Star Trek Picard/Discovery - Discussion Thread

[Sorripto]

There are some who do get it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKNEQsmvnVM

He is spot on. It is this kind of mentality I have which is why I do not feel bad calling the new stuff not Star Trek. It might be Star Trek in name, hell it might even be canon, but it is not Star Trek in its purest sense.

[Kheren]

I quite agree and would even go further; what we have as the official Star Trek is not Star Trek in any sense. It copies some of the looks and props, imitates some of the names and ideas, but all of it is just wrapping over something else entirely.

case in point: STD is a grimdark dystopia with despicable characters in wrong uniforms, wrong sets and doing all the wrong things. Picard then added an avowed effort to destroy the iconic character and all it stands for. Lower Decks continues this work with what Starfleet and Star Trek themselves stand for. No doubt their planned Strange New Worlds, if it ever sees the light of day, will be a renewed effort to retcon the entire franchise, just like was done disastrously with Terminator, Dr Who and Star Wars.

It's like an old kung fu movie I saw decades ago, where the entire dubbing had been changed to overtly and explicitely spew out communist propaganda. It was the same images but everything said and the story had been perverted to give a completely different thing.

Needless to say it felt as cringy and odd as it was boring and false. Kurtzmantrek to me is exactly like this movie; a creative work was kidnapped to serve the wrong purpose in the hope of subverting it's built-in audience to buy their toys and their propaganda.

Fortunately however, there are still people out there that, like us, do care for Star Trek and what it truly is.

2023 can not come soon enough.

[Kheren]

Well... Star Trek Discovery season 3 is here.

What else to say but... more of the same. Ripping off not only Andromeda but Battlestar Galactica as well; all of it in a very starwarshy style, looks and feels. Lucky for us they put Andorians in there or else we would completely forget this is supposed to be Star Trek. And they went out of their way to show that their main actress is capable of more than two facial expressions.

Welcome to Alex Kurtzman's Star Wars: Andromeda

[Kheren]

Star Trek Discovery; four episodes in for this third season and it's getting worse than ever.

From the way everyone behaves (Stamitz looking down on Tilly like S1 E1) to the plot setting (the ''Burn" which changes from episode to episode), from the visuals (Trills with no spots) to the dialog (Level 10 diagnostic?), it reeks of utter ignorance about Star Trek as much as concern only for intersectional politics and meaningless representation.

They disfigured Klingons and Vulcans, why should we be surprised that now they are disfiguring Trills too?

And if you think they learned how to make Michael Burnham anything ressembling a good character, think again. More than ever, she is the Mary Sue par excellence, even worse than Rey Palpatine. From her saving her totally incompetent teenager-like crew to Saru asking her permission to be captain while letting her decide everything and do everything as she pleases, everything is about her, for her, to her, around and and under her.

Case in point: in this last 4th episode, she decides the ship will go to Trill (because she is the not-captain leader of this ship), she alone shuttles down with their new version of Wesley Crusher planetside (because there are no such things as transporters in Star Trek... nor away teams...), she plunges into the symbiont waters and go guide their teenage host (because no Trill could do this any better apparently than this violent human who fired on leaders of this world on sacred grounds). 

Meanwhile the captain-in-name-only ignores the obvious malfunction of the ship's computer (because he already knows it's infected with a dangerous sentient program... and doesn't care to adress this problem) and follow it's suggestion to hold a dinner so that his nameless crew, and Georgiou who is not an officer, not even a crew member and a known genocidal maniac, can squabble like overhyped teenagers at the table over who is second bestest aboard (because Michael is bestest evar of course).. then later give themselves big hugs and sorrys and share popcorn over a 400 years old Buster Keaton silent movie.

If you think this is all absurd... welcome to Kurtzmantrek.

Two good thing though;

Episode 2 was probably the best of the entire series because, despite explicitely desecrating the very memory of Gene Roddenberry (yes by name) and stupid scenes like living ice threatening the ship (...) and ripping-off Firefly with a pointless western barfight, it still was watchable... because there was no Michael Burnham in it... until the very end (where she singlehandedly save everyone in a mere minute of course).

And in this episode 4, they finally recognize and state explicitely what all Trek fans thought in 2015 when they saw the awful USS Discovery for the first time; this ship is a monster.

Something like 8 more to go... and they even have their own Wesley Crusher character now. yeah the one they so hugely promoted as their non-binary character... and call that character ''she'' and ''her'' all the time.

And they announced a 4th season...

[Jeff T]

I only got through the first episode this season so far. 

