Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)

[derex3592]

QFT about the 1st 3 seasons of TNG.  Other than a few standouts having to do with space/time stuff, "Where Silence Has Lease" and "We'll Always Have Paris" come to mind,  the "species of the week on planet X and their problems" are the episodes I skip right over., ohh and most Counselor Troy or Crusher episodes are kinda like Family Guy Meg episodes..LOL . Nope..next. . Other than the one where Crushers trapped in the warp shell bubble thing, that one was pretty good. 

[David Hingtgen]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

HA! I see what you did there @myk Love me some Pitch Meetings.

And making Pitch Meeting references is super-easy, barely an inconvenience. 

[Seto Kaiba]

1 hour ago, Dynaman said:

TOS was the sixties version and did it FAR better.  The 30 minute runtime on the animated show probably hurt in that regard.  TNG's first three seasons were mostly dreadful for that reason (in a late eighties nineties way) but near the end of the third season they figured out what they were doing wrong and did a course correction.

For what it's worth, when my dad introduced me to Star Trek: the Animated Series via bootleg VHS tapes he scored at a convention my gut reaction was that TAS did a pretty good job replicating the lighthearted space adventure feel of many of the Pocket Books novels that I read as a kid.  It didn't have a lot of the high-handed moralizing or social allegory, it was mostly just new, lighthearted space adventures with the crew of the USS Enterprise.

That sense of fun is something I kind of miss in Star Trek these days.  Even if the actors didn't always get on, the characters of the various previous generations of Star Trek shows always felt like they enjoyed their jobs and each other's company.  They could be just as entertaining f*cking around on the ship as they could in life-threatening space adventures.  They got along well enough for them to tease each other and play pranks.  They could have a laugh on the job, y'know? 

You don't really get that lighthearted and entertaining camaraderie in J.J.-Trek or Star Trek: Discovery and I doubt we'll see any of it in Picard.  In J.J.-Trek, despite how Spock Prime harps on how never were there truer friends than Jim Kirk and Spock, everyone on the crew of the Enterprise seems to hate Kirk.  Spock loathes him and (correctly) thinks he's an impulsive moron, Uhura thinks he's a dimwitted jock (and she's right), Pike thinks he's too rough around the edges to be useful, and Scotty, Chekhov, and Sulu seem to just tolerate him as duty requires.  It's even worse in Star Trek: Discovery.  The characters in STD HATE each other.  The only one in the cast who had a sense of humor was Georgeau Prime.  Everyone seems to dislike Burnham - and understandably so given that she's a bigot and incredibly manipulative - but Saru is especially vocal about it, everyone's wary of Lorca because he's so obviously evil, Stamets is just rude and dismissive to everyone, Culber is passive-aggressive as f*ck, Voq/Tyler is even more racist than the main character is and only really gets along with Lorca, Spock rips into several different people, and Tilly is so obnoxious that she was assigned to double accommodations and couldn't keep a roommate.  There's no sense that these people are having fun or enjoy each other's company.  In most cases, they seem to loathe each other.  The only one who doesn't react with hostility even if treated with it is Discovery's Captain Pike.  They're miserable all the time, and watching them feels miserable.

[CoryHolmes]

11 hours ago, myk said:

I liked that episode because the Hirogen forced Jeri Ryan to dress up as a sultry lounge singer.   Forcing sexy women to sing is TIGHT...

You make a very compelling argument 

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

For what it's worth, when my dad introduced me to Star Trek: the Animated Series via bootleg VHS tapes he scored at a convention my gut reaction was that TAS did a pretty good job replicating the lighthearted space adventure feel of many of the Pocket Books novels that I read as a kid.  It didn't have a lot of the high-handed moralizing or social allegory, it was mostly just new, lighthearted space adventures with the crew of the USS Enterprise.

That sense of fun is something I kind of miss in Star Trek these days.  Even if the actors didn't always get on, the characters of the various previous generations of Star Trek shows always felt like they enjoyed their jobs and each other's company.  They could be just as entertaining f*cking around on the ship as they could in life-threatening space adventures.  They got along well enough for them to tease each other and play pranks.  They could have a laugh on the job, y'know? 

