Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

[Thor]

On 23/07/2022 at 22:34, Hexx said:

Another source says they’ll voice their characters and the episode will be a mix of live action and animated 

 

On 23/07/2022 at 22:40, Thor said:

Oh, that has me less enthused. That's utter fucking shit, if true. 

 

edit: Could still work so long as they don't have live action and animated in the same scene. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam etc ... all fucking shite.

Jack Quaid has confirmed the Lower Decks/SNW crossover is live action, with animated elements that are separate.

 

Quote

“And there are going to be animated elements to it, but not like a Roger Rabbit with cartoons and real people mixed together,” 

 

Thank god. 

[Protocol Penguin]

Is this genuinely any good? I bought a grab bag of Cheesy Wotsits(tm) with a code for a free month of Paramount+, so could watch this, but I’ve be burnt already with Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks.

 

(I now prefer The Orville to every iteration of Trek apart from Deep Space 9, which is my favourite of the lot.)

[Alex W.]

Episode 5:

 

Spoiler

“It appears that hijinks are the most logical course of action.”  

This episode tipped it over from like to love. What a show.

[cassidy]

1 hour ago, Protocol Penguin said:

Is this genuinely any good? I bought a grab bag of Cheesy Wotsits(tm) with a code for a free month of Paramount+, so could watch this, but I’ve be burnt already with Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks.

 

(I now prefer The Orville to every iteration of Trek apart from Deep Space 9, which is my favourite of the lot.)

Genuinely good and better than Disco and Picard and Lower Decks. 
 

Though I do think Lower decks is great just takes about 5 eps to find it’s groove. 

[Garwoofoo]

1 hour ago, Protocol Penguin said:

Is this genuinely any good?

 

I finished the series tonight and it really is outstanding. It's a genuinely great Star Trek series with a superb cast and a good blend of episodic adventures and ongoing character development. The first episode is a bit heavy on Discovery continuity and the last episode is pure TOS but overall it's been a blast. It's so much better than Discovery and Picard it's not even funny.

 

I've also used it to introduce my 13-year-old to Star Trek and he's absolutely loved it. Took one episode of explaining stuff then he was away. He's now asking what else is good to watch

 

Spoiler

and is VERY interested in seeing more Kirk after the final episode

 

so I think I may have just created a new fan of the show.

 

We're living in a golden age of Star Trek, really, aren't we? What with this, Lower Decks and The Orville (which absolutely counts), we've not had it this good since the mid-90s.

[Mogster]

1 hour ago, Protocol Penguin said:

Is this genuinely any good?

You're in a thread full of people saying it's great, but just to add one more, it's really great. It's not fit to share the same streaming service as Picard and Discovery.

 

Lower Decks is good too mind. If you've given up after an episode or two it's really worth sticking with.

[Protocol Penguin]

So! I watched first two episodes of SNW last night. Not immediately wowed, but not immediately put off it either, in fact, it definitely seems continuing on. The casting seems mostly good, but it overall seems a bit Discovery Lite in look and feel. I prefer the more old-style, televisual way that The Orville s3 is shot, without the fast cuts and lens flare, if I’m being honest: That’s more dated looking, but it’s more natural and easier for the brain to take it all in.

 

I will watch further.
 

(Number 1 and Nurse Chapel should be played by the same actress, right? Unless there’s a reason why they aren’t which is revealed in a later episode that I haven’t yet seen.)

[scottcr]

Episode 4 is when it kicked in for me… an absolute classic

[Mogster]

4 hours ago, Protocol Penguin said:

(Number 1 and Nurse Chapel should be played by the same actress, right? Unless there’s a reason why they aren’t which is revealed in a later episode that I haven’t yet seen.)

 

Nah. Beyond the TOS reference there's no reason for that at all, and even in TOS it was only due to the actor being recast following an unaired pilot. They're very different characters.

[Waggo]

I will also add my name to the chorus of people saying SNW is fantastic. 

 

Anybody with even a vague interest in Star Trek needs to watch this show. 

 

Picard and Discovery should really not be mentioned in the same conversation as SNW, as the inferiority gap is so vast you would need to travel at maximum warp for a month to even come close to bridging it.

 

In conclusion the strongest opening season to any Star Trek show since TOS, & that is from a die hard DS9 & TNG fan.

 

[Alex W.]

Honestly I think a lot of S1 of TNG and DS9 is worse than the worst Discovery S1 episodes. Fucking space hopscotch.

[drmick]

Jason Isaac > hopscotch

[MDY]

 

 

[Vespa Alex]

Even now, I’m still surprised how they can write something so well crafted as that scene with Ortegas after churning out years of Discovery. 

