Is Burnham the least engaging of the Discovery Characters?

[GeekUSACarl]

Yeah I gotta say I find her very engaging. Her and Lorca, and what they will become together is well on my mind.

 

[GeekUSACarl]

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.

Yup, say whatever ya want about forehead aliens, at least they can emote.

Originally Barf from Spaceballs was supposed to have his whole head and face done up in some way, I think it was Rick Moranis who made a point that you have this great comedic actor ( John Candy ) and you're going to cover up his entire face?

So they then made this cartoonish, stereotype face makeup and the ears thing.

Smart move.

 

[davejames]

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 think Green has been giving a fantastic performance, but I do agree that emotionally the character has been all over the place so far. Which might be what the writers intended, but does make it a bit hard to connect with her at times.

I think a big reason I find Saru and Lorca so much more compelling right now is because their personalities feel much more established, and you have a good idea of how they'll react to most situations.

I did really love that more positive and optimistic Burnham we saw at the start of the first episode though (and how she sounded almost like this more friendly and upbeat Spock), so hopefully she might get back to that again at some point.

 

[shreefe]

I don't think that Burnham's arc is anywhere close to being finished.

 

[James T Kirk]

Dont like her or her character at all. Extremely bland and tasteless.

 

[CardassianAssassin]

So far I have found myself surprised to find that I am interested in just about every other major (and sometimes minor) character on Star trek Discovery. I can't quite figure out if it is the actress herself or just the writing.
Does anyone else feel similarly?

I think it’s both the actress and the writing.

She’s not even the most unlikable character. Someone like Saru or Tilly are grating to the extent that I find myself sitting and hoping for a quick and painless airlock malfunction.

Burnham on the other hand don’t even inspire that reaction. She is just so.... Meh. Boring, bland and ultimately expendable.

A good part of it is the actresses fault. (Haven’t seen The Walking Dead, but I’m starting to understand why TWD fans always single out Sonequa Martin-Green for an underwhelming performance!) Half the time she just shoots people the stink eye for no apparent reason. The other half She! Tries! Hard! To! Be! Sooo! Intense! And it just fails and falls flat.

Of course the writers are also to blame. It wasn’t till Burnham’s concern for the Tardigrades health in episode 5 or 6 (halfway through the season) that viewers were given even a small reason to like Michael Burnham as a character, or to cheer for her.

Another script related reason for why Burnham has failed as a main character, is how her moods and behavior suddenly change from scene to scene, seemingly independent of what has happened.

 

[Mattadd]

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?

This. This would be a much, much better series than what we've been getting so far.

Burnham is a waste of screen time. There is nothing interesting about her character at all and I wish they would quit giving her so much screen time. It's particularly annoying since there are so many other characters I really like and want to see more of: Lorca, Saru, and Stamets specifically.

 

[eschaton]

I think the series made two crucial mistakes.

1. There is a "main character" - Trek has never done that before. Arguably it was played around with on TOS early in the first season in a few episodes, but they settled into the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triad soon after. All the other shows were ensembles. It's not even like "modern TV" requires a main character, so the decision was odd.

2. While the breakout character on each show tended to be the quirky outsider, this person was never expected to carry the show from week to week. Imagine all of TNG told from the standpoint of Data. Even though Brent Spiner was arguably the second-best actor on the TNG cast, it would get monotonous over time.

 

[Mattadd]

I think the series made two crucial mistakes.

1. There is a "main character" - Trek has never done that before. Arguably it was played around with on TOS early in the first season in a few episodes, but they settled into the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triad soon after. All the other shows were ensembles. It's not even like "modern TV" requires a main character, so the decision was odd.

2. While the breakout character on each show tended to be the quirky outsider, this person was never expected to carry the show from week to week. Imagine all of TNG told from the standpoint of Data. Even though Brent Spiner was arguably the second-best actor on the TNG cast, it would get monotonous over time.

Voyager came pretty close in the last few seasons to relying almost entirely on the EMH and Seven to carry the show. But otherwise I agree with your point. It was a mistake to structure it the way they did.

