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Star Trek Discovery

STAR TREK DISCOVERY season three continues...

Four episodes in, and still going exceptionally strong. Like previous Trek series incarnations, Disco seems to be following the season three pattern where the writers/producers have a better handle on the characters and tone of the show.

Michael is excellent. I love her evolution as a character this season. And Saru.... what can I say about this beloved character? He has come a LONG WAY since season one and it is very satisfying to see him assume the Captain's mantle. In fact, all the bridge crew are getting spotlight moments and being fleshed out more. Even Georgeou has been enjoyable! Yeoh plays her role as the Dissenting Voice with the knife cutting precision of comedy and malice.

The pacing seems better this season. Not as hyper accelerated as previous seasons, with the character beats feeling more natural and less plot motivated. And thankfully so far, no "look at the super cool and pointless (and dizzying) camera movements" we can do. lol

While still a serialized action quest show, the producers have wisely kept the TOS flavoured planet of the week element from last season, sprinkled with the perfect amount of current social commentary. But most of all, the show is really doing the Deep Dive into Hope and Optimism. I can honestly say, by the end of each episode, I feel uplifted and rejuvenated. Good stuff!
 
STAR TREK DISCOVERY continues....

... a few bumps in the road, but still very entertaining.

Episode 5 "Die Trying" -- the weakest episode so far this season, due to some very lazy/convenient/coincidental writing. While the whole Seed Ark is a very cool concept, but the fact the exact same ark is still functioning and in the exact same place 900 years later, and Discovery knows all about it, smacks of weak writing for me. Otherwise an emotional and very Trek episode.

Ep. 6 "Scavengers"--If 32nd Century Starfleet can so easily upgrade a 900 year old Starship, why can it not analyze the Spore Drive and install it in the rest of the Fleet? A very fast paced, action episode with great character beats for Michael, Georgeau and Saru.

Ep. 7 "Unification III"-- an incredible episode written by Kristen Beyer!!! An episode that honors Trek's past and brings resolution to Michael's season subplot. My only nitpick, Tilly as Acting First Officer.... really??????????

Ep. 8 "The Sanctuary" -- a Booker centric episode about reconciling with family which plays out a wee bit too predictable but has lots of traditional Trek heart.

Ep. 9 & 10 "Terra Firma" -- Mostly SPOILER free....
Okay, let's get the BIG reveal/twist from part two out of the way.... YES! I squealed with overwhelming delight like a 8 year old! Pure Trekgeek-gasm! lol

And while that SURPRISE has been getting most of the Trek attention, it can not undo the fact the actual episode suffers the return of underdeveloped writing that plagued seasons one and two.

The two parter is basically a retooling of Georgiou character (ie. make her more likeable/sympathetic) to set her up for her own spin-off show. And that is fine. Except the writers never sprinkled any hint of Georgiou's change in view point beforehand, so her new perspective on the universe plays more Left Field than Revelatory. Also, there is a very bizarre scene at the end of the episode where all the Discovery crew toast Georgiou and glorify her. Considering Georgiou treated the most of the crew with distain and is a mass murderer, this struck me as very, very odd.

With that said, Michelle Yeoh's performance is Emmy nomination good. So despite my misgivings regarding the story, the writer's won me over, and I would now happily watch a Georgiou spin-off.

Ep.11 "Su'Kal" -- Michael and Saru discover the cause of the Burn while Tilly has the conn and the Emerald Chain attacks! Plus, an interesting twist on the Trek Holodeck story trope.

Ep.12 "There is a Tide..." Discovery is captured by the Emerald Chain and Michael must go all Die Hard (even barefoot! lol) to save her crew. Meanwhile the Emerald Chain negotiates an armistice and possible alliance with the Federation -- but is there a catch?

The Burn reveal is not what one expects and has a very old school Trek vibe. And the Die Hard stuff is fun and there is some nice Stamets moments. But what was truly interesting part for me was the meeting between Osyraa and Vance, and the philosophical, ethical and moral discussion that followed -- pure Trek!

One episode to go! Will Discovery stick to it's landing this season?
Stay tuned!!
 
