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2nd episode was better than the first, but still feeling meh overall. I'll keep watching since there's nothing else on anyway. Hopefully it'll pick up. I was expecting something more like Ted in Space.

I want this to become Ship #21 in the background sort of thing.

So, That was a heavy place to go so early in the series. Will be interesting to see some of the discussions that crop up from it.

My wife and I watched the first episode on Amazon last night and we both enjoyed it. It was stupid and a few of the jokes were a bit to forced but it kind of seems like what I always thought the Federation would be more like.

We may actually buy the entire series on Amazon since we don't have cable.

It's getting a bit too preachy for my tastes already with that SJW theme taking too much of the limelight too soon. Star Trek has always had plenty of social commentary (especially during the TOS 60's) but not so much so fast. Following up the "zoos are cruelty to animals and evil!" episode with a combo "let people determine their own gender!" and "girl power!" episode as the first two after the pilot are laying it on a bit thick.

It's supposed to be Star Trek in all but name, if it wasn't laying the "SJW pinko-lieberal agendur" on feet-thick with a cement mixer I'd be disappointed.

Seriously though, why would anyone who uses "SJW" as a serious descriptive term ever want to watch a show like this? It'd be like me hate-watching Fox News and then acting as if I didn't know exactly what I was getting in to.

 Yodhrin wrote:
Seriously though, why would anyone who uses "SJW" as a serious descriptive term ever want to watch a show like this? It'd be like me hate-watching Fox News and then acting as if I didn't know exactly what I was getting in to.

Because the world isn't black and white and divided up neatly between fascists and bolsheviks contrary to what modern extremists would have you believe? There is still plenty of middle ground (albeit fast disappearing) between the two extremes that pervade so much of modern society/media for reasonable people to occupy. You can for instance be an animal lover who is against cruelty to animals without diving completely down the PETA rabbithole of equating animals with humans and declaring all zoos to be barbaric equivalents of kidnapping and incarceration.

This isnt a star trek parody, it IS star trek, but its also trying to be a comedy, its failing hard.

 warboss wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Seriously though, why would anyone who uses "SJW" as a serious descriptive term ever want to watch a show like this? It'd be like me hate-watching Fox News and then acting as if I didn't know exactly what I was getting in to.

Because the world isn't black and white and divided up neatly between fascists and bolsheviks contrary to what modern extremists would have you believe? There is still plenty of middle ground (albeit fast disappearing) between the two extremes that pervade so much of modern society/media for reasonable people to occupy. You can for instance be an animal lover who is against cruelty to animals without diving completely down the PETA rabbithole of equating animals with humans and declaring all zoos to be barbaric equivalents of kidnapping and incarceration.

So, you want them to slowly ease in to it? How many episodes do you want them to wait before the political commentary starts? How many is good for you?

 Dreadwinter wrote:
I read the thread first then watched it. Went in expecting little humor and more drama. I was very surprised, I liked it more than I expected.

Voss wrote:
I'm watching the first episode now it's a bit... eh. A bit too on the nose, and the characters are all apparently rejects for no apparent reason.

Well the main character was supposed to be one of the most promising captains they had seen in a long time, being fast tracked for a heavy combat cruiser. (I forget the name)

Then he found his wife cheating on him, so that seems like a good reason to have a bit of a breakdown.....

He was promising. Then he was a screwup for a solid year. That generally torpedos a career permanently. But then, no one in this series actually acts like they're in a military, even the admiral.

Thinking about it, i realize what my problem with the series is. In Star Trek, the characters are clearly from a different culture with different values and society. In this, the characters are anachronisms- they're lower-middle (the pilots) to middle (the captain and first) class Americans simply dropped into space, despite alien species, a global government, space travel and all the other changes, they're just every-day idiots that you have to stand in line behind in McDonalds. There isn't any sense of universe building, or that people and societies change over time. Everyone just acts like the 'bros' Seth MacFarlane knew in college, except the Data and Worf analogs.

 warboss wrote:

 Yodhrin wrote:
Seriously though, why would anyone who uses "SJW" as a serious descriptive term ever want to watch a show like this? It'd be like me hate-watching Fox News and then acting as if I didn't know exactly what I was getting in to.

Because the world isn't black and white and divided up neatly between fascists and bolsheviks contrary to what modern extremists would have you believe? There is still plenty of middle ground (albeit fast disappearing) between the two extremes that pervade so much of modern society/media for reasonable people to occupy. You can for instance be an animal lover who is against cruelty to animals without diving completely down the PETA rabbithole of equating animals with humans and declaring all zoos to be barbaric equivalents of kidnapping and incarceration.

