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Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

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  • Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O
• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  august > September 25th, 2017, 11:22 AM

  If someone wants to create a spoiler-free thread, go right ahead.
  
  I'm not going to subscribe to the CBS pay service, so I will be spoiled by any discussion of anything beyond the first episode, which I watched last night. But just the
  advance publicity and the credits explain a huge spoiler, and a 5-second visit to Wikipedia, and a 2-second Google-search for the name of Michelle Yeoh's character confirm what I assumed:
  
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  OK, you were warned in the headline. :lol:
  
  All the press refers to Jason Isaacs as the captain of the Discovery, but Michelle Yeo is the captain of the Shenzou, on which Sonequa Martin Green's (extremely hot) character serves.
  Note: there's something crazy going on with the character names, since the obviously Asian Yeoh plays Captain Philippa Georgiou, so we assume either she's supposed to be
  the mixed-heritage daughter of a Greek guy, or adopted like Green's character, who is named Michael -not Michelle - Burnham.
  
  At any rate, in the credits, Yeoh's name comes last as a "special guest star," so you know she's toast. And the first sentence of almost any article you read gives that away.
  And we assume Burnham will be transfered to the Discovery.
  
  Random observations:
  
  - the costumes and set design do indeed have a 50's/50's look to them, sort of as if you took a designer from that era, gave him/her the budget and technology of today, and said
  "go to town - make something futuristic beyond our wildest dreams." It would look spiffy and retro at the same time.
  
  - there's a legit explanation of why the Klingons become a menace in the decade leading up to the era of original Trek, but were not during Archer's era: there are 24 rival clans on several planets -
  much like Greek or German city-states - which makes sense, given the whole "son of Mog, house of Duras" thing they obsess over in TNG. And when they unite together, they become this fearsome new empire
  that hates everyone else.
  
  - they have the reptilian look from the most recent films.
  
  - sfx are excellent.
  
  Sonequa Martin-Green is just stunning. They played down her beauty in Walking Dead, where her character had been out in the open without a shower for two years. She also bears a striking resemblance to
  an adorable young bartender in town named Jackie (third photo down.) And yes,she works with the two young ladies who dressed up as Xena and Callisto.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Boomstick > September 25th, 2017, 01:41 PM

  I'm not sure what to think yet. Given that this is completely serialized, it's going to take a while to pass any sort of judgement, because I have no idea where they're going with
  things.
  
  Everyone's saying how amazing it looks, but the initial shot when they came up to the damaged relay looked terrible. I'm actually wondering if it was something to do with the
  broadcast. I'll have to pull it up on the DVR again today and look again. The CGI looked extremely cheap. The Klingon sarcophagus didn't look too great when they zoomed in on
  it as it sealed up and started 'flying' away, either.
  
  There's no doubt that Green is gorgeous, but the character is really abrasive. I'm afraid that having the character raised by Vulcans is just an excuse for the character to be
  a complete "Mary Sue," (broadly speaking, a perfect character who can do everything) which is funny, because allegedly that term originates from Star Trek fan fiction.
  
  I didn't like the dynamic on the ship, it seems like the writers forgot that just because they're focusing on the first officer doesn't mean that she doesn't exist within the
  command structure. She was basically the one calling the shots throughout the whole episode. It cracked me up that she KO's her captain in the ready room, then marches
  out and demands that the bridge crew respect the chain of command. It was a huge relief when Georgiou comes back out and finally asserts her authority, hopefully
  this means the first officer will learn a lesson, and we'll have a more well rounded character. Note that earlier she also disobeyed the Captain's order to just do "a flyby" of the
  object, and she lands on it, and she's never taken to task for it.
  
  Were they actually speaking Klingon? It didn't sound as well defined as it has in the past. Maybe they were slurring the words deliberately to imply a different dialect of the
  language, or something.
  
  Again, the technology problem. It's supposed to be in between ENT and TOS, but it's miles above both of them technologically. Apparently, they communicate via holographic
  projections, not viewer screens. This seems like the JJ Abrams films to me, not anything in the tv continuity. I'll hold judgement, though, as some of the producers have said
  that things may seem one way, but are eventually resolved. We'll see.
  
  Notice the head gear on one of the bridge guys, and the robot looking thing, too. Are we ever going to learn about that stuff? I don't recall a Star Trek premier that didn't give
  us at least some background on all the main characters. I guess they aren't all going to make it, or the show is just going to focus on 3 of 4 characters.
  
  I noticed the name stuff, too. I expect it's their idea of a "post racial," "post gender" society, but we'll see if they push that hard, or just leave it as is.
  
  I noticed Yeoh's "guest star" status, and actually ran into a spoiler for the second episode. So I'm disappointed about the fact that she won't be around for long.
  
  Oh, the music in the show was different, but I picked out quite a few parts I liked. I don't like the opening theme, it's not really a theme at all from what I can remember, and
  the visual part of it is very generic current day stuff. It would have been nice if they did more of a traditional Star Trek opening, but I'm thinking this whole thing is, like the
  current movies, Star Trek for people who aren't Star Trek fans.
  
