Star Trek Continues has released their Ep. 5, "Divided We Stand."
A warning to those who have yet to see the episode this thread will likely contain spoilers even as we try to keep things more-or-less vague.
I give this a 5/5. While Ep. 4 "The White Iris" was okay (3/5) I wasn't ovverwhelmed by it. With Ep. 5 "Divided We Stand" I think STC gets back on track with a kind of story we could likely have gotten from TOS.
A warning to those who have yet to see the episode this thread will likely contain spoilers even as we try to keep things more-or-less vague.
I give this a 5/5. While Ep. 4 "The White Iris" was okay (3/5) I wasn't ovverwhelmed by it. With Ep. 5 "Divided We Stand" I think STC gets back on track with a kind of story we could likely have gotten from TOS.
“Divided We Stand” *****
An unknown form of intelligence infests the Enterprise as well as Kirk and McCoy.
There is a lot for me to like about this episode and very little for me to gripe about. Indeed whatever criticisms I have are largely of the nitpicking variety and I could apply that as easily to pretty much any TOS episode.
From the first frame one thing that impressed me was the overall look of the episode. STC has been strong in this regard since the beginning, but they actually seem to get even better with each new production. The lighting of the sets was especially nice this time around particularly in the way it helped set a mood for the story. That and I prefer the more shadowed look to the TOS sets.
Another aspect that impressed me was the music. Once again we hear familiar pieces from TOS yet we also hear new arrangements that fit pretty much seamlessly in their stylistic similarity. This added touch helps convey the idea that new arrangements likely would have been heard if TOS had managed to get a fourth season.
A third element that I’ve liked from the beginning of STC and one that also seems to get better with each episode are the Enterprise exterior shots. Doug Drexler’s model is gorgeous particularly in how it’s lighted and how the ship is shown to move. The added touch of film grain really cements the idea of how the TOS E could have looked under the best of conditions back in the day. DD has a real eye for this.
I must admit that after seeing the teaser trailer a week earlier I was somewhat wary as to what would be done with this story. Thankfully my fears were unrealized. While there is a general similarity to something we’ve seen in Trek before they still managed to do something different with the idea. One of my quibbles could be they might have given this element of the story away a bit too early. No real harm done, but perhaps some of the story could have been restructured to keep the viewer guessing a bit longer.
The production level of this episode is very impressive. I seriously doubt TOS could have done better. Indeed in some respects TOS might have resorted to inserting some stock shots from previous feature films or television episodes whereas STC staged everything live. Very impressive. On that note this episode is very much in keeping with Gene Roddenberry’s original pitch to NBC where he suggested reusing and adapting prexisting sets, props and costumes from previous productions to help save costs for Star Trek’s purposes. Even with that thought in my this episode certainly doesn’t look cheap. To me it looks first-rate.
I really enjoyed seeing the character of Dr. Mbenga in this story and I quite enjoyed his performance. I hope we see him again.
There are again a couple of callouts to post TOS productions, but this time around they are more general in nature and not blaring for attention. The VOY related reference could easily go unnoticed if, like me, you’re not really familiar with the series. The TNG related reference is easier to notice, but it’s done in a very offhand way. Also, for some of TOS’ technology to work some form of nanotech would likely exist so recognizing an alien form of it wouldn’t be a stretch.
One little thing did stick out to me and this was the repeated instance of Chekov addressing Spock by rank. It didn’t sound right. Chekov always used “Mister Spock” to address him. Yeah, it’s a nitpick, but it just stuck out to me.
I picked up on only one real logic flaw. That was the lack of any cybernetic tech kept aboard ship. The idea of a 23rd century crewman having a cybernetic prosthetic was a cool idea, but I think it would also be tech that would be kept aboard in case of an emergency given the hazardous situations the crew encounters.
A sincere salute to Chuck Huber for his performance as McCoy. I really couldn’t fault Larry Nemecek’s performance, but Huber does bring a touch of gruffness to the character that was missing before.
What really got me about this production (beyond the things I’ve already mentioned) was I could easily imagine the original cast saying the words written here. I could easily see them doing these scenes.
I don’t know if there was really an intended message in this story, but it does seems to comment on the friction and divisions running through American society. It strikes me as particularly relevant given this episode was in production while discussions regarding the issue of the Confederate flag were in the news and social media.
My last quibble is quite minor since it relates to the episode’s length. It clocks out at forty-two minutes and I found myself wanting a bit more story to fill in another seven or eight minutes.
