The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 19, 1996, Page 5, Image 5
T
Voyager, Dee
LUCY ARNOLD Asst. Features Editor
Now that a full year of Voyager has aired,
it's time for another look at the 30-year Star Trek
tradition. How do the current series fare in
comparison to the first two classics? Well, it may
just be one woman's opinion, but let's just say
it's a Trek-ucated one.
Despite the roaring success of the original
Trek, Next Generation and the fledgling Voyager,
Deep Space Nine has taken more heat than
Scottys engines ever took from Kirk. Strange ,
enough, since DS9 boasts better plot and character
development, more realistic situations and stronger
writing than any other Trek.
Many Trekkies defected from the ranks for
the first time with Deep Space Nine. Some cite
the stationary nature of the show; instead of
flying around the galaxy in search of new
adventures to have and new women (of any shade '
of hideous green) to enjoy, the crew of DS9 is
forced to sit around Quark's bar entertaining
themselves in the holo-suite. <
But the stationary quality of DS9 gives it a
Stars come ou
ASSOCIATED PRESS asan"ea
For Mariah Carey, it was the music ^ the 1
of Gladys Knight and the Hps that pulled discjocke
her "through a lot of lonely times" and ^n^le n
touched a chord.
Carey repaid the favor Wednesday ps'.
night by introducing the soul-singing p?Vf mSr
group during the Rock and Roll Hall of ^
Fame's 11th annual induction ceremony. Knig
Also inducted were the Shirelles, culminat
David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane, Pink ?pr0I
Floyd, the Velvet Underground and the goals foi
late blues balladeer Little Willie John, packed G
Folk singer Pete Seeger was honored Waldorf
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Sponsored by the Office of Student Organiza,
The Gi
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p opace in lilt:
depth the other shows never had. Instead of w
stumbling onto a planet of barbarians, wrecking li]
their lifestyle and then taking off and leaving
them to clean up the mess, Sisko and company tl
have to deal, week after week, with the problems tt
they cause. it
The down side is obvious: to keep up, you si
can't miss too many episodes. But the political a
entanglement, personality clashes and less-than- V
cohesive nature of the crew make for more
intriguing plot lines than the Kirk-dominated fi;
original crew or the way-too-happy crew of Next ai
Generation. K
This season Lieutenant Commander Worf (v
from the Next Generation joined Deep Space fo
Nine in an attempt to raise ratings for the newer ca
show. And as we all know, everybody loves a ec
Klingon. Unfortunately, Michael Dorn (Worf) al
has basically been used as background filler, of
There has been little, if any, character development
for him. This is incredibly disappointing considering a
the way Worf was filled out in the last few seasons 11
of Next Generation. th
Voyager, on the other hand, has been welcomed T
it for the Rock
riy influence" on rock performers, "We wanted a (
ate Tom Donahue, a pioneering a hit record, we a
y in San Francisco, was inducted Copacabana and w
on-performer" category. Hall of Fame one <3
3 years, Knight sang with the The group sco
r brother Bubba Knight and "Midnight Train b
William Guest and Edward and won a 1989 (
fhe group split up eight years Overboard."
Madonna, hers
ht called their induction the for the Rock and
ion of a dream. credited Bowie foi
n the very beginning, we set path to stardom.
ourselves," Knight told the Hearing Bowi
Irand Ballroom at Manhattan's concert, at 15, ms
Astoria Hotel. woman," the Matei
? what over 250
organizations
to offer you!
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re information,
780 or stop by the ;
Activities Center.
Hons Department of Student Life Division ofSti
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imecock Friday, Januar
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welcome adc
ith open arms by Trekkies and publications fe
ke TV Guide" tx
Now there is something good to be said for
le newest incarnation of Trek. For one thing, a(
tere's a female captain, to which I can only say, A
's about time. Unfortunately, Janeway has to w
lare the limelight with Chakotay, the former is
iptain of a Maquee ship, now second officer on gr
oyager. th
It may be a subtle detail, but Voyager is the re
rst ship with two even chairs for the captain ot
id the second in command. If you'll remember, ""
irk's Enterprise had only one command chair ef
nth Sisko's Defiant on DS9 following the same E;
rmat) and Picard had three chairs, with the lil
iptain's chair clearly in the center. Having two st
pial chairs seems to undermine Janeway's to
lility to captain on her own, without the help or
'some man.
