Author Topic: Star trek Discovery CBS  (Read 17435 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Solluk

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Legendary Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3397
  • Life is not endurable without a sense of humor.
  • Three year award Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them. Awarded by the FCO to the CO who has shown the best leadership. Awarded to players who guest star in another SIMM. Awarded to players in recognition of their recruitment efforts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #30 on: September 18, 2017, 01:26:22 am »
Netflix is a major investor in this show for distribution in other countries.

I suspect if the CBS streaming thing doesn't work out, Netflix might negotiate rights to buy the show and air it in the states.
My Primary Shadowfleet Character:


Offline James H. Hawk

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Veteran Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1012
  • Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 2 Years Awarded to Players who have been with the Fleet for one year. Awarded to any player who stuck with the site during the June 2017 Site Move Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2017, 02:07:27 am »
That really upsets me as I'm already paying for Netflix and I'm not going to pay for CBS just to watch one show. I'll find a way around it if I have to.

What I really can't understand is why they would go about setting it up in such a way. They are only going to upset fans and hurt their viewership, which in turn will make it more likely that it could get canceled, won't be renewed and make it harder for future series in the franchise to be approved.

Money.

Even if it's a stupid and selfish system people will still pay for it. They're just greedy. It's a dick move but I'm certain they're just after as much money as they can get.


And yes, Kira, the other Star Trek serries are all on Australian Netflix (which is good because now I can watch Trek without spending a small fortune). If the new CBS streaming thing comes to Australia though they'll probably pull them like Disney is doing. I'm going to be pretty mad if they do that.



Offline Jada

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Honoured Member
  • **
  • Posts: 2821
  • #greenlivesmatter
  • Awarded to players who demonstrate consistent high quality posting skills. Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 2 Years Awarded in January and July to the player who writes the most engaging posts. Awarded to players who are always online and posting. Awarded to players who continue to contribute to the running of the SIMM.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #32 on: September 18, 2017, 04:29:59 am »
CBS streaming is most likely coming to Australia, I heard on the news today. CBS just bought Channel Ten. On the plus side, Ten might get some better content and Discovery on the free-to-air channel eventually. Let's hope it stays on Netflix long enough to watch (I don't have Netflix, except when I house-sit).
Academy Chief of the Boat  (Personnel File)

Offline James H. Hawk

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Veteran Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1012
  • Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 2 Years Awarded to Players who have been with the Fleet for one year. Awarded to any player who stuck with the site during the June 2017 Site Move Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #33 on: September 18, 2017, 05:12:05 am »
CBS streaming is most likely coming to Australia, I heard on the news today. CBS just bought Channel Ten. On the plus side, Ten might get some better content and Discovery on the free-to-air channel eventually. Let's hope it stays on Netflix long enough to watch (I don't have Netflix, except when I house-sit).

That sucks. I'm not paying for CBS' streaming thing. I won't be able to watch it on air either so I really hope its on Netflix long enough for me to watch it.


Offline Klizh

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Trusted Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 943
  • #MeowToo
  • Awarded to players who are always online and posting. Awarded in January and July to the player who writes the most engaging posts. Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them. Awarded in January and July by the executive officer to a player of their SIMM. Three year award
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #34 on: September 25, 2017, 01:57:55 pm »
Surprised no one has ranted about this in here yet. The pilot was broadcast last night... well, the first half of it. They expect you to pay to see the second half. But is it worth it? Not if the first half was anything to go by.

My god that was a waste of time. Somehow they managed to make a pilot that was even slower than Enterprise's... NOTHING happened. After an opening scene with some of the most hamfisted expositional dialogue I have ever seen, we didn't even get to know any of the characters other than the main one. And what do we know about her? She has PTSD and she's somehow SPOCK'S FOSTER-SIBLING THAT NO ONE EVER MENTIONED BEFORE.

