#the last time i watched this arc in discovery was before i got into ds9 (and met mars!! ily airota) and it's almost unbearable now

[roguetelepaths]

...so guess who's rewatching star trek discovery

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Some good news and some bad news regarding Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The good news is that now that the strikes are over, production of Season 3 is set to begin next month! This is good because there have been rumours swirling around possible cancellation in the wake of Star Trek Discovery being ended after its 5th season. But SNW continues (Lower Decks has also been renewed for Season 5). The only caveat to that is Paramount Plus still cancelled Star Trek Prodigy even with its Season 2 complete, so nothing is a guarantee anymore. (And even then, it's been reported that Prodigy S2 will at least get some sort of Netflix release).

(Further good news is Season 2, with its amazing musical and Lower Decks crossover episodes, is set for Blu-ray release before Christmas.)

The bad news - though this is likely educated speculation on Screen Rant's part - is the possibility that the 10-episode 3rd season my be split, with only 5 episodes airing in 2024 and having to wait till 2025 to see the rest. Aside from that wrecking viewer momentum, those 5 weeks will come and go very quickly. If this news is correct, though, they could be telegraphing some sort of 5-episode story arc, which should be good but I actually prefer SNW's episodic format as it better supports the type of experimentation we got with not only this past year's musical and part-animated episodes, but the episodic format is what made TOS what it was. No official word on any cast changes, though I will be surprised if S3 doesn't reintroduce Dr. McCoy in some fashion.

I haven't written much about SNW but it's my favourite of the live action modern Treks. I stopped watching Discovery and Picard but SNW has kept me. I've had songs from the musical earworming for the last week or so after I rewatched it. And I greatly appreciated the time-travel episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" for finally canonizing an explanation as to why the prequel series haven't always lined up with what we know as canon from TOS, TNG, etc. which as far as I'm concerned frees the writers to deviate and retroactively serves to rectify canon issues dating all the way back to some episodes of DS9, never mind Enterprise, Discovery and SNW itself. I will explain for those who don't know but I will put a spoiler break here for those who might be waiting for the Blu-ray or haven't had a chance to stream season 2 yet. If the break doesn't appear below, stop reading now if you don't want the spoiler.

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The episode reveals that due to the many time travel events over the years (including ones we haven't seen on screen by enemies of the Federation; the episode relates one involving Mary Queen of Scots (in-joke for the actress) what we have been seeing in SNW etc. is an alternate timeline. Maybe not as extreme as the Kelvin timeline of the films, but events such as the Eugenics Wars - indeed, the birth of Khan himself - were delayed by decades. This major change to the timeline - and then you fill in the blanks by factoring in even minor changes such as the guy who accidentally killed himself with McCoy's phaser in City on the Edge of Forever, Sisko replacing Gabriel Bell in the Bell Riots, the Voyager crew going back to 1996, Archer and T'Pol heading off agents of the temporal cold war in the early 2000s, etc. - and you can see how it's possible that things progressed differently resulting in SNW and Discovery being more technologically advanced than TOS-era ships should be as established in TNG, DS9 and Enterprise that used the original tech and designs. Also character differences, like Pike's crew being aware of T'Pring and Khan when Kirk's crew in TOS did now despite Spock having worked with La'an Noonien-Singh and Kirk being aware of La'an's feelings for him. Or the lack of reference to Kirk's brother, who dies in a famous TOS episode, having been former Enterprise crew. And it literally stems from two lines of dialogue. It's exhibit A of how quickly and simply a show like Doctor Who can fix things.

[discotreque]

LwD 1.10, “No Small Parts”

Well, that was the most fun I've had watching Star Trek in literally a quarter of a century.

I had high hopes for this series. I love TAS, largely because of its wacky outsized concepts that could only have worked in animation—not that they all did work, but the potential was so apparent to me, even as a kid reading the Alan Dean Foster novelizations—and as an adult, there's something about the imagination of Lower Decks's FX setpieces that transcends even the glorious CGI bonanzas of Discovery.

Pause for a confession. I've long pushed back against criticism of serialization in new Trek. That's just how TV is now, okay? Might as well complain about it being in widescreen. But I'm backing down a little, because I've realized there is something about Star Trek that's inextricable from at least a partially-episodic format. And while Picard was telling a different kind of story, I can't deny that my favourite episodes of Disco have been the ones with a mostly self-contained A-plot. After 10 delightfully episodic instalments of LwD, its focus on long-term development of characters instead of a season-spanning puzzle-plot (okay, mostly just Mariner, but we only have 10 × 22 minutes and she is the star) has been downright refreshing.

So here we are, at the end of the most consistent and well-executed Season 1 of a Star Trek series since, arguably, Those Old Scientists. And sure, if they'd had to produce another... yikes, 42 episodes? Then sure, they probably would have dropped a clunker or two—but they didn't, and winning on a technicality is still winning. I'm practically vibrating with excitement for Disco to come back next week, but damn, I'm going to miss this little show while it's on hiatus.

Spoilers below:

Something I've been keeping track of finally paid off this week! (Which never happens to me, lol.) The destruction of the USS Solvang marked the first present-day death(s) of any Starfleet officer on Lower Decks, the only other on-screen killing at all being a flashback in "Cupid's Errant Arrow". Which makes sense, being (a) a comedy, and (b) about typically "expendable" characters: it hasn't been afraid to flirt with a little darkness here and there, but killing people off at Star Trek's usual pace wouldn't just be wrong for the tone, it would be downright bizarre.

But... people die on Star Trek. That's one of the core themes of the show, really: space is full of knowledge and beauty, but also danger and terror, and believing that the former is worth the risk of the latter is (according to Trek) one of humanity's most noble traits. I'm the least bloodthirsty TV watcher I know, but the longer we went with a body count of nil—ships completely evacuated before they were destroyed, main characters hilariously maimed without permanent consequences, etc.—well, I didn't mind per se, but the absence of truly deadly stakes was definitely getting conspicuous.

Turns out they were saving it up for maximum impact. And holy fuck, I've never felt such a pit in my stomach watching a ship get destroyed that wasn't named Enterprise. It felt grim and brutal and somehow both much too quick and dreadfully inevitable—and yeah, it looked extremely fucking cool—and I'd like every other Star Trek property for the rest of time to take notes under a large bold heading labeled RESTRAINT.

Comedy doesn't need to do this, but my favourite comedy does, and in a way that few other art forms can even approach: lower my emotional defences by making me laugh, endear character(s) to me with goofy-but-relatable antics—then BAM, sucker-punch me in the motherfucking feels. M*A*S*H is probably the classic example on TV, Futurama was notorious for it, and even Archer has pulled it off a few times; it's also a staple of some of my favourite standup. I wasn't sure if Lower Decks was going to go there in Season 1—and wasn't sure if they'd earn it—but I knew if they did, that they'd nail it, and damn. Feels good to be right.

Last batch of notes for the season!!! I rambled enough already, so let's do it liveblog-style:

I fucking KNEW they were going to use "archive" visuals from TAS at some point, I KNEW IT :D

"THOSE OLD SCIENTISTS" ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I like chill and confident Boimler a lot? You can really see—

oh bRADWARD NOOOOO

That opening shot of the Solvang tracking down to the red giant was extremely Discovery-esque... minus the motion sickness, that is

A lady captain AND a lady first officer? That's—oh hey, it's Captain Dayton's brand-new ship. Hahaha, that means they're totally fucked, right?.

Yep! They sure a—umm, wh—shit, okay, but—oh no—no, you can't—wait DON'T

...fuck

FUCK.

Narrator: "And then Amy needed a five-hour break."

[live-action Star Trek showrunner voice] "Gee, Mike! Why does CBS let you have two cold opens?"

Okay, yes, the bit with Rutherford cycling through all the different attitudes in his implant was transparently an excuse for Eugene Cardero to vamp while waiting for something to do in the story, but as far as I'm concerned they can contrive a reason for him to do a bunch of different silly Rutherfords in a row any time they damn well want, because that was classic!!!

EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP

AND THE EXOCOMP IS PAINTED LIKE THE EXOCOMP IS WEARING A LITTLE EXOCOMP-SIZED STARFLEET UNIFORM

EXOCOMP!!!!!

The slow burn and now the payoff of the Mariner-is-Freeman's-secret-daughter plot has been executed so well. I'm beyond impressed with this writer's room, y'all—they are threading a hell of a needle here

"Wolf 359 was an inside job" would have been a spit-take if I'd had anything in my mouth

...how many memos do you think Starfleet Command has had to issue asking people to stop calling the USS Sacramento "the Sac"?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'VE DECORATED THE SHUTTLECRAFT SEQUOIA THOUGH

Is, uh, is it weird if I'm starting to ship Tendi and Peanut Hamper a little? It is weird, isn't it. I knew it was weird...

Coital barbs??? I take back everything I said about wanting to know more about Shaxs/T'Ana.

The "good officer" version of Mariner is... kind of hot, tbh! But Tawny Newsome has done such a great job of building this character all season that her voice getting uncharacteristically clipped and martial and "sir! yes, sir!" is also deeply, deeply weird

Ah, so this is literally exactly like when TNG (and DS9) would bring in, and then blow up, a never-before-seen Galaxy-class ship, just to underscore that we're facing a real threat this week, baby. And hey, it fucking worked—my heart was in my throat, omg, for the reveal of the—

PAKLEDS?????????

The fucking PAKLEDS have been gluing weapons to their ships for the last 15 years. GREAT.

(We interrupt the SHIP BEING SLICED INTO SCRAP for an interesting bit of world-building: on Earth, the traditional First Contact Day meal is salmon!)

"I need a dangerous, half-baked solution that breaks Starfleet codes and totally pisses me off! That's an order." I'm starting to think Captain Freeman might actually be overqualified for the Cerritos, y'all—she's REALLY awesome

OH SHIT IT'S BADGEY, this is a TERRIBLE IDEA

"How much contraband have you hidden on my ship?" "I don't know! A lot!"

Awwww, Boims!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, FUCK THIS, PEANUT HAMPER OUT

BADGEY NOOOOO

AUGHHHHH WHAT THE CHRIST DID HE JUST—BUT—RUTHERFORD'S IMPLANT????

RUTHERFORD!!!!!!!!!!

SHAXS!!!!!!

