scumble on 26/9/2017 at 17:15
Maybe they thought that would be too cheesy, although I have always found Star Trek fight scenes a bit unexciting and why wouldn't they use some kung fu?
The only reason I'm considering watching it is to see her as a starship captain.
Volitions Advocate on 26/9/2017 at 17:37
Watching the Klingon actors act made me think of Louis Gosset Jr. in Enemy Mine. Not that the new Klingons look much like the Drak, but something about their performances reminded me of his. Which might do him little justice, because his performance in that movie was legendary.
I'm worried about the JJ influence, which of course we all knew was there. Star Trek needed to be taken out of the 60s and 90s and into this century, but a heavy hand is just going to dilute what made it special, despite it's flaws over the decades. I watched all 7 seasons of Voyager this year on netflix because when I was a kid the episodes never played in order on peasant TV. I'm happy I got the whole story, and I'm a huge trekkie (I find the need to call my self a trekker because some people are butthurt about the term "trekkie" super annoying, so I'll use what I consider to be the proper term), but the flaws are glaring now that I'm no longer an adoslecent (most of the time).
I'm watching DS9 now in between binges of the X files and Hannibal (which was also produced by Bryan Fuller, so there should be some interesting stylistic choices, especially if we get any Hannibal the Space Cannibal episodes), and even in the first season I am finding an appreciation of just how different and interesting DS9 was that I didn't understand as a kid.
Here's hoping they lighten up on the spectacle a bit. Show us some good Star Trek, and don't be afraid to have fun with it and be goofy at times. Because Hannibal is awesome, but fuck is it bleak. True to form, sure, but hopefull we don't just get a cross between that and the JJ movies in every episode.
heywood on 26/9/2017 at 19:34
I think DS9 aged better than Voyager. I watched DS9 here and there when it was running but it didn't connect with me enough to become a loyal, regular viewer. But I've since watched a few mini-binges of DS9 and I like it better now. In contrast, I started out as a regular watcher of Voyager but can't watch it now. Part of it is that DS9 is not trying to do the same old star ship planet hopping thing like every other Star Trek series. But I also like the characters better. I never really warmed up to the Voyager crew. And DS9 was more grounded while the Voyager plots seemed to get more fancifully stupid over time.
Fafhrd on 26/9/2017 at 19:59
Quote Posted by Aja
My dad's PVR didn't catch the second episode,
Probably because the second episode was only on CBS's streaming service.
Al_B on 26/9/2017 at 22:13
OK, I've seen the first two episodes (both were on Netflix and appear to continue to be that way in the UK at least). Overall - enjoyable but far too early to tell if it's going to work long term.
I'm really glad I'm not in the position of having to write a series with a history as well established and loved (to varying degrees) as Star Trek. In the past it's had the luxury of allowing the writers and actors to develop the characters to the point where they felt like familiar characters and there was continuity between episodes even if there weren't overall plot arcs.
I can get engaged in a series if I can get behind and root for the characters. On that aspect I'm struggling with this show. The series lead (Michael) is probably the most developed so far but at the expense of the others on the ship. So far the episodes seem to go out of their way to separate this character from the others both in terms of abilities and connections. Without adding spoilers she has an option to solve a problem in the first episode but rather than share it with her captain up-front she explicitly excludes her from any discussions. It jarred both from a practical point of view and a missed opportunity for seeing a crew work together even if the end result of the problem would be the same.
Having said that, most series take a while to develop and get a rhythm. There are some oddball ones that do that quickly (Firefly) but they're far and few between. This has weaknesses - the Klingons now have almost more repeat visits than Doctor Who's Daleks - but I'll reserve final judgement until after the end of the series.
Bucky Seifert on 26/9/2017 at 23:48
Quote Posted by Al_B
Having said that, most series take a while to develop and get a rhythm. There are some oddball ones that do that quickly (Firefly) but they're far and few between. This has weaknesses - the Klingons now have almost more repeat visits than Doctor Who's Daleks - but I'll reserve final judgement until after the end of the series.
Agreed. Remember, The Next Generation started off really weak and there were people who were furious about the show initially. Now it's regarded by quite a few as the best series. I am holding hope that this will be another Star Trek series that just took some time to really get good, and when it does it will provide some great television, because I can very much see the potential in this.
SubJeff on 27/9/2017 at 06:52
I thought it was pretty good.
I'm not a big ST fan so the Klingon's didn't bother me. My brother hated the change to the way they look though.
The worst thing about this was that back story! WTF? Why oh why do they have to shoehorn known characters in? What next, her first boyfriend was Bones and her classmate was Scotty?
FFS
Thirith on 27/9/2017 at 07:00
@Volitions Advocate: Concerning the Bryan Fuller factor, if I'm not mistaken he ended up not having that much to do with the series. Originally he was supposed to be the main creative head behind it, but when he got American Gods he more or less bowed out, I think. At least that's what I remember reading; perhaps he had more of a creative influence than I'm aware of. In any case, the pilot episode (I've just seen the first part) didn't have any touches that made me think of Fuller.
heywood on 27/9/2017 at 13:25
Quote Posted by Buccura
Agreed. Remember, The Next Generation started off really weak and there were people who were furious about the show initially. Now it's regarded by quite a few as the best series. I am holding hope that this will be another Star Trek series that just took some time to really get good, and when it does it will provide some great television, because I can very much see the potential in this.
Yes about TNG. The first episode suffered from stiff acting and a villain nobody liked (Q). In the second episode, the crew gets intoxicated in a lame rip-off of an old TOS story. Even Data gets drunk and boinks Yar. Some fans were ready to hate it at that point. But it got good quickly and the first season has several of my favorite episodes of the series.
Voyager was the opposite for me. I liked it right from the start but it went downhill from there.
It's too early to judge this one, but I agree based on first impressions the spectacle could be toned down to focus more on the characters and stories.
Starker on 27/9/2017 at 15:14
It's definitely better if the show gets good later instead of a good show becoming crap*, like, say, Heroes, but it also makes them a hard sell. I have had the hardest time convincing people to give Farscape a chance, as it sucks for most of the two first seasons.
* the disappointment is much enhanced when it's a good series that takes a downturn, as I'm experiencing right now with Sherlock.