I'm not much of a trekkie, but I'm a big scifi fan and SOME Trek fills that need for me. I really, really hated ST: The Orville and I think that when Discovery came out I thought got confused and assumed that Discovery was the silly comedy. But I stumbled upon a review of the current season and the opening paragraph called it the current standard bearer for the franchise. Strong words... so I gave it a try. Three episodes in and I like it.

YAY! I have something to binge on until hockey season returns.

I see that the Orville ratings are even higher than discovery - MAYBE I'll give it another try down the road, but to me scfi is serious business - no room for cheek.

.....so you Discovered......the possibilities......??

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

We enjoy it in our household. But we also like Doctor Who, and there is a lot to be said for that comparison.

Please have a seat. Someone will be along shortly to tell you how utterly wrong you are, hal.

(But I really like the first two seasons of ST: D. Looking forward to bingeing the third soon. Orville, well, maybe I'll try again. Didn't work for me through the first half dozen episodes.)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2020 05:58PM by Acer.

I watched the first two seasons, tried to like it. Wanted to like it.

Alas, it's much closer to Dr. Who (which I like, but not in this context) than Star Trek.

ST:D > Orville.

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rj
AKA
Vreemac, Moth of the Future

[nationalpost.com]

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB
[nationalpost.com]

Yeah, most honest reviews of that show describe it as an illogical hot mess with poor writing. I'm sure that some people find it entertaining, but with so much other really good modern television that I haven't seen yet, I can't think of any compelling reason to watch Discovery.

STD is fine sci-fi, and the acting is better than most.

The scripts are uneven, but better on average than many other ST franchises.

If you do not like it, watch something else!

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PeterB
[nationalpost.com]

Wow! Some people take this stuff so seriously. Those guys really, really, really don't like this show. I can't imagine putting so much effort into a review of a show that I don't like. When I don't like a show, I'll say so and it ends there. I won't watch hour upon hour just to verify that indeed, it's terrible.

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hal

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PeterB
[nationalpost.com]

Wow! Some people take this stuff so seriously. Those guys really, really, really don't like this show. I can't imagine putting so much effort into a review of a show that I don't like. When I don't like a show, I'll say so and it ends there. I won't watch hour upon hour just to verify that indeed, it's terrible.

Haven't you ever kept watching a show that seems like it might be something that you'd like, and hoped that it would improve?

As a lifelong Trekker, I wanted to like it. I tried to like it, then tried to watch it. Then gave up in disgust. I recommend re-watching any other Trek, including the 70s animated Trek over STD. The writing is about the same level, but the characters on the Animated Trek are more likable.

But if you enjoy it, Live long and Prosper.

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

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freeradical

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hal

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PeterB
[nationalpost.com]

Wow! Some people take this stuff so seriously. Those guys really, really, really don't like this show. I can't imagine putting so much effort into a review of a show that I don't like. When I don't like a show, I'll say so and it ends there. I won't watch hour upon hour just to verify that indeed, it's terrible.

Haven't you ever kept watching a show that seems like it might be something that you'd like, and hoped that it would improve?

I don't have a lot of patience for entertainment that just isn't doing it for me when it's just me. That said, I did hang with Lost for 2 1/2 seasons before I decided THIS DAMN SHOW ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE and gave up and boy, did I feel good when fans went berserk over the finale.

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Rolando
As a lifelong Trekker, I wanted to like it. I tried to like it, then tried to watch it. Then gave up in disgust. I recommend re-watching any other Trek, including the 70s animated Trek over STD. The writing is about the same level, but the characters on the Animated Trek are more likable.

But if you enjoy it, Live long and Prosper.

Unlikable characters seem to be the biggest complaint - I don't need to like characters, but we'll see. I really wanted to enjoy this and so far, so good.

On to episode 4...

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Rolando
As a lifelong Trekker, I wanted to like it. I tried to like it, then tried to watch it. Then gave up in disgust. I recommend re-watching any other Trek, including the 70s animated Trek over STD. The writing is about the same level, but the characters on the Animated Trek are more likable.

But if you enjoy it, Live long and Prosper.

This.

