For example, the Federation’s founding members (Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, Humans) were the subject of fan theories and “fanon” for many years before the ENT writers made it official. One of the interesting (and fun) aspects of this recent wave of series has been seeing the writers increasingly add nods to fan theories and pieces of fanon lore over the years. What are some good examples of this?
And relatedly: what’s a fan theory, or piece of fanon, that you suspect the current writers believe, even if they haven’t explicitly stated it on-screen?
Star Trek has always talked about Starfleet and the Federation as organizations that are worthy of trust. But practically every series has had examples of badmirals and evil bureaucracy, typically with ‘our’ heroes being the ones to fight against it. From stealing the Enterprise in TSFS to The Drumhead to Section 31 to petty theft Archer to Control and the Zhat Vash to the Illyrians, being and/or fighting against a compromised or infiltrated or just simply bad Starfleet has been a long recurring theme. That’s why I loved when they turned that theme on its head in Lower Decks, with an entire episode based around fighting the evil Starfleet ended up superfluous because Starfleet was actually a fundamentally good organization and, as it turned out, the system actually works. I feel like the writers of Lower Decks are the only ones who really believe that…everybody else seems to want to scratch at the surface to see what they feel really lies beneath. Although, having said that, they ended the same season with a badmiral, so idk.
Lower Decks is such a great show. You’re spot on about it not being cynical about the Federation, etc.
I feel like some of the writers finally came around- for example In Discovery S3 the emerald chain wants to co opt the name of the Federation because the Federation is still viewed very highly.
I also appreciate that we see the motivation behind being a badmiral