Angl-Am - User contributions [en]

2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-12-11T18:17:42Z

Arne Poller: /* Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities */

{|align=right width=500px
!bgcolor=#FFFF80|Open Accounts: First name, blank, second name
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think of topics of your interest, put them under the headlines we have discussed, sign <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> and safe
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note that we will have a guest on Dec. 12. See you, --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 20:01, 11 November 2007 (CET)
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* '''Time:''' We 4-6 pm
* '''Place:''' A10 1-121a
* '''Contact:''' [[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]]

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''Star Trek'' is far more than a TV-series. It is a cultural phenomenon with enormous ramifications marked by substantial plot developments, and it is a powerful piece of fiction due to its wide range of cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and political allusions. The original series became a cult classic, the Star Trek universe it created does in retrospect bridge generations and political gaps such as the Cold War with its East/West-confrontation (mirrored within the series by disruptions of original interstellar confrontations).

The Seminar will deal with the following topics. If you have plans for seminar papers list them bellow. (Discuss the present course outline on the course's discussion page if you feel you cannot see under which heading your topic could appear).

Do mention individual episodes (refer to english wikipedia - you find links bellow) wherever you feel that this is a sequence we must deal with under the given headline (I am not so well informed about the later sequels):

__TOC__

==Oct 24 2007: Brainstorming==

==Oct 31 2007: The Star Trek Universe I: ''The Original Series'' (1966–1969)==
'''Preparation:'''
* Production background
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Cage''], the unsuccessful pilot - filmed in November-December 1964, but not broadcast on television in its complete form until 1988.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Man Trap''], aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.

'''Topics to discuss:'''
* Captain Kirk vs. Captain Pike - types, roles, heroism
* Women
* Spock I and Spock II

'''Possible topics of Seminar papers:'''
*Comparison of The Cage - the original pilot - and and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Menagerie''] pts. 1-2 aired November 17 and November 24, 1966.
*The composition of a successful team - a seminar paper which might take a special look at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28TOS_episode%29 ''Mirror, Mirror''] broadcast on October 6, 1967 - where we get a positive and a negative Enterprise crew.

==Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies==
As I have to disappoint you on Wed 7: a night at my place (Tannenkampstr. 12) - we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine (you might provide the latter).
:We might begin around 6pm - those who will have to arrive later can do so and join us any time - it will probably be a long night. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:08, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 14, 2007: The Star Trek Universe II: ''Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)==
The Sequels ''The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
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Next Generation

Hi everybody! Since we were not able to present all the information of our presentation in the session, here are some points that might be interesting.

'''Info about the series'''

• First episode: 1987 in the US

• 7 seasons, 176 episodes

• It was longer on screen than TOS (80 episodes – 176 episodes)

• Encounter at Farpoint (the pilot): received by 94 % of all households in the US

• Later still very successful, 1st place of the TV series (18-49 years)

=> Advertisement

=> 1 Mio $ per episode

=> Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Hawkins, Dwight Schulz (A-Team) etc. acted in some of the episodes

'''Content:'''

• Single episodes with an action which is self-explanatory

o But: some episodes refer to the content of other episodes, e.g. Season 3, “The best of both worlds”, season 7, “Bloodlines”

• 100 years later

• Different characters

• Some episodes (e.g. the second episode) have similar plots as episodes of TOS or refer directly to them

• Sometimes visits from characters of the old Enterprise

'''Introduction of the main characters'''

• '''Picard''': Captain of the new Enterprise, different to Kirk, strictly sticks to the Prime Directive, total loyalty to his crew, dislikes children, develops to a more sympathetic man during the series

• '''Riker''': 1st Commander, love affairs, attractive to female characters, sympathetic

• '''Data''': 2nd Commander, the only Android of the Starfleet, counterpart to Spock (e.g. does not understand any sarcasm), asks for definitions, tries to be human

• '''Troi''': Counsellor, Beta Zoid, feelings/emotions, very attractive, later she is the only woman on the bridge

• '''Dr. Crusher''': Doctor, family values, “mother” of the crew, together with Troi: more female power on the ship than in TOS

• '''Worf''': Lieutenant Commander, Klingon, high moral Klingon values, later chief security officer, integrated, sympathetic, represents action and strength on the Enterprise

• '''LaForge''': Lieutenant Commander, later chief engineer

'''Family'''

• families on board who are being evacuated (in the pilot)

• Wesley: child becomes a main character

• Picard dislikes children

• Throughout the series: the crew appears more and more like a family

=> Riker refuses to ship commands several times to stay with the crew of the enterprise

=> Crusher as mother

• Other family-topics in the series:

=> Worf + son

=> Data + daughter

=> Picard + son

In The Next Generation, which was produced at the end of the 1980s, and the beginning of the 1990s, the family as a topic has been used more often than in TOS of the 60s.

'''Other references to our reality:'''

They try to conserve the earthly culture, they drink Earl Grey tea, they read and cite James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Sherlock Holmes, they listen to classical music and talk of the 80s and 90s as the good old times.

''Question'': The crew of the Enterprise presents our reality in a positive way. What kind of message does the producer convey?

Hi folks,
it would be nice, if you watch the first two episodes ("The Emissary pt.1 &2") of DS9 as a preparation for the Wednesday session. They should be available at the Mediathek... If you want to see more episodes, feel free to watch some post-season-three stuff, because the plot dramatically changed then. Watch out for topics like Religion, Interpersonal conflicts and differences between DS9 and other Star Trek stuff...Manuel Saralidis 14:58, 12 November 2007 (CET)

Hello,
just to remind you... I put the Deep Space Nine Introduction slides and summary as a PDF on StudIP where you can download them... Cheers... [[User:Manuel Saralidis|Manuel Saralidis]] 22:05, 29 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 21, 2007: The Star Trek Universe III: ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005)==
The Sequels ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005) same question: Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
´

Voyager
Interesting subjects could be that of terrorism, fear of communism (as the Borg play an important role in voyager), Human values, the Prime Directive, a parallel Universe (Species 8472), Collaboration of species that are enemies but that become allies when a species more powerful than them appears,

Also: Female positions
- Voyager is the first of all Star Trek Series, that has a female Captain!
- Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is the first Chief Engineer on board of a Star Trek Vessel

Also: The Maquis rebellion

Dear Participants.
I put the presentation on "Voyager" on Stud IP under "Dateien"

Ann-Kathrin Uden

==Nov 28, 2007: God in a World of Miracles - Star Trek and Religion==
Is there a God out there? What is the Federation's religion? None or that of a secular state granting religious freedom? Why don't we have Arabs on board of the Star Trek vessels? How do the Federation's travelers react when confronted with religions out there?

I would like to write a paper on Star Trek and Religion. As i haven't read any literature yet, my ideas are still pretty general. But mainly I think i will be dealing with questions like: what view on religion and belief is conveyed in Star Trek (pro or con religion, atheist?) and HOW is it conveyed? This could probably be based on DS 9 and the whole "wormhole aliens vs. phrophets (bajoranian belief)" issue. ([[User:Stephan Schmidt|Stephan Schmidt]] 14:16, 7 November 2007 (CET))

Hey. I just skipped through some webpages to find pieces of information about the religious content in Star Trek and its spin-offs. Here are some webpages that deal with religion. While the majority is fan-made, others document the topic from a more objective point of view.

*http://www.star-trek-religionen.de/index1.htm
*http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/religion.htm
*http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Human_religion
*http://www.newstrekker.com/archiv/startrek_02_03.htm
*http://www.ibka.org/node/603
** and here the speech: http://ibka.org/en/files/Braga.mp3

Just take a look [[User:Tobias Penski|Tobias Penski]] 22:10, 21 November 2007 (CET)

'''TOS on Religion'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais_%28TOS_episode%29 Who Mourns for Adonais, September 22, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_%28TOS_episode%29 The Apple, October 13, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, November 8, 1968]

'''Movies'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V:_The_Final_Frontier The Final Frontier, 1989]

'''Literature'''
*Ros S. Kraemer, "Is there a God in the Universe?", in Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. (eds.), ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001, p.15-56 [http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2001_religions_of_star_trek_p15-57.pdf link]

==Dec 5, 2007: Technotopia==
Star Trek is (from warp-drives to beaming facilities) full of inventions we are still waiting for - and peculiarly lacking others we developed instead (like those mobile phones we use for normal conversations rather than short commands). It is said to have motivated research - yet it is too simple to see it as a simple glorification of technological progress...

*[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2004_shapiro__star_trek.pdf Alan Shapiro, ''Star Trek. Technoloies of Disappearance (2004)]
*[[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/ds9-ep20.divx DS9 Special Episode on with religious emphasis]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden_%28TOS_episode%29_TOS_#75 ''The Way to Eden''] Spock makes friends with a sect of hippies.

==Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities==

Debate with [[Alan N. Shapiro]]. Course reading: Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004.

'''Summary: Chapter Two "THE LAST COMPUTER"''' (John Müller)

In chapter two, “The Last Computer“, Shapiro talks about computers and their functions/capabilities in the 23rd century. In a second step, he compares those future computers to our late 20th century computer technology and draws some interesting conclusions as far as own perception is concerned. In order to support his point, Shapiro takes a look at two episodes from TOS (“A Taste Of Armageddon” [Ep. 23] and “The Ultimate Computer” [Ep. 53]).

In “A Taste Of Armageddon” there are two computers which are war with one another, or, in other words, there are two neighboring planets which have been at war for centuries, but, instead of waging a real war with real weapons, they have chosen to let computers simulate their war for them. The computers on both worlds are linked and independently launch attacks on each other. But even though the fighting remains in the realms of virtual reality, the consequences do not: The perfection of this war is taken so far that both computers calculate damage and casualties on their home worlds and force the people who are registered as victims in the simulation to also become victims in real life. Once a citizen is “killed” in the simulation through a hostile attack, he/she has to report to a “disintegration machine” and then vanish in order to obey to the rules of the simulated computer-war.

Apart from the moral implications of this virtual war and the stance Kirk and his crew take towards it (needless to say the computers are dismantled in the end and the warring parties start real peace negotiations for the first time), Shapiro compares the computer-war with our late 20th century reality and the role computers play in it. He uses the example of the 1991 Gulf War and, citing philosopher Boudrillard and his works, Shapiro states that the allied actions taken against dictator Hussein are not too different from the computer-war displayed in “A Taste Of Armageddon”. Before even one missile was launched in the Gulf region, hundreds of military strategists were “endlessly analyzing scenarios” (p. 87) and the many casualties they foresaw in their simulated attacks became to be viewed as inescapable losses that served a greater cause. “Their deaths are pre-calculated. They are ‘collateral damage’” (p. 87). Besides this cold and “mechanical” view at the lives of innocent citizens, the Gulf War and the computer war in the TOS episode have one more thing in common: Like with the two computers in the episode there hardly was any “real” encounter between the two warring parties in the Gulf War: For the far more technologically advanced allied forces the war was won in advance in realm of simulations, for the far less advanced Iraqi soldiers the war had already been lost before it fully broke out at all.
In Shapiro’s opinion the same logic also works for the “war on terrorism”: The American idea of the preemptive strike against anyone who might support or become an ally to Al-Qaida or the even more elusive concept of the “axis of evil” show that, at the beginning of the 21st century, US military operations are more and more withdrawn into the realm of calculations and probability, where a “potential attacker and enemy [...] exists as informational entity or statistical propensity, endlessly speculated on and reported in the virtual realm of the media” (p. 88).

In the second episode, “The Ultimate Computer” the TOS crew is once again faced with a situation not unlike the one described above: An all-new computer, “M-5” designed to be capable of replacing an entire starship crew, is to be installed and tested aboard the Enterprise by its creator, the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Daystrom. During the test the “M-5” takes over for the humans and then performs a variety of standard procedures, including both scientific and strategic operations – which at first work well. During the strategic drill, however, the “M-5” mistakes an unarmed and unmanned freighter for a real enemy and destroys it. Due to the fact that, for some reason, the computer cannot be switched off at that point, things start to turn for the worst: The computer assumes complete control over all of the ship’s systems, displays an arrogant and superior “personality” (not unlike that of its creator) and then attacks the four sister ships of the Enterprise which had been gathered for the simulated drill. After the “M-5” has almost destroyed the ships and many lives have been lost, Captain Kirk finally has a talk with the resilient piece of machinery. Convinced that it is the “ultimate achievement in computer evolution” (p. 93) the “M-5” believes that it must survive by all means in order to be able to protect man. Kirk finally manages it to convince the “M-5” that it has already committed murder, and, by doing so, it has lost its rights to survive. The “M-5” eventually sees the logic in Kirk’s words and, in an act of self-punishment, destroys itself.

“The Ultimate Computer” deals with the human fear to one day be replaced and/or threatened by super-intelligent computers that exceed human capacities by far. Shapiro states that in TOS there generally was a rather negative attitude towards super-intelligent computers (be it false-god-computers like Vaal in “The Apple“ and the Oracle in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” or be it the superior machines like M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” and Nomad in “The Changeling”). He points out, however, that this fear of being outwitted and replaced one day only “deters us from the fact that we are already computerized (or deeply enmeshed with digital technology)” (p. 94). Despite the fact that his thesis makes sense to some extent (i.e. Internet, cell phones, computer games etc.) he fails to give the reader some clear cut examples to support his idea. I can only guess that it has something to do with the digital and computerized world we live in today. However, his point (if there is any) remains much more elusive than with the comparison between the Gulf War(s) and the computer war – which makes a lot of sense and, in my opinion, is a very interesting way of looking at post-modern (and western) warfare.

'''Summary: Chapter three “The Transporter” [How the Transporter “Really Works”]

Episode serving as an example: “The Enemy Within”'''

(written by Arne Poller)

On a routine geological survey on the planet Alpha 177 the landing party has discovered a doglike creature. A member of the crew gets injured and yellow stains from a magnetic ore are all over his clothes. Probably those are interrupting the beaming process when he tries to beam back up. After doubts whether the transporter machinery is safe Captain Kirk beams up and reappears with a weakened look. While Scotty helps the ‘weak’ Kirk he leaves the Transporter Room unattended. A second ‘savage looking’ Kirk appears in the Room. It turns out that an accident in the transporting process has caused the rematerialisation of a ‘Weak Kirk’ and an ‘Evil Kirk’.
While ‘Weak Kirk’ rests in his room ‘Evil Kirk’ walks around within the ship and is doing silly things (grabs Dr. McCoy by the scruff, seizes Yeoman Rand fiercely by the shoulder…).
At the same time Scotty has figured out that a ‘complete breakdown’ of the operational condition of the transporter has taken place. After Captain Kirk was beamed aboard they tried to beam up the doglike creature with the result of having nonidentical twins. One is gentle and timid, the other is widely agitated and violent. Afraid of the consequences they don’t dare to beam up the rest of the crew. That leaves the landing crew stranded on the planet with the life-threatening prospect of an oncoming freezing nightfall. After interviewing ‘Weak Kirk’ Spock realizes that there must be an imposter aboard the ship. Spock and McCoy hypothesize that ‘Weak Kirk’ is lacking his negative side, which, when ‘properly controlled and disciplined’, endow the Captain with his special ability to command a starship. They catch ‘Evil Kirk’ on one of the lower decks.
“I have to take him back inside myself” ‘Weak Kirk’ recognizes. “I can’t survive without him.”
As Scotty gets the system up and running they first try a test. The two duplicate doglike creatures are send through. Out of the two only one reappears which is dead. The creature was rejoint into a single being, it did not outlive the shock of reunification due to its fear. Finally the duplicate Kirk’s have to take the risk in order to safe the stranded crew. They hope that human intelligence disciplining his trepidation will make a difference. As they get ready to energize, ‘Weak Kirk’ smiles to Spock, Bones, and Scotty, signalling that he has no fear. Finally the ‘real Kirk’ reappears and the stranded crew will be rescued, too.

Shapiro argues that “the mishap of the transporter, the Holodeck, or warp speed is emphasized on Star Trek above the normal operation of the system. ‘Evil Kirk’ is the intrinsic accident that belongs by necessity to the transporter. Every technology has both a rational purpose and a build-in accident ‘waiting to happen’.”
Created by Roddenberry as a convenient way of saving money, Star Trek expresses its profound ambivalence towards the technology of the transporter.
Following Shapiro the trickery of technology rouses the principle of evil, of the vital necessity of evil for the survival of good. ‘Evil Kirk’ is a required and integral portion of Captain Kirk. “The deep-rooted accident of the duplicate Kirk turns a questioning spotlight on the ‘essence’ of the transporter, which is the absolutist phantasmagoria of total knowledge of a person captured in a digital pattern image or ‘quantum physics’ snapshot of their subatomic particles.”
Shapiro asks if techno-scientific enthusiasm truly is Star Trek’s worldview.

'''How the Transporter “Really works”'''

Over the decades there was a paradigm shift in Star Trek’s beaming technology and how it works.

The original notion: Dematerialization – rematerialization, matter-to-energy conversion and back to physical transporter.

Digital transporter: The concept of blueprint formula-like, cloning – or information-based digital transporter.

Quantum teleporter: The idea of ‘entangled photon pairs’ (already been built experimentally by physicists for light particle ‘passengers’.

[For exact function look at Shapiro p.102 l.5]

“The newer postmodernist digital transporter and hypermodernist quantum teleporter gesture towards a paradigm shift in the predominant definition of what it means to be human. Within this posthuman paradigm, it is conceded that a copy of myself, either created from the same model informational digital pattern or emanating from an initiatory quantum mechanical techno-scientific coupled entanglement, is identical to me.”

'''Summary: Chapter Six Wormholes'''

In chapter six Shapiro discusses wormholes in Star Trek and general SF as well as the scientific practicability of wormholes in reality. Firstly, he gives a broad overview on the DS9 pilot [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary Emissary] that is the basis of his discussion. By doing so, he stresses Commander Sisko's encounter with the wormhole aliens that in Shapiro's words, ultimately leads to a ''“true symbolic exchange between Commander Sisko and the wormhole aliens […] (p. 200)”''.

Secondly, he begins his discussion on the physics of wormholes by commenting publications dealing with Star Trek technologies such as Lawrence M. Krauss' ''The Physics of Star Trek''. In opinion those publications endorse Star Trek's key technologies in order to satisfy the fanbase and at the same time they refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics pataphysical] praticability - that is, some sort of philisophical physics. Furthermore, Shaphiro brings to light that in many papers on the subject wormholes are regarded as time travel devices (p. 202). Especially, in Voyager and DS9 beaming and wormholes are combined in order to travel in time as it is shown in the episodes [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations Trials and Tribble-ations] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Eye_of_the_Needle Eye of the Needle]. Technically, time travel scenarios are created with digital recomposition, set reconstruction, frame-by-frame shadow masking and the likes.