STAR TREK DISCOVERY Season Three Finale
"That Hope is You Part 2"

It was good. Not great. Not amazing.

It did it's job of giving a solid, entertaining, somewhat uneven, finale that tied up all the loose threads in the usual convenient, accelerated storytelling that Discovery favors.

The episode follows two very different storylines; the high octane adrenaline action of Michael saving the Discovery from the Emerald Chain and the more intimate, cerebral challenge of Saru helping Su'Kal come to terms with his past. Michael's story is fast paced, fun and totally illogical. Saru's is heartfelt, very Trek but ultimately predictable.

Biggest nitpick: the big spectacle set piece is Michael and Book fighting Regulators inside Discovery's Turbo Lift system. It looks and plays INCREDIBLE - worthy of any big screen blockbuster. BUT... apparently the interior of Discovery must be 90% hollow and is a megalithic empty transit hub chasm... lol. Can not wait until the official CBS/Paramount blueprints are released to explain this engineering nightmare LOL. Though I must admit, Book get's the best line of the episode at the end of this sequence.... never insult Book's cat.

I find Discovery works best if you don't over analyze it too much. It was a finale where the parts are better than the whole. Yes, the badguys were ultimately one dimensional and many plots points are non-sensical but the underlying theme of connection is strong and powerful.

And I gotta admit, the final scene of Michael on the Discovery bridge gave me the FEELS.

So for me, season three might be the most evenly written season to date. No extreme highs or lows, compared to the first two seasons. And Michael's arc has a rewarding (if not predictable) payoff. In the end, a solidly entertaining if somewhat unspectacular season.

"Let's fly!" :D
 
^ I was hoping you were either going to convince me to watch S3, or convince me not to.  Hmmm, maybe I'll give it a go. I do like the Disco characters, even if I'm not jazzed about what they do with them.

Just noticed the model used at the start and end of this old 1990 comedy sketch is the Discovery type prototype design:

 
I think Season 3 of Discovery was better than 1 and 2, but still not quite what I wanted. We spent the whole season in the future, and while we did get some glimpses of it and some new tech, I don't feel like we really explored it as much as I would have liked over the course of 13 episodes. It looks like Season 4 is set up to do that, so I have high hopes for it, but I also thought the Season 2 finale was setting us up for the same thing so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If you're looking for a simple yes/no recommendation on watching, I would still vote "yes".
 
Yeah, I liked the glimpses we saw, but I'm really hoping s4 literally explores more. Overall though, this season absolutely felt stronger than the others, and more evenly told. My hope is that a solid groundwork will lead to bigger and better things moving forward, similar to how a solid season 3 in TNG led to a really great seasons 4 through 6.
 
STAR TREK DISCOVERY season four

...spoiler free musings...

Last season the underlying theme was Connectiveness, this year the producers focused more specifically on Communication, in all its forms. The Discovery crew embarked on a 13 episode TMP/Vger style mystery quest, to find and make first contact with a completely unknown alien force before they kill billions.

The pacing of this season was very uneven, particularly in the second half. It is a story that felt like it could have been 8 or 9 episodes, not 13. However, the trade off with many of the filler episodes is we got many great character moments and some truly wonderful deep, deep dives into Star Trek philosophies and principles. And for me, the final two episodes, "Species 10C" and "Coming Home", was the best executed season finale to date, with some terrific pure Trek moments.

While the show desperately needs to revamp how it does it's season long narrative structure, it is a show and a crew I have come to thoroughly enjoy travelling with and I look forward to see what adventure awaits for Season Five.
 
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bionicbob said:
Let's fly into season five!
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I have only watched 3 seasons. The 4th season has not been aired in my country because Paramount + wants to be available in the next months. Previously it was aired by Netflix.

So, here we are, waiting and waiting. Maybe one day we will be able to see it.
 
Just started the second part of season 4. After spending time away from this series and watching the first season of Strange New Worlds, I'm finding myself fatigued by the frenetic dialogue and presentation of this show. TOO much exposition to explain the what and why of everything going on. This has always been a part of Trek to help the viewer access the future world, but this show pushes this too far. I also struggle with it's overly serious tone. It's almost comical at times and feels a bit over acted. I think I'm actually finding that I liked Strange New Worlds more than I previously thought.