Wait... a first officer who lost her parents to the Klingons, and was raised not just by Vulcans, but by Spock's father? ...Holy Crap, Ensign Mary Sue LIVES!*

Okay, just so I don't come off as a bitter fanboy who hates everything that is new/different, I will point out a couple things I *liked* about the new Star Trek.
-That new alien dude, specifically, the acting put into his body language. He actually moved in an "alien" way, and put some effort into being more than just a dude with a rubber forehead. His dynamic with the lead character was good.
-On that note, all of the actors did a good job, even if many had very little to work with.
-The space suit sequence was pretty neat, but those are pretty hard to screw up. Pretty much any scene in any science fiction with a space suit is going to be interesting, not just for the visual effects, but for the inherent dramatic stakes of having only a thin suit protecting you from the freezing vacuum of outer space.
-The phaser designs. Probably the closest they stayed to the TOS aesthetic, and I am a sucker for multiple switching barrels even if they make no sense.
-The Klingon political situation, with the multiple houses being fractured.

What I find most disappointing, though, is that this is a war story. Not a story about strange new worlds and new civilizations. Not about DISCOVERY. And the worst part is... THE SHIP THAT THE SHOW IS NAMED AFTER DIDN'T EVEN SHOW UP. And they expect us to PAY for more of this?

*I'm not saying this lead character is necessarily a Mary Sue. It just strikes me that the best ideas they could come up with for their lead was to rip off some of the worst tropes from fan fiction.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2017, 01:59:45 pm by Klizh »

"Here is the blackness of space, the myriad stars gleaming like diamond dust or, as some people would say, like great balls of exploding hydrogen a very long way off. But then, some people would say anything." - Terry Pratchett

Offline Solluk

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Legendary Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3397
  • Life is not endurable without a sense of humor.
  • Three year award Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them. Awarded by the FCO to the CO who has shown the best leadership. Awarded to players who guest star in another SIMM. Awarded to players in recognition of their recruitment efforts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #35 on: September 25, 2017, 03:36:55 pm »
Hey there,

So, my thoughts after 2 episodes:

Good story, well acted, with interesting characters.
Really enjoyed Saru's race and the specific actor's portrayal.


Klingon appearance makes me cringe.
Klingon ships do not feel right compared to previously established designs.
The weapon energy bolts were not impressive nor as interesting as beams.
The opening credits with equipment schematics are interesting, but I do not like them as much as opening credits that do space flybys.


Also

One wonders where holographic communications tech went in the intervening years between Discovery and DS9.

I'd hoped we might see a Constitution Class starship as part of the Federation fleet.  When the Admiral arrived and tractored the Shinzou (sp?) they did this panning shot to a big reveal, and I was leaning forward hoping it would be a Connie.  But it was just another ship much like the others we'd seen.

Michael's story isn't unlike Tom Paris or Ensign Ro, but told in much more detail and with its own quirks.

I will watch with interest to see what happens next and how the season develops.

Cheers!
My Primary Shadowfleet Character:


Offline Arrun Dihsar

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 665
  • Knowing your destiny is only half the journey.
  • Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 2 Years Awarded in January and July by the FCO to crew of the most organized SIMM. Awarded to the player whom the CO feels is worthy of recognition. Awarded to those who demonstrate great knowledge of their profession. Awarded in January and July to the player who writes the most engaging posts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #36 on: September 25, 2017, 06:48:31 pm »
Canadian here and have the fortune of having the SPACE channel on my cable package that was able to broadcast Episodes 1 and 2 of the Pilot which I watched with my SO yesterday.

My thoughts:

--The opening was a little underwhelming; felt like an homage song rather than a song with its own identity. Previous series each had their own song that made it stand out for me; even if I didn't happen to like ENT's opening song, it did fit the idea they pre-dated Starfleet and were Earth-centric ship. The schematics and concept art style didn't make me feel the grandeur and wonder of space and the future: it made me think that I was watching the opening to a Behind the Scenes featurette. Not a terrible song, not one I hate, but I can see myself tuning that opening out and checking my phone while it plays rather than enjoying the opening like I usually do.

--The Main Character is kinda interesting to me; Solluk's observation that her story mirrors Tom Paris resonates with my view clear as crystal. Her upbringing does puzzle me and, for all their efforts, felt strange and muddled. I was not drawn into her but I was interested what happened to her: if that makes any sense.

--I agree with disappointment that we do not see the Discovery; the two episodes are more a prologue or prelude to the Discovery series. And if this is supposed to be about the journey of Cmdr. Micheal: then, why name the show after the ship? (Unless it's a tip of the hand that this is more about discovering something about Micheal and all that.)

