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20 Ways 'Star Trek' Has Changed As It Explored Space Through the Years: Then vs. Now

Turns out, the show keeps going where it has gone before.

20 Ways 'Star Trek' Has Changed As It Explored Space Through the Years: Then vs. Now

September 02, 2022

Star Trek is an old favorite of ours. We’ve discussed its thorough, that is our point.

In this Pictofact, then, we zoom out and take a look at the entire Star Trek franchise, then and now, from its humble inception to its current dominance (behind streaming services we’re never gonna pay for). Readers can also see when we took such a look at thoroughness.

20

Origins

Star Trek Then vs. Now STAR TREK CREATED BY GENE RODDENBERRY To boldly go Gene Roddenberry wanted to create a space version of the TV show Wagon Train mixed with a bit of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, while also providing suspense and moral lessons. By 2022, the weird idea had become 12 TV shows and 13 feature films, plus countless games, novels, and comic books. STARTREK X ONLINE CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

19

Nostalgia

Star Trek Then vs. Now From futurism to nostalgia Star Trek was utopian, sci-fi exploring what we can do if we just think rationally and for the betterment of everyone. Today it's steeped in cynicism and nostalgia, rehashing old characters, performers, and plot points, instead of envisioning a brighter future. CRACKED.COM — Nostalgia Is Destroying Star Trek's Future

18

Serialization

Star Trek Then vs. Now From episodic to serialized TV Recent TV outings have focused on season-long arcs, which has peeved fans of the episodic nature of classic Trek (even if the last seasons of Deep Space Nine or Voyager were heavily serialized). Add to that the trend of paywalling the shows, and it makes sense that so many fans have fallen out of love. CRACKED GOM — The Popcast

17

Woke 'Star Trek'

Star Trek Then vs. Now From veiled wokeness to explicit wokeness First, woke is a dumb word. Second, while it's true that the newer shows are way blunter, now directly addressing humanity's issues instead of using alien races as narrative excuses, the themes were always there: intellectual curiosity, radical inclusivity, and economic democracy. CRACKED.COM — Jessie Gender/YouTube

16

Copying

Star Trek Then vs. Now From copying 2001 to copying The Fast and the Furious 1979's The Motion Picture came out in the wake of Star Wars, but was tonally and thematically closer to 2001: A Space Odyssey. 37 years and 11 movies later, Beyond was fun and far superior to 2013's Into Darkness, but the influence of action blockbuster franchises like The Fast and the Furious was maybe a bit too much. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

15

Best and Worst

Star Trek Then vs. Now Cinematic highs and lows The Wrath of Khan lives up to its reputation, but The Voyage Home and First are awesome too. The worst: The Final Frontier, Insurrection, Nemesis, and Into Darkness. The underrated gems? 2009's Star Trek, as well as The Undiscovered Country, The Search for Spock, and Beyond. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

14

'Strange New Worlds'

Star Trek Then vs. Now A From failed pilot to sorta prequel CBS rejected the original pilot The Cage for being too cerebral, but NBC financed a mulligan. Only Spock returned to the original and legendary show, and Captain Pike was replaced by Kirk. Still, Pike remained part of the canon, and leads one of the current shows, Strange New Worlds. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

13

Captain Kirk

Star Trek Then vs. Now From tortured leader to ladies' man and back Roddenberry's original plan for James T. Kirk was an adventurer, but also a man tortured by the ethical quandaries of leadership. William Shatner's iconic portrayal also made him a ladies' man, and the movies successfully balanced this with issues of aging, responsibility, and legacy. Chris Pine's Kirk characterization also managed to echo this arc. CRACKED.COM — Rowan J Coleman/YouTube

12

Spock

Star Trek Then vs. Now Caught between logic and emotion Leonard Nimoy played Spock from 1965 to 2013 as a half-Vulcan, half-human individual caught between his two heritages. In 1979's The Motion Picture, he has expunged himself of all emotion, and remained like this from then on. Zachary Quinto plays him all pouty, and Ethan Peck currently tries to convey his neurodivergent nature. CRACKED.COM — Polygon, Game Rant

11

Actors

Star Trek Then vs. Now From the core cast to every famous actor ever When Star Trek began, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were already acting veterans, while other performers had a bit less experience. By now, the Star Trek franchise has also been home to Whoopi Goldberg, Christopher Lloyd, Kurtwood Smith, Christopher Plummer, and tons of other stars. CRACKED.COM — 17 Stars We Forgot Were on 'Star Trek', Basic Stuff Magazine