Looking at SF film in general Shaphiro points out that many film makers and writers have been obsessed with time travel stories and parallel dimensions for decades (see Dr. Who, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future etc.). And often they pursued the psychological goal to exterminate the ''"radical otherness of history and other cultures, to short-circuit the difficult course of mourning, to meet up with none other than myself (yourself ?) (p. 202)"''

Moreover, he explains this psychological goal by outlining the scientific works of so-called philosopher physicists like Richard Feynman who have dealt with wormholes and time travel on a scientific level refering to the frontier possibilities of the laws of physics (Einstein's theories of 1905 and 1915). As he further emphasizes the development of time travel pataphysics up to the 1970s and 80s, Shaphiro argues if these theories cannot be held up in a real world context, even if they seem plausible in generic SF settings (p. 211).

Lastly, leaving all scientific theories on time travel and wormholes behind, Shaphiro poses the question if time travel in Star Trek rather presupposes a specific human notion of time: ''One example of this is the idea implicit in the "block universe model" of spacetime that the future is already "out there" or already exists. This is the future-orientation of time in the statistical worldview, or the the future's simulation. It is opposed to the existential view that the future is yet to be decided. The whish for time travel to the past is another, complementary component of the human and hyper-real notion of time. (p. 213)'' --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 15:42, 11 December 2007 (CET)

==Dec 19, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek I: From the United States of America to the Federation==
*What happened between 1966 and the year 2300?
*A culture that does not (want to) rely on imperialism, technical superiority or the strength of its capitalism - and a winner even though.

==Jan 9, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek II: Power on Board==
* Power on board: Collisions of interests, personal loyalty and professional obedience
* Power on a universal scale: Star ship vs. Federation
* Different races
* Gender politics

==Jan 16, 2008: Is the "Prime Directive" the prime directive?==
What are the real ideals of the Start Trek Universe?

==Jan 23, 2008: Genres: What can happen in the Star Trek universe and what cannot?==
*The original shows were not really free when it came to the way of how stories had to be told. The episode had to be over within 45 minutes, it had to offer a problem and a solution. We shall look at generic questions and narratology: What kinds of episodes existed (from comedy to drama), what perspectives do we get on the plotlines? How did the art of story telling evolve from TOS to DS9?
*Is Star Trek a Utopian series? What is Science Fiction compared to Fantasy? What otions within the genre does the Star Trek universe realise?

==Jan 30, 2008: The Fan World==
*On the interaction between the Star Trek Universe and its fan community.
*Startrek and kids - a special look on children and adolescents in the Star Trek universe
*Perhaps most outrageous fan project: [http://www.startreknewvoyages.com Star Trek: New Voyages] - a continuation of TOS.

==Feb 5, 2008: A Look Back on our Seminar==
===Topics===
* Concepts of Evolution and Progress

===Literature===

*Engel, Joel. ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind'' Star Trek. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
::One of the first critical biographies that appeared after Roddenberry's death.

* Shatner, William/ Kreshi, Chris. ''Star Trek Memories''. New York: Harper & Collins, 1993.
:: Offers insight into the production.

* Tulloch, John/ Jenkins, Henry. ''Science Giction Audiences: Watching'' Doctor Who'' and ''Star Trek. London: Routledge, 1995.
:: On the fan community and interaction.

*Solow, Herb and Justman, Robert H. ''Inside'' Star Trek: ''The Real Story''. New York: Pocket, 1996.
::One of the critical revisoions which appeared after Roddenbery's death.

* Gentejohan, Volker, ''Narratives from the'' Final Frontier: ''A Postcolonial Reading of the Original Star Trek Series''. Frankfurt a. M./ Berlin: Peter Lang, 2000. 161 pp.
:: Dissertation, German in its structure: What is postcolonialism? Then apply the theory an see it works. The readings create a congruity where there might be not so much of it. Character analysis and special questions revealing the basically American cultural centre, the phalLogocentrism of the series.

* Gregory, Chris. Star Trek: ''Parallel Narratives'' Houndsmills/ Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
:: Good Bibliography. Central idea: Star Trek evolving into a mythological system. Written with the awareness of immense changes within the Star Trek universe – changes due to changing options under which TV-shows and movies could be produced over the years. Analysis of interaction and differences between main producers of TOS Roddenberry Coon (he produced much of the Federation’s political framework) and Frieberger (third season with its many recycled shows).

* Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001. 246 pp.
:: Multi facetted and extremely inspiring.

*Kanzler, Katja. ''"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations", The Multicultural Evolution of STAR TREK''. Heidelberg, Winter, 2004.
:: Explores the multiculturalism of the Star Trek universe – as a popular and commercial concept. Written with a good deal of fascination.

* Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004. 369 pp. ISBN 3-930064-16-2.
:: Technologies of the Star Trek universe from "beaming" to ''warp'' spead. Question what they betray if read by a cultural historian.

* Broderick, James F. ''The literary galaxy of'' Star Trek: ''An analysis of references and themes in the television series and films''. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2006. vi, 233 pp. ISBN 0-7864-2571-7
:: Intertextuality and literary motives from quest to vampirism.

* Relke, Diana M. A. ''Drones, Clones, and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting'' Star Trek's ''humanism, post-9/11''. Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2006. xx, 168 pp. ISBN 1-552-38164-1, ISBN 978-1-552-38164-9
:: What does ''Star Trek'' tell us about the US?

* Geraghty, Lincoln. ''Living with'' Star Trek: American culture and the Star Trek universe (London [etc.]: Tauris, 2007), VIII, 232 pp.
::Esp. on fandom.

* Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). ''The influence of'' Star Trek ''on television, film, and culture''. [=''Critical explorations in science fiction and fantasy'', 4]. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-3034-5
:: "Examining Star Trek from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it" (Publisher).

===Links===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek on en.wikipedia.org]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes The Original Series episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_episodes The Next Generation episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_episodes Deep Space Nine episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Voyager_episodes Voyager episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Enterprise_episodes Enterprise episodes]
*[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS Memory Alpha, Star Trek Wiki]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5285732.stm Which is the definitive Star Trek?]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/ BBC Star Trek Cult Page]
*[http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=star+trek&tab=all&recipe=all More BBC Star Trek Results]
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2069660,00.html Guardian Article: Beam me up Scotty: Star Trek actor's ashes sent into space]

[[Category:Abschlussmodul]]
[[Category:Winter 2007-2008|2008-1]]

2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-12-11T18:12:09Z

Arne Poller: /* Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities */

{|align=right width=500px
!bgcolor=#FFFF80|Open Accounts: First name, blank, second name
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think of topics of your interest, put them under the headlines we have discussed, sign <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> and safe
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note that we will have a guest on Dec. 12. See you, --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 20:01, 11 November 2007 (CET)
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* '''Time:''' We 4-6 pm
* '''Place:''' A10 1-121a
* '''Contact:''' [[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]]

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''Star Trek'' is far more than a TV-series. It is a cultural phenomenon with enormous ramifications marked by substantial plot developments, and it is a powerful piece of fiction due to its wide range of cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and political allusions. The original series became a cult classic, the Star Trek universe it created does in retrospect bridge generations and political gaps such as the Cold War with its East/West-confrontation (mirrored within the series by disruptions of original interstellar confrontations).

The Seminar will deal with the following topics. If you have plans for seminar papers list them bellow. (Discuss the present course outline on the course's discussion page if you feel you cannot see under which heading your topic could appear).

Do mention individual episodes (refer to english wikipedia - you find links bellow) wherever you feel that this is a sequence we must deal with under the given headline (I am not so well informed about the later sequels):

__TOC__

==Oct 24 2007: Brainstorming==

==Oct 31 2007: The Star Trek Universe I: ''The Original Series'' (1966–1969)==
'''Preparation:'''
* Production background
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Cage''], the unsuccessful pilot - filmed in November-December 1964, but not broadcast on television in its complete form until 1988.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Man Trap''], aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.

'''Topics to discuss:'''
* Captain Kirk vs. Captain Pike - types, roles, heroism
* Women
* Spock I and Spock II

'''Possible topics of Seminar papers:'''
*Comparison of The Cage - the original pilot - and and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Menagerie''] pts. 1-2 aired November 17 and November 24, 1966.
*The composition of a successful team - a seminar paper which might take a special look at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28TOS_episode%29 ''Mirror, Mirror''] broadcast on October 6, 1967 - where we get a positive and a negative Enterprise crew.

==Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies==
As I have to disappoint you on Wed 7: a night at my place (Tannenkampstr. 12) - we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine (you might provide the latter).
:We might begin around 6pm - those who will have to arrive later can do so and join us any time - it will probably be a long night. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:08, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 14, 2007: The Star Trek Universe II: ''Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)==
The Sequels ''The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
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Next Generation

Hi everybody! Since we were not able to present all the information of our presentation in the session, here are some points that might be interesting.

'''Info about the series'''

• First episode: 1987 in the US

• 7 seasons, 176 episodes

• It was longer on screen than TOS (80 episodes – 176 episodes)

• Encounter at Farpoint (the pilot): received by 94 % of all households in the US

• Later still very successful, 1st place of the TV series (18-49 years)

=> Advertisement

=> 1 Mio $ per episode

=> Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Hawkins, Dwight Schulz (A-Team) etc. acted in some of the episodes

'''Content:'''

• Single episodes with an action which is self-explanatory

o But: some episodes refer to the content of other episodes, e.g. Season 3, “The best of both worlds”, season 7, “Bloodlines”

• 100 years later

• Different characters

• Some episodes (e.g. the second episode) have similar plots as episodes of TOS or refer directly to them

• Sometimes visits from characters of the old Enterprise

'''Introduction of the main characters'''

• '''Picard''': Captain of the new Enterprise, different to Kirk, strictly sticks to the Prime Directive, total loyalty to his crew, dislikes children, develops to a more sympathetic man during the series

• '''Riker''': 1st Commander, love affairs, attractive to female characters, sympathetic

• '''Data''': 2nd Commander, the only Android of the Starfleet, counterpart to Spock (e.g. does not understand any sarcasm), asks for definitions, tries to be human

• '''Troi''': Counsellor, Beta Zoid, feelings/emotions, very attractive, later she is the only woman on the bridge

• '''Dr. Crusher''': Doctor, family values, “mother” of the crew, together with Troi: more female power on the ship than in TOS

• '''Worf''': Lieutenant Commander, Klingon, high moral Klingon values, later chief security officer, integrated, sympathetic, represents action and strength on the Enterprise

• '''LaForge''': Lieutenant Commander, later chief engineer

'''Family'''

• families on board who are being evacuated (in the pilot)

• Wesley: child becomes a main character

• Picard dislikes children

• Throughout the series: the crew appears more and more like a family

=> Riker refuses to ship commands several times to stay with the crew of the enterprise

=> Crusher as mother

• Other family-topics in the series:

=> Worf + son

=> Data + daughter

=> Picard + son

In The Next Generation, which was produced at the end of the 1980s, and the beginning of the 1990s, the family as a topic has been used more often than in TOS of the 60s.

'''Other references to our reality:'''

They try to conserve the earthly culture, they drink Earl Grey tea, they read and cite James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Sherlock Holmes, they listen to classical music and talk of the 80s and 90s as the good old times.

''Question'': The crew of the Enterprise presents our reality in a positive way. What kind of message does the producer convey?

Hi folks,
it would be nice, if you watch the first two episodes ("The Emissary pt.1 &2") of DS9 as a preparation for the Wednesday session. They should be available at the Mediathek... If you want to see more episodes, feel free to watch some post-season-three stuff, because the plot dramatically changed then. Watch out for topics like Religion, Interpersonal conflicts and differences between DS9 and other Star Trek stuff...Manuel Saralidis 14:58, 12 November 2007 (CET)

Hello,
just to remind you... I put the Deep Space Nine Introduction slides and summary as a PDF on StudIP where you can download them... Cheers... [[User:Manuel Saralidis|Manuel Saralidis]] 22:05, 29 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 21, 2007: The Star Trek Universe III: ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005)==
The Sequels ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005) same question: Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
´

Voyager
Interesting subjects could be that of terrorism, fear of communism (as the Borg play an important role in voyager), Human values, the Prime Directive, a parallel Universe (Species 8472), Collaboration of species that are enemies but that become allies when a species more powerful than them appears,

Also: Female positions
- Voyager is the first of all Star Trek Series, that has a female Captain!
- Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is the first Chief Engineer on board of a Star Trek Vessel

Also: The Maquis rebellion

Dear Participants.
I put the presentation on "Voyager" on Stud IP under "Dateien"

Ann-Kathrin Uden

==Nov 28, 2007: God in a World of Miracles - Star Trek and Religion==
Is there a God out there? What is the Federation's religion? None or that of a secular state granting religious freedom? Why don't we have Arabs on board of the Star Trek vessels? How do the Federation's travelers react when confronted with religions out there?

I would like to write a paper on Star Trek and Religion. As i haven't read any literature yet, my ideas are still pretty general. But mainly I think i will be dealing with questions like: what view on religion and belief is conveyed in Star Trek (pro or con religion, atheist?) and HOW is it conveyed? This could probably be based on DS 9 and the whole "wormhole aliens vs. phrophets (bajoranian belief)" issue. ([[User:Stephan Schmidt|Stephan Schmidt]] 14:16, 7 November 2007 (CET))

Hey. I just skipped through some webpages to find pieces of information about the religious content in Star Trek and its spin-offs. Here are some webpages that deal with religion. While the majority is fan-made, others document the topic from a more objective point of view.

*http://www.star-trek-religionen.de/index1.htm
*http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/religion.htm
*http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Human_religion
*http://www.newstrekker.com/archiv/startrek_02_03.htm
*http://www.ibka.org/node/603
** and here the speech: http://ibka.org/en/files/Braga.mp3

Just take a look [[User:Tobias Penski|Tobias Penski]] 22:10, 21 November 2007 (CET)

'''TOS on Religion'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais_%28TOS_episode%29 Who Mourns for Adonais, September 22, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_%28TOS_episode%29 The Apple, October 13, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, November 8, 1968]

'''Movies'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V:_The_Final_Frontier The Final Frontier, 1989]

'''Literature'''
*Ros S. Kraemer, "Is there a God in the Universe?", in Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. (eds.), ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001, p.15-56 [http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2001_religions_of_star_trek_p15-57.pdf link]

==Dec 5, 2007: Technotopia==
Star Trek is (from warp-drives to beaming facilities) full of inventions we are still waiting for - and peculiarly lacking others we developed instead (like those mobile phones we use for normal conversations rather than short commands). It is said to have motivated research - yet it is too simple to see it as a simple glorification of technological progress...

*[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2004_shapiro__star_trek.pdf Alan Shapiro, ''Star Trek. Technoloies of Disappearance (2004)]
*[[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/ds9-ep20.divx DS9 Special Episode on with religious emphasis]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden_%28TOS_episode%29_TOS_#75 ''The Way to Eden''] Spock makes friends with a sect of hippies.

==Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities==

Debate with [[Alan N. Shapiro]]. Course reading: Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004.

'''Summary: Chapter Two "THE LAST COMPUTER"''' (John Müller)

In chapter two, “The Last Computer“, Shapiro talks about computers and their functions/capabilities in the 23rd century. In a second step, he compares those future computers to our late 20th century computer technology and draws some interesting conclusions as far as own perception is concerned. In order to support his point, Shapiro takes a look at two episodes from TOS (“A Taste Of Armageddon” [Ep. 23] and “The Ultimate Computer” [Ep. 53]).

In “A Taste Of Armageddon” there are two computers which are war with one another, or, in other words, there are two neighboring planets which have been at war for centuries, but, instead of waging a real war with real weapons, they have chosen to let computers simulate their war for them. The computers on both worlds are linked and independently launch attacks on each other. But even though the fighting remains in the realms of virtual reality, the consequences do not: The perfection of this war is taken so far that both computers calculate damage and casualties on their home worlds and force the people who are registered as victims in the simulation to also become victims in real life. Once a citizen is “killed” in the simulation through a hostile attack, he/she has to report to a “disintegration machine” and then vanish in order to obey to the rules of the simulated computer-war.

Apart from the moral implications of this virtual war and the stance Kirk and his crew take towards it (needless to say the computers are dismantled in the end and the warring parties start real peace negotiations for the first time), Shapiro compares the computer-war with our late 20th century reality and the role computers play in it. He uses the example of the 1991 Gulf War and, citing philosopher Boudrillard and his works, Shapiro states that the allied actions taken against dictator Hussein are not too different from the computer-war displayed in “A Taste Of Armageddon”. Before even one missile was launched in the Gulf region, hundreds of military strategists were “endlessly analyzing scenarios” (p. 87) and the many casualties they foresaw in their simulated attacks became to be viewed as inescapable losses that served a greater cause. “Their deaths are pre-calculated. They are ‘collateral damage’” (p. 87). Besides this cold and “mechanical” view at the lives of innocent citizens, the Gulf War and the computer war in the TOS episode have one more thing in common: Like with the two computers in the episode there hardly was any “real” encounter between the two warring parties in the Gulf War: For the far more technologically advanced allied forces the war was won in advance in realm of simulations, for the far less advanced Iraqi soldiers the war had already been lost before it fully broke out at all.
In Shapiro’s opinion the same logic also works for the “war on terrorism”: The American idea of the preemptive strike against anyone who might support or become an ally to Al-Qaida or the even more elusive concept of the “axis of evil” show that, at the beginning of the 21st century, US military operations are more and more withdrawn into the realm of calculations and probability, where a “potential attacker and enemy [...] exists as informational entity or statistical propensity, endlessly speculated on and reported in the virtual realm of the media” (p. 88).

In the second episode, “The Ultimate Computer” the TOS crew is once again faced with a situation not unlike the one described above: An all-new computer, “M-5” designed to be capable of replacing an entire starship crew, is to be installed and tested aboard the Enterprise by its creator, the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Daystrom. During the test the “M-5” takes over for the humans and then performs a variety of standard procedures, including both scientific and strategic operations – which at first work well. During the strategic drill, however, the “M-5” mistakes an unarmed and unmanned freighter for a real enemy and destroys it. Due to the fact that, for some reason, the computer cannot be switched off at that point, things start to turn for the worst: The computer assumes complete control over all of the ship’s systems, displays an arrogant and superior “personality” (not unlike that of its creator) and then attacks the four sister ships of the Enterprise which had been gathered for the simulated drill. After the “M-5” has almost destroyed the ships and many lives have been lost, Captain Kirk finally has a talk with the resilient piece of machinery. Convinced that it is the “ultimate achievement in computer evolution” (p. 93) the “M-5” believes that it must survive by all means in order to be able to protect man. Kirk finally manages it to convince the “M-5” that it has already committed murder, and, by doing so, it has lost its rights to survive. The “M-5” eventually sees the logic in Kirk’s words and, in an act of self-punishment, destroys itself.

“The Ultimate Computer” deals with the human fear to one day be replaced and/or threatened by super-intelligent computers that exceed human capacities by far. Shapiro states that in TOS there generally was a rather negative attitude towards super-intelligent computers (be it false-god-computers like Vaal in “The Apple“ and the Oracle in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” or be it the superior machines like M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” and Nomad in “The Changeling”). He points out, however, that this fear of being outwitted and replaced one day only “deters us from the fact that we are already computerized (or deeply enmeshed with digital technology)” (p. 94). Despite the fact that his thesis makes sense to some extent (i.e. Internet, cell phones, computer games etc.) he fails to give the reader some clear cut examples to support his idea. I can only guess that it has something to do with the digital and computerized world we live in today. However, his point (if there is any) remains much more elusive than with the comparison between the Gulf War(s) and the computer war – which makes a lot of sense and, in my opinion, is a very interesting way of looking at post-modern (and western) warfare.

