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thelesseroftwoweevils · 1 year

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Strange New Worlds S1

I finished SNW s1 on paramount plus this week. So here's a lot of waffle about it. Containing vague but definite spoilers under the cut

So I watch the first season of Strange New Worlds, and to be honest, I've been a bit hesitant to watch it and biased against it because like The Orville it's heralded by people who dislike Discovery and Picard as 'real proper Trek', and since I like Discovery and Picard or at least think they are at least okay and underrated, that annoyed me greatly.

Now of course, I watched it and it is pretty good. There's no denying that. It's upbeat. It's characters are likeable. Anson Mount as Pike is especially charismatic. I think it's a triumph of style and tone because I'm sure there are as many continuity issues and just oddities that you could pick up on compared to Enterprise or Disco but people don't want to.

It's episodic and that's a strength and a weakness, it lets you do a lot of different stories but those stories have to take up 50 odd minutes time and then you're done. There a couple of stories episodes 5 and 6 stand out where they took far to long to get to want feels like it should have been the meat of the episode which makes everything wrap up quickly and patly. There's a moral dilemma in episode 6 that Pike just has to… accept because there's no time to deal with it.

The short episode count is always an issue. The only series were like 250% the size of this one mid 20s number of episodes rather than 10 so there isn't room for everyone in the ensemble to shine.

The characters well… there's a lot of returning characters from TOS and to be honest I like them all but it feels iffy continuity wise. M'Benga is going to go from CMO to supporting Doc in TOS and having him and Chapel and Uhura all as part of Pike's crew doesn't seem to meld well with The Menagarie heavily implying (iirc it's been a long time) that Spock is the only one who knows him.

It's not the kind of show where you'd worry about the characters overly but it remains we know the fates of a lot of the cast. Pike, Spock, Uhura, Chapel, even secondary cast like Sam Kirk. And La'an Noonien Singh descended from Khan, the number of TOS connections seems forced like it's a very small universe and so far aside from a brief moment with Una/Number One La'an connection to Khan hasn't been relevant, so there's no reason she couldn't have not been a Noonien Singh. Likewise Uhura as a gifted cadet uncertain if she wants to be in starfleet, there's no reason that character had to be Uhura.

So the other original characters of note are helm officer Ortegas and Hemmer the aenar engineer. I really like the concept of Hemmer, it makes sense to have more Aliens on board and he would be from a canonical but rarely seen founding member of the federation. (when are we getting a tellarite character?) but they underused him and then killed him, sadly.

The last two episode were really quite iffy conceptually for me. The Gorn are no basically xenomorphs that you have to kill and the message of the finale is 'pike sucks, kirk's great because he's willing to kick ass'. For all the other series get complained about for shooting things to solve your problems this is actually the only series that really came out actually did that. Contrast to Discovery Season 4 which really was about making peaceful contact with a very alien and apparently hostile society.

It's kind of to the show's credit that they followed up on Pike learning about his accident in Discovery but the message that he shouldn't prevent it because inevitably he sucks and Spock and Kirk are what's need to save the universe is just so… eh. No. It's bad thematically and logically. There's really nothing he can do where he and the cadets are fine without Spock dying? It's contrived. Tell all the cadets not to turn up and then retire yourself and let Kirk take over the Enterprise if you must, how does that end in disaster? Like I know they've got to enforce continuity some how but still, this makes little sense.

As to Kirk, In the finale he's an alternate timeline Kirk and he's actually pretty good. Sam talking about him makes him sound like a JJVerse stereotype of Kirk as a renegade womanising maverick that he just wasn't in TOS and is massively overstated by popular culture. But his actual character is good. He's brave, inventive, and principalled and even though he disagrees with Pike he's still respectful, attentive and suggest compromises between there point of view and there seems to be genuine liking and respect between them which is what I always want in crossovers.

That said I'm less happy he'll be back in season 2 for the aforementioned continuity snarl with The Menagarie.

Hopes for season 2? Give Number one, Ortegas and Sam Kirk focus episodes or at least more material Don't bring in more TOS characters like Scotty. Give us another original engineer and don't kill em.

#star trek #Strange New Worlds #star trek strange new worlds #strange new worlds season 1 #star trek spoilers #spoilers #strange new worlds spoilers #star trek strange new worlds spoilers #i am super late on this #so i don't know why so many spoiler tags

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thegreaterlink · 2 years

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Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S1E1 “Encounter at Farpoint”

So… you’re probably wondering why I’m only doing this now. Well, some of you may remember that this originally started as “reviewing every TNG episode I haven’t seen before,” similar to my early TOS reviews, but I quickly realised that was redundant because that applied to nearly all of them. So I just made it a proper review series.

Unfortunately this decision came after I skipped the season premiere. I’ve been meaning to rectify this for a while now, and what better time to do it than between the series' most infamous cliffhanger?

Let's just pretend I posted this back in February, okay? Just ignore the fact that the reviews for the subsequent episodes are going to look a lot worse in comparison. I could just edit those reviews or just re-review those episodes entirely, but…

And yes, I'm treating this as one review, since this was originally aired as a single feature-length episode and was only split into parts for reruns. That's why this took so fucking long.

So join me way back in season 1, when Riker's face was shaved, Wesley Crusher was merely an irritating child and I still had hope that Tasha Yar was going to get any sort of character development.

THE PREMISE

In the year 2364, the Federation's newly-built flagship, the USS Enterprise-D, is embarking on its maiden voyage under the command of Captain Jean-Luc (pronounced zhon-luke) Picard. Their first mission is to travel to the planet Deneb IV to examine the mysterious Farpoint station, which the Bandi species is offering to the Federation.

Suddenly the ship is surrounded by a massive force field, and a mysterious figure appears on the bridge, calling himself Q (John de Lancie) and warning them not to go any further.

MEET THE CREW

A lot of this episode is just character introductions, so I thought I'd save some time and just get it all out of the way here, even though this is probably one of the most famous casts in all of popular culture, and most of them are kinda just... there in this episode.

From left to right:

Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) - The son of Doctor Beverly Crusher, who has been raised by his mother since the death of his father on an away mission led by Picard.

Lieutenant Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) - The ship's tactical officer and chief of security.

Lieutenant Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) - The ship's helmsman, who is blind and depends on his visor to see.

Commander William Thomas "Will" Riker (Jonathan Frakes) - The ship's newly-promoted first officer.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) - The Enterprise-D's commanding officer.

Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) - The ship's chief medical officer.

Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) - A Klingon junior officer who carries out several miscellaneous roles on the bridge.

Lieutenant Commander Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) - The ship's half-human, half-Betazoid empathic counsellor. She and Riker are basically better-developed versions of Decker and Ilia from The Motion Picture.

Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) - An android created by the late Doctor Noonien Soong who serves as the second officer and operations officer.

MY REVIEW

At the time, this was the first completely original Star Trek property in almost twenty years... and to be honest, it kind of shows. Because everything feels very rough around the edges.

Case in point, the episode's inciting incident happens almost immediately after Picard's bland introduction - standing in front of an ugly wooden background then heading up to the bridge while his voiceover gives us exposition. This episode is 90 minutes long and yet it's already racing off before it's even tied its shoelaces, even going to a commercial break less than ten minutes in.

Fortunately, John de Lancie is already having a blast as Q, who changes through many costumes from human history as he calls out humanity as a savage and childish race, living through the same destructive cycle throughout history.

Picard of course protests, and Q disappears after some cryptic warning about how they'll be judged and prosecuted per Picard's "suggestion."

As an alternative, Picard attempts to outrun Q at maximum warp, pushing the ship to its limit while Dennis McCarthy's music tries to convince us that this is more exciting than it actually is.

They're of course unable to escape, and Picard (rather abruptly, in my opinion) decides to separate the ship's saucer section. Worf (who is never even named in this episode) is given control of the saucer, while Picard and his senior crew (which at this point is just Yar, Troi and Data) retreat to the set of Star Trek 3, which is apparently the ship's battle bridge.

If you ever feel incompetent, remember that somebody looked at Data and O’Brien slouched down in their chairs and decided that setup was good enough to keep for an entire season.

The episode decides that the separation is apparently exciting enough to warrant a replay of the theme song, and the two sections part ways.

You can probably count the number of times this'll happen on one hand, but it's apparently a thing they can do now. For some reason.

It quickly becomes clear that the star drive section (the bit on the left) is just a distraction for the saucer to get away, as Picard surrenders to Q's terms, a move so unexpected that Troi starts tearing up when the order is given.

I believe their intent was to have Troi physically emulate whatever emotion she was sensing, which I guess makes sense with her being an empath, but it was pretty much dropped entirely after this.

Bloody hell, this whole thing reads like a first draft.

They're surrounded once again, and the senior crew find themselves transported to a court of the late 21st century (2079 to be specific), with Q as the judge. It becomes clear that they've been put on trial to answer for the crimes of humanity in a kangaroo court.

Fortunately this leads to another character getting some damn personality, with Yar knocking out a guard and making it clear that she's having precisely none of Q's bullshit.

Picard: Tasha, no!

Yar: I must! Because I grew up in a world that allowed things like this court! And it was people like these that saved me from it! This so-called court should get down on its knees to what Starfleet is! What it represents!"

