Star Trek: Alpha to Delta Quadrants & Everything In Between

[ThunderSkunk]

As with many things, nostalgia has been kind to Enterprise.

I wonder if it didn't start with that nauseating intro, if I wouldn't have resented it quite so much. It just set the tone as being "off" every time I'd sit down to watch an episode. That and as nice as Mr Bakula is, I could not stop seeing him as Sam Beckett, Quantum Leaping into the role of a starship captain, not knowing what he was doing & hoping no one would find out, every time he was on screen. Really jarring and distracting. Plus the unfinished, industrial warehouse-chic ship eliminated the Star Trek look & feel from Ent, as well as all the nu-trek.

 

[Huntn]

As with many things, nostalgia has been kind to Enterprise. It certainly has it's high moments, but it also continues to have it's low ones. And I think making Archer a "stoic hero" was a mistake when you had an actor with the charm of Scott Bakula playing the role.

The fourth season under Manny Coto was, IMO, a major increase in overall quality of the stories, but of course he got the showrunner job under the condition that this would be the final season.

Jolene Blalock is under-rated. She is a major TOS fan and looked to Spock and Sarek as models for her own performance. It is unfortunate that her treatment somewhat soured her on the franchise.

Spoiler: appearance spoiler

I was so happy to see her return in Star Trek: Lower Decks last week.

I wonder if it didn't start with that nauseating intro, if I wouldn't have resented it quite so much. It just set the tone as being "off" every time I'd sit down to watch an episode. That and as nice as Mr Bakula is, I could not stop seeing him as Sam Beckett, Quantum Leaping into the role of a starship captain, not knowing what he was doing & hoping no one would find out, every time he was on screen. Really jarring and distracting. Plus the unfinished, industrial warehouse-chic ship eliminated the Star Trek look & feel from Ent, as well as all the nu-trek.

I did not stick with Enterprise nor Voyager. Next Gen set the standard which as never matched again as far as talented writing imo. As I recall Entrprise spent a lot of time going down to a planet to help someone. The high point was seeing T’Pol get a rub down in her undies. 😄 It may have been an early Voyager chicken or the egg episode that turned me off, because I wanted to see new story ideas, not retreads. plus I did not care for the Captain. 🤔
Now, I loved the first season of Discovery where they shook things up a bit.

 

[phrehdd]

I wonder if it didn't start with that nauseating intro, if I wouldn't have resented it quite so much. It just set the tone as being "off" every time I'd sit down to watch an episode. That and as nice as Mr Bakula is, I could not stop seeing him as Sam Beckett, Quantum Leaping into the role of a starship captain, not knowing what he was doing & hoping no one would find out, every time he was on screen. Really jarring and distracting. Plus the unfinished, industrial warehouse-chic ship eliminated the Star Trek look & feel from Ent, as well as all the nu-trek.

Interesting take and more than reasonable. I didn't like the intro music either. I disliked the ship because it showed such a lack of imagination and in some ways, childish - "primitive space ship" = 1940's submarine utility look. Worse was the fact that the sets from the 1960s showed a "livable" ship for long journeys and yet Enterprise designers couldn't figure it out. While Bakula might be a tough one for you, I get seeing an episode with Dean Stockwell was well..salt in the wound of sorts. <G> I still like Enterprise quite a bit more than say - Discovery. The latter was such a mix of great stuff and absolute worse.

 

[CWallace]

A serious time investment, but like Jenny Nicholson's granular critique of Disney's Galactic Starcruiser experience, it is really well-researched and well-presented.

For background, Angela Collier is an Astrophysicist as well as a Star Trek fan.

For the record, I hated S1 of Picard, was seriously underwhelmed by S2 and liked S3, but I recognize that like was due to the Member Berries they soaked it in and not because it was structurally superior to earlier seasons.

 

[Mainsail]

Well, I went to my first Star Trek Convention in SF on Friday. Actually, it was my first Con of any kind, and I am 65 y.o.. Anyway, I just got a one day pass and had a great time. Almost all of the fans were in costume (except me). Very nice people and a good vibe all around. Most fans have a favorite Trek, and I guess costumes reflect preferences. BTW - for me, it is Star Trek Enterprise. I know. I know. It was not well received when it came out, but I think it has started to grow on fans now that it is on streaming.

I got autographs from Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating. They were quite gracious and spent a fair amount of time talking to fans. All of the actors charge for photos and autographs, but I didn't mind....they need to make a living.

