Discrimination may not have existed in Gene Roddenberry’s idyllic vision of the 23rd century, but it did in the 80s.
A controversial episode deemed “too gay” to air is finally coming out. “Blood and Fire”, which was originally written for Star Trek: The Next Generation, has been adapted for the web series Star Trek: New Voyages.
In it Kirk’s gay nephew asks the captain to marry him but the honeymoon is interrupted by an outbreak of blood worms (a metaphor for AIDS).
But Kirk’s nephew isn’t the only one getting screwed. Until this episode, I hadn’t even heard of this web series – and now I know why! It’s awful. And I don’t just mean because of the low budget that makes the original Star Trek look cutting-edge. That’s to be expected as it’s made by fans for free.
I can’t tell if James Cawley is doing a bad William Shatner impression or just utterly lacking emotions. They should have cast him as Spock. And speaking of Spock, he’s NOT portrayed accurately at all. In one scene Spock discovers a strange phenomenon that behaves similarly to waves & particles, which he dubs wavicles. Wavicles? Spock word never make up a word (Data maybe). Spock would just call it “the phenomenon” or “wave particles” but not wavicles.
If that wasn’t enough to stop your suspension of disbelief, Bones breaks the 4th wall by telling Kirk to relax as “we don’t put bullseyes on red shirts anymore.”
For all its fault, it’s required viewing for Trekkies. Download “Blood and Fire” and other episodes from http://phase2.us:1701/index.html?sort=1