Sure, she's immediately frozen for it, but I can appreciate the effort. Just like I can appreciate this script for trying to give her some actual development.

After some more courtroom chicanery where Picard continues to plead not guilty, the guy filming Patrick Stewart's closeups forgets to fully uncover the camera lens and Data shows an ability to mimic people's voices which he subsequently never uses again, Picard proposes that Q test the Enterprise crew, to which Q agrees and transports them back to the battle bridge, where I guess a yet-unnamed O'Brien had just been waiting this whole time.

Suddenly we cut to Commander babyface Riker, who is already at Farpoint station. He's meeting with Bendi administrator Groppler Zorn (which is perhaps the most sci-fi name I've ever heard) for a scene which doesn't really serve much of a purpose except to establish that the station is supposedly too good to be true and that the Bendi is working with some mysterious force that can make objects appear from thin air.

Get you a man who looks at you the same way Riker looks at those apples.

To any writers reading this, this is what we call "showing your hand too early." The whole idea of a mystery is that someone can't work out the whole thing a third of the way through.

We get a few more character introductions (Dr Crusher, Wesley, Geordi - who also isn't given the courtesy of a name), Riker beams up to the ship to be briefed, then the two ship sections are rejoined. Riker has to oversee the rejoining manually, in an interesting little dynamic where Picard tests Riker's potential and Picard finally gets some development as a captain whose need to maintain his reputation makes him emotionally closed-off.

We also get a nice scene where Data escorts an elderly Admiral McCoy (once again played by DeForest Kelley) onto a shuttlecraft.

I realise that this was probably only added to pad out the runtime, but I'm glad it was included. It feels like McCoy is passing the torch to the next generation in a scene which Kelley did for minimum pay as a favour to Gene Roddenberry.

Plus it's not like this is the first time he's interacted with the TNG crew.

Sometimes you find the greatest things when you're combing through behind the scenes pictures.

Anyway, speaking of padding out the runtime, Q shows up again to inform them that they only have 24 hours before final judgement.

The reason I'm mostly going over the plot in broad strokes instead of covering it beat-to-beat is because a lot of it just isn't terribly interesting. The original plot only focused on the mystery surrounding Farpoint station, but Paramount insisted on making this a double episode, so the subplot about Q (among other things) was added to pad out the script.

That's right. The most memorable part of this episode and one of the best characters in the entire franchise was never meant to be exist in the first place. That bodes well for the rest of the plot.

Back in the "main" plot, an away team finds some tunnels under the station, which Data analyses.

"Sorry, sir. I seem to be commenting on everything.”

That’s okay, Data. Just throw in the odd bad joke or snarky comment and a bunch of strangers will give you internet points.

...Did I say that out loud?

Anyway, that scene doesn't really go anywhere before the Enterprise encounters a generic-looking ship that attacks the Bandi city.

Meanwhile, Q reappears to provide some much-needed tension, trying to goad Picard into attacking the ship, violating the Prime Directive and proving humans to be the savages he accuses them of being.

Their attempts to find Zorn and get some answers prove fruitless when he phases out of existence, and they have no choice but to beam over to the ship, which is apparently a sentient being. Its corridors are identical to the ones beneath Farpoint, as well as Zorn being tortured.

Just when it seems that Picard will have to fold to Q's demands, the away team is beamed back to the Enterprise. Picard (and the writers) finally realise the truth, and we get our big explanation.

The Bandi have somehow captured an alien life form and have constructed Farpoint Station (as well as anything they want) by feeding off its power. The mysterious ship is actually the life form's mate which has come to free it. Not really sure how it assumed the form of a ship and how it simulated the weapons, but okay.

The Enterprise blasts Farpoint to oblivion, freeing the land-locked alien and allowing them to fly off as a happy pair of space jellyfish.

Because they've solved the mystery, I guess that means that the deal with Q is off. It's here where it becomes obvious that he was never meant to be part of the plot.

Picard: Get off my ship!

Q: I do so because it suits me to leave. But I do not promise never to appear again.

Please hurry back.

With the mission over, we get the usual denouement of the crew settling in to their new roles and setting the stage for the rest of the series.

"Let's see what's out there. Engage!"

Roll credits.

As you can probably guess, I have mixed feelings about this episode. The whole Farpoint mystery is… adequate but nothing special, and it’s difficult to give Q and his subplot any credit when you learn that it was essentially a happy accident. A pilot is supposed to be about putting your best foot forward, but having viewed the rest of this season I suppose it is representative of the series’ initial quality.

Yeah, I’m actually doing some reviewing for once instead of just going through the plot and making jokes. I’m surprised too.

It isn’t offensively bad like some of the other episodes in this season, but if I didn’t already know that the series got better after this then I genuinely don’t know if I would keep going from here.

6/10 - A decent enough start, I suppose.

And now my review list is finally up-to-date.

I can't wait for people to stumble upon the review masterpost and get confused when the review quality fucking plummets in the next one.

Speaking of which:

TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

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inkofamethyst · 1 year

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May 23, 2023

I’ve found a cute little apartment that suits what I’m looking for, and I’m in the final stages of submitting an application for it. And I know it’s not the absolute best option (tiny kitchen, weird flooring), but it fits the budget, the location, and the most basic of amenities that I’m looking for, plus getting to June with the piece of mind that I wouldn’t be homeless this fall... suffice to say I’m hoping praying it works out. I’ve got a lot of nervous energy right now because of it, but I also have a bit of a good feeling, I think. The housing market there is a beast, but I’ve heard repeatedly that everyone finds something eventually, so I’m counting on that.

Part of me wants to learn how to party, how to flirt, how to just let go for a little bit. But I am unfortunately too full of worries, too rigid, too afraid.

You know that Star Trek quote, “Do not mistake my composure for ease”? Yeah, that.

I’m looking forward to the night on the town (we’ve set a date!!!!!), but I don’t even think I have good clubbing clothes. I mean going to the formal earlier this semester with my photo-friend was nice, I guess, but I don’t really dance or drink (though dessert wines ain’t bad, and I’ve tasted a fruity wine I liked, but I’ve still yet to find a cocktail I really enjoyed). I’m okay being the mom friend, I think. The friend who watches over people’s bags while they do the roller coaster. The friend who helps clean up after a party. The friend who observes. [edit: I think this just means I’m an introvert actually lol]

Anyway, speaking of Star Trek, I was at first really critical of (or maybe confused by) people who don’t like Picard (the show), who say it tarnished the reputation of their favorite captain, of their comfort show. I, personally, felt as though the show added an additional dimension to my favorite captain and the Star Trek world as a whole. But I think I’m beginning to at least understand their position. Gene Roddenberry designed Star Trek Starfleet as a utopia where all of humanity’s current issues have been resolved and we can devote ourselves to arts, humanities, passions, exploration. Picard (and Discovery, from what I’ve heard) deviates from that ideal. As much as I love the idea of Star Trek’s utopia, I’ve never been entirely convinced that we could do away with vices like greed within four hundred years or so, and I was very much aware of how the interspecies conflicts were not entirely absent. Space was still a dangerous place, politically, with the Klingons and the Romulans and whoever else. So seeing that element of danger explicitly was a positive for me, though I can understand how that type of content may not be what older ST fans turn to the franchise for (not to mention how they decry women in power on the newer shows, as if we’ve learned nothing since having Black, White, and Asian senior crew members in TOS (but old fans not recognizing their hypocrisy over how the current ST series confront modern social issues is an old argument that I’ve seen time and time again and doesn’t need repeating)). Maybe Picard does deviate from Roddenberry’s original vision. And that may be unwelcome for some. And that’s okay. I would go so far as to say that the target audiences are a little different. Which is also okay.

I’ve been watching season three with my parents, and while the beginning was dreadfully slow, it’s started to pick up :)

Today I’m thankful that... my mom hasn’t come down too harshly on me for my room being a mess (yet). I’ve almost entirely moved out of my apartment, and I’ve stuffed everything into my teenage bedroom, and I haven’t unpacked it yet because I’m pretty sure most of it will just be going with me when I move out again, and I’m not entirely sure how to handle the two-and-a-half-month interim. I’m thinking about developing a capsule-ish wardrobe for the summer and sticking the other items into storage bins, ready for the move. While I’m glad my mom hasn’t chastised me yet, I’m certainly feeling the negative mental effects of a messy room (seriously, it’s horrific in here). I just need to come through here with dead eyes and a trash bag. Maybe two or three (or four or five) trash bags.

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darkfeanix · 7 months

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Guess who finally boarded Deep Space Nine?

After thinking about it for a couple of years and seeing so many gifs and screencaps and discussions on here on Tumblr.com, I finally sat down and watched the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and for funsies I kept a stream-of-conscious record of my reactions while I watched.

Spoilers for the 30 year old series premiere, I guess? Anyway, begin:

Oh wow, Deep Space Nine starts with Borg Picard. Also, is that Sisko? I’m so used to seeing gifs of him with facial hair, I barely recognize him.

I’m guessing that this re-uses footage from TNG. Or did Patrick Stewart make a cameo in this series’ first episode?

Dead wife in the first five minutes? Not even any speaking lines? *heavy sigh* Ah, that classic storytelling.

