Star Trek: Discovery

[Zaximus]

I'm not sure Lorca really did that to his crew, he KNEW he was being spy'd on, so maybe he dropped little things to see who picks up on it.    It's possible it's true as well, but wouldn't that news have spread and everyone would know, much like Michael's deal?   

[Jimmy]

To hell with all you Enterprise Archer haters...i love him

[outlaw4]

14 hours ago, d-dave said:

Nice post @outlaw4!  I agree with you.  I feel like there is a lot of depth here.  Sure, some people don't like or appreciate the darker, war story Trek, but seeing as how this could be a different timeline (the Kelvin timeline, thanks for getting me to read up on that!), seeing that this is a star trek for "now" instead of a return to the rose tinted past.  

On this episode, I really liked digging a little deeper into Lorca, past his arrogant facade.  I think that his choice with his crew makes for an interesting plot point for sure.  How desperate is Star Fleet for war heroes?  You could really see how calculating he is.  As far as helping the other guy, you have to think that he's not naive enough to think that dude survived 7 months on a prison ship.  The new guy has to be a spy.

I was reading about that on gizmodo, and it points out that there's a tie into the actor who plays Voq.  And that Voq's friend was a member of the spy group of Klingons, and she asked him if he would be willing give it all up....  Lorca has to know something is up there...right??

The fact that Burnham was not the principal in this episode was great.  Give the other good actors a chance to do something other than nod or stare in aghast horror at whatever she does.  F-bomb?  So what.  It's an online show.  And it was f'ing cool.  But there will be a very good reason why this doesn't propagate.  

I can't wait to see what the long term consequences are for Spore-Boy.

I've heard of the rumors regarding Tyler. It makes sense except the scene where he's alone with the Klingon female. Lorca's nowhere to be seen so having him whale on her doesn't line up with something a spy would do. Either the theories are false or the scene is meant to throw off the viewer and the situation isn't as straightforward as we think it is.

8 hours ago, Zaximus said:

I'm not sure Lorca really did that to his crew, he KNEW he was being spy'd on, so maybe he dropped little things to see who picks up on it.    It's possible it's true as well, but wouldn't that news have spread and everyone would know, much like Michael's deal?   

Lorca made his confession once he already destroyed Mudd's device and Mudd revealed what we could assume is that most in Starfleet had heard. The captain being the sole survivor of his ship would raise questions, certainly, but he apparently gets the results needed to overcome that. Now, if him killing his own crew is a lie, that's a rather bad lie to let out to Tyler and Mudd. Regardless, I could see that revelation coming back to doom him in the future.

[outlaw4]

Whew! Got lazy and didn't watch Episode 6 until today. Heard rumblings it was rather weak but as a famous Vulcan would say, it was... fascinating.

- Starting off with a beauty shot of Vulcan. I've always had that impression that everyone in Vulcan lived underground because it looked too barren. I hope we see more vistas of other worlds.

- I found Sarek's early line of "Ignorance can be beneficial" more eye opening once I watched the entire episode. Not the twisted definition of ignorance but the dictionary one.

- I'll admit I took this joke from somewhere else but does the back of the "DISCO" short say "VERY". Very Disco?

- The music continues to be pleasing and fitting (the exercise run, the closing Michael/Tyler scene, etc). 

- I'm certain there has been riots about what appeared to be a holodeck on the Discovery. At times, I wish they could've just said this was a reboot series rather than belonging in the Prime timeline. Continuity on a series from the 60s is so hard to maintain. 

- So Landry died so that Tyler could conveniently take that post a few episodes later? Eh, not sure I like how that was set up.

- Speaking of Tyler, if he is what many people suspect he is, this latest episode throws some really interesting wrinkles. 

- The admiral wanted to make an entry into the captain's log. There, I said it.

- Once more, Lorca continues to be an intriguing character. You want to like him for going after Sarek but then we see him basically nudge the admiral into a trap to get her out of the way. Read up on theories about Lorca but I think I'm going to stop to not spoil myself of the surprise. 

- So what happens if you order a fattening piece of steak from the replicator? Subtly insult you for poor nutritional decisions?