'''Summary: Chapter Six Wormholes'''

In chapter six Shapiro discusses wormholes in Star Trek and general SF as well as the scientific practicability of wormholes in reality. Firstly, he gives a broad overview on the DS9 pilot [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary Emissary] that is the basis of his discussion. By doing so, he stresses Commander Sisko's encounter with the wormhole aliens that in Shapiro's words, ultimately leads to a ''“true symbolic exchange between Commander Sisko and the wormhole aliens […] (p. 200)”''.

Secondly, he begins his discussion on the physics of wormholes by commenting publications dealing with Star Trek technologies such as Lawrence M. Krauss' ''The Physics of Star Trek''. In opinion those publications endorse Star Trek's key technologies in order to satisfy the fanbase and at the same time they refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics pataphysical] praticability - that is, some sort of philisophical physics. Furthermore, Shaphiro brings to light that in many papers on the subject wormholes are regarded as time travel devices (p. 202). Especially, in Voyager and DS9 beaming and wormholes are combined in order to travel in time as it is shown in the episodes [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations Trials and Tribble-ations] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Eye_of_the_Needle Eye of the Needle]. Technically, time travel scenarios are created with digital recomposition, set reconstruction, frame-by-frame shadow masking and the likes.

Looking at SF film in general Shaphiro points out that many film makers and writers have been obsessed with time travel stories and parallel dimensions for decades (see Dr. Who, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future etc.). And often they pursued the psychological goal to exterminate the ''"radical otherness of history and other cultures, to short-circuit the difficult course of mourning, to meet up with none other than myself (yourself ?) (p. 202)"''

Moreover, he explains this psychological goal by outlining the scientific works of so-called philosopher physicists like Richard Feynman who have dealt with wormholes and time travel on a scientific level refering to the frontier possibilities of the laws of physics (Einstein's theories of 1905 and 1915). As he further emphasizes the development of time travel pataphysics up to the 1970s and 80s, Shaphiro argues if these theories cannot be held up in a real world context, even if they seem plausible in generic SF settings (p. 211).

Lastly, leaving all scientific theories on time travel and wormholes behind, Shaphiro poses the question if time travel in Star Trek rather presupposes a specific human notion of time: ''One example of this is the idea implicit in the "block universe model" of spacetime that the future is already "out there" or already exists. This is the future-orientation of time in the statistical worldview, or the the future's simulation. It is opposed to the existential view that the future is yet to be decided. The whish for time travel to the past is another, complementary component of the human and hyper-real notion of time. (p. 213)'' --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 15:42, 11 December 2007 (CET)

'''Summary: Chapter three “The Transporter” [How the Transporter “Really Works”]

Episode serving as an example: “The Enemy Within”'''

(written by Arne Poller)

On a routine geological survey on the planet Alpha 177 the landing party has discovered a doglike creature. A member of the crew gets injured and yellow stains from a magnetic ore are all over his clothes. Probably those are interrupting the beaming process when he tries to beam back up. After doubts whether the transporter machinery is safe Captain Kirk beams up and reappears with a weakened look. While Scotty helps the ‘weak’ Kirk he leaves the Transporter Room unattended. A second ‘savage looking’ Kirk appears in the Room. It turns out that an accident in the transporting process has caused the rematerialisation of a ‘Weak Kirk’ and an ‘Evil Kirk’.
While ‘Weak Kirk’ rests in his room ‘Evil Kirk’ walks around within the ship and is doing silly things (grabs Dr. McCoy by the scruff, seizes Yeoman Rand fiercely by the shoulder…).
At the same time Scotty has figured out that a ‘complete breakdown’ of the operational condition of the transporter has taken place. After Captain Kirk was beamed aboard they tried to beam up the doglike creature with the result of having nonidentical twins. One is gentle and timid, the other is widely agitated and violent. Afraid of the consequences they don’t dare to beam up the rest of the crew. That leaves the landing crew stranded on the planet with the life-threatening prospect of an oncoming freezing nightfall. After interviewing ‘Weak Kirk’ Spock realizes that there must be an imposter aboard the ship. Spock and McCoy hypothesize that ‘Weak Kirk’ is lacking his negative side, which, when ‘properly controlled and disciplined’, endow the Captain with his special ability to command a starship. They catch ‘Evil Kirk’ on one of the lower decks.
“I have to take him back inside myself” ‘Weak Kirk’ recognizes. “I can’t survive without him.”
As Scotty gets the system up and running they first try a test. The two duplicate doglike creatures are send through. Out of the two only one reappears which is dead. The creature was rejoint into a single being, it did not outlive the shock of reunification due to its fear. Finally the duplicate Kirk’s have to take the risk in order to safe the stranded crew. They hope that human intelligence disciplining his trepidation will make a difference. As they get ready to energize, ‘Weak Kirk’ smiles to Spock, Bones, and Scotty, signalling that he has no fear. Finally the ‘real Kirk’ reappears and the stranded crew will be rescued, too.

Shapiro argues that “the mishap of the transporter, the Holodeck, or warp speed is emphasized on Star Trek above the normal operation of the system. ‘Evil Kirk’ is the intrinsic accident that belongs by necessity to the transporter. Every technology has both a rational purpose and a build-in accident ‘waiting to happen’.”
Created by Roddenberry as a convenient way of saving money, Star Trek expresses its profound ambivalence towards the technology of the transporter.
Following Shapiro the trickery of technology rouses the principle of evil, of the vital necessity of evil for the survival of good. ‘Evil Kirk’ is a required and integral portion of Captain Kirk. “The deep-rooted accident of the duplicate Kirk turns a questioning spotlight on the ‘essence’ of the transporter, which is the absolutist phantasmagoria of total knowledge of a person captured in a digital pattern image or ‘quantum physics’ snapshot of their subatomic particles.”
Shapiro asks if techno-scientific enthusiasm truly is Star Trek’s worldview.

'''How the Transporter “Really works”'''

Over the decades there was a paradigm shift in Star Trek’s beaming technology and how it works.

The original notion: Dematerialization – rematerialization, matter-to-energy conversion and back to physical transporter.

Digital transporter: The concept of blueprint formula-like, cloning – or information-based digital transporter.

Quantum teleporter: The idea of ‘entangled photon pairs’ (already been built experimentally by physicists for light particle ‘passengers’.

[For exact function look at Shapiro p.102 l.5]

“The newer postmodernist digital transporter and hypermodernist quantum teleporter gesture towards a paradigm shift in the predominant definition of what it means to be human. Within this posthuman paradigm, it is conceded that a copy of myself, either created from the same model informational digital pattern or emanating from an initiatory quantum mechanical techno-scientific coupled entanglement, is identical to me.”

==Dec 19, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek I: From the United States of America to the Federation==
*What happened between 1966 and the year 2300?
*A culture that does not (want to) rely on imperialism, technical superiority or the strength of its capitalism - and a winner even though.

==Jan 9, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek II: Power on Board==
* Power on board: Collisions of interests, personal loyalty and professional obedience
* Power on a universal scale: Star ship vs. Federation
* Different races
* Gender politics

==Jan 16, 2008: Is the "Prime Directive" the prime directive?==
What are the real ideals of the Start Trek Universe?

==Jan 23, 2008: Genres: What can happen in the Star Trek universe and what cannot?==
*The original shows were not really free when it came to the way of how stories had to be told. The episode had to be over within 45 minutes, it had to offer a problem and a solution. We shall look at generic questions and narratology: What kinds of episodes existed (from comedy to drama), what perspectives do we get on the plotlines? How did the art of story telling evolve from TOS to DS9?
*Is Star Trek a Utopian series? What is Science Fiction compared to Fantasy? What otions within the genre does the Star Trek universe realise?

==Jan 30, 2008: The Fan World==
*On the interaction between the Star Trek Universe and its fan community.
*Startrek and kids - a special look on children and adolescents in the Star Trek universe
*Perhaps most outrageous fan project: [http://www.startreknewvoyages.com Star Trek: New Voyages] - a continuation of TOS.

==Feb 5, 2008: A Look Back on our Seminar==
===Topics===
* Concepts of Evolution and Progress

===Literature===

*Engel, Joel. ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind'' Star Trek. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
::One of the first critical biographies that appeared after Roddenberry's death.

* Shatner, William/ Kreshi, Chris. ''Star Trek Memories''. New York: Harper & Collins, 1993.
:: Offers insight into the production.

* Tulloch, John/ Jenkins, Henry. ''Science Giction Audiences: Watching'' Doctor Who'' and ''Star Trek. London: Routledge, 1995.
:: On the fan community and interaction.

*Solow, Herb and Justman, Robert H. ''Inside'' Star Trek: ''The Real Story''. New York: Pocket, 1996.
::One of the critical revisoions which appeared after Roddenbery's death.

* Gentejohan, Volker, ''Narratives from the'' Final Frontier: ''A Postcolonial Reading of the Original Star Trek Series''. Frankfurt a. M./ Berlin: Peter Lang, 2000. 161 pp.
:: Dissertation, German in its structure: What is postcolonialism? Then apply the theory an see it works. The readings create a congruity where there might be not so much of it. Character analysis and special questions revealing the basically American cultural centre, the phalLogocentrism of the series.

* Gregory, Chris. Star Trek: ''Parallel Narratives'' Houndsmills/ Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
:: Good Bibliography. Central idea: Star Trek evolving into a mythological system. Written with the awareness of immense changes within the Star Trek universe – changes due to changing options under which TV-shows and movies could be produced over the years. Analysis of interaction and differences between main producers of TOS Roddenberry Coon (he produced much of the Federation’s political framework) and Frieberger (third season with its many recycled shows).

* Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001. 246 pp.
:: Multi facetted and extremely inspiring.

*Kanzler, Katja. ''"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations", The Multicultural Evolution of STAR TREK''. Heidelberg, Winter, 2004.
:: Explores the multiculturalism of the Star Trek universe – as a popular and commercial concept. Written with a good deal of fascination.

* Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004. 369 pp. ISBN 3-930064-16-2.
:: Technologies of the Star Trek universe from "beaming" to ''warp'' spead. Question what they betray if read by a cultural historian.

* Broderick, James F. ''The literary galaxy of'' Star Trek: ''An analysis of references and themes in the television series and films''. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2006. vi, 233 pp. ISBN 0-7864-2571-7
:: Intertextuality and literary motives from quest to vampirism.

* Relke, Diana M. A. ''Drones, Clones, and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting'' Star Trek's ''humanism, post-9/11''. Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2006. xx, 168 pp. ISBN 1-552-38164-1, ISBN 978-1-552-38164-9
:: What does ''Star Trek'' tell us about the US?

* Geraghty, Lincoln. ''Living with'' Star Trek: American culture and the Star Trek universe (London [etc.]: Tauris, 2007), VIII, 232 pp.
::Esp. on fandom.

* Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). ''The influence of'' Star Trek ''on television, film, and culture''. [=''Critical explorations in science fiction and fantasy'', 4]. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-3034-5
:: "Examining Star Trek from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it" (Publisher).

===Links===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek on en.wikipedia.org]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes The Original Series episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_episodes The Next Generation episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_episodes Deep Space Nine episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Voyager_episodes Voyager episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Enterprise_episodes Enterprise episodes]
*[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS Memory Alpha, Star Trek Wiki]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5285732.stm Which is the definitive Star Trek?]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/ BBC Star Trek Cult Page]
*[http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=star+trek&tab=all&recipe=all More BBC Star Trek Results]
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2069660,00.html Guardian Article: Beam me up Scotty: Star Trek actor's ashes sent into space]

[[Category:Abschlussmodul]]
[[Category:Winter 2007-2008|2008-1]]

2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-12-11T18:10:25Z

Arne Poller: /* Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities */

{|align=right width=500px
!bgcolor=#FFFF80|Open Accounts: First name, blank, second name
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think of topics of your interest, put them under the headlines we have discussed, sign <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> and safe
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note that we will have a guest on Dec. 12. See you, --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 20:01, 11 November 2007 (CET)
|}
* '''Time:''' We 4-6 pm
* '''Place:''' A10 1-121a
* '''Contact:''' [[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]]

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''Star Trek'' is far more than a TV-series. It is a cultural phenomenon with enormous ramifications marked by substantial plot developments, and it is a powerful piece of fiction due to its wide range of cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and political allusions. The original series became a cult classic, the Star Trek universe it created does in retrospect bridge generations and political gaps such as the Cold War with its East/West-confrontation (mirrored within the series by disruptions of original interstellar confrontations).

The Seminar will deal with the following topics. If you have plans for seminar papers list them bellow. (Discuss the present course outline on the course's discussion page if you feel you cannot see under which heading your topic could appear).

Do mention individual episodes (refer to english wikipedia - you find links bellow) wherever you feel that this is a sequence we must deal with under the given headline (I am not so well informed about the later sequels):

__TOC__

==Oct 24 2007: Brainstorming==

==Oct 31 2007: The Star Trek Universe I: ''The Original Series'' (1966–1969)==
'''Preparation:'''
* Production background
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Cage''], the unsuccessful pilot - filmed in November-December 1964, but not broadcast on television in its complete form until 1988.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Man Trap''], aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.

'''Topics to discuss:'''
* Captain Kirk vs. Captain Pike - types, roles, heroism
* Women
* Spock I and Spock II

'''Possible topics of Seminar papers:'''
*Comparison of The Cage - the original pilot - and and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Menagerie''] pts. 1-2 aired November 17 and November 24, 1966.
*The composition of a successful team - a seminar paper which might take a special look at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28TOS_episode%29 ''Mirror, Mirror''] broadcast on October 6, 1967 - where we get a positive and a negative Enterprise crew.

==Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies==
As I have to disappoint you on Wed 7: a night at my place (Tannenkampstr. 12) - we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine (you might provide the latter).
:We might begin around 6pm - those who will have to arrive later can do so and join us any time - it will probably be a long night. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:08, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 14, 2007: The Star Trek Universe II: ''Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)==
The Sequels ''The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
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Next Generation

Hi everybody! Since we were not able to present all the information of our presentation in the session, here are some points that might be interesting.

'''Info about the series'''

• First episode: 1987 in the US

• 7 seasons, 176 episodes

• It was longer on screen than TOS (80 episodes – 176 episodes)

• Encounter at Farpoint (the pilot): received by 94 % of all households in the US

• Later still very successful, 1st place of the TV series (18-49 years)

=> Advertisement

=> 1 Mio $ per episode

=> Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Hawkins, Dwight Schulz (A-Team) etc. acted in some of the episodes

'''Content:'''

• Single episodes with an action which is self-explanatory

o But: some episodes refer to the content of other episodes, e.g. Season 3, “The best of both worlds”, season 7, “Bloodlines”

• 100 years later

• Different characters

• Some episodes (e.g. the second episode) have similar plots as episodes of TOS or refer directly to them

• Sometimes visits from characters of the old Enterprise

'''Introduction of the main characters'''

• '''Picard''': Captain of the new Enterprise, different to Kirk, strictly sticks to the Prime Directive, total loyalty to his crew, dislikes children, develops to a more sympathetic man during the series

• '''Riker''': 1st Commander, love affairs, attractive to female characters, sympathetic

• '''Data''': 2nd Commander, the only Android of the Starfleet, counterpart to Spock (e.g. does not understand any sarcasm), asks for definitions, tries to be human

• '''Troi''': Counsellor, Beta Zoid, feelings/emotions, very attractive, later she is the only woman on the bridge

• '''Dr. Crusher''': Doctor, family values, “mother” of the crew, together with Troi: more female power on the ship than in TOS

• '''Worf''': Lieutenant Commander, Klingon, high moral Klingon values, later chief security officer, integrated, sympathetic, represents action and strength on the Enterprise

• '''LaForge''': Lieutenant Commander, later chief engineer

'''Family'''

• families on board who are being evacuated (in the pilot)

• Wesley: child becomes a main character

• Picard dislikes children

• Throughout the series: the crew appears more and more like a family

=> Riker refuses to ship commands several times to stay with the crew of the enterprise

=> Crusher as mother

• Other family-topics in the series:

=> Worf + son

=> Data + daughter

=> Picard + son

In The Next Generation, which was produced at the end of the 1980s, and the beginning of the 1990s, the family as a topic has been used more often than in TOS of the 60s.

'''Other references to our reality:'''

They try to conserve the earthly culture, they drink Earl Grey tea, they read and cite James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Sherlock Holmes, they listen to classical music and talk of the 80s and 90s as the good old times.

''Question'': The crew of the Enterprise presents our reality in a positive way. What kind of message does the producer convey?

Hi folks,
it would be nice, if you watch the first two episodes ("The Emissary pt.1 &2") of DS9 as a preparation for the Wednesday session. They should be available at the Mediathek... If you want to see more episodes, feel free to watch some post-season-three stuff, because the plot dramatically changed then. Watch out for topics like Religion, Interpersonal conflicts and differences between DS9 and other Star Trek stuff...Manuel Saralidis 14:58, 12 November 2007 (CET)

Hello,
just to remind you... I put the Deep Space Nine Introduction slides and summary as a PDF on StudIP where you can download them... Cheers... [[User:Manuel Saralidis|Manuel Saralidis]] 22:05, 29 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 21, 2007: The Star Trek Universe III: ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005)==
The Sequels ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005) same question: Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
´

Voyager
Interesting subjects could be that of terrorism, fear of communism (as the Borg play an important role in voyager), Human values, the Prime Directive, a parallel Universe (Species 8472), Collaboration of species that are enemies but that become allies when a species more powerful than them appears,

Also: Female positions
- Voyager is the first of all Star Trek Series, that has a female Captain!
- Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is the first Chief Engineer on board of a Star Trek Vessel

Also: The Maquis rebellion

Dear Participants.
I put the presentation on "Voyager" on Stud IP under "Dateien"

Ann-Kathrin Uden

==Nov 28, 2007: God in a World of Miracles - Star Trek and Religion==
Is there a God out there? What is the Federation's religion? None or that of a secular state granting religious freedom? Why don't we have Arabs on board of the Star Trek vessels? How do the Federation's travelers react when confronted with religions out there?

I would like to write a paper on Star Trek and Religion. As i haven't read any literature yet, my ideas are still pretty general. But mainly I think i will be dealing with questions like: what view on religion and belief is conveyed in Star Trek (pro or con religion, atheist?) and HOW is it conveyed? This could probably be based on DS 9 and the whole "wormhole aliens vs. phrophets (bajoranian belief)" issue. ([[User:Stephan Schmidt|Stephan Schmidt]] 14:16, 7 November 2007 (CET))

Hey. I just skipped through some webpages to find pieces of information about the religious content in Star Trek and its spin-offs. Here are some webpages that deal with religion. While the majority is fan-made, others document the topic from a more objective point of view.

