Comment Stream

Re: PIC S1: The End Is the Beginning

I think it's clear in the past that 24th Century humans don't all share the same quality of life or luxuries, though. Even pre-Maquis the colonists in the DMZ had it differently than those on Earth, and that definitely wasn't solely about choice.

Re: PIC S1: The End Is the Beginning

Hey Jammer, just a point of clarification that Johnathan Frakes directed this episode, as they rotate every two installments.

Also re: Raffi's living situation...even in the economics of the 24th century we have seen citizens and officers accrue status and, in turn, creature comforts. I think her situation is similar to that of Dr. Bashir father, who in Ron Moore's own words was an example of a 24th Century man who could never quite "make it".

Re: DSC S2: If Memory Serves

And here it is, Jammer's first four-star review for a Star Trek episode since ENT's "Damage", fifteen years ago next month.

Re: DSC S1: Will You Take My Hand?

A few interesting Jammer Review stats:

The last chronological season finale that Jammer recommended was "The Expanse" from ENT season two.

Enterprise's "Damage" from 2004 is the most recent entry in the Star Trek canon to earn four stars.

Only season of Trek to have only one stand-out (3.5 stars or higher) entry. The two reviewed Andromeda seasons share that record.

This season of Discovery is tied with the first season of DS9 to have the lowest amount of losers in a single season: 2 two-star episodes and none below two-stars.

Re: DSC S1: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

I love how a brief chaste exposition-free scene between two men is considered "ham-handed"

Re: DSC S1: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

I find myself pretty depressed by some recent comments.

As a gay man, yes, it *does* matter to me that I see LGBT representation and diversity in Star Trek. I'm not going to pretend otherwise or say I'm satisfied that in the fifty-year history of the franchise how not one character reflected my own sexuality until now.

Skupper, being gay matters to me, and it matters that I see a gay couple on Star Trek Discovery.

Re: DSC S1: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

Jammer, I believe you have the episode credits for this week's "The Orville" listed at the top of your review. This episode was written by Kirsten Beyer and directed by John S. Scott.

Re: DSC S1: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

Troy, to try to shed some light into your questions as to at which point the series deviated from Fuller's plans. Here are a few things to consider:

Akiva Goldsman was hired as a producer after Fuller's departure. The writing credits for "The Vulcan Hello" indicate that he re-wrote Fuller's teleplay.

Bryan Fuller mentioned in an interview that the then unnamed second episode was written by Fuller and Nicholas Meyer. This didn't turn out to be the case.

Given all this, as with Fuller's previous contributions to Voyager, it's extremely difficult to ascertain how much credit Fuller deserves and what is being carried through.

Re: Star Trek Into Darkness

MidshimanNorris, does this mean that Nimoy's involvement in the Transformers franchise suggest that *those* films are also beyond reproach?

Re: TNG Season 7, Episodes 15-19

All the four big stinkers of Season One were part of a fourteen episode stretch, for what it's worth.

Also, nothing in TNG has the cumulative effect of the Voyager Trilogy of Terrors (although I defend Course:Oblivion).

I have to count, but I believe the number of TNG episodes that have ratings under two stars is around thirty. (more than a full season!) Would you find this an acceptable number for modern television series in a similar 100+ episode run that need time to grow?

Re: TNG S7: Eye of the Beholder

Huh, clever indeed. I always though this was a one-and-a-half-or-lower episode, but your review put in a surprising amount of thought into it!

Re: TNG S7: Genesis

I must note that you gave this episode an approx. 2.5 star rating on SOS (somewhere between 5.5 - 6.5), I would have loved to have read that review, but certainly the one-star rating shows that you have come to your senses.

Re: TNG S7: Sub Rosa

Also, how amazing to see a stretch of four episodes where none get in the two-three star range!

Re: TNG S7: Sub Rosa

There's still "Masks" to suffer through too, Jammer. Not only is the SOS score for that one low, but you've brought it up in Voyager reviews.

I'd also argue that this episode is at least objectively better (direction, pace) than "Eye of the Beholder" in which has all the problems of "Sub Rosa" and the only thing going for it is a brief Worf/Riker exchange which makes no sense after the reveal.

