I wouldn’t have hated a two hour finale and certainly the show deserved more than a 15 minute post credits scene, but Discovery was overall a weak Star Trek show.
Enterprise only got four seasons (although it had more episodes) and that was a much better show.
Now if any of the characters want to come back, I’m all for it. Sonequa Martin-Green was great. I hope they can write a script and she comes back and gets the finale she wants, but Discovery is over and I’m ok with that.
The entire premise of the show makes more sense if you assume the entire crew was tripping spaceballs off space spores. While Sonequa was great, and the rest of the acting talent was there… there wasn’t a lot they could do to salvage the premise. i take a great deal of issue with everything else.
the first time I tried watching ST:Discuotheque, I had to pause it every five minutes to google what the fuck I was missing. Which was a lot.
IMO the core issue started with script writers and produces wanting to tell a story and trying to mold that story into a trek universe. And that hardly ever makes sense. Is telling a store with in the middle of Trek hard? absolutely. but if you’re gonna do it, you have to start with the established universe and ask if the story you’re telling makes sense in that context, and discovery simply didn’t.
IMO the core issue started with script writers and produces wanting to tell a story and trying to mold that story into a trek universe.
That’s sadly been a very common thing in recent years. Writers noticed that fewer and fewer original shows were being made, and latched onto existing IPs or adaptations. And then try to force their idea onto that, which drastically change how people act in comparison and often entire premises of how story-universes work. And Discovery had staff officers acting more over-the-top with emotional outbursts than in Lower Decks. So I might finish it with the “they’re high on spores all the time” headcanon.
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the writers for the shift. The bigwigs making the decision believe that using existing IP means that half the marketing job is already done.
Look at Babylon 5 vs DS 9- the networks aired them opposite each other and DS9 dominated. Even though ds9 was more or less inspired by an early show bible for bab5, that was left with UPN.
The problem is… people know what Star Trek is, and when it’s “not trek”… well, people walk away pissed.
Edit to add: with the prevalence of streaming on demand, there’s a lower amount of completion. If DS9 and Bab5 came out today, most of us would happily watch both.
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the writers for the shift. The bigwigs making the decision believe that using existing IP means that half the marketing job is already done.
I don’t blame them for the shift at all, that’s all on the higher ups who only see dollars. I do however blame them for doing things like not engaging with the source material and actively changing character personalities to fit their own idea of the story. Specially when it is so drastic that it goes against the overall story and it has to be retconned or explained in unbelivable ways.
Absolutely agree that Enterprise is the far better show. Discovery was a lot of spectacle and little substance.
There were still actors and characters I liked - Culber and Stamets, Keyla Detmer, Saru.
But I had a completely different experience of Sonequa Martin-Green. She overacted and shredded most scenes into teen melodrama, while supposedly portraying a highly trained elite officer. I thought her work in Discovery was amateurish at best, so much crying and emotional outburst that it lost any weight. If a cadet’s constant state is lack of emotional regulation you they’d never make it through the academy.
Mary Wiseman (Tilly), Tig Notaro (Reno), and Oded Fehr (Admiral Vance) are already slated to return in Academy. Likely we could see others appear as a second season has already been greenlit.
Tilly is one of my favorites on the ship and Admiral Vance was fantastic, probably because he’s the first competent Admiral (that we didn’t previously see in the series). Reno is fine, but I like Tig Notaro, so I just head cannon it’s Tig always and it works.
They’re also adding Robert Picardo, hopefully as THE Doctor, which is another favorite of mine.
The far future isn’t my favorite timeline, I’d love to go back and pickup after 90s Trek. We got that a little with Picard, but that show also had some issues. But I want to explore, proper explore, that time more.
That said I’m hoping Academy works out.
(And if not I still have Strange New Worlds to enjoy.)
It’s definitely The Doc. From showrunner Noga Landau:
“I don’t know if Bob knows this, but the Doctor, like, raised me. So I was worried… that I would come on [the video call to pitch his return] and scare him away. But then I realized that nothing scares Bob Picardo! I sent him the script and told him a little bit about the part he would have in the show for the first season. He’s going to do things we’ve never seen The Doctor do before — and The Doctor’s done a lot, think about it! — and he said ‘yes.’ I don’t think we had to twist his arm too hard, actually.”
As for the early 25th Century, there’s another show in development with Tawny Newsome concerning a resort planet. More of a workplace comedy and less exploration, though.
