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Reviews
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: A Quality of Mercy (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes....................
Thank you to Paramount for a well conceived and executed story which fits properly within the Star Trek continuum and leaves plenty of openings for further episodes to come. If this sounds as if I'm damning Strange New Worlds with faint praise, I've waited too long and suffered too many disappointments to start gushing along with all the enthusiastic "tens". This season was over almost as soon as it began and, however good it was, such a meagre helping it isn't likely to achieve the legendary status of some of its forebears any time soon.
So who did we Trekkers get in return for our patience, out loyalty and our subscription fees? Let's have quick round-up, shall we?
A mature and amiable Captain figure who displays exemplary leadership qualities almost on a par with those of the best ever Starfleet Captain (Benjamin Sisko).
An interesting if underused First Officer.
A walking deity in the person of the actor playing Science Officer, Mr Spock. Personally, I think he more than does justice to the role but those phenomenal good looks can be distracting.
An extremely engaging but also underused Doctor figure.
The woeful departure of a unique and likeable Chief Engineer. (If this was done in order to introduce a Scotty character next season, as appears to have been hinted in the latest episode, then some of us are going to be very annoyed indeed).
A little firecracker of a Security Chief (I'm not too thrilled about her apparent departure either but at least the character is still alive). And she's British.
A shoehorned-in representation of the Uhura character as a cadet. The actress may be good but she's no Nichelle. Am I the only one who thinks that this was a bad idea?
Frankly, rather too many female crew members of middle rank. Now, Senior Trekker has always been a great Janeway devotee and still believes that Major Kira was one of the most inspirational characters to appear in all of Star Trek but there simply isn't enough screen time available to give so many of these ladies a chance. Perish the thought that they should be relegated to the roles of button-pushing bobble-heads like so many of the poor cast of Discovery; so either promote some of them or kill some of them off but give them some purpose whereby we can get to know them as distinct individuals.
I've got lots of episodes of the Original Series and Enterprise to catch up on now. I've enjoyed Strange New Worlds more than I expected to but see no reason to diverge from my regular score of 5.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: All Those Who Wander (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
Well, that was certainly a surprise episode. For all the unexpected plot twists (which I am not going to spoil this soon after release) this one is pure Trek.
Of course nearly the whole regular cast leave the ship to go on a dangerous away-mission. Of course some of the plot twists owe homage to other sci fi films or TV drama. Of course cast members pause the action from time to time to discuss their feelings or personal relationships - it's Star Trek, what do you expect?
In my opinion as a Trekker of more than fifty years standing, this episode of Strange New Worlds is fifty minutes of sheer entertainment in the company of people I am really beginning to like. In other words - just what I've been waiting for. It has a coherent plot, consistent characters, imaginative and beautifully realised alien vistas and a reference to JRR Tolkien. What's not to like?
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Elysian Kingdom (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
Love it or loath it, this episode was pure Star Trek from start to finish. Everyone got to dress up and enjoy themselves while a fairly sound Science Fiction story propelled the narrative along. Concluding Rukiya's storyline in this way came as something of a surprise but was probably a lot more satisfying than having it drag on for several seasons.
Who cares if we've seen something similar before, The over-the-top performances helped endear us to some lesser known members of the cast, the script generated quite a few unforced laughs and it all looked absolutely fabulous. A sprinkling of light-hearted fantasy has been part of the Star Trek compendium for more than fifty years, all the way back through Voyager's Adventures of Captain Proton, TNG's Hollow Pursuits to the Original Series Shore Leave. The Elysian Kingdom is now a welcome addition to that company.
I hesitate to say that this episode is what fans have been waiting for because I'm old enough to remember that some of them never liked this kind of fantasy and their vociferous complaints have resonated down through the decades. Looking at today's reviews we can see that there are no changes there, then.
But never mind the rest; I loved every minute of it. This is what Senior Trekker had almost given up hoping for. The real thing.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Serene Squall (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes..................
No Spoilers here but long-standing Trekkers are really going to enjoy this episode. It interweaves little nuggets of Star Trek backstory with some enjoyable character moments for the new crew and (in my opinion, anyway) succeeds in not hitting us over the head with either. The story has plenty of action and some satisfying twists allowing the excellent CGI to serve as a backdrop rather than taking centre stage.
In summary - pretty good all round. So why am I "not doing any cartwheels"?*
In another era, a new series of Star Trek would still be taking baby steps by episode 7. We could have excused the under use of several members of the main cast** and the poor characterisation of others*** and accepted that a lot more was being held back for our indulgence over the remainder of a long season. Hell: we even complained if we got less than 26 episodes a year!
