The Official Star Trek Thread

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

I haven't seen Star Trek into Darkness, but I did watch the 2009 one recently and it's not as good as I remember. The lens flare, the Apple Store aesthetic, a poor villain in Eric Bana, more monotonous action scenes than I remember. I'm sure there's more, but it felt more like a regular ol' action blockbuster that happened to have Trek characters (And no disrespect to Zachary Quinto but I think Ethan Peck is a much better Spock than him). Those are just off the top of my head. Perhaps a good film for someone new, but I don't think it cracks my top 5 Trek films list.

The weird thing is that I remember disliking all of those when it came out but disregarded it cause "Trek is back baby!"

[Middle-aged Europe]

I haven't seen Star Trek into Darkness, but I did watch the 2009 one recently and it's not as good as I remember. The lens flare, the Apple Store aesthetic, a poor villain in Eric Bana, more monotonous action scenes than I remember. I'm sure there's more, but it felt more like a regular ol' action blockbuster that happened to have Trek characters (And no disrespect to Zachary Quinto but I think Ethan Peck is a much better Spock than him). Those are just off the top of my head. Perhaps a good film for someone new, but I don't think it cracks my top 5 Trek films list.

The weird thing is that I remember disliking all of those when it came out but disregarded it cause "Trek is back baby!"

STID is also designed as a action film, although a bit darker one which makes it more consistent in tone compared to the first film IMO.

Benedict Cumberbatch almost comes across as an anti-villain here because his primary motivation is to keep his men safe. Peter Weller's insane admiral is sometimes a bit over the top, but he's apparently supposed to be a Don Rumsfeld/John Bolton neocon stand-in.



Anyway, Paramount has green-lit a Section 31 movie, starring Michelle Yeoh:

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/paramount-plus-star-trek-section-31-film-michelle-yeoh-1235586743/

Naturally I'm a bit skeptical towards everything that orginates out of the train wreck that is Discovery (although Strange New Worlds turned out reasonably well), but let's see...

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

I know they were pushing for a Section 31 show for a long time. I'm not the biggest fan but if they were so hell-bent on doing something, I'm glad it's just a movie. They still get Michelle Yeoh, they can make it a fun 2-hours instead of a slogging 10-hours and they can focus more of their energies on the series'

[Middle-aged Europe]

So we now had what is basically our third finale to the TNG era. It was not as good as All Good Things..., but better than Star Trek Nemesis and gave ample room to cameos and farewell scenes. Probably also the only season finale of Picard that can actually be considered "good", so at least they managed to end the show on a high note. I'm not so hopeful (at all) with regards to Trashcovery.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Very few scifi & even Trek shows can compare to TNG, so I'm not gonna do that with this season. But I am gonna compare it with the movies since Terry Matalas has stated multiple times that this was the cinematic sendoff that the TNG crew didn't get with Nemesis.

So on that basis, I think this season was on par with First Contact and perhaps better in some ways (Though I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of that film). If I were new to TNG, I think this would be a worthy watch after All Good Things and First Contact. I'd rate the finale a 3 out of 4 with the possibility of moving it up to a 3.5.

Random finale thoughts:

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

- They really fooled me in to thinking that one of the crew was gonna perish. Good job with the misdirection. I don't know how I feel about that deux ex machina right before the Cube exploded, but whatevs.

- Disappointed that Janeway didn't show up. Apparently they ran into budget issues by the time they shot the finale so it wouldn't surprise me if it was an issue of money or time. Always good to see Tuvok though.

- Really excited Q is back! Throughout this season, I felt it a shame that they had killed him off in season 2 but I'm glad he showed up to pretty much say "Season 2 officially doesn't matter".

- They must of had a lot of confidence about the unannounced-but-inevitable spinoff with the way they set up the Seven-led crew. If this season didn't get the reception it did, I think it would've came across like a foolish waste of time away from the TNG crew. That everything turned out the way it did is pretty remarkable. Reminded me of how much Discovery season 2 setting up Strange New Worlds seems to have paid off. Perhaps a little more of that confident risk-taking is what this franchise needed all along.

