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Spoilers Strange New Worlds Episode 7 - Those Old Scientists

Grade The Episode

  • Total voters
    319
Yeah I don't get the filler argument at all. The whole series was pitched to fans as a return to episodic Trek. Bringing back the weird and fun one off episodes missing from other arc driven shows along with one hit adventures. Now people are complaining when episodes are episodic.

I totally get the "Are there going to be any Strange New Worlds in the Strange New Worlds show?" posts, but not the "Enough with these filler episodes!" ones.
 
cooleddie74 said:
No, they don't look that big. They look bigger than TOS shuttlecraft but not by that much. They still feel like they can be TOS ones, just more detailed.
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Oh no. Look at that first shot with Pike on the horse. Those things are huge!
ashleytinger said:
The SNW shuttle is a bit over 50ft long according to the internal set blueprints.

That's with the ramp down. It is a bit over 25 ft wide
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So that's almost as wide as the TOS shuttle was long.
 
Greg Cox said:
Kinda depends on how you define "filler," I guess. To my mind, something as bold and experimental and unique as this crossover is the very opposite of "filler." To me, "filler" would be some generic, meat-and-potatoes Trek episode where they visit a planet and have a cool STAR TREK adventure, as opposed to a "special" episode that breaks the mold and stands out from the pack.

Not that there's anything wrong with a "typical" ST adventure. (I've probably written more than my fair share of them.) Most episodes of most TV shows stick to a basic formula because that's what the viewers expect. But that just makes the more offbeat and unusual episodes even more special.

So far Season Two seems to be going out of their way to do all sorts of different stuff, just like TOS did. This is a good thing, in my book. Big swings and all that.

Keeps things fresh and engaging.
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I agree that the definition of 'filler' is subjective.

I suppose my main point is that the show has not really (in season 2) bought into the tagline or premise of 'Strange New Worlds.'

In TOS and TNG when Kirk and Picard's voiceover would come on during the credits, I believed that exploration was indeed the theme, and whilst there were obviously many occasions when this wouldn't have been the case, I would argue that most of the time, the shows were true to the whole 'seek out new lives and civilizations...' promise.

SNW seems to be more about the internal exploration of character and trying to be clever just for the sake of it. Which is fine to a point, but in a limited run series, compared to the the 90s 24+ episode seasons, I think there has been too much of it.

It runs against the tagline as mentioned, and to me as such is filler.

I want to see the main content, the mysterious and exotic locations promised in the credits, the places where our imaginations are given license to roam.

Instead we have had 3 episodes in a row that have essentially been limited to the ship.
 
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" took place during an emergency decontamination mission wherein the Enterprise was supposed to clean the atmosphere of the Federation planet Arrianus by spraying a chemical from orbit. No exploration. It was going to be a mercy mission to help fellow Federation citizens before Lokai and Bele came onboard.
 
parsonsm said:
In TOS and TNG when Kirk and Picard's voiceover would come on during the credits, I believed that exploration was indeed the theme, and whilst there were obviously many occasions when this wouldn't have been the case, I would argue that most of the time, the shows were true to the whole 'seek out new lives and civilizations...' promise.
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Not true.

SNW does what those shows did. It just does it better. :cool:

"Filler" is never a valid complaint; it's just a different way of saying "I didn't like this episode." Well, if you think that too many episodes of a show are "filler," maybe it's just a show you don't really like.
 
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1684300053555433472?s=46&t=GJ4lIGndtLwuph_LJO2AJw

IMG_7981.jpg


TOS Shuttle Bay
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TOS-R Shuttlebay. Looks like TOS-R made the shuttle bay smaller (or the shuttles bigger)
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TAS Shuttle Bay
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Tallguy said:
Oh no. Look at that first shot with Pike on the horse. Those things are huge!
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Well the exterior model of the TOS shuttle was smaller than the set.
 
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parsonsm said:
I agree that the definition of 'filler' is subjective.

I suppose my main point is that the show has not really (in season 2) bought into the tagline or premise of 'Strange New Worlds.'

In TOS and TNG when Kirk and Picard's voiceover would come on during the credits, I believed that exploration was indeed the theme, and whilst there were obviously many occasions when this wouldn't have been the case, I would argue that most of the time, the shows were true to the whole 'seek out new lives and civilizations...' promise.

SNW seems to be more about the internal exploration of character and trying to be clever just for the sake of it. Which is fine to a point, but in a limited run series, compared to the the 90s 24+ episode seasons, I think there has been too much of it.

