• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Poll Are you enjoying Section 31?

Are you enjoying Section 31?

  • Yes

    Votes: 58 43.6%
  • No

    Votes: 75 56.4%

  • Total voters
    133
As i recall 60s TV was hip deep in spy shows, Secret Agent, The Avengers, I Spy, The Man From Uncle, Mission Impossible, Get Smart ect., and Star Trek nearly had a spinoff show in Gary 7. Not sure how having a Spy Trek show is counter to themes the era.

This is the golden age of television, especially scifi television. There are 30+ scifi shows with new episodes any given season and most are as good or better than what we've ever got in any given 5 year stretch in the past, IMO. As for music, well, that generally gets carved into most people's mental vinyl between the ages of 8-18. Every generation thinks the next generations music sucks.
I never said anything sucks.
And sure there were spy shows with a lot of joi de vivre to them. Did I spell that anywhere close?

But the question is am I enjoying S31? Not really. So far it's inside baseball about starfleet. I prefer going forth and encountering things whi ch S2 is so far better at. If the S31 series is a fun mission impossible spy show set in the future, that could be a gas. But please not ano ther The Americans, it was such a downer, I stopped after S1.
 
I never said anything sucks.
And sure there were spy shows with a lot of joi de vivre to them. Did I spell that anywhere close?

But the question is am I enjoying S31? Not really. So far it's inside baseball about starfleet. I prefer going forth and encountering things whi ch S2 is so far better at. If the S31 series is a fun mission impossible spy show set in the future, that could be a gas. But please not another The Americans, it was such a downer, I stopped after S1.

I kind of read "nihilistic managed decline" as a Roget's thesaurus version of 'sucks'.

We already know that S31 is going to be going forth, though, don't we? courtesy of the 'Alligators on Cestus III' reference 10 years in advance of Arena. That would certainly suggest that new life and new civilizations will be in the offing. Assuming its going to be a Homeland/The Americans, IMHO is a bit premature since there is no 'out there' where it comes to realistic Earthly spy series. But if 60s series such as The Avengers and to a lesser extent the likes of Secret Agent and even with 79-80s Buck Rogers taught us anything, spy-fi can offer us just as much freakiness and interactions with the exotic life and exotic civilizations that we've gotten from Star Trek, just not from the 'looking down one's nose' at federation intelligent operatives from the boyscouts in Star Fleet that we've generally been given in the form of 'Earl Grey, Hot' from the replicator.
 
I wouldn't have minded a brief taste of sec 31, but as a continuing character, so to speak, it stands against what 'I' look for, am drawn to, in StarTrek being the stories of good people finding their way to behave admirably. So I wouldn't mind if it left the series forever.
 
I'm not particularly fond of Mirror Georgiou. She's seems more out of place than someone from another in-show universe, she's like someone from another television show entirely. She's an ultra-campy villain character dropped into a show that takes itself seriously. Alternately cooing at babies and bragging about genocide, she doesn't fit with the rest of the characters or setting.

It's like if Ace Ventura were part of the Battlestar Galactica cast.
 
For me, this whole Section 31 is the least interesting part of Discovery's season 2. I liked Section 31 during DS9, but since then this organisation has been twisted into something stupid.

I don't care about a Section 31 spin-off at all. I'd rather have a 5 year Enterprise mission with Pike, Spock and Number One.
 
I consider it to be a worthwhile addition that makes the Star Trek Universe a much more realistic place.

Its one of the main reasons I Iiked B5 so much, they were not afraid to show the audience that even the future is not perfect, there will always be secret battles to fight and a need for those who understand that not everything is as black and white as some want it to be.

Pike and Cornwell dont like it but they know that S31 is necessary, although I do get the feeling that Cornwell may appreciate S31 more due to her experiences in the Klingon war, its very easy to be high and mighty when the sun is shining and no one wants to kill you, you may not want to fight but that doesn't mean a damn if your opponent decides otherwise.

The start of a War has never been negotiated by mutual agreement.

Although it must be said that allowing an AI to control of Strategic Defence is a no no, its as if none of them have ever seen Terminator. :biggrin:
 
I like it; especially in reference to newer episodes. Section 31 is an interesting concept through which some characters can justify violating rules/beliefs for the "greater good" against those that would argue to uphold their rules even if those rules would appear to lead to defeat. I am very interested to see where the writers take this organization and those that operate within it.
 
