What is Star Trek Discovery's rewatchability?

[gblews]

Yeah, it's like, who's singling this one out as cruel and brutal?

Certainly not the folks responsible for Peabody Award nominations.

When season 1 was running, I wondered if it would have re-watchability. I should have known, though, as I watched nearly every episode twice. But since the season ended I'v re-watched season 1 at least 3 times.

For me, re-watchaility is purely emotional and organic. Ent was one of my favorite Treks and a show I thought I'd re-watch often. But, probably because of the sorry ass ending, I find that watching the show only reminds me of the acrimony and turmoil in that show's forum back then.

I've also watched Vulcan Hello and Binary Stars probably an extra 2 or 3 times as I really liked both a lot. i think the show has great re-watchability.

 

[BigJake]

It seems to me thus far Discovery is much like the Abramsverse movies in fan reaction. There are those out there that think Discovery is the best Star Trek show since the original series (or maybe TNG), and those that think it's an embarrassment to the franchise.

I'm not so sure. For my money, the first two Abramsverse movies were significantly more vulnerable to complaints about straight-up bad writing and incoherency than anything Disco has done. I still can't watch STID with a straight face given the illogic of what passes for its plot (though I'm a more forgiving viewer now than I was when it came out, at least it's still more entertaining than, say, The Final Frontier). I've yet to be convinced that Disco has "writing problems" on anything close to that level.

Complaints about whether they're "in keeping with the spirit of Trek" are more subjective. I think Disco has departed quite significantly from the feel of the Sixties show; IMO for understandable and necessary reasons and in genuinely interesting ways, though mileage clearly varies and that's fine. It does seem to me that a very great deal of the ire supposedly being directed at its "terrible writing and acting" is really about this, though, and is directed in particular -- for sometimes-suspect reasons -- at Michael Burnham.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I found that I had to rewatch the two-part prologue, and "Context," just to "get" the things I missed the first time. And I'm only up to "Pain," so far.

 

[Damian]

I'm not so sure. For my money, the first two Abramsverse movies were significantly more vulnerable to complaints about straight-up bad writing and incoherency than anything Disco has done.

I was thinking mostly in terms of generic love-hate reactions. The specific complaints about it vary, I do agree there. But it just seems to me when it comes to Discover there are fans that think it's the best Star Trek since the original series and there are those that think it spits in the face of Star Trek. I noticed the Abramsverse movies gets similar reactions, though for different reasons in many cases.

Ent was one of my favorite Treks and a show I thought I'd re-watch often. But, probably because of the sorry ass ending, I find that watching the show only reminds me of the acrimony and turmoil in that show's forum back then.

I know a lot of fans consider the Terra Prime episodes a much more fitting ending to Enterprise. I consider TATV a coda, esp. since I read the novels and they, um, reinterpreted TATV which actually allows me to watch TATV without wanting to throw something at the TV. I look for things now that the novel retconned or reinterpreted.

But very interesting reading the comments. It seems at this point most people favor its rewatchability so that gives me reason for optimism, despite some of my early doubts thus far. As I noted I love all Star Trek up to this point, and watched everything multiple times up to now, and as I love to say I'm one of the 10 people that liked Nemesis, so yeah, I'm die hard. I'm glad to see there are those that liked the other spin offs like Deep Space Nine and Enterprise that also like Discovery.

I suppose that's one difference between Discovery and Abramsverse movies. Abramsverse fans seemed to hate on Berman Trek a lot, I sometimes felt like a rarity in that I liked both. I don't notice that as much with Discovery. It seems they've carried a lot of fans over from the previous spin-offs.

 

[ITDUDE]

Haven’t rewatched any of season 1 yet. Nothing just screams “rewatch me”. To be fair, I haven’t rewatched season 1 of TNG, much, but it does have a 30 year start on STD. It’s there is a chance in next 30 years I may rewatch some of it.

 

[Gepard]

Only select episodes. Nothing about the overall story arc compelled me enough to redo the entire thing.

 

[Greg Cox]

I suppose that's one difference between Discovery and Abramsverse movies. Abramsverse fans seemed to hate on Berman Trek a lot, I sometimes felt like a rarity in that I liked both. .

I'm not sure if those reboot fans actually "hated" the Berman-era stuff so much as they simply got tired of it being held up as the gold standard for Trek, or seeing the reboot slagged for doing the same things the previous shows also did. I know I tended to call out the double standard a lot, while also pointing out that the new movies owed more to TOS than the latter-day series.

"But it's not like TNG!"
"That's because it's a reboot of TOS."

Just got my DISCO Blu-Rays in the mail, btw. Let the rewatch commence.

 

[Damian]

I'm not sure if those reboot fans actually "hated" the Berman-era stuff so much as they simply got tired of it being held up as the gold standard for Trek, or seeing the reboot slagged for doing the same things the previous shows also did. I know I tended to call out the double standard a lot, while also pointing out that the new movies owed more to TOS than the latter-day series.

