#MR SPOCK IN EVERY ITERATION

[captainkaseykirk]

Sometimes I reblog my own posts when I follow a new person with cool content in an effort to signal “hello yes I am also very insane about this we should be friends” in case they look at my account. Like a mating call but in a platonic way.

[ericdeggans]

Praising the First Season of Star Trek: Discovery, the Best TV Show You’re Not Watching.

Be patient. Trust our storytelling.

Critics often hear these words from showrunners and executive producers trying to stem adverse reactions to questionable choices. It certainly seemed the producers of Star Trek: Discovery were trying that same tactic, as fan ire built over a clunky first episode last September and plot twists earlier in the season which seemed to kill off valued characters while bending the nature of the Trek universe into unrecognizable shapes.

Responses like that are usually little more than artful dodges – an attempt to buy time until fans can get over their ire. But in this case, the show’s last few episodes this year, leading to a head-turning season finale Sunday on streaming service CBS All Access, have stood as powerful proof that producers knew what they were doing all along.

The biggest point of contention here has always been Trek’s overall philosophy – a spirit that began with series creator Gene Roddenberry and which has been used to unite all the various iterations of Star Trek in film and TV back to the mothership series in the late 1960s.

Roddenberry’s vision of the future was as a near-utopia when humans had conquered stuff like greed, inequality and hate. But that’s also the stuff that makes for really good TV drama. So Trek series seemed to get duller and duller as the years went on, trapped in a rigid formula that made it difficult to produce adventures as grand as a 50-year-old sci fi franchise demanded.

Then came Discovery. Its first episodes featured Sonequa Martin-Green’s character – a human raised as a Vulcan foster child, named Michael Burnham – committing treason by circumventing her captain. Then, one of the show’s highest profile stars, Michelle Yeoh, saw her character killed off in the second episode.

And we met Gabriel Lorca. Played by Harry Potter alum Jason Isaacs, Lorca is an impatient, ruthless, driven captain of the U.S.S. Discovery who seemed nothing like the kind of officers who should have been filling Trek’s Starfleet at the time.

(Left to right, Doug Jones, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jason Isaacs, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman) 

A few weeks ago, we found out why (hugely big spoiler coming). Lorca actually comes from a parallel universe – Trekkers call it the “mirror universe” -- where humans have built a ruthless, xenophobic imperium called the Terran Empire, aimed at subjugating all races outside their own. This place first appeared in 1967 on the classic Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror,” and has popped up in subsequent Trek TV series like Deep Space Nine and Enterprise.

(left to right, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the Mirror Universe, from “Mirror, Mirror.”)

There were subtle clues. Lorca had a sensitivity to light, which turns out to be the only physical difference between folks from the Terran universe and those in the Federation’s dimension. He reacted to someone trying to wake him unexpectedly by jumping up and grabbing a phaser – a reacton you would expect from a Terran, where officers often advance by killing superiors.    

The last few episodes have moved at lightspeed, as Discovery’s producers raced toward their end game. Suddenly, it was explained why Lorca seemed so un-Starfleet like; we saw the return of beloved characters like Yeoh’s Phillippa Georgiou and Wilson Cruz’s Hugh Culber (who, with Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets, was the first gay couple on a Trek series until another character killed him).

Fans who groused when Yeoh’s character was killed in the show’s second episode got to see her play the Terran version of Georgiou, who was empress of her universe. The change seemed to suit Yeoh better, frankly; she was much more compelling as an evil woman of action than a contemplative Starfleet officer. And Burnham’s impulsive decision to bring her into the Federation’s universe ensures that we’ll have a delicious character to savor in the show’s second season.

(Yeoh as the Empress of the Terran Empire)

Likewise, a storyline in Sunday’s episode where Georgiou convinces Starfleet to let her implement a secret plan to destroy the Klingon’s homeworld – decimating the species in the bargain – only reaffirmed Trek’s values when Burnham and the rest of Discovery’s crew refused to go along with the strategy. There are important lines these Starfleet officers won’t cross, and that distinction matters, as Burham and her compatriots set about building the kind of utopian Starfleet Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock will inhabit ten years later.

In the process, they answered a question the show has been asking in obvious and subtle ways since the series began: What would you do to win a brutal war? And if winning required leaving your most treasured values behind, would victory be worth it?

The trade magazine Variety pegged the show’s budget at an eye-popping $8 million to $8.5 million per episode -- and you can see every penny on screen, with high quality special effects and thoughtfully designed new versions of everything from the phaser guns to the Klingon aliens.

That has also meant most episodes of the series are only viewable on the subscription service All Access. Which is likely why the larger TV-watching public is unaware of how much ground Discovery producers are breaking in a show that took flight in the second half of its first seasone.

