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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Retired Moderator
#561664
So which pair eventually becomes a couple?

A. Boimler/Mariner
B. Rutherford/Tendi
C. Both
D. Neither
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Second Edition Design Manager
By The Guardian (Richard New)
 - Second Edition Design Manager
 -  
2E North American Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
#561719
Boffo97 wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 11:59 pm So which pair eventually becomes a couple?

A. Boimler/Mariner
B. Rutherford/Tendi
C. Both
D. Neither
A. For maybe an episode. They're fighting it too hard. I think B is better as friends.

What I want to know is what is the answer to Tendi's riddle:
Three sets of twins are lost at sea. Each set shares a parent with the other, but no two sets are the same. What is the name of the boat?
I feel like I've heard this one before...
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#561734
Caretaker's Guest wrote:I like Lower Decks very much. It has a heart
Let's see, we have a first officer who is very much a party bro, a hyper aggressive security officer, and quite possibly the worst main character in the franchise, an objectively horrible person. There was a whole episode based around Boimler being so pathetic he can not possibly have a girlfriend that hot. Freeman has regressed from one of the best captains around to someone who gets scammed.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very heartfelt moments in the series but as a whole there is a lot of room for improvement.
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By Armus (Brian Sykes)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Regent
Community Contributor
#561735
Faithful Reader wrote: Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:59 pm
Caretaker's Guest wrote:I like Lower Decks very much. It has a heart
Let's see, we have a first officer who is very much a party bro, a hyper aggressive security officer, and quite possibly the worst main character in the franchise, an objectively horrible person. There was a whole episode based around Boimler being so pathetic he can not possibly have a girlfriend that hot. Freeman has regressed from one of the best captains around to someone who gets scammed.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very heartfelt moments in the series but as a whole there is a lot of room for improvement.
It's a cartoon. Don't take it too seriously.
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#561859
Car chase! They are hard to do with trek, but we got one here. They are really taking advantage of the medium with giving us some great action sequences.

We have Mariner and Boimler having some moments, both high octane and otherwise. Boimler wasn't able to get both of the into the shindig but it wasn't the same without her. Plus we have a nod to TOS in there as well.

The model was very well detailed and it is fun for Rutherford to spend time together, even making excuses to do so. The bridge crew had some fun, too.

Richard Kind was great. The animation captured the character based off his voice and everything came together. It would probably have not worked in person but this was fantastic to watch.

Before getting into scoring, Quark is doing great for himself. Either that or he's licensed the name. No doubt promoted by his brother being Nagus.

The party was not away team mission, so Freeman, Ransom and T'Ana got points. Also, Ransom demonstrated some good diplomacy in the teaser and Tendi was good with engineering.

We are still in a three point race! Grander, The Guardian and jadziadax8 are leading the pack with boffo97, BCSWowbanger, weounslastclone and Mogor just behind and armus having plenty of time to get two points to tie and three to win since we are only halfway through the first season.
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#562289
Pakleds, thy status as recurring Lower Decks villains is established. We learned a lot more about their culture and have a few with speaking roles along with a home planet, both from orbit and the ground.

Freeman and Ransom both came into their own. Freeman is back at the top of her game as a diplomat. She held her own on the planet and was able to cover while Ransom was looking for a spy and got a support for her actions. Ransom took command although he did not check the airlock. The gift shop merch was a fun visual.

I'm not a fan of the Pakleds as just plain stupid, They were originally portrayed as having low verbal abilities.

The shipboard plot was fun. We have some Redshirts (Pfffft!) who are all about making the big speech, which is a part of it but not all without experience and a crew behind to back you up.

Plus, we got a bending over Kzinti.

The trash duty was a fun activity for the main cast. It's fun to see all these random pieces that need to be taken away in some fashion. The transporter is probably a no go and even Tendi got a little fed up but eventually found the fun in it.

Looking at the draft, Ransom and T'Ana did not go on an way team while Rutherford and Tendi went through things that are physically impossible. Also, there was a lot of outside knowledge used in the item collection so Marienr, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi all get points for that.

With scores overall, everyone is in the two digit club and we are spread over four points instead of three. I can now post point totals (or always could have but just recently found out) so totals are below.

14 BCSWowbanger
14 Grandar
14 Mogor
14 Jadziadax8
13 The Guardian
12 Boffo97
11 Armus
11 WeyounslastClone
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#563015
Now that was a second season episode! There's forward progress made in relationships and prior event are referenced. The characters take strides both individually and together. Probably the best episode of season two thus far.

Billups has been largely in the background but the focus on him showed us another side to him. His mother is the most manipulative mother trying to get her child laid since Lwxanna Troi. We also got a new look at a society infusing technology with old world terms. Rutherford got to see a new side of his boss.

We also see the lengths Tendi will go to in order to make sure Rutherford is all right. It just seemed a little too quick for Rutherford to die in that manner.

Marienr and Boimler continue to have great chemistry with each other Boimler not only gets to shoot Mariner but also brilliantly saves the day. The Ai was played fabulously by Jeremy Combs and the jokes on the planet were great. I am wondering if they came back to the planet for salvaging purposes. mariner had every right to be pissed off at Boimler but there was a reason for it and given the shit she gives everyone, her getting shot was a great moment.

