#he didn't talk about the gay writers on the original series but it's early in the book

[pisshandkerchief]

I judge every history of star trek based on how the author talks about fandom and the genesis of slash fiction

[trillscienceofficer]

from Cinefantastique Vol 28 #4/5, November 1996

TABOO BREAKER: Another Trill gender bender, “Rejoined” echoes TREK's legacy of exploring the nature of love.

By Dale Kutzera

Thirty years ago STAR TREK broke a long-standing television taboo by presenting the first interracial kiss—a fact Gene Roddenberry often boasted about. Early in DS9’s fourth season a similar taboo fell. Though not the first lesbian kiss—LA LAW and ROSEANNE have done it, as did PICKET FENCES (albeit with the lights out)—it was certainly the most passionate. For 15 incredible seconds, Jadzia Dax and the wife of a former host kissed. And not a closed-mouth kiss, turned away from the camera as between Kirk and Uhura. This was passion.

The writers did not set out to create a “gay” show with “Rejoined.” The original story involved a male lover of one of Dax’s previous hosts and how their renewed attraction broke a Trill taboo against relationships with lovers from past lives. “We had talked for a long time about doing the show about Dax and a former spouse,” said staff writer/producer Robert Hewitt Wolfe, “and we always suspected that was a Trill cultural taboo. But how do you make the audience understand that even though Dax is doing something they would find acceptable, it’s against the norms of social behavior for her society? The story came before the decision to do the same sex couple. It was always an analogy to the way homosexual relationships are treated in our society. Trills have no reason to be against same sex couples, but what a better way to show that they are a totally different, alien society than to see them reacting in self-righteous indignation just because they were lovers in a previous life? That society should dictate who you should and should not love is a sad thing and that’s what the show is about. We didn't sit down and say ‘Lets do a gay show.”

Credit Ron Moore with taking Rene Echevarria's story and re-shaping it by making the past lover a woman. “Initially it was a man, she was a woman, and here they are,” said Moore. “I remember reading the story and thinking about it. Literally, I was on my way home and started to think this would be a much stronger story—it would really be a stand-out episode of the series—If this was a woman. Play it as a woman and really go for it. I called Ira from my car and he was receptive and the next day we just dumped it on the staff. It got batted around and there were reservations here and there and then everybody signed on board.”

“Ron is the one that made it happen," said Echevarria. “People had talked about doing a so-called lesbian angle in other contexts. Ron is the one who brought it together and said this is the show. The taboo was Michael Piller’s idea and Ron merged it, saw how they tracked and said, ‘We will do the show and never even mention the fact that these are two women. This taboo tracks with our own taboos or many audience members’ taboos about homosexuality and the argument will track straight down the line and it will be great.”’

Realizing that, as in any story of rejoined lovers, it would inevitably lead to a passionate kiss, Moore wrote a memo to Ira Behr and Rick Berman justifying what could be DS9’s most controversial episode. “We knew it was going to be a controversial episode if we went for it, so we clearly had to go to Rick and the studio,” said Moore. “Rick questioned us. He wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing and why. He focused in on it and then he went to the studio and their reaction was the same: “Why? How is this going to work? How are you going to handle it? Is this going to be just salacious? Is this going to be tasteful? And how far are you going to go?’”

The studio was concerned that some viewers may infer that the two women were having sex, and worried that some affiliate stations would not air the episode. “It really boiled down to how far are you going to go and how are you going to handle it?" continued Moore. “The fact that this show was not known as NYPD BLUE and was this shocking the audience and taking them by surprise? I think we pushed it in the kiss scene. That is a powerful, amazing scene. You can’t get around that. That is the show stopper. It was not a gratuitous scene—I thought I would have done it if that character had been a man. So I didn’t think we were doing it to grab attention. It was the right thing to do in the story and it’s going to hit you in a more powerful way. One of the arguments we used was this is part of our franchise legacy. The original series prided itself on TV’s first interracial kiss. We've been priding ourselves on that for 30 years, so why not take the next step and be true to our ideals and convictions. STAR TREK has a point of view, a not completely middle-of-the-road view of the future. This is part of our view.”

Before proceeding, the general premise was run past actress Terry Farrell. “Ira called me last summer to say Michael [Dorn] was on the show and would I mind kissing a woman?" said Farrell. “At the time I said, ‘As long as she’s beautiful.’ I was just being silly. Then I thought as soon as you get the script I want to see it, because if it is anything sensationalized or a joke I don’t want to do it. [Ira said], ‘No it will be a love story with integrity.’ And I thought it was.”

With the green light given, Moore and Echevarria began work on the script. “This was a love story and the trick was to write it as a love story and forget the fact that she was a woman,” said Moore. “The backstory helped in that they were married once. They were husband and wife—write them that way. Two people who really shared something. One of them died. They never got to say good-bye and years later, in different bodies, they run into each other again and play that out. The thing with the Trill taboo was a perfect metaphor for issues of sexual tolerance and intolerance and we played that taboo without really playing our taboo."