A lot of the hate (myself included) comes from the fact that everything Trek post-2005 seems to take a big dump on the stuff that came before. Whether it's Khanberpatch or STD or Picard, they took stories and characters and rewrote them, or made new stories that were STINO (ST in name only). They ignored canon and in fact rewrote things however they liked. Gene would be rolling in his grave if he saw what had become of what he'd created... a positive view of the future becoming a dystopian, poorly written, boring nightmare.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB

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Rolando
As a lifelong Trekker, I wanted to like it. I tried to like it, then tried to watch it. Then gave up in disgust. I recommend re-watching any other Trek, including the 70s animated Trek over STD. The writing is about the same level, but the characters on the Animated Trek are more likable.

But if you enjoy it, Live long and Prosper.

This.

A lot of the hate (myself included) comes from the fact that everything Trek post-2005 seems to take a big dump on the stuff that came before. Whether it's Khanberpatch or STD or Picard, they took stories and characters and rewrote them, or made new stories that were STINO (ST in name only). They ignored canon and in fact rewrote things however they liked. Gene would be rolling in his grave if he saw what had become of what he'd created... a positive view of the future becoming a dystopian, poorly written, boring nightmare.

This.

I like Discovery. I think some people seem awfully invested in maintaining a very particular 'type' of ST universe. The world goes on.

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rj
AKA
Vreemac, Moth of the Future

Been a Trek fan since the 60s -- or so my father tells me. Would watch with him as a baby. I really remember watching it in the 70s on our local UHF channel, going to the rare convention (Vul-Con New Orleans), reading Starlog to catch up on what's what. The Animated Series. All that. The movies, the music, the novels.

Much as I like various interpretations of Batman, Sherlock Holmes, etc., I'm fine with various STAR TREK incarnations. I loved TNG and DS9, really liked VOY, wished for more from ENT. Enjoyed all the TOS and TNG based movies.

The JJ reboot; I liked the casting, enjoyed the initial film (and lamented the loss of the Shatner/holochip cameo), wondered what the hell was everyone thinking with Into Darkness. Didn't enjoy Beyond as much as everyone else but did enjoy watching it. (Great Giacchino scores on all three, FWIW)

I don't share the general disdain for Discovery. It is what it is; I've watched the first two seasons and will watch the third one once more episodes are on CBS All Access (or if they offer some kind of annual-fee deal when it changes to Paramount+). The first season was stumble-y, but it was the first season. I didn't care for a lot of the Klingon lore (and re-design) but I moved on from it and got into the story. The introduction of Pike and his crew at the end of S1 was a great twist. I far more enjoyed S2 than S1, and am looking forward to the Pike-led spin-off series.

Below Decks; I've only seen a few episodes (before my latest free-week ran out), but I look forward to watching more in the future. Again, it's a different take trying to fit into whatever counts as canon these days. Love a lot of the in-jokes (such as making the Spock helmet canon) and past referencing (even making the term "TOS" part of the zeitgeist; meaning of "Those Old Scientists -- you know, Scotty, Spock, McCoy; those guys". The inclusion of Riker & Troi and the TITAN is a great idea, and someone told me that the Vulcan Shuttle (from TMP) makes an appearance in a recent episode.

Trek is fine. It's not your Trek; maybe not. We had space hippies and Spock's Brain and Abraham Lincoln and Nazi planets. So take it in stride. If you don't like it, don't watch. Trek has always been a reflection of the times it was made in; Gene's vision is in there, if you look, but there's a lot of darkness to be reflected these days.

Regardless, it is what it is. To paraphrase another franchise; "it's a fair move; complaining about it won't help".

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(BTW, it's spelled < y'all >.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2020 09:39AM by Zoidberg.

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Zoidberg
Been a Trek fan since the 60s -- or so my father tells me. Would watch with him as a baby. I really remember watching it in the 70s on our local UHF channel, going to the rare convention (Vul-Con New Orleans), reading Starlog to catch up on what's what. The Animated Series. All that. The movies, the music, the novels.

Much as I like various interpretations of Batman, Sherlock Holmes, etc., I'm fine with various STAR TREK incarnations. I loved TNG and DS9, really liked VOY, wished for more from ENT. Enjoyed all the TOS and TNG based movies.

