another new season 2 trailer and poster

[Kemaiku]

If that's the case, then we know Pike wasn't a terrible person, because he looked appalled at it all. We all have dark thoughts that should never see the light of day, it doesn't make us terrible people.

I don't remember him being more than slightly uneasy but I'm sure the image was constructed from more than just imagination.

Even so, he's siding with evil much more evidently in this version so the old Trek doesn't matter, again.

 

[BillJ]

Even so, he's siding with evil much more evidently in this version so the old Trek doesn't matter, again.

You'll get no argument from me that this version of the character is its own thing. A popular name attached to a character to gain attention.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Sisko said that when he tried to ask around about Section 31, that every one who he asked answered like they didn't want to talk about it.

There's two ends to Section 31, the great results and the dirty deeds to get there. Some people in the federation, a lot of people, reap the benefits of Section 31, without really looking too closely at what was done to the rest of the universe to make their life a tiny bit easier.

Section 31 is Santa Claus, but you don't want to know how many elves die each year from bleeding fingers in that sweatshop at the top of the world.

 

[Dukhat]

And don't forget the amazing transformation Harry Mudd had: from cold-blooded killer and homicidal maniac to bumbling, jovial con man in just ten years! If he can do it, there's no stopping Pike from having a complete personality change!

You'll get no argument from me that this version of the character is its own thing. A popular name attached to a character to gain attention.

Exactly. Like, I dunno...Spock maybe?

 

[Rhodan]

A threat to end all sentient life you say...

Glad I´m not the only one who is doing this sort of jokes. For me, Discovery screamed "Mass Effect" from the very beginning.

 

[Shon T'Hara]

Yes but, really?

A Starfleet captain imagining leaving and going right into organised crime, people trafficking (which comes with working for the Syndicate), arms dealing, basically the main enemies of the Federation in it's infancy if the Rise of the Federation novels are remotely canon.

It should be noted that the Orion Syndicate is a later invention. Nothing in The Cage/Menagerie indicates that an "Orion trader" is a gangster. The original understanding of the scene would be like a 19th Century American sea captain talking about becoming a trader in Hong Kong or Singapore.

But damn, not only knowing S31 exists but being happy for a genocidal tyrant getting a job offer from them like it's nothing is...not something most people would do.

Why would Pike think she's a genocidal tyrant? Nobody outside the Discovery crew and a few admirals should know about the Mirror Universe. Considering he calls her "Captain," he probably thinks she's the original Georgiou, a la the cover story Cornwell gave last season.

 

[Rahul]

Ugh...I don't feel confident about this season now.

1. The "end of all sentient life in the galaxy" line shows they're needlessly upping the stakes again. It's a prequel - we know the worst-case isn't going to happen. And upping the stakes through the "almost destruction" of all life in the multiverse and the "almost bombardment" of Earth did nothing for Season 1. THIS ISN'T A MOVIE - IT'S TV. TREAT IT LIKE A TV SHOW!

2. Georgiou openly talking about Section 31 - and Pike, Burnham, and Tyler knowing about it - brazenly conflicts with what Trek has said about the organization in the past.

THIS ISN'T A MOVIE - IT'S TV. TREAT IT LIKE A TV SHOW!

Couldn't agree more about this part!

In the last 10 years or so, when all Trek we had were the Kelvin-timeline movies, the fan concensus on the Internet was basically "Star Trek works better on television". So everyone was excited when a new series was announced.

But alas, it seems we didn't got a Trek "television" show. What we got, was just another by-the-numbers Star Trek action movie, only stretched out over 13 hours instead of 2.

Both of these bothered the hell out of me, too. Particularly the first one. I liked it better when it seemed like season 2 would be about a weird thing and the crew investigating it because it's weird, cue struggle and personal growth as a result.

Granted that this is partially a new creative team this season, but that seemed like the kind of story they wanted to tell in season 1 anyway. They never really engaged with the larger ramifications of the Klingon war and preferred to just use it as a catalyst for Burnahm to...something, somehow. It wasn't clear. But I think it was supposed to be a character arc.

I had hopes they were gonna cut out the middleman this time and give us a premise that didn't really have stakes outside of what it meant to the characters involved. You know, like a drama. Oh well.

Yeah, absolutely. I loved the "there's freakin' shit happenening out there, let's science the shit out of that!"-premise MUCH more than the "we have to save the universe. Again."

I'm not sure, is "saving every living being in the galaxy" an upping of the stakes (from the destruction of Earth and humankind by the klingons), or a step down (from having to save the entire multiverse??).

 

[Noname Given]

Or something like Star Trek: Vanguard, that could tell a big story while being able to balance smaller stories and make the characters seem like more than plot-devices.

Yes, and you can tell the WHOLE ST: D Season 2 story and how bad it will ultimately be from 3 two minute (or so) Trailers and one 30 second Teaser...right.

 

[Shon T'Hara]

And don't forget the amazing transformation Harry Mudd had: from cold-blooded killer and homicidal maniac to bumbling, jovial con man in just ten years! If he can do it, there's no stopping Pike from having a complete personality change!

Mudd tried to kill the Enterprise crew. Just because the episode played him as a fool doesn't make him any less homicidal.

 

[Gepard]

Yeah, absolutely. I loved the "there's freakin' shit happenening out there, let's science the shit out of that!"-premise MUCH more than the "we have to save the universe. Again."

Aka the "let's go over there and poke the weird thing with a stick!" premise. (It appeals to my inner five-year-old.)

I'm not sure, is "saving every living being in the galaxy" an upping of the stakes (from the destruction of Earth and humankind by the klingons), or a step down (from having to save the entire multiverse??).

It's both! Star Trek Discovery: somehow both over and under acheiving.