The writers tried not to focus on the fact that both lovers were women, and simply wrote the story as a straight romance. “It’s easy to do on paper because the name Lenara is not one you really associate with women anyway,’’ Moore said. “We made it up. So on paper it’s easy to forget and just write this love story and this taboo is what we’re dealing with. It’s not until you’re sitting in the room watching casting sessions that you got two women playing these scenes and you go, ‘Wow, this is really going to hit you in a different way when you see it.’ But we tried to stay true to just telling the story and not going for the easy shots.”

“I was excited, because they were brave,” said Farrell of the writers. “If I were to change the names to Frank and Sara I totally believed that love story. It didn’t matter what the names were, these two people were in love with each other. I was so happy that I was the one who was willing to fight for the love. I knew people would relate to me. And at the end I was so sad. No matter what anybody else says, it made me really proud.”

For Farrell the episode also offered her an opportunity to express on film her off-screen respect for Avery Brooks. In a moment of critical decision, as Dax contemplates breaking the Trill taboo and throwing her future into chaos, Sisko advises her against the hasty decision, but vows to stand by her whatever her choice may be. “I didn’t even need to do homework on that scene. I just used my relationship with Avery. The first year was very difficult to adjust to the dialog. People got impatient with me, other directors and other actors. I was 28 years old. but I felt like I was 18. I lost my confidence. I must have driven them nuts, but Avery was always very supportive and strong. He really helped me build my confidence. He’s strong and silent. I don’t know anything about him personally, but he’s been incredibly giving to me emotionally. We cried a lot on that scene. A lot more than you saw. It felt weird not crying too hard, but holding back. It helped to have a director [Brooks] you trust. I needed his opinion on that.”

Director Brooks had Farrell and gueststar Susanna Thompson (who earned thepraise of everyone involved in the show) rehearse the critical scene up to the momentof the kiss. The actual description of the scene in the script was general, leaving it up to the actors and director to stage. “I said it was a kiss they have been waiting a hundred years for. It’s a powerful moment, let them do their magic on the set,” said Moore. “Avery and the two actresses staged it and pretty much it was left as Avery, Terry, and Susanna wanted it.”

“It described I was touching her face and whispered in her ear—her husband said it turned her on,” said Farrell. “We rehearsed up to the kiss then stopped. I thought it was great Avery directed it. because he was really into being honest and telling the truth, trying to pretend we’re not aliens in outer space, and being honest in the emotions. Avery talked about being passionate and sensuous. What was really hard for me was it starts out in my close-up, then a two-shot and the kiss. She said one word, then gotcha. We wouldn’t dissect this. If I were kissing a man we would say, ‘No tongues? Okay, no tongues.’ Avery didn't want them to cut it down too much. We wanted to make sure that didn't happen. You don't go through telling that kind of story and then say, ‘We can’t be very brave.’”

The writers and cast were pleased and a bit surprised that the kiss was kept almost intact through the editing process. “We saw the kiss and thought, ‘Boy how is Rick going to edit this,” said Echevarria. “We were just so gratified and thrilled to see that he did not pull back on the emotion of the moment. He allowed it to happen. It's by far the most passionate gay kiss I've ever seen on television.”

The reaction to the episode was predictably mixed. Some affiliates did not air the episode. Others excised the scene with the kiss. Mail to the writing staff was heavier than for any other episode they had been involved in, and much of it negative. "My idea that sci-fi fans are socially far-thinking, that they are in many ways liberal, leftist, humanist, whatever, was totally blown apart by some of the incredible comments we received,” said Behr. “There’s a strong conservative strain in the American soul and maybe it’s there in sci-fi, too. I don’t think we were saying anything that was that extraordinarily out of line, but maybe we were and that's pretty sad.”

Not all the mail was negative, however, as Echevarria remembered. “I would say it was ten-to-one pro—saying thank you very much and you don’t know how important this was. Letters from teachers, counselors, groups that counsel gay teens—saying how important something like this is. My mother was just scandalized. For the first time ever she culled me and said, ‘I can't believe you did that. It's so bad and so bad for the children of America.’ I couldn't have been happier.”

“It was a challenge emotionally for me to have a relationship with a woman,” said Farrell. "It wasn't anything I ever thought I’d want to do in my career. I've taken jobs to pay the rent. It was a great feeling to get to do a show that was that special as an actress. A lot of people go through their whole career and don’t get to do something that controversial or with that artistic integrity. I’m very proud of that.”

[we-rate-tmnt]

Oh sweet! Had a huge crush on 2012 karai too she was awesome :P also the brief time when she hung out with splinter and the turtles and there was a moment when mikey called her their sister during battle i think, that made me so soft 🥺 tbh she and Leo's relationship weirded me out bc they're adopted siblings obvs they didn't know but the writers did, not a big fan of their decision. can u rate the tmnt reincarnations next? like in general, i want to catch up with tmnt but idk where to start :)

I think everyone who watched tmnt 2012 had a gay awakening when Karai appeared 

I love those episodes where she bonds with the turtles and Splinter. One time, when Mikey hummed the theme song, she giggled. It was a parallel to when they traveled back in time and the same exact thing happened. Mikey hummed the song and baby Karai giggled. I like the subtle dynamic between Mikey and Karai, it gives me the warm-fuzzies. 

