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Post by agentten on Apr 5, 2020 5:09:16 GMT
I got a free month pass to CBS All Access so I watched through Picard this week. I have mixed feelings. The good:
- Riker and Troy were the standout for me. They were at their best and I would love to see them get a spin off series of their own.
- The Borg Ex-Pats is an intriguing concept, though it sometimes felt that had little to do with the overall plot.
- Seven of Nine was the big surprise. I have never cared much for Voyager, and was neutral on the character, but found her really engaging in this.
- Picard facing the seeming failure of his most precious ideals has solid dramatic potential.
- Starfleet having its 9/11 is an interesting idea. The bad:
- Some of the effects work was surprisingly subpar, especially given how good the FX tends to be on Discovery.
- Brent Spiner seemed a little bored playing Data. Something about his performance seemed muted.
- I found it a little bit difficult to believe that Picard was so disrespected and had so little influence, even after exiting Starfleet the way he did. An admiral telling Jean Luc Picard to shut the f*** up just seemed strange.
- It seemed unnecessary for there to be another even more secret Romulan organization when the Tal Shiar was already well developed in Star Trek lore and seemed like it would have served the plot's purposes just as well.
- I don't get turned off by swearing, rather I think they're just tools in the writer's tool box and you use the right tool for the right job, but it seemed out of place and distracting here.
- The pacing was slow. This was a six episode story at most. I have no idea why we need two more seasons.
- Picard's death was a massive dramatic failure. To build to what would hopefully be a poignant death, only to instantly undo it, undercuts the dramatic impact to say the least. All of the stakes of the show are cut off at the knees now. It was so contrived and I don't know what the purpose of it was if the plan was to just reverse it in the very next scene. A resurrection should have a high price in fiction. Kirk, for example, pays an incredible cost for Spock's return. Picard's death has no consequences and no cost, and is further neutered by merging it with Data's second death.
- I don't remember what the little purple device was called, but it can apparently do anything that anyone can imagine and arrives out of the blue to be of use just in time for the climax of the story, which is terribly lazy writing. I was excited for Picard's last gambit, alone in a small ship against an entire fleet. I expected an incredibly clever idea, such as the Picard Maneuver, but instead we discover he has no plan and another character suggests waving the magic wand they fortunately just acquired. The explanation for how that device would do what it does was just a blur of technobabble for me. I could actually see the writer waving their hand and the plot stretching and contorting to suit.
- Picard dying slowly over the course of the story and then using an injection to stimulate one last burst of action to protect others, knowing it would kill him, was so weirdly like the plot of Logan, that I couldn't help but assume that the show was deliberately lifting from that film. Logan is a fantastic examination of heroism and sacrifice, and Picard could be, too, but pulling a half-hearted imitation of a movie that Patrick Stewart starred in a few years ago . . . I can't believe no one could think of a better route than that.
All in all, I will not watch season 2. I found this disappointing and less exciting and eventful than I had hoped, with a lazy, misguided climax. Star Trek shows have something of a tradition in that their first seasons are, almost always, their lesser seasons. The original series is the only series, in my opinion, that gets out of the gate really strong, producing some of its best work in the first season. Other spin offs certainly have good episodes in their first seasons, but the spin offs always seem to take some time to find themselves. Hopefully, Picard is just suffering from the same spin off streak and will pick up speed next season, but I don't plan to stick around to find out.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2020 5:52:48 GMT
Let’s be honest ....I only played one episode twice....what does that tell you?
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 15, 2020 15:45:50 GMT
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on May 15, 2020 15:48:16 GMT
Another Star Trek show for me to avoid.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2020 16:10:58 GMT
After the disappointment of both Discovery and Picard I cannot say I am overly enthusiastic about this announcement. But....IF they can capture the ethos of the original series, IF they can find a way to tell new optimistic stories without rehashing what has been before and most importantly IF they can resist the temptation to make "potty mouth" the official language of the United Federation of Planets yet again...then I might be persuaded to restart that age old love affair. One thing for sure..I'll be keeping an eye on the news feeds over the next few months.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 15, 2020 16:39:27 GMT
After the disappointment of both Discovery and Picard I cannot say I am overly enthusiastic about this announcement. But....IF they can capture the ethos of the original series, IF they can find a way to tell new optimistic stories without rehashing what has been before and most importantly IF they can resist the temptation to make "potty mouth" the official language of the United Federation of Planets yet again...then I might be persuaded to restart that age old love affair. One thing for sure..I'll be keeping an eye on the news feeds over the next few months. Agreed. The one thing which got me excited was the acknowledgement at the end of the video that this would a optimistic Star Trek. The title would certainly imply this is a Trek that is getting back to basics. Here is hoping. I'm also hoping that with season three's new status quo Discovery will take up that exploration of strange new worlds as well. On that score, we should find out soon enough.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2020 17:34:19 GMT
After the disappointment of both Discovery and Picard I cannot say I am overly enthusiastic about this announcement. But....IF they can capture the ethos of the original series, IF they can find a way to tell new optimistic stories without rehashing what has been before and most importantly IF they can resist the temptation to make "potty mouth" the official language of the United Federation of Planets yet again...then I might be persuaded to restart that age old love affair. One thing for sure..I'll be keeping an eye on the news feeds over the next few months. Agreed. The one thing which got me excited was the acknowledgement at the end of the video that this would a optimistic Star Trek. The title would certainly imply this is a Trek that is getting back to basics. Here is hoping. I'm also hoping that with season three's new status quo Discovery will take up that exploration of strange new worlds as well. On that score, we should find out soon enough. That's the kind of Star Trek I would like to see return. After all these years, I am still only really onto the Original Series and Films. Anything after that, whilst watchable, seemed to require some investment in characters and continuity to fully appreciate, whilst too much time was given to life on board and within Starfleet, and exploration of relations and cooperation, etc. I just want straightforward, well paced, imaginative stand alone episodes focusing on a small regular cast each week without on going story threads and which gets down to business from the pre-credits hook. Humour and optimism without too much 'realism' makes good escapism for me.
