Spoilers SDCC season 3 news thread!

[Lord Garth]

On a trivial note: Spock's sideburns here are a huge improvement over the way they looked at the end of "Such Sweet Sorrow".

I think the Spock shouting bit is just an in-joke.

And, like I said before, I'm really glad we're getting to see Number One again. She drew the short straw during S2.

One other thing: this is a bit of a parallel. We saw the beginning of Burnham's assignment on the Shenzhou in "Battle at the Binary Stars" and now we're seeing the beginning of Spock's assignment on the Enterprise.

 

[Nerys Myk]

One other thing: this is bit of a parallel. We saw the beginning of Burnham's assignment on the Shenzhou in "Battle at the Binary Stars" and now we're seeing the beginning of Spock's assignment on the Enterprise.

Stuck in a elevator. Lucky it's not with Mudd, who would probably establish a pee corner.

 

[eschaton]

Put me down as one of those people who is mildly let down by a character who is - presumably - from the 33rd century or thereabouts with the name Cleveland Booker.

I mean, it's not like we have a lot of people still named Aethelred, Eadric, or Leofric today - which were common names about an equal distance into the past from how far Discovery Season 3 is into the future.

Basically, if we meet far-future humans, I want them to be really culturally alien, almost incomprehensible. Otherwise what's the point of going into the future at all?

 

[Noname Given]

Overall, I’m higher on what CBS has produced, I liked the Picard and Short Treks trailers, but agree with the point you are making. Nostalgia can only carry the brand so far.

Yet you like the Picard trailer with Picard, Data and 7of9 <<--- Yeah, zero nostalga there...oh, wait...

Or perhaps neither show is counting that much on 'nostalgia', but instead USING the 50+ year history of the Star Trek franchise to give us various characters, from across the franchise and presenting them/reinventing them for the current 'modern' audience - all in an attempt to keep interest in the franchise and cultivate new fans?...

Nah, you're right - they're just playing to us die hards...
^^^
(That was sarcasm BTW - just in case. )

 

[Captain Crow]

It's a nice touch having Spock not only shout but also having weird inflection like Nimoy did in "The Cage".

 

[BillJ]

Yet you like the Picard trailer with Picard, Data and 7of9 <<--- Yeah, zero nostalga there...oh, wait...

I was agreeing that there is nostalgia in both.

 

[Noname Given]

I was agreeing that there is nostalgia in both.

I was saying that while they use existing characters, 'nostalgia' isn't their primary goal of focus with any of the current series. If it was, we would have gotten teh original 1701 design in ST as well as an 'original series' Bridge set (like they did during ENT's "In A Mirror Darkly".

 

[BillJ]

I was saying that while they use existing characters, 'nostalgia' isn't their primary goal of focus with any of the current series.

I can’t speak for Picard, but nostalgia has been poured on hot and heavy since the start of Discovery.

 

[fireproof78]

I can’t speak for Picard, but nostalgia has been poured on hot and heavy since the start of Discovery.

It's worse with Picard. Far, far worse.

 

[fireproof78]

Basically, if we meet far-future humans, I want them to be really culturally alien, almost incomprehensible. Otherwise what's the point of going into the future at all?

Because they are still stories directed at 21st century humans. Otherwise, there is no point in telling the stories.

 

[eschaton]

Because they are still stories directed at 21st century humans. Otherwise, there is no point in telling the stories.

I've seen others make this point, and I just don't understand it at all.

I mean, The Expanse spent quite a bit of time making the Belters seem culturally alien, from having their own hairstyles, clothing, political stances, and even a patois that they slip into at times. Are you seriously telling me it would be better if they were all just played as bland Canadians?

Even in Calypso, although Craft seemed to talk English in a comprehensible way (no doubt due to the UT) he was from a culturally alien planet divorced from the mainstream of humanity in the far future. He knew nothing about 20th century Earth culture. He didn't know what tacos or Tuesday was. His people had weird alien practices regarding naming. It wasn't the main point of the story, but it was all there pretty clearly as an undertext - he was an alien, even though he was human.

