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Star Trek Discovery

Seasider

By Seasider,
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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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Ok thanks. Something in the advertising made me think it was exclusive to the service.

 

Oh, it is.  They're just airing the first episode on the network.  After that, it's the streaming service only, pay up.  They're trying to get us hooked with a freebie so we'll pay for the rest.

 

(But I'm still TiVo'ing the episode tonight. I'm such a sucker.  Thanks for the heads up, I would've missed it!)

 

And The Orville's turning out so well, I'm hoping that will scratch my Trek itch and I'll be able to just relax and wait for the streaming episodes to be released elsewhere...  assuming tonight's episode makes it seem worth bothering with at all.  I'm still not sure if I like the idea that it will be TV-MA.  When Stargate tried that with Universe it was an unmitigated disaster.  

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Seasider

Seasider

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Oh, it is. They're just airing the first episode on the network. After that, it's the streaming service only, pay up. They're trying to get us hooked with a freebie so we'll pay for the rest.

 

(But I'm still TiVo'ing the episode tonight. I'm such a sucker. Thanks for the heads up, I would've missed it!)

 

And The Orville's turning out so well, I'm hoping that will scratch my Trek itch and I'll be able to just relax and wait for the streaming episodes to be released elsewhere... assuming tonight's episode makes it seem worth bothering with at all. I'm still not sure if I like the idea that it will be TV-MA. When Stargate tried that with Universe it was an unmitigated disaster.

Yes I figure I'll see how I like the first episode.

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Janeway

Janeway

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Oh, it is. They're just airing the first episode on the network. After that, it's the streaming service only, pay up. They're trying to get us hooked with a freebie so we'll pay for the rest.

 

(But I'm still TiVo'ing the episode tonight. I'm such a sucker. Thanks for the heads up, I would've missed it!)

 

And The Orville's turning out so well, I'm hoping that will scratch my Trek itch and I'll be able to just relax and wait for the streaming episodes to be released elsewhere... assuming tonight's episode makes it seem worth bothering with at all. I'm still not sure if I like the idea that it will be TV-MA. When Stargate tried that with Universe it was an unmitigated disaster.

I am really liking The Orville too.
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Seasider

Seasider

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First episode was tonight, it was delayed by football. It was not bad. I won't be paying for All Access to watch it, but then I never planned to. I do NOT like the new Klingons. NOT at all. I had to go bag through a bunch of Star Trek Wikia to figure out what was going on with them and I think they took "updating" way to far with them.

 

Also, what was up with the holographic communications, when every other version uses "face time?"

 

I REALLY like The Orville. I think it has a lot of potential, though I think they need to move a bit farther away from Star Trek than it is if it can stand alone long enough.

This was supposed to be set before TOS, right?

 

Well, the Klingons should have been backdated, not updated.

 

And I think there were some other not-dated-right stuff. Like their uniforms, which had a sort of Seven of Nine influence. Should have been more retro ime. Holographic communication wasn't typical, either, unless you're scrambling Trek with Star Wars.

 

I personally thought Burnham's insubordination/mutiny came too quickly. It sort of trashed the deep, trust-filled relationship the story worked so hard to convey up to that point. But maybe that's her Vulcan mentoring showing.

 

I also felt the admiral's comment about her heritage was out of place. But add to that the pale Klingon, and I'm guessing that the show is going to make commentary on race relations. Not sure how I feel about that, I'd have to watch more to see how that plays out before forming an opinion. If it is really an organic discussion, it might be really good, but I'm afraid it's going to be forced.

 

I liked it, mostly, but I won't be paying to see the other episodes. I figure it'll turn up somewhere free sooner or later.

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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I like The Orville so much better. I'm actually a bit glad that I didn't really like Discovery. Now I don't feel badly that I can't afford to pay to watch it.

 

Lol, that sums up pretty much exactly how I felt.

 

I kind of liked the three main characters they introduced and their interactions. But in spite of Vulcans and "Klingons", the whole feel was very.... not Star Trek. Maybe it would be a good scifi show if it were just itself, but as part of the Trek universe, it seems incongruous.

 

The Orville is not of the Trek universe, and even with the potty humor some how seems truer to the *spirit* of Star Trek.

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kewb

kewb

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The Orville is wonderful. The last episode was quite poignant and I still wish the ending was the way I wanted it to be instead of the way it was.

And,tbh, dh and I will often say at the end of the day "not feeling well doc, I've had the books all day.

 

As for Discovery dh and I are arguing about paying for cbs all acess just to watch it. We used the free trial to watch both episodes last night. There were some things I liked and enjoyed about the show. It is certainly visually stunning. I don't love how the Klingons look like some sort of dementor vampires.

 

I do have ethical objections to the new Star trek. Gene Roddenberry would not be on board with a mature rating. Star Trek is supposed to be for families to enjoy. If I still had small children I wouldn't let them watch it. I am really angry about CBS using drug dealer tactics of first fix is for free, after that you pay. I find it rude and disrespectful. Again, against what Star Trek actually stands for.

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Bluegoat

Bluegoat

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I watched it on Space - totally had not planned to and didn't know it was on.  

 

I think I likes it overall, which surprised me a little, as I had not expected to.

 

I did think a fair bit of the dialogue was kind of clumsy.  There was far too much exposition, and people said things I thought were very unlikely.  I am willing to see if that improves though, often it seems to be a problem at the beginning of a new series.

 

I thought it was visually very attractive - they clearly spent a lot of money.  And it avoided falling into the trap of so much CGI that it looked like a cartoon, which is a common problem in a lot of tv and film.  I find the topic quite interesting - the beginnings of the Klingon war and how the Klingon empire coalesces out of a tribal chaos seems really interesting.  

