Is Burnham the least engaging of the Discovery Characters?

[SolarisOne]

My whole reaction to Burnham so far has been "meh"--don't like her, don't hate her, don't really care about her much at all. Lorca, on the other hand ... hated him right out of the gate, but now I find him quite intriguing.

She was a good foil for Georgiou, but other than that...

 

[Longinus]

Can't Stand Michael as a CHARACTER.. Never liked her acting, and never liked her style.. She's not engaging, she's kinda a caricature of a character at this point. It's the writing.. she wasn't right for the part IMHO.. The part was written for a man, being played by a woman, with a man's name.. maybe they should have cast a guy named Susan, and went from there on..

What? What the the gender of the character has to do with any of this?

 

[Tarek71]

She was better this week. This is the best Burnham episode I think. I never sustained much impression of either her character or her as an actress on the Walking Dead. Completely forgettable. For that reason, I doubted her capacity to be the series lead here. And the first few episodes here I don't think were much different in that regard. But in "Lethe", she's had her best outing. Still not terribly engaging, but it was an improvement for me.

 

[SJA]

She was better this week. This is the best Burnham episode I think. I never sustained much impression of her character or her as an actress on the Walking Dead. Completely forgettable. I doubted her capacity to be the series lead here. And the first few episodes here I don't think were much different in that regard. But in Lethe, she's had her best outing. Still not terribly engaging, but it was an improvement for me.

I agree! I think the addition of Ash Tyler (two outsiders together) will bring out more shades to her character too!

 

[Jayson1]

She is about as meh as you get with a series lead. She is good character but not a great character. She is a good actress but not a great actress. What she isn't is someone who is compelling and frankly my prediction I had before the show got started is kind of coming true in that Lorca is basically stealing the show from her. It kind of reminds me "Stargate:Atlantis" Even if they didn't mean for it to happen, Rodney McKay stole the show and became everyone's favorite and was the one who people wanted to see what he would be doing each week. John Shepard I think was meant to be the star but instead he became the secondary star even if he remained the series lead and even was liked by the audience.

As for Ash Tyler he might be lower because right now he is seen more as, romance guy for Burnham than as a fully fledged character. Basically he is Angel of "Buffy" before he got to play evil and even more before he got his own show. Not to mention I think this talk of him being a Klingon hurts because it makes everything he does feel like a possible lie but unlike some of Lorca's secrets they aren't being used to explore him but to just add mystery to the show. That will possibly change when and if we get a episode were he is front and center of the story.

Jason

 

[T'Bonz]

I like Burnham. But she is so very unlucky.

However, I see very little Vulcan in her. If there was, serving amongst humans seems to have knocked that out. She may think logically, but she acts emotionally.

Most here know how I feel about Miss Special Perkypants. I must be one of the few who are not enthused by the character. For me, it's Burnham, Lorca and Saru.

 

[Mudd]

Honestly, it's Saru who isn't really doing much for me.

Well, you can't see much of the actor's face and that makeup is only a little more expressive than the Klingons.

I think this must have seemed like a terribly good idea to someone - "it's way past time to make the aliens in Trek more alien-looking" - but the design is heavy-handed and counterproductive.

 

[SolarisOne]

Most here know how I feel about Miss Special Perkypants. I must be one of the few who are not enthused by the character.

Tilly? She's basically been this series' Barclay so far.

 

[T'Bonz]

I loathed Barclay.

 

[SJA]

Well, you can't see much of the actor's face and that makeup is only a little more expressive than the Klingons.

I think this must have seemed like a terribly good idea to someone - "it's way past time to make the aliens in Trek more alien-looking" - but the design is heavy-handed and counterproductive.

I can see your point to some extent - especially regarding some of the Klingons (The 'Choose Your Pain' opening line by the Klingon guard in the last ep was almost inaudible on my first viewing and severely lessened its impact) But I think Jones can do more with his voice than most actors can do with their face...

 

[SJA]

She is about as meh as you get with a series lead. She is good character but not a great character. She is a good actress but not a great actress. What she isn't is someone who is compelling and frankly my prediction I had before the show got started is kind of coming true in that Lorca is basically stealing the show from her. It kind of reminds me "Stargate:Atlantis" Even if they didn't mean for it to happen, Rodney McKay stole the show and became everyone's favorite and was the one who people wanted to see what he would be doing each week. John Shepard I think was meant to be the star but instead he became the secondary star even if he remained the series lead and even was liked by the audience.

An interesting analogy Jayson! Some great points! I always hated McKay...I thought he was the most irritating and 'unfunny' funny character in the show- but the producers certainly did love him! I always thought Flanagan started phoning it in from about halfway through season 2 (I believe he may have had an fractious relationship with some of the producers too - allegedly!) I thought they thoroughly wasted his character's potential on that show!
Isaacs is a class act - and easily the best actor in the show - and his character is compelling - but I still have hope that Burnham will start to loosen up - a bit like Brooks in DS9 when after he shaved his bonce! Not that I would recommend that for her character!

 

[Kane_Steel]

Making Sonequa the lead of this series was a misstep that will bite the show in the ass in the future.