I was not a fan at first but I can see how they become S31 in TOS to S31 in DS9. The UFP in the TOS was never presented as a Utopia anyway, so for people to be shitting their pants that the United Federation of Perfection is tainted, well it is about as perfect as our society is today compared to the Dark Ages of Europe.
 
Last edited:
The novel version of Control is actually a critical component of computer software and without it, the Federation would literally cease to operate. And that's not hyperbole, but an actual plot point.

But, but, but Gene's Vision! Where's the love instructors!
 
I consider it to be a worthwhile addition that makes the Star Trek Universe a much more realistic place.

Its one of the main reasons I Iiked B5 so much, they were not afraid to show the audience that even the future is not perfect, there will always be secret battles to fight and a need for those who understand that not everything is as black and white as some want it to be.

Pike and Cornwell dont like it but they know that S31 is necessary, although I do get the feeling that Cornwell may appreciate S31 more due to her experiences in the Klingon war, its very easy to be high and mighty when the sun is shining and no one wants to kill you, you may not want to fight but that doesn't mean a damn if your opponent decides otherwise.

The start of a War has never been negotiated by mutual agreement.

Although it must be said that allowing an AI to control of Strategic Defence is a no no, its as if none of them have ever seen Terminator. :biggrin:
This !

I'm a Niner and a big part of that was seeing a morally compromised situation way more interesting than the squeaky clean utopian take of other Trek shows. The striving for better in an imperfect world, coupled with the political dimension, the arc and a move away from the 'planet of the week' format was much appreciated. And it was unmistakably still 'Trek'.

I liked season one of Discovery quite a bit. It wasn't perfect but it really worked for me, in a way that the Kelvin movies didn't.

Season two is a step up. The background on Section 31 is fine by me. I fully expect season three to go in another direction in the same way as Pike and Spock are this season only. They all may get spinoffs and cross over occasionally, but if you don't like them, they're unlikely to be omnipresent. We're heading into a new era where you'll get a choice of Treks - watch what you want !
 
This !

I'm a Niner and a big part of that was seeing a morally compromised situation way more interesting than the squeaky clean utopian take of other Trek shows. The striving for better in an imperfect world, coupled with the political dimension, the arc and a move away from the 'planet of the week' format was much appreciated. And it was unmistakably still 'Trek'.

I liked season one of Discovery quite a bit. It wasn't perfect but it really worked for me, in a way that the Kelvin movies didn't.

Season two is a step up. The background on Section 31 is fine by me. I fully expect season three to go in another direction in the same way as Pike and Spock are this season only. They all may get spinoffs and cross over occasionally, but if you don't like them, they're unlikely to be omnipresent. We're heading into a new era where you'll get a choice of Treks - watch what you want !
That does seem to be the way CBS is going, I think a Pike/Enterprise precursor to Kirk/Enterprise could really work well, that is of course dependent on the cast wanting to sign up for it and CBS not having other plans, it seems like an obvious win to me and they could do with it really, it would definitely do their all access platform a lot of good.

The only other possibility is that we are going to see a big time jump at the end of Season Two straight into the Kirk/Enterprise era which is fair enough, although having Discovery running alongside ToS is pretty risky if you think about it, especially when not much is known about the Pike/Enterprise era which like give them more room to maneouvre.
The Sisko did...
He most certainly did, loved that storyline from start to finish, was a great way to flesh out the conflict and shine a light on how the Cardassian and Romulan political systems work.

There are actually some who still think that Sisko should have come clean. :crazy:
That would mean acknowledging that human beings are capable of great savagery. It is an uncomfortable prospect in Star Trek world.
Actually all it would do is acknowledge that Starfleet and the Federation isnt a bloody pushover and can defend themselves without going to pieces.

It's just denial really, we have seen it so many times in history, from Chamberlain in 1939 who wanted peace but didn't factor in what the other guy wanted, to Stalin in 1941 who really wasnt ready for war after the Great Purge of the Political and Officer class in the mid 1930's.
 
I suspect we are leading up to Section 31 being "officially" disbanded, leading into the new series.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top