if you pause it just right..
Yep. That's what I thought of when I saw that. Also the inner workings of the North Pole from The Polar Express. Why are these things always constructed as thrilling roller coasters?
Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x01 - "Brother"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
Yep. That's what I thought of when I saw that. Also the inner workings of the North Pole from The Polar Express. Why are these things always constructed as thrilling roller coasters?
I really liked this one. A great start to the season, with a solid exploration based plot balanced with action set pieces which were well shot and paced. I’m much more interested in the storyline here already, and the writing has stepped up a definite notch. The dialogue is much snappier and less clunky,
The casting continues to shine on this show – Pike and Jet were both excellent and I enjoyed their introductions. Pike is, as Kurtzman admitted, much more Greenwood mentor than Hunter grump, but I think that works well with an otherwise quite young crew. He is deliberately set up as the anti Lorca. Jet I’m assuming is being set up as the chief engineer, and had a good introduction as aa standard Starfleet miracle worker, but with a lot of character as well.
I particularly enjoyed the little touches in this episode, background stuff like the new doctor, disabled veterans still on board, the TOS officers quarters update, lots of things which showed the level of attention to detail on the production.
Overall, really positive start. A solid 8 to give it room to move up as well as down.
Concerns, rather than negatives:
- How do the Klingons, Tyler, and Section 31 fit into this storyline organically?
- Are we risking the crew roster trope that Discovery so deftly avoided in season 1 by maintaining roughly the same cast? Hopefully each will have a meaningful role in the new story.
The casting continues to shine on this show – Pike and Jet were both excellent and I enjoyed their introductions. Pike is, as Kurtzman admitted, much more Greenwood mentor than Hunter grump, but I think that works well with an otherwise quite young crew. He is deliberately set up as the anti Lorca. Jet I’m assuming is being set up as the chief engineer, and had a good introduction as aa standard Starfleet miracle worker, but with a lot of character as well.
I particularly enjoyed the little touches in this episode, background stuff like the new doctor, disabled veterans still on board, the TOS officers quarters update, lots of things which showed the level of attention to detail on the production.
Overall, really positive start. A solid 8 to give it room to move up as well as down.
Concerns, rather than negatives:
- How do the Klingons, Tyler, and Section 31 fit into this storyline organically?
- Are we risking the crew roster trope that Discovery so deftly avoided in season 1 by maintaining roughly the same cast? Hopefully each will have a meaningful role in the new story.
Burnham killed it. No wonder Spock detests her...
And it makes absolutely no sense. The turbolifts were always just moving up/down and sideways in their tubes. Thats what you can see on the MSDs in the background an on the movement-indicators in the turbolift-pods. And so since the first episode of TOS.
To built a rollercoaster for the turbolift-pods would need so much more open space and that all through the ship, that would be inefficient and would make the deck layouts absolutely random.
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I just loved this beggining of the season 2.
This whole episode was even better than the entire first season, changing a dark and grim Lorca, for a nice guy called Pike.
Caught my attention that Wilson Cruz is now on the main cast.
Good, this is Star Trek for me: adventure, colours, fun and surprises... let's go for more.
This whole episode was even better than the entire first season, changing a dark and grim Lorca, for a nice guy called Pike.
Caught my attention that Wilson Cruz is now on the main cast.
Good, this is Star Trek for me: adventure, colours, fun and surprises... let's go for more.
It may explain why a 750m ship has a crew of only 130. Small habitable spaces and massive empty areas full of crissrossing funhouse turbolift rollercoasters.
That has never been the case.
G
Gonzo
Guest
The amount of political crap in some TV shows and Films is getting so bad in places even I notice it and its doing a lot of damage to the Franchises (take a bow TLJ & Doctor Who), I am able to watch the shows fine but sometimes it can be a bit cringe, some members of the fandom waited decades for a continuation of their favourite shows/films and were horrified at what was done to them in the name of political correctness.
I was able to watch last season fine, it had its issues which I mentioned at the time but a lot of it was due to the issues behind the scenes during production, the show not really knowing what it is and of course the unnecessary visual changes to the Klingons and their ships.
It is clear from S02E01 alone that they listened and have resolved a large number of those issues, toned down the political stuff/halo polishing (it wasn't that bad in the first place though) and let the story drive the episode not the sanctimonious message, the actors all seem to have a better idea of who they are supposed to be and are visibly more comfortable, the same thing happened in TNG, the first season was a bit hit and miss with everyone new in their roles.
Essentially the political correctness in TV and Film was turned up from 1 all the way to 100 in the blink of an eye, unsurprisingly that has caused the backlash to go straight from 1 to 100 in response and that caught the scriptwriters and producers right in the face, a balance will be found in time but until then its going to be very much a case of love it or hate it from the majority, with a few individuals like me who can appreciate both sides of the argument.
Ultimately the scriptwriters and producers overplayed their hand and made the show/films too preachy, self righteous and condescending when all the audience wanted was to be entertained, it also meant the story and characters suffered for it, the fans then made their disappointment very clear, you just have to look at Solo's numbers to see that.
