#tng evolution

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n created by gene roddenberry Kavis Alpha Binary Star System [evolution, s3ep1]

'Over and over again, the intense gravitational pull of the little neutron star sucks up the star material from the red giant, and it builds up on the surface until it explodes, every one hundred and ninety six years. Like clockwork.' - dr. stubbs

[stra-tek]

1994: OMG the Enterprise computer is so powerful it can write new original stories in the style of Arther Conan Doyle!

2024: OMG the Enterprise computer is using AI trained on data scraped off the internet without permission, it's evil!

[siryl]

A nanite diagram by Michael Okuda, scanned from Star Trek: The Continuing Mission by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.

[lordlexion]

The biggest “bitch, are you serious?” combined “I don't give a fuck” look on Picard's part that I was able to capture.

I love how expressive Picard's facial mimicry is, it really is superb.

Even if the expression on his face does not change much. There is something about the way Picard look and what he simply represents.

Leaving aside the power of the timing and dialogue.

It's a look in which I see Picard reflecting for a moment on his life choices. Especially the presence of the children on his ship, after Beverly asked for Picard to tell about her son. Something wonderful.

Beverly just nailed him during the talk about Wesley. Some of the questions were just fantastic (and hilarious), especially the one about whether Wesley was ever in love. Let's be honest, how would Picard know? Aside from the fact that he is a captain, his reluctance to interact with children is evident.

[spockvarietyhour]

A quick and dirty hue change to emphasize how the second version of the combat cruiser has more Romulan lines.

[joshuaalbert]

wesley when a girl asks him to the holodeck or whatever

[ID: wil wheaton’s character in flubber delivering the line “I have. a SCIENCE REQUIREMENT you MORONS” with a lot of verve]

[everythingsucksbutthatsokay]

I did a super rough concept sketch of my spec evo Klingon redesign, exemplified by Mr. Worf

[soongtypeloverboy]

wait how many episodes have somebody turn into a lizard... are the writers ok

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n created by gene roddenberry Dr. Paul Stubbs, Astrophysicist [evolution, s3ep1]

'My dear Counsellor, no insult intended but please turn off your beam into my soul. I will share the feelings I wish to share.' - dr. stubbs [to troi]

[foone]

This is not about Star Trek

Ok so there's a TNG episode I can't remember the name of. It's got one of those boring one world titles like "evolution" or "disaster" and fundamentally it's about the cool scifi idea of "what if enterprise get computer virus?"

Which was a cool futuristic idea in the 80s when it was made, becauee computer viruses were a new and exciting idea then. Anyway. Towards the end of the episode Picard, Data, and Worf are down on the planet what gave the enterprise the virus. There's a stargate thing going on in the room, where it cycles through a bunch of different destinations, like the enterprise, the hostile romulan warbird, and distant planets.

Data gets zapped. He tells Picard how to set the self destruct, and Picard tells Worf to carry Data through the stargate when it shows the Enterprise, so Data can get fixed.

Now Picard is alone, with the self destruct computer. He sets it up to explode so it'll stop trying to virus the enterprise, but time is ticking down. The place is gonna blow, and the stargate hasn't cycled around to the enterprise yet. He jumps though it anywhere, figuring that the place he's currently in is about to become a smoking crater, and basically anywhere else is preferable!

That choice he makes, the "fuck it, I don't care where I end up, so long as it's not fucking here"?

That's exactly how I feel about humanity.

I'm not hugely picky, to be honest. That's a big part of why I don't have a fursona, despite being a big ol' furry: I can't decide on wanting to be a specific kind of animal as honestly I'd take anything. I could spend years getting art commissioned of a cool deergal or sheepboy or cowthing, and if someone was like "hey I got some experimental new Wolf HRT" I'll punch them in the face and down the whole bottle.

And it's not just about animals either. Give me robot bodies and pure software uploads and ascension to pure energy and plants and fungi and plasma-based stellar parasites and things that can't even exist in this reality because our physical laws are incompatible.

I don't have a destination in mind because I'm not planning a vacation. I'm planning a jail break. I don't need to arrive somewhere, I need to escape here.

Please someone smuggle me a file in a cake. I need to get through these bars.

[spacefinch]

Horse girl is a gender neutral term to me.

For instance, Captain Picard from Star Trek is a guy, but he is also a horse girl.

And it doesn’t even have to be horses or other equine animals. Anyone who likes some kind of large beast (preferably a social animal that lives in herds) is a horse girl.

It has occurred to me that, because I was perceived as a girl as a child, and i was obsessed with Hadrosaurs, which had a lot of convergently similar traits to horses, i was technically a Horse Girl

I deeply detest realising this about myself

[celestialvoyeur]

💛💙SPIRK FIC REC - MY FAVOURITES💙💛

As a follow up to my recent post about how few fics make it to my favourites list, and how special they are to achieve that distinction, I decided to share my current list.

I’ve shared some of these individually in the past but here you’ll have them all together. 

