Topic: Star Trek

[Brian Blessed]

Yeah the metalic and lens flare from the trailers does seem to give it a lot more in common with the JJ Abrahms universe than the original. I do think it's a shame the show didn't pick up 20 years or so on from Voyager and DS9, but willing to give this a go...

It's a bit odd that both the last two series have been prequels. I would have thought it would be a easier to expand further in the future. The only reason I can think of, is they want to go with familiar villain species. Well, TNG and DS9 proved that is not necessary for good or popular shows.

[CrasherKid79]

Yeah the metalic and lens flare from the trailers does seem to give it a lot more in common with the JJ Abrahms universe than the original. I do think it's a shame the show didn't pick up 20 years or so on from Voyager and DS9, but willing to give this a go...

Why does this lense flair thing annoy people so much?

Seems a stick to beat Abrahms with. Does it annoy people that much?

[Ray K]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/wX1byq2C9ng" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/wX1byq2C9ng</a>

[TepidT2O]

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Bondesque

[Circa1892]

Why does this lense flair thing annoy people so much?

Seems a stick to beat Abrahms with. Does it annoy people that much?

It doesn't really annoy me at all - I was just pointing out that stylistically Discovery seems to have more in common with the new universe films, so seems strange it's back in the prime timeline.

[CrasherKid79]

It doesn't really annoy me at all - I was just pointing out that stylistically Discovery seems to have more in common with the new universe films, so seems strange it's back in the prime timeline.

Not aimed at you personally just seems to be a constant complaint

[Tommy_W]

Watched the first 2 eps of Discovery - pretty decent I thought! Surprisingly so! The theme tune however is incredibly forgettable!

[BER]

Why does this lense flair thing annoy people so much?

Seems a stick to beat Abrahms with. Does it annoy people that much?

Yes it was very distracting and idiotic.




Can't say i noticed it at all on Discovery.

Really enjoyed the double episode. 40 minutes might feel a bit short next week though..

[Circa1892]

Glad it's kept with the tradition of the two parter, as a pilot I'm hoping it's more Emissary than Encounter at Farpoint...

[Circa1892]

Not convinced by this.

It was stilted - and the basic changes annoyed the nerd in me. Why were the ships firing star wars style blasts rather than phasers for a start. The Klingons were ludicrously slow paced and unbelievable, the supposed leader had no charisma or force of personality, hardly comparable to the likes of Dukat and Q who debuted as adversaries in pilots... - for someone who hadn't watched before they'd just seem weird. I'll give it another go but that was not a wonderful start...

[Libertine]

Not convinced by this.

It was stilted - and the basic changes annoyed the nerd in me. Why were the ships firing star wars style blasts rather than phasers for a start. The Klingons were ludicrously slow paced and unbelievable, the supposed leader had no charisma or force of personality, hardly comparable to the likes of Dukat and Q who debuted as adversaries in pilots... - for someone who hadn't watched before they'd just seem weird. I'll give it another go but that was not a wonderful start...

I liked it - better than I feared it would be but maybe not as good as some reviews were suggesting.

Get what you're saying about adversaries but, as much as I liked TNG and DS9, I did find the aliens all too human at times. At least in this, they are a but stranger and more alien - whether that makes for good drama remains to be seen.

Found the structure of this satisfyingly different - given that it will be a different ship and presumably crew from now on. Main character is good. Remains to be seen about the supporting cast.

Again though, find the whole look and feel tiresome. Very reminiscent of recent (and even TNG) movies. It's been done, move on now please. Would be great if the new ship somehow bridged between this and some original series styling.

[losCHUNK]

I'm a big Trek fan and I enjoyed it a lot, I do admit I found the artisic style quite jaring and it's gonna take some getting used to though.

As far as the Klingons go I don't mind it, I would like it explained though at some point even if it's just a nod.  Burnham and Saru added quite a bit of personality and those 2 look like they're gonna be the anchors for the season which I look forward to.  As for the adversary, T Kumva isn't it ?, I reckon the show is going to put Kol as the identifiable Klingon and he looks slightly more 'traditional' look than the others - Leather outfit n stuff, I hope they can give him a heart rather than a cardboard cut out villain.

I also liked the whimsy fun, although a bit lacking but it is a prologue and I hope they add more to it, when they both retreated to the Captains room to look through the telscope I grinned and never stopped til the end of the 1st ep.  Also hoping they have some eps where they give the audience room to breathe, some good old character building, stranded on a planet or sommat made the older shows what they were.  I also hope they respect canon, I know they've already got loose with it with the Klingon cloaks and that is something I can see that will eventually annoy me, don't mind a few minor mistakes but if it becomes commonplace I'm gonna start whinging.

All in all it's still early days but it's got off to a good start for me and this is an achievement in itself because the last thing I wanted was CBS to be proven correct and have them declare ST dead.  10 millions views for the broadcast, most watched non sports event for the day and CBS all access breaking sign up records.

