Television Star Trek

[Norman Brownbutter]

Great, I'll take your word for it.

Will keep trying with DS9. To be honest, I thought I'd like Voyager better as the premise seemed so much more interesting (lost ship trying to get back) but so far I'm thinking of giving up and just continue on the DS9 path.

Voyager started out life as a completely different beast. It was supposed to be something more like the Battlestar Galactica remake. But some producer wanted it to be more like TNG, and so all the really good ideas got binned and we got what was in essence just an inferior TNG. There are good episodes in there, just not as many and there isn't a wealth of great characters like there is in DS9. DS9 benefits from the fact it was really left alone to be its own thing. And because of that you have some really great characters, and some really great long form story telling. With other trek shows they have a tendency to his the reset button at the end of the each episode, DS9 did that a lot less. You can see the evolution of the people, the setting over the course of the show. Things that happen in one off episodes are remembered going forward, and can some times take the show in surprising journeys. Or, in one case, not so great journey. Youll know it when you see. Most people don't think it was a good idea to change the character in the way they did. But it is what it is.

What you get out of DS9 will depend on how much you like the characters. Personally, I love them all. They all bring something to the table. And the all shine at some point during the show. Even the side characters are brilliant. Its just such a good show. I hope you enjoy it, as there are some episodes that are some of the best TV has ever seen.

 

[Salt Bailly]

TKO, basically the cross species MMA episode is so bad it makes Lexx look like a quality show in comparison.

You just reminded me of the Voyager episode when Seven of Nine got Rock-Bottomed by The Rock.

 

[WI_Red]

TKO, basically the cross species MMA episode is so bad it makes Lexx look like a quality show in comparison.

I love me some B5 but boy did it have some clunkers early.

I will not have anyone, even tangentially, insult the honor of Lexx and therefore Zev/Xev.

 

[Withnail]

Have you seen Orville? It's old Trek with some jokes added for no reason. It's much much better than Discovery and (RLM reviews of) Picard. But. Watching it made me more negative about any possible future of good Trek. Copying from my own review:

Love Orville!

Picard is as if they are milking an almost dead cash cow for a last pay day.

2 eps into foundation and its pretty nice so far. Expansion was just off the charts specially the fantastic space battles. As for trek, it's pretty much now the Orville.

Funny thing is, the Star Trek parody The Orville ended up becoming more Star Trek than the Star Trek shows!

A big thank you to everyone who recommended The Orville. I'd never even heard of it until this thread. I'm halfway through the first season and loving it.

 

[Raoul]

Genuinely terrible episode. Bad writing and actors not good enough to pull off a faux period piece. Easily the worst episode among many good ones.

 

[RedSky]

Genuinely terrible episode. Bad writing and actors not good enough to pull off a faux period piece. Easily the worst episode among many good ones.

I enjoyed it. It wasn't taking itself remotely seriously and was very camp all the way through with a decent ending. The only part I didn't overly like was the reappearance at the very end, wasn't required in my opinion. (keeping it vague as I can't be arsed to spoiler).

 

[Van Piorsing]

Bit of a holodek episode this one. Not enough nurse Chapel for sure and that Hemmer chap is underrated.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

first episode Ive skipped through. I think they did this kind of episode too soon in the series. We don't really know everyone well enough to see the contrast to their real characters. But even so, this would still have been a terrible episode. Utterly forgettable in every way imaginable. And no, "the first couple of seasons of trek are always bad" is not an excuse. We are supposed to learn as we go forward, not make the same mistakes.

 

[Zarlak]

And this isn't even the best bits.

Looks like Colin Farrell in The Batman

 

[Mercurial]

Hemmer carried what was the first weak episode of the season. Even then it was in the good spirit of original TOS and TNG.

 

[OneUnited24]

I wasn't expecting much after watching the promo last week but it was a fun episode and something I would have seen in TOS or TNG. Agree with @Norman Brownbutter above though, it suffered from not knowing the charactors enough to have the required contrast to make the episode more enjoyable. However i still enjoyed it and it had its moments.

