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Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
I had hope. I really did. (Note: Some spoilers!)
ST:INO - Star Trek: In Name Only (STD - lol... Or perhaps, ST:WTF?)
I had hope. I really did.
I mean, with actors like Doug Jones, Jason Isaacs, and Sonequa Martin-Green I have been geeking out at the prospects that this show has. I could really have loved this show. (I love Doug Jones' Lt. Saru. His delivery made me instantly empathize with him and his race and in just a few words, I knew much about what made him tick. I absolutely wanted to see more.)
But sadly, from what we've seen with the pilot, the writers and re- inventors did nothing to help the franchise. It's too dark for Gene's vision of the future - even the gritty Pike/Kirk beginnings. Star Trek was still always about hope and progress. I mean, really - what did they expect? Fans already have a decent idea of the "history" of Star Trek – canon and EU. It's an easy guess that being set ten years before TOS was obviously going to be a time of strife. Sooo, the writers intentionally chose a timeline where the significant focus will be wartime politics and combat instead of exploration, learning, diplomacy, and other matters of substance and interest? You are still also going to see combat and life-threatening emergencies here and there (for those "action junkies") in later eras, no matter what. Space is dangerous! So WHY did they opt to go back and focus on such a limited narrative? Yes, we wanted a new Star Trek series but a reinterpretation of the old era wasn't worth the rehash.
I won't even go into the complete dismissal of the Prime Directive, military protocols, and code of conduct. (The Geneva Convention. Doesn't that still have any bearing on the future's rules of engagement? And mutiny? FFS
)
Or how about the magically-produced adopted child of Sarek of whom NO ONE has heard about, ever. One would at least think that if you were going to try to pull that one off, she'd at least have *some modicum* of Vulcan logic and emotion-suppression training. Apparently not.
And the Klingons? Forget it. You messed up. Period. I don't care if they are the brother's-sister's-cousin's long-lost branch of a previously-unseen species of an alleged several. (What are they – Xindi??) They don't look or feel like the Klingons we've grown to love or even the ret-con'ed-reasoning for TOS Klingons we started off with. Worse - a seeming religiously-fanatical sect of Klingon? Get bent. They are cunning strategists, noble warriors, and hearty revelers. Not a cult of crabby, space-iguanas.
"Our gods are dead, ancient Klingon warriors slew them a millennium ago. They were more trouble than they were worth." – Worf
I do, however, love the diversity a lot, I'll give you that. (I'm not some knuckle-dragger who doesn't understand that Star Trek IS progressive and left-leaning; You know, a show about the potential and betterment of humanity through *gasp* democratic/socialistic values!)
I love the fact that Star Trek still has life - and there are definitely people that want to see more. But honestly, I think they'd have had a better shot at moving *forward* from the ST:TNG/DS9/VOY timeframe and maybe, just maybe, seeking out new worlds and new civilizations in this vast galaxy of ours.
That would be far better than trying to modernize and "flashitize" older tech or worse, reinventing an existing race (again!). Don't get me wrong: I love flashy tech and cool effects but this time frame is pre-TOS. Even the Enterprise series was a better application of the idea of "new-old-school". I also get wanting to see what TOS could be like if they'd had better insight and special effects. But they didn't – and we already love it for what it is. Make it a little more flashy, sure – but stay true to the timeline! You can only go so far and still retain any semblance of continuity. (Obviously something the writers couldn't be bothered to maintain.)
All-in-all, just give us a *new* timeline and use the cool new tech for THAT. Technological advances could certainly be explained post Voyager!
(Hell, remake the series and use these great actors there, instead! >; ) I'll even excuse a soap-opera style ret-con episode explaining that these first episodes were all a dream, a break in the space-time continuum, a Q, a holodeck simulation – anything! – if it will restructure the series into a continuation series.)
I love Star Trek. But I am no sycophant and I most certainly won't pay to keep watching this Star Dreck. (Ironic, huh? Having to pay to see a show that has been open to all viewers since its inception.)
Oh - Hello, Orville! :)
The Orville (2017)
A wonderful homage!
It may not be Star Trek - but it is far closer than STD is.
This is closer to Galaxy Quest's nod to Star Trek - and I LOVE it! Lots of elements of many of our favorite shows, especially Star Trek - with a lot of room to play.
I am really going to enjoy this series. :)
Jane and the Dragon (2005)
Wonderful show!
I, too, found this show by happy accident and enjoyed it thoroughly - its story, animation, humor - all of it! Now, I've introduced my wife and children to it and they love it, too! My 3-year-old watches the DVR'ed episode three or four times a day! :)
A hearty "Thank you" to its entire team! (I'm looking for the series DVD even now!)
Seeing that WETA is not surprising given the quality and I'm certainly glad to see it. I'm also a big fan of Nelvana (and most Canadian productions) so I'll be treasuring every episode they can produce. Yeah, yeah - I'm sure my kids will, too... LOL!