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Worf to Deep Space Nine? Sometimes fans really DO know best.
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00:00We're living in a beautiful age where we're kind of spoiled for choice really when it comes to Star
00:04Trek. Fan outcry basically convinced CBS to give Star Trek Strange New Worlds the green light.
00:10So what are other times when this happened? I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture and here are 10
00:16times Star Trek gave fans exactly what they wanted. Number 10. Spock in the Kelvin universe twice.
00:23When news broke that Star Trek was finally coming back to theaters in 2009 fans rejoiced. Star Trek
00:28Nemesis had left a somewhat sour taste in the mouths of fandom and Enterprise had failed to
00:32win over the audiences to keep it from cancellation. However there was a sexy new vision of Roddenberry's
00:37future. First of all how does it tie in with the old one? So when Leonard Nimoy was confirmed to
00:41be
00:41appearing in the film the collective fan base was delighted. There is something in the gravitas
00:45that Nimoy delivered every one of his lines with that lent legitimacy to the film. Added to that
00:50the film was a success. JJ Abrams while certainly bringing his own vision of the future to bear
00:54managed to do so in a way that was both respectful and inclusive of the past.
00:58And then Into Darkness came along. While it's not a bad film there are many fine examples of acting
01:03all around, much like the very ham-fisted Nimoy cameo. It just felt unnecessary.
01:09Rather than driving the franchise off into new directions it fell back and became a soft remake
01:13of The Wrath of Khan. While Benedict Cumberbatch chews all of the scenery that isn't nailed down,
01:18he has a far cry from Riccardo Montalbond's definitive Superman. The fans may have asked for
01:23more from the past to be brought back but Into Darkness serves as a cautionary tale of be careful
01:29what you wish for. Number 9. Discovery jets into the future. Starter Discovery was beset with issues
01:34from the beginning. The purpose behind the show was to breathe new life into the franchise capitalising
01:38on the highly popular Kelvin universe films while still existing within the prime universe. The first
01:43season, while getting a bit of a reappraisal, solid fine. Fans started to complain before it even hit the
01:49air. First there was the aesthetic. This was a show that was set 10 years before Kirk takes command of
01:54the Enterprise and while it would be foolish to attempt to style the sets in pre-60s state,
01:59fans of canon cried foul. Added to that the interesting redesign of the Klingons and the continued
02:04infighting among the crews. This was not your pair in Star Trek. However many of these concerns were heard.
02:10The show's second season was a far superior effort from all concerned. The introduction of Captain Pike
02:14brought a sense of exploration back to the show that the franchise had been missing. There was a
02:18positivity in the air again done without sacrificing the breakneck pace that Discovery enjoyed. The final
02:24and largest concern was the show's supposed flouting of established canon. So wiping the slate clean
02:29altogether the show's second season finishes with the ship and crew being sent 930 years into the future
02:35placing it far beyond anything seen before, farther even than Captain Braxton and the mobile emitter.
02:40Number 8, Seven of Nine, Picard. Jerry Ryan was and remains one of the best additions to Star Trek
02:46Voyager as she brings a wonderful sense of humanity to Seven's journey. Though given a huge presence in
02:51the promotional material it was initially unclear just how large of a role she would play. Her first
02:55appearance at the end of the fourth season was a great cliffhanger and her subsequent revelations in
02:59Stardust City Rag were polarizing. Much like Picard himself this may have been Seven of Nine but she was
03:04no longer the Borg that fans remembered. The fans needed more. The first season's conclusion sees her
03:09murder the woman who took her child from her before blasting her way out of a sticky situation,
03:13sees her join the crew of La Sirena and sees her at least tease the relationship with Raffi. The second
03:20season however shows Seven in a much larger capacity. When the crew travels back in time to the 21st
03:26century she and Raffi become something of a double act. Now while some of the screen time has been a
03:33little
03:33squandered it is very fair to say that Jerry Ryan has been having a ball on screen and fans are
03:40absolutely living for it. Number seven sweet sweet merchandise. As early as 1967 fans wanted to hold the
03:47Enterprise in their own hands. There were already some items of merchandising available such as comic
03:51books and a board game but up until then the idea that fans would want to pay more was ludicrous.