I don't just don't know at this stage whether Nu-Trek can successfully manage the transition to today's bloated business models**** and get us to fall in love with a new ship and a new crew with such a paltry serving. Star Trek Picard addressed the challenge by stretching one story over 10 episodes and Star Trek Discovery employed the novel strategy of being so awful we were begging for it to stop by episode 13. However, only time will tell if Star Trek Strange New Worlds can gain a loyal following with such meagre crumbs from the table.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5
(* to quote Andromeda's Captain Dylan Hunt)
(** notably the charming Doctor M'Benga)
(*** Ortegas the pilot with her irrelevant one-liners - it's sub-Star Wars dialogue at best)
(**** how many f"*^ing producers?)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
This is an engaging and thought provoking story It's not a masterpiece, of course, and it's probably not altogether original (I'll leave others to debate that) but it holds the attention and is quite a lot better than last week's stuck-on-board silliness.
I was quite pleased with the world-building which was sufficiently atmospheric to justify the naming of this series "Strange New Worlds" at last. I suspect that CGI has been added onto some real life Canadian architecture in the way that the Monastery of Boreth was shown in Star Trek Discovery but we'll have to await an update on Memory Alpha to find out. Not that I'm complaining. This type of imaginative scene-setting is probably what the producers of the Original Series would have preferred to their cardboard rocks and rainbow-coloured skies if only they had had the technology or the budget.
The guest actress, Lindy Booth, got to wear some gorgeous outfits even though she telegraphed her villainous intentions within moments of stepping off of the transporter pad. Poor Captain Pike made a bit of a fool of himself there, didn't he? Now, Senior Trekker is not too old to have noticed that Anson Mount is an extremely attractive man. Extremely attractive. Nonetheless, he is not far short of fifty years old and the gym-buffed, waxed-chested look is just.......dare I say it........inappropriate. And whoever persuaded him to adopt the Justin Bieber hairdo needs demoting to Assistant Coffee Fetcher even if that's probably some sort of producer credit these days.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Spock Amok (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes.......................
I am mystified at all the love-bombing this episode has received when it is, at best, the weakest story in the series to date and, at worst, an attempt to mimic the animated series Star Trek, Lower Decks. Either way, I didn't find it at all funny and was only marginally entertained. I don't think I'll even bother to re-watch it, which is really saying something for a die-hard Trekker like myself.
Several characters that I'd rather begun to like received an unnecessary dumbing-down; the most absurd example of which was childish antics of Number One and Security Chief Singh, Two senior officers take advantage of some operational down-time to go yomping around the ship trying out some of the cadets' silliest induction rituals to see if they can have a bit of fun. To underscore the fact that we were supposed to find these scenes hilarious, their disparity in height is emphasised by giving the taller of the two an absurd beehive hairdo.
Spock and his fiancée spend this time working on their relationship issues and try out some sort of highly dangerous mind-swap procedure to get a better understanding of one another's point of view. What could possibly go wrong? These two actors concerned actually give the best performances of the episode but having the character Spock repeatedly get his kit off to indulge in a bit of "pre-marital" just seems so............wrong.
Meanwhile, Captain Pike is called upon to enter into some sensitive negotiations with an intractable new race and decides to just wing it. He manages to avert a diplomatic fiasco at the last minute by resorting to some inspirational speechifying but without the Kirk-like charisma to carry it off.
In summary, however much I want to like this ship and these characters, this episode finds them less charismatic than the crew of the USS Callister* and the most likely to be voted:
STAR TREK CREW MOST LIKELY TO ACCIDENTALLY FLY THEMSELVES INTO THE SUN.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
(* A Trek Tribute episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror)
Enterprise: Shockwave, Part II (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes.....................
Viewed in 2022, the second part of Shockwave was every bit as good as the first although I have to admit to having caught up with both episodes later as I was not a great follower of the series at the time it was first released. The excellent quality of the writing continues to overcome any doubts I might have had about such a complicated time travel story. Besides, the future vistas of the destroyed city are just so "gorram" cool I find that my "suspension of disbelief" holds out fine.
Paper books that couldn't possibly have withstood hundreds of years exposed to the elements? A viewing portal that can look back in time made out of scavenged scrap copper? All this destruction because of the removal of one man (Archer)? Mysterious beings from somewhere in our future and Daniel's past screwing with the timeline? It takes a whole lot of visual impact and a pair of highly professional actors to distract from so many outrageous concepts and not everyone is going to buy in but, for me at least, the risks pay off.
