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Spoilers Star Trek Discovery Season 1: Overall Review Thread

Overall grade for Discovery Season 1

  • 10 - Amazing!

    Votes: 9 5.2%
  • 9

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • 8

    Votes: 34 19.5%
  • 7

    Votes: 38 21.8%
  • 6

    Votes: 15 8.6%
  • 5

    Votes: 23 13.2%
  • 4

    Votes: 10 5.7%
  • 3

    Votes: 6 3.4%
  • 2

    Votes: 6 3.4%
  • 1 - Awful!

    Votes: 8 4.6%

  • Total voters
    174
I've never seen Game of Thrones, so I can't comment on that, but other people have made comparisons between this show and Battlestar Galactica.
I think a lot of people compare everything to Game of Thrones just because somehow GoT became the quintessential "Peak TV" show, even though Peak TV predates GoT by like 10 years.
 
I've never seen Game of Thrones, so I can't comment on that, but other people have made comparisons between this show and Battlestar Galactica.

My wife is more of a general fantasy fan, told me Discovery reminded her more of BSG than Star Trek.

Considering how much I liked BSG before its fourth season, that this series wants to feel like BSG is not a deterrent to me.

It is to someone like me. If I want to watch BSG, I can watch BSG or a show like The Expanse. When I watch Star Trek, I want it to feel like Star Trek.
 
I'd give it a C+.

It's definitely better than any of the spin-off first seasons but lacked the cornerstone episode that those others had (Conspiracy, Duet, Jetrel, Pod 1). And three of those were their respective penultimate, each having a solid follow up and ending the season strong. And ENT finished with Shockwave which is probably the best S1 finale of the entire franchise.

Discovery, on the other hand, didn't finish strong so much as it just pushed a little harder the second half. Instead of sprinting the last quarter-mile, it instead picked up its pace after the first two laps and held and maybe coasted a bit right at the end.

The writing started weak and never really got better. But I think it's important to recognize the distinction between writing and narrative because the latter definitely improved significantly over the course of the season. In other words, the drama was actually pretty good as long as you ignored the specifics.

It will be interesting to see how the show reacts next season.

TOS had a significant drop-off in quality between S1 and S2. While S2 did have a handful of classic episodes, none were as good as the masterpieces of S1. And a lot of season two was otherwise solid but nothing particularly special.

TNG and DS9 were both marginally better, but still mostly "meh." VOY was a lot better IMO - as I've always found season 2 to be really underappreciated. But polished mediocrity is still mediocrity. And ENT season 2 is basically a punchline.

So Disco really has an opportunity to make a place for itself.

They definitely need to bring in someone to run the office, if even just to Gary Cole about. But there is an obvious need for some leadership and focus.

And as I said last week, instead of having a canon-checker they need to have like a common sense checker. Becuase so often where the show fell down is some silly little bit of plot logic that could have so easily been fixed with minor tweaking.

Also, I think some of the structural problems were a result of the format. I just don't know that core nature of Star Trek is fit for something purely serialized. I mean the setting literally presents a universe of story possibilities and I think that form of storytelling is just too confined and claustrophobic.

I think a hybrid format (which is making a comeback) is the way to go. That is, have season arc that is the focus of all the major episodes like the primer and finale and the [would-be] sweeps episodes. And then have planet/space creature of the week episodes in between with the main story arc playing a role as the B-line.

Most importantly, though, the writers need to allow for SM-G to put more of herself into the role. Because there's so much potential to be had. The problem, especially early on, wasn't bad acting per say, it was that there was really nothing to act from. So much of Burnham's dialog was just stacked cliches and platitudes. There was no there there, as the kids say.

I think the problem was no one really knew who she was supposed to be. I think the common assumption is that she was Fuller's creation and no one knew what she was supposed to be about after he left. So the turnstile of writers each had a go, putting their own spin on her -- only making it more difficult for SM-G to find some kind of thread to pull on and follow. And what little there was for her to go on, was completely lacking in substance. But when they actually gave her something worthwhile to sink her artistic teeth into, she was actually pretty good.

So the smart move would be to have her spend some time with a few of the writers and try and chart a character outline. For one thing, she's clearly extremely intelligent and insightful - and probably very well read - so she'd be a terrible resource to waste.
 
Hands-down the most enjoyable first season of post-TOS Star Trek. There's a whole checklist of design details and continuity quibbles I could get bogged down in, but at the end of the day it was just damned enjoyable and I was looking forward to each episode in ways that I have not since TAS was on the air.
 
When I watch Star Trek, I want it to feel like Star Trek.

Philosophically, I agree with you, but when Discovery has tried for that, it often feels like a simulacrum to me -- preachy and predictable, like they're working off a template left over from TNG. If we never get another moralistic monologue from Burnham again, I won't mind.
 