03:56The
03:56Trimbles soon helped to change this. Together with Roddenberry Bjo and John Trimble helped in the creation of a
04:02mail order company called Lincoln Enterprises. Paramount Studios hadn't shown much interest in
04:06sending any Trek merchandise out into the world to the point where they created items that were simply
04:10other toys with Star Trek slapped on the box and Lincoln took over. Lincoln offered fans the chance
04:15to own shirt insignia, scripts and bits of discarded film from the show. Roddenberry had the sense once he
04:20saw fan demand was high for this sort of thing to write teasers into scripts for items to later be
04:25turned into collectibles. This cycle of interaction with the fans helped to keep the show alive as time
04:29went on. While the Trimbles were also responsible for the letter writing campaign to save Trek,
04:33more on that later, they along with Roddenberry kept the merchandising so prevalent that the show
04:38enjoyed an unprecedented second life in reruns. Urban legend says that the show has never stopped airing
04:43from one station to another since the initial run and be that truth or fiction it is clear that fan
04:49interaction with the filmmakers and merchandisers have kept interest alive for over half a century.
04:54Number six Riker and Troy in Picard. The moment that Star Trek Picard was announced the question of whether or
04:59not
04:59the original cast would feature was raised. While everyone wanted to see Jean-Luc again they also
05:03badly wanted a sequel to the next generation. For most of the season they were left wanting and then
05:08along came Nepenthe. The seventh episode of Picard's first season sees the captain find his way back to
05:13the people who were with him throughout his time on the Enterprise. This is exactly what fans have been
05:17clamoring for since the pilot episode teased along the way by name dropping and suggestions. In what is
05:22potentially the strongest episode of the season the action slows to a halt and we get to spend time
05:26watching these old friends reunite. A valid criticism of this episode would be the placement within the
05:31season as it comes on the heel of a daring escape from the Borg artifact but that is a small
05:36price
05:36to pay to watch Picard, Riker and Troy get back together again. There are moments of sheer beauty,
05:41Troy's dressing down of our old captain, Riker sparring with Jean-Luc over a glass of wine and their
05:45conversation on the jetty by the lake. The episode was the closest in tone to the next generation that
05:49Picard's season one offered. Now with the announcement of the return of the entire main cast of the next
05:54generation for the show's third season we're all a little bit excited now. Number five, Riker to the
06:00rescue. An entry that deserves its own spot as this was something that the fans had badly wanted to
06:04see. Starfleet ships, the old crew back and the Federation doing what it was supposed to do. What
06:08could go wrong then? The first season's final episode was a mixed affair. A massive positive to the episode
06:13is the handling of Data's fate. This aspect of the story was handled with grace and care. The lush tones
06:18of
06:18Issa Briona singing of blue skies as Data fades away while holding Picard's hand have to stand up with some
06:23of the
06:24scenes that the characters have ever been involved in. The same cannot be said for the second return
06:30of Riker. Picard flies up to face off against a fleet of Romulan warbirds and there is a moment
06:34of sacrifice about the entire scene. Then out of nowhere a newly designed Federation ship warps into
06:39view and then again and the same ship. Again. After copying and pasting 200 times or so, yes I know
06:46there's some variations, Riker comes on the screen spouting some of the most poorly written dialogue
06:51that has ever come out of his mouth. The scene seems like it was made for people to punch the
06:55air and go
06:55cool. However due not just to the bland Federation fleet and some bad writing the scene ends in about
07:01a minute. The Romulans are sent packing and Riker leaves. Hardly inspiring. Now season two of Picard
07:07opened with a much stronger depiction of Starfleet and now while it was Rios as captain in this case a
07:13better use of the Starfleet officers on screen. So that is in fairness a good example of Star Trek
07:21learning from some of its past mistakes. Number four. Worf on Deep Space Nine. Bringing Michael Dorn
07:27over to Deep Space Nine marked the beginning of that show's best years. The Klingon war, while coming
07:32seemingly out of nowhere, ended up becoming one of the best additions to the series. Thankfully it came at a
07:37time when the ratings were getting lower and lower but also came about after a series of conversations that
07:42had been mandated by the producers. The original plan had been to close the show's third season with
07:46the revelation that the changelings had reached Earth and then to have the opening of season four
07:50deal with this. This was quashed when the producers demanded there be no cliffhanger ending to the
07:54third season. Faced with this the writers pitched the idea to have the Klingons break off diplomatic
07:58relations with the Federation. Added to that they could bring Worf over to help Cisco deal with this
08:03change. Rick Berman loved the idea not least because he felt that this would bring over a wave of fans
08:07from
08:08the next generation who had always loved Worf and the Klingons in particular. It was a gamble
08:11that worked. With his sternness shaking up the crew Worf's arrival spelled a new era of success for