--Uniforms left a bad feeling with me. I have always liked a splash of color to the uniform; whereas this feels more like an echo to ENT's navy blue NASA /  Militaristic style uniforms. On a glance I was unsure who had what rank or what department they were with. To be fair, in TOS I never clued into the armband ranks until years after I had watched it. I guess I like the deltas on their flanks: but I just am not a fan of the uniforms in Discovery.

--The plot overall so far: War story is disappointing, with some Promos spinning the "from both sides" angle: I guess I like the whole seeing the action from the Starfleet POV and the Klingon POV. But, I had my fill of warfare in DS9. I mean, I love DS9: but, I was ready to follow a new crew on a new journey. Maybe they will, in their own special way: but this is a worrying start to the series for me. But, it does feel like a major incident and still manged to enjoy myself.

--Acting in general I liked, I'm glad Micheal isn't a blow-for-blow Spock-alike. The crew of the Shenzhen (the ship we see in the opening 2 episodes) is neat and I liked the variety of species and cybernetic-enhanced aboard (I swear, I clapped my hands seeing a full on cyborg or some such on the bridge).

--The Klingon design, at most, puzzles me. Not angered or offended, just puzzled. I do not quite understand the need to depart so strongly from the ENT, TOS, or Post-TNG appearance. They can have an interesting political situation without drastically changing how they appear. So, I'm ambivalent about them right now I suppose.

--In all, I liked the first and second episodes. I liked the action, the story, and the beginning of the Commander's story. I have my issues with the series so far, but, I will watch more of it as it comes out.

--If I had to pay for this on CRAVE TV or CBS's All Access...I'm not sure I would. I already currently subscribe to Canadian Netflix and Crunchyroll; not sure I would be up to subscribe to yet another TV streaming package. But, by chance I learned it was in my cable package: if it continues to air there then I will watch it happily (with commercials and all); but, I worry CBS might have shot themselves in the foot on their current broadcasting plan. That said, I hope this series gets to at least prove itself and tell its story.

Offline Naira

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Legendary Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3120
  • Awarded every January by the FCO. Awarded to players who demonstrate consistent high quality posting skills. Awarded to the player whom the CO feels is worthy of recognition. Awarded to players who continue to contribute to the running of the SIMM. Awarded to any player who writes the Post of the Month.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #37 on: September 25, 2017, 07:17:53 pm »
I have not seen anything other than images and a few clips online as I'm not paying for an additional streaming service just to watch one show. However I will say I agree with the following:

--Uniforms left a bad feeling with me. I have always liked a splash of color to the uniform; whereas this feels more like an echo to ENT's navy blue NASA /  Militaristic style uniforms. On a glance I was unsure who had what rank or what department they were with. To be fair, in TOS I never clued into the armband ranks until years after I had watched it. I guess I like the deltas on their flanks: but I just am not a fan of the uniforms in Discovery.

I don't like the look of the uniforms. In the few shots I've seen I couldn't tell what rank the character held and I was left guessing as to which department they worked in. If we are to be getting to know a lot of characters, I want to know these dynamics as they can play a big part in their interactions.

--The Klingon design, at most, puzzles me. Not angered or offended, just puzzled. I do not quite understand the need to depart so strongly from the ENT, TOS, or Post-TNG appearance. They can have an interesting political situation without drastically changing how they appear. So, I'm ambivalent about them right now I suppose.

I'll come out and say that I hate these new Klingon designs. When Knox's gets back from her honeymoon I plan to start up a 'Bring back the sexy Klingons' campaign. Though, I don't know what we'll do other than complain that they took a well established species and changed their looks for what I can only assume is an attempt to make them more monstrous in appearance so that audiences who are new to the franchise will have an easier time seeing them as the villains.

Offline Ian Galloway

  • Site Administrators
  • Amazing Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4040
  • Awarded in January and July by the FCO to crew of the most active SIMM. Awarded in January and July by the FCO to crew of the most organized SIMM. Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 5 Years Awarded to those who demonstrate an ability to convey the action of combat. Awarded in January and July to the player with the most humorous posts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #38 on: October 01, 2017, 09:56:58 pm »
Okay, I just watched episode three "Context is King" and the verdict is in. Both my wife and I are done with Discovery. It is clear the producers have decided "screw you old people, we don't care what you remember, this is our product and we will do whatever the bloody hell we want to do with it, because you are not our target audience."

