Star Trek: Discovery Spoilers!!!

[ISaySteadyOn]

First glimpse of Starfleet officers in the first fifteen minutes are two women, a captain and a first officer. Not only that, but the first thing they talk about is if they are lost or not. Seems a good start so far.

With all the bad news going round, I just wanted to share something good.

[MrsFionaCharming]

Was anyone else slightly disappointed by part of this weeks rpidode? Lorca was captured by L’Rell, a female Klingon, so the first thing he does is call her ‘honey’ and ask about her sex life?!

[Hoppinggreen]

That's because she was sexually abusing the other human captive
Thought it was a bit dark when the abuse survivor attacked the Klingon femal captain when they escaped
And the F bomb was dropped !!!
Really enjoying it

[MrsFionaCharming]

Oh, I missed that bit!

[HidingBehindTheWallpaper]

I really wanted to like it. DH watched the first episode and was excited to tell me that the leads were not only women, but women of colour.

I got three episodes in a just got bored. I haven’t watched the latest one as I simply don’t care.

[MrsFionaCharming]

I wasn’t massively impressed by the first couple, but I think it’s gettih better. Plus it’s easier to care now we’re getting to know the recurring characters.

(Though I feel like a bad Trekkie for saying that so far I’m enjoying The Orville more!)

[ErrolTheDragon]

Why did I not even know this was happening? Is it on netflix or something?

[MrsFionaCharming]

Yes, CBS in the US, Netflix for the rest of the world.

[teaandtoast]

I haven't watched this week's yet but I'm struggling to care about any of the characters. The only one I liked is dead.
I can't stand stroppy characters like Trip in Enterprise and for me, Michael falls into that basket too.

I want to like it, dammit!

[CertainHalfDesertedStreets]

Sonequa Martin green is getting to do loads of this stuff. I wonder if she has a great agent or is political about it or if it's just a zeitgeist thing?

I was watching an episode of TWD series 6 or something when I suddenly realised I was watching three (count 'em) women of colour in a long scene and they were talking about how good they were at killing shit.

It's slightly depressing that that is worthy of comment but great that it is starting to happen?

[MrsFionaCharming]

I think this episode is the one where I actually started to care about any of the characters, well only Tilley and Stamets so far. I really don’t like Lorca, but I don’t think we’re meant to?

[QueenOfTheSardines]

Hello late to the party :)

I was a bit worried about the klingons in ep 1 and said to DH where are the female ones? They've made it a little more different to tell them apart but then oh look there were a couple. Also why have they got religion? What's with all the egyptiany stuff? Why does it always have to be egyptiany stuff? We had plenty of klingon ritual etc to go with so why go down this sub-stargate route?

Disappointed that they killed the captain she was great.

Michael (why is she called michael?) is getting on my nerves which is a shame.

Just watched the latest episode and it is MUCH more explicitly violent than previous trek universes and I don't like it. Star Trek is always about more than that... I know it's the way of things these days but I'm not keen. Why couldn't we have the sort of star trek that you can sit and watch with your kids? Meh.

The whole business with the spores and the animal thing really reminded me of a ?voyager episode I think it was, it felt unoriginal. And in the last episode she threw what looked like glitter at it to make it better I mean come on.

Anyway, mixed. I am gripped and irritated both, will definitely stick with it, it's miles better than enterprise which I tried so hard with but was just, well a no from me.

Will michael give us some good pontificating in the traditional manner of starfleet captains? Or will someone else? Shatner gave awesome monologue and started a fine tradition they better not drop that. I want my moral / ethical messages slammed right into my face thanks

[MrsFionaCharming]

Well it couldn’t really be any worse than Enterprise (of which I made it through 3 episodes and 1 Decon scene before giving up)!

[MrsFionaCharming]

And I ageee about it not being child friendly! I remember watching Voyager with my Dad, and DP remembers watching it with his, it was a great show for family bonding. I’m not sure many parents will be so keen to share this one with their kids given the violence and now the swearing.

On the plus side, I love that they finally have a gay couple, though it’s sadly brought out all the homophobes on my Facebook.

[teaandtoast]

I've watched half of Enterprise and tbh I rate that way higher than Discovery.

[ErrolTheDragon]

why is she called michael?

I really shouldn't be on this thread as I've only just found this series even exists... but anyone of the era to have watched TOS as a kid will know that the mother in the Waltons was played by a Michael Learned, so I guess its a unisex name in the US. (That used to bug me at the time )

[just5morepeas]

I've been quite enjoying this, loved the creepy thing with the mirror in the last ep I watched.

I don't like that the klingons don't seem very klingon like - not much honour in beating up prisoners and abandoning a fellow klingon to die on an abandoned ship - would challenging him to a fight have been more fitting?

That prob makes me sound like a complete geek but they could have just made a new species and not called them klingons.

But yeah, the more I watch the more I like Michael but I don't like the new captain. The dead one was much better. :( I like Michaels room mate and the fact that they have a gay relationship on the show though. When he called him "dear doctor" that was so cute! Really reminded me of Garak and Dr Bashir from DS9.

[SpaghettiAndMeatballs]

I'm persisting, although I'm really not feeling the new klingons - slow and spiritual rather than the hot-headed warriors I'm used to.

As to Richard - the thing that I can't unsee is that now her hair's got longer, they're styling it with the side parting and it just reminds me totally of Richard Ayoade when he was in the IT crowd.. I can't find any pictures from the last episode to compare..

I like Richard though - I feel like they're showing her thinking, analysing - I feel like she's written as a character who displays depth - rather than the captain (who I'm not feeling any affection for at all) who's stuck in the dive right in and figure it out later character, with a bit of bitter, wounded hero (refusing to fix his eyes). I do find the alien from a prey race interesting too.

Overall, I think this series has put more dislikable characters into the main crew - they're not all super-sweet and noble - I think that klingons aside, ridiculous secret ship drive plot device aside, the crew is going to be the strong point.

[SpaghettiAndMeatballs]

sigh. Michael.. not Richard - see, her hairstyle is taking over my brain

[QueenOfTheSardines]

Totally agree with both of you about the klingons peas and spaghetti.

It's a real shame what they've done to them.

The captain is supposed to be a wanker isn't he? I assumed we weren't supposed to like him!

[RiotAndAlarum]

Thank goodness you mentioned the creepy mirror, just5more! I thought I was imagining it. Perhaps we were meant to be soooo budy working through the implications of the gay relationship -shoehorned in-- that we only subliminally notice it?

Speaking of shoehorning, there's a LOT of dialogue, not to say an exhausting amount... and I think it's really affecting the acting. I didn't get chemistry from Georgiou and Burnham at first: I got defensiveness, from all that bloody talking!

I like Stamets now that he's on the space mushrooms! Groovy!

[GeekyBlinders]

OMFG is anyone lose still watching this?! Lorca! Mirror Lorca!

[GeekyBlinders]

*anyone else

[Petalbird]

I know it's so so exciting last 2 episodes were the best

[PocketCoffeeEspresso]

You what?! These last two episodes have made me give up on it entirely.....

I'll stick to re-watching voyager and get my spaceship fix from The Orville, it's just gone all the way up its own arse I think.

[GeekyBlinders]

I did a search for this thread and didn't realise it was in Feminism chat till after I'd posted, I was expecting it to be in TV (obviously didn't RTFT, sorry). I'm trying to think of some feminist angles to the latest episodes... loving Tilly as the Captain! And the bond between Burnham and Georgiou even across universes. And creepy grooming Lorca! Quite sad about it as I wanted him to be a goody.

I am loving it, to be honest. I like it being a bit darker than usual.