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matt_zimmerAlso a review for the latest episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "Kids These Days"
I am aware the first opinion I offer as I review this show will be majorly ironic coming from me from all people: Internet critics are stupid.
21% on Rotten Tomatoes, guys? Really? Regular critics have a believable 89% favorable view of the first two episodes, but "fans" ratioing this specific show is about the stupidest thing I ever fucking heard. I will not call it great (it's just the Pilot and too soon for that judgment). What I will say is I would have KILLED for something like this after Deep Space Nine went off the air, and I was sleepwalking through the slog that was the last two seasons of Voyager and all of Enterprise.
One of the reasons my reviews were relatively lenient on Star Trek: Discovery, a show I DID by the end wind up disliking, is as much as it fucked up the canon in the first two years, the truth it is it was still miles better than Voyager and Enterprise. And even me having decided I don't like Discovery at all, and that it was ultimately a waste of time? Still true.
Speaking as someone cringing through the darkest six years in Star Trek since the 1970's, that was a'ight.
I didn't love it. I don't USUALLY love Pilots, so no demerits for that. But shit man, what do ya'll even WANT?
Is it being review bombed for being Woke? Cause THAT complaint, is not something an actual fan of the franchise would EVER level against it. Star Trek was Woke before Woke was a thing. Gene Roddenberry was by no means idealoigically perfect (I talk shit about his failings ALL THE TIME) but despite his views being problematic NOW, THEN he was decades ahead of his time on MOST social issues. Not all of 'em. But MOST of 'em. Anyone bitching about that is a rightwing troll who doesn't actually watch or like Star Trek, and yet their deliberately dishonest rating gets the same weight as a person who watched that show and liked (or even disliked) it honestly. Rotten Tomatoes is less handy to me these days in telling me which movies and shows are good, and handier for telling me which shows get under the right people's skin.
While this review is about this subject matter and not the actual show yet, I recall Section 31 going through the same shit. The thing is Section 31 WAS shaky. But the level of hatred it was getting was NOT equivalent to its many real faults, which confused me a little at the time. And if that's true, it was never given a fair shake. This solid and promising premiere being given a 21% score tells me that was probably it. And Section 31 as a franchise just died right there because of it.
Doesn't that just piss you off? People who don't like or watch Star Trek are now essentially determining the future of the franchise. Because that pisses ME off.
All right, enough with the political rants, let's talk about the show. Based on the first episode, this show is NOT wasting the premise of an unexplored 32nd Century the way the last three seasons of Discovery did. We visited Bajor, met a half-Klingon half-Jem'Hadar Starfleet Commander name Thok, we see the EMH from Voyager, and a Klingon, which is I believe the first time we've seen Klingons in the 32nd Century. By the way he looks like a Klingon and not a fucking blue monster. SO glad the likeness rights are back.
A holographic cadet is a fun idea, but I truthfully find SAM as annoying as Thok and the Doctor do. The good news is she is gonna give Robert Picardo some good scenery to chew on, which is probably why she was created to begin with.
The beginning annoyed me, mostly because it felt like Star Trek: Discovery's first episode and being entirely set-up for the actual premise. For Discovery the actual premise landed in Episode 3, but we actually got to Starfleet Academy in this episode so I won't grumble TOO much.
As far as villains go, the Klingerite (am I spelling that right?) Nus Braka as played by Paul Giamatti is pretty good. He's super evil, but the interesting and unique thing about him is that's he funny. Most Star Trek villains outside of Q are not, and really if you want to get down to it, Q was never TRULY a villain. To make a guy as clearly as despicable as Gul Dukat this amusing is a good touch. Also, Giamatti has stated Deep Space Nine is his favorite Star Trek series, so not only is he a fan, he likes the best series best, and also knew enough to look to Gul Dukat for inspiration. This casting is going to work.
Cadet Kraag, the Klingon healer is also interesting. We've seen Klingons in that role before, but the truth is previous Star Trek series resisted showing Klingons with diverse beliefs, even though they were a fucking society, and every one of those has those. DS9 talked about that fact in one of the Ronald D. Moore Klingon episodes (but the show didn't really explore it) and the monks of Boreth as seen on Star Trek: Discovery also suggested this (although all Klingon shit from Discovery being wiped from the canon via Temporal Cold War shenanigans is the first thing on my canon wish list) but it's about time we not only see it, but explored it too.