F U C K ! ! ! ! !

ahaIOPugdfhagntpgjrq90e5mgu90qe5;oigoqgw4ouegrw5SP;IAEHURVa IT’S THE TITAN???????????

IT'S CAPTAIN WILLIAM T. RIKER ON THE MOTHERFUCKING TITAN??????????

i'm screaming I'M SCREAMINGGGGGG​TGGGTGQER;​LBHAOIBVNV;​OAPBIJNVagr;h;​oagruipuwtnaetbaetgq35ghqet

I'M SO GLAD THIS WASN'T SPOILED FOR ME WTF

I AM WEEPING LIKE A CHILD

...

(Just a brief 20-minute pause this time)

And oh wow, seeing Will and Deanna hits different after Picard too, in a few different ways, which I may even get into later now that my heartrate is back to normal, lmao

Oh, I am always here for some jokes at the expense of the Sovereign class. The Enterprise-E sucked. They should have built a new bigger model of the D and new Galaxy-class interiors for the TNG movies, and I will die on that hill

OKAY, FINE, YOU GOT ME, RUTHERFORD × TENDI WOULD BE ADORABLE AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD SETUP FOR IT

Awwww, Shaxs though :( Congrats on the single most badass death in Star Trek history, dude. The Prophets would—well, the actual Prophets would probably be slightly confused about most of it, but Kira Nerys would be proud of you and I feel like that probably counts for more. RIP, Papa Bear

I am here all damn DAY for the Mariner–Riker parallels, ahahahahaha

Pausing it to record my prediction that Boimler's commitment to not caring about rank anymore is going to last 3... 2...

Yep.

Bradward, how DARE YOU.

"Those guys had a long road, getting from there to here." OH FOR THE LOVE OF—

What a brilliant way to resolve and renew the various character arcs and relationships moving into Season 2! The writers could easily have brought everything back to status quo—chaotic Mariner fighting with her mom and being a bad influence on Boimler, etc.—and done another 10 just like these, but I suspect that wouldn't have been ambitious enough for these writers. What a blast. I cannot wait for more.

Thanks for following along, friends! Stay tuned for my (similarly patchy and amateur) coverage of Discovery, starting next week!

[aion-rsa]

How Babylon 5 Made Star Trek Better

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

There are a few patient zeroes for  proving serialized storytelling on TV viable. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and the so-called “golden era” of TV aren’t possible without a few under-the-radar precedents. Different critics will point to different examples, but when it comes to science fiction and fantasy shows, that list gets a lot smaller. Some might say Buffy’s interconnected season-long arcs are the most influential, while Trekkies tend to lean heavily on the innovation and risk-taking of Deep Space Nine’s serialization in later seasons. In fact, one prominent DS9 podcast — The Rules of Acquisition — has effectively argued that DS9 created the foundation for all contemporary TV that followed. And then there’s The X-Files. 

All of these examples are valid because, clearly, in the late 1990s, there was a vortex swirling that led to a revitalization of TV conventions that was most noticeable in genre shows. Buffy and DS9 probably deserve equal credit, but in terms of its influence on science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, the series that is (sometimes) overlooked is Babylon 5. By July 1994, Babylon was wrapping up its first season, and the future of science fiction on TV would never be the same… 

In retrospect, Babylon 5 made Star Trek better in the 1990s. Like Paul McCartney being inspired by the Beach Boys in the ‘60s, Babylon 5 was the scrappy ‘90s sci-fi underdog that, in a roundabout way, inspired the best of Trek to be better. Here’s why…

Did Deep Space Nine rip-off Babylon 5? (Or vice versa?)

If you were watching sci-fi TV in the ‘90s, you probably had at least an argument about whether or not the two TV shows about people living on a space station were ripping off each other. I had an ill-informed one with my dad in 1995. My dad claimed he thought it was clear that Deep Space Nine (which premiered on January 3rd, 1993) had ripped-off Babylon 5 (which premiered on January 26th, 1994), and I claimed the reverse. Neither of us was right, but it’s easy to see why fans we’re so perplexed at the time. Here’s the list:

Both shows featured a cast of humans living with aliens on a space station, trying to work out various peace deals. 

Both had no-nonsense female first officers, Kira on DS9, Ivanova on B5 (though in the B5 pilot episode, “The Gathering,” the first officer was Laurel Takashima, played by Tamlyn Tomita, who very recently turned up on Star Trek: Picard.)

In the first season, both had lead characters who were “Commanders” not “Captains.”

Both of these Commanders (Sisko and Sinclair) were veterans of major battles/wars, and their characters were (initially) defined by this experience.

Both space stations were positioned next to a strategic portal through space; the Wormhole in DS9 and a major JumpGate in B5.

And finally, both shows expected the viewer to have watched some, if not all, of the previous episodes in order to know what was going on. Again, in the ‘90s, this was not common for any TV.

So, what’s the deal? Well, as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has gone-on record saying many, many times: “Were Pillar and Berman [DS9 creators] aware of B5 at any time? No. Of that, I am also confident. The only question in my mind is to what degree did the development people steer them?” 

Babylon 5 had been in development since 1987, but there’s not really any reason to believe that camp Star Trek was super-interested in ripping off a space station show and using it for its own purposes. So, the theory floated by JMS and others is basically this: Because B5 had been pitched to Paramount before landing with Warner Bros, it’s feasible that Paramount Studio executives encouraged the DS9 team to use various elements from the B5 pitch without telling them about the existence of B5. There’s also one rumor that states that Warner and Paramount were planning on launching a joint network in the early ‘90s, and that from a studio-level point-of-view, at some point in time, Babylon 5 and DS9 WERE THE SAME SHOW, even if the people making the shows were unaware of that. That last one is pretty out-there, and also hasn’t been publicly verified, so, there’s a good bet it might not be accurate. 

Bottom line: Today, most consider the similarities between B5 and DS9 to be superficial and mostly coincidental. It’s water under the space bridge, Wormhole or Jumpgate. And yet, there are more concrete connections.

The Babylon 5 + Star Trek connections 

In front of the camera, Babylon 5 had a few obvious Star Trek connections. The recurring villain Alfred Bester (named after the famous SF novelist) was played by Walter Koenig, best known to Trekkies as Pavel Chekov. Patricia Tallman, who played telepath Lyta Alexander on B5, was a familiar stunt performer on The Next Generation and DS9 (often doubling for Gates McFadden, Nana Visitor, and Terry Farrell ) and also appeared in notable episodes like “Starship Mine.” On top of that, at the height of the rivalry between B5 and Star Trek, Majel Barret — the first lady of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s widow — guest-starred in the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Point of No Return.” She played a character named Lady Morella, the widow of the Emperor of the planet Centauri Prime. This cameo was a calculated move on the part of B5 creator JMS and Barret. Basically, the goal here was to send a message to all fandoms: Be cool.

Behind-the-scenes, there were a few more big Star Trek connections. Harlan Ellison was a “Creative Consultant” for Babylon 5 and Trekkies obviously know his mega-famous Trek episode, “City on the Edge of Forever.” And, JMS himself was also a big Trekkie. But we’ll get to that.

How Babylon 5 (maybe) made Trek writing better in the ‘90s

Okay. So, there’s no reason to believe that Deep Space Nine ripped-off Babylon 5 in the ‘90s, but that doesn’t mean Deep Space Nine and Voyager weren’t made better by the existence of some friendly competition. Documentaries like What We Left Behind make it clear that DS9 had its own agenda, separate and apart, from, well, pretty much anything. That said, DS9 didn’t start out as a serialized show. Those big story arcs came later. Babylon 5 on the other hand, did start out serialized, which when you consider that most seasons were 22 episodes long, that’s really saying something. DS9 always had ongoing storylines, but the heavy serialization — the types of back-to-back story arcs that happened during the Dominion War — happened years after the show got off the ground. Did Babylon 5 give the writers’ room of DS9 the confidence to go this route? Most would probably say no. And yet, B5’s serialization was its signature. With DS9, the serialization became its signature eventually. 

Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy, directed the most pivotal episode of Babylon 5, the 1996 season 3 finale, “Z’ ha’dum.” These days, this kind of thing happens all the time — Jonathan Frakes directs episodes of Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville in the same year. But back in 1996, this kind of thing was more shocking. It’s not provable, but with so many Star Trek people working on Babylon 5, it feels unlikely that the writers and producers never watched the show. Because if they had, it seems like they would have been fired-up. 

How Babylon 5 saved Star Trek’s special effects in the ‘90s

In the early 1990s, real sci-fi on TV didn’t use CGI. If you wanted to do spaceships, you used models. Even the sci-fi epic seaQuest DSV got away with heavy CGI use because, in essence, the ships were half-hidden underwater. But not Babylon 5. From 1994 onward, everything about the series was CGI. Initially, the VFX company that provided these effects was a company called Foundation Imaging. Because B5 had a budget of roughly a third of a Trek series of that era, CGI effects were the only way to survive. You might not think the CGI on B5 looks that realistic now, but you have to put it in context. Outside of maybe The Last Starfighter, nobody had really dared to do outer space ship VFX with anything other than models. B5 proved it could be done. The series also pioneered virtual sets, a practice that every single sci-fi show benefits from to this day.

But this isn’t an instance of Star Trek noticing someone doing CGI and thinking that it was a good idea. Foundation Imaging literally became a part of the Star Trek franchise in 1996. After 1995, Warner Bros decided to create the CGI for Babylon 5 in-house, which left Foundation Imaging in trouble. Luckily in 1996, the company started doing CGI for Star Trek: Voyager, which led to a longtime association with the Trek franchise. Up until 1996, for spaceship exteriors, Trek almost always used models. But that started to change after Foundation Imaging began working on Voyager. Though another VFX company — Digital Muse — did a bunch of DS9’s effects, Foundation Imaging was eventually needed on DS9 as well. Remember the greatest spaceship battle in all of DS9? Yep, that’s (mostly) Foundation Imaging.

In “Sacrifice of Angels,” the scope of the starship battle was too big for models to be used, and the workload too large for Digital Muse to handle alone. And so, Foundation was responsible for the epic moment in which the USS Defiant breaks through the Dominion lines. For most DS9 fans, this exact scene defines why the series is legit awesome. And, the truth is, if Babylon 5 hadn’t employed Foundation Imaging, if Babylon 5 hadn’t relied on CGI effects, the Defiant might not have flown like that. Everyone knows great VFX can’t save a bad sci-fi movie or TV series. But, in the late 90s, it was also true that bad VFX could prevent great sci-fi from being accepted. If Trek hadn’t slowly made the switch to CGI, it’s hard to believe Voyager would have continued to be exciting. Without Babylon 5 and Foundation, you can forget “Year of Hell.”

