Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:27 pm**

That's true. I don't remember there being any instance in which they weren't portrayed as the bad guys. I mean, it's strange within the concept of Starfleet. I can understand a secret organization as some form of protection within the service sort of like the CIA or MI5, but they're more like rogues without rules, which feels at odds with Starfleet's entire ideology. In terms of the role it served dramatically though, I think it was supposed to show that Starfleet wasn't as perfect as we all thought, that it had its own darkness. But we pretty much know that now and a S31 series wouldn't be as well served today.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:31 pm**

Rumpy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:27 pm That's true. I don't remember there being any instance in which they weren't portrayed as the bad guys. I mean, it's strange within the concept of Starfleet. I can understand a secret organization as some form of protection within the service sort of like the CIA or MI5, but they're more like rogues without rules, which feels at odds with Starfleet's entire ideology. In terms of the role it served dramatically though, I think it was supposed to show that Starfleet wasn't as perfect as we all thought, that it had its own darkness. But we pretty much know that now and a S31 series wouldn't be as well served today.

Also Discovery isn't really "dark" or bleak. Especially given Burnham's arc on Season 1 - she goes from her mutiny in the first episode to wholeheartedly embracing Federation ideals and rejecting the Section 31 plot at the end because "this is not what Starfleet is", etc. Actually one thing I like quite a bit about discovery is that it maintains Star Trek idealism (so it's not like a gritty reboot or anything), but at the same time adds things like swearing, parties, and (frankly) distinct character personalities that make the universe feel a little more lived in.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:33 pm**

Oh thank goodness. I was afraid I was the only one defending Discovery at this point.

And yes, Discovery does embrace Federation optimism and altruism FAR more than people who've only watched a few episodes of season 1 think.

I suspect a Section 31 series will be more about its leader (who was introduced...twice...in season 1 of Discovery) slowly comes to embrace everything that Starfleet espouses...although not without a lot of struggles.

And those Star Trek Shorts? Those are almost all fantastic. I can't recommend them enough.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:23 pm**

Section 31 show is the one I'm least interested in. I don't want yet another show about how people who know better than the rest of us should be above the law.

I'll still give Section 31 a try, but I wish they were doing something else instead. I'm hoping the rumors of a Pike-focused show are true.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:28 pm**

ydejin wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 5:23 pm Section 31 show is the one I'm least interested in. I don't want yet another show about how people who know better than the rest of us should be above the law.

I'll still give Section 31 a try, but I wish they were doing something else instead. I'm hoping the rumors of a Pike-focused show are true.

I wish they would do a show set in the Star Trek universe but outside of Starfleet. Well, I guess Picard fits that, but what would be really great would be a Romulan-based show (which would also end unemployment among makeup artists).

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:32 pm**

Id like it to follow Shran and the Andorians.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:26 pm**

The other thing about Section 31 is that, at least in the TNG era (I haven't caught up on Discovery), not exactly a part of the Federation. They'd been disbanded. They weren't operating with Federation support or knowledge.

Sort of like if all all the intelligence people Trump fired decided to form their own agency to save the US in secret, and just happened to call themselves the OSS.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:00 pm**

El Guapo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:31 pm Also Discovery isn't really "dark" or bleak. Especially given Burnham's arc on Season 1 - she goes from her mutiny in the first episode to wholeheartedly embracing Federation ideals and rejecting the Section 31 plot at the end because "this is not what Starfleet is", etc. Actually one thing I like quite a bit about discovery is that it maintains Star Trek idealism (so it's not like a gritty reboot or anything), but at the same time adds things like swearing, parties, and (frankly) distinct character personalities that make the universe feel a little more lived in.

I'm not so much talking about its content, but the tone and approach they chose to take. From the first few episodes on, it's quite clearly a darker Trek than we had seen to that point. I watched about 6-7 episodes of Season one before throwing in the towel and I feel I gave it an appropriate chance to impress me before I made up my mind. I felt the Klingon-War angle was poorly done and that was just the tip of the iceberg with the problems I had with it.

Posted: **Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:46 pm**

You missed a lot of character and story arcs that brought it around to where it always was intending to go. It started dark because it needed to show that growth. You didn’t like it, that’s fine. But for this old Trek fan, it really is pretty damn faithful to the heart of Star Trek.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 6:32 pm Id like it to follow Shran and the Andorians.

