Comment Stream

Re: Sobering and trivial reflections on a 25th anniversary

Jammer, I am in the exact same boat as you. Two small children at home, no school, I work from home now and my wife is an ICU nurse. No cases at her hospital yet either, and the waiting is simply the worst part. While I am happy that we have no known exposure and my family is healthy, we know it is coming sooner or later and the stress of her going to work will be great. We too try to keep perspective and realize how lucky we are to have stable work, good health, steady paychecks, and a backyard to run around outdoors in. What you said resonated with me right now.

Anyway, stay safe, and know that I appreciate your website, especially while stuck in my house for an extended period. Thank you, and thank your wife for what she does too.

Re: PIC S1: Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1

The series has gone from a multi-layered, thoughtful, careful and intriguing first episode to a stitched together mess of old Trek clichés, inconsistent/shallow characters, a plot that's both too complex and insultingly thin at the same time. I'd like to understand the development process of a show like this. So they have a great idea to start and carefully write a pilot that manages to address current world issues in a subtle way and then everything gets rushed and stuff just needs to be done? Why? Because all the CGI has to be planned ahead? Why not take time to write better scripts first? Why not have show runners that can guide a whole season into something that feels consistent and does not insult the viewer's intelligence? What I love about Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is that whenever you ask yourself "Why is a character doing that?" or "How could this happen?" you realize a few moments later the writing staff asked the same questions and then they deliver a satisfying solution. I wish there was just a little bit of that awareness on Picard. In episode 8: Why are all the Romulans standing in a perfect circle facing outwards like performing some ritual before they have their "vision"? Because it looks cool!? Story-wise it makes no sense at all. This was the first time I knew Picard would be no better than Discovery, as much as I wanted it to be. And seeing the AI "colony" and its "characters" it was confirmed. Did any of the writers spend time thinking how such a colony should look, what it could be like, what its inhabitants would do? Apparently not. The Androids are doing Tai Chi and walk around bare chested? Really? This felt like the worst cardboard "colonies"/"cultures" from TOS. The Romulans needn't bother, there's no intelligent life on that planet. It's a shame. Picard should have been different, like they promised it would be, but in the end it's becoming a victim of its genre just like the absolutely overrated "Logan" did. Three new series in a row Star Trek has now failed to stray from its constraints and boldly go ... somewhere.

Re: A defense for changing our clocks twice a year

And I never gave it much thought until I lived in Arizona for a couple of years and got very used to not changing the clock.

Re: PIC S1: Nepenthe

@Ubik-

I don't know.... They absolutely SHOULD suspect something of her since she is acting so strangely. I thought Rios confiding that he had doubts about Raffi to Jurati was weird and out of place. Seems like you would keep that suspicion to yourself until you had more evidence, so trying to guilt her into saying something might make sense. Also, he claims he didn't know why she came back to the ship after Freecloud, but she told him in the previous episode that she had a son. So he does know why she ame back on the ship and promptly drunk herself into a stupor, or at least he ought to.

Something about Raffi's super patronizing "Let's eat some cake" attitude was really off too. It was all weird and might make a bit more sense if they were playing her.

But if that were the case then why would Rios also confront Raffi and threaten with airlocking her? And why would Rios look so confused when Jurati began to confess about the tracker? And why wouldn't he wait for her to fully confess vs. just run back to the bridge when Narek re-appeared? It seemed like she was about to tell him something about the tracker and if he was suspecting her and playing her would have stayed and listened.

So I guess either interpretation has its flaws. I did think Jurati was well-acted this episode.

Overall, I don't think this one was as strong as the last, but it was enjoyable. The characters could breath a little which was nice. The scenes on Nepenthe were generally strong, and I thought the action on the ship was good and did a lot to develop Jurati's character, who finally behaves like a human acting under duress might. But some of the poor writing jarred me out of it occasionally. The contrived story of Thad's death didn't land IMO, and the plot holes/weird behavior on the ship as discussed were also jarring. The scenes on the cube with the casual killing of Hugh and the still very out of place Elron were a complete miss for me. Honestly, if the series had abandoned their perspective and just left us to wonder about their fate it might have been better than whatever that was. I guess we are in for more though, as the space elf is still onboard. I have trouble caring about whatever happens to him.

Re: PIC S1: The Impossible Box

@Quincy -

Agree. That didn’t seem like ‘repressed’ memory experience to me. More like a memory that is too vivid and disturbing to distinguish from reality when it comes to the surface. I.e., PTSD, as you suggest. There were a couple of issues with this episode, but overall I thought it was fairly good. And this aspect didn’t take me out of it at all.

Re: PIC S1: Stardust City Rag

@Nic -
"This is all wrong. He seems to be saying that there is less reason for optimism now than there was in the 60s or 80s. Doesn't anybody remember Vietnam, the race riots and the Cold War? Climate change and loss of biodiversity make our future is uncertain; but there is no question that human life is much much better now than it was 30 years ago."

