Last night I tried watching one of the 90s Trek shows. Back in the 90s I was an adult and I didn't see all the seasons of all the Trek shows. Which means the old episode I watched was "new" to me. Anyway, I watched one episode of one of the three series and it felt like the target audience was for smart 14 year olds. Maybe it was just that particular episode or that I'm older or that modern (Battlestar, Expanse) sci-fi seems much darker and more sophisticated. Plus my taste in drama has certainly changed over the decades.

Setting aside any nostalgic and youthful memories, anyone else have a similar experience? I won't say which series because I don't want this to turn into a discussion about which was best.

INVERSE:

"Speaking to Inverse about their new comedy/action film Mayday — starring Ryan Reynolds and Sir Kenneth Branagh — Daley and Goldstein took time to shed a little more light on what their Star Trek script will be like. [...]

“I would say it's really kind of a look at the institution of Starfleet and any institution as a whole that has existed for a long time and what that does,” Daley tells Inverse. “ I think the portrayal of Starfleet and the people that work within it have always been generally idealized versions of what the future could be. And while this [script] isn’t a cynical or nihilistic take on it, I think it does acknowledge that there are some bad apples in every institution that can have a strong voice and can really make an impact on that institution and everything it stands for.”

“Two movies we cite as comps for what we’re hoping to do are Training Day and Crimson Tide ,” Goldstein tells Inverse.

“It takes place almost in real time, and it just is a whole other look at what a Star Trek movie could be without betraying the fundamentals of what it should be,” Daley adds.

Fans of the excellent film Crimson Tide will probably remember that, interestingly, that film has more than one reference to the original Star Trek. [...]

The filmmakers also note that their hope with this film is to make something that lives well beyond the expectations and borders of existing fandom. “I mean, look, we don't want to rely on fandom,” Goldstein says. “We don't want to just hope that there's enough fans of the original [TOS] or The Next Generation or whatever who will turn out for this. We want to just make a great movie that lives in the world that people are familiar with — some people are familiar with — and that others will discover. And then, with good fortune, we launch a new franchise into existence.”

Ryan Britt (Inverse)

Link:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/exclusive-new-star-trek-movie-writers-tease-dark-story-john-francis-daley-and-jonathan-goldstein

THE OLD MAN:

"He can say he loves healing people, but Nurse Chapel does all the work. She's the effective doctor on this ship. I don't know what M'Benga is. I guess murderer. I don't because when I was sitting there and that lady took that poison and she died over there and M'Benga was like, "Uh, she's dead." Are you going to go over there and look?

I would have expected him to want to go over there and look and for somebody to go, "No, no, you can't do that. They'll you got to let it happen." And him to say something like, "The heck with that. I'm going to treat this patient!" Because he didn't knowwhat happened to her, what that poison was. Maybe Enterprises technology would have been able to save her. He didn't know what that was, but he didn't seem to care that there was a patient there.

Well, a potential patient that was killing herself and he wasn't going to do a damn thing to help her, even if it risked the eye of the Klingons. Cuz I know there's going to be some defenders saying, "Well, you couldn't do that." He knew that. He was so experienced. He knew the Klingons were going to stop him and do bad things. There was no way to know that.

His instinct should have been to help that person, but Dr. M'Benga doesn't ever come across to me as a doctor. They should have made him head of security. I mean, yeah, he's bloodthirsty, but at least his skill set would have lined up better than being a doctor.

[...]

Maybe don't do Klingons. Maybe just make it two factions somewhere. Why do you need the Klingons?"

MOLLIE:

"So that they could have Dr. M'Benga go on this trip?

THE OLD MAN:

"I guess. Which, you know, at the ending of this episode, too. I guess they were making a meta commentary when M'Benga - not just in this episode, but like ever - Nurse Chapel's doing all the medicine, but he really cared about all those people he killed to save his patients."

MOLLIE:

"Well, apparently he loves being a healer, but he's got these mad skills when it comes to killing people. And what a shame it is ..."

Source:

'Mollie and the Old Man' on YouTube

The PILOT for SLIDERS Meets CASABLANCA—Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S04E04 Review

Link:

https://youtu.be/lxE8RvsMzLg?si=QrcgOw_IcHgiFUox&t=1683

Time-stamp:

28:03 min

Inverse:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/babs-olusanmokun-strange-new-worlds-star-trek-interview-canon

By Ryan Britt

Babs Olusanmokun is the badass the Final Frontier needs.