Weren’t they at Woodstock?

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:04 pm**

I’m a big fan of Picard’s Romulan domestics. I want them to have a spin-off series. Someone make it so.

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:26 pm**

hepcat wrote:
And those Star Trek Shorts? Those are almost all fantastic. I can't recommend them enough.

The tribble episode was really good and you'll never look at the tribble in the same way again.

And I love Discovery! It's a good time to be a Star Trek fan and Discovery helped to get the ball rolling.

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:34 pm**

hepcat wrote:I’m a big fan of Picard’s Romulon domestics. I want them to have a spin-off series. Someone make it so.

They're the Romulan Mr. and Mrs. Smith!

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:31 pm**

Sheesh, I spelled Romulan wrong. I was fighting spellcheck over its desire to go with Romulus, in my defense.

Posted: **Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:42 pm**

I think it has to be told Romulus is destroyed.

Posted: **Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:05 am**

Rumpy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:00 pm
El Guapo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:31 pm Also Discovery isn't really "dark" or bleak. Especially given Burnham's arc on Season 1 - she goes from her mutiny in the first episode to wholeheartedly embracing Federation ideals and rejecting the Section 31 plot at the end because "this is not what Starfleet is", etc. Actually one thing I like quite a bit about discovery is that it maintains Star Trek idealism (so it's not like a gritty reboot or anything), but at the same time adds things like swearing, parties, and (frankly) distinct character personalities that make the universe feel a little more lived in.
I'm not so much talking about its content, but the tone and approach they chose to take. From the first few episodes on, it's quite clearly a darker Trek than we had seen to that point. I watched about 6-7 episodes of Season one before throwing in the towel and I feel I gave it an appropriate chance to impress me before I made up my mind. I felt the Klingon-War angle was poorly done and that was just the tip of the iceberg with the problems I had with it.

That's fine, but mostly as an FYI the core arc of season 1 is Burnham coming around to fully embrace Federation idealism. There's also a late reveal about the Discovery captain which explains a lot about some of the early dark tones of the show.

Posted: **Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:25 am**

El Guapo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:05 am
Rumpy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:00 pm
El Guapo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2020 4:31 pm Also Discovery isn't really "dark" or bleak. Especially given Burnham's arc on Season 1 - she goes from her mutiny in the first episode to wholeheartedly embracing Federation ideals and rejecting the Section 31 plot at the end because "this is not what Starfleet is", etc. Actually one thing I like quite a bit about discovery is that it maintains Star Trek idealism (so it's not like a gritty reboot or anything), but at the same time adds things like swearing, parties, and (frankly) distinct character personalities that make the universe feel a little more lived in.
I'm not so much talking about its content, but the tone and approach they chose to take. From the first few episodes on, it's quite clearly a darker Trek than we had seen to that point. I watched about 6-7 episodes of Season one before throwing in the towel and I feel I gave it an appropriate chance to impress me before I made up my mind. I felt the Klingon-War angle was poorly done and that was just the tip of the iceberg with the problems I had with it.
That's fine, but mostly as an FYI the core arc of season 1 is Burnham coming around to fully embrace Federation idealism. There's also a late reveal about the Discovery captain which explains a lot about some of the early dark tones of the show.

And that's the thing. At the time, I really wasn't in the mood for the type of story it was trying to tell. The darker tone was at odds with what I wanted in a Trek show, so it had trouble getting off the ground for me, and given it being a serial type of show, I knew it wasn't going to change anytime soon. I might go back and check it out, but it wasn't exactly a priority for me.

Posted: **Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:39 am**

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:25 am and given it being a serial type of show, I knew it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

It did.

Posted: **Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:07 pm**

Yes, I know that. But keep in mind if someone doesn't like the current direction, the disadvantage of it being a serial is that we have to sit through all that before getting to the good stuff. And for some, it's a bit much.

Posted: **Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:09 pm**

I even liked most of the stuff you hated, so I was fine.

Posted: **Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:17 am**

Yeah, I realize that. Different strokes...

Posted: **Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:42 pm**

Its really nice to see these 3 just sit and talk together. Jonathan Frakes is 21 years older than Patrick Stewart when Stewart started as Captain Picard. Stewart was 47 and Jonathan is now 68. Geez. I remember when Frakes was on The Waltons as Ashley Longworth Jr and in Beulah Land.