"But it's not like TNG!"
"That's because it's a reboot of TOS."

Just got my DISCO Blu-Rays in the mail, btw. Let the rewatch commence.

I used to go on trekmovie.com a lot, and that's where I saw a lot of the Berman bashing. I used to try to point out that there was a time during Berman's reign when Star Trek was riding high as well, the mid 90's when Deep Space Nine was taking off and First Contact was a blockbuster film. But to no avail. Over there many times talking about Rick Berman was like debating religion and politics. I was starting to wonder was I the only Trekkie that liked Voyager and Enterprise (those were the 2 shows that got trashed the most).

Since I found trekbbs and the official Star Trek site was reborn several years ago I really don't go over to their site anymore. Between here, the official site and even Memory Alpha, I usually get all the Star Trek news I need. I find a much more balanced view here about Star Trek in general.

 

[Vger23]

I was thinking mostly in terms of generic love-hate reactions. The specific complaints about it vary, I do agree there. But it just seems to me when it comes to Discover there are fans that think it's the best Star Trek since the original series and there are those that think it spits in the face of Star Trek. I noticed the Abramsverse movies gets similar reactions, though for different reasons in many cases.



I know a lot of fans consider the Terra Prime episodes a much more fitting ending to Enterprise. I consider TATV a coda, esp. since I read the novels and they, um, reinterpreted TATV which actually allows me to watch TATV without wanting to throw something at the TV. I look for things now that the novel retconned or reinterpreted.

But very interesting reading the comments. It seems at this point most people favor its rewatchability so that gives me reason for optimism, despite some of my early doubts thus far. As I noted I love all Star Trek up to this point, and watched everything multiple times up to now, and as I love to say I'm one of the 10 people that liked Nemesis, so yeah, I'm die hard. I'm glad to see there are those that liked the other spin offs like Deep Space Nine and Enterprise that also like Discovery.

I suppose that's one difference between Discovery and Abramsverse movies. Abramsverse fans seemed to hate on Berman Trek a lot, I sometimes felt like a rarity in that I liked both. I don't notice that as much with Discovery. It seems they've carried a lot of fans over from the previous spin-offs.

I don't hate on Berman Trek. I was just burned out on it. The format, look, visual style, pacing, cadence, etc etc etc just became unbelievably and unbearably stale after 18 years (4 series and 3 movies) and I was (and still am) thrilled that Discovery and Kelvinverse Trek are going in a largely different direction. It's not because I hated Berman Trek (not at all)...but I was definitely done with that interpretation of the franchise.

It's also why, as much as I find The Orville charming, it's not something I care about. It's a great homage for people who wanted more of the same...but not good at all for people who were looking to move somewhere different.

 

[Damian]

I don't hate on Berman Trek. I was just burned out on it. The format, look, visual style, pacing, cadence, etc etc etc just became unbelievably and unbearably stale after 18 years (4 series and 3 movies) and I was (and still am) thrilled that Discovery and Kelvinverse Trek are going in a largely different direction. It's not because I hated Berman Trek (not at all)...but I was definitely done with that interpretation of the franchise.

It's also why, as much as I find The Orville charming, it's not something I care about. It's a great homage for people who wanted more of the same...but not good at all for people who were looking to move somewhere different.

Yeah, I mean, I can see that. Berman's biggest mistake was staying on for too long, or at least not taking more of a back seat in later years. It was time to move on to the next chapter of Star Trek history. On Enterprise they did finally start to push the limits a bit more, esp. in the 3rd and 4th seasons, but they had lost a lot of viewers by then and it was probably too late.

 

[Tuvix5675]

Going back to the topic of rewatchability, here in Los Angeles, CA. we have a digital channel called Heroes and Icons where they show Trek weeknights from 8pm-1am. They show every classic Trek series back to back starting with TOS (8pm) TNG (9pm), DS9 (10pm), VOY (11pm) and ENT (midnight). I find I usually get burned out after watching 2 hours of Trek. I usually do TOS and TNG, or TNG and DS9. Sometimes I'll do TNG, do something, then come back for VOY. But I can't do all five series. It's too much. So I can really relate to this burning out argument. It's especially difficult for me to watch more than two Berman-era Trek series back to back, TOS had a lighter tone, so its' somewhat different from the spin-offs.

 

[Greg Cox]

Indeed. One of the things I like most about DISCO is that does look and feel like a Trek show made in 2018, in terms of the visuals and pacing and serialized storytelling and all, rather than a copy of the previous series. It has its own distinctive feel that sets it apart from both classic TOS and the Berman-era series, while still feeling like STAR TREK to me.

