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STAR TREK: Discovery


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Part 1 of the pilot will air on CBS in the US, and Part 2 of the pilot will be available immediately after on CBS All Access. So, really, you're only getting half a pilot unless you subscribe.

 

Edit: It also looks like the limited edition Thinkgeek pin and $25 CBS All Access credit combo is still available. So, they weren't able to get 1000 folks to buy yet.

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Part 1 of the pilot will air on CBS in the US, and Part 2 of the pilot will be available immediately after on CBS All Access. So, really, you're only getting half a pilot unless you subscribe.

 

Edit: It also looks like the limited edition Thinkgeek pin and $25 CBS All Access credit combo is still available. So, they weren't able to get 1000 folks to buy yet.

I wonder if there are 1000 Trek fans in America.

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Part 1 of the pilot will air on CBS in the US, and Part 2 of the pilot will be available immediately after on CBS All Access. So, really, you're only getting half a pilot unless you subscribe.

 

Edit: It also looks like the limited edition Thinkgeek pin and $25 CBS All Access credit combo is still available. So, they weren't able to get 1000 folks to buy yet.

Are we absolutely sure that the first two episodes go together as one story?

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I think making people pay for Star Trek Discovery is a tacit admission that the show is a disaster.  If it was worth showing they would make it free and take the rating.  Even if the critics hated it a show that seemed worth while would have been broadcast and they could have relied on word of mouth to make it a hit.

 

CBS - We've alienated a ready made base of Star Trek Fans, and want them to pay for it.

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I think making people pay for Star Trek Discovery is a tacit admission that the show is a disaster.  If it was worth showing they would make it free and take the rating.  Even if the critics hated it a show that seemed worth while would have been broadcast and they could have relied on word of mouth to make it a hit.

 

CBS - We've alienated a ready made base of Star Trek Fans, and want them to pay for it.

That's nonsense. The decision to use a Star Trek show to launch CBS All Access was made before the specific show was developed.

Star Trek: Discovery was specifically created and developed to air on the streaming service after an initial episode on CBS itself. Now, that's not to say that it will be good, but that's a risk with any TV series. The series has had its growing pains, it seems, and as a result ended up being postponed -- making The Good Fight (The Good Wife sequel) the first original scripted series to air on CBS All Access -- and frankly, in my opinion, that series was the equal of its predecessor. Thus, I'm pretty sure that CBS is not using All Access as a dumping ground.

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I think making people pay for Star Trek Discovery is a tacit admission that the show is a disaster.  If it was worth showing they would make it free and take the rating.  Even if the critics hated it a show that seemed worth while would have been broadcast and they could have relied on word of mouth to make it a hit.

 

 

I think they believe it is not a strong enough property to compete in regular television, but at the same time, this is a way of making money.  Star Trek used to be a reliable money making, popular property (I suspect less so now than it once was because of mishandling the brand) and CBS wants its own personally controlled Netflix so they see this as a way to bring in customers.  So I don't buy the theory that they know its lousy and this is the only way to make it work.

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I truly believe that CBS thought that they could do what they've always done with the Star Trek franchise, which is use it a leverage to market a new distribution system with a built-in, loyal fan base. Paramount was planning to do it in the 70s with Star Trek: Phase II (which was supposed to be the flagship series for the Paramount Television Service), used Star Trek: The Next Generation to bolster syndication revenues in the 80s, launched UPN with Star Trek: Voyager as the flagship, and planned to use Star Trek: Discovery as the first made for CBS All Access show*. Heck, if you look at the first announcement, CBS heavily suggested that Star Trek fans should sign up immediately "to be ready" for when STD premiered.

 

The budget's $8 million per episode, though that was largely paid by Netflix for the first season. The thing is, Netflix isn't going to bankroll a season 2. CBS All Access has about 2 million subscribers right now, and are hoping to double or triple that number with STD**. Even at that rate, they wouldn't be able to pay for a second season from the streaming revenues at the current budget levels. There is a very good chance that one season's all it will get.

 

I've discussed the show with a number of my friends (including several who are part of the local SF fandom), and none of them are planning on subscribing. One suggested that he'd either need to talk someone else into subscribing and sharing the sub, or would just torrent it.

 

*Because of delays, that honor goes to The Good FIght, a spin-off of the canceled show, The Good Wife.

 

**Putting the numbers into context, Netflix has about 56 million US subscribers, and 105 million total subscribers world-wide. CBS really should have just let Netflix have it, like the various Marvel Defenders properties.

