The final frontier.

17th Angel

17th Angel

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In 1964, this guy called Gene Roddenberry created this just over an hour long sci-fi pilot for a series he hoped to make into a successful TV series.... Years later there are now over like 700 episodes, and 11 films of the legendary Star Trek!!! :D Now my question (No idea if this is the correct location to place the thread, my bad?)

Those that watch the show, do you see any connections to religion with it? I have my own ideas but, I'll keep that to myself for now, I was just curious to see if anyone had an opinion on this?
 
I have only seen the more recent TV series like Voyager and Enterprise -- not the old ones.

But generally, I think the connection Star Trek has with religion is the way that the different races all have their own heroes, their own history and their own mythology. Although they don't mention God, they believe in the supernatural (ie. Valhalla-like Klingon warrior deaths and Vulcan mind melds). I think there is also the question of what it means to be "alive." (ie. holographic beings) They explore the nature of existence and what it means to be human. The characters have different opinions, see themselves as part of a greater cause, believe in their own rationality, believe in the rationality and nobility of their cause and their views and believe that they have the power to set things right. They believe in their own cosmic importance. Doesn't that sound religious?
 
Thanks for the reply, you mentioned the Vulcans! :D (Roman god of fire one of many Roman mythology references I've noticed lol.)

There is in one movie (Star Trek V) a moment they meet "a god" who claims to be "the god" then proceeds to take on many faces of Earth gods and many other alien gods I guess.. :p

But I meant should of been more clear perhaps my bad? Connections to certain human religions?

And yeah Do characters such as 'Data' have a soul? I was having that kind of conversation with someone else... That was discussing creating amazingly intelligent robots to be slaves of man.... I kind of saw it as twisted and was curious to if that was infact quite evil.
 
My preacher hardly goes a month without mentioning a quote, a scene or something from StarTrek, DeepSpace 9 or someother scifi from the pulpit that pertains to his topic.
 
wil said:
My preacher hardly goes a month without mentioning a quote, a scene or something from StarTrek, DeepSpace 9 or someother scifi from the pulpit that pertains to his topic.
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lol, that is pretty excellent, there are quite a few worthy quotes from it I'd agree, could also with some of them see how they could be incorporated. Here a bit of a wicked test (how much of what your preacher says do you recall!) Mooowahaha! Could you give us an example of something he has taught then merged with a quote from the likes of Star Trek?
 
The original three characters were intentionally stereotypical. The doctor was emotions, Spock was intellect, and Kirk was willpower. This applies very closely to my personal belief system.
 
By the way, the bridge that Picard used (and the chair he sat in) is in a little unknown museum in Hollywood, just one block north of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I sat in Picard's chair and had my picture taken -- very cool.

The original set with bar and chairs from the TV show Cheers is in the same museum. I sat in Norm's chair at the very end of the bar. (Or did Cliff sit at the very end? I forget.)
 
Nick the Pilot said:
By the way, the bridge that Picard used (and the chair he sat in) is in a little unknown museum in Hollywood, just one block north of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I sat in Picard's chair and had my picture taken -- very cool.

The original set with bar and chairs from the TV show Cheers is in the same museum. I sat in Norm's chair at the very end of the bar. (Or did Cliff sit at the very end? I forget.)
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That is pretty sweet! I bet the chair was bolted to the ground right?

I am 80% certain Norm sat at the end of the bar.
 
There is a little poster.....(I have it here somewhere).... I think its called, everything I need to know , I learnt from Star Trek. its very cool. Ill find it and post it.....
 
17th Angel said:
Thanks for the reply, you mentioned the Vulcans! :D (Roman god of fire one of many Roman mythology references I've noticed lol.)

There is in one movie (Star Trek V) a moment they meet "a god" who claims to be "the god" then proceeds to take on many faces of Earth gods and many other alien gods I guess.. :p

But I meant should of been more clear perhaps my bad? Connections to certain human religions?

And yeah Do characters such as 'Data' have a soul? I was having that kind of conversation with someone else... That was discussing creating amazingly intelligent robots to be slaves of man.... I kind of saw it as twisted and was curious to if that was infact quite evil.
Click to expand...

Somewhere on the forum there is a thread about having a soul, so I won't belabor that point.
Data, to me embodies the very best of what humanity has to offer IMHO. He is gentle though very strong. His intellectual curiosity leads him into the depths of humanity though his own humility prevents him from seeing what a fine person he really is.
Further, I think Data represents more of what humanity should strive for instead of what it often appears to be.
 
