Discovery 1x01 & 1x02 – 2-part premiere [** SPOILERS WITHIN **]

Interesting start but not sure on theme

Enjoyable first episodes, unsure where this is leading too which makes the next few episodes exciting to look forward to.

It just feels like JJ-verse again.

The technology is arguably ahead of TNG/DS9. It still makes no sense why its set before TOS, why Sarek is involved.

Holocommunications were just being installed on season 4 of DS9 which is what 100 years ahead? I don't recall verbal communications much in TOS, you always had to touch a panel.

Visually it looks great and I like Lieutenant Commander Saru, I feel like the chemistry and cast are too forced. (The acting in the early series of Star Trek is usually woeful though)

A gritty war with Spocks half-sister, sounds like the worst fanfiction....Can Starfleet give you life imprisonment? And for mutiny? Seriously?

I'll watch the rest of the series but so far its underwhelming for me.

^^ On the transporter thing above, in the flashback when Burnham first comes aboard it's mentioned that the Shenzhou uses an older system. That probably covers that. Also the Klingons use different tech but they were more tractoring the bodies than beaming them in

If you want inconsistencies..

- holo comms decades before DS9
- subspace mind-melds
- Whatever about the ancient Klingon warship, WTF were those other ships? No D5/6/7s?

The Klingon make-up is just wrong IMO and seems to be hampering the actors - seemed very muffled and stilted

don't like michael

Hope it's not all about her, she's a crap actor by trek standards.

Also, wish the klingons would have stayed true to their TNG origins - whatshisname the forgetful was a good idea done wrong imo

i'll keep watching but yeah, it's pretty much on a par with the orville for me atm

These two episodes just left me feeling kinda meh.

Didn't like the show's intro. Dunno know what it is but it felt more like something you'd see in a teaser trailer rather than a show's actual intro.

The show's visuals are really very well done but the level of tech shown along with the pre Kirk setting, just feels wrong and out of place with the established lore of previous shows. The whole JJ Trek look but prime universe setting just seems a mess.

As for the new Klingons, WTF were they thinking? Why totally ret con such an established in lore race?

The Federation crew so far were just filler apart from Michael who's a dick and the alien dude who could be interesting down the line.

While this show is not as bad as I feared considering the production woes, I just don't see why it exists.

It was certainly different, which could be a good thing in the long run. I'll continue watching anyway.

The holo communication was a bit jarring but I'll get over it, I guess in theory they could come up with some reason why it disappears until DS9 - faulty firmware or something!

Klingons are just bizarre, I was holding out hope that these particular ones were just a subspecies we'd never seen before but it seems they all look like that now.

I recall Trip and T'Pol having a long distance psychic connection in Enterprise so there's some precedent I guess for Sarek and Michael.

Like I said, I'll keep watching. Was quite entertaining, just perhaps not very Trekky. I was surprised there was no sighting of the Discovery yet.

AMKC wrote: »

Does not sound like Star Trek at all. I think I will stay watching proper Star Trek and watch this if it gets better. Sounds like it could have been great if they had just set it in the 25th century then they could have had all this new tech and subspace mind melds etc and no one would mind. Hell even the Discovery and the other ships could have been the same sort of styles just neither and cleaner and more futuristic.

Yea the insistence that it's a prequel in the same timeline as the other series really hampers it. If they'd either gone with post-Nemesis or officially set it in the Kelvin timeline it would work just fine (especially as the visuals are straight out of the JJ films)

I've just rewatched it there and it's just not Star Trek imo.. It's technically and visually stunning but the whole tone and emphasis on conflict (both pew pew and between the crew) is more BSG than TNG

And then, from the trailer for the third episode/rest of the season,

I think these were just stretched out trailers which got quite a lot of references wrong (from wrong name pronunciations to who can do what).

Sure, it was an optical spectacle but overall as I previous said "meh".

Now let's see if Episode 3 brings some story line and kicks this off.

I also wonder, is this really Star Trek?

If I look at this separate from any expectation I have to a Star Trek show (and what makes Star Trek Star Trek), than this show is not really bad and an interesting war in space show (too bad that space above and beyond never took off).

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

The only reason I can think of is marketing..

