It’s just action sci-fi with a thin veneer of star trek universe on top. What made Trek so good was how it could present a moral dilemma that required the human spirit and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good to overcome. It also had cool aliens and tech and shit, which new trek does fairly well. But really the thing that gets me is how bad the writers are. They’re inconsistent. They push endless fan service. They pander. They focus on action too much. They take the easy way out when it’s clear someone in the writers room attempted to sneak in a satisfying narrative only for a suit to ruin it for everyone. FFS Lower Decks had better stories than SNW because they were able to sneak them in under the guise of it being farcical (and lower budget meant less suit involvement).
Flashy technology to macguffin the solution to a problem isn’t satisfying to watch. Plot-armor-mooted-heroism against all odds to solve a problem isn’t interesting. The ensemble cast of Mary Sues doesn’t make for good drama. The thinly veiled fanservice fueled corporate cash grab is insulting.
Came here to ask if it was worth watching as someone who considers Next Gen and DS9 (and Voyager to a lesser extent) to be peak Trek. I think you’ve answered my question!
It took me until I got to the Badgey episode (I think episode 4 or 5) to click with it. It’s like a less raunchy Rick and Morty humor with a Star Trek skin.
This is the first complaint I’ve seen about any of the new Star Trek shows that didn’t use the word “Woke” as a pejorative term. I’m impressed and appreciative of your well-thought-out take on it.
You actually do have some decent points, but I’m still an unabashed fan of the new stuff, especially Discovery/SNW.
It IS different, in all of the ways you describe, but every new trek has been a stylistic departure from the previous ones in some way, shape , or form, and I’ve been taking the plot armor Mary sue-ing as one piece of that. (Something DS9 also has to a degree, but they definitely held to the “difficult moral choices” aspect in spite of it).
I’ve seen a lot of valid criticism lobbed at DSC. Commenter above hit pretty much all the points. It’s just bad writing. The themes are good, production is top notch, the action is OK (every Trek show is different, this one has more action, fine). But once you get over the novelty of the first season, it gets bad real fast, and only gets worse.
Thanks for not just downvoting like everyone else. People take this stuff too personally.
Even in spite of my complaints, I’ll still watch it with the family. I’m just bummed out that the qualities that made Star Trek so endearing are watered down or lost to the changing tastes of a new generation of media consumers and the insufferable corporate assholes who just don’t get it.
or lost to the changing tastes of a new generation of media consumers
This is the part that just baffles me.
I rarely see anything but vitriol for anything anymore and it usually seems almost wholly unwarranted at the levels it’s offered at.
I’m beginning to think it’s not that people actually dislike the stuff that comes out, they’re just so programmed to nitpick EVERYTHING that they don’t remember how to enjoy something without finding fault. Or they don’t want to risk saying they liked something only to have someone call their very right to an opinion in question. Or… I don’t know. It well and truly confuses me.
it’s just like when Toys R Us went under, all the comments in chats and message boards were pissed that it went out of business (aside from the scummy buyouts) because they had so much fun going there and running around looking at the toys, then when they got older took their kids to run around, look at toys but not buy anything. MFer the reason they went out of business is because you never bought anything!
Bro - they went out of business because A) amazon stole their consumer base and B) Mitt Romney’s vultures did a leveraged buyout where they made Toys R Us pay all of the debt service while he looted anything not bolted down and sold all of the real estate to themselves then leased it back to TRU at inflated no-bid prices.
Yeah, and if they had a healthy, growing cash flow via solid sales over a span of several decades then they would have been the ones buying out competitors.
amazon stole their consumer base
Are you also going to blame mom & pop shops for failing to price-match when walmart moves in a block away?
I’m inclined to agree with you. You’re not a troll at all. Nu-Trek just doesn’t capture the charm of the series. Some might say it’s an evolution, I say it’s slapping a modern action/drama template on the franchise. It’s low effort TV.
