Star Trek: Section 31

[sh9000]

https://www.startrek.com/news/star-trek-section-31-original-movie-event-michelle-yeoh

[Seto Kaiba]

We have literally three seasons of rock-bottom rated Discovery episodes to show why this is a bad idea... but Kurtzman's ilk do not learn from their mistakes.

[Thom]

Yeah, zero interest.

Saturn, over on Starship Modeler, suggested they just put her back in the captain's chair as Captain Philippa Georgiou and build a series out from there. I like that idea.

[Seto Kaiba]

45 minutes ago, Thom said:

Yeah, zero interest.

Saturn, over on Starship Modeler, suggested they just put her back in the captain's chair as Captain Philippa Georgiou and build a series out from there. I like that idea.

I'd watch that... as long as it was prime!Georgiou and not Emperor Georgiou.  I've got no interest in The Continuing Adventures of Girl Space Hitler: Secret Agent.

Prime!Georgiou was the only character in Discovery's first season who acted like she belonged to the Starfleet and Star Trek we know and love.

[tekering]

5 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Prime!Georgiou was the only character in Discovery's first season who acted like she belonged to the Starfleet and Star Trek we know and love.

The only one?  I thought Saru was a quintessentially Star Trek character... 

In fact, he acted more like Spock than Spock did in Discovery. 😅

[Thom]

On 4/18/2023 at 11:01 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

I'd watch that... as long as it was prime!Georgiou and not Emperor Georgiou.  I've got no interest in The Continuing Adventures of Girl Space Hitler: Secret Agent.

Prime!Georgiou was the only character in Discovery's first season who acted like she belonged to the Starfleet and Star Trek we know and love.

Definitely Prime Georgiou!

[sh9000]

 

[Dynaman]

I have Paramount+ so I'll watch this - but if that trailer is any indication I'll only be watching 20 minutes or so of it.

[lechuck]

Eh... seems like they are trying to do a Suicide Squad thing with Star Trek – acid characters with team play. 

I feel like this is not appropriate for something like Star Trek.

[pengbuzz]

This isn't Star Trek.

If I want gritty, dark and dystopian, there are plenty of other franchises for that. They need to give Star Trek a rest for a while (continue SNW but not do much else new) and stop trying to be the next BSG:R

[Seto Kaiba]

*sigh*  In a way, it's kind of impressive how committed Paramount is to ignoring audience feedback.

Star Trek fans said loud and clear (and repeatedly) that they don't want this vaguely racist dystopian misery porn.  That's a big part of why Star Trek: Discovery flopped domestically and internationally and was cancelled two seasons early to finish as the franchise's worst-rated series. 

The whole Section 31 concept was already pretty goofy in Deep Space Nine, but Discovery's version was so incredibly stupid that it was one of the most-mocked parts of the series up to that point.  Even Lower Decks called out how stupid it was.  That's why they put Michelle Yeoh's character on a bus.  I'm amazed she didn't demand to exit sooner, given that she was stuck playing a cringeworthy and deeply racist "yellow peril" villain.

I guess, at the very least, she might be able to use this to add a Razzie to her list of awards, because this looks absolutle dogsh*t.

[Thom]

Yeah, I don't need 'dark and gritty' in Star Trek. The same thing bit it in Battlestar Galactica, and Paramount can't seem to do it well anyway.

Give me Star Trek Legacy, Paramount!

[Mog]

Meh, always viewed Section 31 as the bastards that did the dirty work to keep Starfleet and the Federation “protected.”

Like “Eff your morals and ethics.  If diplomacy ain’t working, we’ll do what needs to be done to keep our side successful.  AND we’ll do it ‘quietly,’ so none are the wiser.”

Which is the exact opposite of what this trailer is trying to promote.

[Dynaman]

1 hour ago, Mog said:

Like “Eff your morals and ethics.  If diplomacy ain’t working, we’ll do what needs to be done to keep our side successful.  AND we’ll do it ‘quietly,’ so none are the wiser.”

Which is the exact opposite of what this trailer is trying to promote.

Section 31 has been like that since it was first brought up.  The supposed secret that EVERYONE knows all about.

[Seto Kaiba]

2 hours ago, Mog said:

Meh, always viewed Section 31 as the bastards that did the dirty work to keep Starfleet and the Federation “protected.”

Like “Eff your morals and ethics.  If diplomacy ain’t working, we’ll do what needs to be done to keep our side successful.  AND we’ll do it ‘quietly,’ so none are the wiser.”

1 hour ago, Dynaman said:

Section 31 has been like that since it was first brought up.  The supposed secret that EVERYONE knows all about.

That's certainly how Sloane presented the organization when it made its debut in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 6's "Inquisition".

Of course, that didn't really last much past their first appearance as by Season 7's "Inter Enim Arma Silent Leges" they had effectively grabbed the villain ball with both hands and transitioned from "so secret even the Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order don't know about them" to being an open secret protected only by the most ridiculous arbitrary skepticism.

Discovery just made it a million times worse by having them walking around openly on starships with special Starfleet badges indicating their affiliation openly.  That series also screwed them up worse by making them more or less indistinguishable from Starfleet Intelligence, borrowing large chunks of plot from the much (and deservedly) maligned DS9 relaunch novel series's Control mini-arc, and turning them into little more than Starfleet's Murder Inc.

 

2 hours ago, Mog said:

Which is the exact opposite of what this trailer is trying to promote.

Yup.  Even the novels, awful as the are, did a better job of depicting Section 31 as a covert organization.

This is like off-brand James Bond, but with a really kitschy sci-fi aesthetic slapped on that manages to look hilariously cheap despite the no doubt ridiculously huge budget.