*http://www.star-trek-religionen.de/index1.htm
*http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/religion.htm
*http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Human_religion
*http://www.newstrekker.com/archiv/startrek_02_03.htm
*http://www.ibka.org/node/603
** and here the speech: http://ibka.org/en/files/Braga.mp3

Just take a look [[User:Tobias Penski|Tobias Penski]] 22:10, 21 November 2007 (CET)

'''TOS on Religion'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais_%28TOS_episode%29 Who Mourns for Adonais, September 22, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_%28TOS_episode%29 The Apple, October 13, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, November 8, 1968]

'''Movies'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V:_The_Final_Frontier The Final Frontier, 1989]

'''Literature'''
*Ros S. Kraemer, "Is there a God in the Universe?", in Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. (eds.), ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001, p.15-56 [http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2001_religions_of_star_trek_p15-57.pdf link]

==Dec 5, 2007: Technotopia==
Star Trek is (from warp-drives to beaming facilities) full of inventions we are still waiting for - and peculiarly lacking others we developed instead (like those mobile phones we use for normal conversations rather than short commands). It is said to have motivated research - yet it is too simple to see it as a simple glorification of technological progress...

*[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2004_shapiro__star_trek.pdf Alan Shapiro, ''Star Trek. Technoloies of Disappearance (2004)]
*[[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/ds9-ep20.divx DS9 Special Episode on with religious emphasis]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden_%28TOS_episode%29_TOS_#75 ''The Way to Eden''] Spock makes friends with a sect of hippies.

==Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities==

Debate with [[Alan N. Shapiro]]. Course reading: Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004.

'''Summary: Chapter Two "THE LAST COMPUTER"''' (John Müller)

In chapter two, “The Last Computer“, Shapiro talks about computers and their functions/capabilities in the 23rd century. In a second step, he compares those future computers to our late 20th century computer technology and draws some interesting conclusions as far as own perception is concerned. In order to support his point, Shapiro takes a look at two episodes from TOS (“A Taste Of Armageddon” [Ep. 23] and “The Ultimate Computer” [Ep. 53]).

In “A Taste Of Armageddon” there are two computers which are war with one another, or, in other words, there are two neighboring planets which have been at war for centuries, but, instead of waging a real war with real weapons, they have chosen to let computers simulate their war for them. The computers on both worlds are linked and independently launch attacks on each other. But even though the fighting remains in the realms of virtual reality, the consequences do not: The perfection of this war is taken so far that both computers calculate damage and casualties on their home worlds and force the people who are registered as victims in the simulation to also become victims in real life. Once a citizen is “killed” in the simulation through a hostile attack, he/she has to report to a “disintegration machine” and then vanish in order to obey to the rules of the simulated computer-war.

Apart from the moral implications of this virtual war and the stance Kirk and his crew take towards it (needless to say the computers are dismantled in the end and the warring parties start real peace negotiations for the first time), Shapiro compares the computer-war with our late 20th century reality and the role computers play in it. He uses the example of the 1991 Gulf War and, citing philosopher Boudrillard and his works, Shapiro states that the allied actions taken against dictator Hussein are not too different from the computer-war displayed in “A Taste Of Armageddon”. Before even one missile was launched in the Gulf region, hundreds of military strategists were “endlessly analyzing scenarios” (p. 87) and the many casualties they foresaw in their simulated attacks became to be viewed as inescapable losses that served a greater cause. “Their deaths are pre-calculated. They are ‘collateral damage’” (p. 87). Besides this cold and “mechanical” view at the lives of innocent citizens, the Gulf War and the computer war in the TOS episode have one more thing in common: Like with the two computers in the episode there hardly was any “real” encounter between the two warring parties in the Gulf War: For the far more technologically advanced allied forces the war was won in advance in realm of simulations, for the far less advanced Iraqi soldiers the war had already been lost before it fully broke out at all.
In Shapiro’s opinion the same logic also works for the “war on terrorism”: The American idea of the preemptive strike against anyone who might support or become an ally to Al-Qaida or the even more elusive concept of the “axis of evil” show that, at the beginning of the 21st century, US military operations are more and more withdrawn into the realm of calculations and probability, where a “potential attacker and enemy [...] exists as informational entity or statistical propensity, endlessly speculated on and reported in the virtual realm of the media” (p. 88).

In the second episode, “The Ultimate Computer” the TOS crew is once again faced with a situation not unlike the one described above: An all-new computer, “M-5” designed to be capable of replacing an entire starship crew, is to be installed and tested aboard the Enterprise by its creator, the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Daystrom. During the test the “M-5” takes over for the humans and then performs a variety of standard procedures, including both scientific and strategic operations – which at first work well. During the strategic drill, however, the “M-5” mistakes an unarmed and unmanned freighter for a real enemy and destroys it. Due to the fact that, for some reason, the computer cannot be switched off at that point, things start to turn for the worst: The computer assumes complete control over all of the ship’s systems, displays an arrogant and superior “personality” (not unlike that of its creator) and then attacks the four sister ships of the Enterprise which had been gathered for the simulated drill. After the “M-5” has almost destroyed the ships and many lives have been lost, Captain Kirk finally has a talk with the resilient piece of machinery. Convinced that it is the “ultimate achievement in computer evolution” (p. 93) the “M-5” believes that it must survive by all means in order to be able to protect man. Kirk finally manages it to convince the “M-5” that it has already committed murder, and, by doing so, it has lost its rights to survive. The “M-5” eventually sees the logic in Kirk’s words and, in an act of self-punishment, destroys itself.

“The Ultimate Computer” deals with the human fear to one day be replaced and/or threatened by super-intelligent computers that exceed human capacities by far. Shapiro states that in TOS there generally was a rather negative attitude towards super-intelligent computers (be it false-god-computers like Vaal in “The Apple“ and the Oracle in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” or be it the superior machines like M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” and Nomad in “The Changeling”). He points out, however, that this fear of being outwitted and replaced one day only “deters us from the fact that we are already computerized (or deeply enmeshed with digital technology)” (p. 94). Despite the fact that his thesis makes sense to some extent (i.e. Internet, cell phones, computer games etc.) he fails to give the reader some clear cut examples to support his idea. I can only guess that it has something to do with the digital and computerized world we live in today. However, his point (if there is any) remains much more elusive than with the comparison between the Gulf War(s) and the computer war – which makes a lot of sense and, in my opinion, is a very interesting way of looking at post-modern (and western) warfare.

'''Summary: Chapter Six Wormholes'''

In chapter six Shapiro discusses wormholes in Star Trek and general SF as well as the scientific practicability of wormholes in reality. Firstly, he gives a broad overview on the DS9 pilot [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary Emissary] that is the basis of his discussion. By doing so, he stresses Commander Sisko's encounter with the wormhole aliens that in Shapiro's words, ultimately leads to a ''“true symbolic exchange between Commander Sisko and the wormhole aliens […] (p. 200)”''.

Secondly, he begins his discussion on the physics of wormholes by commenting publications dealing with Star Trek technologies such as Lawrence M. Krauss' ''The Physics of Star Trek''. In opinion those publications endorse Star Trek's key technologies in order to satisfy the fanbase and at the same time they refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics pataphysical] praticability - that is, some sort of philisophical physics. Furthermore, Shaphiro brings to light that in many papers on the subject wormholes are regarded as time travel devices (p. 202). Especially, in Voyager and DS9 beaming and wormholes are combined in order to travel in time as it is shown in the episodes [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations Trials and Tribble-ations] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Eye_of_the_Needle Eye of the Needle]. Technically, time travel scenarios are created with digital recomposition, set reconstruction, frame-by-frame shadow masking and the likes.

Looking at SF film in general Shaphiro points out that many film makers and writers have been obsessed with time travel stories and parallel dimensions for decades (see Dr. Who, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future etc.). And often they pursued the psychological goal to exterminate the ''"radical otherness of history and other cultures, to short-circuit the difficult course of mourning, to meet up with none other than myself (yourself ?) (p. 202)"''

Moreover, he explains this psychological goal by outlining the scientific works of so-called philosopher physicists like Richard Feynman who have dealt with wormholes and time travel on a scientific level refering to the frontier possibilities of the laws of physics (Einstein's theories of 1905 and 1915). As he further emphasizes the development of time travel pataphysics up to the 1970s and 80s, Shaphiro argues if these theories cannot be held up in a real world context, even if they seem plausible in generic SF settings (p. 211).

Lastly, leaving all scientific theories on time travel and wormholes behind, Shaphiro poses the question if time travel in Star Trek rather presupposes a specific human notion of time: ''One example of this is the idea implicit in the "block universe model" of spacetime that the future is already "out there" or already exists. This is the future-orientation of time in the statistical worldview, or the the future's simulation. It is opposed to the existential view that the future is yet to be decided. The whish for time travel to the past is another, complementary component of the human and hyper-real notion of time. (p. 213)'' --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 15:42, 11 December 2007 (CET)

'''Summary: Chapter three “The Transporter” [How the Transporter “Really Works”]

Episode serving as an example: “The Enemy Within”'''

(written by Arne Poller)

On a routine geological survey on the planet Alpha 177 the landing party has discovered a doglike creature. A member of the crew gets injured and yellow stains from a magnetic ore are all over his clothes. Probably those are interrupting the beaming process when he tries to beam back up. After doubts whether the transporter machinery is safe Captain Kirk beams up and reappears with a weakened look. While Scotty helps the ‘weak’ Kirk he leaves the Transporter Room unattended. A second ‘savage looking’ Kirk appears in the Room. It turns out that an accident in the transporting process has caused the rematerialisation of a ‘Weak Kirk’ and an ‘Evil Kirk’.
While ‘Weak Kirk’ rests in his room ‘Evil Kirk’ walks around within the ship and is doing silly things (grabs Dr. McCoy by the scruff, seizes Yeoman Rand fiercely by the shoulder…).
At the same time Scotty has figured out that a ‘complete breakdown’ of the operational condition of the transporter has taken place. After Captain Kirk was beamed aboard they tried to beam up the doglike creature with the result of having nonidentical twins. One is gentle and timid, the other is widely agitated and violent. Afraid of the consequences they don’t dare to beam up the rest of the crew. That leaves the landing crew stranded on the planet with the life-threatening prospect of an oncoming freezing nightfall. After interviewing ‘Weak Kirk’ Spock realizes that there must be an imposter aboard the ship. Spock and McCoy hypothesize that ‘Weak Kirk’ is lacking his negative side, which, when ‘properly controlled and disciplined’, endow the Captain with his special ability to command a starship. They catch ‘Evil Kirk’ on one of the lower decks.
“I have to take him back inside myself” ‘Weak Kirk’ recognizes. “I can’t survive without him.”
As Scotty gets the system up and running they first try a test. The two duplicate doglike creatures are send through. Out of the two only one reappears which is dead. The creature was rejoint into a single being, it did not outlive the shock of reunification due to its fear. Finally the duplicate Kirk’s have to take the risk in order to safe the stranded crew. They hope that human intelligence disciplining his trepidation will make a difference. As they get ready to energize, ‘Weak Kirk’ smiles to Spock, Bones, and Scotty, signalling that he has no fear. Finally the ‘real Kirk’ reappears and the stranded crew will be rescued, too.

Shapiro argues that “the mishap of the transporter, the Holodeck, or warp speed is emphasized on Star Trek above the normal operation of the system. ‘Evil Kirk’ is the intrinsic accident that belongs by necessity to the transporter. Every technology has both a rational purpose and a build-in accident ‘waiting to happen’.”
Created by Roddenberry as a convenient way of saving money, Star Trek expresses its profound ambivalence towards the technology of the transporter.
Following Shapiro the trickery of technology rouses the principle of evil, of the vital necessity of evil for the survival of good. ‘Evil Kirk’ is a required and integral portion of Captain Kirk. “The deep-rooted accident of the duplicate Kirk turns a questioning spotlight on the ‘essence’ of the transporter, which is the absolutist phantasmagoria of total knowledge of a person captured in a digital pattern image or ‘quantum physics’ snapshot of their subatomic particles.”
Shapiro asks if techno-scientific enthusiasm truly is Star Trek’s worldview.

'''How the Transporter “Really works”'''

Over the decades there was a paradigm shift in Star Trek’s beaming technology and how it works.
The original notion: Dematerialization – rematerialization, matter-to-energy conversion and back to physical transporter.
Digital transporter: The concept of blueprint formula-like, cloning – or information-based digital transporter.
Quantum teleporter: The idea of ‘entangled photon pairs’ (already been built experimentally by physicists for light particle ‘passengers’.
[For exact function look at Shapiro p.102 l.5]

“The newer postmodernist digital transporter and hypermodernist quantum teleporter gesture towards a paradigm shift in the predominant definition of what it means to be human. Within this posthuman paradigm, it is conceded that a copy of myself, either created from the same model informational digital pattern or emanating from an initiatory quantum mechanical techno-scientific coupled entanglement, is identical to me.”

==Dec 19, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek I: From the United States of America to the Federation==
*What happened between 1966 and the year 2300?
*A culture that does not (want to) rely on imperialism, technical superiority or the strength of its capitalism - and a winner even though.

==Jan 9, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek II: Power on Board==
* Power on board: Collisions of interests, personal loyalty and professional obedience
* Power on a universal scale: Star ship vs. Federation
* Different races
* Gender politics

==Jan 16, 2008: Is the "Prime Directive" the prime directive?==
What are the real ideals of the Start Trek Universe?

==Jan 23, 2008: Genres: What can happen in the Star Trek universe and what cannot?==
*The original shows were not really free when it came to the way of how stories had to be told. The episode had to be over within 45 minutes, it had to offer a problem and a solution. We shall look at generic questions and narratology: What kinds of episodes existed (from comedy to drama), what perspectives do we get on the plotlines? How did the art of story telling evolve from TOS to DS9?
*Is Star Trek a Utopian series? What is Science Fiction compared to Fantasy? What otions within the genre does the Star Trek universe realise?

==Jan 30, 2008: The Fan World==
*On the interaction between the Star Trek Universe and its fan community.
*Startrek and kids - a special look on children and adolescents in the Star Trek universe
*Perhaps most outrageous fan project: [http://www.startreknewvoyages.com Star Trek: New Voyages] - a continuation of TOS.

==Feb 5, 2008: A Look Back on our Seminar==
===Topics===
* Concepts of Evolution and Progress

===Literature===

*Engel, Joel. ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind'' Star Trek. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
::One of the first critical biographies that appeared after Roddenberry's death.

* Shatner, William/ Kreshi, Chris. ''Star Trek Memories''. New York: Harper & Collins, 1993.
:: Offers insight into the production.

* Tulloch, John/ Jenkins, Henry. ''Science Giction Audiences: Watching'' Doctor Who'' and ''Star Trek. London: Routledge, 1995.
:: On the fan community and interaction.

*Solow, Herb and Justman, Robert H. ''Inside'' Star Trek: ''The Real Story''. New York: Pocket, 1996.
::One of the critical revisoions which appeared after Roddenbery's death.

* Gentejohan, Volker, ''Narratives from the'' Final Frontier: ''A Postcolonial Reading of the Original Star Trek Series''. Frankfurt a. M./ Berlin: Peter Lang, 2000. 161 pp.
:: Dissertation, German in its structure: What is postcolonialism? Then apply the theory an see it works. The readings create a congruity where there might be not so much of it. Character analysis and special questions revealing the basically American cultural centre, the phalLogocentrism of the series.

* Gregory, Chris. Star Trek: ''Parallel Narratives'' Houndsmills/ Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
:: Good Bibliography. Central idea: Star Trek evolving into a mythological system. Written with the awareness of immense changes within the Star Trek universe – changes due to changing options under which TV-shows and movies could be produced over the years. Analysis of interaction and differences between main producers of TOS Roddenberry Coon (he produced much of the Federation’s political framework) and Frieberger (third season with its many recycled shows).

* Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001. 246 pp.
:: Multi facetted and extremely inspiring.

*Kanzler, Katja. ''"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations", The Multicultural Evolution of STAR TREK''. Heidelberg, Winter, 2004.
:: Explores the multiculturalism of the Star Trek universe – as a popular and commercial concept. Written with a good deal of fascination.

* Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004. 369 pp. ISBN 3-930064-16-2.
:: Technologies of the Star Trek universe from "beaming" to ''warp'' spead. Question what they betray if read by a cultural historian.

* Broderick, James F. ''The literary galaxy of'' Star Trek: ''An analysis of references and themes in the television series and films''. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2006. vi, 233 pp. ISBN 0-7864-2571-7
:: Intertextuality and literary motives from quest to vampirism.

* Relke, Diana M. A. ''Drones, Clones, and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting'' Star Trek's ''humanism, post-9/11''. Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2006. xx, 168 pp. ISBN 1-552-38164-1, ISBN 978-1-552-38164-9
:: What does ''Star Trek'' tell us about the US?

* Geraghty, Lincoln. ''Living with'' Star Trek: American culture and the Star Trek universe (London [etc.]: Tauris, 2007), VIII, 232 pp.
::Esp. on fandom.

* Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). ''The influence of'' Star Trek ''on television, film, and culture''. [=''Critical explorations in science fiction and fantasy'', 4]. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-3034-5
:: "Examining Star Trek from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it" (Publisher).

===Links===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek on en.wikipedia.org]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes The Original Series episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_episodes The Next Generation episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_episodes Deep Space Nine episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Voyager_episodes Voyager episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Enterprise_episodes Enterprise episodes]
*[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS Memory Alpha, Star Trek Wiki]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5285732.stm Which is the definitive Star Trek?]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/ BBC Star Trek Cult Page]
*[http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=star+trek&tab=all&recipe=all More BBC Star Trek Results]
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2069660,00.html Guardian Article: Beam me up Scotty: Star Trek actor's ashes sent into space]

[[Category:Abschlussmodul]]
[[Category:Winter 2007-2008|2008-1]]

2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-12-11T18:04:58Z

Arne Poller: /* Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities */

{|align=right width=500px
!bgcolor=#FFFF80|Open Accounts: First name, blank, second name
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think of topics of your interest, put them under the headlines we have discussed, sign <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> and safe
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note that we will have a guest on Dec. 12. See you, --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 20:01, 11 November 2007 (CET)
|}
* '''Time:''' We 4-6 pm
* '''Place:''' A10 1-121a
* '''Contact:''' [[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]]

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''Star Trek'' is far more than a TV-series. It is a cultural phenomenon with enormous ramifications marked by substantial plot developments, and it is a powerful piece of fiction due to its wide range of cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and political allusions. The original series became a cult classic, the Star Trek universe it created does in retrospect bridge generations and political gaps such as the Cold War with its East/West-confrontation (mirrored within the series by disruptions of original interstellar confrontations).

The Seminar will deal with the following topics. If you have plans for seminar papers list them bellow. (Discuss the present course outline on the course's discussion page if you feel you cannot see under which heading your topic could appear).