But, SNW is still very enjoyable. I can’t say that for Disco. I think it has to do with the fact that SNW is not based on overarching, fast-paced action-drama.
So far I’ve watched all of SNW with the fam. But I only made it through season 4 of The Burnham show before I gave up. And after the disaster of Picard season 1’s ending - I had zero patience for that one. Yikes. “We’re religious extremists which have feared an android apocalypse for a thousand years. But you’re cool, Mr P. We’ll set aside a literal millennia of dogma and doctrin while the very scenario our beliefs are founded upon takes place right in front of us because you gave a great 45 second speech.”
It’s had a few good episodes. That’s why I said SNW is the best of the bunch. But it’s still a low ratio of good to bad. The current crop of executives, producers and writers need to go. The only way for that to happen is a hard reset on the finances.
It’s like when your grandmother is in hospice care on chemo. Sure, they can extend her life for a few months with drugs and invasive treatments. But what about the quality of her life? She’s bedridden in a soulless understaffed hospital that’s sole purpose is to suck every last insurance dollar out of her. Her family doesn’t want to see her in that state so she’s ignored and lonely and losing her mind.
That’s star trek right now. Let it die.
edit: then to further the analogy, we can reboot grandma again later with a better healthcare system
Either option works if you pirate it to avoid giving Larry Ellison’s son money.
Sad truth is if Star Trek doesnt make money
We don’t get more trek
SNW is the closest thing to Trek. I did enjoy Lower Decks. But otherwise… I’m OK with that. New Trek is pretty awful.
What is it you don’t like about New Trek?
It’s just action sci-fi with a thin veneer of star trek universe on top. What made Trek so good was how it could present a moral dilemma that required the human spirit and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good to overcome. It also had cool aliens and tech and shit, which new trek does fairly well. But really the thing that gets me is how bad the writers are. They’re inconsistent. They push endless fan service. They pander. They focus on action too much. They take the easy way out when it’s clear someone in the writers room attempted to sneak in a satisfying narrative only for a suit to ruin it for everyone. FFS Lower Decks had better stories than SNW because they were able to sneak them in under the guise of it being farcical (and lower budget meant less suit involvement).
Flashy technology to macguffin the solution to a problem isn’t satisfying to watch. Plot-armor-mooted-heroism against all odds to solve a problem isn’t interesting. The ensemble cast of Mary Sues doesn’t make for good drama. The thinly veiled fanservice fueled corporate cash grab is insulting.
Came here to ask if it was worth watching as someone who considers Next Gen and DS9 (and Voyager to a lesser extent) to be peak Trek. I think you’ve answered my question!
Oddly I can recommend Lower Decks. It’s not star trek, but it’s a star trek themed farce.
I tried a couple episodes of Lower Decks but I wasn’t taken. Maybe I should just skip to S2.
It took me until I got to the Badgey episode (I think episode 4 or 5) to click with it. It’s like a less raunchy Rick and Morty humor with a Star Trek skin.
This is the first complaint I’ve seen about any of the new Star Trek shows that didn’t use the word “Woke” as a pejorative term. I’m impressed and appreciative of your well-thought-out take on it.
You actually do have some decent points, but I’m still an unabashed fan of the new stuff, especially Discovery/SNW.
It IS different, in all of the ways you describe, but every new trek has been a stylistic departure from the previous ones in some way, shape , or form, and I’ve been taking the plot armor Mary sue-ing as one piece of that. (Something DS9 also has to a degree, but they definitely held to the “difficult moral choices” aspect in spite of it).
Thanks for your opinion and insight.
I’ve seen a lot of valid criticism lobbed at DSC. Commenter above hit pretty much all the points. It’s just bad writing. The themes are good, production is top notch, the action is OK (every Trek show is different, this one has more action, fine). But once you get over the novelty of the first season, it gets bad real fast, and only gets worse.
