Star Trek Discovery

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

They ate the hearts of prey like Targs and other animals, I don't recall him ever talking about eating the hearts of enemies.

But I could be wrong.

Oh and salt juS, which means pass the salt in Klingon.

I could be wrong also, but I believe it was mentioned during Jadzia and Worf's wedding, when Worf was upset that she wouldn't be able to get into Sto'vo'kor because she hadn't eating the heart of an enemy.

And a second time involving a DS9 episode with Kor.

[CliffFletcher]

Coincidentally, I'm doing a binge-watch of DS9 right now - just finished the three-parter that opens season 2. I'm finding it quite good. The characters are more diverse in roles and motivations that TOS or TNG. I quite like Quark - Armin Shimerman does a great job underneath all that makeup. Avery Brooks is growing on me. My biggest issue with the acting is Nana Visitor's Kira, who comes across as more waspish than battle-hardened. I can't help but imagining Michelle Forbes (the producers' original choice for the role) in her place, and how much weight she would have given to the role.

The setting and premise of the starbase has a lot of potential, and they use it pretty well in the first season. I'm certainly glad I didn't skip immediately to the third season, as some people recommend. The key to these binge watches of Star Trek (I recently finished TOS and TNG) is to use some of the rewatch/review sites as guides, and skip the bad episodes. About 25 per cent of Star Trek is awful, and another 25 per cent meh. I watched about 50-60 per cent of the episodes of TOS and TNG, and I'm glad I took that route.

The worst thing about DS9 is the SD picture. After watching the HD remasters of TNG, going directly to DS9, with its dim lighting and low-definition, feels like watching the show through a veil of gauze.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Coincidentally, I'm doing a binge-watch of DS9 right now - just finished the three-parter that opens season 2. I'm finding it quite good. The characters are more diverse in roles and motivations that TOS or TNG. I quite like Quark - Armin Shimerman does a great job underneath all that makeup. Avery Brooks is growing on me. My biggest issue with the acting is Nana Visitor's Kira, who comes across as more waspish than battle-hardened. I can't help but imagining Michelle Forbes (the producers' original choice for the role) in her place, and how much weight she would have added to the role.

The setting and premise of the starbase has a lot of potential, and they use it pretty well in the first season. I'm certainly glad I didn't skip immediately to the third season, as some people recommend. The key to these binge watches of Star Trek (I recently finished TOS and TNG) is to use some of the rewatch/review sites as guides, and skip the bad episodes. About 25 per cent of Star Trek is awful, and another 25 per cent meh. I watched about 50-60 per cent of the episodes of TOS and TNG, and I'm glad I took that route.

The worst thing about DS9 is the SD picture. After watching the HD remasters of TNG, going directly to DS9, with its dim lighting and low-definition, feels like watching the show through a veil of gauze.

I really think that you have to power through those first two seasons because its a slow burn on character development. I believe if you just skipped to season three that you would miss a lot of the emotional gravity that you need to push the dominion War over the top.

In a lot of ways the characters are stereotypical but that doesn't stop you from caring about them

Quark - The greedy corrupt shop owner with the hardened exterior but underneath it all he's a really good person.

Sisko - Battle hardened, a bit angry, he's not like the usual Captains because he's very Machiavellian, he's been put into a role that requires a lot more diplomacy then the normal starship Captain.

Kira - The former freedom fighter who starts out thinking that everything is pretty black and white and the road to victory is one worth travelling no matter what the cost. But by the second season she learns that her hard cynical nature and insurgent thinking doesn't work. Kai Wynn was a great character foil for her.

Odo - Who am I, why am I here, what's my role. He desperately wants to know where he comes from and when he does find out, instead of resisting the clear evil that his people are doing, he buys into it. He's also a sheriff with a lot of compassion. He and Quark just work off of each other well.

Nog - I loved this character because in the first couple of seasons he starts out as pretty unlikeable, but for a background character they give him this great subtle story of personal growth and he becomes driven by idealism and duty and then they take it all away.

On the other side

Chief Obrien wasn't really that intriguing of a character, nor was Jadzia even though she had some great moments. Jake was annoying, but the episode where he and Sisko take that sailing ship out was really well done, and the old man Jake episode was exceptional.

Amazing side characters.

Dukat, he was the devil that wanted to be an angel, but when he was tempted by the serpent he lost his humanity in a hurry.

Kai Wynn - She was really pure evil from the start. She was a unrepentant religious zealot who was completely power hungry and corrupt and hid it behind a kind smile and righteousness

Martok - I loved this character he was a stereotypical Klingon but in a lot of ways he rose way above just being that honor bound warrior. The episode with Worf's son on his ship was exceptional.

Weyoun - I loved that guy, and the line in the end from the changeling about killing the last Weyoun was awesome.

but the best most interesting character in the whole run was Morn.

He never had any lines, but he had multiple episodes about him, including one Morn Episode where he was in it for about 60 seconds. But he was amazingly well developed

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Amazing side characters.

Dukat, he was the devil that wanted to be an angel, but when he was tempted by the serpent he lost his humanity in a hurry.

Kai Wynn - She was really pure evil from the start. She was a unrepentant religious zealot who was completely power hungry and corrupt and hid it behind a kind smile and righteousness

Martok - I loved this character he was a stereotypical Klingon but in a lot of ways he rose way above just being that honor bound warrior. The episode with Worf's son on his ship was exceptional.

