Amph “Let's Fly!” - Star Trek: Discovery [Paramount+/Netflix/CraveTV]

Now that I can access CBSAA via Amazon so I can stream it on my TV, I decided to hit up the free trial for DIS finally.

I know some Fleet Junkie spoilers going in (mostly how downright ugly/awful the new Klingon ship designs are- like rejected Narn/Wraith hybrids; though I did catch a glimpse of the Discovery’s weird barrel roll warp jump gimmick, or at least a fan recreation), but not much in the way of story outside of the presence of a Mirror Universe arc.

I commented on the first episode, 101: Vulcan Hello, when it first aired* but finally getting to watch what really appears to be the second part of a pilot film, 102: Battle at the Binary Stars. It definitely should have aired together to hook people better and deliver a more satisfying experience.

*Repost:

Spoiler

Yeah, I think it was a mistake to not at least air the second episode on TV. It was a promising start, however. It felt more Prime Trek than Kelvin Trek at least, even if it didn't look Prime. Gotta ignore trying to jam it into Prime visual/tech aesthetics completely but still. It'll be interesting to see how they retcon the cloaking tech history here.

Opening credits sequence is... ok, but really uninspiring and kinda boring. ENT had the whole history of aviation/exploration theme to hook you (so long as you stuck your fingers in your ears ) and DS9 had majesty and grace (VOY had that to a lesser degree too). I mean, at least it's more than just a ship flying by the camera over and over and over again- but then again, at least that is exciting once or twice. It's unique- I'd probably like it more if it changes every episode to reflect the tech and characters as the options evolve (since everything here seems to be just from the first episode).

Anyways, moving forward I’ll mostly be ignoring the visual reboot aspects (except for everything with the Klingons being seemingly awful). But, as I said a few months ago, this show has more of a Babylon 5 feel to it so far (and given I’ve marathoned almost all Trek kinda because of B5, that’s not a bad thing).

I quite liked the chemistry between Doug Jones’ character and the Captain- especially when she complimented him in his devious bombing plan.

-“T’chuvma the Unforgettable”, whom no one ever mentions again after this series .

-Love that we’re seeing them transport with weapons already drawn . I don’t recall if we’ve seen that before but it always annoyed me that they’d wait until they arrived to draw weapons on away missions.

EDIT- Episode 103: Context is For Kings

Spoiler

-Kinda feel like the opening teaser could have made for a good stinger to the pilot movie (not the least of which would be having the titular ship appear at least briefly).

In fact, the first three episodes would make for an even stronger pilot film if the runtime for such an endeavour would not be so impractical.

But then this series was clearly designed for a streaming platform, which tends to operate by the “hook ‘em by three” rule so having the analog to a pilot film occur across three episodes is unsurprising.

-“Starfleet’s first mutineer”? That seems surprising given how long Starfleet has been around even by this point in the timeline. But then I suppose the post-Romulan War age of peace would potentially minimize the number of opportunities for such scenarios to occur.

EDIT 2- Episode 104: The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not For the Lamb’s Cry

Spoiler

-Cool little maneuver using the spore drive’s FTL jump-style precision. Not sure what they dropped to take down the BOPs though- bombs? Antimatter canisters? They weren’t really clear about that, could have used a line of dialogue there.

-The use of organics to boost travel abilities reminds me of the Equinox on VOY.

-How’d they salvage the telescope from the Shenzhou? Who would have grabbed it knowing it was part of Georgio’s will?

EDIT 3- Episode 105: Choose Your Pain

Spoiler

-Ah, the notorious not-a-D7-D7, sigh... it’s even muddier due to them calling it a BOP later in the same (and subsequent) episodes. Not to mention this Wraith-style BOP looks completely different from the more fighter-like (and Romulan-like) BOPs we’ve seen previously (all of which look totally different in design from the insectoid raiders seen later in this episode or the Xindi Retillian look of the other Klingon cruisers at the Battle of the Binary Stars...).

(And why would a BOP be used as a prison ship anyways? Sigh..)

-So they’re afraid Lorca will reveal info about Discovery’s spore drive, so they send... Discovery to rescue him, thereby putting the ship they’re trying to protect at risk and/or risking exposure of the tech further...

-That decorated Captains list was a rather enjoyable bit of continuity.

