Better series lead. Ed Mercer from "Orville" vs Burnham from "Discovery?"

[CaptainMurdock]

It is funny, when I saw the Klingon boob, I actually laughed.

I did this.

 

[BillJ]

I did this.

"We'll show them how deep and serious Star Trek is! Whip out the fake boob! Just one. We don't want mass hysteria!"

 

[Refuge]

Really it was ticking boxes.

Dopey character drops the f-bomb - tick
Flash a tit - tick

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The line was "cheap" because it went for the obvious joke about Compton, based on the cities' most well known (stereotypical) image. It wasn't clever, and didn't require much thought (at least I hope it didn't). Ergo; the line was written for a "cheap laugh at the expense of the city of Compton's negative image".

"Cheap laugh" has a connotation that the assumed joke is deserving of contempt for being underhanded, obvious, unkind, at someone's expense, and so forth. I'm not agreeing that the line deserves any criticism whatsoever.

Anyway, I'm done with this. Get the last word, if you like.

 

[Mudd]

I guess I'd consider myself a fan, and all I want is an entertaining show.

Finding STD loatheseome is not the same thing as not liking Star Trek.

 

[BillJ]

Finding STD loatheseome is not the same thing as not liking Star Trek.

I'm just at a point in my life where I'm going to go where I'm entertained. Badging and branding used to be super important for some reason I've never figured out, but life's too short to waste on a product that simply doesn't work for me.

 

[fireproof78]

I think change is inevitable, at the same time you can move too far away from what makes something special. For me, Star Trek's optimism and sense of adventure made it special. Something that has been lacking in Discovery... so far.

It's funny to me to read this because I struggle with the feeling but can distinctly point to TNG as something that lacked that hook for me as "Star Trek". I guess its a "I know it when I see" thing that is nebulous at best...

Regardless, there is room in my entertainment heart for both and its because of Mercer and Burnham.

 

[gblews]

Anyway, I'm done with this. Get the last word, if you like.

Thanks, I will...

"Cheap laugh" has a connotation that the assumed joke is deserving of contempt for being underhanded, obvious, unkind, at someone's expense, and so forth. I'm not agreeing that the line deserves any criticism whatsoever.

A "cheap laugh" doesn't necessarily have be anything derogatory. Sitcoms are shot through with cheap laughs. The Big Bang Theory, or any Chuck Lorre show, is a textbook in cheap laughs.

No, a cheap laugh is simply a joke that is "obvious", and/or "easy". Having the Compton line delivered by the only black earth dwelling human on the bridge crew is part of what made the joke cheap. Anyone could have written it. All it took to deliver the joke was having it delivered by a black person. That is part of what made the joke "cheap".

I really hope we don't continue to see the Lamarr character used as a conduit for cheap contemporary humor about 20th/21st century black culture in season 2.