The Reason Why Star Trek TNG Absolutely Sucked: The Holodeck

[Yavin4]

Think about it. This invention recreates reality based on your desires. No human being would be able to avoid this invention. No human being with human emotions could resist an invention that would allow them to re-unite with dead loved ones or make any fantasy, sexual or non-sexual, come true. The Holodeck would be the most potent drug ever invented. Look at how people are addicted to video games. Look at how people are addicted to the internet. These things are nothing compared to the Holodeck.


Thus, Star Trek TNG would have us believe that human beings would have the emotional discipline to resist this invention and still lead productive lives. Also, human beings would be able to control their addiction to the Holodeck in their normal lives, but they would be able to control their addictions to this invention while at work! Yes, the Holodeck was actually on the ship!

Bottom line, Star Trek TNG almost thought of humans as if they were Vulcans, completely devoid of all emotions.

[BlueJazz]

1. I could resist easily. Well, I might visit sometimes....or perhaps even 3 times a day...or..

...Naw...I want to be LORD of the UNIVERSE.

Bow down...you unworthy peasants!

[DarkTirade]

2. I know I'd spend most of my days there.

[DS1]

3. It was just a bullshit excuse for the theatre kids to get into pirate outfits

[WildEyedLiberal]

4. I thought replicators and "synthehol" were way worse inventions

As a foodie AND a proponent of at least *knowing* how to function without technology, I find the replicator an appalling piece of technology. It's worse than subsisting entirely on field rations for your entire life. The idea that no one eats real food, grown from the ground or obtained from an actual animal, is horrifyingly dystopic. Food is much more than sustenance - it's one of the most important expressions of culture. And "synthehol" - synthetic alcohol that makes you feel "buzzed" without the accompanying impairment - is not only a ridiculous concept but also just as culturally treasonous. So being an epicurean is a bad thing in the 24th century, I guess? People get to enjoy cheap facsimiles of food and booze without all the "bad" side effects? It's like a PC nanny state run amok. I don't WANT to live in a society that has been purged of anything that might be "bad" for me - that's most of the fun of being human!

[pokerfan]

6. Trekkies, true?

I thought Synthehol replicated the taste and smell without the intoxication. (Like that's the reason any drinks.) Didn't Scotty find it revolting?

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. I think it was supposed to make you feel "buzzed" without actually being or some such rot

Otherwise, it'd just be O'Doul's :rofl:

Yeah, Scotty awesomely trashes synthehol scotch in a TNG episode, and Picard's brother (who runs a vineyard) accuses him of not being able to appreciate real wine anymore, so there are references that at least some people really do still drink real alcohol. But what a lame-ass thing to invent to begin with - has Starfleet turned into such a sad bunch of nancies that they can't even handle beer?

[MicaelS]

20. But the Holodeck was SO "Progressive", doncha know....

No REAL animals had to die for that nice thick juicy steak, or that veal cutlet. So that would satisfy the animal rights zealots. Hell, people could wear any fur coat they wanted, even snow leopard. Oooh, a full length snow leopard coat. I would wear one even it if it made me look like a pimp. After all it's not "real". Even no poor plants even had to suffer.

[Blue_Tires]

22. you're just itching for the Soylent Green society to be made real, aren't you?

:silly: :freak: :hide:

[Soylent Brice]

26. i'm not. i would be royally SCREWN.

[MilesColtrane]

5. It's just not realistic.

Most of the crew would have spent their time inventing satisfying new ways of killing an endless stream of Wesley Crusher copies.

[deucemagnet]

7. And how many problems were caused by that thing?

If I were Picard, I would have said, "Get that fucking thing off of my ship!" about two seconds after that Moriarity episode.

[Blue_Tires]

23. +1000000000000000

[TheMightyFavog]

9. How'd you like to be the poor enlisted motherfucker tasked with cleaning the holodeck?

Come on, the holodeck had to be the primo venue for fucking on the entire ship. Someone would have to hose down the thing after each... use.

[MrsBrady]

15. wouldn't they just run a cleaning program?

[kentauros]

21. Part of the "technology" that made the holodecks work at all was

based on their transporter technology. So, cleanup would be simple: just beam it all out into space :)

Then again, they do recycle all wastes onboard and bedsheets do have to be cleaned from time to time...

[Soylent Brice]

27. that reminded me of Randal from Clerks talking about the

jizz mopper as being the worst job in the world.

i guess that means the holodeck would amplify that exponentially.

