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Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:12 am
by Jeemie
Caught the premiere last night.

Let me say it's a good thing I can get access to British Netflix and so do not have to shell out for CBS All Access because the first episode did nothing to make me shell out the money for it.

I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was most definitely "meh".

Since I can watch the next couple of episodes for free, I will do so to see if it gets any better, but its quality so far definitely reflects its troubled production history.

And I completely understand why CBS/Paramount went out of its way to squelch Axanar Productions, because the fan movie they were producing (if I can judge from the teaser movie they put out Prelude to Axanar) was shaping up to be a FAR better production than what CBS has laid out so far.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:40 am
by jarnon
Haven't watched the first episode yet. If I agree with your review, I'll wait to rejoin CBS All Access until season 2 of The Good Fight (an excellent show) begins, then catch up on Star Trek.

Anybody watching The Orville? It's pretty good, but Star Trek could sue for copying.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 4:44 am
by Jeemie
Finished the second episode. A little better, but still VEEERRRY slow-paced...and still no...you know...starship Discovery yet?

That's a lot of set-up for characters that were just temporary guest stars. But I guess they had to make sure Michelle Yeoh got her screen time...

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 4:10 pm
by tubadave
First off.... I think CBS is a bunch of d-bags for putting the first hour of their premiere night on broadcast, and then putting the second hour behind their little paywall.

I signed up for All-Access when I saw that there was a free week. The second episode (or second half of the premiere, or however they've classified it) was an improvement over the first part, but it still felt pretty bland and slow-paced to me. Not particularly.....Trek-ish, if you will.

And could we PLEASE stop overhauling the look of the Klingons? I understood that they looked campy in TOS, and was fine with them being made to look more "alien" in ST III, TNG, etc. But this new look didn't really make any sense to me.

I went to cancel All-Access (I am NOT paying them for one tv show, even if it isn't that much money) and when I clicked the button, it said "Wait! Have a free month!". So I've now got All-Access through October. I'll hang around for a few more episodes, but it's likely that I'll be waiting until after the fact. I wasn't alive for TOS, but there's not been a ST series since that I've avidly followed from Day One, instead always catching up on them later. This one will likely be the same.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:52 pm
by silverscreenselect
tubadave wrote:First off.... I think CBS is a bunch of d-bags for putting the first hour of their premiere night on broadcast, and then putting the second hour behind their little paywall.
HBO, Showtime, Starz, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others put all their hours of original TV programming behind their little firewalls. Why should you single out CBS which actually made one hour available on broadcast TV?

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 1:05 am
by Estonut
silverscreenselect wrote:
tubadave wrote:First off.... I think CBS is a bunch of d-bags for putting the first hour of their premiere night on broadcast, and then putting the second hour behind their little paywall.
HBO, Showtime, Starz, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others put all their hours of original TV programming behind their little firewalls. Why should you single out CBS which actually made one hour available on broadcast TV?
I would think a cheap-ass like you might realize that it might have something to do with the fact that viewing CBS has been free for what, 90 years? Did any on your list ever broadcast for free?

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 5:09 am
by silverscreenselect
Estonut wrote:I would think a cheap-ass like you might realize that it might have something to do with the fact that viewing CBS has been free for what, 90 years? Did any on your list ever broadcast for free?
Well, yes, Hulu is owned by a consortium of ABC/Disney, NBC, and Fox. CBS declined to get involved because they thought they could do better on their own, leading to CBS All Access.

But you won't get to see any episodes of Hulu originals like the Emmy winning Handmaid's Tale or Stephen King's 11-22-63 for free on any of the Hulu owners' channels. So, who's the bad guy here?

If you want to say CBS All Access isn't worth the monthly charge, that's one thing. But CBS All Access isn't CBS; it's an entirely different medium. CBS is trying to capitalize on its brand and the content it provides to make this venture successful, and it may or may not work. But Star Trek Discovery was never intended to be offered for free, and CBS never disguised that fact. The show wouldn't exist if not for CBS All Access. Complaining about this is like complaining that theaters charged admission for the Star Trek movies when the TV show was free.

And, PS, Disney is developing its own channel and it's going to pull all the Disney/Marvel/Star Wars properties from competitors like Netflix as soon as existing contracts expire.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 6:05 am
by Jeemie
The more I reflect on it, the more I believe the Axanar movie was going to be 1000x better than this, so I can see why it was squelched.

