Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x08 - "If Memory Serves"

[Jackson_Roykirk]

nah, it's just a visual recast.

Since no one in this thread commented how Mount's Pike looked different to Hunter's Pike, I think it is safe to assume that people in general are fine with the idea of recasting characters with new actors that may not be identical but similar enough to the original actors ...

Exactly. I'm fine with the idea that Pike looks like a different person (albeit similar in looks) now compared to the "Previously on Star Trek" Cage clips, as does Spock and Vina. They look different yet similar, but in my mind I can still know it's same characters.

So there's no reason for me to be equally OK with the fact that the Enterprise looks different. It looks different yet similar, but in my mind I can still know it's the same ship.

 

[Saul]

I did think the TOS theme became jarring as the recap went along. I'm a sucker for anything TOS, but the jazzy theme wasn't really the right tone for clips from a serious episode. Kinda undermined the drama. (And could give people who haven't seen the Cage the wrong idea about what it's like.)

Right. It's like TOS for what people think TOS was. Not how fans think of it.

 

[UssGlenn]

The weird thing about General Order 7 is that it infers there were only 6 previous General Orders when it was established

Could be the order just established the authority to restrict travel to planets with various levels of punishment. Talos IV is the only one on the list with the highest restriction rating. I'd need to review the exact dialogue to see if my theory works.

 

[Vger23]

10/10 all the way. Absolutely loved this episode. The 'Last time on Star Trek' was a beautiful touch and I can't help but feel it was a massive 'fuck you' to everyone bitching about how a show made in 2019 doesn't look like a show made 55 years ago. It's like the showrunners were saying 'we told you this was prime timeline and we meant it and yes we know it looks different, deal with it'.

God damn this episode was brilliant.

EDIT: The pacing of this episode was bang on. Like other have said, characters felt more real and fleshed out. Scenes were allowed to breathe and moments were allowed to land. I also like that we didn't start off with a monologue but a fantastically done Captain's Log. It's evident to me that a lot of discovery's problems lay with Harberts and Berg and I'm glad that they are no longer around.

Further EDIT: I loved Tilly's 'Step into my office' line.

Given the success the show has enjoyed, and the relentlessness of the vocal minority of detractors, I think a well-placed "fuck you" every now and then is healthy and warranted.

I had the same thoughts about the change in upper management.

I was so caught off guard by it that I initially thought it might be a commercial.

After a first season built on not-so-shocking twists, they really got me with this. I was thrown for a minute -- I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

It was absolutely brilliant. Brought a tear to my eye and really set the tone for the episode. It also made me feel like this show really loves Star Trek, which I think it has all along

I gave it a 9 - very well done. But I don't give 10s very often (to me episodes like TNG Best of Both Worlds Pt. 1)

A few great parts included the fade away from Pike in the cage to Pike on Discovery. Taking an angle that really showed Mount looking exactly like a slightly aged Hunter.

I like how they actually built upon the cage and showed how much of a connection Pike and Vina really had. They truly made it a greater love story and gave greater depth to The Cage and The Menagerie. This is the first time I can say Discovery truly added to and made Original Star Trek better.

I agree that one of the things that made this episode so amazing is that it represents a rare case when a "sequel" actually adds to the richness of the source material.
]

Exactly. I'm fine with the idea that Pike looks like a different person (albeit similar in looks) now compared to the "Previously on Star Trek" Cage clips, as does Spock and Vina. They look different yet similar, but in my mind I can still know it's same characters.

So there's no reason for me to be equally OK with the fact that the Enterprise looks different. It looks different yet similar, but in my mind I can still know it's the same ship.

Im with you all on this one.

 

[urbandefault]

Pike's "shocked surprise" reaction to seeing Vina was almost identical to Cullen Bohannon's "shocked surprise" in S05E02 of Hell on Wheels.

 

[GNDN18]

Oh my goodness … the wind sounds the same. This is affecting me more than I want to admit.

ETA This is the first ep I’ve managed to watch all the way through. From the opening (which was not camp, but rather was inspired and daring —“Previously on Star Trek”) to the end, I was sold on this being Star Trek. Pike and Spock are not imitations, but interpretations. Good ones, too.

