Since season 2 is right around the corner, I thought I would ask what can be improved for season 2?
What can be improved for season 2?
- Thread starter The Overlord
- Start date
My species was biologicaly determinded for one purpose: to sense the coming of snarky posters who will answer with absolute inanities like (but not limited to) "everything" and "completely better writing" because they view themselves as both hilarious and "edgy rouges preaching unfiltered truth" on the DSC forum.
EDIT: throw in some references to "canon," "Prime universe," "visual continuity" and, of course "Roddenberry's Optimistic Vision of the Future" for the win
I sense them coming now.
EDIT: throw in some references to "canon," "Prime universe," "visual continuity" and, of course "Roddenberry's Optimistic Vision of the Future" for the win
I sense them coming now.
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I'd like to see a Mexican Standoff.
Further overt connecting tissue between the Discoverse, Kelvinverse, and Prime TOS, Enterprise, etc - a great unifying, if you will.
Now that would be great!
Now that would be great!
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More scenes and backstory of the background bridge officers. I am particularly interested in Lt. Cmdr. Airiam.
It's quite impressive they went a whole season and she got exactly as much development as Science Officer 0718.
Less Burnham speeches. More fun and adventure. A build to an explosive ending which makes sense, instead of the damp, dumb squib that was "Will you Take My Hand"
Please more drunk or accidentally high Tilly at another full on party. Who the Hell put together that bitchin' mixtape in Sanest Man? Was it Mr. "Could I trouble you to fire at something" Rhys? What other great 20th/21st century tunes and artists survive to the 2250's? Beck? The Clash? Warren G & Nate Dogg? The Pixies? Show us at another longer party.
Unless it’s the series finale, I doubt it
You want a wish list? I'll give you a wish list.
Better writing is a bit too nebulous, so I'll try to break it down a bit.
Better writing is a bit too nebulous, so I'll try to break it down a bit.
- Maintaining the existing serialization is fine, but I hope the second season has episodes which are distinct enough that you can recognize individual themes. It doesn't have to bang you over the head with a frying pan, but it would be nice to be able to have something deeper to say about a particular episode than what happened onscreen during its course.
- I think the series needs to up its game with characterization beyond Burnham. I don't really care if the window-dressing bridge officers get larger roles. But we should really get say a "Stamets episode" and/or a "Tilly episode" over the course of the second season, for example, where either the narrative is framed around them, or at least the A plot deepens our understanding of the characters.
- The writers need to up their dialogue game. Dialogue in the first season was very unnatural. It was often long-winded and expository, often with two people sitting in an empty room. Almost all of the conversations seemed to either serve the arc or were about Michael as well. The few more naturalistic moments (discussions of burritos, or Stamets and Culber brushing their teeth) were remarked upon because of how rare they were - tiny oases of real human expression within the season. Season 2 needs more of this. Essentially, the characters need to stop talking like plot devices, and start talking like normal people.
- I sincerely hope that the writers this season have a better understanding of where the arc as a whole is going, and what story they seek to tell. I don't want another shaggy dog story basically.
- The first season showed some poor coordination at times between the writer's room and the visual departments. A good example of this was the Pahvans, who were originally written to be humanoid. The practical effects department built a yurt, then decided the humanoid aliens weren't working, thus they went to having glowing blue CGI energy beings yet again. But seemingly no one stopped to think about how a group of energy beings would not construct a yurt, leading to that episode feeling a bit nonsensical. I hope that this time around showrunning is tighter, and everyone is working on the same page rather than just sort of winging it within their own field of expertise.
- I hope that the showrunners this season have a better handle on the scope of the story they wish to tell. Last season - perhaps for budgetary reasons - it was hard to get the epic feel of the Klingon War across given the relatively small cast and the very confined setting (seemingly 80% of the story took place on Discovery, the USS/ISS Shenzhou, the ISS Charon, and the Ship of the Dead). Either have the budget to "go big" properly - with loads of characters and a wide variety of settings - or feel comfortable telling a smaller and more intimate story.
Moar burritos.
As with any Trek first season, there is plenty of room for improvement.
A few things I’d say:
A few things I’d say:
- A more cohesive story arc with a well-planned beginning, middle and end. If you’re going to go serialized, the arc needs to be project managed very carefully by the writers. For a variety of reasons, this wasn’t done as well as it could have been in S1, and I think the show did not reach its potential as such. The finale needs to be more thoughtful than S1's was. As much as I liked the S1 finale in a bubble...it didn't work well for me as a wrap-up to the story arc they were trying to tell.
- I’d like to see longer episode run times that use the extra time to flesh out some great character stuff. This cast is very good and has great chemistry. It is a strength of the production they need to leverage more than they did with S1. Show us more little tidbits of the main characters and their relationships. It’s ok to sacrifice pacing on a show like this. It’s not a summer blockbuster movie. You can get into some details that would really help add to the quality and thoughtfulness of the show.
- Get off the Discovery more often. S1 was definitely filmed in a bottle far too much. I’d like to see them on different planets or starbases or whatever. The Discovery is beautiful, but the characters need to have more landing party missions.
- Honestly, I could use a little less graphic violence. While this didn’t “bother” me personally at all in S1, I’d like to see it lighten up a little in S2. This is primarily selfish, as I’d like to be able to watch the show with my young sons…and they really don’t like that kind of stuff right now.
- Like others, I’d like to see more work for the secondary cast. I’m not on the (admittedly weird) bandwagon who thinks that Ariam and Detmer deserve their own episodes or whatever…but just make them seem a little more integral to the discussions and problem solving, and give us something closer to “O’Brien in TNG” as opposed to “Leslie in TOS.” The woman who plays Detmer is actually a pretty good young talented actress, for example. DSC should use that.
- I think I’d like to see more kinetic shots of the Discovery. It’s a beautiful design…so give it the attention it deserves.
- I think they need to maintain the intensity established in S1, but also pepper in some more fun and adventure. I like Trek when it is serious and intense (as it would seem most fans do, given the popularity of the most well-loved episodes and films…but it seems a lot of the more critical fans think Star Trek was Trouble with Tribbles every week for 50 years), but don’t try to over-do it. Let the characters have some fun and make it genuine. Again, leverage that cast and that chemistry for all it’s worth…because that’s the strength of the show.
Based on the trailers at least, it seems there will be more off ship missions.
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