What really triggered such a powerful backlash wasn't really the issues with the shows or films, it was Hollywood's disgusting reaction and treatment of the fans in the aftermath, the same fans that made these franchises huge in the first place.
We all know which film is going to be put under the microscope next, Captain Marvel, I do know that reshoots have been done which could mean Disney isn't taking any chances, they cant afford for the Marvel franchise to take a hit like Star Wars has especially after what has happened to the DC franchise.
Trust had been lost and it must be restored, in Discovery's case it has been in my opinion, if some feel otherwise then that is fair enough.
Sorry about the length but the issues facing Discovery were the same across Hollywood and it was not really possible to talk about one without the other.
G
Gonzo
Guest
Yeah but how big is it, that's the real question.if you pause it just right..
It looks to me like that's in the neck, its the only part of the ship with enough height, assuming we are looking bottom up or top down.
...Which is an assumption a bit difficult to support, given the view. 
The interior of the ship has appeared haphazard, modified or half-built before: the mushroom conservatory had irregular walls and support pylons in odd places, and was probably created by ripping out bits and pieces (and now has been removed and the room so prominently behind Tilly in the Engineering scenes "restored"). This might go well with the idea that the whole ship is one desperate gamble, a collection of 300 incompatible war-winning experiments out of which one panned out and the others are in various stages of being removed or modified.
Timo Saloniemi
The interior of the ship has appeared haphazard, modified or half-built before: the mushroom conservatory had irregular walls and support pylons in odd places, and was probably created by ripping out bits and pieces (and now has been removed and the room so prominently behind Tilly in the Engineering scenes "restored"). This might go well with the idea that the whole ship is one desperate gamble, a collection of 300 incompatible war-winning experiments out of which one panned out and the others are in various stages of being removed or modified.
Timo Saloniemi
Considering how happy most people are with this episode, this will come across as super negative, but here it goes.
I think it was a bit boring. I had lowered my expectations by watching an episode of Voyager in the previous day, but I was still a bit disappointed. I mean I didn't hate it, I liked the tone more than the first season, and Pike seems cool. Still, this was an hour in which very little of consequence happened. They were really heavily trying to get me to care about the Sarek family drama, but I kinda don't. And the action sequence was overdone and tedious. I was waiting something interesting to happen, but it never did. The only 'revelation' was that Spock had gone to explore the red things, but we already knew that from the trailers. I still like these characters, and I like how they're trying to make the show less dark than the first season... though we're still getting the space-Hitler and S31, so I am not sure how much 'less dark' it will be in the end. As an independent episode this wasn't particularly good, it really didn't have a plot to speak off; of course this is the problem with serialised shows, you can't really judge the story until you have all the pieces.
I think it was a bit boring. I had lowered my expectations by watching an episode of Voyager in the previous day, but I was still a bit disappointed. I mean I didn't hate it, I liked the tone more than the first season, and Pike seems cool. Still, this was an hour in which very little of consequence happened. They were really heavily trying to get me to care about the Sarek family drama, but I kinda don't. And the action sequence was overdone and tedious. I was waiting something interesting to happen, but it never did. The only 'revelation' was that Spock had gone to explore the red things, but we already knew that from the trailers. I still like these characters, and I like how they're trying to make the show less dark than the first season... though we're still getting the space-Hitler and S31, so I am not sure how much 'less dark' it will be in the end. As an independent episode this wasn't particularly good, it really didn't have a plot to speak off; of course this is the problem with serialised shows, you can't really judge the story until you have all the pieces.
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G
Gonzo
Guest
Fair enough, the Sarek drama stuff was a bit boring and I had forgotten about it to be honest, hopefully the payoff will be worth it.
Yeah season 1 of Voyager was a yawnfest.
Yeah some are only going to have a chance at liking the season when viewed as a whole in hindsight, my review was more about highlighting the progress that has clearly been made, a lot was riding on the first episode with Pikes introduction and I think the show as a whole has improved across the board, it is only the first episode so we shall have to see what happens with the rest of the season.
Damn, it's almost impossible to keep up with these kind of threads. Overnight it has easily doubled in replies! 
Overall I really liked “Brother”. A big improvement over much of season one's episodes and I hope it's a sign of a change in approach. Much of the episode did feel like a course-correction and soft reboot to me. Unlike others I'm not convinced this would have worked as the original pilot without much retooling, but really I welcome the somewhat lighter tone of the show as well as the somewhat shifting of the focus away from Burnham to the whole of the Discovery crew.
They really stress that the crew is in need of some healing and trust-building after Lorca. And in Pike they seem to have found the perfect Captain for that process. I almost wonder if they'll find a way of keeping Pike on as Discovery's captain for the remainder of the show after the season ends.
Still can't say I'm overly enthusiastic for the return of Georgiou, Section 31 and the Klingons in the following episodes, but I'm still hoping their involvement will be minimal.