How Babylon 5’s creator predicted a Star Trek reboot

 In 2005, after the cancelation of Enterprise was announced, JMS and Bryce Zabel co-authored a treatment for a possible reboot of Star Trek. This outline wasn’t done because anyone asked them to. It was done out of love for Star Trek. The basic concept was, at the time, fairly radical — do an entire reboot of Star Trek, in fact, the pitch was called Star Trek: Re-Boot the Universe. The idea was to give a new origin story for Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the TOS crew. JMS used examples from his work in comic books: Fans can accept that this happens in a different universe. Sound familiar? 

By 2009, the entire trajectory of Star Trek was redefined by the first J.J. Abrams reboot movie, which, superficially, is what JMS and Zabel pitched. True, the current Star Trek renaissance has gone away from the reboot universe. But, the viability for big-budget, cinematic Star Trek probably couldn’t have happened without the reboots. Again, we can’t prove that the JMS/Zabel pitch inspired Paramount to do their own reboot, but just like there may have been some synergy between DS9 and B5, the basic pitch is just too similar to ignore. 

Conclusion

Babylon 5 was a not a Star Trek rip-off, but it did take place in the 23rd Century, and like the classic Trek, featured heroic human starship captains and their alien allies teaming-up to save the galaxy. In a sense, there was a retro-feeling to all of Babylon 5 that probably reminded ‘90s Trekkies more of TOS than of TNG or DS9. Throw Walter Koenig and Harlan Ellison into the mix, and B5 was like a tribute band for Star Trek: The Original Series. These days, fans of The Orville make similar comparisons between that series and the TNG heyday of the ‘90s. The difference, of course, is that B5 was created by J. Michael Straczynski, a guy who cut his teeth literally creating the scripts for your favorite ‘80s cartoons; from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to The Real Ghostbusters. In short, Straczynski was someone who understood what sci-fi TV was in the ‘90s, and he knew its limitations. When he set out to make B5 he clearly did it with a lot of love for Star Trek. JMS  hired Star Trek actors for Babylon 5. He attempted to bridge the divide between Trek fandoms and the B5 fandoms. He even dreamed up a way to bring Trek back from the dead after it was seemingly canceled in 2005. J. Michael Straczynski maybe never formally wrote for Star Trek, but without him, and without Babylon 5, the world of Trek would have been much, much darker.

The post How Babylon 5 Made Star Trek Better appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Project Daedalus’ Review

Spock: "We will never relate as equals, so long as you continue to pretend that every burden is your own."

By nature I love brevity: A very good episode taken by itself, but in the context of the larger show it both highlights and compounds one of the show's major issues, and the episode's impact suffers for it.

I complain a lot in my reviews of Star Trek: Enterprise that the only characters who get developed nearly enough are Archer, Trip, and T'Pol. From the amount of development the others get, particularly in the first two seasons, one might even assume that they weren't main characters at all, and were simply part of the background. In most episodes, they get one or two lines each, mostly in the regular performance of their duties aboard the ship. Sound familiar? While Discovery may not have the same problem when it comes to main cast members like Tilly or Stamets, or even Ash Tyler, it does suffer greatly from its failure to develop the secondary cast. It is notable that at least some effort is being made this season - we do now actually know all their names - but not enough. Even the more prominent bridge crew members like Detmer or Owosekun get little tidbits and nothing more.

I think the main problem, and the main reason this happens, is that this show is so laser-focused on its plot that it doesn't have time to develop their characters. This is by no means to say that it couldn't have time, but I think that it doesn't have the time right now. It just doesn't seem like it's a priority for the writers. We have so much development for Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Burnham, and even now Tyler and Culber, that I now care about each of their characters (to varying degrees, of course; Shazad Latif turns me off of Tyler and I don't find Burnham compelling). But while little nods like 'Owosekun grew up in a Luddite community' or 'Detmer has had her pilot's license since she was a teenager' help to ground their characters as humans, they haven't been developed at all as characters in this show. I don't have a sense of Owosekun's emotional state, or Detmer's motivations. And the reason I say the show could very easily make the time for those characters is because it did so here.

Airiam's development here is quite good, and I found her backstory compelling enough. The problem is that it was all shoved into this one episode. That short a span of time is not enough to get to care that deeply about a character. It's not even like it had to be complicated in previous episodes. Maybe a scene where Airiam logs her memories, or a brief little dialogue exchange between her and Burnham to establish that they were friends. If the show had made a conscious effort to sprinkle little bits of Airiam's character throughout the season, it would have made a world of difference for this episode's emotional impact. As it was, director Jonathan Frakes and all the actors brought everything they could possibly have brought to the scene, but it just didn't have the impact it needed because what had come before wasn't compelling.

That said, I am glad Airiam got something of weight before her departure, and it did lead to some further characterization of the other bridge crew, Detmer in particular. I don't think I've seen them feel more human than they did here. The shots of each crew member's horrified blank expression at the death of their friend, combined with Frakes' emotional direction and Jeff Russo's suddenly understated music, really drove home the emotion of the scene, even though I didn't feel it myself because I had only just been given the opportunity to become attached to Airiam.

We have other stuff to touch on, so let's get into it. First, let's get the main plot out of the way. The story worked just fine, and the reveal of Control's complete, well, control over Section 31 was well done. They've dropped hints of the evil AI in charge of 31 throughout the season with just the right balance; it was enough that the audience understood what it was and that it was there, but it wasn't heavy handed enough that it made me groan with how obvious it was. I think I like the direction they're taking it, with a few caveats. If things continue the way they seem to be continuing, I anticipate that we will find out for certain that the conflict in the future is between the evolved Control and the rest of the universe. This could be good for a couple of reasons. The first is that it gives the whole story a sort of connectivity that the two half-arcs last season lacked, and the second is that this could very easily be the reason that Section 31 drops under the radar by the DS9 era. Maybe 31 collapses almost completely at the end of the season, and Starfleet shelves the project, but then Georgiou secretly starts it up again independent from Starfleet. That would also give the announced Section 31 series some sort of direction to go in.

Here we come to the biggest thing that makes all shows sink or swim - the characters and their relationships with each other. In what is becoming a nice trend for this season of Discovery, the writers continue to provide us with pairings of characters that make us think and, for the most part, work. This episode the highlight was Stamets and Spock. I really enjoyed their little scene together in Engineering. I really like that this show is starting to slow down enough to have scenes like that, where characters make their connections and have moments that would fall by the wayside in the middle of an action or plot-driven episode. Stamets gave Spock some very human advice to his problem that logic has not been able to solve. Likewise, Spock provided Stamets with a much-needed outsider's perspective on his relationship with Culber, lending him an objectivity that he would never reach on his own.

The other relational dynamic, that of Spock and Burnham, is less interesting but still of worth. As with last week, their relationship is deeply broken and fractured, and their issues aren't just going away. Spock's criticisms of Burnham are valid and cut deep, but at the same time, her evaluation of his current state rings true. Spock is still struggling madly to wrap his head around the problem before him, and nothing is working. As the chess game shows expertly, Spock has just about given up. As he said last week, both logic and emotion have failed him. He has nowhere else to turn, and his dejected resignation shows in Ethan Peck's performance.

There's a lot to recommend here. I ended up liking it a great deal. I just wish they'd laid the groundwork better earlier down the line.

Strange New Worlds:

No new planets this outing, but we did see part of Section 31 HQ.

New Life and New Civilizations:

Confirmation that Airiam is a human with cybernetic augmentations after she was critically injured. it also struck me that a significant portion of our cast has some sort of augmentation using technology. Detmer has her eye, Nhan has her breathing piece, and Stamets has those things in his arms that allow him to connect to the spore drive.

Pensees:

-Another appearance of Admiral Cornwell. I like Jayne Brook, so that's always fun to see. It was also good to see her using her background as a therapist.

-The ship looked brighter in this episode, and at some points significantly less blue. I wonder why; could it be Frakes?

-Every single time they say 'logic extremists' I want to burst out laughing because the name sounds really dumb.

-The Federation doesn't permit the use of mines at this point in the timeline.

-There was a distinct red glow on the scattered chess pieces at the end of that scene. Interesting...

-Faith interpretation of the week: Faith in your own abilities.

-Some definite parallels to Star Trek VI with the magnet boots in zero gravity, and the floating blood.

-My viewing group guessed that Admiral Patar was dead about ten seconds before the episode told us.

-Saru can see heat signatures, even through subspace. Cool.

-So Airiam downloaded all her memories into Disco's mainframe? Is that just opening the door for her return?

-Burnham using Kirk Fu is amazing. That's really all that needs to be said.

-Other Trek references - Kadis-Kot and 3-D Chess

-I can't help but feel like they had Nhan kill Airiam just to absolve Burnham of the responsibility.

-For some reason, something kicked out our ads and our teaser for next episode when we watched it on Amazon.

-Next week's episode is called 'The Red Angel.' I guess this is it, folks! Final theories in the comments below!

Quotes:

Stamets: "Can one of you say something? I don't like hearing myself talk when I have an audience." Burnham: "We're thinking." Stamets: "Think louder." There's good old grumpy Stamets again.

Pike: "Giving up our values in the name of defense is to lose the battle in advance."

Burnham: "I express myself through my work and my choice of decor." Spock: "Clearly."

Burnham: "If there's a logical reason to sacrifice your rook, I don't see it." Spock: "Perhaps I simply dislike rooks."

Spock: "I understand now. If only I'd taken your pawn, the mystery would have been solved."

Spock, to Stamets: "Perhaps he needs distance from you not because he no longer has feelings for you, but because he no longer knows how to feel about himself."

4.5 out of 6. Would have been 5, but the poor context drags it down.

CoramDeo picked a lousy day to wear his contacts.

[avatarsymbolism]

The Full Avatar Trek AU

I  felt bored, so I decided to do a follow up on all of @yinza​‘s awesome Trek/Avatar crossover art by creating a timeline (with episodes) of all the Avatar Trek shenanigans. Also because I’m a huge nerd and there are just SO MANY THINGS that kind of parallel each other in really weird ways despite their differences.