Do mention individual episodes (refer to english wikipedia - you find links bellow) wherever you feel that this is a sequence we must deal with under the given headline (I am not so well informed about the later sequels):

__TOC__

==Oct 24 2007: Brainstorming==

==Oct 31 2007: The Star Trek Universe I: ''The Original Series'' (1966–1969)==
'''Preparation:'''
* Production background
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Cage''], the unsuccessful pilot - filmed in November-December 1964, but not broadcast on television in its complete form until 1988.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Man Trap''], aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.

'''Topics to discuss:'''
* Captain Kirk vs. Captain Pike - types, roles, heroism
* Women
* Spock I and Spock II

'''Possible topics of Seminar papers:'''
*Comparison of The Cage - the original pilot - and and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Menagerie''] pts. 1-2 aired November 17 and November 24, 1966.
*The composition of a successful team - a seminar paper which might take a special look at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28TOS_episode%29 ''Mirror, Mirror''] broadcast on October 6, 1967 - where we get a positive and a negative Enterprise crew.

==Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies==
As I have to disappoint you on Wed 7: a night at my place (Tannenkampstr. 12) - we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine (you might provide the latter).
:We might begin around 6pm - those who will have to arrive later can do so and join us any time - it will probably be a long night. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:08, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 14, 2007: The Star Trek Universe II: ''Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)==
The Sequels ''The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
----

Next Generation

Hi everybody! Since we were not able to present all the information of our presentation in the session, here are some points that might be interesting.

'''Info about the series'''

• First episode: 1987 in the US

• 7 seasons, 176 episodes

• It was longer on screen than TOS (80 episodes – 176 episodes)

• Encounter at Farpoint (the pilot): received by 94 % of all households in the US

• Later still very successful, 1st place of the TV series (18-49 years)

=> Advertisement

=> 1 Mio $ per episode

=> Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Hawkins, Dwight Schulz (A-Team) etc. acted in some of the episodes

'''Content:'''

• Single episodes with an action which is self-explanatory

o But: some episodes refer to the content of other episodes, e.g. Season 3, “The best of both worlds”, season 7, “Bloodlines”

• 100 years later

• Different characters

• Some episodes (e.g. the second episode) have similar plots as episodes of TOS or refer directly to them

• Sometimes visits from characters of the old Enterprise

'''Introduction of the main characters'''

• '''Picard''': Captain of the new Enterprise, different to Kirk, strictly sticks to the Prime Directive, total loyalty to his crew, dislikes children, develops to a more sympathetic man during the series

• '''Riker''': 1st Commander, love affairs, attractive to female characters, sympathetic

• '''Data''': 2nd Commander, the only Android of the Starfleet, counterpart to Spock (e.g. does not understand any sarcasm), asks for definitions, tries to be human

• '''Troi''': Counsellor, Beta Zoid, feelings/emotions, very attractive, later she is the only woman on the bridge

• '''Dr. Crusher''': Doctor, family values, “mother” of the crew, together with Troi: more female power on the ship than in TOS

• '''Worf''': Lieutenant Commander, Klingon, high moral Klingon values, later chief security officer, integrated, sympathetic, represents action and strength on the Enterprise

• '''LaForge''': Lieutenant Commander, later chief engineer

'''Family'''

• families on board who are being evacuated (in the pilot)

• Wesley: child becomes a main character

• Picard dislikes children

• Throughout the series: the crew appears more and more like a family

=> Riker refuses to ship commands several times to stay with the crew of the enterprise

=> Crusher as mother

• Other family-topics in the series:

=> Worf + son

=> Data + daughter

=> Picard + son

In The Next Generation, which was produced at the end of the 1980s, and the beginning of the 1990s, the family as a topic has been used more often than in TOS of the 60s.

'''Other references to our reality:'''

They try to conserve the earthly culture, they drink Earl Grey tea, they read and cite James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Sherlock Holmes, they listen to classical music and talk of the 80s and 90s as the good old times.

''Question'': The crew of the Enterprise presents our reality in a positive way. What kind of message does the producer convey?

Hi folks,
it would be nice, if you watch the first two episodes ("The Emissary pt.1 &2") of DS9 as a preparation for the Wednesday session. They should be available at the Mediathek... If you want to see more episodes, feel free to watch some post-season-three stuff, because the plot dramatically changed then. Watch out for topics like Religion, Interpersonal conflicts and differences between DS9 and other Star Trek stuff...Manuel Saralidis 14:58, 12 November 2007 (CET)

Hello,
just to remind you... I put the Deep Space Nine Introduction slides and summary as a PDF on StudIP where you can download them... Cheers... [[User:Manuel Saralidis|Manuel Saralidis]] 22:05, 29 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 21, 2007: The Star Trek Universe III: ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005)==
The Sequels ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005) same question: Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
´

Voyager
Interesting subjects could be that of terrorism, fear of communism (as the Borg play an important role in voyager), Human values, the Prime Directive, a parallel Universe (Species 8472), Collaboration of species that are enemies but that become allies when a species more powerful than them appears,

Also: Female positions
- Voyager is the first of all Star Trek Series, that has a female Captain!
- Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is the first Chief Engineer on board of a Star Trek Vessel

Also: The Maquis rebellion

Dear Participants.
I put the presentation on "Voyager" on Stud IP under "Dateien"

Ann-Kathrin Uden

==Nov 28, 2007: God in a World of Miracles - Star Trek and Religion==
Is there a God out there? What is the Federation's religion? None or that of a secular state granting religious freedom? Why don't we have Arabs on board of the Star Trek vessels? How do the Federation's travelers react when confronted with religions out there?

I would like to write a paper on Star Trek and Religion. As i haven't read any literature yet, my ideas are still pretty general. But mainly I think i will be dealing with questions like: what view on religion and belief is conveyed in Star Trek (pro or con religion, atheist?) and HOW is it conveyed? This could probably be based on DS 9 and the whole "wormhole aliens vs. phrophets (bajoranian belief)" issue. ([[User:Stephan Schmidt|Stephan Schmidt]] 14:16, 7 November 2007 (CET))

Hey. I just skipped through some webpages to find pieces of information about the religious content in Star Trek and its spin-offs. Here are some webpages that deal with religion. While the majority is fan-made, others document the topic from a more objective point of view.

*http://www.star-trek-religionen.de/index1.htm
*http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/religion.htm
*http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Human_religion
*http://www.newstrekker.com/archiv/startrek_02_03.htm
*http://www.ibka.org/node/603
** and here the speech: http://ibka.org/en/files/Braga.mp3

Just take a look [[User:Tobias Penski|Tobias Penski]] 22:10, 21 November 2007 (CET)

'''TOS on Religion'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais_%28TOS_episode%29 Who Mourns for Adonais, September 22, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_%28TOS_episode%29 The Apple, October 13, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, November 8, 1968]

'''Movies'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V:_The_Final_Frontier The Final Frontier, 1989]

'''Literature'''
*Ros S. Kraemer, "Is there a God in the Universe?", in Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. (eds.), ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001, p.15-56 [http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2001_religions_of_star_trek_p15-57.pdf link]

==Dec 5, 2007: Technotopia==
Star Trek is (from warp-drives to beaming facilities) full of inventions we are still waiting for - and peculiarly lacking others we developed instead (like those mobile phones we use for normal conversations rather than short commands). It is said to have motivated research - yet it is too simple to see it as a simple glorification of technological progress...

*[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2004_shapiro__star_trek.pdf Alan Shapiro, ''Star Trek. Technoloies of Disappearance (2004)]
*[[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/ds9-ep20.divx DS9 Special Episode on with religious emphasis]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden_%28TOS_episode%29_TOS_#75 ''The Way to Eden''] Spock makes friends with a sect of hippies.

==Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities==

Debate with [[Alan N. Shapiro]]. Course reading: Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004.

'''Summary: Chapter Two "THE LAST COMPUTER"''' (John Müller)

In chapter two, “The Last Computer“, Shapiro talks about computers and their functions/capabilities in the 23rd century. In a second step, he compares those future computers to our late 20th century computer technology and draws some interesting conclusions as far as own perception is concerned. In order to support his point, Shapiro takes a look at two episodes from TOS (“A Taste Of Armageddon” [Ep. 23] and “The Ultimate Computer” [Ep. 53]).

In “A Taste Of Armageddon” there are two computers which are war with one another, or, in other words, there are two neighboring planets which have been at war for centuries, but, instead of waging a real war with real weapons, they have chosen to let computers simulate their war for them. The computers on both worlds are linked and independently launch attacks on each other. But even though the fighting remains in the realms of virtual reality, the consequences do not: The perfection of this war is taken so far that both computers calculate damage and casualties on their home worlds and force the people who are registered as victims in the simulation to also become victims in real life. Once a citizen is “killed” in the simulation through a hostile attack, he/she has to report to a “disintegration machine” and then vanish in order to obey to the rules of the simulated computer-war.

Apart from the moral implications of this virtual war and the stance Kirk and his crew take towards it (needless to say the computers are dismantled in the end and the warring parties start real peace negotiations for the first time), Shapiro compares the computer-war with our late 20th century reality and the role computers play in it. He uses the example of the 1991 Gulf War and, citing philosopher Boudrillard and his works, Shapiro states that the allied actions taken against dictator Hussein are not too different from the computer-war displayed in “A Taste Of Armageddon”. Before even one missile was launched in the Gulf region, hundreds of military strategists were “endlessly analyzing scenarios” (p. 87) and the many casualties they foresaw in their simulated attacks became to be viewed as inescapable losses that served a greater cause. “Their deaths are pre-calculated. They are ‘collateral damage’” (p. 87). Besides this cold and “mechanical” view at the lives of innocent citizens, the Gulf War and the computer war in the TOS episode have one more thing in common: Like with the two computers in the episode there hardly was any “real” encounter between the two warring parties in the Gulf War: For the far more technologically advanced allied forces the war was won in advance in realm of simulations, for the far less advanced Iraqi soldiers the war had already been lost before it fully broke out at all.
In Shapiro’s opinion the same logic also works for the “war on terrorism”: The American idea of the preemptive strike against anyone who might support or become an ally to Al-Qaida or the even more elusive concept of the “axis of evil” show that, at the beginning of the 21st century, US military operations are more and more withdrawn into the realm of calculations and probability, where a “potential attacker and enemy [...] exists as informational entity or statistical propensity, endlessly speculated on and reported in the virtual realm of the media” (p. 88).

In the second episode, “The Ultimate Computer” the TOS crew is once again faced with a situation not unlike the one described above: An all-new computer, “M-5” designed to be capable of replacing an entire starship crew, is to be installed and tested aboard the Enterprise by its creator, the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Daystrom. During the test the “M-5” takes over for the humans and then performs a variety of standard procedures, including both scientific and strategic operations – which at first work well. During the strategic drill, however, the “M-5” mistakes an unarmed and unmanned freighter for a real enemy and destroys it. Due to the fact that, for some reason, the computer cannot be switched off at that point, things start to turn for the worst: The computer assumes complete control over all of the ship’s systems, displays an arrogant and superior “personality” (not unlike that of its creator) and then attacks the four sister ships of the Enterprise which had been gathered for the simulated drill. After the “M-5” has almost destroyed the ships and many lives have been lost, Captain Kirk finally has a talk with the resilient piece of machinery. Convinced that it is the “ultimate achievement in computer evolution” (p. 93) the “M-5” believes that it must survive by all means in order to be able to protect man. Kirk finally manages it to convince the “M-5” that it has already committed murder, and, by doing so, it has lost its rights to survive. The “M-5” eventually sees the logic in Kirk’s words and, in an act of self-punishment, destroys itself.

“The Ultimate Computer” deals with the human fear to one day be replaced and/or threatened by super-intelligent computers that exceed human capacities by far. Shapiro states that in TOS there generally was a rather negative attitude towards super-intelligent computers (be it false-god-computers like Vaal in “The Apple“ and the Oracle in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” or be it the superior machines like M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” and Nomad in “The Changeling”). He points out, however, that this fear of being outwitted and replaced one day only “deters us from the fact that we are already computerized (or deeply enmeshed with digital technology)” (p. 94). Despite the fact that his thesis makes sense to some extent (i.e. Internet, cell phones, computer games etc.) he fails to give the reader some clear cut examples to support his idea. I can only guess that it has something to do with the digital and computerized world we live in today. However, his point (if there is any) remains much more elusive than with the comparison between the Gulf War(s) and the computer war – which makes a lot of sense and, in my opinion, is a very interesting way of looking at post-modern (and western) warfare.

'''Summary: Chapter Six Wormholes'''

In chapter six Shapiro discusses wormholes in Star Trek and general SF as well as the scientific practicability of wormholes in reality. Firstly, he gives a broad overview on the DS9 pilot [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary Emissary] that is the basis of his discussion. By doing so, he stresses Commander Sisko's encounter with the wormhole aliens that in Shapiro's words, ultimately leads to a ''“true symbolic exchange between Commander Sisko and the wormhole aliens […] (p. 200)”''.

Secondly, he begins his discussion on the physics of wormholes by commenting publications dealing with Star Trek technologies such as Lawrence M. Krauss' ''The Physics of Star Trek''. In opinion those publications endorse Star Trek's key technologies in order to satisfy the fanbase and at the same time they refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics pataphysical] praticability - that is, some sort of philisophical physics. Furthermore, Shaphiro brings to light that in many papers on the subject wormholes are regarded as time travel devices (p. 202). Especially, in Voyager and DS9 beaming and wormholes are combined in order to travel in time as it is shown in the episodes [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations Trials and Tribble-ations] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Eye_of_the_Needle Eye of the Needle]. Technically, time travel scenarios are created with digital recomposition, set reconstruction, frame-by-frame shadow masking and the likes.

Looking at SF film in general Shaphiro points out that many film makers and writers have been obsessed with time travel stories and parallel dimensions for decades (see Dr. Who, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future etc.). And often they pursued the psychological goal to exterminate the ''"radical otherness of history and other cultures, to short-circuit the difficult course of mourning, to meet up with none other than myself (yourself ?) (p. 202)"''

Moreover, he explains this psychological goal by outlining the scientific works of so-called philosopher physicists like Richard Feynman who have dealt with wormholes and time travel on a scientific level refering to the frontier possibilities of the laws of physics (Einstein's theories of 1905 and 1915). As he further emphasizes the development of time travel pataphysics up to the 1970s and 80s, Shaphiro argues if these theories cannot be held up in a real world context, even if they seem plausible in generic SF settings (p. 211).

Lastly, leaving all scientific theories on time travel and wormholes behind, Shaphiro poses the question if time travel in Star Trek rather presupposes a specific human notion of time: ''One example of this is the idea implicit in the "block universe model" of spacetime that the future is already "out there" or already exists. This is the future-orientation of time in the statistical worldview, or the the future's simulation. It is opposed to the existential view that the future is yet to be decided. The whish for time travel to the past is another, complementary component of the human and hyper-real notion of time. (p. 213)'' --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 15:42, 11 December 2007 (CET)

'''Summary: Chapter three “The Transporter” [How the Transporter “Really Works”]

Episode serving as an example: “The Enemy Within”'''

(written by Arne Poller)

On a routine geological survey on the planet Alpha 177 the landing party has discovered a doglike creature. A member of the crew gets injured and yellow stains from a magnetic ore are all over his clothes. Probably those are interrupting the beaming process when he tries to beam back up. After doubts whether the transporter machinery is safe Captain Kirk beams up and reappears with a weakened look. While Scotty helps the ‘weak’ Kirk he leaves the Transporter Room unattended. A second ‘savage looking’ Kirk appears in the Room. It turns out that an accident in the transporting process has caused the rematerialisation of a ‘Weak Kirk’ and an ‘Evil Kirk’.
While ‘Weak Kirk’ rests in his room ‘Evil Kirk’ walks around within the ship and is doing silly things (grabs Dr. McCoy by the scruff, seizes Yeoman Rand fiercely by the shoulder…).
At the same time Scotty has figured out that a ‘complete breakdown’ of the operational condition of the transporter has taken place. After Captain Kirk was beamed aboard they tried to beam up the doglike creature with the result of having nonidentical twins. One is gentle and timid, the other is widely agitated and violent. Afraid of the consequences they don’t dare to beam up the rest of the crew. That leaves the landing crew stranded on the planet with the life-threatening prospect of an oncoming freezing nightfall. After interviewing ‘Weak Kirk’ Spock realizes that there must be an imposter aboard the ship. Spock and McCoy hypothesize that ‘Weak Kirk’ is lacking his negative side, which, when ‘properly controlled and disciplined’, endow the Captain with his special ability to command a starship. They catch ‘Evil Kirk’ on one of the lower decks.
“I have to take him back inside myself” ‘Weak Kirk’ recognizes. “I can’t survive without him.”
As Scotty gets the system up and running they first try a test. The two duplicate doglike creatures are send through. Out of the two only one reappears which is dead. The creature was rejoint into a single being, it did not outlive the shock of reunification due to its fear. Finally the duplicate Kirk’s have to take the risk in order to safe the stranded crew. They hope that human intelligence disciplining his trepidation will make a difference. As they get ready to energize, ‘Weak Kirk’ smiles to Spock, Bones, and Scotty, signalling that he has no fear. Finally the ‘real Kirk’ reappears and the stranded crew will be rescued, too.

Shapiro argues that “the mishap of the transporter, the Holodeck, or warp speed is emphasized on Star Trek above the normal operation of the system. ‘Evil Kirk’ is the intrinsic accident that belongs by necessity to the transporter. Every technology has both a rational purpose and a build-in accident ‘waiting to happen’.”
Created by Roddenberry as a convenient way of saving money, Star Trek expresses its profound ambivalence towards the technology of the transporter.
Following Shapiro the trickery of technology rouses the principle of evil, of the vital necessity of evil for the survival of good. ‘Evil Kirk’ is a required and integral portion of Captain Kirk. “The deep-rooted accident of the duplicate Kirk turns a questioning spotlight on the ‘essence’ of the transporter, which is the absolutist phantasmagoria of total knowledge of a person captured in a digital pattern image or ‘quantum physics’ snapshot of their subatomic particles.”
Shapiro asks if techno-scientific enthusiasm truly is Star Trek’s worldview.

How the Transporter “Really works”
Over the decades there was a paradigm shift in Star Trek’s beaming technology and how it works.
The original notion: Dematerialization – rematerialization, matter-to-energy conversion and back to physical transporter.
Digital transporter: The concept of blueprint formula-like, cloning – or information-based digital transporter.
Quantum teleporter: The idea of ‘entangled photon pairs’ (already been built experimentally by physicists for light particle ‘passengers’.
[For exact function look at Shapiro p.102 l.5]

“The newer postmodernist digital transporter and hypermodernist quantum teleporter gesture towards a paradigm shift in the predominant definition of what it means to be human. Within this posthuman paradigm, it is conceded that a copy of myself, either created from the same model informational digital pattern or emanating from an initiatory quantum mechanical techno-scientific coupled entanglement, is identical to me.”

==Dec 19, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek I: From the United States of America to the Federation==
*What happened between 1966 and the year 2300?
*A culture that does not (want to) rely on imperialism, technical superiority or the strength of its capitalism - and a winner even though.

