Star Trek Discovery (2017)

#1524

I really like the direction of the story, but two things really annoyed me when watching it (usually I can brush off the imperfections of this show).

  • when they went to the mirror universe Phillipa as emperor was portrayed as the ultimate nightmare scenario. Bloodthirsty tyrant, tortures anyone and everyone, and wiping out or enslaving all non-human species. The complete antithesis to starfleet in the good universe. But now Lorca is even worse of a bad guy, and is deposing her because apparently Phillipa let alien races in or something? I can see them desperately trying to shoehorn in the current immigration debate into the show, but I don’t think it works at all and goes unexplained.
  • twice in one episode Michael’s plan was to get captured at gunpoint and then somehow magically disarm a whole room of gun-toting baddies. It’s such a lame way to write action scenes.
  • the technobabble was at its peak in this episode, but hey, trek.
#1525

The thing that got me is, it’s not just one universe and the mirror, it’s a whole myriad right? Possibly infinite judging by all the bifurcations Stamets has to navigate to get back home.

And this mycelial network links them all together, in a way where all it takes is one of those universes to screw with the network and it wipes out everything.

Out of the two universes we’ve seen, the rate of near total multiverse annihilation is 50 percent. :)

I realise it’s a small sample size, but given the possibly inifinite number of universes this reality seems a bit of a fragile, error prone setup if it trends so easily toward obliteration! :)

#1526

Since they told the media that the show would be about Trump, I’ve been waiting to see how that happens, and finally it does. Lorca says he wants to “make the empire great again”. Okay. So Lorca = Trump. So… Trump is a genius whose plans span across multiple universes and he’s literally playing 4-dimensional chess? So that makes Michelle Yeoh… Hillary or something? And suddenly she’s not evil anymore because… girl power or something?

The original Star Trek told stories about problems that are timeless, like controlling humanity’s violent impulses, space amoebas, racism, or hippies who don’t wear shoes. All we get from this show is a few confused attempts to throw in a reference to current politics. It makes no sense now and would be terribly dated in a few years anyway.

And while I adore Michelle Yeoh, her CGI legs in those fight scenes were cringey as hell. She’s an incredible actress, so at age 55 maybe just let her exert power in the way an adult woman does instead of putting her in fistfights? Why is it that American writers can’t make a strong female character without resorting to violence?

But despite all my complaints, I’m still having fun watching. It’s like the Buck Rogers serial from the 1930s but dumber and with much better special effects. It’s got action and plot twists and keeps moving at a brisk pace, so it’s never boring.

#1527

Hey @Miguk , can you point me towards where the showrunners said this show was about Trump? That seems stupid beyond belief to make it so. I also enjoy it quiet a lot, and can usually in spite of stupid showrunner remarks but this seems rather silly.

#1528

It was the Klingons they were referring to, not Lorca.

He mentions that among the show’s antagonists are an ultra-religious and violent Klingon faction whose rallying cry – “Remain Klingon” – is intentionally reminiscent of “Make America Great Again.”

#1529

I am trying to slog through the new episodes after the winter break. I like the stories overall (despite a few plot holes). The audiovisuals and editing are usually good. I can even tolerate the nu-Klingons.

But the acting is pretty bad. The only actors I really enjoy watching are Jason Isaacs and maybe Mary Wiseman. Everyone else puts me to sleep. Especially the romance between Michael and the security officer (I haven’t gotten very far into the new episodes yet). I simply can’t seem to make it through a whole episode without stopping and putting the show aside for a few hours or even days.

So sad. :(

#1530

Okay. Some people have very different perceptions of the same thing, apparently.

#1531

It’s not reminiscent of it at all to me. I guess it’s what they call cognitive dissonance. If Trump is a right-wing Nazi and pees on Russian hookers, etc, etc, I guess you see Trump everywhere.

#1532

Thanks - That isn’t bad in any way. Like many decent shows it depicts how modern people see the world, and what fears permate society at the given time period.

#1533

Overall, I really liked the first season. The last two episodes have suffered a lot from “wrap-it-up-itis,” especially the end of the Klingon war. “Unite the houses, or fall victim to the power of my Palm Pilot which I promise is connected to small planet-destroying bomb!” Deus Ex Technobabble.

But that last shot of the episode was worth the journey! Closing music rocked too.

#1534

So they are all out on CBS access now, and I can sub for 1 month and then quit?

:)

#1535

I think it was an extremely strong first season. Probably the strongest first season of a Trek (with the Original Series being the only real competition). Great arc and relatively low deus/tech ex machina, for a Trek.

#1536

This is my opinion too. Best Trek first season so far. Hard to sustain, but I am hopeful they can develop a good multi season plot in this.

#1537

Agreed, this is the best story of a Star Trek series ever for a first season. Some strong acting, but also some poor acting mixed in there…makes it barely miss the mark as the best trek season 1 overall IMO.

I’m not at all sure they can sustain it, but it they can and find their acting groove…could become the best trek ever! That’s a long shot though. This feels like it could have been a one trick pony…

#1538

What’s your vote for best?

#1539

A little uneven of a finale but still a solid first season overall which is a huge break from what Trek has traditionally been. Well see what the show runners can do with a full off season to think up what they want to do story wise.

#1540

One would think so, but I’m not a subscriber so I don’t know for sure.

#1541

Yep, all 15 are up in CBS All Access.

After Trek is fun, too – some good background from the actors, producers, and writers.

#1542

LOL, I still love watching the original series (remastered)…I can watch one now and completely be engrossed in it… despite seeing them each a dozen times over the years.

#1543

Final Episode made me happy. Sadly it all felt like they could have used a few more episodes to do it properly. I have no clue how they will carry on the concept of season 1 with another season. But I am hopeful because after they pissed me off greatly they managed to get me back.