The funny part is, that after a quarter century of deconstructing and darkening heroes, the one thing that would seem fresh would be classic Trek.

Yeah, I’m not sure I like it either. I don’t think I do, but I’m also hoping it’ll get better/ there will be some twist that makes all this nonsense have a point. Although, that attitude kept me watching Enterprise (and Voyager and pre-season 3.5 TNG) for way too long.

I’ve been told that the “everyone gets along” was a gross misinterpretation of what Roddenberry wanted, passed along by his lawyer who often acted as his representative on set.

Do you mean S6-7 of DS9? Because there is no 8th season.

Also, I have to disagree with Picard. Once they figured out who his character was in the third season, he was very consistent. While I actually prefer Kirk to Picard, Patrick Stewart really helped make TNG as great as it was.

As for B5, I really want to watch it,…

You mean back when klingons looked like this:

I was thinking the same thing about him maybe planning some sort of revolution, inspired by the better world he’d witnessed.

It kind of is Enterprise, though: darker, grittier, more “realistic”, sexier reimagining set earlier in the timeline.

It’s not like the two options available were “make another show like Voyager” or “make a show like Discovery”. In any case, the acting and writing were bigger problems in Enterprise than “tiredness”. And this show makes the same fundamental mistake Enterprise made — wedging itself into the past of a show that is about…

I’ll be completely blunt: I inhabit the zone you say you want. I have no strong like or dislike of Star Trek as a franchise, but I unequivocally understand that what STD is delivering is not, well, Star Trek. It’s an attempt to move in a new direction, but it’s clumsily executed at best.

Jeffrey Combs’ Andorian Commander Shran was always a treat.

To say a show can only be reviewed by one who already likes it is.... adorable. Dumb, but adorable.

Its interesting that people make a detailed list of how they don’t like the show because of simple bad writing, and people leap to dismiss it with “but its not stale!”

I don’t think that’s fair. I was totally up for a darker take on Trek, but if the storytelling is poorly executed, then it’s poorly executed, and Discovery is most definitely poorly executed. I also don’t think it’s nearly as daring as it thinks it is.

I think there’s a serious flaw in your argument if it boils down to “You should watch these two bad TV series to appreciate how good this one is!” Even if this show is better than VOY or ENT that doesn’t necessarily make it good. 

It’s undeniable that the show is made by fans, and obviously it would be folly to try to replicate the snoozefest of early TNG, or the mostly static format of Berman-era Trek.
And I’m not saying the show as it now, is without merit, but it feels to me like the writers/producers are more interested in a comic book…

In this case absolutely. I see the hope in the episodes which I think is the main criticism but felt the writing/scripting was shockingly poor this week. Which is a shame for an episode that really needed to be on the top of its game.

There’s a difference between “what a show is about” and “the underlying themes that drives what the show is about.”

The short version.... “I want a critic who agrees with what I like” .... i09 can’t help you either....

I think the apt comparison will be made with The New 52 over at D.C. Comics, an attempt to overhaul and modernize the line.... an initially popular, but ultimately failed exercise in overdesign, tone shifting and continuity shredding... that still depended on in story knowledge in order to work with the reader. Mostly…

I think Saru’s actions this week are the sign that he didn’t need the computer to validate his captaincy, and he knows it now too.