- Admittedly, going this deep into Trek lore by giving Sarek, Spock (despite not appearing) and Vulcan culture such a prominent role in this episode was bold. It could've been disastrous, especially with the babble about how this mind meld works. Instead, it really added depth into Sarek as such a respected and accomplished Vulcan and yet controversial within his own species for "radical" ideas. It also became a turning point for Michael as a character, maybe a little too sudden of a turn, but at the end, it's the most human we've seen her. The risk taken here with the story was well worth it, I think.

- When we see Michael re-introducing herself to Tyler at the end, I get the impression that the intent is that it's really Star Trek Discovery extending that hand to those that feared the show was going to abandon the ideals Trek is known for. Lethe is the Star Trek I've been wanting to see and I hope there's more of it.

- And last but not least, I bet "titraded" is in the Vulcan word of the day calendar. That's a million dollar word right there.

[Jangler]

oh yeah, Tyler is a Klingon.

[d-dave]

Man, I thought this was a cool episode.  I can see where some people would be unhappy because it wasn't more about the war with the Klingons.  Instead it was a chance to let some of the other characters "breathe" and develop.  I really enjoyed this kind of episode.  The past couple were pretty Michael orientated and about how she's proving her worth.  I wish we could have gotten more of the Spore Drive Scientist...dude was hilarious!

Captain Lorca is a bad man...  Whatever universe he's from, that's stone cold.  As soon as they started to drink like "friends," I figured he would kill her.  That was a bit of an obvious set up.  And you know she'll need his help to save her bacon, which will complicate whatever her report to star fleet becomes.  Shrewd and opportunistic.  

The whole Sarec is actually a huge fan of the potential of humans was cool.  Putting Spock and Michael into the same universe was very cool, and the fact that she's so tarnished would be why he never talks about her.  I mean, the fact that his two "non-Vulcans" would meet and exceed the stupidly high Vulcan standards is pretty cool (a subtle reminder that we can be excellent if we choose to be).

The "Logic Terrorists" is an interesting bend and very much a contemporary idea being put into the universe.  It's good to see that they can be topical about the show and remain true to the "Canon."

Speaking of that, I read a verge article which was kind addressed the idea of continuity (https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/25/16535404/star-trek-discovery-canon-continuity-spock-michael-burnham-technology-klingons), while on the pooper (best reading time!).  While the summary is that ST:D doesn't play too nicely with the Canon, it does tell an interesting story using familiar lore in new and exciting ways.  Should we hold this new show and idea to the hard Canon?  I'd rather have a cool show that tells a different Star Trek story with some familiar ideas, but told for the 21st century with some actual movements in technology.

I really enjoy this show!  Can't wait for more!  I feel you @outlaw4, my work week has been terrible, and I just watched it yesterday!

EDIT:  Oh yeah, that preview though...!  This could be a fun episode!

[cookinwithgas]

As an old guy who watched the episodes as a 3/4 year old (can't remember) and when it was the only thing worth watching in syndication, I have gotten a bit sick of "continuity" with Star Trek. Sure I don't want to have something that disrespects or completely erases the stuff we've seen before, but there were no Eugenics Wars in the 1990s among other things, so really it's not that big a deal to do a few things differently.

I loved what they did with Mudd the character, but what kind of starship captain sends a guy like Harry Mudd off with his girlfriend at the end of all that? Am I missing something?

[outlaw4]

I think the trailer for Episode 7 got my hopes up too high. 

- When Tyler had his little speech at the party, I was expecting a few to look in Michael's direction in a "you're responsible, you know" kind of way. If they did, I missed it.

- I swear the space whale is meant as a reference to The Voyage Home. 

- Now we have a "Discovery exploding" video to be used like the Enterprise D blowing up in Cause and Effect. More on that episode later.

- Seriously, what is the deal with Stamets shift in personality? I suppose that's one mystery we may find out shortly.

- Some might've enjoyed the many deaths of Captain Lorca. Could've used more variety but man, the one where he's suffocating in space was just cold. 

- I don't know whether I like a more vindictive Mudd. It's been too long since I've seen his portrayal in TOS but I'm not sure they completely jive. Then again, ten years is long enough to have a shift in personality. That and some of his lines were funny.

- The "Tyler is a Klingon" theory got even more muddled now. My working theory remains intact, at least.

- Wow. That arms dealer and Stella were conveniently close by, weren't they?

- I've never been a fan of doing romance at a fast pace. One episode debuts Tyler, the next one has a few scenes together with Michael and now they have a thing for one another? Well, at least it isn't Chakotay/Seven of Nine where it just comes out of left field.

