Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery - Official Thread (1 Viewer)

[Philip Verdieck]

Overall I liked the episode a lot.

Saru's death stuff didnt go over for me at all. He knew it wasn't under normal circumstances. He also knew it was forced by the sphere. I would have expected him to be fighting this artificial state, not surrendering to it. OTOH, of course its not simple to suppress X millennia of genetic programming...

I also thought it was a little quick for them to be immediately interpreting the data dump to get Spock's course... But hey, its the universal translater.

OK, and I thought that was a horrible idea that people's speech would be changed by corruption of the universal translator. I think that concept had more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese. It makes the universal translator worthless if you can't turn it off. And TOS never had it in user hosted form where it could do that. Again, something where people couldn't say "No, this is wrong it wouldn't work that way".

 

[Philip Verdieck]

Since STD is so Pike centric and #1 made an appearance me and the GF watched "The Cage".

I was paying more attention this time. Its an exercise in noticing the differences.

 

[John*Wells]

I hate to sound dumb. But I watched the episode (renewed my CBS AA ) and heard them mention Warp Core.. was that concept introduced in TOS Or enterprise? I dont remember seeing it in either

 

[Nelson Au]

That’s a really good question John. It would be a great trivia question. I believe the term Warp Core was first used on The Next Generation. It might have been a TOS film, but I would bet TNG.

 

[TonyD]

There’s a three month freebie out there for anyone still thinking a bout it.

 

[Nelson Au]

I’m really bummed as I discovered Monday morning I’m not getting any broadband signals at my modem. My internet provider, AT&T, and I tried to trouble shoot it over the phone. Though I did everything they suggested before I called them. I checked the connections, reset the modem by unplugging the power for a minute and replugging it back. Nothing. The frustrating part is they can’t get a guy over to look at it until Friday. I did have a power failure Sunday and the lights flickered on and off a few time. Maybe it spiked the modem but it was working after the power came back. So no Star Trek Discovery for me until Friday or Saturday if I’m lucky.

My I’ve become so reliant on internet access. It’s either the modem, the lines outside my house or inside. I hope it’s the lines outside somewhere.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

I hate to sound dumb. But I watched the episode (renewed my CBS AA ) and heard them mention Warp Core.. was that concept introduced in TOS Or enterprise? I dont remember seeing it in either

I would go with TNG also.

As I recall on TOS, engine issues dealt with dilithium crystals, having to do a cold start/implosion of the warp drive (The Naked Time), and a few others. But I don't recall any mention of the warp core. They also totally forgot that NCC-1701 was modified at least once way beyond its capabilities, but magically returned to normal afterwards (By Any Other Name) (("Its Green")).

My next thought was a movie, but I think Spock just went in the reactor room in Wrath of Khan.

So I think it was TNG and it was introduced with the concept of a Warp Core Breach, and ejecting the Warp Core.

Here is your bonus for today:

https://www.space.com/17628-warp-drive-possible-interstellar-spaceflight.html

 

[BobO'Link]

^That's a *very* interesting bonus!

According to Memory Alpha:

By 2270, most Federation warp cores were redesigned to consist of a large warp core unit in the secondary hull with matter and antimatter channeling into the core through vertical conduits, with the resulting energy directed to the nacelles through a horizontal conduit leading out from the rear of the core. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

They later in the article say:

As a safety precaution, the core could be physically ejected from the ship, should an event such as a catastrophic containment failure of the matter-antimatter reaction occur that cannot be corrected. There were also some tactical uses for ejecting and detonating a core on purpose. The detonation could for example be used to neutralize the cascade of a subspace tear or push a ship away from the gravity well of a black hole. (TOS: "That Which Survives"...

In "That Which Survives" The Enterprise is out of control and speeding up.

Scotty discovers that the emergency overload bypass of the matter-antimatter integrator has been fused...

Spock...discovered that the Enterprise has been put through a molecular transporter and then reassembled slightly out of phase, which will require Scott to reverse the polarity on the magnetic probe in order to seal the incision. Scott attempts to do so as the final seconds tick down, but the mechanism on the probe becomes jammed. Scotty insists multiple times to Spock that he jettison him...

