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

[Gonzo]

"We're beaming the Captain and Exec down to the planet to fix a well, despite an approaching dust storm, and despite the fact that we have no technological capability of communicating with them or locating them in the event of a dust storm."

I laughed at that scene on the planet, they decide to free the well and then leave quickly so they aren't seen and the prime directive is upheld I am fine with a bit of rule bending like that.

Then the ship itself comes down through the clouds to pick them up which must have been seen by the indigenous population for miles around even with the storm.

I really don't think the script was properly thought through.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I can't wait for the explanation of why Sarek, who disapproves of Starfleet, is willing to be chummy with his ward who serves in Starfleet, yet won't even acknowledge the existence of his own son, who also serves in Starfleet.

Did Sarek disapprove of Starfleet as an organization, or just of his (half)Vulcan son joining it (as opposed to the Vulcan Science Academy) and wasting his potential, in Sarek's opinion? Perhaps his objections would not apply to a fully human adoptive daughter joining.

 

[BillJ]

Then the ship itself comes down through the clouds to pick them up which must have been seen by the indigenous population for miles around even with the storm.

That bit definitely threw me for a loop.

 

[Saul]

There are problems with the episode. It's a bit too Trek techy. The Klingons seem to represent islamic terrorists with their speeches, music and dialect.
Cloaking devices AH!

I expect things will be smoothed out later.

 

[cultcross]

The producers had mentioned canon being 'smoothed out' and the only thing that I can see them 'fixing' is the Klingons losing their cloak at some point before series end. They telegraphed that a bit by showing that only one guy had it, then killed him. Even though that's not actually a canon violation. Everything else seems built right into the show, like holoimaging.

 

[Gonzo]

That bit definitely threw me for a loop.

Just been reading and catching up on the thread, didn't know you had already posted the same comment I did yesterday, apologies for that.

Also I didn't know holograms could lean on tables either, I actually when I saw it, not to mention the damage to ship just happening to very neatly and precisely miss Burnhams cell.

I was on this forum back when the new films were released in 2009, I never worry about continuity issues and technology faux pas as a rule to ensure that I can enjoy the programmes I watch.

Some of the stuff in the first two episodes even made me facepalm as they were so jarring.

We all remember THE THREAD that shall not be named from back then, I cant remember if my name was Gonzo then or Icarus as I had a clear out of unused accounts years ago and deleted it.

 

[Gonzo]

I love Emissary, it is my favourite Trek pilot, but I didn't like it when I'd only seen Emissary. I liked it when, as a seasoned DS9 fan many years later, I rewatched it.

The actors/actresses are new in the roles and it will take time for them to really settle in and be comfortable, Chris Obi has done some great work on American Gods but he was wasted under all that plastic and rubber.

 

[Red Shirt]

I agree.. it is like they just took an easy way out. And to think about it logically, the Vulcans would have briefed Starfleet about that, when do they not ever in any timeline or iteration of Trek have kept their mouth shut about anything?? I mean let's face it, the writers are just weak. The show feels extremely off.. Even the first episodes of TNG did a better job of making me feel welcome, and wanting to see what was next! This series.. ughh!! I prefer Janeway and her crew exploits, given this rendition of Trek, I am about to say Voyager was a masterpiece in comparison, and that's saying something.. even "Enterprise" seems a bit better.. tho not by much! I think Actual Star Trek died at Voyager.. after that.. it's been a Hollywood remake and reboot (discovery and Enterprise included) all Along!

No doubt. The Vulcans are members of the Federation so passing on vital information about their interactions with a hostile species and mentioning that in their educational system seems like a no-brainer. That is unless you're a writer for STD, then it's the plot holed basis for an underwhelming series premiere.

 

[Ometiklan]

I laughed at that scene on the planet, they decide to free the well and then leave quickly so they aren't seen and the prime directive is upheld I am fine with a bit of rule bending like that.

Then the ship itself comes down through the clouds to pick them up which must have been seen by the indigenous population for miles around even with the storm.

I really don't think the script was properly thought through.

Except that when their communications failed, they walked for a while out into the desert (we don't know how far but approaching an hour is possible), presumably away from any people. That and the storm coming plus the natives would be getting under cover makes me have no problems with regarding a General Order #1 violation. The tracks in the desert thing, while not really feasible, works for me thematically and emotionally, which in this case I think is more important.

 

[Mudd]

Except that when their communications failed, they walked for a while out into the desert (we don't know how far but approaching an hour is possible), presumably away from any people. That and the storm coming plus the natives would be getting under cover makes me have no problems with regarding a General Order #1 violation. The tracks in the desert thing, while not really feasible, works for me thematically and emotionally, which in this case I think is more important.

Come on, that ship took up half the sky above them - and we know exactly how far they walked, since we can see the size of their footprint drawing.

 

[Ometiklan]

Come on, that ship took up half the sky above them - and we know exactly how far they walked, since we can see the size of their footprint drawing.

