Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Evade · 29-06-2022 7:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119268367#Comment_119268367

Picard did have his own saddle they found it at the end of the episode in a storage locker.

pixelburp · 29-06-2022 7:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119265894#Comment_119265894

The dialogue and patter between the crew is the biggest hat tip towards the era in which this has been made (ignoring better FX, obviously); very much post Whedon, MCU quipping that will no doubt age like milk - but it has never once been so overdone or egregious that I've rolled my eyes (unlike, say, the MCU that is so wedded to quips it constantly undermines its own drama). The rest of the show has had a timeless "Weekly Adventures in Space" vibe that has been forgotten or ignored by New Trek

To be a fly on the wall in the brain trust; Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds the critical and fan darlings - Picard and Discovery derided. Kurtzmann and Goldsmans hands more on the latter. God knows what the Paramount viewing stats are saying; though you'd have to guess the curves trend upwards for the better shows. Will Kurtzmann be big enough to recognise he may need to step back from involvement?

breezy1985 · 29-06-2022 7:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119268400#Comment_119268400

Going on TV history the ratings probably favour the shows you are saying are poor.

This is a world where Sex & the City is "legendary" and Coronation St. gets a million seasons.

corkie · 29-06-2022 7:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119268398#Comment_119268398

"I only wish I had the opportunity to use it on a horse."

"Of course."

- Picard, lamenting on his unused saddle, and Worf responding. This might be a humorous reference to the lyrics of the theme song to the 1961 television show Mister Ed.

I'm aware, just happened to watch the episode today. I was going to include a picture of it, but it is in the links posted.

pixelburp · 29-06-2022 8:24pm

Finished episode 8 and chalk yet another one up in the Good column. And what was especially praiseworthy here was, like Spock Amok, all the zany comedy was window dressing for the character drama beneath. It took another trope of classic Trek plots, and gave it a slight modern spin coupled with a deeply personal angle for the Doctor.

Don't think I'll rewatch this one in a hurry, albeit as a mini arc for the Doctor perhaps - or simply to enjoy all the cast having a ball playing crazy alternatives of themselves.

blade1 · 30-06-2022 5:51pm

I'm going starting on ep 9 now.

Must say 8 was not my cup of tea at all.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed for 9 and 10.

fritzelly · 30-06-2022 6:37pm

What a contrast from last week - someone is a fan of Alien

ilovesmybrick · 01-07-2022 9:39am

Pretty spot on review by Patrick Freyne in todays Times. I think the final paragraph sums up the general opinion here:

Ultimately, what I like most about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that, despite all the legacy elements, it’s not just about nostalgia. It tells neat science fiction stories set on worlds that are actually “strange” and “new” and aren’t just a series of callbacks to previous adventures. All in all, readers, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fills me with that strange emotion humans call “hope”.

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2022/07/01/patrick-freyne-if-theyd-called-this-star-trek-reasonable-space-dad-id-have-been-okay-with-that/

pixelburp · 01-07-2022 9:50am

My immediate reaction was bafflement that something like the Irish Times was reviewing the new Star Trek lol. That's an excellent point about nostalgia it makes: we're absolutely drowning in open wallowing of nostalgic beats; we haven't hit any kind of Deconstructionist era, instead content to just churn out empty indulgence of arrested development. Disney+ could reasonably be called the "hey, remember this?" channel (their latest being the announcement of a sequel to Hocus Pocus and Chip n' Dale, proving the 90s are now in focus for bottom-trawling).

Instead Strange New Worlds actually tries to take the format, tropes and iconography of said nostalgia and run with it all into new and interesting territory. Episode 8 was a good example of this; on the surface an open clone of that format where the crew búggers about in silly costumes - but underpinning it all was a crushing, bittersweet story of one of the crew.

I also quite like the point about Spock; that instead of treading the tired cliches about him "learning" how emotions work...

But this never made sense to me. Instead, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Spock’s heightened analytical powers make him more, not less, emotionally intelligent than his human shipmates and he frequently explains their own emotions back to them. He also largely goes by “Spock” and not “Mr Spock” as he is dubbed in the original series. “Mr Spock is my father,” I hoped he’d say at some point, possibly in the first episode love scene in which he goes shirtless (a nod of respect to Kirk).

