--- Jon Gabriel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A strange analysis of Trek centered around Shatner's > virility (and > subsequent treks lack thereof), but it does contain > a few bits that are > appropriate to what's been discussed on the list... > http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2003/02/26/trek/index.html > > Capt. Kirk's bulging trousers > A touring exhibition of genuine "Star Trek" > gimcracks reminds us of the > virile greatness of the original Shatner/Nimoy > series -- and the p.c. limpness of all the spinoffs. > - - - - - - - - - - - - > By Mark Simpson <snip> > Indubitably, as his first officer might have said, > raising one angled > eyebrow: This was the crucial difference between the > sweaty, highly Freudian > original "Star Trek" series and the sexless, > sweatless, p.c. "Star Trek: The > Next Generation." Can you imagine Jean-Luc Picard > not wearing spotless > knickers with a built-in containment field, changed > twice a day and incinerated after use?
Well, I have to disagree; while Picard wasn't a commando, he certainly got down and dirty when it was called for - he just tried to avoid making unnecessary messes. As for sexless! - he was far more selective than Kirk (who must have had Clintonian charm ;D ), but the frontier saloongirl's statement about boots most definitely applies... ;} I place Kirk in the 'Pappy Boyington' (sp?) category of military commander: at the time (danger from the Klingon and Romulan empires threatened the existence of the then-more-fragile Federation), his unorthodox and downright borderline-insane tactics worked. If they hadn't, my guess is that the Federation would have disintegrated. Picard is more in the Colin Powell line: carefully calculating, and using force only when diplomacy (or subterfuge) fails. He too has saved the Federation, (which is a stronger entity than when Kirk served) but not with such flamboyance. As for courage and overcoming difficult/terrible challenges, someone already mentioned Picard's torture at Cardassian hands; facing the aftermath of Wolf 451 (IIRC - when he was Locutus), and the mental ravages of Bendai's Syndrome (sp?) when he lends his strength to an ailing Sarek, called forth the best of the human spirit: determination, strength, compassion. [That latter episode just wrenches me; Sarek was *the* quintessential Vulcan for me, and to see his affliction was dreadful. Watching a grandparent succumb to Alzheimer's made it that much more personal.] <snipped rest> As for ST being part of our cultural milieu, there are frequent references in Science Digest - here's one from the most recent: >This Week in SCIENCE >February 28 2003 ------------------------------------------------------- >Spin Me Up, Scotty Millisecond pulsars are binary systems composed of a rapidly rotating, but old and weakly magnetized, neutron star that is in the process of being spun up by accretion of material from its companion. Stappers et al. obtained Chandra X-ray Observatory images of x-ray structures inB1957+20. These structures show that the pulsar winds are relativistic and that the neutron star loses rotational energy through these relativistic particles, just like young pulsars. Thus, old and young pulsars have similar avenues for rotational energy loss, and refined models are needed to understand why their spin rates and magnetic field strengths differ so. >CREDIT: STAPPERS ET AL. _______________________________________________________ >Copyright (c) 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Or The Saying About Crackers Maru ;) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
