Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds (which is shaping up to the best Star Trek series since The Orville) introduced in a recent episode that the female First Officer Una ("Number One") is from a genetically engineered superhuman race known as the Illyrians.  She's hidden her origins (and her strength) until now because reasons.  In the episode "Ghosts of Illyria" she slings a much larger colleague over her shoulder and carries him to sick bay, and engages in a physical battle with the female security chief, already known to be from genetically altered stock.  Not sure if they're going to do anything with having two superhuman females on the bridge that we would find interesting, but it might be something to keep an eye on.

Woodclaw wrote:

www1969 wrote:

Strange New Worlds (which is shaping up to the best Star Trek series since The Orville) introduced in a recent episode that the female First Officer Una ("Number One") is from a genetically engineered superhuman race known as the Illyrians.  She's hidden her origins (and her strength) until now because reasons.  In the episode "Ghosts of Illyria" she slings a much larger colleague over her shoulder and carries him to sick bay, and engages in a physical battle with the female security chief, already known to be from genetically altered stock.  Not sure if they're going to do anything with having two superhuman females on the bridge that we would find interesting, but it might be something to keep an eye on.

 

Its' not exactly "because reasons", genetic manipulation (except to help people with life-threatening diseases) is a massive problem in Star Trek, ever since the Eugenetic Wars that plagued Earth at the end of the 20th century. In short, humans who receive pre-birth manipulation to ensure they become "perfect specimen" tend to also get a massive god-complex. There are a few exceptions (like Julian Bashir from DS9), but they are few and far between. Other species had slightly more success with genetic manipulation, like the Denobulans, but they never applyed it in a way as radical as late 20th century humans did.
 

I am as big a Star Trek fan as they come, but I realize many people aren't and don't need the detailed back story.

My wife is even worse.  Most episodes of...well...almost any of them, she describes as, "Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, the ship's in trouble."

Illyria was also the very powerful superwoman from the Buffy Vampire Slayer world. buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Illyria

www1969 wrote:

Woodclaw wrote:

www1969 wrote:

Strange New Worlds (which is shaping up to the best Star Trek series since The Orville) introduced in a recent episode that the female First Officer Una ("Number One") is from a genetically engineered superhuman race known as the Illyrians.  She's hidden her origins (and her strength) until now because reasons.  In the episode "Ghosts of Illyria" she slings a much larger colleague over her shoulder and carries him to sick bay, and engages in a physical battle with the female security chief, already known to be from genetically altered stock.  Not sure if they're going to do anything with having two superhuman females on the bridge that we would find interesting, but it might be something to keep an eye on.


 

Its' not exactly "because reasons", genetic manipulation (except to help people with life-threatening diseases) is a massive problem in Star Trek, ever since the Eugenetic Wars that plagued Earth at the end of the 20th century. In short, humans who receive pre-birth manipulation to ensure they become "perfect specimen" tend to also get a massive god-complex. There are a few exceptions (like Julian Bashir from DS9), but they are few and far between. Other species had slightly more success with genetic manipulation, like the Denobulans, but they never applyed it in a way as radical as late 20th century humans did.

 

I am as big a Star Trek fan as they come, but I realize many people aren't and don't need the detailed back story.

My wife is even worse.  Most episodes of...well...almost any of them, she describes as, "Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, the ship's in trouble."

Star Trek was always formulaic, but that was part of its charm. It always starts with them investigating something or finding some new aliens which involves characters on the ship interacting in cute ways and then talking to dangerous aliens on the big screen in perfect English,  and soon the ship is moments from destruction before someone makes a fairly obvious suggestion. Spock then spends about 3 seconds analyzing it and deciding it's worth trying, so they do it and instantly escape the jaws of death largely unscathed -- yet again. 

I expected all that going in. It's the character interactions and development on the ship that I watch the show for, and the new show does not disappoint. People are having all the normal human troubles and concerns and interactions and problems, maybe with some interesting wrinkles, all in the midst of a story that's set thousands of light years from home and beyond any help. Teamwork and science solves every problem.

We know they'll tweak something or unleash a clever tactic that befuddles the alien bad guys and its back to business as usual on the ship before the credits roll. 

As far as the genetic augmentation aspects of the new story line... I look forward to that. While Roddenberry always had this strong belief that enhancing the physical characteristics and power/strength of a person instantly gives them a god-complex and turns them into homicidal maniacs bent on conquering all ordinary humans, I look forward to a more balanced and nuanced portrayal of augmentation in this new series. How it it can be good, but only if the person involved has strong moral underpinnings (as most Star Fleet officers do). 

I also like that Seth, right from the start, wanted to feature females with augmented or even super strength. Very different than Khan and the Botany Bay crew in the earlier series, where there were so hot and presumably superstrong females, but they were never featured. I suspect that Seth sees that augmented physical powers in a nurturing female could turn out very different than giving those abilities to an aggressive and dominant male. Although not always.

That's kind of been my fictional theme since the early 90's, especially when it involves some SciFi elements, so its very interesting to me to see Seth's interpretation in a mainstream SciFi show. 

(Although I read some despairing comments elsewhere recently that claimed genetically augmented females are kind of Seth's personal "cock socket" fantasy. Crude term, but I get what they were trying to say. Sex with augmented females opens up some fantastical avenues to explore. Seth's personal life and fantasies are his own business, and I don't expect to see much of this concept explored in the show, but I enjoy the glimpse of his imagination that Seth gives us. Sparks of imagination are good no matter where they come from.)

Shadar