Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4x07 - "Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass"

[fireproof78]

Does anyone know if the cast has spoken out about the path this show has taken? They can't be happy with this shitfest.

Why?


They might think they're doing good work or something they genuinely enjoy making this season. It's a variety of acting and exploring different themes.

And if they're not they are done. Doesn't matter.

Plus, actors are not good judges of products. Sir Alec Guinness famously didn't really like STAR WARS

 

[Tuskin38]

What a waste of time.

Nope. It continued Pike's character arc, not a waste of time at all.

This isn't Star Trek.

Star Trek can be whatever it wants.

Does anyone know if the cast has spoken out about the path this show has taken? They can't be happy with this shitfest.

They were happy to have a job.

 

[eschaton]

Why?


They might think they're doing good work or something they genuinely enjoy making this season. It's a variety of acting and exploring different themes.

And if they're not they are done. Doesn't matter.

Plus, actors are not good judges of products. Sir Alec Guinness famously didn't really like STAR WARS

I'm guessing at least one member of the cast isn't super happy, given the number of folks involved.

That said, isn't it generally a contract violation to actively shit on the thing you're starring in? You didn't even see the Game of Thrones cast do more than say a few wry comments on Season 8.

 

[fireproof78]

I'm guessing at least one member of the cast isn't super happy, given the number of folks involved.

That said, isn't it generally a contract violation to actively shit on the thing you're starring in? You didn't even see the Game of Thrones cast do more than say a few wry comments on Season 8.

This is true, but artists look at things way differently than fans. Artists have to say something is good even if they think it's shit.

My go to example is actually in Video Games. Deus Ex was game of the year yet industry insiders told the development team it was shit

 

[BigJake]

The cast look to me to be delivering with genuine joy and commitment in everything they're doing, no matter how weird. But then, that is the job that is acting. We're not going to know how they really felt about all this, I'd be willing to bet, until well after the last episode is done airing.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Finally got to watch this.

What a waste of time. This isn't Star Trek.

Does anyone know if the cast has spoken out about the path this show has taken? They can't be happy with this shitfest.

How is God like alien screws with reality but one character isn't affected not Star Trek?

Actors love this stuff. A chance to stretch.

 

[fireproof78]

How is God like alien screws with reality but one character isn't affected not Star Trek?

Actors love this stuff. A chance to stretch.

Indeed. It's not like this if unusual for Star Trek, or sci-fi in general.

 

[Ovation]

Finally got to watch this.

What a waste of time. This isn't Star Trek.

Does anyone know if the cast has spoken out about the path this show has taken? They can't be happy with this shitfest.

Star Trek is whatever is produced and released by the company that owns it. It’s truly the height of pretentiousness for anyone to unilaterally decide “This isn’t Star Trek.”

Actors often pine for the opportunity to step out of their routine, so I doubt the variety of storytelling would drive any complaints (not saying everyone is happy with their job, but variety of stories is unlikely to be a significant factor).

You can consider it a “shitfest” all you want (your right to do so) but it’s clearly not viewed that way by everyone (certainly not me). But if it is how you feel, there are many other shows out there (at least that’s what I do if I don’t like something I’m watching—I switch to something else).

 

[BigJake]

I like this overview of Anson Mount's performance in this episode.

The comedic taking-the-piss out of soap operas would have been fun on its own. But it's the raw emotional core of things that Pike gives us by the end that really puts it over the top. I like that the episode actively makes the case that this is the real point underlying all the melodrama.

 

[cooleddie74]

Like the episode or not, but this is classic TOS campiness and storytelling. Lots of goofy stuff framing the narrative and moments of genuine pathos and seriousness dropped right into the story to remind you that this universe is still treated very, very seriously when needed.

TOS did some of this better, but SNW isn't doing it badly.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Indeed. It's not like this if unusual for Star Trek, or sci-fi in general.

I'm sure Nimoy relished playing Henoch. And Shatner getting to be evil Kirk and Lester.

 

[cooleddie74]

Based on his 1969 appearance on Mike Douglas he relished playing pretty much anything in the series, and loved doing different kinds of Captain Kirk.

 

[fireproof78]

Like the episode or not, but this is classic TOS campiness and storytelling. Lots of goofy stuff framing the narrative and moments of genuine pathos and seriousness dropped right into the story to remind you that this universe is still treated very, very seriously when needed.

TOS did some of this better, but SNW isn't doing it badly.

This.

This episode reminded me of How Shaper Than A Serpent's Tooth, as well as several Trek comics, and TNG episode too. Plus a mix of FARSCAPE.

 

[cooleddie74]

In TOS we spend an entire episode dealing with a humanoid alien who was revered as the Greek god Apollo on ancient Earth. At the end, all the Greek architecture, lightning bolts and references to mythology are cast aside as we watch a genuinely heartbroken Apollo crying as the human woman he loves and her friends reject him and tell him he no longer has a purpose in the universe. He wails in heartache as he vanishes into the wind, reclaimed by his fellow "gods" in another dimension.

The episode concludes with McCoy genuinely regretful that they had to destroy Apollo's source of power and drive him off, and Kirk saying maybe - just maybe - we should have paid some honorary respects to the aliens who helped form so much of ancient Earth mythology.

Goofy. Campy. But also dead serious, and ending with pathos and our heroes realizing they didn't do everything right to win the day.

 

[BigJake]

Goofy. Campy. But also dead serious, and ending with pathos and our heroes realizing they didn't do everything right to win the day.

Something else about this episode's soap opera conceit that lands: amidst all the goofiness and campiness of that format, the entire reason people get sucked in and keep watching it is that every once in a while, it too can deliver serious emotional moments that feel earned in spite of all the silliness that surrounds them and conveys us to that point. And it actually has this in common with Trek.

 

[fireproof78]

Something else about this episode's soap opera conceit that lands: amidst all the goofiness and campiness of that format, the entire reason people get sucked in and keep watching it is that every once in a while, it too can deliver serious emotional moments that feel earned in spite of all the silliness that surrounds them and conveys us to that point. And it actually has this in common with Trek.

One of the biggest things this show has going for it is the actors taking it seriously. It's campy and ridiculous plotting but you have earnestness in the acting.

That's what sells Star Trek. It's why ENTERPRISE doesn't work for me, and even TNG occasionally does. SF DEBRIS famously pointed out a great scene that showcases this with LeVar Burton in "Booby Trap." The scene is just Burton pressing on the scenery and delivering technobabble but he sells the tension.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Amazing how many people can't look beyond the surface "gimmick" of these episodes

 

[Uhura's Song]

Trying not to judge, but this is tough to watch.

I just think my tolerance level for silly has been exceeded.

 

[fireproof78]

Amazing how many people can't look beyond the surface "gimmick" of these episodes

Its all how one wants their Star Trek. Generally, the gimmicks stand out because the desire is a more serious outing and silliness is to be reserved in extremely small doses.

I think SNW front loaded seriousness and moved more to silliness which is fine by me.

ETA: case in point:

Trying not to judge, but this is tough to watch.

I just think my tolerance level for silly has been exceeded.

 

[BigJake]

The real not-so-secret sauce of SNW is the luminous cast and their chemistry. They can (usually) elevate even the silliest material.

This is actually generally true of casting in most NuTrek shows. It was also true of DISCO, and is 100% true of Lower Decks (which was actually aiming for silliness but is also grounded in some of the most consistently flawless crafting of any NuTrek show). But SNW is a spectacular example of it.