I would be way more excited about the "Rebuild the Federation" stuff, including the touching stuff with Sahil at the end, if I had confidence that the series would simultaneously try to examine both why the Federation might be a source of hope and also why it might be something that fell apart because of its flaws, or weaknesses. "The Federation was wonderful, and remaking it will make everything better" is a boring story. "The Federation was flawed, and here are some of the ways it hurt people, but now we have a chance to make something new and better" would be, well, better
That's sort of the problem with having such a long standing mythology where writers keep trying to mine drama by creating conflict within the Federation.
Given that they're doubling down on Section 31 by having a whole series about it, I assume no one is actually interested in trying to deal with those types of problems though.
Four extended action sequences, including one where we saw aliens getting blown into smithereens, and one with a graphic depiction of dismemberment. Then a thick layer of shmaltzy nostalgia-soaked shallow idealism, with no intellectual substance underpinning it.
I think they're maybe kinda pivoting to being Firefly, but with more overblown overwrought exposition. Not inherently anything wrong with that, but can we please just get some kind of sincere attempt to live up to the legacy of TOS/TNG/DS9?
I dunno why I do this to myself. I kinda thought that they were going to use the convoluted reset button from the end of season 2 to right the ship, but it's still not really recognisably Star Trek.
How have they greenlit literally a dozen new Star Trek series and not one of them is concerned with understanding the appeal of Star Trek, and meaningfully updating it in all the ways that Star Trek could be amazing in 2020.
Discovery isn't *entirely* without merit, and there are a handful of great episodes, but it feels like there's no strong or consistent vision behind it, and it's not really got a soul.
-Also dilithium is just one way to power warp ships right? Romulans use singularities, don't other species use different options also? Do you think this ever goes acknowledged, like the Romulans didn't get hit by the burn and they're still just out there and kicking, or should we assume the writers didn't think about that and everyone in the galaxy got fucked?
Yes, there's alternatives to dilithium, though of course it's not clear yet how technology progressed over time. It could be that dilithium turned out to be much more common than expected and other technologies fell by the wayside and everyone switched over to dilithium.
Alternatively, perhaps the burn was a Romulan plan - maybe after having spent a couple of centuries as a galactic backwater, they invented (or happened upon) a way to ruin pretty much everyone else's transportation infrastructure, and used it knowing that they'd have an advantage afterwards.
I think they're maybe kinda pivoting to being Firefly, but with more overblown overwrought exposition. Not inherently anything wrong with that, but can we please just get some kind of sincere attempt to live up to the legacy of TOS/TNG/DS9?
Okay I'm very into this. It feels honestly new and refreshing in a way that's at least interesting.
-I love how much they've let themselves push the visual designs into the fantastical realm. It feels right for how far forward they've jumped, and it's a very different flavor compared to anything else. It doesn't just feel like Star Wars either. It's got a real good "pulp space fantasy" feel to it.
-The Federation being gone is one of the boldest narrative moves I think they've ever done in a Star Trek show. Just the idea that history isn't a linear progression, that things that are good don't always stick around, that sometimes things end, or society reorganizes, or things just change, is a really good one.
-I kind of wish the Federation had collapsed due to some sort of long decay, or political strife, or something more natural, but I suppose I'll take "natural freak disaster" in a pinch.
-Also dilithium is just one way to power warp ships right? Romulans use singularities, don't other species use different options also? Do you think this ever goes acknowledged, like the Romulans didn't get hit by the burn and they're still just out there and kicking, or should we assume the writers didn't think about that and everyone in the galaxy got fucked?
-That's the wreckage of a Crossfield class ship she's falling through in the beginning right? I assumed that meant that the Discovery arrived and was destroyed. So there's some time travel fuckery going on?
-It's kind of weird that they just vaporize like a million dudes though. That's a level of casual violence you don't normally see in Trek
-And I really don't need the guy at the end randomly worshipping Michael as "the hope he's been waiting for" just because she was an officer or something. It's the kind of bullshit "you are the most special person" shit I hate in modern storytelling.
Also this, ugh. I fucking hate season long mysteries at this point
All I can say is that I'm an old man and I literally didn't notice that. Even after people mentioned it after the pilot, I've rewatched episodes many times and still don't notice it. lol
I also think Lower Decks is as good as TNG and probably does serialized storytelling better than DS9 so... maybe a little yelling is good to put up with. lol
Eh, I've watched every episode of every Trek show with the exception of Lower Decks so I'll suffer through more of the Michael show even though it's dreadful.
Very high on the direction of this season. Early Discovery had such an identity crisis for being a TOS-era show that had none of what's appealing about that series, but now we have the best of both worlds: making SNW the "optimistic retro Trek" lets Discovery lean further and further into weird new shit. It also has a budget that makes The Mandalorian look downright quaint (of course the scale of the two shows are polar opposites.)
I look forward to future episodes of Star Trek: Death Stranding.
Early reviews of the season suggest a fair bit more focus on the crew incoming, it's just that this first episode specifically has her isolated, with the second part being the flip side.
CBS are not opposed to Star Trek shows centered around individual characters so we might actually get a Star Trek: Burnham show. Maybe we'll get even more shows based on legacy Star Trek characters that we all love. Who wouldn't love to watch Star Trek: Garak or Star Trek: Ensign Harry Kim?
CBS are not opposed to Star Trek shows centered around individual characters so we might actually get a Star Trek: Burnham show. Maybe we'll get even more shows based on legacy Star Trek characters that we all love. Who wouldn't love to watch Star Trek: Garak or Star Trek: Ensign Harry Kim?
CBS are not opposed to Star Trek shows centered around individual characters so we might actually get a Star Trek: Burnham show. Maybe we'll get even more shows based on legacy Star Trek characters that we all love. Who wouldn't love to watch Star Trek: Garak or Star Trek: Ensign Harry Kim?
Funny that you mention that. I've conceived a five season character arc for Mayweather that ties him into most major events in the Star Trek universe by revealing that he secretly is the immortal shape shifting cat from Assignment Earth.
It's a shame they don't accept spec scripts anymore.
Funny that you mention that. I've conceived a five season character arc for Mayweather that ties him into most major events in the Star Trek universe by revealing that he secretly is the immortal shape shifting cat from Assignment Earth.
It's a shame they don't accept spec scripts anymore.
Quite a few Trek series had a rocky first season or two. I disliked both seasons of Discovery but I am willing to give the show a bit more time to turn it around.
a whole galaxy to teleport into, and she manages to hit a ship and then a planet with a breathable atmosphere? and the guy at the end wasn't an android? did he waste all those decades staring at a wall?
I would trade half the special effects budget for a better script
Was I the only one thinking of Death Stranding the whole time?
Anyway I really enjoyed it. The far future feels fresh and Michael's genuine wonder at everything was fun. Not mention the gorgeous location shoots. I only wish we had gotten to start with two episodes so we could see what's going on with the crew of the Discovery.
I only half-watched most of season 2 because the overarching story never managed to grip me, but I really enjoyed this episode and season 3 has definitely gotten my attention. It's a promising start at least and the season preview looked good too.
