Over 40 years old and yet every week Star Trek still gets talked about all over the web…not just on Trek sites. This week the Great Links has discussions on the Prime Directive in relation to the real world, Trek making it into two different top 50 lists, and another chapter in the battle between Star Trek and Star Wars. Plus we have my favorite topic — Trek women!
Khan – one vile villain
Entertainment Weekly ranked the 50 Most Vile Movie Villains, and Khan is number 16, beating out such meanies as Cruella de Ville and Freddy Krueger, but not the likes of Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader.
Khan: more vile than Freddy, but no Hannibal
TOS, TNG, DS9 among 50 best shows
Empire Online has compiled a list of the Top 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and three Trek shows are on that list. DS9 is #47, TOS is #43, and TNG is #37 (sorry ENT and VOY). Continuing on, you’ll find that J.J. Abrams’ Alias and Lost and Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica are also ranked.
Sexist Trek?
Den of Geek has an essay on women in Star Trek, discussing their treatment and their behavior in the franchise over the years. They even use a review from Jeff Bond here at TrekMovie.com to support their claim!
In the future all women are in soft focus
Politics and the Prime Directive
Website io9 thinks there is a relation between US troop presence overseas and Starfleet’s Prime Directive (or as Kirk thinks of it, the “Prime Suggestion”) and they have evidence to back up their claim. In the meantime, the Huffington Post believes that we should establish our own Prime Directive to avoid destroying other life-bearing planets as we’ve been doing to Earth.
Picard & Worf vs. Solo & Chewie
IGN pits Picard against Han Solo and Worf against Chewbacca in a battle royale which Picard & Worf would obviously win. It’s to you to vote for the winner — but hurry, because right now, both Trek characters are LOSING!
Could Jean Luc kick Solo’s butt?
Quick links:
- The Guardian wonders if there should be a sci-fi Hamlet?
- DeForest Kelley’s spirit is residing in the body of a “talentless schmoe” in Massachusetts, according to Aversion.
- Quark’s Bar at Star Trek: The Experience is #5 in Casino City Times’ Top 10 non-gambling activities in Las Vegas.
- io9 wants to know: what are YOU doing to prepare for human-alien sex?
Special thanks to Matt and Ryan for sending in links. If you spot interesting links, send them in to tips [at] trekmovie [dot] com.
Picard shoots first!!!! and doesn’t miss :)
Lots of Star Wars fans at IGN, so the results are expected.
I love Worf dearly, but his main job for the first few seasons often seemed to be “getting tossed against a bulkhead to demonstrate how dangerous this week’s threat is.” As a wise droid once said: Let the Wookiee win. I think Worf can be satisfied with being the vastly deeper character :)
Human-alien sex?
Now there is a subject that I’d love to see more on.
In Classic Trek, people seemed to like the tarts with green skin, and Kirk never saw an alien chick he didn’t fancy, but they always seemed to comment about Spock’s being “half-human”…
I guess they liked the alien chicks, but were not too sure about the “product” of the union…
As to Martin Anderson’s column about Star Trek women – enjoyed it on many counts, but I think he’s wrong when he compares Janeway to Katherine Hepburn. She always sounded to me like an exact impression of Jane Curtain as Mrs. Conehead.
Picard would get his ass handed to him on a silver platter by Han Solo. Now, if they pitted KIRK, the original Space Action Hero, against Solo…that would be a different story. ;)
Solo & Chewie would win the fist fight,,,
Picards lame Trek Star Fleet training in hand to hand combat wouldnt cut the mustard against the likes of a smuggler how knows every trick on how to make a fast getaway
And Worf wouldnt be much help eather,,
Of course the first thing he will do is,,get angry,,,( much like David Banner,,AKA the Hulk) ,,,and face it,, thats not a wise thing to do in front of a wookie,,to show him that your pissed off ,,Im sure Chewie will just rip off his arms and bitch slap him to death.
