Sabertooth
Currently on a road trip with Magnus the Red
- Location
- Portugal
So Rafi and Seven are a couple now?
BunBun299
Killer Rabbit
Hugh, Icheb, Bruce Maddox. I could handle any or all dying. But the fact that, by the accounts I've heard from multiple sources (and I've sought out as much variety in opinions on the show as I can) they seem to have all been killed off purely for shock value, does not endear this show to me. I am reserving final judgement until I see it with my own eyes.
For the record, currently 3 episodes in. Not caring for Dahj or Soji. Did like what I've seen of Hugh thus far. Hate Admiral Sheer Fucking Hubris. Also disliking Raffi. Only new character I'm actually liking so far if Rios.
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
To this I now must add: sometimes in a single episode.
While I'm not sure I agree with every decision, in general I enjoyed it.
- Location
- Los Angeles
I didn't get a great look, but they looked like a Star Trek Online design to me.
I believe it looked like the Avenger Battlecruiser, so make your joke about how much the Federation had to spend on lockboxes.
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
Was hoping that we'd get to see some Defiant-class ships in the fleet, but I guess it would be almost thirty years old at this point.
BunBun299
Killer Rabbit
Well, I finished the series. And I did not hate the ending. Though I did not especially love the journey. Rios is the only new character I even kinda liked. I never felt like we got to know Soji or Dahj at all. Both just felt like blank slates with mysterious super powers. Elnor was a complete waste of screen time, he could have been cut from the story completely, it and probably would have been better for it.
It took me a bit to really sum up just what I found frustrating about the series overall. And I think I realized just what my biggest problem was. Every time it seemed like they had a good story idea, they just never capitalized on it. The biggest example would be the Borg reclamation project. I've always been fascinated by the Borg. The idea of this disabled Cube where they're slowly trying to rehabilitate liberated Borg is just teeming with story potential. But they barely scratched the surface of it. Every time they kept cutting back to the Artifact, it just focused on three character I just didn't care about.
I'll probably have more to say later. For now, though, I'll be cancelling my CBS account before the free subscription runs out, and I don't see myself coming back for season 2, if it ever happens. In the meantime, I'll consider whether I want to try to force myself through STD.
It took me a bit to really sum up just what I found frustrating about the series overall. And I think I realized just what my biggest problem was. Every time it seemed like they had a good story idea, they just never capitalized on it. The biggest example would be the Borg reclamation project. I've always been fascinated by the Borg. The idea of this disabled Cube where they're slowly trying to rehabilitate liberated Borg is just teeming with story potential. But they barely scratched the surface of it. Every time they kept cutting back to the Artifact, it just focused on three character I just didn't care about.
I'll probably have more to say later. For now, though, I'll be cancelling my CBS account before the free subscription runs out, and I don't see myself coming back for season 2, if it ever happens. In the meantime, I'll consider whether I want to try to force myself through STD.
- Location
- Some Shithole, why do you care?!, Brazil
- Pronouns
- Asshole/Fuckface
Well, I, uh, initially didn't realize it was another version of Rios. I don't know if it's a weird brain thing that I have but I have a real problem recognizing faces, at least in movies. Often times I'm watching a film and I'm like "who is this guy? I've never seen him before", but it turns out it's like, the same character from the previous scene, but with a slightly different hair cut, or clothes, or maybe presented in an odd camera angle. Kinda embarassing
But anyways this show sucked. The one thing that I'll give them credit for and that made me appreciate the final episode was that it didn't end in a big, dumb, loud, sceizure inducing action scene, but instead with dialog, like Star Trek should do, at least from time to time. But this show often failed at like a basic story telling level.
Like, ok, Seven's character arc is she learns REVENGE BAD. But how does she learn that? When does she learn that? Is it because she didn't have time to save Hugh? Is it because she has no more friends? Is it because killing that bitch didn't actually feel all that good? Well God knows! The show sure has hell isn't going to try and explain it.
