Star Trek

[Tetto]

Just watched the crossover episode today. It was ok. But I'm wondering - what's happened to the tech babble? I think SNW has cut way down on the tech babble when explaining some anomaly or emergency, no? Has anyone else noticed this? I understand that TOS used to have scripts that would read along the lines of "the anomaly is producing a [TECH] distortion field." I guess it was lame, as somebody, particularly in TOS, was just making up terms, but it did satisfy my human need for a cause and effect narrative. Now it seems as though it's a shrug of the shoulders and no attempt to give some kind of scientific/tech explanation, as though "we know it's BS, so we won't try." More honest, perhaps, but I keep waiting for a fuller explanation, made up or not. There was some kind of magic element, "honorarium"(?) but no explanation beyond the name, and a simple assertion that it was no longer around, let alone why it was needed.

But I suppose many prefer a bald plot assertion to some obviously made-up explanation!

I have another month of Paramount Plus, and am considering stuffing in some Lower Decks episodes. Guess I'll give it a try. Picard seems too confusing and depressing, and Discovery so far in the future, and everybody says the first half of that series is irrelevant.

Agree with you completely. I’ve really not enjoyed this new series after all. Stupid jokes, bad acting and portrayal of Captain Pike as a buffoon. Its as far from TNG as an amoeba is in intelligence vs Spock….

 

[MuirWannabe]

Under the Cloak of War S02E08

A solid entry. Not a hint of comedy, rather a very serious, sober look at the consequences of war. It would be tempting to call it the PTSD episode, and it has this theme, but it's so much more than that. The story flips from the present, where the Enterprise is bringing a repentant Klingon general turned diplomat to a Starbase, and the past during a battle between Starfleet and the Klingon empire.

Flashback to when Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are working in a field hospital during the Klingon war. Basically, it's M*A*S*H* on a moon. Things get very gruesome and dark on the moon with casualties mounting up.

Back in the present, Captain Pike is doing what he does best, namely hosting a dinner party. The guests are most of the bridge crew and the Klingon diplomat. The mood is tense as several of the Enterprise crew are unconvinced the general has reformed.

M'Benga gets a nice role here, his past history explored. I wouldn't say he does a good job acting, unless you think wearing a permanent scowl and whispering your lines qualifies as good acting. We learn more about how Nurse Chapel and M'Benga met and why they have such strong bonds.

There is a surprise twist at the end and the consequences of M'Benga's actions are swept under the rug by Pike, something that he's done quite frequently for his crew members. I hardly think this one will be forgotten, however.

I give this episode an 8.0 out of 10.

Wait, what?

I thought the next episode was a Broadway musical. Did JoeWras prank us?

Maybe I should watch this episode. I had given up.

 

[JoeWras]

Wait, what?

I thought the next episode was a Broadway musical. Did JoeWras prank us?

Maybe I should watch this episode. I had given up.

Other people kept saying "next" episode, I said "upcoming" and I mentioned Aug 3 a few times, and the trailer I posted it said so too.

This is all due to the fact that Paramount bollixed up the schedule by the surprise drop of the crossover episode.

So, put on your tophat and find your cane, tomorrow is musical time!










... Do you want any information on the upcoming black and white episode in sepia tone? ... (that's a prank, I hope)

 

[Qs Laptop]

Wait, what?

I thought the next episode was a Broadway musical. Did JoeWras prank us?

The musical crossover episode "Subspace Rhapsody" drops at midnight tonight (12:01am Thurs, Aug. 3)

Maybe I should watch this episode. I had given up.

It's a for real serious episode with far reaching consequences. Pike doesn't do anything and there are no strange new worlds explored, but still a good to great episode, especially after the dreck we've had this season.

 

[MuirWannabe]

The musical crossover episode "Subspace Rhapsody" drops at midnight tonight (12:01am Thurs, Aug. 3)







It's a for real serious episode with far reaching consequences. Pike doesn't do anything and there are no strange new worlds explored, but still a good to great episode, especially after the dreck we've had this season.

Thanks. Maybe I’ll watch it. Maybe. Why is Pike even in this show? You have very accurately nailed him in your reviews.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Other people kept saying "next" episode, I said "upcoming" and I mentioned Aug 3 a few times, and the trailer I posted it said so too.