  I'm going to try to watch the second episode today. As I said, I think it's going to be difficult to really nail down an opinion of the show until it's over, unless they really
  start having a lot of nonsense in the episodes. On one hand, it's looking like what I thought it would be, on the other, I still see potential for it to be an ok show.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Michael > October 2nd, 2017, 12:02 PM

  The whole premise of the character is outrageously unrealistic in my opinion. How do you advance THAT FAR in Starfleet and be that naive? I always had a problem with Star Trek putting characters in senior positions for years or decades and then following them on their roads of discovery about how humans behave, or whatever. This is not how science fiction is supposed to work.
  
  I agree with your Mary Sue metaphor.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Boomstick > October 2nd, 2017, 05:26 PM

  Michael Wrote:The whole premise of the character is outrageously unrealistic in my opinion. How do you advance THAT FAR in Starfleet and be that naive? I always had a problem with Star Trek putting characters in senior positions for years or decades and then following them on their roads of discovery about how humans behave, or whatever. This is not how science fiction is supposed to work.
  
  I agree with your Mary Sue metaphor.

  
  I think that's the big problem with, essentially, half the premiere airing on broadcast TV. People who were already on the fence weren't really given a good incentive to check
  out the rest of the series.
  
  Being naive is one thing--Data continued his self-discovery his whole life, but it never got in the way of him performing his duties. Not to the point of mutiny, anyway. This
  character is supposed to have served under her captain for 7 years, but she's apparently ready to turn on her at a moment's notice. She also has somehow worked her way up
  to the rank of Commander with this insubordinate attitude.
  
  So far I haven't bothered watching any more episodes. As a Star Trek fan I feel obligated to, but I don't want to.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Michael > October 9th, 2017, 11:22 PM

  So here is a review of the fourth episode by a Forbes contributor (not a Forbes staff writer) who rips the show apart for being about as far removed from real science as it can get. He concludes this is "science fantasy, not science fiction". The author is an astrophysicist, so his scientific bar is higher than the average viewer's. But I feel a little vindicated.
  
  I'm still not watching the show. Sorry.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  august > January 7th, 2018, 04:17 PM

  Boomstick, you've been following this right? Thoughts as the second half of the season begins?

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Boomstick > January 7th, 2018, 08:19 PM

  august Wrote:Boomstick, you've been following this right? Thoughts as the second half of the season begins?

  
  I haven't been, but I do want to catch up before the new episodes start, because if I don't, I likely won't watch it at all until years down the road. When/if I do get caught up,
  I'll post my thoughts.
  
  Honestly, the only thing I'm interested in are the episodes with Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd. Overall, I still have no interest in watching the show.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Yaxi > January 22nd, 2018, 09:39 PM

  I like the show. I have never been a hardcore Trekkie who dives deep into lore and I am not a Roddenberry purist. So maybe I am not as critical as I should be.
  I do think there are continuity problems, if this ST series takes place in the main universe. But I can deal with that, even if I sometimes wonder how they will explain those problems away (if they will ever address it).
  I like that it tries to be a bit more than the standard 'Starfleet ship having mostly episodic adventures in space'. There is a overall story arc. And now in season 2 is it noticeable that the writers really planned in advance.
  I do miss what was present in DS9 and ENT; interacting with other alien cultures on a more regular basis. They would explore certain alien cultures throughout the show. I found that more interesting, because it build lore and depth.
  It added to the world building when aliens are not just one dimensional and there to represent temporary roadblock (Garak and Bashir discussing Cardassian books, O'Brien getting hit on by a Cardassian, Nog evolving to be more than a
  standard Ferengi, Sovak being flattered when Trip mentions you can't tell he likes humans, the Bajorans and their religion and so on).
  
  
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  But the introduction of the mirror universe filled that hole for me. I loved that whenever something about the Terran Empire occurs, foreboding music plays.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  Boomstick > March 18th, 2018, 06:38 PM

  Yaxi Wrote:I like the show. I have never been a hardcore Trekkie who dives deep into lore and I am not a Roddenberry purist. So maybe I am not as critical as I should be.
  I do think there are continuity problems, if this ST series takes place in the main universe. But I can deal with that, even if I sometimes wonder how they will explain those problems away (if they will ever address it).
  I like that it tries to be a bit more than the standard 'Starfleet ship having mostly episodic adventures in space'. There is a overall story arc. And now in season 2 is it noticeable that the writers really planned in advance.
  I do miss what was present in DS9 and ENT; interacting with other alien cultures on a more regular basis. They would explore certain alien cultures throughout the show. I found that more interesting, because it build lore and depth.
  It added to the world building when aliens are not just one dimensional and there to represent temporary roadblock (Garak and Bashir discussing Cardassian books, O'Brien getting hit on by a Cardassian, Nog evolving to be more than a
  standard Ferengi, Sovak being flattered when Trip mentions you can't tell he likes humans, the Bajorans and their religion and so on).

  
  They tried to sell the serialized nature of the show as some big evolution for Star Trek. It isn't (DS9 had story arcs), it's simply the format that works best for online-only
  shows, which end up being binge-watched by a significant amount of viewers.
  
  Everything about Discovery that gets talked up is pretty much complete nonsense, as every other Trek series did it before, and did it much better.

• Star Trek: Discovery Discussion - Spoilers Contained Herein :O

  august > February 27th, 2019, 02:45 PM
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