Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x01 - "Brother"

[DigificWriter]

I think producers finally figured out that Sara was too beautiful to be hidden under all that Airiam makeup/prosthetics

Or she had a problem with the makeup or the amount of time required of her to get into said makeup and asked to be used in a different role.

 

[ITDUDE]

I think producers finally figured out that Sara was too beautiful to be hidden under all that Airiam makeup/prosthetics

Shhh, I almost got reprimanded for saying that few months back.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Poll: Who does everybody think is going to end up being the Discovery's "Chief Engineer" character: Nhan or Jet Reno?

I really, really, really want Jet Reno to be a promoted to regular. I like my Star Trek characters to be very character-y. Calling her the Engineering McCoy is apt and wonderful!

 

[LJones41]

^ Kurtzman didn't take over Showrunning duties until some time after this episode - and the next several as well, I believe - was finished, so this shift in tone is entirely the "fault" of Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg and is actually something they'd been planning since Season 1 was still in production under their watch.

Whoever is to blame, I think this tonal shift was a big mistake. It came off as too forced. And considering that certain fans have been bitching and moaning about Season One since it first premiered - whether it was about Burnham, the angst or the Klingons' appearance - Harberts and Berg obviously had planned to do something to appease these more conservative fans.

 

[KirkusOveractus]

I don't agree. I found the tonal shift a bit forced. I don't see the necessity of changing the series' tonal shift. I want "Star Trek Discovery", not some borderline copycat of "The Orville". Not even your typical Trek series from the past had such a drastic tonal shift.

The introduction of Anson Mount as Christopher Pike contributed to this tonal shift. His Pike came off as slightly bland and at one point, I found the character's regret for not participating in the war against the Klingons as not very interesting. And why is he a regular on this show? Why is he even a regular for Season Two? He and his two Enterprise officers, along with Michael Burnham, had succeeded in their mission, they should have left. Either Discovery would have found itself with a new captain or Saru could have become its permanent captain. Frankly, he deserves it. Instead, Kurtzman drummed up some lame reason to keep Pike around so that the show can have some bland white guy as the main authority figure in order to soothe the nerves of those fans who could not deal with the chaotic Gabriel Lorca as captain or Michael Burnham as the show's lead.

I blame the fanboys who want the show to recapture the past. And I blame Alex Kurtzman for listening to these fanboys, instead of basking in the success of Season One and moving forward with more innovative stories. It's just a crime that producers like Kurtzman, the Warner Brothers suits and Kathleen Kennedy are so afraid of the narrow-minded fanboys that they would rather keep their respective franchises either mired in the past or borderline bland. And in doing so, they end up ignoring the fact that when these franchises were innovative, they were also box office or ratings successes.

I have come to the conclusion that part of the Trek fandom, like the ones for other franchises, strikes me as rather frustrating and narrow-minded. These fans would rather cling to the past, rather than enjoy something different or innovative for its franchise. And when show runners like Alex Kurtzman kowtow to loud and rather conservative-minded fans and critics, entertainment and art in pop culture becomes in danger of declining into a sad affair.




I'm not surprised that you would save your biggest complaint about her. She is still portrayed by a black actress. Perhaps you'll become a major fan when the show puts a white man in the lead.

I disagree. First, The Orville is nothing original (and I enjoy both series!) as it has taken elements of TOS and TNG, put through a MacFarlane prism. DSC has gone to a tone that is reminiscent of TOS now, which I welcome.

Pike is a regular character this season because that's what the production team wanted. We now have a total of approximately 2 hours' exposure to the Prime Universe's Pike ("The Cage" and "Brother"). Definitely not enough time to evaluate a character.

As for Kathleen Kennedy for one, under her watch, Star Wars has gone into producing one of the most hated Star Wars movies, one that was derivative of A New Hope, and another that didn't perform well at the box office due to backlash from The Last Jedi. That on top of the cast being dismissive of the fans (the very ones responsible for their income from those movies, and Disney's profit) has even Bob Iger paying attention, with their entire grand plan being re-evaluated now for future SW projects.

Caving into narrow-mindedness for Trek would result in DSC looking like TOS, complete with styrofoam rocks and ape costumes with unicorn horns on their heads.

That you focus on race as being the reason for bringing Pike in, as well as calling someone else's interest in the show not being big enough because of the lead would make me feel you are a racist for centering on it.