I gave it an 8. Perhaps a bit generous but I was giving it the benefit of the doubt on things like the show-runner/early production issues and being the first "proper/full" serialised ST. (Incidentally how people use these category rating scales - or more to the point don't use them consistently or in a way that provides you with the information you think you're getting - is part of my "day job" so I tend to read comments rather than pay much attention to the scores. Did you know the traditional chinese character for the number 4 is associated with "death" and in multi-country surveys the number is used a lot less in such cultures and is routinely adjusted for? If you move beyond Mandarin and into Cantonese I'm not even going to start going into what two of the numbers below 14 mean in slang....suffice to say they have some relevance to something shown in the finale! :devil::censored:)

Anyway many of my "pros" and "cons" echo those of more established members on here so I won't repeat it all. There's only one thing I'd throw into the mix, given my need to be active on Twitter for business purposes and some idle perusing today of what a lot of the "non-hardcore fans" think. Yes we love fanwank on ship design, canon etc. However, there are lot more people out there who appear to be getting into DSC but who don't get a lot of the references we love, who may be younger, watched some ENT and ask questions like "but the Enterprise is like 75-100 years old by now isn't it? And doesn't look like that! WTF?" In short, a lot of confusion, and that's before you even add in the Kelvinverse stuff. I think S2 will have to do a better job in treading that fine line of satisfying "us" regarding canon and the much larger "them" who have next to no knowledge of early iterations of ST and who are getting confused*. Now whilst I'm definitely an old fart who was horrified at a friend 20 years younger who clearly considered TWOK "boring" and loved the whizz-bang-wallop of the Kelvinverse movies (there's a PhD in there on the length of shots over time for starters), I recognise that DSC is going to have to think out S2 carefully. And not just for the reasons we on here all love to debate.

*I'm not going to start labelling such people as idiots etc. Yes Twitter is full of idiots. But there is also genuine bafflement in some quarters and I'm guessing once the numbers are crunched, the writers might be given a few tips on adding some pointers so as not to "lose people" who will watch DSC but don't want to read an encyclopaedia to understand chunks of what's going on and why.
 
It is to someone like me. If I want to watch BSG, I can watch BSG or a show like The Expanse. When I watch Star Trek, I want it to feel like Star Trek.
I know this varies from person to person, but BSG is the most suicidal ideation inducing show for me. So, I can comfortably say that DISCO has no BSG feel.
 
I gave it a 7, which for a ST season 1 is amazing. DS9 I'd give a 5, TNG season 1 is maybe a 2.

I do hope they renew it and allow us to see the bits all tie together.

While I don't think fictional canon should get in the way of good storytelling, I don't want to see too much of a deviance from the mythos.
 
The writing started weak and never really got better. But I think it's important to recognize the distinction between writing and narrative because the latter definitely improved significantly over the course of the season. In other words, the drama was actually pretty good as long as you ignored the specifics.
Great way to put it.

I think I'd give it a 3/5. I really didn't care much for the first seven-ish episodes. There was some decent stuff sprinkled in there, but I just didn't feel like I'd miss out on much if I stopped watching.

The latter half was a bit sillier, but I found it more entertaining, more gripping, more of what I look for in a Star Trek show. Characters found their purpose (which I guess can be attributed to the fact that it's serialised rather than episodic), we got to see the Mirror universe with Emperor Georgiou and Captain Killy, and then the Enterprise shows up in the end.

I think it has potential. Needs more focused writing and a stronger vision behind it, but I'm looking forward to season 2.
 
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Over all? Meh.

I had hope during the middle of the season that it was really improving, but these final few episodes have just been terrible. The Klingons suck, how they handled Lorca in his final episode was god awful, and I'm left with the overall impression that nobody working on the show knows how to steer the ship.
 
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I know this varies from person to person, but BSG is the most suicidal ideation inducing show for me. So, I can comfortably say that DISCO has no BSG feel.

I get where you're coming from. I don't feel the same way exactly but do find that once my brain's had a rest and I'm "winding back up" for the week, a movie or TV series that makes me think (even if it's quite depressing) and "hard sci-fi" like the film Primer (dealing with time travel properly) is my thing. BSG was also like that somewhat. On a Friday night? Gimme a Marvel movie anyday - I want entertainment, not more brain exercise. I'm not quite sure where ST fits into all this....DSC seems more like Friday night than Sunday night viewing....but it defies exact categorisation in some respects.
 
I get where you're coming from. I don't feel the same way exactly but do find that once my brain's had a rest and I'm "winding back up" for the week, a movie or TV series that makes me think (even if it's quite depressing) and "hard sci-fi" like the film Primer (dealing with time travel properly) is my thing. BSG was also like that somewhat. On a Friday night? Gimme a Marvel movie anyday - I want entertainment, not more brain exercise. I'm not quite sure where ST fits into all this....DSC seems more like Friday night than Sunday night viewing....but it defies exact categorisation in some respects.
DISCO makes me think long after I've stopped watching. That's the challenge. It is fun and interesting and I quite like it.
 