Which is a true statement, it is their product to use as they see fit, but what they have forgotten is, as the consumer, I have the right to partake in their folly or not, and I chose not to play.

Offline Solluk

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Legendary Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3397
  • Life is not endurable without a sense of humor.
  • Three year award Awarded to players who go above and beyond what is asked of them. Awarded by the FCO to the CO who has shown the best leadership. Awarded to players who guest star in another SIMM. Awarded to players in recognition of their recruitment efforts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #39 on: October 02, 2017, 01:28:54 am »
Copying my thoughts here from chat and expanding on them:

So far, I think Star Trek Discovery is an intriguing sci-fi show.  I just wish it wasn't Trek, because so many of their decisions are unTreklike.  Some of their design choices deviate from expectations in ways that mystify me.   

Further, the plot seems to involve a new technology in development.  But much of my anticipation about this new technology is tamped down by my knowledge that it apparently goes nowhere. 

What Discovery am I meant to be excited about, here?  The Discovery of how it all goes wrong?  The Discovery of how a character who I don't particularly like scrapes together enough redemption to atone for her past misdeeds? 

I think that not calling this Trek, or not setting this show in 'the past' (pre-Kirk instead of post-Voyager) would have improved it.  They are fighting against fan expectation and fan foreknowledge, and it seems like a pointless fight.  They didn't have to make any fight whatsoever.  Why they chose to wage this battle is beyond my ken.

I will be continuing to watch, because they have piqued my curiosity.  But at this point, that's all they have.  Not excitement.  Just curiosity.

My Primary Shadowfleet Character:


Offline Naira

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Legendary Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3120
  • Awarded every January by the FCO. Awarded to players who demonstrate consistent high quality posting skills. Awarded to the player whom the CO feels is worthy of recognition. Awarded to players who continue to contribute to the running of the SIMM. Awarded to any player who writes the Post of the Month.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #40 on: October 02, 2017, 02:05:46 am »

I think that not calling this Trek, or not setting this show in 'the past' (pre-Kirk instead of post-Voyager) would have improved it.  They are fighting against fan expectation and fan foreknowledge, and it seems like a pointless fight.  They didn't have to make any fight whatsoever.  Why they chose to wage this battle is beyond my ken.


I was pretty disappointed when they announced this this would be set in the past. I really want some new Trek based post-Vogayer and I would think that that would be easier to make as they can go crazy coming up with all kinds of new technology and expand on whatever they want without fear of it breaking any timelines.

Offline Lena Atwood

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Competent Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 177
  • Awarded to players who have been with the fleet for six months.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #41 on: October 02, 2017, 06:18:26 pm »
I feel as though I've seen enough to wade into this discussion now, so here goes...

[I've just finished watching episode 3, I'm not sure who's up to where with the whole CBS and netflix thing, I'm watching on netflix in the UK.]

Firstly I'm 20 in a few weeks, so I didn't have the pleasure of catching any of the series when they first aired, I started watching voyager, "I think" for the first time at a friends house in 2011. So relatively, I'm a noob. Anyhow my opinions...

- The uniforms seem to be a point of contention, personally I like them. They're fairly sleek and the new badges both look good and designate rank and department. I think the metal color scheme denoting department is very clever and nicely understated fitting into the background subtly, I think if it was any bolder then the uniform wouldn't look nearly as good. I can see why people would be both upset and confused by the uniforms, being so close to the original series there seems to be no reason to have a completely different uniform, especially when I imagine there's a warehouse full of uniforms left over from Star trek 2009, Into Darkness and Beyond? The only thing I can think of, is after the Klingon-federation war, in an attempt to appear less militarized they moved to the colorful uniforms?

- There is a lot of technology that's more advanced than is acceptable I due to the advancement of editing and special affects I think, in places I think they made an attempt to bridge the gap like the transporters on the Shenzhou, which looked like they had light bulbs all the round the edge. But as I said I think they tried and then gave up, so it appears like there's loads of tech that we've not seen in any of the series.

- Klingons, another point of contention. Personally I've got nothing against the new version, I do however think that they should maybe have both types of ridges in the show. I dislike that they've just completely gotten rid of the other type, I feel as though it'd be more feasible if they introduced a new type of ridge rather than completely eliminate the other type. It feels... unfaithful to the older shows to just destroy that look.

