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Gene Roddenberry was an ardent proponent of Egalitarian politics, and frequently used the shows to showcase his vision of a future society based on those principles. EARLY PROGRESS A prominent female crew member, Uhura , was played by Nichelle Nichols , one of the first African American women to hold a major acting role on American television. Only two decades after the second World War, '' Star Trek '' featured an officer of Asian ancestry, Hikaru Sulu ( George Takei ). In the second season, a Russia n character, Pavel Chekov ( Walter Koenig ) was added. Modern viewers might find the old series' portrayals of minorities and women to be prejudiced by today's standards, but the program was progressive and daring for its time. One of ''Star Trek'' Later series also went against stereotypes. ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' put a bald, French man in the lead role, ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' starred a black man, and ''Star Trek: Voyager'' starred a woman as captain. Additionally, as Klingon s had been used in the original series to represent the real-world Soviet Union and the Cold War going on, ''TNG'' LESBIAN AND GAY CHARACTERS The canonical ''Star Trek'' television series have never portrayed any openly gay or lesbian human characters, despite pleas from many gay and gay-friendly fans over the years to include such characters. In the late , no gay crew member was ever introduced into a Star Trek television series, although certain future episodes would explore the issue of Gender Identity among extraterrestrials, and hints were dropped that certain characters might have been Bisexual . Other science fiction-fantasy franchises would integrate gay characters into their respective canons; examples include Buffy The Vampire Slayer , Babylon 5 , and Firefly . FEDERATION ECONOMICS '''' added much more information on the ''Star Trek'' universe. The Federation has an economy of abundance without Money , enabled by advanced Replicator technology. Labor, purchase, and sale are not necessary, as there is no Scarcity to limit the satisfaction of one's material needs and wants. Greed and Jealousy are thus greatly reduced. Characters often explain that the purpose of the people of the Federation is personal and universal beneficence. However, certain resources are still limited, such as those necessary to power Warp and Replicator technology, and interplanetary commerce is not uncommon. TNG had the Ferengi obsessed by "gold"; later this was elaborated into a fictitious precious metal called "gold-pressed latinum," for which the principle of economic scarcity presumably still prevails. ALIEN SPECIES Many of the alien species encountered in the series are strikingly similar to humans, both in physical form and in relationships. Mixed-race offspring are also possible. In the TNG episode " The Chase ", it is explained that many primordial worlds of the galaxy were "seeded" by an ancient race of spacefarers, so that their dying race would live on in various forms around the galaxy. The TOS episode " The Paradise Syndrome " also addresses the question of why the galaxy has so many humanoid species. In translating markings on an obelisk, Mr. Spock reads among other things that a group of spacefarers called the Preservers seeded them or arranged for their long-term protection. ''TREKKIES'' AND ''TREKKERS'' Fans of the original ''Star Trek'' series came to be known as y fanaticism among fans and was considered pejorative by some. In response, some fans of the new series decided to call themselves "Trekkers". The terms have become interchangeable. STAR TREK AS A RELIGION After Roddenberry's death in 1991 (and indeed for some time before) there were growing signs that some Trekkies/Trekkers have gone beyond looking at the franchise as simply entertainment, and are now considering Roddenberry's concepts to be almost a . The later series ''Voyager'' and particularly ''Enterprise'', as well as most of the movies, have also come under fire for allegedly violating Roddenberry's principles, although supporters of post-Roddenberry producers of the franchise credit Berman, Brannon Braga , Ronald D. Moore and others for allowing ''Star Trek'' to expand far beyond its creator's original dream. ''Star Trek'' in pop culture Due to its popularity, some of the concepts and the language of ''Star Trek'' have found their way into the culture of the population at large and can be considered to be Pop Culture . Phrases such as " Beam Me Up, Scotty! ", "He's dead, Jim", and "Resistance is futile" are widely recognized and understood, as are Warp Drive and Transporters . However, the exact phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" is never actually uttered in any episode of the ''Original Series'' although there are a couple of examples of "Beam ''us'' up, Scotty" being uttered in the ''Animated Series''. The phrase "to boldly go..." is often the example given for the avoidance of Split Infinitive s in English grammar. The term " Red Shirt " has been used in many instances to refer to extras in television series or video games whose only point seems to be cannon fodder. This phrase originated from the security ensigns that beamed down to planets with the main characters in TOS, who wore red shirts. ''Star Trek'' has been referenced, Parodied and Spoof ed in a wide range of television series, movies and other contexts. See References To ''Star Trek'' for a listing of such references. In 1977 , due to lobbying from fans of the series, NASA renamed its prototype Space Shuttle from ''Constitution'' to '' Enterprise ''. In the early 1990 s, a project at Apple Computer to port the Macintosh operating system to non-Apple Personal Computer s was given the code-name