I don't think a Trek show really finds its feet until it discovers the natural comedy in its characters. TN:G was, I think, always a bit po-faced for me. But in DS9 they seemed to let it rip, to glorius effect.
Aye, but many Trek fans are quite resistant to comedy in their sci-fi... There are actually quite a few comedic episodes in the TNG run (and comedic scenes in more serious episodes), but I agree that in DS9 the writing team were much more willing to explore this!
I think Sci-fi generally has a bit of a rocky relationship with humour. I suspect there is a thread of having been mocked as a kid for being a nerd that makes humour a little suspicious and more so if there's a whiff of the humour somehow mocking the show — like it's creators are laughing at us. But as we've seen, done right, it's brilliant and enhances the show. DS9 made some serious episodes that — to me — were never denigrated by the obvious humour they got out of their character pairings at the right moments.
Never thought of this as 'nerd PTSD' before, but that's an interesting take on this! 😂 We'll take meta-humour in something that is mocking the form (e.g. Galaxy Quest) but are more resistant to comedy within supposedly 'serious' sci-fi universes. I shall ponder this further...
I don't think a Trek show really finds its feet until it discovers the natural comedy in its characters. TN:G was, I think, always a bit po-faced for me. But in DS9 they seemed to let it rip, to glorius effect.
Aye, but many Trek fans are quite resistant to comedy in their sci-fi... There are actually quite a few comedic episodes in the TNG run (and comedic scenes in more serious episodes), but I agree that in DS9 the writing team were much more willing to explore this!
I think Sci-fi generally has a bit of a rocky relationship with humour. I suspect there is a thread of having been mocked as a kid for being a nerd that makes humour a little suspicious and more so if there's a whiff of the humour somehow mocking the show — like it's creators are laughing at us. But as we've seen, done right, it's brilliant and enhances the show. DS9 made some serious episodes that — to me — were never denigrated by the obvious humour they got out of their character pairings at the right moments.
Never thought of this as 'nerd PTSD' before, but that's an interesting take on this! 😂 We'll take meta-humour in something that is mocking the form (e.g. Galaxy Quest) but are more resistant to comedy within supposedly 'serious' sci-fi universes. I shall ponder this further...