Watching it I kept thinking... how the hell do they even have the audacity to call this Star Trek?
It was so boring, pointless and un-Trek like in every way.

Then they add the "symbolic gesture" of the flag.... as if to try to shout: "see everyone.... we are Star Trek... we have a UFP flag!" Ugh...

I may try to sit through another one this week but it is so uninspiring to watch. 

[Kheren]

Yeah Jeff that's the Kurtzmantrek MO: references.

Lower Decks was utterly swarming with them to the point of ridiculousness like rapid fire naming characters or scenes of classic Trek for a minute non stop. but they are all like this, since the idiotic combadge sign in the sand five minutes into the 1st episode of the franchise (remember that nonsense?) all the way through  STP having TNG actors playing caricatures of their own characters.

As I said in the past; they give us the wrappings with crap in it.

''Oh Look! A tribble! This must be Star Trek!''

''Oh look, Sir Patrick! This must be Picard!''

''Oh they said ''Enterprise'' 3 times! This is Star Trek!''

Fortunately, even casual viewers are not buying this. The ratings of these shows is abysmal and plummets right after a few episodes. No wonder they can't even sell toys. At this point, they are not even matching the awful Batwoman except in utter mediocrity and blatant disrespect for the IP and the fans.

Meanwhile, The Mandalorian is apparently starting to retcon the sequel trilogy out of canon. Guess CBS will act when they will feel they are as much in financial trouble as Disney now is.

[Kheren]

The fifth episode of STD is without a doubt the worse TV hour to ever have been labeled as Star Trek. Even VOY Treshold looks like Shakespeare in comparison.

There is about one idiocy a minute in this one on top of the usual Mighty Mickey Power Hour and CW Crying Crew Show that defines Kurtzmantrek. Among those pearls of sci-fi and Star Trek:

- The ''disabled and dismantled Federation'' can nevertheless afford to have an entire fleet of state of the art starships just sitting in one place doing nothing.

- Mention of a fully holographic starship. Yeah we all dream on serving aboard one of those... until power goes offline (and THAT never happened in Trek...)

- 23rd Century crew fawning over the USS Voyager J...

- 23rd century parallel universe refugee Deactivating 33rd century holograms by blinking (now imagine THAT on the holographic starship...)

- Wearing glasses in the 33rd Century (because ''I thought it made me look more intelligent;'' yeah like like holding a sword in the nude makes you look fearsome today).

- Starship and crew out of time welcomed just like a visitor or a MIA asset returning, never mind all the temporal questions and problems this entails.

- Mighty Mickey talking back to the head of Starfleet and telling him what he should do. Because ''Bestest Evaaaar!''

- A thousand year old granary ship still in operation... and with technology at least a century beyond it's time... with a crew centuries after it was launched... with all the seeds of the galaxy (when it was 19% explored by Picard's time)... and they lost it...

- The 1000 year old magic ship allowed to go on a side mission when it's revolutionary drive would supposedly save the Federation...

- Said ship and drive well known on their records despite all the BS secrecy of the previous season ending. but somehow no schematics? And speaking of this nonsense; what about the USS Glenn which has NOT been erased from records while having the same stardrive?

- The Kurtzmantrek absurd cliche of smoke and lightning in space to represent a nebula...

- This 23rd century crew suddenly has Forcefield life support suits? Is this taken from TAS?

- Getting rid of another nameless crewmember without even consulting the captain (because Migthy Mickey IS the true leader)

- Admiral having to state that he gives the orders and they follow (because yeah they take the trireme that came into Norfolk naval base and put it on active duty with her crew of rowers and legionnaires, because they brought back magic seeds from an old Roman granary).


This costs 40 million per episode; and the special effects are subpar, the visuals unimaginative and the acting very uneven. Where did all the money go? Probably to pay the about two dozen producers each episode has. certainly not in the writers room or the production design.

[Kheren]

The sixth episode promises to be worse still. In barely a minute of trailer we have:

- The crew now in active service still wearing their 1000 years old uniforms; like the crew of a Roman galley serving in today's US Navy wearing bronze breatplates and togas.

- Saru at a command briefing when he clearly has no clue about anything; our Viking longship captain discussing international situation with the Joint Chiefs.

- Mighty Mickey in charge of bringing the crew up to speed with the future; the viking chief's shieldmaiden educating the rowers on a millenium of change because she spent a year in isolation in it before they arrive.

- The only starship with a revolutionary stardrive is assigned to emergency situations; sending in highly hazardous duty, areas and situations the only ship in existence that could solve all of the Federation's problems.