of the Star Trek Project as its goal was to go ''"where no Mac had gone before"''. In 1996 the province of Ontario issued an optional Star Trek License Plate . It was discontinued in the early 2000s. In 2004 , billionaire Richard Branson announced plans to develop the first commercial passenger carrier into space, Virgin Galactic . The first spacecraft of the line will be called the '' V.S.S. Enterprise '' and the second '' V.S.S. Voyager ''. Role-Playing Worlds Similar in concept to Fan Series , literally thousands of people have created their own little pockets of the ''Star Trek'' universe to gather with their friends and create new stories and adventures. Each player creates a character, which is frequently based on the more popular alien species from the various series (including Klingons, Vulcans , Trill , Betazoids , as well as Humans ), and some also play the less-seen species, such as Deltan s. The players are assigned to simulations ('sims') or platforms as crewmembers, and each sim represents a star base, star ship, a colony, etc. The most common thing is to find people simming as crewmembers aboard a Starfleet vessel, with less common examples see people aboard Starfleet star bases or planet-based facilities. The games operate by having each crewmember write mini-stories called 'posts' and having them distributed (generally by email) to the rest of the crew to read. The posts are based around the writer's character's reactions to and involvement with a central storyline for their particular simulation. For example, if their Star Ship is under attack and their character is an engineer, they might write a post featuring their character repairing the shield generators. Or, if their character was a Tactical Officer, they could write about trying to disable the attacker's weapons with the phasers. Or if they were a doctor, they could write about trying to treat the injured. The possibilities are endless. Other writers create their own posts simultaneously from their character's Point of View. Posts are distributed to the crews in one of several ways, which include: - All posts are sent to a central email address where the Game Master (who typically plays the Captain of the particular ship) reads them, edits for inconsistencies, spelling/grammar, etc, then distributes them via email to everyone on the crew. - Posts are emailed directly from the author to every other crewmember. (This is generally achieved via the use of a Mailing list such as Yahoo Groups.) - Posts may be placed on a bulletin board - A live interactive chat is held, scheduled by the Captain or Game Master. (Depending from group to group, the Captain position may be held by another person, different from the Game Master) Posts contain much more than short stories about a particular character performing mundane tasks. Players are actively encouraged to interact with other characters in their posts, and characters frequently form friendships and relationships. Some games exist where the main theme of the sim is Romance . Character development is also greatly encouraged, as it is in any story-telling medium. Many of the better quality games will have players who have written the same character for years, and they have seen their character grown and change throughout this time. The story telling experience is also greatened in this medium, as there is no budget or time restriction imposed as there is for an episode or movie. Also, plot lines are not restricted to following the activities of only a handful of characters. Games often contain anywhere from 5 to 10 to 20+ writers and characters, and each is able to partake in any given storyline, and contribute significantly to the plot. (Unlike in the series', plots are not driven solely by the highest ranking characters, with even the newest members playing the most pivotal roles.) The medium also allows fans to re-explore old territory that may only have been touched upon a few times in the various series. Some stories see ships taken across into the Mirror Universe , or visiting worlds only seen in the Original Series , such as the civilisation based around 1930 's Chicago Mobsters . Wars are fought against old enemies, such as the Borg and Romulan s and The Dominion . Brand new races and planets are also created in the many different games. As is typical of most games, the writer's character is given a Rank and position of responsibility (just like most of the characters in the series and movies), and as their experience in the game grows, they are rewarded with promotions to higher ranks, and sometimes also with commendations. These types of rewards are greatly respected by those in the game, and some players even address their in-game superiors as 'sir' or 'ma'am' during Instant Message conversations and the like. Many different games have come and gone over the years, and games of this manner have existed on the Internet for at least the last 10 years. Some games consist of only a small number of players with only a single simulated ship, whilst others have vast 'fleets', literally containing hundreds of players on dozens of different simulations, and games of all manner of sizes in-between. The medium in which the game takes place has varied over the years. Some are live chats, traditionally held on IRC, while others have been held on bulletin boards and email lists. The experience varies from group to group. Several groups have even existed on the Prodigy web boards, and AOL's bulletin boards. Some groups continue to use a bulletin board style over an email based system, thus allowing a central location where the group can view their 'posts' rather than stuffing their email boxes with the game email. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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