 

[Lord Garth]

I watched the first few minutes of the S2 premiere of The Orville and I shut it off. I've always said Seth MacFarlane's humor isn't my style. And an hour about toilet humor isn't for me. I watched the first season when it was on, didn't revisit it since, and -- as it was -- sometimes I'd catch episodes days later. Given that I hadn't watched the show in over a year and turned it off a few minutes in this time around, I think I'm all set.

Between this and barely watching any of The X-Files Season 11, it confirms what I thought: nostalgia wears off after a while. I have to find something more there, or I'm just not going to stick around permanently. If Discovery had been like the earlier series in execution, I might've watched for a little while but then I would've stopped again. And I wouldn't have re-watched any of it.

I barely re-watch older Trek now. Once in a blue moon. A handful of times per year. Not all the time. There's a thread in the TOS Forum where they rewatch the series, one episode per week, and I thought I'd heavily participate in it and go along, but I just didn't. I moved on. For that matter, I can't even remember the last time I watched anything TNG; though I'll re-watch some of it (not from the first season!) before the Picard Series starts. Most of everything I watch now is serialized and it's usually of the AMC/Netflix Original Variety. So, in the case of Discovery, I feel like Star Trek moved along with me. I like 1992, I remember 1992. Doesn't mean I want Star Trek to be like it was in 1992.

 

[Vger23]

Yeah, I mean, I can see that. Berman's biggest mistake was staying on for too long, or at least not taking more of a back seat in later years. It was time to move on to the next chapter of Star Trek history. On Enterprise they did finally start to push the limits a bit more, esp. in the 3rd and 4th seasons, but they had lost a lot of viewers by then and it was probably too late.

I can see where you might be coming from with having to deal with people "hating on" that era now, though. It seems there are definitely fans who can't help but actively and relentlessly express negativity about something that hasn't met their needs or expectations. If you look at my post history, you'll see I have hardly ever posted in the TNG, VOY, DS9 or ENT forums here, mainly because of that burnout. I'm not one to go into a forum and express displeasure endlessly to everyone. But...there are a lot who get a huge kick out of doing just that.

I imagine that would be a huge turn off. It's one of the reasons I also don't go to Trekmovie's comments board much any longer. I don't need to read a bunch of anger, misery, and baiting for conflict.

 

[Vger23]

I watched the first few minutes of the S2 premiere of The Orville and I shut it off. I've always said Seth MacFarlane's humor isn't my style. And an hour about toilet humor isn't for me. I watched the first season when it was on, didn't revisit it since, and -- as it was -- sometimes I'd catch episodes days later. Given that I hadn't watched the show in over a year and turned it off a few minutes in this time around, I think I'm all set.

Between this and barely watching any of The X-Files Season 11, it confirms what I thought: nostalgia wears off after a while. I have to find something more there, or I'm just not going to stick around permanently. If Discovery had been like the earlier series in execution, I might've watched for a little while but then I would've stopped again. And I wouldn't have re-watched any of it.

I barely re-watch older Trek now. Once in a blue moon. A handful of times per year. Not all the time. There's a thread in the TOS Forum where they rewatch the series, one episode per week, and I thought I'd heavily participate in it and go along, but I just didn't. I moved on. For that matter, I can't even remember the last time I watched anything TNG; though I'll re-watch some of it (not from the first season!) before the Picard Series starts. Most of everything I watch now is serialized it's usually of the AMC/Netflix Original Variety. So, in the case of Discovery, I feel like Star Trek moved along with me. I like 1992, I remember 1992. Doesn't mean I want Star Trek to be like it was in 1992.

I watched all of Orville S1 as well...never felt nor will feel compelled to do a rewatch. I also was massively disappointed in the second season premier. It was a low point for what is no more than a quaint show already at this point. Hated? Not at all. Impressed by/care about/entertained beyond the surface? Nope. It was a bad episode.

I also couldn't get into the new X-Files.

But, even some of my favorite series ever:

24
ER
Lost
Walking Dead
The Leftovers
DS9

...I have never rewatched. Not even once. DS9 has episodes I had seen in first run (I watched less than 1/4 of them in the initial airings) that I saw again when I decided to finally watch the full series all the way through about 8 years ago.

The only series I have really "rewatched" with any regularity are

Star Trek
Star Trek TNG (although there are a handful I have only seen once because they were admittedly dreadful)
Seinfeld

...and now Star Trek Discovery. That says a lot for my appreciation for the new series.

 

[Tuvix5675]

I'm only rewatching classic Trek because its conveniently on every weeknight where I live. If it wasn't I don't think I'd bother even though with my Prime/Hulu subscriptions all I would have to do is cue up an episode on my computer. But I am realizing the most rewatchable Trek series for me is TNG, a lot of times I will start watching the intro to an episode of DS9, or VOY, or even TOS, and if I don't like it, I won't continue. I usually don't stay up late enough to watch ENT. If it's true that DSC was one of most streamed series that's to its credit at a time of instant access to everything and where there is a lot of choice.

