Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x07 - "What Is Starfleet?"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
Well...being told by T'Pring that the engagement is off, starting a relationship and then getting dumped by Chapel could be seen as a start/part of that process.
Beto needs to head over to Omega IV one day and interview Cloud William to get his take on democracy and the Constitution. Does it mean anything to him, or is he just blindly following tradition of his forefathers?
If I ever get zapped into the Nexus, I'm heading over to Pike's quarters for dinner!
Interesting episode.
If I ever get zapped into the Nexus, I'm heading over to Pike's quarters for dinner!
Interesting episode.
Well...being told by T'Pring that the engagement is off, starting a relationship and then getting dumped by Chapel could be seen as a start/part of that process.
You think getting dumped by Chapel has had any effect? Doesn't seem like it to me as he rebounded quite well to La'an and then seems fairly okay in every other way. Also, Amok Time came after WNMHGB, so it can't be that. I'm still waiting to see wtf happens to him to make him into TOS Spock.
IDK - he was still pining for her a bit when she first returned with Dr. Korby - and yeah, this Spock can still bury/suppress his outward emotional look. I think he was affected more than he'd like to admit, and we haven't seen how Spock/La'Ann will ultimately turn out.
^^^
(My money is on: Not how Spock would like.)
IDK - he was still pining for her a bit when she first returned with Dr. Korby - and yeah, this Spock can still bury/suppress his outward emotional look. I think he was affected more than he'd like to admit, and we haven't seen how Spock/La'Ann will ultimately turn out.
^^^
(My money is on: Not how Spock would like.)
Oh I agree everything you wrote there (including the La'an bit). I am just saying that something bigger/more traumatic needs to happen IMO for him to turn into TOS Spock. Could be the La'an thing... a part of me still thinks she will die in very traumatic circumstances and something else will happen because of that.
I thought after Chapel dumped him and his "I'm the X" song in "Subspace Rhapsody" he had snapped into a more Vulcan stance.
But he gave it up to pursue La'an? Which, okay, I get. But when she breaks his hip-heart then does he devote himself to Vulcanism?
But he gave it up to pursue La'an? Which, okay, I get. But when she breaks his hip-heart then does he devote himself to Vulcanism?
He gave that up in Hegemony when he thought Chapel was dead. His fuckbuddies relationship with La'an does have to end with enough sting to put him off exploring his human half for good. Perhaps by his own fault, she insisted on only fun times, he might catch feelings and ruin it all and realise he just cant keep his emotions contained.
I like Spocks idea of exploring humanity 
As for the episode I really liked the sci-fi plot but would have preferred if it was the whole episode and not just the catalyst.
As for the episode I really liked the sci-fi plot but would have preferred if it was the whole episode and not just the catalyst.
It’s from the Cage.
Because young Captains like Kirk have it earn it,
Not in TOS. The characters were presented as not all that different than 20th Century humans.
I think after nearly two decades of service, it just might have,
For a second I thought the guy in the Jeffries Tube "welding" was Scotty. In my head canon I guess he is.
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So some further thoughts on this:
The whole plot was contrived. It was all a convenient way to go "oh starfleet might be evil!" and give camera Ortegas a reason to run the camera. I didn't like this one. At least we got to see ship-flying Ortegas have a story deeper than a drop of water on the floor. It was like small puddle deep, but better than nothing.
The whole plot was contrived. It was all a convenient way to go "oh starfleet might be evil!" and give camera Ortegas a reason to run the camera. I didn't like this one. At least we got to see ship-flying Ortegas have a story deeper than a drop of water on the floor. It was like small puddle deep, but better than nothing.
I thought this was another cleverly constructed episode that worked on multiple levels.
The underlying story is classic TNG - not very original but very comfortable. It was a fairly balanced story that gave each character several appropriate moments to shine, including some 'fish out of water' moments to let them stretch. It flirts with notions such as voluntary euthanasia, the needs of the many vs the needs of the few, and the importance of dignity and 'human' rights. There were a lot of allegories to unpack but they never dwell on them, so they don't weigh heavily on the story.
The next layer is the documentary, which I thought was a sneaky homage (or rip off?) to Prelude of Axanar. This adds an interesting level of dilemma as a character within the show takes on the role of a traditional TNG viewer, going on the journey with them and willing them to do the right thing.
