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Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them] @hexbear.net

Is any New Trek good? Or is it just all "Pew pew were a prestige TV gritty action show now." stuff?

I'm curious to creck some of the new stuff out but it all looks so not Star Trek

By New Trek I mean Discovery, Picard, Strange New World and Lower Decks

Wow that's a lot of series.

I like the optimism of Star Trek and apparently a lot of New Trek kind of abandons that?

70 comments

  • Lower Decks is the best Trek anything they've made since the 90s. I haven't watched Strange New Worlds but i hear it's okay. Picard was fucking terrible. Discovery had the same writers so probably also not good.

    • For the longest time I resisted watching Lower Decks for various reasons. Then I did the give-it-three-episodes-at-least thing. I was sold on it by the end of the first episode. This wisecracking boatrocking social butterfly who's talked up as some sort of combat badass is, in fact, a combat badass - but a traumatized one who's doing the what-you-are-in-the-dark thing as a whole new career. Smuggling free farm equipment to locals she may never see again, for no reward whatsoever, just to better the lives of those strangers? That is totally an Ensign James T. Kirk kind of move.

      Mariner is the kind of character that could easily have been written very badly, but the Lower Decks writers accomplished a miracle and made her work. She's an incredibly compelling main character for a Star Trek series. Easily the best since Sisko. And Tawny Newsome is a ridiculously talented voice actor. I have to believe she's a trekkie in her own right because when Mariner makes commentary leaning into meta commentary territory, Newsome puts the perfect tone of voice into the line. Mariner feels like one of us!

      And the show as a whole has the heart of Trek. It's not about massive space battles or YELLING AS DRAMA. It's about our reaction to discovering the wonders of the universe, the potential of humanity to do great things if we could just stop murdering each other, about personal ethics and principles, how sometimes right doesn't mean legal and sometimes legal doesn't mean right, all that good stuff.

  • I am once again telling people to watch Star Trek: Prodigy. A group of alien kids held as prisoners on a mining world steal a Starfleet ship from their captor and learn about Starfleet as they work to return the ship to Earth.

    It hits all the notes of gorgeous animated space adventures, introduces fun new characters who learn about the Trek galaxy at the same time as the audience, and handles legacy characters extremely well. It's also a quasi-sequel series to Voyager so you'll see characters like Janeway and Chakotay (who is actually written well this time) but it's a great introductory series since the focus is on the new crew.

    Paramount pulled it from streaming last year but Netflix picked it up while the rest of the franchise is trapped in the burning house of Paramount+.

    Fwiw I find value in all the new shows and think they each have something fun or interesting to offer if you're willing to give it a chance.

  • SNW is good, but lacks its own identity. It can get pretty derivative, especially the first season. Like they'll just lift plots from TOS, then retcon a whole species and make it an Alien clone, then they'll slap a Trek skin over an Ursula K Le Guin short story, then they'll do the Buffy musical episode. Some of the character work is good though. Mbenga had a hell of an episode in season 2.

    Orville is ok generic Trek but really uneven. The show starts really cringe, but the Isaac arc is genuinely great. Isaac is generic Data but more robotic, and harder to understand, so a little more scary... and they play with that. The Moclans are generic Klingons, but their plots feel extremely TNG. The biggest problem with the show is Captain Seth McFarlane who drags down every episode he's in. He's written as a sympathetic sexpest, it's just afwul. Whenever you get an episode about him, he's just begging to be back with his ex and being pathetic.

    People like Lower Decks, but I find it to be shouty and obnoxious. The latest season was better. But it also leans heavily into "remember this reference" jokes, which a lot of people like because at least it's aware of source material, but just comes across as cheap nostalgia bait to me.

    Disco is terrible. I truly wanted to like it. Every season I'd be hyped for the season's plot arc, then they ALWAYS screwed it up.

    Picard is unwatchable, imo. People say it redeems itself in season 3, but I won't be baited again.

    • then they’ll slap a Trek skin over an Ursula K Le Guin short story

      To be fair, it's a story I think should work very well with a Trek skin. It's a simple but poignant ethical dilemma, and there are plenty of interesting ways to rebut or expand on it if you wanted to give it a twist. It's short enough to be adapted into an episode comfortably. How they failed to stick the landing on that one is beyond me.

