Is Discovery the most polarizing Trek property ever?

No, the modern internet is quite polarizing, allowing people to enter bubbles of group-think on every idea. Discovery happens to (in the states) be marketed towards the internet and we are engaging with each other on the same internet, rather than having the traditional community/communications of differing ideas build a consensus.

 

I think one thing is absolutely for certain, and I can say with some confidence after 13 episodes now.

Star Trek: Discovery may be a great many things (including "polarizing"), but it is certainly NOT dull or stale.

We all like different things in Star Trek, no doubt. I, for one can like "The Inner Light, "Star Trek- The Motion Picture" or "The Empath" as much as I can enjoy "Wrath of Khan," "Conspiracy," "Best of Both Worlds" or "The Doomsday Machine." But, there are some people whose tastes and appreciations are not nearly as diverse (and that's ok we all like different stuff for different reasons).

But for me, the greatest sin of all with any Star Trek property is that it be dull and stale. Its one of the reasons I struggle revisiting TNG time and again, for example. As much as I adore TNG and those characters, it was SO rare that anything about TNG got my blood pumping. Sure, it's nice to sit thoughtfully and think about Picard's latest ethical dilemma, to smile at Data's quaint attempt to be more human, or to think about whether Janeway did the "right thing." But none of that is exciting. And, it's even less exciting when you do that 750 times.

DSC is pushing into new territory (thematics, storytelling, characters, tone, etc) and it is actually exciting to watch unfold. It is far from perfect, and it isn't sharp in every single storytelling area...but it's fun and it's exciting without question. To me, that's what I loved about TOS from day one...and I always hungered for that. And we never got it with any kind of consistency outside TOS and the TOS movies and (for some stretches at least) DS9. DSC is tense and exciting, and the formula is nowhere near that which we had over and over again by the end of the 90's and leading in with ENT.

Its not a knock on any version of Trek. It's simply an acknowledgement that the longevity of the franchise combined with a relative unwillingness to try new approaches led to a stagnation and lack of excitement for me personally. I know "exciting" and "fun" can be bad words for Star Trek fans who have had it knocked into their heads since the early 70's that this property is for intelligent, more refined viewers blah blah blah (what a bunch of horseshit)...but not for me.

Time will tell how well DSC holds up and how it is judged. I think there's a lot more time and a lot more story to be told before anyone is truly in position to do that, especially when you look at the discussion board post from the 1990's someone put up earlier that shows people were having precisely the same arguments about TNG's place in the franchise back then as we are about DSC now...it's almost funny how futile it makes all the discussion seem.

 

No Enterprise is. She had to polarize her hull-plating every week for one reason or another while the ships on the other shows had shields.

 

Good thread this. I think it all depends on which Star Trek you started with, when in your life you started it, and when in that series you started watching.

For me:

1. TNG, aged 15/16, started with S4, loved it (eventually warched s1-3 years later)

2. DS9 from S1, still one of my desert island shows to this day

3. VOY from S1, getting into my 20s, thought it was rubbish, gave up by S5

4. ENT- watched S1, thought it rubbish, and gave up (years later caught S4 on DVD and liked it)

5. 2009- HATED it, still hate it.

6. Into Darkness- enjoyed it a lot, nothing like 2009- yeah!

7. TOS from s1- alright I suppose

8. Beyond- enoyed it.

9. DSC- I have to say that I have really enjoyed this series so far, getting close to 40 now.

Worth adding that I didn't like Generations or Insurrection, and I actually did like Nemesis. Also- I think every Star Wars film, with maybe the exception of ESB, is rubbish.

I'd like to think that I might be pretty unique with those rankings!

 

Okay. Took me a while to find this thread again.

I get why you people are bitter @ Alec Peters regarding the production behind Axanar. I saw his interviews on YT.

That being said, it doesn't change my opinion on the Prelude trailer. As someone just viewing the trailer with no background of the fundraising drama behind it, I thought the trailer was far more in line with Trek lore and canon than anything we got on Star Trek Discovery.

Because I'm not invested in the drama behind the production or in fanfilms in general, I have an unbiased outsider perspective on this.

Still wish we got fans of Star Trek producing the new series, especially since it's a prequel. Manny Coto did a great job on ENT and 24, and some of his writing staff from S4 could have handled this material really, really well in a respectable manner to Trek.

 

We actually don't know if STD is holding an audience yet. Enterprise started off strong, with a large viewership during the premiere.... that dropped off bigtime as the season progressed.

I wonder if CBS or Netflix will release any data by the season's end.

I think S2's budget will depend on how S1 did overall.

 

Everything since TOS has been polarizing to the fanbase..

TMP Those aren't Klingons!
TWOK You can't kill Spock!!!
TSFS. You can't destroy the original ship!!!

TNG. It isn't Star Trek without Kirk, Spock and McCoy!!

DS9. Religion has no place in Star Trek!

Voyager. "Fill in X episode where Janeway broke the prime directive or acted Not Enough like Starfleet."

Enterprise. Oh boy. Everything from the behavior of the Vulcans to the decon scenes to the ship looking better than the old Enterprise. You name it, fans bitched about it.

Discovery. Same fans as always.

 

It's not dull nor stale but it's ridden with plot holes, poor character development, and clunky dialogue. And that's unfortunate because writing problems are the least expensive things to fix in TV shows.

 

^^^
So, in the same vein as ALL Star Trek that's come before - got it.

 

Except when it's not. And then it's even more wrong...!

 

I remember the outrage against lobster-head Klingons in 1979 and the outrage against bald-headed Captains in 1986. Trek fans have never changed.

 

I sprained my eyes from the amount of eye rolling due to every single supporting character saying something along the lines of 'That Garth though, that mad Izarian, he was brilliant' every 30 seconds.

 

The catch is that this is an expensive show (up to $8.5 million an episode). Given that amount, they should have fixed what is tragically the least expensive problem.

 

Well, 3d printed eyes will come along soon enough. In the short term, use ice, and watch DISCO

 

People enjoy losing their fucking minds, don't they?

 

So, everyone was okay with Voyager? :-)

 

Sad to say, I remember people objecting to a black Vulcan . . ..

 

Wow- glad I missed that.

Voyager and Enterprise were so dull, with the odd gem.