Back on the Enterprise, everyone does their bit to outwith their captors . Trip hot-wires the cabin doorbells, Hoshi climbs through the pipework, Malcolm sticks his hand through a wall and T'Pol repeats over and over again that the "Vulcan Science Academy has declared that there is no such thing as time travel. Archer appears in the corner of T'Pol's cabin like a hologram and suddenly returns to the Enterprise with the time-line all neatly reset. Phew!
The crew then head off to meet up with a group of senior Vulcans who have been intent on curtailing the Enterprise's mission of exploration. Unfortunately, the final scene where Captain Archer stands up to the Vulcans with a speech about how wonderful human beings are (I paraphrase) doesn't go down so well in the 2020's. We get it: the USA was awash with post 9/11 patriotism and American exceptionalism when this series was being made but those values may be rather less universally espoused today.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Shockwave, Part I (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes.......................
Shockwave rounds out Season One with a number of surprises. Probably the most significant being a sudden upturn in the quality of the writing. Fatigued with what must at times have seemed like an interminable search for new ideas, the show running team of Berman and Braga had definitely allowed things to slide during the last few episodes but all of a sudden...............
........the narrative is eventful, the writing is crisp and everyone has something to do. Additionally, it helps that we have two of our best guest actors: John Fleck as Sillik the Sulliban and Matt Winston as crewman Daniels. We also get an absolutely stunning glimpse of the 31st Century. I've complained more than once that, when viewing Star Trek Enterprise retrospectively, the twenty-year-old CGI can be distracting but whoever worked on that final scene did a bloody good job. It still takes my breath away.
This episode and its follow-up next season are at the heart of the so called "Temporal Cold War". I still struggle to understand what's going on but I'm afraid that's the way with time travel stories. Since it's an entirely fictional construct masquerading as a set of deeply philosophical conundrums, we really shouldn't try so hard. The only important question really is "is this stuff entertaining?" and in the case of Shockwave my answer is a resounding "yes!"
Personally, I rate this as one of the best Star Trek time travel stories throughout the entire canon but I still score every episode with a 5..
Enterprise: Two Days and Two Nights (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes..................
Finally. The crew, or at least some of them, get their long awaited shore leave on the pleasure planet of Risa. This episode is an enjoyable, if predictable, romp with quite a lot of incident and another chance for Connor Trinneer to get undressed. We don't get to see much or the fabled, idyllic landscape of this ever-popular holiday destination* but given the way in which Enterprise used (or misused) CGI in the early noughties, perhaps we are lucky that the budget was too tight for many outdoor scenes.
Trip & Malcolm get fleeced by a pair of alien con-artists posing as glamorous hostesses, Archer narrowly escapes being seduced by a Tandaran spy disguised as a beautiful Risian woman and Hoshi undertakes the mingling of languages (and a lot else) with a handsome alien who has an unpronounceable name. Meanwhile, back on the ship, Mayweather's rock climbing accident necessitates Crewman Cutler waking Doctor Phlox from his annual hibernation and allows John Billingsley to shamelessly steal his every scene as he saves the unfortunate crewmember while teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. It's undoubtedly the funniest part of an episode that is probably trying just a little bit too hard.
I've just looked at the other reviews on IMDB for this episode. Come on people, it's definitely imperfect and a bit dated but it's not actually that bad. Not compared to some of the material bearing the Star Trek label that's coming down the line in the 2020's. That's for sure.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5
(* Risa sounds a bit like Bethselamin, the indescribably perfect vacation planet in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - fortunately without the rather draconian penalty for those who gain a bit of weight)
Enterprise: Desert Crossing (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes..................
Desert crossing is another excuse for putting off our crew's long-awaited visit to the pleasure planet of Risa - talk about delayed gratification!
As the episode begins, we find Archer and Trip reluctantly accepting an invitation to take a meal with the leader of a group of desert-dwelling aliens while seemingly oblivious to the fact that any change in the weather patterns will strand them down there for an indefinite period. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was just an excuse for these two leading men to get undressed and perspire a lot while participating in a contact version of the Basque game of Pelota.
Their host, Zobral, is played by the irrepressible Clancy Brown. Now, with his towering height, swirling robes and handsome, tattooed chin he was perfectly cast as this overbearing, Bedouin-type leader. Until he opened his mouth, that is. Why he essayed an Arab accent for this role, I just cannot fathom. It was absolutely awful and, instead of adding the verisimilitude which was obviously intended, took me totally out of the moment and spoiled an otherwise outstanding guest appearance.