Going back to Discovery, one has to presume - if they aren't using the 3rd season as a total tabula rasa, and actually want to truck back to the Alpha Quadrant and see what it's like 950 years further into the future - that there will be some emphasis on how things have drifted dramatically over time.

 

[Cake]

"Cleveland Booker"

Is Cleveland a normal person name in the USA? I have only heard it before as the name of a city.

On a trivial note: Spock's sideburns here are a huge improvement over the way they looked at the end of "Such Sweet Sorrow".

I noticed this at once, too. Much better!

 

[fireproof78]

I've seen others make this point, and I just don't understand it at all.

I mean, The Expanse spent quite a bit of time making the Belters seem culturally alien, from having their own hairstyles, clothing, political stances, and even a patois that they slip into at times. Are you seriously telling me it would be better if they were all just played as bland Canadians?

Even in Calypso, although Craft seemed to talk English in a comprehensible way (no doubt due to the UT) he was from a culturally alien planet divorced from the mainstream of humanity in the far future. He knew nothing about 20th century Earth culture. He didn't know what tacos or Tuesday was. His people had weird alien practices regarding naming. It wasn't the main point of the story, but it was all there pretty clearly as an undertext - he was an alien, even though he was human.

Going back to Discovery, one has to presume - if they aren't using the 3rd season as a total tabula rasa, and actually want to truck back to the Alpha Quadrant and see what it's like 950 years further into the future - that there will be some emphasis on how things have drifted dramatically over time.

Let me ask you this: you want to watch a show about a culture that is
"almost incomprehensible?" What point would that story tell the audience?

 

[eschaton]

Let me ask you this: you want to watch a show about a culture that is
"almost incomprehensible?" What point would that story tell the audience?

The point is it establishes a source of conflict/friction between the Discovery crew and the "uptime" characters. They both will go into situations presuming the other is approaching things with a mindset more similar to their own, and then will be flummoxed when something different happens instead.

I think this would be bad to do if Discovery was episodic, because you wouldn't want to do it almost every episode (future Klingons defy expectations! Future Vulcans defy expectations!). But in a serialized show you could establish what the uptime cultural norms are pretty early on, and then largely take them for granted.

 

[fireproof78]

The point is it establishes a source of conflict/friction between the Discovery crew and the "uptime" characters. They both will go into situations presuming the other is approaching things with a mindset more similar to their own, and then will be flummoxed when something different happens instead.

I think this would be bad to do if Discovery was episodic, because you wouldn't want to do it almost every episode (future Klingons defy expectations! Future Vulcans defy expectations!). But in a serialized show you could establish what the uptime cultural norms are pretty early on, and then largely take them for granted.

Ah, I see. I misunderstood. I thought you wanted a show set in the 31st century in which the main characters were nearly incomprehensible. I follow now.

Yes, I'm fine with that as long as we have POV characters the audience can connect with.

 

[donners22]

I thought the right thing to do when Star Trek was first announced as coming back to TV was to do a square-one reboot. Read the TOS pitch document, and start from that; high-grade futurism combined with ripped-from-the-headlines storylines and strong, relatable characters in a flexible action-adventure genre. We're headed far in the opposite direction with Star Trek existing mostly to remind you of the old Star Trek you liked more.

If Kurtzman even hinted at that possibility, fans would be burning effigies of him - well, more often than they do already.

Just shows the damned if they do, damned if they don't situation anyone is in with new Trek - whatever approach they take, some fans will hate it.

I'd rather they just went with whatever creative direction they truly want; if it works for me I'll keep watching, if it doesn't I'll stop, and either way I will try to tune out the bleating in the background.

 

[fireproof78]

Just shows the damned if they do, damned if they don't situation anyone is in with new Trek - whatever approach they take, some fans will hate it.

This much is absolutely true.

 

[Lord Garth]

"There's no correct resolution. It's a test of character."

On another note: a lot of what I've seen recently has confirmed exactly what I thought.

 

[StarMan]

"No need to shout, Ensign Spock."

Seriously?

Love it. I seriously think they threw that one in there along with some of the "elevator" talk for TrekBBS members.

 

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