Ah. I hadn’t caught that.
Ah. I hadn’t caught that.
Screencaps gallery now online:
www.cygnus-x1.net
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy ScreenCaps "Rubincon" (S1:E10)
Cygnus-X1.Net: A Tribute to Star Trek
That was a fucking good episode. This series has had its hits and misses, but it absolutely stuck the landing.
Notes in no particular order:
1) The entire episode was well-paced, switching between faster-paced action and slower, more contemplative or emotional scenes in a way that was never jarring.
2) It was smart to put "What about Discovery?" right at the beginning. Sure, the reason Discovery couldn't jump past the barrier was basically just a piece of technobabble, but getting it out of the way from the get-go kept the audience from ... well, from thinking "What about Discovery?" throughout the entire episode.
3) Good dialogue. A couple of exchanges that jumped out at me:
The first helps underscore Ake's attachment to Caleb with a nice piece of parallelism. The latter is a good example of when Trek does humor well — when it's not broad comedy, but a little more understated and coming naturally from characters and situations.
4) Villains are at their best when they are heroes in their own minds. Maybe a lot of this is due to Paul Giamatti's charisma, but Nus Brakka might be the best recurring Trek villain since Gul Dukat.
5) GREAT episode for Reno. I loved how, when she took command, she simultaneously turned the entire thing into a lesson without missing a beat. Incredibly smart on her part, because she realizes that in order for them to be at their best, they are going to have to understand and not just obey.
6) I enjoyed the way the finale pulled various small threads from earlier in the season together. For example, using the past elements of the Caleb/Tarima storyline to form part of the solution to the episode's dilemma (and having Tarima expressly seek consent this time, showing how she has grown). Also, when Reno leaves Genesis in command, it's not just a mini-redemption arc for Genesis, it shows that Reno knows all of her students, knows what they can do, and knows how to play to their strengths.
7) A random side note: Reno responds to a cadet's "Aye, captain" with "Not a captain." By the naval tradition that Trek usually hews to, she actually is, since Ake is gone and tradition dictates that anyone in command of a ship is called "Captain" regardless of rank. But refusing to be addressed by the title conveys to the cadets her faith that Ake is coming back.
8) The cadets' responses to the situation are totally realistic. They aren't unflappable heroes, and they're also not total wrecks; they're just a group of well-intentioned young adults doing their best and rising to the occasion.
9) Two nitpicks: One, Tarima can just take her inhibitor off now? Last time she had to violently rip it out of her neck and turn herself into a bloody mess. (Maybe the old one could be taken off too, and she was just too panicked to do it right ... or maybe it couldn't, and her doctors recognized that putting an unremovable medical device on an adult was a shitty thing to do?) Two, the Doc trying to communicate through a form of computer aphasia is fine, but how exactly did he come by the knowledge of how to neutralize the Omega particle in the first place?
10) A lot of the classic Star Trek tropes come into play here, and having a stirring speech by a protagonist as the episode's climax is certainly one of those. A bit of a cliche? Perhaps. But a satisfying one.
11) Love the integration of the Alexander Courage fanfare near the end.
12) Normally Stephen Colbert's running gag with the Talaxian furfly is mildly amusing at best, but I actually laughed out loud at this one. I don't know, maybe it was just placed at exactly the right moment.
Notes in no particular order:
1) The entire episode was well-paced, switching between faster-paced action and slower, more contemplative or emotional scenes in a way that was never jarring.
2) It was smart to put "What about Discovery?" right at the beginning. Sure, the reason Discovery couldn't jump past the barrier was basically just a piece of technobabble, but getting it out of the way from the get-go kept the audience from ... well, from thinking "What about Discovery?" throughout the entire episode.
3) Good dialogue. A couple of exchanges that jumped out at me:
“If anything happens to my son, I’m going to kill you.”
“If anything happens to your son, you’ll be doing me a favor.”
— Anisha and Ake
“Reno, make that plasma leak worse.”
“We don’t normally do that, but OK.”
— Ake and Reno
The first helps underscore Ake's attachment to Caleb with a nice piece of parallelism. The latter is a good example of when Trek does humor well — when it's not broad comedy, but a little more understated and coming naturally from characters and situations.
4) Villains are at their best when they are heroes in their own minds. Maybe a lot of this is due to Paul Giamatti's charisma, but Nus Brakka might be the best recurring Trek villain since Gul Dukat.
