Spoilers Star Trek: Discovery 2x04 - "An Obol for Charon"

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Well, sure, that seems reasonable... if everyone can agree on "what it is." But if "what it is" to you is a present-day TV show that's not beholden to anything that's come before, and "what it is" to me is the latest installment in the larger Star Trek universe, and moreover one that owes its entire existence and many of its core characters to TOS, to which it is explicitly a prequel... well, then we're not going to see eye to eye, because our expectations will be very different.
And there in lies the rub, as not even Star Trek production teams will see eye to eye on this point.
 
And there in lies the rub, as not even Star Trek production teams will see eye to eye on this point.
To be fair, though, up until DSC the various production teams saw, if not exactly eye to eye, at least through the same set of lenses.

Each show had its own priorities and its own sensibility, of course, but they all treated the aesthetic of TOS (and each subsequent show) as representing how things actually were at that point in-universe, and generally did their best to respect that. The occasional "retcon" updatings (mostly encountered in ENT, both narrative and visual — e.g., its CGI version of the Gorn) were sometimes well-intentioned and sometimes simply careless, and (either way) even those caused controversy among fans at the time. The notion of a production team intentionally doubling down on those kinds of retcons/inconsistencies, as in DSC, is a new thing as far as Trek history is concerned.
 
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^I could have dealt with the disregard for TOS aesthetics much more easily if they’d shown more respect to the spirit of TOS. The first season of Discovery was an ugly show that paid lip service to traditonal Trek values only intermittently, and, even then, not very convincingly.
 
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2nd season, huh? Then don't forget Hawkman...errr...Hawk or Birdperson, or whatever his name was.

And, btw, that's "Twiki", not "Twiggy"; Twiggy was a 1960s and 70s supermodel-turned-actress. Plus if you mention Twiki, you must include Dr. Theopolis.

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thought it was wrong but then i was too lazy to look it up - i can still hide behind 'english as a fourth language', can't i?
 
Pike's ready room, the discussion with Burnham after getting the data from "Number One"? He ports the file into his table-screen.
This is the best that I can do, I only have access to it in 720p. If someone can get a 1080p screen cap, it might be clearer. It's at 6 minutes and 30 seconds into the episode.

You can make out the Klingon border outposts though. Spock's path does seem to go the correct direction for the map seen later in the episode.

TEO0r43.png
 
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Only if you go by 1990s model. DISCO is more like classic TOS so far.

Works for me.

Heck, I've been rewatching the 1970s version of BUCK ROGERS lately. That show only had three human regulars in its first season: Buck, Wilma, and Docter Huer. There's no rule that says that every space show has to have a big ensemble cast.

No, there isn't, but when you by design have to have the same faces literally sitting in the "front row" of the action week after week, it's probably a good idea for us to actually know who those people are.

It's a waste of resources not to.

Especially when, at the same time, you have two of the show's only actual major characters (Saru and Burnham) trading off the science station willy-nilly.

It's just very clumsy.
 
"what it is" to me is the latest installment in the larger Star Trek universe, and moreover one that owes its entire existence and many of its core characters to TOS, to which it is explicitly a prequel...

First, every Star Trek series, comic, book, comedy skit show etc. owes its entire existence to TOS.

Otherwise, I am perfectly comfortable with looking at Disco like this. And I don't have any problem with it. Yes the staging, costuming and makeup is different, even the interpretation of the characters might go a slightly different way from the 60s but then so is every adaptation of Hamlet I've seen and those changes don't make them any less Shakespeare.
 
No, there isn't, but when you by design have to have the same faces literally sitting in the "front row" of the action week after week, it's probably a good idea for us to actually know who those people are.

It's a waste of resources not to.

Especially when, at the same time, you have two of the show's only actual major characters (Saru and Burnham) trading off the science station willy-nilly.

It's just very clumsy.
I don't see how. They were set decoration in the first season. Made the ship look like it was run by more than three people.
Saru was XO for the first season and is now. But if he has an idea he should be able to run with it. Team work
 
No, there isn't, but when you by design have to have the same faces literally sitting in the "front row" of the action week after week, it's probably a good idea for us to actually know who those people are.

It's a waste of resources not to.
.

What exact resources do you imagine are being wasted?
 
To be fair, though, up until DSC the various production teams saw, if not exactly eye to eye, at least through the same set of lenses.

Each show had its own priorities and its own sensibility, of course, but they all treated the aesthetic of TOS (and each subsequent show) as representing how things actually were at that point in-universe, and generally did their best to respect that. The occasional "retcon" updatings (mostly encountered in ENT, both narrative and visual — e.g., its CGI version of the Gorn) were sometimes well-intentioned and sometimes simply careless, and either way those caused controversy among fans at the time. The notion of a production team intentionally doubling down on those kinds of retcons/inconsistencies, as in DSC, is a new thing as far as Trek history is concerned.
The more I read about GR and his work on TMP, the more I disagree. I think that the fandom, and production teams afterward, were far more strict in their adherence than even GR was.

In my (albeit limited, and humble) view, Star Trek was not just created as an imaginary world like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It was created as an extrapolation of (then current) technological understanding. Now, some will regard that as being "That's the jumping off point" and treat it like, say, Fallout, where there is a point of divergence in history and respect that line.

But, Star Trek has gone in different directions, and DSC is going like Voyager, when the 1990s are not showcasing war torn USA but the USA of the 90s:

SPOCK: No such vessel listed. Records of that period are fragmentary, however. The mid=1990s was the era of your last so-called World War. (Space Seed).

JANEWAY: As I recall, Tom, you're something of an aficionado on twentieth century America.
PARIS: That's right.
JANEWAY: What will we need to pass as locals in this era?
PARIS: Simple. Nice clothes, fast car and lots of money. (VOY: Future Imperfect).

The basic conceit of Star Trek is a part of humanity's future, not just an imaginary world. As much as I enjoy the TOS aesthetic, I have no issue recognizing that it isn't for everyone. And, CBS recognizes that as well.
Does it matter?
If you want him to answer honestly then yes. If not, then no.
No, there isn't, but when you by design have to have the same faces literally sitting in the "front row" of the action week after week, it's probably a good idea for us to actually know who those people are.
Just because it is a good idea does not mean the lack of it means a "waste of resources." It just means a different way of telling a story.
Otherwise, I am perfectly comfortable with looking at Disco like this. And I don't have any problem with it. Yes the staging, costuming and makeup is different, even the interpretation of the characters might go a slightly different way from the 60s but then so is every adaptation of Hamlet I've seen and those changes don't make them any less Shakespeare.
Precisely this.
 
What exact resources do you imagine are being wasted?

If you have to look at the same faces every week, smack dab in the middle of the action, if we know that they are important characters on the SHIP, they should be at least quasi-important characters on the SHOW.

but they all might as well be "Ensign Gates" for all that they matter.
 
If you have to look at the same faces every week, smack dab in the middle of the action, if we know that they are important characters on the SHIP, they should be at least quasi-important characters on the SHOW.
No, they shouldn't. There is no requirement for that to be so. Star Trek has certainly had its fill of those types of character. DSC is nothing new in this regard.
 
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