Maurice said:
"Shields down to *yawn*..." Just. Stop.
A bit harsh and not particularly constructive.
If you've followed Maurice and many others here over the last 5 to 10 years at least, it's often, often, OFTEN been mentioned how using the shields percentage cliché to try to generate dramatic tension and urgency...just...doesn't...work! Sure it's a lot less expensive than staging mini-explosions on the bridge or the corridors, but this one has been milked out of any usefulness.
And no, that was NOT harsh.
I am a big fan of Starship Exeter, but it seems that you have a hard time enjoying other fan productions, in particular, the good ones.
Tell me something, if a football quarterback is asked by a tv sports commentator about the wrong or less-successful plays in whatever team's game, do you also label the guy a hater as well?
First, the positive: As I guessed, Matt Bucy did his usual, awesome cinematography and colour enhancement work.
The new music (I think it was an entirely new music score, I don't remember really hearing any reuses, except one or two familiar bits reworked) enhanced the episode quite well. My only complaint is that they just don't have enough of the jazz influence that guys like Fried, Kaplan and Steiner had. They do have a sweet orchestral sound, just not enough jazz bombast (''Use the horns, Luke!!'').
I liked the creature design, even if it was kinda similar to the Excalbian design.
Less positive: Not many FX shot ''wowzers'' this time out, the asteroid field one was nice with that purple-ish nebula behind it, but just ok. Looking at the creature's animation in outer space, I get the feeling that Doug Drexler is more a modeler than an animator. And as for that controversial shot-through-the-hull, no, they WOULDN't have done a shot like that back in the 60s, sufficient budget or not. That kind of camera choice is more something that came about in the 80s when Spielberg and his contemporaries were redefining classical Hollywood composition (this is independant of advancements in SPFX, although it sure helped). Just look at all 3 original Star Wars films which at the time pushed every Hollywood camera technique, and no new-fangled travelling shot in the lot. But you do see those kinds of shots in the following trilogy. (the Death Star trench sequence is something entirely different)
As for the story itself, well this seemed more like an animated series-type script than a 3rd season-type one. No feeling of danger or real tension, Kirk is irrelevant to the resolution of whatever problem there is.
Things that really stuck out to me: As I previously-guessed, the Kirk/Scotty banter at the start from out of left field is never brought up again (somebody should teach the writing team that in scriptwriting all dialogue should have either subtext or subsequent meaning in one's overall script).
Are they trying to set Chekov up for failure or some future storyline? The only two bits he's involved in is signs he wishes to get promoted from ensign eventually, and the second one where he wants to join Kirk and Spock on the action and is directly rebuffed by Kirk...but no follow-up here at all.
Who is Kipley Brown playing? she certainly doesn't behave like Yeoman Smith from WNMHGB, unless Smith got a whole lot edgier because of Gary Mitchell's death. They really should have just made her an entirely new character in the first place, like Ensign Tongaroa was. Also you gotta love that during the battle between the rock-father and the ship, she's the one who says ''navigation's down!!' instead of the, you know, Navigator?
Plot problems galore, but the two that veer straight into WTF? territory are, (1) inbetween the bit in Eliza's quarters (Eliza Taylor? will she end up the Queen of a planet of pyramid aliens?) with McKennah where she figures out the bit about the Alpha-waves armbands (never mind that she doesn't just tell the Captain on the bridge about them so they all can right away be protected from the ''attack'') and the battle in Engineering, in the scene just before the latter back in sickbay when Kirk and Smith go in, the nurse clearly wears an armband and is activating one on the unconscious doctor's arm...yet she never mentions to the Captain that they should also wear one? (oh yeah, then they wouldn't have a nifty fight scene) And where's the replacement doctor?
And (2) when the ''echo-location'' attack really ramps up, all the crew just get their aggressions and paranoia juiced up, but Spock from the specific dialogue he says (Usti running away, and ''brat''), at first I thought he was possessed telepathically by the rock-father, but apparently not, or this is never even considered or mentioned. But regardless, a ''power' to induce such behaviour is kinda dangerous for any and all living beings in whatever future system these creatures will encounter next, but it doesn't seem to bother Kirk whatsoever...
There are more, but fans of proper writing seem to be a ''minority'' here these days.
) just doesn't work for me. YMMV.
