While I liked DISCO a lot more than others in this thread seem to have, one disappointment I did have was the revelation of the Breen as just another, bog-standard bad guy empire, a potentially interesting but mostly unexamined biology notwithstanding. Why did the Breen hate the Federation so much for a thousand years, anyway?
Your postmortem thoughts on DISCO
- Thread starter Charles Phipps
- Start date
I wasnt inpressed by the series as a prelude to TOS. It didnt seem like Star Trek. Burnham basically commits mutiny but it doesn't take long until she is praised constantly. Also she started out more vulcan like and it didnt take long for her to become the most emotional character in the show. I got tired of the huge danger to the galaxy episodes of later seasons. Also Star Trek just doesnt work well as a arc based show. 13 episodes to get to the end of the story. Way too much. We got so much filler in all that time but hardly no characterization of other crew members. Michael got most of the focus, Tilly next and than a bit of Saru and Staments. But with 13 episodes for one story they could have fleshed out the entire bridge crew. Another thing is it didnt look like a prequel to TOS at all. They brought us the enterprise to try and bridge that but by than it was too late.
The 32nd century jump was also done badly. In a thousand years starfleet hasnt come up with anything to replace the dilithium crysyal? Really? Also the Discoverys spore drive is better than what starfleet has in the 32nd century? Ridiculous. They should have jumped to tng current timeline instead of going so far out. It seemed like fan fic writing at times when they first got to the future.
So yeah im glad this show is finally done. It was just a hodge podge mess. 5 seasons and 5 missions. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been a non arc show and there could have been 13 badly written missions a season and its series total would have been about 65 missions. That would have been depressing. So we were spared that.
The 32nd century jump was also done badly. In a thousand years starfleet hasnt come up with anything to replace the dilithium crysyal? Really? Also the Discoverys spore drive is better than what starfleet has in the 32nd century? Ridiculous. They should have jumped to tng current timeline instead of going so far out. It seemed like fan fic writing at times when they first got to the future.
So yeah im glad this show is finally done. It was just a hodge podge mess. 5 seasons and 5 missions. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been a non arc show and there could have been 13 badly written missions a season and its series total would have been about 65 missions. That would have been depressing. So we were spared that.
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One thing I wish they had gotten to: Much was made of Book having taken his name from the original Cleveland Booker, because he was so impressed with him. So it would have been nice at some point to have a flashback story about the original Booker, to maybe see how that transpired.
Looking back now, we were roughly through half of season 5 by today's date last year. The finale was 5 weeks away. I think we were all highly aware of the sense of finality. I've rewatched once, and a few episodes since. I'm planning on marking the anniversary with a rewatch of the final 2 episodes.
There is a current story in trek online media about P+ not allowing a 2 hour finale. I think this makes sense, the idea was to save money as the 5 year streaming max length seems to be set.
Despite this, to my knowledge, no series has ever had an extra 16 minutes filmed as a coda or any extra time at all for a finale episode once set. So Discovery gets that honor.
There is a current story in trek online media about P+ not allowing a 2 hour finale. I think this makes sense, the idea was to save money as the 5 year streaming max length seems to be set.
Despite this, to my knowledge, no series has ever had an extra 16 minutes filmed as a coda or any extra time at all for a finale episode once set. So Discovery gets that honor.
Discovery had lots in the tank too. A whole new Federation to explore, but that honor will go to the direct Spinoff, Starfleet Academy.
It's the same limit the accountants placed on the 7 seasons max from Berman Trek. 5 is actually a good run for streaming. Stranger Things, one of streaming's biggest hits ever, is getting a 5th season in 7 or 8 years. About what Discovery did.
As soon as it costs less I'm sure more than 5 will happen.
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Solid cast, great special effects, but a very deficient writers room. They don’t know how do season long story arcs at all. And a lot of the season arcs felt like marketing gimmicks to sell the show to audiences in quick commercials (what was the burn, who is the red angel, etc.), as opposed to them just trying to to tell the best stories.
I loved season 1 for its bold ambition, but the finale made no sense. Season 2 was a mixed bag because of all the turmoil behind the scenes.
Season 3 started out with amazing potential, only to see it all squandered by the end of the season. I loved the idea of trying to run the Federation and maintain high minded ideals in tough times. The idea of the Federation and Emerald Chain having competing ideas on how to navigate a galaxy in turmoil could have led to great story telling. But that all got barely explored at the expense of determining the cause of the burn (which was always the least interesting aspect of the 32nd century for me). And my god, the explanation for the burn was awful. Ultimately they decided to hit the reset button by hand waving away the Emerald Chain and discovering the dilithium planet, which undermined the whole idea of making the 32nd century noticeably different from the other eras.