Oh wow, three year time jump.

Aw, Sisko’s son is adorable.

Ah, those early 2000s visual effects. *deep breath* I’m fine, it’s fine, everything’ fine. I’m not watching this for the visual effects, I’m watching it for the characters.

Ooh, Quark. I’ve heard so much about him but know so little of him. Also, cool that Armin Shimmerman is in a starring role. Only ever seen him as a guest star in other series.

Oh wow, Deep Space Nine sure is a… umm… fixer-upper.

Oooh, there is a Picard cameo. Although I still wonder if the Borg stuff was reused footage. It kind of had the feel of it. But that’s neither here nor there now.

Stuck at 32 C, indoors, in those uniforms. Oof.

I already like Major Kira.

Quark looks like a mob boss and I love that for him. Also, “scheduled to depart tomorrow”? Interesting, that’s not what I’ve heard from Tumblr.

Hi Sir Patrick- I mean, Captain Picard.

Oooh, Sisko doesn’t want to the job? Interesting. I can already tell I’m going to like him, he clearly knows how to be diplomatic when the situation calls for it; I never would have guessed from his interactions with the residents of DS9 that he didn’t want to be there.

Sisko’s little smile when the hologram over the stairs is lifted and Kai Opaka begins walking down them is so cute.

This vision/flashback with Sisko and Jennifer is so sweet, but also bittersweet.

Yup, and that reaction when the vision ended is why it was so bittersweet.

A sacred mission in the first episode. Wow. But is it something that’ll be resolved in the first episode, or is it a season long arc? I guess back on the days of DS9, things were a bit more episodic so I’m guessing it’s just a season opener plot.

Wow, Quark wastes no time at all getting things back up and running.

Hello Dr. Bashir. I’ve heard about you from Tumblr. I already understand. Socially awkward, fancy boy accent, a chronic case of foot-in-the-mouth syndrome. I love him already.

Oh, I adore the dynamic between Sisko and Dax.

GIANT MAGIC SPACE PORTAL! WE’VE GOT A GIANT MAGIC- oh wait, those are just called wormholes in science fiction, aren’t they?

I appreciate that Star Trek has its own kinds of space magic. Can’t let Star Wars have all the fun.

“We should have a smoother ride this time.” … Weird, I thought it looked smoother the first time. I must not have been paying close enough attention.

Oooh! They see different things. Interesting!

Dax’s statement is hilarious considering what Sisko is seeing. Beautiful indeed.

Oh, that wasn’t a very nice thing to do to your guests.

No Sisko, don’t go into the light!

Oooh, so the hourglass holograms are… containers? Or something far more complex?

I love scenes like this, where a person’s memories are used to communicate with them. Especially when it cuts between memories of different characters.

-- “It would take two months.”

“It needs to be tomorrow.” – HAHAHAHA! Oh Major Kira, I love you.

I wonder if all the actors recorded the same lines and then the editors cut between the memory scenes, or if each actor only had the lines shown in the episode.

I’ve forgotten the transporter guy’s name, but the scene with him moving all of Deep Space Nine was really well performed.

“Well, they’ve got to listen to reason, haven’t they?” Oh Bashir, you sweet summer child.

Odo is now on the list of characters I adore.

“Perhaps they will be less hostile to Cardassians than to Humans.” Ha! Hahahaha! They already want to kill Sisko. If Dukat goes in there they’re all gonna die.

Oooh, I love the notion of “part of your existence”. I don’t think they’re going in that direction, as Sisko is trying hard to explain linear existence to them, but I like the idea that all experiences are a part of one’s existence, no matter how far in the past.

Not this non-corporeal being trying to understand physical intimacy. Adorable.

“Then why do you exist here?” Ooooh! What a way to embody what it’s like to experience trauma.

Oooh, so the very act of travelling through the portal is disrupting these beings. Reminds me of the Stargate Atlantis episode where the Stargate was powered by the beings made from the fog, and every time the Stargate powered up, more of those beings would die.

Hahahaha, explaining baseball to non-corporeal beings.

“You value your ignorance of what is to come?” Loved the delivery of this line.

Bashir is incredibly pretty.

Ah, O’Brien. I did know that name.

“What shields?” Oh noooo.

“We cannot give you what you deny yourself.” Again, what a fascinating way of exploring the impact of trauma on someone.

“I never left this ship.” Literal tears in my eyes. Wow.

Avery Brooks absolutely killing it in this scene. What a great performance; so much emotion!

“So if you want a war… I’ll give you one.” Major Kira is… my favourite character? I love her? (But also, speaking of trauma… How many of the people on this show are in need to serious counselling?)

Well, this is quite the season opener.

Bashir with his sleeves rolled up. *heart eyes*

“There’s your wormhole.” Petition to let Major Kira say fuck. I could almost hear the “fucking” in that exclamation.

Sisko is so relieved that there are no casualties. I can feel it coming off the screen.

A handshake with Jean-Luc Picard!

Major Kira/Quark? :O Is that a ship? There… there seems like there might be a teensy bit of chemistry there.

Overall, an excellent first episode. This is the third time I’ve watched an Old Trek series opener: Voyager’s was alright, but didn’t make a huge impression on me and took two attempts to complete; I never even finished TNG’s and haven’t gone back to the series since. But Deep Space Nine? I’m already invested.

#feanix watches deep space nine

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bisexualamy · 3 years

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i really liked “it’s only a paper moon”. the literalizing of nog living in a fantasy to avoid his trauma should've felt trite but didn’t.

the highlight of the ep was definitely nog’s speech to vic about how he felt untouchable before he was shot and now he’s come to realize he can die in war as much as the next officer. something that really struck me about it was how neatly it slotted into vic’s context as well. in the 1960s young kids were also going off to war, losing limbs, and being traumatized by watching their friends die. and that’s largely the point, right? it doesn’t matter how many centuries it’s been. war is war and war is hell.

i’ve been more frustrated with ds9 during s6-7 than i was for the first five seasons, but even still, ds9 consistently nails its anti-war messaging imo. it’s really honest about portraying war as exactly what it is, and including the survival, including the victories, and making you ask over and over how worth it everything was.

i do sort of wish we’d seen less of vic before this ep, though. he was great for this, but i think it all would’ve hit harder if we’d seen less of him before this point (i feel like he’s counseled more crewmembers than ezri, y’know, the literal counselor, but i digress). the subplot of him realizing what a precious thing life is was a nice touch and sentimental enough for trek. and they did a very nice job of sidestepping the philosophical issues with his sentience by letting his program idle all the time.

the most important thing, to me, was i felt like the portrayal of nog’s ptsd was also much more honest than i’ve seen it done in other shows. (star trek seems to be pretty good about this, though. picard’s borg ptsd is also well handled imo). i liked that he was allowed to be angry and have a lot of other “ugly” emotions, i like how long it took for him to leave the holosuite, i like how his friends and family didn’t force him to give up his cane or criticize him for using it (and how the doctor who did is rightfully portrayed as insensitive!!). i like how the show let’s his trauma reasoning be logically flawed but still internally consistent. he didn’t just have a series of flashbacks and then learn to live in “reality” by having a nice chat with ezri or vic. i think that respect for what nog was going through really did make the whole thing work.

#i have one genre and it's trauma coping #this ep was not the moment to interrogate the concept of vic's sentience #so i feel like they handled that very well all things considered #it was just funny to me #ren watches ds9

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captainpikeachu · 3 years

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Star Trek Lower Decks S2 trailer analysis!!

So here I am with some Trek trailer breakdowns!!!!!!!!! It’s been days since the First Contact Day celebration dropped a bunch of clips but I’ve finally calmed down enough to actually sit down and screenshot everything. So now I present to thee, Lower Decks analysis!!!!!

So we open on the lovely USS Cerritos (my precious space sled)

Mariner joins Tendi and Rutherford, “What up, we doing sci-fi stuff today?”

Followed by clips of exciting adventures lol

This looks like some alien ship chasing after and firing upon a Miranda Class ship named either the USS MacDuff or Macouff, registry NCC-1877. Trek fans will be familiar with the Miranda Class ships which have been in service since the TOS era, meaning this ship class has been over 100 years old by the time that Lower Decks takes place in. This specific ship has been updated a little bit from the old school Miranda Class design.

Here’s two Denobulans hiding...

From an angry Mugato, which was last seen in the TOS episode “A Private Little War”

And Denobulans of course was the new alien species introduced in ENT, made famous by the ship’s doctor, Phlox.

Here’s Mariner in anbo-jyutso outfit, we learned in TNG that anbo-jyutso was the ultimate evolution of martial arts. Riker and his father Kyle fought each other using this in the TNG episode “Second Chances”, and Kyle Riker used to do it with his son when he was young.

I have no idea what first officer Ransom ate this time but looks like he gained some powers, blasting people (Mariner and Dr. T’Ana among them) away, and then shooting rainbow fire out of his hands?

I mean look, if this is the show’s way of announcing that Ransom is LGBTQ+, well, I’m all for it!

This looks like a Starfleet away team firing against some Pakleds, the person at the console is Boimler, so I’m gonna assume that this is a Titan away team still dealing with a Pakled problem that may be left over from last season’s finale.