Now starts the countdown for the announcement of the inevitable spinoff. I'd be surprised if its not announced before summer. Until then, Strange New Worlds is on the horizon with Lower Decks right after. It's been a while since I've felt this optimistic for Trek.

[Middle-aged Europe]

SPOILERS...










They didn't kill one of the crew (they already had done that in Nemesis), but the most obvious parallels to previous finales:

- The episode ends with a poker game of the crew, including Picard, like it did in All Good Things....

- Just like Nemesis ended with the promotion of Riker to the captain of the Titan, Picard ends with the promotion of Seven to the captain of the Enterprise-G (previously the Titan).

- A major Borg hub is destroyed and the Queen is killed (but this time finally for good, I guess), just like it happened in Voyager's Endgame.

[🇺🇦 Purple 🦄 Unicorn 🇮🇱]

The Season finale was beautifully made and a great end to TNG and Seven of Nine.

[Alben Barkley]

I'm not a diehard Star Trek fan by any means, but I had people telling me that if you liked anything about the old Next Generation, you'll enjoy the latest season of Picard. Now, I tried watching this show when it first started and I thought it was f--king stupid so I wrote it off. But I was convinced by my friends to give this last season a shot, and I'm glad I did. It was absolutely fan service, but of the best kind. It actually delivered what I had hoped the Star Wars sequels would: New adventures and iconic moments with the characters we all fell in love with in the first place, BEFORE handing things off to a new crew. That's how you do it.

[7,052,770]

This season was pretty fun and a huge improvement over the first 2 seasons. If I were ranking all of the live action seasons 1-36, I'm sure it's in the top 30, though I doubt it cracks the top 20.

[politicallefty]

I do think the finale was a bit rushed, but overall no complaints. It was definitely a great season and a lot fun seeing the original cast all back. I'm hoping for a good spin-off, because they certainly set one up pretty well. Jeri Ryan is a damn good actor and would be a great lead for a new show. (I always thought it was ironic how the execs clearly put her on Voyager because she looks great it a catsuit, but they ended up with one of the best performances of anyone on any of the shows.)

In other news, the new season of Strange New Worlds starts on June 15th. It was also recently renewed for a third season, though that might take awhile now.

[vitoNova]

Captain Janeway is fine as hell.

I'd f*k the sh*t out of her. 

[Middle-aged Europe]

Captain Janeway is fine as hell.

I'd f*k the sh*t out of her. 

Okay, boomer.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

In other news, the new season of Strange New Worlds starts on June 15th. It was also recently renewed for a third season, though that might take awhile now.

I think one of the producers said they were already filming season 3. This was a few days before the official renewal announcement. Perhaps most of the scripts have already been finished or submitted?

I'm more curious what this means for that Starfleet Academy show they just announced. If the strike goes to the end of the year, I can see that one being a casualty of the strike. Perhaps it was a good thing they didn't announce that Picard spinoff already or it'd probably suffer a similar fate.

Lower Decks should be ok. It's already been renewed for a fifth season and I don't believe animated TV writers are a part of the WGA.

[politicallefty]

I think one of the producers said they were already filming season 3. This was a few days before the official renewal announcement. Perhaps most of the scripts have already been finished or submitted?

I'm more curious what this means for that Starfleet Academy show they just announced. If the strike goes to the end of the year, I can see that one being a casualty of the strike. Perhaps it was a good thing they didn't announce that Picard spinoff already or it'd probably suffer a similar fate.

Lower Decks should be ok. It's already been renewed for a fifth season and I don't believe animated TV writers are a part of the WGA.

News is not good on that front.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Captain Janeway is fine as hell.

I'd f*k the sh*t out of her. 

This is a VitoNova posf

[Middle-aged Europe]

In preparation for its upcoming second season I'm currently rewatching the first season of Strange New Worlds and I'm still flabbergasted as to how superior it is compared to Discovery or (the first two seasons) of Picard.

