29 Days of Stark Trek, all at once

[selenak]

Because how could I not do this meme? My first fannish love and all that. Although the meme has the same question twice and a dire lack of friendship instead of romance shipper questions, though I took the liberty of replacing the redundant question with a gen one.



1 - Which Star Trek series is your favorite?

DS9, with TNG following immediately after. I refuse to do the usual thing and play them out against each other, being a both/and girl. I love that the ST verse gave us both, and for two years overlapping, no less.

2 - Who is your favorite character?

Only one, in all the Treks? Bah. It's hard for even one ST incarnation. But I'll try.

TOS: Spock in the original version, Uhura in the reboot.
TNG: Jean-Luc Picard. Oh Captain, my Captain. No question about it.
DS9: Used to be Garak, now is Quark, with Dax very close behind.
VOY: A tie between Seven of Nine and the Doctor. Am appreciating Janeway more and more as time goes by, too.
ENT: see above. Not enough canon to judge fairly.

3 - Who is your least favorite character?

Captain Jonathan Archer, though I feel a bit like I'm cheating when using ENT to answer the question, since I've watched only a few eps of s1 and all of s4 of his show, and I hate it in other shows if people judge characters without knowing all the canon. Next choice: Chakotay on VOY, for the sin of being completely bland and for some bemusing reason fancied by three interesting women.

4 - What was the first Star Trek series you watched?

TOS.

5 - What was the first episode/movie you watched?

"Where no man has gone before", aka the second TOS pilot. This meant child!me had no idea Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner weren't regulars. Oy.

6 - Your favorite canon pairing? (Canon being the series and the movies, including the reboot.)

Either Kira/Bajor or Garak/Cardassia. What? I defy you not to call this canon. Also while I disliked the one dimensionality of post-Waltz Dukat I thought Dukat/Winn was a great idea.

7 - Your favorite non-canon pairing?

I discovered slash via Q/Picard and Garak/Bashir, and am still fond of both, but I haven't read either for ages, I must admit.

8 - Your favorite actor/actress? (Not the same as character.)

I love many of them; George Takei by now owns the internet (and YouTube) (and wrote the most interesting TOS memoirs), Nichelle Nichols is a beautiful lady who had to put up with much crap and did so with amazing grace and spirit, Walter Koenig owns my heart not just for his funny deadpan and self critical (which no other TOS actor managed) memoirs but also because he played one of my favourite Babylon 5 characters (and when I recently by lj surfing read someone call Bester Evil!Chekov I wanted to scratch their eyes out, I kid you not, because one of the many great things about Bester is that Koenig pulls this off without me thinking about Chekov for a second). Armin Shimmerman almost singlehandedly transformed a one dimensional stereotype into a great character and interesting species, was always great at conventions and added enjoyment to one of my other fandoms (BTVS) as well, Siddig el Fadil aka Alexander Fiddig only gets more gorgeous with age, Nina Visitor was so great to see again on BSG, and so forth, and so on. But really, whom am I kidding? Those repeated trips to England in order to see him on stage kind of give it away, wouldn't you say? PATRICK STEWART. For his awesome acting & voice, his fantastic put down of annoying Newsweek reporters bashing Trekkers, his equally fantastic put down of homophobic reporters who when shortly after TNG ended he starred in "Jeffrey" asked whether it wasn't "weird" to play a gay character, and his fight against domestic violence.

9 - What's your favorite episode?

This is a joke, right? Okay then, let's try with one a few for each show.

TOS: The Naked Time. The original alien virus makes everyone go emo or crazy episode, and still the best. Has both serious drama (Spock's famous breakdown about his mother) and humor (swashbuckling Sulu and the "to me, fair maid!"/"sorry, neither!" exchange with Uhura). Runner up: The Trouble with Tribbles.

TNG: Not counting "Best of Both Worlds" & "Family" for two parter and inofficial trilogy ness, which nixes the one episode idea, and also not "All good things..." which is the best finale ever but also a two parter... either "Measure of a Man" or "Darmok" for being TNG at its TNGest and unrepentant idealistic best. In the running for third or so place: "Face of the Enemy" for being a great spy story, giving Deanna Sirtis and Deanna the chance to shine and for including my favourite Romulan character in all of Trek. (Female Romulan commanders rock in general, but this one is my favourite.)

DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight" for being DS9 being its DS9-nest shades of grey best. Runner up: "Trials and Tribble-ations" for best Trek/Trek crossover and best homage to TOS ever, followed by "Our Man Bashir" for best use of the holosuite concept and better use of the Bond formula than many a Bond movie has, and "The Wire" because it was the first tv canon that made me see slash.

VOY: "Someone to watch over me". It's all about the Doctor and Seven, and charms the pants off me, every time, what can I say.

10 - What's your favorite species? (Humans are a species as well.)

Cardassians, for literal shade of greyness and often getting the best lines in their conversations.

11 - What's your least favorite species? (See question 9 about species.)

Alas, the Pakled (TNG) and Kazon (VOY) both made me wonder what the writers were smoking. Mind you, many a species starts as a caricature, but as opposed to, say, the Ferengi, these weren't fleshed out later. Still, I did not feel dislike and loathing. No, I reserve that for only one species: THE PROPHETS. (Ask Sarah Sisko why.)

12 - What's your favorite funny moment?

Jadzia Dax: He's so much more handsome in person. Those eyes! I had no idea.
Sisko (indulgently): Captain Kirk was quite the ladies' man.
Dax (scornfully): Not him. Spock!


13 - What's your favorite dramatic moment?

For me as a first time watcher, the sight of Picard as Locutus of Borg at the end of "Best of Both Worlds" probably won't be equalled. (Something new watchers will never get the full emotional impact of - it's one of those "Luke, I am your father!" things that are shattering the first time around but so often imitated afterwards that you can't experience them in the same way. Runner-up: Nog loses his leg in the last season of DS9 and Quark keeps watch while there's a war going on around them and Vic Fontaine's voice comes from a recording. Ron Moore liked that one so much he copied paid homage to it years later on BSG with Felix Gaeta. Definite third place: Sisko ending In the Pale Moonlight with the words "I can live with it".

14 - What's your favorite Star Trek quote?

"The truth is usually just an excuse for a lack of imagination." (Garak, of course.)


15 - How did you get into Star Trek?

Caught it on tv as a child.

16 - Are you involved with Star Trek fandom?

Not as close as I once was - i.e. it's been years since my last convention - but I still love the 'verse dearly, and had fun being assigned DS9 again on Yuletide last year.

17 - Have you read any of the books? If so, which ones?

I used to read some TOS novels back in the day before TNG - Vonda McIntyre's novels, pus "The Pandora Principle" which is probably my favourite TOS novel (SAAVIK!). And then I enjoyed Peter David's early TNG novels a lot; my copies of "Q-Squared" and "Imzadi" are much thumbed. By the time I got into DS9, however, my interest in novels sank, not least because I was starting to read more and more fanfic. Now I only read Trek novels when there's a particular occasion and someone tells me I must. (The last one was "The Never Ending Sacrifice" by altariel which was fabulous.)

18 - If you could be any species in the Star Trek universe, what would you be?

I'll stick with being human, seeing as we get to travel for free to the far ends of the galaxy while other species still have to earn money to make their living.

19 - How did the Star Trek reboot affect you?

It was a pleasant surprise after the Kirk part of the trailer and some J.J. Abrams interview made me anticipate the worst. Also, I appreciate all the influx of new writers it brought to the fandom.

20 - Of the minor characters (one shots, not the recurring ones) who’s your favorite?

I'm stretching the definition of "one shot" because otherwise some people showing up in a measly two episodes would be excluded.

TOS: Sarek. Duh. (He's only in one episode of the original show, and two on TNG, and thus qualifies.) It would be Saavik, but she's in three of the films counting that cameo in IV. If both Saavik and Sarek are counted as recurring, I'm going with Gillian from IV - The Voyage Home, who went to the future for the whales and while liking Kirk and Spock just fine was in love with neither of them.

TNG: K'eylehr tied with Carolyn Seymour's Romulan commander; runner up is Vash.

DS9: Pel.

VOY: Kashyk.

ENT: see above.

21 - Which Star Trek food would you want to try at least once?

Hasperat. I like spicy food.

22 - Which Star Trek world would you want to visit at least once?

The one who speaks entirely in metaphors from Darmok, because I'm curious how every day requests like "where's the restroom?" work. Bajor though I'd have to be extra careful about not venting re: Prophets.

