Comment Stream

Re: TNG S5: The Game

Er, did Wesley get laid in this episode or not?

Re: DSC S3: Terra Firma, Part 2

"Why can't we make critical commentary about it? The episode is at least tempting us to compare Geogiou's actions in Terra Firma II to City."

@Chrome
I already explained as much as I could in my responses to Jammer and you why it does not make sense to do so, but I will try one last time by giving a variance of the two movies example I used before.
The beginning two minutes of the movie you have not seen also tempts you to make a comparison ((because it's the same genre/plot)) with the one you've seen from beginning to end, but could you make a healthy criticism of the movie you have not seen past its first two minutes based on the information you have from seeing the other movie fully?

Re: Jammer's plans for 'Star Trek: Lower Decks'

@Booming
I don't even what to say to that question. I'm sure I watched several shows with my parents when I was 18. Apparently neither my kids nor myself fit your bill. Have a good day.

Re: Jammer's plans for 'Star Trek: Lower Decks'

@Cody B
Thank you for replying. You’re right I haven’t seen it yet, but nobody else has either, so nobody can claim it’s good, or a stinker. I am simply banking on our enjoyment of two other McMahan-led shows and finding it likely that we will enjoy it together as a family, we could turn out right or wrong of course. It’s fine if the twins don’t like every Trek series, I don’t either. We already tried some TNG with them and it didn’t go well if not for the three Borg episodes as I explained in my first comment. And my husband and I are not willing to sit through TOS for reasons also mentioned. If we run into it while channel surfing, fine, but that’s it. DS9 is our second favorite Trek series after TNG and we plan on doing a rewatch soon with them, but for now, with the subscription that we don’t plan on keeping forever, we prefer to move along to the new shows none of us have yet seen. The older shows are available on Netflix anytime. For the movies, we all like First Contact as well.

@Booming
You seem angry. Sorry that our desire to “bring into Star Trek” our children bothered you this much. Fyi, we are not a ‘cult’, just an insignificant family of four living in an insignificant state, no need for you to worry, rest easy.

@Mal
Thanks for the reply although I made a request not to reveal spoilers, but ok, thanks anyway 😊. We like the Orville, but unlike you I suppose, we are in it for its funny takes, its humor as you say. As I pointed out in my first comment, I was more specifically asking about the two new Trek shows and which to watch first because we want to take advantage of the subscription. For the comment about Trek dying, I guess it’s a personal view and it’s your choice if you feel that way, but I don’t buy that view. I’d also challenge your “Trek is not for everyone,” with “there is a Trek for everyone,” in line with IDIC. With Lower Decks, we are looking forward to a show where we can laugh together as a family and have fun watching a show. We have that with Rick and Morty and Solar opposites, and I am hopeful we will have it with Lower Decks too. Star Trek being the background for the show is just the icing on the cake. Lastly, I’ll stop by here at some point in the future and let you know if we enjoyed it or not, but I don’t review episodes, I’m no Jammer 😊

@Majerus
Thank you so much for addressing my question, this is very helpful. You may have convinced me to begin with PIC instead of DIS. The idea of moving forward in the timeline is more appealing, it’s another reason why I never liked Enterprise. We’ll begin with Measure of a Man as per your recommendation. We’ll probably finish PIC within a couple of weeks between Lower Decks and move on to DIS afterward. Sorry about your location issue, it’s weird. We don’t have your problem as a southern-American family through and through 😊 residing in Birmingham, Alabama! I hope your broadcast problem gets resolved soon.

Re: Jammer's plans for 'Star Trek: Lower Decks'

Jammer, your decision makes sense. I miss reading your reviews, it's been a while (more on that below). I don’t see either the appeal of writing or reading reviews of half-hour shows. I’ll take this occasion to also thank you for years’ worth of Trek reviews full of insight. I have mostly been a lurker for 15 years. I wrote only a few times since the 00s. I often stop by to read your review if I watch an episode again.

I don’t have the CBS streaming subscription so I haven’t seen Discovery or Picard. In my forties now, I was indoctrinated to Star Trek by my parents with TNG. It continued into my teenage and college years with DS9. Voyager had me excited for the first female captain in Trek, but the redundant scripts and the introduction of Seven of Nine which meant that Trek was willing to resort to testosterone-appeal for ratings, gradually pushed me away and I never watched the last two seasons. Enterprise’s erotic body-oil show in the pilot had me roll my eyes once again and I never made it to more than a few episodes after that. The few I saw were unoriginal filled with dull performances.

