Notes and Meditations

Just as the original series drops on DVD, some fans and even producers of the Trek franchise are calling for a halt.

The last two Trek movies didn't do as well as previous ones and "Enterprise," the current Trek television manifestation, has been struggling for ratings.

The Times(registration required) quotes Denise Crosby complaining about the relentless pace of new Trek stories since "Next Generation" came on the air in the early 90's.

"As soon as one series ends, the next one begins right away. How can you sustain that? The bar has been raised so high with sci-fi films. I'm not talking just about special effects but interesting, elaborate tales. You need to step back and refocus on what's pertinent to this moment in time."

Sounds like good advice.

I've seen every Star Trek movie, most of the original series and some of "Next Generation." I've never had much interest in any of the other stories. Apparently, I'm not alone.

The original series, driven as it was by fascinating characters with real inner conflicts, was able to comment on the human situation without coming off as didactic or pompous. This is where all the other Trek permutations have failed.

While fan fatigue may be one reason for lackluster interest, Trek creators need to look more deeply at creating complex characters whose struggles illuminate our own. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like this is the plan. The Times story says the plan to salvage "Enterprise" involves making it more political and, likely, more preachy.

Next season the series will feature "another arc of stories (that) will concern civil war on Vulcan, Mr. Spock's planet, which Mr. Coto (new co-executive producer) says will 'covertly examine the war in Iraq and the direction of the country.'" I'll be shocked if they can pull it off. With this kind of plan, the series, I suspect, is doomed.

A new study finds the rates of mental illness soaring among college students. The study found, among other things, that:

-- One in three students report having experienced prolonged periods
of depression
-- One in four students report having suicidal thoughts or feelings
-- One in seven students report engaging in abnormally reckless behavior
-- One in seven students report difficulty functioning at school due to
mental illness

Does this really surprise anyone whose ever watched an MTV reality show? I doubt it. Those shows glamourize college students who specialize in "engaging in abnormally reckless behavior."

What the long story fails to mention, and what the study probably didn't even attempt to measure is the correlation between college students who report symptoms of faltering mental health and those who come from divorced families. I suspect the correlation is high, but finding that correlation and reporting it would have been politically thorny to say the least.

I've struggled with my blogging. It's been tough for me to decide how important it is for me to keep it up, if I even wanted to keep it up.

I think I do. I also think I've resolved to be more serious about updating it. Watch this space for more in days to come.

I caught an episode of the original Star Trek the other day. Spock and the rest of the crew got sprayed with spores from some kind of space flower. The parasitc spores inhabited their hosts,convincing them the planet was paradise. The crew eventually mutinied in order to beam down for an eternity of floral bliss.

Kirk was left alone with a flower specimen. In the midst of his agonizing over what to do, he got showered with spores. Before joining the rest of his crew, he resists the power of the spores and discovers anger will negate their effects.

I remember this episode from childhood. I loved it because Spock and Kirk get into a fight at the end. Kirk beams the Vulcan up and insults him (Your mother was an encyclopedia!! Your father was a computer!!) until Spock becomes enraged and is freed from the effects of the spores.

Over the last year or so, I've become more of a Trek fan. This episode illustrates perfectly what I like about it, especially Kirk. The best Trek episodes explore such basic human longings that they seem almost like fairy tales. Trek does this much better than the Star Wars saga which has gotten weaker as it has progressed.

In the spore story I described, we see the crew wrestle with a longing for Eden, for a world better than the one we inhabit. This theme comes up in many ways across the Trek episodes and movies.

What makes Kirk admirable is his integrity in refusing to give into false paradises. He seems to sense that holding out for the real thing, even at the price of some short term suffering, is important.

We're all Captain Kirk somteimes. How many times a day does some illusory Eden beckon? We all long for a better world and our longing leaves us vulnerable to seduction. At our finest, however, we resist, knowing the world we long for lies somewhere yet up ahead and, like the crew of the Enterprise, go boldly on.

Well, if you ain't never been the Barbie Doll type, if you can't swig sweet champagne, but would rather drink beer all night, you might be a redneck. So says Gretchen Wilson, whose song "Redneck Woman" is getting a lot of airplay as this summer's big country hit.

The song is more than just another Shania-esque pop tune with a little twang on the side. It's a real rebel yell. Wilson's celebration of working class culture and her embrace of the defiant attitude that often comes with it are endearing.

The gall to celebrate redneck culture in the face of all the sensitive Baby Boomer Bohemians makes me love the song. So much of Boomer talk about "the working poor" is a mask for how much many of them hate the working class. Anyone not reared on Brie and Chablis is a cretin in their book. Many of them seem utterly shocked anyone would not want to be one of them. Wilson has clearly detected this condescension. However, she seems to think she's doing just fine as she is, thank you very much.

Wilson truly doesn't seem to need their help and the popularity of the song suggests there's a large audience out there who doesn't need it either.

I saw the 1959 classic "Pillow Talk" the other night. I didn't like it. Hudson's character is smarmy and manipulative while Day's is weak and gullible.

It's also creepy. The whole thing has a kind of swinging playboy vibe that bugged me. It's amazing what was thought to be acceptable 45 years ago that society would punish socially, if not criminally, now.

In one scene Day's character is assaulted and nearly date-raped by a college boy. She acts like this behavior is typical though annoying. She agrees to have a drink with him once she's fended him off. Today, she would have agreed to press charges.

The final scene of the film has Hudson's character kicking in the door to his beloved's apartment to scoop her bodily from repose and carry her to his home. Once he has deposited her there against her will, she has a remarkable change of heart and decides she loves him. They live happily ever after.

Years ago, sexual harassment was a big topic of discussion. Now, it's taken for granted behavior similar to that displayed by the men in this movie is uacceptable.

The sexual harassment vangaurd may have gone over the line of common sense more commonly than we'd like, but such zealousness is understandable when we look back to what they were orignally up against.

The Mrs. and I watched a few episodes of "The Lucy Show" on DVD last night. "The Lucy Show" was a television series Lucille Ball starred
in sometime in the sixties well after "I Love Lucy" was kaput.

In one episode, George Burns shows up and asks Lucy to be in his show. The two of them do a routine together reminiscent of the Burns & Allen schtick. After a few minutes of jokes the two of them break into song and do a little soft shoe to round out the act.

They don't make them like that any more. Those stars who came out of vaudeville and the early days of radio seemed to have so much more talent than the current crop of pretty faces Hollywood is churning out. I mean, can you think of one star in Hollywood who can sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. Well, I'll give you Wayne Brady, but beside him? Can you imagine Lindsay Lohan hoofing it in the glow of the gaslights? I don't think so.

I made it home only to find out my internet access is going to be severely restricted the next few days. I think the cable guy is going to come try to figure out why I can't get on the net sometime this week. Until then, posting will be sporadic at best.