Star Trek Discovery: The Bryan Fuller TV reboot

The lead actress (RIP Michelle Yeoh ;_;) does bungle at least one of her lines, but most of her dialogue and delivery are pretty effective -- I was looking for pointy ears just based on her demeanor before we're told that she grew up on Vulcan.

I liked how the show is splitting the difference of society's worst traits between Starfleet and the Klingons, particularly the Klingon wariness about Starfleet's "We come in peace" rhetoric. Also, it's a corrective to Starfleet's stated mandate of scientific exploration masking its imperial impulses. I don't expect it to be carried out much further, though.

The SF half of the cold open was hokey, but I guess one of the most Trek things of this so far.

I did like how they departed from Vulcan pacifism to a Gonzo pragmatic realpolitik.

Also the reviews saying that the hologram communications were novel are forgetting that it was already introduced by DS9, and I'm pretty sure Voyager used something like it too. (I was bound to go into out-nerding mode!)

Michelle Yeoh's death was kind of offhand and (mostly) offscreen - I kind of felt like she wasn't definitely, definitively dead.

Or maybe it was just bad direction.

who knows, maybe she'll show up in future episode in a captain pike-style techno-wheelchair

Would watch a Star Trek iteration where the entire crew is consigned to Pikechairs.

I watched the first two episodes, was mostly disappointed. I guess I was optimistic in believing that a return to original Star Trek timeline would make this series more like the previous Trek TV shows and less like the Abrams movies. But the first two eps were exactly like the rebooted movies: more violence, more grim and gritty action scenes, a brooding and edgy anti-hero protagonist, who starts the story by neck-pinching her captain and attempting a mutiny.

OTOH, the utopian idealism and the cool sci-fi concepts that made the best of TV Trek so unique were nowhere to be found. Okay, pretty much none of the pilots for other Star Trek have been perfect, but at least all of them tried to explore some neat sci-fi ideas, even if they weren't always successful. Here, however, it's just Klingon and Federation ships shooting each other in space, protagonists arguing and shouting at each other, Klingons being stereotypically proud and violent and stupid.

The Klingons were really the worst part. I guess I can live with the inexplicable change in their physical features, but the story made them look more childish and stupid than ever before, even for race who's niche has always been that they're the Space Vikings.

To summarize, a random spaceship captain summons the leaders of the 24 ruling Houses. This captain, whom none of the other leaders seem to rate very highly, tells them that they should start a war against the Federation, pretty much for the sole reason that he doesn't like humans. The leaders don't seem to be particularly convinced, but then captain dude fires his weapons at Shenzhou and provokes a battle between the Klingon and Federation ships. And somehow this random and pointless act makes the other Klingon leaders suddenly think he was right, and at the end of the episode they're chanting his name like he's some kind of Messiah... Even though he still hasn't provided any better justification for war than his personal feelings towards the Federation.

So, basically, we're supposed to accept the leaders of the great Klingon Houses are like little kids, willing to wage a war against an powerful interplanetary coalition because another kid dares them to do that? It's just corny.

And of course there's the time-honoured tradition of Starfleet captains ignoring Starfleet regulations and personally going on dangerous off-ship missions instead of ordering someone else to do it. This time it was particularly stupid, though, cos captain Georgiou thought it would make sense for the two highest-ranking officers to board a Klingon ship and take no one else with them, not even the redshirts seen in the previous episode. I guess the writers at least wanted to point out how silly this is, cos their mission failed utterly, leading to Georgiou dying and the Klingon captain becoming a martyr, which is exactly what they wanted to avoid.

On the acting level, the protagonist seemed decent, but as much as I've liked Michelle Yeoh in HK movies, it feels she was miscast here. All that technobabble just didn't seem to suit her well, in some of the more jargony scenes it felt like she was reading directly from the script. Sarek's actor was okay, but it felt like he was being a bit too nudge-nudge, wink-wink, a bit too human compared to how Mark Lenard played him.

Also the reviews saying that the hologram communications were novel are forgetting that it was already introduced by DS9

Can't blame anyone for not remembering the DS9 comm holograms, cos they were introduced in one episode, then maybe used in one more, and after that promptly forgotten for the rest of the series.