I loved the story line of season 2 of Discovery, but I'm just not feeling this DMA thing. This crew is so disorderly and dysfunctional that it's hard to think that they would be trusted with a starship.
 
When Discovery first came on the air, I was a defender of it but mostly I was just excited to have Star Trek back on the air. Now that we have Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds (which are all great) and Picard (Season 1 ok, Season 2 bad, Season 3 hopefully better), I'm more willing to admit its flaws.

None of the characters on Discovery feel like real people to me, with the possible exception of Saru. They're all either caricatures (Michael, Georgiou, Tilly), or blank slates (Stamets, Detmer, the rest of the bridge crew whose names I don't even know). Characters have no motivation other than drama and the plots feel contrived and pointless. And while Star Trek has a long history of redesigning aliens, the new designs in Discovery seem either pointless (Vulcans, Andorians, Orions), or significantly worse than before (Tellarites and especially KLINGONS).
 
Just finished the finale for season 4. It had a few good moments, but oozed of sappy drama that felt forced and what I would expect might be had in a Twilight book. Again, I don't know how any of these characters were given command/responsibility. Yes it's fiction, but this pushes the boundaries in ridiculous ways. The storyline is a bit out there, but the core values and lessons were pretty good and echoed classic Trek. I just wish the delivery model was more.......Strange (New Worlds). I'll probably return to season 2 again, but the rest is meh. Saru has the most intriguing character arc and I might watch those specific episodes again.
 
Well, looks like the wobbly uneven journey that was Star Trek Discovery is coming to an end. I'll give it credit for taking some big swings, even if a lot of them were huge misses. Overall, I enjoyed Disco, even if it wasn't always to my tastes. Strange New Worlds managed to find the happy medium for me between the hyper-kenetic NuTrek and Old School Trek.

Hope they stick the landing on their final season as it seems that the decision to end the show was made while they were filming it.
 
I was confused by this announcement because I thought the fifth season announcement was already a surprise and that we expected it to be the final season.
 
I knew we were getting a 5th season, but I didn't really expect it to be their last. I agree it's been a mixed bag, and that SNW really nailed Trek in a way Discovery struggled with. Time to put the show to rest.
 
I guess I was just reading between the lines last year when the cast seemed surprised by the fifth season renewal, after the season finished airing, especially after a fourth season finale that felt like a fitting series finale.
 
asterixsmeagol said:
I guess I was just reading between the lines last year when the cast seemed surprised by the fifth season renewal, after the season finished airing, especially after a fourth season finale that felt like a fitting series finale.
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This was over milking from start to finishZzzz….

I’m still only halfway thru S4, coz I get prickly heat every time “Michelle” Burnham ( of the Royal Shakespeare Company), is onscreen.
 
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DISCOVERY season five opener spoiler free musings...

Watched the two episode premiere, "Red Directive" and "Under The Twin Moons", and to put it bluntly, it is more of the same.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on what you want and your mood.

This season is a sequel to a classic Next Generation episode. It is another season long mystery quest. So immediately, after 4 seasons, it has Wash-Rinse-Repeat vibe.

It continues with it's focus on Emotional Manipulation over Logical Plotting and Spectacle (and it continues to be gorgeous) over substance.
Discovery has always been a Small Universe show, where coincidence and convenience drives the story, but even for me, this two episode opener warped past my bounds of acceptable credibility.

It is amazing, being from 900 years in the past, how Burnham and her crew, are always the smartest people in the room and are completely versed in all the history and politics of the past millennium.

The cast continues to be so damn likeable, and when Burnham is allowed to "fly", she is completely infectious. The growing romance between Saru and T'rina is charming. The two new badguys are interesting and fun. And Callum Keith Rennie as Captain Rayner is a very welcomed addition.

So while this opener did not fully excite me compared to seasons past, I am intrigued as to where this final voyage will eventually land.
 
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