@startrek I just started following you so I haven’t had a chance to read many of your posts. I’m curious about your thoughts on “Strange New Worlds.” I think it’s the best Trek since TNG with the best first season of any series in the franchise.
The way this post is formatted, I’m guessing this was posted from mastodon. If that’s the case, just warning you that you may receive a flooded feed from following a lemmy instance on mastodon.
I loved season 1 of Strange New Worlds, really felt like they get the star trek formula, exactly what I wanted to see. Haven’t watched the new episode yet, so I can’t comment there.
Heads up that you’ve followed a Lemmy instance so you’re going to get an absolute firehose of comments in your feed.
But if you want to check out our discussion thread on the season premiere, enjoy! https://startrek.website/post/12660
I’m decidedly not a fan of most of the new Trek we’ve been seeing these last few years. But Strange New Worlds is something I thought we’d never see again, a genuinely good faith attempt to make a show that actually feels like Star Trek used to feel.
Season 1 seemed a little rushed in a lot of respects, introducing and neatly tying up character arcs at lightning speed, and sure some of the dialogue was a bit cringe. There were also wasted opportunities, for example a medical mystery episode where the solution ended up being both off-screen, and not involving the actual doctor, because they had to cram in so many different stories into one season. But in one series we got a modern take on all of the top “episode types” and it was honestly just a lot of fun.
Really looking forward to S2, I’ve not seen the first episode yet as waiting for someone else to finish S1 first but I have high hopes.
@thegiddystitcher Admittedly, The Quality of Mercy is one of the best episodes of any Trek series I’ve watched in a very long time. I had to go back and watch TOS Balance of Terror to see how they differed. The amount of care and attention to detail the writers showed in homage to the original episode was nothing short of brilliant.
Of the five (six) new Trek shows, there are now more good than bad.
Good: Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Prodigy, (Orville)
Bad: Discovery, Picard
Eh, Lower Decks has its moments but it’s not really my cup of tea. I should probably watch The Orville though, by the sounds of it!
You should, it’s a good show and true Trek.
I think that it has been pretty fantastic. Have you watched Discovery? If you like Pike, he is pretty awesome in season 2 of Discovery. Might be worth a watch for you.
@End0fLine @BrownKnowser
The addition of Captain Pike completely changed the dynamic of Discovery for the better. Lots better.@End0fLine I’ve watched Discovery and it’s pretty good, but doesn’t hold a candle to SNW, IMHO.
I love Discovery but I agree with you.
I loved the first series of SNW. Thought it captured “proper trek” (if there is such a thing) easily my favourite of the new live action shows (by a long way).
I have high hopes for S2
It’s worth noting that this isn’t a single account, but a whole board over on Lemmy (at startrek.website). That may be a lot of things to put on your feed.
Strange New Worlds is alright, in my opinion. It has its flaws, but it’s also doing quite a few things right.
One thing I’m partial to what they’re doing, is how they’re looking at issues with established Federation policy, that isn’t just the standard Prime Directive issue. The only problem is that since they’re a prequel, it means that they’re limited in what kind of changes might come up from those issues.
One example would probably be the Illyrians, who are explicitly stated to have used genetic modification to have genetically modified their colonists rather than rely on the standard environmentally-destructive array of terraforming technologies, or biodomes. In an attempt to appease and respect the Federation attitude/laws around genetic modification, they tried to undo all of their changes, becoming extinct when it went wrong and drove them to extinction.
Since only Earth and the Klingon Empire have been shown to have problems with genetic modification (the Klingon Empire used a modified version of Earth’s anyway), and Earth’s Augment program was panned as “going too far”, is it right for Earth to impress the consequences of its own actions on the Federation, and through that, everyone else?
@BrownKnowser Season 1 felt shaky to me but, as you have pointed out, that’s all of Star Trek. I felt like it relied too much on “character trauma” which gets neatly resolved by the end of an arc. Season 2 has been better for me so far - E01 was very Voyager-esque (just replace the fist fight with a phaser fight) and E02 is probably my favorite Star Trek courtroom drama (and boy do I love those, so I’m pleased as heck).
I’ve only seen SNW season one. I will begin watching season two in the future.
I think SNW has a very TOS vibe. With its greatest strength being the main cast. I enjoy the performances of all of those actors. Some of the stories in the episodes, while not weak, are the weakest part of SNW for me. I don’t think they always stick the landing (ending). “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” s1e6 stands out as an example of this. I think the story starts strong, very much a strange, new, world. But the, “what you’re doing it is wrong, we don’t like you anymore” ending left me cold.
What I’d like to see is more “why” in such situations. Less, “because we are the Federation” as a catchall explanation. I think TOS was good, not perfect but good, at having and expressing the meaning behind their episodes. In season one, it was hit and miss for SNW. “Ghosts of Illyria” s1e3 is a great example of a well written story. Both the main story, and the two secondary stories, delivered. “The Serene Squall” s1e7 has a very emotional story at its core.
I absolutely enjoy SNW, and recommend others view it. For a first season of ten episodes, I think it did well. The production staff – hair, costumes, sets, and more – did a wonderful job.