-Double F-bombs pretty funny, I gotta admit.

-This Episode is called “Choose Your Pain”. I can only name my pain. My pain is Mudd. Any episode with Harry Mudd.

(To be fair, this version of the character is actually tolerable so far. It gave me no immediate thoughts of suicide [by either the character or myself], so that’s an improvement.)

EDIT 4- Episode 106: Lethe

Spoiler

-Connie / Enterprise namedrops, yay!

-Shirts say Disco on them. And a shuttle or something was shortened to a Disco # call sign. They’re really trying to get me to abbreviate the show as Disco, aren’t they? *I* choose my abbreviations, DIS. And you must conform to the 3 letter standard for single word titles shows. So, tough.

-Also, I predict I’ll be buying fortune cookies this week. Not she why, but I have a sudden craving for them. Weird.

-Sarek deals with a lot of family issues while he’s infirmed, doesn’t he? lol

-A DS9 nod with “Fortune favors the bold” perhaps? A famous quote perhaps just a coincidence but that is s notable multiparter in the franchise...

-That last shot. Is that a wrap around his waist with the phaser? Implying, in combination with the reflection, that...

 

Episode 107: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad

Spoiler

-No teaser, that’s different. Has that ever happened before? Just having the recap is a bit weird.

-56 AU timeloops. (57 becomes prime).

-At first it seems too familiar a premise with the ship being destroyed aka TNG: Cause and Effect but diversifies into a different character focus approach to a Groundhog Day scenario.

-DIS Harry Mudd is actually pretty entertaining. Unlike TOS Mudd, he comes across as a legitimate threat.

...until the end. I feel like the resolution here is kind of a let down where Mudd is only defeated because he makes a stupid decision because the script required him to. And then the scene with Stella and her father feels completely out of place, tonally, with the rest of the episode/series- it feels like how a TOS Mudd episode would end. Thus, it rather kinda sucks. Especially since I dug the episode otherwise.

It’s also the first real standalone episode of the series so far- which makes it feel the most Trek-like.

-So far, the series has been the best Babylon 5 series in 20 years . Still half the season to go, so things can change, but if DS9 was ST copying B5’s story, DIS has been more akin to ST imitating/integrating B5’s style, look/feel and storytelling.

Not outright, mind you- it’s still ST, but there’s certsinly enough overlap to make the comparison (the blue uniforms certainly make it difficult not to ). And it’s quite entertaining so far.

 

Episode 108: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bell

Spoiler

-Another teaserless episide.

-The depiction of Discovery functioning as a rapid response ship is pretty cool, even if it fails here. Still, given the scope of the spore drive’s ability, they’re going to need a really good explanation as to why it was never used again down the road in “consequences be damned” situations. The Dominion War (Operation Return in particular) and Voyager being key examples.

-They kinda glance over how they know that this signal sonar will defeat the Klingon cloak, because that kinda implies Starfleet already knows how it (the cloak) works and, presumably, what they need to build to create such a sonar...

-The direct call forward to “needs of the many” seemed very unnecessary.

-Is the scarred interrogator female Klingon the same as the Albino’s spy ally that helped him escape to the Shenzhou? I get that she’s the one from the prison ship but I didn’t think they were the same character.

-Depending on how this Pavan thing plays out, if the Pavans are destroyed it could make for an interesting prelude to the Organian situation in TOS- Kirk possibly being aware of this and thinking the same thing would happen.

 

Ah, I guess I was thrown off by the implication that she was aboard the prison ship for those 7 months since the BOTBS while the Ship of the Dead was adrift for 6 months during repairs and that they were starving due to low supplies. If she could move between both, why didn’t she bring good?

Episode 109: Into the Forest I Go

Spoiler

-Spore jump inside warp: cool!

-Redundant dialogue about the pattern simulators. Should have dropped the dialogue on the transporter pad.

-Love the plan to crack the cloak and how they apply the spore drive to achieve it.

-Does Lorcan not look at the final destruction of the SOTD behind him because Cool Guys Dont Look At Explosions? Or because his eyes physically cannot?



-Something going wrong at the end was telegraphed a bit too strongly. But who or what is at fault? Lorca? The engineer? The tech itself? TBC!

So, really great episode.

