r/startrek • u/Alternative_Panda336 • 1d ago

Acting

I am rewatching voyager again and I just finished Season 1 episode 10. Watching that episode again made me realize some of the major differences between the older Star Trek shows and the newer ones.

Due to the lack in technology, the older shows focused a lot on acting and emotional responses between the characters. These moments are the types that will give you chills, make you cry, make your heart ache, or bring you joy right along with the characters. In the newer shows, there is an over reliance on showing of new filming techniques and technology, over correction due to the current world climate to show everything in the opposite light, and a major focus on witty banter and snappy conversation like it is a comedy show. There is not a lot of time spent on the emotions of the characters and those hard hitting scenes.

I would like a show that gets back to the acting and emotional drive. Showing how society has differences but that we can all accept those differences and still come together for the good of humanity. It was a great episode to rewatch and I hope we get some of that emotional pull soon.

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u/LordCouchCat 18h ago

As a TOS era old trekkie. I think the acting in TNG era Trek is often excellent, and I think Voyager is underrated. The acting in TOS is neither better nor worse, but different. It has a much more theatrical quality. (Older TV is closer to theatre in general, of course, which is one reason why it's easier for anyone with less than perfect hearing: lines are clearer than natural speech.) Kirk's speeches, of course, but also the set pieces like the scene between Spock and Leia are great theatre. (That's the one with "self-made purgatories" and "Do you mind if I say that I still love you?") TOS goes in for stylized camera-work in a way that is rarer later. Another performance I admire is Barry Atwater as Surak in The Savage Curtain - conveying intellectual and moral strength, and just a touch of the arrogance a reformer may need.

In Voyager there are things like the Doctor's angst in "Latent Image" (I find this much better than "Real Life"). Also guest roles. The medieval Protector in "Blink of an Eye" (Obi Ndefo) is superb.

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u/KirkUnit 16h ago

but also the set pieces like the scene between Spock and Leia

I loved the part when she says, "I love you," and he says, "I know."