Over all? Meh.
I had hope during the middle of the season that it was really improving, but these final could episodes have just been terrible. The Klingons suck, how they handled Lorca in this final episode was god awful, and I'm left with the overall impression that nobody working on the show knows how to steer the ship.

Yeah - in retrospect my favorite portion of the series was from around the fifth to the ninth episode. They settled in on an A/B plot format, and seemed to begin developing the other main characters, not just making it the Micheal Burnham show. They were also only semi-serialized, with "plots of the week" which were often resolved pretty well.

As soon as they went to the MU, things got worse. Saru turned into nothing more than his rank (but was elevated by Doug Jones's performance). Stamets became a walking plot device). Tilly became whatever the episode needed that week which the other characters couldn't fill. No one but Ash got any character growth and development worth speaking of.
 
Meh. I don't think I'll rewatch. I did tune in each week to see the current mystery be cleared up only to be left in mystery at the end of that week. I don't care much for that, but YMMV.

It just never thrilled or moved me.

Just a week ago I wrote that they didn't seem to know what the show was about. Now I do see a theme/arc.

What Starfleet Is

Ok, cool, and the finale was very Trekky in the sense of not doing a genocide. So looking back on Lorca's time with us: Don't Be Like That.
Start of the war: Georgieau was right? We don't shoot first. (Though if we did, we would have pre-empted the war? Hm.)
 
It's the Force Awakens of Star Trek: Great new charismatic cast. Dialogue mostly fine. But the plotting was shit. Overall it was nothing more than a "best-of" of previous iterations, without adding anything or even being internally coherent. And, very strangely, the vfx were surprisingly lacking for a present day production.

Some little nitpicks:
  • What was the point of the entire klingon war arc, if they decided to skip the whole war with a 9 month timejump?
  • Why do we have so many scenes of the first half of the season between Tyler and Lorca - especially the prison subplot comes to mind, when BOTH of them are in fact undercover villains?
  • Also: Both Voq/Tyler AND Lorca's plans got foiled by how much they fell in love with Burnham. As well as Empress Georgiou. That's a bit...much?
  • Sooo. It's possible to blow the entire klingon homeworld up with a tiny device that is easily smuggled onto the surface? Well, THAT'S convenient...
  • The age old franchise question: Who would win a fight, Federation or the klingons, was apparently already answered way before Kirk: Starfleet goes down like a lead balloon. Well, THAT's awkward... Also: Renders a lot of Kirk/Picard-negotiations with the klingons literally meaningless, since ALL of them lived from the Federation being at least equally a force as the klingons... Seriously, this klingon war arc was one. big. clusterfuck
  • I swear, if I see Tyler crying one! more! time! in season 2, I'm going to flip a table. I really like Clem Fandango. But ever since the Ash/Voq-reveal, EVERY scene of him consistent of him crying his tears out in front of Burnham! I can't watch it anymore...
  • On a related note: It feels like half the dialogue of the entire series is Burnham holding speeches - most often not even more than a more dramatized log-entry, but always waaaay to melodramatic. Enough!
  • Cut the fucking gore. Especially since none of it ever was "serious" violence. Just waaaay over the top gratitious shots of things we are already overly familiar with. People in Trek have died before - got stabbed, or got operated on. No need for THIS amount of fucking gore.

I don't know. The whole show has a ton of promise. But the first season was a mess. The need to end every episode on a shocking "twist" undercut the whole seriousness of it, and sacrificed character integrity and internal consistency for a cheap "gasp" by the audience. In the end, I'm looking forward to season 2. But I'm probably never going to revisit season 1.

Also: This entire season felt really much like Schlock. I don't know why. It was something about the image quality, the violence, the cheap writing, the way the sets looked, that everything was basically metal-blue-dark. The whole season felt a lot more like Stargate:Universe, or Farscape/Lexx/Battlefield Earth, than a highly polished, premium IP flagship show of an entire company.
 
Damn,

I can't find where I posted all my ratings. I'll reconstruct and hope it's somewhat consistent with what I've typed in the past:
Vulcan Hello 8/10
Binary Stars 6.5/10
Context 8/10
Butcher 8/10
Chose Your Pain 7.5/10
Lethe 9/10
Magic 8.5/10
Si Vis Pacem 6/10
Into the Forrest 10/10
Despite Yourself 10/10
Wolf Inside 8/10
Vaulting Ambition 9/10
War Without 7/10
Take My Hand 7/10

That gives me a 7.5 overall average for the season. It's been said by many, and it bears repeating in my mind, that this is far-and-away the best post-TOS inaugural season in the franchise's history. So...was it "great?" Nope. Was it far better at this phase of its lifecycle than anything that has come in the last 30 years? Yup...without a single doubt. I believe that means that, if history holds true, the series will be that much better in S2.

