2. It Challenged Gene Roddenberry's Vision
For better or worse, I see Gene Roddenberry as the man whose original pilot for Star Trek was deemed too dull to air. Years later, he almost ended the franchise for a second time with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, thanks to its plodding philosophical debates, lack of dramatic stakes, and inability to understand why fans loved Star Trek. In his last years, Roddenberry made The Next Generation a spiritual successor to The Motion Picture, with most of the same faults. Sadly, Star Trek of the 80's and 90's found its way - and soul - when Roddenberry was not directly involved. Gene Roddenberry was an extremely talented individual. Like George Lucas, he was simply bursting with exciting, ground-breaking ideas ... but he was entirely out of his depth in turning those ideas into solid, gripping stories on his own. It was Roddenberry's collaboration with a number of talented artists that made Star Trek into the icon it is today. Whether it was his original intention or not, the Roddenberry of later years believed that humans would evolve past their frailties. There was almost a "with us or against us" vibe to Roddenberry's dream of a human utopia, with little room for character flaws or contrasting viewpoints. Trek's best writers - Gene Coon, Nicholas Meyer, Ira Steven Behr - realized that societies evolve, but humanity rarely changes. Each generation meets new challenges and new fears ... and not everyone rises to meet those challenges. Deep Space Nine's characters often fail to live up to the Federation's lofty ideals, though they never lose sight of them. Pragmatism enters Star Trek's moral landscape in a way it never had before ... or has since. More than a few Trek fans watch Star Trek for that better tomorrow, for Roddenberry's dream that we, as a people, will get better. Deep Space Nine's world was just as terrible and complex as our own. Deep Space didn't completely abandon Star Trek's ideals. More than the battles fought or the victories won, it's an act of compassion that ends the Dominion War. There's a chance Roddenberry would've liked that.