Star Trek

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Boddington
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Boddington »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 8:01am
Watched this morning. If this is going to be the mood of this version of Trek, I doubt I'll watch. Low light and lotsa stylized, fast-moving violence. And I've never ever been interested in the anthropology of Klingons—worse, presenting their dialogue wholly as subtitles! Let's just pretend the viewers have universal translators, 'k?—so the yada yada blah blah about honour and combat, etc is tedious. However, I do like the idea of focusing on a human trained in Vulcan ways and is motivated by redemption. And I really dig having the main character be a black woman, better reflecting pluralism and sending the angry racist and sexist nerds into paroxysms of despair. But I did get an uncomfortable Enterprise vibe that this is about satisfying hardcore Trek fans first and foremost.
I'm with you on the probably won't watch very much, or wait until I can torrent the whole thing. It certainly doesn't merit getting CBS's new streaming platform to watch.

Ironically, I felt that this show forgot what Star Trek was about. There was no sense of wonder except for that brief scene where the lead was in her own space suit zipping along through the asteroids. But to set up a conflict right away, to make it about battle...that's learning all the wrong lessons from the JJverse.

Flex
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Flex »

I think Kevin Church sums up a lot of what I liked about the first two episodes last night: http://tumblr.theyboldlywent.com/post/1 ... covery/amp

FWIW, Wendy - who has never seen an episode of Star Trek in her life and isn't a genre fan - enjoyed it. That already differentiates it from Voyage or Enterprise, I think.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Boddington wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 9:42am
Ironically, I felt that this show forgot what Star Trek was about. There was no sense of wonder except for that brief scene where the lead was in her own space suit zipping along through the asteroids. But to set up a conflict right away, to make it about battle...that's learning all the wrong lessons from the JJverse.
I tend to agree, there isn't a sense of wonder or the appeal of the frontier in this set-up. The environment seems more to confirm the Klingon perspective—this is about violence and death. And maybe that's also a necessary reflection of where Western societies see themselves now, less confidently looking towards the future than seeing the present as a struggle to survive. But I'm less certain I want to go along for that ride. If the show manages to keep me, it's because the Burnham character begins with the best initial back story and purpose since Sisko. I really do like the idea of a human trained in Vulcan ways but whose sense of logic fucked up badly. That's a rich canvas to work with.
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Flex
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Flex »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 10:49am
I tend to agree, there isn't a sense of wonder or the appeal of the frontier in this set-up. The environment seems more to confirm the Klingon perspective—this is about violence and death. And maybe that's also a necessary reflection of where Western societies see themselves now, less confidently looking towards the future than seeing the present as a struggle to survive. But I'm less certain I want to go along for that ride. If the show manages to keep me, it's because the Burnham character begins with the best initial back story and purpose since Sisko. I really do like the idea of a human trained in Vulcan ways but whose sense of logic fucked up badly. That's a rich canvas to work with.
I am 100% certain that the arc of the show is going to be to move Michael (and the show) to align with Star Trek's "classic" sense of wonder and humanity. The first two episodes seemed like they were screaming that setup.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
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Re: Star Trek

Post by eumaas »

I haven't watched it yet but am still annoyed it's another damned prequel.
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Boddington
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Boddington »

eumaas wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 11:11am
I haven't watched it yet but am still annoyed it's another damned prequel.
My kingdom for something set post-Nemesis, please. Move the story along!

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Re: Star Trek

Post by eumaas »

Twin Peaks: The Return, but it's Sisko hanging out with the Prophets
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
— Morton Feldman

I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 10:56am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Sep 2017, 10:49am
I tend to agree, there isn't a sense of wonder or the appeal of the frontier in this set-up. The environment seems more to confirm the Klingon perspective—this is about violence and death. And maybe that's also a necessary reflection of where Western societies see themselves now, less confidently looking towards the future than seeing the present as a struggle to survive. But I'm less certain I want to go along for that ride. If the show manages to keep me, it's because the Burnham character begins with the best initial back story and purpose since Sisko. I really do like the idea of a human trained in Vulcan ways but whose sense of logic fucked up badly. That's a rich canvas to work with.
I am 100% certain that the arc of the show is going to be to move Michael (and the show) to align with Star Trek's "classic" sense of wonder and humanity. The first two episodes seemed like they were screaming that setup.
I hope so—I'm very susceptible to redemption stories. The set up, however, screams WAR WITH THE KLINGONS!

Also, it's pretty odd that a show about a vessel called DIscovery isn't present in the pilot. I'm sure there's some kind of writer's rule that says if it's in the title, you need to introduce it before episode 3.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Star Trek

Post by Flex »

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

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Re: Star Trek

Post by Silent Majority »

I wanted more fun & camaraderie.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Star Trek

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"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Star Trek

Post by Kory »

That was longer than I thought it would be, but quite funny. There's a lot to work with, obviously.
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Flex
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Flex »

Loved episode 3. I'm sold. And I'm more convinced than ever that DSC is setting up a big embrace of Starfleet optimism when all is said and done.

Speculation: Lorca is going to end up as a villain (the Starfleet captain gone Ahab is one of the all time classic storylines after all). At the very least, he's being set up for his methods to be rejected at some point.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Episodic vs serial storytelling considered: https://io9.gizmodo.com/serialized-tele ... 1819660859

My initial reaction is to wonder whether extreme serialization actually is a thing. I don't watch GoT or Walking Dead, but are they that problematic or normal in terms of these shows?
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Kory
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Re: Star Trek

Post by Kory »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
20 Oct 2017, 7:22pm
Episodic vs serial storytelling considered: https://io9.gizmodo.com/serialized-tele ... 1819660859

My initial reaction is to wonder whether extreme serialization actually is a thing. I don't watch GoT or Walking Dead, but are they that problematic or normal in terms of these shows?
I don't watch those two either but I did watch Breaking Bad, and thought it was great. The problem with episodic television is that it becomes formulaic, or (as one of the commenters pointed out), nothing has any meaning because you're back at square one by the next episode. Serialization is what TV should be doing—it's the pinnacle of the form. I think we can all agree that the best show that existed before the "Golden Age" of television is Twin Peaks—a serial. BOOM.

I think the only thing that really benefits from episodic storytelling at this point is animated shows. Unless I'm so tired right now that I'm forgetting some excellent example.
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