Star Trek: Picard & Discovery
- Thread starter ahalpert
- Start date
I really enjoyed it. Main dude is great and I really enjoyed some of the secondary characters (even though they killed one that I felt particularly happy to see). Quite looking forwards to a second season.
It is not a traditional Star Trek vibe (no monster/mystery of the week) if that is what you want/expect. Also, does not particularly engage with matters set up in DS9, which I guess some may criticize, but I was not particularly bothered by that either. There was a bit of what I would consider fan service, but I enjoyed it (even though I am not a massive fan).
It is not a traditional Star Trek vibe (no monster/mystery of the week) if that is what you want/expect. Also, does not particularly engage with matters set up in DS9, which I guess some may criticize, but I was not particularly bothered by that either. There was a bit of what I would consider fan service, but I enjoyed it (even though I am not a massive fan).
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Patrick Stewart is such a good actor, outclassing basically everyone else on the show.
<SPOILERS>
Who were you happy to see? Hugh?
</SPOILERS>
Yeah it wasn't traditional trek I think mostly because there was an overarching plot to the whole season, which I found very satisfying. I rewatched the 2-part episode of TNG where Picard is assimilated by the Borg (best of both worlds) with my wife recently. It was very well written on some ways, not in others, but it was kind of shocking how quickly the whole thing was tied up and he was back at the helm of the Enterprise. But you have to get back to normal by the next episode!
I don't remember what happened at the end of DS9. I didn't mind the direction the plot took, though. Yeah, there was a lot of fan service...which I enjoyed although it sometimes weakened the writing
<SPOILERS>
Who were you happy to see? Hugh?
</SPOILERS>
Yeah it wasn't traditional trek I think mostly because there was an overarching plot to the whole season, which I found very satisfying. I rewatched the 2-part episode of TNG where Picard is assimilated by the Borg (best of both worlds) with my wife recently. It was very well written on some ways, not in others, but it was kind of shocking how quickly the whole thing was tied up and he was back at the helm of the Enterprise. But you have to get back to normal by the next episode!
I don't remember what happened at the end of DS9. I didn't mind the direction the plot took, though. Yeah, there was a lot of fan service...which I enjoyed although it sometimes weakened the writing
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<SPOILERS> Yeah, I have a sweet spot for Hugh.</SPOILERS>
I have enjoyed Discovery but I find it more irregular and less satisfying. When Picard finished, I felt it had been worth watching the whole thing and the arch was satisfying. With Disco I do not have the same level of satisfaction. I feel like it is still trying to find what it wants to be.
I have enjoyed Discovery but I find it more irregular and less satisfying. When Picard finished, I felt it had been worth watching the whole thing and the arch was satisfying. With Disco I do not have the same level of satisfaction. I feel like it is still trying to find what it wants to be.
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Yeah Discovery is very different, I'm only 3 episodes in and I'm really enjoying it. It's much more gritty and realist than any other Trek I've seen, so I don't get that same utopian feeling which I love. It feels a bit more Battlestar Galactica. But that's ok. Variety is nice. (In the wikipedia article, they said that the writers - who were like an all-star assembly of past films and series - chose to sitch Roddenberry's longstanding rule that they should minimize conflict between the crew. The thinking is that this series is a bridge between now and the ideals of TOS.)
I showed up to CBS to watch Picard and now I've started on Discovery. It's almost like come for Picard and stay for Discovery because you already have the relationships with the TNG characters. (Though I know they produced Disco first.)
<SPOILERS>
It was kind of crazy that they killed Picard and had all these emotional grieving scenes and then brought him back 10 minutes later. Gave me emotional whiplash. As for Data dying - it was a nice coda to his life - but why couldn't they have given him a fresh body??? If he wants to be human - hey - all humans want to live forever, right?
