Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1x08 - "The Elysian Kingdom"

[Mudd]

What the heck is going on? What am I watching? I came on here to see the ratings and was really surprised this episode scored so high with so many likes. I was 10 minutes in and I could not bear to watch anymore. I don't know maybe I gave up too soon, but seriously the genre of this episode is not my interest at all and I probably will not bother watching the rest. I don't care if the acting or story was the amazing, this episode is not Star Trek or even Sci-Fi in my opinion.

Funny, since some folks think it's too much like a bunch of other Trek episodes.

Well,if you don't like it, you don't. Doesn't mean there's something wrong with it.

The Boltzman reference elevated the spiffy aspect above most Trek that uses the disembodied power brain gimmick.

 

[Mudd]

wow, I totally missed it. Thanks.

**edit**

I thought Benny Russell was a figment of Sisko’s imagination. So he was actually real. Interesting.

That got real ambiguous in the series finale of DS9.

 

[valden]

1. Much of it felt like to me like a high school (or middle school) production. I can't explain why exactly. But I've seen my fair share of middle school Hamlet's and high school "Sense and Sensibilities" and this felt like those.

You got that right and this is part of the issue with kurtzman trek show. it all feels very high school, the immaturity of Ortega is enough.

 

[dupersuper]

I'm surprised at how many Star Trek fans on this thread seem to dislike fun.

(I prefer Xtmprszntwlfd from the Enterprise Officer's Manual back in the day)

Did the writer think that Spock was from the 5th dimension?

Why do I have the feeling that Rukiya's illness plot-line is nowhere near resolved.

Her conciousness is in the nebular with the entity.

But her body is still in the transporter buffer

No. No it's not.

 

[Mudd]

Anson Mount was amazing in this episode. They should give him every opportunity to play it silly or weird as they can.

Yep.

You know, I think it would be just about impossible to replace him with some dude playing Kirk. Big mistake. I'm sure Wesley will be a fine guest star, but SNW should run with Pike until Mount doesn't want to do it any more.

I don't know whether this episode or "Ghosts of Illyria" is my least-favorite of the season so far. But...it's a difference that makes no difference, because "Ghosts" was a 10 and I gave this one a 10 also.

I love that I watch this show every week and go in having no real idea what the story is going to be like, even after watching the trailers and "sneak peeks" and discussing what's upcoming for a week. The story is always a surprise, and the actors are always delightful.

That's an experience I haven't had watching Star Trek since the first couple of years of the original TV series. The sequels and prequels have always had a "find the groove and stick to it," conservative and frankly timid approach to storytelling.

The hope in doing it that way is that you never have a bad episode - which is a false hope - but the disappointment is that brilliant stories are rarer than Shatner underplaying a line.

 

[Photoman15]

I enjoyed it. Getting to see the cast ham it was so much fun, when Christina Chong came out it that full on hammy Disney Princess I don't think I LOL at any thing that much in a long long time

Even if this episode was the worst Trek ever, it was worth it because it gave us Christina Chong in that dress and character.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Couldn't buy the resolution either. And letting a ten-year-old decide? Evidently the writers don't have children.

Yep. My first thought when M'Benga let her decide was that old quote from Andy Griffith on the Andy Griffith show, when Opie's hobo friend suggested to Andy that he let his son decide things for himself:

"Andy Taylor: Nah, I'm afraid it don't work that way. You can't let a young 'un decide for himself. He'll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it, then when he finds out there's a hook in it, it's too late. The wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter it's hard to convince him that other things might be better in the long run, and all a parent can do is say, "Wait. Trust me," and try to keep temptation away."

 

[Mudd]

The idea that someone's consciousness can be in one place and their body in another is one that Trek has embraced for over half a century, but it's completely unscientific bullshit with no basis in any measurable data.

Go ahead, cite some bullshit "study" based on bad science that's passed around on the Internet because it's what people want to believe. Those things never hold up to any close examination.

 

[plynch]

Letting an 8 year old decide her fate was literally irresponsible, probably immoral. But mores change and we now let children decide things unthinkable 10 years ago. But don’t let them legally decide to smoke till 21.

With all his knowledge and wisdom of how the universe works he defers to a child whether to go with an omnipotent space alien. While the kid could be buffered till he finds a cure. In fact there’s a cure on the last planet they were at!! So it’s possible.

