Star Trek Discovery

Started by HarryTrotter, April 06, 2017, 12:50:28 PM

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HarryTrotter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWD_9uMtHJo
So here are the two teasers.
And from everything so far,it looks very promising.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

catwhowalksbyhimself

I am much less hopeful.  They've delayed the show to reword it several times now, and ones of the suits was in an interview boasting about how awesome it was going to be because they were going to put nudity and other stuff into it that the earlier shows couldn't.

This tells me that the suits at least totally don't get it.

There are lots of Star Trek veterans working on it, so it might be okay, but if there's really making it more adult and such I'll still be out.

We shall see.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

crimsonquill

Star Trek Discovery was pretty much doomed from the word go once the suits got it into their head that the new show could be a flagship to their new online network. This happened once before with UPN when Star Trek Voyager was given it's debut and praising they could do everything that other networks and even syndication wouldn't allow them to do at the time. Adding more action, violence, blood, and nudity just feels like they are reaching for the more extreme audiences that loved the new J.J. Abram's Star Trek films while still trying to connect with the old shows.

I'm expecting them to get the pilot done but I have my doubts it will ever make it past test audiences and if it does then I still expect it to become the "lost series" because only the die hardest of fans will stay past the pilot to join the network to see the full series.

- CQ
"He said let there be light... CLICK! It was a lightbulb. And It was good."

catwhowalksbyhimself

Actually, Voyager was the second time.  Star Trek Phase 2 was the first attempt to use Star Trek to head up a new Network, but that network and show were canceled at the last minute.

So this is very much a habit.  And one which has never worked out.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

#4
Once again,you opinion and not a fact.
Voyager lasted for 7 seasons,so it might be a lot of things,but how is it a failed pilot?
Who mentioned nudity?When?
Unless you have seen the pilot already,or have a working crystal ball,how do you know it sucks?
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

catwhowalksbyhimself

Seeing as how that particular bombshell echoed across the internet, you could have just googled it, but here's one of many links.

https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/36029/star-trek-discovery-may-boldly-embrace-nudity-profanity

It's not a definite thing, but the attitude is the thing.

And nobody said that it was definitely bad, just that there are definite troubling signs.  It may turn out to be to good.

And Voyager is often considered to be the worst of the Star Trek series, so yes, it failed.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on April 07, 2017, 09:08:38 AM
And Voyager is often considered to be the worst of the Star Trek series, so yes, it failed.
Again,your opinion.Going by that,you can say everything post TOS failed.
Just for example,I think Enterprise was worst then Voyager.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

Silver Shocker

Yeah, I don't think I heard about the nudity/profanity thing. Or maybe I just forgot, it has been a while since this thing was announced.

Yeah, I was also under the impression Enterprise was considered the worst.

Funny thing, I just started re-watching Voyager on Netflix this week. My opinion on the show is it had potential and has some positives, but it didn't really get enough out of that potential and is certainly not as good as TOS (which is much older, but I only ever saw it in syndicated reruns 30+ years later anyway) TNG, and DS9 (my favorite) I think Voyager had a much better cast than Enterprise. Enterprise had a fairly bland cast, and quite a few of them were seriously underutilized (Hoshi, for one)

I'm cautiously optimistic. Canada's supposed to get it on actual tv (our equivalent of SCi-Fi, Space) so I see no reason not to watch it, unless it's god awful (and I mean worse than Enterprise bad; I watched every season of Enterprise and most of Voyager when it was new, so again, it'll have to be pretty terrible...)
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

detourne_me

I'm excited for Discovery,  any thoughts on what it's about? Maybe first contact with the Klingons?
I only watched the first 2 seasons of Enterprise, and found them to be a bit better than Voyager.
I wonder, with the success of shows like The Expanse, will Discovery be more hard sci-fi? Or at least a bit more 'mature' in subject matter

HarryTrotter

Hey,Jason Isaacs is the captain.:)
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

Talavar

Quote from: crimsonquill on April 06, 2017, 09:59:52 PM
Star Trek Discovery was pretty much doomed from the word go once the suits got it into their head that the new show could be a flagship to their new online network. This happened once before with UPN when Star Trek Voyager was given it's debut and praising they could do everything that other networks and even syndication wouldn't allow them to do at the time. Adding more action, violence, blood, and nudity just feels like they are reaching for the more extreme audiences that loved the new J.J. Abram's Star Trek films while still trying to connect with the old shows.

