Star Trek: Discovery temporarily open

[TheNewTeddy]

1 - Episodes literally get better and better. Each new one is better than the last one, and the worst part of Discovery was the opening 5 minutes.

So it is like beer and you will end up with either Stockholm Syndrome or a seriously unhealthy addiction?

That wooded planet one wasn't as good as the ones before it, but in general, it does seem to get better as it goes.

VS the orwell which has stayed pretty stable at "season 2.5 TNG" level; you know stuff like Q Who, Menage a Troi, Tin Man, or Where Silence Has Lease, that make you question which season you are watching.

[BunBun299]

I really dislike what I was able to watch of this series. To a point where I refuse to pay for it. Maybe if Netflix ever gets the USA rights, which I kinda think will happen for season 1, just before season 2 comes out. Try to entice more viewers for season 2. If that happens, I'll give the show a second chance.

The points I find worst are the main character committing mutiny in the pilot, and not for any reason that can be remotely justified, and the KINOs (Klingons In Name Only). They don't look like Klingons, they don't dress like Klingons, they don't act like Klingons. The Klingons rival the Vulcans for Trek's most iconic aliens. Twisting them to a point where they are completely unrecognizable is a breaking point to me.

[Meushell]

One thing I would like to see is Chuck review the first two episodes of Discovery, then review the first episode of Orville, and then have him do his take on "Discovery vs. Orville." I know it's a bit of an internet cliche these days, but it would be interesting to hear Chuck's opinion on the subject, and maybe hear which series he prefers - if he even prefers either.

If this was done, I’d prefer to compare the first two seasons. Discovery has, admittedly, a weaker start. It’s also a journey to really get into the heart of the show, which isn’t a bad thing, but it makes it uneven to compare the shows by first episodes alone. One of the main characters isn’t even introduced until the fifth episode.

[Beastro]

Noooooo!

Orville!

Orville!

Orville!

(I haven't watched it yet, but given the thread talk I've read all over it's more Trek than Discovery will ever be).

[CTU]

You must not like yourself if you are willing to review this series...or watch it in general

[LavarosVA]

You must not like yourself if you are willing to review this series...or watch it in general

Nothing in this series gets anywhere close to what the worst of Trek has shown.

[Ablaze]

Apologies if I missed something I looked for a thread or post that discussed it but didn't find any, but did Chuck already mention why he's not (yet) giving out scores for Discovery episodes at the end of his reviews?

[crankyconner]

Chuck talked about this in his review of either the first or second episode (I think the was the first one). It's because Chuck is reviewing Discovery while it is still being broadcast, rather than after the series has finished (like he is doing with the other incarnations of Star Trek).

As such, Chuck is refraining from giving ratings to the season 1 episodes until season 1 is finished.

[Asvarduil]

(I haven't watched it yet, but given the thread talk I've read all over it's more Trek than Discovery will ever be).

So, I keep seeing this line of argument, and it bugs me every single time. They are both "Trek", but they are both very different facets of Trek.

DISCO is very much the military science fiction aspect of Trek. It deals with a spaceborne paramilitary organization primarily, which gets into wierd shenanigans and conflicts of culture that the heroes must find ways to resolve. If that sounds like...well, Star Trek in a nutshell...to you, well, there's a very good reason for that. Yes, the people making the show went for a darker, grittier setup with it (with varying levels of success) - this is an overt response to current geopolitical trends. Again, that's consistent with prior Treks.

Orville on the other hand is the optimistic utopian aspect of Trek. It still centers around the spaceborne paramilitary organization, but emphasizes the conflicts of culture and ability to overcome those differences productively. If DISCO is the Yin, the aggressive masculine aspect, I'd say Orville is the Yang, the gentle feminine aspect, of the military space opera genre. Due to the things that Orville wants to emphasize, it's lighter, brighter, and softer than DISCO. This is also an overt response to current geopolitical trends, but in the opposite way - instead of the message being the more aggressive, "We must fight and keep fighting", Orville instead says, "You know what? We're just going to keep cooperating. Nyah." And then someone gets suckered into sex with aliens.

I personally find the "DISCO isn't really Star Trek" commentary to be disingenuous, because what usually is meant by it is, "I like Orville more than DISCO." The opinion is valid, and fine, the problem is that it's being delivered in an intellectually dishonest way. If you like one more than the other, you know what? It's OK to say that explicitly. There's no need for No True Scotsman fallacies.

[TGLS]

I personally find the "DISCO isn't really Star Trek" commentary to be disingenuous, because what usually is meant by it is, "I like Orville more than DISCO."

Either that or you're dealing with a TOS absolutist.