There were some fun events and interviews in the main theater with a wide range of actors. One panel discussion featured Doug Jones, Saru from Discovery. He was hilarious. A real entertaining guy. Another panel featured extras from the original series, like Bobby Clark who played the Gorn in Arena.

Anyway, if you have never gone to a ST Convention, I would recommend doing it at least once. Good fun.

 

[cwerdna]

I was at that Burlingame convention on Saturday and Sunday. I'd bought the 3 day pass for 50% off (one day offer, IIRC) as it was cheaper than buying Saturday and Sunday w/no discount. I couldn't make it on Friday due to work and not that much interest in the actors appearing on stage that day.

I'd say most of the visitors weren't in costume. I don't have a uniform but if I did, I would dress up to attend.

I did end up speaking to https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Sean_Kenney at his table. He was in front of his table speaking to me then got behind it. I didn't recognize him and expected him to be older. I asked about how he got the role and if he knew it (as Pike) wouldn't be a speaking role. He knew about what was shown in Disco about the baffle plate rupture incident and seeing himself in the wheelchair but he didn't know about the Disco ep where they went to Talos IV w/Vina and all.

I've been to many Star Trek conventions over the years, and probably my first ones were about 30 years ago.

The best ones to go to in the US are probably the Vegas ones (https://www.creationent.com/cal/cemission_lv.html). I've been to that two separate years before COVID (from old email, looks like 2011 and 2018). OMG! The # of actors on stage is insane. https://web.archive.org/web/20180801043631/https://www.creationent.com/cal/st_lasvegas_guests.html was the roster for 2018.

I was in the room when surprise guest Patrick Stewart (wasn't on the roster) came out to talk about upcoming Picard show: https://ew.com/tv/2018/08/04/star-trek-fans-patrick-stewart-announcement-reaction-video/. Alex Kurtzman came out to talk and then he asked someone (friend?) to come out to explain it further. We were BLOWN away and so surprised and ecstatic!

AGES ago, the Pasadena convention was the happening place but I heard years back, for some reason, LA area Trek cons were basically dead.

The Pasadena one I went to was I think before First Contact was released. On stage, they had ALL the Voyager cast at the time except Mulgrew. Kes was still on and 7 of 9 wasn't hired yet. Then they also had Jeff Goldblum + Brent Spiner promoting Independence Day. They showed a several minute clip of the FX (this was before the movie was released). Majel Barett also spoke but was a boring talk. I think it was at that convention while we were waiting for autographs in line (they were free back then but the lines could be insane) that some dude came by w/the script of First Contact (wasn't out yet). I don't recall if I read it now but some other people took a look.

The autograph lines were so insane that people would wait for them instead of watching the guest stars speak. I recall they were cutting it off for various actors and then while we were in line, they finished. So, all of us ran to get an autograph from anyone. I was able to get one from Garrett Wang.

Funny enough at the Saturday Burlingame con, Brent Spiner spoke and he brought up the Independence Day Dr. Okun role, the wig and I think how he ad-libbed/added something to his audiition.

 

[Mainsail]

I just watch Section 31. I guess it was originally conceived as a series, but became a movie. Honestly, I am kind of confused. To me, this is Star Trek in name only. I miss the roots of the franchise:

• Exploring human potential
• Exploring strange new worlds and cultures
• Maintaining an optimistic view of the future
• Creating well developed characters with integrity, mission, and a sense of humor
• Adding to our social conscience, without clobbering us over the head

Instead, we get another doomsday plot with characters from another universe. You wouldn't even know Star Fleet or the Federation existed except for an occasional mention. The Star Trek universe has almost nothing to do with the plot. Mainly, it is about long fight and chase scenes plus lots of special effects. The characters didn't seem to care about what happened to each other, so I didn't care what happened to the characters.

I wish Star Trek would get back to its roots.

 

[cwerdna]

The trailers for Section 31 didn't look very good and sure didn't look like Trek. I've had to just skip to the verdict and avoid spoilers but they seem to me all over the map, w/most being not good to poor.

I've been too busy but judging by how poorly it's been received, I guess I'll probably wait until I turn back on Paramount+ when SNW S3 airs. Or, I still might have access to P+. I'm not the only one who's run into that after we've cancelled. It might still kind of work.

 

[Huntn]

A serious time investment, but like Jenny Nicholson's granular critique of Disney's Galactic Starcruiser experience, it is really well-researched and well-presented.

For background, Angela Collier is an Astrophysicist as well as a Star Trek fan.

