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Remember those awesome B-plots on Star Trek: The Next Generation that so frequently gave us intimate glimpses into the everyday lives of the crew?
Like the one where a couple of Picard's academy buddies were coming on board, and Picard was all stressed out about which book to choose for the book club meeting that week to really impress them?
Or how about that time Riker spent the entire episode trying to show only half his face after passing out during an evening of binge drinking with Data, and waking up to find half his beard gone?
And who could forget that time that the pressure seal on Mister Worf's toilet failed catastrophically, leaving only his Klingon butt cheeks standing between the ship and explosive decompression?
No? Not ringing any bells?
That's because they never got written. Star Trek writers have traditionally seen fit to have their characters exist in a mostly-sterile void of duty only, and, with the exceptions of such one-offs as 'Data's Day' and 'Picard Goes Back to the Vineyard and Yells at his Brother,' have largely avoided offering us a chance to see all the subtle nuance that drives our favorite characters' interactions throughout the day.
This is where I think Discovery has a chance to shine. The show has already received praise for its intricate attention to detail for things that would normally be considered inconsequential, like accurately depicting travel times at warp. We've also already seen way more detail about what off-duty life is like on a Federation starship than in series past.
For season 2, I'd love it if the producers would kick it up a further notch. Show an establishing scene where, for instance, Stamets starts trafficking in bongs so that I can understand why he's shadily checking his email every five minutes throughout the ensuing scenes. Or set something up about Lorca eating bad gagh and drinking too much Romulan ale, leading to uncontrollable diarrhea, so that he can keep frantically disappearing mid-conversation for unstated reasons, giving enhanced character development to the story of the week. Or give Tilly a gambling addiction, leading to all kinds of stuff randomly disappearing throughout the ship, so that the cast can confront her later about something totally not work-related.
These are just a few ideas. What other developments would you like to see?
Remember those awesome B-plots on Star Trek: The Next Generation that so frequently gave us intimate glimpses into the everyday lives of the crew?
Like the one where a couple of Picard's academy buddies were coming on board, and Picard was all stressed out about which book to choose for the book club meeting that week to really impress them?
Or how about that time Riker spent the entire episode trying to show only half his face after passing out during an evening of binge drinking with Data, and waking up to find half his beard gone?
And who could forget that time that the pressure seal on Mister Worf's toilet failed catastrophically, leaving only his Klingon butt cheeks standing between the ship and explosive decompression?
No? Not ringing any bells?
That's because they never got written. Star Trek writers have traditionally seen fit to have their characters exist in a mostly-sterile void of duty only, and, with the exceptions of such one-offs as 'Data's Day' and 'Picard Goes Back to the Vineyard and Yells at his Brother,' have largely avoided offering us a chance to see all the subtle nuance that drives our favorite characters' interactions throughout the day.
This is where I think Discovery has a chance to shine. The show has already received praise for its intricate attention to detail for things that would normally be considered inconsequential, like accurately depicting travel times at warp. We've also already seen way more detail about what off-duty life is like on a Federation starship than in series past.
For season 2, I'd love it if the producers would kick it up a further notch. Show an establishing scene where, for instance, Stamets starts trafficking in bongs so that I can understand why he's shadily checking his email every five minutes throughout the ensuing scenes. Or set something up about Lorca eating bad gagh and drinking too much Romulan ale, leading to uncontrollable diarrhea, so that he can keep frantically disappearing mid-conversation for unstated reasons, giving enhanced character development to the story of the week. Or give Tilly a gambling addiction, leading to all kinds of stuff randomly disappearing throughout the ship, so that the cast can confront her later about something totally not work-related.
These are just a few ideas. What other developments would you like to see?