I'm expecting them to get the pilot done but I have my doubts it will ever make it past test audiences and if it does then I still expect it to become the "lost series" because only the die hardest of fans will stay past the pilot to join the network to see the full series.

- CQ

Regardless of its quality, which I'm not attempting to comment on here, this isn't going to be the case.  Star Trek Discovery is already profitable without ever airing an episode due to its worldwide licensing deals with Netflix (USA excluded): http://trekcore.com/blog/2016/07/cbs-says-star-trek-discovery-is-already-profitable-ahead-of-production/.  And as has been mentioned, it's airing on actual tv in Canada.  It's really only American Star Trek fans getting the short end of the stick here.

detourne_me

Quote from: Spade on April 07, 2017, 10:42:43 AM
Hey,Jason Isaacs is the captain.:)
And Sasha from the Walking Dead is First Officer. Im excited!  Also glad to hear that its on Netflix worldwide. Ill be able to watch it legally.

catwhowalksbyhimself

#12
Quote from: Spade on April 07, 2017, 09:32:00 AM
Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on April 07, 2017, 09:08:38 AM
And Voyager is often considered to be the worst of the Star Trek series, so yes, it failed.
Again,your opinion.Going by that,you can say everything post TOS failed.
Just for example,I think Enterprise was worst then Voyager.

Actually that is NOT my opinion.  I agree with you and consider Enterprise to be worst, at least for the first two season.  That is, however a common opinion among many other fans.

And the first season is already a done deal.  The pilot is only being shown to get people to subscribe to CSB All-Access.  It was, I believe, actually filmed with the rest of the season and is not really a true pilot.

As for what it's about, it's supposed to be set between Enterprise and the OS.  First contact with Klingons is already done then.

It's also supposed to be more serialized.  One main storyline per season.  That approached worked well for DS9.

Again, we have a lot of great veteran Trek writers and producers on board, so it might turn out very good if the suits don't mess it up.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Silver Shocker

I think that's fine. We only had 5 Trek shows (6 if you include the animated series, which I would consider more an extension of TOS) and 3 of those were considered good and only 2 were considered bad, by most people as I understand it, so I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with that. It really just boils down to which of the two you think is worse. Again, I think the first 2 seasons of ENT were absolute low point while 3 and 4 were enjoyable, while Voyager was a mixed bag across more seasons and had a better overall cast.

And personally I don't always agree with common opinion on various fictional works (not this one in particular, mind you).

I've seen people (both online and in real life) espouse opinions I will never agree with or understand. I just kinda shrug my shoulders and move on I guess (and in the case of people I know in RL, avoiding talking about it in detail if we get heated about it - not a bad rule of thumb on this forum, by the way)

Bringing it back to Star Trek - I'd say expect this new series to get the most varied reception a Star Trek has ever gotten due to it having come out in the height of internet culture, and having deliberate strikes against it such as the digital streaming service coup, the divide between pre-and-post Abrams Star Trek, and the increased diversity and supposed profanity and nudity (and I'll believe that when I see it - S4 of Shield was touting that marking B.S. and all I can recall it amounting to was a underwear shot that got mostly left on the editing floor) This Trek has the potential to be hailed by people as both the return of and death knell for "classic Trek" depending on who you ask.

Me? I'm just hoping it turns out to be a decent Trek show week to week. And you know, better than the first two seasons of ENT, because boy do I not want to have to trudge through that again.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

Tomato

Trek has always been one of those series that needs a few seasons to gestate before it really starts to pick up. TNG's first season was awful, sometimes racist, and preachy to the point of being unbearable. It EVOLVED into many people's favorite series, but it did not start out that way by any means.

Personally, I've always been a DS9 guy, and that's probably the least Trek show of any Trek show, so.

GhostMachine

DS9 jumped the shark about halfway through the war with the Dominion, and I regard its finale as only slightly less as bad as Voyager's.

Other than the casting, i do not like much that I've heard about Discovery, so far. I was hoping for a series set farther in the future than TNG/DS9/Voyager, not one set earlier. And I like that Star Trek doesn't cross certain boundaries, so I hope the nudity thing is a load of bs or gets tossed out.

