by Dai » Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:01 pm
Having watched the first three episodes, I have really mixed feelings about Discovery. It took me a while to get into the right mindset during the first episode because the opening credits made me laugh my ass off. It has credits for twenty producers. TWENTY! Talk about too many cooks... Other distractions include the non-stop apeing of JJ's lens-flare abuse, the desperately forced attempts to give each character a memorable quirk, and the startling tonal shift into horror during episode 3. But, above all other concerns, is the fact that this is one character's story instead of an ensemble; that's the antithesis of what Trek is about.
Positives: the effects sequences are gorgeous. The opening two-parter has already given us more ship-to-ship combat than all three Kelvin movies combined. The gangly alien XO of the Discovery is a pretty interesting character. Episode 3 injected some much-needed mystery, intrigue, and sense of wonder (albeit dulled by the uncharacteristic moments of body horror).
Overall, this could turn out to be a decent SF series, but it has yet to offer up much of what I want from Star Trek. Instead of new life-forms or new civilisations, it's focusing on the most well known and clearly defined of all the franchise's antagonists. Attack of the Klingons is a place this franchise has gone many times before. I just hope Discovery will start to live up to its name.