 

[Paradise City]

I think she's done everything too quickly with every trope packed in there. They've overheated the character in many ways. She's on the redemption trail, she's got her new mentor, she's mentoring someone green herself and they are troweling on the Sarek angle. They even had the "I let Sarek down" handwringing stuff....but, no, wait..it was Sarek that felt at fault all along...etc. Well, what a surprise. They are trying too hard to make her character a character extravangza that much of it comes across as a hodge-podge of predictable ballast rather than the driving force behind a unique individual.

What's creative about Burnham is her complex relationship with Saru. That's interesting. But there's too many things going on for this aspect to get its just desserts.

Much of these character development arcs of hers I can roughly predict. I'm not exactly sure what more can do be done to her to test her after the events in the premier, the mutiny and her hard stay in the slammer. We know Sarek doesn't die.

Lorca...though...well he could go in any direction. He could win up as a military hero or in a padded cell. He may very well have a dramatic fall ahead of him. Lorca draws my gaze in a way that Burnham kinda doesn't.

 

[Dijeirusan]

I like her cold detachedness to the obvious things happening right in front of her. Definitely different to almost every other TV lead character.

 

[Commishsleer]

I'm only up to episode 4 but while I find her character interesting, I find its hard to relate to her because of her Vulcan nature/dialog. I think it is difficult for the actors who play Vulcans (or Vulcan-like characters) to be relateable and engaging. Nimoy pulled it off but I found the other Vulcan characters in Star Trek less lovable. Even TOS Sarek was say more engaging then say Tuvok - who was playing a Vulcan "realistically" so I can't fault the actor or writing.

I want to see her humanity eventually so I guess I'm just waiting for her to crack.

I don't love any of the other characters yet except maybe Tilly but I don't quite trust that she's as innocent as she seems.

Anyway overall despite what I seem to be saying I like Burnhams character and think she's a great lead.

 

[unimatrix7]

I like her. Sonequa Martin-Green is an amazing talent.

To be honest, I wasn't that thrilled when I heard that Boring Sad Survivor #421 from The Walking Dead would be fronting a new Star Trek series, but SMG has risen to the occasion and I was happy to be wrong. I really, really enjoy her.

The Vulcan thing needn't be a handycap - it wasn't for Leonard Nimoy, Mark Lenard or Tim Russ, and it looks to me like it isn't for Sonequa Martin-Green. She's in good company.

I will say again though that I'm disappointed by the constant characterisations of her as mentally unstable by the fanbase. The last time I politely tried to challenge that here I was set upon by the I'M ENTITLED TO MY OPINION brigade, so I'll just leave it there for now.

 

[gblews]

So far I have found myself surprised to find that I am interested in just about every other major (and sometimes minor) character on Star trek Discovery. I can't quite figure out if it is the actress herself or just the writing.
Does anyone else feel similarly?

I find that as the show goes on I am becoming more and more interested in Burnham's journey -- more so than any other character, although I like both Lorca and Stamets a lot. I also believe that, similar to Chloe Benet on Agents of Shield, who some people did not take to from the beginning, SM-G's performance will get better as she continues to grow into the role.

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?
Jason

Is this a fact? I wasn't aware. Dawson has been lobbying publicly for a job on a Trek show or movie for years. SM-G would also have been my second choice for Burnham, not because she isn't right for the part, but because of my respect for Dawson's acting. She has also professed to being a Trekkie.

I think the series made two crucial mistakes.

1. There is a "main character" - Trek has never done that before. Arguably it was played around with on TOS early in the first season in a few episodes, but they settled into the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triad soon after. All the other shows were ensembles. It's not even like "modern TV" requires a main character, so the decision was odd.

I know this is a matter of opinion, but I believe EVERY Trek show has been presented through the eyes of each show's captain. The captain was always the main character. This was true with Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway (to a slightly lesser extent), and Archer. This was true, IMO, even though none of those captains were the most popular on their shows.