Most importantly, it's... fun. And even if it has two or three darker episodes it overall conveys a much more optimistic tone than the aforementioned shows. Most of its characters are likeable, each with their own unique characteristics, and Anson Mount makes a charismatic lead who combines the best qualities of Kirk and Picard.

Only the episode The Elysian Kingdom is a real clunker... a tedious, confusing, seemingly pointless mess so much reminiscent of the sister show Dscovery whose only redeeming quality is perhaps its emotional ending. But for a season that hits the mark almost all the time that is forgiven.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Only the episode The Elysian Kingdom is a real clunker... a tedious, confusing, seemingly pointless mess so much reminiscent of the sister show Dscovery whose only redeeming quality is perhaps its emotional ending. But for a season that hits the mark almost all the time that is forgiven.

I like that episode. I enjoy when Trek embraces its silliness. I also love the "Spoke Amok" episode for similar reasons.

Though it wasn't until very recently that I noticed that it's pretty much SNW's version of the "Masks" episode from Next Gen.

[7,052,770]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=IQ51gV0t6yM

Paramount uploaded the entire first season of Strange New Worlds onto YouTube, so if you haven't seen it, check it out!

[Middle-aged Europe]

Have now rewatched Strange New Worlds's Season 1 finale... which is interesting because they're essentially deconstructing their own lead character. Captain Pike isn't doing anything what Captain Picard would have done in the same situation, while Kirk - especially from Pike's POV - is portrayed as a reckless loose cannon. Kirk not being in charge (and for long-time fans this is a foregone conclusion) is exactly what leads to a "bad future" though. Pike does have a point, although it doesn't come to fruition because while the Romulan commander does in essence agree with Pike the Romulan commander is ultimately not the one in charge of the Romulan Empire.

The many layers of the episode make your head spin. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all.

[politicallefty]

I'll probably do a rewatch before S2 starts. I don't disagree with anything said above. One of the things that's unfortunate though (and it's true of many shows, not just SNW) is that the short seasons don't give you the same character development that the 26-episode seasons from 1987-2005 gave you. There's a fair amount of poor episodes when you have that many, but some of the filler episodes do great character-building and world-building. I don't think 26 would be a good idea anymore, but I do think mid-to-high teens would be better (say 16-18). (On the other hand, one advantage of streaming is that shows like this aren't necessarily bound by the old 42-45 minute runtime.)

Only the episode The Elysian Kingdom is a real clunker... a tedious, confusing, seemingly pointless mess so much reminiscent of the sister show Dscovery whose only redeeming quality is perhaps its emotional ending. But for a season that hits the mark almost all the time that is forgiven.

I wasn't crazy about that one either, but I actually did have something lower on the list. With the season fresh in your mind, how do you rank the episodes? This is what I went with shortly after the season finale:

1. Ghosts of Illyria (3)
2. A Quality of Mercy (10)
3. All Those Who Wander (9)
4. Strange New Worlds (1)
5. Spock Amok (5)
6. Memento Mori (4)
7. Children of the Comet (2)
8. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach (6)
9. The Elysian Kingdom (8)
10. The Serene Squall (7)

Though it wasn't until very recently that I noticed that it's pretty much SNW's version of the "Masks" episode from Next Gen.

I actually liked Masks, though it was certainly one of the weirdest episodes of Star Trek. Then again, I was also a big fan of Genesis. No, the episode doesn't make any sense, but it's still fun to watch.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I haven't seen Star Trek into Darkness, but I did watch the 2009 one recently and it's not as good as I remember. The lens flare, the Apple Store aesthetic, a poor villain in Eric Bana, more monotonous action scenes than I remember. I'm sure there's more, but it felt more like a regular ol' action blockbuster that happened to have Trek characters (And no disrespect to Zachary Quinto but I think Ethan Peck is a much better Spock than him). Those are just off the top of my head. Perhaps a good film for someone new, but I don't think it cracks my top 5 Trek films list.

The weird thing is that I remember disliking all of those when it came out but disregarded it cause "Trek is back baby!"

     I felt the same way about Star Trek 2009, and I couldn't understand the hype at the time that this was as good as Wrath of Khan. It wasn't horrible, but it felt like it was written by someone who was just asked to write a generic action movie based off a random Star Trek parody. I also didn't like that most of the characters were changed in key personality traits, worst of all being Chekov morphing into a Wesley Crusher clone, or that the movie was peppered with callbacks to small elements of classic Trek, because after The Big Bang Theory people think that is what it means to enjoy scifi. As you say, it's a good film for someone new to the franchise.

     Into Darkness OTOH made me give up on modern Trek. I won't go into more details though unless you want me to, because that would spoil it for you.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Season 2 premiere was kind of average. Not bad, but nothing special either. The best news was that they decided to retcon the Discovery Klingons' ugly look back into the TNG-era Klingons'  (well, for the most part anyway).



Second episode was definitely better, presenting us a with a classic, thrilling court room drama. The sudden resolution seemed a bit deus ex machina to me, but it also honored the finest traditions of Star Trek. SNW's idealism - which is reminiscent of TOS and TNG - has an almost old-fashioned charm to it.

Funniest scene: Spock and the Vulcan admiral, who by all accounts "hate" each other (by Vulcan standards anyway), having a "fight" in the mess hall that looks to outsiders like nothing more than a civil, cordial conservation.. well, except for M'Benga who knows a dispute between Vulcans when he sees one.

[politicallefty]

[BEWARE OF SPOILERS]

Season 2 premiere was kind of average. Not bad, but nothing special either. The best news was that they decided to retcon the Discovery Klingons' ugly look back into the TNG-era Klingons'  (well, for the most part anyway).



Second episode was definitely better, presenting us a with a classic, thrilling court room drama. The sudden resolution seemed a bit deus ex machina to me, but it also honored the finest traditions of Star Trek. SNW's idealism - which is reminiscent of TOS and TNG - has an almost old-fashioned charm to it.

Funniest scene: Spock and the Vulcan admiral, who by all accounts "hate" each other (by Vulcan standards anyway), having a "fight" in the mess hall that looks to outsiders like nothing more than a civil, cordial conservation.. well, except for M'Benga who knows a dispute between Vulcans when he sees one.

Agreed. First episode was very average. (I still don't know why Discovery did what it did with the Klingons. All they really had to do was keep the TNG-era hair and other stuff could be overlooked.)

The second episode was fantastic. It's everything I love to see in an otherwise more low-key episode. The writing and acting was spot on. I don't think the ending was a foregone conclusion like some, though we do of course know who is on the eventual mission to Talos IV. I do think this show has broken away from Gene Roddenberry's rather strict vision in an important and in a way we've seen sometimes since his passing. While maintaining the ideals and awe of an entity like the Federation, SNW isn't afraid to point out some of the Federation's major issues. In a sense, the Federation's draconian stance on genetic engineering/modification and how it enforces that through its laws seems to almost be an original sin (something that was clearly carried over from Earth's past, not necessarily any other Federation planet).

I also may have said it before, but I think Una is one of the most compelling characters on the show. Unfortunately, they killed off one of the other most compelling characters in the first season (Hemmer). It was bold to reintroduce a (sub)race that was introduced in ENT. There doesn't seem to be a Chief Engineer at the moment. I wonder if that's where Commander Pelia could come into play.

I have to say I also enjoyed some classic Star Trek humour in this episode. I was almost expecting that to be Spock's response to his onlookers.

[Middle-aged Europe]

I enojyed Episode 3 too.

Sure, we have seen all this wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff before too, but it gives an opportunity to flesh-out and develop La'an's character.. and to make Paul Wesley's Kirk more likeable.

[Middle-aged Europe]

After last week's forgettable (pun intended) "Among the Lotus Eaters" we move on to Episode 5: "Charades".

Sort of a sequel to first season's "Spock Amok", this episode continues the "Vulcans are hilarious" arc. Quite a hoot, indeed. And the Spock/Chapel shippers will be satisfied too.