Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 4x01 - "Kobayashi Maru"

[Leto_II]

F*** that guy. I mean he's as entitled to his opinion as anyone else, but after the spoilers he let loose into the wild last season...

Yeah, f*** that guy.

I love how Burnett’s now basically reduced to being a desperate, thirsty, fringe-of-the-fringe-podcaster and only occasionally gets industry work, like…um…animatics-editor? LOL.

I also love how this show’s writers will now have far more-prestigious and long-term Hollywood careers than he’ll ever see again, due to his various assorted dumbfuckeries.

 

[GNDN18]

 

[Tomalak]

I love how Burnett’s now basically reduced to being a fringe-of-the-fringe-podcaster and only occasionally gets industry work, like…um…animatics-editor? LOL.

I also love how this show’s writers will now have far more-prestigious and long-term Hollywood careers than he’ll ever see again, due to his various assorted dumbfuckeries.

You mock the star of the "Burnetwork"?

 

[Leto_II]

You mock the star of the "Burnetwork"?

He's about to school Paramount in how it's done, baby!!

 

[Charles Phipps]

I don't know, the Jedi Council over at that other star franchise regularly showed contempt for the civilian elected democratic authority, even after he was granted emergency powers by the legislative body, and this was portrayed in a heroic light.

They were actually extremely differential and obedient until the third movie where they suspected he was an authoritarian dictator in the making.

 

[ToddCam]

Uneven for me. The first scene with the butterfly people was fantastic. It's what I wanted Season 4 to be about: rebuilding the Federation.

Aspects of the disaster and the Burnham/President stuff were kind of tedious, but overall it was not bad, and sometimes good. The stupid camera work was really annoying. I don't need to have motion sickness when watching a Trek show. There's no up in space! Why is it so important to continuously highlight the fact they were on the ceiling?

The whole Kwejian story... I don't think I am in the right headspace for a show with such enormous loss of life. It's way too bleak for me. And if I have to be seeing planetary destruction as an ongoing thing... it might damage my psyche too much. If it looks like that's going to be the pattern, I might have to take long breaks between episodes.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Solid opening episode! It had a couple of very Star Trekkian missions. The opening planet also looked gorgeous. I bet that was our first view of the new AR wall technology.

I know that it's only for this week, but having 2 new Star Trek episodes released on the same day made me nostalgic for 1999.

 

[valkyrie013]

I agree, this director just feels the need to do weird camera tricks.. (Noted in past episodes hes directed as well) Not needed. Can't wait for the Frakes episodes.. Won't have to take any Dramamine..

Good start. Liked it overall. Just knew they were going to destroy books planet.. And that's just sad. And honestly a writing cruch. But Trek isn't exactly shy of killing worlds.

LOVED the Enterprise theme when introducing the Archer Docks

AR wall for the academy stage was nice.

 

[BigJake]

9/10.

Spoiler

It wouldn't be Disco without a galaxy-destroying anomaly and a high-stakes plot arc. I'm happy to see the crew get in some happy-go-lucky adventuring -- the opener's callout to the camp adventure tone of Beyond and ST:ID's openings (some of the best moments of both movies) was actually really fun -- and it's nice to see Burnham get to inhabit and genuinely enjoy the Captain's chair. The disaster-rescue plot was enjoyable, and I liked the President's surprising role as a kind of foil to Burnham. Some rousing moments, like the revelation of the Archer Space Dock. The visual effects and the action are on point as ever... well, the Alshain were perhaps a little on the silly side. But, not a dealbreaker.

I am genuinely sorry to see Book's planet go, one of the most interestingly distinctive post-Earth human cultures in the Trek canon. But if they were looking to deliver an emotional gut punch that would get me invested, they certainly did it.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

What was up with the flamethrowers on the bridge? Who installed those anyway?

Does the UT not translate “fucked”? .

Some of it seemed a bit ham-fisted and felt like it was playing at 1.25x speed. I was picturing Lucas directing “Faster, more intense.”. Then it stops for Burnham asking the President if she was lying while flying on top of a pod in an exosuit.

On the plus side, it’s neat to see the future actually doing futury stuff like instant transports, robots, and transforming tech and so forth. And one can’t say they the budget isn’t on the screen.