It runs against the tagline as mentioned, and to me as such is filler.

I want to see the main content, the mysterious and exotic locations promised in the credits, the places where our imaginations are given license to roam.

Instead we have had 3 episodes in a row that have essentially been limited to the ship.
Click to expand...

You may be taking the title a little too literally. One of the great things about Star Trek, going all the way back to TOS, was that the format was broad enough to encompass lots of different kinds of stories: courtroom dramas, murder mysteries, war stories, spy stories, love stories, topical allegories, morality plays, high-concept SF stories, even the occasional farce. It was almost if not quite an anthology series, but with recurring characters and a starship setting.

SNW seems to be taking a leaf from that book, but with continuing character arcs because it's not the 1960s anymore.

And as for not leaving the ship (mostly) . . . well, that worked for some of my favorite episodes: "Journey to Babel," "Balance of Terror," "The Doomsday Machine," "Conscience of the King," "Measure of a Man," "The Wounded," "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Duet," etc.

As long as the episodes are engaging, whatever works.
 
Serveaux said:
Not true.

SNW does what those shows did. It just does it better. :cool:

"Filler" is never a valid complaint; it's just a different way of saying "I didn't like this episode."
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I enjoyed this episode as mentioned in my initial post. I don't think it was great however. I also think its 'filler' for the reasons mentioned. It was really just about showing off by the writers - btw I also think T and T in DS9 was the same, for me one of the most overrated episodes of that entire series. Utterly pointless apart from existing as a technical achievement.

Can you expand on what you mean by saying 'it just does it better?' How?

I'm on a rewatch of TNG. Currently on season 3. 5 episodes in.

Episode 1 - Science exploration and discovery of new life form.
Episode 2. - Lost colony and new alien life form.
Episode 3 - New mysterious planet and new ancient alien.
Episode 4 - New planet and new culture.
Episode 5 - New alien life form

Strange New Worlds every single time.

That's where the focus of the episodes were, whilst allowing for character development through the plot.

SNW seems to be more about trying to have character development with miniscule plot to allow for it.
 
cooleddie74 said:
TOS had some filler that was weighty enough to build a wall of sandbags. And we don't really complain about those.
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Well, there were 26 of them. (Oh, and nothing in this show has been filler.)

I feel like this season might be coming in a little light. Great, but still a little light. We had our frothy Vulcan episodes in both seasons. But then this season we've had both this and now
the musical.
.

I suppose last season we had Spock Amok and The Elysian Kingdom. 2 "silly" episodes. This season arguably has more.

When you're only doing 10 it doesn't take much to swing the balance.
 
Greg Cox said:
You may be taking the title a little too literally. One of the great things about Star Trek, going all the way back to TOS, was that the format was broad enough to encompass lots of different kinds of stories: courtroom dramas, murder mysteries, war stories, spy stories, love stories, topical allegories, morality plays, high-concept SF stories, even the occasional farce. It was almost if not quite an anthology series, but with recurring characters and a starship setting.

SNW seems to be taking a leaf from that book, but with continuing character arcs because it's not the 1960s anymore.

And as for not leaving the ship (mostly) . . . well, that worked for some of my favorite episodes: "Journey to Babel," "Balance of Terror," "The Doomsday Machine," "Conscience of the King," "Measure of a Man," "The Wounded," "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Duet," etc.

As long as the episodes are engaging . . .
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I have thought this. It can always be argued that they are exploring the 'Strange New Worlds' of the human psyche. I just don't think that's the intention.
 
Nerys Myk said:
"Filler" like "Mary Sue" needs to be retired.
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Agreed. Too often (although not necessarily in this case), it's based on the dubious assumption that any standalone episode that doesn't have some lasting impact on future plotlines is "filler," regardless of how well-crafted or entertaining it is otherwise.

By that standard, any number of classic standalone episodes are just "filler."
 
first time I heard the term filler used was in regards to Anime.
Anime that was being created at the while the source Manga material was still being written, so the studios had to create 'filler episodes' to stall for time while the manga creator caught up.
 
Nerys Myk said:
"Filler" like "Mary Sue" needs to be retired.
Click to expand...

Greg Cox said:
Agreed. Too often (although not necessarily in this case), it's based on the dubious assumption that any standalone episode that doesn't have some lasting impact on future plotlines is "filler," regardless of how well-crafted or entertaining it is otherwise.

By that standard, any number of classic standalone episodes are just "filler."
Click to expand...

I'd add "bottle episode" into the list of phrases people use incorrectly when describing TV shows. Especially lately.
 
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