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Gene Roddenberry's "Andromeda"

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DavidV

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I was watching Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi show “Andromeda” last night, when I saw “Tyr,” one of the lead characters, reading a prominently visible copy of “The Fountainhead”. The scene was meant to illustrate Tyr’s character, who is a “Nietzschean.” Later in that episode, Tyr is too “selfish” to sacrifice his life to save 100,000 of his people (who are attempting to conquer the galaxy.) The dynamic between the two lead characters (Tyr and Dylan, the ship’s captain) is interesting because they are intended to illustrate the extremes of idealism and pragmatism – in other words, a bad dose of mind-body dichotomy. In action however, Dylan is both efficacious and principled, while Tyr finds it in his self-interest to help the captain in his quest to “restore the commonwealth.” The rest of the plot is rather predictable and disappointing, especially since it comes from the creator of Star Trek.

Oh, the next episode was revolved around a conflict between the “Free Trade Alliance” and eco-terrorists who blew up starships in order to eliminate space travel and preserve “native ecologies.” The eco-terrorist’s downfall was that they were too consumed by hatred to suspect that their enemy was more virtuous than they imagined.

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Near the beginning of the Patrick Swayze movie, Dirty Dancing, there's a scene in which a despicable character, in "explaining" the reason for his behavior extends a copy of The Fountainhead to his interlocutor.

I liked the movie when I first watched it long, long ago. But, watching that scene now, knowing what I do, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

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Near the beginning of the Patrick Swayze movie, Dirty Dancing, there's a scene in which a despicable character, in "explaining" the reason for his behavior extends a copy of The Fountainhead to his interlocutor.

I liked the movie when I first watched it long, long ago.  But, watching that scene now, knowing what I do, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Look closely and you'll also find a subtext of "class struggle" in that movie.

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Look closely and you'll also find a subtext of "class struggle" in that movie.

You're right - the vacationers are portrayed as being snobbish towards the help, who dance to lustful music in their free time. But I don't find that aspect too troubling, since the music being danced to isn't valueless and Swayze's character, one of the help, falls in love with Baby, a wealthy doctor's daughter. Plus, the film, if I recall correctly, ends in a "reconciliation" which doesn't compromise the integrity of the wealthier people at the resort.

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  • 2 weeks later...

GreedyCap: I watched the first two seasons of that show and found it highly interesting. Then, I read a news announcement that said they had fired the writers because the show was "too intellectual."

Immediately afterward, I saw a tremendous drop in quality from the show. The plots became contrived, the characters less interesting, and philosophy less prevalent. Also, it begun ripping off ideas in a rather obvious fashion from other scifi, instead of the fairly original stuff that they had going.

I have not watched it in some time. It is possible that the show has improved since.

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I was watching Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi show “Andromeda” last night, when I saw “Tyr,” one of the lead characters, reading a prominently visible copy of “The Fountainhead”.  The scene was meant to illustrate Tyr’s character, who is a “Nietzschean.”

If you go digging into the show's backstory, apparently the Nietzscheans were originally genetically engineered on something called "Ayn Rand Station", which orbited a planet called "Fountainhead".

I agree with the observation that the show's quality dropped off significantly after they fired the show's creator and the original crew of writers. The network thought the show was "too intellectual", but after they were finished with it I quit watching because it was too stupid.

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http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/and...ans_000505.html

Nietzscheans originated on Ayn Rand Station, a colony founded by a geneticist and named after the author of Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In the Andromeda universe, they represent about 8 percent of all humans.

Needless to say, their society is founded on the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche who, as the site puts it, "believed that strife and conflict would inevitably reshape men into something better and stronger than what they once were. As a human subspecies, Nietzscheans took his words to heart and use genetic engineering and nanotechnology to reshape themselves into the ultimate survivors."

"Nietzscheans built their culture on the twin pillars of social Darwinism and Dawkinite genetic competitiveness. Their single-minded devotion to self-improvement and the propagation of the their own genes can strike other species (even their non-Nietzschean cousins) as selfish and arrogant, yet in practice the Nietzscheans’ boundless energy and willpower has made them valued contributors to Commonwealth society."

Wow! Amazing to see philosophy - any kind of philosophy - in popular culture.

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I've watched a few of the more recent episodes of "Andromeda" and I was not impressed. I was actually comparing what I saw to another Sci-fi themed show that was cancelled after only 15 episodes (allthough a movie release is scheduled for this May). This other show was vastly superior in plot construction, character dialog, acting ability, special effects (Andromeda's effects look super cheesy by contrast) and just about every other category you could think of.

Yes, I am of course talking about "Firefly" which, I feel, had it conitnued would have been one of the best tv shows ever. And to this day, I maintain that "Out of Gas" and "Objects in Space" were the best two hours of television I ever saw.

And yes, I am a "browncoat" (albeit an Objectivist one).

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  • 7 months later...
What is this all about?? Has anyone seen this show on Scifi??

http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/and...ans_000505.html

No I have not but now I definately want to. I hope they do take Nietzsche seriously and follow the logical consequences of his philosophy. It could be a great expose.

It is what happens before the "Nietzscheans" that is most horrifying in his philosophy. When are humans wiped out and how?

In Andromeda, are humans still alive?

When is this show on?

Americo.

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The Nietzscheans are portrayed in a very animalistic, pro-braun way. They form families (called "Prides') and act out a kind of survival of the fittest style of life. Humans are still alive but the two groups do not trust each other.

The show ended about a month ago after running for about 5 years.

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No I have not but now I definately want to.  I hope they do take Nietzsche seriously and follow the logical consequences of his philosophy.  It could be a great expose.

I wouldnt hold my breath. Despite the valient efforts of Kauffman and others, most popular (mis)interpretations of Nietzsche are still based on the version of him promoted by the Nazi's, where the ideal man is some kind of brutish creature deriving his sole pleasures from mindless hedonism and the ruthless exploitation of those who are weaker.

The Nietzscheans are portrayed in a very animalistic, pro-braun way. They form families (called "Prides') and act out a kind of survival of the fittest style of life. Humans are still alive but the two groups do not trust each other.

Yeah, thats exactly the kind of nonsense I'd expect :lol:

Edited by Hal
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