If you've read any of these already then I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether you loved them as much as I did! 🥰

(NB: these are not listed in any order of preference. Mostly it’s the reverse order in which I read them)

Leave No Soul Behind by whochick Words: 258,951

AOS, AU Canon-Divergence. Spock, Kirk and the other valiant members of the Emergency Personnel Ambulance Service fight to save lives and turn the tide of the ongoing war against Nero and his fleet before it’s too late. Such a beautiful slow burn for Spock and Kirk.

Atlas by distractedKat Words: 135,529

AOS. Follow on from 2009, Kirk, Spock and the rest deal with the aftermath of Nero’s attack and rebuilding after the decimation of the ‘Fleet and Academy. An exciting tale with twists and turns involving black ops, bad-mirals, action, love and fierce loyalty.

The Lotus Eaters by aldora89 Words: 93,594

AOS. Stranded on a planet together, with multiple dangers and very little hope of rescue, Jim and Spock have no choice but to rely on each other to survive. Spectacular plot, amazing world building, fabulous original character and an epic slow burn Spirk love story!

With Your Feet on the Air and Your Head on the Ground by flippyspoon Words: 39,188 @flippyspoon

SNW. A phenomenal Spirk fic in which Kirk is stuck in Spock's mind while the crew work to find a way to retrieve his body. A wonderful getting to know you/falling for you hard tale. Wonderfully written and highly entertaining.

Evolution by Rhaegal (RhaegalKS) Words: 149,293

AOS. Covering the first year of their 5 year mission, this is totally flawless. The character voices are perfection, the prose spectacular. The whole thing plays like an AOS movie. It’s phenomenal.

Emotions by LadyRa Words: 35,569

TOS. Spock gets drugged on a shore leave and is overwhelmed with its effects. Kirk tries to pick up the pieces. A beautiful, and wonderfully grounded, story of realising how much they mean to each other.

And When the Bond Breaks by LadyRa Words: 24,631

TOS. Spock takes out a shuttle to investigate an anomaly and returns to an Enterprise that’s not his own. Time travel shenanigans with such emotional depth that it will traumatise you in the best way. Stunningly good!

All Our Tomorrows Come Today by flippyspoon Words: 18,156 @flippyspoon

SNW. A newly introduced Jim and Spock accidentally get a glimpse into the future and see what they’re going to be to each other (a.k.a. Spirk’s Greatest Hits). A stunningly told story about finding the great love of your life. 

I Won't Make That Mistake Again by Moreta1848 Words: 69,402 @jennelikejennay

SNW/TOS. An epic story detailing Spock and Kirk’s love throughout their lives, beginning from their meeting on Pike’s Enterprise (SNW) and continuing on to an eventual  Generations fix-it happy ending. Wonderful!

No Going Back, No Before by spirkme Words: 78,486 @spirkme915

SNW/TOS. Timeline shenanigans, spies, twists & turns, pining, angst, sacrifice and so so much love!

The 1,000 Hour Sleep by spqr Words: 27,227

SNW. Jim’s been infected with a pathogen that means he can’t sleep, but it he doesn’t he’ll die. Cue Spock and his Vulcan telepathy helping Jim to achieve the sleep he needs, while they get to know each other within their shared mindscapes. A sweet and exciting story about falling in love and overcoming your own inner demons.

First Best Destiny by Ophelia_j Words: 387,733

TOS/TNG. Such a very special fic. Epic in its scope, it covers the entire timeline of Spirk from their very first meeting through to a  clever and satisfying Generations fix-it ending. It provides extra scenes, additional dialogue and internal monologues to expand on existing canon in a really compelling and effective way. Truly this is my new TOS canon.

The Steadfastness of Stars by itsnatalie Words: 61,566

AOS. After Beyond, The crew investigate sudden climate change on a frozen planet and find more than they bargained for. The perfect mix of great plot, fun original characters, action, mystery, world building and deep deep love.

Let Forever Be by gunstreet Words: 43,446 @gunstreet

TOS. A really compelling character study of James T. Kirk. An excellent companion piece to City on the Edge of Forever. Exploring what Jim and Spock got up to, and all they had to overcome, while trying to find Bones and their way back home.

Time After Time by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin) Words: 138,921

SNW. Kirk spends a 6 month rotation on the Enterprise as part of his command training. OK, if there’s a favourite of my favourites then this may be it. It’s such a stunning version of their love story, with a beautifully constructed plot. It runs the emotional gamut from moments that will have you laughing out loud to moments that will have you in floods of tears. 

milk and honey by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin) Words: 28,651

SNW. Kirk and Spock meet for the first time when they wake up in a prison cell together. A really fun, and extremely clever, version of the ‘aliens made them do it’ trope. It’s intriguing and funny with a real depth of feeling throughout.

The Promised Land by gunstreet Words: 58,260 @gunstreet

TOS. A story that explores the time Jim and Spock spent apart between the end of the 5 year mission and TMP. It’s a beautiful story of reunion and renewal of love. Sometimes achingly sad, but it’s worth it for the happy ending.