Mariner meanwhile is kicking some Cardassian ass in what looks to be Gul Madred's torture room from TNG’s "Chain of Command" two-parter, it’s even got the four lights that Picard was yelling about.

Here we got Tendi with an Octupus looking alien, both worried about this other alien creature with numerous heads. It is possible that this may be the true form of the alien species, Kelvan. They appeared in the TOS episode “By Any Other Name” but that was in humanoid form, however they were said to have a hundred tentacles in their natural state.

Also in the background, there may be some creatures in a tank, don’t if what they are but kinda looks like the Centurian slugs last seen in the 2009 Star Trek movie set in the Kelvin timeline, which would be ironic if the alien is actually a Kelvan because Kelvin/Kelvan.

Looks like a very concerned Rutherford, maybe he gets his memories back?

We got Tendi and Rutherford sitting with Mariner who’s behind a force field, is she in the brig again?

Tendi says “only thing missing is Boimler, he’s gotta be having the time of his life!”

NOPE.

He’s definitely not having the time of his life on the USS Titan.

Captain Riker meanwhile has jazz references galore! Even when your life is on the line! A True Dad!

“Red alert! I’m starting to think this jam session’s got too many licks and not enough comps!”

Boimler screams, “WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???”

In case you are as confused as Boimler, my research tells me that licks in Jazz are usually original short phrase/series of notes used in solos and melodic lines and accompaniment, while comps is short for comping, which is the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that musicians use to support another musician’s improvised solo or melody lines.

So essentially Riker seems to be saying that this battle’s got too many solos and not enough accompaniment/support.

We see the USS Titan being fired upon by numerous ships near this space anomaly, may be a wormhole or something. Not sure what these alien ships are either.

Finally we end with the Season 2 premiere date being announced to be August 12!!!

It has also been officially announced that Lower Decks has been renewed for Season 3 so we got that to also look forward to!

Lower Decks is the only show of the three that’s meaning to air this year that’s got an air date, so it’s possible that this will drop first with Prodigy Season 1 and Discovery Season 4 to follow. But we will see.

Looks like we’re gonna be having another season of fun adventures and lots of easter eggs!!! Mike McMahan and his team did an absolutely brilliant job with the first season, that season is to me possibly the best first season of any Trek show, I honestly can’t wait for season 2!!!

#star trek #star trek lower decks #star trek lower decks spoilers #beckett mariner #d'vana tendi #samanthan rutherford #brad boimler #will riker #jack ransom #doctor t'ana #YES YES CANT WAIT FOR MORE LOWER DECKS

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littlewalken · 3 years

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TZN Exclusive Interview: Andy Robinson

On Garak, "Star Trek", "Dirty Harry" & Sci-Fi Idealism

TrekZone Network sat down with Andrew Robinson, who played the Cardassian Garak in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", in Hamburg prior to the "Evening with Andrew Robinson", organized by FKM Events. We talked about Garak's past and future, Robinson's current projects and the idealism of science fiction fans.

TrekZone Network: Is this the first time you are in Hamburg?

Andrew Robinson: No, I was here 12 years ago for a convention with another organizer. So this is my first time back in 12 years, I believe.

Andy Robinson at the FKM Evening in Hamburg

TZN: Long time.

Robinson: It has been a long time. And as they say, a lot of water under the bridge...

TZN: You have been to Germany in the meantime?

Robinson: Yeah, I've been here several times. For one reason or another and in several different places. I have come here for a whole bunch of reasons. Even just as a tourist. But I have never made a film here or anything.

TZN: Your first stint as Garak was in the third episode of "Deep Space Nine". When you first got that role, did you anticipate or did you know that it was going to be a recurring role?

Robinson: No, not at all. Originally, the role of Odo, that Rene Auberjonois played, came down to three of us. Myself, another actor and obviously Rene. Then Rene got the role. Then they asked me to come in a few weeks later to read for this other role, which I thought was just going to be one episode. But it turned out that they were looking for a way to get the character of Doctor Bashir more involved with the show and so they, they were testing a storyline for Doctor Bashir and obviously the storyline was: he meets this older Cardassian, presumably tailor. Is he a spy? Who is he? This very mysterious person, the last Cardassian left on the station.

They wanted to see if there was any chemistry between Siddig and myself as actors. And of course we hit it off immediately. We had a great time with each other. And so it was based on that when they saw that episode, I think it was "Past Prologue", and they saw that we were working well together then they decided to add more episodes of Garak. Which I am eternally grateful for.

TZN: Do you regret that you were not cast as Odo?

Robinson: No, no, no, no. Not at all. As an actor, and an actor of a certain age, after a while you become very philosophical about these things. And genuinely so. Whoever gets the role, that was their role, you cannot feel remorse or try to second-guess or be bitter. And it always is the right actor as far as I am concerned and certainly with Rene it was the right actor. He was wonderful as Odo.

TZN: The part as Garak turned out to be rather substantial as well, of course.

Robinson: O, Garak was one of the best characters, I mean this, he was one of the most enjoyable, fully satisfying characters I have ever played in my life. And the fact that it is the only time in my life, too, as an actor, that I was able to develop a character over a seven-year period, and not be overused. By that I mean often if you are a regular on a series, they run out of things for a character to say and to do, and so the character just ends up repeating himself/herself, and the actions and the plotlines and after a while it becomes what they call the law of diminishing returns. The character becomes reduced. With Garak, because I was not a regular character, I appeared occasionally, I think I was in 39 episodes, and when I appeared, it was for a reason. Almost always it was for a reason, There are a few episodes when I wondered what I was doing there... But that always happens and at least they paid me, so that was fine.

TZN: Is there anything you would have liked to do as Garak on screen? Or any aspect of his character, his personality, that you would have liked to develop?

Robinson as Cardassian Elim Garak

Robinson: They did start this love story. But then they could not find the right actress. And so they had this one actress playing Ziyal and they did not like her, so they had another actress playing Ziyal who looked like my granddaughter, so that made me feel a little perverse. Then they just decided to forget about it. But it would have been wonderful to have had a bittersweet love story, someone who breaks Garak's heart, who tries to unlock the mystery romantically and cannot do it.

It is one of the reasons I wrote the book, to explore that part of Garak, Garak's heart. Because as an actor, you fall in love, well you do not always fall in love with your characters but the ones that you do fall in love with, it is a very deep relationship that you have with the character, and the character does take on a life on its own. Because as an actor, that is what you try to do. You try to transform yourself into this character's life. Obviously, I am not Garak, I am not Hamlet, but you find those places within yourself that can make that transformation.

I was not a "Star Trek" fan when they hired me. I had no idea what the "Star Trek" universe was, who Cardassians were, who Klingons, Romulans, I had no idea about any of that.

TZN: You had never seen anything, never heard about it?

Robinson: I had heard about it but never saw a thing. And a Cardassian? I had no idea what that was.

TZN: Then the makeup was applied...

Robinson: Yeah, right. But they did show me the episode, in "Next Generation", I think David Warner was the first Cardassian or was Marc Alaimo the first?

TZN: Marc Alaimo.

Robinson: Yeah, but it was that two-parter where David Warner's Cardassian character is torturing Picard and I thought, well, that is a really interesting-looking guy. That was the first episodes that peaked my interest. I thought, they deal with substantial things. And the acting was wonderful. Of course, David Warner has always been one of my favorite actors.

So I started writing a diary. As if Garak had a diary and I would write things, and I would make up things about him. And it is what you do, it is what an actor does sometimes for any character. You try to create a story, a life for this character. And when the series was over, I realized there were still things I would have loved to say about Garak and that is why I wrote the book "A Stitch in Time".

TZN: Did you start with the diary when you recognized that Garak would not be a one- or two-episode thing but a recurring role?

Robinson: Yeah, exactly, I think I started in the second year. I also started it when I started being invited to conventions and I realized, after two or three conventions, there were four or five questions people who would always ask me. How long does it take, your makeup... But I thought, would it not be interesting if I if at the conventions did something different. And so what I would do is that I would get up and I would read excerpts from these diaries. It became enormously popular, and that in a sense spawned a lot of things, then as actors we all started saying, well, maybe there is something that we can do rather than just get up and talk about our makeup and so forth. And that unleashed a whole bunch of stuff. Even Siddig and I wrote a play together that we did at several conventions and it was really a rather challenging play, dealing with string theory...

TZN: What was it about? I read just before this interview that you had this play...

Andy Robinson in Hamburg in June 2008 (Photo credit: Klaus Wittmack)

Robinson: Well, basically Garak and Bashir meet up in this place and it is like, nobody knows, but it looks like a convention with "Star Trek" fans there. And so they had to conduct this very tricky business in front of these people sitting at tables and sitting in chairs watching them. It was very, very, very postmodern. (laughs)

And there was a time when we were working on the play in front of an audience, too. Towards the end, when we finally got it written and got it right, that was when it was at its best but while we were experimenting with it, I think a lot of people fell asleep. (laughs)

Getting back to those diaries, [Michael Scott] co-wrote a book with Armin Shimerman ["The Merchant Prince"] and he said to me, "You should turn this into a book!" and that was when I did. And it was actually the first "Star Trek" book that was written without what they call a ghostwriter.