Freeman did not have a lot of screen time, but there was a lot of subtext when she accepted the resignation. Normally the director can rely on the actors to convey emotions, but the animators did a strong job as well. The writing was great as well, especially with the manipulative AI, a fun take on the trope.

Looking at the draft, Boimler, Mariner and Rutherford went on an away team mission while Freeman and T'Ana did not. Rutherford spoke a 'foreign' language, of at least terminology, Tendi knew things outside her stated field about Rutherford's implant nd Boimler shot a phaser.

The leaderboard is below but there is still room to catch up as the season draws to a close.

14 Armus
17 BCSWowbanger
15 Boffo97
17 Grandar
16 Jadziadax8
17 Mogor
14 The Guardian
13 WeyounslastClone
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Second Edition Design Manager
By The Guardian (Richard New)
 - Second Edition Design Manager
 -  
2E North American Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
#563063
MidnightLich wrote: Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:50 pm The fact there is a planet full of horny ren faire people is just the best. Especially if you've been / hung around the horny ren faire people.
This comment is making me sad. The Gilroy Ren Faire is always a fun outing with the family (and who doesn't love a 1500-calorie turkey leg?), but I just heard a commercial for it this year and can't imagine it being safe enough to take the kids. (I have to show off ringing the bell at the top of the test of strength to someone and my wife isn't as impressed anymore. I need the kids there!) All this leads to not being able to go and makes me sad.

But... the idea of cosplaying as Billups and telling every maiden that I'm not interested does sound appealing in the future. (I love a joke that only I - and probably one other stranger, who will throw up from laughter - will get.)
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Director of First Edition
By MidnightLich (Charlie Plaine)
 - Director of First Edition
 -  
Prophet
#563064
The Guardian wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:40 pm
MidnightLich wrote: Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:50 pm The fact there is a planet full of horny ren faire people is just the best. Especially if you've been / hung around the horny ren faire people.
This comment is making me sad. The Gilroy Ren Faire is always a fun outing with the family (and who doesn't love a 1500-calorie turkey leg?), but I just heard a commercial for it this year and can't imagine it being safe enough to take the kids. (I have to show off ringing the bell at the top of the test of strength to someone and my wife isn't as impressed anymore. I need the kids there!) All this leads to not being able to go and makes me sad.

But... the idea of cosplaying as Billups and telling every maiden that I'm not interested does sound appealing in the future. (I love a joke that only I - and probably one other stranger, who will throw up from laughter - will get.)
I would wager the horny was always there, Richard - they just used to do a better job of hiding it. Every ren faire volunteer I've ever known has stories about backstage exploits.
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#563431
Season One Episode Seven, Veritus, was an ensemble piece showing our main characters in a variety of situations with a tenuous connection. Much the same can be said for Season Two Episode Seven.

This was an excuse to put our crew in different situations. The format being animation, we were able to see a lot of them and have some fun references to fun times. The Old West. A frolicking crew. The Mirror Universe. Things started getting into place when Rutherford ran out of time even though he figured things out.

It is great that Boimler ended up saving the day. His character was initially described as someone who would ace the written test but flunk the field one so seeing him not only be the hero but find ways to be a better hero was great.

As far as points are concerned, everyone got away team points and Boimler got some for firing a phaser. The leaderboard is below as the spread returns while one person breaks twenty.

17 Armus
19 BCSWowbanger
18 Boffo97
20 Grandar
18 Jadziadax8
19 Mogor
16 The Guardian
15 WeyounslastClone
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#563884
One of our own passed away this past week. Dave Hines was part of this competition and if his picks end up winning, he will be awarded the win posthumously. This post is dedicated in his memory.

The penultimate episode is the first to have a title not in English. And take up the whole screen.

We didn't get all the much from our crew, though we got to see them have some 'down time.' The parings seemed natural though Boimler and Ransom were kind of mushed together but we got to let everyone have some fun with their bosses.

We got to see how the other groups treated their lower decks, which showed insight into our mains. On one end, we have T'Lyn who is trying to color outside the lines like Mariner. The instincts were right in the end but it got her booted to a human ship. It may have seemed boring but the actors and director had fun with it. Besides, we need something to balance out everything else.

On the other hand we have a Klingon Defense Force vessel and we had another view of Klingons outside the military. It's great to see types other than career officers in Klingon portions of episodes. Ma'ah is trying to get ahead, much like Boimler. He knew what was going on and restored glory to the empire. We do not know how long his captaincy will last but by all we have seen he is in good shape. All in all they did not have a lot of screen time but were able to sell a lot of new characters in a short amount of time.

The plot came together in the climax where we found out where the Pakelds were getting their weapons from. The captain that didn't know that bombs were one use only was great. Everything came together in the scene including a fun bit with their lower decks. One wonders hat is left on the table for the season finale.

This is a new kind of storytelling to trek. Some hours get flack for making their main cast glorified guest stars but this, like the episode First Contact, show that playing with story structure is fun at times.

And if the end tag does not have you laughing out loud, it will at least put a smile on your face.

In terms of the draft, there was no away team so Freeman, Ransom and T'Ana get points. Also, Mariner and Freeman were at the phaser range getting points for that. With one week left, everyone is within two points of each other making it anyone's game.

18 Armus
19 BCSWowbanger
19 Boffo97
20 Grandar
19 Jadziadax8
19 Mogor
18 The Guardian
18 WeyounslastClone

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