Re: Star Trek Odyssey 1x01 Iliad Discussion and Grading Thre
I watched "Iliad" last night. I liked it. I have some comments, but on the whole I would definitely say that it is a good start to what I hope will be a long-spanning series a la Hidden Frontier.
I'm going to go ahead and get the critiques (i.e. the 'negatives' out of the way first.
I'm of mixed opinion on the fate of Corey and Korg. Firstly, because I thought Korg had been killed in the finale of The Section 31 Files, but also because it seems like we sat through all those years of Corey's life on HF only to have him offed in the next installment... seems a bit wonky. However, I'm familiar with the Iliad so I'm going to go ahead and say that yes, Corey survived and one day, Ro will come back to him. Personally, I would have much rather seen Corey's reaction to the news that Odyssey was lost than what we got. Will he go back to Jorian? Will he leave Starfleet? But, given the coming of The Helena Chronicles, its probably going to be addressed at some point, so I'm not too worried about it.
There were some weak actors this time around, maybe just due to the desire to bring in some fresh faces. I can accept that and let it slide. That said, the Vulcan Captain T'Lek probably wouldn't have come across so bad if his XO hadn't been so fun to watch.
But its obvious that this is going to be the Ro Show and as such they had to get axed. That's fine, I get it, but being that he has no command experience, being that he's so young, and being that he spent the HF finale being so manipulated by Siroc and being that he is also carrying the emotional baggage of possibly never seeing his husband or loved ones ever again, it was just a little hard to buy that he could keep it so together at the end of the episode.
I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit grating though to see another 'relative of' character from someone established on canon Trek. I mean, I don't think much would have been lost if Stadi had been given a different, original name. Beyond that though, I liked her characterization, a kind of fun mix between Tom Paris and Jadzia Dax.
Over at the HF forum discussion, there's a LOT of discussion about this being similar to Voyager. I can see why. The plot is very similar to "Caretaker", and while that episode was clearly inspired by Homer's The Iliad, there are just a few too many similarities for me to just ignore it as coincidence. Even the opening credits are nearly shot for shot, rehashing those of Voyager. Certainly the credits sequence is beautiful, I am in no way suggesting they aren't, only that they are somewhat derivative, homage or not. Further, the dynamic between Ro and T'Lorra is nearly identical to that of Janeway and Chakotay, except, I'm hoping, it won't get settled too soon.
The commission ceremony was nice, but I was *really* taken out of it by Knapp's delivery of his lines, as he tried to be eloquent and epic. The lines themselves were fine, it just screamed more "performance! Look, see?!!" than anything else.
Finally, I found it a bit contrived that Ro and Corey would, in the face of such a time-sensitive crisis, make sure to stop for a quickie before leaving for their new assignment. I know they were newlyweds and all and that they just found out it would be their last chance for another month or so, but come on! These guys are supposed to be professionals!
Pros:
As ever, John Whiting was superb. I almost didn't recognize him at first without the beard and makeup, but the Archein makeup itself is spectacular. Whoever designed it is to be commended! ---John, you did a great job and I hope we see more of you on the show.--- I especially liked the dynamic of his character and the Bitchy Princess (I'm sorry, I can't recall her name at the moment) -- it was like watching Mark Lenard's Romulan Commander having to deal with Gul Dukat. Priceless!
The Greenscreen / Lighting has vastly improved. Maybe its the use of new source material for the backgrounds. I don't know. But it was infinitely more believable than what I remember seeing on HF.
Cameos: There was no way you could do this without them, so I'm glad it wasn't just one. The HF / Odyssey universe is huge, and in a place like Deep Space 12 you run into a lot of familiar faces, so I'm glad we got one last scene with a few of them, though it would have been nice to see Shelby wish Ro well, or give him some oddball piece of command advice that he thinks he'll never use.
T'Lorra: Easily my favorite character of the group. I'm glad she's an original character too, and I look forward to seeing how she develops.
Korg: It was great seeing this guy again. I know him better via The Section 31 Files, but any chance to see Karl Puder do his thang on screen is a good time to me.
Anyway, as I said, on the whole I quite enjoyed the pilot. Well done to all involved, and if you guys ever need an extra pair of hands to help, I live in WeHo, so don't be shy!
:thumbsup:
