Star Trek: Classic or Dud?

I don't know if the continual reliance on the old series/movies merely indicated the play-it-safe template of corporate entertainment or the lack of creativity of those who've inherited the train set.

Little column a, little column b.

Hey guys, if you have a franchise with 'Star' in the title, it might behoove you to eventually move beyond sixteen characters who are constantly bumping into each other's asses regardless of where they happen to be in the boundless galaxy.

Unless the aforementioned is in reference to a single star around which revolves a tiny planet that can only sustain a total of sixteen lifeforms, in which case carry on.

I wonder if it's largely JJ's fault. Since he wasn't a Trekkie to begin with, TOS fandom was the one that was most accessible to him, and given its initial success, everyone else following him has been locked into the TOS era.

its initial success == the success of the first reboot movie

It's not JJ but ST:Enterprise that is the gift horse that keeps giving in the forced nostalgia dept.

3 minutes flying about admiring the new Enterprise model is too much for even me.

I'm paraphrasing and I can't remember where I read this (maybe even in this thread), but someone said this scene makes more sense when you consider it had been 10 years since anyone had seen new footage of the Enterprise.

https://trekmovie.com/2018/06/26/rumor-patrick-stewart-close-to-signing-deal-to-return-to-star-trek/

st:tmp endless effects scenes surely exist because no one had ever seen *anything* star trek other than on a tv set featuring mid-60's effects. so, you know, check out the new enterprise, new klingons in their new spaceships, the special effects we can afford, etc.

also shooting for some kind of 2001 heaviness

the sounds of TOS sound designer Douglas Grindstaff (RIP)

https://www.cnet.com/news/hear-13-iconic-star-trek-sounds-by-the-late-douglas-grindstaff/

https://www.cnet.com/news/star-trek-discovery-captain-picard-is-the-hero-we-need-says-writer-michael-chabon/

Somehow I didn't notice that Michael Chabon is on the writing staff for the Picard mini.

A quick note that the two new SHORT TREKS (ha) are both worth watching and very TNG-y.

In the first story, Tilly gets a Wesley Crusher C-story about a runaway alien child. It's still good!

The second was written by Chabon - it's a trifle, but it's probably the best Trek thing I've seen since "All Good Things". (I didn't watch DS9).

All Good Things is my favorite TNG so that is some high praise. Is it only available on the CBS streaming service?

But do check out DS9, I actually prefer it to TNG, and it holds up way better.

It's t0rr3ntable, for sure

It's not *quite* up there with All Good Things, but it's just very *right* without being a rehash of something I've seen in Trek before. It's more like an "Inner Light" in miniature.

I will definitely watch DS9 once I've made it through my TNG rewatch, but I've been on that for three years and I'm still on season 4...

dooooo it Chuck

Finally watched "Calypso," it is a gem!

this is canon now.
https://i.imgur.com/hihGJxr.png

In explaining her approach to politics as a black Democratic woman in a state controlled by white Republican men, she devotes several pages to a pivotal scene from “Peak Performance,” an episode from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/us/politics/stacey-abrams-star-trek.html

That is awesome! But:

She said “Deep Space Nine,” which was set on a space station, would go lower on her list of favorites because, as she said in a Reddit thread, “I love Captain Sisko, but the ‘trek’ in Star Trek is why I am drawn to the show.”

:(

haha i knew that would get flagged here

Such a facile dismissal of DS9 from a so-called Star Trek "fan."

We were hanging out drinking, and realized Jonathan Frakes, Riker from Star Trek, and Avery Brooks, who played Sisko, were sitting in a corner — basically Star Trek royalty. Riker went to the piano and sang show tunes for an hour and a half. When he was done, Sisko went up and started doing jazz, getting progressively drunker until they shut the bar down.

that may be the least essential oral history every conceived

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/star-trek-picard-michael-chabon-showrunner-1203254625/

Fantastic news. "Calypso" was one of discovery's highlights and Chabon has written a lot of books I like.

The redlettermedia video on discovery s2 pointed out that the show has over 20 producers listed in the opening credits. That's crazy.

working my way through ds9 right now and just watched the episode where quark's bar forms a union...maybe the most class conscious episode of tv i've ever seen?

ds9 is really wonderful, the only character that i find a bit boring is dax but other than that i think everyone can carry their own episode and i'll be equally excited. i love tng but for the most part the picard stories are the strongest and he's defined more by his individual character than by his relationships with others. whereas ds9 character pairings and relationships are so great. i could watch bashir and o'brien hang out for hours.

The redlettermedia video on discovery s2 pointed out that the show has over 20 producers listed in the opening credits. That's crazy.

I think Fosse/Verdon had about the same. Some properties have long tails, I guess.

Which Dax?

(Spoiler)

The thing with Jadzia is that a) it was Terry Farrell's first real long-term acting gig and b) the writers hadn't really fleshed out Jadzia at that point.

I've been having some minor trepidation about the Picard series; for me, he's a paragon of virtue, something that humanity should strive for, and when he's characterized differently (e.g. Generations), the psychology feels off. And if the Picard series is going grimdark (which is pure speculation on my part), that would be awful.

Dax was written in some conflicting ways in the early seasons. In one episode she'll be playful while being groped by Ferengis, the next episode she'll be scared by a big spider.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_ISDiwXkAAxwPO.jpg:small

J-LP, his dog, and a vineyard? Hell yes. I truly hope there is zero space travel in this show.

Turns out it's all about his 24th century cooking reality-holodeck show.

hope the dog's name is number one

Guess what...

His name is NUMBER ONE.
I KNEW IT. #picard pic.twitter.com/5OpHQI2j8f

— Ani Bundel 🔜 #SDCC (@anibundel) July 10, 2019

Calling it: dog has internal monologues voiced by Jonathan Frakes.

big reveal at the end of episode one: riker’s brain is in that dog

lol jinx

"Lead the away team."

"Ruff."

'Whatsamatter, boy? Does Number One need to number two?'

In all seriousness, I'll be thrilled beyond words if this show winds up being nothing more than a slow and meditative series about a geriatric ex-space captain puttering around in his vineyard.

This week: Jean-Luc takes a bushel of surplus grapes over to his neighbor's and they sit a spell. Also, Number One has an encounter with a mischievous mouse.

This is gonna be on amazon in the uk. Discovery was on netflix. Pricks.

They just need to make every episode on par with The Inner Light and they’ll be fine

This is gonna be on amazon in the uk. Discovery was on netflix. Pricks.

who are you mad at

I think there's ire enough to spread evenly among all of the streaming services who feel that customers should pay $10.99/mo. for the 1-2 non-garbage original series they offer.

As much as I want to see this show there is no way I’m subscribing to cbs all access

https://trekkiefeminist.tumblr.com/post/65758607073/tng-7x14-sub-rosa

A friend reminded me of this forgotten (by me) episode and holy shit.

that episode is astonishing on many levels

I think there's ire enough to spread evenly among all of the streaming services who feel that customers should pay $10.99/mo. for the 1-2 non-garbage original series they offer.

neither of those services have produced either of these series