What do you guys actually like about discovery?
- Thread starter dcm
- Start date
I like the characters. Burnham is more flawed and damaged than most Trek captains, which makes her interesting; Saru and his backstory are fascinating; Culber is a humanitarian in the vein of McCoy and Crusher, and I always like those characters. (The only thing I wish, character-wise, is that it were a more of an ensemble cast, giving us more than just "Tilly is neurotic, Reno is snarky, Owosekun has whatever random bit of side knowledge will turn out to be useful for this particular episode, and Stamets and Detmer are just kind of there." I like all those characters; I just want to see more of them. I'm not saying the ensemble has to be as fleshed out as it was on DS9, but even on TNG, they did their best to give Crusher, Troi, Worf, and Geordi one spotlight per season.)
I like the exploration of the 32nd century, and the idea of doing it through characters from an era we're already familiar with so it doesn't seem too far removed.
I like the exploration of the 32nd century, and the idea of doing it through characters from an era we're already familiar with so it doesn't seem too far removed.
It's easier to say what I don't like since I love the show, I just wish it was less serialized. Everything else about it I love to bits. Admittedly that's a tall dislike, but the characters are so strong and their relationships so meaningful that I'm able to enjoy it greatly in spite of that.
Also, the Shenzhou might be Doug Drexler's best work. What a beauty.
Also, the Shenzhou might be Doug Drexler's best work. What a beauty.
I love the open and unapologetic queerness of the show, the Season 1 bury your gays moment notwithstanding.
Also Tilly is adorable and Doug Jones did a lot of work to make Saru seem really alien and bring life to a new species in a way I haven't seen since TOS.
Also, I appreciate seeing the whole "It's easy to be a saint in paradise" thing explores with season 3 when the future they landed in was essentially borked and we get to watch our familiar species all re-learn what the Federation stood for.
Most refreshingly--as I watched DSC shortly after giving up on PIC s3--i appreciate a lack of gratuitous callbacks. Someone on Reddit said it was a waste of an opportunity not to bring back the EMH as it's probably that his program or a copy thereof may still exist but TBH I'm rather tired of references for the sake of it, so I'm glad that other than name-dropping Picard when referencing the technology to give Grey a new body and footage of old Spock's reunification efforts, this has largely been avoided.
DSC isn't perfect, but no show is and at the end of the day, even "badx shows bring in new fans who will one day check out the good stuff. I speak from experience here.
Also Tilly is adorable and Doug Jones did a lot of work to make Saru seem really alien and bring life to a new species in a way I haven't seen since TOS.
Also, I appreciate seeing the whole "It's easy to be a saint in paradise" thing explores with season 3 when the future they landed in was essentially borked and we get to watch our familiar species all re-learn what the Federation stood for.
Most refreshingly--as I watched DSC shortly after giving up on PIC s3--i appreciate a lack of gratuitous callbacks. Someone on Reddit said it was a waste of an opportunity not to bring back the EMH as it's probably that his program or a copy thereof may still exist but TBH I'm rather tired of references for the sake of it, so I'm glad that other than name-dropping Picard when referencing the technology to give Grey a new body and footage of old Spock's reunification efforts, this has largely been avoided.
DSC isn't perfect, but no show is and at the end of the day, even "badx shows bring in new fans who will one day check out the good stuff. I speak from experience here.
No I'm serious. I love your avatar. It puts a smile on my face.
I'm sincere. I just finished discovery season 1 and spoilers, I still feel relatively the same. Except I have much more of an appreciation for lorca and the spore drive. That shit is cool as fuck. But outta place.
I think I had an account here to discuss star trek beyond when it first came out. But it's been so long I dont remember it's name or even if it was this website.
I think this was the best approach.
Less so. It's not so bad the second time around. I dread seasons 3 and 4.
Edit - No. Can't be bothered.
John Eaves designed the Shenzhou. Drexler didn't work on any new Trek show until Picard S3.
oh, thanks! I swapped the men in my mind. my bad!
