ValueSubtracted

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 17 days ago

I couldn't agree less re: the 32nd century. They've created an interesting setting, and I'm glad they're going to keep it alive.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 17 days ago

I was fully expecting a villain (possibly because every press release has referred to a threat), but I hope it's a unique flavour of villain.

It sounds like he's going to play one of the kids' dad or something - given the 32nd century status quo, a more political antagonist could be fun.

Maybe a Terra Prime type or New Essentialist type?

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 16 days ago

I think the cause of the Burn is a nearly-perfect example of Star Trek's humanist values, and find it interesting when people feel the need to go out of their way to misrepresent it with words like "magic" in an effort to justify their dislike of it.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 16 days ago

I believe I did responf directly to your misrepresentation of the facts, but do go on.

(please don't go on)

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 16 days ago

If you have to make things up that weren't in the episode, I'm going to respectfully suggest that your point is pretty bad.

I'm also going to suggest that you know that it's pretty bad, which is why you chose to employ such a weak rhetorical device to begin with.

But sure, I'm the one that's offended! lol

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 16 days ago

I don't know that I agree that "telepathic" is quite the right word - Su'Kal was a polyploidal mutant whose genes were affected by the dilithium in the environment - a sci-fi extension of a real genetic phenomenon that can occur when extreme environmental stresses are present. The explanation they gave was more scientific that many of those that we've had across the history of the franchise.

At the end of the day, if it doesn't work for everyone, that's fine - I personally think it's a very TOS/TNG idea, sort of a "Charlie X" by way of "The Survivors", and I think it's pretty obvious that the producers wanted the source to have a "human face" if you'll forgive the expression.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 17 days ago

Sigh...

Zefram Cochrane. No "ph."

ValueSubtracted Mod , 20 days ago

Kovich apparently also has Janeway's microscope in his office, though it doesn't get a close-up.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 19 days ago

They really should've gone with a Thermos.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 24 days ago

I take IMDB listings with a grain of salt, but she is listed as a costume designer for S31, as well as Captain America: Brave New World(!).

ValueSubtracted Mod , 25 days ago

They produced Into Darkness and Beyond, so they at least have some history with the franchise.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 25 days ago

If your concerns are on the creative side of things, I don't think that's really what they do - their expertise seems to be getting things made.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 24 days ago

These mergers can take a long time to complete, so we're probably safe for a while.

I wouldn't count on any serious going longer than five seasons under the old ownership, anyway...

ValueSubtracted Mod , 27 days ago

Underrated: Oh boy, time for some takes...

TOS: This might be the hardest to pick - maybe "The Corbomite Maneuver"? It's fairly well-known, but is crowded out in a season full of classics.

TAS: Pretty much everything besides "Yesteryear" is underrated, but if I have to pick one, I'd pick "The Magicks Of Megas-Tu" for sheer weirdness.

TNG: "Remember Me" - really good episode. I think it's pretty well-regarded, but it should be better regarded.

DS9: I've always been very fond of "The Sound of Her Voice," for some reason. I don't think I'd ever seen anything quite like it when it originally aired.

VOY: I think "Counterpoint" is the finest episode they ever did, but people rarely talk about it.

ENT: Uh...I guess I'll say "Daedalus" - it does a lot of worldbuilding surrounding the transporter, but isn't one of the big "lore" episodes that people tend to talk about.

DSC: "Su'Kal". The cause of the Burn is something that speaks to the humanist core of Star Trek in a way that many people seem to overlook.

PIC: "Remembrance." The first episode of the series is nearly perfect.

LD: I don't know if the nature of the show lends itself to this exercise, but I'll say "An Embarrassment of Dooplers".

PRO: "Crossroads" - the kids arriving at a turning point, and making the kinds of dumb decisions that kids make.

SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria," I guess - this series is still pretty fresh, but this is one of the better episodes that isn't a "gimmick" episode.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 28 days ago

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't realize there were conspiracy theories floating around about them being fired or some nonsense. I figured the actual reason was probably pretty benign.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 28 days ago

I think it was a worthy experiment - take the nameless, silent extras that populate the bridge on the older shows and give them a little more to do.

But I think it created some unintended and unfortunate audience expectations. Maybe a failed experiment.

I would imagine none of those actors were under contract.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

Nope - after they were cancelled, they were allowed to go back and film some additional scenes to add to the end of the finale to give it some closure.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 28 days ago

I wouldn't say I found it distracting, if only because I knew it was coming, but I can definitely see the argument that it wasn' t necessary.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 27 days ago

Hypothetically, I think I'd structure it somewhat similarly to season 5: a couple of episodes to establish the stakes, two or three more to gather information or materials, then a couple to put the plan together and enact it, and then ideally at least one to catch up with Zora after the events of "Calpyso."

