So Star Trek: Discovery season 2 premiered a little over a week ago behind the CBS All Access paywall. It has been such a staggering success that they have made the first episode available for free on YouTube, and it was there that I watched it. I had heard from some reviewers that the producers had listened to the complaints about season 1 and tried to make season 2 better, more like an actual Star Trek show. And having watched it… they failed. It’s bad.
The writing is bad. Things happen without cause or consequence; people do inexplicable things. The episode starts off with a mangled version of the “Space: the final frontier” monologue that promptly goes wrong and turns into a myth from some African tribe 100,000 years ago (I have doubts that even with advanced technology that people in the 23rd century would have clue one what beliefs people had 100,000 years ago)… and that myth is just thrown out there and not referenced again. The writers think that “smartassery” is what the fans want in lieu of wit. And the writers threw in a bunch of what they seemed to think were jokes, presumably to help capture the “Orville” fanbase.
The acting is bad, in particular the horribly named “Jet Reno.” A character clearly thrown in in order to Seem Cool.
The action is bad and inexplicable. The little landing pods are straight out of a video game, and make as little sense. Why the frak do they spin around like that? If they are meant to head into dangerous environments, why are they one giant transparent and relatively fragile bubble?
The technology is bad, such as the small device set up on the shuttlebay floor that magically transforms into a *giant* device. Apparently it was folded up into a pocket dimension, a technology you’d think Starfleet would have made a bit more use of in later centuries. Or any use of.
Kid Spock sucks.
Everyone is a jerk.
Captain Pike actually looks like Jeffrey Hunters Captain Pike, but is entirely unlike him. OG Pike was serious to the point of morose, weighed down by the burdens of command. This one is a smirking wisecracker.
It is clear that the producers tried to make the premiere of season 2 more like Star Trek, but it’s a bad imitation.
“The Orville” has also recently premiered its second season and has five episodes under its belt so far. They, too, have retooled the show, though not nearly as much. “The Orville” has turned down the comedy; personally, I’m a bit disappointed by that. But “Orville” was always a mix of comedy and good sci-fi, and the sci-fi remains good. Just… not quite as funny.
STD is Star Trek for people who don’t like Star Trek. Orville is non-Star Trek for people who *do* like Star Trek. I have high hopes (but low expectations) that I’ll live long enough to once again see Star Trek for people who like Star Trek.
If you feel the need to watch the STD season 1 premiere episode, it’s HERE. It’s free, which seems a bit overpriced.