Regardless of this one episode i think this is one of the stongest first seasons of Trek i've ever seen. Its also such a contrast from the rest

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

Another clunker. Once again trying to get us to feel something for a character they never showed us very much of. A heavy Aliens vibe coming off this one too, complete with

Spoiler

little girl survivor and falling sacrifice at the end a la alien 3.

Writing is just so poor. They are telling us things instead of showing us.

Spoiler

That one previous episode wasnt enough to convince us of the relationship between Uhura and Hemmer. Yet we are supposed to feel this big swell of emotional connection between the two characters so much that after Hemmers death his final words influences Uhuras career choice. Hemmer didnt get enough screen time for the audience to get to know him, never mind Uhura. Id be shocked if anyone cared about his death any more than other two nobodies who died. Current writers are just so garbage. Hardly ever taking the time to build up to the pay off. They just want to get to the tickly bit without any of the foreplay. Its pathetic this type of poor story telling is continually rewarded.

The actors, the directors, the music people, the set designers, etc etc are all doing a great job. There was real tension in this episode in parts. And it was all ruined by shitty writing. I don't know why Hollywood hates writers so much, they should be one of the most important commodities in the industry.

 

[RedSky]

I thought it was brilliant. Very good episode with a real kicker at the end. Genuinely sad that happened and was not expecting it at all.

 

[BristolRuss]

I thought episode 9 was brilliant personally. Possibly the best of the series so far. I think episode 8 has been the only 'weak' episode so far, and even then it was a lot better than what we have seen from Discovery and Picard.

Sad that there is only one episode left of this season. Hopefully after the positive reviews they might do more for season 2.

 

[That'sHernandez]

Bit of a holodek episode this one. Not enough nurse Chapel for sure and that Hemmer chap is underrated.

I enjoyed it. You could tell the cast had a lot of fun shooting it throughout

 

[Van Piorsing]

I enjoyed it. You could tell the cast had a lot of fun shooting it throughout

The cast overall is alright. No overly annoying characters helped too.

 

[That'sHernandez]

I think it helps to have a ‘light’ episode with a bit of fun thrown in every now and then. Star Trek was never always 100% serious, as it has been with Disco and Picard

 

[Mercurial]

Episode 10, just sublime! Could be the strongest first season TREK ever!

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

That was good, not gonna lie. Best episode yet. And I damn near cheered seeing some professionalism on the bridge and more importantly seeing unprofessionalism being slapped down hard. Paul Wesley was good. More Chris Pine than William Shatner, but good none the less. My only issue with it all is

Spoiler

If him being in charge on the bridge is the problem, why can't he just retire at the point he's supposed to "die" and that will place Kirk in charge anyway? I know they had that line of "whatever you do, Spock dies" but that seems lazy. I feel like there needs to be more about they way Pike ends up having a more intimate effect on Spocks personality that causes some change in him that allows him to avoid a bad fate. I guess they could have gone down the road of Spock embracing his human side more which leads to the problems, but seeing Pike being melted restores his embracing of his Vulcan side, meaning that logic and not feeling is his driving force going forward? I don't know, but would be nice to be more than just some final destination shit.

All in all though, I enjoyed that episode a lot.

 

[Van Piorsing]

While Picard missed that precious opportunity in telling interesting Romulan conflict story in season one (Narek, Narissa, Commodore Oh), this made it engaging and injected some old Trek lore.

Feels a bit Picard season 3 is no longer the main attraction. Let Jean-Luc rest with dignity, ffs.

 

[RedSky]

What a terrific season that was. Loved it.

@Norman Brownbutter

Spoiler

Think you nailed it with the last two sentences, without that trauma in Spocks life he would continue his gradual embrace of his human side. Having him revert back to his Vulcan, logical side is most likely the reasoning. Although I do agree it does require a leap of faith to jump to that conclusion, but it is... logical.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

Is it universally accepted that The Orville is the natural and best successor to the original Star Trek? Because it’s ace.

