This one is definitely better than the new movies. Which is faint praise indeed.
The article on it I read in the Times talks about how Earth just reached Utopia status. Not in the first episode, that’s for sure, but maybe later.
I think a big problem with this and even the last shows is that the show runners basically don’t get Star Trek and what made it such a phenomenon. I suspect that of the 86 or so executive produces only Roddenberry’s son even watched it as a kid.
I don’t know about ST-D, but I sensed an amazing lack of imagination in the later shows. I gave up on DS9 after season 4 when I discovered that the Dominion War basically was all the major plot they had. It is like they had no other ideas of how to fill up the shows. When Roddenberry shut down making the show a war show with Errand of Mercy, he knew exactly what he was doing.
I know that this is how it is done these days, but ST-TOS was so good because of the contributions of lots of writers besides the show staff. Would any of them dreamed up Amok Time, which is so very Sturgeon. City on the Edge of Forever? Tribbles? The Doomsday Machine? It is easy on a non-serial show, and you have to fix up the scripts so they don’t violate show rules, but the shot of imagination is something the later shows, and the new movies, lack.
Reminds me of an Enterprise episode where Tucker and Reed (IIRC) are stranded in a shuttle with no engines/radio and only have hours of air left. They ignite some fuel hoping that the Enterprise which is “only” a quarter of a light-year away will see it.
Enterprise sees it and rescues them with minutes to spare. Only problem is that the Enterprise wouldn’t have seen the signal for three months. <sigh>
This is why I keep to SF literature for the most part.
The opening credits reminded me of a Bond film and I liked how it highlighted how some of the equipment was like in TOS.
I liked the guy breed for meat. But when he says he’s feels his end near I think I’ll just be standing on the other side of the bridge if you don’t mind.
This may be more in IMHO territory but #1 having a man’s name does make some sense. Parents have been doing that kind of thing for a long time. Girls get boys names or they give their kids a name they probably wanted to give to the dog. In the future a good percentage of men will have names like Scraps or Attaboy. Then a generation later women will have those names.
Was that bridge office with the electronic thing over their face a robot? Because I looked up and got a brief look and thought “Are those boobs. Did they build a robot with boobs? About time Star Trek. #equality.”
The more I think of it the less logical shooting first is. If you are going to make a habit of firing on Klingons you better not show mercy or they will really think you are weak. It can only lead to total war.
Killing a single Klingon in combat or destroying a ship might get you respect, but destroying what looks like a sacred temple may be unforgivable.
Plus it’s not like they both just dropped out of warp and spotted each other. They had plenty of time to size each other up and the Klingons were only acting defensively. They could easily have attacked when they decloaked and had the advantage. If the Federation ship was to stupid too back off a bit when they turned on the lights that’s just their idiocy.
Nail on the head. I have absolutely no love for JJ’s version of Star Trek - he has completely missed the point of alll of it, and this show is most definitely a version of JJ’s Star Trek, not the Star Trek that I grew up with and loved. I didn’t hate Discovery, but I like it better when I apply “World War Z” logic to it - don’t think of it as Star Trek, just a science fiction show that happens, for some unknown reason, to include the words “Star Trek” in the title.
This is what I wrote on Facebook last night after watching both episodes:
St:Discovery. WOW. That was sooo amazing. It was everything I’ve always wanted from Star Trek but never got. It basically isn’t Star Trek, at all. So much darker. Continuing story lines. Real shit that actually matters. It feels like Stargate SGU, as far as how totally different it is from the source material. Only actually GOOD. Stupendously good. Amazaterrifcus (amazing and terrific).
I love, love, love Michael! Yes, mutiny was not the brightest idea, but she was right. They should have fired first. I love her character because all she wanted was to save her mentor and the new friends she’d to come to care about. She wants this so much she is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen - and in the end she fails spectacularly.
To me that is wonderful characterization. And judging from the preview of the rest of the series she has so far to grow. Which I think is awesome!
Killjoys has competition now for my new favorite show. Killjoys has humor though, Discovery is very grim. But I love it.
Also Michael isn’t just a male name. It’s more popular for boys, but King David had a wife called Michel in the Bible. And Mrs. Walton was played by Michael Learned and she was born in 1939. So Michael for girls has been around for a long time, it’s just not super common.
Is the character being named Michael = “who is like God?”, also a named archangel, supposed to be significant? I guess we’ll find out.
ETA eg “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
I know, right? TOS did it better. Except I didn’t see how Spock was behaving irrationally. He had no other choice. Throw a Hail Mary vs. living a few minutes longer.
And first contact between Humans & Klingons occurred in 2151 per the pilot of Star Trek: Enterprise. Vulcans apparently had their first contact with the Klingons 150 years before that (circa the year 2000).
It’s unrealistic when a ship from orbit can find a trace of tracks in the sand (in a storm) representing a “A”
The best satellite (Geo-1) currently has a resolution of 16 inches (in black and white). Colour is 5.4 feet
That would just barely pick up their tracks at best assuming ideal conditions and they knew where to look.
It could be argued that in the future the optics could improve somewhat but still it would be a stroke of luck to find them.
I agree. Good sci-fi writers are clearly missing in the new series. I would prefer they focus completely on story, characters, and acting. I don’t need a lot of special effects, expensive sets, and complicated makeup for aliens. I would actually be happy if they did it like a theater piece with minimal sets.
I liked that it didnt have a ‘happy ending’ - it set up the conflict well and explained both the Klingon person’s POV as well as Michael’s response to it - and I like that it didn’t work out - she wasn’t given command for ‘orginal thinking’ and (without seeing any previews) she is being punished for her actions.
I’m understandably curious as to where they take it.
And I really hate having to pay for the privelege of watching a ton of fucking commercials during the show.