More of my problems: When she was missing the first time he took it pretty cool. Most parents would be frantic. When she goes, he just kind of looks wistful. Youl’ll never see your kid again! I’d be sobbing. And not the ubiquitous Burnham tearing-up tears. Then it all gets tied up with a bow, I’m the Traveller, dad, all is well. And the good ship E sails off to its next adventure. I was waiting for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to have a good ol Gene Coon chuckle scene on the bridge.

In short, it just didn’t work for me

 

[cooleddie74]

The minute anyone judges the series or individual episodes based on "the science" I tune out and ignore the opinion. It's science fiction with an adventure storyline, not a Nova special on the solar system. I don't watch Star Trek for a blow-by-blow study of Newtonian physics or planet formation.

 

[Belz...]

You got that right and this is part of the issue with kurtzman trek show. it all feels very high school, the immaturity of Ortega is enough.

What's immature or "high school" about any of it, specifically?

 

[Belz...]

Letting an 8 year old decide her fate was literally irresponsible, probably immoral.

Indeed. Again it would've been better if he let his daughter die. Much more moral.

 

[Noname Given]

Well in this context he might. He's a doctor. He's meant to be a man of science. He knows the odds against his daughter are bad, but he has to hold on to hope. He even had a promising lead from a couple of weeks back.

Now it's someone's come along and said "Hey, I'll take your daughter to heaven kinda. You okay with that?"

And he went "Sure..." And then put her in the back of the stranger's van and waved goodbye.

I think upon reflection it would have felt a bit better if the third party wasn't involved. Some technobabble about how a surge in the transport buffer has led her to jump in time and then make a decision what's best for her. It would rehash a couple of DS9s. But I think it's the lack of consent - and being adult enough to understand that consent - that just rubs me a bit up the wrong way.

But he scanned his daughter and saw that the entity had indeed been able to cure her of her condition. The Entity did say if she left the nebula her condition would return in full force. It was set up and stated in the episode that even with the transporter the way it was being used to extend her life; that time was running out days had become ours and ours were becoming minutes with respect to how much time she had left.

The only thing I found somewhat questionable, was the fact that he didn't ask to go with her and join the entity as well. Other than that, given all the evidence on hand; he suddenly had some sort of cure available to him that would give his daughter her life, and he was very desperate and definitely running out of time to effect another cure.

 

[the Sisko]

My biggest problem with this episode was that, when I tried to buy Kingdom of Elysian from amazon, they acted like the book doesn't exist. Please fix this continuity error ASAP. Either the original version or the daughter's version is fine

 

[Mudd]

Indeed. Again it would've been better if he let his daughter die. Much more moral.

Yeah, the story's set up to give M'Benga nothing but hard choices, there.

1. Ship stays in nebula - daughter lives, everyone's lives are disrupted;
2. Ship somehow leaves daughter in nebula in corporeal form - she lives, but is alone;
3. Daughter leaves with ship - she dies;
4. Father stays with daughter in nebula, ship leaves;
5. Daughter stays in nebula, joined with "Debra" in energy form.

My guess is that M'Benga only seriously entertained options 4 and 5. If he'd made the decision himself, he'd have stayed with her in the nebula.

Did "Debra" offer M'Benga the choice to become an energy being as well? Paramount+ was buffering so badly last evening that it took close to two hours to watch this show, a few minutes at a time at best, and I may have missed more nuance than I usually do (I always miss lots).

 

[Noname Given]

Did "Debra" offer M'Benga the choice to become an energy being as well? Paramount+ was buffering so badly last evening that it took close to two hours to watch this show, a few minutes at a time at best, and I may have missed more nuance than I usually do (I always miss lots).

No, the Entity didn't explicitly offer that option to M'Benga, but he also never asked or brought it up in any form himself whatsoever, either.

 

[fireproof78]

Why are so many people opposed to Trek experimenting and having fun with its premise?

Unfortunately, you know the answer...
QUOTE="Belz..., post: 14192855, member: 53872"]I know, right? Star Trek shouldn't be fun![/QUOTE]
That's, like, a rule...or something

I'm surprised at how many Star Trek fans on this thread seem to dislike fun.

To be fair humor is subjective, but yeah, the reaction is odd.

Indeed. Again it would've been better if he let his daughter die. Much more moral.

Yup. Totally logical.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Not only too early for this type of show, but when you only have 10 episodes in a season to waste it on an episode like this is criminal. T

I lost my time table, when was the fantasy episode supposed to arrive?

 

[fireproof78]

I lost my time table, when was the fantasy episode supposed to arrive?

Also, should I call the police?

 

[Jedman67]

I lost my time table, when was the fantasy episode supposed to arrive?

Tuesday.