TZN: Are you thinking of writing another novel about Garak?

Robinson: No. I actually have said everything I could possibly say about Garak. I really have. Plus, if I did, I would then because of the corporate nature of Pocket Books, the Simon and Schuster division that does the "Star Trek" books, I would then have to follow all these other books that have been written about Garak and that does not interest me at all. Because the story I came up with was actually, oddly enough close my story, especially when Garak was a young man.

TZN: You did write another short story though, right? Set after the book.

Robinson: Right.

TZN: That was the last thing we have heard from Garak. In that story, he is not in a very positive state of mind and not in a good place.

Robinson: No.

TZN: So if we could jump forward in time, to a time and place after that, where would we find Garak?

Robinson: Dead. Honestly, because when I wrote that novella, first I was interested in putting - because I live part of the year in Paris -

I was interested in having Garak in Paris and see what that was like. Paris is like a museum now, and I thought that they would have really preserved it in 400 years and it would have become the museum of the world. But when I got Garak to Paris, it became very depressing. That is why I think he was not in a great state. I realized that if I had have written much more about Garak, he probably would have had to die. I do not want to go into why because it is all political and you are not here about politics. (laughs)

TZN: When did the producers tell you about who Garak's parents were?

Robinson: The big reveal was of course with Enabran Tain, who was the head of the Obsidian Order. I know that the mother appeared at one point when they were on Cardassia in that last series of episodes that I was in and that they ended up at Garak's mother's house, hiding. But the story of Garak and his parents really is what I myself put together, in terms of the relationships.

TZN: Did you have a hunch though that the storyline could develop into the direction of Enabran Tain being revealed as Garak's father?

Robinson: O, no! It was a big surprise to me. It was great!

TZN: Just like for the viewers.

Robinson: O, yeah, absolutely! But that is how I felt every time I would get a new script from the writers because the writers loved writing for Garak, that was the pleasure. It was evident that they liked writing for Garak because of the language, the dialogue that they would give him which was so delicious and so much fun and very ironic. One of the things you certainly know is that in America irony is not at the top of our list. As a people we do not really appreciate ironic humor. I think that one of the things that made Garak popular is the fact that he did have a sense of irony. That to everything he said there was a twist and there was always a subtext. And indeed probably he was lying but enjoying it and enjoying the fact that he was lying and seeing how far he could get away with it and who was gullible and who was smart.

Andy Robinson in Hamburg in June 2008 (Photo credit: Klaus Wittmack)

TZN: There was this one episode with the implant, "The Wire". That embodies everything you just said.

Robinson: Yeah, and that is by far my favorite episode.

TZN: We asked our readers to hand in some questions for you beforehand. One of them is: how long did it take to apply the makeup?

Robinson: At the beginning, it took about four hours, I would say. And then they got it down to about two hours. Towards the end they got more dexterous, thank God, because sitting in the chair for four hours meant that I would have to come in long before dawn and it was just excruciating, it was horrible. Even two hours was bad enough. It is the only thing about Garak that I do not miss at all.

TZN: Did the makeup inhibit you in the way you could express yourself?

Robinson: Well, that is the great, mysterious thing about working with a mask like that. For one thing the technology is very good, there were I think seven prosthetic pieces and they were all very flexible, very pliable and so you put it on and you think, my God, it is like this corpus, you're encased in it. But then you were fine, you could move. You were not, you were not limited the way Rene was limited with Odo because he could not eat, he lost a lot of weight. That is something I should have done!

But he had to take his lunch through a straw and so he could not move much at all because it was a mess. If he marled just a little bit, then he would have to sit in a chair and have to go through a whole process to get it back to that smoothness. That obviously was not my problem. My problem was the claustrophobia that I have, which I experienced actually last night. I went to a bar in Paris with some friends to watch the French lose to the Dutch. (laughter) Really lose. And deservedly so, I mean it. The French should get rid of that coach of theirs because he is awful.

I was at the bar and everybody was crowding in around me, I had to leave at the interval, go home and watch it on my own television. That was the thing about the Garak makeup. That was one thing but then this heavy wig that they put on top of me and then, because they wanted Cardassians to look big, they made the costumes out of the material that you make furniture pads, furniture textiles, and so all the costumes were very heavy and once you zipped them up it was like you were in a sauna, literally.

Actually that is where I lost a little weight, a lot of water weight anyway. When you get under the lights, underneath the makeup and the wig and the costume, there were rivers of sweat, I was soaked underneath. Not very glamorous (laughter) and I certainly did not smell like a flower.

TZN: I have got another reader question here, that touches a different subject. Did you know that there is speculation about Garak's sexuality?

Robinson: Oh, yeah. I started it.

TZN: Really? Then this might be interesting to this reader. He calls himself your gay fan Dominion and he asks a lot of questions like: Why haven't we seen a gay character in "Star Trek"? Have gays become extinct in the 24th century? Do you think there will ever be a gay character in "Star Trek"? Do gays not belong in "Star Trek's" future?

Robinson: O, yeah. There will be gay characters. Certainly now there will be, for one thing, America is still very puritan, we are very squeamish when it comes to sexuality. I remember when I very first played Garak, I played him gay! I thought this would be great! He sees this young man, this young, very attractive doctor on the station, he is lonely, he is the only Cardassian there, this doctor is curious about him, and if you remember, this was a great moment because Sid totally went with it! When he comes up and he puts his hand on his shoulder, Sid did this great thing, it was this sort of an electrical charge that went through him and so I played him totally gay in that episode.

Garak's First Scene

Of course the producers did not actually tell me not to play him gay but then they started writing him a little more macho and more like a Cardassian. But I said, "Listen, one of the great things about Garak is that he is not Gul Dukat, he is not one of those macho, militaristic guys, he is your finesse Cardassian." So we struck a compromise but I was always very clear. I did not get into it in the book. Quite frankly, I was going to go in that direction. I had written a whole thing about Garak's sexuality because I felt that Garak was sort of - talk about bisexual, I think that he was multisexual, essentially that anything that moves is fair game for Garak. He has a voracious sexual appetite.

But as I say, especially on American television you have the odd gay character now but it is all going to be just cosmetic. In terms of commercial television ever getting into real sexuality, that is not going to happen. "Star Trek" is very conservative, there is a conservatism about "Star Trek" that I think "Deep Space Nine" in a sense went against. It defied that conservatism. "Deep Space Nine" was not as black and white as the other "Star Trek" shows. It was different. It was not people in a rocket ship doing one-night stands on a planet to planet to planet, coming in and battling the evil aliens or some kind of monster or whatever. It was a community unto itself on the edge and this is what I loved about the show, every one of the characters on "Deep Space Nine" had a moral dimension about them. Each one of them was in touch with their dark side.

That episode "In the Pale Moonlight", when Garak introduces Captain Sisko to the concept of realpolitik, that okay, if you want to get rid of the Romulan threat, what you do is, you kill them. And you kill them in a not very nice way. So you just eliminate your enemy. Of course that is not fair play, that is not the American way. I was surprised, I loved that episode because it was very mature in that sense. It said you have to grow up, this is the world you live in now. And of course the world we live in now is very morally ambiguous to say the least.

I rambled, I am sorry. We went away from sexuality but I think there has to be more gay characters. I do not know what this movie is going to be like but this movie I believe is about Starfleet academy?

A gay Sulu? According to Robinson an interesting idea

TZN:It is a prequel. It is not entirely set on Starfleet academy but shows the young crew in their early years getting together.

Robinson: Right. For instance, I wonder, George Takei, who has come out, who is an openly gay man, and actually now I think he and his partner are going to get married since the California Supreme Court has now finally legalized gay marriage. But I wonder where they are going to go with his character in this prequel. It would be very interesting.

TZN: You did some work behind the camera as well. You directed I believe an episode of DS9. How was that for you, the experience to suddenly tell your colleagues what to do?

Robinson: Yes, right. It is funny, it was very different getting on the other side of the camera and not just working with the other actors, I mean they were fine. But it was the first episode I really had a lot of trouble with because it was my first episode ever directing something. And of course when you are directing "Star Trek" you have the added dimension, the added complication of the special effects. Although they have great special-effects people and you just get out of the way and let them do their work but still you are always trying to visualize what the picture looks like as a director.

But I must say that directing the "Star Trek" episodes really in a sense changed my life because it was the first time I started directing. From there I went on to a lot more directing, mainly theater because I have always been more of a theater person than a film person. And that really gave me the courage to continue in that direction as a director which I have and which has actually led to my current position. I am a fulltime teacher now. I run an acting program at the University of Southern California. And that all came out of directing.

TZN: You have been an actor, you have been a director, you have written a book, actually is there anything artistic you would still like to do? Singing maybe?

Robinson: No, I do not think so. Actually, it is true, it is interesting you should say that. I would actually love to do a musical. I really would love to do a musical, you are absolutely right. I would love to do one of these great musicals. But I still go back and forth. I am going to do a play this summer in San Francisco as an actor. I will continue to direct. I do not know how much longer I will run this program because I created this actor-training program and that was exciting.