You don't really get that lighthearted and entertaining camaraderie in J.J.-Trek or Star Trek: Discovery and I doubt we'll see any of it in Picard.  In J.J.-Trek, despite how Spock Prime harps on how never were there truer friends than Jim Kirk and Spock, everyone on the crew of the Enterprise seems to hate Kirk.  Spock loathes him and (correctly) thinks he's an impulsive moron, Uhura thinks he's a dimwitted jock (and she's right), Pike thinks he's too rough around the edges to be useful, and Scotty, Chekhov, and Sulu seem to just tolerate him as duty requires.  It's even worse in Star Trek: Discovery.  The characters in STD HATE each other.  The only one in the cast who had a sense of humor was Georgeau Prime.  Everyone seems to dislike Burnham - and understandably so given that she's a bigot and incredibly manipulative - but Saru is especially vocal about it, everyone's wary of Lorca because he's so obviously evil, Stamets is just rude and dismissive to everyone, Culber is passive-aggressive as f*ck, Voq/Tyler is even more racist than the main character is and only really gets along with Lorca, Spock rips into several different people, and Tilly is so obnoxious that she was assigned to double accommodations and couldn't keep a roommate.  There's no sense that these people are having fun or enjoy each other's company.  In most cases, they seem to loathe each other.  The only one who doesn't react with hostility even if treated with it is Discovery's Captain Pike.  They're miserable all the time, and watching them feels miserable.

Yup, pretty much. I'm surprised that one of the crew hasn't whipped out a phaser and incurred some "23rd century workplace hostility" from out of nowhere already.

[tekering]

7 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

There's no sense that these people are having fun or enjoy each other's company.  In most cases, they seem to loathe each other.  The only one who doesn't react with hostility even if treated with it is Discovery's Captain Pike.

Except when Michelle Paradise took over ("Project Daedalus"), and suddenly the bridge crew were all buddy-buddy in the mess hall... just long enough to convince us that Airiam's death would have an emotional impact.  

[Seto Kaiba]

10 hours ago, tekering said:

Except when Michelle Paradise took over ("Project Daedalus"), and suddenly the bridge crew were all buddy-buddy in the mess hall... just long enough to convince us that Airiam's death would have an emotional impact.  

Yeah, that was pretty forced... especially the incredibly weak attempt to build up the girl who looks like Mecha Freeza into an actual character right before killing her off.

Based on what's said in Patrick Stewart's interview with Variety, it sounds like Star Trek: Picard is going to be similarly acrimonious since Patrick Stewart is apparently channeling his own dissatisfaction with British politics into the plot so the Federation is turning isolationist and a man who was formerly a model statesman and so on is commenting on how he's going to be dropping F-bombs...

[derex3592]

Greeeaaaat…..

[pengbuzz]

the last thing we need is Patrick Stewart trying to channel his inner Samuel L. Jackson...

[Seto Kaiba]

12 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Greeeaaaat…..

Yup... from everything that we've heard directly from people involved in the production, Star Trek: Picard is shaping up to be a gritty, action-oriented, dystopian TNG fanfic.

 

5 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

the last thing we need is Patrick Stewart trying to channel his inner Samuel L. Jackson...

More his inner John McClane... not that Insurrection didn't have some weirdly Die Hard-y vibes to it already.

[peter]

As long as it sticks to the prime timeline, I might give it a go.  If it's in the JJ-verse, and even has hints of STD, I'm walking away from the dumpster fire known as Star Trek.

[Seto Kaiba]

Just now, peter said:

As long as it sticks to the prime timeline, I might give it a go.  If it's in the JJ-verse, and even has hints of STD, I'm walking away from the dumpster fire known as Star Trek.

We've already heard from CBS and the showrunners that it's building on the events of Star Trek: Countdown, the limited comic series that was the launching point for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek soft reboot alternate universe.  We know from the leaks that Star Trek: Picard has Star Trek: Discovery visual aesthetics, and we know from the showrunners that they intend to do references to Star Trek: Discovery in Star Trek: Picard and vice versa.  It's allegedly Prime Universe, but it's in the same twisted version of the Prime Star Trek universe that the Star Trek: Discovery series belongs to.

[peter]

9 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

We've already heard from CBS and the showrunners that it's building on the events of Star Trek: Countdown, the limited comic series that was the launching point for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek soft reboot alternate universe.  We know from the leaks that Star Trek: Picard has Star Trek: Discovery visual aesthetics, and we know from the showrunners that they intend to do references to Star Trek: Discovery in Star Trek: Picard and vice versa.  It's allegedly Prime Universe, but it's in the same twisted version of the Prime Star Trek universe that the Star Trek: Discovery series belongs to.

Wow. 

It looks to me like they're just dragging back some of the cast of TNG to lend credibility to this dying franchise.  

 

[Mazinger]

I don't think I'm capable from disowning anything Trek, except for complete Kelvin/JJVerse stories.  Because those are crap.

But TV land Trek has had just enough Trek for me to stay in it.

Guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

Actually I know I am.  Very few undertake a full Voyager re-watch knowing what they are about to be subjected to.

[Seto Kaiba]

25 minutes ago, peter said:

Wow. 

It looks to me like they're just dragging back some of the cast of TNG to lend credibility to this dying franchise.  