But I will not be watching the show, regardless, beyond the pilot if it airs on normal tv. I cannot afford to subscribe to CBS's streaming service, and I have no reason to beyond that one show. I'm sure there are a lot of other people who feel the same way.

I expect some of the following to eventually happen:

The show bombs on All-Access (they don't get enough subscribers), and it moves to regular tv, replacing a show doing poorly in the ratings. Maybe by Discovery's second season.

Netflix at some point acquires the rights to re-run it, but not until it has aired several seasons.

It gets pirated, and a lot of people choose to watch it that way. (No, I'm not condoning it. But I know The Grand Tour and a few other Amazon shows have been pirated, because someone got in trouble for posting links at another board i'm a member of. So I'll be very surprised if it doesn't happen with Discovery.)

It bombs huge in the U.S., and eventually ends up in syndication after its run ends in the rest of the world, OR ends up in first run on Netflix rather than All-Access.

catwhowalksbyhimself

A LOT of people are planning on doing exactly what I am planning on doing--waiting until all the episodes are out then subscribing for a single month and dropping it after I've binge watched the season.  Assuming the nudity thing turns out to be not a thing or exaggerated.

My prediction is that a huge number of people will do exactly that, which will show CBS that people are interested in the new series but not in All-Access as much.  If Netflix's numbers are good then it could mean a transfer of the show to Netflix or to traditional television.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rj4inzcAKk
That was kind of a weird trailer. :blink:
Comments about the new Klingon look incoming...
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

BWPS

Looks good.  I don't have time to watch any new shows. If I get to see that pink zerg looking thing naked though,  I'm on board.
I apologize in advance for everything I say on here. I regret it immediately after clicking post.

catwhowalksbyhimself

#19
I am watching it now.  It's good so far, but it doesn't feel much like Star Trek.  It's a decent drama.  Special effects and sci fi are all good.  Characters haven't jumped out at me so far, but there's no humor.  At all.  Completely, deathly serious.  Which is fine, but it doesn't feel much like Star Trek, yet.

I also don't like the Klingon redesign.  It doesn't look practical.  The armor has spikes everywhere.  The bat'lehs don't look like they could ever be used in battle.  I miss the simple, sleek look of TNG.

EDIT: Saw the end of the (first half of the) pilot, and the preview.  Looks like the whole series is a super serious war drama.  No actual "discovery."  No exploration.  As I said before, no time for humor.  It actually looks like it might be a good sci-fi war drama, but it's not really Star Trek.  At least that's my impression.

I might check it out once the whole series is done and I can binge it on a single month's subscription, but it no longer excites me.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Deaths Jester

I might get flak for this but after seeing Discovery and the Orville, I got to say that the Orville does a better job at feeling like a Star Trek show than Discovry. Sure the humor can be a bit low brow but at least there is some humor involved and I must say there is actually quite a bit of serious moments in it too. Kind of sad though that a Macfarlane show out Treks Star Trek...
Avatar picture originally a Brom painting entitled Marionette.

GhostMachine

I actually didn't watch Discovery (forgot to set up the DVR, and I doubt it's on On Demand?), but I watched the pilot for The Orville and have the second and third episodes DVR'd. If the rest of the series is anything like the pilot, it's going to be awesome.

(McFarlane's sense of humor is great, but it's best when reigned in. A Million Ways To Die In The West had a few gross out moments that didn't work for me.)

catwhowalksbyhimself

I did some more reading and apparently nearly all the characters and the ship are not the ones the series is about at all.  The entire pilot and the next episode are just the introduction and backstory and have little to do with the premise and cast of the main series.

This is odd to say the least.  This is supposed to convince people to join their All-Access thingy.  It should be an intro the series proper.  At least I understand now why most of the characters were barely there at all.  They could have more effectively told this backstory later in the series proper.  We didn't spend the first two episodes of TNG aboard the Stargazer, after all.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on September 25, 2017, 10:02:38 AM
I did some more reading and apparently nearly all the characters and the ship are not the ones the series is about at all.  The entire pilot and the next episode are just the introduction and backstory and have little to do with the premise and cast of the main series.
You kinda answered you own question there,but I see what you meant.
So yeah,it was a pretty strong opening.But its still too early to judge.And as mentioned before,I strongly dislike the new Klingon look.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

catwhowalksbyhimself

I'm not sure what question I supposedly answered since I didn't ask one.  I think dedicating two episodes to backstory that has little to do with the main series is stupid and is a serious mis-step especially when one of those episodes is used as the pilot to try to sell people to the show.  A show that has little to do with the pilot being shown.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

