Star Trek: Discovery Catch-All [Spoilers]

T-Prime wrote:

I think that everyone who disliked Season 1 should skip over it and try watching Season 2. It's good Trek.

This is what I have done. Was pleasantly surprised by S2E1 after not wanting to finish S1 - I got about 5-6 eps in and just never wanted to go back to it. I was very reluctant to try S2 but I enjoyed Ep1 at least.

I've seen Eps 1 and 2 now and I feel like they've gotten this season off to a great start!

Spoiler:

It's really feeling like Star Trek to me now, and I'm loving Captain Pike. I'm curious about something he said though... The Enterprise wasn't in Season One because they were on a "five year mission", sounds pretty familiar right? Was TOS the second time the Enterprise was on a 5y mission? It's a while since I've seen Cage so I can't remember if that crew were on a similar mission. Cause this is supposed to be the Prime timeline, right?

“New Eden” is seemingly the most Star Trek that Discovery has been so far. Nevertheless, I would have liked to find out more about how the society on that planet has evolved apart from the religious aspect... something that I feel both the classic series and Next Generation would have dealt with.
The thing that bothers me the most about this episode is the use of the spore drive... I must misremember this, but I thought it didn’t work properly anymore?

Too many one-liners. Too many attempts at silly comedy. Too much focus on Tilly. Really tired of the spore drive. And yet another plot with giant holes in it.

Other than that it was OK Trek.

So I'm definitely not as enthusiastic as the rest of you. Then again I actually liked season one...

to be fair, no version of Trek has ever had water tight plots.

Watch episode 1 for free in the US:

Another great episode.

The thing that bothers me the most about this episode is the use of the spore drive... I must misremember this, but I thought it didn’t work properly anymore?

This was commented on in both eps.

Spoiler:

Only Stamos can use it because he was injected with the tartigrade dna. He does not want to do it anymore PLUS in this ep they mention how it was a violation of genetic manipulation policy but they forgave it because it was wartime

jbavon wrote:

Too many one-liners. Too many attempts at silly comedy. Too much focus on Tilly. Really tired of the spore drive. And yet another plot with giant holes in it.

Other than that it was OK Trek.

So I'm definitely not as enthusiastic as the rest of you. Then again I actually liked season one...

Yeah, every silly one-liner was an eyeroll from me, it was just so forced. But at least so far the show finally has the "spirit" of Star Trek, I just hope they manage to develop it in the same direction and get better with the writing and give the characters some growth and development.

karmajay wrote:

Another great episode.

The thing that bothers me the most about this episode is the use of the spore drive... I must misremember this, but I thought it didn’t work properly anymore?

This was commented on in both eps.

Spoiler:

Only Stamos can use it because he was injected with the tartigrade dna. He does not want to do it anymore PLUS in this ep they mention how it was a violation of genetic manipulation policy but they forgave it because it was wartime

Hmm... ok... but do they say at some point that they have a finite number of jumps left at least with their spore garden being gone? Otherwise it doesn’t really add up why they jump several times within this episode alone...

I actually hoped that they would get rid of the spore drive as a plot device this season, but that doesn’t seem likely.
At least we get to see more of the Discovery’s crew this season with the Klingon’s point of view suddenly gone.

jbavon wrote:

Too many one-liners. Too many attempts at silly comedy. Too much focus on Tilly. Really tired of the spore drive. And yet another plot with giant holes in it.

Other than that it was OK Trek.

So I'm definitely not as enthusiastic as the rest of you. Then again I actually liked season one...

You lost me at "Too much Tilly."

Brainsmith wrote:
karmajay wrote:

Another great episode.

The thing that bothers me the most about this episode is the use of the spore drive... I must misremember this, but I thought it didn’t work properly anymore?

This was commented on in both eps.

Spoiler:

Only Stamos can use it because he was injected with the tartigrade dna. He does not want to do it anymore PLUS in this ep they mention how it was a violation of genetic manipulation policy but they forgave it because it was wartime

Hmm... ok... but do they say at some point that they have a finite number of jumps left at least with their spore garden being gone? Otherwise it doesn’t really add up why they jump several times within this episode alone...

I actually hoped that they would get rid of the spore drive as a plot device this season, but that doesn’t seem likely.
At least we get to see more of the Discovery’s crew this season with the Klingon’s point of view suddenly gone.