 

It looks to me like they may really focus on the theme of cultural cohesion, clashes of differing cultures, cultural survival.  Perhaps how we think about those things and respond to them morally.  My sense was that we are supposed to think of them as being something like the fractured Arab tribes (at what point in history IDK, maybe the beginnings of Islam, or around WWI?)

 

Many of the characters seemed to have real possibilities to be interesting.

 

On the negative - I thought some of the characters were a little clumsily portrayed - the mutiny thing in particular.  I thought the part where Michal (sp?) communicated through her mind with Sarak was contrived - convenient ,but wouldn't she have known it was possible?  I found I had to forget about where the show was in the Star Trek timeline more carefully than I would have liked - other than the old transporters, many things seemed more modern than even TNG.  The technology and aesthetics just didn't seem to match up.

 

As far as the Klingon redesign - I also had to try and forget about that, and imagine they were entirely new to me.  That being said - I did actually enjoy it - they felt really alien, as if it was very difficult to see how they and the Starfleet people could possibly understand each other.  On elf the failings of most of the older Star Trks IMO has been that the aliens really look and act like human being with some goofy make-up - they don't seem like a totally alien culture and physically totally alien.  Of course if they were really completely other we'd not be able to get much out of watching a show about them, but this version of them just seemed that much more convincing to me.  Anyway, it's not like the Klingons haven't changed their appearance at all.

 

I don't know if I'll be able to see more episodes - I really like Jason Issacks (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong), so I will watch if I get a chance.

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Dave Killens

Dave Killens

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Sadly, the opening credit sequence was much too Game of Thrones, with the unfolding animation, deep bass strings rippling through the music, it all seemed very stolen. The Game of Thrones also spilled over into the many deaths, characters,and quick plot twists.

 

Yes, there was some originality in the opening series, which is what everyone was lead to anticipate. The cultural and black/white thing is too blatant, and in my opinion written into the script not to push boundaries and make people think, but rather just provoke a certain Twitter user to respond and thus make headlines.

 

The CGI was too busy at times, and the space scenes unrealistic. You do not go flying though such debris at that rate, was it worth risking a life just to checkout a vague object before attempting other means such as probes? So for that area it receives huge fail at not even attempting for realism, something the original series did attempt.

 

Overall it was worth watching, but it did not live up to the hype and will be revered only by the most extreme Star Trek fans.

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Heathermomster

Heathermomster

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My family does not watch regular TV for anything but college football games (with sound turned off), PBS, and severe weather updates. Since the PBS station started charging money for Masterpiece Theatre, my family is pretty much done with regular broadcast. Tuning in to watch the show on CBS was horrible. Anyhoo...

 

The Klingons didn't bother me so much. I couldn't buy into the relationship between the main characters. Overall, we found the show literally too dark. With the Iron Man space suit, the show seemed more Marvel. In fact, I commented to DH that I couldn't tell whether I was looking at Dark Elves or Klingons. DD felt the Klingon language was off. Not gutteral enough maybe? Of course, the Kilingon death cry was a beauty to behold.

 

We may watch the next episode with the app. Otherwise, DH and I can happily wait until the show comes to Netflix.

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Guest

Guest

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Can't you stream network shows from the network website after they've aired live? Or on Hulu?

... maybe? We don't watch many programs, and most have already concluded. One or two I have season passes for. I dropped Hulu because I like to binge watch complete series or seasons more than go episode by episode, but I've debated picking it back up.

 

My husband and I watch maybe 45 minutes of tv/movies over the net per night. So paying for additional streaming services usually isn't cost effective. I know CBS's website lags behind by a week and only carries a few episodes at a time but they offer some episodes if you miss one. Maybe a Fox does something similar?

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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My sense was that we are supposed to think of them as being something like the fractured Arab tribes (at what point in history IDK, maybe the beginnings of Islam, or around WWI?)

 

No, no. ST is always taking the more liberal slant, and according to the creators we're supposed to view them as the far-right, with their emphasis on racial purity.

 

Frankly, I don't think their views, as seen on screen, do line up with those of the actual far-right in the West, but whatever. TOS Klingons didn't match the USSR, but that's who they represented regardless.

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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No, no. ST is always taking the more liberal slant, and according to the creators we're supposed to view them as the far-right, with their emphasis on racial purity.

 

 

This is so stupid.  There are literally three entire Star Trek shows (TNG, DS9, Voyager) spanning 21 total seasons where Klingon culture has been very well probed.  And one thing that stood out to me was that Klingons came in all colors.  Some were dark, some were pale.  There was never the slightest whiff of some kind of color bias or racial purity in their culture.  Whether you were of noble blood came up a lot, but not color-based issues.  Worf's first mate was pale-skinned.

Belanna Torres was pale-skinned, as were the Duras sisters.

. 

And Martok

 

http://www.startrek.com/uploads/assets/articles/klingon12.jpg

 

And this guy: 

 

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/0/0e/Leskit.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20060919093420

 

What's really disturbing is the "new" Klingons (who look for all the world like Orcs or mutant vampires or something), are actually black.  Like paint black.  And the other dude isn't 'white', like European skin color white, but paint white.  WTH.  And if there's only one of him, it's obviously albinism of some kind, not the normal (and quite wide) variation in hues we've seen on Klingons over twenty-seven seasons.  If there's some Klingon color binary, it's certainly never even been alluded to, and now it's literally black-or-white??  And where is their hair? Klingons seem to have a bit of a hair fetish, what happened to that?  So.freaking.stupid.  Just NO.

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