Star Trek: Discovery - spoilery thoughts?

[Fixer]

So I was convinced by a friend to catch Episode 6 despite having previously given up, and he was right. The writing was much, much better.

You had some nice, human and relatable interactions between the characters. Lorca was acting more like a father to his crew for the first part when interacting with Michael and Stemets. There was some great character work at the end where it was ambiguous as to what his motive was.

Michael gets to do some heroic stuff too, I really wish it wasn't by using the force though.

Which is where it gets frustrating. Essentially the episode works because all the characters act completely differently to normal. What's more Michael now says she's only just starting to experience her suppressed emotions? After all the anger, rage and her adrenaline junkie thrust suit ride in Episode 1 I find it hard to believe she's been running on pure logic for the past 6 episodes.

[Fixer]

Doublepost, but caught the new episode today at lunch. To my surprise they've kept on track with the good character writing and this was the first really "trek" episode of Discovery and the first episode I would classify as truly good.

The time loop is now a well trodden sci-fi staple but giving the loop to the villain adds a fun new twist.

If I were to nitpick, Mudd in his previous incarnations including the 25th Anniversary game appearance as a man that dealt in illegal goods and shady deals. He was a lot less murder-y and high treason-y. In addition his punishment at the end should have been far more severe as a result.

[Dînadan]

To be fair, Mudd has just come out of an extended time in Klingon prison, so it’s not surprising he’s different to how we’re used to seeing him. That said, it is difficult to believe he’ll mellow out so much in the ten or so years between then and TOS.

To be honest I think it’s a pity that they didn’t create a new character instead of using Mudd; aside from the above quibble, while the actor does a good job in the role making the character fun to watch, to me his mannerisms don’t quite fit Mudd, he’s just not flamboyant enough for Mudd (although again I suppose that could be handwaved as a result of the recent trauma of incarceration).

[CharlesPhipps]

There's a prevalent theory that we're seeing the point when the production staff switched.

Bryan Fuller supposedly made the Pilot movie and the first episode.

While everything else was made by the new showrunner.

And man does it show.

[Fixer]

The inconsistencies with Mudd we can just add to the Klingons and the technology for reasons why Discovery exists in the edgy "Dark Trek" reimagining rather than the prime universe, no matter what the showrunners say.

Following up on the ending, Mudd now has a lot of extremely sensitive information that could be sold to the highest bidder. Letting him be taken into custody by a third party after committing some of the most serious crimes you can commit in the federation, plus one act of endangering the space whales, seems like a really bad idea.

In addition, is that time tech still aboard? Seems like Discovery would now have access to two superweapons.

[technobabbler]

Should I give this a chance, though?.

Give it 15 minutes. Start at Episode 3, "Context is for Kings." Then if you're still game, backtrack to ep. 1-2, 4+.

I'm ambivalent towards the protagonist, but it's fun to play armchair SF Debris and critique the show. Lots of fodder for bar debates, especially if you've seen a lot of Trek and Chuck's reviews.

Example----for all the alleged SJW aspects of the show, in the latest episode, the arguable TV trope implication is that our strong, independent woman's life is incomplete without the love of a man. Traditional coupling values for the win! How are third wave feminists going to spin that?

[Dînadan]

In addition, is that time tech still aboard? Seems like Discovery would now have access to two superweapons.

I’d have to rewatch the ep to check, but I could have sworn it was the thing he was wearing on his wrist that vanished on its own near the end of the episode.

But if they do have it, that could actually give the writers an ‘out’ to explain away the inconsistencies in much the same way the Temporal Cold War could have been used on Enterprise but wasn’t. The Time Tech could be used to erase this timeline, eliminating the spore drive and the war with the Klingons in the process, and put things back on track for TOS.

[Paul Walker]

Mudd in his previous incarnations including the 25th Anniversary game appearance as a man that dealt in illegal goods and shady deals. He was a lot less murder-y and high treason-y. In addition his punishment at the end should have been far more severe as a result.

True. It also seems that Lorca (in particular) would have pushed for a harsher punishment than "make him live in marital bliss for the remainder of his life."

Though it's not too dissimilar to what Kirk did when leaving Mudd with 500 robotic clones of his wife in TOS the situation, and captains, are significantly different.

In fairness, a weak punishment to the villian, in an otherwise excellent episode, doesn't bother me too much. It is an example of the silliness of Federation 'justice'. Given how early we are into Discovery, and its serialised form, this might be addressed and even corrected later.

[Fixer]

In addition, is that time tech still aboard? Seems like Discovery would now have access to two superweapons.

I’d have to rewatch the ep to check, but I could have sworn it was the thing he was wearing on his wrist that vanished on its own near the end of the episode.

It did, but the true tech was supposedly inside the shuttle hidden inside the space whale. He'd also used the same tech before to rob the bank of betazed, so this could be a one time use crystal and he had a few of them or the Federation now has access to a 30 minute do-over button.

That kind of tech would be invaluable in a pivotal battle, an Admiral could redirect the fleet until a close run thing is decisively won by applying the perfect strategies and tactics.

[Dînadan]

That kind of tech would be invaluable in a pivotal battle, an Admiral could redirect the fleet until a close run thing is decisively won by applying the perfect strategies and tactics.

Put like that it gives vibes of ‘Year if Hell’, using time tech to keep altering reality until the desired one is reached. Sure the means and actual effect are different, but the spirit is the same.

Also, I think Chuck’s already reviewed that plot line in anime form; it was called Madoka Magica wasn’t it?

Also, also, maybe Starfleet will learn to replicate it, but it’ll be flawed and only work for 13 second resets instead of 30min ones? ;p