I am going to be actually talking about that today. I work with young actors in terms of how does one train to be an actor, what is it that one does? I am being able to put some of my own ideas and thoughts about what actor training is into a coherent program that goes over three years, that trains professional actors. That has been very exciting. That is part of who I am but I think the territory of being an actor is that you do reinvent yourself from time to time. You have to reinvent yourself from time to time. Not to change, you really have to transform because that is the business.

TZN: In your career, you played many roles, and you guest starred in "Bonanza".

Robinson: No, you could not possibly remember! That is incredible. No, o my God, how could you... That is amazing. Yeah, that was the very last season of "Bonanza", too. And I think it was my first work in television.

TZN: How was it to play with such very famous actors like Lorne Greene?

Robinson: Well, see, it was very nice. They are household names but I had just come off from doing my first film with Clint Eastwood. So playing with Clint Eastwood was like playing with God. And then everyone else, they are wonderful actors, but still, my first film experience was the "Dirty Harry" film and that was extraordinary. I must say I enjoyed doing "Bonanza" because it was a show that had gone on forever. I helped kill it because that was the last season... Having the experience of doing "Dirty Harry" which was a feature film, that interested me a lot more than doing television.

Andy Robinson in "Dirty Harry"

TZN: You did very many TV series. The list of your guest appearances just goes on and on and on.

Robinson: Yeah, I did and most of the time I was the villain. That was courtesy of "Dirty Harry". After I did "Dirty Harry" nobody could see me as playing anything but the villain.

TZN: Is there any of these series that you would have liked to be on as one of the lead actors or main cast?

Robinson: In America, there is a series that just ended. I do not know if it is here, I do not know if it has come here. They did five years of it. HBO has these. I do not know if you know Home Box Office? It is a cable network in America. They had these series, "The Sopranos" was their flagship, their famous series. But they had another series called "The Wire". Have you ever heard of "The Wire"?

TZN: The title sounds familiar but that is all.

Robinson: It is interesting because you had me talking about that episode of "Deep Space Nine" that is called "The Wire", that was my favorite episode. Well, this series, "The Wire", is probably the best television series I have ever seen in my life. It was a brilliant series that took the city of Baltimore and it investigated the city of Baltimore in a dramatic series format on every level from drug dealers to police to schools to unions and it was an amazing series. I do not know how it got done because in America we are not big on socially-relevant thematic. We want our entertainment to be pure and uncluttered with things we have to think about. But this was a brilliant series and I, every time I watched the series, thought, o my God, I would love to be on that series! That was one of the few things I ever watched where I felt that way. I hope it comes here, I am sure it will come here. It has to. If it does, you must watch it because it is extraordinary.

TZN: I am afraid we have to wrap up already. One last question: Is there any question that you would really particularly badly like to answer but have never been asked?

Robinson: Wow. I have to say I think I have been asked every question that I can possibly imagine. Short of questions that I would prefer not to get into. No, I do not think that there is. I do not think that there is at all. I find that "Star Trek" fans for the most part, especially in Europe, are relatively sophisticated. I think that there is an idealism about following a series like "Star Trek", especially in this world.

Can we imagine ourselves projected into 24th or 25th century or wherever and still functioning. Obviously, it is weird. As you said earlier, here we are, four- five hundred years later and where have all the gay people gone? Where have all the people of color gone in a sense. That has always been something. What has indeed happened to poverty and what has happened to racism and fundamentalism and terrorism and all the things that bedevil us. I really do hope that science fiction continues to evolve and the way certain writers have challenged themselves to think about what happens to all of these social issues in the future and how we project solutions for them or perhaps not solutions but perhaps just accommodations, how do we learn to live with each other because in the end I think that that is what the "Star Trek" series perhaps offers its best insights about. Then I think that it is also great dramatic material which is the great question how do we learn how to live with each other without violence and without predatory behavior.

TZN: That ends this interview on a very thoughtful note, I think. Thank you very much.

Robinson: It was a pleasure, thank you, it has been great.

#garak #star trek deep space 9 #andrew j robinson

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discotreque · 4 years

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LwD 1.10, “No Small Parts”

Well, that was the most fun I've had watching Star Trek in literally a quarter of a century.

I had high hopes for this series. I love TAS, largely because of its wacky outsized concepts that could only have worked in animation—not that they all did work, but the potential was so apparent to me, even as a kid reading the Alan Dean Foster novelizations—and as an adult, there's something about the imagination of Lower Decks's FX setpieces that transcends even the glorious CGI bonanzas of Discovery.

Pause for a confession. I've long pushed back against criticism of serialization in new Trek. That's just how TV is now, okay? Might as well complain about it being in widescreen. But I'm backing down a little, because I've realized there is something about Star Trek that's inextricable from at least a partially-episodic format. And while Picard was telling a different kind of story, I can't deny that my favourite episodes of Disco have been the ones with a mostly self-contained A-plot. After 10 delightfully episodic instalments of LwD, its focus on long-term development of characters instead of a season-spanning puzzle-plot (okay, mostly just Mariner, but we only have 10 × 22 minutes and she is the star) has been downright refreshing.

So here we are, at the end of the most consistent and well-executed Season 1 of a Star Trek series since, arguably, Those Old Scientists. And sure, if they'd had to produce another... yikes, 42 episodes? Then sure, they probably would have dropped a clunker or two—but they didn't, and winning on a technicality is still winning. I'm practically vibrating with excitement for Disco to come back next week, but damn, I'm going to miss this little show while it's on hiatus.

Spoilers below:

Something I've been keeping track of finally paid off this week! (Which never happens to me, lol.) The destruction of the USS Solvang marked the first present-day death(s) of any Starfleet officer on Lower Decks, the only other on-screen killing at all being a flashback in "Cupid's Errant Arrow". Which makes sense, being (a) a comedy, and (b) about typically "expendable" characters: it hasn't been afraid to flirt with a little darkness here and there, but killing people off at Star Trek's usual pace wouldn't just be wrong for the tone, it would be downright bizarre.

But... people die on Star Trek. That's one of the core themes of the show, really: space is full of knowledge and beauty, but also danger and terror, and believing that the former is worth the risk of the latter is (according to Trek) one of humanity's most noble traits. I'm the least bloodthirsty TV watcher I know, but the longer we went with a body count of nil—ships completely evacuated before they were destroyed, main characters hilariously maimed without permanent consequences, etc.—well, I didn't mind per se, but the absence of truly deadly stakes was definitely getting conspicuous.

Turns out they were saving it up for maximum impact. And holy fuck, I've never felt such a pit in my stomach watching a ship get destroyed that wasn't named Enterprise. It felt grim and brutal and somehow both much too quick and dreadfully inevitable—and yeah, it looked extremely fucking cool—and I'd like every other Star Trek property for the rest of time to take notes under a large bold heading labeled RESTRAINT.

Comedy doesn't need to do this, but my favourite comedy does, and in a way that few other art forms can even approach: lower my emotional defences by making me laugh, endear character(s) to me with goofy-but-relatable antics—then BAM, sucker-punch me in the motherfucking feels. M*A*S*H is probably the classic example on TV, Futurama was notorious for it, and even Archer has pulled it off a few times; it's also a staple of some of my favourite standup. I wasn't sure if Lower Decks was going to go there in Season 1—and wasn't sure if they'd earn it—but I knew if they did, that they'd nail it, and damn. Feels good to be right.

Last batch of notes for the season!!! I rambled enough already, so let's do it liveblog-style:

I fucking KNEW they were going to use "archive" visuals from TAS at some point, I KNEW IT :D

"THOSE OLD SCIENTISTS" ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I like chill and confident Boimler a lot? You can really see—

oh bRADWARD NOOOOO

That opening shot of the Solvang tracking down to the red giant was extremely Discovery-esque... minus the motion sickness, that is

A lady captain AND a lady first officer? That's—oh hey, it's Captain Dayton's brand-new ship. Hahaha, that means they're totally fucked, right?.

Yep! They sure a—umm, wh—shit, okay, but—oh no—no, you can't—wait DON'T

...fuck

FUCK.

Narrator: "And then Amy needed a five-hour break."

[live-action Star Trek showrunner voice] "Gee, Mike! Why does CBS let you have two cold opens?"

Okay, yes, the bit with Rutherford cycling through all the different attitudes in his implant was transparently an excuse for Eugene Cardero to vamp while waiting for something to do in the story, but as far as I'm concerned they can contrive a reason for him to do a bunch of different silly Rutherfords in a row any time they damn well want, because that was classic!!!

EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP

AND THE EXOCOMP IS PAINTED LIKE THE EXOCOMP IS WEARING A LITTLE EXOCOMP-SIZED STARFLEET UNIFORM

EXOCOMP!!!!!

The slow burn and now the payoff of the Mariner-is-Freeman's-secret-daughter plot has been executed so well. I'm beyond impressed with this writer's room, y'all—they are threading a hell of a needle here

"Wolf 359 was an inside job" would have been a spit-take if I'd had anything in my mouth

...how many memos do you think Starfleet Command has had to issue asking people to stop calling the USS Sacramento "the Sac"?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'VE DECORATED THE SHUTTLECRAFT SEQUOIA THOUGH

Is, uh, is it weird if I'm starting to ship Tendi and Peanut Hamper a little? It is weird, isn't it. I knew it was weird...