I really don't get why people don't like it. I only recently watched it for the first time and since then I have been rewatching it as much as my comfort treks (TNG/DS9).
things I like (since OP asked, hope they aren't too nauseated):
- orphaned/adopted character and resulting trauma exploration
- realistic protagonist that isn't always right/perfect
- realistic characters
- TILLY
- CRONENBERG
- realistic writing/swearing!
- exploration of themes like gender, colonialism, cultural assimilation, ethics of technology
things I like (since OP asked, hope they aren't too nauseated):
- orphaned/adopted character and resulting trauma exploration
- realistic protagonist that isn't always right/perfect
- realistic characters
- TILLY
- CRONENBERG
- realistic writing/swearing!
- exploration of themes like gender, colonialism, cultural assimilation, ethics of technology
I started writing a long outline about why but it sounded too analytical, so I think it's enough to say Discovery has a huge hardcore following (within fandom). The main reason could be summed up by most fans in their connection to the characters...I have rarely seen so much passion for individual characters as I have for this show within trekdom.
Saru
Stammets
Empress Georgiou
Every unashamedly gay moment (as I like to think of it as a big FU to Rick Berman)
USS Janeway
USS Nog
The twist involving Lorca (I should've seen it coming, but I didn't and I love it because of that!)
The wild elevator ride
Owosekun/Detmer
Giving us Anson Mount
Not being afraid to dig into Trek history
Stammets
Empress Georgiou
Every unashamedly gay moment (as I like to think of it as a big FU to Rick Berman)
USS Janeway
USS Nog
The twist involving Lorca (I should've seen it coming, but I didn't and I love it because of that!)
The wild elevator ride
Owosekun/Detmer
Giving us Anson Mount
Not being afraid to dig into Trek history
I like the 32nd Century. For me, that's where the show really finds it feet and becomes the show I like now. I enjoyed Season 3 and 4 a lot, but Seasons 1 and 2 are a slog for me. Especially Season 1.
Not to say there aren't moments in earlier Seasons. There's a lot to like. But from Season 3, for me at least, everything starts to cohere.
I think it'll be a decade or even a few decades before Star Trek is as brave as DSC. I do love it, even when it falls on its face, because sometimes even if an episode fails to grasp something, I can at least feel what it was reaching for. I love that about DSC.
I think it is the best, visually, that Star Trek has ever been (outside of the Abrams movies at least). It has always been fantastic to look at.
I adore Russo, so of course I love the theme, but I really like the opening visuals as well. As above, brave and different. I think it's a shame that SNW has reverted to the 'various fly-bys of the ship' style of Berman Trek. I wish it had something more graphic and bold like DSC.
Actually the music generally in DSC is fantastic.
The characters. Michael Burnham most of all. One of the most multi-faceted characters on the whole franchise. But also Saru, Culber, Zora, Stamets, Tilly, Kovitch, Georgiou (in all iterations), Lorca, Reno, Vance, Tarka... If there's anyone I've forgotten, they should be on there, my mind just isn't up to it... But yes, many, many great characters.
If I could only take one season of Star Trek with me to a desert island, I'd take DSC Season 4. That whole run of episodes is one of the purest distillations of the very concept of Star Trek that I have ever seen. It's magnificent.
I love DSC, despite its flaws, because it is a dynamic, contemporary, inclusive branch of the Star Trek family. Sometimes it doesn't quite pull off what it is trying to do, but boy, is it trying. Like, all the time. There is no episode in the whole run of DSC which I'd describe as filler.
There is a lot to like about DSC.
Not to say there aren't moments in earlier Seasons. There's a lot to like. But from Season 3, for me at least, everything starts to cohere.
I think it'll be a decade or even a few decades before Star Trek is as brave as DSC. I do love it, even when it falls on its face, because sometimes even if an episode fails to grasp something, I can at least feel what it was reaching for. I love that about DSC.
I think it is the best, visually, that Star Trek has ever been (outside of the Abrams movies at least). It has always been fantastic to look at.
I adore Russo, so of course I love the theme, but I really like the opening visuals as well. As above, brave and different. I think it's a shame that SNW has reverted to the 'various fly-bys of the ship' style of Berman Trek. I wish it had something more graphic and bold like DSC.
