Star Trek

[Buster's Uncle]

And again, I'll volunteer that I think people who liked TNG-DS9-Voyager (I left out Enterprise to not muddy the waters) and not real Star Trek should by now understand where I was always coming from with all the "Fake ST" talk - that is, somebody has come along and makes something calling itself Star Trek that lacks what you loved about your thing, and it's as if the one you loved so never existed.

I'm well onto my third layer deep of that, now, and I done been burnt WAY too many times.  -And THAT is why I expect -and have always expected- Discovery to crash and burn and fail spectacularly whether it's any good or not - not that I expect it to be any good.  They done deserted/burnt/cheesed off too much of the fan base they're banking on, and that right there's a very stupid mistake.  All the fans of TNG, et. al., are getting the same treatment (OG trekkers did 30 years ago), hated Enterprise with a similar prequel premise, and the pay-service thing makes it being a disaster that looses CBS a lot of money a certainty.  Maybe it will kill off future attempts to do zombie Star Track; one can only hope.

The scab over the hole in my heart has been picked at so many times since 1987, the callus so thick by now, that I've felt no great need to girldog about the latest zombie; I just stay indoors and don't get eaten, and don't worry about it much anymore.

...

Wouldn't it have been fantastic if we were wrong and Discovery had been great, though?

[Lorizael]

Watched. The first two episodes (the second of which is only available on CBS All Access) are kind of a prologue to what appears to be the main story, which is a little weird and means we don't really have a good sense of what the show will be about. There are some stylistic and canon choices that are frankly bizarre. Other than a tiny and unimportant bit at the beginning of the episode, there's very little in the way of the exploration/discovery/science that Trek should be about. Vulcan logic continues to be infuriatingly illogical. The whole thing is a prequel set 10 years before TOS, when I would much rather see post-VOY stuff. The performances and writing are decent. The FX are pretty. There's some stuff in there that enrages people who like to mutter about SJWs ruining America, which is satisfying. Yep. I certainly won't be paying a monthly charge just to watch this show.

[Elok]

Looked at its Wikipedia page.  The summary reads like Game of Thrones in space or some crap like that.  Can we maybe hack their funds and give some to Joss Whedon to restart Firefly?

[Lorizael]

I thought I made sure to cancel my free trial subscription to CBS All Access, but apparently I didn't and I was able to watch the next episode. /me checks bank account. Grr, they charged me for the next month! I was sure I'd canceled. Not pleased at all.

Anyway... that episode (technically the third) was actually significantly better than the pilot. The central ship is a science ship, but because there's a war on, the show is about using science to end the war as soon as possible. So it has kind of a Manhattan Project vibe to it, which plays on the tension between Starfleet nominally being an organization about exploration and diplomacy but having military ranks and an arsenal and all that...

Visually, the show is very dark. Like, one of the characters literally has trouble seeing in bright light and is always in shadow and this is totally not a heavy-handed metaphor for that character's ethos...

The show has problems. Still wish they had put it Trek's future rather than shoehorn it into close proximity with TOS where they simultaneously (a) make callbacks (Look a tribble! Tribbles are a Star Trek thing! Am I doing this right?!) and (b) mess with continuity enough that the show doesn't really feel like it's in the same era they intentionally plopped themselves in the middle of...

Ellipses.

[Buster's Uncle]

Star Trek Continues E10 "To Boldly Go: Part I"

[Green1]

Man, Star Trek and Star Wars fans are salty creatures.

New takes and a new story is bad just because it is new? Different? Or maybe one thing goes against some obscure "canon" that you would have to be a lore geek who has watched each episode of each iteration dozens of times and freezeframe it?

HOGWASH!!!

Just Enjoy! We have Star Trek back!!

I think a lot of people wanted a period piece. That is, same aethhetic and plot structure of either 1960s TOS or 1990s TNG or even ENT. Discovery is not it. Each iteration of Star Trek has different aesthetics. I like the dark nature this one is going with. It is very well done and cinematic. My whole family loves it!

The only thing that put me back is the new Klingons, but after seeing a few episodes, I like them.

The characters took a bit to figure out, but I like the dark and light in these. Gene Roddenberry had a rule in TNG and TOS that the interpersonal struggles were never between the crew, only outside forces. But, that REALLY limited the writers of those series. Now we can watch staff with different agendas and personalities interact as well as outside forces. It adds a dimension missing from already great Star Trek.

This IS Trek, guys. But influenced by more modern cinematography and character development techniques. It is also a serial, not a contained story. A very great thing to do and allows deeper character development

[Buster's Uncle]

Star Trek Continues E10 "To Boldly Go: Part I"

(Without getting into specifics, because spoilers)

Well, this episode is Star Trek Continues all over - manages to really feel like Star Trek without being all that good.  -Which is to say, the script and pacing were disappointing, like most episodes of Continues, and like most, you can see a good episode lost in there.  Something about the high production values brings out the disappointment when you see the poor writing, acting and pacing...

[Green1]

Star Trek Continues E10 "To Boldly Go: Part I"

(Without getting into specifics, because spoilers)

Well, this episode is Star Trek Continues all over - manages to really feel like Star Trek without being all that good.  -Which is to say, the script and pacing were disappointing, like most episodes of Continues, and like most, you can see a good episode lost in there.  Something about the high production values brings out the disappointment when you see the poor writing, acting and pacing...

.. and THAT is why you do not see Paramount/ CBS crapping lawyers down the neck at those guys like the Axanar guys. Not taking sides. The Axanar folk WERE in it to profit off someone elses' IP blatantly. They were setting up a company with those funds. That kind of sucks if we let that stuff happen too much. Great sets on them. I am sure a whale or crowdfund deal had to pay for to the tune of thousands.

They wont let major fan epic episode stuff fly anymore. They have really strict limits according to a new policy they made after the Axanar incident. Sucks hardcore for legit whale hobbyists like Crowley. But even the whale funded hobbyists were imposing on the brand with some miscast actors and some poor scripts and STILL getting views.

[Buster's Uncle]

Star Trek Continues E11 "To Boldly Go: Part II"

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, that should be about it for high-quality ST fanfilms for quite a while.

[shrugs] The script could have used a couple more passes; that's for sure.

[Unorthodox]

Galaxy Quark?  I heard it wasn't quite the riotous parody the pre-publicity and presence of the Family Guy guy led everyone to expect, playing it more than half-straight with a lot of funny moments mixed in.  There were signs in the trailers, too, that maybe it would get it - show more understanding of Star Trek than anything using the name in along time has.

Something about the Family Guy guy just puts me off, though, and having been broken of the TV watching habit in the Texas years and now having no TV hookup in my bedroom, I just don't feel interested.

Streamed 4 episodes of The Orville over the last 2 days. 

I genuinely liked one, another felt like a TNG episode, the other two were just kinda there.   

Definitely more enjoyable than any Trek I've seen in a while, but the humor is real hit and miss with me.  Poking fun at silly Trek tropes?  Great.  Dick jokes, not so much.  Running divorce gag: bored. 

[Lorizael]

...the other two were just kinda there.

I like the show well enough, and it's nice to have a Star Trek-style show on air, but this is definitely my feeling about a lot of the episodes.

[E_T]

Any thoughts on The Orville?

I watched the first Episode and that was the last one that I have watched.  I DO like the new ST show...  can't wait for it to come out of the Xmas hiatus...

[Unorthodox]

That the paid subscription one? 

[E_T]

yeah, I've been watching it through a "free" streaming site... after you know how to deal with the pop-up windows and have a solid anti-virus as well as fully updated Windows/Firefox/Flashplayer, not too bad of a deal...  and I know which one to stay away from, too...