Uh no, the ship came out of a fairly low cloud bank/stormfront so it couldn't be seen from that far away. And we only know approximately how big the footprint delta was, we don't know how long they were walking before Georgiou started them on the pattern.

 

[Gonzo]

Except that when their communications failed, they walked for a while out into the desert (we don't know how far but approaching an hour is possible), presumably away from any people. That and the storm coming plus the natives would be getting under cover makes me have no problems with regarding a General Order #1 violation. The tracks in the desert thing, while not really feasible, works for me thematically and emotionally, which in this case I think is more important.

Ordinarily I wouldn't care but there were so many other instances of it in the episode that it made it hard for even me to ignore.

These kinds of issues should have been dealt with at the script writing and roundtable discussion level.

Perhaps its a side effect of all the problems Discovery had in development.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I have to wonder if maybe the ward thing is due to Amanda's influence on him. We all know how influential she could be with him. I could perhaps see his disappointment in Spock triggering his need to have a ward who would do the things Spock would not. She could have influenced him into keeping the injured human as a ward.

Other than that, I didn't really like the whole idea. I thought the connection to Sarek felt forced. I think she could have been a ward to another Vulcan without the Sarek/Spock connection, and still have the same effect. In fact, I think it would have been more effective. I think Sarek is the baton character though, having been in TOS and TNG. They needed him for a connection to TOS.

Here's some positivity though: My Dad and I were both watching, and he's quite a knowledgeable amateur astronomer. He noticed in some of the space scenes that they used real stars. He could see the big dipper. We both thought that was really cool.

 

[Gonzo]

That bit definitely threw me for a loop.

Made an error in my response to your reply to me but because I am newbie status I cant edit the post to correct it.

What I meant to say was I didn't realise you had already posted the comment about the ship coming down yesterday, If I had I would have replied to you rather than restate it.

I should really catch up on a thread before posting.

 

[BillJ]

Made an error in my response to your reply to me but because I am newbie status I cant edit the post to correct it.

What I meant to say was I didn't realise you had already posted the comment about the ship coming down yesterday, If I had I would have replied to you rather than restate it.

I should really catch up on a thread before posting.

Sometimes these threads simply move too fast to read everything.

 

[BeatleJWOL]

Quote me the series, episode, and lines where Spock mentions his father's ward

I'm not particularly one way or another in the reboot camp. If it is, great, I'm still watching. If it's not, then fanfic writers and canonistas have a lot of fun fanwankery and justifications ahead of them

That said, this is a bad example in particular. We already have a canonical "lost" member of Spock's family that nobody knew about for years. Another is stretching it a bit but not necessarily a clear sign that it's a reboot.

Can't comment on the Turnabout Intruder angle as I've never heard any justification for actually watching that episode

 

[Ometiklan]

Man, I just tried to watch TrekYards' review of "The Vulcan Hello" and I just couldn't make it through. Maybe if it was a written review I could have made it.

I know different strokes for different folks and all, but complaining it is contrived that they say they "don't have a shuttle maneuverable enough to get to the object"? Yeah, the writers wanted an exciting sequence that isolated Burnham in dangerous conditions for drama. And they justified it by having the crew discuss it and with sufficient visual effects to support it. Just looking at the accretion disk as Burnham flies through it, it seems pretty clear that neither a TOS shuttlecraft or a NX-01 shuttlepod would be able to handle that safely.

That is just one example, but I couldn't make it further. Maybe I will try again another day, but it just doesn't seem worth it. Anyone else watch it?

 

[Ometiklan]

Ordinarily I wouldn't care but there were so many other instances of it in the episode that it made it hard for even me to ignore.

These kinds of issues should have been dealt with at the script writing and roundtable discussion level.

Perhaps its a side effect of all the problems Discovery had in development.

I just don't think it is much of an issue. Gen Order #1 was pretty flexible back then (see "The Apple", or "A Taste of Armageddon"). The writers probably looked at it and said "they kept to a bare minimum of contact with the natives, that is sufficient". I think this is just an unimportant point in the script and probably doesn't have anything to do with the overall production hurdles.

Not to presume I know what you are thinking, but I think this level of criticism of minor plot points is inherent to Discovery being a new show, with only these two episodes under its belt. If this were an established show, say in its 5th season, I don't think we would be seeing the same concern - unless the point of the episode were something to do with General Order #1, or the crew being overconfident or something (like Malcolm Reed and the communicator in "The Communicator"), or was focused on the mission to save these aliens. These kind of nitpicks feel to me like they come from a place of looking too hard to find something to criticize. Again, I can't pretend to know what you are feeling about it. Maybe I am more happy with or optimistic about the show and thus I am more willing to consider this a non-issue.

Cause I am curious, what are the "so many other instances" of other issues you have in mind?

 

[Kemaiku]

Would've at least made it interesting.

Having tiny little shock troops that can fire energy bolts and self teleport would be useful in a war with people that run around with blades, I'd imagine.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The writers have different life experiences, the way shows are made are different, the way actors work are different, our understanding of the universe is different, society is different.

How is that a reboot?