Satire
Star Trek became one of the most frequent subjects for satire in the late 20th century, as something stylistically unique but familiar to TV audiences for 40 years. While some would argue that numerous later episodes were unwitting self-parodies, the show does have a sense of humour. Certainly with The Voyage Home the writers knew how to mock themselves.
Still, humorists on the "outside" have been able to give more critical portraits of the earnest franchise. The best use Star Trek conventions as troupes or backdrops, to enlightening an original story. Here we look at the most enduringly popular satires to discover their appeal.
Pigs in Space. This was the first sustained TOS satire. During the early '70s Star Trek was occasionally spoofed by sketch comedy programs, but The Muppet Show began a regular segment in 1976. While the Pigs owed just much to 1940s serials, their ship was christened the USS Swinetrek, and the resemblance of Captain Link Hogthrob and Dr. Strangepork to Kirk and Spock is unmistakable. Miss Piggy is the karate-chopping and highly "flappable" first mate. Many viewers wished there had been such a strong female lead on the Enterprise. The humour mixes overt slapstick with subtle subversion, as do many of Jim Henson's skits. This was one of the show's most popular segments and attracted Mark Hamill as guest star.
The program ended in 1981, but the gang returned with their own, second program in 1996's Muppets Tonight. It inevidably featured Deep Dish Nine: The Next Generation of Pigs In Space but - like the rest of the show - was short lived, and wrapped in 1998. The next year brought the feature film Muppets from Space, in which Gonzo attempts to find his origin. The film is generally a delight but expands its range of parody so greatly that Star Trek is taken for granted. By then the satire had been done better, elsewhere.
Saturday Night Live. SNL boasted an infamous sketch in 1987, with William Shatner telling a convention crowd to "Get a life!" (Recycled later for a book title.) While many have seen this crucial, perfect moment, skit in its entirety proves less entertaining. The transcript can be read online. Your webmasters would would be remiss in their geekery if not pointing out there are many trivia errors on the part of the Emcee - they might have been designed to irritate the "true fans", but are more likely the result of laziness. The skit might also be blamed for the common misconception that fans refer to each episode by number. Firstly, this is confusing because production order and airdates differed, to say nothing of international syndication. While Paramount has assigned official numbers in the DVD age, few really have them memorized. Secondly, it's easier to spit out "Errand of Mercy" than "Episode 51." (It's actually #27.) These few minutes might possibly have done more harm for Star Trek fans than good, and served as a crude snub. Anyway, the burned-out stars theme is more convincing in Galaxy Quest and Shatner outclasses himself in Free Enterprise. SNL is, well, just a sketch.
Spaceballs. This film also hit screens in 1987, a somewhat delayed reaction to Star Wars but also the first movie to poke fun at the venerable Star Trek. Typical of director Mel Brooks's work, this is "lowbrow humour", but includes some surprisingly sophisticated scenes, such as Dark Helmet viewing himself in his copy of Spaceballs: The Movie. The major TOS references are to the transporters - which beam the president across ships with his head on backwards - operated by a Scot in full regalia; the abundance of merchandise; and an attempt at the Vulcan neck pinch, referred to by name. Though somewhat of a box office dud, the film has since found a deserved home audience. In fact, the Special Edition DVD was released to coincide with Revenge of the Sith. Yogurt, wise sage and expert salesmen, would be proud.
Star Wreck. The decidedly uncreative name of not one but two ongoing series. The first is a run of graphic novels that still kick around used bookstores, penned by Leah Rewolinski and illustrated by Harry Trumbore. The first book was 1989's Star Wreck: The Generation Gap, and seven more titles followed in the '90s. Though good natured, the barrage of puns and in-jokes within can grow tiresome, and there is no original universe to explore. These books have set the mold for many later Internet projects, however.
The other Star Wreck began as one such project, a series of computer animated videos in Finnish by Samuli Torssonen. It has grown in wit and sophistication since its inception in 1992, and now uses live actors. We can now download the full length film Star Wreck. While a lot of the intended jokes fall flat, one must admire the audacity of showing a crew of Star Trek type time travellers using their advanced technology to establish dictatorships on Old Earth. Definitely for those who take their humour black.
Sev Trek. Another Internet feature, this is a popular cartoon by Australian "pro" John Cook. From 1994 on, he encouraged visitors to submit their own punch lines that solved longtime Star Trek mysteries from all series and films. The winner was voted by panel. Like Star Wreck the characters are identical to their onscreen counterparts (and drawn in a Simpsons-esque style), with only a few letters of their names changed. It was easy for readers to reference the show in their submissions. While some punch lines were so good they've since become online catchphrases (like "Bean me up!" and "Our brains shrunk!"), most are predictable groaners.
The comic's strength lay in interaction, since not only could one read the various submissions, but webmasters could add the rotating comic as a feature on their sites. Those who desired more than a quick chuckle could order the feature-length, 3D-animated film Puss in Boots or browse the archives. Unfortunately, one must now pay a fee to access the old cartoons, and John is busy with many other science fiction parodies and original projects.
Free Enterprise. A romantic comedy with a Trekker twist, released independently in 1998. Mark and Robert are science fiction geeks, to be sure, but also parody the lifestyle of mostly unsuccessful L.A. filmmakers. For all their ideas they can't be motivated to truly do anything. Their "big break" comes as they run into William Shatner. Whether the stars are too geeky or too Hollywood has been hotly debated, as has the presence of the beautiful female geek. (Some say they do not exist, but have faith.) The boys do seem to be the result of a '90s trend of casting characters - not entirely realistically - as both socially cool and pop culture savvy, as seen in TV shows like Buffy and Gilmore Girls. But Mark and Robert, particularly in childhood flashbacks, are guys with whom one can identify, whether they are correcting their moms who say "Star Track," beating up Star Wars fans, or spending the rent money on action figures. All the trivia is accurate too.