I wouldn’t have hated a two hour finale and certainly the show deserved more than a 15 minute post credits scene, but Discovery was overall a weak Star Trek show.
Enterprise only got four seasons (although it had more episodes) and that was a much better show.
Now if any of the characters want to come back, I’m all for it. Sonequa Martin-Green was great. I hope they can write a script and she comes back and gets the finale she wants, but Discovery is over and I’m ok with that.
Enterprise was meant to go onfor longer but Les Moonves hated the show, and made sure it ended the way it did.
Std and Picard was pretty weak, Picard could’ve had better arcs if it managed to stay away from STD style writing
The entire premise of the show makes more sense if you assume the entire crew was tripping spaceballs off space spores. While Sonequa was great, and the rest of the acting talent was there… there wasn’t a lot they could do to salvage the premise. i take a great deal of issue with everything else.
the first time I tried watching ST:Discuotheque, I had to pause it every five minutes to google what the fuck I was missing. Which was a lot.
IMO the core issue started with script writers and produces wanting to tell a story and trying to mold that story into a trek universe. And that hardly ever makes sense. Is telling a store with in the middle of Trek hard? absolutely. but if you’re gonna do it, you have to start with the established universe and ask if the story you’re telling makes sense in that context, and discovery simply didn’t.
That’s sadly been a very common thing in recent years. Writers noticed that fewer and fewer original shows were being made, and latched onto existing IPs or adaptations. And then try to force their idea onto that, which drastically change how people act in comparison and often entire premises of how story-universes work. And Discovery had staff officers acting more over-the-top with emotional outbursts than in Lower Decks. So I might finish it with the “they’re high on spores all the time” headcanon.
Spores were the plot distraction for the first 2 season, they almost stopped using it in 3rd going forward
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the writers for the shift. The bigwigs making the decision believe that using existing IP means that half the marketing job is already done.
Look at Babylon 5 vs DS 9- the networks aired them opposite each other and DS9 dominated. Even though ds9 was more or less inspired by an early show bible for bab5, that was left with UPN.
The problem is… people know what Star Trek is, and when it’s “not trek”… well, people walk away pissed.
Edit to add: with the prevalence of streaming on demand, there’s a lower amount of completion. If DS9 and Bab5 came out today, most of us would happily watch both.
I don’t blame them for the shift at all, that’s all on the higher ups who only see dollars. I do however blame them for doing things like not engaging with the source material and actively changing character personalities to fit their own idea of the story. Specially when it is so drastic that it goes against the overall story and it has to be retconned or explained in unbelivable ways.
(Yes I’m still bitter about The Witcher show)
And their constant virtue signalling that they need for marginalized groups,
Absolutely agree that Enterprise is the far better show. Discovery was a lot of spectacle and little substance.
There were still actors and characters I liked - Culber and Stamets, Keyla Detmer, Saru.
But I had a completely different experience of Sonequa Martin-Green. She overacted and shredded most scenes into teen melodrama, while supposedly portraying a highly trained elite officer. I thought her work in Discovery was amateurish at best, so much crying and emotional outburst that it lost any weight. If a cadet’s constant state is lack of emotional regulation you they’d never make it through the academy.
Michelle yeoh too, she made the first season somewhat watchable
All the forced melodrama is so freaking weird. As an adult, I miss watching a show about, you know, adults (even young ones). People who act maturely.
Mary Wiseman (Tilly), Tig Notaro (Reno), and Oded Fehr (Admiral Vance) are already slated to return in Academy. Likely we could see others appear as a second season has already been greenlit.
Tilly is one of my favorites on the ship and Admiral Vance was fantastic, probably because he’s the first competent Admiral (that we didn’t previously see in the series). Reno is fine, but I like Tig Notaro, so I just head cannon it’s Tig always and it works.
They’re also adding Robert Picardo, hopefully as THE Doctor, which is another favorite of mine.
The far future isn’t my favorite timeline, I’d love to go back and pickup after 90s Trek. We got that a little with Picard, but that show also had some issues. But I want to explore, proper explore, that time more.
That said I’m hoping Academy works out.
(And if not I still have Strange New Worlds to enjoy.)
It’s definitely The Doc. From showrunner Noga Landau:
As for the early 25th Century, there’s another show in development with Tawny Newsome concerning a resort planet. More of a workplace comedy and less exploration, though.