They just didn't have time to tell a fucking story. There's so much overhang in this show, so many things left unexplained! How did Oh control the robots in Mars? Where is the Romulan government? Is there a central Romulan government, or is is like 1920s-1940s China, with a bunch of different warlords? Where are the Remans? Where is Narek in the end of the show? What were the planets that didn't want to help the Romulans? Were them any of the big players, like Vulcans or Andorians or Tellarites? Why did they want the Romulans to die? Why are these androids at the same time super human and weak pussies that can get knocked down by a punch?
Maybe if this way like 16 episodes long they'd actually have time to answer these questions, but they wanted to be sexy and make it 10 episodes long, and would you look a that! It sucked!
This show also suffered from having a million billion plot holes and other things that didn't make any sense, probably because it was written by 48 people and produced by 256 different producers. Like this isn't an episodic Star Trek show, this should be a single person's vision, a single person's idea. When you have that many writers and producers working on a single story line there's bound to be a bunch contradictions and tonal inconsistencies. It's just way too many undercooked ideas comprassed into a very short time frame.
Also Oh's dialog was fucking magical. "PREPARE THE GENOCIDE GUNS!" "ENGAGE MURDER BEAMS!" "INNITIATE DEVASTATION PROTOCOLS!"
I personally don't really use the acronym in a mean spirited way. Well at least most of the time. When sex scenes are involved I have no choice
Especially because the Avenger is a Zen ship, not a lockbox ship.I believe it looked like the Avenger Battlecruiser, so make your joke about how much the Federation had to spend on lockboxes.
That being said, aside perhaps from some superficial similarities, neither the Avenger nor the Arbiter looks that similar to the Curiosity-class (which is what I believe Chabon has identified the Zheng He as).
First, consider the underside of the main hull:
Specifically note the notch in the front and - on the ship in the upper right - the weird deflector area.
Contrast with the front hull of the Avenger:
The notch design isn't similar and frankly neither is any of the saucer rim, which on the Curiosity seems to have an almost TOS-like angle to it. Nor is the deflector/underside similar at all. The Avenger has a Odyssey-like hull separation between the primary and secondary hulls and a prominent deflector, whereas the Curiosity's hull is more sled-like with no visible deflector.
From the rear, there are some similarities:
But again, not many - note the distinct difference in not just the impulse engines, but also in the connection to the secondary hull and the stacking of the primary bridge superstructure. The Avenger uses a Sovereign-style shuttlebay structure between the impulse engines, whereas the Curiosity appears to have nothing there. And there is of course the complex structure between the 'ribs' on the Avenger that isn't present on the rear of the Curiosity.
From the side there are similarities:
Notably the forward swept nacelles, and the ridges along the central superstructure assembly - but you'll see that the nacelle pylons on the Curiosity-class are swept forward while the Avenger's pylons are essentially straight sideways, and the shape of the Avenger's pylons makes them much wider and with a much greater curve along their length that the Curiosity simply doesn't have.
And of course the nacelles are just different.
Even if you pick some components out of the Arbiter and try to merge them into something appropriate, you get something like this:
Which still is wrong around the shape of the neck and secondary hull and which doesn't have the same shape or design of primary hull. The Avenger and the Curiosity are both relatively squat ships with ridges running along the dorsal side, but that's basically where the resemblance stops...
Attachments
- Location
- Some Shithole, why do you care?!, Brazil
- Pronouns
- Asshole/Fuckface
Apparently they had 1 week to produce the special effects for this episode, but I still think they could have done at least slightly better with this time frame.
Mal-3
Fun Tyrant
I... I need a citation on that please (actual sources like proper entertainment journalism or verified Q&A with the production team, not some random YouTube jagoff with an axe to grind) because I have a real hard time believing that a modern prestige-grade TV production could get boxed in like that.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Really? Because Special effects being done at the last minute is basically the norm.
- Location
- Some Shithole, why do you care?!, Brazil
- Pronouns
- Asshole/Fuckface
Sorry I remembered it a bit wrong:
STAR TREK: PICARD Review — “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2”
The first season of STAR TREK: PICARD comes to a close in "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2" -- but does the series stick the landing? Find out in our review!
blog.trekcore.com
Mal-3
Fun Tyrant
Shots, yeah. I get that final renders and compositing and all of that bullshit eats time like nobody's business. Having a ship design is preproduction work; they should've had at least a couple of sketches and models for variety's sake and ready to be at least stuck in the background of shots that called for lots of starships. They ought to have had the necessary resources on hand just from the natural process of production; as an example, most of Disco's Starfleet started as rejected sketches for the Shenzhou that got built up into models because they needed a fleet for one scene. I can only presume that they had the same thing going for the Zheng He, so if you've got a big fleet take one or two of those that look visually distinct from Zheng He and stick a couple of 'em in the middle ground to break up the look.