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Every production company envisions their own network with millions of subscribers getting content exclusively from them and rolling in money like Scrooge McDuck.  The problem is, buyers only really have so much money to spend, so they aren't going to subscribe to 18 different outfits.  If it gets too expensive or obnoxious, they'll pick one or two, then steal the rest.  If/when Disney pulls all Marvel comics content off Netflix, people aren't gonna bail on Netflix and sign up to Disney, they're going to stick with what they like and watch the disney content another way, not subscribe to more and more content.

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Thanks to 60 minutes, I saw maybe half of this, tops.

 

Good (But not great)  things...

The Captain we start with is actually pretty cool. I can respect the hell out of her. However, this ends though, I suspect she won't be with us for the series. So... crap.

 

Some of the banter is good. Not great, but good.

 

kind of like Commander Saru. I'm okay with a 'new species' as long as it seems plausible (The galaxy is huge)

 

In between things

 

Michael Burnham...our protagonist. Mixed bag indeed,, Well acted. But the character hits all the components I equate with a Mary Sue fan ficiton attempt. Attached to popular character ...boom, Spock's adoptive sister Kinda sorta! Tragedy in Childhood. Boom. And named in away that catches attention for no particular reason except eyepatches and scars would be called on it. Mind you, I've been guilty of this myself, but it makes my hairs stand up warning wise. Still, well acted.

 

Terrible, just... terrible

 

Klingons

I'm sorry, this was a mistake. It does not 'make sense' it does not fit. You can argue all day about how it's just a visual change but frankly it's comparable to having CGI smurfs delivering the lines, it's just that jarring and takes me out of it. You want to make a group of religious fanatics for Klingons? Okay I guess since they don't mention gods (Which they killed ) but okaaay. Honor and conquest in its culture was enough before but fine. But that AND the 'hey we don't look like Klingons and you can't blame us for touching it up when we got some' . As a new species they might have worked (Though I wish then the time line was different). 

 

 

So, from what little I saw, more good than  bad, but nothing GREAT

 

 

If this had been a brand new Sci Fi Series, without Trek attatchment I think I would like it better. 

As a trek, it's maybe a 6 out of 10 and that's generous to compensate for biases and the fact I didn't see the whole pilot

 

But is it good enough for me to spend money on CBS all Access? 

 

Hell to the no. That's like an automatic -2 on any score so that 6 I gave it? Actually a four.

 

 

My suggestion? If you have Netflix in some part of the world where you can enjoy have at if you've got time to kill, go for it.

 

If you're in the USA... let this one go until next year and see if it's finally on Netflix by then. CBS shouldn't be rewarded for a cashgrab that doesn't really honor the canon despite it's protests that it is 'prime timeline' (And that term has as much legitimacy here as Corporations that promise you 'Real Cheese')

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Not sure, but the general thing I've gathered from interviews is that this is mostly a 'lost klingon house' and rather insular.

 

Inbreeding makes you purple maybe? :)

 

I guess if it can make Humans blue . . .*

 

 

 

 

 

*technically, not in and of itself, but if I'd said "if it can make leatheback bearded dragons," the reference probably would have been lost . . .

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So I've seen the first two episodes of the show and....I liked what I saw.  It was darker then I expected certainly and way different from previous Trek that I've seen but that's not a bad thing.  Michael's not a bad protagonist, not quite on the level of folks like Kirk, Picard or Sisko but it's only been two episodes in and thus far I've been given ample reason to stay tuned to see how she develops.  Given the end of the second episode, I'm curious how she's going to remain an active character.

 

As for the Klingons, their new look didn't bother me.  They actually look alien now and as far as I'm concerned it's wonderful and it looks like they're going to be making some attempt to explore Klingon society beyond repeating honour and courage ad nauseaum. 

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I got bit by the DVR curse too, so I only caught the last half of the first episode.  I was impressed, but not impressed enough to pony up for yet another subscription.  (My Game of Thrones subscription is painful enough, and STD is not GOT.)  Thoughts:

 

- They didn't skimp on the effects budget, did they?

- Love Michelle Yeoh as a captain, it'll suck if she doesn't stick in the series.

- Like the highly religious Klingons; not sure why the new look, but meh.

- Why can't they keep the camera level?

- Uniforms are pretty nice.

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So I watched STD. I actually found it to be less Trek'y than Orville. It's a first episode so I wasn't looking for season 3 polish. But the first episode of Star Trek is the "Oops we are starting a war"?

 

The Klingons were....different. Too glitzy. Over time they might grow on you.

 

But the Klingon ships are "huh? They look like a bunch of scrape yard boxes thrown in at the last second.

 

All in all, there is potential. But not enough for me to subscribe to yet another service. Normally I'd just wait for it to come out on disc or Netflix like I do for GoT. If I won't pay HBO for one or two shows a year, why do they think I would for one on a CBS stream?

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