NPR: 'Star Trek: Discovery' ends as an underappreciated TV pioneer (www.npr.org)

submitted 5 months ago by njaard@lemmy.world to c/startrek@startrek.website

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[-] JackDark@lemmy.world 36 points 5 months ago

the last few seasons of Discovery have been a bit bogged down by the stuff that has always made it a tough sell as a Trek series: overly ambitious, serialized storylines that aren’t compelling; new characters and environments that don’t impress; plot twists which can be maddening in their lack of logic; big storytelling swings which can be confusing and predictable at once.

Yeah, it's not "underappreciated". It's just not very good for what many of us are expecting. I still haven't gotten through season 3.

[-] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yeah its just not a good show.

I just watched a scene where Michael and Mol were working together, then suddenly Michael decides to attack Mol, then they have a kung fu fight and finally Michael asks Mol stop and says she needs to trust her, as if Michael hadn't just violently assaulted her. The writing is nonsensical.

Unfortunately that is symptomatic of the show as a whole and just one of many problems.

Also the constant deus ex machina, with the characters having a conversations where everyone finishes each others sentences. Its tiresome to watch. I really wanted to like the show but never could.

[-] BaronVonBort@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

Look. I have enjoyed the last season. But the show has never escaped its fatal flaw of being in its own way. The finale of season 4 was great Trek, and this season has been good.

But it took how many months of retooling to give us the last season? And I appreciate finding a stride and having the show cancelled (as someone who will defend ENT constantly for this I’ll hear it all) but this isn’t the same case. They tried so many ways to make DIS work and it has hit and missed in different ways, but tying it to one story over the course of a whole season and making that the glue, and not allowing for other characters to be established, is still there. I still have no idea who the majority of the bridge crew are, and I feel there are characters that are overused and others that are criminally underused (can we just get a Reno spinoff please?)

This is a swan song, but personally I’m glad it gets to end on a high note. But let’s see it for what it has been.

[-] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 4 points 5 months 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.

[-] spyd3r@sh.itjust.works 7 points 5 months ago

I must have missed something, what did they pioneer?

[-] Daxtron2@startrek.website 1 points 5 months ago

First female captain, first gay couple in the main cast, first non-binary character (and actor) in the main cast, first openly trans character and actor in the main cast (albeit not for a long time), first series actively exploring the future hinted at and briefly seen in other series. But they totally fucked the Klingons in the early seasons lmao

[-] Mjpasta710@midwest.social 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Season five was written without propery continuity.

The show had amazing actors, beautiful graphics, and bad story writing.

All the damage from season four is ignored, except Book's romance.

There were entire sectors of space that are voids because of the last season.

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

[-] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 5 months 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.

[-] Mjpasta710@midwest.social 2 points 5 months ago

I tried to stay away from points that would be spoilers.

The technology had control over gravity and demonstrations of the environments it created on display.

You're going to argue a device drawing energy directly from black holes is limited in its scope of creation?

The progenitor said it could create life, not replacements of what was. It also said the scale and speed were up to the one managing the process.

They could have easily replaced any of the species that were wiped out. Not trying to argue for exact copies of books family, only the life forms and planets.

Only 20 light years? Say that to the life forms that stopped existing.

[-] Mjpasta710@midwest.social 1 points 5 months ago

I did some more digging, in the show the DMA was referenced as appearing more than 1000 light years away from where it had appeared. Discovery season 4 episode 5.

[-] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 1 points 5 months ago

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

this post was submitted on 30 May 2024

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