Thanks for not just downvoting like everyone else. People take this stuff too personally.
Even in spite of my complaints, I’ll still watch it with the family. I’m just bummed out that the qualities that made Star Trek so endearing are watered down or lost to the changing tastes of a new generation of media consumers and the insufferable corporate assholes who just don’t get it.
This is the part that just baffles me.
I rarely see anything but vitriol for anything anymore and it usually seems almost wholly unwarranted at the levels it’s offered at.
I’m beginning to think it’s not that people actually dislike the stuff that comes out, they’re just so programmed to nitpick EVERYTHING that they don’t remember how to enjoy something without finding fault. Or they don’t want to risk saying they liked something only to have someone call their very right to an opinion in question. Or… I don’t know. It well and truly confuses me.
People love to whinge. Some of it is warranted but the internet has made it too easy to find readers so there’s way more whinging than needed.
it’s just like when Toys R Us went under, all the comments in chats and message boards were pissed that it went out of business (aside from the scummy buyouts) because they had so much fun going there and running around looking at the toys, then when they got older took their kids to run around, look at toys but not buy anything. MFer the reason they went out of business is because you never bought anything!
I have paramount plus exclusively for trek.
There’s absolutely nothing else on the platform. It’s all utter rubbish I have zero interest in watching.
At home we call it “Trek+” for exactly this reason.
Bro - they went out of business because A) amazon stole their consumer base and B) Mitt Romney’s vultures did a leveraged buyout where they made Toys R Us pay all of the debt service while he looted anything not bolted down and sold all of the real estate to themselves then leased it back to TRU at inflated no-bid prices.
Yeah, and if they had a healthy, growing cash flow via solid sales over a span of several decades then they would have been the ones buying out competitors.
Are you also going to blame mom & pop shops for failing to price-match when walmart moves in a block away?
The ole private equity bustout. Just like red lobster 👌
Please do watch the show directly.
If you must download a copy for personal use and peace of mind afterwards, that’s your choice.
But do let them make money, let them get the viewership they require, so they keep making more quality Trek. Otherwise, everyone will suffer.
It’s not star trek. It’s all sci-fi flavored action with no moral dilemma or demonstration that the human spirit can evolve. Let it die.
edit: and shameless pandering to fans - looking at you Picard
Oh, look!! A troll!!!
Not a troll. A real person with an opinion that new star trek doesn’t scratch that itch.
I’m inclined to agree with you. You’re not a troll at all. Nu-Trek just doesn’t capture the charm of the series. Some might say it’s an evolution, I say it’s slapping a modern action/drama template on the franchise. It’s low effort TV.
But, SNW is still very enjoyable. I can’t say that for Disco. I think it has to do with the fact that SNW is not based on overarching, fast-paced action-drama.
So far I’ve watched all of SNW with the fam. But I only made it through season 4 of The Burnham show before I gave up. And after the disaster of Picard season 1’s ending - I had zero patience for that one. Yikes. “We’re religious extremists which have feared an android apocalypse for a thousand years. But you’re cool, Mr P. We’ll set aside a literal millennia of dogma and doctrin while the very scenario our beliefs are founded upon takes place right in front of us because you gave a great 45 second speech.”
The literal first episode of the series would disagree with you.
It’s had a few good episodes. That’s why I said SNW is the best of the bunch. But it’s still a low ratio of good to bad. The current crop of executives, producers and writers need to go. The only way for that to happen is a hard reset on the finances.
It’s like when your grandmother is in hospice care on chemo. Sure, they can extend her life for a few months with drugs and invasive treatments. But what about the quality of her life? She’s bedridden in a soulless understaffed hospital that’s sole purpose is to suck every last insurance dollar out of her. Her family doesn’t want to see her in that state so she’s ignored and lonely and losing her mind.
That’s star trek right now. Let it die.
edit: then to further the analogy, we can reboot grandma again later with a better healthcare system
So don’t watch it then.