[Jammy]

1 hour ago, Vespa Alex said:

Even now, I’m still surprised how they can write something so well crafted as that scene with Ortegas after churning out years of Discovery. 

It still baffles me that it’s mostly the same writing group.

[Vespa Alex]

1 hour ago, Jammy said:

It still baffles me that it’s mostly the same writing group.

I can only assume that they are given direction from the showrunner on what they are looking for, and they are very different instructions. 

[layten]

2 hours ago, Vespa Alex said:

and they are very different instructions. 

Not shit. No crying.

[LaveDisco]

 

19 hours ago, MDY said:

 

 

 

As in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? Weird choice that I am here for.

[iknowgungfu]

Now I’ve finished the Orville I’m on to this. Half way through episode one and liking so far. Although:

 

Spoiler

If you know Spock is likely to reject the genome alterations faster than others why the fuck would you choose him (?a science officer) to go to the away mission to rescue crew?

 

[Hexx]

17 hours ago, iknowgungfu said:

Now I’ve finished the Orville I’m on to this. Half way through episode one and liking so far. Although:

 

  Hide contents

If you know Spock is likely to reject the genome alterations faster than others why the fuck would you choose him (?a science officer) to go to the away mission to rescue crew?

 

 

Spoiler

 

[jonamok]

Well, that was a brilliant season of Trek, best for decades. Still can’t quite believe it to be honest.

 

Eps 9 and 10 were especially fantastic. Roll on S2.

 

Now to check out this Lower Decks that people keep going on about.

[Alex W.]

There’s a lot to love about that final episode but as a broad brush creative choice…

 

Spoiler

…having all that end of the galaxy stuff as a setup, but then the actual decision was about how much he cares for Spock and won’t deflect his fate on to his friend, was perfect.

[Kodamarama]

This has really washed the bad taste of Picard out of my mouth.  Trek actors need that fine balance of competence and wall-chewing hamminess to sell out, and these people all excel at it.  
 

Hoping they increase the series length slightly - not back to the 90s silliness of 22+ episodes with a lot of filler, but just a few more episodes a year to give all these great characters a but more room.

[Mike1812]

Watched 8 episodes of this today (the other 2 last night). It's brilliant. I'm shocked how good it is. 

 

You care about the characters right from episode one, rather than wanting them all to die horribly as soon as possible. 

 

The lower decks crossover makes me think of that Farscape episode which is a take off of Road Runner. I'm sure they'll get it right. Everything else in both shows is, pretty much. 

[jonamok]

I loved this. Start to finish. Sold it to my mate who’s supposedly a massive Trek head (TOS/TNG/early films mostly) and he hates it. Thinking of dumping him.

[Stig]

18 minutes ago, jonamok said:

I loved this. Start to finish. Sold it to my mate who’s supposedly a massive Trek head (TOS/TNG/early films mostly) and he hates it. Thinking of dumping him.

 

Ask him what's he thinks of Discovery and Picard. If he says he likes them then 100% end it.

[jonamok]

Thankfully he hates them too. There’s still some hope for a friendship to survive.

[Eighthours]

I've started watching Strange New Worlds. As some of you may know, but I'll reprise for those who don't, here is my history with Star Trek. Spoilered cos long:

 

Spoiler

The Star Trek movies - this is where it started. I saw Wrath of Khan for the first time when I was 8 and absolutely loved it. Then III and IV in short order. TMP was OK but a bit slow. V was awful. VI is amazing.

 

The Next Generation - I was obsessed with this show. It started on the Beeb when I was 13 (I think), which was the exact right time. TNG is maybe my favourite show of all time when you consider how much I liked it, combined with the age I was when I watched it. It was television that informed my upbringing. Best of Both Worlds Part 1 was the most exciting thing I'd ever seen at the time, and I still love TNG to bits even now, despite its flaws. I can think back to the time in order to totally forget about the production values compared to today's TV. Some of the storytelling is still awesome. Ron Moore got his start here! Reading about everything to do with the making of the show has been so much fun, there are loads of great stories.

 

Deep Space Nine - I loved this too. The Dominion War stuff was sooooo good, and the FX in Sacrifice of Angels for the time was the best stuff I'd ever seen on TV. Great show, have rewatched it recently, still holds up. Of all the Treks, this probably has the deepest bench of characters. Dukat, Garak, Weyoun... man, not even in the main cast but so good.

 

Voyager - I mean, it's fine and has probably got 'better' in terms of reputation since Disco came out, tbh. As story arcs have become played out and in many cases actually harm contemporary shows (not what I would have imagined a few years ago!), the reset button in Voyager feels nowhere near as egregious as it used to. I've been enjoying going through The Greatest Generation podcast's reviews of Voyager (I'm under a year behind now, midway through S3!), and I did a very enjoyable rewatch a couple of years ago during lockdown 1. I actually cried when Neelix left the ship in the penultimate episode and got the guard of honour - that's how traumatic Covid times were! 