Again, if you've read any of these already then I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether you loved them as much as I did! 🥰

[captaincrusher]

A thought on a queer Star Trek timeline

Watching Star Trek from the original series to modern times is to fast forward through the evolution of queer rights through the 20th and early 21st century.

In the original series queerness must be imagined in the close relationship between Kirk and Spock. We can only see ourselves in what we hope and dream about for the future. We get Amok Time.

In the 80's queer people start to materialize in the background. TNG takes tentative steps towards telling our stories, still cloaked in the allegory. We get Outcast.

In the 90's Ds9 gives us Rejoined. Still cloaked in allegory, but the lines get sharper, the mist starts to lift. A character has a monologue about how two people that love each other should be able to be together. Hidden winks has turned into words.

Voyager, while a good show in other respects, does not give us a single crumb of queerness. Aside from the relationships we ourselves imagine.

In the 2000's we are on the cusp of actually having queer people on screen. Enterprise tries to tell stories of gender (Cogenitor) and the AIDS crisis (Stigma), two episodes that are still filtered through a limited understanding of both. When Enterprise ends in 2005 and this Star Trek era ends with it, queer representation in film and tv is still scarce.

The AOS era instead is where queer people, for the first time, stepped out of subtext. Sulu is married to a man - a nod to George Takei, the original series actor. Star Trek Beyond comes out in 2016, the year after same sex marriage is legalized in the US.

It isn't until 2017 that a Star Trek show officially, without subtext or allegory, gets queer characters, when Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber are married on Discovery. Discovery also adds further queer characters down the line, finally saying that yes - queer humans do exist in the future.

I know you all will have opinions on what is queer or not. But when tracking the evolution of queer representation it's important to separate subtext from text and to separate when something is allegoric verses not.

I interpret Jadzia Dax as queer - but she is not human. She is an alien wrapped inside a gender non confirming shroud of gray areas. That is the strength of her character - that it allows the writers to explore themes that otherwise would have been taboo. But the fact that they could only pursue queer storylines with non human characters tells you something about the times.

it really feels like Star Trek was late to the party with queer representation. I think there's multiple reasons for that. One is that when Enterprise was created, it still carried the legacy of shows created in the 80's and 90's. Enterprise itself is also literally a prequel - there seemed to be little desire to be bold and innovative.

Timing is I think the main reason why Star Trek trailed behind. Between Enterprise ending in 2005 and Star Trek Discovery starting in 2017 there's a whole era of representation. If Enterprise had dared make an actual queer character, like Malcolm Reed, it would have been just ahead of the wave of representation that started popping up in the late 00's - but instead it closed on a similar note as DS9 did 10 years earlier.

Feel free to add your favorite queer episodes. There are some "official" queer episodes - but there's a bunch more that meant a lot for us as queer people, for one reason or another.

[leesargent]

Li'l TNG season three

I was going to space these out a little more but meh it's nice posting here again :) In this season I experimented with the eyes because that's what you do LOL.

Evolution

The Ensigns of Command

The Survivors

Who Watches The Watchers

The Bonding

Booby Trap

The Enemy

The Price

The Vengeance Factor

The Defector

The Hunted

The High Ground

Déjà Q

A Matter of Perspective

Yesterday's Enterprise

The Offspring

Sins of the Father

Allegiance

Captain's Holiday

Tin Man

Hollow Pursuits

The Most Toys

Sarek

Ménage à Troi

Transfigurations

The Best of Both Worlds, Part I

[respocked]

This episode is very funny. It features a virus that devolves people/activates their dormant genes. Except Barclay turns into a spider. Now I'm not a biologist but I'm pretty sure people didn't evolve from spiders. Therefore this implies that Barclay is another lifeform that evolved different from homo sapiens. Which would actually explain so much

Cutest cat ever

[these-are-the-voyages]

been switching between watching TNG and TOS and delighting in the difference between Kirk and Picard.

Kirk doesn’t mind being perceived as a godlike figure. He plays on this more than once, notably in Paradise Syndrome. In general, he doesn’t mind pretending to be greater than he is. This doesn’t stop him from being kind, and indeed allows him to get a lot done. It’s in many cases the practical thing to do.

Picard is appalled by the idea. I’m watching Who Watches the Watchers and the scene in which he forcibly refuses to pretend to be a god is just delightful. He is above all determined to meet those around him on a human level, person to person, using every intellectual tool at his disposal. It’s not a Prime Directive thing — he gives up on that in this episode eventually. He is determined to bring his own humanity to light. The angriest we see him is when someone is making him out to be more than mortal. He’s willing to be killed rather than seen as a god, and indeed gets shot for it.

Now, I dunno if this is why, but I’ve never seen Kirk as more than a sort of fluffy puppy golden retriever kinda dude. Doesn’t do a thing for me.

But Picard, now. He gets adorably excited when he is explaining the evolution of technology to Nuria, and I Love It. And the scene in which he explains to Nuria that he is human — “Feel the warmth of my hand. The rhythm of my pulse. I’m not a supreme being. I’m flesh and blood.” Whew. Yeah. And that’s why you’re a sexy, sexy man, I figure. Wow.