The two crewmembers escape into the desert and make heavy weather of their trek across the dunes (Yuma, South Carolina), partly because they seem to have forgotten the part of the training manual that told them to keep their heads covered. They are, however, finally rescued with Zobal's help but must refuse him the weapons he is asking for in his fight against a much superior force.
Instead of faffing about on yet another away mission, Archer now gets to debate the difficulty inherent in choosing a side in other people's conflicts. In other words, he acts like a Captain. The episode poses the need for a clear instruction in this type of moral dilemma and points the way to the Prime Directive of non-interference.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Fallen Hero (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
Fallen Hero is an interesting glimpse of what has been going on in the wider universe while the Vulcans have been keeping human space travel in check for the past hundred years. Vulcan diplomat L'Var has been working undercover to foil a plot by anti-government agents on the planet Mazar and her urgent transport to safety interferes with the crew's long awaited shore leave on Risa.
Star Trek veteran Fionnula Flanagen is a joy to watch as she upends all our preconceived ideas of how a Vulcan matriarch should behave, enjoying new beverages and socialising with the crew. We recognise the actress immediately from TNG and DS9 and some people were unhappy with this but, after all, this is complete fantasy. If a guest actor gives best value and finds a welcome in the Star Trek family, then who are we to deny them a return.
The Mazarite make-up, in an attempt to diverge from the regular "forehead of the week" involves some sort of continuous eyebrow fold than circles around to the ears in one of the more unflattering looks to emerge from Mr Westmore's workshops. I know they had to keep trying to come up with new aliens but this one would make Brad Pitt look ugly. It's surprising, then, that an extremely busy veteran actor like John Rubinstein would agree to take on a small (ugly) part like that of the Mazarite Captain. Perhaps he's another Star Trek fan.
I really shouldn't keep drawing attention to the blatant sexism of the writing for the character T'Pol but here she is heard making sexual innuendo about the length of time the crew of the Enterprise have been without "intimate relations" and its effect on their overall efficiency. I'm sorry? Not on my watch. Give that woman a written warning for unprofessional conduct (or more importantly, the writers who had her voice such an opinion). However, by the end of the episode she does get to acknowledge that not all Vulcans are humourless and unbending - and so do we.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Vox Sola (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
Yes, here we have it! Enterprise does Alien. It's not half as bad as it could have been but I'm not sure that's the best recommendation for half of an evening's entertainment. I'll start with the positives:
The opening protocol faux pas with the visiting Kreetasaans is pretty funny in its own right. It turns out that these hard-to-comprehend aliens find all mention of the act of eating to be highly offensive and were horrified to be expected to share a meal. It calls to mind the Louis Brunel film the Phantom of Liberty where the acts of eating and excreting are interchanged in the social order although I'm not sure that that was the comparison the writers of Enterprise had in mind. We also see Vaughn Armstrong in his twelfth Star Trek role. Reliable as always.
We are treated to a reference to classic French film, The Wages of Fear (Le Saliare de la Peur) which the crew are about to watch for film night. Certainly a nod to the cognoscenti there.
Three formerly unknown crew members, Rostov, Kelly and unnamed Security guy, share the screen with Archer and Tucker as they become more and more entangled in the web of sinuous goo. I like the way their fate is given no less attention than that of the stars and that none of them is sacrificed to the "curse of the red shirt". This is one area where the writers of Enterprise improved upon their forerunners; every member of the crew mattered and we never feel as if their lives are being spent cheaply.
Hoshi and Phlox both get some good screen time in their professional roles.
Now we have get to the alien web creature It looks awful, fails to convince us of its deeper motivation and isn't the slightest bit frightening. The return of the amputated tendril to it's parent creature is reminiscent of the second episode's Sluggo - and we feel embarrassed that we seem to be expected to care.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Detained (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes.........................
This is a sound "message" episode with the added bonus of some excellent performances, some careful set dressing and an industrial quantity of cosmetic-grade latex. We open with two of the Enterprise crew members captured and imprisoned with a group of un-modified Sulliban by a set of brutal guards who represent an as yet unknown alien race.
The revelations about how Archer and Mayweather got into this situation and what is going on in the camp could be summarised on the back of a postage stamp but that doesn't really detract from the strength of the performances or the overall quality of the writing.
Scott Bakula's friend and former co-star, Dean Stockwell, adds a gravitas to what could have been a one-dimensional role as the camp commandant, Colonel Grat of the combative Tandarans. Dennis Christopher and Star Trek regular Christopher Shea manage to make their performances as the Sulliban detainees project through their totally prosthetic-enclosed physiognomy. It is a great testimony to their acting skills that we actually care about their final fate and are disappointed when it is not explained at the end of the episode.