For the record, I hated S1 of Picard, was seriously underwhelmed by S2 and liked S3, but I recognize that like was due to the Member Berries they soaked it in and not because it was structurally superior to earlier seasons.

Picard- my impression you can never go home again. Watched several episodes of Season 1, then out. He seemed too grandpa-ish for me. 😔

This is a 3 hr video?😳 I watched the first 10 min and agree with everything she said. 🙂 As I see it, STNG was a place in time that nailed The ideal Star Trek. Nothing since has come close. I’d even go so far to say that it eclipse the original series.

 

[CWallace]

I just watch Section 31. I guess it was originally conceived as a series, but became a movie. Honestly, I am kind of confused.

Yes it was planned to be a series, but when Michelle Yeoh won an Oscar, she immediately was on the radar of casting directors so they had to scale it back to a "long Trek" television movie.

To me, this is Star Trek in name only.

I was not overly impressed with it. You could see the cracks in the script from taking something planned for ten episodes (~450 minutes) and compressing it down to a single movie (~90 minutes). This compression also meant that the characters slated for elimination received almost no screentime or background (literally in the case of one, who also happened to be the one character I was interested in).

I wish Star Trek would get back to its roots.

Star Trek can do "dark". We had this in all the series (even an entire series with Deep Space Nine) as well as many of the movies.

The real problem is Section 31. The more we learn about it, the less interesting it becomes. The current showrunners of Star Trek view Section 31 as the CIA of the Federation - more specifically, the 1950s and 1960s CIA which engaged in coups and assassinations and plots against heads of state and governments that were not in alignment with US government and corporate interests.

 

[cwerdna]

Picard- my impression you can never go home again. Watched several episodes of Season 1, then out. He seemed too grandpa-ish for me. 😔

No time to watch an almost 4 hour video critiquing Picard show. I watched all 3 seasons. I will say that season 1 had uneven plot density. Ending was good. First 1.5 eps of S2 were really good and the rest was ok. Ending was also good.

S3 towards the end was total fan service. The music in one of the sequences near a climactic part of the final ep was great! (Don't want to say much more.) Hope you have a good sound system and can turn it up. Show ended on a high note.

I don't recommend Picard show for those who weren't TNG fans. For TNG fans w/limited time, skip to season 3. If you like it, go back to try 1 and 2...

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I don't think we've seen as much critique about a Star Trek movie before this one. It kind of settles the discussion on which Star Trek movie is the worst one, so we have to give it that.

The trailer gave me absolutely nothing to like, and given the reviews, I believe this will be the first Star Trek I skip.

 

[Huntn]

No time to watch an almost 4 hour video critiquing Picard show. I watched all 3 seasons. I will say that season 1 had uneven plot density. Ending was good. First 1.5 eps of S2 were really good and the rest was ok. Ending was also good.

S3 towards the end was total fan service. The music in one of the sequences near a climactic part of the final ep was great! (Don't want to say much more.) Hope you have a good sound system and can turn it up. Show ended on a high note.

I don't recommend Picard show for those who weren't TNG fans. For TNG fans w/limited time, skip to season 3. If you like it, go back to try 1 and 2...

So can the appeal be described as a heavy dose of reminding you what the original show was about with some of the original actors?

 

[CWallace]

So can the appeal be described as a heavy dose of reminding you what the original show was about with some of the original actors?

It was for me for Season 3, though it introduced (IMO) a great new main character in Captain Shaw who (again, IMO) really helped generate actual character drama.

And honestly, even if you enjoy Season 3, I would not consider that as a reason to go back and watch Seasons 1 and 2.

 

[chown33]

The trailers for Section 31 didn't look very good and sure didn't look like Trek. I've had to just skip to the verdict and avoid spoilers but they seem to me all over the map, w/most being not good to poor.

The best comment I've seen so far was on Ars Technica.

The biggest thing Section 31 does is forever resolve the debate about which movie is the worst Star Trek movie.

 

[CWallace]

Mike and Rich skewered it pretty hard on Red Letter Media, as well.

I run hot and cold on the streaming series, but at this point I accept this is what the franchise will be for the foreseeable future. Worst case, it eventually collapses as it did after Enterprise + Nemesis and then we wait a decade or so for someone new to take a stab at it (as Hollywood will never let a franchise lie fallow for too long).

And I am okay with that because Paramount makes four decades worth of "traditional Trek" available to me via streaming, physical media and cable.

 

[cwerdna]

So can the appeal be described as a heavy dose of reminding you what the original show was about with some of the original actors?