I’ll start off with ATLA and make a post later for Korra. 

Anyway, let’s begin!

Note: This was made pre-”Star Trek: Discovery” so, unfortunately, there won’t be any Lorca/Zhao parallels…yet. I did add one “Discovery” related thing though. 

Avatar

Avatar is the story of a Vulcan-Trill hybrid named Aang who commands the Appa, one of the most prized ships in the Vulcan fleet. Aang himself is a prodigy of sorts, so much so that only he was deemed worthy of the Avatar sybiant–one of the oldest symbiants known to the trills–despite not being fully Trill himself. And, to make the Klingon’s hunt for the Avatar make more sense, I guess we can maybe say that because it’s an old symbiant the Avatar has access to some kind of higher plane of power? That, or maybe the Avatar just tends to be very powerful?

He was merely a Lieutenant Commander serving as first officer to Captain Gyatso when the Klingons attacked the Vulcan homeworld. After Gyatso was fatally wounded in one of the Klingon’s initial assaults on Vulcan, Aang took the initiative and tried to steer them towards safety. 

But, as luck would have it, the Appa got caught in some kind of space anomaly which forced Aang to land on the nearest planet–a small Bajoran colony–which is where our story begins…

Book 1

The Man in the Anomaly 

Katara and Sokka are two Bajorans hunting for food to bring back to their village. The situation on Bajor (and the Bajoran colonies where Katara and Sokka live) is a mix of the ATLA and DS9 canons While there are no signs of camps, the Klingons have frequently raided the Bajoran colonies and tried to harvest their resources in order to weaken Bajor Prime. 

Anyway, Katara and Sokka are out hunting when a space vessel decides to land a few hundred feet away from them. Sokka cautions Katara to stand back, fearing that it might be some kind of Klingon trick. But, when the doors open, the only person to step off the ship is an exhausted looking Aang. 

Meanwhile, on a worn out looking Klingon warbird, Lieutenant Jee informs Zuko that they’re receiving a strange signal from a nearby planet. Zuko investigates. This is rather odd, since last he checked the Vulcans began masking their signals to protect them from the Klingons long ago. Hell, he didn’t even know how many of them were left alive–unless…

And that’s when Zuko decides to head a course to the planet. 

I guess I shroud probably also add that the space anomaly that Aang encountered whipped his ship through time and space. 

The Avatar Returns

The kids’ grandmother informs everyone that a Klingon ship is coming their way. Everyone panics, and Aang is banished from the village by Sokka, who still doesn’t quite trust the guy. 

Enter Prince Zuko and his awesome bat’leth. Zuko demands to know the location of the Avatar–basically a similar situation to what actually happened in canon. Aang appears, offers himself up on the condition that Zuko leaves everyone alone etc., etc. 

Back at the village, Katara and Sokka investigate the ship–a few canonical things happen–and they end up taking control of the vessel to go and save Aang. 

Canon stuff happens–and Katara and Sokka end up managing to teleport Aang back onto the ship. 

As they make a run for it, Aang thanks his new friends and appoints them as officers aboard the Appa (Later on, Katara becomes the chief medical officer and Sokka becomes the science officer).

Also, I just realized that there should technically be a ton of dead bodies on the ship…no idea when/how they’d be removed yet. 

Return to Vulcan

The Gaang travels to Vulcan (just go with it) where they try to look for Vulcan survivors, knowing that not all the Vulcans were actually killed in the Klingon attacks. This leads to some Aangstig when our captain voices regret about not tending to Gyatso when he had the chance, and not being there when his people needed him. Katara assures him that that was nothing he could do anyway (which makes this episode a mix of “The Southern Air Temple” and “The Storm.”).

Meanwhile, Zuko meets Gul Zhao (Yes, he’s a Cardassian and you can’t tell me otherwise. Also, there’s been a long standing alliance between the Cardassians and the Klingons and Ursa was a Cardassian which is why Azula looks like  a Cardassian and Zuko looks like a Klingon in @yinza‘s fan art), and some canon taunting happens. Also, Iroh is not a fan of red leaf tea. He does like prune juice through. “A warrior’s drink!” That, and blood wine.

[filler stuff and exploration I guess] 

I guess instead of a waterbendding scroll, the Gaang could be after some kind of prized Bajoran manuscript?

I was also going to suggest that, with Rene Auberjonois playing one of the tribal leaders in “The Great Divide,” that that episode could be about Bajoran orbs but, that would still be a very boring episode, I think. 

The Storm

BACKSTORY TIME!

After some asshat spouts bullshit, Aang and Katara find themselves in a cave where Aang recounts the events leading up to his landing in the future.  

Meanwhile, the crewmen of Zuko’s ship are threatening mutiny and bringing up the prince’s dishonor. Iroh intervenes and explains Zuko’s story because everyone respects General Iroh (I feel like he’d get along well with General Martok for some reason…man, I need that au now. Meanwhile, Zuko and Worf can talk about how they restored the honor of their families.). 

Cut to Aang’s story. Aang’s busy serving under Gyatso when the Klingons attack. Everyone’s on red alert. Gyatso is busy captaining and trying to get the Appa away from the Klingon flank. Gyatso gets hit, but instead of tending to Gyatso, Aang takes the helm. Aang voices regrets about leaving Gyatso to die saying that he should have been by his side. Katara assures him that that there was nothing he could do (Hmm, since this is partially a repeat of “Repeat to Vulcan,” this may need some work).  

Cut to Iroh and the story of Zuko. Zuko is a young, enthusiastic youth eager to learn how to rule. He wants to observe a war meeting etc., etc.

(Oh, and fun fact: Daniel Riordan, the guy that voices General Bujing–the guy that Zuko speaks out against–played a Klingon in Star Trek: Enterprise. What kind of Klingon lets someone else fight his own challenge!) 

Zuko speaks out of turn…dual…Zuko gets a quarter of his face cut by his father’s bat’leth and is discommendated and banished from Qo’nos until he manages to find whoever holds the Avatar symbiant. 

The Blue Spirit 

Similar premise to the actual episode, although it may need a better name (btw, instead of being a theater geek, the Zuko of this universe is a big fan of Klingon opera). I keep re-imagining Aang’s speech from this episode as something that sounds like it may have come from Captain Picard. (Hmm…Kuzon and Kurzon…).

The Siege of Bajor

Zhao’s plot in the latter half of this season is basically the final arc of Gul Dukat’s plot. I have a few words for you all:

I AM A LEGEND NOW. CARASSIA WILL FOR GENERATIONS TELL STORIES OF THE GREAT ZHAO WHO CONQUERED BAJOR! THEY WILL CALL ME ZHAO THE CONQUEROR, ZHAO THE GODSLAYER, ZHAO THE INVINCIBLE! 

Zhao tries to destroy the orbs or something like that, but Aang manages to get the Prophets to intervene and Zhao is killed the same way as Dukat. That, or Aang just shows up, doesn’t intervene with the Prophets and it’s Zuko that watches Zhao get destroyed by the Prophets…or maybe Aang. I don’t know how Zuko fits into all this. 

Book 2

So, after the Siege, Pakku decides to travel from Bajor to some of the settlements to help them rebuild, and gives Katara some kind of special Bajoran poultice thing…I don’t know–something like the spirit water that Pakku gives Katara in ATLA canon. 

Meanwhile, Zuko meets up with Azula, who tells him that Ozai has apparently decided to restore his honor. Canon stuff, big fight. I can’t decide how Iroh and Zuko would try to disguise themselves. Maybe they just try to blend in, somehow? There’s no way they could just do reconstructive surgery or something since they’re fugitives. 

I’m also wondering if there could be some stuff that makes the Avatar symbiant more significant. I don’t know what though. 

The Cave of Two Lovers

The Gaang’s plot would probably play out differently, but the cave could be some kind of alienish thing that the Gaang encounters. 

The idea of having Chong and co being hippie aliens makes me laugh though for some reason (Oh, I bet it’s because of the drug psa episode of TNG). 

The Swamp

I feel like this could be a variant of “If Wishes were Horses,”  or better yet “Where No Man has Gone Before.” Huu could even be a traveler or something that the Gaang meets. Maybe this planet has some sort of alien property that connects them to the universe in such a way that they almost become enlightened just by being there for a period of time. 

Katara sees a vision of her dead mother, Sokka sees Yue, and Aang has a vision of a girl wearing a VISOR, standing beside a flying boar. 

(Another fun fact: Buck Bokai is Jeong Jeong, Also, Wesley Crusher is the pet shop owner in “City of Walls and Secrets,” and the circus trainer that hurts Appa? Yeah, that’s Lt. Barclay.)

The Blind Bandit

So, the Gaang is trying to find their  way to Earth when they meet Toph in some kind of arena.While there, Aang tries to talk to her but, Toph doesn’t really give a shit. 

Later they manage to find the Beifong household, and Aang meets Toph. Just like in canon, Toph’s parents try to shelter Toph s much as possible, not thinking that she could manage anything on her own, even with her VISOR. 

Later, Aang and Toph talk, and she tells him about the VISOR. By the episode’s end, Toph decides to join the Gaang as their engineer. 

(Wait, this now brings up the valid question of who’s running the ship before all this and whatnot. Maybe we can have a few episodes about the crew and whatnot like we had in TNG? Granted, I don’t think Aang’s crew would like it all that much if he just randomly approved two Bajorans as his science and medical officers. Maybe there could be some other officers and Sokka/Katara/Toph can eventually work their way up? That, or somehow Aang is the only one left on the ship.) 

Zuko Alone

Zuko disguises himself with a hat (yes, we’re doing that), and enters a small village in one of the Earth colonies. There, he gets in trouble with some Terran officers (since we can’t really do Starfleet at this point. Although, Starfleet being like the URN would be cool–Oh, so THAT’S why Raiko is so incompetent. He’s one of those asshat Starfleet command types that knows diddly squat about what he’s doing.)

Zuko meets Lee’s family, and we get some nice character development an some flashbacks.

In this universe, Zuko’s family has a monopoly on the Chancellor position (that or it has become hereditary). General Iroh has laid siege to Earth for 600 days when his son is killed in a Terran counterattack. Devastated by the death of his son, Iroh ends the siege.

