Thirty Days of Star Trek: Happiest Event

Day 6 - Happiest Event

When Star Trek: Discovery was greenlighted. Why? Because it signalled the return of Star Trek to the tv format. No offense to the movies, I like some of them a lot, but the movie framing really does NOT play to what I see as Star Trek’s strengths. Au contraire. The need to come up with a villain to defeat within two hours, the narrowing down from ensemble to three or at best four characters with actual character scenes, the need for flashy space battles – all this is a downside. What’s more, when Wrath of Khan managed to do that, it had the unfortunate after effect that every other ST movie, except for Voyage Home, wanted to be Wrath of Khan as well. And the results were less than stellar, though rarely as embarassing as the reverse „Khaaaaaan!“ scene from Into Darkness.

Whereas to me, part of what makes Trek Trek is its tv origin. In a tv show, you can do a comedy episode one week and a serious character drama the next. You can have different characters take the spotlight. You can explore their development and different relationships for a longer time. And fine, you can do space battles, too, but once or twice a season will do.(You can actually develop other cultures. TOS started with the Vulcans, TNG did it for the Klingons, DS9 for the Bajorans, the Cardassians and the Ferengi, and so forth. ) You can experiment with the format.

Hence my choice. No, Disco isn’t perfect. Chances are Picard won’t be, either. But Star Trek is definitely back where it belongs.


( The Other Days )

Thirty Days of Medici: Love (or at least Sex) Across Space and Time

Day 12 ~ Historical Crackship: Who belongs together, time and space be damned?

Well, the dates would even almost work, but not quite. (I think he was still a youngster in Spain at the relevant time.) I’m thinking Contessina/Rodrigo Borgia, either during Cosimo’s exile in Venice or later between seasons when she’s a widow. Rodrigo is into intelligent, strong-willed women, and he could learn a lot from her. Meanwhile, Contessina deserves an angst-free fling, and since Rodrigo has his eyes up the clerical ladder, it’s clear it won’t be more than that.

Far more cracky, but also fun: Jacopo Pazzi/Winn Adami (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, played by the great Louise Fletcher). She’s a corrupt Renaissance cardinal (later pope) in space who knows what it’s like if some upstart keeps you from ruling your home turf, and has been known to have sex with more than one fellow manipulative bastard. There’d be glorious scheming, mutual back stabbing, and best of all, she’d have zero time for being patronized to and pushed around. Her Eminence is the Kai of Bajor, Jacopo. You better prepare for getting your ear grabbed.

( The other days )