Star Trek Discovery
Ok, so I have now watched both episodes of the Star Trek Discovery, and I'm not sure how I feel about it?
It didn't quite feel like Star Trek - and I'm not sure how I feel about it generally - I was more upbeat about it post episode one than episode two....
The Good
I got a fairly good feel of Michael and Phillipa, but only one is a continuing character. I have no idea how I feel about anyone else as we only really got an introduction to them. With a tiny glimpse of Saru, who seems interesting.
I like the updated ships
It set things up - it had the exploration feel in the cold open. There's layers to the narrative, which could be interesting. (Michael's backstory - the link - the different Klingon/Federation relationship)
I was amused by how much the unforgotten really hates the words 'we come in peace'
It was very Vulcan in a way, but not so much what we've been shown previously, that they basically fought the klingons on sight until they answered them.
The names of the ships - I appreciated the names. (How many characters/science peeps/scifi writers can we get in)
Klingons not speaking english.
I kinda like the title sequence, but it lacks a distinctive score.
It's nice (was nice) to have actors of colour, and characters of colour front and centre of a show.
The Not so Good
Sad that Captain Phillipa died (like I knew that we would briefly got non white female captain and then go back to there can't be too many white guys in the captain's chair - but it doesn't make me less sad that she died died :() - AND it was fridging. (For Michael's pain and character drive....so not a man's, but totally fridged as she literally existed to die to get Michael to where she is by the end.....)
Still predominately human crew (two non human def - one maybe non human (bright blue eyes dude)) - more of a range of races, to a degree, but no Andorians :( (or Tellerites) - and too much focus on just two members of the crew (plus the klingons - which was needed, but took away from the crew being built on....though no idea how many reappear? So possibly doesn't matter)
Sarik - he is everywhere - like the go to vulcan when they want one - a bit tired of him almost always being the vulcan link. And the fact we get Vulcans and Humans but no tellerites or andorians......
Michael's sentence. I mean, we had Tom Paris thanks folks - did she really need to mutiny and get sentenced to life imprisonment at the beginning of the dang show? (To get dragged out, ala Tom, by her new captain?) I hope they use it differently.
It's based around war rather than exploration. I hope it gets some balance, I mean ultimately DSN was about a war, but it explored so much of the cultures and new worlds during the war it wasn't just a war story (and it focused on the characters we'd already had built up pre-war).
Annnd evil albino trope :/ seriously, why is there an albino klingon? (I mean, I don't get the whole new look - it's a bit too extra for me. A bit more non-human than Worf and B'Elanna, fair enough, but it's a whole lot more than that - but why did one of the bad guys have to be an albino klingon?).
-
I will keep watching to see where it goes (and Ma wishes to see Jason, she was unimpressed by his name being in the credits, when he wasn't in either episode)
Edit: So I think my issue is that I don't actually feel like they've done anything new exactly, it's like they've tried, but ultimately stuck with the same things (vulcans, enemy klingons, poke and start a war, some of the worst tropes) with added 'oh look a chinese awesome woman captain! oophs we broke her, have a white guy again instead', fail out
The first episode was by far better for me than the second, so am hoping that we get more like that in the coming season.
This entry was originally posted at http://weaselett.dreamwidth.org/201547.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
It didn't quite feel like Star Trek - and I'm not sure how I feel about it generally - I was more upbeat about it post episode one than episode two....
The Good
I got a fairly good feel of Michael and Phillipa, but only one is a continuing character. I have no idea how I feel about anyone else as we only really got an introduction to them. With a tiny glimpse of Saru, who seems interesting.
I like the updated ships
It set things up - it had the exploration feel in the cold open. There's layers to the narrative, which could be interesting. (Michael's backstory - the link - the different Klingon/Federation relationship)
I was amused by how much the unforgotten really hates the words 'we come in peace'
It was very Vulcan in a way, but not so much what we've been shown previously, that they basically fought the klingons on sight until they answered them.
The names of the ships - I appreciated the names. (How many characters/science peeps/scifi writers can we get in)
Klingons not speaking english.
I kinda like the title sequence, but it lacks a distinctive score.
It's nice (was nice) to have actors of colour, and characters of colour front and centre of a show.
The Not so Good
Sad that Captain Phillipa died (like I knew that we would briefly got non white female captain and then go back to there can't be too many white guys in the captain's chair - but it doesn't make me less sad that she died died :() - AND it was fridging. (For Michael's pain and character drive....so not a man's, but totally fridged as she literally existed to die to get Michael to where she is by the end.....)
Still predominately human crew (two non human def - one maybe non human (bright blue eyes dude)) - more of a range of races, to a degree, but no Andorians :( (or Tellerites) - and too much focus on just two members of the crew (plus the klingons - which was needed, but took away from the crew being built on....though no idea how many reappear? So possibly doesn't matter)
Sarik - he is everywhere - like the go to vulcan when they want one - a bit tired of him almost always being the vulcan link. And the fact we get Vulcans and Humans but no tellerites or andorians......
Michael's sentence. I mean, we had Tom Paris thanks folks - did she really need to mutiny and get sentenced to life imprisonment at the beginning of the dang show? (To get dragged out, ala Tom, by her new captain?) I hope they use it differently.
It's based around war rather than exploration. I hope it gets some balance, I mean ultimately DSN was about a war, but it explored so much of the cultures and new worlds during the war it wasn't just a war story (and it focused on the characters we'd already had built up pre-war).
Annnd evil albino trope :/ seriously, why is there an albino klingon? (I mean, I don't get the whole new look - it's a bit too extra for me. A bit more non-human than Worf and B'Elanna, fair enough, but it's a whole lot more than that - but why did one of the bad guys have to be an albino klingon?).
-
I will keep watching to see where it goes (and Ma wishes to see Jason, she was unimpressed by his name being in the credits, when he wasn't in either episode)
Edit: So I think my issue is that I don't actually feel like they've done anything new exactly, it's like they've tried, but ultimately stuck with the same things (vulcans, enemy klingons, poke and start a war, some of the worst tropes) with added 'oh look a chinese awesome woman captain! oophs we broke her, have a white guy again instead', fail out
The first episode was by far better for me than the second, so am hoping that we get more like that in the coming season.
This entry was originally posted at http://weaselett.dreamwidth.org/201547.html. Please comment there using OpenID.