As it is, there are so many unanswered questions surrounding this mission that I hope we at least get a novel or something out of it.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

I really like his answer to a question about Academy's setting:

So you’re setting this —

In the “Discovery” era. There’s a specific reason for that. As the father of a 17-year-old boy, I see what my son is feeling as he looks at the world and to his future. I see the uncertainty; I see all the things we took for granted as given are not certainties for him. I see him recognizing he’s inheriting an enormous mess to clean up and it’s going to be on his generation to figure out how to do that, and that’s a lot to ask of a kid. My thinking was, if we set “Starfleet Academy” in the halcyon days of the Federation where everything was fine, it’s not going to speak to what kids are going through right now.

It’ll be a nice fantasy, but it’s not really going to be authentic. What’ll be authentic is to set it in the timeline where this is the first class back after over 100 years, and they are coming into a world that is only beginning to recover from a cataclysm — which was the Burn, as established on “Star Trek: Discovery,” where the Federation was greatly diminished. So they’re the first who’ll inherit, who’ll re-inherit, the task of exploration as a primary goal, because there just wasn’t room for that during the Burn — everybody was playing defense. It’s an incredibly optimistic show, an incredibly fun show; it’s a very funny show, and it’s a very emotional show. I think these kids, in different ways, are going to represent what a lot of kids are feeling now.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

I think that's a good thing - not just for the reasons Kurtzman highlighted, but because Starfleet being in a "rebuild" phase gives them a nice excuse to put cadets to work.

I also just enjoy the 32nd century setting, so I'm glad to stick with it a while longer.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 29 days ago

But it took how many months of retooling to give us the last season?

Less than one, as far as I'm aware. They got permission to write and film an additional three days' worth of footage, which became the epilogue to the episode. Everything else is exactly as they orginally shot it, from what they've said.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 27 days ago

The DMA destroyed one station, one populated planet, and one colony that was evacuated before it struck. A sector is 20 LY across.

If they were to use the power, they could rebuild kweijan and all of the damage to planets and creatures in season four.

The finale established that the technology could reanimate a dead body, but couldn't restore minds or personalities. There's also no indication that it could build a planet or reanimate bodies that were crushed in an artificial singularity.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 27 days ago

Yes, it disappeared and reappeared at different locations - it did not hoover up entire sectors.

ValueSubtracted Mod , 29 days ago

Oh wow, I'm glad you were able to attend - how was the crowd?

ValueSubtracted Mod , 26 days ago

And then they'll tell you again.

And again...

And again...

And again...

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

As far as season finales go, I think this was their best one to date. The action was split pretty nicely between the chaotic events on the bridge, Saru's mission, and Burnham and Moll inside the portal. I thought the thoroughline of the clues left by the science team came together quite nicely, as well - there was a good amount of emphasis on how concerned the scientists had been about exactly who was going to find this thing. Burnham's ultimate decision to chuck the whole thing into the black hole caught me by surprise, but seemed pretty well-reasoned.

As far as series finale's go...I think they did pretty well with what they had. The several-decade time jump often works really well to cause some self-reflection, and it was nice to see an Admiral Burnham who was so settled down. And hey, we got our "Calypso" tie-in that managed to answer very few questions, but at least they closed that circle.

It really does feel like the end of an era. This show kickstarted the barrage of Trek we've (hopefully, mostly) enjoyed over these past few years. Of all the series that have followed it, Discovery has consistently been the one I've looked forward to watching the most, as it's been the most willing to surprise and challenge me along the way. It's been, as they say, a long road.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

I guess we will never find out where it actually came from

This was something that caught me off-guard, but the more I think about it, the more appropriate it seems. Some things are just unknowable.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago

It would have been interesting to see Walking Dead L'ak, but it was also kind of nice to see Moll accept the situation and start to trust Burnham.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 29 days ago (edited 28 days ago)

I think that makes certain assumptions about how Zora engages with the world, which may or may not be correct. I'd really like to rewatch "Calypso" as it's been ages, but Paramount+ seems to have...misplaced the Short Treks in my country.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 28 days ago

Whoops, fixed a typo in my comment.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't think it can be called cruelty if Zora, in her capacity as an artificial intelligence, doesn't mind. It may not be accurate to assume she will react in the way a human would.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 28 days ago

At this point, you're just describing a Starfleet officer.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 28 days ago

Zora's already demonstrated the capacity to disobey an order if she wants to.

So we don't know if Zora's being "tortured" from her perspective, and we have pretty solid evidence that she could just leave if she wants to.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 28 days ago

It looks like they're doing a better job of retaining props from shows once they've wrapped, so maybe there's a chance they'll put the sets in storage in case they decide to use them again - either in a movie (the rumour is/was that they want to do a streaming movie every two years), or for the occasional guest appearance on the Academy show.

But what was up with Detmer and Owo being side lined for the second half of the season.

Michelle Paradise said yesterday that both actors were unavailable during filming, having booked other projects.

ValueSubtracted OP Mod , 30 days ago

The Academy series remains on track to start filming this summer.