 

110: Despite Yourself

Spoiler

-"This is not our universe". Cool setup to what I obvious can anticipate being the Mirror Universe. I wonder if that was where everyone thought it would go or not (or did previews spoiler that?).

-It's in this episode where you really start to feel the non-Captain POV of the series. Not just in terms of screentime for Michael vs Lorca but in how Lorca is obviously keeping things close to the vest to some degree and how most of the crew aren't always privy to what the Captain is saying/doing/planning.

And that really works well when it's a constant POV like it is here. Whereas if it were TNG, for example, if Picard starting playing things shady you knew something would be a ploy or something because it's just happening in that single episode (and, thus, part of that specific plot) as opposed to it being status quo.

-Ah, so Tyler might be the Albino, eh? Really puts into perspective the more cosmetic species swaps we see later on in TOS, TNG & DS9 compared to the physical hack job done here.

Wait, wasn't there some press release about casting in that someone was cast as a Klingon but something changed and they were recast as a Starfleet officer? Were they just literally burying suspicions publicly with that announcement? Or was it a different actor? (T'Chuvma perhaps?).

-In a Mirror Darkly had Mirror folk dressing as Prime crew, and now we have Prime crew dressing as mirror crew. It's a mirror to a mirror episode.

-Damn! The crew really is more expendable in this series. Maybe that's why there's no one wearing a red shirt they're all red shirts!

-Dig the depiction of the agony booths here. More disturbing than they have been previously.

11: The Wolf Inside

Spoiler

-"last, best hope..." ahem.

-Tall Tellerites, no?

-Sarek with a Beard! lol!

-"Don't you bow before your Emperor?" Georgio looking bulky in that armor but really menacing.

-This arc so far as been very good as moving past the simple "evil version of a character" take on things and focusing on the psychological aspects of enduring within that system. You really feel the pressure pulling Michael down.

12: Vaulting Ambition

Spoiler

-Why does Michael have that badge on her during this mission? Seems like something you'd want to leave behind, lest it be discovered.

-Mirror Lorca! Nice reveal. Even though they hinted at it in hat earlier episode, they did a great job of keeping you guessing as to whether or not it had been a misdirecr

 

That's pretty clever of them. Used DIS's bumpy production history to their advantage.

113: What's Past is Prologue

Spoiler

-And that's why they hired Michelle Yeoh. Fun action.

Time travel, Yay!

114: The War Without, The War Within

Spoiler

-Fixing the registry paint job is a nice little touch. I feel like that's something that could have been easily overlooked.

-I expected the Klingon surgery spies to be a bigger plot point, since they said Tyler was the first test case. That would explain why Sarek was used to verify identities and how the Klingons had managed to break Federation lines so drastically (beyond the cloak- that was keeping things closer to a stalemate, it seemed, as its loss would give the Federation a winning edge), if some infiltrators had managed to compromise key defensive outposts/lines/intelligence, etc.

Seems like a lost opportunity- but perhaps that would have seemed too close to the Changelings in DS9? Or maybe because it would have extended the season by at least an episode or two?

-The cafeteria scene is unexpectedly touching.

-2/3rds of the Discovery's captains have now come from the Mirror Universe.

115: Will You Take My Hand?
(and series conclusions overall)

Spoiler

-"Don't do that."

-"We're not here for bread and circuses." I guess we can expect more title name checks in the future,

-Overall, I was really kinda hoping they'd have reverted to the original plan and seen at least some of it implemented, as a sort of "Vulcan hello" callback, as it would have been more entertaining to watch. As it is, this big war kinda just ends for almost no reason. It makes all the losses inflicted over the past 1.5 years feel random or arbitrary. Not to mention the anti-cloak data whose gathering was a series highlight ended up not being used at all (same thing with the Defiant data mission- that dead ends too).

I mean, I like that they found a solution that didn't involve military victory. But I'd have rather had more of that and less of the Orion ghetto market. It just felt like it kinda petered off at the end.

But, then, the Klingon plot line was the weakest part of the series BY FAR. But the middle stretch from the 133 jumps through the escape from the Mirror Universe was pretty damn solid.

It's kinda funny, really. After ENT In a Mirror Darkly, people were like "Why couldn't we have gotten this show instead of ENT?" And, here, for 4 episodes, we kinda did. It just took 13 years to get here.

