And?
We've had the standard checklist this season.
Klingons? Check.
Space combat? Check.
Court room? Check.
Speeches? Check.
Time travel? Check.
First Contact? Check.
Comedy? Check.
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2x05 - "Charades"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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We've had the standard checklist this season.
Klingons? Check.
Space combat? Check.
Court room? Check.
Speeches? Check.
Time travel? Check.
First Contact? Check.
Comedy? Check.
"First contact" on Trek rarely makes for good stories unless it's about the characters. The movie FC was about Picard's issues, Data's temptation and Cochrane's self-worth. "The Corbomite Maneuver" was about the quickly-promoted lieutenant's struggles.
What do writers have to say about ultra-advanced energy beings from another dimension that's worth a spit? As a general rule, nothing.
What do writers have to say about ultra-advanced energy beings from another dimension that's worth a spit? As a general rule, nothing.
Peck is really, really good as Spock, and played the newbie, "teenage" human to a fault. I think he's probably the best Spock since Nimoy, and that's saying something. The loving bacon to being nauseated by bacon, the increasingly amped up laughter at a joke, "muscle spasms", coughing to stifle a laugh, all so well carried off by him. I loved the henpecked Vulcan husband, Pike's quick-turn reaction while offering food when Vulcan wife objected, everything played so very well. The aliens were perfectly used... Blue and Yellow... to develop the ongoing relationship between Chapel and Spock (great chemistry there). The "I am that human" moment where T'Pring's mom gets her comeuppance was also classic, as was the kiss toward the end of the episode. I'm not sure about the ten episode limit per season argument is all about, because this one ranks among the best Trek has ever done as a complete package. I mean yeah, I'd like 26 episodes a season, but that's not happening, at least not with a single Trek series.
It's my personal opinion (as well as a joke on Futurama) that there are about thirty TOS episodes that Trek is founded on, with all but five or so being in the first season of the series.
So if we get thirty or forty episodes of SNW that are on the current level or better, it'll be historic.
So if we get thirty or forty episodes of SNW that are on the current level or better, it'll be historic.
"Charlie X(TOS)" was a story about teenage angst, growing pains and the emotional turmoil of maturing to adulthood and feeling love. The fact that noncorporeal energy beings saved Charlie Evans' life as a very small child and show up at the end of the episode to take him back into their care and spare the Enterprise crew any further danger is incidental.
The star of that episode is Robert Walker, Jr., not some admittedly cool and eerie optical effects that show up five minutes before the end credits roll.
The star of that episode is Robert Walker, Jr., not some admittedly cool and eerie optical effects that show up five minutes before the end credits roll.
The Expanse is explicitly about the proto molecule and it's impact on humanity. Star Trek especially episodic Star Trek isn't about the implication of the tech of the week. One can assume that somewhere in the Federation that tech is being examined by "Top Men".
There are memorable Trek stories involving the relationship between our people and representatives of other civilizations, new or remote or threatening. These are the folk who are played by human actors onscreen, engaging in drama with the regulars on a stage
You know, actors.
Examples include the people of Eminiar in "A Taste of Armageddon."
Then there are classes of "beings" that are simply plot-motivating devices. They are almost always supposed to be more powerful or far more evolved than humans and are represented by one kind of special effect or another, occasionally taking temporary human form in the way that the gods of Bronze Age mythology did.
Those are the Metrons, the Tholians, the Triskelions and Melkots and so on.
They may be intriguing, but they are only catalysts to action. The stories are not about these Glowbug deities. And it was pretty obvious from the get-go which category Yellow and Blue sorted into.*
*So okay, I drew a severe line between two categories of alien intelligence for rhetorical purposes, but a few examples in Trek do shade into one another. The Organians are Glowbug deities who are performed as engaging human characters through much of the story. Their dramatic interaction with Kirk motivates much of what he does Similarly, the Horta is a special effect revealed at the climax as disguising a human character - albeit one brought to life by the performance of Leonard Nimoy rather than the performer inside the rubber pizza-monster suit.
You know, actors.
Examples include the people of Eminiar in "A Taste of Armageddon."
Then there are classes of "beings" that are simply plot-motivating devices. They are almost always supposed to be more powerful or far more evolved than humans and are represented by one kind of special effect or another, occasionally taking temporary human form in the way that the gods of Bronze Age mythology did.