- My biggest gripe with the episode is that in the end, it comes off as a weaker Cause and Effect. In some ways, that's a compliment because it's saying that Discovery mimicked a common Trek trope with time travel hijinks. However, I think what made the TNG episode work was that many of the characters become involved in the plot. Rather than a romance plot that placed the focus on Tyler, this could've been the perfect episode for those that we've seen already and yet rarely know about. Yes, Michael needs to get out of her comfort zone but I'd like to think forming friendships is easier to manage than a potential romance. I would've had Michael forced to talk with the rest of the bridge crew and over the episode, figure out who they are, what makes them tick and how they can start working together to defeat Mudd. Don't let, as Mudd put it, random communications officer man stay as random communications officer man. 

3 hours ago, cookinwithgas said:

I loved what they did with Mudd the character, but what kind of starship captain sends a guy like Harry Mudd off with his girlfriend at the end of all that?

Isn't it obvious?

[Jangler]

If Trek never does another time episode/movie, I'll be happy. It's just another way to do nothing.

[Jangler]

you know what's missing in Trek?

 

 

hippies

 

 

 

[cookinwithgas]

10 hours ago, outlaw4 said:

 

Isn't it obvious?

not to me apparently, other than the fact that Stella kind of makes a reappearance years later... They all know he is a dangerous ruthless man who would sell out the Federation for money, shouldn't they lock him up and try him for treason?

[d-dave]

I just saw the latest episode.  I just wasn't a fan.  Way too contrived.  I mean, I still like the show, but Mudd's character is just a little much.  I mean, he really was just able to convince the Klingons "Oh yeah, I can tots get the Discovery for you. First, let me get some game changing tech which would make is super easy to take over the entire universe!"

Super contrived.  Painfully contrived.  Did I mention contrived?

I still like the show, but this felt like a weak episode.

[outlaw4]

12 hours ago, d-dave said:

I just saw the latest episode.  I just wasn't a fan.  Way too contrived.  I mean, I still like the show, but Mudd's character is just a little much.  I mean, he really was just able to convince the Klingons "Oh yeah, I can tots get the Discovery for you. First, let me get some game changing tech which would make is super easy to take over the entire universe!"

Super contrived.  Painfully contrived.  Did I mention contrived?

I still like the show, but this felt like a weak episode.

Personally, it would've made more sense if Mudd had conned the Klingons himself and got ahold of his device to escape. He'd still go after the Discovery but he'd have a different buyer instead.

[outlaw4]

Already approaching the midseason break... or is it technically the end of one season? All I know is that it went by too fast. I think we needed at least three more episodes to flesh out things more, especially with the Discovery crew itself. Then again, many of them may die soon.

Onto the latest episode itself...

- In this Trek, no shields and you're absolutely dead. That and we don't see much of the Trek cliche of exploding panels and whatnot. 

- I rather enjoyed the initial battle sequence. It reminded us that, yes, there's a war being fought out there and that it's not looking too well. In a twisted way, I was hoping that the torpedoes slipped through the saucer's gaps.

- So we can have nice looking ships like the USS Gagarin but they gave us USS Discovery as the lead ship? Why?

- A point that irks me is that Culber isn't already monitoring Stamets every time he's using the spore drive. Heck, he wasn't even there when Michael went out on that shuttle ride to reach Sarek. Do your job, man!

- L'Rell and the admiral screaming was hilarious. The subsequent dialogue was not quite what I was expecting and I mean that in a good way.

- So is the admiral actually dead, did she escape or what? I'm utterly confused what the deal is here.

- I really hope that Tyler isn't a straight up traitor angle because it doesn't reconcile with what we've seen. My final prediction is that Voq's consciousness is somehow inside the real Ash Tyler. The initial plan may have been to be a double agent of sorts but the process may have been too much for Voq. He can't deal with what he's become and if the plan is still active, it's on shaky ground. 

- So was Saru running really the actor, a stunt double or was that CGI? Whatever it was, those Kelpians have some moves! 

- Like Geordi on TNG and O'Brien on DS9, Saru must suffer on Discovery. It's hard not to feel for him, to have a Nexus-like moment only for it to be taken away.

- Like I said in the beginning, it feels like we're reaching this point of the series too soon. I'm not overly excited about the next episode like I should be.