I think sarcasm is lost on you. Or perhaps not.
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 3x08 - "Four-And-A-Half Vulcans"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
It's hard to hear the sarcastic tone of your voice over text on the internet.
Other people seemed to get it.
I know from reading your previous posts that facetious turns of phrase are not your strong suit. So I apologize. You thought you were imparting information I or others didn't know. But, really, in this day and age it's a pretty safe bet that ALL of us grown up people know about salt and low salt alternatives.
It came off as a little pretentious.
I guess I'm not those "Other People".
Apology accepted.
Okay, I've met other adults who don't know these basics, I can't assume everybody is as well informed as you are.
I'm sorry, that was never the intention.
I was genuinely trying to share info that I thought you didn't know.
I wish his PRO wardrobe had been what he wore as a teenager.
It was
An MD is just a professional degree, similar to an MSc, usually completed today in about 8 years.
Not really. He delivers his lines in the same mostly monotone, rat-tat-tat fast paced "Data-like" delivery pretty much every week. No real modulation or inflection. It's robotic. And no, that's not how Vulcans are in TOS. Sarek, T'Pau, Surak were not robots.
Well, in the finite number of stories of the original characters portrayed by the actors across 79 episodes and 6 movies, at no point was there an implication of a relationship. And since it's fiction, the rules are simple: if they wanted you to believe there was a relationship before we first saw them, it would have been mentioned. In fiction, the complete absence of something means it's not there. In fact, the implication was that Chapel's love for Spock was one-sided and unrequited. He seemed to be at best fond of her in "Amok Time" or at least regretful of treating her badly at the start of the episode. But no hint of a prior relationship was given nor did Roddenberry, Coon, Fontana or Justman want us to think there was. So, for Nimoy and Barrett, there was no relationship. The question among fans, whenever there was one, was never "were they once together?" It was always "did they get together later?" Particularly when Picard mentioned he was at Spock's wedding.
Nearly 60 years later, for Peck and Bush, there is a relationship. For this take on the characters, Spock and Chapel had a relationship. A version of the characters written and played by people decades removed from all of the original people involved. That changes nothing from 1966-69. It impacts where they are now. Two different visions.
That's how SNW is rolling: for their purposes, their take on the concept is taking the characters in other directions. Because it is fiction, people are free to apply it to the past to see if it opens things up. That's part of the fun for them. I choose to keep them separate because at this point SNW should be free to do its own thing and see where they would take them. I would love it if they broke canon and saved Pike from his fate and had Chapel end the series as an actual doctor and not a nurse because every week I feel like all she needs is to take a damned test to get her license.
I don't have a problem with them taking the original characters in other directions, but I just wish I enjoyed the episodes more.
When the episode started with the scene that we saw before the season premiered, I was already bracing myself for... a not very good episode. So I set my expectations low. And I'm glad I did.
But even that was no help. There's so much that didn't work for me, I'm not sure where to begin. I suppose I'll start with the beginning.
That scene of the four of them crawling on the ground... was just dreadful. The one bright spot of it was Pelia and her jealousy of not being able to share in the 'fun' of this. (Honestly, the best thing about this episode was Pelia. Carol Kane was just a stroke of genius casting for SNW.) I get that the serum was based on Spock's "perceptions" of being Vulcan, but even in STAR TREK, that was just such a half-assed way of 'explaining' how these four suddenly have such great 'control' of their emotions. And I do use the term control loosely here because it was quite clear they were not in control of their emotions. It was like a part of their personality was just ramped up to 11... and not in a good way. (And worse, they were acting as Vulcan caricatures, not characters.)
First, Pike: I have to say, as much as I enjoy watching Anson Mount have a lot of fun when he is not himself in an episode, he was just a piss poor Vulcan. By far, he was the worst Vulcan of the four. (And if I'm being honest, very possibly in the franchise.) While him doing the theme voiceover as Vulcanized Pike was... trying to be funny, it just fell so flat.
Chapel: she chanelled the Vulcan ability to keep going without rest well. We've seen multiple examples of Vulcans going for long stretches of work without any break, to the point that it would be considered extreme to anyone else. (TOS Spock in "THE PARADISE SYNDROME", Tuvok in "MUSE", etc.) This also accentuates what Chapel has been focused on as of late... her career and work.
Uhura: her mind melding with Beto just felt like a jump the shark moment to me. Vulcans, while having the ability to perform mind melds for the most part, don't automatically know HOW to perform them without causing issues. It takes training. Just like the emotional control that Vulcans have. It's not just something that is inherited... it's worked at their entire lives. (Never mind the ethical issues of just melding a potential mate to be subservient to your whims. I think that was just glossed over here.)