Modern TV production format has moved away from the insane level of crunch that it used to have. The modeler doesn't have to frantically rearrange the greeblies on the same damn generic rectangular starship model, maybe flip it upside-down, slap a quick coat of gray or rust paint on it and then wheel it next door to the motion-control rig because they have the time to actually design shit instead of being stuck on a week-to-week schedule. Disco shows that they can pull this off, even with the whole musical-chairs producer follies they utilized preproduction well for both seasons. It's weird that Picard either didn't have that time or didn't manage it all that well.
theorion
Vorlon Ambassador
- Location
- Vorlon
Especially because the Avenger is a Zen ship, not a lockbox ship.
That being said, aside perhaps from some superficial similarities, neither the Avenger nor the Arbiter looks that similar to the Curiosity-class (which is what I believe Chabon has identified the Zheng He as).
First, consider the underside of the main hull:
View attachment 1602
Specifically note the notch in the front and - on the ship in the upper right - the weird deflector area.
Contrast with the front hull of the Avenger:
View attachment 1608
The notch design isn't similar and frankly neither is any of the saucer rim, which on the Curiosity seems to have an almost TOS-like angle to it. Nor is the deflector/underside similar at all. The Avenger has a Odyssey-like hull separation between the primary and secondary hulls and a prominent deflector, whereas the Curiosity's hull is more sled-like with no visible deflector.
From the rear, there are some similarities:
View attachment 1611
View attachment 1614
But again, not many - note the distinct difference in not just the impulse engines, but also in the connection to the secondary hull and the stacking of the primary bridge superstructure. The Avenger uses a Sovereign-style shuttlebay structure between the impulse engines, whereas the Curiosity appears to have nothing there. And there is of course the complex structure between the 'ribs' on the Avenger that isn't present on the rear of the Curiosity.
From the side there are similarities:
View attachment 1617
View attachment 1623
Notably the forward swept nacelles, and the ridges along the central superstructure assembly - but you'll see that the nacelle pylons on the Curiosity-class are swept forward while the Avenger's pylons are essentially straight sideways, and the shape of the Avenger's pylons makes them much wider and with a much greater curve along their length that the Curiosity simply doesn't have.
And of course the nacelles are just different.
Even if you pick some components out of the Arbiter and try to merge them into something appropriate, you get something like this:
View attachment 1626
Which still is wrong around the shape of the neck and secondary hull and which doesn't have the same shape or design of primary hull. The Avenger and the Curiosity are both relatively squat ships with ridges running along the dorsal side, but that's basically where the resemblance stops...
Honestly, the nacelles and pylons remind me a lot of the Imperial class more than anything else.
I mean, if you're going to make fun of on purpose Discovery with a shortened name, use a less crude one.
Ever since we saw that was an in-universe shirt, my friends and I just call the show DISCO when talking about it.
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Pretty sure that was the idea.
Did Jurati, Soong, and Asha not tell the others that they were resurrecting Picard until after they'd succeeded? Or did they just feel like mourning regardless?
The Victorian
Elven Supremacist
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The season ending was, like the rest of the show, a horribly jumbled mess of a few good ideas mixed in with a whole lot of bad ones. Seriously, what is with this show? The quality is so incredibly modal, switching from heartwarming moments one second to abject stupidity the next. It's very much like Mass Effect 2 and 3 in that regard.
- Jurati's dialogue is even worse than usual. She talks about "uber-synths" and, while Picard is flying La Sirena she's constantly throwing out these awful, Joss Whedon-esque snarky remarks that kill all the tension. This is an issue I have with series as a whole - it's filled with "modern" sounding dialogue, with characters saying things like "pro tip" or "ass-deep in Romulans" or talking about someone "blowing up" on the local news. Previous incarnations of Trek deliberately avoided using modern slang, which lent a futuristic, idiosyncratic air to conversations. Now everyone talks like they're from the 21st century, which not only sounds jarring compared to previous Treks, but will also date the show horribly.