A special mention is due, however, to child actor Jessica D Stone, who managed all the arduous make-up application like a real trouper - although a glance at her profile reveals that she quickly turned her career sights to voice work not long after this appearance. At the other end of the age scale we see a brief cameo by professional dancer Wilda Taylor as a "Sulliban woman". Born in 1930, she graced a number of big budget productions in the 1950's and 60's so I'd dearly love to know how she came to be cast here under all that prosthetic while in her seventies.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Oasis (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes..................
Unfortunately, the storyline for this episode feels too much like something we've already seen a number of times before and the conclusion, when it finally comes, falls pretty flat. The casting of Rene Auberjonois was a sad misuse of this well loved Trek alumnus and also helped to telegraph the conclusion of the story by emphasising the importance of his character to the plot. In other words, we knew the denouement had to centre around his role because he was the instantly recognisable guest star. Senior Trekker, an unashamed deep Space Nine aficionado, believes Mr Auberjonois deserved so much better for his final appearance in the Star Trek franchise.
So what else do we have here?
There is an unconvincing romantic encounter for Trip with the "stranded scientist's attractive daughter". This was a pretty hackneyed role for Annie Wersching in her screen debut, made even more absurd by an ill-fitting blond wig. But it does make it even more satisfying to see the way she knocks it out of the park as the Borg Queen in 2022's Star Trek Picard.
Tom Bergeron dressed up in some very elaborate alien make-up for his pre-credit appearance as the "inter-stellar trader who gives the crew helpful directions". I guess he must be a Trek fan because this well-known US television presenter went to a lot of trouble to make this cameo appearance when he obviously doesn't need the money. If you think you recognise the actor playing Captain Kuulan, it's Rudolph Wilrich who has appeared in Star Trek several times before as well as just about every "cop & doc" TV show of the 80's and 90's.
The writers seem to have been confused as to whether this was supposed to be a ghost story or a mystery story but if we can't make it out either then they must have failed on both fronts. Never mind: Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Enterprise: Acquisition (2002)
A Senior Trekker writes.....................
This episode has attracted a lot of criticism for introducing members of the Ferengi to the Star Trek universe nearly a hundred years before they are supposed to be first encountered in The Next Generation. The only concession to continuity is to leave this distinctive alien race unnamed throughout the episode as if this encounter could somehow have been overlooked.
I guess we'll just have to "get over it" if we want to enjoy three of our favourite guest actors: Clint Howard (who has guest appearances spanning everything from the Original Series to Discovery), Ethan Plillips (Voyager) and Jeffrey Combs (DS9 and Enterprise), hamming it up as the unlikely saboteurs. The three are ably assisted by Trek newcomer Matt Malloy, as they attempt to plunder the Enterprise while the crew are all overcome by a anaesthetic gas.
Trip is unaffected as he just happens to be in the de-contamination chamber (in his underwear, of course) at the time and manages to wake a couple of other crew members who proceed to play the invaders at their own game. It's all great fun, especially for Scott Bacula who gets some decent comic lines as he negotiates with his captors.
The character of T'Pol makes what is arguably one of her best appearances as the unconscious subject of alien lechery when the stupefied female members of the crew are gathered up to be taken away and traded as slaves. Perhaps we are not always aware of how the passage of just twenty years has altered our perceptions but Senior Trekker is not going to overlook this blatant piece of sexism just because this is Star Trek.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Picard: Mercy (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes................
This episode jumps about all over the place in an attempt to ramp up tension in anticipation of the finale two weeks from now; which by my calculations will be May 5th and will coincide with the premiere of Strange New Worlds. This new series starring Anson Mount has been getting a lot of publicity build up, almost as if the current custodians of the Star Trek universe have become bored with Picard and are itching to get on with something new.
Additionally, the recent announcement of the inclusion of ALL the main characters from the Next Generation (except Denise Crosby) in Season 3 of Picard suggests that nobody cares whether we deduce before the end of Season 2 that the retired admiral's new-found family: Raffi, Jurati, Rios (and maybe even Seven) are going to be jettisoned in two weeks time. I'm not going to speculate here on their ultimate fate but I hope it's not too predictable. I don't want to watch any of them go out with a "groan" because I have come to appreciate these characters and to respect the way the actors concerned do their best to overcome some distinctly erratic writing.
What can we tease out of this latest pot pourri, then?
Despite starting all this time-travel business, Q is now dying and is not going to be much help sorting it out.
Young Guinan thinks humans are uniquely resilient and therefore wishes Picard farewell - I doubt we will be seeing much more of her.
