Spoilers Strange New Worlds 1x02 - "Children of The Comet"

[Mr Awe]

Thanks for the poll scaling! I gave it a 9. I loved this episode. It's not quite at a 10 - Classic level for me but it is overall excellent.

Here are some things I loved about it:

• Pike's casual but enthusiastic style. A breath of fresh air!
• I loved learning more about Uhura and watching her on her first mission.
• The crew has completely gelled. Pike worked with them as a team to solve the problem.
• Approximately 52 minute story length! This allowed the story to have both the character moments and time to delve into the plot. Nothing felt rushed.
• The story itself was interesting.

I had several very minor quibbles.

• Just not enough water in the comet to affect the planet in a major way.
• The portrayal of Nurse Chapel isn't grabbing me.
• Not sure about the "comet" predicting the future like that. Links to Pike but seems unnecessary.

Loving this series! More please!

 

[TRON JA307020]

I've noticed some cool similarities between some of the angles the VFX team uses for the Enterprise, this being my favorite.

It shows me just how different the ships are. They really had a opportunity to make the shio look closer to tos on the outside but really failed.

 

[cooleddie74]

Hemmer didn't get to do much but he made a good first impression with his starting dialogue. I still wish the antennae moved like they did in ENT but I guess having more stiff makeup ties in more directly with how the related Andorians looked in TOS and the TOS Movies.

 

[Midquest]

Some general observations:

- The music is lovely. I really enjoy the orchestration for this show so far. Really elevates the material.
- Gooding is wonderful. Saldana was good as an alternate version of Uhura, but I really believe this is Nichols' Uhura. There was a moment early on where I got genuinely emotional realizing that we were finally getting an Uhura episode.
- Peck is also wonderful. I am firmly in the camp that thinks he's vastly more interesting than Quinto in the role. That's partly the material, and it's partly the performance. I always liked Quinto but found his portrayal to be a little heightened and broad, whereas Peck is playing the part soberly. I also find that Peck looks a lot more like Nimoy: he has that 'aloof, curious, and mildly irked' expressiveness that Nimoy had. Quinto did not.
- That's a lot of bokeh, and I love it! The AR wall is fabulous. They're really getting a certain majestic, concrete sense of place from the technology.
- I loved the long take of the Enterprise heading toward the comet.
- I like that the show is finding time for grace notes and texture. Little moments of stillness or lingering shots.
- I find that in general this show feels a bit more technical, detail-oriented, and efficient with its storytelling that other recent shows, and I really enjoy that.

I gave it a 9, same as last week.

 

[Belz...]

Just not enough water in the comet to affect the planet in a major way.

I suppose it's all relative. If there's little to no water there, a few million tonnes can make a lot of difference. Plus we don't have an exact sense of how large the comet is, but seeing it skim the atmosphere there it looked gigantic; enough to probably affect tidal actions.

 

[Fateor]

So much this. I feel like he's actively thinking about trying to change his fate. About using what he knows to alter his destiny. But that the more he follows these kids as they develop and sees their potential and what they could be, the more likely he is to accept his path, not for his own sake but for theirs. That his choice to sacrifice themselves for them has meaning beyond himself. We'll see if the series follows up at all with this idea, but it really struck a chord with me.

He could also just use his pull with Starfleet to have each of the kids assigned to a different starship thus completely short circuiting the whole thing since short of godlike alien they won't actually get together to cause the event.

 

[Mudd]

- I find that in general this show feels a bit more technical, detail-oriented, and efficient Iwith its storytelling that other recent shows, and I really enjoy that.

There is a focus on story structure and a successful development of theme in these episodes so far that's become unusual in the franchise.

 

[Belz...]

He could also just use his pull with Starfleet to have each of the kids assigned to a different starship thus completely short circuiting the whole thing since short of godlike alien they won't actually get together to cause the event.

That might just get a different group of cadets killed. He's either going to accept his fate or he's going to find a clever solution.

 

[cooleddie74]

I like that this Trek is taking its time and actually doing more interesting things with long pauses in action. Consequential things to the story of the given episode that have appropriate emotional weight. It's remembering some of the beats that made TOS and TNG so successful.

 

[Xerxes82]

He could also just use his pull with Starfleet to have each of the kids assigned to a different starship thus completely short circuiting the whole thing since short of godlike alien they won't actually get together to cause the event.

But then he's changing THEIR fate. They may not turn out at all the same under different circumstances. His choice isn't just to save their lives and/or his, it's whether or not to interfere in the course of their lives in a way that he can't fully understand or predict. What if different postings destroys their careers or limits their opportunities? What if somehow experiencing the accident makes them all better Starfleet officers in the end? There's simply no way to know.

I fully understand why he's grappling with this knowledge. To act, or to not act, is a huge and chaotic decision. But, at least at this point in time, I feel like the only logical ending to the story is for Pike to ultimately decide to let fate take it's course, to make the choice in the moment that feels right and let the chips fall where they may. To accept that what he's seen is as much about who he is as who the cadets are. And to be true to himself in the end. Pike, by his very nature, WILL choose others before himself. It's just who he is, when you get right down to it.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

It shows me just how different the ships are. They really had a opportunity to make the shio look closer to tos on the outside but really failed.

