I was a Big fan of TOS. I watched every episode of TNG pretending it to be better than what it ever was (there are probably only 4 or 5 great episodes). I watched Deep Space 9 until the end (only 1 episode truly memorable) and I finally gave up on Voyager after about 3 seasons (what took me so long?). With Enterprise, I got as far as 2 characters smearing anti-radioactive goo on each other and thought, "If I want to watch porn, I'll just watch porn ". I managed 1 episode of Discovery and 2 of 'Picard'. Whatever Star Trek has evolved into, it is not what beguiled me 5 decades ago. It has become the mouthpiece of writers and producers that believed Star Trek was all about social commentary and not science fiction or drama, with a little social commentary interspersed.
So, now we have SNW - it looks OK, although the CGI for the title sequence is a bit dodgy and heavy handed. When will CGI effects teams ever learn that less is more? Still, the Enterprise looks familiar and although the shuttle in the opening sequence looked cartoonish ( especially when April stepped off it) I can accept that it, overall looks ok more times than it does not.
The actors are fine. Anson Mount is a good choice for the part of Pike and manages to convey some of the jaundice that Jeffrey Hunter created in the character originally. Ethan Peck sounds so much like Leonard Nimoy, (with slightly more appealing looks), that I hope he takes over from Zach Quinto (who just looks pissed off all the time) in the movies real soon.
So, with some good ingredients in place, what is missing? Well, look to my above criticisms of Trek since TOS and you find your answer.
The opening sequence is peppered with social commentary. Pike lives in a house littered with 'antiques'. His ship's communicator lies next to an antique handset phone (presumably not connected or working) and his house in rural Montana is powered by a wind farm ( several giant wind towers required just to power his house?). So, the notion that older, simpler times were better and that Wind Power really is the energy answer for the future because it is still around in the 24th Century. Please.
The premise of the whole episode is presaged by Pike watching 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'. Since this was the most interesting part of the episode I kept hoping they would return to it. Not directly. Instead, the writers paraphrase it and insert images of the recent White House riots to illustrate the beginning of WW3 on Earth. Not subtle and a political statement of the kind the original series was always wise enough to steer clear.
Then there is the schmalz. Characters behaving as if they are excited to 'Go Boldly' when I presume that's what they have trained for over the past few years. Can you imagine a Communications officer on a modern day Aircraft Carrier going all goggly eyed upon hearing the order to leave port? TOS portrayed Starfleet Command as a military style organisation, which makes sense since discipline is required in order to survive such a venture. With each subsequent series, Starfleet increasingly has become this boatload of wide-eyed kids that follow orders only when they choose to and constantly wear their hearts on their sleeves. Also, why does every security chief have a background of being orphaned in a hostile environment? Good grief, get real SF writers handing in scripts and maybe we can get some originality back in this show. However, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.
Unfortunately, the course for Strange New Worlds appears already set. A shame. Rather than lecture to its audience, the producers and writers could have chosen instead to entertain.
So, now we have SNW - it looks OK, although the CGI for the title sequence is a bit dodgy and heavy handed. When will CGI effects teams ever learn that less is more? Still, the Enterprise looks familiar and although the shuttle in the opening sequence looked cartoonish ( especially when April stepped off it) I can accept that it, overall looks ok more times than it does not.
The actors are fine. Anson Mount is a good choice for the part of Pike and manages to convey some of the jaundice that Jeffrey Hunter created in the character originally. Ethan Peck sounds so much like Leonard Nimoy, (with slightly more appealing looks), that I hope he takes over from Zach Quinto (who just looks pissed off all the time) in the movies real soon.
So, with some good ingredients in place, what is missing? Well, look to my above criticisms of Trek since TOS and you find your answer.
The opening sequence is peppered with social commentary. Pike lives in a house littered with 'antiques'. His ship's communicator lies next to an antique handset phone (presumably not connected or working) and his house in rural Montana is powered by a wind farm ( several giant wind towers required just to power his house?). So, the notion that older, simpler times were better and that Wind Power really is the energy answer for the future because it is still around in the 24th Century. Please.
The premise of the whole episode is presaged by Pike watching 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'. Since this was the most interesting part of the episode I kept hoping they would return to it. Not directly. Instead, the writers paraphrase it and insert images of the recent White House riots to illustrate the beginning of WW3 on Earth. Not subtle and a political statement of the kind the original series was always wise enough to steer clear.
Then there is the schmalz. Characters behaving as if they are excited to 'Go Boldly' when I presume that's what they have trained for over the past few years. Can you imagine a Communications officer on a modern day Aircraft Carrier going all goggly eyed upon hearing the order to leave port? TOS portrayed Starfleet Command as a military style organisation, which makes sense since discipline is required in order to survive such a venture. With each subsequent series, Starfleet increasingly has become this boatload of wide-eyed kids that follow orders only when they choose to and constantly wear their hearts on their sleeves. Also, why does every security chief have a background of being orphaned in a hostile environment? Good grief, get real SF writers handing in scripts and maybe we can get some originality back in this show. However, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.
Unfortunately, the course for Strange New Worlds appears already set. A shame. Rather than lecture to its audience, the producers and writers could have chosen instead to entertain.