However,,,,,
I can see things getting messy for Han and Chewie after the main fight,,,
I think as soon as Han and Chewie make a run for it,,they will be easy prey to the Enterprise ,,, I dont think the Millennium Falcon is any match for a Star ship from the San Francisco Fleet Yards.
The Enterprise-D was build at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards orbiting Mars :)
Sorry for the mis-understanding,,
How ever Im not refering to the Enterprise D,,
I was meaning the Enterprise E
The Enterprise-E launched in 2372 from the San Francisco Fleet Yards,,
Oh god I sound like a geek,,,
Picard would TALK Solo into unconsciousness while Worf and Chewie would grab Troi and head off to the nearest Holiday Inn to act out her Wizard of Oz fantasy…
Im sure C3P0 would want a bit of the action too,,,,
:-D
wtf???
babylon 5 and battlestargalactica infront of STAR TREK tng and tos???
this list sucks-_-
#6
I think that already happened.
http://stars.ign.com/articles/859/859097p1.html
Han Solo won that one with almost 80% of the vote. Geez.
what’s the HufPost prime directive link? It doesn’t work. The other prime directive piece is misguided.
yes the han solo and chewbecca, have faced the borg and won so many times , sure their great pilots considering , imperial star destroyer can hit the backside of barn door . but yea maybe han and chewie would win , then data would walk into the room , and snap both their necks for revenge , ahahahahahha !
#15 Data’s dead dude
Sorry Trek fans, but Han would win.
You know as a much as I admire certain aspects of the prime directive. there are certain instance where it seems that application just semmed probleatic. I understand the notion of letting a civilization develop at it pace and way under normal circumstance but sometimes, well, The episode where worfs stepbrother Nicholi, force Picard at the enterprise to save the berealains whose planet lost its atmosphere. It makes you think should you violate such a rule for the sake of saving lives? the answer to me is yes. but the way the federation interpretation of the rules there are for the most part few if any exceptions allowed. The concern over interference might affect this culture, well if said culture is about to be wiped out by a planetary catastophe, yeah interference by helping them will will have an effect on their culture but at least they be alive as a culture to actually be affected. To do nothing is morally unacceptable in this case. The worst part was hearing picad talk about the virture and regret of non interference while the planets atmosphere is bleeding away into space, it kind of turned me off to Picard a lttle bit.
you guys don’t have to wait to watch Zachary Quinto-Spock and John Cho-Sulu in the big screen …here they are together in a crappy show called
‘Off-Centre’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-swIlKWfejs
18:
I think Star Trek abandoned the PD when they pooped out “Insurrection.”
Maybe the PD dictates that the inhabitants of a planet are a natural function of the planet, and must thus perish if the planet undergoes physical changes which no longer allow it to support them.
That is in contradiction to the “value of all life” tilt to the show (“Does it have to be completely lifeless?”).
Picard’s speech is just bad writing, explaining to us poor punters the philosophy of the episode in case we missed it.
But what IS good is that the Captain seems to have the ability to make the call. “A Taste of Armageddon” is a great one, where the PD was canceled in Kirk’s mind because his people were threatened by a war in which he was not involved.
Ultimately, in our time, the PD is meant as an antidote to a human history of conquest and colonization at the expense of the loser. In the case of USA, white men decimated many native cultures on its way west. Also, in this nuclear age, it was meant to prevent technology from falling into the hands of one side of a planetary conflict (Private Little War).
But if a white army evacuated a Native American village because of an avalanche or tornado, and the village was destroyed, I think even GR would have been okay with that.
18
I agree completely. I doubt the PD was truly meant to allow a civilization to be extinguished. To me that goes against the very spirit of Star Trek. The PD is designed to protect a culture from being tainted by contact with an advanced race, an effort to avoid the Cargo Cults that sprang up here. I always thought that was either a poorly written episode or Picard was meant to be in the wrong.
If they’d had the logical match, Kirk vs Solo, then the outcome would have been different. Shoot, if it was Picard vs My Grandmother, I’d vote for granny!