All that said, I am excited to come back to Star trek world thanks to Lower Decks. My husband and I are also bringing along two newcomers, my 18 year-old twins, to the Trek universe. One of our favorite family pastimes is watching TV together in the evenings and we are avid consumers of “Rick and Morty” and the other McMahan show “Solar Opposites.” I am not sure why some people, not meaning you Jammer, think it’s only for kids. They were both marketed for adults. If liking one or both makes us juvenile and “dumb” (I stopped reading comments after that, sorry if I missed good ones) as a family, so be it. Both shows enjoy success so I know we are not the only dumb adults liking them. Sci-fi and humor mesh tend to mesh well. I am finally happy to have a similar show, this time set in the familiar grounds of Trek. It certainly helped us convince our twins to give Trek another try. I say ‘another try’ because we tried with TNG and they did not like it. We tried several formulas, I even thought we succeeded when they liked “Q Who” and the Best of Both Worlds two-parter, but that was it. They thought TNG was boring. I confess myself that many TNG episodes that I’d loved as a teenager and in college have not aged well. Just last weekend, I ran into “Pen Pals” on some free streaming service and I could barely make it through the hour. We never considered testing the Original Series on our twins after that. Truth be told, we even find those syrupy ourselves.

As for Lower Decks, it was rather our twins twisting us into getting All-Access subscription after we saw the trailer. Admittedly, I didn’t put up much of a fight (ha!) but I made a deal with them that if we subscribe, they have to watch Picard and Discovery with us. With a bit of hope and luck, that’ll be two Trek fans added to its fandom. Moreover, our twins may ultimately get curious enough to try an older series (DS9 is next in line, my husband and I are optimistic!) Today’s young audience is different than during my youth and even older adults’ tastes and habits of TV consumption are changing. If this is a smart way strategy to grow the fanbase, it certainly worked for us. My children have never been this excited to watch a Trek series (any Trek really) and I know I have not been more ready than now to start watching Trek again since the early 90s.

On another note Jammer, it also marks the first time I’ll get to read your reviews with my original watch of a Trek series. Make that two, Discovery and Picard. I’m looking forward to that experience in earnest. I discovered your site close to 2010 and I only read your reviews after doing a rewatch. I haven’t even taken a glimpse at your reviews for those two. I want to avoid spoilers. I’ll be here at warp speed once I begin watching them. For now, I’ll await recommendations from anyone nice enough to tell me which of the two series I should start with. But no spoilers please!!

Re: DS9 S2: Melora

I liked this episode more than a lot of other people it seems. I found the questions it throws up about inter-species romance really interesting, and having more depth and complexity than is usual for this topic in the star treks.

The choice Melora confronts shows how heavy the sacrifices are for someone who dedicates their life to space travel. Melora - like many others - is someone who will never be able to feel at home. Her career and ambitions have alienated her from her home planet, but outside her home planet she’s alienated from everyone else because of where she’s from.

I also thought the love story between Melora and Bashir had a darker edge than people give it credit for. We get the sense that Bashir’s infatuation with Melora will probably not last, and that his interest may be more in her science-project/research paper value. Even on their first date all he talks about is how much he’s always wanted to be a doctor and ‘save’ people etc

Obviously the ep was heavily referencing Hans Christian Andersen’s original, and very dark fairytale ‘The Little Mermaid’. Down to Melora’s mermaidy hairdo. Although this episode ends happily (and admittedly a little stupidly with that shuttle scene) you get a sense of the tragedy that could have been had she gone through with Bashir’s procedure.

Re: ENT S4: In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I

the theme song for this special should have been the theme song for enterprise from the beginning. too bad it took so long for the show to improve

Re: ENT S4: Storm Front, Part I

at least travis got kidnapped for a change and given more lines. lol

Re: TNG S1: Angel One

John, according to the old TNG technical manual the holodeck works using two different tools to create touchable objects. One is just a hologram backed up by complicated force fields. The other is replicators. So when someone on the holodeck picks up a drink and drinks it, the holodeck has actually replicated the drink so it tastes like something and doesn't just disappear at the person's mouth. Its hard to say exactly what the holodeck decides will be replicated and what won't, but I'm guessing a replicated snowball would feel a lot more real then a snowball made of forcefields which wouldn't be cold or wet.

It's also speculated this is why the safeties can be turned off. While Picard said "even a holographic bullet can kill," it's more likely that in that instance the holodeck replicated a real gun with bullets, since it isn't really clear that force fields could be used to kill (this is a bit of speculation though).

The problem with all this comes later in Voyager, when the ship doesn't have enough energy to use the replicators but has plenty of energy to use the holodecks. The excuse always was that the holodeck system had a separate incompatible energy source that the rest of the ship couldn't use. Which doesn't make much sense to begin with, but then when you consider that holodecks are also huge replicators it completely falls apart.

Re: DS9 S2: Rules of Acquisition

Quark might not have chased after Pel but he did like her because she was funny and smart , brave and much better looking without those fake ears . Dax knew he liked her which was why she said he'd miss her. Because she knew he would but he wouldn't admit it. The episode wasn't a farce The price Quark had to pay for being tradtional no matter what was losing a great female like Pel . The price Pel payed for wanting more freedom was getting her heart broken . I thought it was a good episode and a wonderful tragic love story .

Re: DS9 S5: The Ascent

I think you're right about the fact that Odo and Quark became friends and ''The Ascent' episode was a good episode . I don't think Rom is as stupid as some people think he is though . He's not perfect and isn't one of the smartest people in the world but he lead a strike when he working for his brother and won.

Re: TNG S4: Devil's Due

Devil's Due show us a nice insight how easy future generations will expose our faith and believes.

Cant wait tbh.