DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

For all topics regarding speculative fiction of every stripe. Otherwise known as the Geek Cave.
User avatar
CharlesPhipps
Captain
Posts: 4699
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:06 pm

DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by CharlesPhipps »

I have to say that the premise of Season 4 bugs the hell out of me. I think it's a matter of regional history and where the metaphor bends in the wrong way. Basically, I live in Appalachia and there's a lot of mining in our history. There's also a lot of horrifying pollution, deaths, and accidents that the corporations are responsible for out of negligence.

Basically, they don't bother to do due diligence and the lives of people are ruined.

10-C is portrayed as a bunch of innocent victims that the Federation make peaceful contact with. Except, they have destroyed worlds and killed billions that they only did because they didn't bother to properly investigate where their mining was going. They're told, they stop, and it's shown to be a happy ending.

But that's absolutely not a defense.

They're guilty of manslaughter and improper safety on a truly massive scale but we're just supposed to pretend that's okay. It feels like Star Trek is going, "Well, those corporations didn't KNOW those heavy metals would poison the community. They shouldn't suffer any penalties." It wouldn't be nearly so noticeable if not for the fact they're space miners too.

Anyone else agree?
User avatar
hammerofglass
Captain
Posts: 2357
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:17 pm
Location: Corning, NY

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by hammerofglass »

Didn't 10-c agree to reparations and to clean up the damage at the end? I'm not sure what else they really could do.
...for space is wide, and good friends are too few.
User avatar
CharlesPhipps
Captain
Posts: 4699
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:06 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by CharlesPhipps »

hammerofglass wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:15 am Didn't 10-c agree to reparations and to clean up the damage at the end? I'm not sure what else they really could do.
It's more the presentation that this is all a big misunderstanding when in real life, this kind of tragedy or its closest equivalent, can't just be dismissed as "oops, I didn't know!"
Nobody700
Officer
Posts: 361
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:58 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by Nobody700 »

On the one hand, I can see this as the aliens not classifying life as we know it as life... but on the other hand, damn did they even BOTHER to check?
Science Fiction is a genre where anything can happen. Just make sure what happens is enjoyable for yourself and your audience.
User avatar
Deledrius
Captain
Posts: 1952
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:24 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by Deledrius »

CharlesPhipps wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 12:38 pm
hammerofglass wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:15 am Didn't 10-c agree to reparations and to clean up the damage at the end? I'm not sure what else they really could do.
It's more the presentation that this is all a big misunderstanding when in real life, this kind of tragedy or its closest equivalent, can't just be dismissed as "oops, I didn't know!"
Yeah, that whole part felt rushed and unresolved to me, too. This was especially frustrating due to how much The Hunt dragged in the middle during the ticking clock. I let it slide because the overall message was a good one and felt like it was being made in good faith; the execution was just as clumsy as it was possible to be. At this point, I've come to expect exactly that sort of fumbling from Discovery. After the misery of Picard, I was just glad to have a show trying to find the good in a bad situation and embracing the Star Trek ethos, even if it's sloppy and naive.

I had to take the show's word for it that it all works out neatly. Realistically, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense with the explanation we were given by way of bad analogy.
Thebestoftherest
Captain
Posts: 3497
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:22 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by Thebestoftherest »

How many more seasons does Disco have anyway.
User avatar
hammerofglass
Captain
Posts: 2357
Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2021 3:17 pm
Location: Corning, NY

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by hammerofglass »

Thebestoftherest wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2024 12:28 pm How many more seasons does Disco have anyway.
Just one.
...for space is wide, and good friends are too few.
User avatar
CharlesPhipps
Captain
Posts: 4699
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:06 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by CharlesPhipps »

It was delayed in release a couple of years, which is weird.
clearspira
Overlord
Posts: 5576
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2017 12:51 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by clearspira »

CharlesPhipps wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2024 3:00 pm It was delayed in release a couple of years, which is weird.
I know so few people who seem to be looking forward to STD. Its the one show that most people seem to agree sucks. I don't find it weird to be delayed, I think it is the one show that they would if they needed to. And yes, I presume it must have made money for them to keep making it, although how one makes money on streaming is a mystery to me.
We used to argue whether Star Trek or Star Wars was better. Now we argue which one is worse.
User avatar
CharlesPhipps
Captain
Posts: 4699
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:06 pm

Re: DISCO Season 4's Aesop really annoys me

Post by CharlesPhipps »

clearspira wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2024 5:44 pmI know so few people who seem to be looking forward to STD. Its the one show that most people seem to agree sucks. I don't find it weird to be delayed, I think it is the one show that they would if they needed to. And yes, I presume it must have made money for them to keep making it, although how one makes money on streaming is a mystery to me.
Same as cable. People pay you money directly.
Post Reply