Exactly.  I said as much a few posts back.  Star Trek: Picard is an attempt to lure Star Trek fans who'd abandoned the franchise after J.J.-Trek and Star Trek: Discovery, because it turns out Jason Isaacs was dead wrong when he boasted that Star Trek: Discovery didn't need the Star Trek fanbase to be a success.  Merchandise isn't selling anymore, because casual audiences don't buy expensive collectibles.  Star Trek: Picard is a bait-and-switch attempt to lure fans back to the franchise with the promise of familiar faces and names (many of which have been indicated to be glorified cameos) in the hopes that new Trek will grow on them like a parasitic fungus and they'll stick around instead of being repulsed.

[Seto Kaiba]

1 minute ago, Mazinger said:

Guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

Actually I know I am.  Very few undertake a full Voyager re-watch knowing what they are about to be subjected to.

"Glutton for punishment" doesn't cover it... that's full-on cenobite.  

[Mommar]

1 hour ago, peter said:

Wow. 

It looks to me like they're just dragging back some of the cast of TNG to lend credibility to this dying franchise.  

 

The franchise is not dying.  They're actively putting it down.

[peter]

1 hour ago, Mazinger said:

I don't think I'm capable from disowning anything Trek, except for complete Kelvin/JJVerse stories.  Because those are crap.

But TV land Trek has had just enough Trek for me to stay in it.

Guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

Actually I know I am.  Very few undertake a full Voyager re-watch knowing what they are about to be subjected to.

Star Trek TV for the most part works for me as well, except STD, I haven't found any motivation to give it a try beyond the snippets of seeing the Enterprise on short youtube clips.

As for Voyager, I could sit through an entire re-watch of Voyager over a single episode of M7, lol!

Patrick Stewart is awesome, and Picard as a character is one of my favorite captains, however I am steadily losing interest watching this series.

[peter]

8 minutes ago, Mommar said:

The franchise is not dying.  They're actively putting it down.

Lol!  So true.

Galaxy Quest really was the last good Star Trek Film

[Mommar]

23 minutes ago, peter said:

Star Trek TV for the most part works for me as well, except STD, I haven't found any motivation to give it a try beyond the snippets of seeing the Enterprise on short youtube clips.

This sums up JJ-anything.  The only thing worth watching is the special effects reel on youtube.

[Chronocidal]

2 hours ago, peter said:

Wow. 

It looks to me like they're just dragging back some of the cast of TNG to lend credibility to this dying franchise.  

 

Keep in mind.. the "Prime" universe is not the "Canon" universe.  "Prime" is the moniker they've tacked onto everything written under the alternate post-divorce contract language that declared everything had to be different from the original Trek series and movies through Nemesis.  All this series is going to amount to is alternate-universe fanfic that happens to use warped versions of characters we remember in new and probably disrespectful ways.

[Mog]

2 hours ago, peter said:

Lol!  So true.

Galaxy Quest really was the last good Star Trek Film

I actually had to look it up and saw that Galaxy Quest was released AFTER First Contact.

Always thought it was the other way around. 

[Dobber]

3 hours ago, peter said:

Lol!  So true.

Galaxy Quest really was the last good Star Trek Film

Lol...I always think that Master and Commander: The Far side of the World was the last great Trek movie.  A brash young Captain who is in love with his ship and who’s best friend and confidant is a scientist and the ships Doctor. He’s dedicated to the mission but would sacrifice all for his friend while exploring the unknown. 

Chris

[Sildani]

Greatest holodeck run ever!

[Seto Kaiba]

7 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Keep in mind.. the "Prime" universe is not the "Canon" universe.  "Prime" is the moniker they've tacked onto everything written under the alternate post-divorce contract language that declared everything had to be different from the original Trek series and movies through Nemesis. 

Well, yeah... that's the conclusion that the Star Trek fanbase reached after Star Trek: Discovery came out and revealed itself to be an atrocious mess almost entirely unlike the Star Trek fans had known and loved for six previous TV series and ten feature films.  CBS (or as viewers have it, "See? BS!") is adamant that what they call Star Trek's "Prime" universe is the same universe and timeline that all pre-Abrams Star Trek works belong to.  It's one of many failed efforts to make Star Trek: Discovery more palatable to fans, after fans were rejecting the series before it even aired because of the obvious continuity-f*ckery.  Much like how Paramount had to do an awful lot of backpedaling after fans picked up on their intention of treating Star Trek 2009 as a franchise reboot and rushed to insist it was just an alternate universe story in the hopes of not losing their audience.

So, at the very least, the official line is that the "Prime" universe is the official canon one of old.  They've written a number of their tie-ins for Star Trek: Discovery on the basis of that as well, like having some members of Discovery's crew involved in the arrest of Governor Kodos ("the Executioner") from TOS.  Bringing in the Enterprise along with Captain Pike, Number One, and Spock was a move intended to reinforce that line as well.

