Your reaction to DSC before vs. after

[Lord Garth]

Was your reaction to Star Trek: Discovery the same or different, before and after you finally saw the series?

I went fishing through the old posts of TrekBBS and here's what I typed up on July 30, 2016. As soon as I heard about this series, I knew it was something I'd look forward to. Cutting-and-pasting what I typed back then below. Bear in mind this was over a year before I'd seen a single episode...

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I dare say I think this will be the best Star Trek series. I'll put it ahead of DS9. I'll put it ahead of TOS. Yes, I said it.

"Star Trek: Discovery" based on everything I've read about it, feels like it'll be pushing things forward. Regardless of when the time-frame might be. From story structure to social issues to character composition.

I've always liked the design of the ship in question. Geometric, hard lines, very different.

Serialized storyline. Gender-blind. Race-blind. LGBT character (hopefully). Representation from the Roddenberry, Bennett, Berman, and Abrams era. Trying to do things that haven't been done before while looking at the DNA of selective TOS episodes to see what made the spirit of Star Trek work.

The Captain of "Star Trek: Discovery" might be a black woman, inspired by the real life astronaut Mae Jemison.

It'll fit in with the landscape of today's series and what I happen to watch these days. "Star Trek: Discovery" marks off everything on my list. This is what I was looking for all along.

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Back to 2018. I'm glad I was right about the series. In the broad strokes anyway. They didn't really do social issues. Of course, I also thought we'd be in the Hillary Clinton Era, not the Trump Era, so I don't feel particularly broken up about them not dealing with the times. I think the comparisons to today people try to make are extremely forced. And Michael Burnham obviously isn't the Captain, but otherwise...

I'm also still not sure which TOS episodes make up the DNA of this series or if they even ended up doing so at all. Well, maybe "Mirror, Mirror".

 

[C.E. Evans]

BEFORE:
I generally lost interest once I found out if was another TOS prequel. Just like how some people got tired of 24th-Century Trek, I was tired of TOS prequels, reimaginings, whatever. So I approached DIS with very little enthusiasm.

AFTER:
Ambivalent. I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it either. It has some very good bits and some bits that don't work for me at all, so I'm neutral towards it. I still think it has a lot of potential, but It wasn't enough for me to keep CBSAA, so it's probably something I might get back into once it's out on home video, but I'm in no hurry for that.

 

[Mirror Mirror]

I went from excited, to very pleased.

 

[Mad Jack Wolfe]

Before: intrigued and hopeful.
After: disillusioned and disappointed.

 

[Lord Garth]

I generally lost interest once I found out if was another TOS prequel. Just like how some people got tired of 24th-Century Trek, I was tired of TOS prequels, reimaginings, whatever. So I approached DIS with very little enthusiasm.

I was borderline about the time-frame, I didn't care either way, but I agree that they should move passed prequels after Discovery. Hopefully, if they do, it's done by someone who really wants to do a "this isn't The Future, this is the future of The Future!" type of series. Something no one would see coming if all they did was just project from TNG/DS9/VOY. Like Alvin Toffler said in his book, Future Shock, the big mistake people make when predicting future is thinking that it'll be just like the present but only more so.

 

[Gepard]

BEFORE:
I generally lost interest once I found out if was another TOS prequel. Just like how some people got tired of 24th-Century Trek, I was tired of TOS prequels, reimaginings, whatever. So I approached DIS with very little enthusiasm.

AFTER:
Ambivalent. I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it either. It has some very good bits and some bits that don't work for me at all, so I'm neutral towards it. I still think it has a lot of potential, but It wasn't enough for me to keep CBSAA, so it's probably something I might get back into once it's out on home video, but I'm in no hurry for that.

Pretty much this, word-for-word.

I never got the impression, during the runup to the premiere, that there was any pressing artistic reason for making the series, and so far I feel like I was right. CBS needed a brand to launch their All-Access app, and they burned through producers until they found somebody willing to turn the crank on the meat grinder. There's no vision, it's just...stuff. Sometimes very entertaining stuff, but still stuff.

 

[ITDUDE]

Before
Excited. New Star Trek series (don't care when it's set, set it in 31st century for all I care). Cool new ships. Modern Star Trek. Like Kelvin movies, but for TV. Cool!

After
Ahh, the writing. You could lead a horse to water, but apparently you can't have decent writing on a Star Trek TV show. All I want is Star Trek Breaking Bad, is that so much to ask for? (that's sarcasm, I KNOW it is too much to ask for). So now, after, meh, another season of Star Trek coming in a year... yeah... can't wait (that's also sarcasm)

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I felt pretty indifferent when I first saw the trailers. With the season over, I like it fine, but feel they can do better with the next season.

 

[skip bittman]

I was excited when I heard Bryan Fuller's enthusiasm and passion. The second he was gone and the words "Akiva Goldsman" entered the picture, I knew this wouldn't be for me.

 

[cultcross]

Started off cautiously optimistic, hoping for great things but tempered by the odds of achieving something really stand out.

Afterwards, I find a great deal to enjoy but was left underwhelmed by the plotting and some writing decisions. Hoping this can be rectified next year.

 

[Terok Nor]

Before

Not another prequel
Klingons look awful

After

I like it but I don't love it
Burnham is an albatross
Writing is poor
Klingons look awful and are boring

 

[Cyrus]

I was very excited as I have been for all the new Trek series, and yeah I am old enough to have seen TOS during its original run.

It didn't turn out as great as I hoped but still pretty good, looking forward to the second season.

One thing that got me really excited was some great Trek alumni among the writing staff: Bryan Fuller, Joe Menosky, Nick Meyer. So it was very disappointing that none of them lasted even the first season, and Meyer didn't write or direct any episodes.

 

[KennyB]

BEFORE: Excited and happy to have weekly Trek again.

AFTER: Blown away by the scope and scale. I think the best 1st season of any Trek. There is room to improve and I hate to have to wait a year to get more!

 

[Refuge]

Before... Trek starved.
After... Dissatisfied.

 

[Wulfsa]

Before... Whaaat
Between... Ohhhhh
After... Whaaat

 

[Discofan]

I was excited at the prospect but didn't think much about it as I didn't want to be disappointed (again) as I was underwhelmed by Enterprise.

Now: I really like it and looking forward to the second season.

 

[Nyotarules]

Before
Was not bothered since the UK does not have CBS Access, after discovering it would be on Netflix then was intrigued

After
Its not perfect but it entertains me so will keep at it, plus its not costing me anything

 

[BillJ]

Before: It felt like it was going to be nothing but fanwank.
After: It was nothing but fanwank.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Delighted when it was first announced. Despondent when the first publicity photos were released. Despairing when I watched it.

 

[Discofan]

It looked to me like a great many of people on this site liked it (cf votes). What happened to them?
There seem to be mostly disappointed people posting in this thread?