 

[donners22]

I blame the fanboys who want the show to recapture the past. And I blame Alex Kurtzman for listening to these fanboys, instead of basking in the success of Season One and moving forward with more innovative stories. It's just a crime that producers like Kurtzman, the Warner Brothers suits and Kathleen Kennedy are so afraid of the narrow-minded fanboys that they would rather keep their respective franchises either mired in the past or borderline bland. And in doing so, they end up ignoring the fact that when these franchises were innovative, they were also box office or ratings successes.

I have come to the conclusion that part of the Trek fandom, like the ones for other franchises, strikes me as rather frustrating and narrow-minded. These fans would rather cling to the past, rather than enjoy something different or innovative for its franchise. And when show runners like Alex Kurtzman kowtow to loud and rather conservative-minded fans and critics, entertainment and art in pop culture becomes in danger of declining into a sad affair.

While I liked this episode, and Pike, more than you seemed to, I share your fear about where it might be headed.

The end of last season really worried me, with its frankly cringeworthy exposition of Starfleet Values (TM), followed by the mawkish reveal of the Enterprise. It felt like a direct appeal to those who have railed against the series - "Hey, we're Real Trek (TM)" Come back!"

I loved the first season, but I worry that they're going to fundamentally change the show to try to win back people who are never going to give it a fair go - and in doing so drive away the viewers they've already got.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I’m bored because I prefer episodic trek that gets to the point then conclusion within 45 minutes instead if dragging what may be a poor storyline out over a whole season. That’s part of what made season one so bad. I’m not keen on the walking dead style on storytelling ie long and drawn out. I want substance in the story not retconned rubbish with Burnham.

Season 2 ep1 was generally episodic, with a "problem du jour", but with the larger story mixed in.

The problem du jour was that while investigating one of the mysterious signals (what seems will be the season story arc), they came across the Hiawatha and went to investigate. They found the survivors of the Hiawatha and then got them out safely.

Coming across the Hiawatha and saving the survivors was the was a self-contained story with a resolution that was told within the confines of that episode -- along with additional information relating to the larger story arc.

I think many episodes of season 1 did the same thing -- i.e., the entire season contained an ongoing story partially told by each episode, but many of the episodes also included some problem or issue that arose near the start of the episode that was solved by the end of the episode.

 

[DigificWriter]

@LJones41: Harberts and Berg had been saying that DSC was going to be more like "traditional" Star Trek long before The Orville premiered, so there's absolutely no correlation between the latter's existence and the shift in tone for the former.

 

[KirkusOveractus]

While I liked this episode, and Pike, more than you seemed to, I share your fear about where it might be headed.

The end of last season really worried me, with its frankly cringeworthy exposition of Starfleet Values (TM), followed by the mawkish reveal of the Enterprise. It felt like a direct appeal to those who have railed against the series - "Hey, we're Real Trek (TM)" Come back!"

I loved the first season, but I worry that they're going to fundamentally change the show to try to win back people who are never going to give it a fair go - and in doing so drive away the viewers they've already got.

So you don't want it to head into a territory that has more of the hallmarks of Star Trek?

 

[Gonzo]

So what did you think of the episode? Is someone that isn't a fan of season one going to find something interesting there or is it a waste of time?

Give it a go, it is an improvement on season 1 although that isn't hard, watch it and then say what you think of it here, the good and the bad like I did.

 

[Amaris]

I don't agree. I found the tonal shift a bit forced. I don't see the necessity of changing the series' tonal shift. I want "Star Trek Discovery", not some borderline copycat of "The Orville". Not even your typical Trek series from the past had such a drastic tonal shift.

The introduction of Anson Mount as Christopher Pike contributed to this tonal shift. His Pike came off as slightly bland and at one point, I found the character's regret for not participating in the war against the Klingons as not very interesting. And why is he a regular on this show? Why is he even a regular for Season Two? He and his two Enterprise officers, along with Michael Burnham, had succeeded in their mission, they should have left. Either Discovery would have found itself with a new captain or Saru could have become its permanent captain. Frankly, he deserves it. Instead, Kurtzman drummed up some lame reason to keep Pike around so that the show can have some bland white guy as the main authority figure in order to soothe the nerves of those fans who could not deal with the chaotic Gabriel Lorca as captain or Michael Burnham as the show's lead.

I blame the fanboys who want the show to recapture the past. And I blame Alex Kurtzman for listening to these fanboys, instead of basking in the success of Season One and moving forward with more innovative stories. It's just a crime that producers like Kurtzman, the Warner Brothers suits and Kathleen Kennedy are so afraid of the narrow-minded fanboys that they would rather keep their respective franchises either mired in the past or borderline bland. And in doing so, they end up ignoring the fact that when these franchises were innovative, they were also box office or ratings successes.