#20 and #21 the issue to me is If you have the power to do something to save lives and you do nothing for the sake or a moral principle, How do you even live yourself afterwards? How could Picard be so damed Santimonius in the face of something like this? thats what came across to me. That what i was thinking when i watched this episode.
picard wouldn’t get into a fight with some two bit freighter captain
worf would destroy that furry, and probably say something arnie-like in the process
“yiff this” and then cut off the wookie’s head with one of his many blades
21: I think it was an incorrect interpretation of the PD by the writer.
Even in Farpoint, Picard made a point of upending the lives of the Deneb IV locals to aid the two floaty-mates.
During Insurrection, it was made clear that the Feds had ditched it to get more allies against the Dominion, and obviously to spy on the hippies in the Briar Patch.
pickard and worf vs han and chewie… if it were a TEAM matchup, solo and chewie. worf has the upper hand vs chewbacca, but only because of his battle training. chewie is stronger, though, so that’s a close match. Picard hides behind corners when fighting. Han just goes all out. Han has the win vs picard, IMO. Han vs worf? hands down. Worf. Picard vs chewie? hands down, chewie. providing picard don’t blast him first lol
Who would win? no way to tell, the only way they could ever face off would be if someone writes a fan ficiton crossover story and I do think of of the fan fictions sites did a trek star wars crossover or two.
Ha. Everyone seems to underestimate Picard in a fight. If he can, he’ll always talk his way out of it first, but if he’s forced into it Picard can kick some ass. How about when he took on three Nausicans in his Academy days? He did get stabbed through the heart, but still.
Worf would take his bat’leth and cut Chewie’s damn head off.
Picard and Worf > Han and Chewie
Chewie would rip Worf’s arms off and beat him to death with them! Picard would obviously win in a ship battle, but in a scrap Han would drag the good captain through the mud.
Picard and Worf vs. Han and Chewie:
“Mr. Worf. Analysis.”
“Their ship is held together with duct tape and superglue, sir.”
“Hail them…(ning-ning) This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise. State your intentions.”
“Ah…we’re all fine here…How are you? Chewie, Fire!”
“Ahhghghghhhh!”
Guns blast
“Mr. Worf…are they…firing at us?”
“It would seem so, sir.”
“Prepare a photon spread…belay that…just one torpedo, Mr. Worf.”
“Acknowledged. Torpedo armed sir.”
“Fire.”
*Bffff*
“Target vaporized, sir.”
You know what face off i would like to see Freddie Kruegar vs Hannibal Lector. What they would do to each other , it would be damned unhealthy face off for both of them now that i think about it, Even in the dream world freddie might have a difficult time as would Lector, because both are supreme mental manipulators and each would consider the other to be the ulitmate challenge. I would hate to caught up in the middle of that battle. Actually if i had a choice of being stuck in that battle or finding myself in the Puzzle Cube in hell raiser ,I think im taking the cube, at least i might have a chance of survival there.
I think Worf could beat Chewie, at least in a weapons fight. Probably hand-to-hand too. If we pitted the ships of these characters against each other, Sisko/Worf’s Defiant vs. the Millenium Falcon, there’s another contest where logically Star Trek would win hands down. But of course logic has nothing to do with these polls, Kirk should have beat Han Solo but as was mentioned, SW fans rule the roost at IGN.
What am I doing to prepare for human-alien sex?
Praying, she looks like Jadzia Dax.
Somehow i don’t think Worf or Chewbacca would end up fighting. I think each would recorgnize a sort of a kindred spirit in the other, Oh those two would be good friends.
Worf and Chewie would chase shuttlecraft together… or else hunch each other’s leg.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek?
In any ship-to-ship battle with a Starfleet vessel (unless it is a shuttlecraft), the Millennium Falcon might as well be the Polish Horse Calvary in the face of the German Army in 1939! That would be a ridiculous contest.
But in hand-to-hand combat, Picard is a weenie. Han Solo would twist his arm and make him say “uncle”. Kirk, on the other hand, would beat him (Solo)down like he did Khan Noonian Singh and everyone else, even if he had to cheat!!!
