Star Trek Discovery premieres tonight

[gorobei]

The only possible way I can justify that bs is if it was just a bogus cover story to get Michael to go along with Lorca's plan which really is some sort of bioweapon. That makes infinitely more sense. He saw that she wasn't going to take the bait so he pivoted and made up some bs story to rope her in. The only problem with that is that you had that science geek going on and on in the shuttle about filaments connecting all of space. So if you go with that explanation, you're being more than generous.

Putting that issue aside, I actually liked the episode. I didn't find the electricity eating bugs too over the top since such creatures do exist. OK, they use electricity to metabolize minerals but they do live on pure electricity (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25894-meet-the-electric-life-forms-that-live-on-pure-energy/). Of course what they were doing floating around in empty space is another problem but . . . well . . . f*** it.
.

the mycelium is a bit of a conceit, very inline with original showrunner Brian Fuller(he did a mushroom episode on Hannibal). fungal colonies are the largest living organisms on the planet (identifiably discrete dna). there were some other studies indicating awareness of conditions over vast distances in different parts the fungus, similar to quantum entanglement. extending the concept gets you an organism with cosmic connectivity/consciousness. the using it to travel is the leap. when i saw the scene with Stammits(seeming named after a real mycologist) and his mini sermon on fungi, i knew what they were hinting at and that average viewers werent going to have the fringe knowledge to make the connections.

tardigrades can survive in space, assuming something similar developed the ability to feed on cosmic radiation it isnt a huge leap.

 

[Charmonium]

The concept of entanglement is so abused in crappy scifi you sometimes have to wonder if the people writing it have even the foggiest idea of how it works. I'm not a physicist by any stretch but I'm an interested dilettante and even I know you can't use entanglement to teleport. When people talk about quantum teleportation what they really mean is that a measurement of one particle like a photon immediately influences its entangled partner so the quantum state is in some sense teleported but nothing actually moves from one place to another. That would violate the faster than light rule of relativity.

 

[dud]

Watched episode 3 and thought that it was very well done for sci fi. Unfortunately, it didn't "feel" like ST at all. It's just my opinion but STD lacks the soul of the ST universe.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Watched episode 3 and thought that it was very well done for sci fi. Unfortunately, it didn't "feel" like ST at all. It's just my opinion but STD lacks the soul of the ST universe.

The conceptualization of problems, situations and technology seem out of alignment with what we've become accustomed to from ST. This feels like a new timeline more so than anything else and the Discovery operates like section 31.

 

[Ketchup]

.... The only possible way I can justify that bs is if it was just a bogus cover story to get Michael to go along with Lorca's plan which really is some sort of bioweapon. That makes infinitely more sense. He saw that she wasn't going to take the bait so he pivoted and made up some bs story to rope her in. ..

I actually really like that explanation myself, based on the timeline we are supposed to be in. I also liked this episode. A pretty good improvement (story wise) over the intro IMO.

 

[Ancalagon44]

the mycelium is a bit of a conceit, very inline with original showrunner Brian Fuller(he did a mushroom episode on Hannibal). fungal colonies are the largest living organisms on the planet (identifiably discrete dna). there were some other studies indicating awareness of conditions over vast distances in different parts the fungus, similar to quantum entanglement. extending the concept gets you an organism with cosmic connectivity/consciousness. the using it to travel is the leap. when i saw the scene with Stammits(seeming named after a real mycologist) and his mini sermon on fungi, i knew what they were hinting at and that average viewers werent going to have the fringe knowledge to make the connections.

tardigrades can survive in space, assuming something similar developed the ability to feed on cosmic radiation it isnt a huge leap.

What I didn't like about it is that it is so advanced, it would make Borg trans-warp technology look like a steam engine. And yet somehow it is all conveniently forgot about by the time the Enterprise D comes along.

 

[Charmonium]

What I didn't like about it is that it is so advanced, it would make Borg trans-warp technology look like a steam engine. And yet somehow it is all conveniently forgot about by the time the Enterprise D comes along.

If it were remotely plausible, there were any number of ways they could have dismissed the technology. For example it could turn out that it's unreliable. Sure, you can travel anywhere in the blink of an eye but 1 time in 10 you might end up inside the corona of a star. Or maybe traveling that way "damaged" subspace in some sense so that started leaking into normal space. The possibilities are endless.

But you're right, if it did work and there weren't any problems with it, it would definitely pose a problem for the ST universe timeline.

 

[Aharami]

this just doesn't feel like ST

 

[ImpulsE69]

IMO...The Orville is shaping up to be more "Star Trek" than this new Star Trek.