I have come to the conclusion that part of the Trek fandom, like the ones for other franchises, strikes me as rather frustrating and narrow-minded. These fans would rather cling to the past, rather than enjoy something different or innovative for its franchise. And when show runners like Alex Kurtzman kowtow to loud and rather conservative-minded fans and critics, entertainment and art in pop culture becomes in danger of declining into a sad affair.

...

Anson Mount's take on Pike certainly contributes. I rather liked Lorca, I just hate the way his character arc was resolved. He went from complex, and mysterious to scenery chewing villain. Didn't like that. I think they're working subtle out with Pike here, in the hopes that he can keep the show on an even keel. I also like that with Pike (and Mount's style in particular) things are more straightforward. We know the bridge crew's names and hear them directly in the episode, we get to see them cooperate, even the bridge feels a little brighter with Pike at the helm instead of Lorca (likely due to both Lorca's sensitivity and his personality).

We've replaced one white guy for another (I was hoping Saru would get the Captain's chair), but at least this white guy seems to scratch an itch a few people had with the tone of the previous season. Whether that's as bad as you say, we'll see, but I'm hoping we get more fun, creative stories, and real character development from everyone in the cast. The ship already feels more like a Starfleet ship now than it did the last season, and with no Klingon war (ugh) hanging over their heads, things even feel more optimistic.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Stamets. (I don't think he's really going to leave.)

I think Stamets will stay, but Reno will be the chief engineer.

 

[Lord Garth]

I don't agree. I found the tonal shift a bit forced. I don't see the necessity of changing the series' tonal shift. I want "Star Trek Discovery", not some borderline copycat of "The Orville". Not even your typical Trek series from the past had such a drastic tonal shift.

The introduction of Anson Mount as Christopher Pike contributed to this tonal shift. His Pike came off as slightly bland and at one point, I found the character's regret for not participating in the war against the Klingons as not very interesting. And why is he a regular on this show? Why is he even a regular for Season Two? He and his two Enterprise officers, along with Michael Burnham, had succeeded in their mission, they should have left. Either Discovery would have found itself with a new captain or Saru could have become its permanent captain. Frankly, he deserves it. Instead, Kurtzman drummed up some lame reason to keep Pike around so that the show can have some bland white guy as the main authority figure in order to soothe the nerves of those fans who could not deal with the chaotic Gabriel Lorca as captain or Michael Burnham as the show's lead.

The problem with Saru as Captain is that something has to happen to him for Burnham to eventually take command of the Discovery. Pike works as a Captain who's there and then they can get rid of by simply transferring him back to the Enterprise. I'm hoping this season, Burnham makes enough of an impression that Starfleet considers her to be in the running again for a starship command.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I think Stamets will stay, but Reno will be the chief engineer.

It looks like the Spore Drive is spinning up again eventually...so I for one CAN NOT WAIT to see the argumentative banter between Reno and Stamets.

 

[BillJ]

I think Stamets will stay, but Reno will be the chief engineer.

It really seems like Stamets would be an asset that the Federation would want to keep close to home while they work on ways to control the Spore Drive.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'd personally rather not see Burnham in command of the Discovery, because I like the fact that the series sets itself apart by not being focused on the titular ship's Commanding Officer.

 

[Attentiveluke]

I think Stamets will stay, but Reno will be the chief engineer.

I will be good to see the USS Discovery with a full compliment of senior staff and focus on them. I already prefer Reno to Stamets after 10 minutes of airtime

 

[KirkusOveractus]

It looks like the Spore Drive is spinning up again eventually...so I for one CAN NOT WAIT to see the argumentative banter between Reno and Stamets.

I think this will be the case, where Reno becomes Chief Engineer of Discovery, with Stamets there for use of the Spore Drive. In these instances, there will be some really smart, quick and witty banter!

 

[DigificWriter]

I will be good to see the USS Discovery with a full compliment of senior staff and focus on them. I already prefer Reno to Stamets after 10 minutes of airtime

Even if Jet Reno becomes the Discovery's Chief Engineer, she's a recurring character, so the "focus" is going to remain basically the same as it was for Season 1, with Pike in place of Lorca and Culber in place of Tyler.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

I'd personally rather not see Burnham in command of the Discovery, because I like the fact that the series sets itself apart by not being focused on the titular ship's Commanding Officer.

I think it's likely that they'll promote her in the series finale with the TOS uniforms...the 'end' of her journey to captaincy, and the end of our journey to TOS. ...Either that or she dead.