Season 4 was a pivot towards sci fi concepts and classic Trek ideals of exploration. This was my second favorite season after season 1. I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
I can’t comment on season 5 because I lost interest about 3 episodes in and never finished it.
Overall, I’d rate it as average (or mid, as the kids would say).
I loved season 1 for its bold ambition, but the finale made no sense. Season 2 was a mixed bag because of all the turmoil behind the scenes.
Season 3 started out with amazing potential, only to see it all squandered by the end of the season. I loved the idea of trying to run the Federation and maintain high minded ideals in tough times. The idea of the Federation and Emerald Chain having competing ideas on how to navigate a galaxy in turmoil could have led to great story telling. But that all got barely explored at the expense of determining the cause of the burn (which was always the least interesting aspect of the 32nd century for me). And my god, the explanation for the burn was awful. Ultimately they decided to hit the reset button by hand waving away the Emerald Chain and discovering the dilithium planet, which undermined the whole idea of making the 32nd century noticeably different from the other eras.
Season 4 was a pivot towards sci fi concepts and classic Trek ideals of exploration. This was my second favorite season after season 1. I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
I can’t comment on season 5 because I lost interest about 3 episodes in and never finished it.
Overall, I’d rate it as average (or mid, as the kids would say).
Sounds about right
If it's out of production for a protracted period of time, reconstituting the show would likely be difficult. People move on to new employment and wouldn't be able to return.
I was referring to future productions.
Though I'm sure McMahan's got enough material.
Keep in mind I haven’t seen Season 5 yet.
DSC is a show which I have tried very hard to love. Maybe harder than I would have tried for a show not connected to a franchise I’m invested in.
Sometimes, I really did love it. I really did. But only sometimes. It really suffers in terms of what it’s trying to do or say in Season 1/2 and I don’t like very much of those episodes at all. Season 3 floated by boat a little bit more though and I enjoyed Season 4.
In an alternative universe, there’s a version of DSC that starts in the 32nd century. Starfleet and the Federation have faded into myth. Michael and Booker are scavengers who come across some SF stuff and then we are off as over the course of five seasons they rediscover and rebuild the Federation.
Instead, it is what it is. A mess.
Plus sides though. Casting is good. The show looks pretty, always. Also, points for trying to take a big swing.
In truth, I don’t love or hate it. It’s more a sense of ambivalence. I haven’t watched Season 5 yet (nor Season 5 of LDS) for that matter; and I’m not sure I ever will. Ditto, Section 31. Probably throw SNW Season 3 on that pile as well. As ever, I’m happy if people are enjoying the shows, but Star Trek in its ever dwindling present forms is just not doing it for me.
Next thing I’m looking forward to is SFA.
DSC is a show which I have tried very hard to love. Maybe harder than I would have tried for a show not connected to a franchise I’m invested in.
Sometimes, I really did love it. I really did. But only sometimes. It really suffers in terms of what it’s trying to do or say in Season 1/2 and I don’t like very much of those episodes at all. Season 3 floated by boat a little bit more though and I enjoyed Season 4.
In an alternative universe, there’s a version of DSC that starts in the 32nd century. Starfleet and the Federation have faded into myth. Michael and Booker are scavengers who come across some SF stuff and then we are off as over the course of five seasons they rediscover and rebuild the Federation.
Instead, it is what it is. A mess.
Plus sides though. Casting is good. The show looks pretty, always. Also, points for trying to take a big swing.
In truth, I don’t love or hate it. It’s more a sense of ambivalence. I haven’t watched Season 5 yet (nor Season 5 of LDS) for that matter; and I’m not sure I ever will. Ditto, Section 31. Probably throw SNW Season 3 on that pile as well. As ever, I’m happy if people are enjoying the shows, but Star Trek in its ever dwindling present forms is just not doing it for me.
Next thing I’m looking forward to is SFA.
I’ve just in recent years been happy in the personal revelation that if I don’t like something, it’s okay to just not watch it. I don’t have to be some sourpuss and kvetch about it online everyday. I can just not watch it and who cares?
It may sound obvious I know, but many can’t grasp the idea. I don’t understand the benefit of hate watching.
These days, my free time is divided between a lot of things, of which watching TV shows is merely a fraction. So I watch the shows I like. Being a fan of Star Trek does not make me beholden to it and (sadly) there are just so many shows out there that are way better than the present Star Trek output.
