Shard

That's a good tip. I'll try it, my kid prefers TNG to the original and we still have some more to watch.

Steerpike

I agree. The first seasons were a bit iffy. It's not hard to find some TV channel somewhere, showing it. Ironically, "BBC America" have been showing it during the day for donkey's years! We often have it on as 'background TV'.

civilservant

Star Trek has always been a lefty show. If you don't see it it's because you aren't paying attention. The message of many of the episodes still reasonate today. I'm thinking iconic episodes like 'Measure Of A Man' and 'The Drumhead' - hell even 'The Wounded' strikes a cord.

Someone asked Roddenberry not long after Patrick Stewart was cast something along the lines of 'Wouldn't they have cured baldness by the 24th century?' To which Roddenberry replied 'In the 24th Century they wouldn't care'

He was an interesting character, and he had been largely frozen out by the time of his death, but damn if he didn't create something that has stood the test of time and is still being produced today in some form.

Rusty Chainsaw

Yup. The world in the TNG era is basically a post-scarcity anarcho-socialist paradise. No need for money, people work to better themselves and humanity, more or less anything you could ever want can be replicated, racism and sexism (although perhaps not species-ism) are things of the past. It's pretty much always been the most woke, SJW, leftie thing on TV.

People have been accusing Doctor Who of similar stuff since Jodie Whittaker became The Doctor. Again, have they ever actually watched the show?

robin1234

SJW ISO SJM?

spouse of scouse

Roger Wilco

(I didn't want to be left out)

sid nv

Interesting. I have seen few Star Trek episodes, but am a huge fan of Iain M Banks Culture novels, and this post-scarcity world description seems to be a similar concept.

Lion in Winter

Languages spoken by those aliens they keep running into on Star Trek.

There is nothing remotely "left wing" about Star Trek that I can see, unless you believe that the ability to interact with other species without actually having a war is the exclusive province of the left. In the context of the first episodes though, during the second half of the 60s, with the Vietnam war raging, Cold War Part II in full bloom, and civil rights struggles against racism and Jim Crow in the US, it was indeed a progressive step although I think at the time it was also intended largely for children. I don't think it got into adult consciousness all that much until M. Picard took the helm, but I could be wrong.

civilservant

I'll rephrase. It deals with many overtly political topics and almost always comes down on the left side of the right-left spectrum.

Things like racism, forced relocation, terrorism, xenophobia, war, slavery.

Except for 'Code of Honor' - that episode was horrific.

(It should be noted that I am almost exclusively talking about TNG and onwards. I have never seen all of TOS)

Lion in Winter

Well, you have firmly conflated "the left" with "the good guys". I'm ok with that

I don't know any specific episodes though, from memory.

civilservant

Society that owns women as property, King/Leader can take any women he wants despite their protestations. Current women can challenge new women to a fight to the death using poisoned weapons while the rest watch to a drum beat.

Guest cast entirely played by African-Americans.

Not TNGs finest hour.

Shard

Gene might have been a few centuries too pessimistic on that one. Here in the 21st nobody seems to care. Was watching some 20th century Seinfeld the other day, and the number of gags and innuendo about baldness was surprisingly cringey.

Shard

LOL

Lion in Winter

Er, no. What on earth were they thinking?

civilservant

Not sure, I blame the fact that it was first season (so, what, 1987?) and someone had been into too much drink.