Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 1x01 - "The Vulcan Hello"

[doublegoodprole]

I didn't like the holograms. I thought it was an unnecessary stylistic choice. I suppose they probably did it because face to face screen viewing isn't futuristic anymore. But there is still a thematic tension disconnect that it creates--something I've always really liked about Star Trek.

I mean, imagine Khan's "...I just wanted you to know first who was who had beaten you." emanating from a hologram standing between Bill and Kristy.

Clearly, they did not watch "For the Uniform".

 

[JRTStarlight]

It's 2256. Two years after Pike. Spock's a big boy now.

How is that possible? How can he be a kid there? Was it a flashback?

 

[BeatleJWOL]

the Klingons, all of them, just sound really muffled, as if they have cotton balls in their mouths.

This was probably my biggest complaint about both episodes. The prosthetic teeth are not doing the actors any favors. I thought it might improve when they started speaking English but nope. And then to open the show with them? Strange, strange choice.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpew

I must have missed the memo that Star Trek was not supposed to have combat via phaser or any kind of space battles.

How is that possible? How can he be a kid there? Was it a flashback?

Spock was not in this episode.

 

[Tuskin38]

PART TWO: "Battle At Binary Stars"

This thread is only for part 1

 

[DigificWriter]

PART ONE: "The Vulcan Hello"
CONS:
* Only getting half of a premiere if you don't have CBS All Access.

This isn't a fault of the episode itself.

 

[Amaris]

This thread is only for part 1

Well then 3. This episode gets a 3. It's half a premiere episode.

 

[Amaris]

This isn't a fault of the episode itself.

No, but it's all part of the package. CBS wants me to pay for their service based on this pilot. This pilot depends upon CBS making it possible for people to see it in one piece before making that decision. I didn't know right up until it started that we would not be seeing part 2 as a broadcast. Again, half an episode, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was unpleasantly surprised.

 

[Tuskin38]

How is that possible? How can he be a kid there? Was it a flashback?

Spock wasn’t in this episode

 

[Mudd]

Being a ponderous, overblown bore was a fault of the episode itself.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

This pilot depends upon CBS making it possible for people to see it in one piece before making that decision.

Not really. Think about it. It's an attempt to use a cliffhanger (or dead stop in the middle of a story, YMMV) to entice you to go spend money on their streaming service.

Not good marketing, but that's the attempt made here. :P

 

[JRTStarlight]

Oh? Ah. That was a flash back then, and what's her face? But then Spock is already 2 years under Pike and the Enterprise is out there already? Junior science officer, no doubt.

I guess I'll watch it again then.

 

[Mojochi]

I think I like it more than you do, but it's a bizarre way to try to get people to pay for a streaming service.

^This. I won't say it's bad. I've seen worse Star Trek, lol, BUT if I'm to buy a service to see it, it should be terrific. It wasn't. It was flashy, with dull spots, unexplained oddball Klingons speaking fantasy language throughout, & a wide range of characters I didn't connect with at all.

Nothing about Discovery ever indicated that it was going to be an "exploration" show.

Except the title lol

For the most part, there was very little in this episode that was worthy of criticism.

I have to disagree. The look, while expensive & flashy was irritating. Maybe it passes on the big screen, but here it's a chore imho, especially the "Glitchy" holographs

Sarek did nothing for me, which takes a lot of failure. I LOVE Sarek, & frankly, if there's any race/culture in all of Star Trek that needs less fleshing out of their story than Vulcans, it's Klingons, even ones they give new flesh. I have no interest in an arc about an early Klingon/Starfleet war. That said, I won't rain on anyone's parade further, but "little worthy of criticism"? Hardly.

Most importantly, it's a bad launch if the goal is to transplant viewers onto a new paid medium. I, for one, don't plan to do so. They needed to do better than this to draft me. If I hear it improves, maybe I'll buy the collection eventually, but the streaming service? Pass. It's not cheapness. It's feeling like I've not been offered enough to merit going that extra length. Throwing Trek's name on something does not merit my support by default.

 

[Trekfan12]

I thought the whole point of a Vulcan neck pinch was that humans weren't physically strong enough to do it?

I just thought they just weren't able to. I remember Kirk asking Spock to teach it to him and he said "I have tried Captain." (forgot which ep this was from)

 

[Tuskin38]

Oh? Ah. That was a flash back then, and what's her face? But then Spock is already 2 years under Pike and the Enterprise is out there already? Junior science officer, no doubt.

Discovery takes place two years after The Cage

 

[Amaris]

Not really. Think about it. It's an attempt to use a cliffhanger (or dead stop in the middle of a story, YMMV) to entice you to go spend money on their streaming service.

Not good marketing, but that's the attempt made here. :P

You're right, it's not good marketing. People were expecting a complete pilot. What they got was half of one, and then a solicitation to join CBS All Access. Right now, they're tossing out free weeks like candy, but that will stop soon enough, and some people simply do not have easy access to the service.

 

[Tuskin38]

I just thought they just weren't able to. I remember Kirk asking Spock to teach it to him and he said "I have tried Captain." (forgot which ep this was from)

Archer also did it in Enterprise

 

[DigificWriter]

No, but it's all part of the package. CBS wants me to pay for their service based on this pilot. This pilot depends upon CBS making it possible for people to see it in one piece before making that decision. I didn't know right up until it started that we would not be seeing part 2 as a broadcast. Again, half an episode, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who was unpleasantly surprised.

If you weren't aware that BotBS was only going to be shown on CBS All Access, you weren't paying attention, and that's not CBS' fault, or a fault of TVH itself.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I'm really not.

RAMA, is that you?

 

[doublegoodprole]

Discovery is continuing that trend, but I'm not watching Star Trek Continues here. I'm watching a professionally made, supposedly mass-appeal, science fiction show within the Star Trek franchise.

Yes...what are you really itching to see, the Han Solo prequel or The Last Jedi? I really feel they blew an opportunity here to carry on the franchise into the future.

 

[Ensign Ricky]

The Hollywood Reporter has posted its review (SPOILERS):
https://www.google.com/amp/www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/review/star-trek-discovery-review-1042428

Variety's Review ain't much better: http://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/...ccess-review-sonequa-martin-green-1202569322/