They know the JJ films split the fan base but that everyone loves the TOS era so by saying this was in the original timeline, just before that era but with JJ tone and style, I guess they thought they'd appeal to both sides

The problem is that many of the original fans see that as an insult to their intelligence, and don't like the JJ films anyway - and this IS basically JJ Trek: the Series - and on top of that, many of the JJ film fans wouldn't be paying to watch an entire series.

It just seems for every solution they came up with to try and appease both fan bases, they created multiple problems instead that would rile up the original fans such Spock having an adopted sister, the JJ style tech and the new Klingons?

I'd love to know the reason post Nemesis Trek is such a no go for TV and movies.

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'm too tired to offer any detailed thoughts, but I really liked it, especially the new Klingons, Yeoh, and the fresh visual approach. Very solid start. The question now is whether they can deliver on the promise they've made. I'd feel a lot better if Fuller was still involved.

I'd feel a lot better if Fuller was still involved.

I think most of us would. Then maybe all the inconsistency's might not be there and it might have been a better show. Maybe he was trying to tell them and they were not listening. I also might actual want to watch it too as well.

I thought it was fantastic! The visual effects were excellent. The Klingon uniforms were beautiful and their prosthetics were great. I reckon Saru is going to be a lot of fun. I will definitely be watching this.

The season preview gave away way too much though.

Deleted User wrote: »

Ha. Sorry, but Trek has some notoriously bad actors throughout the various franchises.

as a lead?

Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, they were all likeable from the first episode, Michael is a load of me hole - whether its the vulcan aspect of her character or the fact that she's just not that good an actor remains to be seen.
Personally, i think she's ****e, didn't like her in this and she was as unlikable in TWD too.

I have to say I like it based on what I’ve seen so far. Really though we’ve just got a prologue and I feel that the real story will begin next week.

I think it’s what I expected really. It was never going to be like TNG Or TOS Or any other trek that has gone before. Since enterprise finished we’ve had BSG Which redefined the genre And we had those awful JJ movies which redefined the look of Trek.

I think they did well. Yes, I’m not sure about the Klingons and I too thought that the holograms were out of place But we moved on a lot technology wise since trek last aired so I’m willing to give them that leeway if it helps them tell the story they want to tell. I just hope that there is a compelling story there. I think Burnham could be a grower. Yes, she is a loose cannon and not very likeable yet it’s early days and I think we need to get to know her better.

I think it’s an interesting calling card and I am willing to see where it goes. At the end of the day we’ve got trek back on our TV and, unlike the recent films, we don’t have to be embarrassed about it.

Overall I liked it. For a pilot it was VERY strong: Just look at every other Trek pilot/first episode for comparison. I like Michelle Yeoh as an actress but I was a bit disappointed with her performance in this. Not really at her best in English.

I actually really liked Burnham. Thought she was an interesting character. Very interesting to see a flawed main character in trek for once. And she is flawed - She done f*cked up. Not the epitome of Federation values like Picard or Kirk (Well, epitome of 60's Federation ). Not the arrogant and rigid Janeway or bland Archer. More like the anger of Sisko but without the experience.

I also really liked Sarek. Thought the actor played him well and had the right level of gravitas. I mean, if you want to nitpick, he ages badly in 10 years (when he appears in TOS) for such a long lived species. But, hey ho.

I liked Doug Jones' character too. Thought initially that he was going to be very annoying but by the end of the first episode, when he confronts Burnham, I was growing to like him. And let's face it: Jones is the best prosthetic actor in the business.

The stilted delivery of the main Klingon was quite annoying (I NEVER liked the usual stilted delivery of Klingon whenever spoken in the movies or series). But I did like Kor's more fluid delivery: It was spoken as a language as opposed to just a series of words read off one-by-one.

I didn't like the informal, paly nature of the crew at the start. Reminded me of The Orville. But that toned down a bit when it got series and I presume a few of those will be gone or toned down now they are at war.

Thought it looked very nice. There was obviously a lot of money put into it. But it was a very limited range of sets and locations. Will be interesting to see how that fares though when they start going to different locations/sets.

Could have lightened up a little bit though. Just a wee bit.

Wasn't gone on the music/credit sequence. Trying to pull off a "Westworld" vibe. Liked the initial call back and the end of course. But the rest was quite forgettable. Even Enterprise had a hummable tune.

tldr: Overall I liked it. Strong pilot. Liked main character. Little bit serious but certainly has me interested. The story could be interesting as long is it's not the only story. I know they are aking a big deal about being in it but I hope there's more than that.