Parodies, Actors, and Muppets, Oh My… My Responses to the May 2024 “Make It So” Star Trek Writing Prompts

Photo by Dom Talbot on Unsplash

Here are my responses to the writing prompts for May 2024 in the Star Trek publication “Make It So.”

#1. What are your favorite Star Trek parodies? You can list songs, YouTube videos, TV show skits, etc.

I know the “correct” answer is probably supposed to be Galaxy Quest or the Black Mirror episode “U.S.S. Callister,” but I’m the oddball that doesn’t like those that much. To me, the clear winner is The Orville, which I think does count as a parody in the broad sense, falling more into the homage category than spoof.

I’m not even a Seth MacFarlane fan. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a full episode of The Family Guy, I have mixed feelings about the Ted movies, I’ve only seen a few clips from A Million Ways to Die in the West, and The Orville itself got off to a rocky start in the first few episodes of season 1. But, MacFarlane quickly proved himself to be a true Star Trek fan and a great caretaker of the messages Star Trek stands for.

Some moments from the first few episodes of The Orville were a little too goofy, but the show soon found the right balance between humor, good sci-fi elements, and genuine allegorical storytelling. From season 1, “Majority Rules” is a better story about absolute…