I have so many questions about Thok. When did the Jem'Hadar become a free species? Is the Dominion still around (we briefly saw a con artist Changeling on Star Trek: Discovery) and if they are, are they at peace with the Federation? How did they get off Ketracel White? Or ARE they off it? When did the Jem'Hadar become capable of breeding and when did female Jem'Hadar start appearing? Or is she only female because her mother was Klingon? Super curious about that. 21%, my ass. Fuck you, trolls. This shit is INTERESTING.
Also, sounds like the Doctor has serious regrets about what happened with (Captain!) Gwyn'dala. Holy shit, what happened there? The Prodigy fan in me sat RIGHT the hell up at that.
Love the new Star Trek at 60 logo.
People have been demanding a Starfleet Academy show since the Berman era, and Berman always whined that it was impossible. What this show proves to me is the problem is that Berman had almost no creative talent. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from the premise, but I’m guessing the reason it’s occurring and working at ALL is because it’s not holding itself to specific expectations and doing its own thing. That’s not bad, or the drama Berman makes it out to be. I feel embarrassed Star Trek was under the watch of a creator so utterly devoid of talent for so long.
So far, so good. Promising (if in places uneven) opener that has intrigued me. Onward to Episode 2! ****.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "Beta Test"
This was a little shakier than the Pilot. Almost ALL second episodes are, even for great shows, so I won't penalize it too much. But I think I will need to get used to the tone of the show and it's something I wasn't exactly expecting (although perhaps I should have).
It's teen soap.
I don't necessarily object to teen soap, and there are a few teen soap projects I even like (the Buffyverse springs immediately to mind). But it's not why I watch Star Trek.
In fairness, Smallville and the Arrowverse were teen soaps too, and they were the first DC projects that were. I got used to them, I guess. But I also never really fully liked them either. I fear that might happen here.
It might not, because in the Pilot, the teen soap was minimal so it might be an episode-to-episode thing.
By the way, I don't like Caleb. For the sole reason that he doesn't like Jett Reno. Now Stamets supposedly didn't either, but he came by his dislike honestly. Caleb instantly disliking Star Trek's Han Solo says he's a shitty judge of character.
Speaking of both that and teen soap, I like that when the Betazoid Princess assumed Caleb had been using her, the show did an interesting thing, that most teen soaps would NOT do, especially for their mopey protagonists. Those other shows would have suggested this WAS Caleb's initial plan all along, and make him feel guilty for supposedly using her. The drama would be him having to be accountable for being an actual asshole. Here he's sorry at first, but a bit shocked by the allegation, mostly because it's untrue. But she demands to know why he wasn't completely honest about it the entire time, and he gets justifiably angry and practically says, "Babe, I knew you for five minutes and you are upset I'm not instantly opening up about my childhood traumas? That is a ridiculous expectation, even for a Betazoid." And you know what? I think people ought to have told off Deanna Troi a lot more often than they actually did. Riker's "We're on equal footing" speech to her in the otherwise forgettable TNG episode "The Loss" resonated with me so much I put in a much more emotionally charged version of that speech in Gilda And Meek. The problem with empaths is the superpower often boils down to narcissism and the utter inability of the empath to remotely understand where the non-empathic person is coming from.
Interestingly enough, he had an iron-clad alibi to PROVE he wasn't ever using her, and I'm surprised he didn't use it himself. But she was the one who brought up that map. He had NO idea that the planet he was searching for was behind the Wall at ALL, or even if it actually existed. Whether it ultimately became a reason for him wanting to see them join the Federation, that whole night they spent together, he didn't even KNOW about it. The ONLY time in their relationship he did was that five minute conversation the next day. Barely two minutes after they discovered that planet she's being dragged off by the royal guards sputtering "But! But!" She's an empath and never got this?
Canon change: Betazoids are referred to explicitly as empaths. They were straight up telepaths on The Next Generation and the show is breaking canon by suggesting otherwise. On the other hand, I think the real reason the Betazoids were used to infrequently back in the day is the level of telepaths they were boxed the story in, especially because they as a society never really considered ANYBODY'S thoughts private. And they had nude weddings! Another thing I paid tribute to in The Un-Iverse.