I want to be blown away. That’s why SFA is the next ray of hope for me. It’s not a sitcom or a prequel and (I think?) it’s got Paradise onboard from the start, so at least it’s got somebody with an idea of what to do with the show at the wheel from the get-go.
It may sound obvious I know, but many can’t grasp the idea. I don’t understand the benefit of hate watching.
These days, my free time is divided between a lot of things, of which watching TV shows is merely a fraction. So I watch the shows I like. Being a fan of Star Trek does not make me beholden to it and (sadly) there are just so many shows out there that are way better than the present Star Trek output.
I want to be blown away. That’s why SFA is the next ray of hope for me. It’s not a sitcom or a prequel and (I think?) it’s got Paradise onboard from the start, so at least it’s got somebody with an idea of what to do with the show at the wheel from the get-go.
I learned this lesson way too late in life.
I thought Season 1 got off to a bad star, just to much pointless grim darkness for me. I think this peaked around The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry, which I would also put as my least favorite episode of the series. It got better around Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad and I think stayed pretty enjoyable from there on out. I felt like it made more appropriate use of violence and having our characters being tested by what they're going through much better in the Mirror Universe stuff than earlier. The ending felt a little rushed but it was mostly fine.
Season 2 is probably my favorite season of the show. I like the mystery, I like all the new characters introduced, I liked the big spaceship battle at the end, and I overall had a really good time.
Season 3 was a bit of a miss for me. I think of all of them this is the one that would have benefited most from the old 20+ episode seasons. They're trying to do too much and some of it was really good, but it never really came together. I really like Terra Firma I/II but in the grander context of the stuff around the Emerald Chain and the Burn I think it was maybe a mistake to heavily commit two episodes to Georgiou's story.
Season 4 had a weak start for me, but got significantly better as it went along. The scenes of Tarka's backstory in the Galactic Barrier are some of the best I think I've seen Trek period, it might be my favorite episode of the series just for that.
Season 5 was consistently enjoyable, I liked the way it balanced connecting back to older works and building out the 32nd Century setting.
Overall I think Discovery did a fine job, but had one of the most drastic changes I've seen in spirit and tone of a tv series. It went from incredibly dark and violent at the beginning to extremely optimistic and wearing its heart on its sleeve by the end.
The costuming and makeup are the best Trek's ever made. I didn't care for the Season 1 uniforms or the Klingon look but so much work went into every detail of all of it, and the ability to have a character like Saru with so much screentime is amazing.
I'd probably put it above The Animated Series, Enterprise, Picard, and Voyager in my personal rankings.
Season 2 is probably my favorite season of the show. I like the mystery, I like all the new characters introduced, I liked the big spaceship battle at the end, and I overall had a really good time.
Season 3 was a bit of a miss for me. I think of all of them this is the one that would have benefited most from the old 20+ episode seasons. They're trying to do too much and some of it was really good, but it never really came together. I really like Terra Firma I/II but in the grander context of the stuff around the Emerald Chain and the Burn I think it was maybe a mistake to heavily commit two episodes to Georgiou's story.
Season 4 had a weak start for me, but got significantly better as it went along. The scenes of Tarka's backstory in the Galactic Barrier are some of the best I think I've seen Trek period, it might be my favorite episode of the series just for that.
Season 5 was consistently enjoyable, I liked the way it balanced connecting back to older works and building out the 32nd Century setting.
Overall I think Discovery did a fine job, but had one of the most drastic changes I've seen in spirit and tone of a tv series. It went from incredibly dark and violent at the beginning to extremely optimistic and wearing its heart on its sleeve by the end.
The costuming and makeup are the best Trek's ever made. I didn't care for the Season 1 uniforms or the Klingon look but so much work went into every detail of all of it, and the ability to have a character like Saru with so much screentime is amazing.
I'd probably put it above The Animated Series, Enterprise, Picard, and Voyager in my personal rankings.
The Orville is far better than most of what Kurtzman has put out. SNW with all its comedy I think is following The Orvilles lead.
I use to think this was obvious and then I saw reactions to Section 31 and the insistence people had to watch it
Nope.
I am grateful I learned this in college and gave up on my completionist streak. Star Trek may be fun but it doesn't require my attention.
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I've seen every piece of Star Trek ever made and have no intention of stopping. I love all of it, even the stuff that I hate. And, honestly, there's very little that I hate. I mean, I can't imagine myself ever sitting through a complete watch through of Voyager ever again, but I don't hate it or it's contribution to the franchise. As for the newer stuff, with the exceptions of Picard season 2 and Section 31, I have found much more to like than to dislike in all of the modern productions.
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