Posted: **Sat Mar 07, 2020 1:19 pm**

I thought the constant introduction of classic characters would get cloying after a while, but damn if they don’t make it seem perfectly natural. I must admit to a tear or two every now and again whenever they touch a nostalgic nerve.

Posted: **Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:24 pm**

hepcat wrote:I thought the constant introduction of classic characters would get cloying after a while, but damn if they don’t make it seem perfectly natural. I must admit to a tear or two every now and again whenever they touch a nostalgic nerve.

They actually have played the introduction of classic characters well and it's rather nice how they've even grown beyond their original characters.

Posted: **Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:39 pm**

When the Pakleds show up, though, it's gonna get weird.

Posted: **Sat Mar 07, 2020 11:26 pm**

It was perhaps my favourite episode to date, with the Freecloud episode being my least favourite.

Posted: **Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:21 am**

The Freecloud episode wasn’t great, but it did give Stewart a chance to ham it up. I appreciated that.

Posted: **Sun Mar 08, 2020 2:42 pm**

For me, as a french speaker, it had the complete opposite effect. It took me out of the episode, and from that point on all I could see the episode as were silly shenanigans, and I couldn't even take the villainess seriously in falling for it.

Posted: **Mon Mar 09, 2020 8:00 am**

That’s why I said it was hammy.

Posted: **Mon Mar 09, 2020 8:08 am**

I enjoyed seeing pimps in space with Patrick Stewart indulging himself. But I also thought the more serious Seven of Nine storyline was really well done.

The space spam pop-ups were pretty hysterical too.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:34 pm**

Picard was pretty awesome tonight. Lots of revelations tonight rather than just question after question. Lots of introspection. One of my favourite episodes. Although saying that, it made me realize that this really isn't TNG Picard, and they were more or less saying that in the lead up to the series. It's more like he's movie Picard, following the lines of the movies, and this series could easily have been a movie if it hadn't been for the fact that Trek movies at the moment aren't a hot priority and that Viacom and CBS were in the process of merging when this series was in production. Other than that, I could easily picture this as a movie re-introducing Picard.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:55 pm**

Agreed. Great pair of episodes these past two weeks.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:37 am**

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:55 pm Agreed. Great pair of episodes these past two weeks.

I fell asleep again.

I don't know what it is about this show - I'm enjoying it - but I fall asleep at least half the time we watch it.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:03 pm**

Hmm, I might have to restart my Stellaris game over as an AI empire after watching this Thursday's episode...

Posted: **Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:32 pm**

You can watch CBS All Access for free with the code GIFT. Steward tweeted it out...so go watch all of Picard and if you're ok with the other thing you can watch Discovery. Or I guess anything on CBS.

https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek- ... ck-stewart

Along with the code word "GIFT" (which unlocks the service until April 23), Stewart delivered the message to fans, "It's felt good to bring Picard back. I can't wait to reunite with our cast and crew for Season 2."
TV Shows to Watch in 2020
IGN has confirmed with CBS that the code unlocks the full CBS All Access library, not just Star Trek: Picard, and it's valid for both the commercial-free and limited commercial subscription tiers. There's never been a better time to finally binge Picard, Discovery, The Twilight Zone or the various other CBS All Access-exclusive series.

Posted: **Tue Mar 24, 2020 4:17 pm**

Is season 1 complete?

Posted: **Tue Mar 24, 2020 4:20 pm**

Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 4:17 pm Is season 1 complete?

Finale is this coming Thurs.

Posted: **Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:03 am**

Just binge watched all episodes of Picard. Phew, that's some great ending in every episode so far, while leaving enough for you to go Holy ****, how will they get out of this one!

Now I need to catch up on Discovery too.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:49 am**

Alright, just watched the Picard season finale. It's great they are willing and able to do things no one else dared to do... KILL CHARACTERS permanently.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2020 8:47 am**

Loved this show from beginning to end except for

Spoiler:

But other than that, it was a fantastic show.

Posted: **Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:49 am**

I found the ending disappointing.

Spoiler:

Octopus Overlords

[TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?

Re: [TV] New Star Trek Show in Development?