And all this means i get to do some non-chronological updates to my time travel & AU logs- that's right, I'm adding things I've just seen in before the stuff I've already seen but after the stuff I've yet to see...before I see that stuff.

(side note: I haven't finished Voyager yet so that end of the spectrum isn't complete yet, and ENT is still to go so that other end isn't present yet either; and I still have to sort through VOY: Relativity's numerous alternate time travel/AUs which is a project in of itself, lol)

Time Travel Log:

Spoiler

-TNG: All Good Things... (alternate 3.5 Billion Years Ago; Jean Luc-Picard & Q; from alternate-2370)
-TOS: All Our Yesterdays (2700 BC, Sarpedion Ice Age; NCC-1701 crew; from 2268)
-TOS: All Our Yesterdays (Undefined 17th Century-esque Sarpeidon; NCC-1701 crew; from 2268)
-TNG: Time's Arrow, part I (1893; NCC-1701-D crew; from 2368)
-TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever (1930: NCC-1701 crew; from 2267)
-DS9: Past Tense, Part II (1930; NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2371)
-DS9: Little Green Men (1947; Quark's Treasure crew; from 2372)
-DS9: Past Tense, Part II (1967; NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2371)
-VOY: Future's End, Part I (1967; Aeon; from 2373)
-TOS: Assignment Earth (1968: NCC-1701; from 2268)
-TOS: Tomorrow is Yesterday (1969: NCC-1701; from 2267)
-ST4: The Voyage Home (1986: The Bounty crew, formerly of NCC-1701; from 2286)
-VOY: Future's End, Part I (1996; NCC-74656; from 2372)
-VOY: Future's End, Part II (1996; Aeon; from 29th Century)
-DS9: Past Tense, Part I (2024; NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2371)
-DS9: Past Tense, Part II (2024; NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2371)
-DS9: Past Tense, Part II (2048; NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2371)
-ST8: First Contact (2063; NCC-1701-E & Borg Sphere; from 2373)
-DS9: Time's Orphan (2074; Molly O'Brien & alternate Molly O'Brien; from 2374)
-TOS: The Tholian Web (2154 (Mirror Universe): NCC-1764 Defiant; from 2268)
-DS9: Children of Time (alternate 2173; NX-74205 Defiant; from 2373)
-DIS: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (2256; NCC-1031 Discovery; timeloop from 2256)
-DIS: What’s Past is Prologue (2257; NCC-1031 Discovery; from 9 months earlier in 2257)
-TOS: The Naked Time (2266: NCC-1701 goes back in time 3 days; from 2266)
-DS9: Trials and Tribble-ations (2268: NX-74205 Defiant crew; from 2373)
-DS9: Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (2349; Kira Nerys (via Orb of Time); from 2374)
-TNG: All Good Things... (alternate 2364; Jean Luc-Picard; from alternate-2370)
-TNG: Time Squared (2365: Picard goes 6 hours into the past; from 2365)
-TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise (2366 (Standard & FKW Universes); NCC-1701-C goes forward through a temporal rift; from 2344)
-TNG: Captain's Holiday (2366; Vorgons; from 27th Century, approx. 2666)
-TNG: Future Imperfect (False-2383; Will Riker. NCC-1701-D; from 2367)
-TNG: A Matter of Time (2368; Berlinghoff Rasmussen; from 22nd Century, using 26th Century technology)
-TNG: Cause and Effect (2368; NCC-1701-D ends up 17 days in the future after timeloop; from 2368)
-TNG: Time's Arrow, part II (2368; Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens; from 1893)
-TNG: Firstborn (2370; Alexander; from 2410)
-TNG: All Good Things... (2370; Jean Luc-Picard from alternate-2370)
-VOY: Time and Again (2371; NCC-74656 crew go back in time 1 day; from alternate-2371)
-DS9: Visionary (2371; Miles flashes forward in time between 3.5 & 5 hours six times; from 2371)
-VOY: Before and After (2369; Kess (mentally) from alternate 2370)
-VOY: Before and After (alternate 2370; Kess (mentally) from alternate 2371)
-VOY: Before and After (alternate 2371; Kess (mentally) from 2373)
-VOY: Eye of the Needle (2371; data and Romulan; from 2351)
-ST7: Generations (2371; Picard and Kirk through the Nexus from 2371 & 2293)
-VOY: Future's End, Part I (2373; Aeon; from Alternate 29th Century)
-VOY: Before and After (2373; Kess (mentally) from alternate 2374)
-VOY: Before and After (alternate 2374; Kess (mentally) from alternate 2378)
-DS9: Time's Orphan (2374; alternate Molly O'Brien; from alternate 2084)
-VOY: Before and After (alternate 2378; Kess (mentally) from alternate 2379)
-TNG: All Good Things... (alternate 2395; Jean Luc-Picard & Q; from alternate-2370)

