Star Trek

Would 'Star Trek' have been better if suibtitled with each race speaking in native dialects?

That would be interesting, but would kind of negate the whole premise of the universal translators....oh course unless they were down. Where's Hoshi Sato when you need her? Lol.

Of course the UT is a necessary element of the ST Universe but, heck, I thought it'd be an amusing alternate version of Trek.

No. it would get laborous. Gibbson did that with Passion Of The Christ and Apocalypto and it was the biggest complaint by audiences. Then there would be the cost involved. Pay someone to develop all these languages, teach them to your writers and actors, then add the subtitles. That's why there is a UT, not because someone imagined that tech might exist in the future. Just as the transporter was developed when someone asked,"How are we going to get them down to the planet every week?"

Good point in bringing up 'Passion Of The Christ.'  Yes, that example does prove your point.  I've seen 'Passion' and the subtitle issues hadn't ocurred to me.  Thanks for the remind.

Or, as Lt. Saavik replied to Capt. Kirk in TWOK, "That thought had not occurred to me."

I believe a compromise should be made which is basically how Trek does is no. Usually there's the UT, but we are exposed to some alien language with subtitles when deemed necessary.

Yeah, like kids sit down in front of a TV to read.  And who would want to take their eyes off Seven-of-Nine to read captions??

I vote 'No.'

A friend had this same idea for a sci-fi movie. All the aliens speak their own language and subtitles appear on the screen.

Sure, it's more realistic, but it would increase production costs, notably from having to invent X number of languages.

AND having the actors get it right. Have you seen the intervie Mark Okrand(? I can never remember his name) did on the ST III DVD, about how Christopher Lloyd kept getting his Klingon lines wrong? Mark would adjust Klingon to suit, but dunno if every Production Crew would be as accomodating.