Other observations:
A question for those who are more knowledgable in these matters: Does it really make sense for those photographic (?) units on the underside of the sauce that they use to make images of the asteroid field to use actual flash-lights? I get that it's probably a visual shorthand for “Look! Those are cameras taking photos!”, but nowadays you would never use flash-lights with a tele-lense, would you?
In a similar vein, I really don't know how to think about Sarus eyes being better than Dicovery's sensors. They did something similar in the pilot where they used Georgiou's telescope to see something their high-tech, 23rd century sensors couldn't, and it did make as much sense to me then as it does now.
Am I the only one who's bothered by the completely unbelievable anecdote about Kasseelian opera singers, who train their whole life for a single performance only to commit suicide immediately after?
Something else I didn't see anyone mention thus far: the music in this episode was wonderful! The quiet/tragic tones as young Michael is brought into the Sarek home; the energetic, percussive tune right before they slip into their Power Rangers suits; or the somber music when Michael steps into Spock's quarters on the Enterprise, that almost sounded like it tipped the hat to Gerald Fried's original Mr. Spock theme from “Amok Time”.
Overall I really liked “Brother”. A big improvement over much of season one's episodes and I hope it's a sign of a change in approach. Much of the episode did feel like a course-correction and soft reboot to me. Unlike others I'm not convinced this would have worked as the original pilot without much retooling, but really I welcome the somewhat lighter tone of the show as well as the somewhat shifting of the focus away from Burnham to the whole of the Discovery crew.
They really stress that the crew is in need of some healing and trust-building after Lorca. And in Pike they seem to have found the perfect Captain for that process. I almost wonder if they'll find a way of keeping Pike on as Discovery's captain for the remainder of the show after the season ends.
Still can't say I'm overly enthusiastic for the return of Georgiou, Section 31 and the Klingons in the following episodes, but I'm still hoping their involvement will be minimal.
I absolutely did!
Yes, this is something I noticed as well. In the first season, Tilly often functioned as a welcomed antidote to the serious tone of the story, but in an episode where everyone seems to quip left and right and the general approach seems to be much lighter, Tilly seemed a little over-the-top to me. Going forward I hope they'll find a less irritating way of integrating her.
Loved it! And for a moment there I wondered if they had completely reworked the title sequence. (Which they actually did for the proper title sequence. Not sure I need the stupid Section 31 badge in there, though.)
That's why Airiam looked so weird! I guess it'll grow on me, but the make-up looked much better on the original actress, I think. Do we have anything official about why they recast her other than the speculation upthread?
Yes, the incredibly looooong way those pods travelled through the tunnel before they finally left at the back of the ship was just ridiculous, especially once you consider they entered the pods in the shuttle bay, which already is at the back of the ship!
This, I think, was even more stupid than the pod thing (since we're likely never to see them again). Why the hell would the turbolifts travel inside such gigantic rooms?! Where is this even supposed to be on the ship? This completely contradicts every prior depiction of the turbolift tube system on Star Trek. When I saw the shot of those rollercoasters in the trailer I was convinced I was seeing some alien world or something, not the inside of Discovery! Now, not everything they decide to show has to look completely like I personally thought it would. But at the very least it should look logical and practical, which to me this does not.
Yes, they need to tone done the whole hologram thing! I don't think I ever need to see a character grabbing an invisible hologram thing and throw it in the air again. It just looks stupid to me. I mean, once even frickin' candles (!) have to be holographic you're definitely going overboard with the whole idea.
I agree. James Frain is doing a marvelous job as Sarek. I still think his casting was a stroke of genius.
Yeah, this didn't make a lot of sense. I mean, what has this woman not done in her career?! Where does test-piloting weirdly specific pods for a secret testbed class of ship even fit into here vita, timeline-wise?
Very nicely put. I completely agree.
Other observations:
A question for those who are more knowledgable in these matters: Does it really make sense for those photographic (?) units on the underside of the sauce that they use to make images of the asteroid field to use actual flash-lights? I get that it's probably a visual shorthand for “Look! Those are cameras taking photos!”, but nowadays you would never use flash-lights with a tele-lense, would you?
In a similar vein, I really don't know how to think about Sarus eyes being better than Dicovery's sensors. They did something similar in the pilot where they used Georgiou's telescope to see something their high-tech, 23rd century sensors couldn't, and it did make as much sense to me then as it does now.
Am I the only one who's bothered by the completely unbelievable anecdote about Kasseelian opera singers, who train their whole life for a single performance only to commit suicide immediately after?
Something else I didn't see anyone mention thus far: the music in this episode was wonderful! The quiet/tragic tones as young Michael is brought into the Sarek home; the energetic, percussive tune right before they slip into their Power Rangers suits; or the somber music when Michael steps into Spock's quarters on the Enterprise, that almost sounded like it tipped the hat to Gerald Fried's original Mr. Spock theme from “Amok Time”.
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Loved the Episode. Great start for the new season.
10/10
10/10
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