I haven't read up on the discussion here (for obvious reasons -- not nearly up-to-date); just felt I should pitch in with my tentative review of season 1; some light reading for
anybody who's stuck in an elevator -- over the weekend -- and has already read the whole forum. (And also, wikipedia; please read that first, too.
Heck, even Facebook might be a better novel to read than this review. No, it isn't.)
I started writing this weeks ago, and then... found out I was wrong about something, and didn't have time again to edit -- and curtail -- this post. Really! I deleted some stuff!
For those who wonder about me "suddenly" posting this: It's been a while that I've been here. Other things are keeping me occupied. No time, opportunity, nor energy, to play STCCG, ATM -- nor to be at the forum as much as I was. And in retrospect, not being here "as much as I wanted" forced me, for my own peace of mind, to "not being here at all", for a while. I trust & hope nobody was worried.
On-topic: I've
finally started to watch Discovery. I'm at ep.11 ("The wolf inside"). So far, and -- unwilingly and semi-consciously -- compared to Picard,
I love it. It's not Trek as I was used to, and it has its flaws. Especialy: the idiocy of placing this storyline in the remote past of the TNG era, while blatantly unwilling to adapt to that era's -- a.o. -- esthetics, biology, and technological level. (Spoiler & nuances:
)
But aside from that -- and, as hinted at in the hidden text, writing this might've helped me put it aside! -- I like the story, I can get along with most of the characters (and like one or three), and I like the less formulaic (is that a word?) manner in which the episodes are brought. It's... less polished, less episodic, more late-series-DS9 (which I loved).
A significant part of the reason I write this now -- not even having finished s1 -- is that I am quite passionate about Trek (and Wars, for that matter). So I tend to feel very strongly about new installments. And I have a wish to vent those opinions -- and having looked forward so much to PIC, and the new Trek films and Wars eps, has at times "forced" me to go on hate (or, in the case of Trek films, highly critical) rants. Right now,
after some 8 hours of DIS, I feel quite positive still. And I wanted to share that happiness early -- in case it gets suckerpunched.
After the disappointment that PIC was for me, DIS has restored most of my faith in the franchise's contemporary life. Yes, it's updated in some manners -- and for most reasons -- that I don't agree with, like, or want. But other parts of the upgrades I do like, can get behind, or even enjoy. So... I'm glad.
Oh, for full dis-closure (har. har. har.), I should mention that going in, I already knew this huge, single spoiler* (which really helped me keep an open mind and not be stressed out all the time by the anachronistics of the series):
Perhaps this might help other people (if any!) who haven't started watching yet, and -- like me -- dread their own reactions.
* Edit:
the joke was on me! Further on, I seem to have understood, it seems that this "spoiler" I thought I knew, isn't true at all. I'm so glad I got to get used to DIS while "knowing" it, though.
It gave me breathing room to grow to like it.
The very
best thing about DIS, though (and the reason that I still wanted to post this whole essay), is
that I now -- finally -- understand Sexecutioner's tattoo. Big thumbs up! (Just curious -- what part of the series had you seen, when you decided to have it done? I mean, how soon were you so hooked that you wanted it in ink?)