08:17Deep Space Nine. From the fourth season on it rocketed towards triumphant finale bringing in plot threads
08:22from the next generation along the way. Kern and Alexander both returned giving the fans a sense of
08:26closure and adding greater depth to Worf's story. Number three Kirk meets Picard. Since the very first
08:32days of the next generation the question was posed who was the better captain Kirk or Picard. Star Trek
08:37Generations finally brought these two icons together after seven years of this question of
08:41the air. The results are quite mixed and there is still no definitive answer. While Picard is the
08:45one to survive the film it is Kirk who saves the day by grabbing the control panel. It's up to
08:49the
08:50fans still. The film does feature an excellent scene between the two men highlighting the differences on
08:54show. Their meeting in the Nexus exploring Kirk's cabin and finishing the breakfast for Antonia is pure
08:59fan indulgence and it's brilliant. Picard who has travelled through time and space to meet this man is left
09:05holding a scorching frying pan while Kirk looks for eggs, as you do. William Shatner has been candid about his
09:10reasons for appearing in Generations. The original series star's arc was effectively finished and there
09:14was never going to be a large role on offer. Leonard Nimoy turned down an appearance in the film for
09:18that
09:18very same reason but the salary on offer was decent so Shatner said yes knowing that he was signing Kirk's
09:23death certificate as he was signing the contract. It's very unlikely that we can hope for a Nimoy-esque
09:28cameo in future series as Shatner has categorically denied his wish to do any. Well the fans got their two
09:33captains together it just cost one of them his life. Number two. The original series season three. After the
09:39cancellation of the original series at the end of its second season the future of Star Trek looked dire.
09:43This was a time when there was no movies to fall back on nor the internet forums to gather the
09:48fans
09:48together. Betty Joanne Trimble who would come to be known universally as Beejo Trimble together with her husband
09:53came up with an idea. They were instrumental in saving Star Trek. They began a letter writing campaign that
09:58inspired NBC to save Star Trek and thanks for this Beejo, John Trimble and many other fans were featured in
10:04the
10:04rec room scene in the motion picture cementing their contribution both on and off the screen.
10:09However the saving of Star Trek came at a drastic price. The budget for each episode was slashed
10:15though the star's salaries increased. Time slots became an issue and Star Trek was given the death
10:18slot Fridays at 10pm. Gene Roddenberry threatened to resign over this but his threats were ignored
10:23and when he followed through and left the studio had to scramble to hire replacement teams. One script
10:27consultant was even quoted as asking what does this transporter thing do again? While Star Trek may
10:31technically have been saved by the network it really was just a drawn-out funeral. The franchise wouldn't
10:36truly be safe until the release of The Wrath of Khan capitalizing on the enormous box office success
10:41of the motion picture which occurred over a decade later. Number one queer representation from Dax to
10:47Culber and Stamets. From the outset of the original series Gene Roddenberry had used Star Trek to
10:51represent marginalized groups in human society. On the bridge of the Enterprise all the way back to 1966 a
10:57black woman along with a Japanese man held pride of place followed the next year by a Russian
11:02ensign while the cold war was still very much a reality. However one group were very obviously missing for a
11:07very long time in Star Trek continuity. The LGBTQIA plus representation in Star Trek was poor. The next generation and
11:14Deep Space Nine both attempted in their own ways to rectify this. A script entitled Blood and Fire was commissioned
11:19for the next generation but then was buried. Deep Space Nine was more successful showing the first same-sex kiss
11:23in the history of the franchise but fans
11:25quite deservedly wanted more. Star Trek Beyond showed that the Kelvin Universe Sulu was in a same-sex
11:30relationship although this drew criticism from George Takei who thought this was simply pandering. Brian Fuller an
11:35openly LGBTQIA plus personas in the initial showrunner of Star Trek Discovery was the key to the creation of
11:41Dr. Culber and Lieutenant Stamets the first recurring gay couple in Star Trek. They are displayed as being a
11:46loving couple and that's it. There's no overt messaging going on rather than the simple message on show. They are
11:51in love
11:52and they are together. This simple representation unthinkable for so many years in the franchise's
11:56history is shown to be as normal as any other relationship and finally the fans cries for
12:00representations were honored. Thank you very much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you
12:04did let us know in the comments below. If you have any suggestions let us know in the comments below.
12:08Don't forget you can get in touch with us over on Twitter at TrekCulture. You can catch myself on
12:12Twitter, Instagram and TikTok where I post daily Star Trek videos at Sean Ferrick. You look after yourself
12:17until I'm talking to you again. Make sure that you live long and prosper. Look after your nearest and dearest.
12:21Take it easy. Make it so. Thanks very much.
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