SEC=UGA Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Brent-Spiner-dataIn an interview with AfterElton.com, Terra Nova exec. producer Brannon Braga — who cut his teeth writing and producing Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — lamented the fact that Star Trek has never once included an out gay character in a movie or TV series. “It was a shame for a lot of us,” Braga said. “It was not a forward-thinking decision.” Yes, there was the occasional episode where, say, Commander Riker falls in love with an alien from a genderless world, or Dr. Crusher falls in love with a male alien who (thanks the symbiotic organism living inside it, naturally) changes bodies to a female — who Crusher then spurns. But as far as an out-and-proud same-sex loving character, the otherwise socially progressive and diverse Star Trek universe is stuck in the closet. Braga does contended that had the shows been airing today, the TNG and DS9 creative teams “wouldn’t have been squeamish” about introducing a gay Trek character. Perhaps. For one thing, I always kinda wondered if Data, in his exploration of what it means to be human, would ever get intimate with a male crew-mate the same way he did with Tasha Yar. (Slash fiction tells me I am not alone in this overshare.) I also got to thinking: What other TV series have a surprisingly specific lack of diversity? I’m not talking about quotas here, by the way. I’m talking about TV shows in which the setting and premise naturally provide for a widely diverse cast — or in the case of Star Trek outright demand it — yet nonetheless are notably missing a key subset of society. Like, say, Lost, a show boasting one of the most diverse casts imaginable — race, ethnicity, nationality, age, physical ability, size, socio-economic position, morality, corporeal status — but featuring only a single gay character (Mr. Friendly) who appeared in just a handful of episodes, barely acknowledged his sexuality, and was killed halfway through the run of the show. (To be fair, the homoerotic subtext between Jack and Sawyer kinda counts too.) Friends, set in one of the most diverse places on the planet — Manhattan — was famously lacking in racial and ethnic diversity. (Seinfeld too.) The West Wing added the African-American character Charlie Young (Dulé Hill) to its cast after the pilot episode when some people noted it was odd the White House didn’t appear to have any people of color among its staff. And I see more Latino people driving through Beverly Hills every day on the way to work than have showed up on The CW’s 90210. Tedious and pedantic? Totally. But it’s still worth pointing out, especially with shows like Glee and Grey’s Anatomy doing such a fabulous job capturing a wide viewing audience with a widely diverse cast of characters that also happen to realistically reflect real-life high schools and hospitals. So what TV shows have surprised you with their lack of diversity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) So what TV shows have surprised you with their lack of diversity? Modern Family- Can you believe they don't have even one gay, African-American woman on that show? Edited January 26, 2011 by millerx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Tasha Yar was hawt . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Tasha Yar was hawt . . . She has not aged well though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I can only ponder one thing at a time and this week it's pondering how the Steelers and the Packers get to start off 4-0 basically every single year because of the suckiness of the Bengals, Browns, Vikings and Lions year after year after year after year. Maybe next week I'll be able to realize why Worf couldn't love a man like Han Solo did to raise bounty money just before Luke and Obi-Wan hired him in that bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I always thought Data was gay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I always felt there was some sexual tension on the bridge between Kirk and Sulu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I always felt there was some sexual tension on the bridge between Kirk and Sulu. Oh My! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Itals Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Brannon Braga almost single-handedly brought Star Trek to its knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Gene Roddenberry would have never introduced a gay character to the series. He was incredibly particular about his creation and keep what he considered was a very positive outlook to our future. After he passed away you can notice the change in character development and the tone of some of the shows. DS9 was pretty dark and covered themes he was against. But, to be perfectly honest, having someone announce they are gay character for a show is kind of lame. Who really cares is someone is gay or not? The only format I've seen it work in is for Modern Family and let's be honest, those two are the whole show as far as comedy goes. Al Bundy's wife is the whole show for all of us men. Cowboys suck TBone still sends me graphic text messages about his morning BM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 wait, gays will create a negative future? If someone stuck their trouser snake in my poop shoot it would definitely have a negative impact on my future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 g-zus, I only asked that one time. Let it go. Be glad you asked him and not me. It would have negatively impacted both of our futures. Well it would have negatively impacted my future, you wouldn't have a future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 DS9 was pretty dark and..... ...is the best show of the franchise to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 +2 sucks that cardasians are so much less cool after those 3-4 trollups fell out of Bruce Jenner's hooha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 ...is the best show of the franchise to date. Except if they say the word "linear" one more time in the first episode I'm gonna have to shank a bitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 wait, gays will create a negative future? If by negative, you mean FABulous, then yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 How can gays create a future beyond themselves if they don't procreate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 How can gays create a future beyond themselves if they don't procreate? Gays aren't dependent upon one another to procreate. THey wait for us heteros to accidentally create another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathpig Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Except if they say the word "linear" one more time in the first episode I'm gonna have to shank a bitch. Not linear... ...'in a linear existence'. That episode turned me off DS9. Captain Lung Cancer's quest for a spirit totem killed Voyager for me. ST:TNG... they should have renamed the ship Pacific Princess because it was like watching the Adventures of Captain Stubing and Wonder Boy. Just painful. The original series was absolutely cheesy by today's standards, but for the time it was edgy in the sense that it tackled a lot of themes that weren't explored much in television at the time-- racism, class warfare, the erosion of myth/religon in modern life, the corrupting effect of power, etc. It seemed like the later shows became about pointless space battles and horribly contrived (but irrelevant) crew disputes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 ...is the best show of the franchise to date. Who cares about in interstellar shopping mall? Wait . . are we still looking at the "lack of gheyness?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'm still curious as to how gays will ruin the future? Because there is no room in the future for tasteful interior decorating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 that's certainly true of Star Trek. I recently read a book by Joe Haldeman (sci-fi), I think it was Forever Peace or maybe it was Forever War. But the population was becoming a problem before they really started settling other planets and over the course of a couple hundred years, homosexuality was encouraged and eventually mandated (cloning). Eventually, it seems like homosexuality will become a necessity for a large part of the population or some kind of sterilization that can be reversed when you're ready and approved for having kids. Only for certain ethnic groups will this be done. Hell, half of Europe is experiencing negative population growth among their indigenous population. In the US honkies are running into the same problem, they are barely replacing the parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Neelix was as queer as a duck http://www.startrek.pl/res/images/galleries/005/neelix.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 that's certainly true of Star Trek. I recently read a book by Joe Haldeman (sci-fi), I think it was Forever Peace or maybe it was Forever War. But the population was becoming a problem before they really started settling other planets and over the course of a couple hundred years, homosexuality was encouraged and eventually mandated (cloning). Eventually, it seems like homosexuality will become a necessity for a large part of the population or some kind of sterilization that can be reversed when you're ready and approved for having kids. I read that one too. It's Forever War. That part was really weird, but the rest of the book was pretty solid. An interesting take on war as a space soldier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWmaker Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I don't know, but Trulane from the Squire of Gothos seemed particularly gay. Greetings and Falicitations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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