Alternate Universe Log:

Spoiler

-DIS: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (~56 alternate 2256s resulting from Mudd timeloop)
-DIS: Into the Forest I Go (Mirror Universe)
-DIS: Despite Yourself (Mirror Universe)
-DIS: The Wolf Inside (Mirror Universe)
-DIS: Vaulting Ambition (Mirror Universe)
-DIS: What’s Past is Prologue (Mirror Universe)
-TOS: The Alternative Factor (Anti-Matter Universe)
-TOS: Mirror, Mirror (Mirror Universe)
-TOS: The Tholian Web (Mirror Universe & "Solo-Kirk" Universe)
-TNG: We'll Always Have Paris (Simultaneous Continuum universes, "Manheim Dimension")
-TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise (Federation-Klingon War universe)
-TNG: Remember Me (Beverly Crusher-created Warp Bubble Reality)
-TNG: Cause and Effect (failed timeloop occurances)
-TNG: Timescape (aliens from alternate timeline, alternate outcome of Enterise's destruction)
-TNG: Parallels ("Original" universe, "Surprise Party w/Chocolate Cake" universe, "Surprise Party w/Yellow Cake" universe, "9th place Concussion" universe, "Blue Dress/Moved Battle Painting" universe, "Blue Uniform/Moved Starship Painting"; "Married w/no kids" universe, "First Officer Worf/Married with Children" universe; "Borg-Controlled" universe, "Altered Original" universe)
-DS9: Crossover (Mirror Universe)
-TNG: All Good Things... (alternate 3.5 Billion Years Ago, alternate 2364, alternate-2370 & alternate 2395)
-DS9: Past Tense, Parts I & II (Alternate Federationless 2371)
-DS9: Visionary (Alternate 2371 outcomes including the destruction of DS9; resulting from Miles' timeflashes)
-DS9: Through the Looking Glass (Mirror Universe)
-VOY: Emanations (Vhnori dimension)
-ST7: Generations (alternate "Destructon of Veridian III" timeline)
-VOY: Non Sequitur (alternate Kim Earth)
-DS9: The Visitor (alternate death-of-Sisko timeline)
-DS9: Shattered Mirror (Mirror Universe)
-VOY: Future's End, Part I (Alternate 29th Century)
-VOY: Before and After (Alternate 2369, 2370, 2371, 2374, 2378 & 2379)
-DS9: DS9: Children of Time (alternate 2173 through 2373 for energy barrier-encased planet)
-VOY: Year of Hell, Parts I & II (Alternate 2374s)
-DS9: Resurrection (Mirror Universe)
-VOY: Timeless (Alternate 2375 "original crash" & "repeat crash" timelines, Alternate 2390)
-DS9: The Emperor's New Cloak (Mirror Universe)

Some folks were able to take out the blue filter over the new-old Enterprise, before and after, followed by a couple other shots:

 

Hello, deleted season end scene:



Well, confirms what those badges are. I hope they continue this direction in the next season- I know some people dislike that element of Trek, but I like the harder questions it can make characters ask when done well- and they make for a good antagonist.

The showrunners have also made some comments about season 2:

“The idea was to always be in the Prime Timeline. Obviously, there are questions and concerns and things that are different. Our technology is a little different. We have a ship that runs very differently. We are our own show in a lot of ways. Season two is really exciting for us. This is our opportunity to really show how Discovery fits into this Prime Timeline. We are firmly committed to that.”​

 

A better look at the new Enterprise via the 2019 Ships of the Line calendar:

 

I forget the details- but isn't it possible real Lorca is still alive? I know he was assumed dead, but that was all offscreen and second hand info.