They made Deanna Troi half-human and an empath to not box things in. Plus, it made it easier for the male characters to conveniently ignore her warnings whenever the writers of that show wanted to get their toxic masculinity on. And that bit happened a LOT (the glass ceiling on Star Trek very much existed for the female characters, Data, and Geordi La Forge). I mentioned in the previous review Gene Roddenberry wasn't progressive or Woke about EVERY single social issue. Feminism was one of the biggest ones he struggled with, and I think that's ultimately why both Troi and the Betazoids were what they were.
Commander Thok is a very amusing character, and I am dying to learn her backstory. But her every interaction with the Cadets has me thinking she ought not to be where she is.
When Ake says to Caleb "This is not about you," THAT'S why I don't like Caleb. Even though she was technically wrong in that specific moment, she only said it BECAUSE he had been making everything else about him up to that point. I get it.
First time seeing the main title. The imagery is good but I have the same complaint about Star Trek: Picard’s first season: The melody is too soft and unmemorable. Not a good look (or rather sound) for a Star Trek Theme.
My reviews of Star Trek: Discovery's last three seasons are me essentially lamenting the fact that the show came up with the single best twist and premise in Star Trek history and never did anything with it. Namely that the show had a brand new entirely unknown and unexplored timeline to go nuts showing off, and telling us new things about it and they utterly wasted it. Deep Space Nine would have taken that and explored the fuck out of the unstable politics of the era, but that never actually interested the Discovery producers, which doesn't just strike me as crazy, but Narrative malpractice too. Starfleet Academy is not repeating those mistakes, and getting a full update on Betazed, a planet never even MENTIONED on Discovery, is the franchise FINALLY Understanding The Assignment.
Not sure what to make off Star Trek as teen soap. I will either get used to it or I won't. But I hope we get more episodes like the Pilot where it's not a driving factor of the drama. ***.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Fidelis Ad Mortem"
Family Guy did a joke about how the actual guilty party on cop shows is always the most famous guy in the opening credits and once Chi McBride’s name appears, the detectives practically looked down and nodded. Granted he wasn’t the main perp, but still.
Griff is still a traitor to SVU. I had been hoping they’d tone that shit down but they haven’t yet.
Couple of funny lines. I love when Leo calls Griff a putz Bruno is like, “He’s not wrong,” and the guy in prison telling Finn looking for the tape was Finn’s job was funny too.
Pretty good episode. ***1/2.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "Kids These Days"
I am aware the first opinion I offer as I review this show will be majorly ironic coming from me from all people: Internet critics are stupid.
21% on Rotten Tomatoes, guys? Really? Regular critics have a believable 89% favorable view of the first two episodes, but "fans" ratioing this specific show is about the stupidest thing I ever fucking heard. I will not call it great (it's just the Pilot and too soon for that judgment). What I will say is I would have KILLED for something like this after Deep Space Nine went off the air, and I was sleepwalking through the slog that was the last two seasons of Voyager and all of Enterprise.
One of the reasons my reviews were relatively lenient on Star Trek: Discovery, a show I DID by the end wind up disliking, is as much as it fucked up the canon in the first two years, the truth it is it was still miles better than Voyager and Enterprise. And even me having decided I don't like Discovery at all, and that it was ultimately a waste of time? Still true.
Speaking as someone cringing through the darkest six years in Star Trek since the 1970's, that was a'ight.
I didn't love it. I don't USUALLY love Pilots, so no demerits for that. But shit man, what do ya'll even WANT?
Is it being review bombed for being Woke? Cause THAT complaint, is not something an actual fan of the franchise would EVER level against it. Star Trek was Woke before Woke was a thing. Gene Roddenberry was by no means idealoigically perfect (I talk shit about his failings ALL THE TIME) but despite his views being problematic NOW, THEN he was decades ahead of his time on MOST social issues. Not all of 'em. But MOST of 'em. Anyone bitching about that is a rightwing troll who doesn't actually watch or like Star Trek, and yet their deliberately dishonest rating gets the same weight as a person who watched that show and liked (or even disliked) it honestly. Rotten Tomatoes is less handy to me these days in telling me which movies and shows are good, and handier for telling me which shows get under the right people's skin.
While this review is about this subject matter and not the actual show yet, I recall Section 31 going through the same shit. The thing is Section 31 WAS shaky. But the level of hatred it was getting was NOT equivalent to its many real faults, which confused me a little at the time. And if that's true, it was never given a fair shake. This solid and promising premiere being given a 21% score tells me that was probably it. And Section 31 as a franchise just died right there because of it.
