Garrett Wang

[fireproof78]

if you had written that about 10-15 years ago, I might have agreed with you.

But currently I find the Gray Universe very dystopian and it affects such things as movies and TV-series too.
There is actually a reason why I no longer follow any TV-series. Too much doom-and-gloom in them.

I've heard about the dystopian end of the world for 20 years. I simply deal with it, entertainment or not. I'll not ignore it. I have finally decided to take Trek's advice: A man either faces life as it comes and licks it or turns his back on it and whithers away.

 

[Oddish]

I have finally decided to take Trek's advice: A man either faces life as it comes and licks it or turns his back on it and whithers away.

Must be TOS. I don't think anyone any later uses the term "licks" that way. I expect a modern kid, if someone told them "I can lick you", would figure the other kid intended to use their tongue on them.

 

[Guy Gardener]

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[fireproof78]

Must be TOS. I don't think anyone any later uses the term "licks" that way. I expect a modern kid, if someone told them "I can lick you", would figure the other kid intended to use their tongue on them.

The oldest; the Cage.

 

[at Quark's]

Oh poor Chakotay, so little love for him. As a Janeway x Chakotay shipper, I love him to bits but he was, also, sadly underutilized on the show. I wouldn’t wish anyone off the show but I 100% wish a number of characters were given better development.

I don't actually wish he had been taken off the show. I do regret that his character was not developed more and that he was mostly relegated to the background.

 

[Oddish]

I don't wish any character off the show per se... I just understand that if you're not going to do anything with a character, then maybe you should at least see what kind of heroic exit you can give them. Like Eddington on DS9.

 

[Lynx]

Neither was a bad character. They were just both disastrously underutilized.

That's correct.

Her character was fine without those things. Any or all of the three could have been used to tell great stories; the actors were all adequate to the task.

Those things whould have made the character even better.
Kes's best ability was her personality. Her willpower, curiosity, determination, courage, interest in learning and exploring and attacking problems from a different angle if necessary. That should have been used better.

I've heard about the dystopian end of the world for 20 years. I simply deal with it, entertainment or not. I'll not ignore it. I have finally decided to take Trek's advice: A man either faces life as it comes and licks it or turns his back on it and whithers away.

I'm facing life everyday but sometimes I just get sick of all crap one has to stand in these day.
Then I need some relaxation, like a good series and then I don't want to have the same crap shoved in my face again.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Garrett has a "T" to spare.

One innocent typo, and very easily, his name could have been Garret Twang.

 

[fireproof78]

I'm facing life everyday but sometimes I just get sick of all crap one has to stand in these day.
Then I need some relaxation, like a good series and then I don't want to have the same crap shoved in my face again.

I deal with human suffering on a daily basis. If I want relaxation I do self care. A TV series doesn't work for me that way. Mileage will vary.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Be redoing the later seasons of the Flash.

Seems like self harm.

 

[Oddish]

Try playing an FPS game, when you have the fine motor skills of a drunk hippopotamus and the reaction time of a dead slug. THAT is an act of self-abuse that would make Dobby appalled.

 

[Lynx]

Garrett has a "T" to spare.

One innocent typo, and very easily, his name could have been Garret Twang.

And the character would have been named Karry Him.
Didn't you come up with that once?

I deal with human suffering on a daily basis. If I want relaxation I do self care. A TV series doesn't work for me that way. Mileage will vary.

Watching good TV series is a bit of self care for me sometimes.
Rewatching NCIS is actually uplifting when I realize how good it used to be.

 

[Farscape One]

Try playing an FPS game, when you have the fine motor skills of a drunk hippopotamus and the reaction time of a dead slug. THAT is an act of self-abuse that would make Dobby appalled.

I don't know why I find this funny, but this is just hilarious.

 

[fireproof78]

Watching good TV series is a bit of self care for me sometimes.
Rewatching NCIS is actually uplifting when I realize how good it used to be.

MASH is the same way for me. Same with other shows. I don't need a new or active show to follow to have that same response.

A good TV series is good. Doesn't need to be in active production for that to be the case. Other than that, I put way more emphasis on human interaction and such than TV. Mileage will vary for the self-care. But, even when I'm watching a show I want realism. Otherwise it's a fairy tale and I don't believe in those.