 

7 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

All this series is going to amount to is alternate-universe fanfic that happens to use warped versions of characters we remember in new and probably disrespectful ways.

Its cup already runneth over with stupid fanfic-y bullsh*t.  I think the best example is right in the trailer, with career stoic Seven of Nine blasting away with a phaser rifle in each hand like she's assimilated the memories of John f*cking Rambo.  An isolationist, regressive Federation ripe for all kinds of gritty edgelord bullsh*t narratives?  A bunch of main characters "going rogue".  Patrick Stewart's said he's got political motivations for setting the story up this way, but TBH the point he's trying to make the what they did with the setting are headed in two completely different directions.

[pengbuzz]

16 hours ago, peter said:

As long as it sticks to the prime timeline, I might give it a go.  If it's in the JJ-verse, and even has hints of STD, I'm walking away from the dumpster fire known as Star Trek.

"hints of STD"? At this rate,  the franchise is dying from EVERY STD imaginable!!!!

Edited January 17, 2020 by pengbuzz

[UN Spacy]

LETS F’N GO’

 

 

[Seto Kaiba]

1 hour ago, UN Spacy said:

LETS F’N GO’

 

 

Let's not, and say we did.

I've seen nothing to convince me that Star Trek: Picard isn't more of the same cancer that Discovery represents.  I can only hope that Amazon won't bow to pressure from CBS to renew despite sh*tty viewership the way Netflix did.  It seems CBS's new approach to keep its shows funded is to threaten to sue any investors who try to bail after a project obviously fails.

[derex3592]

I'll wait for reviews that are fair and impartial before I watch it. 

[peter]

19 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Let's not, and say we did.

I've seen nothing to convince me that Star Trek: Picard isn't more of the same cancer that Discovery represents.  I can only hope that Amazon won't bow to pressure from CBS to renew despite sh*tty viewership the way Netflix did.  It seems CBS's new approach to keep its shows funded is to threaten to sue any investors who try to bail after a project obviously fails.

Is STD on Netflix?  I didn't even bother checking, lol!

[azrael]

34 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

I'll wait for reviews that are fair and impartial before I watch it. 

I'll just watch it myself and see if I like it or not.

[Seto Kaiba]

34 minutes ago, peter said:

Is STD on Netflix?  I didn't even bother checking, lol!

Well, yes and no.

CBS got Netflix to fund production of Star Trek: Discovery in exchange for the exclusive rest-of-world distribution rights to the series.  So Netflix carries the series practically everywhere except the United States, where it's only available through CBS's proprietary CBS All Access streaming service.  Netflix's discontent with the sluggish viewership numbers of the series in overseas markets and CBS's own exaggerations of viewership and CBS All Access subscription numbers were a big part of what prompted Netflix to consider withdrawing from funding the series last year, and the reduced budget for season three.  (CBS reportedly resorted to threatening to sue Netflix if it withdrew from funding the series, claiming that by backing out Netflix would be responsible for CBS's lost investment in developing the series.)

CBS struck a similar deal with Amazon to get Star Trek: Picard funded.  Amazon Prime carries it in most markets, but US customers have to have a CBS All Access subscription to view the series.

Mind you, some feature content is missing in select markets.  The "Short Treks" are apparently only available in select markets outside the US due to low interest (according to CBS).

[Seto Kaiba]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

I'll wait for reviews that are fair and impartial before I watch it. 

Will such a thing exist?  The Amazon-owned media are already going hard and fast attacking Star Trek fans for not being keyed up about Star Trek: Picard.

It's a similar version of the trick Disney tried with The Last Jedi, trying to brand critics as racists and sexists.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Seto Kaiba

[derex3592]

I agree it may be hard to find such reviews.  IF it were on Amazon Prime in the US, I would definitely watch it and let the chips fall where they may, but I refuse to pay for the CBS streaming service. Already shelling out for Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus and the stupid ATT Now TV  app for the wife (that has DOUBLED in price since I got it) that she thinks she'll die without. uhhgg. Enoughs enough on the streaming fees. $105 internet a month on top of that. I'm tapped out.

[Seto Kaiba]

Yeah, that's one reason that video piracy is on the rise again... now that every content creator is trying to launch their own dedicated streaming service, the streaming market's so fragmented that the cost to the consumer is growing exponentially.

So many of these junk streaming services like CBS All Access, Disney+, and HBO Now are propped up by a single big-budget show that emphatically isn't worth the monthly subscription cost, but they're counting on devoted fans to prop up what would otherwise be an unsustainable business model.

I tried CBS All Access, and found it so offensively bad in terms of service quality that I dropped it pretty much right away.  With the current state of Star Trek as a new breed of mindless trash TV, I'm not sure I'll even bother to pirate Star Trek: Picard.  The entire premise sounds f*cking awful, and it's building off material we already know is awful.