As for Discovery - I'm only 3 episodes in and I actually LOVE the writing in the first few episodes. It's so tight and clever and memorable. My god - do you remember the scene where Michael Burnham is trapped in the brig after the hull has been breached and the only thing keeping her alive is the force field? And she has to negotiate with the computer to release her by the ethical protocol by coming up with a survivable escape plan? I loved it. My wife says the writing gets worse later in the season, maybe that's what you mean by the arc being less satisfying. But so far it feels like movie-quality writing to me. </SPOILERS>
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ahalpert
Major Contributor
That's so awesome that you watched TNG with your dad. I can't wait for the next season of Picard. I'm getting really into Discovery as well but I'm only like 3 episodes in. It has a very different feel from other Trek series, but variety is the spice of life, right?
ahalpert
Major Contributor
My god I just watched Discovery season 1 episode 3 (I'm going slow). The writing is so good, and they do a great job of making me want to BE Burnham, even though she's a woman. I never felt that way about Captain Janeway, I always had a more maternal relation to her. Burnham is so badass. And Lucius Malfoy is a fricking great actor.
[SPOILER] the scene where she's crawling through the Jeffries tube to escape the monster and starts quoting the passage about shrinking oneself from Alice in wonderland in order to calm her fear...genius [/SPOILER]
[SPOILER] the scene where she's crawling through the Jeffries tube to escape the monster and starts quoting the passage about shrinking oneself from Alice in wonderland in order to calm her fear...genius [/SPOILER]
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Wow I just finished Discovery season 2 - this show got SO bad. I can see why y'all were downplaying my excitement.
Man, the first 6 episodes of Season 1 were so good, some of the best Trek writing ever. Then the tone, characters, and narrative momentum lost their way suddenly.
Y'all agree?
I watched to the end because I was attached to the characters, but there was only like 1 scene in season 2 I found memorable.
[SPOILER] the scene where Pike sees his future and accepts it. That was dope [SPOILER]
Man, the first 6 episodes of Season 1 were so good, some of the best Trek writing ever. Then the tone, characters, and narrative momentum lost their way suddenly.
Y'all agree?
I watched to the end because I was attached to the characters, but there was only like 1 scene in season 2 I found memorable.
[SPOILER] the scene where Pike sees his future and accepts it. That was dope [SPOILER]
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Yes definitely though I think they could have done better with the follow-through. CBS replaced Fuller halfway through season 1 because he was taking too long (due to showrunning American Gods simultaneously) and going over budget. Then they ordered a couple extra episodes inserted, which ended up being fluff that didnt advance the plot. Big mistakes!
Did you see Escape Artist with Rainn Wilson in Short Treks? Very funny. There were a few good short treks.
Did you hear Captain Pike is getting his own spin-off, Strange New Worlds?
I want more Trek but I need it to be quality.
[SPOILERS] Season 2 felt like a bad Terminator retelling and there were so. Many. Goddamn. Crying. Scenes. [SPOILERS]
Did you see Escape Artist with Rainn Wilson in Short Treks? Very funny. There were a few good short treks.
Did you hear Captain Pike is getting his own spin-off, Strange New Worlds?
I want more Trek but I need it to be quality.
[SPOILERS] Season 2 felt like a bad Terminator retelling and there were so. Many. Goddamn. Crying. Scenes. [SPOILERS]
Batutta
Major Contributor
It took me a long time to realize I'm not really a Star Trek fan, I am just a fan of Star Trek, meaning the original show. I tried watching but didn't love The Next Generation, or Deep Space Nine, or any of the other spinoffs. If it doesn't have Kirk, Spock and McCoy in it I'm not that interested.
Batutta
Major Contributor
The first JJ Trek was fun and well cast but had a lot of sloppy, lazy writing typical of Abrams films. The second one was bad and the third, while having a more genuinely Star Trek like plot, was kind of forgettable, and the actors seemed disinterested.
Batutta
Major Contributor
Yeah, if you didn't like the first one you'll hate the second. JJ's movies are usually superficially entertaining but don't stand up to much scrutiny. The third one, which he didn't direct, some die hard trekkers seem to enjoy.