- With regards to the acting, I'm a really bad judge. I've got Aspergers syndrome so I'm not exactly blessed with social skills. But it feels good, I feel as though the actors are putting the effort in, Saru in particular stands out as an excellent character which is well acted with his own alien movement style and behaviour. I'm looking forward to seeing the ops? officer with PTSD, the one which we see briefly in episode 3 who ignores Michael, in more detail to see how that plays out. I'm also genuinely excited to see more of the red headed science cadet introduced this episode too, I resonated strongly with her character and share many characteristics IRL.

- Jason Issacs gets his own point as captain Lorca, he's a good antihero and I feel as though his shadowy motives are going to be very much at odds with Michael's. I think he was the most noticeable chatacter introduction this episode.

- I like the opening sequence, I feel as though its showing the rejuvenation of Star Trek as an active airing tv show. I get the feeling you either like or don't, I certainly do. I get a nice chill down my spine when the fanfare sounds at the end of it too. If the series gets anther season I think they need to change it though, I do think it misses a certain something but I can't put my finger on it.

All in all I really like it, and I'm watching and waiting with great excitement for the next episode. The greatest disappointment for me was discovering that there's a mid season break, I like the heaviness that it displays and my major criticism of the other series is the lack of consequences. I always felt like at the end of the episode everyone was saved; the population was cured; the crew escapes and so forth. I feel as though Discovery changes that perception, such as the PTSD character and the fact that characters are complaining about the war, they want to be explorers, that's what they joined starfleet for.

I don't think they've tried to ruin it for long time fans, I just think they've got to modernize the franchise for it to survive and to attract new viewers, and change is naturally always painful. As I recall many people grumbled when Star Trek 2009 was released, change is always uncomfortable and Discovery is no exception.

But as I said before, this is the first Star Trek series I've actually been old enough to watch as its aired. So I am going to be exited about it, naturally. This is just my opinion in any event and carries no weight beyond myself, so pick holes in my views as much as you want!  :P


(I apologize if this is pretty rushed, I needed to get my thoughts out as fast as I could lest I forget them.)
« Last Edit: October 02, 2017, 06:31:25 pm by Lena Atwood »
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.— Leonardo Da Vinci

 
Sir Lena of House Atwood, Grand Marshall of Hospitality

Offline Kirok

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Triumphant Member
  • **********
  • Posts: 12127
  • Awarded in January 2017 to all active members. Awarded in January and July to the most diplomatic player. Awarded to any player who writes the Post of the Month. Awarded every January by the FCO. Awarded to the winner of the bi-annual crew choice poll.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #42 on: October 02, 2017, 10:32:31 pm »
Guess who just saw the first 2 episodes - this guy!

It is definitely new and very different from all the other Star Treks that is for sure!

They have the Klingon speaking in Klingon on the pilot - which though authentic - make the episode 'harder' to watch/enjoy.

And yeah, I would have not changed the Klingon face/image/appearance.  That is a bummer too.



But I like the new uniform and Saru our first Kelpien is great!



--

Episode 2 - three words

Ah Maz Ing

The space battle was GREAT! 

Give me more!
« Last Edit: October 02, 2017, 10:50:26 pm by Kirok »

Species:  Betazoid/Vulcan.
Being kind to others costs nothing & builds a stronger community.

Offline Arrun Dihsar

  • Shadow Fleet Reserves
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 665
  • Knowing your destiny is only half the journey.
  • Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 2 Years Awarded in January and July by the FCO to crew of the most organized SIMM. Awarded to the player whom the CO feels is worthy of recognition. Awarded to those who demonstrate great knowledge of their profession. Awarded in January and July to the player who writes the most engaging posts.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #43 on: October 03, 2017, 02:42:27 am »
Finished Episode 3 and my worries increase a little. This just doesn't feel like Star Trek to me, it feels like an episode of Stargate or something. Especially with the oogie-boogie alien they run into there. The new Captain has a great actor but the Captain character is the sort seen before as a villain or antagonist of TNG or VOY episodes of the starfleet officer who forgets what starfleet even stands for. The writers having him say the line "makes me seem mysterious" did not engender a laugh from me but an eye-roll. Just because your ship has strange mood-lighting doesn't mean hand-waving that it's there doesn't make the Captain seem any less the Bad Guy here. In short, Context is King did not make me more excited, but it at least didn't push me completely away yet; though it nearly did if Micheal had been right about what the Captain was upto.