[pazcom]

I do think it's a shame the show didn't pick up 20 years or so on from Voyager and DS9, but willing to give this a go...

Given the new timeline would it be possible to do that...would voyager have happened, would DS9 have been built? I can see why they have done another prequel. Maybe they could have gone down the route of a new crew but based on the new timeline?

[John_P]

Given the new timeline would it be possible to do that...would voyager have happened, would DS9 have been built? I can see why they have done another prequel. Maybe they could have gone down the route of a new crew but based on the new timeline?

Thought the new series was part of the prime universe, not the alternative timeline of the new films

[SP]

The extended dialogue in Klingon was tedious.

[Circa1892]

The extended dialogue in Klingon was tedious.

It was - it was too slow. In the original timeline it's sort of an ongoing joke that apart from 'Today is a Good Day to Die' - the only time they speak in Klingon is when they're calling each other tosspots or whatever - slowed it down and made T'Kumva or whatever his name was ponderous rather than ominous.

Having been very negative yesterday - today I'm 'meh'. I remember reading ages ago the plan for the new series was to have a series or two in one time period then go through into others - hopefully that's still the case...

[Red Beret]

seeing as it's been bumped...

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/-6Zc8Co2H3w" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/-6Zc8Co2H3w</a>

[Slick_Beef]

I liked the costumes but didn't like the lighting (or lack of) very much.  I didn't find the plot especially memorable but I'll give it time and see where they go with it. I always find Star Trek hinges on me liking and caring about the crew, and that often takes a little while.

[Titi Camara]

Grew up watching next gen, DS9 and Voyager. I'm not particularly a fan of star trek but rather sci-fi, so I'm not super hung up about any of the timeline/universe stuff that gets the geek squad into full on berserker mode. With that said, it's a good looking, well put together show, they've obviously spent some money on it and the acting was fairly decent too.

I'm on board, very much looking forward to seeing what comes next!

[Ray K]

It was a good start. The lead is engaging and interesting, and the storyline took a turn I wasn't expecting.
It's clearly heavily influenced by the JJ Abrams reboot - too much so (STOP WITH THE EFFING LENS FLARE), but it's unmistakably Star Trek ( 'Don't confuse race with culture' isn't something you hear in other sci-fi shows).

The supporting cast haven't been properly sketch out other than Lt Saru, who looks like the most interesting crew member.
The first episode was stronger of the pair, and the Klingon language was spoken far too slowly compared with Worf's time in TNG, but I'm certainly looking forward to next week's episode (Hello to Captain Jason Isaacs - who has a southern US accent, apparently).

Still wish Bryan Fuller was showrunner though.

[Brian Blessed]

Apart from Saru and Michael, are any of the other crew returning?

[CraigDS]

Grew up watching next gen, DS9 and Voyager. I'm not particularly a fan of star trek but rather sci-fi, so I'm not super hung up about any of the timeline/universe stuff that gets the geek squad into full on berserker mode. With that said, it's a good looking, well put together show, they've obviously spent some money on it and the acting was fairly decent too.

I'm on board, very much looking forward to seeing what comes next!

It's almost like you reached into my head, pulled out my exact opinion and wrote it down.

Completely agree, grew up watching those three series and loving them, but not to the degree where I'm going to get all arsey about certain things in a new series.

Liked it and looking forward to the next episode.

[Libertine]

(Hello to Captain Jason Isaacs - who has a southern US accent, apparently).

Ugh. Hopefully not as annoying as that guy on Enterprise.

[FlashingBlade]

Interstings start but lacked something ...lets see....did they say 'transporting' has stopped in new ships due to massive energy consumption? ...Star Trek goes green!

One point I liked is the Klingons pointing our the hypocricy of the "We come in peace" Line. I read once Star Trek more than any other programme repersented American politics of their time , the orginal optimism of the sixites and the first series...to intoverted and self questioning of the later decades..and more touchy feely ( New age stuff...Councillor Troy/Guinan) .so now do we get the 'extreme religious  terrorism' of the Klingons against the peaceful Star Fleet ".. We are star Fleet officers , not soliders.." (sic)...and they come in peace to  stop 'religious extremism/Desspot' ...and  shoot the place up.

[Titi Camara]

did they say 'transporting' has stopped in new ships due to massive energy consumption? ...Star Trek goes green!

Nah, they said they'd knocked that tech on the head cos it was antiquated, shit and eats loads of batteries.

Basically she was laughing at the old, rubbish federation ship!

[Ray K]

Ugh. Hopefully not as annoying as that guy on Enterprise.

Isaacs is always reliable. He's the guy you cast when you want to add some heft to a character that might not be that fully sketched out on paper.  Plus his US accent was very solid on Brotherhood and Awake. (I liked Awake).

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Absolutely love it. Every Star Trek that has ever been suffered a little as the actors got to grips with the characters, storylines and world-arcs.

This looks very, very good and should appeal to a younger audience by linking to the film reboots.