- No one seems interested in studying this revolutionary stardrive to equip it to other ships and solve the Federation's travel problems; let's just use the one magic ship we have.

- Or is there actually a problem? This Starfleet seems to be fully operating just as it ever was.


Still about half of this 3rd season remaining of all this. Wonder if they can outdo themselves again. At this point, they are just as awful as Batwoman. And they want us to call this Star Trek.

[Kheren]

Hypothetical; how can you go lower with a TV show than asinine Batwoman?

reality: you go full Chibnall and pull a desecrating Dr Who retrofit on Star Trek.

In a nutshell, that is what episode 7 of Star Trek Discover season 3 is. The very title ''Unification part 3'' says it all; greedy ideologue Kurtzman and his band of talentless repurposers take on one of the best episodes of TNG, the very one dedicated to the passing of Gene Roddenberry, the very one starring Leonard Nimoy in his last role in True Trek, and you retrofit everything to be all about Mighty Michael Burnham, savior of the Crying Universe.

I'm not even kidding:

Crying for not feeling fitting in; crying to find mother; crying for a lost job; crying getting a new job; crying for lost brother; crying goodbye; crying to welcome back; crying to accept a job; crying to approve the job... what an admirably professional and mature Starfleet crew, just like we always remembered.

As expected, Mighty Michael is the girl that is the key to everything. As chief science officer who doesn't know basic geometry, she alone found the key to the burn, she alone cares about it and she alone can solve the mystery. As Spock's sister of course everybody (but us) ever knew about, she alone can talk to the Vulcans, she alone can convince them, she alone knows how to sway their emotions and convince them to trust the woman they known for her constant insubordination, her mutiny, her responsibility in a galactic war.

Unification has occured; everyone remembers and reveres Spock for it even if it happened centuries after his death; and know about and honors his adopted sister of course. And in the 32th century, Vulcans are completely illogical  and isolationists, unreasonably uncompromizing, and Romulans all thrusting and peaceful and more logical than the Vulcans themselves.

''Power of Math'' Ensign Tilly, formerly known as ''deer-in-the-headlights" Cadet Silly, is now First Officer Tilly; because Captain Saru likes her and especially because she is Mighty Michael's bunkmate. He also sporejump right into the orbit of an independent world instead of in range of their sensors to properly announce his peaceful approach. Saru is the only Star Trek character in the show... yet, judging by his decisions, he's without a doubt the most incompetent captain in the history of Starfleet. .  Message here?

One message however is very clear. Mighty Michael's mother, now a Nun of Absolute Candor Romulan sect (go figure how) state with absolute pride and conviction: ''if your brother became the man that he came to be, it's because of his sister.''

There is no Spock, and by extension no Trek, without the girl that is the key to everything; Mighty Michael.

This is even worse than Star Trek Picard; at least, they only ruined Picard in his future; easy to ignore it as some absurd dream or parallel universe nonsense and put it away. Easier since even within Kurtzmantrek it's not even the real Picard anymore.

Not so when they go right into a former series and extract a scene from it to alter it and use it to support their retrofitting and align it in direct continuity.

That's how you chibnall and try to kill Star Trek.

Next episode will apparently be a return to Kurtzmantrek basics, going full Michael Bay: explosions, explosions, debris and more explosions... most probably interrupted only by long crying scenes and emo-dialogs as in S2 finale.

If this could only be the finale.

[BLZBUB]

 So yesterday, Ares Studio's had a live chat podcast entitled 'In Defense of Alex Kurtzman." I'll link the YouTube link below because it is almost 1 & 1/2 hours long.

 What I wanted to discuss here however is Alec Peters' short on that podcast, "In Defense of Alex Kurtzman - Why Star Trek is going to be OK".
 In this, Mr. Peters sums up his personal, and I emphasize 'personal', thoughts on how we need to give Kurtzman his due diligence. After saying that all of the past Star Trek televised shows always have their first two seasons as being bad trek, he goes on to defend Kurtzman's ability to give 'his' version of Star Trek. After all, CBS hired Alex, not you!!

 So, give the short one a watch and let us know what ya'll think of Axanars' Alec Peters take on Alex Kurtzman and the defense of Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks.

"In Defense of Alex Kurtzman - Why Star Trek is going to be OK" - length = 12:16 - https://youtu.be/gnFuYw0TX34

"In Defense of Alex Kurtzman" podcast - length = 1:27:50 - https://youtu.be/LeUaNib0Wg8

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