17th Angel said:
In 1964, this guy called Gene Roddenberry created this just over an hour long sci-fi pilot for a series he hoped to make into a successful TV series.... Years later there are now over like 700 episodes, and 11 films of the legendary Star Trek!!! :D Now my question (No idea if this is the correct location to place the thread, my bad?)

Those that watch the show, do you see any connections to religion with it? I have my own ideas but, I'll keep that to myself for now, I was just curious to see if anyone had an opinion on this?
Click to expand...

Roddenberry pitched Star Trek to Lucille Ball and others at Desilu studios as a "Wagon Train to the stars." For those that don't know, Wagon Train was a popular western series on the air at the time. The producers and money people were afraid the series was "too cerebral," that it would go over the top of most people's heads. They took a chance on a pilot, and the man that played Christopher Pike was Jeffrey Hunter. Pike was the original commander of the Enterprise, and a later episode spliced in scenes from the pilot. Jeffrey Hunter also played Jesus Christ in the movie "the Greatest Story Ever Told." He died not long after completing those two projects. When Star Trek was picked up as a series they had to recast the commander, which is how Shatner got the part of Kirk, whom Roddenberry envisioned as a Captain Horatio type character. And yes, Spock and the good Doctor were outwardly representative of Kirk's intellect and emotions. (Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a scientist!) Originally Spock was red (copper based blood), but the test shots weren't received well...he looked too much like the traditional satan. So they made him green instead...which served well in the episode when they went back in time and beamed a jet fighter pilot aboard who didn't believe in "little green men" just as Spock turned the corner and entered the room...too funny the very first time around.

Roddenberry was very much ahead of the curve...maybe he even influenced it some. He had a black female communications officer on the bridge...long before equal rights and non-discrimination were a given. Nichele Nichols (Uhura) is also rumored to have been one of Roddenberry's lovers. Roddenberry's long time wife Majel Barrett, also played bit roles throughout the original series. Star Trek became a vehicle for Roddenberry's humanist idealism (evidenced throughout the Star Trek franchise)...which pretty well limits any overt religiosity, in my view. Religion serves as simply one more tool in the chest to be used as need be.

The first movie was difficult at best to get produced, Leonard Nimoy felt he had become typecast as Spock and was struggling to get out from the shadow of that role. He did a brief series that looked into such things as Noah's Ark (which I remember being "fascinating") and a couple of bit roles as I recall, and finally they were able to get him to reprise his role in the first movie. BTW, I think the Director's Cut of that movie sucks...even if the special effects for the V-ger complex are far more simple in the theatrical release, they are much better detailed and as I recall longer and more in depth. I would love to find a copy of the original release of that movie just for the entrance to the V-ger complex. The transporter malfunction was awesome as well.

I watched the first couple of years of Next Generation, then lost interest after they shipped Wesley Crusher off to the academy...Trekese for "fired."

There was one episode, when Denise Crosby "dies," in which Picard and crew confront a black blob that seems in many respects to embody evil...that was an intriguing episode for me. But that is about as close as I recall anything overtly religious...except perhaps the episode of the original series that parodied Alice in Wonderland.
 
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If you want to compare, take a Star Trek predecessor Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Its got a similar feel and actors but has none of the big ideas of Star Trek and reflects belittlement of women and minorities as was common in its time. Star Trek could have been the same way and been just as insignificant and forgettable, but it pushed big ideas. The networks had planned for Star Trek to go for only one season and announced its end. Fortunately people liked Star Trek and insisted that the networks continue the show.

Star Trek was a big idea introducing show. I have no idea if Star Trek is religious but it pushes the ideas of a Utopia and equality and asks cool questions about reality. Questions like: "What would happen to the population if we manage to cure disease and death?" Growing up I thought it was an unfortunately humanistic show but watched it anyway, because there were a lot of other things about it that I liked. As a kid it was the aliens, ray guns, pointy ears etc. that were interesting but as I got into the late teens it was the ideas that became interesting. Its probably not a religious show but is purposely thought provoking.
 
As for computer based life having a soul...I think that is better answered by the movies "2001, a Space Odyssey" and "2010, the Year We Make Contact." Those are *very* religious films. Arthur C. Clarke was far more in touch with the spiritual realm than any other popular sci-fi writer, then 'til now.

Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series of books might provide some insight.

The Cyborg human-machine interface (such as the Terminator or the Six Million Dollar Man) with its ethical issues might shed some light as well:

"Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg
 
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