Those sound cues, though, really get me. Especially the transporter. Even though 1964 is buried deep in the mix, I can hear it without straining too hard.

I might keep watching.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Right. It's like TOS for what people think TOS was. Not how fans think of it.

This fan is still giddy from that opening. That's the sound I've been listening for ever since Kirk and company sailed off in TUC.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I did think the TOS theme became jarring as the recap went along. I'm a sucker for anything TOS, but the jazzy theme wasn't really the right tone for clips from a serious episode. Kinda undermined the drama. (And could give people who haven't seen the Cage the wrong idea about what it's like.)

I think the use of the 53-year-old clips from The Cage as part of the "previously on Star trek" was inherently campy -- serious episode or not. Therefore, I think DIS just went along with that inherent campiness and embellished it just a little in order to "own it" rather than trying to ignore/fight it.

I think the alternative -- i.e., treating the "previously on" segment featuring clips from a 50+ year old TV show as a 100% completely serious dramatically-toned recap of the story that DIS is about to continue -- would have been worse.

Emulating the old 1960s TOS episode promos Using clips from The Cage was fun. Just go with that fun.

 

[Alan Roi]

Right. It's like TOS for what people think TOS was. Not how fans think of it.

It hilarious. When Disco is serious, there are those who complain "where is the fun, Star Trek is supposed to be fun?!". And when its fun they complain again, "how come it isn't dead serious?"

Yeah nope. This person who cut his teeth on TOS was properly pleased and appreciative and actually remembers the music from the series. But then I guess you don't think someone who has been a fan since long before TNG was a twinkle in Goddenberry's eyes counts..

 

[137th Gebirg]

Agreed. The haters have no purchase anymore and can suck it.

 

[Vger23]

People saying that young Burnam's exchange with young Spock, the one that supposedly caused the rift between them, wasn't sufficiently devastating need to watch the scene again. There is a lot more going on there than just her calling him a half breed.

She says some pretty damaging and horrible stuff in that context, and "half breed" isn't nearly the worst of it.

 

[Vger23]

Agreed. The haters have no purchase anymore and can suck it.

I have noticed some of the obligatory detractors have been conspicuously absent in this thread.

 

[Ovation]

I have noticed some of the obligatory detractors have been conspicuously absent in this thread.

Give it time.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I have noticed some of the obligatory detractors have been conspicuously absent in this thread.

You too, huh? Yep. That’s how you know they’ve been beat.

 

[Hythlodeus]

You too, huh? Yep. That’s how you know they’ve been beat.

they'll be back next week

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

It hilarious. When Disco is serious, there are those who complain "where is the fun, Star Trek is supposed to be fun?!". And when its fun they complain again, "how come it isn't dead serious?"

Yeah nope. This person who cut his teeth on TOS was properly pleased and appreciative and actually remembers the music from the series. But then I guess you don't think someone who has been a fan since long before TNG was a twinkle in Goddenberry's eyes counts..

I found it (including the music) reminiscent of the old TOS episode promos, which I think was their intention:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[137th Gebirg]

Give it time.

they'll be back next week

Perhaps. But, in general, the shit-talkers have been noticeably quieter this entire season than last, overall. A silent testament to the better writing this year. Yes, next week may slip, and I’m sure they’ll have fresh fodder to whine about when the new S31 show starts up, because...REASONS...but whatever. Not sweating it. Disco is here to stay.

 

[Vger23]

I thought the black hole illusion when the shuttle arrived at Talos was awesome. It took me a few seconds to figure it out. Very cool, and definitely shows how powerful the Talosians can be, as alluded to in The Cage.

 

[Alan Roi]

Perhaps. But, in general, the shit-talkers have been noticeably quieter this entire season than last, overall. A silent testament to the better writing this year. Yes, next week may slip, and I’m sure they’ll have fresh fodder to whine about when the new S31 show starts up, because...REASONS...but whatever. Not sweating it. Disco is here to stay.

Honestly though, there's a diminish emotional return to repeat the same blithering screeches over and over again. I still see it on other sites though although yes, only a fraction of what I saw back at the beginning of S1. Just today I read that someone claimed that he wants to punch his screen because of the supposed look of smugness on Burnham's face he sees when he watches the show.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Some people are beyond help. Let them screech.