This show is....trying to be something different...LIke taking a look at the dark side of the Federation that hides in the shadows. I mean..we all know that's how it really would be..but it may go against everything GR wanted.

I'm liking both shows so far though.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Hell Yes.

I think you have to be a diehard Seth MacFarlane, to the like The Orville, which is some kind of Sitcom/TNG parody.

Heck I like Ted/Family guy, but the humor in The Orville falls flat for me, and since they made it a sitcom, that totally deflates any dramatic value the series has.

The last few episodes of The Orville have been just as good as any TNG. Yes, they throw humor out here and there, and the crew are more...realistic rather than all 'huffy puffy serious' 100% of the time. They seem to have toned down the over the top trying to be funny and the episodes themselves are quite serious with a few jokes here and there.

 

[PeterScott]

The last few episodes of The Orville have been just as good as any TNG. Yes, they throw humor out here and there, and the crew are more...realistic rather than all 'huffy puffy serious' 100% of the time. They seem to have toned down the over the top trying to be funny and the episodes themselves are quite serious with a few jokes here and there.

I have seen up to episode 4, and I disagree, all the episodes have totally out of place lame ass "humor".

The copied the superficial look and music cues of TNG, and that is about it. But there is no substance below that superficial surface.

It has the feel of a TNG parody sketch on comedy show.

 

[tommo123]

I have seen up to episode 4, and I disagree, all the episodes have totally out of place lame ass "humor".

The copied the superficial look and music cues of TNG, and that is about it. But there is no substance below that superficial surface.

It has the feel of a TNG parody sketch on comedy show.

i like it (haven't seen past ep 3 yet mind) but be fair TNG wasn't exactly lacking in superficiality up until best of both worlds. shows take time to figure themselves out and get going. i'm rewatching stargate at the mo and it doesn't really become stargate until S2. arguably S3 even.

 

[PeterScott]

i like it (haven't seen past ep 3 yet mind) but be fair TNG wasn't exactly lacking in superficiality up until best of both worlds. shows take time to figure themselves out and get going. i'm rewatching stargate at the mo and it doesn't really become stargate until S2. arguably S3 even.

A lot of shows take time to find their footing.

But Orville, is just a silly ST parody by design, so there are silly gag moments every few minutes.

Some of the cast are voice actors from MacFarlane's animated shows. Some are better voice actors, than live actors. MacFarlane is the prime example and is IMO a terrible live actor. Which is a huge problem as he is the lead.

IMO, this would have been better as an animated series, they could have gone edgier, made it funnier, and had a smaller budget.

 

[JEDI]

IMO, this would have been better as an animated series, they could have gone edgier, made it funnier, and had a smaller budget.

yes!

 

[Charmonium]

A lot of shows take time to find their footing.

But Orville, is just a silly ST parody by design, so there are silly gag moments every few minutes.

Some of the cast are voice actors from MacFarlane's animated shows. Some are better voice actors, than live actors. MacFarlane is the prime example and is IMO a terrible live actor. Which is a huge problem as he is the lead.

IMO, this would have been better as an animated series, they could have gone edgier, made it funnier, and had a smaller budget.

Orville would have made a lot more sense as animation. A Quagmire type character as helmsman for example. Gigiddy.

The problem is that they want to do both, be serious and funny at the same time. You can do that but there's an art to it and it's not the sort of thing that lends itself to Macfarlane's type of humor. Those types of shows use humor that's more situational like having incongruities that are amusing. The Sundance series Hap and Leonard is one example I can think of that was able to walk that line and pull it off. But even there, you never really got the feeling it was trying to be funny. It came across as organic. Here it's like they're trying to weld a parody onto a serious scifi show and it just doesn't work.

 

[DesiPower]

Is it available only on all access pass? Not in air?

 

[JEDI]

Orville would have made a lot more sense as animation. A Quagmire type character as helmsman for example. Gigiddy.

why are there 2 helmsmen?

 

[Charmonium]

Ruh?

 

[ViRGE]

But Orville, is just a silly ST parody by design, so there are silly gag moments every few minutes.

No. The Orville is not a parody.

One can certainly argue that it's a homage, but a "deliberate exaggeration for comic effect" it is not. The stories have levity, and all told they play the sci-fi aspects straight.

What the Orville is, is a ship-based science-fiction exploratory show with blue humor than you'd ever find on Star Trek. So it certainly is jokier than Star Trek (which was typically played everything straight). But it's a dramady, not a comedy or a parody. And thankfully (and perhaps best of all), it's not Family Guy in space, despite what some people want it to be.

why are there 2 helmsmen?