The JJ reboot; I liked the casting, enjoyed the initial film (and lamented the loss of the Shatner/holochip cameo), wondered what the hell was everyone thinking with Into Darkness. Didn't enjoy Beyond as much as everyone else but did enjoy watching it. (Great Giacchino scores on all three, FWIW)

I don't share the general disdain for Discovery. It is what it is; I've watched the first two seasons and will watch the third one once more episodes are on CBS All Access (or if they offer some kind of annual-fee deal when it changes to Paramount+). The first season was stumble-y, but it was the first season. I didn't care for a lot of the Klingon lore (and re-design) but I moved on from it and got into the story. The introduction of Pike and his crew at the end of S1 was a great twist. I far more enjoyed S2 than S1, and am looking forward to the Pike-led spin-off series.

Below Decks; I've only seen a few episodes (before my latest free-week ran out), but I look forward to watching more in the future. Again, it's a different take trying to fit into whatever counts as canon these days. Love a lot of the in-jokes (such as making the Spock helmet canon) and past referencing (even making the term "TOS" part of the zeitgeist; meaning of "Those Old Scientists -- you know, Scotty, Spock, McCoy; those guys". The inclusion of Riker & Troi and the TITAN is a great idea, and someone told me that the Vulcan Shuttle (from TMP) makes an appearance in a recent episode.

Trek is fine. It's not your Trek; maybe not. We had space hippies and Spock's Brain and Abraham Lincoln and Nazi planets. So take it in stride. If you don't like it, don't watch. Trek has always been a reflection of the times it was made in; Gene's vision is in there, if you look, but there's a lot of darkness to be reflected these days.

Regardless, it is what it is. To paraphrase another franchise; "it's a fair move; complaining about it won't help".

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Check out Picard afterwards. I enjoyed it but some people didn't.

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rjmacs
I like Discovery. I think some people seem awfully invested in maintaining a very particular 'type' of ST universe.

If all they've taken from Trek, rather than canon and themes, is a bunch of trademarks and toys then it's not Trek.

It's just some show that uses some of the nomenclature and affects similar costumes.

This is the problem with the "Kelvin Timeline" (a.k.a. Abrams' folly). The names are the same, but there's little resemblance beyond that and a few catch-phrases. (Plus, enough weird lighting effects to easily blind you.)

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Sarcany

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rjmacs
I like Discovery. I think some people seem awfully invested in maintaining a very particular 'type' of ST universe.

If all they've taken from Trek, rather than canon and themes, is a bunch of trademarks and toys then it's not Trek.

It's just some show that uses some of the nomenclature and affects similar costumes.

This is the problem with the "Kelvin Timeline" (a.k.a. Abrams' folly). The names are the same, but there's little resemblance beyond that and a few catch-phrases. (Plus, enough weird lighting effects to easily blind you.)

I couldn't have said it better myself. The last straw for me was casting a pasty white Englishman for Khan, all the while trying to fool fans that this wasn't just a retread/revision of what was arguably the best film of the entire franchise.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Discovery is more in the style of Doctor Who, and the latest season feels like Voyager. As I liked both, this is fine to me.

If you want something more like STOS, then the Orville or even Lower Decks is more for you.

I agree that Roddenberry's signature is optimistic and not a dystopian future (in the long run). I have not yet seen any such negative outcome for any ST to date, so I am assuming Discovery will get there eventually too.

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sekker
If you want something more like STOS, then the Orville or even Lower Decks is more for you.

Lower Decks is pure fan-service. It's a long love-note to TNG fans and as such, it's fine, but it doesn't add much, if anything.

Orville is a good TNG tribute, but again, it doesn't add much.

"Real" Trek shows build off of canon and stick to the rules and the good ones have production staff who figure out how to do that and still tell a new story.

The major and controversial failures of Voyager and Enterprise are inevitably where they depart from canon and use the trappings of Trek without the themes and structures of Trek. Voyager's reliance upon technobabble to resolve nearly every story-line is an infamous example of this. In a Trek story, teamwork/cooperation, hard work and inspiration lead to the resolution, but in Voyager, someone spouts nonsense and then a computer does something and they've magicked the magic magic. Discovery takes this to the nth level and deserves little respect for taking these non-Trek shortcuts.

POTENTIAL SPOILER: OTOH, it seems that they realized this and took steps to erase the mess they've made in the non-Kelvin timeline, to reboot the series for season 3. I'm looking forward to seeing whether they've learned anything from the mistakes of the first two seasons.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2020 02:56PM by Sarcany.

.....lens flare.........galore.......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!