Agree wholeheartedly. Yes, times seem bleak. But anyone who claims that TOS didn't also come out during the middle of a pretty bleak era of American History just simply isn't paying attention. Vietnam, the Kennedy murders, MLK's assassination, the Kent State Massacre, race riots, Medgar Ever's murder, etc. It makes for a pretty depressing backdrop. The difference, I suppose, is they didn't have social media back then to echo chamber themselves into an immutable sense of despair.

I would argue that in the bleakest times, a refreshing point of view that shows humanity overcoming this era is a bold statement. Optimism is necessary during such times. And it is certainly a bolder statement for a TV premise than something along the lines of "And now the Federation is ethically compromised and even in the future people have no faith in the institutions that are designed to protect their own interests. Good luck, humanity. You will never escape your own worst selves."

Re: PIC S1: Stardust City Rag

@Trent-

"[...] What this did was to train fan audiences to watch movies and TV in a certain way, wherein any tiny action could be a clue to some greater mystery. Fandom painted itself into a plot twist-first storytelling culture. The question of who a character “is” now means "how does this character link to everything else in their universe," rather than "who is this character?". It’s a bad way to approach stories, putting the emphasis on puzzle pieces rather than emotion and character. Stories are now puzzles, based on what fits established canon, not what’s dramatically right."

Holy crap, I couldn't have said it better. That's been my unspoken but main criticism of modern television for the last 10 years or so. It works for a little while, but the 'trick' gets old after a few episodes as you stop caring about what happens next because you lack any real connection to any characters. Such 'tricks' should be used only the minimal amount to help keep things moving as needed, not as a means to an end itself. It's called respecting your audience enough and the material enough to expect the audience to be interested in your story because it is a good story, rather than tricking them into listening to a crappy one.

I think that is why I like Picard more than Disco, honestly. I never liked Disco because none of the characters were developed at all, and they seemingly did random things that were probably not what real people would do. It makes what little character development there is seem cold and wooden at best. For example, romance in both Disco and Picard is generally shown by two people merely being in the same room together where the script forces them to suddenly start kissing or embracing or something, rather than show two people share a genuine connection and building on that.

Picard is prone to the same crap, but it can at least draw on previous characters that were truly well-developed (by others, it begs pointing out). So I do feel some of the connection, even if Picard is not doing a lot to further their development. In that same vein, Captain Pike was the best part of Disco season 2 for much the same reason. Spock was so far off that he was essentially a new character and I got nothing from him.

Re: PIC S1: Stardust City Rag

@Omni -

I did get a huge kick out of the annoying targeted holo-ads on a television program that is frequently interrupted by unblockable advertisements. (I don't pay extra for the 'no-ads' experience).

Re: VOY S2: Tuvix

This episode was meant to cause debate and it absolutely succeeded in that. Sometimes there aren’t simple answers. We can and should all debate what was the right decision here, but the facts are so specifically (and yes, artificially) laid out that neither decision can be declared absolutely the correct one. Incredibly impactful episode.

Re: DS9 S5: Children of Time

Remember in TNG when Deanna Troy fails the Star Fleet simulation because she couldn't order someone to their death to save the lives of the rest of the crew on the ship? But she does it in the end, passes the exam and everyone is happy about the valuable lesson she learned about tough choices?
Member?
So why is Sisko so self righteous about offing an entire planet of intelligent lifeforms (Ignoring the Prime Directive) just because he won't ask Kira to sacrifice herself ?
Anyone?
Still a good episode though.

Re: ENT S1: Two Days and Two Nights

Whaaattt? Kirk hit on every woman he met! " as if human beings were above the very notion of having a sex drive [on Trek]." Please!

Re: ENT S1: Desert Crossing

Imperial Dunes, California was also used in a few Star Wars films, too. We really do have a lot of interesting places here. ;)

Re: Trailer: 'Star Trek: Picard'

The title is eyerollingly unoriginal...but the story idea here can be gold...I for one enjoy a lot of Discovery's darker tone, so I hope that actually continues. But with more concise, tighter writing..

Re: ORV S2: The Road Not Taken

Wonderful effects. Liked scruffy Ed. Good music (very reminiscent of Star Trek 2). No out of place humor. Dull story. Felt like I had seen it all before; which can be an obvious downside to a show that borrows so heavily from other shows. It was ok. A 2.5/4. Hope the show is renewed because, overall, this season has been a big improvement.

Re: DSC S2: Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2

That was extremely good looking rubbish. I recently watched the pilot of DS9 again and it had more intelligent dialog than 2 seasons of Discovery put together. So little of the constant emotional overdrive is earned, they are not even trying with the tech aspects, it really is a swell looking overproduced mess.