I think, from a high level, what I enjoyed most about DSC was that it was fun and it took big chances to be different.

I know a lot of fans feel different about this, but for me, I didn't want the same exact stuff I've already seen 750 times. It's one of the reasons I find Orville interesting, but have no passion for it. I've just run out of gas on that approach. But DSC succeeded and failed gloriously at times because it didn't try to be TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT all over again, and that's a risk well worth taking. Everything looked and felt different, and after so long of the same stuff over and over again, that was a welcome and needed path for the franchise. I enjoyed the characters for not being like all the other Trek Trope characters we've seen over and over again. I enjoyed watching their relationships develop...and I look forward to seeing this more.

And, it was just FUN. Maybe because I don't care about what universe it's in or what the Klingons look like and all that superfluous Trek Encyclopedia crap, I could just enjoy it for what it was...and that "not caring about TEH CANON!!!1!" just allowed me to take it all in and go with it. And, on that level, I had a blast. It was just scene after scene of fun. Some campy, some soap opera-y, some was a visual feast, some fanwank-y, some action-packed ridiculousness...but it was all a total hoot. It was easily the most fun since TOS. And I think that's what Star Trek had always been missing. There was very little fun about any of the TNG-era stories. Yes, some were very good (if not excellent), but I rarely had fun, at least by my definition of the word.

I love the production design and the visual style. I never really bought anything about the production design of the Kelvinverse films (despite that, I still enjoyed them)...and the Berman-era production design just got sooooooooo ooooolllllld. This was the most interesting and engaging production design I've seen since the TOS movies. Ships, props, sets, costumes...I'm into all of it. Really good stuff.

Finally, on the plus side, the cast is phenomenal. I've seen people criticize members of the cast (Yeoh and SMG particularly) on this board...and I absolutely don't get it. The cast and their performances are right up there with the absolute best the franchise has ever had to offer. When you look at the weaker casts some of the other series had (in terms of their pure acting chops), this is easily one of the gold standards.

On the flip side, I think that it truly was a season where the sum of the parts are greater than the whole. Overall, if you look at the story narrative and the arcs, it was a bit of a mess. Things don't quite add up or make sense. Some of it was really nonsensical. It's almost as if the arc took a back seat to just being a backdrop to have fun and create some relationships with these good characters and very good actors. And, that's ok...but man, it was a missed opportunity. If the arcs had been as sharp as they could have been, the show would have blown it away. So, that's disappointing.

I also think they really significantly dropped the ball with Lorca. I think it's a far more interesting thing to see a broken but healing leader work his way back to humanity again. Show us another "Edision / Krall" (ST:B) who uses that "by any means necessary" approach to win the war, but is then sort of discarded after because of his methods and approach. Set it up for the future to see him as he goes through his process of finding himself again. I thought the portrayal of a non-perfect ST captain was an awesome idea. To have him become EEEEVVVIL was fun...but overall really bummed me out.



But, bottom line is that I am a student of history. And I always intend to learn from that. And, history tells us that every post-TOS series has only gotten better once that initial season is in the can and the writers and characters are better defined. I'm definitely in for S2 as a result. Amazingly, this is the first time since TNG that I've watched and enjoyed the entire 1st season of a Trek TV show. DSC made me stick around, and I even enjoyed doing it. That in itself is a very good sign.

Here's to a successful, long-term engagement!
 
I've been thinking it's a 7 out of 10 series pretty much for a while now, but then I went and voted an 8 because I liked how the season ended. Yes I'm the one person who liked the cheese.

There have been some issues along the way, such as all of the drawn out Klingon scenes; the 'twists' that everybody seemed to see coming; Lorca being interesting, but then when we found out he was from the Mirror Universe, he suddenly turned into a very conventional villain, which was a disappointing end to his story. I also keep waiting to see whether the show can give an episode that rank alongside our Trek classics.

But to be fair, with the ongoing structure the show has, it's hard to compare it with what came before anyway. I just knew that by the second half of the season I was growing more and more impatient waiting for a new episode. It was quite fun to have the season end with MU Georgiou after opening it with her and the fallout from Burnham's actions. Whilst I don't quite like Burnham as much as the other members of the crew, I like the others so much now that I think surely it's just a matter of time before I do.

The way the season ended with a particularly cunning way to end the war, and of course with the awesome Saru and his 'we're Starfleet' moments, and even Burnham's inspiring words on Earth, I can't help but feel optimistic that next season will be better.
 
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