"As Strange New Worlds hits its midpoint in Season 4, Inverse caught up with the actor to reflect on the duality of M’Benga — a healer who is also the most deadly member of the crew, a secret weapon hiding in plain sight. ...

While SNW (and other Trek shows) have often featured episodes in which the characters play dress-up (see: multiple holodeck episodes from the TNG/DS9/VOY era for proof), what makes “A Case of Chiaroscuro” somewhat unique is that the anachronistic aesthetic isn’t for laughs; instead, the episode plays it straight. And it’s no surprise M’Benga is at the center of it all, having been on more undercover missions than Una and Uhura.

“For me, it was very easy to embrace that story and just to live that noir atmosphere,” Olusanmokun tells Inverse. “I’m truly trying to solve a problem and trying to stay safe. With Una and Uhura, I’m trying to just give tips, like: ‘Listen, we want to make it back alive. Here’s how to do that.’”

As SNW has previously established, M’Benga is as much of a warrior as he is a doctor, having taken out many, many Klingons in the military conflict that exists in the Discovery Season 1 era of Trek. Basically, when you need a doctor and some muscle on your away team, M’Benga is both. He’s also, in a sense, a therapist for people who need to figure out how to become badasses.

“It's not a terrible thing. It simply shows the breadth of his experience across Starfleet,” Olusanmokun says. “I think he’s an officer that’s dealt with a lot; his background of taking care of people goes across the whole spectrum. If you’re in a bed in sickbay, he’s got a way about him. But if someone needs to go further afield, he’s got an idea or two. He’s a Swiss Army knife, really.” ...

In the 2009 Star Trek film, Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) famously said: “Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence,” but M’Benga is a character who actually allows the audience to feel the weight of that sentiment, without making a joke about it. In talking about “A Case of Chiaroscuro” and the tone of Episode 6, “Off Hour,” Olusanmokun reveals the fact that, yes, he very much likes to go dark, or at the very least, explore the straightforward aspects of his character.

“You know what? I love laughing, and I have a lot of laughter in my life, but I'm also deeply attracted to pieces where it's just a sober truth and a dramatic truth,” Olusanmokun says. “I like the exploration of that and the sincerity of those pieces. I don't need a wise crack in the middle of the heaviness of reality.” ...

For Olusanmokun, it’s all more signs of the dimensionality of M’Benga, the notion that this is a realistic character, existing in a fantastic and sometimes hyperbolic world.

“It’s almost like he’s grieving a loss before it happens,” Olusanmokun says. “I try to color that in there. There is a kind of transitional doubt and uncertainty. He’s wondering, ‘Am I really in the place I need to be? Maybe I’m a little too familiar with these people?’” ..."

Read more:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/babs-olusanmokun-strange-new-worlds-star-trek-interview-canon

Source:

Star Trek on Instagram

Link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcKKxvQBggS

Screenrant:

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-mbenga-leave-enterprise-harsh-reality/

By John Orquiola

"Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds began, Captain Christopher Pike's crew (Anson Mount) was also forced to sing in a musical, were kidnapped by the Gorn, and had reality warped by Trelane (Rhys Darby).

For Dr. M'Benga, serving on the Enterprise saw him give up his young daughter, Rukiya (Sage Arrindell), who became part of a cosmic being in a nebula. Joseph murdered a Klingon Ambassador (Robert Wisdom) and covered it up, survived Klingon zombies, and was nearly bisected in his own sickbay. After everything M'Benga has endured aboard the Enterprise, and in his sordid past as a Starfleet assassin, he is justified in feeling that he's had enough of exploring strange new worlds.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' puppet episode ended with the twist that the puppets were all Lieutenant Spock's (Ethan Peck) dream. This means that puppet T'Pring's assessment of the Starship Enterprise as a ship of "chaos" and "pandemonium" cime from Spock's subconscious. It reveals a harsh truth that, deep down, the Vulcan Science Officer wants to get off the Enterprise, at least for a while.

Spock's life aboard Captain Pike's Enterprise has been a series of emotional traumas. Switching bodies with T'Pring, being turned human, and then breaking up with T'Pring in the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds alone is enough grief to process. Since then, Spock has been dumped twice more, by Nurse Chapel and, recently, by Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong). Yet Spock still must work with his exes every day. ...