 

[donners22]

I agree, this director just feels the need to do weird camera tricks.. (Noted in past episodes hes directed as well) Not needed. Can't wait for the Frakes episodes.. Won't have to take any Dramamine..

One of Frakes' Disco episodes, possibly the first, had the camera spinning in circles for ages during a conversation. It was dizzying.

About to put on the season premiere. Watching bitter-ass Robert Meyer Burnett having a total fucking unhinged, losing-his-goddamned-shit Twitter meltdown over this show right now is simply glorious, and never stops being entertaining.

I muted him ages ago. Didn't he say he was quitting modern Trek after the Guardian episode?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

A 10 for me. The President dressing down Burnham was both annoying and spectacular all at once. She had very good points that put her above the typical nosy politician.

The opening really was the best part. A little reminiscent of Into Darkness the way things went sideways.

 

[Anduinel]

Really enjoyed it until about the last ten minutes. The misunderstanding with the butterfly people, proud Papa Staments, the rebirth of SA, the space-catastrophe of the week - all good stuff. But I wasn't thrilled that Commander Hair Trigger bought it, and I was really soured by Book's planet - and cute widdle Rene-alike - going kablooey. I dunno, it just feels like live-action Trek has been more than a little kill-happy lately, and it's really not doing it for me.

ETA: Come to think of it, it's not even the death per se, it's that the writers seem to be great at writing misery, but not so great at catharsis. LDS and Prodigy, as comedy and kid's shows respectively, have that built into them from the ground up, but DISCO and especially Picard tend to skimp on it.

 

[1moreRobot]

I thought the directing here was kind of a mess and felt amateurish. Those swooshing camera pivots…

 

[Amaris]

Strong start. I like it. This feels almost like a reboot, in a sense, of the show. New uniforms, new ranks, new positions, new characters in so many respects. Nice bits of philosophy tucked into the action and drama, and this time no overbearing and heavy handed message.

Of course, there is a - b i g p r o b l e m - at the end of the episode, but it's not on a universal scale (maybe?), and if so I think I can handle that. No more need for galaxy wide mayhem, please.

I like the Federation president, she's pretty straightforward. I can appreciate that.
Honestly, Michael is almost Kirk-like in how she approaches the Captain's chair, the rejection of the no win scenario, and I strongly approve of that.

Nice to see everyone again, great visuals as always, good characterization, good story, good way to get this season rolling. This is very good Trek, IMO.

Easy 8/10.
I hope the rest of the season can keep this kind of consistency.

 

[cooleddie74]

Michael doesn't take stick from politicians, either. Kirk would be proud of her, and likely Spock as well.

 

[Amaris]

Michael doesn't take stick from politicians, either. Kirk would be proud of her, and likely Spock as well.

Oh, I loved that, but I did love the responses from the president. Yeah, Michael doesn't take shit, but sometimes the president's actually making good points, seeing the humanity in things. Even if she doesn't agree, she knows where Michael's coming from, she's not a run of the mill pol, she has empathy. She gets it. We could use a lot of that here in this present, honestly.

 

[cooleddie74]

And that's also a Kirk-like quality. Most of the time Kirk was right but when he wasn't he deserved to be put in his place, and the President was right about Michael to a large extent.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Thinking about it, the President's vague talk about experiments in alternative propulsion combined with massive gravitational abnormalities, and her insisting on coming along, should raise all kinds of red flags. If Book's homeworld was indeed destroyed by a Federation experiment, it's not going to be pretty.

Or, the new propulsion methods are going to be what solves the problem. I don't think it's any coincidence that Voyager with its new pathway drive is in need of a captain and Saru is a captain in need of a ship and happens to have the qualities President Rillak is seeking in a CO. My take is Discovery and Voyager will go on a joint mission to sort things out as the rapid responders of the fleet.

 

[Amaris]

And that's also a Kirk-like quality. Most of the time Kirk was right but when he wasn't he deserved to be put in his place, and the President was right about Michael to a large extent.

Oh, absolutely. A lot of what I like about Michael are things I see in myself: a rejection of what I consider "unjust authority," and this need to save everyone, that no single life is worth forsaking if there's even the slightest chance of saving them. I would make a terrible captain, I know this, because I would pour 1000% into saving a single life, and I wouldn't regret it one bit.