Passing time I was prepared to write something insipid but chose instead to write about something stupid. This week's Trek news brings the astonishing - no, too nice a word - dastardly ratings trick of introducing the Borg into Series 5 ("Q … Who?" indeed.) Apparently purloining a page from "Con Air" was not enough, the script-arc in desperate need of the company of pages stolen from "First Contact," or even "The Thing" for that matter.

This column noted before that we're not watching the early years of Kirk or Picard's Federation at all, but rather "a parallel canon" situated "some 100 years earlier than Roddenberry's vision." I stand by that assertion, even more so. I went on though, to generously consider it "a new show" and that clearly is no longer true. The NX-01 universe represents at best a pastel recreation "based on" a creation much more vivid.

It used to be the Vulcans were almost Pan-headed heroes, universally respected as thoughtful intelligent beings with thousands of years of logic and non-aggression behind them. The new Vulcans have pointed ears all right but not too many of the better elements. (It seems in the recreation only the Denobulans can muster advanced technologies such as nanotech, higher medicine, or philandering.)

TOS was lofted on the fervent best of our imagination. The description of the Borg pre-introduction (Send an armed shuttle!) shows the sad loss of pacifism adopted as rule and not exception. The show has become quite bloodthirsty, not only avoiding wars yet actively starting new ones. This requires no imagination at all, and I doubt it will boost the ratings off the barrel bottom they so intransigently occupy.

Maybe I'm wrong and this lame trick will propel NX-01 to the stellar ratings Voyager enjoyed. But I've had it up to here trying to defend this cackhanded dreck. Every opportunity to make this show excel has been placed before the producers but like poor marksmen they keep … missing … the target. All that goodwill and energy spent spiraling into such a sallow spoil, saving Trek by destroying it.

There's a poignant scene near the end of "Who Mourns For Adonais" in which the alien demigod Apollo, brought to ruin without the worship of Kirk and crew, forsakes his faith (of the heart?) and seeks to join the wind with those knowing better than to hold out for improvement. "You were right," he calls, seeking forgiveness.

To all those who saw it coming, "You were right." TAKE ME TAKE ME Take me…



Back to Dr.TOS
Back to top