La'an: her story was actually the most interesting take, as it mirrors more what a Romulan is like than a Vulcan. In the episode, it's made clear that this is likely due to her Augment DNA. But to be honest, all four of them should have been more like La'an simply because Vulcans without their mental training and discipline can be very much like a Romulan. (Which might explain why Romulans don't seem to have much in the way of telepathic abilities like their Vulcan cousins... they never tried to keep their emotional nature in check with mental discipline. The telepathy got stronger as they practiced their emotional control. Romulan emotions were channeled in other ways.) There is a problem here: when her and Pike mention Romulans in the corridor, the Romulan she met in that alternate timeline was undercover, so she should not know that Romulans and Vulcans are related. Despite that spy mentioning ears, it's quite a leap to make considering there are numerous other races that have pointed or different ears.
Speaking of the Vulcanized crew: that walk in the corridor. Just didn't work for me at all. DS9 did a FAR better version in "BADDA-BING, BADDA-BANG" when they were heading to Vic's.
This was clearly a comedy episode... or at least, it was trying to be. Trying TOO hard to be one. Most of the jokes fell flat. It felt too forced. The funniest bits were subtle things that weren't even dialogue... like Pike taking Batel's sorbet. (Credit to Anson Mount for having a good sense of comic timing.)
The biggest positive thing about this episode was Una. She definitely got more of a showcase here, and I'm glad she did. Fantastic character, and Rebecca Romijn was pefectly cast for her. (Plus she looked damn good in that dress in the end.) I actually like that she becomes a different person with Doug. It's natural that we are somewhat different people when in proximity with certain people, particularly ones we are attracted to.
Speaking of Doug: I was not impressed with Patton Oswalt as a Vulcan here. The after credits scene was definitely far better than his scenes during the episode. That was actually funnier than nearly the entire episode.
Something else that bothers me about this episode: small universe syndrome. There was no reason to have Kirk here at all. He was just used to bludgeon viewers on the head that he and Scotty make a great team. (And also, Kirk has been a Lt. Commander at this point, since he was XO of the Farragut. Why did Scotty call him Lt.?) The fact this happened, coupled with Roger Korby appearing on the Enterprise at the end (I don't think it was ever mentioned he was anywhere near there or was planning on vacationing with Chapel) just makes the world of STAR TREK seem much smaller than it needs to be.
Just so much of this episode didn't work for me, I was going to score this based on the fact that it was intended as a comedy, but failed horribly to be funny, so it would have been, perhaps unironically, a 4.5 out of 10. But with the various issues I have with how the story was structured, along with the numerous problems with multiple other details, I have to end up giving this a 2.5 out of 10.
(Here, I will have to reluctantly round it up to 3, since there are no half point voting options.)
But even that was no help. There's so much that didn't work for me, I'm not sure where to begin. I suppose I'll start with the beginning.
That scene of the four of them crawling on the ground... was just dreadful. The one bright spot of it was Pelia and her jealousy of not being able to share in the 'fun' of this. (Honestly, the best thing about this episode was Pelia. Carol Kane was just a stroke of genius casting for SNW.) I get that the serum was based on Spock's "perceptions" of being Vulcan, but even in STAR TREK, that was just such a half-assed way of 'explaining' how these four suddenly have such great 'control' of their emotions. And I do use the term control loosely here because it was quite clear they were not in control of their emotions. It was like a part of their personality was just ramped up to 11... and not in a good way. (And worse, they were acting as Vulcan caricatures, not characters.)
First, Pike: I have to say, as much as I enjoy watching Anson Mount have a lot of fun when he is not himself in an episode, he was just a piss poor Vulcan. By far, he was the worst Vulcan of the four. (And if I'm being honest, very possibly in the franchise.) While him doing the theme voiceover as Vulcanized Pike was... trying to be funny, it just fell so flat.
Chapel: she chanelled the Vulcan ability to keep going without rest well. We've seen multiple examples of Vulcans going for long stretches of work without any break, to the point that it would be considered extreme to anyone else. (TOS Spock in "THE PARADISE SYNDROME", Tuvok in "MUSE", etc.) This also accentuates what Chapel has been focused on as of late... her career and work.
Uhura: her mind melding with Beto just felt like a jump the shark moment to me. Vulcans, while having the ability to perform mind melds for the most part, don't automatically know HOW to perform them without causing issues. It takes training. Just like the emotional control that Vulcans have. It's not just something that is inherited... it's worked at their entire lives. (Never mind the ethical issues of just melding a potential mate to be subservient to your whims. I think that was just glossed over here.)
