Random Star Trek thoughts

[Doctor Cringelord]

Why are promotions given so easily in the newer Star Trek series? This started with JJ Trek promoting Kirk straight from cadet to captain at the end of the 2009 movie. In Picard, Seven of Nine isn’t even a Starfleet officer and receives a promotion to Captain of the new Stargazer at the end of season 2.

It makes Starfleet appear less credible. It also seems unfair to officers who’ve put in years of service and gained experience, only to watch someone else fast tracked past them.

 

[Totenkindly]

That's because the Picard series sucks.

To be less funny about it, I didn't feel like Picard cared about rational plotting and behavior, it was about feel-good moments and nostalgia.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

That's because the Picard series sucks.

To be less funny about it, I didn't feel like Picard cared about rational plotting and behavior, it was about feel-good moments and nostalgia.

Yeah, it’s actually worse than Disco in that regard. Disco at least tries to have a coherent plot.

I’ll admit it was easier to overlook the forced emotionality of Picard because I was drunk on the member berry nostalgia, but once that wore off, it was pretty clear. It’s pure schlock. Disco is the slightly better of the two.

I’m on a break from SNW and have only made it about halfway through season one, but I think it’s definitely an improvement and the best of the currently running live action series.

Prodigy, the “kids” show that is always forgotten about in discussions of nu trek, is actually the best at providing coherent stories and believable character behavior and interactions. It is straightforward and simple without condescending to its main target audience (children new to trek). And it’s a way better sequel to a 90s era trek show than Picard could ever hope to be

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Lwaxana Troi is sometimes derided but I find her to have one of the saddest arcs if you take her DS9 appearances into consideration. TNG mostly played her as an overbearing cougar milf, DS9 exposed the sadness and loneliness beneath her exterior

Her friendship with (and unrequited feelings for) Odo is quite touching. I suppose it’s a testament to DS9’s lasting appeal. Every TNG character (possible exception Q) featured as guest or regular was drastically improved and expanded upon via their appearances on DS9. Actually, add TOS, because DS9 also turned Kor from one dimensional Klingon war hero into an elderly former war hero haunted by his own mortality and obsolescence. The crossover guest episodes are among my absolute favorites and most rewatched of DS9

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Kivas Fajo Is Actually Star Trek's Most Evil Villain - SlashFilm

You can usually see the POV of a Star Trek villain. Not this guy.

www.slashfilm.com

Definitely a top 5 TNG villain, and proof that not every villain has to be a comical megalomaniac hell bent on destroying the federation to convey sadism. I’d argue villains like this are far more common in real life, and their appearance as almost normal people makes them all the more insidious and evil. This guy took pure joy in messing with Data and his own staff for that matter. He left a bad taste in my mouth whereas I found most of the movie villains comically one dimensional

 

[Totenkindly]

Kivas Fajo Is Actually Star Trek's Most Evil Villain - SlashFilm

You can usually see the POV of a Star Trek villain. Not this guy.

www.slashfilm.com

Definitely a top 5 TNG villain, and proof that not every villain has to be a comical megalomaniac hell bent on destroying the federation to convey sadism. I’d argue villains like this are far more common in real life, and their appearance as almost normal people makes them all the more insidious and evil. This guy took pure joy in messing with Data and his own staff for that matter. He left a bad taste in my mouth whereas I found most of the movie villains comically one dimensional

That was the episode that cued me into Saul Rubinek's acting ability. I haven't seen him do that much nowadays but back at the time he suddenly began to appear in a variety of films and shows doing character acting. Remember seeing him in Unforgiven a bit later, for example. I think he even showed up briefly in Buster Scruggs recently.

That episode is likely in my top ten fave episodes of TNG.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

That was the episode that cued me into Saul Rubinek's acting ability. I haven't seen him do that much nowadays but back at the time he suddenly began to appear in a variety of films and shows doing character acting. Remember seeing him in Unforgiven a bit later, for example. I think he even showed up briefly in Buster Scruggs recently.

That episode is likely in my top ten fave episodes of TNG.

hell yeah. a top star trek episode. I know it's almost a trope to talk about how good TNG became in season 3, but this might have been the first episode I watched that really made me realize they were on to something special and that it was no longer a pale imitation of TOS. Key character moment for Data near the end. Rubinek really is a gem.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

On semi-related note, I recently tried to show my kid TNG. He's a completist and insists on watching them all. I told him we should reaaaaaly skip a lot of the first and some of the second seasons, and that he really will get hooked if he is patient. I could tell he just wasn't feeling the first few episodes of season one, and now we're kind of on a break from watching them.

I'm hoping he'll let me show him a few good ones out of order first, and "The Most Toys" would probably be a great one for that. I was also thinking "Measure of a Man", "The Inner Light", "Darmok"--all of these left a mark on me and I was around his age when they aired. This is not a show that really needs to be viewed in whole and one can easily watch the best episodes without missing much. Then, if he insists on satisfying his completist urge, he can always go back and watch the shitty early ones in order. Episodic TV has its strengths, and one of TNG's is that you can watch the good shit out of order, and with a few exceptions, it doesn't leave you confused or feeling like you missed anything. I liked a few Disco episodes, but I can't see myself rewatching them because they're so tied into that season-long movie format. Oddly, I've seen DS9 so much that I don't mind going back and rewatching my favorites out of order. Despite the long slowburn arcs, I find the episodes are still fairly self-contained and you don't miss too much because the characters and writing are so strong. I'd start most people with "In The Pale Moonlight" and that's a season 6 episode set right in the middle of the Dominion War arc.