And yeah, the writers were pretty damn weird about that. 

But now it’s time for the big. bad TMNT overall ratings!

I can talk about every single little thing in each series, including art style correlating to tone, but I’m going to give a run down of what I enjoy the most. The ratings are going to be a bit different, as I’m rating them by ‘version to watch/rewatch first’

With the good original cartoon sliding in, it’s...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)

The very first thing I ever said when I watched this was ‘hehe turgle’ because of how small and squishy they looked! The art style is really cute and gives a very warm vibe. It reminds me of when I used to watch Gilligan’s Island when I was a kid, a bunch of goofy characters in potentially life-threatening situations. For me, it’s a show to watch for shits and giggles, rather than a serious plot. I don’t really think this is the best starting point. I prefer going from a dark series to a lighter one, so I’d watch this one maybe after a different reboot. Also, I adore the 80′s Shredder, he’s fun to watch and to make fun of. 

5/10

Next up is the one I watched on Youtube (but since I didn’t know how VPN’s worked so most of the videos were blocked except for Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) 

This one made me go ‘hehe turgle’ less, but still quite a bit. (They’re so short what). I think out of all the series, this is the one I’d start with. The plot is well organised (with a few bumps but what story doesn’t?), some well thought out character development and many, many interesting side characters! Bishop, Leatherhead, Baxter Stockman, these characters were so neat in this series. This show I feel was the darkest, and I guess 4kids agreed as some episodes were banned from airing when they first came out and I think there’s one that never finished production as it was too graphic and violent’. The voices in this series are so recognizable. Like here, read this is Mikey’s voice: “See what I made ya do there?” Anyone who knows the voices can easily imagine them. The animation is very clean and there’s some epic shots in there as well. The soundtrack is implanted in my memory and when I rewatched it, I had to pause and think for about five minutes when I got swept in a wave of nostalgia at a few familiar notes. And despite what everyone says about Back to the Sewer, the theme for that season was a bop. I think this is the best place to start if you like dark shows and all the episodes are on Youtube (In Canada because it’s blocked everywhere else).

9/10

This one is the show I love dearly, grew up on and still have a tiny plastic Katana from a Leo figure I can’t find:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)

This show in terms of tone slides right in between the 2003 and 1987. There’s so many light-hearted episodes and jokes mixed in with some real scary shit. This one was the first version that made them seem like actual 15 year olds, rather than early 20′s. This is also the show with the most accuracy in terms of ninjistu. I adore the animation and art style and there’s so much going on in this show, there’s no way I’d be able to unpack even half of it. April really developed in this show, she became a Kunoichi and got a badass weapon and she trained. She didn’t become a ninjistu master overnight and that was so important to the character. I love the designs of Shredder’s henchmen in this show, Dogpound/Razar, Fishface and Tiger Claw. Beebop and Rocksteady were a huge highlight in every episode they were. It was nice to see them be shown as actual people before they got mutated, along with their clashing personalities that eventually made them into a great team. Also I can’t stop thinking about ‘I will crush your head like the blueberries,’ I love that line. Cute, fun but with a very serious and real edge, neat characters and designs. A really great show! This would also be a great starter, but the episodes are harder to find for free (unless you have Hulu) 

8/10

Now for the series I am currently obsessed with and am BOUNCING for excitement for the new episodes this month,

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Oh oh oh I love this version SO much!!! This how has so much expectation subversion and is really different from the rest. A lot of people were (and still are for some reason???) complaining about this version. ‘Oh no Raph is leader, they’re all different sizes, why are they all Party dudes, etc etc.’ I think that a lot of this is based on the idea that the makers did this as more of ‘change for surprise’ when really, it’s a well thought-out decision. Raph is bigger because it helps him reign in his strength since he could easily hurt others and he’s older, so he assumes the leader position not just by default, but because he’s the one who’s the most grounded. Donnie is a softshell so he relies more on technology to protect himself, Mikey is the perfect balance of funny and annoying, Leo isn’t leader to explore a different aspect of his character. I’m not going to talk anymore about the characters as that is for another time. The art style and animation is AMAZING LIKE WOW. It’s so dynamic and bright and creative! The opening has me speechless alone! This series is still airing and has a lot of potential, with Shredder and Kraang replaced by Baron Draxum (voiced by JOHN CENA, like not a joke, he’s voiced by the wrestler) as the main antagonist. I think this is also a good starting point as it’s fresh and has around 30 episodes, so it’s faster to watch compared to the 100-200 episodes of the other series. 

8/10

I’m not going over IDW since I haven’t read too much but I strongly advise using it as a starting point, it’s not finished and the order is tricky to navigate. 

Idk so far but don’t start here, maybe after watching 2003/10

I hope this helps in your quest for turtles and thanks for the ask!