I watched it fully expecting to be disappointed by the lack of iridescent paint, but nope it sure has iridescent paint.

I don’t think “Coming of Age” is very clear on this topic. It’s probably best to assume that only one candidate from that small group will be selected, and that there are many similar groups throughout the Federation. A pretty silly way to run things, but… 🤷

And the movie still made nearly $2.8 billion.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to foster healthy online spaces that are free of that sort of nonsense - I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t - but that crowd is a drop in the bucket when it comes to the actual audience.

They’re just loud, obnoxious, and spurred on by grifters.

If there’s one thing people need to realize about the “anti-woke” crowd, it’s that outside of poisoning online spaces, they don’t matter.

They are very loud, but at the end of the day, there’s not actually that many of them. The box office numbers speak for themselves.

And it’s an anecdote, but the single biggest F&F fan I know is a woman.

Can there be stories that anyone—regardless of gender, ethnicity, or country—can enjoy?

Sure - there are plenty of global mega-hits, from the MCU to Star Wars to The Fast and the Furious.

But I don’t think you can (or should, really) separate a work from the cultural context that led to its creation.

It’s Canadian acting icon Callum Keith Rennie (possibly best known as BSG’s Leoben) playing a Kellerun.

He does have some Daniel Craig energy, though.

Sadly, the chances of a last-minute renewal are nil at this point - the sets have been dismantled.

It’s technically been cancelled, but there’s a ten-episode fourth season and a five-episode fifth season on the way first.

Mostly set dressing, stuff that you could find in stores with some light modifications like labels.

And, y’know, a whole-ass turbolift for $10k.

Tragically, I’m pretty sure that particular piece of memorabilia was included in a previous auction. I’m not prepared to go out of my way to find proof, though.

Even so, I’m surprised there are no Starfleet phasers, tricom badges, and the like.

The stellar irony here is that in the Star Trek universe, the United Federation of Planets is a post-scarcity, post-capitalist society where money is obsolete and its enlightened citizens work instead for self-improvement and the betterment of humanity. Hautlence didn’t get this memo, as each Retrovision ’64 will retail for an out-of-this-world $165,000. Only three ardent Trekkies will be able to get one, though, as that’s all that will be made.

Sounds like it’s a matter of their distribution license expiring.

I’ll join the chorus of people recommending it - it’s a lot of fun.

Well, it technically was - they were just given enough runway to wrap it up.

But season 5 will just be six episodes.

Correct!

The Technical Manual explanation is that replicators save storage space by using statistical averaging techniques in the molecular patterns, resulting in single-bit “errors” that some people swear they can taste.

I don’t want to give false hope, because I really don’t think it’s going to happen, but “dismantled” doesn’t necessarily have to mean “destroyed.”

It’d be nice if they kept some of the larger pieces, if only to put on display or something.

There’s certainly a lot of pressure to move productions back to California right now.

Then again, they do own (one of) the buildings in Toronto, and Canada isn’t likely stop being an attractive place to make sci-fi any time soon.

The bigger question is likely the “if it happens” bit.

Seven’s bisexuality was definitely an invention of “Picard” (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

In Mariner’s case, I wouldn’t be surprised if her bisexuality was intended from the beginning.

Let’s not expect miracles…

It’s probably worth noting that this is what he had to say about fiction in general, and Star Trek in particular, a few years ago:

I dislike social commentary. Like… I really hate it. When I’m reading a book, I just want to be entertained, not preached at by the author. Plus, it ruins the wonder of the story if I know the author has a political or social axe to grind. I no longer speculate about all possible outcomes of the story because I know for a fact that the universe of that book will conspire to ensure that the author’s political agenda is validated. I hate that.

Yeah, I didn’t really like the political message aspects of those stories [Stranger in a Strange Land, Brave New World, 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale]. Not that I disagreed with the political point. Just that I didn’t like the political points being there at all. Now, those writers are so good they make compelling and addictive stories despite the political messaging. But that’s often not the case with other stories and other authors.

You’re not mis-reading me, though. I deeply dislike social commentary. For instance, as a lifelong Star Trek fan, it’s always bothered me that there is a presumed “responsibility” within Star Trek shows to talk about social issues. I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.