Doesn't that just piss you off? People who don't like or watch Star Trek are now essentially determining the future of the franchise. Because that pisses ME off.
All right, enough with the political rants, let's talk about the show. Based on the first episode, this show is NOT wasting the premise of an unexplored 32nd Century the way the last three seasons of Discovery did. We visited Bajor, met a half-Klingon half-Jem'Hadar Starfleet Commander name Thok, we see the EMH from Voyager, and a Klingon, which is I believe the first time we've seen Klingons in the 32nd Century. By the way he looks like a Klingon and not a fucking blue monster. SO glad the likeness rights are back.
A holographic cadet is a fun idea, but I truthfully find SAM as annoying as Thok and the Doctor do. The good news is she is gonna give Robert Picardo some good scenery to chew on, which is probably why she was created to begin with.
The beginning annoyed me, mostly because it felt like Star Trek: Discovery's first episode and being entirely set-up for the actual premise. For Discovery the actual premise landed in Episode 3, but we actually got to Starfleet Academy in this episode so I won't grumble TOO much.
As far as villains go, the Klingerite (am I spelling that right?) Nus Braka as played by Paul Giamatti is pretty good. He's super evil, but the interesting and unique thing about him is that's he funny. Most Star Trek villains outside of Q are not, and really if you want to get down to it, Q was never TRULY a villain. To make a guy as clearly as despicable as Gul Dukat this amusing is a good touch. Also, Giamatti has stated Deep Space Nine is his favorite Star Trek series, so not only is he a fan, he likes the best series best, and also knew enough to look to Gul Dukat for inspiration. This casting is going to work.
Cadet Kraag, the Klingon healer is also interesting. We've seen Klingons in that role before, but the truth is previous Star Trek series resisted showing Klingons with diverse beliefs, even though they were a fucking society, and every one of those has those. DS9 talked about that fact in one of the Ronald D. Moore Klingon episodes (but the show didn't really explore it) and the monks of Boreth as seen on Star Trek: Discovery also suggested this (although all Klingon shit from Discovery being wiped from the canon via Temporal Cold War shenanigans is the first thing on my canon wish list) but it's about time we not only see it, but explored it too.
I have so many questions about Thok. When did the Jem'Hadar become a free species? Is the Dominion still around (we briefly saw a con artist Changeling on Star Trek: Discovery) and if they are, are they at peace with the Federation? How did they get off Ketracel White? Or ARE they off it? When did the Jem'Hadar become capable of breeding and when did female Jem'Hadar start appearing? Or is she only female because her mother was Klingon? Super curious about that. 21%, my ass. Fuck you, trolls. This shit is INTERESTING.
Also, sounds like the Doctor has serious regrets about what happened with (Captain!) Gwyn'dala. Holy shit, what happened there? The Prodigy fan in me sat RIGHT the hell up at that.
Love the new Star Trek at 60 logo.
People have been demanding a Starfleet Academy show since the Berman era, and Berman always whined that it was impossible. What this show proves to me is the problem is that Berman had almost no creative talent. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from the premise, but I’m guessing the reason it’s occurring and working at ALL is because it’s not holding itself to specific expectations and doing its own thing. That’s not bad, or the drama Berman makes it out to be. I feel embarrassed Star Trek was under the watch of a creator so utterly devoid of talent for so long.
So far, so good. Promising (if in places uneven) opener that has intrigued me. Onward to Episode 2! ****.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "Beta Test"
This was a little shakier than the Pilot. Almost ALL second episodes are, even for great shows, so I won't penalize it too much. But I think I will need to get used to the tone of the show and it's something I wasn't exactly expecting (although perhaps I should have).
It's teen soap.
I don't necessarily object to teen soap, and there are a few teen soap projects I even like (the Buffyverse springs immediately to mind). But it's not why I watch Star Trek.
In fairness, Smallville and the Arrowverse were teen soaps too, and they were the first DC projects that were. I got used to them, I guess. But I also never really fully liked them either. I fear that might happen here.
It might not, because in the Pilot, the teen soap was minimal so it might be an episode-to-episode thing.
By the way, I don't like Caleb. For the sole reason that he doesn't like Jett Reno. Now Stamets supposedly didn't either, but he came by his dislike honestly. Caleb instantly disliking Star Trek's Han Solo says he's a shitty judge of character.