The spore garden is not gone I believe it just had troubles when the network was getting damaged by MU Stamos.

Oh snap!

I can't help but wonder if they brought back the doctor because of the outcry over killing off one of their few LGBT characters.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I can't help but wonder if they brought back the doctor because of the outcry over killing off one of their few LGBT characters.

I would agree with this guess, were it not for the fact that the After Trek episode following Culber's death included Wilson Cruz dropping HEAVY hints that Culber was coming back.

I haven't jumped on season two as of yet, but said character was a favourite. This bumps it up the queue a ways.

Pedantic question: I was under the impression that the ST universe didn't have warp capable shuttles until DS9. Am I wrong?

I'm enjoying this season SO DAMN MUCH, but just about every episode I leave thinking "why is this not set after DS9? The tech is just too advanced to be set before TOS." It's driving me crazy... I love it so much, but the nerd that's a stickler for details is super annoyed as well

Trach, TNG shuttles were warp capable; the small up to warp 2 and the larger to warp 6, if I’m remembering correctly.

EDIT: (Spent some time reading memory alpha’s shuttle articles, and you’ll be SHOCKED to know that TOS contradicted itself quite a bit. Though stated the shuttles were not warp capable, most of the shuttle journeys required warp and on one occurrence, a shuttle is clearly chasing the Enterprise at warp). In other words, it’s a show and I continue to try to just shut my brain down on inconsistencies.

I’ve not started this season yet, but in all forms of Trek, when the tech doesn’t mesh with what it’s “supposed to be” - wow is that said lightly - I can have a hard time shutting off that part of my nerd-brain.

By midseason with DSC S1, I was able to just sit back and enjoy sci-fi that felt mildly connected to Trek.

I do think this should have been set post DS9, however. The ships fit right in with the 2379 onward designs.

T-Prime wrote:

I think that everyone who disliked Season 1 should skip over it and try watching Season 2. It's good Trek.

I took your advice. I could barely make it through the first three episodes of season 1 before I dropped the show, but I am loving season 2. That's not to say the show is perfect by any means, but it feels like Star Trek again. The show is fun to watch, the tone is optimistic, and the characters feel like a family. I'll go back and finish season 1 off eventually, but I'm in no rush. I don't feel as though I've missed out on much by skipping so many episodes.

Zoso1701 wrote:

Trach, TNG shuttles were warp capable; the small up to warp 2 and the larger to warp 6, if I’m remembering correctly.

EDIT: (Spent some time reading memory alpha’s shuttle articles, and you’ll be SHOCKED to know that TOS contradicted itself quite a bit. Though stated the shuttles were not warp capable, most of the shuttle journeys required warp and on one occurrence, a shuttle is clearly chasing the Enterprise at warp). In other words, it’s a show and I continue to try to just shut my brain down on inconsistencies.

I did some poking around memory alpha as well. It could be that I'm miss-remembering them touting the warp capabilities of the roundabouts (though warp 5 is nothing to sneeze at, it's the Enterprise NX-01's top speed after all) and confusing it with the fact that they also included transporters on top of being warp capable.

Zoso1701 wrote:

I’ve not started this season yet, but in all forms of Trek, when the tech doesn’t mesh with what it’s “supposed to be” - wow is that said lightly - I can have a hard time shutting off that part of my nerd-brain.

I'm living for this season. I loved season 1, but it felt almost Trek-adjacent to me. Took me a while to realize why: it's a full story arc and not a monster/alien/engineering problem of the week show. This season feels very much the latter and I'm loving it. And I feel like the bridge crew is getting a lot more show time as well, which also helps it feel more "Star Trek".

It's funny, the "spore drive" really bothered me for the longest time. I kept telling myself "there's no way TOS or ST:TNG would have something so bizzare! This isn't Star Trek!". Then I watched "The Cage" for the first time in years. Giant headed aliens that can manipulate your perceived reality from light years away? OK, yeah, the spore drive is A-OK by me now

I wonder if the crew member that looks like a robot is a robot. That might contradict hard with Data being the first artificial member of starfleet.

At about the halfway mark through last season, I just accepted that this is some sort of alternate universe. There's just too many discrepancies between this and the original timeline, and that's before we even get into technology details. I've been enjoying the show a lot more ever since then.

