[Caitlin] Where No Nerd Has Gone Before: Ancient Aliens

For those of you who do not watch the History Channel on a regular basis, Ancient Aliens is a show in which historians (of varying reputability) set out to prove that aliens have visited our planet in the past, and may have even given our ancestors advanced technologies. While I am not here to discuss the validity of shows on the history channel, I just have to say that this is completely bogus and the arguments of these scientists very closely resemble arguments for creationism and intelligent design (That couldn’t have happened spontaneously or by chance, there had to have been some higher being at work…).

Anyhow, being the history nut that I am, I thoroughly enjoy watching the History Channel to laugh at the ridiculousness that the network tries to pass off as legitimate history, and Ancient Aliens is definitely one of the most amusing. So, I about died when the crew of the Enterprise showed up on a planet inhabited by a being who claimed to be Apollo! I had no idea that people in the 60’s were contemplating the idea that the gods of our ancestors could have been aliens. Thinking back, it certainly makes sense; these people were seriously obsessed with space and the future. Everything in the 60’s was futuristic; cars, houses, clothing, advertisements, etc. There is certainly a correlation between the future and space travel in their mind, so they must have entertained the idea of extraterrestrial life. This thought process must have naturally progressed to considering the possibility that aliens could have somehow influenced ancient Human progress.

It all makes sense; I just find it hilarious that there are ancient aliens on Star Trek.

And now for an OMG moment from Season 2 Episode 3 “The Changeling?:” OMG!! Nomad is a Dalek! STERILIZE = EXTERMINAAAATE!! Hahaha!!

[Caitlin] Where No Nerd Has Gone Before: Season 1 Final Thoughts

I think I might have become a Trekkie! I have really enjoyed this first season. I have come to appreciate the fact that there is not a unifying storyline for the simple reason that I am not compelled to watch the episodes back-to-back for three straight days (which I have a tendency to do and can be very detrimental to my classwork and social life...). I have also been able to ignore the blatant chauvinism, well maybe not completely but I’m trying not to let it turn me off.

I am really enjoying the storylines of the episodes, much more than I thought I would. They are intricate and sophisticated, and they deal with very deep philosophical topics and very advanced scientific ideas. I find it fascinating that groundbreaking scientific theories often  become topics for science fiction to explore; the writings of H.G. Wells come to mind (*giggle* H.G. Wells the woman *giggle* Warehouse 13 *giggle*).

I am certainly pleasantly surprised at the quality and depth of the series so far, and I cannot wait to see what Star Trek has in store for me next!

And now for an OMG moment from Season 2 Episode 2 “Who Mourns for Adonais?:” OMG! The Greek Gods were Ancient Aliens!! Bahahaha!!!

[Caitlin] Where No Nerd Has Gone Before: Feminism? What Feminism?

I realize that this was 1966, but I cannot get over the portrayal of women on this show. I have tried to get passed it, I really have, I want to be able to just brush it off as a result of the times, but it’s just gotten ridiculous.

First of all; what is with those uniforms?! Really? Tunics that barely cover anything, tights and platinum leather boots? It’s one thing for women to choose to wear revealing clothing, but for it to be a uniform is another thing entirely. I don’t see the men having to walk around with their shirts off. Ugh… just, ugh…

Then we have the women of the Enterprise themselves; Lt. Uhura is basically a glorified switchboard operator, and the others are all secretaries or nurses. The creators of this show were brilliant enough to consider all of the ways that technology and human societies would have advanced, but they couldn’t believe that women would be capable of doing other jobs? UGH!

All of the extraneous women of the show have just been ridiculous. One relying on the manufactured mental simulations of an alien race to be beautiful; has plastic surgery just disappeared? Another, an insane serial killer; can someone from the BAU please explain to these people that women are infinitely unlikely to become serial killers ? UUUUUGH!

I sincerely hope that the creators of the many revival series had the foresight to correct this issue, and hopefully it won’t turn me off of the series for good.

And now for an OMG moment from episode 14 “Balance of Terror:” OMG! The DMZ is in space! (Sorry my history nerd came out)

[Caitlin] Where No Nerd Has Gone Before: Doppelgängers

While watching episode seven, “What Are Little Girls Made Of”, I could not help but be reminded of the two part episode of Doctor Who in the most recent season, “The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People”. Both episodes feature duplicates of characters that learn to think for themselves. Of course, this is a very popular theme in Science fiction (think Bicentennial Man and A.I. Artificial Intelligence), but I found the similarities between these episodes striking.