Coital barbs??? I take back everything I said about wanting to know more about Shaxs/T'Ana.

The "good officer" version of Mariner is... kind of hot, tbh! But Tawny Newsome has done such a great job of building this character all season that her voice getting uncharacteristically clipped and martial and "sir! yes, sir!" is also deeply, deeply weird

Ah, so this is literally exactly like when TNG (and DS9) would bring in, and then blow up, a never-before-seen Galaxy-class ship, just to underscore that we're facing a real threat this week, baby. And hey, it fucking worked—my heart was in my throat, omg, for the reveal of the—

PAKLEDS?????????

The fucking PAKLEDS have been gluing weapons to their ships for the last 15 years. GREAT.

(We interrupt the SHIP BEING SLICED INTO SCRAP for an interesting bit of world-building: on Earth, the traditional First Contact Day meal is salmon!)

"I need a dangerous, half-baked solution that breaks Starfleet codes and totally pisses me off! That's an order." I'm starting to think Captain Freeman might actually be overqualified for the Cerritos, y'all—she's REALLY awesome

OH SHIT IT'S BADGEY, this is a TERRIBLE IDEA

"How much contraband have you hidden on my ship?" "I don't know! A lot!"

Awwww, Boims!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, FUCK THIS, PEANUT HAMPER OUT

BADGEY NOOOOO

AUGHHHHH WHAT THE CHRIST DID HE JUST—BUT—RUTHERFORD'S IMPLANT????

RUTHERFORD!!!!!!!!!!

SHAXS!!!!!!

F U C K ! ! ! ! !

ahaIOPugdfhagntpgjrq90e5mgu90qe5;oigoqgw4ouegrw5SP;IAEHURVa IT’S THE TITAN???????????

IT'S CAPTAIN WILLIAM T. RIKER ON THE MOTHERFUCKING TITAN??????????

i'm screaming I'M SCREAMINGGGGGGTGGGTGQER;LBHAOIBVNV;OAPBIJNVagr;h;oagruipuwtnaetbaetgq35ghqet

I'M SO GLAD THIS WASN'T SPOILED FOR ME WTF

I AM WEEPING LIKE A CHILD

...

(Just a brief 20-minute pause this time)

And oh wow, seeing Will and Deanna hits different after Picard too, in a few different ways, which I may even get into later now that my heartrate is back to normal, lmao

Oh, I am always here for some jokes at the expense of the Sovereign class. The Enterprise-E sucked. They should have built a new bigger model of the D and new Galaxy-class interiors for the TNG movies, and I will die on that hill

OKAY, FINE, YOU GOT ME, RUTHERFORD × TENDI WOULD BE ADORABLE AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD SETUP FOR IT

Awwww, Shaxs though :( Congrats on the single most badass death in Star Trek history, dude. The Prophets would—well, the actual Prophets would probably be slightly confused about most of it, but Kira Nerys would be proud of you and I feel like that probably counts for more. RIP, Papa Bear

I am here all damn DAY for the Mariner–Riker parallels, ahahahahaha

Pausing it to record my prediction that Boimler's commitment to not caring about rank anymore is going to last 3... 2...

Yep.

Bradward, how DARE YOU.

"Those guys had a long road, getting from there to here." OH FOR THE LOVE OF—

What a brilliant way to resolve and renew the various character arcs and relationships moving into Season 2! The writers could easily have brought everything back to status quo—chaotic Mariner fighting with her mom and being a bad influence on Boimler, etc.—and done another 10 just like these, but I suspect that wouldn't have been ambitious enough for these writers. What a blast. I cannot wait for more.

Thanks for following along, friends! Stay tuned for my (similarly patchy and amateur) coverage of Discovery, starting next week!

#star trek #star trek lower decks #lwd spoilers #lower decks spoilers #lower decks #amy's episode notes

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traccigaryn · 3 years

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20 answers for a fanfic 2020

Thank you to @curator-on-ao3 for these questions! I'm a few days late, but who cares?

1. fandoms you wrote for this year

All Star Trek, all the time: Voyager, Picard, and DS9/TNG

2. favorite fic you wrote this year

Oh, that's such a hard question. I love them all, but I think the one that means the most was Tousled, an unrepentant bit of froth about Chakotay's hair. I hadn't written anything in months and was feeling sad but not bad about that. Despite the fact that I started out trying to make it crackfic, I think it may have been the first really truthful thing I'd written in some ways. Also, writing both Tuvok and Seven's voices, making them distinct and distinctive, was so. much. fun.

3. favorite fic you read this year

One thing that fell to the wayside in 2020 for me was reading fic. Still, I read some absolute gems and look forward to unearthing more some time soon.

It is the destiny of stars to collapse by @amoderngirl (T, Chakotay/Janeway). This story. THIS STORY. Months later, and this is still all the coherence I can manage.

Siren Song by @curator-on-ao3 (G, Tom Paris & Cristóbal Ríos). This melancholy and hopeful story was beautifully written and captured Tom and Cris to perfection.

Your Shadow Falling (Caesar) by @coffeeblack75 (E, Chakotay/Cristóbal Rios). Coffee took all these conversations we had, all her insights into these characters and turned them into something joyous and true, smutty and searching.

Not Star Trek at all and not a new story, but Gentle Antidote by x_los was everything I could want in a Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane story that also happened to be a soulmark fic.

4. favorite opening line/scene you wrote this year

"I took another sip of tea and longed for coffee." - From I Thoroughly Lived. Mostly because that is how I feel every time I am drinking tea.

5. favorite ending line/scene you wrote this year

"But in the morning he smiled at her, and she was lost all over again." From Touched.

6. a trope you wrote this year

I think the only out-and-out trope I wrote was a stuck-in-the-turbolift story. Man, I need to do better next year.

7. pairings you wrote this year

To the surprise of no one, mostly J/C, but with an increasing amount of Gen, which was an absolute dream to write.

8. a fic regret from this year

I wrote something I was really proud of, but it hasn't had a chance to see the light of day yet. Hope springs eternal.

9. a song that helped you write

I always feel weird admitting this, but I'm not a big music person? I spent several days listening to Patsy Cline in December, though, and it got me thinking about a whole series of angsty, melancholy stories based on her songs. Stay tuned.

10. total number of fics you posted

Eleven stories. My goal for the year was ten, so suck it 2020.

11. total number of words you posted

63,653 (one piece was co-authored, but I can totes claim all those words for these purposes, right? :D )

12. most popular fic written this year

If we're talking hits and kudos alone, A Sensible Understanding - I mean, it was a smut fest with feels, what's not to love? It was an AU (of sorts) of a rather different story from a few months prior and became its far-more-popular younger sibling. I kind of love that about fic writing.

Between Decks 4 and 5 has also chugged right along and struck a different chord with readers: two people, stuck together in many ways, really just needing to actually talk to each other.

13. least popular fic written this year

Ship, a little drabble I wrote about Harry meeting Voyager. I don't mind.

14. longest completed fic you posted this year

I Thoroughly Lived, coming in at 15,208 words. That was a fun one to write: first person POV, a period AU, and an attempt at gothic mystery. Also corset smut.

15. shortest completed fic you posted this year

The aforementioned Ship (100 words)

16. favorite character to write about this year

Well, that would be Chakotay, wouldn't it? Always and forever. I find the glimpses of layers and contradictions and growth endlessly fascinating. I particularly enjoyed getting to explore his relationships with others this year: Tuvok and Harry, Gerron, Seven, and Cris. Definitely planning on more of that for 2021.

17. a fic you didn’t expect to write

Wherever We're Lost (Jupiter) was probably the most unexpected. It was the first time I'd stretched beyond writing for Voyager and the first time I'd written a pairing besides J/C. @coffeeblack75 and I had so much fun analyzing Cris, thinking about how he'd interact with Chakotay, what brought them both to where we see them. So far, our stories are still the only two in that pairing, but we have more planned. And hey, we all need a rare pair, don't we?

18. most memorable comment/review

I received so many lovely comments this year, and I treasure each one like the baubles they are, but I think my favorite one came from BlackVelvet on Wherever We're Lost (Jupiter) because it encompasses steps forward for me as a writer and the feeling that I am starting to progress:

"You could say i'm an unlikely fan of this story. I haven't seen Picard, have no idea who Rios is, rarely read m/m. Then again, i am a fan of your writing. And it's a delightful feeling to pick up a story, whatever story, and start reading it with a certainty that whatever happens, it'll be amazing, cause you trust the writer. You do not disappoint."

19. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I've had several stories involving B'Elanna that hadn't quite bubbled to the surface yet, but I think (I hope) 2021 will be their year.

20. something you want to write next year

The B'Elanna stories. The next chapter in the Mythology series. And I want to keeping branching out into other fandoms. That Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy story I've had half-written for a couple years now. Maybe some one-offs in other fandoms that give me some closure.

#fanfiction #my fic #writing meme #janeway x chakotay

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference

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Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 2, Episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open”

In The Next Generation episode “The Most Toys,” Kivas Fajo tried to keep Data forever. The idea that someone thought it was okay to “collect” was an oddly self-referential concept for Star Trek even in the 1990s. Just like now, the idea of a Star Trek collectible was a thing hardcore Star Trek fans thought about all the time. But, other than the fact that everyone would actually want to “collect” Data, “The Most Toys” wasn’t actually about Star Trek collectibles.