Interesting, I feel it shows how well they updated the design while still remain faithful to the original. Granted I would like to see it be refit over the course of the series to slowly become more in line with what we saw in TOS but it will undoubtedly still be more detailed than the TOS ship.

 

[eschaton]

I suppose it's all relative. If there's little to no water there, a few million tonnes can make a lot of difference. Plus we don't have an exact sense of how large the comet is, but seeing it skim the atmosphere there it looked gigantic; enough to probably affect tidal actions.

Given what a huge impact was shown in the projection at the start of the episode (where it seemed to partially shatter the crust and head into the mantle) I would guess it was more moon sized than anything.

 

[cooleddie74]

If I'm generally at peace and satisfied with the SNW redesign of the ship I know other people can come to peace with it.

 

[Mr Awe]

Anyone expecting Pike to evade his fate will likely be disappointed. These writers seem to be much better than that.

I took that as why Pike looks up the people he'll save, who are currently kids. He's reminding himself why he's accepted his fate. I'm sure that's a nightly routine for him. It's not easy but he knows he's going to do what's needed. To do otherwise, just wouldn't be Pike.

 

[Belz...]

I like that this Trek is taking its time and actually doing more interesting things with long pauses in action. Consequential things to the story of the given episode that have appropriate emotional weight. It's remembering some of the beats that made TOS and TNG so successful.

Remember the long-ish officer meetings they had on TNG with each department head throwing ideas on the table? I liked those.

Given what a huge impact was shown in the projection at the start of the episode (where it seemed to partially shatter the crust and head into the mantle) I would guess it was more moon sized than anything.

Agreed.

It shows me just how different the ships are. They really had a opportunity to make the shio look closer to tos on the outside but really failed.

They failed to make it the way you wanted, that's not the same thing.

 

[Mr Awe]

If I'm generally at peace and satisfied with the SNW redesign of the ship I know other people can come to peace with it.

I can too. Inside and out, it's gorgeous. The only thing that bugs me a little is the size of Pike's cabin! Wow, that's massive! Ortega even went out of her way to say it was a small ship. I mean, his cabin looks gorgeous but . . .

I can get over that. Love everything else! Looking forward to seeing engineering at some point, beyond the quick glimpses in the previews.

 

[SG-17]

I am honestly very impressed with this show so far. Despite it being a prequel coloring my opinion on it, it has overcome that so far.

Helps that Anson Mount is fantastic actor, he is the only reason I finished watching Hell On Wheels after that show, ahem, went off the rails.

 

[cooleddie74]

I can too. Inside and out, it's gorgeous. The only thing that bugs me a little is the size of Pike's cabin! Wow, that's massive! Ortega even went out of her way to say it was a small ship. I mean, his cabin looks gorgeous but . . .

I can get over that. Love everything else! Looking forward to seeing engineering at some point, beyond the quick glimpses in the previews.

And in-universe even Pike's cabin is easy to rationalize. If the crew complement is still 203 then expanding to 430 in the next few years will require some bulkheads to be moved around and quarters resized to allow for the crew complement more than doubling.

 

[Mr Awe]

Pike mentions to Una that he reads the names of the cadets he will save. So I saw the scene as just showing us Pike's routine where he pulls up their pics and reads their names. I don't think we know what he is planning

I took it as Pike reminding himself why he's not going to change his fate. That's got to be hard but looking at those kids must help.

 

[Noname Given]

Another 9 from me (Very close to a 10, but yeah, IDK if I'm just fan geeking out because this is SO MUCH my kind of Star Trek that I've been waiting for since TOS ended.)

I LOVE the way the are doing all the characters and character dynamics and dialogue. In general each character has their own voice and speech style being catered to; and it's not all banal dialogue that could be mixed and matched to any character standing around (which for me was how TNG came across more often than not with characters speaking in the Berman Trek era.)

My BIGGEST complaint? I LOVED when the 1701 had blue ship's Phaser beams in STD S2; so I'm disappointed they've gone to reddish/orange. (Also interesting that the aliens weapons fire color in the final streamed episode was different from that in the pre-series SNW Trailers. Shows just how much of a WIP everything is until it airs.)

Also a bit disappointed their going with calling out Shield Strength percentages in space combat. They did that once in TOS (TOS S2 - "The Changeling"); but I really just wish they'd have gone with the TOS style of Up of Down "Holding"/"Weakening" - but it's a new era and have to cater to the videogame crowd I guess.

LOVED the rest - and how it ties more into Pike's personal arc. I'm also happy they're back to the ORIGINAL version of the Prime Directive that allows them to divert Comets/Save primitive civilizations as long as they don't reveal themselves. They openly did that in TOS S3 - "The Paradise Syndrome" and I like that they're back to that interpretation instead of having a stodgy old future Captain pontificate on how the PD 'ties their hands' in such situations. I LOVE how Pike embraces technicalities when it allows him to do something good/needed.

But yeah so far a really, really solid first two episodes - excited for more.