Weyoun - I loved that guy, and the line in the end from the changeling about killing the last Weyoun was awesome.

but the best most interesting character in the whole run was Morn.

He never had any lines, but he had multiple episodes about him, including one Morn Episode where he was in it for about 60 seconds. But he was amazingly well developed

You wrote this whole post and didn't mention the best guest character of all Star Trek, "just a simple tailor" Elim Garak?

[CaptainCrunch]

Yeah, that was my bad. I loved that character and the only time that Bashir was remotely interesting was when he was involved.

[Resolute 14]

Bashir was DS9's version of Troi - A character so bland that the writers never really figured out what to do with it. At least Troi finally got some decent stories late in the run when the producers finally started treating her as more than just cleavage (thanks Captain Jericho), but I don't feel like Bashir ever stood on his own two feet. O'Brien couldn't quite carry him in their episodes, but Garak could.

As far as the last episode of Discovery goes: 1. Having every Klingon scene spoken in Klingon is getting more annoying, not less. 2. I really hope they start to give us reasons to care about characters other than Burnham soon. Though at least Voq's story line is threatening to become somewhat interesting.

[CaptainCrunch]

They had a real opportunity with Bashir when he was in the Dominion prison camp and the changeling had taken his place, but instead he became a background character in that arc.

The only time he really showed some bite was in the mirror universe, and even there, he was pretty much there to snarl and get punched in the face.

[KTrain]

I actually like Bashir's genetic engineering storyline. The other engineered characters were fun. I might be alone on this though.

[OutOfTheCube]

I've read a lot of the DS9 novels and have trouble separating the books from the show in my head. Bashir does a lot of cool Section 31 stuff in the books.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by KTrain

I actually like Bashir's genetic engineering storyline. The other engineered characters were fun. I might be alone on this though.

I never felt like they did anything with it. If anything, it became less and less of a factor as the series progressed.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by KTrain

I actually like Bashir's genetic engineering storyline. The other engineered characters were fun. I might be alone on this though.

The second episode where they made the girl normal was really well done and pretty heart breaking.

[Sr. Mints]

In the earlier seasons of DS9, Bashir was like Wesley Crusher: wide-eyed, annoying, and completely unessential to anything unless he was the featured character.

At least he seemed to grow out of that in the last half of the show. Or he grew on me.

[Manhattanboy]

Could someone please tell me where in the timeline of the various series Discovery fits in - is it before the original Enterprise?

Is there a good website that has a timeline of all of the series (and major events)?

Many thanks.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Could someone please tell me where in the timeline of the various series Discovery fits in - is it before the original Enterprise?

Is there a good website that has a timeline of all of the series (and major events)?

Many thanks.

It's about 10 years before the original series in terms of the timeline and is in the prime timeline not the movie timeline.

[Resolute 14]

Discovery is set at the start of the Klingon War that served as the background to TOS.

Wikipedia offers a reasonable timeline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Star_Trek

[Kjesse]

"Choose Your Pain" was my favourite episode so far.

Mudd was great. Lorca's story is filling in. Stamets takes on a bigger role.

And that ending.... gave me chills.

[Timbo]

Originally Posted by Kjesse

"Choose Your Pain" was my favourite episode so far.

Mudd was great. Lorca's story is filling in. Stamets takes on a bigger role.

Agreed and the double F bomb came as quite the surprise.

[CaptainCrunch]

It was a lot better episode, maybe because they simplified quite a bit and didn't have 30 minutes of Klingon's whining.

They've made a concerted effort to make Stamets more likable, and they did a pretty good job of that with the F-Bombs and the Portabello line.

The revelation that Lorca was ruthless enough to kill his own crew to save them from the Klingons didn't resonate in the right way with me. Instead of making me think that this guy is some kind of heroic warrior captain, he didn't fight the ship. Wouldn't the writing have been better if he had been willing to sacrifice his crew by fighting to the last man against insurmountable odds.

I like Mudd, its a different Mudd then the cowardly business man Mudd from the original series. This guy was conniving an weak and souless. I loved his speech about the Federation. Especially the whole "There are a lot more of us down there, then there are up here" then bitterly ending it with "We're sick of getting stuck in your crossfire"

Odd that Michael completely disobeyed a lawful command from the acting Captain and he didn't shoot her out an airlock. Instead he gave her a time out. BTW I'm just not diffing Saru.

the whole spore drive Tardagrade switching DNA thing was overly colluded and the whole thing felt like one big nerd joke with the result being a couple of F-Bombs.

The ending was interested with the

Spoiler!

Stamets mirror thing. I'm wondering if Stamets has breached the mirror universe

[getbak]

I thought for sure that Michael was going to be the one who took the tardigrade DNA. It was an interesting surprise that it ended up being the engineer. Is he going to get knocked unconscious every time they need to jump somewhere, or will he build a resistance over time?


My prediction is that the Starfleet officer that the captain rescued from the Klingons will end up being a Klingon spy who has the human augment virus.


Mudd is supposed to be a recurring character (I like the Rainn Wilson casting), so it will be interesting to see where he goes.

[FlameOn]

Man, Starfleet really needs to work on their transport security. It's fricking war time and they have no VIP protection except a single pilot?

I think the Klingon spy is Voq, where was he during this episode when L'Rell was there the whole time. Lorca's Tribble might take a starring role soon when it gets to his fortune cookies.