 

[RedSky]

Is it universally accepted that The Orville is the natural and best successor to the original Star Trek? Because it’s ace.

I stopped watching it, didnt overly like the characters, enjoyed the jokey nature initially, but the plot just felt tired (season 2).

I'm just happy that we have a quality Star Trek show again after plodding through Discovery and Picard (urgh). It's also nice to see Star Trek fans really enjoy SNW, reddit and youtube gush about the show. Got the biggest smile on my face after that last episode.

 

[Mercurial]

I stopped watching it, didnt overly like the characters, enjoyed the jokey nature initially, but the plot just felt tired (season 2).

I'm just happy that we have a quality Star Trek show again after plodding through Discovery and Picard (urgh). It's also nice to see Star Trek fans really enjoy SNW, reddit and youtube gush about the show. Got the biggest smile on my face after that last episode.

It was just Oh so good! The quality of the show is up there really!

 

[Garethw]

Star Trek the motion picture directors cut is getting a 4K release in September.

 

[The Hilton]

Is it universally accepted that The Orville is the natural and best successor to the original Star Trek? Because it’s ace.

Definitely is for me, even more so now they've toned down the family guy humour.

Also, maybe this is just me, but it seems to be the only current sci fi out there with writers who understand that long in the future, on far flung worlds, people won't be using the exact same slang as young people today.

 

[harshad]

Said it before, and will say it again - needs more Nurse Chapel.

All in all, this season was awesome. Anson Mount is great as Pike, but we already knew that from his appearance on Season 2 of Discovery.

Also, that was Scotty that was chatting with Spock, while Spock was carrying out repairs, yeah?

 

[OneUnited24]

Said it before, and will say it again - needs more Nurse Chapel.

All in all, this season was awesome. Anson Mount is great as Pike, but we already knew that from his appearance on Season 2 of Discovery.

Also, that was Scotty that was chatting with Spock, while Spock was carrying out repairs, yeah?

Yeah that was Scotty. Wonder if he’ll be in season 2. Honestly watching SNW is such a breath of fresh air. This last episode had a air of yesterdays enterprise about it and the way they re-told the story from balance of terror with Pike POV was brilliant.

All in all hands down the best first season for a trek show… my worry is Alex’s kurtsman gets more involved in season 2 … dear Lord no

 

[Reditus]

My Trek viewing is all over the shop

Loved TNg back on the day. Like majority of the movies. Never got into DS9 but really liked Voyager.

So for the new stuff I couldn’t get into Discovery. The first season of Picard I actually really liked. The 2nd season was painful. Never seen such a decline between two seasons in any show

So question is, am I wasting my time with this new one….I am liking some of the positivity it appears to have gathered

 

[harshad]

My Trek viewing is all over the shop

Loved TNg back on the day. Like majority of the movies. Never got into DS9 but really liked Voyager.

So for the new stuff I couldn’t get into Discovery. The first season of Picard I actually really liked. The 2nd season was painful. Never seen such a decline between two seasons in any show

So question is, am I wasting my time with this new one….I am liking some of the positivity it appears to have gathered

No. It's great sci-fi.

 

[WI_Red]

Nice article re: SNW

I’m Already Homesick for ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ - The Ringer

 

[Mercurial]

My Trek viewing is all over the shop

Loved TNg back on the day. Like majority of the movies. Never got into DS9 but really liked Voyager.

So for the new stuff I couldn’t get into Discovery. The first season of Picard I actually really liked. The 2nd season was painful. Never seen such a decline between two seasons in any show

So question is, am I wasting my time with this new one….I am liking some of the positivity it appears to have gathered

Strange New Worlds is reference quality Trek so far. So very high quality, will not dissapoint. Disco, Picard was just horrible and awful, granted the season of Discovery with Strange new worlds crew was pretty decentish.