Response to above thoughts:

--Galloway, I totally get where you're coming from; that is exactly the feeling I'm getting too. Big reason I'm hanging on right now is because I remember hating ENT when it first came out and DS9; but, when I went back to watch the series they both turned out alright (well, DS9 is great; ENT is just okay, but still worth watching). So, I'm hoping that DIS finds its footing back in the Trek verse and touches back to the core Trek principles (which the Chief Engineer actually espoused: even if his technobabble of biology and physics made me groan.)

--Solluk & Naira, I agree DIS should've been set ahead of VOY and not before TOS. For all the new shiny tech, there's a disconnect of fan-knowledge that says: "wait, I don't see this stuff in the rest of the timeline" feeling.  For fresh faces nothing is wrong, just anouther sci-fi tech with weird rules: but, to any long-time fans these stick out like sore thumbs. Star Wars ran into the same problem with its prequel movies where the past looked more advanced than the future. With ENT at least they LOOKED like they were pre-TOS; they were obviously not upto the same firepower or tech level as Kirk's Enterprise. If you're gonna base a story on bleeding-edge new tech; then put us in the future.

--Atwood, I'm glad you're enjoying it, I really am. I mean, I may not like ENT, but there are huge fans of that series; some of my friends HATE Voyager, but they still think Picard is cool. It is a good sign that someone here is actually enjoying the show; that's usually a sign that at least some hope remains for the show to be good down the road even if I don't think it is quite yet.

Though, for me, as someone who was a happy kid watching The Next Generation gleefully or reruns of the original Star Trek whenever it was on TV: Discovery just feels not Star Trek. Having watched all the TV series (and some of the cartoon) and the movies: Discovery stands out as strange to me. Star Trek, over the years, has reinvented itself to fit the modern times. Each show had a different feel and different take on Roddenberry's Star Trek. Time and again, writers have struggled with modern TV writing style and Roddenberry's idealistic sci-fi future. Not to say Roddenberry was perfect; some of his stuff is a little off-the-wall but at least it was fun. Since the 2009 Star Trek, CBS has been taking a different direction to attract new viewers. I get that, TNG was a different show from the original -so different the Picard/Kirk debate lives on; DS9 was different from TNG with the line I'll never forget of "I'm not Picard" ringing in my head from Sisko.

Trek is no stranger to change, but, what makes Star Trek unique to me in all the Sci-Fi I consume is this: it shows a brilliant future that I wish was happening. For all the danger: there is always the hope of discovery, hope of enlightenment, and hope of values possibly being changed for the better. Star Trek was not a show of the scrappy rebels against the evil Empire; it wasn't Earth fending off the alien menace from the stars; it was Humanity as part of a larger Galactic Community trying to figure out its mysteries. Sure, there were the Klingons and the Romulans and whatever big bad Empire threat....but the crux of the show was always about the Trek...the journey...the learning along the way. That was what made Star Trek special and dear to me.

With 2009 Trek, they wanted big explosions and rapid action. Stuff it with the diplomacy, lets get to our Apple-designed starship and get into a shoot-out. A drastic over-simplification, but that's the feel I got. But, they still took moments to look like Star Trek, to say the words of Star Trek, and Kirk was still Kirk and Spock was still Spock. I can't have Shatner, Nemoy, and Kelly gallivanting across the stars; I know that. But, the AU Star Trek stuff is still Star Trek; if a bit 21st century actiony for my taste. Discovery, just doesn't feel that way to me.

They could've named the show Star Trek: Mutiny or Star Trek: Burnham or whatever....but they choose, with forethought, the name Discovery. When I heard the title, I was ecstatic. We were gonna see a return to Trekking the Stars and all that. But then we learned it was gonna be a war story....involving the Klingons. That took the wind out my sails. The uniforms then highlighted how little Trek-like this was. These aren't starfaring explorers, they are soldiers in a war. They aren't trekking the stars, they are fighting amidst them; even DS9, with its war, still spent a lot of time expanding on the Starfleet and non-Starfleet characters as people who had to make choices about what they believed in and what they were fighting for; heck, some episodes had nothing to do with the war, just anouther day on a busy busy space station. Discover is every other Sci-fi medium I consume and it no longer feels unique to me; just....standard sci-fi fare. While, standard sci-fi is okay (i mean, I play the games, watch the shows, etc) but: standard sci-fi doesn't get me excited nearly as much as a good Star Trek show does.