 

[Vger23]

I'm only rewatching classic Trek because its conveniently on every weeknight where I live. If it wasn't I don't think I'd bother even though with my Prime/Hulu subscriptions all I would have to do is cue up an episode on my computer. But I am realizing the most rewatchable Trek series for me is TNG, a lot of times I will start watching the intro to an episode of DS9, or VOY, or even TOS, and if I don't like it, I won't continue. I usually don't stay up late enough to watch ENT. If it's true that DSC was one of most streamed series that's to its credit at a time of instant access to everything and where there is a lot of choice.

Rewatches for episodic TV are different animals though, because you can just watch or not watch any given episode. A rewatch of a serialized show requires considerable investment.

I find that as much as I try...I end up skipping a fair amount of TNG (I have all 7 seasons on BR) because some of it is just so dull and even frustrating sometimes. I have never skipped an episode of TOS, and I have seen them all numerous times.

 

[Lord Garth]

Rewatching a serialized show is like picking up where you left off in a book. That's how I look at it.

On another note, it weirds me out that anything besides TOS is called "Classic Trek". But it also weirds me out that whenever my father visits and turns on the radio, sometimes they'll play Nirvana and Pearl Jam on the Classic Rock station he listens to. I'm like "What the Hell? Music from when I was in high school shouldn't be on my father's radio station!"

One of the unavoidable things about the passage of time...

 

[Greg Cox]

On another note, it weirds me out that anything besides TOS is called "Classic Trek". But it also weirds me out that whenever my father visits and turns on the radio, sometimes they'll play Nirvana and Pearl Jam on the Classic Rock station he listens to. I'm like "What the Hell? Music from when I was in high school shouldn't be on my father's radio station!"

One of the unavoidable things about the passage of time...

A friend of mine was once deeply troubled when one of his favorite movies, which he remembered seeing in the theaters on its original run, turned up on TCM . . .

 

[eschaton]

I watched the first few minutes of the S2 premiere of The Orville and I shut it off. I've always said Seth MacFarlane's humor isn't my style. And an hour about toilet humor isn't for me. I watched the first season when it was on, didn't revisit it since, and -- as it was -- sometimes I'd catch episodes days later. Given that I hadn't watched the show in over a year and turned it off a few minutes in this time around, I think I'm all set.

Different strokes I guess. I watched the Season 2 premier of The Orville with a big ass smile on my face. McFarlane has gotten down how to work the jokes into the show without it suddenly bringing the story to a screeching halt. And I really enjoy that almost all of the characters have flaws, but they are generally speaking minor flaws which don't take away from their overall likability. The series feels like slipping back into a warm well-worn pair of shoes.

I barely re-watch older Trek now. Once in a blue moon. A handful of times per year. Not all the time. There's a thread in the TOS Forum where they rewatch the series, one episode per week, and I thought I'd heavily participate in it and go along, but I just didn't. I moved on. For that matter, I can't even remember the last time I watched anything TNG; though I'll re-watch some of it (not from the first season!) before the Picard Series starts. Most of everything I watch now is serialized and it's usually of the AMC/Netflix Original Variety. So, in the case of Discovery, I feel like Star Trek moved along with me. I like 1992, I remember 1992. Doesn't mean I want Star Trek to be like it was in 1992.

A few years back, I decided to embark on a rewatch of all of Trek in rough chronological order (meaning ENT then TOS, then the rest of the series roughly as they came out). In some cases this was a rewatch (I had watched TOS in syndication as a child, and then TNG, much of DS9, and a small bit of VOY as it came out - plus a later rewatch of DS9 as an adult on DVD), though in the case of much of VOY and almost all of ENT other than the pilot, it was me watching for the first time. It was helpful going through everything over a relatively short period (less than two years) because now I know what episodes I'd actually want to rewatch, and what I never want to watch again.

More recently I've watched a bit of ENT again, since it had been the longest time since I had seen it, and I didn't remember much of Season 1 that well. I've been stalled out in Season 2 for awhile even skipping the worst of the worst. I think I have decided that although it's probably objectively a worse series at the beginning, I enjoy ENT more than VOY however, because feeling anger towards a show is at least more of a reaction than apathy.

I will probably rewatch DS9 again at some point in the next decade. I will rewatch certain episodes of TNG and TOS, but I see no reason to watch everything given the quality control issues across both shows and the lack of continuity. I don't anticipate ever watching VOY again, unless my kids really want to when they are older or something.

I do not plan to rewatch DIS. Much of my enjoyment the first time around sprung from wondering where the journey would take me. Given the ending of the season was rather underwhelming, I think it would make my impressions of the individual episodes more negative.