Re: ORV S2: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

While there were some decent aspects in the episode, the central premise (that Ed would date a younger Kelly while current Kelly was present) was a huge mistake. It made Ed look like an unfeeling moron. Can't believe anyone thought that was a good idea. It would have been fine if he was conflicted about his feelings for her but to actually see dating her as a viable option was ... awful. And I couldn't get past it to enjoy the episode as a whole.

I know there was a TNG where Riker was split. Honestly can't remember if that character and Troi dated or not? If so, wonder if it was handled any better.

On the plus side, the ice field scene was pretty cool.
2/4

Re: ORV S2: Sanctuary

"When Frakes directed the similar peripheral plot Insurrection 20 years ago, he made that film a comedy."

Huh? Don't understand this comment at all. It had a few comedic scenes but it was a straight drama for the most part. And the stakes were pretty high.

I have had major problems with the Orville from episode one and was continually asking myself why I continued to watch a show that annoyed me. I am glad I stuck with it. The 2nd half of season 2 has finally hit it's stride and I am actually looking forward to each episode.

This was another well written episode with very little distracting "humor." It presented the issues with some nuance and had a fairly realistic ending (there is no simple resolution to social problems).

3.5 for me.

Re: DSC S2: Perpetual Infinity

Control Control Control??? April_Fools_Made_me_laugh Control Control CControl CControl

Re: DSC S2: Perpetual Infinity

@Tom R

"Does anyone also dislike how Star Trek, AGAIN, isn’t really Discovering anything outside its sphere?? It’s all self-contained. Besides for the great episode where we went to Saru’s homeworld, the universe seems so small. I thought the Red Angel would be an alien...kinda let down.

What’s the point of show? They aren’t discovering anything “out there.”

Yeah it's kind of a bummer that they went down this path; although this season is much better than season 1. Was really hoping they would start "seeking out new life and new civilizations", as cliched as that sounds. And the Universe does seem small, especially the Federation. I was really hoping with their big budget to see more cool space stuff like star bases, more ships, maybe some intense space battles / standoffs, and more unique space settings with unique ideas / moral quandaries waiting to be explored, etc.. Alas, while entertaining and enjoyable, we ended up with Star Trek: Burnham. I'll take it, but was really hoping for something with a bit more substance and imagination perhaps.

Re: ORV S2: Lasting Impressions

So, I'm not going to over think this one. It was an enjoyable episode. The relationship between Gordon and Laura was sweet. The humor with Bortus (mostly) worked (could do without he and his partner always at each others throats). I'm going with 3/4 .... it wasn't an original premise and the stakes were low but I thought it was charming.

Re: DSC S2: Project Daedalus

As a side, I always felt the future probe was from the red angel. Was I wrong to assume this?

Re: DSC S2: Project Daedalus

@ matthew: I think that's right.

However, I feel like this episode insinuates that it was Control that had her hacked, not the future probe. Did anyone else feel that way?
So, was Ariam compromised by the future probe? Or was she compromised by 'Control' / Section 31? Do we know for certain that the future probe is in fact part of Control? Am I just being dumb?

Either way, I found these last few episodes very entertaining with great writing and acting. Significant improvement over season 1. I just wish they would stop referring to it as the 'red angel' now that they know it's a humanoid from the future. Comes off as a bit cheesy especially when science should trump religion in the 23rd century. But then again, DS9 had lots of religious themes surrounding the prophets etc..

And as mentioned above, did Arium actually download her memories into Discovery's computer? I feel like there was a lot of 'downloading' going on over these past couple eps and didn't quite catch that...

Re: ORV S2: Blood of Patriots

I know this is the internet but can we stick to critiquing the show and not one another?

Re: ORV S2: Blood of Patriots

"I'm super forgiving of this show's warts; probably more than I should be. For example, they had me in this one the second I saw Mackenzie Astin. Totally sold by way of my first 80s fangirl crush. It's not that I don't see the flaws the rest of you do. It's that they don't really impact my enjoyment of the show. In another series they might but I'm pretty easy going on Seth MacFarlane's trek fanfic. It's exactly what I need it to be."

Totally get this! This is me and "Supergirl." I am somewhat hard on this show because I really want it to be better AND I think it has the potential to be better. I believe it would improve if Seth McFarlane would step back and do less. Let better writers take the characters and see what they can do. Lets face it, Gene Roddenberry created Trek BUT he also wrote some of the worst episodes.

Re: ORV S2: Blood of Patriots

Well, this week was a mess. Boring with some of the worst dialogue of the season. "Patriotism is only for people with large families" .... What does that even mean??? Lol. The boarding "requirements" scene for the krill (on the eve of a historic peace treaty) wasn't funny or clever .. it was just stupid. Malloys friend was horrible ... hard to care about the character when he portrayed him as an ass the entire episode. No follow-up on Isaac. The Krill were given nothing interesting to do. Just a misfire. 1.5/4.