La'an: her story was actually the most interesting take, as it mirrors more what a Romulan is like than a Vulcan. In the episode, it's made clear that this is likely due to her Augment DNA. But to be honest, all four of them should have been more like La'an simply because Vulcans without their mental training and discipline can be very much like a Romulan. (Which might explain why Romulans don't seem to have much in the way of telepathic abilities like their Vulcan cousins... they never tried to keep their emotional nature in check with mental discipline. The telepathy got stronger as they practiced their emotional control. Romulan emotions were channeled in other ways.) There is a problem here: when her and Pike mention Romulans in the corridor, the Romulan she met in that alternate timeline was undercover, so she should not know that Romulans and Vulcans are related. Despite that spy mentioning ears, it's quite a leap to make considering there are numerous other races that have pointed or different ears.
Speaking of the Vulcanized crew: that walk in the corridor. Just didn't work for me at all. DS9 did a FAR better version in "BADDA-BING, BADDA-BANG" when they were heading to Vic's.
This was clearly a comedy episode... or at least, it was trying to be. Trying TOO hard to be one. Most of the jokes fell flat. It felt too forced. The funniest bits were subtle things that weren't even dialogue... like Pike taking Batel's sorbet. (Credit to Anson Mount for having a good sense of comic timing.)
The biggest positive thing about this episode was Una. She definitely got more of a showcase here, and I'm glad she did. Fantastic character, and Rebecca Romijn was pefectly cast for her. (Plus she looked damn good in that dress in the end.) I actually like that she becomes a different person with Doug. It's natural that we are somewhat different people when in proximity with certain people, particularly ones we are attracted to.
Speaking of Doug: I was not impressed with Patton Oswalt as a Vulcan here. The after credits scene was definitely far better than his scenes during the episode. That was actually funnier than nearly the entire episode.
Something else that bothers me about this episode: small universe syndrome. There was no reason to have Kirk here at all. He was just used to bludgeon viewers on the head that he and Scotty make a great team. (And also, Kirk has been a Lt. Commander at this point, since he was XO of the Farragut. Why did Scotty call him Lt.?) The fact this happened, coupled with Roger Korby appearing on the Enterprise at the end (I don't think it was ever mentioned he was anywhere near there or was planning on vacationing with Chapel) just makes the world of STAR TREK seem much smaller than it needs to be.
Just so much of this episode didn't work for me, I was going to score this based on the fact that it was intended as a comedy, but failed horribly to be funny, so it would have been, perhaps unironically, a 4.5 out of 10. But with the various issues I have with how the story was structured, along with the numerous problems with multiple other details, I have to end up giving this a 2.5 out of 10.
(Here, I will have to reluctantly round it up to 3, since there are no half point voting options.)
Nah. He seems well enough versed in the particulars of the events
KIRK: Well, they were hardly supermen. They were aggressive, arrogant. They began to battle among themselves.
KIRK: Name, Khan, as we know him today. (Spock changes the picture) Name, Khan Noonien Singh.
KIRK: He was the best of the tyrants and the most dangerous. They were supermen, in a sense. Stronger, braver, certainly more ambitious, more daring.
I'm guessing with this kind of technology available, people go full on trans-species in the future.
Now I want an episode revealing something utterly insane, like Quark being born human.
Now I want an episode revealing something utterly insane, like Quark being born human.
Hell, finding out Una/Number One was Ilyrian was a fun surprise. For almost sixty years I figured she was just a human officer with black or dark green nail polish.
Seriously, this is space. How is it Kirk and Doug both happened to be "in the neighborhood?"
Dude? Do you even Star Trek?
It's fiction. Distance is a matter of plot.
It still needs to make sense.
That ship kind of sailed when "the Enterprise is the only ship in range to face a threat" happened more than once. And I mean constantly.
Just happened to be in the neighborhood is all the explanation needed.
Hell, the fact that Sybok took hostages on Nimbus III and Kirk just happened to be the only "experienced commander" who could respond to the crisis - AND Sybok just happened to be Spock's long-hidden half-brother - tells me that "making logical sense" means very little in Star Trek.
Ah, I didn't realize the scene with La'An and Spock was in her mind and not in physical space, that scene makes more sense now.
I still say it's stupid and too... "small galaxy syndrome" for Doug and Kirk to just happen to be nearby when we're talking about a cosmic scale here where traveling between star systems should take several hours if not days.
I still say it's stupid and too... "small galaxy syndrome" for Doug and Kirk to just happen to be nearby when we're talking about a cosmic scale here where traveling between star systems should take several hours if not days.
Or his "old friend" happens upon the top secret science project created by his ex and his son, Oh and the old friend is twigged to it by Kirk's ex-navigator. What are the chances?
Isn't this the same Star Trek Universe that we didn't know Spock had a hidden "Half-Brother" until the movie happened.
Then we didn't know he had a hidden "Adopted Human Sister" until the show happened?
How many other things are going to come out of the Wood Work for Spock / Sarek?
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