HarryTrotter

How does it have little to do with the show if it establishes the main character,the world and the villains?
If you seen "this season on Discovery" segment at the end of e2,its clear they will build upon this.A lot.
Btw,apparently,this isnt a redesign of Klingons,this is just a subspecies/breed we never saw before.Sure,why not?
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

Silver Shocker

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on September 25, 2017, 08:40:15 PM
I'm not sure what question I supposedly answered since I didn't ask one.  I think dedicating two episodes to backstory that has little to do with the main series is stupid and is a serious mis-step especially when one of those episodes is used as the pilot to try to sell people to the show.  A show that has little to do with the pilot being shown.

Sounds like it's a superhero origin story, but it's Star Trek.

I watched it. I thought it was pretty decent. I did notice that Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh (along with Sarek, of course) were pretty much the only characters who got much focus other than the Klingons, and this being the setup before the actual status quo for the show, the actual starship Discovery and the actual crew, it makes sense.
I just watched a mostly spoiler-free/spoiler light review of the first three episodes, and it sounds like episode 3 is more of a freak of the week weird monster episode like the kind Trek has a long tradition of. So I'm guessing that the Klingon stuff is going to a sometimes-but-not-always kinda situation comparable to the "Temporal-Cold-War" plotline and the Suliban in Enterprise Season 1 and 2 and the Xindi in Season 3. From the sounds of it Jason Issaks's character (the Captain of the Discovery) might turn out to be my favorite part of the show once I see episode 3.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

catwhowalksbyhimself

Quote from: HarryTrotter on September 26, 2017, 05:04:15 AM
How does it have little to do with the show if it establishes the main character,the world and the villains?
If you seen "this season on Discovery" segment at the end of e2,its clear they will build upon this.A lot.
Btw,apparently,this isnt a redesign of Klingons,this is just a subspecies/breed we never saw before.Sure,why not?

But it doesn't establish the premise of the show or any of the other characters.  It's backstory.  Backstory should not take up two entire episodes.  Especially so when you are using one of those backstory episodes to sell to show and get people to subscribe.  Backstory episodes are usually done as part of the premier, or after the show is already established.  I want to meet the characters and get a taste from the show. I do not care about all of these other characters I am never going to see again and I do not care about the main characters backstory because I do not know her yet and I do not know what that is relavant to the main series.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Silver Shocker

While I do think it's not the greatest move to not give the potential audience proper sense for the show going forward during the "only the first one's free" phase, I do think you're a bit off-base here. Burnham's story is an ongoing story, the creators have been upfront about this in interviews and such before we even saw the first proper trailer (and yes, I know a lot of people will not have read those interviews but still). I think it's unfair to say "it doesn't matter". You haven't actually seen any of the next episodes. As for your comment that backstory should not take two entire episodes, I'm not sure I agree with that either. As I discussed in the anime thread recently, Monster, which was a very good series, took about 4 episodes to get to its actual premise for the series. Netflix Castlevania did take 4 episodes (and yeah, HT didn't care for that series, but a lot of other people did and I enjoyed it for what it was, but I digress). There's probably many other examples. Hell, modern superhero comics, anyone? The New 52 Justice League took an entire arc to get to the premise of its series. Plus, I think most people now what the premise and formula of Star Trek is (Deep Space Nine somewhat excluded, of course) without ever having seen it because of how iconic the franchise is.
"Now you know what you're worth? Then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers, saying you're not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and THAT AIN'T YOU. YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!"
~Rocky Balboa

catwhowalksbyhimself

#29
I never said the opening wouldn't matter.  Backstory always matters.  I just don't care about it at this stage and I think that it's a mistake to open that way.  All those other example you mentioned are either things I have nothing to do with or things I want nothing to with, so from my perspective you are just making that case that things that I really don't like do things this way.

EDIT:  Also having to have seen interviews with the creator in order to properly understand what is going on here?  That is a HUGE red flag for me.  I think you have successfully convince me to lose interest in this for now.  A show should be self contained.  If the first episode can't sell itself, I should have to read an explanation to appreciate it.
I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.