TheIrishGrover · 01-07-2022 10:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119274818#Comment_119274818

I also quite like the point about Spock; that instead of treading the tired cliches about him "learning" how emotions work...

Yeah, I LOVE their take on Spock (Since Discovery). It's not that he doesn't have emotions, it's that Vulcans have CONTROL over them. I mean the scenes between him and T'Pring are sizzling. With barely more than a raised..... eyebrow. And I loved his line to Chapel along the lines of "Humans are easier to tease than Vulcans". Again, totally deadpan. I also really Liked Discovery's portrayal of Sarek (And hope to see him again in SNW). His portrayal a bit more... dynamic, I suppose, than Mark Lenard. Which made sense in that he would probably have been a bit of an outlier amongst Vulcans (Human wife and adopted daughter). So far, this show has been pretty damn faultless.

Agent Coulson · 02-07-2022 11:05pm

What a brilliant series this is and this weeks episode was top class.

This is more than I hope for.

SouthWesterly · 06-07-2022 11:32pm

Just finished the last episode.

Have to say it was a sensational series. Left discovery in the ditch.

Hope we'll see a second series

fritzelly · 06-07-2022 11:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119301763#Comment_119301763

Not a hope - a definite, already wrapped on production

Production Has Wrapped On ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 2 – TrekMovie.com

corkie · 06-07-2022 11:37pm

@SouthWesterly Spoiler tag the comments about Uhura?

I won't get to see the final till tomorrow.

https://trekmovie.com/2022/07/01/producution-has-wrapped-on-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-2/

The first season finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds only arrives ~~next~~ ~~week~~,(tomorrow!?) but they have already wrapped up shooting for the next one.

Agent Coulson · 07-07-2022 1:24pm

Hands down the best best new Trek and now sets the standard the rest have to get to and that was a brilliant ending to the season.

TheIrishGrover · 07-07-2022 4:38pm

That is fantastic news. Obviously Paramount streaming platform will be able to determine exactly how many legit views they get, how this compares with other shows on their streaming platform, will be able to see the large and extremely loud positive reaction from fans, critics and casual viewers. There has been little toxic "fan" criticism (You will always get the mom's-basement cave trolls). The overall reaction has been SO positive that any of this toxicity is simply drowned out as bigots yelling against the tide (To mix metaphors).

While not every episode was everyone's taste (Thinking here of the Doctor/daughter story especially), even people who didn't like them didn't have a problem with them. They just didn't float their boat. And that's totally understandable (Although I personally thought it was excellent).

This is EASILY my favourite Trek since DS9 (Followed by Lower Decks. But then I am a Trek AND animation fan).

The (not-always) upbeat nature of the show is fun. The (not-always) episodic nature of the episodes works where it didn't with Voyager. The characters are all likeable, individual and memorable (Can anyone remember the name of the navigator in Enterprise? Can anyone remember any personal traits about Chakotay apart from being a Native American stereotype in touch with his "spirit Animal"?). The writing and episode construction is zippy, fun and extremely efficient and adept at handling multiple storylines and characters coherently. Not an easy feat.

I have yet to watch today's episode but, even if it falls flat on its face, so far, this has been a triumph

pixelburp · 09-07-2022 3:00pm

Episode 9 was a cracking space horror episode with a sad ending; wasn't expecting that - nor was my wife, who was cheerfully wondering aloud about the story's "red shirts".

It has been great to see an obvious confidence to switch up the genres across the season, recognising the natural flexibility often demonstrated in previous Treks. I'd have not noticed had they picked one tone, one specific style and running with it; bopping between approaches has given each episode an enticing feeling of "what next?"

AMKC · 11-07-2022 7:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304913#Comment_119304913

(Can anyone remember the name of the navigator in Discovery)

FYP

ilovesmybrick · 11-07-2022 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119323181#Comment_119323181

Errmm, Burnham (/s).

I think it's Detmar, but that might be because she's one of the few whose name I know.