      Thee biggest problem with the show is Captain Seth McFarlane who drags down every episode he’s in. He’s written as a sympathetic sexpest, it’s just afwul. Whenever you get an episode about him, he’s just begging to be back with his ex and being pathetic.

      You're absolutely right, but it's both amusing and shocking to me that this was the real problem with his character. Like surely the self-insert character so the family guy-guy, not a career actor, can play out the fantasy of every nerd would either be embarrassingly "bad ass" or terribly acted (or likely both)?

      Instead he's too pathetic and gross but honestly surprisingly well acted. I ended up thinking I could actually like Seth McFarlane playing a captain, just not writing one.

      • I agree about Omelas being good to adapt for Trek (and about the fumble). I just mention it because it fits into a bigger trend where SNW does a lot of recycling.

        I just find it a hard show to judge because it hasn't shown us quite enough original material yet. When they have, it's been a mixed bag. But I'm more hopeful about SNW than the others right now.

  • Lower Decks is great and SNW is classico style trek and is also good. Disco is very up and down and Picard just fucking sucks, haven't seen any episode of Prodigy but have heard it's really good

  • SNW is a weird one. A really good cast and aesthetically gorgeous, a good mix of old Trek designs with what modern CGI and setbuilding can do

    However it's also weirdly trying to be P r e s t i g e T V at the same time. The very first episode is all about how the captain is mopey and considers themselves unworthy of command because he saw a vision of his own death. It legitimately seems like every character they have has some kind of tragic or dark backstory, and all of it feel wildly out of place

    Also the first episode shows us Spock about to get laid. Still not sure how to feel about that

  • It all sucks. It’s not even “prestige” it’s shitty action schlock. Nothing good has come from Trek since JJ turned it into Star Wars Lite

  • As someone who has only seen TNG and part of TOS, here’s what I’ve heard about new trek shows. Take this all with a grain of salt because I haven’t actually watched any of these:

    • Discovery: Has some prestige TV characteristics. Chuds get angry about it because there’s a lot of LGBT and POC representation, and the characters talk about their feelings a lot. Gets better after the first 1-2 seasons (like many of the TNG-era shows). I bet this one is better than
      thinks it is.
    • Picard: People generally don’t like this one. This show’s production apparently got all messed up from COVID lockdown. Patrick Stewart had perhaps too much creative input into Picard’s character. Sometimes the show gets dark and edgy. Some people really like the nostalgia fanservice in season three. Ah well, I’m still looking forward to watching the series because Q (my beloved) is in season 2, and I’ve heard he’s good in it. And I think I heard that a popular lesbian ship from Voyager becomes canon.
    • Strange New Worlds: Lots of people like this one. Apparently it stays truest to the vibe of classic trek. People like it for its optimism and sexy, sexy actors. It’s the newest, so there’s not too much to say about it yet.
    • Lower Decks: I think I’m looking forward to this one the most. Apparently it’s very, very good. Comedy series with lots of heart. Incorporates old trek lore in fun ways, and gets do so without all the limitations of live action. Gets better after the first 1-2 seasons (this seems to be a running theme with trek in general).

  • I mostly watched TNG, and Lower Decks just hits all the right notes. It makes exploring strange stuff in outer space seem as exciting and fun and weird as it ought to be

  • Lower Decks is good, pretty funny and entertaining. Picard is something different, but honestly worth a watch, good sets, good acting, good cinematography, writing is hit or miss, and it def panders to nostalgia. I feel like it pulled me in because I just love the actors and I'm probably a bit enamored by them. Discovery I grew to like in later seasons. I posted a while back that it felt fashy, but that impression wore off in later seasons. It does have a Marvel-esqu feel to it though and it's not my fave. I feel like the sub plots are too convoluted too. Strange New Worlds is fantastic in my book. The cast is top notch, writing might have been ripped off from TOS, but it's the prequel to Kirk's Enterprise, so it fits. The cinematography is dazling to my eyes - if there's one you watch for a Star Trek fix, this is it.

  • Yeah, Star Trek: Resurgence is great. It's a Telltale style game set in the TNG era and gets it. The first act is spot on quality Trek, and the rest is still decent multi-episode finale stuff. Thankfully avoids over-indulging in nostalgia as well - though Riker makes an appearance, which is sadly terribly phoned in - but I don't remember that obnoxious, masturbatory shit every revival does these days where the characters turn to the camera to talk about how cool they think the old stuff was.