In fact, CBS executives made a serious error in airing just one episode of Discovery on the broadcast network when the show debuted. It was the weakest of the series’ episodes so far, and served mostly to convince curious fans who were already irritated that CBS was making them pay to see most of the program, that Discovery wasn’t really worth their time, after all.

But they were wrong. Discovery has proven, over its last few episodes, that it’s the best TV series most people aren’t watching or talking about right now.  

There’s still lots of questions Discovery yet needs to answer. Burnham was supposedly raised as a ward of Vulcan ambassador Sarek, father to beloved character Mr. Spock. But somehow, Spock never made reference to a human adopted sister over nearly 50 years of TV shows and movies. They have to make some moves toward explaining that one soon.

Likewise, the Starship Discovery uses a special engine drive we’ve never seen in a previous iteration of Trek – it’s how they magically jumped into the mirror universe to begin with. Since the series takes place a decade before the era of Kirk and Spock, they’ll need to explain why we never heard of this amazing technology that can move a spacecraft to the other side of the universe in the blink of an eye.

And, of course, the season finale also introduced us to The Enterprise, which is presumably led by the guy who preceded Kirk in the captain’s chair, Christopher Pike. The biggest question: Will Burnham’s brother Mr. Spock, who was Pike’s second in command before Kirk, also be there? (probably not.)

I’m looking forward to seeing how all these discrepancies get explained in the second season. Throughout this first season, there was always a sense that producers were writing themselves into corners no sane TV writer would attempt -- Georgiou’s dead! The Discovery is in the mirror universe! Lorca’s a Terran! Now he’s dead! The Federation is losing the war with Klingons! -- and part of the fun was seeing how they navigated out of such danger zones with bravery and a deft storytelling touch.

Now that I’ve seen how the folks working on Discovery operate, I’m ready to sit back and let the stories flow, secure that answers will come in time. And they’ll be spectacular.

I guess I’ve learned to trust them, after all.

[biofunmy]

How ‘Star Trek’ Pushed Cory Booker to Make It So

NEWARK — In the month before officially becoming a presidential candidate, Senator Cory Booker spent his nights rewatching all 172 episodes of “Star Trek: Voyager.”

This is not a coincidence.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek,” was an idealist. His vision for the future, as conveyed in the franchise’s many iterations, was a progressive utopia where racism and poverty were mostly eradicated in favor of a thirst for learning.

From there, you can draw a straight line to Mr. Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign which he has tried to define in terms of relentless optimism and an upbeat appeal to healing the nation’s divisions. Mr. Booker, 50, has been obsessed with “Star Trek” since a young age. His father, Cary Booker, one of the first black executives at IBM, introduced him to the original series after it had already gone off the air.

At his home in Newark recently, Mr. Booker gleefully displayed some of his memorabilia, including a set of “Star Trek” PEZ dispensers and the “Star Trek Encyclopedia” from his bookcase. There is more in his Senate office. Take it from a Trekkie: That’s not casual fandom. Recently, Mr. Booker attended San Diego Comic-Con, and a picture of him beaming while flashing the Vulcan salute went viral. His girlfriend, the actress Rosario Dawson, also adores the franchise.

Mr. Booker discussed his fandom, the political leanings of certain Star Trek captains and how the show has influenced his politics. The conversation has been condensed and edited.

We only have a handful of subscribers from the Klingon home world, so we’re going to have to keep most of this in English.

[Laughter] O.K.

What did your father see in Trek?

It was hope.

“Star Trek” was more than just an escape. It was a portal to say the future is going to be different. It’s incredibly hopeful and a belief that we’re going to get beyond a lot of these lines. We’re going to unite as humanity. It’ll be a place where your virtue guides you, the highest of human aspirations. I think there’s something about that he found really powerful.

Do you think you took it in differently as a person of color?

I took it in through that lens because I really believe that was the lens that compelled my father. My dad loved UFOs. When that television series “Project Blue Book” came out, that was another thing. He was fascinated by the universe and excited about it.

This idea that we as humans, where we are right now, are literally just not even at the foothills yet of the mountains of discovery that are out there. He was a man of infinite hope. “Star Trek” gave him that. It showed him that we are going to overcome so much of the stuff that rips at humanity now.

This I’ve never talked about. I had — they’re not dolls, they’re action figures. I had every “Star Trek” action figure you can imagine.

You collected them?

You say collected them. Adults collect. Kids play. So for me, I played with them. My brother and I, as little kids, created whole universes of “Star Trek” on our own. This isn’t fan fiction. This is two young kids whose father was really excited about “Star Trek.” I still remember, I had multiple Spock and Kirk action figures, and I would dress them differently so they would be different characters. This is me as a young, young kid. First grade, second grade. My brother and I would create worlds, forts and spaceships.

Your campaign, in many ways, is Gene Roddenberry’s ideal vision. It’s very optimistic. I look at the world we live in today. And it’s hard for me to see how we end up in the utopia Roddenberry envisioned hundreds of years from now. Do you find yourself struggling with that?