Soong is now a fully fledged megalomaniac and intent on breaking the time-line with the help of Jurati/Borg who is practising some sort of assimilation-lite with the help of 21st Century car battery components. It looks as if she's also resumed murdering her lovers.
Rios seems to be starring in his very own South American telenovela.
The odd couple, Seven & Raffi, are doing a lot more psychologising while running around some of the less prepossessing parts of current day Los Angeles. We struggle to care about their relationship as it is the least interesting aspect of either character.
Both Picard's love interest (the Irish/Romulan watcher) and his ancestor (the Bland Blond) make no appearance at all this week.
Probably the most interesting character we have since travelling back to 2024, an FBI agent and ufologist played by Jay Karnes, is apparently written out of the story after serving as the means of Picard & Guinan's escape. The writers having apparently forgotten that they only wrote him in last week as a means of getting them captured in the first place. Never mind; the actor has made a very successful career of playing government agents and, having once appeared in Voyager, can now claim to be a Star Trek veteran.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Picard: Watcher (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes..........................
This week Agnes and the Giger's alien type creature get more intimate back on the ship. I don't know where the writers are going with this but I hope to god it's not going to be a "relationship" type of relationship. This wouldn't end well. One of them is a seriously maladjusted danger to anyone she gets intimate with - and the other is the Borg Queen.
Seven and Rafi seem to be having a riot taking a bus ride and stealing a police car, communicators work or don't work according to some rather contrived plot points, an old friend turns up during a bus ride and Rios sets up an extremely clunky punchline by revealing to an Immigration Officer that he is really from outer space. It all looks good but the excitement is pretty artificial and none of it is really driving the plot forward.
There are some curious flash-backs hinting at a very troubled childhood emerging from Picard's backstory but the man is a hundred years old and has been replaced by cybernetics. Personally, I think I'm going to find myself struggling to care at this late stage. Ditto the social commentary by nu-Guinan: she's four hundred years old, originally from another part of the Galaxy and can modify her physical appearance at will - definitely not my choice of spokesperson for such serious subjects as the environment, economic inequality and racism. Gene Roddenberry at least gave his parables a full episode so as to do justice to his arguments. Here they have a "ticked box" feel to them.
I'm not sure why people are getting all hot and bothered because nu-Guinan doesn't recognise her old friend Picard when this is a completely new timeline. If the future has been changed, then he will never go back and meet her in the past, will he? Hopefully, the character will "shape up or ship out" just as she has threatened to do. Mouthing off at a frail old man for the colour of his skin while failing to listen to his repeated pleas for assistance is not going to make her many friends among Star Trek viewers.
Nu-Trek really takes some getting used to, doesn't it? I enjoyed the drama of episode 2 so much that it completely suspended my critical faculties and took me back to a land in which imagination ruled and escapist entertainment provided some solace during difficult times. Unfortunately, since I discovered that the planet-shaped planetary leader who featured in the climactic scene of Star Trek Discovery was played by a real life American politician, I'm back to cringe-watching in fear of being even further buffeted by the current culture wars.
I'll give this one the usual score of 5 and head off to work my way through some more of the Original Series.
Star Trek: Picard: Penance (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes.......................
The trailers had me fearing that this dystopian alternative world story would be a little too much of a heavy-handed political commentary, the introductory teaser had me worrying that it would focus too much on feelings and relationships and the latest episode of Discovery had me primed for the possibility of disappointment.
Instead, I found myself transported into the Zone of Absolute Entertainment: characters I really like having exciting, suspenseful adventures that will make my Thursdays extra special for the next few weeks. A way out of the horrors of the real world for an hour or so in the company of friends.
For me at least, this is the Star Trek I have been waiting for.
Thank you.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes.........................
The makers of Strange New Worlds have got this first episode more or less right.
It's probably the best Star Trek that we are likely to see for the foreseeable so we might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride. I would like to extend my personal thanks to the following people:
1 to Anson Mount's mother for bringing up her son as a fully certified Trekker who can properly respect the source material and understand the special place it has in so many people's hearts.
2 to Seth MacFarlane for creating the Orville and showing Paramount how it should be done
3 to Alex Kurtzman for yielding to the temptations of avarice and allowing old fashioned entertainment to take precedence over partisan dogma.
This episode is full of political commentary on the situation on earth in the 21st century but reviewers are apparently asked to steer clear of mentioning it. So I'll delete that part of my report and submit it again. It's all been said, anyway.
We'll no doubt get onto an examination of the characters in subsequent episodes but, in the meantime, Senior Trekker just can't resist pointing out the following:
A an all-female bridge crew may be the way of the future but it does risk making the lone male Captain look like a bit of a creep.