Scotty's speaking about ejecting the core - where he's working. I don't believe they say "Warp Core" or "Eject the core" in any of this but that's what's going on.

I think the first mention of "Warp Core" was in an episode of TNG, but I don't know just which.

 

[Gary Seven]

Next week I go to Mexico. I will binge watch as much as I can on Netflix while I am there.

 

[Sam Favate]

The animated Trek show aimed at kids that was mentioned a while back as being in development may have found a home: Nickelodeon.

https://trekmovie.com/2019/02/13/ki...t-56WFeRGUSZrPJx_TXmjIGwXpsy6ZLOaHiGH0apaxO5I

This is the first indication that maybe CBS All Access isn't in this for the long haul.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm sure anything that airs on Nickelodeon (another channel which is owned by CBS) will also make it to All Access -- but why not get the kiddies to love Star Trek while they're young? That's probably smart strategy since little kids can't pay for anything on their own, but once they start liking something, they can get their parents to buy them merchandise.

 

[Carabimero]

I've always believed good writing trades up; that is, you get more than you lose when you make a trade. You can kill off a major character for shock value, and if that's one of the only bad trades you make, it's fine. Usually it's trading down because you're sacrificing all future potential of chemistry and intimate relationships for one moment of shock. And while it's true that such an unexpected death can create the belief that anyone can die at any time (which is valuable), it's still trading down if you compound it with other bad trades like DSC did in season one. Trading down is what lesser writers do because it's easy. Trading up is hard. But it's a big part of what good writing is about.

That's one of the things I love so much about season two. The writers are repairing the damage from most of the lazy trading down in season one. Tonight was a great example. I won't spoil anything, but I loved it.

And I might add: Isn't it amazing what a great captain can do for a starship? Godspeed, Captain Pike. I hope you're the Captain of the Discovery for at least another season (and maybe more).

But come on. At some point, Spock has to make an appearance, especially since they keep dangling that carrot in front of us.

Anyone want to start a pool on what episode Spock will actually appear in the flesh? I say episode 210 (five more episodes), but it's just a guess.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’m enjoying the prolonged Search For Lt. Spock But I also loved Twin Peaks: The Return, which made you wait a damn long time for Agent Cooper to re-emerge.

I liked both Georgeou and Tyler in this episode. Getting them away from the Klingon storyline has made all the difference.

Pike is wonderful. Every actor who has played the part has nailed it in their own way. Anson Mount has now played Pike for more screen time than any of them and he’s just great.

My follow-up TOS episode tonight is The Immunity Syndrome. It’s not a perfect fit, but you’ve got the Enterprise stuck between two dimensions and a shuttle craft with Mr. Spock, so it’s not a totally random choice. It’s a sign of how tonally right season two of Discovery is that I can leap from that directly into TOS without needing distance between the two.

 

[Sam Favate]

I agree that Pike is currently the best thing about the show, which is saying a lot. My feeling is that

Spoiler: SPECULATION

in saving Spock from whatever fate could doom him, Pike becomes the guy we saw in The Menagerie, which is why Spock feels so responsible for him and his fate in that two-parter, risking his career, etc. How wild that I had to use spoiler tags for a 50-year old episode!

However, I would also like to see Anson Mount continue for several seasons.

I enjoyed last night's episode (although my complaint about the screen being too busy with lights and floating thingys remains). Can't say I'm thrilled to see Ash on board or to see Section 31 operating so much in the open (wasn't the crew of DS9 completely in the dark about them?).

It's apparent that the writers have listened to the fans. It's making it a better show.

 

[joshEH]

Nickelodeon in negotiations for a second animated Trek series, this one aimed at younger viewers:

https://www.trektoday.com/content/2019/02/nickelodeon-near-deal-for-new-kids-animated-trek/

 

[Josh Dial]

(wasn't the crew of DS9 completely in the dark about them?).