I don't want to say much more than it was fan service near the end. It still was very different than TNG. Each season of Picard had a story arc. Also, there were a bunch of cameos in S3 and also one person came back for almost a full ep.

Wasn't like almost all TNG eps which were self-contained. And, TNG often had eps where they have a problem and in the last 15 minutes they solve it thru some technobabble from Geordi. Picard will then say "make it so"...

It was for me for Season 3, though it introduced (IMO) a great new main character in Captain Shaw who (again, IMO) really helped generate actual character drama.

And honestly, even if you enjoy Season 3, I would not consider that as a reason to go back and watch Seasons 1 and 2.

Well, the only reason why I mention to start on S3 first is that there's a good chance you'll like and finish it vs. if you start at 1 or 2, you might stop and never get to 3.

 

[cwerdna]

Tickets are available for https://www.startrek.com/news/universal-fan-fest-nights-spring-2025. See https://www.universalstudioshollywo...vents-and-seasonal-activities/fan-fest-nights.

First page mentions:
"Inspired by the Star Trek universe that has entertained millions of fans, this exciting experience will boldly take guests on an immersive and thrilling adventure aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D where they will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step onto the bridge, an original set piece featured in the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard."

I might go but unfortunately, it's an hour flight or at least a 5 or 6 hour drive there for me. Still reading about the details but it looks like it's a min of $74 USD to get in.

 

[Huntn]

I don't want to say much more than it was fan service near the end. It still was very different than TNG. Each season of Picard had a story arc. Also, there were a bunch of cameos in S3 and also one person came back for almost a full ep.

Wasn't like almost all TNG eps which were self-contained. And, TNG often had eps where they have a problem and in the last 15 minutes they solve it thru some technobabble from Geordi. Picard will then say "make it so"...

Well, the only reason why I mention to start on S3 first is that there's a good chance you'll like and finish it vs. if you start at 1 or 2, you might stop and never get to 3.

Agreed, TNG was mostly self contained episodes with a broad story arc that did connect events and characters over time.

 

[cwerdna]

Tickets are available for https://www.startrek.com/news/universal-fan-fest-nights-spring-2025. See https://www.universalstudioshollywo...vents-and-seasonal-activities/fan-fest-nights.

First page mentions:
"Inspired by the Star Trek universe that has entertained millions of fans, this exciting experience will boldly take guests on an immersive and thrilling adventure aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D where they will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step onto the bridge, an original set piece featured in the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard."

I might go but unfortunately, it's an hour flight or at least a 5 or 6 hour drive there for me. Still reading about the details but it looks like it's a min of $74 USD to get in.

First night happened last night (4/25/25). There's been a bunch of coverage like the below from before it started:

PREVIEW: Quark's Cafe, the 10 Forward Bar, and all the STAR TREK Merch at Universal Fan Fest Nights

We've got a look inside Quark's Cafe at Universal Studios Hollywood, plus a roundup of all the Fan Fest Nights special STAR TREK merchandise for the weekend events!

blog.trekcore.com

Special Preview — Inside the STAR TREK: RED ALERT Enterprise-D Experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights

We beam aboard the Enterprise-D to bring you a special preview of the STAR TREK: RED ALERT! experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights, kicking off April 25!

blog.trekcore.com

PREVIEW — Universal Fan Fest Nights' Special STAR TREK Menu

STAR TREK will make a splash at Universal Studios Hollywood's Fan Fest Nights later this month, so here's a sneak preview of all the fun food and drink options from the final frontier!

blog.trekcore.com

I started reading an overview (might've been https://gizmodo.com/10-things-we-le...ience-at-universal-fan-fest-nights-2000589795) but stopped as it was revealing too many spoilers.

 

[bradl]

First night happened last night (4/25/25). There's been a bunch of coverage like the below from before it started:

PREVIEW: Quark's Cafe, the 10 Forward Bar, and all the STAR TREK Merch at Universal Fan Fest Nights

We've got a look inside Quark's Cafe at Universal Studios Hollywood, plus a roundup of all the Fan Fest Nights special STAR TREK merchandise for the weekend events!

blog.trekcore.com

Special Preview — Inside the STAR TREK: RED ALERT Enterprise-D Experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights

We beam aboard the Enterprise-D to bring you a special preview of the STAR TREK: RED ALERT! experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights, kicking off April 25!

blog.trekcore.com

PREVIEW — Universal Fan Fest Nights' Special STAR TREK Menu

STAR TREK will make a splash at Universal Studios Hollywood's Fan Fest Nights later this month, so here's a sneak preview of all the fun food and drink options from the final frontier!

blog.trekcore.com

I started reading an overview (might've been https://gizmodo.com/10-things-we-le...ience-at-universal-fan-fest-nights-2000589795) but stopped as it was revealing too many spoilers.