Actually the music generally in DSC is fantastic.
The characters. Michael Burnham most of all. One of the most multi-faceted characters on the whole franchise. But also Saru, Culber, Zora, Stamets, Tilly, Kovitch, Georgiou (in all iterations), Lorca, Reno, Vance, Tarka... If there's anyone I've forgotten, they should be on there, my mind just isn't up to it... But yes, many, many great characters.
If I could only take one season of Star Trek with me to a desert island, I'd take DSC Season 4. That whole run of episodes is one of the purest distillations of the very concept of Star Trek that I have ever seen. It's magnificent.
I love DSC, despite its flaws, because it is a dynamic, contemporary, inclusive branch of the Star Trek family. Sometimes it doesn't quite pull off what it is trying to do, but boy, is it trying. Like, all the time. There is no episode in the whole run of DSC which I'd describe as filler.
There is a lot to like about DSC.
I hate saru. Something about his lack of masculinity offends me. Especially how he swings his arms side to side when he walks. It's infuriating.
Why is the gay stuff so important? To me, a character's sexuality is completely divorced from quality. I hate one note characters whose only trait is their sexual identity. It's like the writers have a real weak character and they decide to make them gay to add some sort of flair or identity to them, and as a hail mary play, to excuse poor writing.
I do kinda like stammets though. He's one of the few well executed characters on the show. His relationship with the male doctor is completely irrelevant to me. I dont mean that in a negative way. I accept stammets anyway he comes, because he's written decently. But ngl the doctor is a weaker actor than stammets though. I wish they hired on somebody more competent instead, and let them off of each other.
I feel like discovery jumped the shark when it jumped through time. The first two seasons were almost bearable to me. But discovery felt outta time and outta place with it's advanced technology. The show needed the time jump to establish itself in it's own setting. It was an opportunity, a clean slate for the series. And the writers failed to deliver. If we're gonna go post federation, then a galactic apocalypse is a great story, just waiting to be explored. But the writers ruined it, robbed it of it's seriousness and majesty.
Hmmm.
Discovery is a very good show | Page 5 | The Trek BBS
How can you know what they delivered... when you barely watched any of it?
It's as important as the straight stuff.
How is he "lacking" masculinity?
Saru has strength, but physical and emotional. He's shown that on multiple occasions. He's courageous, often fighting hard against a biological instinct to flee in order to do his duty; A courage than only deepens once he goes through the Vahar'ai. He's independent, leaving his home world and his people in order to serve in Starfleet, even though it meant being apart from his kin for, what was presumed, the rest of his life. He's shown immense leadership, being an incredible First Officer for Pike and Captain of the Discovery. And assertiveness, while it isn't something he's best at in early DISCO, by the end of S4, he is one of the most outspoken and dogged in his sense of justice in the series.Wikipedia said:
Or do you mean to say that when men are soft spoken and gentle with those under their command, that is a lack of masculinity? Maybe you ought to give men more credit.
I like:
- The amazingly high production values
- The Crossfield design. I disliked it at the beginning but it grew on me
- The way Season 2 was a backdoor pilot for Strange New Worlds
- The LGBTQIA+ positivity
- Saru, Pike, Spock, Number One, Charles Vance, Laira Rillak, Ruon Tarka, Adira, Stamets, Culber, Booker & Reno
- The politics & status quo of the future
- The visual redesign of the Andorians
- Species 10-C, the Kelpians & the Ba'ul
- The way they made the Orions more relevant & interesting
- The amazingly high production values
- The Crossfield design. I disliked it at the beginning but it grew on me
- The way Season 2 was a backdoor pilot for Strange New Worlds
- The LGBTQIA+ positivity
- Saru, Pike, Spock, Number One, Charles Vance, Laira Rillak, Ruon Tarka, Adira, Stamets, Culber, Booker & Reno
- The politics & status quo of the future
- The visual redesign of the Andorians
- Species 10-C, the Kelpians & the Ba'ul
- The way they made the Orions more relevant & interesting