Meanwhile, Ozai meets with Azulon and asks that he be made his father’s heir instead of Iroh. Azulon is offended by Ozai’s request and orders Ozai to kill Zuko.

Ursa intervenes, and thanks to some chance events, Ozai is made Chancellor after Azulon;s death.

(It is also at this point that I’ve come to realize that Zuko would basically be the Avatar equivalent of Alexander Rozhenko…I hated that kid. Zuko is 1000 times cooler and less lame. Although, Zuko’s lack of fighting skills as a kid and his empathy probably puts him on par with Alexander…somewhat.)

Lee’s mom meets up with Zuko and tells him that the Terran soldiers are threatening to take Lee away. So, Zuko decides to help her get Lee back, and we get some canonical stuff with a fight.

Well, Zuko’s hat comes off (man, that just sounds really stupid. I’ll come up with something more clever, eventually…maybe) and everyone find out that Zuko is a Klingon. Also, prejudice just like the actual episode.

The Chase

I feel like this would be another fun episode to Star Trekify. You get lots of action, fighting, wisdom etc. Maybe Toph still meets up with Iroh, and she doesn’t realize that Iroh is a Klingon so the two of them drink tea and share wisdom (wait, the VISOR would tell her he’s a Klingon. I’ll have to fix that sometime.). . 

The Serpent’s Pass

This will probably need a name change. But, this could probably have the Gaang traveling through an asteroid belt or something. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are ALSO on their wa to Earth, and Zuko meets Jet. I’d love to see a Star Trek version of their relationship. It would be interesting. 

(Ok, this now brings up the question of: if Jet realizes that Zuko and Iroh ar Klingons, why doesn’t he just remove their hats? This hat problem is now sounding ridiculous.)

City of Walls and Secrets

The Gaang arrives on Earth and tries to meet with the United Earth Council Finding that they’re having difficulty meeting some of the higher ranking officials, the Gaang decides to sneak into one a gala hosted by Kuei. 

However, things don’t go quite as planned when the Gaang gets taken captive by Long Feng, the head of Section 31. Long Feng tells Aang to stop distrupting the state of peace that’s been maintained by him and his agents. For here they are safe. 

Meanwhile, Jet tries to reveal Zuko and Iroh’s identity and fails, being taken prisoner by Section 31 and is brainwashed. 

(Also, what if, in this univrse, Long Feng tries to steal Aangs ship so he can better keep tabs on him or something?)

Ok, the Book 2 plot definitely needs to be reworked so ‘ll just skip to the finale. 

The Earth King

(Or, rather, the equivalent of)

The Gaang manages to show the Council that Long Feng and Section 31 have been running a massive conspiracy, and Long Feng is arrested. 

Meanwhile, Azula (Cardassian), Mai (Klingon), ad Ty Lee (a human presumably from a Klingon colony or something), infiltrate the United Earth Council and are ‘caught’ by Long Feng. 

The Crossroads of Destiny

Plotwise, this episode is pretty much the same as canon.

The Star Trekified differences are that the Appa, Azula’s ship, and Zuko’s eventually meet up. 

Zuko and Kaara were busy having their canon conversation when Katara is beamed away to the Appa, and Azula takes her place. 

The Gaang waits anxiously, all the while wondering what the hell is going on. 

Azula teleeports back to her ship..

Zuko’s ship readies to fire…and the Gaang realizes that they’re about to to get attacked!

Katara is heartbroken! A hit surges through the circuits and Aang gets zapped in his captain;s chair!

Madness endues!

The Gaang just barely makes it out alive, and Katara ends up using some Bajoran medicine to revive Aang 

Book 3

Book 3 pretty much follows canon, so I don’t think I need to explain much. The Gaang travels from place to place, meets different people,there’s an equivalent to “The Day of Black Sun” (not sure what exactly it involves, but maybe they use the cave systems mentioned in “Star Trek: Discovery”) and then the finale. 

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Battle of Star Trek - Batch#1 Heats (featuring Captain Archer, Odo, Commander Chakotay & Commander T'Pol)

Back in 2017 I ran a series of polls, in a giant 'Battle of Superheroes' to discover your favourite comic book character.  The answer was The Flash, btw.   I quickly followed it up with a 'Battle of the MCU' to discover your favourite movie from the MCU... with CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER topping the poll.  Mind you, we've had two more films out since then, and once INFINITY WAR hits cinemas who knows how that will ring true.

But now, here in 2018, it's time to start a new battle.  This last week saw the last episode of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY's first season... I think it's entirely appropriate to do a 'Battle of Star Trek', don't you?

Behold... 128 characters, spanning all things STAR TREK (yep, we've got characters major and minor from THE ORIGINAL SERIES, THE ANIMATED SERIES, THE NEXT GENERATION, DEEP SPACE NINE, VOYAGER, ENTERPRISE, DISCOVERY and all thirteen films).

Of course, as with the superhero polls, we've split it down into bite-size chunks.  We'll tackle it all over 8 different batches, 16 characters per batch - and here, my friends, are the characters in BATCH#1...

ISHKA

Yep, our first character is one of the many Ferengi from DS9, but Ishka (if you don't recognise the name) is Rom's 'Moogie' (i.e. she's Rom, and Quark's, business-aware mother).  Ishka was originally played by Andrea Martin before Cecily Adams took over the role.

DUKAT

Gul Dukat is probably one of the best villains in Trek.  The Cardassian was expertly played by Marc Alaimo, a great actor - and it has to be said his scenes with Nana Visitor (Kira) were always electric.  The character also received quite a story arc, from the first season right through to the last episode of DS9.

SAAVIK

Here we have our first movie-only character!  Kirstie Alley (famed from her role in CHEERS), debuted as the hot new Vulcan on the scene in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, but didn't return for the two sequels where Robin Curtis took over... and, weirdly, got to mate with a teen Spock.  As you do.

VEDEK BAREIL

Philip Anglim played the spiritual Bajoran who tamed the fierce Kira, as her first love interest on DS9.  He got killed off though, so never got to be Kai. Shame.  Maybe.

MAXWELL FORREST

Actor Vaughn Armstrong has played an awful lot of different characters in Trek, but Admiral Forrest, a supporting character in ENTERPRISE, his is best known one.  Fun fact - the character is called 'Forrest' in honour of DeForest Kelley.

ODO

Watch out, another DS9 character, but Odo is, at least, our first regular character.  The Shape shifter, or Changeling, or Founder - played by Rene Auberjonois - was the chief of security on the space station, both under the Cardassian rule and under Starfleet. He was certainly an interesting character, and his love for Kira an important relationship.

JONATHAN ARCHER

Look, our first lead!  Jonathan Archer is the first captain of the Enterprise... a century before Kirk.  That was what enticed actor Scott Bakula into the role.  He was already known to sci-fi fans for his long running role as Sam in QUANTUM LEAP.

NERO

Our one and only Romulan character featured in the 128 strong poll, he's also our first character from the JJ Abrams' films.  He went back in time and blew up Vulcan.  Bastard.  HULK actor Eric Bana plays him.

CHRISTINE CHAPEL

Majel Barrett (creator Gene Roddenberry's wife) originally played 'Number One' in the pilot episode, but when the character was dropped, Barrett instead took the role of Nurse Chapel.   She later became a full on doctor in the movies.

LWAXANA TROI

Another role for Majel Barrett, this time originating in THE NEXT GENERATION, as main character Deanna Troi's telepathic mother.  The Betazoid character returned in DS9, where she took a shine to Odo.

M'RESS

Ooh, look, it's our third (and final) character played by Majel Barrett to be listed.  This one is from THE ANIMATED SERIES though, a Caitian (feline) communications officer. Sadly we never got a live action version.  Maybe one day.

CHAKOTAY

Robert Beltran played Commander Chakotay, our first VOYAGER character on the list.  Chakotay was originally the leader of the Maquis, but when the two crews found themselves in the Delta Quadrant, he formed a pact with Janeway and became her first officer.

PHLOX

Our first character from ENTERPRISE, Phlox is the alien (Denobulan) medical officer with a big (and we mean BIG) grin.

DAMAR

Another character from DS9, and our second Cardassian!  Damar, played by Casey Biggs, worked under Gul Dukat, but eventually took over, leading the Cardassians in their alliance with the Dominion. Later he became the leader of the resistance against the Gamma Quadrant warmongers.

T'POL

Jolene Blalock played the Vulcan, tasked with 'spying' on the humans in ENTERPRISE.  She built up a strong friendship with Captain Archer, however, and even a romantic one with Chief Engineer Tucker.

ALEXANDER ROZHENKO

It's our first Klingon!  It's Worf's only son, Alexander!  His mother, K'Ehleyr was killed and Alexander found himself with his Dad, and 'godmother' Deanna Troi.  The character was mostly played by Brian Bonsall on TNG, before Marc Worden took over in DS9 when the character tried to carve his way as a Klingon warrior. 

So, there you are, those are your starting 16.  You guys now have to head over to twitter to place your votes on who your favourites are.  They're all paired off, and we'll see them through heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.

So find procrastinalien on twitter, and get voting!  You've got three days!

[captainignatiuspigheart]

Ah, February, My Old Nemesis

Alright, that’s a bit melodramatic… I’ve perked up considerably and the prospect of February brings me neither fear nor hope. It’s been a very quiet week, or at least… I think it has. I’ve spent much of today in a courtroom in our dress rehearsal for Light Night: The Glowstick Trials on Friday at the National Justice Museum (you should come along, especially if you have kids – get em judged by strangers!), and I feel a little perplexed about what I might actually have done this week. Let’s see… Ah, I have it. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time doing minute photoediting at work this week, and I think it’s turned my brain inside out. Don’t get me wrong, I really love learning more about Photoshop (since I use it every day for book design and layout at Aconyte Books, and for doing a similarly wide range of graphics stuff for MissImp, I’d better learn to love it), but I’ve been kinda embedded in the same task, and can no longer perceive the colour blue. Ho hum.

Reading: Between Books

I’ve foolishly ended up reading a pair of books alternately. It wasn’t intentional, but rather situational. I am very fond of my Kindle – it’s amazing to read a book with one hand while brushing my teeth or wandering around the house, so it’s an automatic go-to. On the other hand (or both hands, I guess), I love to read real books with the paper-fondling and all that. So I’ve ended up on two. I’ll not review them before finishing them (that would be daft).