The area of space that had the time rift was named the "Mutara" system... the same name as the Mutara Nebula from Star Trek 2. The Mutara Nebula was transformed by the Genesis device into a star system with a planet where Spock's body was regenerated after he died in Wrath of Khan.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

I wonder if the crew member that looks like a robot is a robot. That might contradict hard with Data being the first artificial member of starfleet.

I forget where I read it now, but Airiam is apparently a human with artificial cybernetic parts. So not fully artificial, but as far as I can recall that hasn't been addressed on-screen yet. Following the events of this week's episode, we'll probably get some backstory on her next week.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

The area of space that had the time rift was named the "Mutara" system... the same name as the Mutara Nebula from Star Trek 2. The Mutara Nebula was transformed by the Genesis device into a star system with a planet where Spock's body was regenerated after he died in Wrath of Khan.

Also, Spock and Michael are heading to Talos IV next week, which means I have homework to do before the next episode.

So my only gripe thus far this season has been the pacing of most episodes. The season started out strong, but after episode 3 or so, I feel like they have about 60-70 minutes of story that they are shoving into a 40-minute package. With the exception of Saru's episode on Kaminar (which I feel is the strongest episode of the series thus far), the pace of each episode is absolutely breakneck, with little time to breathe and process whats going on.

Maybe it's me turning into an old man, but I seriously wish they'd slow down a bit. I like these characters! I like where the story is going!

Also: I'm glad that The Search for Spock is over. That arc was getting a little long in the tooth; now we can begin figuring out wtf is his deal.

T-Prime wrote:

Also, Spock and Michael are heading to Talos IV next week, which means I have homework to do before the next episode.

Considering the placement of Discovery in the Star Trek timeline, you'll probably want to watch this episode, not that one

Spoiler:

I REALLY hope they don't update those particular aliens. I want big ass veiny heads and 60s ass glittery robes :D

Trachalio wrote:
T-Prime wrote:

Also, Spock and Michael are heading to Talos IV next week, which means I have homework to do before the next episode.

Considering the placement of Discovery in the Star Trek timeline, you'll probably want to watch this episode, not that one

Spoiler:

I REALLY hope they don't update those particular aliens. I want big ass veiny heads and 60s ass glittery robes :D

To your commentary in the spoiler part...

Spoiler:
Rat Boy wrote:

To your commentary in the spoiler part...

Spoiler:

I'm down with that updated look. Heck, if they're gonna redesign the Klingons every other series, I guess I should be OK with the occasional update to other species

T-Prime wrote:

Maybe it's me turning into an old man, but I seriously wish they'd slow down a bit. I like these characters! I like where the story is going!

Similar to the Trek reboot movies: there's no sense of distance at all, travel time from A to B is nearly instantaneous. Enterprise goes from Earth to Q'onoS in hardly any time at all.

In Discovery, the spore drive makes this quite literal. And then there's this imperssion that no one has any downtime. TNG had people unwind in Ten-Forward. It feels like everyone on Discovery is working all the time.

Trachalio wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

To your commentary in the spoiler part...

Spoiler:

I'm down with that updated look. Heck, if they're gonna redesign the Klingons every other series, I guess I should be OK with the occasional update to other species ;)

This also raises the interesting possibility of encountering...

Spoiler:

...Vina.

Rat Boy wrote:
Trachalio wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

To your commentary in the spoiler part...

Spoiler:

I'm down with that updated look. Heck, if they're gonna redesign the Klingons every other series, I guess I should be OK with the occasional update to other species ;)

This also raises the interesting possibility of encountering...

Spoiler:

...Vina.

I totally think that's going to happen, and

Spoiler:

Would be a nice tie in to The Menagerie later in the timeline :D

So I read this article about a certain someone who appeared in the last episode and this part caught my eye...

At the end of "The Menagerie," the Talosians give Pike and Vina the illusion that both are living perpetually in their youthful, undamaged bodies forever. Basically, the future of Vina and Pike’s relationship in Star Trek canon is exactly like Yorkie and Kelly in the Black Mirror episode “San Junipero,” only with telepathy instead of technology.

Now I can't help but think of "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" playing over Kirk looking astonished as Pike and Vina run off.