So yes, DSC is going where no spinoff has gone before by telling it's story through a character other than the show's captain character.
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[Lexx]

First of all, wasn't the show originally advertised as being told from the perspective of the first officer Burnham?
Second, let's not forget that this is a character who is human, raised to be Vulcan, but is now asked to be human again emotionally. That's got to be tremendous strain, especially considering the events happening around her. So I think the character is being played right - she's tormented, she unfamiliar, she's unsure how to act, and yet she's still got all that "Vulcanness" in her.

I find the show fascinating so far. It's is through Burnahm that we learn Sarek and Spock's backstories. IMO more will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The writers have stated that everything will eventually tie in to TOS canon. That makes what's happening now on STD especially beguiling. I can't wait to see the rest of the season!

Oh and yes, I really like Lorca's character as well. The tormented damaged captain burning with fire.

 

[Mattadd]

I know this is a matter of opinion, but I believe EVERY Trek show has been presented through the eyes of each show's captain. The captain was always the main character. This was true with Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway (to a slightly lesser extent), and Archer. This was true, IMO, even though none of those captains were the most popular on their shows.

So yes, DSC is going where no spinoff has gone before by telling it's story through a character other than the show's captain character.
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I have to disagree with that. The other Trek series were mostly balanced between the major characters (and in the case of Voyager the Doctor and Seven came closer to being main characters, and neither were captain). I definitely don't feel as if Picard or Archer were "main" characters, sure they got a lot of screen time but so did lots of others on their shows and the plot didn't revolve around their character specifically, they were ensemble shows.

Now DS9 I think you could make a fair argument that Sisko was the main character, but even there, the show had a lot less focus on Sisko than DIS has on Burnham.

 

[eschaton]

I know this is a matter of opinion, but I believe EVERY Trek show has been presented through the eyes of each show's captain. The captain was always the main character. This was true with Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway (to a slightly lesser extent), and Archer. This was true, IMO, even though none of those captains were the most popular on their shows.

So yes, DSC is going where no spinoff has gone before by telling it's story through a character other than the show's captain character.

I think that Trek has historically had the captain as the primary character, but not the main character/protagonist (except arguably Kirk). A protagonist makes the key decisions in the story, feels the consequences of those choices, and propels the story forward. Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer clearly got the most lines in the running of the show (and final authority rested in them in most areas due to being the captain), but they were not always key in resolving the primary or secondary plots of the week. For example, someone did a line count for DS9, and Sisko only had the most dialogue in 50 out of 176 episodes, meaning that for over 2/3rds of the run of the series individual episodes tended to focus on someone else besides him. I haven't seen a similar breakdown for other series - I presume because of the smaller cast and less recurring characters this was less true for TNG, VOY, and ENT - but the fact remains that in all of them often the A plot, the B plot, or both are resolved not by the captain, but by someone else entirely.

 

[Ridcully]

Just taking it in as it comes!
Cannot be bothered by chopping it all into tiny bits for no good reasons!
I like this way of telling stories, there are really no traditional main characters...kinda refershing!
No cats or dogs....and no fish...

It is developing in its own way!
Keeps it interesting.

 

[flottanna]

I have been watching the show with my fiance (Been showing her TOS for the first time too, next is TNG). but neither of us love her. I think the show hurts itself by concentrating so much time on a single character. We both love the Captain, and a lot of the crew is starting to grow on me, but she has not yet. I'm going to give the new David Mack book a go and see if that helps.
Honestly it was in the first two episode when she had the mutiny is when I really started to dislike her. I thought of Ryker doing something like that and it made my skin crawl ha. That and I don't love her connection to Sarek. Really? Could they have not just made up a new Vulcan? They had to maker her a half sister to Spock?
Hopefully she grows on me more, after the most recent episode I can't say that I hate her, I just like everyone else a lot more.

 

[Amaris]

I think she's a wonderful character, with great depth and nuance. Sonequa Martin-Green plays her with aplomb. I find her quite engaging.

My favorite character, though, is Tilly. I love Tilly.
Also, Captain sex-, uh, Lorca is awesome, too.