So to you Atwood, I say I hope -desperately- that I am wrong. That the few glimmers of hope that this show will be awesome come to pass. That this show will just get better and better and I can be as excited as you for the next episode. But for now, I'm just wary that the Star Trek I was hoping for just never will happen again. Maybe this is the the final change that I just can't deal with, the last boundary I cannot cross. Or maybe, once the series is done, I'll be able to go back and see a show prove me wrong.

--Kirok...I hate to admit it....but I did like the space battles in episode two. Much as I just went on a rant about exploration and all that...a good space battle is hard to be mad at.

.....
Nitpicks of the week:
--Why is the Chief of Security such a jerk?
--Why were the prisoners eating in the mess hall?
--Black Alert? Really? Why not Red Alert? What is wrong with that? That's serious time, time to grim up...why a new alert?
--Why is there a Cadet aboard a serving starship with "Above Top Secret" material aboard?
--"Above Top Secret"
--Why is Burnham calling the man by his rank? Just why? There's no reason she should be expected to or have the privilege of doing so. She's not on a pleasure cruise and isn't on vacation.
--Why is the Cadet with the Prisoner? Just why?
--H.R. Giger called: he wants his monster back.
--Yes show, you told us why the Cadet is there but she's a CADET! Are you guys crazy? Is Starfleet that hard up they are putting CADETS on starships? Then again Wesley wasn't even an officer...and he flew the Enterprise-D so, what do I know.
--Hah! You got me show! You almost made me think this was a stupid plot about super evil officers doing super illegal things....except maybe you are? You do know this is a BAD idea right? Section 31 wasn't a good idea either.

Alright, that's out of my system. If you read this entire post, then I owe you one homemade pastry. If you didn't, well I don't blame you. ;)

Offline Kinley Garrison

  • The Cheezit Thief
  • Command Level Officer
  • Honoured Member
  • **
  • Posts: 2061
  • Shenanigans ensueth.
  • Awarded to any player who has been with the Fleet 5 Years Awarded to players who continue to contribute to the running of the SIMM. Awarded to players who demonstrate consistent high quality posting skills. Awarded in January and July to the player who writes the most engaging posts. Awarded in January and July to the most diplomatic player.
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Star trek Discovery CBS
« Reply #44 on: October 03, 2017, 08:48:57 am »
I still haven't seen it (as the majority of you know I'm a broke college student who has no time/money to spend on CBS all access) but as I see it, they already have a prequel series that fits in within the canon, rather well, from what I have heard about ENT. If anything, they could have gone PAST Voyager and probably have fit in canonically, at least visual tech-wise, quite fine.

I'm still confused whether it is a prequel to the "main" universe or the "Abramsverse", as from what I have seen, apparently, it doesn't fit within the canons of either. (like, for example, they actually do give a peek at the ENT jumpsuits from the ENT days in  Star Trek Beyond.) (Those don't look anything similar to the DIS uniforms, as pretty as the DIS uniforms are.)  Maybe there's an explanation I haven't seen as of yet that explains that. I've been avoiding spoilers until I see it.  If it was for certain set in the Abramsverse, then I could understand the apparent continuity errors and make the assumption that it's another timeline thing.

I'm not a fan of the name, (though that probably is because I'm biased about how, if it is called the Discovery, they should take a few pages out of OUR Discovery SIMM, IMO.)  but I will continue to reserve my judgment on it until I see it. From what I've seen on the many FB Star Trek groups I follow, they either love it or they hate it, no in-between. so I'm pretty confused there

So, in short, I'm still neutral on this, Just a little skeptical on how it'll work. If I ever get a chance, I might give it a chance, just to say I have done my part in seeing it. It might be really good, might be a total flop. I guess I'll have to figure it out for myself.
We're in Starfleet here. Weird is part of the job description.



Click the badge to read my bio.

 

RPG-D Sci-Fi Avatars RPG Initiative RPGfix RPG Initiative Fodlan Chronicles