 

Incidentally, both DS9 and Voyager REALLY need that AI upscale remaster that now seems possible if Paramount continue to refuse to spend money to do it properly. A shame, as the Paramount Plus launch was the perfect time to finally spend the cash. Both shows look awful on modern televisions, sadly.

 

Enterprise - Hit and miss. Season 3 (the year-long Xindi arc) was often very good and season 4 was too. Season 1 was a perfectly acceptable slice of Trek but not particularly exciting. Season 2 was pretty dodgy. Definitely not my favourite show, and I'm not surprised that Trek went away for a while after this as it seemed a bit tired back then.

 

The Next Generation movies - I liked Generations at the time more than it deserved (maybe just because of how much I wanted to see the cast on the big screen). First Contact is ace, of course. Insurrection lives up to its rep as a TV two-parter, and Michael Piller's book about the troubled development of it is much, much better than the actual movie. I didn't hate Nemesis, but it's obvious that the director, Stuart Baird, knew nothing about Star Trek.

 

The Abrams movies - I loved the first one. The opening 10 minutes was (and remains) absolutely stunning. Into Darkness was fine but ultimately disappointing as it should have been great. Star Trek Beyond was fine but too unambitious for a one-off film. 

 

Star Trek: Discovery - I so wanted this to be good, and I did like the first season quite a lot because it was NEW TREK! With a big budget! But sadly the acting is overwrought, there's way too much crying, the writing and plotting are often nonsense, and the characterisation beyond a few core characters is sadly lacking. I still didn't know the names of some of the bridge crew after nearly 3 seasons! The best bit was probably the batshit mirror universe stuff, simply because it was sooooo out there. But I don't think the show hangs together very well, and it seems to embrace its many flaws rather than trying to correct them, which is maddening. I haven't watched season 4 yet, but will do so after I've finished Strange New Worlds.

 

Star Trek: Picard - it's not what I wanted (aside from the opening ep, and Riker and the pizza), but I did enjoy season 1 more than most despite some questionable writing. I've only seen a couple of eps of season 2, which I liked (was great to see de Lancie again), but I gather the season as a whole isn't very good. I'm hopeful for season 3, though - maybe it will finally be the Next Gen sequel we all hoped for!

 

Classic Trek - I've never watched all of this, though have probably seen about three quarters of the episodes in my lifetime. I did try from the start a few years ago but got held up midway through season one. Hopefully I will watch it all in the end, but I find it hard to get over how old it is, tbh. I do like the Kirk, Spock and Bones triumverate a lot.

 

And so we come to SNW. I have watched 4 episodes so far. I was really looking forward to it because of its good reputation. And my verdict is...

 

FINALLY! This is what I wanted from New Trek, it's fucking amazing in places. And it's interesting, because I would have thought before Disco aired that serialised storytelling was the way forward, as these were the best parts of DS9 and Enterprise, and callbacks on TNG were always great. But not with how the Kurtzman-verse was telling these kinds of stories. It turned out that returning to episodic Trek was the key to unlocking a genuinely great show. And it's great pretty much from the start!

 

After 4 eps I already know loads about the characters, the writing is witty and efficient, the VFX is getting better as we go along (episode 4's black hole escape made me gasp and really made me annoyed that Paramount Plus isn't 4K HDR in the UK). The production values are stellar, and somehow seem much better than Discovery and Picard's. Maybe it's just how real everything feels in comparison, due to the quality of the writing and the design work. Pike is such a great character, I'd go into battle for him! Fake Drummer is such an obvious fake Drummer (SOMEONE on the team watched The Expanse, eh?), but La'an is fun anyway and I like her. Uhura has done more in 4 eps than Nichelle Nichols got to do in everything she ever did. Spock seems much better than he was in Discovery. The engineer guy is fun. Nurse Chapel looks like the lady from Killing Eve and is great. I like all the characters! Maybe there are too many tragic backstories, but we'll see!

 

I'm so excited to watch the rest of the season, knowing that there's a season 2 and every chance that this show will be on for years. But yes. FINALLY they did it! New Trek is great again. YEEEEEEEES! 

[cassidy]

@Eighthours

 

Don't neglect prodigy on paramount either. It's a cracking slice of trek as well. 

[Eighthours]

31 minutes ago, cassidy said:

@Eighthours

 

Don't neglect prodigy on paramount either. It's a cracking slice of trek as well. 

 

Good shout, I'm going to watch that with my 10 year old sometime soon. Seems like a nice entry point for him (he says, having had Wrath of Khan as his own entry point when younger than my son!).