 

[Totenkindly]

^^ That seems pretty fair. I think STNG works that way. I don't think I'd ever rewatch it through again, but when the mood strikes, I am cool with picking from the top twenty episodes for me to rewatch.

My eldest started watching X-Files on his own recently and will text me occasionally to let me know his reactions to episodes. (It's been forever since I've seen most of them, because I watched it as it aired and then had the boxed sets to rewatch my faves. I had watched a few that I handpicked while he was staying with me, to introduce him, and it seems to have taken.) Of course he loves Breaking Bad and BCS, and Vince Gilligan essentially jump-started his writing/directing career on X-Files, having written about half of the most memorable episodes (with the other memorable writers being the Morgan/Wong team as well as Darin Morgan, although Carter handled the anthology arcs mostly). He was born halfway through the X-Files live run, so obviously he missed the wave that was so formative for me; I'm happy to see him getting into it.

He started with Season 1 and is really liking it as it progress, he had a lot to say about the Scully episode "Beyond the Sea" for example. Again, once you watch a few episodes, there's a ton to choose from that fit the Monster of the Week or standalone episode motif and you don't really need to know the ongoing storyline to enjoy them. I just rewatched Bad Blood last week for kicks, for example.

 

[Totenkindly]

Tossing out 20 of my favorite X-files standalones (not really dealing overall with the mythology arcs), here's ones I thought of. There could be others. These are in no particular order.

1. "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" 3-20 April 12, 1996
2. "War of the Coprophages" 3-12 January 5, 1996
3. "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" 3-4 October 13, 1995
4. "Humbug" 2-20 March 31, 1995
5. "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" 11-4 January 24, 2018
6. "Pusher" 3-17 February 23, 1996
7. "Leonard Betts" 4-12 January 26, 1997
8. "Small Potatoes" 4-20 April 20, 1997
9. "Dreamland" 6-4 November 29, 1998
10. "Dreamland II" 6-5 December 6, 1998
11. "Field Trip" 6-21 May 9, 1999
12. "Hungry" 7-3 November 21, 1999
13. "Je Souhaite" 7-21 May 14, 2000
14. "Rm9sbG93ZXJz" 11-7 February 28, 2018
15. "Squeeze" 3-1 September 24, 1993
16. "Die Hand Die Verletzt" 2-4 January 27, 1995
17. "Home" 4-2 October 11, 1996
18. "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" 4-7 November 17, 1996
19. "The Post-Modern Prometheus" 5-5 November 30, 1997
20. "The Goldberg Variation" 7-6 December 12, 1999

Disliked Seasons 8-9 although I appreciated Doggitt. Really was disappointed in Seasons 10-11 reboot as well, the writing was pretty weak overall... out of 16 episodes maybe only 3-4 max were worth watching, and some were just awful including the finales.

I really liked Krycek / "ratboy" (Nicholas Lea) arcs plus the whole crazy bit with Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden), I remember just being blown away when that was airing week by week roflmao.

 

[The Cat]

A Change of Heart bothers me...Worf and Jadzia should have never been sent on that mission in the first place or it shouldnt have been just the two of them. Obrien and Bashir should have been aboard to, or for that matter, Garak. But beyond that. They act so out of character. After Jadzia was shot, she should have gone back to the runabout with the intention of standing by with the runabout to pick up Worf and the defector, even if only programming the autopilot in case she couldnt stabilize herself aboard the ship, but above and beyond that, would have given Mr Oversensetive the focus to finish the damned mission without overworrying for his wife...which again is why the two of them alone should have never been sent in the first place.

 

[The Cat]

I really think its a shame we didnt get at least one episode where the Doctor got to hang out with Vic Fontaine.

 

[Totenkindly]

Star Trek: Discovery to End with Upcoming Fifth Season at Paramount+

Captain Michael Burnham's voyage through space will soon come to an end.

movieweb.com

 

[The Cat]

Tbh I wouldnt mind seeing a show about the Institute; Serena, Patrick, Lauren and Jack were extremely relatable characters for me.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

What was that Star Trek episode with that weird old guy who was obsessed with Wesley realizing his potential?

 

[The Cat]

What was that Star Trek episode with that weird old guy who was obsessed with Wesley realizing his potential?

Was Picard obsessed?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Was Picard obsessed?

I think he would have let Wesley do what he wanted to do.

 

[The Cat]

I think he would have let Wesley do what he wanted to do.

Well he can certainly trek if he wants to. He can leave his crew behind. Because his crew don't trek and if they don't trek well they're no crew of mine.
S...S....s.....s....
T...T....t......t....
A....A.....a....a...
R....R...r.....r.....
T...T...t.....t.....
R...R....r....r...
E....E...e....e...
K...K...k...k...

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

The DS9 2 parter episode "The Maquis" is where I think DS9 really starts to shine as its own distinct show with its own voice and identity. It's there where we first really see the Federation and its core values questioned. Sure, non-starfleet and non-federation characters had done that before, but in "The Maquis", we see our series lead Sisko himself beginning to notice the flaws and ivory tower thinking of the starfleet top brass who are far removed from the cracked edges of their utopian empire. "It's easy to be a saint in paradise..."

Aside from one or two filler episodes, I think the same can more or less be said about all of season 2. While season 1 did a good job of introducing the characters and beginning to build the world of the alpha quadrant more, it still felt like TNG on a space station. Season 2 was revolutionary.

I would add season 2 finale "The Jem Hadar" as the other key episode in marking a sea change for the series and overall franchise. Showing a Galaxy Class ship so easily obliterated not only showed the federation might not be the unstoppable, reliable hero, but it served to symbolically shatter everything we'd come to expect and assume over 7 years of TNG (which happened to be ending its own final season right around the same time).

 

[Totenkindly]