Basically both episodes start out with our hero arriving in a secluded place, discovering that the people there have been using doppelgangers; in Star Trek they are androids, and in Doctor Who they are a type of animated plastic controlled remotely. Eventually they learn that they are being manipulated and they don’t like it. [SPOILERS] Then there is the twist at the end; the doctor in charge in Star Trek turns out to be an android and the doctor in charge in Doctor Who turns out to have a life threatening illness and sacrifices herself to save everyone allowing her doppelganger to take her place. [/SPOILERS]

The one main difference is that the rest of the world in Star Trek will never know of the existence of these androids, but in Doctor Who the characters will eventually fight for the doppelgangers to be considered human and allowed to live.

So, without going into too much detail, this has been my first parallel post. I will hopefully do more as I discover episodes that very closely resemble other shows or movies.

And now for an OMG moment from episode 11, “The Menagerie”: OMFG Captain Pike is a Dalek!!

[Caitlin] Where No Nerd Has Gone Before AKA Caitlin Watches Star Trek for the First Time and Blogs About it

[JT's note:  Alrighty.  It's time for another introduction.  This time around I have the great pleasure of introducing my best friend in the whole world: Caitlin (a.k.a. piccplayr).  She is a nerd in every sense of the word and fits in perfectly here at NerdPop.  I approached her a few days ago about writing for NP, and she had an amazing idea.  So we are actually starting off a brand new series just for Caitlin.  Hope you enjoy!]

It comes as a shock to many who have known me for a while that I have never seen Star Trek, especially given the fact that my first forays into nerdom as a child were through YA Science Fiction novels like Animorphs [JT's note:  I knew there was a reason we were friends!]. There was really no reason for me not to watch it except that I don’t like to start any kind of series, book or television, in the middle. I recently decided (mainly out of boredom) to start watching Star Trek from start to finish. I hope that you will join me on my journey as I watch, give reactions and review the series as I go.

I have, so far, watched the first six episodes of the original series. Being the nerd that I am, I have begun to note some parallels to series like Doctor Who and the Twilight Zone that I hope to delve into in more detail later on.

One problem that I have so far with the series is that there is nothing that ties the episodes to each other, and while this allows them to stand on their own, it makes it difficult for me to form connections with the characters. I am hoping this will change in later seasons, but I can’t help but note that other television shows from this era and before also tend to have this flaw.

That being said, I rather like the show so far. I love how each episode deals with some kind of ethical dilemma. I believe that these types of issues are universal, and are the reason that shows like the Twilight Zone, Doctor Who, and Star Trek are able to stand the test of time. They do not put so much emphasis on the futuristic setting or technologies, and instead use the removal from our own time to delve into issues that would be inappropriate in a contemporary setting with aliens and space travel being merely props.

As a History buff, I can and do appreciate the strides that this show takes simply given the political climate into which it premiered and the choices in casting and characters. Represented on the bridge of the Enterprise are members of several nationalities, and even women, in important positions. This was just beginning to be an accepted occurrence in the American workplace in 1966, but it would be almost unheard of to have so many minority groups represented in one place. Projecting this new idea of multiculturalism in the workplace into the space age is a way of validating the change as the way of the future, which people of the late 1960’s were obsessed with (when not contemplating the end of the world and nuclear war that is). Now don’t get me wrong, there are still many things wrong with how the future has been depicted, especially given the portrayal of women on the show, but that is a whole other post entirely.

Ok, so those are some of my initial reactions. I am not quite sure what shape this series will take. I’m sure I will do some episode reviews, some reactions, parallels and the like; really just whatever I feel like at the time. I will aim to do these posts pretty regularly, but it will depend on how much I watch. I do tend to get over excited about new things, so I might go a little crazy about this series at first until the real world of Grad school comes calling. Anyway, that’s all for now.

Caitlin

[JT's Final Note: Hope you all enjoyed the first showing of NerdPop's newest author.  We've had some great ideas about what she'll cover, so you'll be seeing her a lot.  I'll leave this with a small heads up: look forward to a post doing a bit more in depth intro to all the authors here, both that you have already met and maybe a few that you haven't yet. See you all next time!]