This may seem like a lame post to some but....the best part of this show is that it is engaging enough to get my wife into watching Trek. No other series or movie has been able to accomplish that. In her words "this one is actually interesting." The other night she asked me a few Trek related questions. For all the hate that has been directed toward Discovery and Burnham, if the end result is bringing new / more fans to the table then Discovery is a resounding success.
DSC is awesome! Each decade of ST shows has spoken well for its time, and DSC in 2019 is no exception.
My wife also loves Discovery but doesn't like any other Star Trek related thing. It's definitely creating new fans
My wife and daughter humorously tolerate my son and i with regard to the older Treks, but they love Discovery.
I thought about suggesting it to my Trek-averse spouse, but I think the violence in Season One would be a deal breaker.
I know no one other than people who were already fans who are more than passingly aware that there's a Star Trek show on, much less who watch it.
Publicity and merchandising thus far leaves a lot to be desired. Example: When the first season dvd set came out, back in November, the local Walmart here had a few copies. Then, when asked, said they couldn't get any more. That's where the situation was left. So, we got our set from a seller on ebay for $16.50, shipping included, whereas Walmart's had been $29.96. I don't see Discovery widely publicized or merchandised. That is to its detriment.
My spouse loves TNG and DS9, likes TOS and VOY and the Kelvin films, hasn't tried ENT despite loving Bakula, and absolutely cannot stand DSC*. The only people I know who love DSC (outside of forums like these) really just like that it's fast and flashy and cool, and don't like older Trek because it's slow and talky and deeply not cool. That's, of course, anecdotal and I do not mean to disagree with or take away from people and their loved ones who are totally into DSC, just speaking from my experience. Also not judging people who like things because they are flashy and cool. Like whatever you like, you do you. My best friend loves anything involving children with superpowers - doesn't matter if it's good or bad or anything about it at all really and he freely acknowledges that - he absolutely loves every single dang thing with children with superpowers. *aside from DSC, my spouse's ranking directly equates to not so much my own enjoyment levels but more my opinion of the acting talents of the shows. DSC notwithstanding because we both think the actors are top notch despite feeling mixed (in my case) or loathing (in spouse's case) the show around them.
My brother, my father's girlfriend's daughter, and some of my friends from college watch Discovery. A few other people who I've met more recently were fans but didn't watch until they bought it on DVD/Blu-Ray.
It actually surprises me the friends and family who I didn't know liked Star Trek who are watching Disco. But I would say the casting and the season 2 VFX are pretty top-notch.
I know people I wouldn't guess would watch the show who I've heard talking about it as a show they watch regularly. So yeah, CBS is finding an audience beyond "fans". There are fans and there are fans.
Yep, I know that my family would snap up any action figures of the crew if they were readily available and decently priced. Discovery is event viewing in my household and then I watch it again with my parents who are 65+. They're loving it. They also really like Game of Thrones, Lost in Space and Stranger Things. I've been trying to broaden their TV viewing experiences.
I watch it on my own, and the best thing about it is that I watch it on my own. Nothing worse than having a partner next to you asking stupid questions every five seconds Especially when it's a Time episode and I don't know what the fuck is going on
Same has happened with my wife, who otherwise doesn’t watch any sci fi She calls is “that Star Wars shit” now and then, but she watches it
My girlfriend is also a lot into it. She is heavily invested emotionally into what happens nearly every week. I hope to get her into DS9 next because I am convinced she will like it, top. We watched the first half of The Emissary, and then stopped because she was bored. So it‘s gonna be a bit of a challenge. The lower production values from our modern perspective, the 4:3 picture ratio, the SD resolution and the slower pace are some of the hurdles to get over. Still, convinced if we get past the character intros and to the real drama and character development she‘ll love it. Anyway, Discovery has a lot on the production side going for it that makes it a lot easier to ease into.
The problem is of course that there is the opportunity cost - there is so much good TV it's quite difficult to get people to watch slower stagey Star Trek. My wife loves Discovery and find most Star Trek boring for the same reasons of your girlfriend.