The final, and my favourite, layer is the layer that allows us to peep beneath the hood at the emotional journeys of the familiar characters. This is evidenced not by what they say to the camera but the way they choose to say it, by the pregnant and reflective pauses, as they wrestle with past traumas and orders that make them less than comfortable.
I especially liked the way the episode deals with the chain of command. I have become frustrated at how wishy washy modern Trek has become, taking more storytelling cues from high school dramas than naval/submarine dramas or wagon train to the stars.
I enjoyed Ortegas opening up and M'Benga closing up but the most heartbreaking character piece is Uhura, who is still quite closed off, having lost touch with her one friend from the academy, leaving her with no family except her 'work friends'. I wonder if this is a conscious nod to TOS Uhura - beautiful, intelligent, vivacious, and yet also aloof and alone, with no family or long term relationship outside her job. That's not to say she was unhappy, but it could be an indication of how her early life trauma shaped what she wanted out of life.
An intriguing, well constructed episode. It doesn't score a 10 from me as its emotional impact was light compared to 10s like Best of Both Worlds, Inner Light, the Visitor, Balance of Terror, Subspace Rhapsody, and All Good Things etc. I will give it a 9.
The underlying story is classic TNG - not very original but very comfortable. It was a fairly balanced story that gave each character several appropriate moments to shine, including some 'fish out of water' moments to let them stretch. It flirts with notions such as voluntary euthanasia, the needs of the many vs the needs of the few, and the importance of dignity and 'human' rights. There were a lot of allegories to unpack but they never dwell on them, so they don't weigh heavily on the story.
The next layer is the documentary, which I thought was a sneaky homage (or rip off?) to Prelude of Axanar. This adds an interesting level of dilemma as a character within the show takes on the role of a traditional TNG viewer, going on the journey with them and willing them to do the right thing.
The final, and my favourite, layer is the layer that allows us to peep beneath the hood at the emotional journeys of the familiar characters. This is evidenced not by what they say to the camera but the way they choose to say it, by the pregnant and reflective pauses, as they wrestle with past traumas and orders that make them less than comfortable.
I especially liked the way the episode deals with the chain of command. I have become frustrated at how wishy washy modern Trek has become, taking more storytelling cues from high school dramas than naval/submarine dramas or wagon train to the stars.
I enjoyed Ortegas opening up and M'Benga closing up but the most heartbreaking character piece is Uhura, who is still quite closed off, having lost touch with her one friend from the academy, leaving her with no family except her 'work friends'. I wonder if this is a conscious nod to TOS Uhura - beautiful, intelligent, vivacious, and yet also aloof and alone, with no family or long term relationship outside her job. That's not to say she was unhappy, but it could be an indication of how her early life trauma shaped what she wanted out of life.
An intriguing, well constructed episode. It doesn't score a 10 from me as its emotional impact was light compared to 10s like Best of Both Worlds, Inner Light, the Visitor, Balance of Terror, Subspace Rhapsody, and All Good Things etc. I will give it a 9.
Ooh, it seems like this is a polarizing one. My wife didn’t like it at all, but I actually thought it was one of the most interesting episodes this season. Not perfect by any stretch, but it was nice how much they committed to the documentary concept and tried to tell a story about something meaningful and serious.
I’m of two minds about the documentary thing: On the one hand it really managed to give me that sensation of being a civilian on board the real starship Enterprise, being able to look over the shoulders of these characters, being a fly on the wall. You know you’re not watching something real, but still the way it’s presented — the stuff you’re able to overhear, and the stuff that people won’t tell you — really made me feel like being there with them for the mission. I’ve seen some people say the episode would have worked better without that documentary layer, and maybe they are right, but I for one appreciated what they were trying to do. Episodes like these make the ship and this crew seem much more believable as a place and as people.
I think the talking head interview bits were particularly well done. Beautifully shot with some nice mock “B-roll footage” of their quarters, and I thought the questions they got were interesting and their answers seemed very much in character (except maybe that childhood story Spock told, as others have noted). The highlight was getting a glimpse into Erica’s quarters and her life. She does not seem okay and I hope they’ll find a way to properly address it at some point.