Helmsman and a navigator/ops. Which is pretty much how TNG and TOS did it, as well.

 

[PeterScott]

No. The Orville is not a parody.

One can certainly argue that it's a homage, but a "deliberate exaggeration for comic effect" it is not. The stories have levity, and all told they play the sci-fi aspects straight.

What the Orville is, is a ship-based science-fiction exploratory show with blue humor than you'd ever find on Star Trek. So it certainly is jokier than Star Trek (which was typically played everything straight). But it's a dramady, not a comedy or a parody. And thankfully (and perhaps best of all), it's not Family Guy in space, despite what some people want it to be.

Helmsman and a navigator/ops. Which is pretty much how TNG and TOS did it, as well.

Closer to parody than homage. Homage is done with respect and reverence. This is childish and bathroom humor slathered on.

It may try for both humor and drama, but it fails at both. The constant interjection of out of place jokes deflates any sense of drama, because they are setting up for yet another lame joke. Lame being the operative word. This is pretty much the least funny thing MacFarlane has done, but the constant attempt at humor are mostly just cringey.

 

[William Gaatjes]

It is on Netflix Netherlands as well now.
One episode each week.
I kinda like the new look of the klingons. Also, the behavior i like more.
Special effects are good as well. Starting from episode 3, it becomes obvious this is not a show for little children.
Some gory special effects would not be out of place in the horror movie "The thing".
I love it. :thumbs up:

 

[Charmonium]

Helmsman and a navigator/ops. Which is pretty much how TNG and TOS did it, as well.

Ah, now I get the question. Right. Helm, nav/sec/tactical

Closer to parody than homage. Homage is done with respect and reverence. This is childish and bathroom humor slathered on.

We're technically thread-sh**ing here so I'll keep this brief. I'd consider it a parody because no commanding officer would act the way Mercer does. That character alone is a parody of all ST captains.

 

[Jaskalas]

Imagine if the Discovery solves it science project... but instead of travel over the distance of space - they instead get flung into the post-Voyager future. That would solve a lot of things and make us fanboys squeal in delight.

 

[kinev]

Just chiming in here to say I really liked ST DIS, was damn good actually .
But yeah she should've shot that Klingon in the legs & not in the back (she didn't have time to dial the phaser down), but then the plot for the Klingons going to war would be gone or delayed , they should've come up with a more plausible scene. Him being dead from the explosion for example! lol.

Oh & I agree broadcasting it on just 2 'channels' is a mistake, here in the UK Netflix (HD) is £7.50/mth

No, she was pissed that the "Klingon" killed her captain, so she purposefully set it to kill. First guards they shoot, the phaser is set to blue. Once her captain is killed she SET IT TO KILL. Even after she gave that whole speech about how killing him would make him a martyr. Ooops.

What I didn't like about it is that it is so advanced, it would make Borg trans-warp technology look like a steam engine. And yet somehow it is all conveniently forgot about by the time the Enterprise D comes along.

As has been mentioned, certain fungi are the largest living organism on Earth. I like how they are mixing that with quantum entanglement to propose instantaneous transport. If we can exchange information across light years instantaneously (rudimentary experiments on Earth have shown the beginnings of this; quantum states can be 0's and 1's just like binary), isn't that all that transporters do (which all Trek fans take as possible). So, space fungi are spread all across the galaxy providing the "link" or philote (thank you Ender's Game) that allow instantaneous info exchange and the Federation is combining that with transporter technology. The bodies on the sister research ship were all "warped" similar to early transporter accidents. Also, ancient civilizations in the ST universe had instantaneous transport (Iconian gateways in TNG and DS9), so maybe the Iconians were using something like this... Neat concept.

But, these spores might be causing mutations (maybe the tardigrade) and maybe the new captain is going the route of Mengele...remember: physics and biology are the same.

Imagine if the Discovery solves it science project... but instead of travel over the distance of space - they instead get flung into the post-Voyager future. That would solve a lot of things and make us fanboys squeal in delight.

I've read that each season of Discovery will be independent (see: American Horror Story), so they could easily follow the Discovery E in post Voyager timeline.

 

[JujuFish]

I've read that each season of Discovery will be independent (see: American Horror Story), so they could easily follow the Discovery E in post Voyager timeline.

That is incorrect. Bryan Fuller wanted to do an anthology series, CBS did not. If Discovery does well, there may be a spinoff series in the anthology format.