    Prodigy is a solid kids show, but it's not really going to scratch that Trek itch. It's action adventure that'd probably be a better fit in another sci-fi property. I still appreciate it, it's the kind of thing that's fun to watch with kids while still being adult friendly, and I'm not sure you could do a young kids show in the structure of peak Trek anyway.

    Strange New Worlds is okay, inoffensive at least. I wouldn't go as far to say good, it managed to whiff an in-all-but-name adaptation of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas which seems like it should have been a freebie. But at least it tried something that feels like it should have fit Trek. It's fan service-y in the previously mentioned masturbatory way. It has that modern "soy" (please for the love of god recommend me a better term to convey this) style that I find grating, but not as badly as it could have been. I do remember liking it's musical episode though and Anson Mount is hot as fuck in it (he's so far out of my usual type but god DAMN those cooking scenes at the start of Season 2).

    Discovery is an utter disappointment. It starts off as an edgy "what if we gave Star Trek the Battlestar Galactica reboot treatment" then flubs it. By Season 2 they've already given up on it and instead decide to give it the JJ Abrams Star Wars reboot treatment - which is funny, given what he also rebooted, though I think it's more stylistic reminiscent of the worst of Disney Wars. Vapid garbage. I could have warmed up to the BSG-style like I did with Stargate Universe after the initial disappointment, I will never warm up to JJ Abrams.

    Picard I hate watched. Truly one of the worst shows ever put to screen. I don't even know where to begin with this. Season 3 is apparently an improvement but I still couldn't make it through the first episode. This is new Trek at it's most masturbatory and vapid.

    Lower Decks I can't comment on. I know plenty of people like it but I am repulsed by the idea of it.

    • Star Trek: Resurgence is great. It's a Telltale style game set in the TNG era and gets it.

      Oh fuck yeah, Star Trek would make a perfect point and click game

      • I truly cannot overstate how giddy I was in the first couple of hours. The premise is so good.

        One of the two protagonists is the new first officer aboard the ship after it suffered a tragic accident. The captain is a decent man but it's left him insecure about his career and legacy. A young outsider taking the XO position instead of one of the original crew has created tensions among the other senior officers. Juicy command drama targeted at me with laser precision.

        It gets a bit carried away with it's big "season" arc villain after the first act, but it remains pretty cool.

      • Star trek made 2 very cool point & click games. "25th anniversary" and "judgement rights"

  • Lower Decks starts off annoying but ends up hitting the same notes the Orville did, but with the serial numbers still on. Very good, and more adventurous than The Orville

    BNW is ok but didn't really get into the groove it should have. It never gets the vibes of TOS like it should and it hasn't managed to be it's own thing.

    The first two seasons of Discovery are the worst Trek I've ever seen, and I've seen the Animated Series. Third season becomes solid Trek about half way through, though it's actually Andromeda with the serial numbers filed off now. Worth a watch, might become something though it's not yet as promising as say season 4 of Enterprise.

    Picard is horrific, all we wanted was Picard Murder Mysteries or something sedate and philosophical. And instead we get fan service garbage. Every so often it does something interesting like introduce some concepts from the Rihannsu stories into the Romulans, but it instantly flubs it by making it Space Elves rather than Space Romans.

  • I lost interest in Discovery very early in season one. I made a stab at watching season two and lost interest again, and from everything I hear it never got any better, so I never bothered with anything else. I tried to sick it out with Picard in its first season, but it got so awful I stopped watching. Tried the same thing for season two, and the same thing happened. Season three was actually pretty decent, so if you want to watch Picard, I'd just watch that one.

    Lower Decks is pretty fun, and it gets better after the first season. My main issue with it is that the characters all constantly reference things that happened in previous shows as though they're Star Trek fans, and not people who actually live in the world of Star Trek. But that said, it's surprisingly good.

    Strange New Worlds is a very mixed bag for me. There are some very good episodes that have that pulpy TOS feel. But there are some episodes that use outright tired sitcom plots, and those are very weak for me. It also has the same problem for me that Disco and Picard have where everyone acts really casually with each other, and everyone is everyone else's best friend, and there's no sense of military hierarchy or that a Federation starship is a serious environment. (Ironically Lower Decks is the new Trek show that has this problem the least.) The show also insists that Spock is the same character Leonard Nemoy played, but he's so completely different that I just think of him as a different version of Spock.

70 comments