This is all due to the fact that Paramount bollixed up the schedule by the surprise drop of the crossover episode.

So, put on your tophat and find your cane, tomorrow is musical time!










... Do you want any information on the upcoming black and white episode in sepia tone? ... (that's a prank, I hope)

Ok, I really thought you had pulled one over on me with the musical. It was so very believable given the other insane episodes they’ve given us. And, in fact, it’s more than believable, I guess it’s real. Count me out. Won’t need my top hat nor cane. I’m sure it will be the greatest most meaningful episode ever. I just hope Pike is careful with his kitchen knives as he’s busy tripping the light fantastic.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Thanks. Maybe I’ll watch it. Maybe. Why is Pike even in this show? You have very accurately nailed him in your reviews.

Pike hasn't done any leading of the crew or anything meaningful other than in "Among the Lotus Eaters", the story where the away team started losing their memories. Otherwise, he hasn't been in the story, or he's been merely an observer, or he's been a dinner host. At least James Kirk is not in "Under the Cloak of War."

 

[JoeWras]

Pike hasn't done any leading of the crew or anything meaningful other than in "Among the Lotus Eaters", the story where the away team started losing their memories. Otherwise, he hasn't been in the story, or he's been merely an observer, or he's been a dinner host. At least James Kirk is not in "Under the Cloak of War."

His leading apparently is as "Executive Chef."

Disappointing.

 

[JoeWras]

Under the Cloak of War S02E08

A solid entry. Not a hint of comedy, rather a very serious, sober look at the consequences of war. It would be tempting to call it the PTSD episode, and it has this theme, but it's so much more than that. The story flips from the present, where the Enterprise is bringing a repentant Klingon general turned diplomat to a Starbase, and the past during a battle between Starfleet and the Klingon empire.

Flashback to when Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are working in a field hospital during the Klingon war. Basically, it's M*A*S*H* on a moon. Things get very gruesome and dark on the moon with casualties mounting up.

Back in the present, Captain Pike is doing what he does best, namely hosting a dinner party. The guests are most of the bridge crew and the Klingon diplomat. The mood is tense as several of the Enterprise crew are unconvinced the general has reformed.

M'Benga gets a nice role here, his past history explored. I wouldn't say he does a good job acting, unless you think wearing a permanent scowl and whispering your lines qualifies as good acting. We learn more about how Nurse Chapel and M'Benga met and why they have such strong bonds.

There is a surprise twist at the end and the consequences of M'Benga's actions are swept under the rug by Pike, something that he's done quite frequently for his crew members. I hardly think this one will be forgotten, however.

I give this episode an 8.0 out of 10.

Just watched it. Your review is spot on.

I suspect we'll have follow ons to the events of this episode.

I'll say this: my dad was in WWII and he has a story about his sargent that would fit right into M'Benga's story.

Oh, and yeah, Pike is still weak. This is getting old.

 

[Chuckanut]

To explore strange new worldsTo seek out new life and new civilizations

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Alas, the last episode with the Klingon ambassador was far too predictable. They did not explore a strange new world but rehashed what happened on an old world. They did not seek out a new civilization but stayed with one that is well known. And they went back to a place where many humans had been before.

The show is going backwards.

 

[JoeWras]

I did it. I watched the musical episode.

The reason for the musical was, uh, sketchy at best. So it goes.

Some of the actors were very talented, some had autotune turned up to 11.

Don't watch it if you can't stomach the idea. As a musical, I thought some of the numbers were actually very good. The reason for the ending was another Deus Ex Machina, which SNW has had a habit of.

Oh, and there's a point where you expect something but don't get it. You KNOW this will be paid off in the end. It was. That made it way too predictable.

Comedy? A lot of it. Self awareness, maybe breaking the 4th wall? Too much.

As for story, well, as mentioned it is all kind of bogus, but in the end, the story moves forward 3 or 4 different relationships. At least 3. This is for better or worse. This episode is really all about relationship back story and character back story.. Read a synopsis, or I'll put one later. I don't want to spoil anything for those who are willing to just let this flow. I know some won't and will skip it, that's OK. Your choice.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I did it. I watched the musical episode.

The reason for the musical was, uh, sketchy at best. So it goes.