Worf and Chewie would be interesting. I’d spend PPV money to see that one.
What’s next?
R2D2 vs. Data?
Princess Leia vs. Marlena Moreau?
The Death Star vs. The Planet Killer?
Slow news day.
Poopey- Don’t you go insulting the Polish Horse Cavalry. Bravery in the face of overwhelming odds is not the same cockeyness in the face of instant destruction.
An older post comes to mind…the one where Chris Pine compares Kirk to Han Solo, or to Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Solo and Indy not long ago. Lots disagreed, but, you know, if Han Solo can play poker like Captain Kirk, that’s the key. They are quite similar in that respect.
#36 i agree put the empire of the star wars universe in the federation ,The empire wouldn’t even be good enough to be a third rate power there, In fact even in the b5 universe the empire would still be an April fools joke. They have probably the least impressive technology of any sci universe, with maybe the exception of the Death Star, that would last all of 5 minutes vs either the borg, the Doomseday machine or the NX class enterprise of Archers time.
#38 i might alos add that i think Zephram Cocharines little ship Might give a fair accounting of itself against the death Star.
#37—Come now, AJ. I only wished to compare the technological inferiority of the two. As a Combat veteran U.S. Marine Officer myself, I have great respect for the brave Polish soldiers who valiantly laid down their lives in September of 1939 in the face of overwhelming odds in order to slow the German advance.
ok everyone. go to spacebattles.com and you can see starfleet take on the fleets of babylon 5 and also see starlfeet with the babylon 5 fleet and the orignal battlestar galactica fleet take on the evil empire fleet. there you can see and watch it all. i would rather see kirk vs solo. now that would be a fight. or data vs chewie. the borg vs the shadows.
#40 Brave yes and in the end all for naught.
This week on the Great Links:
Polska Kilbasa v Bratwurst.
(Sorry, I’m stuck on this “great links” “sausage” thing.)
#41—No thanks, but don’t let the off-topic banter get to you– it could be worse.
Last week it was Talosian bongs and Tribble smoking!
Poopey: I was being somewhat sarcastic.
The Poles did have some glorious victories, and the 20th century gave them cruel hope before WWII and the subsequent horrors that were to come before occupation by the Soviets.
Different discussion entirely than Picard/Worf vs. Han/Chewie, eh?
Martin Anderson’s article is wonderful, complete with every Britishism except “come and knock me up sometime.”
I would say, though, that the condemnation of the handling of women in Trek should be broadened to include — um, virtually every television show, movie, magazine, radio commercial and streetcorner conversation in the past 5000 years.
Can there be a female character on TV or elsewhere that is strong without being manly? Sure. Will anyone watch? Sure, just make sure the women act strongly while wearing lingerie. Think I’m kidding? Then explain why women doctors on TV have more sex than work. (Lord forbid I need heart surgery whilst they’re working out their dilemma of the week with Dr. McSteamy.)
Trek moved 60s TV off square one. Women got to be shown as successful professionals. There are lots more squares to go, even 40+ years on.
AJ, be careful about how you use the word “poles” around here. Harry might hear you.
Balltes Picard vs sol, Chewie vs Worf, Federation vs Empire who would win the battle Listen to ourselves .We seem to love a good war,every thing it seems is war for us, even in fantasy and sci fi worlds , conflict and war. Its in our genes every molecule of our being. I don’t think utopia is in the cards for us mere mortals. The one that wins most of the battels is the one with the best organization, best gabme plan best thheh. from that standpoint Federation ! Empire zero.
I voted for Trek out of loyalty, but in a straight-up fight, I think Solo would take Picard. But yeah, even though Worf got beat up a lot in the early days, I can see a Wookiee laying on the ground with a Bat’leth stuck in his noggin!
THX:
Should I say Polacks?
I’ll get even more abuse on line. I am engaged to one ( a Pole….), and that is what they call themselves. If Harry gets excited, more power to him ;-)
Harry, I am engaged to a Pole………………………