It's really hard for audiences to empathize with a lead character who delivers her dialogue with a resting bitch face and smug delivery.

The 'all over the place' writing for the Michael character isn't doing her any favours though. Check out Collider.com's reviews on YT for a detailed explanation on why the Burnham character is a mess.

If she becomes the Discovery Captain for S2, I'll likely tune out.

 

[starsuperion]

Making Sonequa the lead of this series was a misstep that will bite the show in the ass in the future.

It's really hard for audiences to empathize with a lead character who delivers her dialogue with a resting bitch face and smug delivery.

The 'all over the place' writing for the Michael character isn't doing her any favours though. Check out Collider.com's reviews on YT for a detailed explanation on why the Burnham character is a mess.

If she becomes the Discovery Captain for S2, I'll likely tune out.

Well Sonequa isn't a bad person, it's not her fault she has limited acting range, and for the most part is trying to do her best with the character writing that has been given her. I feel a bit sorry for her as an actress being put into a role that is too large for her to handle, too complex for her to figure out, because the writers probably haven't figured themselves out yet on her either. As a person Sonequa is probably quite nice, but who she is supposed to be on STD.. that makes her unlikeable to me. I just don't get her. I don't identify with her in any way (as much as a hetero white Cis patriarchy male can identify with her), it's not easy to stay interested in her as a character. She's not a heroine.. she's written like an Anti-hero.. it's not very fitting to the position of first officer, nor a Star Fleet crew officer. The tensions and drama between the characters comes off way too overdramatic and not nearly as a crew with people who are invested in long term space travels. Star Fleet training in interpersonal relationships in this Star Trek Universe (not TOS) must still be in development at this point. It seems like Star Fleet altruistic ideals have been pushed aside for rather pedestrian, or "common" attitudes and it just doesn't fit. It's not the future with future high minded and high moralistic ideals. It's a gritty BSG take on Star Trek that misses the mark in so many areas.

 

[eschaton]

What? What the the gender of the character has to do with any of this?

I presume they're saying that unless a female character's womenhood os central to the character, they're actually written as a man. E.g., only men get to have a character who isn't very obviously and heavily gendered.

 

[starsuperion]

Honestly, it's Saru who isn't really doing much for me.

OH I'm with you there too.. I find Saru as much fun to watch as a documentary on how to make knitting hats. (Dave Lister would agree).

 

[starsuperion]

I presume they're saying that unless a female character's womenhood os central to the character, they're actually written as a man. E.g., only men get to have a character who isn't very obviously and heavily gendered.

Actually no.. Writing a female character is a virtue. It is something that should be included.. Femininity isn't a disease that should be ignored because it's some kind of stereotype.. Look at Seven of 9, written as a robotic borg, she showed her femininity later as she grew back into her humanity, it was nice to see her take down her hair and enjoy dressing up. It's not progress to write a woman as a man, and say that celebrating a woman's femininity is "heavily gendered".

Females have a culture, products, clothes, and books all their own, why would we say that should not be? What does making a woman a man have that makes her better then celebrating her as a Woman?? It's like saying a gendered female character is somehow offensive, when that is the reality of their everyday lives.. weird logic..sorry..

I just don't understand what you are saying here..

 

[eschaton]

Actually no.. Writing a female character is a virtue. It is something that should be included.. Femininity isn't a disease that should be ignored because it's some kind of stereotype.. Look at Seven of 9, written as a robotic borg, she showed her femininity later as she grew back into her humanity, it was nice to see her take down her hair and enjoy dressing up. It's not progress to write a woman as a man, and say that celebrating a woman's femininity is "heavily gendered".

Females have a culture, products, clothes, and books all their own, why would we say that should not be? What does making a woman a man have that makes her better then celebrating her as a Woman?? It's like saying a gendered female character is somehow offensive, when that is the reality of their everyday lives.. weird logic..sorry..

I just don't understand what you are saying here..

You proved my point completely. You are arguing that unless a character is written to have stereotypical feminine traits, they are "a man." This implicitly means masculinity isn't defined in a positive sense - as encompassing a different set of traits than femininity, but that it is the absence of femininity. Or that women only get to be "real women" if they display traits A through C, but men can display traits across the entire rest of the alphabet. Either way, it severely limits what a female character can be. A man's gender can be incidental to his being, but a woman's gender has to be wrapped up in her portrayal.

 

[Burning Hearts of Qo'nos]

Count me as part of the Michael Fanclub. I always felt she was wasted on The Walking Dead, and have been quite pleased with what she's been able to do on Star Trek.

 

[Fateor]

Well Sonequa isn't a bad person, it's not her fault she has limited acting range, and for the most part is trying to do her best with the character writing that has been given her. I feel a bit sorry for her as an actress being put into a role that is too large for her to handle, too complex for her to figure out, because the writers probably haven't figured themselves out yet on her either.

You see, the problem with that idea is that she applied for the position.

If she didn't think she could handle it she shouldn't have sent her audition reel in.

 

[Jadeb]

I don't know that Olivier could make sense of what she's been given. Until the writers make some basic choices about her character, there's no way for her to know how to play it. She's feeling around in the dark.