What genres do you think Star Trek does well?

[Bad Thoughts]

... taking for granted that Star Trek is a space opera with lots of action.

A found myself pondering the horror elements in Star Trek after reading the thread if Star Trek ever scared you. Despite not being scared myself, I found lots of elements that drew upon horror, whether it was the absurdism of Twilight Zone or even gore. There are plenty of times that the franchise has drawn from other genres, either for individual scenes or entire episodes.

My own impression is political thriller and comedy come out best. My favorite seasons and episodes tend to have strong political dimensions, Undiscovered Country probably being the most prominent example. On the other hand, I think that many great character moments are built around comedy: Kirk pummeled by Tribbles, Worf asserting he is not a merry man, many Garak moments. Conversely, some of the moments directed toward children seem to have fallen flat. TNG had many episodes in which children were the central character, but the results could be mixed. Jake was a great character, but I don't think they did much to explore the character as a child. Adira and Grey are probably good examples of New Adult lit, but I don't think much was accomplished.

The poll is meant just to get the thinking started. Please add any genres or subgenres you feel appropriate in the discussion.

 

[Frontis]

Honestly I think Star Trek is doing well in all these genres, so I just selected all.

 

[Laughing Dragon]

I can't really pick but drama and adventure most def.. But the unsung one is comedy just coming from my funny scenes thread and TNG has it especially in spade's.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I would have selected at least six genres, but nooooooooo.....

 

[FederationHistorian]

Star Trek does adventure well. Drama, especially legal drama, well. It does fantasy well. And even though it’s not the focus of the franchise, Star Trek does war well too.

 

[tomalak301]

Would court drama be it's own genre? I didn't see that listed, but I have enjoyed all of the Trek court drama episodes. Even the ones that are not as great (Ex Post Facto being one) I would still watch with interest.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Would court drama be it's own genre? I didn't see that listed, but I have enjoyed all of the Trek court drama episodes. Even the ones that are not as great (Ex Post Facto being one) I would still watch with interest.

Subgenre, though not unworthy of discussion. It certainly has a format, being a courtroom in which there are speeches and interrogations. But it's often a type of mystery or suspense as well, heightening the dramatic elements.

I think Trek had some great courtroom episodes in TOS and TNG. Court Martial and Measure of a Man stand out, but I think stories became stale. Drumhead has great ideas behind it, but I often find it to polemical and very repetitive. Matter of Perspective tries to be clever and the Ardra episode seems a little silly. I dislike Dax because the titular character seems passive and uninvolved.

Is there something about courtroom episodes that disappoint me? Trek seems to use them to make big points and often fumbles when it comes to examining the person at the center of the trial.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I would have selected at least six genres, but nooooooooo.....

It's a simple poll to get things going. Please feel free to talk about all six, if you like.

 

[tomalak301]

I think Trek had some great courtroom episodes in TOS and TNG. Court Martial and Measure of a Man stand out, but I think stories became stale. Drumhead has great ideas behind it, but I often find it to polemical and very repetitive. Matter of Perspective tries to be clever and the Ardra episode seems a little silly. I dislike Dax because the titular character seems passive and uninvolved.

Matter of Perspective had a unique use of the Holodeck, which is why I can't hate the episode too much. The more years go by the more I wish Riker was guilty though.

One episode you didn't mention that I think is underrated is Rules of Engagement from DS9. It was a unique way to do it, almost a cross of your typical courtroom drama and the interview format you see in comedies like The Office and Parks and Rec.

 

[publiusr]

Prodigy has fans, where the big Transformers One movie has faltered a bit.

Trek isn’t just a dying demographic now.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

One episode you didn't mention that I think is underrated is Rules of Engagement from DS9. It was a unique way to do it, almost a cross of your typical courtroom drama and the interview format you see in comedies like The Office and Parks and Rec.

No, I didn't, but not because I forgot it. The episode features some cool stuff, especially Canada's acting. I like the idea of exploring intentionality, but it all seems to be a convoluted way of saying Worf was bruising for a fight. The promise of exploring the differences of two legal cultures doesn't produce much in the end, and the trick ending was unsatisfying.

 

[Qonundrum]

Adventure & Western.

Adventure is a given, anywhere in space.