Some of the actors were very talented, some had autotune turned up to 11.

Don't watch it if you can't stomach the idea. As a musical, I thought some of the numbers were actually very good. The reason for the ending was another Deus Ex Machina, which SNW has had a habit of.

I will watch this episode but I've got a packed weekend planned, so might not be till Sunday night or even Monday. I'll have to avoid spoilers until then.

I figured the reason for the musical would be shaky and now you confirmed it. Is it one of the reasons I previously listed in another post?

I've become accustomed to deus ex machina endings, so nothing new there.

Comedy? A lot of it.

Oh joy. Just what I'm looking for in a television program about exploring outer space.

Self awareness, maybe breaking the 4th wall? Too much.

This trope is getting stale as well.

 

[Chuckanut]

Thank goodness the musical Star Trek episode is about relationships.

For a minute I thought they would waste our time with the Enterprise crew finding new life forms, new civilizations, and boldly going where no human had gone before.

 

[JoeWras]

Comedy? A lot of it.

Oh joy. Just what I'm looking for in a television program about exploring outer space.

Just wait, you're gonna love it.

 

[JoeWras]

Thank goodness the musical Star Trek episode is about relationships.

For a minute I thought they would waste our time with the Enterprise crew finding new life forms, new civilizations, and boldly going where no human had gone before.

Well they did find a new "anomaly".

...

Early IMDB ratings are... not favorable. People liked the cartoon episode, not so much here. It is currently slightly ahead of the fair tale episode last season, but I think it may tank below.

 

[ShadowBloom]

[Not sure what the spoiler policy is in this forum, so a warning that there are some spoilers below.]

I liked Captain Pike in the first season of SNW, enough that I went back to watch the Discovery episodes he was in (I had bailed on Discovery's first season quickly). But this season it seems he's a different person: he's mostly either absent or incredibly tentative for a starship captain. In the episode where Uhura was seeing things, once she explained what she thought the solution was, he literally asked her what the play was, and let her, an ensign, give the order to fire. In this last episode, the musical one, I don't remember exactly what it was, but in one of the conferences where they were discussing potential solutions, he also just seemed very weak.

Also, in an earlier post I had mentioned that I liked the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode, and I don't think this one compares. In particular, except for the finale, the songs were pretty much solos or two people. That was needed for the solution to their problem to work, but it made the songs much less complex than the ones in Buffy, where the music really drove the story forward with multiple characters (more than two!) singing to, with, and about each other in the same number. There also wasn't much variation in the musical style of the songs here. Overall, I thought it was kind of both silly and boring.

 

[JoeWras]

Pike is very weak. It is my biggest complaint.

There was one meeting in the musical where he asserted authority, then a few minutes later back to weak.

 

[Zathras]

You guys are way too harsh.
I am enjoying SNW quite a bit, and very much enjoy Pike.

And this week was a much needed silly episode after the previous week's incredibly heavy one.
Both good, but in very different ways.

 

[Yipper]

^^^
[emoji1303]

 

[pb4uski]

The musical episode was lame for the most part, except Uhura has an incredibly good voice. And as always, Nurse Chapel is hot!

 

[JoeWras]

The musical episode was lame for the most part, except Uhura has an incredibly good voice. And as always, Nurse Chapel is hot!

Remember, Uhura sang in TOS, so I thought it was a nice consistency of backstory. It is hard to remember, but TOS had some musical-like numbers too. So this last episode wasn't all crazy.

Oh, and Una is hotter.

To complete the fan service, all they need to do now is use the soft lens when showing Nurse Chapel. It wouldn't surprise me if it happens some day.

 

[JoeWras]

I liked S2, E10.

There's some shooting, finally. We meet someone new who is old.

There's some tech babble.

And we get an explanation (sort of), on something we were discussing earlier regarding Pike's character.

What I didn't like? Some strong derivative story lines plucked right out of a few of the most important SciFi movies. I won't mention them now to avoid spoilers, we can discuss after a few days when people get a chance to see it.

 

[DrRoy]

We are rather behind the curve with BNW. I have been OK with it, not highly impressed. DW likes it better. We just saw S1E10. I loved it. "Balance of Terror" is my favorite TOS episode, and I thought they did a great job to weave it in. I think it will be hard for them to put up one that I like more. Still, now we have the whole S2.