Oh, yeah, I meant to add to the actor reviews that the guy playing the big alien did a fine job, he was pretty much the highlight of pilot. I could imagine him becoming the Data or the Phlox of this series. His spider-sense for death was total anti-scientific bullshit tho. And I was gonna say the same about Sareks' intergalactic telepathy, but I guess it was already established in that "Beauty and Beast in space" Enterprise episode that some telepaths can communicate over extremely long distances. Still, makes you wonder why no Vulcans have ever been shown using this ability before? I'm sure it would've been handy in the countless episoded where the away team is stranded on a planet and they're communicators won't work.

Same reason why we've never heard mention of Spock's adopted sister before now, it's a handy retcon.

they're very quiet about it when among outsiders

So, basically, we're supposed to accept the leaders of the great Klingon Houses are like little kids, willing to wage a war against an powerful interplanetary coalition because another kid dares them to do that?

And yet the possibility of something like that happening in the regards to some actual world leaders isn't that far off.

I don't think establishing that the Klingons, especially in the early Federation days, as a culture that prizes battle as social interaction and victory as a marker of social prestige is any thing new. Even in the relatively diplomatic Klingon era of DS9, you still have the idea going to battle together is how you cement a partnership, and the risk of dying in battle isn't a negative, it's a cost of doing business.

"this battle has a high risk of casualties" isn't a moment for klingon introspection. for them, they're thinking "fuck yeah, that is a worthy battle"

I thought the use of stealth mode not to, as many would, gain a tactical position on which to fire but using stealth as a weapon in itself and intimidation tactic was kind of new but still very Klingon

using stealth to sneak up behind your enemy -> weak

using stealth to get close enough you gloriously ram their ship -> for the empire!!!

Insane Clown Fosse (Leee) at 5:38 27 Sep 17

Same reason why we've never heard mention of Spock's adopted sister before now, it's a handy retcon.

Well yeah, but at least they've promised an in-story explanation for why the adopted sister has never been mentioned before... I kinda doubt they'll do the same with the long-range telepathy.

how many people in Trek have both had a connection to someone else's katra *and* been trained enough in Vulcan culture to be able to tune in?

Might have been some situation with Tuvok on Voyager but he was on the same ship as the people he'd had to mind-meld with for the most part, Kirk definitely was an unfocused mind, etc

mh at 5:54 27 Sep 17

"this battle has a high risk of casualties" isn't a moment for klingon introspection. for them, they're thinking "fuck yeah, that is a worthy battle"

Well yeah, but my point is that they were tricked into a battle by a guy who they don't respect much, and for a reason only that guy seems to care much about. So their sudden conversion, where at the end of the episode they're chanting the captain's name, and being all, "hell yeah, he was right!", felt unearned. That's like a stereotype of the Klingon bloodlust, but the problem is that the other Trek series have already made that stereotype more complex. For example, it's been shown several times that "proper" Klingons don't fight unless they feel the fight is honourable. How is being tricked into joining someone else's personal war honourable? If the captain dude had somehow made it look like the Federation started the conflict, then it would make more sense for the House leaders to demand revenge... But they were right there and then when he fired the first shot at Shenzhou, and he made his whole plan quite clear to them.

uniting the empire seems honorable!

it's a problem in search of an enemy

Michelle Yeoh's death was kind of offhand and (mostly) offscreen - I kind of felt like she wasn't definitely, definitively dead.

Or maybe it was just bad direction.

I felt like this was the worst part of the pilot, except for the scene right afterwards with the albino Klingon and T'Kuvma when they zoom all the way in on his face. Everything in that sequence is so telegraphed and pokey and dumb.

the federation is without honor, "we come in peace" isn't a way you make allies. you make allies with war, and come to a detente via respect (seen in how the vulcans apparently acted)

B-b-but Vulcans are a part of the Federation!

how many people in Trek have both had a connection to someone else's katra *and* been trained enough in Vulcan culture to be able to tune in?

T'Pol and Tucker definitely had a strong psychic bond, and there were many episodes where one or the other was stranded on some planet where the Enterprise couldn't find them with their sensors. This kind of remote telepathy would've been pretty handy then.

I can't be as negative as Tuomas as I thought it was pretty fun and unlike the Abrams movies. And even as a gold-plated Trekkie nerd, I can't bring myself to give a shit about the internal consistency between shows.