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Post by fitzoliverj on May 15, 2020 18:18:37 GMT
I hope its good (best, bet, perhaps for a DW crossover, even tho that'll still never happen) but with two of the main characters both cold and emotionless and the third a depressive, it's not going to be a barrel of laughs.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on May 15, 2020 18:49:00 GMT
I hope its good (best, bet, perhaps for a DW crossover, even tho that'll still never happen) but with two of the main characters both cold and emotionless and the third a depressive, it's not going to be a barrel of laughs. It all depends on the writing. I’m deep into a DS9 rewatch and I’m struck by just how funny the characters can be. And as we know DS9 is a very dark show.
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Post by tuigirl on May 15, 2020 19:21:01 GMT
Always depends on HOW a dark story is written. I liked DS9. I am put off by the vibe of Discovery and I am not on board and do not enjoy the modern "realistic" approach to television.
If this was indeed a "back to the roots" with the vibe of the Classic Series, I am all for it. Yay, finally proper Trek is back. I would also not mind a bit more of the character-driven side as they did in TNG.
And while I am a huge Trekkie, I am a bit apprehensive about this and not overjoyed- I think I will wait how this plays out. Will it be some nice positive escapism? Or modern realism that is even more depressive than daily life?
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Post by fitzoliverj on May 15, 2020 19:43:16 GMT
with two of the main characters both cold and emotionless and the third a depressive, it's not going to be a barrel of laughs. It all depends on the writing. I’m deep into a DS9 rewatch and I’m struck by just how funny the characters can be. And as we know DS9 is a very dark show. Yes, but at least the characters have the capacity for emotion. (I suppose Pike could be like Sisko, and start out miserable and then cheer up).
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Post by agentten on May 16, 2020 1:36:54 GMT
The take on Pike and his crew is far and away the best thing to come out of the All Access era of Star Trek so far. When Pike was at the helm of Discovery the show felt the most like the Star Trek I know and love so I'm extremely enthusiastic about this announcement. Discovery can be a bit uneven for me as I like some aspects of it quite a bit, but other aspects need some rethinking, and I am frustrated with a lot of what the first season of Picard was, but in a real sense, we got a season long pilot for Strange New Worlds already. By having Pike and Co. around for the entire second season of Discovery, the powers that be got a good opportunity to see what worked about the portrayal of those classic characters and what the audience responded to, so I'm hopeful that the first season of ST:SNW will have a smooth launch.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Sept 3, 2020 8:56:29 GMT
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Post by elkawho on Nov 7, 2020 5:28:06 GMT
I loved this week's episode of Discovery. With the themes of acceptance, sadness, grief, and healing from being disconnected, it seemed like it was speaking right to me and so many of us right now. It was beautifully done.
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Post by elkawho on Nov 14, 2020 14:56:51 GMT
No comments on this episode? I thought it was a good, solid episode. Not quite up to the quality of the last one, but that is going to be hard to reach. I wish we had gotten to know Commander Nahn more before she left. I didn't really care that she was going, except that I didn't care and that means they didn't use her enough. I think there was potential in that character, but now she's gone. I like Oded Fehr as the Admiral. He's been in so many things, and when you look at his CV on IMDb he's also done a ton of voicework. I didn't know he was Ra's Al-Ghul in Young Justice. I love that show.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Nov 14, 2020 15:01:59 GMT
David Cronenbourg as the guy debriefing Georgiou was really good. He ought to do more acting.
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Post by elkawho on Nov 14, 2020 15:09:19 GMT
David Cronenbourg as the guy debriefing Georgiou was really good. He ought to do more acting. I had no idea that was him. He was great! I kind of felt sorry for the guy debriefing Tilly. Lol.
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Post by fitzoliverj on Nov 14, 2020 15:14:15 GMT
I had no idea that was him. Neither did I. He just looked familiar, I kept racking my brains. I thought it might be James Cromwell (whcih would be amusing considering some of the things they talked about) so ended up Googling it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2020 15:16:06 GMT
I would prefer a continuation of the Kelvin Timeline stories I do love them tbh and Picard just left me disappointed well apart from Jeri Ryan even Patrick couldn’t really save it for me or Deanna and Riker
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2020 15:21:50 GMT
It all depends on the writing. I’m deep into a DS9 rewatch and I’m struck by just how funny the characters can be. And as we know DS9 is a very dark show. Yes, but at least the characters have the capacity for emotion. (I suppose Pike could be like Sisko, and start out miserable and then cheer up). Just never connected with Sisko at all liked DS9 but his character just was about the most boring captain really even preferred Janeway
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