==Jan 9, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek II: Power on Board==
* Power on board: Collisions of interests, personal loyalty and professional obedience
* Power on a universal scale: Star ship vs. Federation
* Different races
* Gender politics

==Jan 16, 2008: Is the "Prime Directive" the prime directive?==
What are the real ideals of the Start Trek Universe?

==Jan 23, 2008: Genres: What can happen in the Star Trek universe and what cannot?==
*The original shows were not really free when it came to the way of how stories had to be told. The episode had to be over within 45 minutes, it had to offer a problem and a solution. We shall look at generic questions and narratology: What kinds of episodes existed (from comedy to drama), what perspectives do we get on the plotlines? How did the art of story telling evolve from TOS to DS9?
*Is Star Trek a Utopian series? What is Science Fiction compared to Fantasy? What otions within the genre does the Star Trek universe realise?

==Jan 30, 2008: The Fan World==
*On the interaction between the Star Trek Universe and its fan community.
*Startrek and kids - a special look on children and adolescents in the Star Trek universe
*Perhaps most outrageous fan project: [http://www.startreknewvoyages.com Star Trek: New Voyages] - a continuation of TOS.

==Feb 5, 2008: A Look Back on our Seminar==
===Topics===
* Concepts of Evolution and Progress

===Literature===

*Engel, Joel. ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind'' Star Trek. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
::One of the first critical biographies that appeared after Roddenberry's death.

* Shatner, William/ Kreshi, Chris. ''Star Trek Memories''. New York: Harper & Collins, 1993.
:: Offers insight into the production.

* Tulloch, John/ Jenkins, Henry. ''Science Giction Audiences: Watching'' Doctor Who'' and ''Star Trek. London: Routledge, 1995.
:: On the fan community and interaction.

*Solow, Herb and Justman, Robert H. ''Inside'' Star Trek: ''The Real Story''. New York: Pocket, 1996.
::One of the critical revisoions which appeared after Roddenbery's death.

* Gentejohan, Volker, ''Narratives from the'' Final Frontier: ''A Postcolonial Reading of the Original Star Trek Series''. Frankfurt a. M./ Berlin: Peter Lang, 2000. 161 pp.
:: Dissertation, German in its structure: What is postcolonialism? Then apply the theory an see it works. The readings create a congruity where there might be not so much of it. Character analysis and special questions revealing the basically American cultural centre, the phalLogocentrism of the series.

* Gregory, Chris. Star Trek: ''Parallel Narratives'' Houndsmills/ Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
:: Good Bibliography. Central idea: Star Trek evolving into a mythological system. Written with the awareness of immense changes within the Star Trek universe – changes due to changing options under which TV-shows and movies could be produced over the years. Analysis of interaction and differences between main producers of TOS Roddenberry Coon (he produced much of the Federation’s political framework) and Frieberger (third season with its many recycled shows).

* Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001. 246 pp.
:: Multi facetted and extremely inspiring.

*Kanzler, Katja. ''"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations", The Multicultural Evolution of STAR TREK''. Heidelberg, Winter, 2004.
:: Explores the multiculturalism of the Star Trek universe – as a popular and commercial concept. Written with a good deal of fascination.

* Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004. 369 pp. ISBN 3-930064-16-2.
:: Technologies of the Star Trek universe from "beaming" to ''warp'' spead. Question what they betray if read by a cultural historian.

* Broderick, James F. ''The literary galaxy of'' Star Trek: ''An analysis of references and themes in the television series and films''. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2006. vi, 233 pp. ISBN 0-7864-2571-7
:: Intertextuality and literary motives from quest to vampirism.

* Relke, Diana M. A. ''Drones, Clones, and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting'' Star Trek's ''humanism, post-9/11''. Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2006. xx, 168 pp. ISBN 1-552-38164-1, ISBN 978-1-552-38164-9
:: What does ''Star Trek'' tell us about the US?

* Geraghty, Lincoln. ''Living with'' Star Trek: American culture and the Star Trek universe (London [etc.]: Tauris, 2007), VIII, 232 pp.
::Esp. on fandom.

* Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). ''The influence of'' Star Trek ''on television, film, and culture''. [=''Critical explorations in science fiction and fantasy'', 4]. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-3034-5
:: "Examining Star Trek from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it" (Publisher).

===Links===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek on en.wikipedia.org]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes The Original Series episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_episodes The Next Generation episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_episodes Deep Space Nine episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Voyager_episodes Voyager episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Enterprise_episodes Enterprise episodes]
*[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS Memory Alpha, Star Trek Wiki]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5285732.stm Which is the definitive Star Trek?]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/ BBC Star Trek Cult Page]
*[http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=star+trek&tab=all&recipe=all More BBC Star Trek Results]
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2069660,00.html Guardian Article: Beam me up Scotty: Star Trek actor's ashes sent into space]

[[Category:Abschlussmodul]]
[[Category:Winter 2007-2008|2008-1]]

2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-12-11T18:02:40Z

Arne Poller: /* Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities */

{|align=right width=500px
!bgcolor=#FFFF80|Open Accounts: First name, blank, second name
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think of topics of your interest, put them under the headlines we have discussed, sign <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> and safe
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note that we will have a guest on Dec. 12. See you, --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 20:01, 11 November 2007 (CET)
|}
* '''Time:''' We 4-6 pm
* '''Place:''' A10 1-121a
* '''Contact:''' [[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]]

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''Star Trek'' is far more than a TV-series. It is a cultural phenomenon with enormous ramifications marked by substantial plot developments, and it is a powerful piece of fiction due to its wide range of cultural, philosophical, aesthetic and political allusions. The original series became a cult classic, the Star Trek universe it created does in retrospect bridge generations and political gaps such as the Cold War with its East/West-confrontation (mirrored within the series by disruptions of original interstellar confrontations).

The Seminar will deal with the following topics. If you have plans for seminar papers list them bellow. (Discuss the present course outline on the course's discussion page if you feel you cannot see under which heading your topic could appear).

Do mention individual episodes (refer to english wikipedia - you find links bellow) wherever you feel that this is a sequence we must deal with under the given headline (I am not so well informed about the later sequels):

__TOC__

==Oct 24 2007: Brainstorming==

==Oct 31 2007: The Star Trek Universe I: ''The Original Series'' (1966–1969)==
'''Preparation:'''
* Production background
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cage_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Cage''], the unsuccessful pilot - filmed in November-December 1964, but not broadcast on television in its complete form until 1988.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Man Trap''], aired on Thursday, September 8, 1966.

'''Topics to discuss:'''
* Captain Kirk vs. Captain Pike - types, roles, heroism
* Women
* Spock I and Spock II

'''Possible topics of Seminar papers:'''
*Comparison of The Cage - the original pilot - and and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Menagerie_%28TOS_episode%29 ''The Menagerie''] pts. 1-2 aired November 17 and November 24, 1966.
*The composition of a successful team - a seminar paper which might take a special look at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28TOS_episode%29 ''Mirror, Mirror''] broadcast on October 6, 1967 - where we get a positive and a negative Enterprise crew.

==Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies==
As I have to disappoint you on Wed 7: a night at my place (Tannenkampstr. 12) - we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine (you might provide the latter).
:We might begin around 6pm - those who will have to arrive later can do so and join us any time - it will probably be a long night. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:08, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 14, 2007: The Star Trek Universe II: ''Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999)==
The Sequels ''The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
----

Next Generation

Hi everybody! Since we were not able to present all the information of our presentation in the session, here are some points that might be interesting.

'''Info about the series'''

• First episode: 1987 in the US

• 7 seasons, 176 episodes

• It was longer on screen than TOS (80 episodes – 176 episodes)

• Encounter at Farpoint (the pilot): received by 94 % of all households in the US

• Later still very successful, 1st place of the TV series (18-49 years)

=> Advertisement

=> 1 Mio $ per episode

=> Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Hawkins, Dwight Schulz (A-Team) etc. acted in some of the episodes

'''Content:'''

• Single episodes with an action which is self-explanatory

o But: some episodes refer to the content of other episodes, e.g. Season 3, “The best of both worlds”, season 7, “Bloodlines”

• 100 years later

• Different characters

• Some episodes (e.g. the second episode) have similar plots as episodes of TOS or refer directly to them

• Sometimes visits from characters of the old Enterprise

'''Introduction of the main characters'''

• '''Picard''': Captain of the new Enterprise, different to Kirk, strictly sticks to the Prime Directive, total loyalty to his crew, dislikes children, develops to a more sympathetic man during the series

• '''Riker''': 1st Commander, love affairs, attractive to female characters, sympathetic

• '''Data''': 2nd Commander, the only Android of the Starfleet, counterpart to Spock (e.g. does not understand any sarcasm), asks for definitions, tries to be human

• '''Troi''': Counsellor, Beta Zoid, feelings/emotions, very attractive, later she is the only woman on the bridge

• '''Dr. Crusher''': Doctor, family values, “mother” of the crew, together with Troi: more female power on the ship than in TOS

• '''Worf''': Lieutenant Commander, Klingon, high moral Klingon values, later chief security officer, integrated, sympathetic, represents action and strength on the Enterprise

• '''LaForge''': Lieutenant Commander, later chief engineer

'''Family'''

• families on board who are being evacuated (in the pilot)

• Wesley: child becomes a main character

• Picard dislikes children

• Throughout the series: the crew appears more and more like a family

=> Riker refuses to ship commands several times to stay with the crew of the enterprise

=> Crusher as mother

• Other family-topics in the series:

=> Worf + son

=> Data + daughter

=> Picard + son

In The Next Generation, which was produced at the end of the 1980s, and the beginning of the 1990s, the family as a topic has been used more often than in TOS of the 60s.

'''Other references to our reality:'''

They try to conserve the earthly culture, they drink Earl Grey tea, they read and cite James Joyce, Shakespeare, and Sherlock Holmes, they listen to classical music and talk of the 80s and 90s as the good old times.

''Question'': The crew of the Enterprise presents our reality in a positive way. What kind of message does the producer convey?

Hi folks,
it would be nice, if you watch the first two episodes ("The Emissary pt.1 &2") of DS9 as a preparation for the Wednesday session. They should be available at the Mediathek... If you want to see more episodes, feel free to watch some post-season-three stuff, because the plot dramatically changed then. Watch out for topics like Religion, Interpersonal conflicts and differences between DS9 and other Star Trek stuff...Manuel Saralidis 14:58, 12 November 2007 (CET)

Hello,
just to remind you... I put the Deep Space Nine Introduction slides and summary as a PDF on StudIP where you can download them... Cheers... [[User:Manuel Saralidis|Manuel Saralidis]] 22:05, 29 November 2007 (CET)

==Nov 21, 2007: The Star Trek Universe III: ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005)==
The Sequels ''Voyager'' (1995–2001) and ''Enterprise'' (2001–2005) same question: Where does the ongoing production reflect ongoing historical developments? A comparison of the different generations.
´

Voyager
Interesting subjects could be that of terrorism, fear of communism (as the Borg play an important role in voyager), Human values, the Prime Directive, a parallel Universe (Species 8472), Collaboration of species that are enemies but that become allies when a species more powerful than them appears,

Also: Female positions
- Voyager is the first of all Star Trek Series, that has a female Captain!
- Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres is the first Chief Engineer on board of a Star Trek Vessel

Also: The Maquis rebellion

Dear Participants.
I put the presentation on "Voyager" on Stud IP under "Dateien"

Ann-Kathrin Uden

==Nov 28, 2007: God in a World of Miracles - Star Trek and Religion==
Is there a God out there? What is the Federation's religion? None or that of a secular state granting religious freedom? Why don't we have Arabs on board of the Star Trek vessels? How do the Federation's travelers react when confronted with religions out there?

I would like to write a paper on Star Trek and Religion. As i haven't read any literature yet, my ideas are still pretty general. But mainly I think i will be dealing with questions like: what view on religion and belief is conveyed in Star Trek (pro or con religion, atheist?) and HOW is it conveyed? This could probably be based on DS 9 and the whole "wormhole aliens vs. phrophets (bajoranian belief)" issue. ([[User:Stephan Schmidt|Stephan Schmidt]] 14:16, 7 November 2007 (CET))

Hey. I just skipped through some webpages to find pieces of information about the religious content in Star Trek and its spin-offs. Here are some webpages that deal with religion. While the majority is fan-made, others document the topic from a more objective point of view.

*http://www.star-trek-religionen.de/index1.htm
*http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/religion.htm
*http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Human_religion
*http://www.newstrekker.com/archiv/startrek_02_03.htm
*http://www.ibka.org/node/603
** and here the speech: http://ibka.org/en/files/Braga.mp3

Just take a look [[User:Tobias Penski|Tobias Penski]] 22:10, 21 November 2007 (CET)

'''TOS on Religion'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais_%28TOS_episode%29 Who Mourns for Adonais, September 22, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apple_%28TOS_episode%29 The Apple, October 13, 1967]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_World_Is_Hollow_and_I_Have_Touched_the_Sky For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky, November 8, 1968]

'''Movies'''
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V:_The_Final_Frontier The Final Frontier, 1989]

'''Literature'''
*Ros S. Kraemer, "Is there a God in the Universe?", in Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. (eds.), ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001, p.15-56 [http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2001_religions_of_star_trek_p15-57.pdf link]

==Dec 5, 2007: Technotopia==
Star Trek is (from warp-drives to beaming facilities) full of inventions we are still waiting for - and peculiarly lacking others we developed instead (like those mobile phones we use for normal conversations rather than short commands). It is said to have motivated research - yet it is too simple to see it as a simple glorification of technological progress...

*[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/2004_shapiro__star_trek.pdf Alan Shapiro, ''Star Trek. Technoloies of Disappearance (2004)]
*[[http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/anglistik/lit-wiss/intro-to-literature/d/ds9-ep20.divx DS9 Special Episode on with religious emphasis]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Eden_%28TOS_episode%29_TOS_#75 ''The Way to Eden''] Spock makes friends with a sect of hippies.

==Dec 12, 2007: Technologies of Disappearance — Fan Research and Criticism produced in the Humanities==

Debate with [[Alan N. Shapiro]]. Course reading: Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004.

'''Summary: Chapter Two "THE LAST COMPUTER"''' (John Müller)

In chapter two, “The Last Computer“, Shapiro talks about computers and their functions/capabilities in the 23rd century. In a second step, he compares those future computers to our late 20th century computer technology and draws some interesting conclusions as far as own perception is concerned. In order to support his point, Shapiro takes a look at two episodes from TOS (“A Taste Of Armageddon” [Ep. 23] and “The Ultimate Computer” [Ep. 53]).

In “A Taste Of Armageddon” there are two computers which are war with one another, or, in other words, there are two neighboring planets which have been at war for centuries, but, instead of waging a real war with real weapons, they have chosen to let computers simulate their war for them. The computers on both worlds are linked and independently launch attacks on each other. But even though the fighting remains in the realms of virtual reality, the consequences do not: The perfection of this war is taken so far that both computers calculate damage and casualties on their home worlds and force the people who are registered as victims in the simulation to also become victims in real life. Once a citizen is “killed” in the simulation through a hostile attack, he/she has to report to a “disintegration machine” and then vanish in order to obey to the rules of the simulated computer-war.

Apart from the moral implications of this virtual war and the stance Kirk and his crew take towards it (needless to say the computers are dismantled in the end and the warring parties start real peace negotiations for the first time), Shapiro compares the computer-war with our late 20th century reality and the role computers play in it. He uses the example of the 1991 Gulf War and, citing philosopher Boudrillard and his works, Shapiro states that the allied actions taken against dictator Hussein are not too different from the computer-war displayed in “A Taste Of Armageddon”. Before even one missile was launched in the Gulf region, hundreds of military strategists were “endlessly analyzing scenarios” (p. 87) and the many casualties they foresaw in their simulated attacks became to be viewed as inescapable losses that served a greater cause. “Their deaths are pre-calculated. They are ‘collateral damage’” (p. 87). Besides this cold and “mechanical” view at the lives of innocent citizens, the Gulf War and the computer war in the TOS episode have one more thing in common: Like with the two computers in the episode there hardly was any “real” encounter between the two warring parties in the Gulf War: For the far more technologically advanced allied forces the war was won in advance in realm of simulations, for the far less advanced Iraqi soldiers the war had already been lost before it fully broke out at all.
In Shapiro’s opinion the same logic also works for the “war on terrorism”: The American idea of the preemptive strike against anyone who might support or become an ally to Al-Qaida or the even more elusive concept of the “axis of evil” show that, at the beginning of the 21st century, US military operations are more and more withdrawn into the realm of calculations and probability, where a “potential attacker and enemy [...] exists as informational entity or statistical propensity, endlessly speculated on and reported in the virtual realm of the media” (p. 88).

In the second episode, “The Ultimate Computer” the TOS crew is once again faced with a situation not unlike the one described above: An all-new computer, “M-5” designed to be capable of replacing an entire starship crew, is to be installed and tested aboard the Enterprise by its creator, the brilliant but arrogant Dr. Daystrom. During the test the “M-5” takes over for the humans and then performs a variety of standard procedures, including both scientific and strategic operations – which at first work well. During the strategic drill, however, the “M-5” mistakes an unarmed and unmanned freighter for a real enemy and destroys it. Due to the fact that, for some reason, the computer cannot be switched off at that point, things start to turn for the worst: The computer assumes complete control over all of the ship’s systems, displays an arrogant and superior “personality” (not unlike that of its creator) and then attacks the four sister ships of the Enterprise which had been gathered for the simulated drill. After the “M-5” has almost destroyed the ships and many lives have been lost, Captain Kirk finally has a talk with the resilient piece of machinery. Convinced that it is the “ultimate achievement in computer evolution” (p. 93) the “M-5” believes that it must survive by all means in order to be able to protect man. Kirk finally manages it to convince the “M-5” that it has already committed murder, and, by doing so, it has lost its rights to survive. The “M-5” eventually sees the logic in Kirk’s words and, in an act of self-punishment, destroys itself.

“The Ultimate Computer” deals with the human fear to one day be replaced and/or threatened by super-intelligent computers that exceed human capacities by far. Shapiro states that in TOS there generally was a rather negative attitude towards super-intelligent computers (be it false-god-computers like Vaal in “The Apple“ and the Oracle in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky” or be it the superior machines like M-5 in “The Ultimate Computer” and Nomad in “The Changeling”). He points out, however, that this fear of being outwitted and replaced one day only “deters us from the fact that we are already computerized (or deeply enmeshed with digital technology)” (p. 94). Despite the fact that his thesis makes sense to some extent (i.e. Internet, cell phones, computer games etc.) he fails to give the reader some clear cut examples to support his idea. I can only guess that it has something to do with the digital and computerized world we live in today. However, his point (if there is any) remains much more elusive than with the comparison between the Gulf War(s) and the computer war – which makes a lot of sense and, in my opinion, is a very interesting way of looking at post-modern (and western) warfare.