Wow..

I mean... didn't they have all of this at Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton? I mean, I could swear I have eaten at Quark's Bar, the Captain's Lounge, walked through the museum, went on both rides, did the behind-the-scenes tour of both rides, and saw a wedding there.. I could SWEAR it...

BL.

 

[cwerdna]

Wow..

I mean... didn't they have all of this at Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton? I mean, I could swear I have eaten at Quark's Bar, the Captain's Lounge, walked through the museum, went on both rides, did the behind-the-scenes tour of both rides, and saw a wedding there.. I could SWEAR it...

BL.

Yes. I've been to that Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton several times (including the Voyager "4D" portion that was added later w/the things that poke you in the back when your ship's being assimilated) but the whole thing was closed years ago. It's long gone.

https://trekmovie.com/2008/09/03/sa...experience-decommissioning-report-video-pics/ is from 2008.

I've only watched bits and pieces of

.

You might like the two videos at the page I pointed to in https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...n.2012731/page-38?post=29844997#post-29844997 (post 944). At about 10:08 of the 1st video there, you can kinda see how they did the transporter effect.

OMG! Bonnie Gordon at 5:03 of

might be the same as https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3239252/ who's the ship's computer in Prodigy (no, I haven't watched the show). But, she's usually a co-host of Creation Ent conventions now, so I've seen her a bunch on stage.

 

[cwerdna]

As I roughly posted on TiVocommunity:
Came across https://trekmovie.com/2025/05/02/al...strange-new-worlds-starfleet-academy-and-more thanks to FB. I didn't have time to listen to the full hour but it seems like they spent about the 1st 15 minutes talking about the Trek and BTTF thing at Universal Fan Fest Night. Sounds like they liked it and yeah, they also echoed (what was posted on TCF) the Trek part being pretty short in terms of time.

Before I found this, I saw this video

I think on FB the other day that the above alludes to.

"Universal Studios Hollywood has shared video of the Star Trek cast (LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Michelle Hurd, Mica Burton, and Jerry O’Connell) visiting the “Star Trek: Red Alert” experience, where they explored the actual set of the Bridge from the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D as featured in “Star Trek: Picard”..."

I will probably make the trek down there but I'm trying to figure out what else I should do in LA/So Cal as I don't want to only drive down just for that and then come back the day after.

 

[Mousse]

I just watch Section 31. I guess it was originally conceived as a series, but became a movie. Honestly, I am kind of confused. To me, this is Star Trek in name only. I miss the roots of the franchise:

• Exploring human potential
• Exploring strange new worlds and cultures
• Maintaining an optimistic view of the future
• Creating well developed characters with integrity, mission, and a sense of humor
• Adding to our social conscience, without clobbering us over the head

Instead, we get another doomsday plot with characters from another universe. You wouldn't even know Star Fleet or the Federation existed except for an occasional mention. The Star Trek universe has almost nothing to do with the plot. Mainly, it is about long fight and chase scenes plus lots of special effects. The characters didn't seem to care about what happened to each other, so I didn't care what happened to the characters.

I wish Star Trek would get back to its roots.

There is one element in every Star Trek show that made it a Star Trek show: a non-human outside observer. He/She is the one who points out flaws in the veneer of superiority of the human crew. In TOS, it was Spock. In TNG, it was mostly Data and Q whenever he showed up. In DS9 it was Quark and Odo. In Voyager it was Nelix initially, then switched over to the Doctor and Seven. In Enterprise, it was T'Pol. In Lower Decks, it was lower deckers.😂😂 If I were to join Star Fleet, I'd be a poor man's Boimler.😙

 

[iZac]

Hey all, I'm a ship nerd and always lamented that the 'fat' saucer style of the Galaxy Class never really percolated into other TNG era designs, aside from the Nebula and the extensive range of hastily kit-bashed ships done for Wolf 359 and never seen again. So the other day for no logical reason I decided to see what a Miranda Class would look like in the style of the Enterprise D. I've never actually done any spaceship design so it's all quite novel to me.

It's a bit smaller than the Galaxy, but maybe that makes sense. The saucer is about 75% of the size of the 'D', it's 430m long and a paltry 17 decks.

Anyway - just thought it would be fun to share, if anyone is interested in that sort of thing.