judgment was cast, and tolerance of the intolerant was never a theme.
and tolerance of the intolerant was never a theme.
I'm sorry but this is bullshit. I cite episode 1-2, season 1. Q places Picard and the Enterprise on trial for the misdeeds of the human race. This character and plot re-emerges many times throughout this show and others. As recently as Picard season 3. Q's accusation is that the human race is guilty of crimes. He calls humanity a "dangerous, savage child-race." He's right, of course, which is what gives the theme gravitas. Picard's ongoing game with Q is a form of atonement rather than a test. The theme is that us humans are clearly fallible, and guilty of much, but also capable of heroism and feats of bravery and altruism.
Star Trek isn't Star Wars, with a baddie and a goodie. The three shows I cited explore the grey area between what you think is right, and what someone else thinks is right. They are powerful and thought-provoking precisely because they don't treat the audience like children, or parishioners in their pews. "Tolerance of intolerance" was one of the central themes in Star Trek, because the writers demanded we explore the nature of our morality ourselves. As a Star Trek fan I'm surprised to be explaining this to you.
Refer to Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, and try again.
That’s fair. I think the writing in the original is rather ham-fisted. I suppose there’s no one way to describe Star Trek. With such wildly different writing quality between shows we each have enough ammunition to prove any thesis we like.
I had made a reference to Battlefield some time ago, to my viewing partner for the new shows, and she didn't remember the episode, so we watched it. The takeaway that I got from watching it now, is that mostly Kirk spent the episode yelling at the others about how humans are far superior to the aliens, with very little room to debate that.