First up, Adam Roberts’ Splinter, which is a curiously Jules Verney adventure about a chap whose dad predicts the end of the world, and turns out to be correct (probably), leaving he, his father and a bunch of believers (in his father) are stuck together on a little chunk of Earth. It’s odd, and I’m struggling to drag myself back it a bit. On the plus side, it’s got this gorgeous cover by Darius Hinks (whose splendid fantasy novel The Ingenious we published back at Angry Robot. He’s a very fine chap too).

Second, I’m back in the Malazan world with Ian C Esslemont’s Return of the Crimson Guard. Kinda digging it. Also noticing more differences from Steven Erikson’s storytelling: there are far fewer “thus”es.

Doing: Lego

I’m at an awkward point in Lego building. I’ve failed to build anything for myself (as in, not as dictated by the instructions in an official Lego set) since my Wizard of Oz at the beginning of last year. That’s a combination of having very little time (mostly due to doing far too much admin for MissImp), and having relatively little space to get all the boxes out for rootling through them. I’ve managed to have a few breakdown and sorting periods which I find very relaxing, but I’ve not felt the necessary inspiration for building. Trying to build and getting nowhere is really grim. Last week I pulled a couple of boxes out and made some intricate and horrifically fragile gold gates, but didn’t know what to do with it.

But yesterday I had the day entirely to myself and after getting a few things done, I got everything out! Ah, six hours crosslegged on the floor leaves a chap utterly unable to stand, but it was totally worth it. I’ve expanded the gate, framed it and started building a structure around it. The tiled floor is very pleasing (I got loads of those quarter circle coral pink tiles from Leicester Square Lego Shop last year). The long hexagonal shape is putting enormous stress on some of the bricks, but I’m pretty chuffed with it. I suspect I’ve over-greebled the walls and will need to tone it right back down, but overally I feel deeply happy about the whole thing. It’s raised up so I can build some terrain and foliage around it when I’ve got some idea what’s going at the back. Some kind of tower…? It’s actually a little further along than these pictures show – check out Instagram for more continuous updates!

Gates!

Flooring!

Acquiring: The Dinosaur Films of Ray Harryhausen by Roy P Webber

I’m rarely able to help myself when it comes to Harryhausen stuff. The man was a fantastic artist, animator and all-round nice fellow. This one’s been on my list for a while, and I’ve finally added it to the stack. Unlike the recent (fantastic) Titan tomes on the Hollywood special effects genius, this one is all black and white and a lot more text and commentary. Accordingly, it’s going to take me a lot longer to get into and through, but I’m delighted to have acquired it.

  Acquiring: Fake Lego Mandalorian

Disney’s super-secret hiding of the baby Yoda spoiler in The Mandalorian was an absolute delight but it has left us with fuck all vital Baby Yoda merchandise! The AT-ST from that brilliant shrimp-harvesting episode (I’m trying to avoid spoilers) is the only real Lego set currently available, so I was utterly at the mercy of knock-off merchants on eBay. The Mandalorian himself has a rather cack helmet print, but the body and armour printing is great, and the overall quality of the parts ain’t bad. Baby Yoda filled my heart with joy though. Shame he’s got a slight nick out of his green face paint (revealing the generic pink below). I’m quite pleased. The Mandalorian is a fantastic show, by the way, the perfect space Western that Star Wars is supposed to be and you should watch it. I’m on my third re-watch now…

Watching: Titans

Ah, this is what I’ve been doing this week… I watched both of these shows last year, but damned if I could recall a single salient story sliver. Titans season 2 popped up on Netflix, and that seemed like a fine opportunity to dive back into season 1 with Marilyn. It’s really fun! I’ve got no idea who any of the characters are (save Robin and Wonder Girl). I feel this a a DC thing – other than Batman and his usual coterie of villains, I’ve never taken to and absorbed a general sense of the DC heroes and villains. The parlous state of their movie universe pretty much guarantees my feelings will stay this way. The show picks up a very violent Robin and a couple of his street-scrapping chums to protect a young girl who appears in dire need of exorcism. They team up with a guy who turns into a green tiger and a spectacular woman who can channel the energy of the sun into burning stuff. It’s proper comics far – somewhat perplexing about why anything’s happening, but it’s all done with a pleasingly gritty tone without too much winking or spandex. The fights are pleasingly violent too – it’s no fun being twatted with a staff, and Titans does not pull those punches. The effects are a bit poor occasionally, but it doesn’t really detract much.

Watching: Star Trek: Discovery

ST: Disco was a delight last year, and caning through it again while playing with Lego and every other activity is proving equally satisfying. I like Discovery because it’s got plenty of mental episodic drama, fun characters and splendid special effects. It’s really all I want from Star Trek. Like DS9 it’s got a strong narrative arc which pleases me, and the cast is pitch perfect (Michelle Yeoh, goddamn). As with all the prequel storylines, I end up completely forgetting that this much better looking, higher tech world with cooler uniforms is actually set way before the hilarious jumpsuits of Next Generation. Great fun, and I’m looking forward to its return with season 3.

Last Week, Sunday 2 February 2020 - lots of TV (Titans and ST: Disco), Lego funtimes (real and fake) and some bookish bits. #reading #lego #harryhausen #glowsticktrials #babyyoda Ah, February, My Old Nemesis Alright, that’s a bit melodramatic... I’ve perked up considerably and the prospect of February brings me neither fear nor hope.

[sleepymarmot]

DS9 season 5 liveblog

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

Apocalypse Rising

This is the worst device prototype... :D

Sisko makes a very handsome Klingon!

"But don't forget, this is still your fault." I knew they'd have to make a joke about this... :D

The Klingon practive! :D

Dukat does a Renegade interrupt... :D "It was either that or trust in Mister Worf's ability to lie. And frankly, I have more faith in my weapons"

How does nobody recognize Worf?!

Okay, so when Odo "got sick" he was actually poisoned by the Founders to bring him to them for judgement except it was to implant him with false information so that they would assassinate Gowron for them, except if they managed to kill Gowron it would have been obvious he was a Klingon, and if they caught Martok in the field his identity would have been exposed, so maybe they just intended them to be caught and be a reason for escalation, but none of this is addressed...

What was the official reason for invading Cardassia anyway, I don't remember after marathoning so fast?

The Ship

I like O'Brien and Muniz

of course a female Vorta wears a bright colored dress with giant cleavage, heavy makeup, and earrings

oh god, did the boy actually die? :O

I freaking knew it was a changeling aboard

god, so many people died because of miscommunication?!

(This trope is pretty much my worst nightmare aaa) 

this is one of the most upsetting stories so far :( I don't think even Hard Time made me cry for so long...

Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places

Julian...

Worf has good taste!

"What house is she from" Boy you have a surprise waiting for you! :D

grow up, Julian, seriously... :D

poor Worf, what an embarrasment

what a happy poly family!

someone's jealous, Odo!

aw everyone, stop making their lovely arrangement awkward

oh Worf, when will you see it :D

aww just accept that the three of you are married now

that's what you get for being nosy at the beginning of the episode, Julian :D 

congrats on the sex, everyone! :D I didn't expect Quark to actually get lucky with Grilka... And I'm so happy that Worf finally got laid properly -- it was so sad to watch his human-like advances on Deanna and that one half-Romulan in TNG.

this episode watered my crops, cleared my skin etc. it's been an hour and I'm still in a great mood

...Nor the Battle to the Strong

Bashir's unstoppable monologue claims another victim

I really like this dynamic -- young Jake who didn't know what he was getting into and feels very out of place, and the mature and experienced Bashir seen from his perspective

oh god, Bashir is so happy and relieved to see Jake and even apologies while Jake is about to be crushed by his guilt, I'm going to cry :(

Bashir is such a kind person :(

The Assignment

Yikes, you two really messed up! "I have to be in surgery, operating." "On who?" "I'll find someone."

Wow, Rom's really a genius

I hope this was *the* O'Brien suffering episode of the season and he'll be free for the rest of it! It was pretty tame, especially compared to last year...

Trials and Tribble-ations

I've been looking forward to this episode for years! And I just rewatched The Trouble with Tribbles for preparation.

What did Bashir do to his hair?!

"I'm a doctor, not an historian"

omg Odo in the same frame as Uhura and Chekov!

damn, they're really good at pasting new characters into the archive footage :D

Dax repeating Spock's line :D

going back to the greyness of the DS9 ops after all these bright colors...

This is really a perfect example of an anniversary/tribute/crossover episode! All of those disappointing cameos in TNG look even weaker now. And the visuals are incredible. I expected them to just but back and forth between old and new footage, not to actually edit TOS scenes -- and so cleanly!

Let He Who is Without Sin...

Poor introverted Worf...

I still don't want to see Julian/Leeta but at least they came here to break up

Worf I'm pretty sure this is illegal not to mention tremendously stupid

welp this was bad

Things Past

yikes Garak, no the Bajorans don't appreciate you playing devil's advocate

poor Dax "ran out of speculation" trying to justify standard filming conventions :D

y i k e s @Dukat

Garak: "I never knew we were such messy conquerors. I remember the occupation being a little more tidy than this." Sisko: "Everything's tidy when someone else is doing the cleaning." Garak: "The Bajorans were much more suited for this sort of thing than we were. Servile work is in their nature." also yikes

Dax is hyper-competent this time. like we’ve seen in “Past Tense”, she has a talent for impersonating someone from the past

"When your people resort to terrorism and violence, they're fighting against order, against stability, against the rule of law, and this must be stopped" this is all about trying to convince Odo that the Founders are right, isn't it

A reversal of "Necessary Evil" -- this time it's Odo who didn't magically spend years enforcing order for the occupants and still remain innocent. Odo as a "former Cardassian oppressor" is a story that was waiting to be told (even if this episode is weaker than Necessary Evil). The further I go, the more I become convinced that Odo is the best character and the heart and thematical center of the entire story. 

I... don't really understand Garak's part in this episode. Dax is better than him as a secret agent, Odo is better both at being a Cardassian oppressor and at reflecting on it. It's not like I expected Garak to go "omg I learned my lesson" at the end, but I was waiting for something. He comes off kind of naive and incompetent about the whole thing. And Odo of all people saying "Interesting that a simple tailor should just happen to have a high-level security code" is out of season or out of character and either way has no place here. Which kind of makes me lose faith that the rest of Garak’s behavior -- why is he so eager to parrot anti-Bajoran propaganda? -- is a part of some long pre-planned arc. By now I kinda have a feeling that the writers just throw out random lines and hope the actor’s skill will save them.