 

[Sumire]

Otherwise it's a fairy tale and I don't believe in those.

I apologize for dusting off my crumbling degree in storytelling as well as waxing poetic but I feel I must stand up for fairy tales. I would argue TV and movies are our modern fairy tales. They attempt to make sense of that which confounds us or frightens us. They reflect the values we have and hope to pass along. They entertain us as darkness falls and connect us to our community so we social creatures don’t feel alone.

Fairy tales are full of horrible things, the depths of human depravity, the sudden shock of misfortune. However, it is also true that fairy tales usually involve some triumphing over the horror. I will steal and cobble together this apt quote from G.K. Chesterton’s The Red Angel in Tremendous Trifles, “fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. … What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.“

Of course, we are always shaping our stories into something new and currently a number of storytellers find grittiness and hopelessness compelling and I honor their skill and the need they are fulfilling in their audience. Like @Lynx, I find no need to be a part of their audience but the fireside stretches a long, long distance and there is room beside it for every weaver of tales and everyone who listens with rapt attention.

 

[fireproof78]

I apologize for dusting off my crumbling degree in storytelling as well as waxing poetic but I feel I must stand up for fairy tales. I would argue TV and movies are our modern fairy tales. They attempt to make sense of that which confounds us or frightens us. They reflect the values we have and hope to pass along. They entertain us as darkness falls and connect us to our community so we social creatures don’t feel alone.

I shall clarify. Stories as you describe are different now. They have the "happily ever after" ending which I find quite...I don't even know how to describe it. Naive isn't right, because I agree with Mr. Chesterton fully. It's what I argue for-that stories should face the harshest realities of life and not ignore them for the sake of my own discomfort. I ignored things for far too long that were of consequence to go back to that now.

Of course, we are always shaping our stories into something new and currently a number of storytellers find grittiness and hopelessness compelling and I honor their skill and the need they are fulfilling in their audience.

The only hopelessness in stories I see are like horror movies. Other than that, perhaps I am ignorant of the truly hopeless stories but I have not seen them of late.

 

[Sumire]

I agree, the truly hopeless stories are not at all common in our mainstream media. I brush against them more in narratives that have smaller, more niche, audiences such as independent publishers of comics or novels, or plays that will never be Broadway-bound. I think mainstream media dips into the toolbox of despair from time to time to refresh their aesthetics or punch up a plot line but I don’t think we are in any danger of being overrun with shows and movies that end with all our protagonists bleeding out on the battlefield (rhetorical or actual).

 

[fireproof78]

I agree, the truly hopeless stories are not at all common in our mainstream media. I brush against them more in narratives that have smaller, more niche, audiences such as independent publishers of comics or novels, or plays that will never be Broadway-bound. I think mainstream media dips into the toolbox of despair from time to time to refresh their aesthetics or punch up a plot line but I don’t think we are in any danger of being overrun with shows and movies that end with all our protagonists bleeding out on the battlefield (rhetorical or actual).

Agreed and I think you're quite right. I should add that I don't mind a mix of despair or happy endings. What I tend to push back against is resistance to change in a TV show, even when it makes perfect sense to do so all in the name of the status quo. Star Trek, sadly, routinely did this, especially with TNG and with Voyager. And I don't begrudge anyone who has that preference. I just don't desire escapism at this point in my life for a long list of reasons that I won't go in to here.

 

[Oddish]

And the character would have been named Karry Him.
Didn't you come up with that once?

Someone did. And if Harry had been the type of character who suited that name, he might have been a more interesting to the Trek canon. Like having Barclay in your main credits.

I don't know why I find this funny, but this is just hilarious.

An unrepentant Potterhead, what's not to like?

fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. … What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.“

And perhaps aspires him to become a dragon slayer himself.

I just don't desire escapism at this point in my life for a long list of reasons that I won't go in to here.

Well, you're in luck. Reality is never far away from you.

 

[Farscape One]

An unrepentant Potterhead, what's not to like?

If you mean being a fan of Harry Potter, I am definitely not. Never read the books or seen the movies. It just seems too nonsensical and out there for me.

(I know, I know... rather ironic and bold statement from someone who is a fan of SO MANY different scifi and fantasy shows.)