Another Star Trek Series Ends

Well, the last Star Trek spin-off is ending it's run due to sagging ratings. Sadly, we're left with no more than the reruns on Spike TV and the ultra expensive DVD collections (or the single episode of DS9 on VHS I own). Since I was 8 years old, there has been a continuing voyage of some kind...now, 17 years later, the Star Trek universe will go quiet again. So, what happened to one of the greatest sci-fi mainstays? Interestingly, the CNN article linked above give (to me, at least) a hint.

The original series had a Cold War between the Federation and the Russians, er, Klingons and a cheerfully naive approach to solving racial and political conflicts.

"Next Generation" (1987-94) had a post-Soviet view in which the Klingons were allies, and a politically correct view that the values of other cultures, no matter how weird or repugnant, deserved respect.

Both also shared a sunny idealism that humans had overcome their own conflicts, lived in peace, and were on voyages of discovery and knowledge for the sheer joy of it.

The optimistic view of a united future humanity that the original "Trek" offered began to crumble in earnest with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999). The earnest morality of the first two series gave way to gray areas in which the good guys dirtied their hands with assassinations and other foul deeds in fighting a war for survival.

Moral relativism had crept into the sparkling "Trek" universe. Some viewers were dismayed; others enthralled.

What was that...moral relativism? I think this may have something to do with it. People like characters they identify with...and enough people have morals they line up with and keep, that they don't identify with those that change their morals when it's convinent. There's a lot of names for this...most of them are negative.

One thing, I think they miss is that the Next Generation characters respected others cultures, but they would act whenever a "human ethic" was broken. Heck, the first episode demonstrated this. They didn't let the guy who effectively imprisoned a giant alien to act as a city go. They hauled him off.

Besides, I think people generally don't want to be depressed about the future. Watching a depressing sci-fi movie like Blade Runner may be alright for a movie, but when shown once a week, it begins to grind on people. After all, half the purpose of a movie or show is to escape.

In the end, I expect that some future 'stardate,' we'll see another series come out. Hopefully, it's a good one...one that will last long enough to continue the mission to "Boldly go where no one has gone before."