Enterprise was Mayweather, I know that because I quite enjoyed what I think was a Season 1 episode where he met his freighter family, which was a cool idea that should have been further explored. Not quite generation ships, but generations of families running a ship.

breezy1985 · 11-07-2022 8:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119323181#Comment_119323181

Definitely Detmer but I only know that cause I fancy her.

It's the 3 lads in the back of the bridge who get the odd "moment" that I have to laugh at. One is Bryce but couldn't tell ya which one.

pixelburp · 11-07-2022 8:54pm

Nurse Chapel has turned my head; and Episode 8 Uhuru's costume was ... well, certainly something.

Detmer was the pilot, no? Man, I got so excited that finally - finally - the other crew got more screen time in Season 3 with her PTSD subplot ... that then went nowhere.

Haven't watched episode 10 yet but I presume, speaking of pilots, we'll get some time to know Ortega more in future.

breezy1985 · 11-07-2022 9:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119323550#Comment_119323550

Well I don't think Trek has navigators or pilots it was always the helm or helmsman. But essentially she flew the ship.

Owo was next to her at ops (but only got called that during and after TNG I think)

iniall · 12-07-2022 4:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119323550#Comment_119323550

And Melissa Navia, the actress who plays Ortegas, had a partner who was from Donegal (and who sadly died last year), so she's an honorary Irishwoman!

pixelburp · 15-07-2022 11:38am

Episode 10, an excellent ending. A little overwrought in places (hello Akiva Goldsman) but everything really clicked in terms of what the story set out to do: this is not Captain Pike's story, not really. Captain Space Dad is, like any parent, there to simply show the way for others to take. I gotta respect the decision not to mine the drama of Pikes future more than they did. While its use of prior Trek lore never felt excessively crude.

But overall? This has been the strongest season of live action Trek since ... gosh. How long do we go back? DS9 in its pomp? Certainly a contender for best Season 1.

And I like how there was no rush to cover every character; there is still lots of explore of Chapel, Ortega, Number 1 and so on.

Rawr · 15-07-2022 12:13pm

So...I haven't watched Strange New Worlds yet.

Having to go to the effort to set sail and my preference to use mobile devices to watch shows has made me wait with this one. I have avoided the various episode threads to keep any viewing fresh and over the summer I may plan a couple of binges.

The impressions I am getting initially here in this thread is that this may be good Trek. Visually it reminds me still too much of Discovery, so I'm somewhat concerned. As someone who has quit watching Discovery after Season 3 out of frustration, do you folks believe that SNW is worth a watch? A good bit of Trek, or is it as annoying as what came before from these people?

pixelburp · 15-07-2022 12:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340828#Comment_119340828

100% watch it. It's nothing like Discovery. It's Star Trek, modernised, in all the right ways.

There are flaws ye, but nowhere near cumulative enough to be a problem.

Rawr · 15-07-2022 12:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340842#Comment_119340842

Nice. Thanks for the reassurance :)

Sad Professor · 15-07-2022 12:36pm

Yeah, as someone who gave up on both Discovery and Picard, I have no hesitation recommending SNW. As others have said, it's the best Trek has been in a long time. As I have said before, some of the characters and ideas are clearly a product of the same hacks behind DISC and PIC but the execution is miles better and crucially you can feel the presence of writers who really know and understand Star Trek. Where it really excels is in its episodic storytelling (very refreshing in the current age of serialisation) and the focus on the ensemble (the casting of the main characters is excellent) - two things that have been majorly lacking in the other shows. It's also a lot of fun and manages to blend a lot of different tones.

TheIrishGrover · 15-07-2022 3:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340828#Comment_119340828

Yeah, if you did a search through this thread or other, episode specific ones (Don't. Don't risk spoilers), then you would see LOTS of mentions of Discovery. But mainly they were along the lines of "Look how SNW got this right and compare it to Discovery" or "Well, if Discovery did one thing right, it was being a sort of pilot for this".

You are in for a treat

JayRoc · 15-07-2022 4:34pm

I watched the first couple of episodes on the seven seas myself, and then decided to just wait til the season was done and then get paramount plus for a month and watch the lot.

It definitely seems like it's gonna be worth watching properly.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340828#Comment_119340828

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

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