Regardless of ones personal feelings about Kurtzman or his approach toStar Trek, his observations are not without merit.
Not so withStar Trek.
It could be a tense, exciting adventure.
It could be thought-provoking, high-concept science fiction.
It could be a poignant character piece, or a diverting bit of comedy fluff.
It could conceivably be one of the worst episodes of television you would ever see in your life.
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But what if thats actually a good thing?
A Different Time
Its important to put Kurtzmans remarks in context.
sold to other networks in various different markets, both national and international.
The more episodes available, the more valuable the package.
The motive was profit.
Of course, the streaming era is no different in that respect.
For Kurzman, this is ultimately a positive thing.
It means heavy serialization, story arcs, big action, and big emotions.
No bottle episodes, obtuse chamber pieces, or quirky character experiments.
Its a quiet, meditative, hugely poignant episode, with no battles and few flashy special effects.
A beloved main character bumbling around, learning more about what it is to be human?
Dont waste my time.
Okay, two acknowledged classics there, of course it would be a shame to lose them.
But what about acknowledged disasters?
There are almost too many examples to list acrossTNGs much maligned first couple of seasons.
But silliness is part ofStar Trek!
And thats a terrible shame, because not everything has to be epic.
Are all these episodes completely successful?
But they speak to a desire to grow, to explore, to experiment.
To show us new configs, new dilemmas, new ideas.
The kinds of stories that onlyStar Trekcan tell.
Even theTNGmovies had already started to go that way.
And in 2024, the time of slow-paced TV with silly foam foreheads is long gone.
Sorry, what was that?
You want me to defend theTNGepisode Code of Honor now?
Oh dear, is that the time?
I must be going…