On the other hand I think they greatly overdid some of the stylistic choices. Why couldn’t the damn 23rd century drone camera be still for one damn second? The worst offender in that regard was that quiet scene with Uhura and Beto in sickbay, where it totally worked against the scene, constantly drawing attention to itself. And although I liked the idea that Beto would incorporate security cam footage in his film, I thought they totally overdid it from a stylistic standpoint, with those scanlines and tons of unnecessary info on the sides. I think it would totally have been fine to just have them as static shots. No need to do any more than that.
But also narratively the documentary idea kind of didn’t fully work. I feel like it made a super simple standard Trek plot seem way more complicated than it needed to be. And what kind of documentarian would let himself become part of the story halfway through? Unless they want to say Beto is a bad filmmaker, I guess.
The weaponized space butterfly choosing to commit suicide was an interesting touch and gave the ending a very somber vibe. They were doing something right, but it still felt very painful.
This was another episode co-written by Lower Decks author Kathryn Lyn and I liked this one much more than I did “A Space Adventure Hour”. It’s interesting, though, that she got two episodes playing with the format.
I’m of two minds about the documentary thing: On the one hand it really managed to give me that sensation of being a civilian on board the real starship Enterprise, being able to look over the shoulders of these characters, being a fly on the wall. You know you’re not watching something real, but still the way it’s presented — the stuff you’re able to overhear, and the stuff that people won’t tell you — really made me feel like being there with them for the mission. I’ve seen some people say the episode would have worked better without that documentary layer, and maybe they are right, but I for one appreciated what they were trying to do. Episodes like these make the ship and this crew seem much more believable as a place and as people.
I think the talking head interview bits were particularly well done. Beautifully shot with some nice mock “B-roll footage” of their quarters, and I thought the questions they got were interesting and their answers seemed very much in character (except maybe that childhood story Spock told, as others have noted). The highlight was getting a glimpse into Erica’s quarters and her life. She does not seem okay and I hope they’ll find a way to properly address it at some point.
On the other hand I think they greatly overdid some of the stylistic choices. Why couldn’t the damn 23rd century drone camera be still for one damn second? The worst offender in that regard was that quiet scene with Uhura and Beto in sickbay, where it totally worked against the scene, constantly drawing attention to itself. And although I liked the idea that Beto would incorporate security cam footage in his film, I thought they totally overdid it from a stylistic standpoint, with those scanlines and tons of unnecessary info on the sides. I think it would totally have been fine to just have them as static shots. No need to do any more than that.
But also narratively the documentary idea kind of didn’t fully work. I feel like it made a super simple standard Trek plot seem way more complicated than it needed to be. And what kind of documentarian would let himself become part of the story halfway through? Unless they want to say Beto is a bad filmmaker, I guess.
The weaponized space butterfly choosing to commit suicide was an interesting touch and gave the ending a very somber vibe. They were doing something right, but it still felt very painful.
This was another episode co-written by Lower Decks author Kathryn Lyn and I liked this one much more than I did “A Space Adventure Hour”. It’s interesting, though, that she got two episodes playing with the format.
Yes! I rejoiced seeing that! I wanna say we didn’t see that since it last appeared way back in season two’s “Ad Astra Per Aspera”. Interesting that they decided to rebuild that on the AR stage for this brief moment.
I guess because the vast majority of people don’t give a shit?
You are serious, are you? I mean, I get that this style probably isn’t for everyone, but “this isn’t an episode” and fast forwarding through scenes? That’s a bit of an overreaction. Who says that this isn’t what an episode can be? Lots of shows have actually done episodes with this kind of concept; so it isn’t actually a new idea either. And what’s so “disgusting” about it?
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“What does Starfleet want?”
“Whom does Starfleet serve, and whom does Starfleet trust?”
Babylon 5, M*A*S*H…Lots of shows have actually done episodes with this kind of concept; so it isn’t actually a new idea either. And what’s so “disgusting” about it?
If the set appears again in a larger capacity, I'll bet they filmed at the same time.
… Battlestar Galactica, Homicide: Life on the Street, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files …
This list on TV Tropes has lots more examples.
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