'''Summary: Chapter Six Wormholes'''

In chapter six Shapiro discusses wormholes in Star Trek and general SF as well as the scientific practicability of wormholes in reality. Firstly, he gives a broad overview on the DS9 pilot [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary Emissary] that is the basis of his discussion. By doing so, he stresses Commander Sisko's encounter with the wormhole aliens that in Shapiro's words, ultimately leads to a ''“true symbolic exchange between Commander Sisko and the wormhole aliens […] (p. 200)”''.

Secondly, he begins his discussion on the physics of wormholes by commenting publications dealing with Star Trek technologies such as Lawrence M. Krauss' ''The Physics of Star Trek''. In opinion those publications endorse Star Trek's key technologies in order to satisfy the fanbase and at the same time they refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphysics pataphysical] praticability - that is, some sort of philisophical physics. Furthermore, Shaphiro brings to light that in many papers on the subject wormholes are regarded as time travel devices (p. 202). Especially, in Voyager and DS9 beaming and wormholes are combined in order to travel in time as it is shown in the episodes [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Trials_and_Tribble-ations Trials and Tribble-ations] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Eye_of_the_Needle Eye of the Needle]. Technically, time travel scenarios are created with digital recomposition, set reconstruction, frame-by-frame shadow masking and the likes.

Looking at SF film in general Shaphiro points out that many film makers and writers have been obsessed with time travel stories and parallel dimensions for decades (see Dr. Who, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future etc.). And often they pursued the psychological goal to exterminate the ''"radical otherness of history and other cultures, to short-circuit the difficult course of mourning, to meet up with none other than myself (yourself ?) (p. 202)"''

Moreover, he explains this psychological goal by outlining the scientific works of so-called philosopher physicists like Richard Feynman who have dealt with wormholes and time travel on a scientific level refering to the frontier possibilities of the laws of physics (Einstein's theories of 1905 and 1915). As he further emphasizes the development of time travel pataphysics up to the 1970s and 80s, Shaphiro argues if these theories cannot be held up in a real world context, even if they seem plausible in generic SF settings (p. 211).

Lastly, leaving all scientific theories on time travel and wormholes behind, Shaphiro poses the question if time travel in Star Trek rather presupposes a specific human notion of time: ''One example of this is the idea implicit in the "block universe model" of spacetime that the future is already "out there" or already exists. This is the future-orientation of time in the statistical worldview, or the the future's simulation. It is opposed to the existential view that the future is yet to be decided. The whish for time travel to the past is another, complementary component of the human and hyper-real notion of time. (p. 213)'' --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 15:42, 11 December 2007 (CET)

Summary: Chapter three “The Transporter” [How the Transporter “Really Works”]
Episode serving as an example: “The Enemy Within”
(written by Arne Poller)
On a routine geological survey on the planet Alpha 177 the landing party has discovered a doglike creature. A member of the crew gets injured and yellow stains from a magnetic ore are all over his clothes. Probably those are interrupting the beaming process when he tries to beam back up. After doubts whether the transporter machinery is safe Captain Kirk beams up and reappears with a weakened look. While Scotty helps the ‘weak’ Kirk he leaves the Transporter Room unattended. A second ‘savage looking’ Kirk appears in the Room. It turns out that an accident in the transporting process has caused the rematerialisation of a ‘Weak Kirk’ and an ‘Evil Kirk’.
While ‘Weak Kirk’ rests in his room ‘Evil Kirk’ walks around within the ship and is doing silly things (grabs Dr. McCoy by the scruff, seizes Yeoman Rand fiercely by the shoulder…).
At the same time Scotty has figured out that a ‘complete breakdown’ of the operational condition of the transporter has taken place. After Captain Kirk was beamed aboard they tried to beam up the doglike creature with the result of having nonidentical twins. One is gentle and timid, the other is widely agitated and violent. Afraid of the consequences they don’t dare to beam up the rest of the crew. That leaves the landing crew stranded on the planet with the life-threatening prospect of an oncoming freezing nightfall. After interviewing ‘Weak Kirk’ Spock realizes that there must be an imposter aboard the ship. Spock and McCoy hypothesize that ‘Weak Kirk’ is lacking his negative side, which, when ‘properly controlled and disciplined’, endow the Captain with his special ability to command a starship. They catch ‘Evil Kirk’ on one of the lower decks.
“I have to take him back inside myself” ‘Weak Kirk’ recognizes. “I can’t survive without him.”
As Scotty gets the system up and running they first try a test. The two duplicate doglike creatures are send through. Out of the two only one reappears which is dead. The creature was rejoint into a single being, it did not outlive the shock of reunification due to its fear. Finally the duplicate Kirk’s have to take the risk in order to safe the stranded crew. They hope that human intelligence disciplining his trepidation will make a difference. As they get ready to energize, ‘Weak Kirk’ smiles to Spock, Bones, and Scotty, signalling that he has no fear. Finally the ‘real Kirk’ reappears and the stranded crew will be rescued, too.

Shapiro argues that “the mishap of the transporter, the Holodeck, or warp speed is emphasized on Star Trek above the normal operation of the system. ‘Evil Kirk’ is the intrinsic accident that belongs by necessity to the transporter. Every technology has both a rational purpose and a build-in accident ‘waiting to happen’.”
Created by Roddenberry as a convenient way of saving money, Star Trek expresses its profound ambivalence towards the technology of the transporter.
Following Shapiro the trickery of technology rouses the principle of evil, of the vital necessity of evil for the survival of good. ‘Evil Kirk’ is a required and integral portion of Captain Kirk. “The deep-rooted accident of the duplicate Kirk turns a questioning spotlight on the ‘essence’ of the transporter, which is the absolutist phantasmagoria of total knowledge of a person captured in a digital pattern image or ‘quantum physics’ snapshot of their subatomic particles.”
Shapiro asks if techno-scientific enthusiasm truly is Star Trek’s worldview.

How the Transporter “Really works”
Over the decades there was a paradigm shift in Star Trek’s beaming technology and how it works.
The original notion: Dematerialization – rematerialization, matter-to-energy conversion and back to physical transporter.
Digital transporter: The concept of blueprint formula-like, cloning – or information-based digital transporter.
Quantum teleporter: The idea of ‘entangled photon pairs’ (already been built experimentally by physicists for light particle ‘passengers’.
[For exact function look at Shapiro p.102 l.5]

“The newer postmodernist digital transporter and hypermodernist quantum teleporter gesture towards a paradigm shift in the predominant definition of what it means to be human. Within this posthuman paradigm, it is conceded that a copy of myself, either created from the same model informational digital pattern or emanating from an initiatory quantum mechanical techno-scientific coupled entanglement, is identical to me.”

==Dec 19, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek I: From the United States of America to the Federation==
*What happened between 1966 and the year 2300?
*A culture that does not (want to) rely on imperialism, technical superiority or the strength of its capitalism - and a winner even though.

==Jan 9, 2007: The Politics of Star Trek II: Power on Board==
* Power on board: Collisions of interests, personal loyalty and professional obedience
* Power on a universal scale: Star ship vs. Federation
* Different races
* Gender politics

==Jan 16, 2008: Is the "Prime Directive" the prime directive?==
What are the real ideals of the Start Trek Universe?

==Jan 23, 2008: Genres: What can happen in the Star Trek universe and what cannot?==
*The original shows were not really free when it came to the way of how stories had to be told. The episode had to be over within 45 minutes, it had to offer a problem and a solution. We shall look at generic questions and narratology: What kinds of episodes existed (from comedy to drama), what perspectives do we get on the plotlines? How did the art of story telling evolve from TOS to DS9?
*Is Star Trek a Utopian series? What is Science Fiction compared to Fantasy? What otions within the genre does the Star Trek universe realise?

==Jan 30, 2008: The Fan World==
*On the interaction between the Star Trek Universe and its fan community.
*Startrek and kids - a special look on children and adolescents in the Star Trek universe
*Perhaps most outrageous fan project: [http://www.startreknewvoyages.com Star Trek: New Voyages] - a continuation of TOS.

==Feb 5, 2008: A Look Back on our Seminar==
===Topics===
* Concepts of Evolution and Progress

===Literature===

*Engel, Joel. ''Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind'' Star Trek. New York: Hyperion, 1994.
::One of the first critical biographies that appeared after Roddenberry's death.

* Shatner, William/ Kreshi, Chris. ''Star Trek Memories''. New York: Harper & Collins, 1993.
:: Offers insight into the production.

* Tulloch, John/ Jenkins, Henry. ''Science Giction Audiences: Watching'' Doctor Who'' and ''Star Trek. London: Routledge, 1995.
:: On the fan community and interaction.

*Solow, Herb and Justman, Robert H. ''Inside'' Star Trek: ''The Real Story''. New York: Pocket, 1996.
::One of the critical revisoions which appeared after Roddenbery's death.

* Gentejohan, Volker, ''Narratives from the'' Final Frontier: ''A Postcolonial Reading of the Original Star Trek Series''. Frankfurt a. M./ Berlin: Peter Lang, 2000. 161 pp.
:: Dissertation, German in its structure: What is postcolonialism? Then apply the theory an see it works. The readings create a congruity where there might be not so much of it. Character analysis and special questions revealing the basically American cultural centre, the phalLogocentrism of the series.

* Gregory, Chris. Star Trek: ''Parallel Narratives'' Houndsmills/ Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000.
:: Good Bibliography. Central idea: Star Trek evolving into a mythological system. Written with the awareness of immense changes within the Star Trek universe – changes due to changing options under which TV-shows and movies could be produced over the years. Analysis of interaction and differences between main producers of TOS Roddenberry Coon (he produced much of the Federation’s political framework) and Frieberger (third season with its many recycled shows).

* Kraemer, Ross S./ Cassidy, William/ Schwartz Susan L. ''Religions of Star Trek''. Cambridge MA: Westview Press, 2001. 246 pp.
:: Multi facetted and extremely inspiring.

*Kanzler, Katja. ''"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations", The Multicultural Evolution of STAR TREK''. Heidelberg, Winter, 2004.
:: Explores the multiculturalism of the Star Trek universe – as a popular and commercial concept. Written with a good deal of fascination.

* Shapiro, Alan N. Star Trek:'' Technologies of disappearance''. Berlin: Avinus-Verlag, 2004. 369 pp. ISBN 3-930064-16-2.
:: Technologies of the Star Trek universe from "beaming" to ''warp'' spead. Question what they betray if read by a cultural historian.

* Broderick, James F. ''The literary galaxy of'' Star Trek: ''An analysis of references and themes in the television series and films''. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2006. vi, 233 pp. ISBN 0-7864-2571-7
:: Intertextuality and literary motives from quest to vampirism.

* Relke, Diana M. A. ''Drones, Clones, and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting'' Star Trek's ''humanism, post-9/11''. Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2006. xx, 168 pp. ISBN 1-552-38164-1, ISBN 978-1-552-38164-9
:: What does ''Star Trek'' tell us about the US?

* Geraghty, Lincoln. ''Living with'' Star Trek: American culture and the Star Trek universe (London [etc.]: Tauris, 2007), VIII, 232 pp.
::Esp. on fandom.

* Geraghty, Lincoln (ed.). ''The influence of'' Star Trek ''on television, film, and culture''. [=''Critical explorations in science fiction and fantasy'', 4]. Jefferson, N.C. [etc.]: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-3034-5
:: "Examining Star Trek from various critical angles, the essays in this collection provide vital new insights into the myriad ways that the franchise has affected the culture it represents, the people who watch the series, and the industry that created it" (Publisher).

===Links===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek on en.wikipedia.org]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes The Original Series episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation_episodes The Next Generation episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine_episodes Deep Space Nine episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Voyager_episodes Voyager episodes]
:*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Enterprise_episodes Enterprise episodes]
*[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS Memory Alpha, Star Trek Wiki]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5285732.stm Which is the definitive Star Trek?]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/ BBC Star Trek Cult Page]
*[http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?q=star+trek&tab=all&recipe=all More BBC Star Trek Results]
*[http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2069660,00.html Guardian Article: Beam me up Scotty: Star Trek actor's ashes sent into space]

[[Category:Abschlussmodul]]
[[Category:Winter 2007-2008|2008-1]]

Talk:2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-11-09T12:31:21Z

Arne Poller: /* Oct 31, 2007: e-mail list */

__TOC__
==Comparison ST v SW==
I think there could be an interesting comparison between the "general mindset" in Star Trek and Star Wars. While I know I always denied that Star Wars is Fantasy it... certainly has VERY strong elements of it, in contrast to ST. As you said: The Starfleet is militarily drilled while Luke et al rely on single heroes channelling an ominous FORCE (taught by grammatically challenged elders). I do not know yet how much time I will have left besides by Magisterarbeit (outline following soon...) but with interest twds. Fantasy I'd like to do something here maybe, possibly more twds. the beginning than the end. Main ideas I had:
-[Main Point] Border of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Star Wars: Fantasy in a Science Fiction Disguise?)
=> What distinguishes ST from SF in this respect
- What exactly makes SF "pure" SF?
... so far only basic ideas.
--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 20:27, 30 August 2007 (CEST)

Why should Star Wars be fantasy??? Lightsabers? Well, just stumbled over this page. --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 20:05, 8 October 2007 (CEST)

Speaking partly for Olaf, swords are one instance. Then there is the plot: hero with 'supernatural powers' (the force==magic?), an evil black mage (Palpatine, Vader), unbeatable odds...and the success of the hero through... well.. I'd say a combination of faith and magic. Which is not a problem, if one regards it a kind of faith-magic.... I do not know if there are gods in the SW universe, though. Another perspective is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Fortress this] movie which has been acknowledged by G.L. to be of important influence on SW. I would still not classify it as Fantasy... but in the end one probably has to ask: how important is milieu as a criterium for the definition of "Fantasy"?
--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 23:19, 8 October 2007 (CEST)

:Sounds interesting (Starwars no fantasy??? with princesses and monsters and swords, I repeat swords, in a technically superior future???)

Underline the "technical superior future" and you have the reason why I am still saying "at the very least no pure fantasy". And yes, yes I know that the definition is shaky. Unfortunately, they all are. Besides: even Klingons still fight with swordlike weapons. Well, something between sword and polearm and parade weapon - their Bathleths (sp?). --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 11:55, 31 August 2007 (CEST)

==Fragments of Mind==

'''"Economy"''': We never hear of an economic system and I remember Kirk telling the biologist in ST IV that all money has been abandoned. Yet, in ''Generations'' he tells Picard that he has SOLD his house... glitch? hidden Federation-internal trading system? (obviously there is some kind of trade between different races with different products &c

'''Nostalgia''': ST VI - even the title is a Shakespeare quote ("The Undiscovered Country", Hamlet, III.ii?)- "Klingon original" - and General Chang really likes quoting him. Also...

'''Contemporal Events''' ... the same Chang's name: pointing to an alleged "Chino-Asian [Communist] menace" [1991] within the allegory of the fall of Communism as en.wikipedia states. Enrony? The Federation seems pretty Communistic to me by now.--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 00:36, 9 September 2007 (CEST)

Commercial Success: Just found the quotas for ST on Kabel 1 - apparently still a success, at least for a smaller channel: http://www.quotenmeter.de/?newsid=22328 --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 12:47, 16 September 2007 (CEST)

==Asteroid named for ST character - ongoing cultural presence of the ST universe==
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20071007 , cf. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21106431/

Another testimony to the development of [http://www.physorg.com/news110727530.html a new, transparent 'steel'] are many responses in varying news comments dubbing it "Transparent Aluminium" (see Star Trek IV)

== Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies: 18:00 ==

I suggest to change the program of that meeting from

:"we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine"

to

:"we'll see the movies, eat and try to drink as much of the wine as possible"
--[[User:Christian Fiedler|Christian Fiedler]]

: :) --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 08:31, 25 October 2007 (CEST)

Just a rather stupid question. Is this event still taking place? Is there anything else to bring except the usual drinks? --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 20:02, 6 November 2007 (CET)

Lassen wir ese um 18.00 anfangen - wer erst später dazukommt, kommt halt dazu während Filme bereits laufen. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:06, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Oct 25, 2007: Seminar Plan - please comment and modify!==

Hi everyone: I just concluded a first draft of what might become our schedule. Commentary is welcome. If you have topics you feel interested in, throw them in. I'll try to fit them into the schedule or to modify the schedule accordingly. :PS - and please log in with your real names. See the main page to see how we did it. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 10:07, 25 October 2007 (CEST)

Hello,I suggest that we definitely watch Star Trek movie number nine, Insurrection, that night. This movie was entirely different from all the others and deals with things such as eternal life, morality and of what people would do to have an eternal life etc. And Picard FALLS IN LOVE .So that's definitely interesting.
Another MUST SEE is number eight, First Contact. The Enterprise "meets" a Borg Cube and some of their Crew are being assimilated. Data is given a piece of real skin by the Borg's leader, which is very important to him as he's always wanted to be as human as possible.

You know that in the future, the people drink Syntahol, don't you ;-). But sometimes Picard won't say no to a bottle of good French wine :-). Neither will I. What can I bring?

==Oct 31, 2007: The most important list==
Which are the important films we have to watch, your fovourites? If you can tell why, that is even better - 'cause we should make sure that we do not miss something important. Look at the Wikipedia links I provided to refer to titles

===TOS===

===Next Generation===

===Deep Space Nine===
'''Suggestions for topics:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Prophets''Prophets'']; [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Pah-wraiths''Pah-Wraiths''] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Founders''Founders''] - Godlike Beings play a prominent role in DS9.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Occupation_of_Bajor ''Bajor-Cardassia-conflict''] a central story arc in DS9. Conflict is comparable to Apartheid/colonialism/imperialism in the real world.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Benjamin_Sisko ''Captain Sisko's''] development over the course of the series (note the change between seasons 3 and 4.). Possibly due to low ratings, Sisko's outward appearance was changed. At the same time the Dominion was introduced into DS9 story arc which paved the way for a lot of action (Dominion war). The Defiant (first ever federation WARship, heavily armed) made its first appearances in season 3 and became a means to travel to the gamma quadrant. The new story arc deviated from previous Star Trek series in several ways. It focused on action and war rather than discovery and research. Possibly due to low ratings and/or Roddenberrys death?

