TenForward: Where Every Vulcan Knows Your Name
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DS9 pulled off a political space drama that could rival Dallas or MASH and they got 7 seasons. I'm rewatching it again and I still can't believe that prime time viewers would sit through these episodes that are just 2 people arguing the nuances of humanity for 45 minutes. It's nothing like TV is today.
As far as a movie, I think the TNG movies weren't that Trek. They often took the characters in strange directions, favored more digestible plotlines, and wrote dialogue that you'd expect from AI. I value the television wellspring of Trek in the 90s/early 2000s. It is so cool, and that era is still bearing fruit today.
I would like to see more of the DS9 characters, and like to see what a movie budget would do, but I don't trust that a DS9 movie would've been given the reverence needed to make it right. It has been great to see Picard and the ST world in the later years, but I don't know if it makes the lore any better. I'm not sure that we are any closer to another golden decade of ST.
Thanks for posting this and helping me get some of my thoughts on DS9 coalesced. Do you have a DS9 movie plot you think would've worked? Those 'golden years' of Trek were also open to the most fan input, with concepts and entire scripts being submitted. If we had 26 episode seasons to play with, maybe they'd take our call.
Yeah ds9 was not my cup of tea. It absolutely felt painful to watch 2 characters being locked in over dramatic conversation for an hour with commercials. I mean what else is there to do on a space station but wait around, not very exciting. Second why are the ferengi merchants? Doesn't everyone have access to a replicator.
I’m with you. I’m here for 45 minutes of story that’s wrapped up at the end and you can go on about your day. I think I read once that DS9 (in regards to being on a space station) described as the characters going on a journey since they weren’t on a ship and was immediately not, and am still not interested.
I’m glad that people like it, I’m glad that it’s their thing and that it brings them joy but it is absolutely not for me and that’s okay
I can appreciate the viewpoint, as I was once amongst them. In the early days of Netflix, when they had the rights, I binged my way through a rewatch of TNG, and then a proper watch of DS9. The slow build of characterization goes a long way. Especially with the Ferengi, given the harsh intro to their culture. Don't discount it because of the personal commitment, but rather, judge its effect on your perspective as a result of their storytelling.
Latnium can't be replicated so it can be properly used as a store of wealth and replicated antiquities can be detected. Large items like ships can be replicated in parts, but need to be complete to exceed the value of their replicated parts.
When a culture is built around trade, they will find ways to trade.
Also, it's likely that the writers needed that culture type to directly conflict with the ideals of Starfleet. Conflict makes for a good plot line.
And what can I buy with latnium? Couldn't I just hop into the holo deck and swim in my personal lake of it? As far as assembling a ship it's almost like I could replicate one small bot to build consecutively bigger assembly bots. It was just lazy writing for a bad premise of a star Trek, where is the trekking? More like Star Trek deep snooze nine.
If you're on Deep Space 9, you have to pay to use Quark's holodecks in the first place. They don't show it much, but they do mention in the first or second episode that Starfleet get a few slips of latinum as a per diem when stationed somewhere not part of the Federation. There has also been at least one occasion where Bashir mentions eating at the replimat instead of Quark's because he was saving up to buy something, implying that they all pay to eat at the bar.
Gambling is also big activity at Quark's, something that costs money, but can't be replicated. Also, real liquor, not Synthehol.
I get the feeling that replicated food is the equivalent of frozen dinners. Its edible, and for many people its good enough, but those with more discriminating palates occasionally want something real.
I also got the impression that replicator quality can vary. I think it was Birthright, from TNG, where they go to DS9, and Worf learns his father might be alive. One of the Enterprise crew, I don't remember who, makes a comment about the food at the Replimat tasting like polymer.
How did quark acquire this holodeck on a federation/ bajoran space station anyhow? oh yeah he traded info on self sealing stem bolts. Next you'll tell me it cost money to transport and o Brian was raking in coin to buy antique whiskey with...
It was absolutely a plot device; they've said as much. The rest is just the in-story rationalizations to give viewers something - however difficult to believe - to accept so the story can go forward.
Star Trek is full of these. TNG was chock fucking full of Mordor Eagle plot devices. Quark is Harry Mudd, with a bumpy head. The Federation exists within a universe of civilizations which haven't yet reached post-scarcity and, frankly, I think even in a post scarcity utopia we'll still have money and be trading. Consider, we'll probably still have the very first profession, and you'll likely have other services. You'll still have a lot of people like McCoy, who reject the technological solution and want "the real thing" and not a holodeck.
Self-sealing stem bolts. A bunch of them.
Only in something that looked like latnium. Holodecks are a derivative of replicator technology, so it wouldn't actually be latnium. (And it's not a store of wealth since it would only exist on the holodeck.)
There was an entire space station that could replicate itself as well as replace parts on other ships. (At the cost of biomaterial...) Also, they build entire space stations, so yeah, automation is a thing but it still takes an energy source.
It wasn't my favorite series and the ferangi weren't my favorite species either. Regardless, trade was still active across the galaxy and many cultures didn't have replicators. The reasoning behind what and how the ferangi traded was still extremely viable.
Got it, it's self sealing stem bolts all the way down.
Basically. The root of your question was about what gives any item value.
If I have 10M stem bolts and you need them and don't have access to a replicator, those bolts now have value to you. If I can trade those bolts for latnium with the expectation of trading that latnium for something else, that latnium has value to me.
We now have the makings for a society based on trade.
Did you mean 10mm stem bolts, 10 million, or perhaps it's Roman and you mean 1000?
Pick one. It was an arbitrary value.