But, the newest Star Trek: Lower Decks episode, kind of is? In “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” the crew of the Cerritos encounters one of those famous collectors, while the crew of the Titan deal with some very familiar transporter clones. It’s almost like this is an episode that is filled with as many Easter eggs on purpose. Here’s everything we caught.

Beta Shift

When Jet joins the Lower Deckers at the start of the episode, it’s implied they are on “Beta Shift.” This seems to check-out with Season 1, in which it was clear that the Cerritos was on a four-shift duty rotation, which included the night shift known as “Delta Shift.” (This idea was first introduced in the TNG episode “Chain of Command,” an episode Lower Decks LOVES to reference.)

Sonic Showers

Although sonic showers are referenced a lot in Star Trek, we’ve only seen sonic showers a few times. The first time was in The Motion Picture, and since then we’ve only glimpsed the showers. The visual effect for the communal sonic showers here is very similar to TMP, but the idea of communal showering for the lower officers vaguely references the novelization of The Motion Picture, too. If you know, then you know.

Collectors

Again the idea of various “Collectors” in the galaxy references Kivas Fajo and “The Most Toys.” This is what Freeman means by “they all tried to collect Data.”

Dr. Migleemo

Notably, the Cerritos’s counselor, the avian Dr. Migleemo returns in this episode, once again, voiced by Paul. F. Tompkins. Echoing Counselor Troi’s non-standard uniform, Migleemo appears to wear whatever he wants while on duty, even sitting on the bridge.

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 1

When the landing party for the Cerritos first boards the ship, just in the first room alone there are a ton of Easter eggs. Getting all of these is gonna be tricky, but we’re gonna give it a go. Here’s what you can spot when you pause the first couple of shots in the first room of the Collector’s Ship.

Captain Picard paper mache head from “Captain Picard Day” (TNG, “The Pegasus”)

The Game (TNG, “The Game”)

Baseball Bat and ball (Possible DS9 Sisko reference?)

Giant Unicorn (Possible Blade Runner reference?)

Marty McFly’s Shoes (Back to the Future)

Terran Empire Flag (TOS, “Mirror, Mirror)

Khan’s Necklace (The Wrath of Khan)

Valiant flight recorder (TOS, “Where No Man Has Gone Before)

Gold TOS Uniform

Giant Pink Tribble (TAS, “More Tribbles, More Troubles)

M-113 lifeform (TOS, “The Man Trap.” Also, this is AT LEAST the third time the Salt Vampire has appeared on Lower Decks. And, having the M-113 lifeform as a collectible not only references “The Man Trap,” but also, “The Squire of Gothos,” in which your boy Trelane had an M-113 creature as a museum piece, too!)

Special Shout-Out: Betazoid Gift Box

First appearing in TNG’s “Haven,” this was a talking box that was meant to “bond” with the person who got the gift.

The existence of this artifact here is also possible a double reference to two other things: In “Haven,” the face of the Gift Box was played by Armin Shimmerman, more famous later as Quark on DS9. But, on top of that, back in 1994 the Star Trek: The Next Generation Collectible Card Game (published by Decipher Inc.) had a very powerful card based on the Betazoid Gift Box. If you played the game, you know this was a rare and useful card that was well…very collectible.

Special Shout-Out: Whose trombone is that?

We briefly see a trombone in one of the collector’s cases, which seems like an easy reference to Riker. But, which one? Because this episode also directly references “Second Chances,” and Will Riker’s duplicate Thomas Riker, it’s possible that this is the trombone that Will gave to Thomas at the end of that TNG episode. Briefly, here’s the case for that being Thomas Riker’s trombone: In the DS9 episode “Defiant” Thomas Riker tried to steal the Defiant, but was later arrested by Starfleet. Presumably, this would mean all of his stuff would have been confiscated, including his trombone!

Keyshon is a Tamarian

Tamarians or “the Children of Tama” originate in the TNG episode “Darmok.” In case you forgot, Picard cracked the case with this species by learning they spoke exclusively through metaphor and analogy. Mariner mocks this by pointing out all you have to do is listen for “context clues.”

Riker loves…Rogue Squadron?

Riker tells Boimler to use “attack pattern delta,” on the Pakled ship. This seems to be a reference to The Empire Strikes Back in which Luke tells the snowspeeders of Rogue Squadron, “Attack pattern delta, go now!”

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 2

Here’s another go at seeing how many Easter eggs were jammed into like less than 2-minutes of screentime.

Kataan Probe (TNG, “The Inner Light”)

Vulcan lirpa weapon (TOS, “Amok Time,”)

Klingon bat’leth (TNG, DS9, Voyager et al.)

Andorian dueling weapon (Enterprise, “United.”)

Shark in a Tank (A reference to the real-life artist Damien Hirst, probably?)

Mars Rover

Kadis-kot game set (Voyager)

Château Picard wine crate (Picard)

Isomagnetic disintegrator (Worf’s bazooka from Insurrection)

Tendi is later holding:

A trident scanner (Scotty loved this thing in TOS)

And…a Kurlan naiskos (TNG, “The Chase,” a very big episode for canon!)

Kahless’ fornication helmet

Tendi says that this specific Klingon artifact is clearly something Kahless (the Klingon Jesus) wore while…well, the name speaks for itself. But which Kahless? Hmmm? The fake clone Kahless from “Rightful Heir?” or the real-deal Kahless from the 9th century? The Kahless reference gets doubly meta, because, as you’ll see later, Lower Decks eventually references the very first reference in canon to Kahless, too.

Data’s Picasso-esque painting of Spot

Barely visible, just as Mariner and the gang are trying to escape, we see Data’s painting of his cat Spot, first seen in the TNG episode “Inheritance,” and later in the background in the movie Generations.

Boimler’s description of the Enterprise-D

Let’s combine two scenes here! In two pivotal moments in the episode, Boimler is defending the honor and relative coolness of the TNG adventures on the Enterprise-D, which he just calls “the D.” Here’s what it seems like he’s referencing.

“They went to other dimensions… (This seems to reference the idea that “The D” did go to another dimension in the episode “Where No One Has Gone Before.” It also could reference “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” but nobody would remember that.)

“They fought the Borg…” (This references “Q, Who,” “The Best of Both Worlds,” and “Descent.”

“They insurrected!” (This seems to reference Star Trek: Insurrection, which was not the Enterprise-D, but instead, the Enterprise-E! The Lower Decks writers surely know this. Why doesn’t Boimler know this? Maybe the game of telephone in the Federation is a little inaccurate? In LDS Season 1, the news of Data’s brother seemed to travel…very slowly?)

“They had a regular string quartet.” (This references several TNG episodes, notably “Sarek,” and again, “Inheritance,”)

“Riker was jamming on the trombone” (A ton of TNG, including “The Next Phase,” “Future Imperfect,” and of course, “Second Chances.”)

“Catching love disease” (Probably TNG’s “The Naked Now”)

“Acting in plays” (This mostly references Riker acting in one of Crusher’s plays in TNG’s “Frame of Mind.”)

The remains of Spock Two?

In the spooky skeleton room, we see what appears to be a giant humanoid skeleton wearing a blue TOS–era Starfleet uniform. Who is this? The best guess? This is the giant Spock clone from The Animated Series episode “The Infinite Vulcan.”

Excalbian Bones and Abe Lincoln

Toward the end of the episode, the gang is trapped in a diorama that seems to have an alien and a skeleton of Abraham Lincoln. This references the TOS episode “The Savage Curtain” in which the Excalbians produced copies of Lincoln, along with Kahless and Surak. This episode was the first reference in Trek canon to both Kahless and Surak, and so, basically created the backstories of both Vulcan and Klingon cultures through historically inaccurate versions of those people. Funny, right?

Transporter clone

When Boimler beams the away team out through the distortion field, Riker says “oh, I’ve heard this tune before.” This references the TNG banger “Second Chances,” in which Riker’s transporter duplicate was discovered on a planet years after the fact. In this sense, Boimler’s transporter clone got off easy. Also, the idea that one of the transporter duplicates makes different decisions that the other also references “Second Chances,” in which “Thomas” Riker ends up being a different person than Will. The idea that both can’t serve on the Titan anymore might reference the idea that the TNG writing staff considered killing off the “first” Will Riker, and replacing him with his duplicate. This would have meant Data would have become the first officer in Season 6, and Riker, the operations officer. It didn’t happen, but from the point of view of the Titan crew, something like this basically DID just happen.

The Riker lean

While talking to the Mr. Boimlers, Riker puts one foot up on a couch. Classic Riker lean. Classic.

“Computer play Night Bird”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Just before Boimler leaves the Ready Room, “William Boimler” and Riker are sharing some Romulan Ale. Riker says “computer, play ‘Night Bird.’” This also references “Second Chances,” in which Riker is unable to play the trombone solo for this song, which Troi teases him about endlessly. “Night Bird” also appears to be a made-up song. But who knows, maybe William Boimler will be able to master it? Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 airs on Paramount+ on Thursdays.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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