Sex And The City vs. Star Trek

With motion pictures pending for each iconic fracchise, it struck me that some discussion of "Star Trek" and "Sex and the City" was in order. Dare we compare? I do! You can read my analysis in the first few messages of this discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:41pm: I have always enjoyed "Sex and the City" because it reminds me of "Star Trek" so much. WHAT? Yes! For either serires, a typical episode begins with a voice-over; the principle character provides exposition, while using a computer to record thoughts and observations.

Captain's Log: "We have started calculations for time-travel, despite significant potential for catastrophe."

Carrie Bradshaw: "Later, I'll be hopping a cab to my high-school reunion, but is it ever really safe to revisit the past?"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:43pm: In the orginal "Star Trek" series, there were rare occasions when Spock adressed Captain Kirk as "Jim" in recognition of friendship. Along those lines, I can well imagine Mr. Spock with a fatherly hand on the shoulder of Carrie Bradshaw. He cautions: "You must not 'get back' with Big, Carrie. That would be higly illogical."

Conversly, I can picture Miranda on the bridge of the Enterprise, advising Kirk: "Oh no, don't tell me that you are trusting the Romulans again! Remember how they burned you the last time?"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:44pm: When Carrie convenes her pals, for lunch, at a café or delicatessen, it is like Kirk, meeting his senior officers, around the conference table. Just as Spock and McCoy represent logic versus emotion, Miranda and Charlotte portray reason versus romance. To put things in Jane Austen terms, Spock and McCoy personify "sense" and "sensibility" respictively (without bonnets) or swap Miranda for Spock and swap Charlotte for McCoy.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:44pm: Samtha? She is... um... Scotty? You know, good with mechanical devices.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 16, 2008 at 4:55pm: Of course, Kim Cattrall played the vulcan named Valeris in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" -- an extra "Star Trek" connection.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:45pm: No, seriously, whereas McCoy embodies the sum total of human emotion, the Greek concepts of "agape" and "eros" are distinguised in the characters of Charlotte and Samanta, respectively (and feel free to correct my usage of those words, which I have never tried to contrast before; perhaps I should have used "phila" instead).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by NetflixJunkie on May 9, 2008 at 6:45pm: I think that if you compare many well-written shows, you are going to find similarities among most of them.

But Parker's nose does look like the Enterprise.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 7:29pm: The universality of all stories is one of my points, really.

[:-)] Mark; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mercurio3 on May 16, 2008 at 6:19pm: hahaha.. now to think of it, there are sexy customes in both shows, some are from the future and others are from new york.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 7:01pm: But both shows are really about profound friendships, just with radically different settings.

[:-)] Mark; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:47pm: In both "Star Trek" and "Sex and the City" the secondary characters might personify, to some degree, distict facets from the psyche of the main character. When Carrie and Kirk debate thier associates, it might almost be a substitute for an internal monolog (suplementing the use of voice-overs). To me, this is like having a tiny devil on one shoulder and a tiny angel on the other, as in old "Tom and Jerry" cartoons. In the roll of devil's advocate, Spock even looks the part (but ironically, Miranda is a redhead while Samantha is angelic blond). As different aspects of Carrie, there is probably some correspondance of Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte to Freudian terms like "id" and "super-ego" but I leave the matching to a psychology expert. Anybody? What about Spock and McCoy?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on May 9, 2008 at 6:48pm: Cast members and fans often mention "a positive vision of the future" when asked to explain the enduring, universal appeal of "Star Trek" but for me, "Star Trek" is all about camaraderie. Each member of the crew is a highly talented individual, with specialized skills but, united by a common purpose, each is unfalteringly loyal to all the others. If just one crew member is in peril, then every human (and vulcan) resource is brought to bear in effecting a rescue or finding a cure.

For me, the quintessential episode of "Sex and the City" is the one in which Carrie tries to learn the trapeze. On her first attempt, she panics and bolts. On the second attempt, she brings her gang, for moral support, and then she triumphs, as her pals cheer from below. The metaphore of friends as a safty-net is clumsy, perhaps, but one that I can appreciate.; ▶ Reply to This