5) GREAT episode for Reno. I loved how, when she took command, she simultaneously turned the entire thing into a lesson without missing a beat. Incredibly smart on her part, because she realizes that in order for them to be at their best, they are going to have to understand and not just obey.
6) I enjoyed the way the finale pulled various small threads from earlier in the season together. For example, using the past elements of the Caleb/Tarima storyline to form part of the solution to the episode's dilemma (and having Tarima expressly seek consent this time, showing how she has grown). Also, when Reno leaves Genesis in command, it's not just a mini-redemption arc for Genesis, it shows that Reno knows all of her students, knows what they can do, and knows how to play to their strengths.
7) A random side note: Reno responds to a cadet's "Aye, captain" with "Not a captain." By the naval tradition that Trek usually hews to, she actually is, since Ake is gone and tradition dictates that anyone in command of a ship is called "Captain" regardless of rank. But refusing to be addressed by the title conveys to the cadets her faith that Ake is coming back.
8) The cadets' responses to the situation are totally realistic. They aren't unflappable heroes, and they're also not total wrecks; they're just a group of well-intentioned young adults doing their best and rising to the occasion.
9) Two nitpicks: One, Tarima can just take her inhibitor off now? Last time she had to violently rip it out of her neck and turn herself into a bloody mess. (Maybe the old one could be taken off too, and she was just too panicked to do it right ... or maybe it couldn't, and her doctors recognized that putting an unremovable medical device on an adult was a shitty thing to do?) Two, the Doc trying to communicate through a form of computer aphasia is fine, but how exactly did he come by the knowledge of how to neutralize the Omega particle in the first place?
10) A lot of the classic Star Trek tropes come into play here, and having a stirring speech by a protagonist as the episode's climax is certainly one of those. A bit of a cliche? Perhaps. But a satisfying one.
11) Love the integration of the Alexander Courage fanfare near the end.
12) Normally Stephen Colbert's running gag with the Talaxian furfly is mildly amusing at best, but I actually laughed out loud at this one. I don't know, maybe it was just placed at exactly the right moment.
Ratings for the season for me have been 9, 9, 8, 9, 8, 10, 7, 10, 9, 10
I was worried going into this that we were heading for yet another "world-ending" finish, and I'll be goddamned if they subverted my expectations in the best way. Starfleet Academy managed to stick the landing of an incredibly confident first season. Fucking loved every bit of it - bring on season 2 and, hopefully, beyond!
A TEN, a very palpable ten!
A TEN, a very palpable ten!
Or hide them from sensors?!How does +0.029% pressure make you dizzy?
It's already finished filming, so given post production time it will probably air during the same block next year.
She mentioned the new one was non-invasive when she returned.
Agreed. And Ake did use that against Caleb's mom effectively. I wasn't wowed by this episode but I thought those parts were well done. All in all, Anisha Mir was effectively portrayed and Holly Hunter as Ake is always great.
Yes. This. It's why I couldn't give this one any more than a 7. Parts of it just were dull. It was partially saved by some great character work. But, yes, this part suuuuucked!
Last edited:
Um, you haven't watched STIII? I won't say more. Spoilers!
In TOS.
Not counting the TOS films were Kirk seems more determined to blow the ship up.
and to the Holy Fallout
Yay! We agree!
The self-destruct sequence from ST III was first featured in TOS: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".
Sorry, couldn't resist. Just a joke.
Yes, it was a good bit of continuity.
Kirk just never blew up the damn ship and I never thought he would during the course of the show was my larger point. This idea of "the outcome is already known" somehow takes away the drama of a show is completely, and totally lost on me, which is what I was respondoing to.
But, I'm a weird guy. I weep over a character dying despite them being introduced and dying in one episode, I don't mind spoilers and think spoiler warnings are strange, I don't mind knowing the score of a game and find the hyperbolic overreaction to never know a game score extremely bizarre (see many different sitcoms over the years), and don't mind cliffhangers either.
My consumption of media appears to be extremely different than most.
Ake: "Is this who you want to follow? An angry child with his finger on the trigger?"
Happy 60th Star Trek, still reflecting society even though you could never have predicted it.
Happy 60th Star Trek, still reflecting society even though you could never have predicted it.
Ah, I didn't read that as referring to its physical attachment, but that makes sense.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
