First Impressions?

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Yeah I really liked that, as the latest Trek spinoff series. The problem, creatively, is that it doesn’t work as a *new* iteration of Trek for people who’ve not watched before. To grab a new audience it needed to be fresher with just the core values being front and centre, not have all the Klingon stuff filling in a middle bit of their history. And that’s somewhat magnified by the error of splitting the pilot into two episodes instead of having it be one movie - newbies are going to be put off by the Klingon subtitles in the first episode….

Was watching it with my roommate who isn't a Star Trek fan. He's seen the Abrams movies but that's about it, I think. So he has no real knowledge of the lore. I think right after the first few sets of Klingon scenes he simply asked, "Why are the Klingons mad at the Federation?" and I had to explain real quick. Then it wasn't until the second episode where it was clear they were anti-Federation Imperialism, so I see your point. But other than that, he absolutely loved the show and was blown away.

 

[Xerxes82]

Here's one thing that I don't get: how would peaceful coexistence with the Federation and respecting each other's borders cause the Federation to "take all that we are" and not allow them to remain Klingon?

It was about cultural integrity. T'Kumva's Klingons are fanatically loyal to the words of Kahless, whose core message was apparently "Remain Klingon." They believe that the multicultural Federation poses a threat to the cultural purity of the the Empire. Or, as T'Kumva himself puts it, "They see our purity as a threat." He believes that the Federation cannot abide Klingon cultural independence, and that they must eventually overtake and corrupt Klingon society. Which, to T'Kumva's view, would be destroying what it means to truly be Klingon.

He literally sees the Federation as an existential threat to Klingon society. Not because of economic or military strength, but because of culture. It's a somewhat heavy handed take on current events, in Trek-y trappings.

 

[Kevin Wolff]

First impression is that it made me appreciate both the BSG reboot and The Expanse all the more. BSG for its scope if not execution, and The Expanse for its ability to tell a good story that's not dumbed down. I can't mention Firefly because its cancellation still hurts too much. Each of these shows were/are great leaps forward for TV scifi. This is just an expensive rehash with bad dialog, wooden characters, and a story barely worth telling. If this show followed ENT 12 years ago, it still would be meh at best. In today's market, I expect a complete retooling for S2 when it premieres in or around 2020. My early prediction is Pike's Enterprise for S2, with a possible carryover of Burnham as Number One.
I'll keep watching as I watch most scifi, good or bad, but I'm expecting things to get worse, not better. Especially after they've finished bastardizing Fuller's plot ideas and are working from a blank slate.

 

[Jaimito]

I'm not entirely disagreeing with the idea that there will be more flashbacks - it's obvious there's still a lot of ground to cover with Burnham's character development, and flashbacks are a logical way to get there. But it's a bit early to be judging whether this show 'does flashbacks very frequently' or not. 'The Emissary' did not lead to a long running series of flashback stories on DS9.

Yes, it's too early to tell, I'm just speculating. However, on the After Trek show, one of the Executive producer, Harbert, did mentioned it at 2:45 mark, and said they wanted to have background story of Michael told throughout the season including via flashbacks, and the first two episodes were a necessary prologue. Episode 3 is the start of the pilot, where Discovery makes the appearance.

Another thing about the After Trek show is that they said they are about to film the 15th episode, and they stream Actresses Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh from Toronto. Why is Michelle there in Toronto? Is she there just to promote the show (but why not do it in US), or she will play some scenes in episode 15?

 

[cooleddie74]

My guess is that Michelle is shooting flashback scenes to air in episodes later in the season. You know how Star Trek is. Just because a character dies or gets killed doesn't necessarily mean they're gone for good.

 

[IDIC]

There was a fair amount of good things in the pilot. But I didn't like the new Klingon look, the holocommunicator, or the dark Smokey room for that court martial.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

to Enterprise what DS9 was to TNG.

Sounds like quite a fair assessment to me.

 

[Scotty's Scotch Bottle]

It was about cultural integrity. T'Kumva's Klingons are fanatically loyal to the words of Kahless, whose core message was apparently "Remain Klingon." They believe that the multicultural Federation poses a threat to the cultural purity of the the Empire. Or, as T'Kumva himself puts it, "They see our purity as a threat." He believes that the Federation cannot abide Klingon cultural independence, and that they must eventually overtake and corrupt Klingon society. Which, to T'Kumva's view, would be destroying what it means to truly be Klingon.

He literally sees the Federation as an existential threat to Klingon society. Not because of economic or military strength, but because of culture. It's a somewhat heavy handed take on current events, in Trek-y trappings.

I still don't get it. There's a difference between being isolationist to preserve your identity, which only requires non-interaction with your neighbor, versus trying to destroy your neighbor. It's not like Federation citizens are itching to enter Klingon space to try to change their culture.

 

[BillJ]

...I expect a complete retooling for S2 when it premieres in or around 2020. My early prediction is Pike's Enterprise for S2, with a possible carryover of Burnham as Number One.

I would watch this.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

I still don't get it. There's a difference between being isolationist to preserve your identity, which only requires non-interaction with your neighbor, versus trying to destroy your neighbor. It's not like Federation citizens are itching to enter Klingon space to try to change their culture.

Which is pretty much how the Federation sees it, but you try telling that to the Klingons...

 

[Scotty's Scotch Bottle]

What would an ambassador have to say on how Vulcan maintains peace with another power? I think he's exactly the right person to ask!



We had almost the exact same beat with Spock and Spock!Prime in ST:ID. "I need help dealing with this issue, wise mentor character"

I rewatched that section. If that were the case, the correct action would have been "Captain, I believe we should consult with someone with relevant information pertinent to this crisis." Instead, she cryptically asks to leave the bridge in a way that indicates she is embarrassed by what she is doing (by not being forthright).

 

[seigezunt]

The Klingon's are completely unlikable

How I like them.

 

[seigezunt]

Action = / = dumbed down.

 

[cultcross]

I rewatched that section. If that were the case, the correct action would have been "Captain, I believe we should consult with someone with relevant information pertinent to this crisis." Instead, she cryptically asks to leave the bridge in a way that indicates she is embarrassed by what she is doing (by not being forthright).

She does say it's relevant...

 

[Xerxes82]

I still don't get it. There's a difference between being isolationist to preserve your identity, which only requires non-interaction with your neighbor, versus trying to destroy your neighbor. It's not like Federation citizens are itching to enter Klingon space to try to change their culture.

But how do you remain isolationist in an increasingly complex, increasingly entwined social and economic ecosystem? If the Federation expands to everybody else save for the Klingons, then the sheer weight of their economic and military power is a threat to the Klingon identity. It's globalization on a galactic scale.

Look at American culture and it's spread globally, just as a quick and visible example. McDonald's is EVERYWHERE. Starbucks is EVERYWHERE. That has nothing to do with "trying to change" anybody's culture. It's an economic decision, but it is absolutely an export of American culture. It has effects beyond the obvious economic ones, because of it's visible and inseparable ties with the American, or perhaps a general "Western" culture. Even places that have historically resisted military or imperial pressures find themselves changing as result of economic and social forces unleashed by global communications, market trends, and economic opportunities.

Also, while you correctly point out that it doesn't seem like the Federation is chomping at the bit to engage in social engineering where the Klingons are concerned, T'kumva certainly believes the opposite. He sees intent. He sees a threat. When the Federation sends back up to the binary system after the stand-off begins, he sees that as a military build up to leverage their power against the scattered might of the Klingon Empire. When Georgiou request negotiation he sees it as an attempt to corrupt and subvert their ways. He's an extremist. Reality isn't something he's overly concerned with unless it serves his preconceived ideas about the way the universe works.

 

[Lonemagpie]

"The Federation is like... root beer."

 

[jaime]

My very basic first impressions, trying objectively put any ‘it’s new Trek and therefore asi am pleased to have new Trek it is good’ and my natural tendencies to see the good in things (there are series out there which are widely considered bad....I occasionally like some of those. Bonekickers for example.) ...

I have to say, I am not sure it is ‘good’
Too many....little things...and a few big ones, have managed to make its first two episodes leave a bad impression.

 

[Tesophius]

Liked

• Visuals look awesome, doesn't look cheap

• Improved technology makes sense, since this is the 23rd century

Disliked

• Boring premise, Klingons are one of the least interesting races in the Trek universe
• Everything revolves around a boring/artificial character (Michael) and war, which has always been boring in Trek. You just can't make war look interesting that far into the future, because it's not realistic. Encountering a deadly phenomenon - sure, but a classical 1940s stand off will always look stupid in any Star Trek. Michael Burnham seems like an over complicated character that just doesn't seem likeable or interesting. The writers clearly wanted to add a lot of drama to her character. She's not inspiring, she's not relateable.
• Everything looks dark and gritty (code for shitty) not a universe anyone wants to live in. They clearly have problems with lights in the future.
  
• Not a hint of any exploration or DISCOVERies. I'm sure they'll throw a few episodes here and there, to justify the title of the show, but the bulk of itis going to be about Michael's conflicts with other characters and the war with Klingons - both storylines couldn't possibly disinterest me any more.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

Even after three episodes it kind of feels like first impressions is still all we've got to go on. I'm dissapointed it's taken three whole episodes just to set things up (at least storywise), introduce the situation, the new crew, etc, without really going anywhere. Hopefully now that's out of the way, episode 4 will give us a better idea of what the season/a standard episode will actually be like.

 

[Kor]

My first impression is that it is very well-produced, and the visuals are spectacular. Since this is a visual medium, this is important.

But I don't know if the show grabs me hard enough to want to continue beyond the free trial week of CBS All Access.

Kor