Star Trek: Discovery

I enjoyed this week's episode, they're actually building quite nicely to the finale next week but my lord has it been a rough road there this time - this is a show that would definitely benefit from fewer episodes to tell the stories they have, so I'm looking forward to them cutting it from thirteen to ten next year.

I really liked all the stuff with them trying to decipher the alien language, and I also love that they're giving us something truly ALIEN that doesn't even have a proper face or spoken language. I think they did well with the character stuff this week - Michael and Saru work so well together, it's frustrating that they don't get that many one-on-one scenes these days. Reno also really lights up any scene she's in, so I'm glad she's getting a decent role in these final few episodes... it's a shame she didn't show up at all until last week, but I believe there are real-life reasons why Tig Notaro couldn't be there until towards the end of production.

Let's see how they resolve things next week :o
 
Also I saw someone online mention how the rest of the bridge crew only really started getting lines/screentime once Tilly left and I can't stop thinking about it :D Maybe they just CHOPPED UP all her stuff and portioned it out to the rest of them :eyes:
 
Before anything else I would like to say that I absolutely HATED that cameo at the end, current public figures cameoing in Star Trek shouldn't be treated as a big moment with swelling music etc - it should be as an uncredited extra, like King Abdullah of Jordan when he appeared on Voyager:
king_abdullah.jpg
 
For the most part though, a decent ending to a very uneven season. There were quite a lot of fakeout deaths (sorry @Madison), but I appreciated that they resolved things with diplomacy and that the 10C still remained pretty alien and unknowable in the end. More than anything it really did highlight what a SLOG getting to this point was, I said it before but condensing this story down to nine or ten episodes really would've done it so much good.
 
It also felt a LOT like an ending to the entire series with the epilogues, I wonder if the renewal took them by surprise or something? They might have just been hedging their bets I suppose.
 
I think five seasons feels about right, I'll be interested to see how they wrap it up and whether they plan on doing any new shows set in that time period. There's a lot of potential in the far future of the Trek universe, but Discovery being tied to the established characters and storytelling structure stopped them exploring it as much as they maybe could have (an anthology series about the Federation rebuilding itself, set over decades or centuries, is something I'd be interested in for example).
 
I did enjoy it, using did in it's true sense. Whilst it was available to watch, I watched it, but now its only available by selling a kidney and subscribing to GBNews, I can't be arsed.

I'm sad for the Star Trek series in general. Its almost like everything since Enterprise has been a reaction against Enterprise - make everything fast paced and flashy. Surely there's a way to both use modern techniques and interesting slow burn storytelling.
 
So I was about to post this in the Picard thread but it's just as relevant here. When TNG or DS9 or even Voyager were at their best, they combined a cerebral aspect to their storytelling with an emotional weight and significance, fuelled by characters and their interpersonal relationships that you genuinely cared for.

Modern Trek dispenses with much of this for the sake of scenes of unnecessary action and cheap thrills. That was never the aim of the franchise.
Has it lost its soul?
 
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I did enjoy it, using did in it's true sense. Whilst it was available to watch, I watched it, but now its only available by selling a kidney and subscribing to GBNews, I can't be arsed.

Yeah same, surely only the hardcore in the UK are still watching since they made it so difficult to actually watch. The last season I watched was the one with the GREEN WOMAN as the villiain (or minor villain).
I can't say I'll miss it tbh, it was almost a RELIEF when I realised I wouldn't have to commit to watching any more :D

On reflection I wanted to wanted to like Discovery more than I actually did :D I actively HATED Tilly as a character once I realised what a sad sack she was.
The plot was often pretty non-sensical (the spore whale creature! The constant timeline jumps! Whatever went on with the Klingons in season 1, that was hastily forgotten in all seasons post!

It was a shame that they waited so long to introduce Book who was such a charismatic and (importantly) FUN character, and I don't think any of the over-arching plots ended up being strong enough to maintain the season/seasons long arcs - but I'm sure some of the plot issues are down to behind the scenes drama too.

Ironically I think my most memorable episode was the one where they went back to Saru's planet, and there was some drama with his sister - it was quite self contained in a monster of the week kind of way, but actually developed the character in a meaningful way. They probably should have done a bit more of that.

It seems Strange New Worlds (which I haven't watched, and seems to have had zero promo in the UK as far as I'm aware) is the new flagship show.
 
Section 31 is actually happening! But as a 'special movie event' rather than a series:
“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” said Yeoh. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”
I'm actually a bit agog they've got her back for this, considering!
 
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