Careful, the Nostalgia Police might come for you
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2x01 - "The Broken Circle"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
Careful, the Nostalgia Police might come for you
To be fair, we’ve only had 1 season/10 episodes so it’s not unreasonable to assume we are still learning about these characters and they are still developing. Even if was like season 10 or something we wouldn’t want them to be frozen in amber and still growing/changing/revealing things, right? Example: in S7 of TNG we learned a lot of new things about Riker and it was very cool!
Not only was the conspiracy completely “sensical,” it pretty much mirrors capitalism in the US military industrial complex. It was totally plausible.
M‘Benga has been know to slap his patients for treatment.
Things make so much more sense now.
Things make so much more sense now.
*whispers ominously * it's too late; we're everywhere.
While the false-flag storyline was hardly novel and somewhat cliche, overall this episode was a more sophisticated, exciting and satisfying hour of action-adventure than most of the Star Trek movies - and cinematic Trek has relied really heavily on an adventure/suspense format since TWOK.
This script could have served as the nucleus for a more inventive and plausible film than any of the Trek movies in this century, most of which I have more or less liked.
This script could have served as the nucleus for a more inventive and plausible film than any of the Trek movies in this century, most of which I have more or less liked.
I think the risk was implied. And if they had paused to let the audience know "don't do drugs kids" we'd have all rolled our eyes. I imagine the risks will be stated as the season progresses.
I mean, they could show us the gun in the first act that never gets used by the third but somehow I doubt we won't be hearing more about green go-go juice as the show progresses.
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I mean, in many ways it was kind of TUC 2.0 (or 1.0 if we’re being chronological) but I agree!
I understand what you mean, but I also think that it's not just that they fought, it was how they fought.
Action sequences should - like all choices in storytelling, be rooted in the characters. So, for example, a "direct" character should fight in a straightforward fashion, while deceitful one feints in combat. Or how Batman in most depictions (other than Zach Snyder, who didn't understand him) doesn't kill.
Other than starting with M'Benga's supersoldier juice (which arguably is somewhat rooted in medicine) nothing we see about their combat seems rooted in any way in the characters being medical professionals, which is what I have a big issue with. It's okay to have a doctor who throws a punch, but like...have them understand anatomy very well given medical training; actually show off medical skill or something.
The bad element of the conspiracy was the motivation of those still onboard the ship made no sense. They were on a suicide mission; the Bird of Prey would have blown them up. That doesn't comport well with hyper-capitalists who are just in it to make profit. You need ideological or religious fanatics for that, and we aren't shown that here.
Honestly, the way the Klingons acted in this episode (other than the captain of the ship in the closing scenes) don't act Klingon-like at all. I can partially excuse that with the understanding they aren't Klingon warriors, just normal schlubs, but still, there was little pressing reason (other than trying to tie into the thinly-explained PTSD of M'Benga) to have the antagonists be Klingon. I think it would have worked better if they were some third party who just wanted to make more money selling to both sides.
Hmm...but done better, IMO.
They're more like TOS Klingons though, who never gave any clue to being a highly ritualized "warrior culture." Guys like Kor or Koloth presented themselves as latter-day military commanders who viewed their missions and adversaries in a pragmatic manner. Koloth in particular comes across as no more different from Kirk than a 19th century French officer berthed in a British port or vice-versa.*
*Not a history major. I don't know whether such privileges were extended in those days per my example. The point is the underlying similarity of their European cultures.
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What about a Private Little War?
Yes, that too!
Jake Sisko: Dad, why did baseball fall out of fashion in the Federation? You think sports that encourage attaining physical fitness would be a Federation ideal.
Ben Sisko: Well, that's a complicated topic but when it boils down to it, there was too much illegal performance enhancing drugs going on during sports.
Jake Sisko: What?
Ben Sisko: Yep, by the 23rd century they were so widespread that even Starfleet doctors were carrying them around and using them to go on 'roid rages against Klingons. You know it's bad when doctors like Leonard McCoy and Phil Boyce who drink alcohol on the job suddenly don't seem so bad by comparison.
Ben Sisko: Well, that's a complicated topic but when it boils down to it, there was too much illegal performance enhancing drugs going on during sports.
Jake Sisko: What?
Ben Sisko: Yep, by the 23rd century they were so widespread that even Starfleet doctors were carrying them around and using them to go on 'roid rages against Klingons. You know it's bad when doctors like Leonard McCoy and Phil Boyce who drink alcohol on the job suddenly don't seem so bad by comparison.
Well, it certainly wasn’t the people running the syndicate on that ship. It was their labor class, their cannon fodder. This is exactly how it goes IRL; those people are always expendable.
Something I didn't agree with in the TrekCulture "Ups and Downs" review of the episode (I don't always agree with him in those, and more like the portion he devotes to Easter Eggs). He doesn't like the stealing of the Enterprise and then suggests they could have taken a shuttlecraft.
Um, they were at Starbase 1. The planet was near Klingon space. Ummmmm...no.
Um, they were at Starbase 1. The planet was near Klingon space. Ummmmm...no.
I do get this point, but they’re medical professionals AND veterans of a hot war. It stands to reason that they have combat training. I know Starfleet isn’t a military but they do fight wars.
I am a musician and I know professional musicians who are Marines that play in their band program and I have attended Marine Corps Martial Arts demonstrations run by musicians. I assure you, the tiny little clarinet players are quite lethal.
To be fair to that reviewer, in the same episode Pike is going to fly to a far sector in a shuttlecraft. It's true that he says it'll take three days...
They're military as fuck in the 23rd century, whatever the hell they claim.
I'm glad they showed Klingons who acted differently. The idea that the entire galactic empire is made up of space vikings is utterly stupid.
The fight scene was a bit over the top though.
The fight scene was a bit over the top though.