But, yes, it was kinda disappointing that it all ends with a space battle and a lame punch-up, and none the characters who believe in peaceful negotiation get a sympathetic ear.

Really the only good Star Trek fights are the TNG ones where someone gets clocked in their living quarters and falls over a table.

Enterprise wasn't real, that was Riker watching a tv show version of the past

I'm sticking with this

xpost
Nah, any original series punch up where Kirk gets his shirt ripped is CLASSIC in every sense.

Fair, I'll add anything that involves sweaty shirt ripping

T'Pol and Tucker definitely had a strong psychic bond

i believe they actually did have a remote telepathic scene in one episode. towards the end of the series there was a case of "why are you in my dream?" then t'pol explained something similar to the explanation in discovery

So last night was pretty bad all around -- dialogue, acting, characters, plot. (Was the tehcnobabble on the other series so poorly delivered as it was last night?) Overall, the worst thing about the episode was how ham-handedly it tries to say, "THIS AIN'T YOUR DAD'S STAR TREK," especially with the gore and the one-off profanity.

Lorca is like Zach Snyder's version of Kirk with his unscrupulous cowboy diplomacy x 10 (and wtf was he doing with a tribble?).

Black alert sounds cool, though -- I wonder how involved Discovery is with Section 31.

I do wish we got to see some of the AI characters a little more.

Discovery is the first time that the Aspie stand-in is an actual human Aspie. Don't know how successful that will be.

ep3 suuuuuuuuucked ;_;

mystery set-up
v
prisoner abuse
v
generic space monster
v
speed-reciting alice in wonderland because it sounds cool, oh wait no it doesn't

But the first two eps were exactly like the rebooted movies: more violence, more grim and gritty action scenes

why is Star Trek so cynical and violent what's going on

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) October 2, 2017

dont mean this as a dig but TNG was the only good liberal propaganda–Heroes are essentially imperial middle mgmt but super nice & benevolent

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) October 2, 2017

fitting that rick and morty made fun of the generic monster of the week adventure in the same week.

they made the jeffries tubes gigantic so they could fit their big blob monster in them. then akiva goldsman shot it with far shots and wide angles because nothing says confinement terror like wide open spaces.

mr veg said something otm - the show is ok but it’s not Star Trek. they say Star Trek words but that’s about all. i’m inclined to agree. if you just watch it as like, a crummy Expanse or something it’s not bad

god the CBS app is garbage though.

yeah it really feels nothing like star trek at this point

Star Trek: Discovery... That This Is Not Actually Star Trek Lol Nerds Psych

you'll make the discovery that...

that is to say, VG otm

Eh I enjoyed this one too, even with its many awkwardnesses, although I hope Jason Isaacs's accent gets better.

And let's try and do an episode without an action sequence. No chases no fights no space bugs.

turns out i dont really want space monsters?
i didnt know that til i was given them

this sounds stupid, think I'll pass. too bad as the first trailers looked great and I was intrigued by the cast.

Said this on the other thread but I think I like Orville better than this :/ Too much lens flare. Why are the Klingons Spe King So Slow ly. Pacing was weird (havent seen ep3 yet tho tbh).

Dorn apparently had trouble speaking through his fangs, but soldiered through. nu-klingon orthodontia is probably even harder to enunciate with.

Burnham Kirksplaining the brig computer into releasing her felt like a corn kernel of Trek had survived the digestive process.

iirc by trek rules any computer encountering logical contradictions has to destroy itself tho

Speaking of corn kernels surviving, did anyone else notice they kept a few old-school sounds? Door openings, certain computer bleeps/comms bleeps?

I only saw it for a moment, but I believe they re-used the red alert graphic from the TMP Enterprise on the Shenzhou.

ah ha, found it:

http://trekcore.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/red-alert-696x354.jpg

Saw ep 3 finally, it was a lot better than the first 2. Still on the fence about all this tho.

Off the fence, I was done when their new super drive was navigated by tweaking the nipples of an alien dust mite.

Similarly off the STD boat. Humongous, card-carrying Trek dork here, but the oppressive negativity has been a serious turnoff. Troubled at the prospect of an intelligent creature being exploited against its will to power the ship's magical mushroom drive. Burnham looking constipated while crewmates lament "oh well, war" doesn't cut it.