The Ascent

Odo is Cassandra Pentaghast :D

How did they survive in these conditions without food and water? Sometimes I don't know if I'm too weak & spoiled or the writers are exaggerating the hardships their characters go through...

Jake-Nog subplot got solved too fast

Rapture

What, they just change uniforms overnight in the middle of the season?!

"Those of you who were in the Resistance, you're all the same. You think you're the only ones who fought the Cardassians, that you saved Bajor singlehandedly. Perhaps you forget, Major, the Cardassians arrested any Bajoran they found teaching the word of the Prophets. I was in a Cardassian prison camp for five years and I can remember each and every beating I suffered. And while you had your weapons to protect you, all I had was my faith and my courage."

Look, I can understand why Sisko is choosing his visions over everything, and maybe I would have done the same, but this still squicks me and I don't want to watch it

Let me guess, all this religious propaganda will be justified because Sisko's vision will reveal something super important about the Dominion's moves

can we not go back to Bajoran spirituality any time soon please

(Why did the visions start, anyway? He was zapped by the holosuite computer, so what?)

Btw, if, judging from the uniforms, First Contact happened between the previous episode and this one, I'd like a reference to it? Worf, you were there! Sisko, that was the Borg! Hello?

The Darkness and the Light

ouch D:

if he was just a servant, how does he have the skills and knowledge for precize and difficult attacks like these?

"He wanted to protect the innocent and separate the darkness from the light. But he didn't realise the light only shines in the dark and sometimes innocence is just an excuse for the guilty" why is Kira talking like this... what kind of OOC bullshit...

maybe it's just because I caught Bryan Fuller's name in the credits, but this just felt like an episode of Hannibal... A string of brutal and overcomplicated murders, a grotesque villain with poetic speech, focus on misogynistic violence... I sure hope Discovery is nothing like this! I'm so angry Kira's friends died for this nonsense

the only good part was Kira’s unrepentant speech

The Begotten

Baby changeling! Odo gets "The Offspring" of his own! Let's hope this one has a happier ending...

is it just me or is Bashir prettier than usual in this episode?

Odo don't put the baby in a cup!!! what if someone drinks it?! D:

oh god, he's making Odo do these things himself D:

what a magical moment!!! aaaa

oh no Odo was so happy I just knew they'd kill his baby

he's holding it in his hands :((

I had a feeling they'd be able to link!! Even the conclusion is like "The Offspring" -- the father absorbs his child. I expected the story to end with Odo having to give it to the Founders because only they can save its life/raise it for some reason

Odo and Kira bonding over losing their babies :(

finally, a great episode again!

For the Uniform

Loving the manual departure scene! But how exactly is Nog relaying communications to the engine room?

I continue to understand nothing about the Maquis situation. What's a "Maquis colony"? I thought only the terrorists themselves used that name, not the civilians they protected? 

Eddington's use of chemical weapons against civilians is presented as moral event horizon, but Sisko's retaliation in kind is postfactum approved by Starfleet? I thought he was bluffing, and I assume his crew thought he knew what he was doing which is why they didn't object, but Eddington expected him to act like a villain and he literally did?? He used weapons of mass destruction against an entire planet populated by humans who may or may not be Federation citizens (or, alternatively, Cardassian citizens, which might be even worse politically). But that's fine, because the entire population of that planet managed to evacuate before the poison killed them. I don't know how to go on watching the show after this.

In Purgatory's Shadow / By Inferno’s Light

Bashir is great :D

Aw, Bashir isn't going with him? :(

hate to agree with Dukat, but yeah, this is inappropriate

"The man is a heartless, cold-blooded killer" "Like I said, he's a Cardassian"

w h a t

damn, just as I thought Julian was being unusually cool at the beginning of the episode, he turned out to be a changeling

okay, I knew about Dukat and the Dominion and had been waiting for it. but I'm stuck on Changeling Bashir. How long? Since before the uniform change? I feel betrayed. I want to believe it was the real Bashir in The Begotten! Not only because I love that episode -- the presence of a Founder would have changed the plot completely!

I thought I could spend one episode without gushing about how Dukat is written, but apparently not, so here it goes. This plot twist makes perfect sense on so many levels! Sisko has commented before on how quick Dukat was to join the winning side after the fall of the Obsidian Order. Dukat himself made a big speech about missing the good old times when Cardassia was feared (and as a viewer, I kind of miss that too...). Cardassia is the main antagonist of the show's past and the Dominion -- of present/future, and their autoritarian nature is pretty similar. As far as I remember, Dukat hasn't met the Founders before and is probably unaware of their deep hatred of solids, plus his usual overconfidence makes him underestimate the Dominion’s power, so I can see how he would treat this like any other alliance. I hope this means we'll see more Cardassians again, not just Jem'Hadar exploiting their territory and resources. 

I wish Ziyal were a bit more conflicted over the entire thing -- she spent her entire life idealizing her father and trying to justify his actions, and taking off the rose-tinted glasses should be more difficult and traumatic than "Oh I guess all of you were right and my dad is a bad guy after all".

Doctor Bashir, I Presume

Leeta, just ask him out yourself!

lol, Bashir should have told them about the hologram...

I knew the big spoiler, but assumed the genetic enhancement was prenatal, so the actual story about parental ableism still came as a surprise. I hope this will be discussed again in the following episodes! 

The story about a son who has good reasons to resent the father but forgives him in the end is a bit to similar to The Begotten, but I don't mind that much.

Miles is such a good friend :')

All of the A-plot was great, but the B-plot slightly spoiled the impression.

The resolution of the problem is what should have happened in the first place. Julian is in no way responsible for what was done to him as a child!

So if we didn't take this perfect opportunity to talk about changeling!Bashir now, I guess that won't be discussed ever?

A Simple Investigation

"I've done things in my life I'm not proud of, too. You worked for Draim, I worked for the Cardassians. I never had the courage to walk away. You did. I admire that"

Bashir and O'Brien's larping :D

I thought Odo wasn't capable of enjoying this kind of thing?

"Once, on my homeworld, I had an experience that you might consider sexual" uh... did I miss something? 

remember season 1 when Odo was adamantly aroace? good times...

wait what did he do with her hand?

the plot was so boring I had to force my self to focus on screen. and why make Odo fall in love (again) and have sex? that's stupid, leave him alone

Business as Usual

How come Quark is shunned by absolutely everyone? And the general disapproval is represented by Kira (who herself admits that weapon trade saved Bajor), Sisko (who used WMD only a few episodes ago) and Dax (a big fan of a certain culture built around violence).

Ties of Blood and Water

Just as I was thinking that this season has a lot stories with daddy issues, and that Kira doesn't have a father -- this guy shows up! Aww, Kira is so happy to see him"! I hope this doesn't mean he'll be dead by the end of the episode...

"I'm dying" of fucking course........

SHE JUST THREW A CUP RIGHT AT HIS FACE this is incredible

(Kira is literally too tired to deal with his shit. And it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen anything like her body language, expressions and voice in this scene. She doesn't even dignify his "sick little games" with a single shifting of pose before that one sharp movement to throw the cup.)

(at first I thought the cup broke as it hit his face, which was a completely delightful image, but sadly not what happened)

Kira, he was a member of the Central Command, what did you expect?

Weyoun is great :D

Kira, have you finished questioning him or not? If not, you shoud continue, regardless of your personal relationship.

I really enjoyed this episode, though there are some things that don't let me be truly impressed by it. It was pretty predictable; Kira's anger seemed naive and immature, and the revelation at the end did not completely disperse that impression.

From reactions of Odo and Bashir, who say nothing like "It's your duty to continue asking him questions" it seems like their interviews were over, but the montage and Dukat's poisoning attempt suggest the opposite. All of that is a shame, because this episode is my favourite kind of DS9 episode.

Ferengi Love Songs

Why is the Nagus of all people completely fine with her wearing clothes?

It's disappointing to go back to status quo. I thought the new life without a Ferengi business license would mean character development, but apparently not. And Ishka is weaker here than in Family Business.

Soldiers of the Empire

Always love a good Klingon episode! Honor! Fighting spirit! Jadzia and Worf being awesome!

Also I'm greatly amused that Julian was assigned to be an intelligence officer of all things.

Children of Time

O'Brien is the only one who reacts normally to this creepy situation...

The premise of the entire story doesn't work for me because apparently we're supposed to think that being stuck on an isolated planet with little technology is idyllic instead of horrifying??? I'd do a lot of things just to prevent that. Imagine all the inbreeding that must happen with only 48 ancestors, eww.

Oh boo fucking hoo, you won't have descendants on the planet, well you'll have about as many in the real world in 200 years, plus your absense at DS9 won't deal a strategic blow to the security of the Alpha Quadrant -- why isn't anyone talking about that?

And as usual with time loop stories, it's hard to take the entire thing seriously because -- what happened the first time? Did Jadzia fail to check the logs? Did they not meet their future descendants at all, sat for two days on the empty planet repairing the ship and just happened to stumble upon the anomaly on their way out? By interacting with the crew, the colonists are already changing the timeline, so there's no reason to believe that going back in time will preserve their history instead of making a new version of it.

Blaze of Glory

Eddington is like people who complain about products that have too many 'chemicals'

The writers didn't know what to do with the Maquis so they wiped them out offscreen and tried to wrap up the story with another team-up of rivals, but Eddington is no Dukat and the story itself is not strong enough. RIP Maquis storyline, you were a mess.

Empok Nor

Ouch, Garak, don't so casually bring up O'Brien's greatest traumas!

I have a bad feeling about all of these young nameless officers...

That doesn't look like a great environment for someone with claustrophobia

Cardassian faces always look so great in chiaroscuro! Since season 2 I've wanted to see Garak in this lighting, and the show finally delivers.

"You're right. I'm an engineer" :D

Very cheesy episode, but I enjoyed it more than any of the Mirror ones...

In the Cards

The scene with the crazy doctor and bargaining with Bashir are really hilarious...

"It is enough to know that you and I have found so many common interests. I feel that we are very much alike. :))))" "*grabs his ear* No. We are nothing alike. Nothing at all. :))))))"

What a wonderful episode!!! (But where was Dax?)

