I am a major fan of many of the Star Trek series, especially Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. What I really enjoy about these series is how they illustrate the efficacy of man’s mind. In the Star Trek Universe, the human race has developed the means to travel vast distances in space, where their primary mission is to “seek out new life” and to “boldy go where no man has gone before.” During their adventures, they meet and interact with thousands of different civilizations and encounter a number of problems which, in every episode, work to solve. The key to the majority of these episodes is the intelligence and reason used to come up with solutions to some very complicated problems which almost always have a very scientific nature.
Also, the Star Trek Universe displays an extremely optomistic future, where reason and intelligence reign supreme, and which the quality of life for human beings, as well as many other species, is quite high.
There are some negatives about the series though, but I do not think they make too much of an impact. One such negative is what’s called The Prime Directive which states that no starship captain may interfere with another culture. However, I find it promising that most of the starship captains of these series violated that stupid directive constantly, especially Captain Janeway of the Star Trek: Voyager series. Another negative about the series is the sometimes evident logic vs. emotion dichotomy which can be seen in the species, the Vulcans. The Vulcans repress their emotions because they believe in logic above all. This false dichotomy has been present in almost all of the series at some point, but it was present the most in the original Star Trek series, (which I do not really like), in which the character of Spock embodied this false dichotomy.
Also, most of the Star Trek movies have left much to be desired. I specifically do not enjoy most of the movies with the original crew in it. My favorite Star Trek movie by far is Star Trek: First Contact, in which the Borg (which I will comment on shortly) attempt to assimilate Earth by traveling back in time.
These negatives however are not usually present all that often.
As to the Borg, I believe that they are one of the best enemies in fiction that I have ever seen. The Borg are a collection of thousands of different species which have been assimilated into one collective consciousness. The Borg advocate the “perfection” of the unified whole, the collective, the group, and they continue to assimilate more and more species in the attempt to reach that perfect unified whole. The Borg believe in the elimination of the individual into a collective, and they are brutally ruthless in doing so. They assimilate hundreds of entire worlds and become stronger and stronger. They are extremely powerful, as in a two-parter episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where one Borg cube (a ship) destroyed about 40 Federation ships (the Federation is a large group of peaceful worlds that combine their exploration and defense capabilities, and at the heart of the Federation is the human race). The Borg originated in the Star Trek: Next Generation series and have had a lot of encounters with Star Trek captains ever since.
The main reason why I think the Borg represent such a good enemy is because they represent the three major evil philosophies in mankind’s history: mysticism, collectivism, and altruism.
For all these reasons and many more, I love the Star Trek Universe (despite the few occasinal flaws). You can find repeats of Star Trek: The Next Generation on TNN, and you can find repeats of Star Trek: Voyager in syndication (it is on UPN Saturday night at 7 around here).
The Star Trek Universe illustrates the efficacy of man’s mind, the supremacy of reason and science, and the potential of man’s greatness. A great story indeed.
