Honestly I find Burhnam to be the least engaging of any of the Star Trek main characters... and I include Chakotay and Mayweather on that list, which should be telling you something. The rest of Discovery's cast and crew seems interesting. Can't we just pull a Blake's 7, toss the annoying main character out an airlock and just start following the dark and morally ambiguous adventures of Captain Lorca?
Is Burnham the least engaging of the Discovery Characters?
- Thread starter zenophite
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Huh?? Where the heck do you get that stuff from?? Men can be any range, and women are all limited to a stereotype?? I still don't see what you are talking about. Is this some kind of Neo-Gender studies type thing?? it sounds like errant nonsense to me, because the reality isn't any way you say.. There are varying female roles across the board in all aspects of Star Trek to Star Wars. Look at DS9, the character of Dax, or even that of Troy, let's not forget the character of Doctor Crusher, she was every bit a strong female character without being overly feminine. What you are saying is writers only want damsels in Distress, or southern bells in dresses.. It's not been that way since the early 60s on TV. You clearly have an outdated or unclear opinion of how women have succeeded in breaking role molds, and being much more then just a dainty wallflower.
That would most likely be her talent agent.. not her.. and she was probably reading for the part, they liked her, but like most writers with crappy ideas, it all sounds great in house, or in your own head, but produce it, show it, and expect great praise from media sycophants, and then there are those pesky fans who don't like it.
Well, there you go.. perfect! I think the problem is Sonequa Thought she was doing a great job, but the writers have let her down horribly, it's not easy to pick up on a character's personality from an audition script, especially one not fleshed out by the writers.. I blame the writers, not her choice to want to do the part. She was probably sold a storyline and idea.. but the reality of the execution is leaving much to be desired..
It worked for the TNG crew.
I think Sonequa Green is a bit wooden as an actress. She was on The Walking Dead, but I thought it was just her character. She is here, too, though less so. I like her better. But I think the writers aren't quite sure what to do. In the first two episodes, she seemed at times very stoic and logical and then at others panicked and uncertain. The contrast was so sharp, it almost seemed like two different characters rather than one conflicted by Vulcan and human influences. The writers may get a better sense of her as the series continues.
I hope Burnham uses 'Motherflipper' at some point
We're now 6 episodes in and I've yet to find anyone who is a truly interesting character on this series outside of the chief engineer.
Saru came close until this whole "threat ganglia as plot device" was run into the ground. Tilly is just plain annoying.
Michael is all "tell and no show." We're told how great she is, how smart she is, how excellent she is...but it all feels so contrived. Not one of her big moments felt real...but rather were forced by a hack writing staff with delusions of being Ron Moore.
You want to write Michael properly, given her background? Study Cumberbatch on Sherlock. Write her like that and you'll make her more compelling.
Until then she's as engaging as Little Wooden Boy from the animated version of The Tick IMHO.
Saru came close until this whole "threat ganglia as plot device" was run into the ground. Tilly is just plain annoying.
Michael is all "tell and no show." We're told how great she is, how smart she is, how excellent she is...but it all feels so contrived. Not one of her big moments felt real...but rather were forced by a hack writing staff with delusions of being Ron Moore.
You want to write Michael properly, given her background? Study Cumberbatch on Sherlock. Write her like that and you'll make her more compelling.
Until then she's as engaging as Little Wooden Boy from the animated version of The Tick IMHO.
To me, she seems like she's been on and off. Sometimes she's very talky, and a few times she seems to act Vulcan like. At other times she seems lost in her own world where she'll barely talk to or engage others. It's awkward. She's not easy to relate to yet.
One thing though, I felt sorry for her in the flashback scene at her graduation where Sarek presented her to the Vulcan Expedition force or something, and she got rejected--for being human. Here she is, a "proud" graduate, all decked out in her Vulcan clothes and hairstyle, and they reject her outright. You could feel the humiliation.
Because of that, I'm little more curious about her now. I'm assuming they'll show flashbacks of when she was more Vulcan like and show her progression to be less Vulcan like.
One thing though, I felt sorry for her in the flashback scene at her graduation where Sarek presented her to the Vulcan Expedition force or something, and she got rejected--for being human. Here she is, a "proud" graduate, all decked out in her Vulcan clothes and hairstyle, and they reject her outright. You could feel the humiliation.
Because of that, I'm little more curious about her now. I'm assuming they'll show flashbacks of when she was more Vulcan like and show her progression to be less Vulcan like.
I don't know about that. Porthos versus Nelix...
He has a Poe Dameron quality definitely. A welcome addition. Stamets, Lorca, and Burnham all have personal arcs that involve being two persons, torn between two worlds, being of two natures or not otherwise being what they appear. I suspect that may happen with Tyler. Possibly with a Klingon connection.
Michael is the lead right? I asked someone that. Who do you think is the main character and he said Michael. So she must be engaging some viewers. I think she has the story line not necessarily projecting from her eyes but her scenes (number of) dominate and she is given the greater back story. She is the thread from Shenzhou to Discovery. I personally am not sure she is pulling it all together. Sometimes she talks too low and quick and lacks screen presence. It's a good thing we get reminded how special she is, because she's not too special yet, lol.
Tilly IS the most annoying though. Lorca - I cannot believe I have to keep acknowledging this, but he can do in a third of the scenes more than Michael. He leaves an impression.
Tilly IS the most annoying though. Lorca - I cannot believe I have to keep acknowledging this, but he can do in a third of the scenes more than Michael. He leaves an impression.
Am I the only one wondering what the Burnham character would have been like if they had gotten their first choice for the role in Rosario Dawson? She is a actress who I think could hold up to the better actors in the cast. If you wanted SMG on the show I wonder if she would have been a better fit as the main female Klingon baddie or a even gender altered version of Ash Tyler.
Jason
Jason
There is no such thing as 'feminity', not really, it is just a rather flimsy social construct. And even if there were some personality traits that were more common in one gender, it doesn't mean that every character of that gender needs to embody those.
It maybe a peculiar thing to me -- but she actually looks like Michael Corelone. Everytime I see her addressed as "Michael" and with her relatively thin stature, the image of Michael Corelone pops into my head.
She's a good enough character. She's outshone by Lorca though.
She's a good enough character. She's outshone by Lorca though.
She is (outshone) as both a character and as in an actor. I like the character traits better than Lorca but he is more compelling.
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I really like Burnham and the actress who plays her. Her arc started strong but it's almost resolved, she is almost back to the person she was, she is a perfect person who made a mistake, but in recent episodes she is getting over that.
Lorca though, I have grown to like when initially I didn't. He started off as something of a mystery and the more he is explored the more interesting he gets. He is a broken man. He didn't find his way back like Michael has, so at the moment I'm really interested in his story. If he had been a bad man at heart I wouldn't care but clearly he is struggling, I can relate to that kind of character.
Lorca though, I have grown to like when initially I didn't. He started off as something of a mystery and the more he is explored the more interesting he gets. He is a broken man. He didn't find his way back like Michael has, so at the moment I'm really interested in his story. If he had been a bad man at heart I wouldn't care but clearly he is struggling, I can relate to that kind of character.