Re: TNG Season 6, Episodes 24-26

For what it's worth, Jammer has given out Spoiler-free Opinion Summary rankings to TNG Season 7:

http://www.joereiss.net/sos/

(Click "TNG" - Seventh season - The Episode - "Ratings" (at the bottom of the screen)

I was debating keeping this hidden until Jammer posted his final TNG review, but decided those curious would be interested in having a look. It will be interesting to see if many (or any) of these ten-scale rankings will reflect a final four-scale rating when Jammer finishes re-watching the episodes.

Re: TNG S6: Man of the People

I think Tim Lynch put it well in his review: *everyone* in this episode seemed they were under alien influence!

Re: TNG S6: Man of the People

The scene in the transporter room with Picard getting stabbed has to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious scenes ever done in TNG-era Trek.

Re: TNG S5: Power Play

@bigpale, your list of body possession episodes isn't exactly respected company.

Though "Warlord" can be a hoot provided you're in the right mood.

Re: TNG S5: The Outcast

Modern Trek has did well with acknowledging homosexuality in "Rejoined", but they've never done an story that examined sexual orientation as we've seen it in modern society. On one hand, this is valid because humankind hold different value systems than us in the present. However, it becomes a bit of a cop-out (as in this episode) when they cannot even discusss from a historical perspective their own past, particularily to an alien who is surrounded with sexual stigma.

I always felt that the easiest allegory for Trek to have done would've been an extradition/Prime Directive epsiode surrounding an alien race's stigmatization and percecution of homosexual behaviour. Hell, if they didn't want to offend anyone they could even make the circumstances of the story even worse than 1992 America.

Re: TNG S5: Imaginary Friend

Kudos to Tim Lynch for discovering two of the most redundant lines of dialogue in Trek history:

Picard: "This certainly appears to be a unique phenomenon...one that's never been seen before."

I did love Data's "bunny rabbit" line. That is a true gem.

Re: TNG S5: The Next Phase

Most of the phase issues can be explained away by the simple fact that it is a cloaking device intended for individual espionage. However, this explanation reduces their ability to walk through bulkheads to be an arbitrary gimmick to facilitate the "afterlife" red herring.

I still think a clever explanation or two can be reached, though it's tricky.

Re: TNG S5: The Inner Light

Fields contract wasn't renewed for season three of DS9. There is a quote going around - it might be from Fields himself or from Michael Piller - that "the writing wasn't to par".

Now, at the time, this was deemed nonsensical. How could one of Trek's best writers be deemed below par by the staff? However, it is entirely possible that many of Fields best episodes were re-written by either Piller & Jeri Taylor on TNG or Piller & Behr & Robert Wolfe on DS9. None of this can be readily proven...all we know for sure is that Piller wrote the final draft for "Crossover" and Wolfe provided story beats for the mirror universe.

If I would have to guess, I'd say that the final drafts of "Inner Light", "Duet" and "Evil" are largely his final drafts. Maybe some work by Piller or Ron Moore on "Light", and maybe some help from Wolfe on the DS9 ones. Just a guess.

Also, I am curious who the hell we should blame for "Cost of Living"....

Re: TNG S5: Cause and Effect

Bigpale, I'd argue that he still had "Frame of Mind", "Parallels" and "Projections" in him (at least for his solo credits), but yeah even saying that every other one of his scripts will be crap from "Imaginary Friend" to "These Are The Voyages".

Re: TNG S5: The Inner Light

I've also had few problems with Picard's recovery. Think about it: For the premise to reach its desired emotional impact, the probe cannot be a mental rapist or leave its recipient incapacitated. For the emotions to be percieved in the proper context, both the artifical memories and the face memories must co-exist safely.

Besides, I think Picard's revelation when the probe lauches was meant to be his rehabilitaion.

Re: TNG S5: Darmok

MadBaggins, not only are Jammer's scores relative between series, season and year of review, but he was also quite clear that he didn't think VOY or ENT were successful series as a whole.

So, those four-star reviews you deride are only in the relative scale of being above average for some very flawed series'.