The most important thing is that the franchise does well and that we keep getting Star Trek stories.

Really impressed with it.

[Circa1892]

Every Star Trek that has ever been suffered a little as the actors got to grips with the characters, storylines and world-arcs.

Fair point. Encounter at Farpoint, and almost the whole of the first two series of TNG, was shocking...

[Trada]

Really enjoyed episode 3 it kicked into another gear, loved the sinister feel about it.

And I have a bit of a thing about the Redhead.

[Mr F]

3rd episode was fantastic, glad it seems to have kicked on to a higher level. The production values seem incredible, must have cost a fortune to make.

Jason Isaacs' character is intriguing, will be interesting to see how he develops over the series.

Only minor bugbear so far is the main character's name. Calling a female lead Michael just seems a bit odd, momentarily jars with me. Other than that I'm excited to see where they go with the show.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

3rd episode was fantastic, glad it seems to have kicked on to a higher level. The production values seem incredible, must have cost a fortune to make.

Jason Isaacs' character is intriguing, will be interesting to see how he develops over the series.

Only minor bugbear so far is the main character's name. Calling a female lead Michael just seems a bit odd, momentarily jars with me. Other than that I'm excited to see where they go with the show.

  thats the same for me!

[Betty Blue]

Despite being one of the naysayers after seeing the trailers, I'm enjoying it so far. However, it doesn't really feel like Star Trek to me. Just good sci-fi, more in line with shows like The Expanse or in fact the Abrams movies. But then I'm not sure there's a place for old-school Trek right now. If a TNG or Voyager were made today it would probably be cancelled within a season or two.

[losCHUNK]

Despite being one of the naysayers after seeing the trailers, I'm enjoying it so far. However, it doesn't really feel like Star Trek to me. Just good sci-fi, more in line with shows like The Expanse or in fact the Abrams movies. But then I'm not sure there's a place for old-school Trek right now. If a TNG or Voyager were made today it would probably be cancelled within a season or two.

These guys give a pretty balanced review, if you can get past Rich's screech about 2 mins in -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RVf01en-YA

They echo what you said, in that ST burned itself out with TNG and VOY so that by the time Enterprise came around it was already flatlining.  DS9 managed to 'make it' thanks to being smart enough to make it different with a serialised story arc and more action based whilst maintaining aspects of other iterations of ST.  A kind of bridge between old ST and DSC.

They also mention that Orville managed to find an audience whislt sticking to similiar aspects of ST, which is a fair point.  I tend to agree with it overall though, I enjoyed ENT but by the time it got to season 3, with a main story arc, that's when it started showing its strengths for me.

[Circa1892]

Really enjoyed episode 3 it kicked into another gear, loved the sinister feel about it.

Echoes my thoughts. I think Isaacs is going to be the most morally questionable captain. Best episodes of the 'original' 4 was when the captains were making decisions that didn't sit comfortably with the holier than thou federation ethics (In the Pale Moonlight Sisko and Equinox/Year of Hell Janeway for example).

Still not keen on Michael Burnham but we'll see...

[Riquende]

They also mention that Orville managed to find an audience whislt sticking to similiar aspects of ST, which is a fair point.

I've not yet mustered the enthusiasm to dip into Discovery but I'm really liking the Orville. It's easily on a par with good Voyager at the moment. I think Seth McFarlane's involvement has really put some people off though, and Fox advertising it as a comedy hasn't helped the first few episodes. I like to think of it as showing what the rest of the Federation is getting up to in the TNG era whilst the absolute best and brightest 'top-of-their-academy-class' types on the Enterprise deal with the serious stuff.

I think in the RLM review it was referred to as high-budget Trek fan fiction, which is a fair assessment.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

3rd episode was fantastic, glad it seems to have kicked on to a higher level. The production values seem incredible, must have cost a fortune to make.

Jason Isaacs' character is intriguing, will be interesting to see how he develops over the series.

Only minor bugbear so far is the main character's name. Calling a female lead Michael just seems a bit odd, momentarily jars with me. Other than that I'm excited to see where they go with the show.

That male name thing has well pissed my missus off

[CraigDS]

I've a feeling the name will have a further meaning which will come into it at some point.

[Frank Becton]

Is it only available on Netflix?

[pazcom]

Is it only available on Netflix?

it can be watched by 'other' means. I've watched episodes 1 and 2 on one of those stick devices with unofficial apps installed

[Ray K]

I've a feeling the name will have a further meaning which will come into it at some point.

More than likely, it's just a Bryan Fuller thing.  Anna Friel's character in Pushing Daisies was named Chuck, and  he recast the Freddie Lounds character in Hannibal as a woman.

Really liked the third episode, which kinda was another pilot, but at least spared us endless flashbacks.

Isaacs is going to be good in this - this morally ambiguous man whose motives may be questionable stuff he can do in his sleep.  Saru will probably turn out to be the most interesting character and the actor playing him is doing a great job.