Some of the fan fiction is pretty damn good

Hell, this was a finer episode of Star Trek than many of the hours put out on any of the series.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 12:11 pm
by ghostjmf
Just to clarify, Hulu used to be free. For years. Now it is not.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 12:20 pm
by jarnon
ghostjmf wrote:Just to clarify, Hulu used to free. For years. Now it is not.
So CBS is just as greedy as the networks that own Hulu.

They probably observed that viewers are willing to pay cable companies, Internet providers, etc. to watch TV shows that are broadcast for free, and they wanted a bigger piece of the action. If consumers are willing to pay for a product, like bottled water or a pillow and blanket on an airplane, it won't be free for long. OTOH, I haven't seen a pay toilet in years.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:48 pm
by Jeemie
jarnon wrote:
ghostjmf wrote:Just to clarify, Hulu used to free. For years. Now it is not.
So CBS is just as greedy as the networks that own Hulu.

They probably observed that viewers are willing to pay cable companies, Internet providers, etc. to watch TV shows that are broadcast for free, and they wanted a bigger piece of the action. If consumers are willing to pay for a product, like bottled water or a pillow and blanket on an airplane, it won't be free for long. OTOH, I haven't seen a pay toilet in years.
Go to London.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 5:48 am
by ghostjmf
I also have not seen pay toilets since I was a child. Is there a law now against them?

At 2 fairgrounds I go to, one for a music festival, one for a fair, they have attendants in the restrooms who tell you which stall is open & in one case hand you paper towels. They expect a tip. I don't know if they're hired or are volunteers who work entirely for those tips.

Needless to say, probably, since I can find empty stalls & towels w/o help, I find this creepy; these restrooms stay clean, but so do restrooms that are cleaned regularly.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:20 am
by silverscreenselect
ghostjmf wrote:Needless to say, probably, since I can find empty stalls & towels w/o help, I find this creepy; these restrooms stay clean, but so do restrooms that are cleaned regularly.
The purpose is probably not to keep the restrooms clean, but to keep them "clean" of illicit activity, primarily drugs and romantic encounters.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:34 am
by Bob Juch
ghostjmf wrote:I also have not seen pay toilets since I was a child. Is there a law now against them?

At 2 fairgrounds I go to, one for a music festival, one for a fair, they have attendants in the restrooms who tell you which stall is open & in one case hand you paper towels. They expect a tip. I don't know if they're hired or are volunteers who work entirely for those tips.

Needless to say, probably, since I can find empty stalls & towels w/o help, I find this creepy; these restrooms stay clean, but so do restrooms that are cleaned regularly.
Most states have outlawed pay toilets.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:41 am
by silverscreenselect
Bob Juch wrote:
ghostjmf wrote:I also have not seen pay toilets since I was a child. Is there a law now against them?

At 2 fairgrounds I go to, one for a music festival, one for a fair, they have attendants in the restrooms who tell you which stall is open & in one case hand you paper towels. They expect a tip. I don't know if they're hired or are volunteers who work entirely for those tips.

Needless to say, probably, since I can find empty stalls & towels w/o help, I find this creepy; these restrooms stay clean, but so do restrooms that are cleaned regularly.
Most states have outlawed pay toilets.
The Lament of the Pay Toilet

Here I sit, broken hearted.
Paid a nickel and only
Spoiler
farted
.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:46 am
by littlebeast13
The last, and in fact only pay toilet I ever remember seeing was at the laundromat my Mom used to wash our clothes at in the 80's. It cost a dime to take a leak...

lb13

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:58 am
by ghostjmf
SSS: Considering the huge lines, during all the hours the attendants are on duty, for the stalls, there's unlikely to be sex going on. The only people going 2 into one stall are parent & child, or very handicapped person w/ helper.

As for drugs; no way the attendant's going to know, any more than I would.

I vote for "old retainer, with family connections to fairground". At one fairground, New York's Altamont Fairground, there's a specific family involved.

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:56 am
by T_Bone0806
I love how this thread went from a discussion of the new Star Trek series to a discussion of pay toilets. :lol: :lol: :lol:

However, I'm not quite sure how the producers of the show would feel about it. :shock: :oops: :shock:


It doesn't constitute a very "stellar" review. :roll:

Re: Star Trek Discovery

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 1:52 pm
by Jeemie
When more people have signaled they've seen it, I'll discuss Episode 3.

Let's just say...a quantum leap up in quality...looks like the production crew has settled it down.

Think Deep Space Nine (which was my very favorite Star Trek) only...darker.

There's an echo there of what Star Trek used to be.

And Jason Isaacs is a terrific actor.