In the end I enjoyed this quite a bit more than “The White Iris.” This felt like classic TOS as opposed to a TNG story dressed in the wrong clothes. I also applaud that this is the kind of story (along with “Lolani”) that is really in sync with TOS. It’s the kind of storytelling televised Star Trek can do and regrettably the kind of thing we not likely to ever get in feature films.
An unknown form of intelligence infests the Enterprise as well as Kirk and McCoy.
There is a lot for me to like about this episode and very little for me to gripe about. Indeed whatever criticisms I have are largely of the nitpicking variety and I could apply that as easily to pretty much any TOS episode.
From the first frame one thing that impressed me was the overall look of the episode. STC has been strong in this regard since the beginning, but they actually seem to get even better with each new production. The lighting of the sets was especially nice this time around particularly in the way it helped set a mood for the story. That and I prefer the more shadowed look to the TOS sets.
Another aspect that impressed me was the music. Once again we hear familiar pieces from TOS yet we also hear new arrangements that fit pretty much seamlessly in their stylistic similarity. This added touch helps convey the idea that new arrangements likely would have been heard if TOS had managed to get a fourth season.
A third element that I’ve liked from the beginning of STC and one that also seems to get better with each episode are the Enterprise exterior shots. Doug Drexler’s model is gorgeous particularly in how it’s lighted and how the ship is shown to move. The added touch of film grain really cements the idea of how the TOS E could have looked under the best of conditions back in the day. DD has a real eye for this.
I must admit that after seeing the teaser trailer a week earlier I was somewhat wary as to what would be done with this story. Thankfully my fears were unrealized. While there is a general similarity to something we’ve seen in Trek before they still managed to do something different with the idea. One of my quibbles could be they might have given this element of the story away a bit too early. No real harm done, but perhaps some of the story could have been restructured to keep the viewer guessing a bit longer.
The production level of this episode is very impressive. I seriously doubt TOS could have done better. Indeed in some respects TOS might have resorted to inserting some stock shots from previous feature films or television episodes whereas STC staged everything live. Very impressive. On that note this episode is very much in keeping with Gene Roddenberry’s original pitch to NBC where he suggested reusing and adapting prexisting sets, props and costumes from previous productions to help save costs for Star Trek’s purposes. Even with that thought in my this episode certainly doesn’t look cheap. To me it looks first-rate.
I really enjoyed seeing the character of Dr. Mbenga in this story and I quite enjoyed his performance. I hope we see him again.
There are again a couple of callouts to post TOS productions, but this time around they are more general in nature and not blaring for attention. The VOY related reference could easily go unnoticed if, like me, you’re not really familiar with the series. The TNG related reference is easier to notice, but it’s done in a very offhand way. Also, for some of TOS’ technology to work some form of nanotech would likely exist so recognizing an alien form of it wouldn’t be a stretch.
One little thing did stick out to me and this was the repeated instance of Chekov addressing Spock by rank. It didn’t sound right. Chekov always used “Mister Spock” to address him. Yeah, it’s a nitpick, but it just stuck out to me.
I picked up on only one real logic flaw. That was the lack of any cybernetic tech kept aboard ship. The idea of a 23rd century crewman having a cybernetic prosthetic was a cool idea, but I think it would also be tech that would be kept aboard in case of an emergency given the hazardous situations the crew encounters.
A sincere salute to Chuck Huber for his performance as McCoy. I really couldn’t fault Larry Nemecek’s performance, but Huber does bring a touch of gruffness to the character that was missing before.
What really got me about this production (beyond the things I’ve already mentioned) was I could easily imagine the original cast saying the words written here. I could easily see them doing these scenes.
I don’t know if there was really an intended message in this story, but it does seems to comment on the friction and divisions running through American society. It strikes me as particularly relevant given this episode was in production while discussions regarding the issue of the Confederate flag were in the news and social media.
My last quibble is quite minor since it relates to the episode’s length. It clocks out at forty-two minutes and I found myself wanting a bit more story to fill in another seven or eight minutes.
In the end I enjoyed this quite a bit more than “The White Iris.” This felt like classic TOS as opposed to a TNG story dressed in the wrong clothes. I also applaud that this is the kind of story (along with “Lolani”) that is really in sync with TOS. It’s the kind of storytelling televised Star Trek can do and regrettably the kind of thing we not likely to ever get in feature films.