23 - Is there anything you'd want to change about Star Trek? Why?

In general: as many another has replied to this question, visible, recurring and regular LGTB characters instead of the occasional awkward one episode metaphor attempt.

In particular and specific to each show:

TOS: "Turnabout Intruder" which is sexist even for its time does not happen. Also, the ensemble, not just Kirk-Spock-McCoy, has more opportunities to get narrative focus.

TNG: let's write the Ferengi from the get go as they were on DS9, shall we? Also, the movies don't forget the appeal of Picard is that he's man of intellect, not an action hero.

DS9: Dukat either dies instead of Ziyal or gets Damar's arc, my fondness for what he contributes to Winn's tragedy notwithstanding. Also, no silly fisticuffs in the firecaves with Sisko.

VOY: Chakotay gets either written or played better, or replaced by another character. (And under no circumstances hooked up with my poor Seven at the end.) Also, Seska as the sole recurring Cardassian is written with more layers.

24 - Is there anything about Star Trek that has disappointed you?

See above.

25 - How has Star Trek changed you?

It made me into a fan. It was my first fandom. It taught me about so many things re: storytelling, characters, fannish responses, fannish interaction with each other. And it meant I could chat with it for two hours with one of our leading female politicians to the utter bemusement of our two male companions.

26 - Lots of Star Trek Parodies out there. Which do you dig?

Galaxy Quest is the best, obviously. But that wicked scene in a certain season 3 of Blake's 7 episode which parodies the "space: the final frontier" speech is great, too.

27 - What would you cross over with Star Trek?

Everything. And I already made some effort in that direction. :)

28 - If you could change one thing about Star Trek, what would it be? (That's the repetitive question, so, instead:) Your favourite friendship in Star Trek?

TOS: Earlier grumblings aside, Kirk-Spock-McCoy. All three, mind you, not just Kirk and Spock.

TNG: Data and Geordi for buddy-ness, Deanna and Beverly for first female bonding I saw on tv, Picard and Guinan for most tantalizing and intriguing.

DS9: Excluding the two friendships I see as having romantic overtones (Garak/Bashir, Quark/Dax) - Sisko and Dax tied with Sisko and Kira, for very different and one similar reason. In both cases, it's the relationship between a male and female regular, and in neither case, Mirrorverse eps and sex pollen stories aside, is there UST. Kira's early on butting heads with Sisko and her later fierce loyalty to him isn't dependent on feelings of romance between them, or on them having different genders. They have the same type of relationship they'd have were both female or both male, and it's probably my favourite Captain-First Officer one, and the only one which ends with the First Officer in charge of the command as the completion of her arc. Meanwhile, with Sisko and Dax, the fact that Sisko used to relate to Dax as older and male and now has to adjust to Dax as female and in a young form is something that factors in, early on, but it balances itself out; while it's usually Dax giving Sisko advice, we do see the occasional reverse as well (the Lenara Kahn situation and Ezri trying to decide whether or not to stay come to mind); Dax as Sisko's best friend and touchstone is something that I could really believe in throughout the show, and that sadly is still rare for m and f tv relationships.

VOY: Janeway and Seven of Nine. You can qualify it as maternal or slashy or neither, but it's definitely the relationship between two Voyager regulars that most captivated me, from the moment Seven, just severed from the Collective, asked Janeway how Janeway squared her belief in free will with refusing to let Seven return to the Collective. It has all the mixture of tension and empathy and neither side being completely right that all my favourite relationships carry.


29 - If you could tell Gene Roddenberry one thing, Star Trek related or not, what would it be?

Thank you, and also: sharing credit is your friend. (But I'm so on your side re: ST V!)

Comments

[rembrandtswife]

You and I have so many Trek opinions in common, particularly regarding favorite eps. I think I love TOS a little more than you do--I suspect because I'm old enough to have seen it as a child and been shaped by it, and maybe you are not.

[selenak]

No, I saw it. In reruns, but I saw it (born 1969), before any other ST. What can I say? My first Doctor isn't my favourite Doctor, either, as my first ST isn't my favourite Trek. Maybe I'm just wired this way.

[rembrandtswife]

Ah, you're a little younger than I am, then, but not much. Hah, I think my first Doctor still is my favorite--Four, the only one I ever saw till I was an adult.