Call to Arms

"We're losing the peace, which means a war could be our only hope"

THIS IS SO EPIC!!! And finally, Sisko's prophecy in "Rapture" comes true.

General impressions:

Dax was reinvigorated! -- by the romance or not, but she seemed more vibrant than ever this season. Bashir got more character development! O'Brien suffered a little less than in the previous years! Dukat got to be openly antagonistic!

As usual, my favorite part is the main epic plot. There were three great comedy episodes this time: Par'Mach, Tribbles and Cards. Other favorites: Nor the Battle to the Strong; Things Past; The Begotten; Doctor Bashir, I Presume; Ties of Blood and Water.

Once again, Klingons are allies, Cardassians are enemies, and Quark is not an outcast. Must we cling so hard to the status quo?

[discotreque]

Disco 3.08: The Sanctuary

This week IRL was a real mixed bag for me: a lot of messy and barely-manageable anxiety about my health, my day job, and uhhhh *gestures outside*—but also I’ve recently fallen in love (from a responsible social distance)—so it’s been equal parts re-writing professional emails to edit the panic attack out of my tone and gazing dreamily at Discord notifications with cartoon hearts in my eyes. It feels like my life is going to hell in the cutest, coziest handbasket—which is to say that Michael Burnham could not possibly feel like a more relatable character to me right now.

I continue to have issues with the writing at a strange medium-level—somewhere between micro, where the dialogue and characters are really good, and macro, where I’m digging the pace of the overall season, it almost feels like something went wrong in the assembly process, and the script ended up a little bit less than the sum of its perfectly good parts. Again.

But that’s such vague criticism as to be nearly meaningless, and it’s hardly the most interesting level to spend time on anyway. If I zoom out, the parallel season arcs of “getting used to the future” and “the mystery of the Burn” are hanging together wayyyyy better than the Red Angel saga did last year.

And if I zoom in? This episode was funny as shit, wtf.

The discourse re: Tilly these past couple of weeks has been bullshit, and I have a whole angry thing to say about it—but honestly, if you can’t appreciate Doug Jones and Mary Wiseman as a comedic duo, I’m not really mad: mostly I pity the lack of joy in your heart.

Everyone on this show is so funny. Doug’s prissy little delivery absolutely slaughters me (“Execute!...?”), Mary will make a face sometimes that has me screaming laughter into my hands, and I’ve gone on before—and will again—about Sonequa Martin-Green’s egregiously underrated comedy chops.

They were obviously casting for folks w/ jokes in the new season too: David Ajada is no slouch in the dry-delivery or the goofy-face department; his energy and chemistry with Sonequa are as suited to comedy as they are to romance (i.e. extremely 🥵). Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz we knew about, but Blu del Barrio—a certified tiny baby!!!—holds their own and lands every smartass whiz-kid one-liner just on the right side of “too precious to stand.” (I almost always at least chuckle, and never roll my eyes, and for a “teen genius” character that’s literally as good as it gets.) And living legend Michelle Yeoh is clearly having the time of her life, omfg.

Disco’s not funny-funny like Lower Decks, but they do funny-on-purpose better than any live-action Trek except maybe DS9. They have such a deep comedic bench they don’t even need Tig Notaro—they have her on just to flex, I presume.

(I don’t know if I’m predicting, per se, that Strange New Worlds—with Rebecca Romjin’s deadpan, Anson Mount’s twinkly eyes, and Ethan Peck’s twinkly-eyed deadpan—is going to have a tone somewhere between Disco S3 and LwD—but I mean... it kinda has to, right? And you know they kept the number for Rainn Wilson’s agent.)

***

At the start of this episode, I was “sure, why the fuck not” about First Officer Tilly; by the end, I was completely on board. And to everyone who’s still wringing their hands about “the real military” this (always from people who have no idea how actual militaries work, lol) and “Lt. Nilsson” that (she... already has a job on the ship? And no character traits besides “stoic” and “furrows brow”? Oh, I get it—she’s skinny and blonde)—y’all are kind of embarrassing me.

“Rank” and “position” (and “seniority” and “day-to-day duties”...) aren’t the same thing, in Star Trek or any IRL military. Yes, the permanent first officers of normal-duty Starfleet ships we’ve seen have usually been command-division officers with the rank of Commander—but not always. Star Trek: Discovery-A, if you will, is a unique show about a unique ship in a unique situation: “B-b-but that’s not how they do it on Star Trek!!!” isn’t a legitimate criticism, not of this—it’s the mournful cry of an entitled pissbaby who isn’t having their hand held all the way to the fireworks factory.

Here’s what an argument supported by the text of the first 37 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery actually looks like: Sylvia Tilly is nervous and lacks self-confidence, but once she gets over herself—which she can do pretty much instantly in a crisis, even when hilariously intoxicated—she is competent as hell. In lower-stakes situations, without intense pressure to focus her attention, she sometimes gets sidetracked by her own insecurities; at her best, she channels that anxious energy into ambition, drive, and being scrupulously organized.

The only person Tilly doesn’t always get along with is Stamets, and even Stamets’s husband thinks he’s an asshole. Since Season 1, we’ve seen her easily socializing with the rest of the crew, who seem to universally adore her. And she’s also happy to leave her social comfort zone at a moment’s notice: she aligned herself with Ash Tyler (miss you, Shazad!) when no one else would, and she instantly befriended Po even when Po was in Weird Feral Alien Princess mode and Tilly had salad in her hair. She doesn’t like confrontation, but she’s brave enough to initiate it anyway if she needs to, and she’s compassionate with other people’s feelings while still setting firm boundaries. (Her graceful dodge of Rhys’s tipsy kiss at the party in 1.07 lives rent-free in my head to this day.)

No, Tilly didn’t finish the Command Training Program—but she started it, which is almost certainly more command training than any of the lieutenants whose names we know, all of whom are Ops or Science personnel with, presumably, specialized non-command training of their own. The same could be assumed for any unseen ranking officers on this science ship with an entirely volunteer skeleton crew.

And seriously, about Nilsson: she’s my #3 background bae after Octopus Head and the lady on Pike’s Enterprise with the spiky red face, but her job is Spore Drive Ops, not personnel. If she’s running after Saru with a holo-clipboard, who’s going to look serious and push holo-buttons when there’s a Black Alert? *drops holo-mic* Drumhead!

***

The stuff on Kwejian, though. Ooof. Ol’ Two-Takes Frakes directed this one, and between the kinetic energy he always adds to the camera and the scintillating performances he evokes, things stayed moving so briskly I almost didn’t notice Book’s entire “homeworld” was a rental house outside Vancouver, a couple acres of adjacent woods, and like six or seven people.

It’s a hot mess in retrospect, but in the moment it gave us the intensity of Book and Kyheem trying to hurt each other’s feelings by poking at 15-year-old wounds, which as a sibling with complicated sibling relationships I found both funny and devastating—not to mention Frakes directing “shaky bridge” explosion falls at an obvious intensity of “10” on an outdoor location shoot. It falls apart at the slightest scrutiny, but I can’t lie, on first viewing I was totally along for the ride.

***

I’m dying to see where this Georgiou thing goes. It doesn’t feel like a stretch to assume she got Cronenberg’d a couple weeks ago, probably to get her under the thumb of this century’s Section 31, and that her arc is going to take Michelle Yeoh off this show in a way that sets up the S31 show. But also, I don’t care so much whether I’m right, I just want to watch Michelle Yeoh—and Sonequa Martin-Green, and also David Cronenberg tbh, and bring back Shazad Latif while you’re at it—get wherever they’re going.

It’s also a fun and interesting direction to take the comically-evil comic relief character and show that her performative moustache-twirling is partly habit and partly a transparent emotional defence against very real fear and vulnerability. We’re all products of our circumstances, and a radical enough change in circumstances can afford almost anyone at least the opportunity to change. I can’t say Emperor Georgiou would have been my first choice of protagonist for that storyline, but it’s not like Michelle Yeoh’s not going to fuckin’ crush it.

***

Miscellany:

So the Burn had an origin point, and now that point is broadcasting a signal that’s somehow both a haunting melody that everyone seems to know—but no one can remember learning—and a Federation distress signal. What the fuck, y’all. I have full-body goosebumps just typing that.

Saru workshopping his own captainly catchphrase with the aid of Tilly’s extreme sincerity and organizational skills is probably the funniest thing that’s ever happened on this show—followed closely by the uncomfortably lingering reaction shots when he’s trying them out on the bridge 😂 (And omg please give Rhys and Bryce the dumbass buddy-comedy C-plots they deserve next season, I beg you.)

I would do a little “prop watch” entry on those Kwejianian(?) bolt-throwing rifles, but I’d have to stop drooling over them first. “Curvy polished hardwood” seems to be New Trek shorthand for “extra sleek and futuristic” (cf. the bridge of the USS Titan in the LwD finale), and I have to say: I am fully into it.

Restating my prediction that we will not see Detmer and Owosekun get together this season, because we will find out that they’ve been together for ages. Everyone knew—Pike even knew!—it just never came up in front of the audience before. That would be one of the cutest ways to do it imho, and one of the funniest too, especially as a meta-joke about how much character development didn’t happen in the first two seasons. (That said, if we get to see their first kiss, I will be screaming with incoherent joy for days, so this is a real win-win for me.)

Speaking of cute: IRL spouses Mary Wiseman and Noah Averbach-Katz, both Julliard-trained actors (it’s where they met!), can’t quite hide their chemistry in the scenes between Tilly and Ryn. I loved seeing Tilly be a hardass when Ryn was rude to the captain, but that sparkle in her eyes didn’t quite match the context <3

And speaking of people who are VERY OBVIOUSLY IN LOVE: that last scene with Book and Michael, and his nervous little “yeah, I said it” eyebrow lift, and her irrepressible giggle as she’s walking away... it was almost too much. Especially right after the queer-family scenes with Stamets and Culber and Adira. My poor heart is going through a lot lately, and I guess I’m just glad Season 3’s emotional intensity is melting it with soft sweet scenes like that instead of kicking it down repeated flights of stairs like Season 1.

***

Next week: everyone stops caring about the Burn and starts trying to solve an even more important mystery—why is this (holographic) dude wearing an early-2360s uniform with an early-2370s combadge?