As an optimist, I was always willing to give Star Trek: Discovery a chance. And I think it deserves a chance. It's a whiz-bang adventure with a strong continuous plot and decent characterization. But — and I can't believe I'm saying this — it doesn't feel like the Star Trek I know.
As a consumer, I've always liked Myth Arcs, so the fact that DISCO is more serialized than DS9 is exciting to me. The show also earns its place as a prequel; the first season is a reconstruction of nothing less than Starfleet as a whole, while the second helps set up TOS. The show does swerve into modern trends, with its emphasis on spectacle (especially its vainglorious redesigns of pre-established elements), but these always happen because media is constantly evolving, and the show at least bothers to retcon them. It fits into the space that J. J. Abrams carved out for the franchise: witty, visually stunning, filled with cute little Continuity Nods and some truly superlative acting.
But it also retains the biggest sin of the preboot franchise: it moves too fast.
Discovery's seasons only last for about 15 episodes, but they each have had enough plot for 20. The seasons feel rushed; there are entire episodes' worth of ideas that just don't get touched on. Even more than that, what's there feels weightless. Cool things happen, but Discovery never stops to think about those things, and as a result the events seem inconsequential. Sometimes it's in such a rush that it doesn't even have time to explain its own rules, much less discuss them in the greater context of canon; things just happen because the showrunners want them to. The show is sloppy, when it shouldn't be, not bothering to deal with consequences or fallout. That's frustrating, because consequences, fallout, were what elevated Trek. Leave that out, and you just have another science-fiction property.
And don't get me wrong: we need more science-fiction! But we also need a show that asks us to think about What You Are in the Dark. We need more Star Trek. And I wish we were getting it.
DISCO: A Two-Season Retrospective
As an optimist, I was always willing to give Star Trek: Discovery a chance. And I think it deserves a chance. It's a whiz-bang adventure with a strong continuous plot and decent characterization. But — and I can't believe I'm saying this — it doesn't feel like the Star Trek I know.
As a consumer, I've always liked Myth Arcs, so the fact that DISCO is more serialized than DS9 is exciting to me. The show also earns its place as a prequel; the first season is a reconstruction of nothing less than Starfleet as a whole, while the second helps set up TOS. The show does swerve into modern trends, with its emphasis on spectacle (especially its vainglorious redesigns of pre-established elements), but these always happen because media is constantly evolving, and the show at least bothers to retcon them. It fits into the space that J. J. Abrams carved out for the franchise: witty, visually stunning, filled with cute little Continuity Nods and some truly superlative acting.
But it also retains the biggest sin of the preboot franchise: it moves too fast.
Discovery's seasons only last for about 15 episodes, but they each have had enough plot for 20. The seasons feel rushed; there are entire episodes' worth of ideas that just don't get touched on. Even more than that, what's there feels weightless. Cool things happen, but Discovery never stops to think about those things, and as a result the events seem inconsequential. Sometimes it's in such a rush that it doesn't even have time to explain its own rules, much less discuss them in the greater context of canon; things just happen because the showrunners want them to. The show is sloppy, when it shouldn't be, not bothering to deal with consequences or fallout. That's frustrating, because consequences, fallout, were what elevated Trek. Leave that out, and you just have another science-fiction property.
And don't get me wrong: we need more science-fiction! But we also need a show that asks us to think about What You Are in the Dark. We need more Star Trek. And I wish we were getting it.