Lieutenant Spock regularly risks his life for the Enterprise, including in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 6. "Off-Hour" saw Spock attempt an incredibly dangerous space walk to the Enterprise's ion pod while it was in the slipstream wormhole. Spock managed to survive the ion pod's ejection, and he was rescued by La'an, but returned with severe radiation poisoning, foreshadowing the Vulcan's death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ...

Star Trek canon says Mr. Spock won't leave the USS Enterprise, while Dr. M'Benga does get to exit by the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, although he returns in Star Trek: The Original Series. The Starship Enterprise is undeniably a prestigious and glamorous posting for a Starfleet officer, but it's also incredibly dangerous, a magnet for trauma, and death is a tragic reality in the final frontier."

Read more:

https://screenrant.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-mbenga-leave-enterprise-harsh-reality/

CBR:

https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-villains-who-were-right-list/

By Amy Watkins

"Across its 13-series franchise, Star Trek has introduced some of the most memorable villains in sci-fi. From the cybernetic wrath of the Borg to the ruthless dictatorship of Gul Dukat, the Federation has faced no shortage of formidable foes, each challenging the principles and morals of the Enterprise heroes.

However, while Trek has had its fair share of indefensible Big Bads, many of its antagonists have been anything but black and white. Whether motivated by a desire for independence, a distrust of Starfleet, or a willingness to correct a flaw in the Federation’s policies, these villains had more validity than their actions would suggest. In fact, it could be argued that, in one way or another, they were actually right.

Star Trek: Picard’s Commodore Oh was a Zhat Vash double agent hell-bent on destroying all synthetic life in the galaxy. However, the reasoning behind her actions can be somewhat understood. Members of the Zhat Vash were subjected to the Admonition, a vision passed down through generations that warned of the destruction of all organic life at the hands of AI.

It’s hard to defend Oh's methods, but not so much her fear. Being one of the few to survive the Admonition, which causes a violent sensory overload to those who view it, Oh had every reason to believe that synthetic life posed an existential threat.

While she was wrong to manipulate Starfleet and mastermind the attack on Mars, there’s no denying that Oh had seen the consequences of inaction and was willing to do whatever it took to prevent them. ..."

Read more:

https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-villains-who-were-right-list/

THE TRANSPORTER ROOM:

"David Livingston shares the fascinating story of how he was partially responsible for Avery Brooks joining Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Benjamin Sisko. After seeing Brooks deliver a magnetic, powerful performance in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Livingston remembered him when the team was searching for the actor who would ultimately lead Deep Space Nine.

He also reveals why getting Avery Brooks into the role wasn’t as straightforward as it might seem—and why the producers and writers initially struggled to fully understand both Avery and Sisko. According to Livingston, the turning point came when the show began writing more directly to Brooks’ unique strengths and finally allowed Sisko’s visual identity to evolve.

From the debate over Avery Brooks’ bald head and goatee to the moment the creative team realized what they truly had in him, this behind-the-scenes story offers a revealing look at how one of Star Trek’s most iconic captains came into his own. Livingston describes that evolution as a seminal part of Deep Space Nine’s eventual success."

Video Clip:

https://youtu.be/MOa9dfLtYy4?si=kuKSnYoXAe0g3hCR

Full interview:

https://youtu.be/jg0lsFmzWyI?si=kAUsO13p4RqC8miN

The series is called "Star Trek: Outlaws". The stories are written in screenplay format, and so far I've completed about 30 scripts out of a planned ~60.

A few Trek fans have read all my scripts to date and enjoyed them, and I've started to share the first couple stories more widely on the fanfic website Archive of Our Own (AO3): the pilot (feature-length, slow burn, non-traditional act structure) and the following episode (with standard act structure). Here's a short summary:

Set in the early 25th Century, the series follows a brother and sister, Argo and Zia, who resolve to hijack a Federation starship to pursue a dangerous endeavor across the galaxy to save Argo's life, defying the legacy of their late father and the values of the Federation they were raised to hold dear. Joining them are a motley crew of former Starfleet officers and renegade militia (including a couple of familiar faces). As the crew traverse into unknown space, they'll be faced with ethical dilemmas while wrestling with their own consciences of how their mission began, as they uncover the secrets of a mysterious race lost to legend.

If anyone here would like to check them out, the link to the series on AO3 is below, and I'd love to get any feedback from fellow Trekkies, good or ill. I hope anyone doing so enjoys them.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/6481476 (formatted for desktop/laptop users, works best in landscape mode on phones).