 

[Raoul]

A bit wobbly on the final few episodes for me. Not a big deal as they can't all be gems and first seasons are usually set aside for writer development and character building. I'm hoping for a bit more traditional sci-fi and a bit less quirky character pieces in season 2.

 

[That'sHernandez]

Thoroughly enjoyed the finale, I thought it was excellent.

 

[Norman Brownbutter]

So I just watched episode 5 of the third season of the Orville, and Im utter perplexed how Akiva Goldsman can say that they are finally getting the right tone of Star Trek. Its right there, in the Orville. An episode obviously serving as allegory for trans rights and freedoms. And it was brilliantly done, Im not usually one to get misty over tv shows, but that one got me. Bortas struggling between the love of his child and the love of his husband was rough. Not once did it feel like it was preaching, or virtue signalling or having LGBT doing the heavy lifting for the characters and story. It was just a solid story brilliantly told and acted. How in the sweet titties is something that started life on FOX doing this shit right, while Star Trek is just dog shit with overly forced narratives to get brownie points off twitter???

Not once was I bored, or reaching for the iPad to have something else to do. I was watching from start to finish. How can they continue to feck up Star Trek, when its right there in front of them being everything I loved about Star Trek growing up? What a bizarre world this has turned into.

 

[christy87]

So I just watched episode 5 of the third season of the Orville, and Im utter perplexed how Akiva Goldsman can say that they are finally getting the right tone of Star Trek. Its right there, in the Orville. An episode obviously serving as allegory for trans rights and freedoms. And it was brilliantly done, Im not usually one to get misty over tv shows, but that one got me. Bortas struggling between the love of his child and the love of his husband was rough. Not once did it feel like it was preaching, or virtue signalling or having LGBT doing the heavy lifting for the characters and story. It was just a solid story brilliantly told and acted. How in the sweet titties is something that started life on FOX doing this shit right, while Star Trek is just dog shit with overly forced narratives to get brownie points off twitter???

Not once was I bored, or reaching for the iPad to have something else to do. I was watching from start to finish. How can they continue to feck up Star Trek, when its right there in front of them being everything I loved about Star Trek growing up? What a bizarre world this has turned into.

There is something missing from this season’s Orville, that was there for the first 2 seasons, Fun, also it’s very centric this season, some of the main cast characters have been reduced to 5 mins here or there and it’s too long 30 to 40 mins was perfect for this show not an hour plus. Star Trek other worlds has been a level above it this season.

 

[RedSky]

So I just watched episode 5 of the third season of the Orville, and Im utter perplexed how Akiva Goldsman can say that they are finally getting the right tone of Star Trek. Its right there, in the Orville. An episode obviously serving as allegory for trans rights and freedoms. And it was brilliantly done, Im not usually one to get misty over tv shows, but that one got me. Bortas struggling between the love of his child and the love of his husband was rough. Not once did it feel like it was preaching, or virtue signalling or having LGBT doing the heavy lifting for the characters and story. It was just a solid story brilliantly told and acted. How in the sweet titties is something that started life on FOX doing this shit right, while Star Trek is just dog shit with overly forced narratives to get brownie points off twitter???

Not once was I bored, or reaching for the iPad to have something else to do. I was watching from start to finish. How can they continue to feck up Star Trek, when its right there in front of them being everything I loved about Star Trek growing up? What a bizarre world this has turned into.

Speak for yourself. The majority really enjoyed watching Strange New Worlds and there's plenty of people that don't like Orville. Opinions eh? Also, wrong thread

 

[Amir]

I do like The Orville and this season has been very good (despite the awfully long episodes...), but I do feel it's a little too much "in your face" politically. It's like the show has become a vehicle for the creators agendas.

 

[That'sHernandez]

I do like The Orville and this season has been very good (despite the awfully long episodes...), but I do feel it's a little too much "in your face" politically. It's like the show has become a vehicle for the creators agendas.

I feel like MacFarlane didn't expect it to take off like it did and has moved from doing a spoof/homage to 'Trek under another name and it's started taking itself way too seriously

 

[Raoul]