Zoo's kinda are that though. I mean, I agree, as you'll note if you look up a wee bit, that the zoo thing was heavy handed, but the issue there is more that they used a baseball bat instead of a little tenderizing mallet, not that they weren't hitting the right thing. And it's not as if Trek didn't over-egg the pudding on occasion(or did everyone else actually succeed in forgetting Skants?). Even when they weren't being heavy-handed, they were absolutely being radical in exactly the kind of way you apparently disdain. So again, yeah, this is a case of "you knew what they served when you walked in".

I went in with the lowest of expectations and was pleasantly surprised. If they keep the dumber humor to a relative minimum I can see myself getting into the show. I don't need high art and I won't compare it to the best of TNG, DS9 or SG-1 since we're only three episodes in. That third episode definitely felt Trek-like, at least. Well, except that ending.

I'm liking it so far. Great production values and honestly more like Star Trek than Star Trek Discovery.

Is the show even watchable in the UK yet?

 Compel wrote:
Is the show even watchable in the UK yet?

We bought it on Amazon streaming since we don't have cable any longer. Maybe check that as an option in the UK?

I've been watching it off the Fox website. The commercials are annoying, though.

 Yodhrin wrote:
It's supposed to be Star Trek in all but name,

Indeed. The interesting counterpoint is that Discovery is Star Trek in name only. At least, that was my impression from last night's hour-long commercial for CBS' steaming service.

This falls in a very weird place for me. It has interesting enough characters, very high production values/CGI etc and some ok plots.
But man it is just not funny. At all. Almost awkward at times.
Why they didnt strip out the "humour" and just go for a sci fi show I'll not guess at.....

 Ratius wrote:
Why they didnt strip out the "humour" and just go for a sci fi show I'll not guess at.....

... because Seth likes humor in his shows.

If you want a humorless version, Discovery is over there ====>

New episode is up tonight 9/8c in the US. I'm looking forward to it!

Yep, that last episode was right out of ST. There was an STOS, where a civilization grew up on the planet/ship that was going to hit something or such.

Yeah, the premise has been done before, but the execution was pretty good.

I'm quite happy with the show and will keep watching.

I am surprised at just how good the Orville is. How long has it been since we had a nice, upbeat sci fi show that was fun?

The best part of that picture is the lens flare!

It's amazing how similar the uniforms are. Plus Babylon 5 continues it's record of having the only sci fi uniforms with...pockets.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
Yeah, the premise has been done before, but the execution was pretty good.

I'm quite happy with the show and will keep watching.

Do you know what was great about Ep4? No equivocation. No "everything is grey" smug-centrist gotcha at the end where doing the right thing has a bad outcome designed to make a virtue of political and ethical apathy. Ignorance is bad, knowledge is good, and when you enlighten the ignorant their lives get better. Christ it's been years since you could turn on a sci-fi show and enjoy that kind of story.

Compared to Star Trek: Shoot First Or I'll Mutiny it's a genuine breath of fresh air.

I don't like the way they opened the dome. Shows a giant lack of care or empathy. I mean going out and explaining the truth and helping to ease people into it is one thing. Ripping the sky open with zero explanation or anyone on the ground to issue assurances it's safe or ok? That's mass panic in the streets is what that is.

 AduroT wrote:
I don't like the way they opened the dome. Shows a giant lack of care or empathy. I mean going out and explaining the truth and helping to ease people into it is one thing. Ripping the sky open with zero explanation or anyone on the ground to issue assurances it's safe or ok? That's mass panic in the streets is what that is.

And yet it wasn't, because that's the whole point, to for once not take a biblical, cynical, "knowledge is dangerous and will have unintended consequences" line. To present enlightenment as a good in and of itself, and show that enlightenment comes from the truth gained through knowledge of reality rather than clinging desperately to comfortable beliefs. It's not like they didn't foreshadow the necessity of a "show, don't tell" solution either - the initial reaction of the family, the callback to that reaction by the Reformers, the behaviour of the high prophet guy, all are designed to set up the notion for the ending that sometimes people will cling to those old beliefs in the face of almost any evidence short of the most dramatic, emphatic, undeniable proof presented to them with no opportunity to deflect, deny, or avoid.

Is it having less of the whole Family Guy esque humour now then?

That last episode was straight Star Trek without Kirk' overacting and good fight scenes.