The standard romance plot is overpowered by Shatner's scenes: as imaginary friend, harried celebrity, or rap star. In fact, No Tears for Caesar was released as a music video, the loss of context hardly a problem. Even if the script's humour is not to everyone's taste (and may be a little mature for young fans) this rap version of Mark Antony's famous speech is immensely funny to anyone willing to lend their ears. While not a perfect film, Free Enterprise was one small step towards . . .
Galaxy Quest. This 1999 film stands as the most complete and concise TOS satire yet created. While affectionate to the franchise it acknowledges hard truths. It's broad in its appeal but filled with sly references, and it allows its characters - for the first time - to have their own memorable identities. This is probably because they are based on the Star Trek actors, with their human failings. There's a lot of Shatner in Tim Allen's pompous Jason Nesmith, likewise Nimoy in Alan Rickman's Alexander Dane, but also enough differences to make each a sympathetic individual. Galaxy Quest - their science fiction TV show - aired in 1982, at which time no Star Trek incarnation was on air. Again, direct comparisons are avoided. Decades later, the show remains a cult hit, but the burnt-out actors are consigned to the convention circuit and humiliating promotions. Each holds onto resentment and unfulfilled dreams that will be realized in the course of this adventure.
The premise: aliens have also been watching the show, mistaking it for "historic documents," and believing this brave crew can save them from an evil oppressor. They have the technology to recreate the show's space ship and beam the crew aboard, but not much courage. It takes some time for the aging actors to adopt "real" positions, and for the aliens to learn the true nature of the TV show. The day is saved, the series is back on air with renewed purpose.
The most effective sort of humour is character-based, so it's no surprise that Galaxy Quest's well-drawn personalities provide many laughs. The veteran cast - Allen and Rickman, plus Sigourney Weaver and Tony Shalhoub - are adept at comedy, though the bit parts from ensigns, fan boys, and the awkwardly-moving and yelping aliens are as effective. GQ understands what draws fans to something like Star Trek (security, sentimentality, occasionally a sense of wonder) without chiding them for it. But anyone can enjoy this broad comedy and feel for the Galaxy Quest crew. One can hope this will be a model for other satirical films to follow.
Futurama. This 1999 animated half-hour television series was sprung from the same mind as The Simpsons, that of Matt Groening. The style is similar, though the character designs are more individual, the space imagery computer enhanced, and the color palette brighter. After pizza delivery boy Phillip J. Fry falls into a cryogenic freezing chamber, he wakes up in the 30th century to a world alarmingly different yet strangely familiar. Greoning describes this world as "materially overdeveloped and morally underdeveloped," much like our own. The dark humour gives Futurama an edge, which - like the pathos found in Galaxy Quest - anchors the frequent silliness.
Fry works in a space delivery company run by his distant grandson, Professor Farnsworth. The delivery ship is piloted by butt-kicking, one-eyed babe Leela, and staffed by the surly robot Bender, the lobster-monster Dr. Zoidburg, Rasta man bureaucrat Hermes, and ditzy intern Amy Wong. Dozens of clever recurring characters can also be spotted, including Zap Brannigan and Kif, extreme take-offs of Kirk and Spock. They work for DOOP, the Democratic Order of Planets. Bender also has a goatee-sporting "good" twin, Flexo, in the TOS tradition of doubles. Leonard Nimoy's Head is a recurring character.
Fans will spot a few Star Trek references per episode. The pilot begins with a star field and the word "Space . . ." and features some malfunctioning automatic doors and the wisdom of Nimoy's Head. The three episodes that owe the most to TOS are: Why Must I Be A Crustacean in Love?, in which Dr. Zoidburg's mating drive pulls him towards a situation very similar to Amok Time (and the "fight music" is his national anthem); The Problem with Popplers, which combines tribbles and Soylent Green; and Where No Fan Has Gone Before, starring the voices of the entire (living) TOS cast. In this fan's dream-come-true of an episode, an energy being kidnaps the cast to hold as playthings. No one on Earth notices, however, because any mention of Star Trek has been banned for centuries, after the fandom grew into a religious cult. Only Fry remembers it, and sets out to rescue the actors. That the Futurama and Star Trek casts can exist in the same world is proof of their distinct and equally endearing personalities. The best moments use motifs of both programs: Fry improvising a longbow with caterpillars (who fly back at him when launched), Leela kickboxing then making out with Shatner, and so on.
While Futurama ran for only 5 intermittent seasons on FOX, it has since found a large DVD audience. Four direct to DVD features, beginning with Bender's Big Score, were released between 2007 and 2009. Since Futurama uses Star Trek as one of many building blocks, it can stand on its own terms.
Honorable Mentions. You'll notice that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Red Drawf are not mentioned above, despite their tremendous popularity. This is because they draw on the British science fiction tradition - Doctor Who, Blake's 7 and written science fiction - rather than American television. Nonetheless, both are savagely funny and highly recommended.
The 1996-2001 science fiction sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun features William Shatner as the Big Giant Head, and contains some TOS references. However, the show simply uses science fiction to mock sitcom conventions, rather than examining SF itself. Its predecessors are Mork & Mindy and Alf, though 3rd Rock is funnier and more imaginative than these.
1997's Trekkies and its 2004 sequel, Trekkies 2 were marketed as comedies, but are in fact unsettling "stranger than fiction" documentaries.