B appropriating women's style tips from The Expanse just isn't going to work. One of them can barely see through all that Kohl and no amount of shaved temples will ever make the other one as cool as British actress Dominique Tipper
C Pike's upswept hairdo and Chapel's all-white cat suit will probably be seen as early mistakes but, thankfully, Rebecca Romijn who plays Una appears without the horribly unflattering greasepaint she was forced to wear in Discovery.
D It was SAM Kirk who came aboard, not his brother JIM Kirk
Stay safe, stay kind and keep the faith. Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Picard: Farewell (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes...............
The finale to Season 2 of Picard was a lot more enjoyable than I expected despite almost everyone's story conclusion being pretty much as expected all along. The predictable elements were not too schmaltzy, there were enough surprises to keep my attention from wandering (a couple of them were really rather good) and, overall, it felt enough like Star Trek to pass muster.
If all that sounds rather like faint praise, this season has been something of a challenge to watch. I have not enjoyed tuning in each week with the trepidation that comes from worrying about whether some fresh insult may be cast upon a fantasy world that fans have enjoyed for more than fifty years and the characters that inhabit it.
{last week's retro-fitting of Picard's relationship with his mother, who was referenced as an elderly woman in TNG, was a particularly egregious example. Picard at the height of his powers was just not damaged enough to indulge in fantasies that a dead mother was still alive and I resent having his character assasinated in this way}.
In short, I'm just a bit sick of being jerked about.
But still, the good bits of Season 2 of Picard almost made up for the bad, nearly all of the actors gave it their best shot and we have Strange New Worlds to look forward to.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
Star Trek: Picard: Hide and Seek (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes.................
I'm a bit fed up with still being stuck on Earth but otherwise this episode had enough going on to keep my attention throughout. It's nice to be absorbed in the twists and turns of a story instead of just "critique watching". I see that those who have posted early reviews are mostly negative "hate watchers" but they must have been entertained enough by their feelings of disgust to bother to log onto this database in the first place.
I couldn't help but revel in seeing Agnes exploring her Dark Side and both Alison Pill and Annie Wersching did justice to their predecessors in the role of the Borg Queen: Alison Krige (First Contact) and Susanna Thompson (Voyager). High praise indeed. The fight scenes were exciting, if a bit dark, and the transporter trick for the disposal of heavily armed enemies was so neat I can't believe we've watched fifty years of Star Trek without seeing it before.
Evan Evagora as Elnor made a welcome return (to me at least) because his enthusiasm always shines through however absurdly his part is written,. And this time it's really bad. Emergency Combat Hologram? With a mobile emitter? Someone is thinking these ideas up on the back of a napkin in the commissary between bagels.
Brent Spiner dialled it up to eleven and Patrick Stewart just about managed to keep up. The writers have cleverly rationed this 81-year-old leading man's screen time by pairing him with a childhood version of himself, played by Dylan von Halle, who gets to do most of the running around. Yvette Picard's unhappy fate has been telegraphed for about seven episodes now and failed to raise as much as a sniffle when it finally came. The character of Christobal Rios deserves a great deal better but, mercifully, astronaut Rene Picard is still having her crisis of confidence off screen.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5. Hey, I can get "unhelpfuls" from both sides now!
It's Strange New Worlds next week, friends. Stay Safe and Stay Kind.
Star Trek: Discovery: Rosetta (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes........................
I really believed that this season was scheduled to contain only eleven episodes and that today would be the finale. My mistake. Do you think I could be booked in for some counselling for my disappointment and wounded feelings?
No? Well, let's try to watch it, shall we.
There are now 29 hours to go until the destruction of all life on Earth and several neighbouring planets but..............feelings come first! Relationships matter most in Star Trek Discovery and they especially seem to matter more than plot to these writers.
Apart from all the emoting, what have I just watched? Some wide-eyed cast members in Tron suits, a fossilised dinosaur nursery, a eureka moment about pheromones and a scientist who doesn't know the difference between a parasite and an epiphyte. Oh, and the Chief Engineer talking about coffee.
At one stage the Galactic President (not her real title but I've long since given up caring) gave a stern lecture to the only male delegate because he had apparently contradicted Michael Burnham in front of her crew. The inference being that he had better get "on message" or else. Was I the only one who heard echoes of a sour admonition from the makers of this series to all the viewers currently queueing up to disparage it?
It's Captain Picard Day, people! Stay safe, stay kind and please confine your criticisms to the characters in Discovery and not the unfortunate actors who will have to continue to make a living after this debacle is over.
Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.
(first posted on March 3rd 2022 - taken down by Trolls and re-posted by your intrepid reviewer.
Star Trek: Discovery: The Galactic Barrier (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes.................
Did I miss anything?
I'm sorry to say my attention wandered badly during episode. When I checked back in every so often I noticed that the bridge crew were still throwing themselves backwards and forwards as the ship passed through various special effects; humans and aliens (mostly female) talked about their feelings and whispered and smiled a lot.
At one stage the colour saturation on our screens was reduced to near black and white, apparently due to some sort of radiation the ship was passing through. Star Trek Discovery now seems to be reduced to plagiarising amateur productions because that idea was recently used in episode 9 of the fan made Star Trek Continues: "What Ships are For". It's available online. Try it, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Down on some planet somewhere two males trekked across a rugged landscape and talked about their feelings too. Apparently one of them had a thing for a child-faced alien scientist who has since gone off to another universe. Well, that's what we're told anyway, maybe he was just letting him down gently.
There was a bit of speechifying and a lot of ominous music so I guess we are building up to something important for next week but I really struggled to care. Once upon a time, Star Trek was my "go to" safe place for when the real world became too ugly to contemplate; I shouldn't have to be skipping channels just to take my mind off of how tedious Discovery has become. Especially not today. (first posted on 24th February 2022 - the day Russia invaded Ukraine - taken down by trolls and then re-posted by your intrepid reviewer)
Star Trek: Discovery: Rubicon (2022)
A Senior Trekker writes....................
This episode is so lacklustre it doesn't even invite a decent parody. I can't believe I used to complain of all the complex plot threads as so many storylines and cast characters competed for attention. Huh!
The writers have now disposed of the Garrulous Redhead, the Two Blues, the Oversized Cat, Mirror Mother, Real Mother, the Burn, the Emerald Chain, visits to new Planets and just about anything other than Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker giving each other love pats across a Universe of rainbow coloured clouds. The tedium is palpable and everyone, including the leading actress, looks ready to admit defeat.
It's just so sad to see something bearing the name Star Trek digging its own grave in this fashion.
Having reviewed over a hundred episodes of The Next Generation by now, I'm here to tell you that the Golden Age of Star Trek was host to its own share of embarrassments. Neither is everything in Discovery completely unworthy of praise. After all, the credit sequence is probably better than Enterprise's, several cast members exhibit considerably more enthusiasm than Robert Beltran did in Voyager and the CGI is not bad for the 2020's.
Somebody must have worked extremely hard to make STD quite this awful and maybe it's time to show a little compassion for those concerned. Senior Trekker will elevate the average score by awarding her customary 5.
Star Trek: Discovery: ...But to Connect (2021)
A Senior Trekker writes...................
This episode features two very drawn out moral conundrums which seem to boil down to:
Should we allow the ship's newly sentient computer to retain control of Discovery after it/she/preferred pronoun has refused a direct command? AND Should the Federation attempt peaceful negotiation with Species 10-C (the latest existential threat) when the means to destroy it appears to be at hand?
This is all wrapped up in lots of hugs, expression of feelings and several goodbyes plus a broad hint that we will shortly be returning to the Mirror Universe.
NOTE TO WRITERS
There are far too many people working on these scripts and you are beholden to too many masters. That you are unable to produce any coherent narrative may not be entirely your fault, it may simply be a function of the chaotic environment in which you are working. You have shamelessly mined the works of your forbearers and dishonoured the memory of Gene Roddenberry who, let us not forget, WAS A REAL HERO IN A REAL WAR where youngsters half your age went out to die without all this endless crying and counselling. Senior Trekker suggests you go back to your garrets and re-connect with the muse.
NOTE TO ACTORS
Senior Trekker always awards a score of five because I acknowledge that even mediocre artists have to make a living and, without them, the better ones would not shine so brightly. If you want to make a real statement about inclusivity and representation then you have to be the best at your craft. This requires discipline and professionalism; It is not enough to turn up and perform "demographic of the week", then dare people to criticise you. Some of you will be disappointed at the low scores this series is attracting nowadays and will blame the prejudices of the commentators. Not everyone who makes a negative comment is a "hater" and, in this business, YOUR PRIMARY FUNCTION IS TO ENTERTAIN.
And while we are on the subject of diversity.......whoever designed and dressed the multiple aliens who appeared in the Federation grand assembly chose some very conventional male/female stereotypes. Where were the multi/trans/non gendered individuals here, then? I'm afraid it looked very much as if the "women are always right" motif was being played out on a galactic scale.
Stay safe & stay courteous.