My parents were unflinching in telling my brother and I about the ugliness in the world. We would hear really rough stories of racism and bigotry. It’s almost as if my parents wanted my brother and I to have no illusions about how cruel the world could be. Yet, it was always told with an antidote to that, which was how good and virtuous the world is as well. Growing up with a story of, “This house you’re living in, people tried to stop you from being in this incredible home because of the color of your skin. But guess what? There were do-gooders that came and foiled that attempt.”

You’ve said several times that you take after Picard.

He’s my favorite captain by far.

Why are you so drawn to him over the other captains?

Besides his great haircut, I do love how profoundly intellectual he is and how reasoned and thoughtful. I was just rewatching the episode with him and Wesley Crusher, basically the one where Wesley is leaving and they get trapped and Picard is injured [Season 4’s “Final Mission]. He is incredibly affectionate toward him in a very restrained, British way. You could still see that he is still a nurturing leader. There’s something about his style that I’ve just found compelling.

Is there a character in “Star Trek” that reminds you of Trump?

[Pause] Wow. I mean, the first thing that popped in my mind, which I’d have to think about — just the Ferengi in general.

Quark? [The Ferengi bartender, mostly seen on the show “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Ferengis are known for the relentless pursuit of profit over all else.]

I would definitely not say Quark because there was something about him — he showed some decency and kindness in many episodes.

When you ask me about Trump, what comes more to mind, is just this idea that he is a throwback to a lot of the things that my father would say our species has got to evolve out of.

I’m going to read you a quote from Ted Cruz from when he ran for president in 2015. “I think it is quite likely that Kirk is a Republican and Picard is a Democrat.” Do you agree?

Kirk is from Iowa. It’s so hard for me to answer that question because in the same way, if you look back 50 years ago, blacks were Republicans. So I’m trying to think if you want to look at the classical ideas of the party. I really think where the Republican Party has jolted, that it is now the party of Trump, I definitely do not think either of them would be that.

Your father passed away in 2013. If he was here right now, what’s the one episode you would watch with him?

There’s an episode of “The Next Generation,” [a show] he wasn’t as crazy about as I was. But one of my favorite episodes is a strange one because it’s not really a typical “Star Trek” episode. Season 5, Episode 25, “The Inner Light.” This really spoke to me. When I watched this, I was so one-dimensional in my life and so driven on this pathway. This came out before I became a professional.

Over the years, it spoke to me more and more. I was living this intense life: captain of a city [Mr. Booker was mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013] and didn’t have a family life. “The Inner Light” is this moment where Picard gets some ship that sends a beam out and, literally, Picard is transported to another world and lives 40 years. He has a beautiful family and struggles and learns an instrument. It’s just this amazing whole life. And then he wakes up on the bridge. And he has lost all of that.

The reason why the probe was doing it was because a civilization was ending and they wanted people to not lose that civilization. He didn’t lose 40 years of his life, but he lived an entire lifetime.

The episode really broke me up. For my dad, who lived this incredible life, in the end, he fell into dementia. I think he started to lose perspective on the achievements of his life. In many ways, I was taught by him that we think life is about the big battle. The big election. The big win. But really, I think what my dad taught me — but I felt like he was losing perspective in the end — was that really, life is about the small moments. The every day acts of human kindness.

There’s something beautiful about that episode that just talked about a life well lived.

Sahred From Source link Arts

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[kitdrago]

Ive been a Star Trek Fan (trekker thank you) for most of my memory.   I idolized Mr Spock when I was a kid, and is probably why my face shows emotion only when its extreme.    However, I also have been a fan of the Klingons.  My first major cosplay (outside of halloween) was an Original Era Klingon.    I'm a part of the Klingon Assault Group, have Klingon Armor and a headpiece.  

I got annoyed when they brought the Klingons to earth WAY before Kirks era in Enterprise.  Ive been continuously disappointed with each new iteration of the Klingons in the new movies.   In the most recent version I didn't like them, but (I told myself) they looked like they were MAYBE going through the "Augment Virus" that removed their ridges resulting in the TOS Era klingon.  

The leak from the latest "Star Trek Discovery".    Nope...  Nope...  there is no amount of "explaining it away" that I think Ill be able to accept.

http://www.treknews.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/star-trek-discovery-klingons-01.jpg

They look like the alien from Enemy Mine, not the Klingons.   Nothing wrong with Drac, but no.  Why did they have to screw with the design?  I mean, I understand that every artist wants to put their own touch into the artwork.  However, I feel that changing something that has been a fundamental design for most of the Star Trek timeline is just bleh.  Ship Redesigns, sure.  Uniforms, sure.  Species physical makeup?  tweaks here and there ok.  Making it look like a completely different species, nO.

Ugh...  Ill watch it because its Star Trek, but thank goodness those.... facsimiles are only slated for two episodes.