To be fair, it is over 100 years later. Pardon a Canadian's use of an American example, but how many military officers serving during the Civil War knew about the Culper Ring? That's not really a good example I guess because they were a closely guarded secret even during their height. Maybe a better example is the KGB: they are technically "disbanded" but...are they really? I'm sure in 80 years someone is going to write a great political thriller about how the KGB never disbanded but instead went deep underground and still served "soviet" interests well into the 21st century (and beyond!).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the timeline is long, and memories can be short. Personally, I think it would be interesting to see how a relatively well-known intelligence branch of Starfleet was, in perhaps only a few short years, disbanded (or "disbanded") and driven underground, falling out of knowledge and memory of all but Starfleet's highest echelon. I would totally be down for a Section 31 show done as a Le Carré-esque political thriller like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

 

[Nelson Au]

My broadband service was restored yesterday afternoon! A week without internet access at home is a real challenge. I did have access with my iPhone, for email and web searching, but it wasn’t as convenient.

I finally was able to watch Saints of Imperfection last night. I want to watch it again because a lot happened. I liked the episode! They just went at it and moved Tyler’s story ahead, Georgiou and got Tilly’s story resolved I think. It went to a place I didn’t expect to resolve why Tilly’s friend was in her head. ( I won’t spoil it in case others haven’t seen it. ) That was an interesting resolution. I think in the Voyager days, it was called by fans, deus ex machina. But in reading Alan’s post above, I see he didn’t feel it was as contrived as it could appear to be. I didn’t expect it and it was a cool way to resolve Stemant’s loss. I imagine it’s going to be a rich source of future stories in the way Josh hoped would have happened to Tyler. And I may be wrong, but I think the Spore Drive is now headed for pasture.

I can see that it seems we are seeing a lot of Section 31 involvement. And it was interesting to see Leland and Pike Knew each other in their earlier years. I liked the appearance of the Admiral at the end telling them to make nice. They both have their jobs that are at odds in how it’s done. I can see it rationalized that we never heard of these guys in TOS because the Enterprise spent so much time on its 5 Year Mission so far away from Earth. They must have looked the other way when Spock kidnapped Pike. Or maybe Spock made a deal with Leland.

Josh, interesting how you are finding TOS episodes to view as companion pieces to these new episodes. I’ve never tried to make that kind of linkage in my head for such a project. That’s cool.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Josh, interesting how you are finding TOS episodes to view as companion pieces to these new episodes. I’ve never tried to make that kind of linkage in my head for such a project. That’s cool.

It's been a lot of fun - I'm finding that once I get into "Star Trek" mode on Thursday nights, I don't want to leave it, so it's been a nice way to come down from the new episodes. It's also fun to think of one that might be a good companion on the fly. This week's was pretty easy, I saw the opening sequence where they're chasing Spock's shuttle and there's a nebula and that seemed close enough to "Immunity Syndrome" for me. They're usually surface-level connections but who cares, I'm not trying to make an academic case for the linkage, but it's fun. "The Orville" has also been a fun way to start off each night of Trek festivities.

 

[Lord Dalek]

My feeling is that

Spoiler: SPECULATION

in saving Spock from whatever fate could doom him, Pike becomes the guy we saw in The Menagerie, which is why Spock feels so responsible for him and his fate in that two-parter, risking his career, etc. How wild that I had to use spoiler tags for a 50-year old episode!

However, I would also like to see Anson Mount continue for several seasons.

That wouldn't make a lick of sense considering

Spoiler

Pike getting nearly killed by the radiation leak is supposed to have occurred just a few weeks before The Menagerie

...but then again the writers of this show have already proven to know jack squat about Star Trek continuity amidst all the errors so that seems like the kind of decision they'd make.

 

[Nelson Au]

I’ve watched this week’s episode twice and working on a third. I’ve been thinking of a few things. I liked the sequence when Pike asks Burnham what is going on between her and Tyler and Georgiou, she quietly tells him that it would be best to discuss it at a more appropriate place and time. So that will be interesting to see that when it comes. I like how Pike calls himself provincial.

Too bad there were not more Jeffrey Hunter performances as Pike, but in reference to an earlier post, it is pretty interesting that Anson Mount has played Pike longer then any other actor. And I really do like his performance as Pike.

The other thing I wanted to posit is a correlation between the Spore Drive and the Genesis Device. Spock was reconstituted on the Genesis Planet.

Spoiler: Spoiler

And now the Mycelial Network has managed to regenerate the good Doctor.

Since the Genesis Device is considered illegal, I suspect the same now for the Spore Drive.

Josh, makes me want to watch The Cage!