- Everybody seems to forget that Jurati murdered somebody. In fact, much like Discovery, the show can't remember anything that happened more than one episode ago. The crew of La Sirena team up with Narek, with no one bringing up the fact that's an untrustworthy, inveterate liar. Then he mysteriously disappears from the story because...reasons. Just like how the show brought back Bruce Maddox...then killed him. Just like it brought back Icheb...and then killed him. Just like it brought back Hugh...and then killed him.
- Why did the Zhat Vash fleet back down so easily? This is an ancient, fanatical doomsday cult that has killed millions in its quest to wipe out synthetic life. They should have fought to the last man.
- "Ready planet sterilization pattern number five." - I had to laugh at this line. Apparently the Romulans have multiple means of obliterating all life on a planet...I don't think even the Inquisition of WH40k can make the same claim!
- While it was nice seeing Riker again, why was he chosen to lead the fleet, considering he's effectively retired? Was there really no one else available?
- And the bit where Picard "died" and was brought back as a robot...good god. "Brain uploading" is not a transference of consciousness, despite what the transhumanist nutters would have you believe. You are a not a picture of you. Picard died, and an imperfect digital copy of him sprung into existence. The picard we knew from TNG is dead, and from now on we're going to be watching a robot clone of him. Yippee.
- Seven and Raffi are an item now? So which one is going to get killed off, then?
- Again, the show is tonally all over the place. Since the beginning, Picard has been treated as a pompous old fool who gives speeches about how violence is unnecessary...only for everyone around to reveal that, no, violence is the answer. Then, in this season ending episode, suddenly the show is back on his side? It's a lot like season one of Discovery , which begins with Starfleet committing war crimes and the crew of the ship acting like whinging, petty teenagers. Then suddenly Michael Burnham is giving this lofty speech extolling traditional Federation values at the end of the season.
- Picard started out with a plot thread about the Romulan refugee crisis, with some interesting parallels to real-world events...only to ditch in favour of yet another Terminator/Skynet/AM/Reapers plot. Discovery already did this story with Control, and it was handled terribly there, too! Seriously, why is this the only story ever told about AI?
- The Mystery Box method of storytelling is an absolute millstone around the show's neck. It results in a fractured, disjointed, meandering narrative that's constantly lurching from one plot to the next, with character dialogue largely consisting of infodumps and exposition.
- It's quite clear to me that she showrunners of NuTrek are a catastrophically poor fit for Star Trek. They want sci-fi action and Game of Thrones-style soap opera melodrama (they even brought in the incest, with Narek's sister) with a dash of Joss Whedon and Marvel superheroes thrown in. They're obviously not interested in big ideas science fiction, or engaging with any kind moral or philosophical issues.
- Location
- Some Shithole, why do you care?!, Brazil
- Pronouns
- Asshole/Fuckface
The show's message was "you should help immigrants, but you can't trust them too much, because if you do they'll climb up the chain of command of your military while pretending to be of another race so they can fuck with and subvert your government". Bravo Kurtzman
Enkida
Full Cyborg
- Location
- Germany
I liked the show overall, but I pretty much agree with Victorian's critiques... they had some good ideas but in an attempt to cater to the masses, they lost the thread. Still. I wouldn't mind if they kept going and tried to find it. Am disappointed about exactly what I thought would happen to Picard happening, for philiosophical reasons, but also just because predictable plots too predictable disappoint me.
I am glad they killed off Data, again. He's dead. Let him stay dead.
Shanejayell
Yuri Fan without a Pause
- Pronouns
- He
Well, season 2 is confirmed, so maybe we'll see the Romulan infiltration plot addressed.
Sabertooth
Currently on a road trip with Magnus the Red
- Location
- Portugal
Probably cause that fleet was the bulk of the romulan military that after the Dominion War, destruction of Romulus and whether petty warlords popped up after was the only organized force?