 

[Dukhat]

Mudd tried to kill the Enterprise crew. Just because the episode played him as a fool doesn't make him any less homicidal.

I'm talking about his difference in personality, not whether he was a bad man or not.

 

[Rahul]

My 5 main take-aways from the trailer:

1. The visual effects look SO. MUCH. better than in S1. It looks... really good.
2. Section 31 is the official Trek spy agency at this point. I don't like it, considering how S31 originally started out on DS9 - but it's the only shady spy organization Trek writers know at this point, so they'll gonna' use it. Has nothing to do with prime or so though - had we gotten a post-Nemesis show, my guess is S31 would have appeared there as well
3. I'm a little bit disappointed: Saving all the life in the Galaxy feels much more generic than let's research this freaky space-phenomen
4. Oh Fuck. It's going to be full evangelical "red angels vs. black demons", isn't it? Shit shit shit...Trek never should have hired faith-based movie writers! What's next? "Star Trek: God's not dead?"
5. Despite that: I like the tone very much! Feels a lot like Star Trek. Colorfull, adventurous, serious but not too serious, and occasionally funny. Not like the best Star Trek. But at least entertaining.

 

[Rahul]

It's both! Star Trek Discovery: somehow both over and under acheiving.

 

[The Wormhole]

To my knowledge, there is no arm of any government anywhere on Earth that does things that way. Even in highly totalitarian societies, the secret police are authorized and the public knows about them, even if they don't know the details of what they do.

Even in Star Trek, the Federation seems to be the only ones who do things that way. When Section 31 was introduced on DS9, they are described as the Federation's equivalent to the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order. Both of which are known to the public, and in the case of the Tal Shiar, answerable to the civilian government.

Is no one bothered by the apparently emotional Spock?

I guess it's at least consistent with canon depiction in The Cage.

Emotional Spock doesn't really bother me. It does bother me that Pike is making a big deal about Spock smiling, even though Pike already saw Spock smile in The Cage.

Guess only Kelvin Pike was a cool guy, this ones an asshole.

The comics imply Kelvin Pike is actually a member of Section 31 and that promoting Kirk from Cadet to Captain is somehow part of their agenda.

What's next? "Star Trek: God's not dead?"

The follow-up to TFF we've all been waiting for.

 

[Spaceship Jo]

It's both! Star Trek Discovery: somehow both over and under achieving.

I mean, I do this all the time: focus really hard on perfecting an element of a thing, and overachieving the shite out of it, but also totally flubbing other parts of the project.

Point of interest: I've never ever ever heard "overachiever" used without disdain. Even in the academic context in which it makes most sense as a positive.

 

[Gepard]

The comics imply Kelvin Pike is actually a member of Section 31 and that promoting Kirk from Cadet to Captain is somehow part of their agenda.

Holy fuck, seriously? Jesus Christ.

I mean yes it's stupid and awful that Kirk keeps getting special treatment he never earns in that movie, just because he's Kirk and brand recognition needs him to be the captain. (Sorry, "destiny," because if we put a stupid name on it, it counts as the theme of our movie!) And while a further explanation of that would be nice, that is some serious Voodoo Shark material.

Damn.

 

[BillJ]

Yes, and you can tell the WHOLE ST: D Season 2 story and how bad it will ultimately be from 3 two minute (or so) Trailers and one 30 second Teaser...right.

But a couple of teasers isn't all we have. We also have the entirety of the first season to use as a basis. Big galaxy shaking story that goes nowhere. Cardboard characters. Fanwank out the wazoo. I hope that the Discovery team learns from the mistakes of season one, but I don't see it based on the trailers for season two.

 

[F. King Daniel]

So, Pike is presumably the same guy as in The Cage since this is the Prime Universe, unaltered.

If so, he's fine with retiring from Starfleet to own and trade "animal women", since all he decided against was leaving the fleet. And now he's chatting with the Empress of a tyranical evil empire, joining an immoral, unethical branch of Starfleet to commit any crime she likes like any other crew member getting a promotion.

Guess only Kelvin Pike was a cool guy, this ones an asshole.

I read in an interview that Pike thinks it's original Georgiou, as per the official cover story from the end of season one. And Michael isn't allowed to explain... for some reason or other.

And the Orion fantasy was just that, a fantasy plucked from deep in his mind. He's only an asshole of he tries to make such dirty-old-man fantasies into reality.

TOS Pike is still a sexist prick, though.

 

[BillJ]

And Michael isn't allowed to explain... for some reason or other.

Can't spill the beans on the Mirror universe no one knows about until TOS.

 

[Jadeb]

Random thoughts:

• That poster is very cool and reminds me of some of the TOS promo material. I really like the warmth and color, something I've found missing from Discovery in general.
  
• I agree with the concern about the silly extinction-level threat to all life everywhere. Spoiler alert: Not going to happen. Just a pointless waste of screen time.
  
• Having enjoyed the first trailer, I cringed at many of the returning elements from the first season. Georgiou and the Klingons and Ash ... I wish they'd been put on a shelf this year. Section 31 can be put on a shelf forever.
  
• Spock and Pike both continue to look good, especially PIke. I liked Pike's line about how they're always in a fight for the future. Hurry up and announce the PIke show.
  
• The shot of Discovery flying through space clouds looked cool. Probably goofy if I think about it, but I will cut them some slack. It was a nice contrast to the muddy space shots in the first season.
• I enjoyed Spock telling Burnham to get over herself.
• The attempts at humor -- Georgiou's "fun times" and Stamets' "of course it worked" -- landed with a clunk for me.
  
• I wonder if they cut this trailer deliberately to contrast to the mea culpa we got earlier. That one assured fans this season would be more traditionally Trek, while this one seems to reassure Discovery fans it's still the same show.

Overall, I find myself less hopeful for the season than I was before, but I will keep my fingers crossed.