Western - at least as loose metaphor - as being in unknown space and finding their way around. More prominently so for TOS and DS9...

Myth being the third, in a tight three-way. So many alien cultures.

War is Number 4, though is a subgenre of Western since the big pew-pew gunfights and all are a part of Westerns.

Horror is #5.

I might have voted "children's" except the only show that I find watchable that was aimed at kids was "Land of the Lost", especially its first season, which was also written by a bunch of Star Trek TOS writers (and TOS was advertised as adult sci-fi... probably for how many times Kirk is chatting and/or hooking up, eww, space cooties, etc... did I just digress? Oh well!)

 

[I am not Spock]

I wanted to select all of the above. Trek is basically its own genre . That's one of the things that drew me to it. Each week, you didn't know what kind of a show you were getting

 

[kkt]

Yes, part of Star Trek's success is that it is a flexible show in which many kinds of stories can be told.
I wanted to select all of them except "children's". I don't really feel it's worthwhile to try to narrow the choices down to two. (Why doesn't it say in the poll instructions, vote for up to two if that's what you're allowed to do?)

 

[Victoria]

I choose "adventure"/"drama" because that's the core of Star Trek but I don't think that I'd want a show that is just those things. As has been said several times above, Star Trek's strength is that it does include all those other genres - it has such a wide appeal.

Now, in these days of everything being "pile it high and sell it cheap" - race-to-the bottom stuff, or "niche" - aimed at a narrow band of the market, "traditional" Star Trek falls between the two stools and becomes in danger of chasing the fashionable to the detriment of the overall ethos.

 

[at Quark's]

Of course, there are far more possibilities than those mentioned in the poll ...

Musical - upon stumbling across an unexplained space phenomenon, Kirk & crew break out in song about what they could learn from it. Spock sings elegies about himself being torn between Vulcanity and Humanity in delicately written stanzas, accompanying himself on the lute, of course. And so on.

Documentary - ever wondered about the more intricate complexities and deadlines the main engineer faces on an average day? What lurks behind a simple sounding command such as 'reinitialize the warp core'? This episode tells it all!

Cooking show - save for some admirable early attempts (Riker baking Ktarian eggs, Sisko with his jambalaya, Voyager brutally killed most of those tender beginnings (Janeway's strained relation with her replicator, and even worse, Neelix). Why not re-ignite that passion with our new show Cooking Beyond The Stars?

Reality show - Will ensigns Williams and Jameson convert their frustrations with their boring jobs and their existential depression into some hot bedroom action, or will they never proceed beyond their usual boring and inane conversation? Find out here!

Just a few examples, there's probably many more possibilities to be thought of and worked out (shuttle chase shows, 'busted!' shows, game shows, whodunnit, character studies, etc.).

And before I forget, one that may be a tad unrealistic but it's still on my wish list.

Science fiction What if Star Trek tried its hand at that for a change?

(Most of this, of course, is just meant tongue-in-cheek.)

 

[Richard S. Ta]

All of the above and more if they have the right writer on it.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

(Why doesn't it say in the poll instructions, vote for up to two if that's what you're allowed to do?)

Considering I ask for "best," wouldn't two be too many?

 

[Citiprime]

One that I think it DOESN'T do well: ROMANCE and LOVE STORY.

And I don't understand why.

There are notable couples (e.g., Riker and Troi), but as someone who watches Chinese and Korean Dramas, I don't understand why Star Trek couldn't do something similar.

Have the Star Trek story be the framework that throws two people together, then complicate with cultural, family, and interstellar political issues that try to keep them apart, and part of the resolution is whether or not these characters ultimately end up with each other and love conquers all

 

[kkt]

One that I think it DOESN'T do well: ROMANCE and LOVE STORY.

And I don't understand why.

There are notable couples (e.g., Riker and Troi), but as someone who watches Chinese and Korean Dramas, I don't understand why Star Trek couldn't do something similar.

Have the Star Trek story be the framework that throws two people together, then complicate with cultural, family, and interstellar political issues that try to keep them apart, and part of the resolution is whether or not these characters ultimately end up with each other and love conquers all

Kira + Odo? Kasidy + Sisko? Jadzia + Worf?