[csziggy]

10. But then the entire crew would have been Barclay

As IMDB describes him: "He's a dweeb. A systems engineer with personal shortcomings and phobias. He is a social mis-fit who designs his own holographic world to fit his views on life. He's brilliant to a degree, but held back by his own faults." http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0001510/bio

[originalpckelly]

11. You're so right, but perhaps human beings can be bred like dogs...

to get rid of the desire to misuse such a thing. I tend to think that's possible, if we should ever discover a real holodeck.

[kentauros]

12. Weren't there some DS9 eps that addressed the addiction issue?

And I know Babylon 5 addressed the use of holos for sex with the inclusion of the illegal "holo-brothel" in the movie River of Souls. Oh yeah, Martin Sheen stars in this movie as a soul hunter :D

[LeftyMom]

13. Yeah, and in Next Gen Reg clearly had holodeck issues.

In DS9, I seem to recall that Quark stocks a variety of holosuite programs for uhm... eclectic tastes.

[kentauros]

14. There was one episode with Reg and the holodeck that disappointed me in the end.

I can't remember the plot, only that he becomes more and more intelligent and ends up inventing all sorts of technology on the holodeck. Now, where did all the technical know-how go once he no longer had that expanded intellect? Since he had to tell the computer how to build it, that information should still have been recorded. Seems like in later episodes they could have had him at least researching the technology he created. That might have kept him out of the holodeck for self-esteem purposes ;)

And I, too, was thinking of Quark's "unsavory" holodeck escapades he made available

[keroro gunsou]

24. best use of a holodeck

was on DS9, when worf first arrived on the station and met dax and kira...

"nice hat."

i nearly wet my pants laughing at the absurdity of worf's comment and kira in a period piece outfit...

[Skip Intro]

16. Craziness. In the age of the holodeck, humans have progressed far beyond such failings.

Hell, if we've overcome capitalism, discrimination and greed, then we have the ability to distinguish between a vacation in a computer-generated reality and a reality that is real and effects us all.

Kinda like a futuristic sauna, where what you see when you close your eyes becomes "real."

Humankind has evolved unimaginable leaps from now 'till then.

[dysfunctional press]

17. or- as dennis miller once said(pre-9/11) about virtual reality-

'when joe sixpack can come home from work and have sex with claudia schiffer for 9.95- it's gonna make crack look like sanka.'

[Mythsaje]

18. I knew he was funny once.

Before the brain damage.

[NJmaverick]

19. The holodeck was a poor story telling devise as well

the ship had a tendency to turn inward, to holodeck stories, instead of exploring and encountering new worlds etc. I often will joke that Picard was working on plans of replacing the science labs with more holodeck space.

[foo_bar]

33. agreed, it was a deus ex machina machine

Not that the original show didn't employ some hokey narrative devices, but once there's a holodeck it might as well be a spin-off starring Data in various historical nooks (not that Kirk didn't fight Germans and Hellenes and such), The King and Data, Data vs. Goliath etc., like if the Golden Girls discovered a time travel machine and had zany adventures but flew back to the old folks home at 8:24PM for continuity with the main arc.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

25. The Holodeck beat having the ship keep landing on some damn planet or>>>

>>>another that looks like Earth's old west or Mayberry or a gothic castle or something.

[XemaSab]

28. Speaking of which

In Star Wars, it's amazing how much Naboo looks like Marin County. :crazy:

[Deja Q]

29. Data was the most human character on that show... So was Q.

:evilgrin:

[Pacifist Patriot]

30. Didn't they do a show about a guy who spent too much time in the holodeck?

I thought it was a lazy plot device but not one that ruined the show for me.

[Deja Q]

32. "Hollow Pursuits" (Season 3)

:D

[Occulus]

31. On the other hand, such an invention could also save businesses cash

Think about it. If your job is any of a number of fields that utilize purely mental work (such as writing computer code, or architectural design, or...), having a holodeck available would save lots and lots of time and effort- as well as, perhaps most importantly, construction of equipment from raw materials.

A holodeck music studio? Yes, please.

There are legit uses, but I agree that the entertainment potential is almost too high.

[Yavin4]

34. Not Just Entertainment. Try Emotional

If you lost your loved one, wouldn't you want to spend every waking moment in that Holodeck recreating him/her?