 

[CaptTom]

Catching up on SNW now, still a few episodes behind.

Just watched two back-to-back "body snatchers" episodes. These are what I call it when the writers devise some way to change the characters' personalities. Sometimes it's a flat-out parasitic thing, other times it's something else. In these two it was (1) some poorly-defined "radiation" which made everyone forget, and (2) an advanced alien race which was able to "fix" a badly injured character but used the wrong DNA.

Besides getting stale, this plot line is always full of glaring flaws. For example, injecting something which somehow "restores" the right DNA isn't going change anyone's physiology, much less brain synapses, immediately. We've learned a lot more about how DNA works since TOS. There's a lot more to it than that. Even if we were to change all the DNA in every cell, it wouldn't be expressed until that cell divided. Biology is so much more complex than these plot lines suggest.

OK, suspending my disbelief, I'd give these maybe a 6 out of 10. There was some character development and the story line did hold my attention. I just wish they'd move back toward science fiction and away from pure fantasy.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Subspace Rhapsody
S02E09

This is the Star Trek musical episode. With “Subspace Rhapsody” I wanted to give the writers credit for trying something daring but in the end it achieved the same result as if Captain Pike were to make a banana/cauliflower pizza. Different and daring, but not many people are going to like it.

Still, I was willing to give it a try. Once the singing started, I admit I couldn’t look away. The show had the weird attraction of a Dr. Pimple Popper episode; eagerly watching to see what new cringe they could inflict upon you.

I was wondering, how will the writers concoct the reason characters burst into song and dance? Turns out it doesn’t really matter—it could have been drugs, or a highly contagious alien infection, or a field in space that makes you do improbable things, yeah, that’s it, an improbability field. (Much scientific hand-waving babble ensues. Field harmonics and a Heisenberg compensator, anyone?)

The problem with this episode is the highly improbable things that happen to the crew is it turns them into an angsty, introspective, blubbering self-psychoanalyst. The song’s lyrics are about each crew member’s perceived emotional flaws. Basically, they contemplate their navels.

Musically, many of the songs were surprisingly good. La’an quickly sees that the song and dance routine can be emotionally dangerous and she tries to quash her urges to sing, but she can’t resist. I liked La’an’s song about needing a new paradigm, needing to open up more to people and not be so emotionally reserved. Apparently, she was so terrified of having to sing another song that she broke direct orders and revealed her feelings to another crew member, including top secret information about time travel. No biggie though, as it apparently was La’an’s turn to disobey orders without consequences.

Nurse Chapel’s celebratory song in the bar about her life changing due to an educational opportunity was done with panache. Uhura’s song about her self-revelation that she’s always there for everyone else and when will she get a break(?) was rousing. Spock’s song about being dumped fell flat. So did Una’s song about…what was Una’s song about?

Pike’s angst was about whether or not he should take a vacation with his girlfriend, even singing about it while on the bridge. Really? Pike’s emotional problem was whether or not he was treating his girlfriend properly? Remember the subplot from S01 about Pike having visions of the future and his own death? And his efforts to find a way to change that possible future? I would think that would rise to the level of angst before a decision on whether to go camping or to a tourist trap for vacation.

And speaking of someone that should have been singing of his inner conflicts for the entire episode, what about Dr. M’Benga? The doctor with the Hippocratic oath who is secretly a killer? I would think that would generate some angst on the supernova scale. But no, he barely whistles in this episode. Maybe the autotune couldn’t fix his voice.

The sets seemed better than usual. We get to see the insides of a Jeffries tube which looks surprisingly accurate to the those seen in TOS. Spock’s viewfinder at his science station on the bridge gets a nice nostalgic look. While obviously lip-synching, the actors seemed to enjoy themselves. Pike cooks. Spock doesn’t smile. No strange new worlds are explored.

There is a final show-stopping musical finale that ushers in this week’s deus ex machina moment. (I did enjoy the scene of the Klingons being “infected” with song.)

This is an episode that I will never watch again. Never. However, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I want to give it a 4 out of 10 because it’s so cringe-worthy and contrived. I want to give it a 7 because it is daring and different. I’ll split the difference and give it a 5.5, which is higher than I thought I’d rate it based on the previews.