Speaking of both that and teen soap, I like that when the Betazoid Princess assumed Caleb had been using her, the show did an interesting thing, that most teen soaps would NOT do, especially for their mopey protagonists. Those other shows would have suggested this WAS Caleb's initial plan all along, and make him feel guilty for supposedly using her. The drama would be him having to be accountable for being an actual asshole. Here he's sorry at first, but a bit shocked by the allegation, mostly because it's untrue. But she demands to know why he wasn't completely honest about it the entire time, and he gets justifiably angry and practically says, "Babe, I knew you for five minutes and you are upset I'm not instantly opening up about my childhood traumas? That is a ridiculous expectation, even for a Betazoid." And you know what? I think people ought to have told off Deanna Troi a lot more often than they actually did. Riker's "We're on equal footing" speech to her in the otherwise forgettable TNG episode "The Loss" resonated with me so much I put in a much more emotionally charged version of that speech in Gilda And Meek. The problem with empaths is the superpower often boils down to narcissism and the utter inability of the empath to remotely understand where the non-empathic person is coming from.
Interestingly enough, he had an iron-clad alibi to PROVE he wasn't ever using her, and I'm surprised he didn't use it himself. But she was the one who brought up that map. He had NO idea that the planet he was searching for was behind the Wall at ALL, or even if it actually existed. Whether it ultimately became a reason for him wanting to see them join the Federation, that whole night they spent together, he didn't even KNOW about it. The ONLY time in their relationship he did was that five minute conversation the next day. Barely two minutes after they discovered that planet she's being dragged off by the royal guards sputtering "But! But!" She's an empath and never got this?
Canon change: Betazoids are referred to explicitly as empaths. They were straight up telepaths on The Next Generation and the show is breaking canon by suggesting otherwise. On the other hand, I think the real reason the Betazoids were used to infrequently back in the day is the level of telepaths they were boxed the story in, especially because they as a society never really considered ANYBODY'S thoughts private. And they had nude weddings! Another thing I paid tribute to in The Un-Iverse.
They made Deanna Troi half-human and an empath to not box things in. Plus, it made it easier for the male characters to conveniently ignore her warnings whenever the writers of that show wanted to get their toxic masculinity on. And that bit happened a LOT (the glass ceiling on Star Trek very much existed for the female characters, Data, and Geordi La Forge). I mentioned in the previous review Gene Roddenberry wasn't progressive or Woke about EVERY single social issue. Feminism was one of the biggest ones he struggled with, and I think that's ultimately why both Troi and the Betazoids were what they were.
Commander Thok is a very amusing character, and I am dying to learn her backstory. But her every interaction with the Cadets has me thinking she ought not to be where she is.
When Ake says to Caleb "This is not about you," THAT'S why I don't like Caleb. Even though she was technically wrong in that specific moment, she only said it BECAUSE he had been making everything else about him up to that point. I get it.
First time seeing the main title. The imagery is good but I have the same complaint about Star Trek: Picard’s first season: The melody is too soft and unmemorable. Not a good look (or rather sound) for a Star Trek Theme.
My reviews of Star Trek: Discovery's last three seasons are me essentially lamenting the fact that the show came up with the single best twist and premise in Star Trek history and never did anything with it. Namely that the show had a brand new entirely unknown and unexplored timeline to go nuts showing off, and telling us new things about it and they utterly wasted it. Deep Space Nine would have taken that and explored the fuck out of the unstable politics of the era, but that never actually interested the Discovery producers, which doesn't just strike me as crazy, but Narrative malpractice too. Starfleet Academy is not repeating those mistakes, and getting a full update on Betazed, a planet never even MENTIONED on Discovery, is the franchise FINALLY Understanding The Assignment.
Not sure what to make off Star Trek as teen soap. I will either get used to it or I won't. But I hope we get more episodes like the Pilot where it's not a driving factor of the drama. ***.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "Fidelis Ad Mortem"
Family Guy did a joke about how the actual guilty party on cop shows is always the most famous guy in the opening credits and once Chi McBride’s name appears, the detectives practically looked down and nodded. Granted he wasn’t the main perp, but still.
Griff is still a traitor to SVU. I had been hoping they’d tone that shit down but they haven’t yet.
Couple of funny lines. I love when Leo calls Griff a putz Bruno is like, “He’s not wrong,” and the guy in prison telling Finn looking for the tape was Finn’s job was funny too.
Pretty good episode. ***1/2.