'''Suggestions for shows:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary_%28episode%29 ''Pilot''] Prophets story arc. The characters are introduced. Sisko is presented as emissary of the prophets.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Warrior ''Way of the warrior''] Dominion war story arc. Worf enters the DS9 storyline. The episode is typical for the post-season-3 episodes of DS9. More action, less prophets.
--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 15:57, 6 November 2007 (CET)

===Voyager===
'''Suggestions for topics:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Maquis ''The Maquis''] a paramilitary/terrorist organization. Show suggestion: Maybe [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Worst_Case_Scenario ''worst case scenario''] (also has malfunctioning holodeck, which is a recurring theme since holodecks were first introduced in TNG).
--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 16:01, 6 November 2007 (CET)

===Enterprise===
* In a mirror, darkly (see [http://www.wiki.uni-oldenburg.de/fk3/angl-am/index.php?title=Talk:2007-08_ASM_Star_Trek_%281965-2005%29#Mirror.2C_Mirror_etc. [below]])

==Oct 31, 2007: e-mail list==
Please note down your E-mail addresses - the ones you really use, so that I can create a list we can use to communicate with each other.

olaf.simons@pierre-marteau.com,
wiebkemail@gmail.com,
karstensill@uni-oldenburg.de,
manuel.saralidis@googlemail.com,
nina@yaq1.net,
vogelstange@gmx.de,
jenshagemann@gmx.net,
nico.zorn@grimoires.de,
henning.kurre@uni-oldenburg.de,
melanie.molthahn@ewetel.net,
friederike.torborg@uni-oldenburg.de,
Tobster@gmx.net,
anna_rozwadowski@hotmail.com,
meyerise@web.de,
cassidy0110@aol.com,
schullis@hotmail.com,
chasra@gmail.com,
claudia.zube@mail.uni-oldenburg.de,
josiwesemann@gmx.de,
nils.heinecke@uni-oldenburg.de,
sandra.pospich@gmx.de,
socom7@web.de,
jan.gaebel@fortytwo.uni-oldenburg.de,
david.schuenemann@uni-oldenburg.de,
jk-ganja@web.de,
anneke.sonnenschein@uni-oldenburg.de,
tim.boelmann@gmx.de,
arne.poller@web.de

==Dec 5, 2007: Show suggestions==
Suggestions for shows: 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais%3F ''Who mourns for Adonais? (TOS)''] Kirk et al. meet a being demanding identifying himself as Apollon and apparently really being the Greek God. Kirk declines to worship him by stating that 'the one' god they have is enough; Apollon finally leaves as there is 'no place for gods any more'. 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_%28TNG_episode%29 ''Justice (TNG)''] How to deal with a benevolent, protective god of pacifist aliens with overly cruel punishments? (Can the allowance of a people's "God" legitimately override the Prime Directive?)
DS9: no idea which show would be best featuring Sisko as "The Emissary"... lots of tidbits. 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V ''The Final Frontier (Star Trek V)''] Ok, no show... but with religion and Eden/Sha Ka Ree at the core. --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 23:17, 31 October 2007 (CET)
: Imho Trek V is the weakest installment in the series. Maybe because of Shatner's direction or the weak script (or maybe because I have not yet seen ST Nemesis, from what I've heard it might be even worse). Special effects are not convincing, plot holes all over the story. I don't like it... . I think "Star Trek The Motion Picture" is a far better movie when it comes to discussing religion (V'ger, a machine created by man, in search of his maker).--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 10:22, 7 November 2007 (CET)
:: Fascinating, to quote a certain 'Spitzohr'. i found the first movie incredibly boring and long-stretched. But I would agree that ST V is definitely not the best one of the movies. Nemesis... well... as you said, prepare to be underwhelmed. --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 19:51, 7 November 2007 (CET)

==Mirror, Mirror etc.==
After the original episode [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28Star_Trek%29 Mirror, Mirror (TOS)] the SAME parallel universe (called the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_Universe_%28Star_Trek%29 Mirror Universe] was revisted several times in DS9. The first of those visits was equally involuntary and comments briefly on the effects of Mirror-Spock's decision: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_%28DS9_episode%29 Crossover (DS9)]. Further exchange between the universes now follows in intended but enforced manner in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking_Glass_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Through the Looking Glass (DS9)] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattered_Mirror_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Shattered Mirror (DS9)], both in direction towards the mirror universe, as well as in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Resurrection (DS9)] which brings back a "really" dead character in form pf its mirror entity. The exchange between the universes finally culminates in an awkward attempt of (who else?) Grand Nagus Zek to make profit from trade between them. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Cloak The Emperor's New Cloak (DS9)]. Apparently there is also a double show of the Enterprise which I have never seen and which is apparently inconsistent with other mirror episodes and giving a version of the Terran Empire's founding: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Mirror%2C_Darkly In a Mirror, Darkly]. The dramturgic use of the universe is drastically different. It now provides a showplace to help 'good' mankind in their struggle against 'evil' powerful empires as well as playing out "dead" characters and putting "real" characters in alternative situations. Plus, people are now AWARE of the mirror universe(s) and actively interconnect. Sidenote: The Prime Directive does not really apply here. (They DO have warp.) --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 20:28, 3 November 2007 (CET)
:The Mirror-universe has its intrinsic problems anyway: As we learn, these people - in the negative universe - annihilate each other quite easily, life is not that precious to them - the divergence of both universes should be immense after only a week. (Or it turns out, that both universes are equally stable - relying on each other... I do not know - in any case I found the project intriguing as it allowed us to think of a different organisation of everything. The negative universe tells us much about the positive. I'm thinking of a session on rebellions on board, power structures... Do take a look at the last TOS show [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder_%28TOS_episode%29 Turnaboubout Intrudor, 1969], where they nearly have executions on board of the good Enterprise: A Kirk (changeling) commands the execution of Spock, Bones and Scotty - and the crew is hardly ready to believe that the real Kirk does now live in the body of a woman - all very weird and revealing. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 12:32, 4 November 2007 (CET)
:: "In a mirror, darkly" is one of the few episodes of "Enterprise" that I have seen. And I think it's highly entertaining (voted best episode of "Star Trek - Enterprise" by Star Trek Magazine readers). The title is a quotation from the bible: "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12 from the American Standard Version. Source: Memory Alpha.) This kind of blends in with the argument that the negative universe reveals a lot about the positive. Watch the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5zw6fGjdA ''opening credits for this episode''] and compare them to the regular credits. It depicts history between our time and trek-time as a continuation of the war-ridden 20th cenntury. The opening scene of this episode is a scene from "First Contact" (Star Trek VIII) mixed with reshot material. Saphram Cochrane (sp?) shoots (!) the Vulcan and things develop in a completely different way than in our beloved trek-universe (might also be an episode to be looked at in our "star trek politics" sessions). Great stuff! A must see for every fan of Star Trek.--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 10:37, 7 November 2007 (CET)

Talk:2007-08 ASM Star Trek (1965-2005)

2007-11-09T12:30:55Z

Arne Poller: /* Oct 31, 2007: e-mail list */

__TOC__
==Comparison ST v SW==
I think there could be an interesting comparison between the "general mindset" in Star Trek and Star Wars. While I know I always denied that Star Wars is Fantasy it... certainly has VERY strong elements of it, in contrast to ST. As you said: The Starfleet is militarily drilled while Luke et al rely on single heroes channelling an ominous FORCE (taught by grammatically challenged elders). I do not know yet how much time I will have left besides by Magisterarbeit (outline following soon...) but with interest twds. Fantasy I'd like to do something here maybe, possibly more twds. the beginning than the end. Main ideas I had:
-[Main Point] Border of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Star Wars: Fantasy in a Science Fiction Disguise?)
=> What distinguishes ST from SF in this respect
- What exactly makes SF "pure" SF?
... so far only basic ideas.
--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 20:27, 30 August 2007 (CEST)

Why should Star Wars be fantasy??? Lightsabers? Well, just stumbled over this page. --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 20:05, 8 October 2007 (CEST)

Speaking partly for Olaf, swords are one instance. Then there is the plot: hero with 'supernatural powers' (the force==magic?), an evil black mage (Palpatine, Vader), unbeatable odds...and the success of the hero through... well.. I'd say a combination of faith and magic. Which is not a problem, if one regards it a kind of faith-magic.... I do not know if there are gods in the SW universe, though. Another perspective is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Fortress this] movie which has been acknowledged by G.L. to be of important influence on SW. I would still not classify it as Fantasy... but in the end one probably has to ask: how important is milieu as a criterium for the definition of "Fantasy"?
--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 23:19, 8 October 2007 (CEST)

:Sounds interesting (Starwars no fantasy??? with princesses and monsters and swords, I repeat swords, in a technically superior future???)

Underline the "technical superior future" and you have the reason why I am still saying "at the very least no pure fantasy". And yes, yes I know that the definition is shaky. Unfortunately, they all are. Besides: even Klingons still fight with swordlike weapons. Well, something between sword and polearm and parade weapon - their Bathleths (sp?). --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 11:55, 31 August 2007 (CEST)

==Fragments of Mind==

'''"Economy"''': We never hear of an economic system and I remember Kirk telling the biologist in ST IV that all money has been abandoned. Yet, in ''Generations'' he tells Picard that he has SOLD his house... glitch? hidden Federation-internal trading system? (obviously there is some kind of trade between different races with different products &c

'''Nostalgia''': ST VI - even the title is a Shakespeare quote ("The Undiscovered Country", Hamlet, III.ii?)- "Klingon original" - and General Chang really likes quoting him. Also...

'''Contemporal Events''' ... the same Chang's name: pointing to an alleged "Chino-Asian [Communist] menace" [1991] within the allegory of the fall of Communism as en.wikipedia states. Enrony? The Federation seems pretty Communistic to me by now.--[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 00:36, 9 September 2007 (CEST)

Commercial Success: Just found the quotas for ST on Kabel 1 - apparently still a success, at least for a smaller channel: http://www.quotenmeter.de/?newsid=22328 --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 12:47, 16 September 2007 (CEST)

==Asteroid named for ST character - ongoing cultural presence of the ST universe==
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20071007 , cf. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21106431/

Another testimony to the development of [http://www.physorg.com/news110727530.html a new, transparent 'steel'] are many responses in varying news comments dubbing it "Transparent Aluminium" (see Star Trek IV)

== Nov 10, 2007: The Star Trek Night - The Movies: 18:00 ==

I suggest to change the program of that meeting from

:"we'll try to see as many of the movies as possible, eat and drink wine"

to

:"we'll see the movies, eat and try to drink as much of the wine as possible"
--[[User:Christian Fiedler|Christian Fiedler]]

: :) --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 08:31, 25 October 2007 (CEST)

Just a rather stupid question. Is this event still taking place? Is there anything else to bring except the usual drinks? --[[User:Karsten Sill|Karsten Sill]] 20:02, 6 November 2007 (CET)

Lassen wir ese um 18.00 anfangen - wer erst später dazukommt, kommt halt dazu während Filme bereits laufen. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 21:06, 6 November 2007 (CET)

==Oct 25, 2007: Seminar Plan - please comment and modify!==

Hi everyone: I just concluded a first draft of what might become our schedule. Commentary is welcome. If you have topics you feel interested in, throw them in. I'll try to fit them into the schedule or to modify the schedule accordingly. :PS - and please log in with your real names. See the main page to see how we did it. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 10:07, 25 October 2007 (CEST)

Hello,I suggest that we definitely watch Star Trek movie number nine, Insurrection, that night. This movie was entirely different from all the others and deals with things such as eternal life, morality and of what people would do to have an eternal life etc. And Picard FALLS IN LOVE .So that's definitely interesting.
Another MUST SEE is number eight, First Contact. The Enterprise "meets" a Borg Cube and some of their Crew are being assimilated. Data is given a piece of real skin by the Borg's leader, which is very important to him as he's always wanted to be as human as possible.

You know that in the future, the people drink Syntahol, don't you ;-). But sometimes Picard won't say no to a bottle of good French wine :-). Neither will I. What can I bring?

==Oct 31, 2007: The most important list==
Which are the important films we have to watch, your fovourites? If you can tell why, that is even better - 'cause we should make sure that we do not miss something important. Look at the Wikipedia links I provided to refer to titles

===TOS===

===Next Generation===

===Deep Space Nine===
'''Suggestions for topics:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Prophets''Prophets'']; [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Pah-wraiths''Pah-Wraiths''] and [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Founders''Founders''] - Godlike Beings play a prominent role in DS9.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Occupation_of_Bajor ''Bajor-Cardassia-conflict''] a central story arc in DS9. Conflict is comparable to Apartheid/colonialism/imperialism in the real world.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Benjamin_Sisko ''Captain Sisko's''] development over the course of the series (note the change between seasons 3 and 4.). Possibly due to low ratings, Sisko's outward appearance was changed. At the same time the Dominion was introduced into DS9 story arc which paved the way for a lot of action (Dominion war). The Defiant (first ever federation WARship, heavily armed) made its first appearances in season 3 and became a means to travel to the gamma quadrant. The new story arc deviated from previous Star Trek series in several ways. It focused on action and war rather than discovery and research. Possibly due to low ratings and/or Roddenberrys death?

'''Suggestions for shows:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Emissary_%28episode%29 ''Pilot''] Prophets story arc. The characters are introduced. Sisko is presented as emissary of the prophets.
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Warrior ''Way of the warrior''] Dominion war story arc. Worf enters the DS9 storyline. The episode is typical for the post-season-3 episodes of DS9. More action, less prophets.
--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 15:57, 6 November 2007 (CET)

===Voyager===
'''Suggestions for topics:'''
* [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Maquis ''The Maquis''] a paramilitary/terrorist organization. Show suggestion: Maybe [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Worst_Case_Scenario ''worst case scenario''] (also has malfunctioning holodeck, which is a recurring theme since holodecks were first introduced in TNG).
--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 16:01, 6 November 2007 (CET)

===Enterprise===
* In a mirror, darkly (see [http://www.wiki.uni-oldenburg.de/fk3/angl-am/index.php?title=Talk:2007-08_ASM_Star_Trek_%281965-2005%29#Mirror.2C_Mirror_etc. [below]])

==Oct 31, 2007: e-mail list==
Please note down your E-mail addresses - the ones you really use, so that I can create a list we can use to communicate with each other.

olaf.simons@pierre-marteau.com,
wiebkemail@gmail.com,
karstensill@uni-oldenburg.de,
manuel.saralidis@googlemail.com,
nina@yaq1.net,
vogelstange@gmx.de,
jenshagemann@gmx.net,
nico.zorn@grimoires.de,
henning.kurre@uni-oldenburg.de,
melanie.molthahn@ewetel.net,
friederike.torborg@uni-oldenburg.de,
Tobster@gmx.net,
anna_rozwadowski@hotmail.com,
meyerise@web.de,
cassidy0110@aol.com,
schullis@hotmail.com,
chasra@gmail.com,
claudia.zube@mail.uni-oldenburg.de,
josiwesemann@gmx.de,
nils.heinecke@uni-oldenburg.de,
sandra.pospich@gmx.de,
socom7@web.de,
jan.gaebel@fortytwo.uni-oldenburg.de,
david.schuenemann@uni-oldenburg.de,
jk-ganja@web.de,
anneke.sonnenschein@uni-oldenburg.de,
tim.boelmann@gmx.de
arne.poller@web.de

==Dec 5, 2007: Show suggestions==
Suggestions for shows: 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais%3F ''Who mourns for Adonais? (TOS)''] Kirk et al. meet a being demanding identifying himself as Apollon and apparently really being the Greek God. Kirk declines to worship him by stating that 'the one' god they have is enough; Apollon finally leaves as there is 'no place for gods any more'. 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_%28TNG_episode%29 ''Justice (TNG)''] How to deal with a benevolent, protective god of pacifist aliens with overly cruel punishments? (Can the allowance of a people's "God" legitimately override the Prime Directive?)
DS9: no idea which show would be best featuring Sisko as "The Emissary"... lots of tidbits. 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_V ''The Final Frontier (Star Trek V)''] Ok, no show... but with religion and Eden/Sha Ka Ree at the core. --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 23:17, 31 October 2007 (CET)
: Imho Trek V is the weakest installment in the series. Maybe because of Shatner's direction or the weak script (or maybe because I have not yet seen ST Nemesis, from what I've heard it might be even worse). Special effects are not convincing, plot holes all over the story. I don't like it... . I think "Star Trek The Motion Picture" is a far better movie when it comes to discussing religion (V'ger, a machine created by man, in search of his maker).--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 10:22, 7 November 2007 (CET)
:: Fascinating, to quote a certain 'Spitzohr'. i found the first movie incredibly boring and long-stretched. But I would agree that ST V is definitely not the best one of the movies. Nemesis... well... as you said, prepare to be underwhelmed. --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 19:51, 7 November 2007 (CET)

==Mirror, Mirror etc.==
After the original episode [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror%2C_Mirror_%28Star_Trek%29 Mirror, Mirror (TOS)] the SAME parallel universe (called the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_Universe_%28Star_Trek%29 Mirror Universe] was revisted several times in DS9. The first of those visits was equally involuntary and comments briefly on the effects of Mirror-Spock's decision: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_%28DS9_episode%29 Crossover (DS9)]. Further exchange between the universes now follows in intended but enforced manner in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking_Glass_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Through the Looking Glass (DS9)] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattered_Mirror_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Shattered Mirror (DS9)], both in direction towards the mirror universe, as well as in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_%28Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine%29 Resurrection (DS9)] which brings back a "really" dead character in form pf its mirror entity. The exchange between the universes finally culminates in an awkward attempt of (who else?) Grand Nagus Zek to make profit from trade between them. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Cloak The Emperor's New Cloak (DS9)]. Apparently there is also a double show of the Enterprise which I have never seen and which is apparently inconsistent with other mirror episodes and giving a version of the Terran Empire's founding: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Mirror%2C_Darkly In a Mirror, Darkly]. The dramturgic use of the universe is drastically different. It now provides a showplace to help 'good' mankind in their struggle against 'evil' powerful empires as well as playing out "dead" characters and putting "real" characters in alternative situations. Plus, people are now AWARE of the mirror universe(s) and actively interconnect. Sidenote: The Prime Directive does not really apply here. (They DO have warp.) --[[User:Nico Zorn|Nico Zorn]] 20:28, 3 November 2007 (CET)
:The Mirror-universe has its intrinsic problems anyway: As we learn, these people - in the negative universe - annihilate each other quite easily, life is not that precious to them - the divergence of both universes should be immense after only a week. (Or it turns out, that both universes are equally stable - relying on each other... I do not know - in any case I found the project intriguing as it allowed us to think of a different organisation of everything. The negative universe tells us much about the positive. I'm thinking of a session on rebellions on board, power structures... Do take a look at the last TOS show [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder_%28TOS_episode%29 Turnaboubout Intrudor, 1969], where they nearly have executions on board of the good Enterprise: A Kirk (changeling) commands the execution of Spock, Bones and Scotty - and the crew is hardly ready to believe that the real Kirk does now live in the body of a woman - all very weird and revealing. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] 12:32, 4 November 2007 (CET)
:: "In a mirror, darkly" is one of the few episodes of "Enterprise" that I have seen. And I think it's highly entertaining (voted best episode of "Star Trek - Enterprise" by Star Trek Magazine readers). The title is a quotation from the bible: "For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12 from the American Standard Version. Source: Memory Alpha.) This kind of blends in with the argument that the negative universe reveals a lot about the positive. Watch the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5zw6fGjdA ''opening credits for this episode''] and compare them to the regular credits. It depicts history between our time and trek-time as a continuation of the war-ridden 20th cenntury. The opening scene of this episode is a scene from "First Contact" (Star Trek VIII) mixed with reshot material. Saphram Cochrane (sp?) shoots (!) the Vulcan and things develop in a completely different way than in our beloved trek-universe (might also be an episode to be looked at in our "star trek politics" sessions). Great stuff! A must see for every fan of Star Trek.--[[User:David schuenemann|David schuenemann]] 10:37, 7 November 2007 (CET)