Those are the Metrons, the Tholians, the Triskelions and Melkots and so on.
They may be intriguing, but they are only catalysts to action. The stories are not about these Glowbug deities. And it was pretty obvious from the get-go which category Yellow and Blue sorted into.*
*So okay, I drew a severe line between two categories of alien intelligence for rhetorical purposes, but a few examples in Trek do shade into one another. The Organians are Glowbug deities who are performed as engaging human characters through much of the story. Their dramatic interaction with Kirk motivates much of what he does Similarly, the Horta is a special effect revealed at the climax as disguising a human character - albeit one brought to life by the performance of Leonard Nimoy rather than the performer inside the rubber pizza-monster suit.
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I'm not saying anything is better or worse or preferable. I only mentioned the expanse as an example of a different way of looking at encounters. I agree the episodic nature wouldn't allow for that.
Yep. The Thasians are just the factor that ends up saving the ship from Charlie's hormonal rages and little more. They gave him his alien powers but really the powers aren't used that often in the episode. Most of Robert Walker, Jr.'s performance is puppy dog eyes, amazement at a ship of the Enterprise's size and complexity and seeking out advice and companionship from crewmembers. And he did a damn fine job of portraying a 17-year-old teenager on the cusp of adulthood, albeit one with the power to wipe you from existence with a simple roll of his eyes.
I have seen all of Star Trek. There are crushingly few episodes of Star Trek that I have watched twice. There are even fewer that I have watched three times. I believe I could count that number on one hand.
Before now. Now I need two hands to count.
I don't want to rub the magic off of it, so I won't watch again for a while.
Peck is, no pun intended, fascinating. I noted before that I thought he always stays on the right side of the line, but he's also brave enough to skirt it.
Not just Peck though. Gia Sandhu lights up the screen absolutely every time she's in a scene, her parents were brilliantly cast and Mia Kershner too.
I haven't talked about Jess Bush but she's magnificent isn't she?
As if that's not enough, then the chemistry between their Spock and Chapel is... I dunno. It's hard to get the amount of stuff right that this episode got right. So much of it felt like a payoff as well, to events last season, but at the same time it felt far from a conclusion.
Anson Mount, anyone? I haven't mentioned him either, but he's clearly having a ball whenever he's on screen.
I hope this show doesn't morph into NuTOS. I want many seasons from this cast.
Before now. Now I need two hands to count.
I don't want to rub the magic off of it, so I won't watch again for a while.
Peck is, no pun intended, fascinating. I noted before that I thought he always stays on the right side of the line, but he's also brave enough to skirt it.
Not just Peck though. Gia Sandhu lights up the screen absolutely every time she's in a scene, her parents were brilliantly cast and Mia Kershner too.
I haven't talked about Jess Bush but she's magnificent isn't she?
As if that's not enough, then the chemistry between their Spock and Chapel is... I dunno. It's hard to get the amount of stuff right that this episode got right. So much of it felt like a payoff as well, to events last season, but at the same time it felt far from a conclusion.
Anson Mount, anyone? I haven't mentioned him either, but he's clearly having a ball whenever he's on screen.
I hope this show doesn't morph into NuTOS. I want many seasons from this cast.
I agree with 100% of your thoughts here. Articulated exactly my feelings about the episode in a way I don't think I could have expressed. Well-said, all of it.
^^^^^
Great.
Moving on.
Best episode of Star Trek made in the 21st Century by a comfortable margin.
Resume discussion.
Great.
Moving on.
Best episode of Star Trek made in the 21st Century by a comfortable margin.
Resume discussion.
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So…interdimensional IKEA?
That explains assembling Spock wrong and leaving something out.
"Sounds Swedish."
"How are we going to fix him, Doctor?"
"No idea, Christine. All these words are in some foreign language I don't remotely understand. We need PICTURES."
"No idea, Christine. All these words are in some foreign language I don't remotely understand. We need PICTURES."
https://twitter.com/timothypeel1/status/1680632707116675074
"#StarTrekSNW Here is a closer look at the 40 Eridani A, B, C trinary star system - includes the Vulcan homeworld and the Kerkov moon as seen briefly in SNW SE02-EP205."
"#StarTrekSNW Here is a closer look at the 40 Eridani A, B, C trinary star system - includes the Vulcan homeworld and the Kerkov moon as seen briefly in SNW SE02-EP205."
They literally had leftover parts and didn’t question it.
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