10

Klingons

Star Trek Then vs. Now From unitary baddies to diverse baddies The Klingons were an allegory for the brutality and authoritarianism of the communist bloc. By the first movie they got their unique look, and in the following movies and shows their feudal, samurai-like culture of honor and hierarchy was solidified. Into Darkness changed their iconic look, and Discovery did too, while expanding on their differences. CRACKED.COM — Rowan J Coleman

9

The Borg

Star Trek Then vs. Now Resistance is futile Initially conceived as a hive-mind, tech-obsessed villain for entire seasons' arcs, the Borg's assimilation angle only emerged after Picard was turned into one. First then added body horror elements and the Borg Queen, and Voyager expanded on their culture, ranks, and tech, weakening their almost Lovecraftian otherness. CRACKED.COM — Rowan J Coleman

8

Captains

Star Trek Then vs. Now The captains William Shatner's Kirk and Patrick Stewart's Picard are legendary, but the franchise is full of amazing leaders. We're not going to get in the whole who's the best captain debate, but we are going to celebrate Deep Space Nine's Benjamin Sisko, wonderfully played by Avery Brooks, and Voyager's Kathryn Janeway, badassedly played by Kate Mulgrew. CRACKED.COM — The Guardian, WhatCulture/YouTube

7

Transporters

Star Trek Then vs. Now Transporters The transporter's basic fading in and out effect is very similar in the original show and The Next Generation, and it remains the standard to this day. The new movies tried to make them more dynamic, but the true breakthrough happened in The Wrath of Khan. There, the effect is smoother, flashier, even proving lens flares and Star Trek can coexist. CRACKED.COM — John DiMarco/YouTube

6

Star Trek

Star Trek Then vs. Now Warp speed An elongated effect, a big whoosh, and then a light in the background: warp speed is another visual staple of Star Trek. Unlike Star Wars' hyperdrive, which implies faster-than-light-speed travel through a higher dimension, warp speed actually achieves said speed. CRACKED.COM — John DiMarco/YouTube, Romulan64/YouTube

5

Effects

Star Trek Then vs. Now From practical FX to CGI Before CGI, practical techniques like model photography and optical compositing were used for decades. Save some CGI shots early in The New Generation and especially the movies, the new times truly caught up with Enterprise and the Kelvin trilogy. Yeah, the excessive lens flare was annoying, but 2009's Star Trek has pretty flawless CGI. CRACKED.COM — Sci-Fi Online

4

Gary Mitchell (and Other Villains)

Star Trek Then vs. Now From the first villain and back Star Trek's very first villain was Gary Mitchell, a crewmember infused with cosmic energies. Other great villains include the planet-sized V'Ger, the Shakespeare-spewing General Chang, the Jem'Hadar from Deep Space Nine, and of course Khan, Q, the Romulans, the Borg, and the Klingons. As for Gary Mitchell, Lower Decks has kept his memory alive. STRANGE ENERGIES GARY MITCHELL 488 B1 23 CRACKED.COM — Screen Rant, CBR, Screen Rant

3

Influence and Legacy

Star Trek Then vs. Now From influence to legacy Roddenberry was inspired by the TV show Wagon Train and Swift's Gulliver's Travels, but also by the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. Five decades later, Star Trek's influence is everywhere. Babylon 5, The Orville, and even Black Mirror have taken cues from it, and Galaxy Quest is just a fun, loving tribute. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

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2

Parodies

Star Trek Then vs. Now The parodies Galaxy Quest is probably the greatest parody-homage Star Trek has ever received. But the franchise has also been fodder for stand-up comedy (as seen at the end of the documentary Trekkies)and for sketch comedy (as seen in the millions of SNL sketches riffing on it). DIFERENTIAL and % THRUST ACC/POT OBALANCE CRACKED.COM — Star Trek: 7 Stellar Comedy Sketches -- and 4 Terrible Ones

1

Ongoing Shows

Star Trek Then vs. Now STERPRISE From the canceled Phase II to four ongoing shows The Motion Picture happened after Star Wars' success, but also because Roddenberry had wanted to make Star Trek: Phase II. By 1977 there was demand for more Star Trek: its cancellation had been criticized, and The Animated Series had a cult following. Currently, four shows are on the air: Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

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