paradox2011

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On the end of Discovery

I have mixed feelings about Disco ending. I really dug the first season’s look at a Federation at war, and following the person who arguably set that war in motion dealing with her culpability. Add to that a ship that is part weird science lab, part haunted house. And yeah, I could live with the Klingon redesign....

paradox2011 ,

I definitely agree with you. While I didn’t like a lot of the elements of Disco season 1, it had a genuineness that was really compelling. Season 2 corrected the things I personally didn’t like but kept the heart and soul which has made it some of the finest modern Trek in my opinion. Season 3 was alright I suppose, but didn’t have that spark of authenticity. I’m dubious about anything more from Disco.

The big issue for me is also the show centering on Burnham. Season 2 put her along side Anson Mount’s Pike which balanced the scale nicely and their personalities played well together, but other than that Burnham has always felt like the main character of a CW show to me. I don’t know if it’s the writing for her character or the acting, but she’s a weak point of the show to me. Doug Jones on the other hand has been incredible and I could watch him play Saru all day 😄

paradox2011 , (edited )

That’s very true, and as an actor Sonequa does really give the role everything she has. I think that touches on one of the other commenter’s points a bit: Trek seems to thrive when they balance the story load between characters. When a lot of plot weight is put on to one character it starts to feel like they are simply a plot device. I’ve heard complaints about Kirk in TOS suffering from this as well, but perhaps nostalgia keeps me from being too offended 😄.

Your comment made me realize something that is a the root of why I never connected with the Michael Burnham character or Sonequa’s acting, and its linked (from a writing perspective) to Ethan Peck’s Spock: they’re both portraying the clash of human and Vulcan culture, with a few key differences. Spock is a half-vulcan, half-human that was raised and shaped by Vulcan culture. Ethan portrays someone who is firmly rooted in logic, but struggles to control the human emotional elements within him. The key to his character growth is accepting and unifying the two halves of himself (although Trek as a series is not always clear about this. Sometimes it seems they indicate he does best when suppressing the human side, not integrating it.) Burnham is full human and raised through her formative years by human parents, but then goes through a massive childhood trauma and is adopted and given formal training on Vulcan. Sonequa portrays someone who tries to firmly root herself in logic, but who suffers greatly because that denies the experience of her inner self. The key to her character growth is rebelling against the expectations others (and she herself) had put on her in order to discover (pun intended 😏) who she actually is. Which of these two struggles we connect with depends on our own childhood and emotional make up, and the other may seem foreign and empty simply because we haven’t experienced it. Spock’s struggles always seemed more realistic and balanced to me with Burnham coming across like a teenage edgelord rebelling against her parents. I think now I’ll be looking at it very differently, and it makes me excited to see what Season 4 brings. I might do some rewatches of the early seasons too, if I can ever finish working my way through Voyager 😅. Thank you for your comment, sorry mine is so long, brevity is not my strong suite 😵‍💫

And one more thing I agree with from your original post: Star Trek as a franchise really struggles “To boldly go where no one has gone before” anymore. The studio clearly values success over quality and the reliance on nostalgia for current shows is very disappointing. There are glimmers here and there, maybe the section 31 movie will bring some fresh air to the writing table.

paradox2011 ,

I think its a reflection of the writers more than anything. Trek writers usually try to pull their ideas from current political and sociological issues. AI and genetic engineering (which I think is thinly veiled commentary on gender) are simply the current issues of our time. It is odd that they’ve chosen the federation to be the problem in the recent shows though. In older trek the federation was always the ones to stand up for the cause and the conflict came from worlds they visited. Of course, that’s probably linked to the same idea as the AI/genetics, people are much more frustrated and disillusioned with western government these days and the writers are no doubt exploring that.

So there will probably be changes in the federations stance that are two steps beyond what we see happening in the world around us. Trek has always tried to lead people in a moral/philosophical direction.

paradox2011 ,

Start with either The Original Series or Next Generation. There’s a lot of structure that gets laid down in those series that other installments rely on heavily. I think Deep Space 9 might also be a good one to get in to early.

paradox2011 ,

SNW S01E04

Context is important on this one, but even without the rest of the episode around it I still really like it.

Spock: “The lower decks are beginning to buckle.”

Noonien-Singh, urgently: “The evacuation isn’t complete there’s still crew down there!”

Pike, with intensity: “Get them out.”

Spock: “Decks are collapsing, if we do not seal them off now loss of pressure could spread to the whole ship.”

Pike, pained resignation: “…Seal the bulkheads.”

Noonien-Singh: “Structural collapse on deck 22, we’ve lost one crew person.”

Spock, to Pike: “You made the logical choice…”

Pike, to Spock, quietly: “Why doesn’t it feel like that?”

Spock, to Pike: “For the same reason you made it: because you value life.”

paradox2011 ,

Haha, that’s great 😆

Star Trek series as metaphors for government?

Greetings, fellow space explorers! As we continue our journey through the vast expanse of the cosmos, let us take a moment to reflect on the various governments depicted in the Star Trek franchise. From the classic monarchy system of TOS, to the anarchist government of TAS, these series serve as powerful metaphors for the...

paradox2011 ,

This is a fun connection to make. I think the most impactful storytelling in SciFi/fantasy is when it explores a specific corner of the human experience. Even if the writers didn’t intend to portray these specific governmental systems, they definitely explore the types of human interactions common to them. The substance of each era of trek has so many influences acting to shape it, from culture externally and from the intention and vision of the writers internally. I think the parallels you made are apt (though I haven’t seen TAS), it’ll be fun to watch through this lense.

paradox2011 ,

Sorry for necrobumping this thread and you may have already found a solution, but you might try Picsur. It’s an open-source, self-hosted Imgur clone. The self-hosted aspect might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but I did set it up in docker and it worked well and was a simple process.

The development seems to have slowed down a bit, but it does seem feature complete.

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