There is one basic problem with Voyager as he
program. It's Gilligan's Island in outer space. W
think you may recall the basic plot: every week fr
ley try to get home and every week they fail, bt
tie basic futility of the whole thing makes me Bi
: and Roll Hal
jrammy, we wanted accepted the award for the al
vanted to play the "I was your normal dys
e wanted to be in the rebellious teen-ager from th
lay." she said. "He has truly char
red its biggest hit, Thank you, David, where^
o Georgia," in 1973, for inspiring me."
jrammy for "Love Inspiration was a com
among the presenters,
self a future shoo-in poignantly about the music
Roll Hall of Fame, their lives,
r setting her on the Beverly Lee of the Sh
pointed in her acceptance s
e at her first rock "We deserve this. What
ide her "a changed long?" she asked before joini
nal Girl said, as she surviving members of the gr
(fi
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i 19, 1996
litions to Star
ie Midwest," Harris died of a heart attack in 1!
iged my life. Of the Velvet Underground, w]
rer you are, had a short but influential existe
inductor Path Smith was typically pc
mon theme "They opened wounds worth open
who spoke with brutal innocence."
that shaped Band members John Cale, Lou I
and Maureen Tucker performed "1
irelles was Night I Said Goodbye to My Frie
peech. their tribute to guitarist Sterling Morr
j l l v i n i j
ilkjk you so wno aiea or cancer rase year,
ngtheother Cale said the honor "makes
oup, Shirley astonishing point to young musici
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el weary of the show before the opening theme t
jgins. - r
But if Voyager were having some original c
iventures, maybe that would save the show, g
pparently, Voyager's writers spend a lot of time J
atching original Trek episodes, because Voyager a
basically a rehashing of plots that weren't that jeat
in the '60s. Remember the giant space blob
lat turned out to be (gasp!) alive? Or maybe you v
(call all of the space/time anomalies and, well,
her anomalies Kirk bumped into. v
Voyager also took cues from the successful t
)isodes of Next Generation that involved popular .
arth characters from the 19th and 20th centuries,
te Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes s
ones. This season we found out what happened a
Amelia Earhart on Voyager. (DS9 elaborated c
1 the incident at Roswell.)
So what's the verdict? Do DS9 and Voyager ^
)ld up the fine Star Trek tradition of the past? d
rell, it's not black and white. DS9 is a departure t
om Gene Roddenbenys original concept. He tl
;lieved in having no friction among the crew. S
ut DS9 is a better show than it's predecessors n
1 of Fame ind
bsent rocker. Alston and Doris Kenner-Jacksoi
sfunctional, sing a brief medley of Shirelles hits, ft
5
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'
Trek family>ecause
of this strife. It's a show that deals with
elationships, which we can relate to. You just
an't get teary eyed over the fate of a computer
generated amorphous blob, whether or not it's
iving. And when you come down to it, Star Trek
ilways has been and always should be about
nterpersonal relations.
Voyager is still a show just getting used to
talking in its squeaky new shoes. And the cast
3 fantastic, like any Star Trek ensemble. And
rhen you look back, Next Generation and DS9
ook some time to really get things together,
^oyager has had the advantage of a loyal and
upportive audience from day one. Give the show
mother year, and they may be the best thing to
ome out of Trek.
But for now, Voyager is dragging and Deep
Space Nine is full of life. Trek fans who were
iisgusted with DS9 early on should consider
aking a new look at an old station. And hang in
here with Voyager, because the best thing about
Star Trek is you never know what will happen
iext.
uctions
1, to all over the world. Sales are not the belicki
all and end-all of rock 'n' roll. Inspiration
^ and artistic freedom is the cornerstone
luch of rock'n'roll."
nee,
Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead
ing( introduced his fellow San Franciscans,
Jefferson Airplane, describing the group
teed as "the best in the world en many a night"
Last Riek Wright, a member of Pink Floyd,
. ' accepted the honor with grace.
"Sitting here tonight, I was thinking,
3 an we've all touched people with our music,"
lans ne saia. lnat what I wanted to do.
' v
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