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Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Valiant
Another episode about how war fucks people up, the Valiant is the Star Trek version of the children's crusade. It isn't too hard to see where the tragedy is going but it is well acted and well paced and I enjoyed it. But man, the first officer is the sassiest Federation crewmember ever.

Profit and Lace
I hear I long time ago this was the worst Trek. And I'll say, it was never good by any stretch but for the first 2/3s, I wasn't squirming, which I can't say for a lot of Trek episodes. And I knew we were heading for "Quark in a dress", which I knew where the episode would get ugly. But man, I wasn't expecting Quark to TRANSITION. And then the show proceeded not only to be transphobic but specifically seem to list off every possible transphobic bad take to have. Its kind of impressive in a horrendous sort of way. Plus, they actually did a "chase Quark around the table" scene. Its kind of a triumph for this to be on the top of the heap for most misogynistic Trek episode considering... the franchise.
 

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
They revealed the Prodigy bridge crew, and uh...

oHgXyiE.jpg


you guys

None of them are human!
They aren't even all humanoid!

I will watch these star teens
 
That looks so much better/high quality than I was expecting.

Also, not convinced one of the two humanoids in the center aren't human, just with some really bad skin conditions.

Can't wait to see what Admiral Janeway looks like now
 
Whew, was worried it would be a human-only crew not far removed from the DS9 episode "Valiant" Johnny Unusual mentioned above. Go alien crew.
 
I'm not convinced it's a robot! I mean, it's very much mostly likely a robot. But I think there's a pretty good possibility it's like, a sentient alien fish piloting a human-sized mecha. And if we're keeping internally consistent with precedent and canon, and assuming this is still in the 24th Century, I think that's the most likely option personally. But we all know how internally consistent Star Trek actually is so it's anyone's guess. But that seems to me less like a robotic eye, and more like a porthole with reflective glare intentionally obscuring the lil feller inside.
 

FelixSH

(He/Him)
Whatever it is, my main point was that it's adorable.

But now that you brought it up, I hope it's actually a robot. One that goes by Asimovs laws. I love Asimov robots. They could get some interesting stories out of one, in the Star Trek universe.

Hmm, this sounds unlikely.

We don't really know anything about this show yet, but like Lower Decks, it looks way more straight-up fun than Picard and Discovery, which both are too dark for my taste. I'm glad we also get these animated shows, which seem to fit my Trek taste way better.

Also, love that the character at least looks like they are all non-humans. I hope the focus will not be too much on the humanoid ones, they still look the least interesting.

Anyway, very curious. Looking forward to this show.
 
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I hope the focus will not be too much on the humanoid ones, they still look the least interesting.
They're in center-frame, so I'm assuming they're the lead characters.

Apparently it's going to air this year, and will be 10 episodes. And originally it was produced for Nickelodeon, it'll still broadcast there, but it'll show up on Paramount+ first.

Also, Disco S4 and Lower Decks are also going to be this year. So that's at least three seasons of new Trek from completely new shows all coming this year. Can't wait! Picard and Strange New Worlds are also in the middle of filming right now as well, so those might not be far behind either.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Back on DS9 finally.

Time's Orphan

A pretty silly episode. There's definitely an interesting emotional core potentially but its clear that this isn't an episode that isn't going to keep the major character change that sparks the episode and the workaround to getting back to the status quo feels like an afterthought. So much so, the b-plot triggered by the episode is played for laughs and tries to convince us Worf would be a good father despite the fact that we have seen he is not.

The Sound of Her Voice

This one is a bit of a shrug for me. Not bad. Thankfully, the twist wasn't what I was fearing, which was the lady voice is secretly an evil entity planning to slowly sow descent amongst the crew. The actual reveal isn't BAD but I never felt close to this voice the way the crew tries to make me feel they are. I think the worst thing is probably a dumb act break that the show immediately takes back. It would be one thing if the fake out hinted at something else pertinent to the plot, but its just a manufactured non-crisis that forwards nothing because the show needed something before commercial. Also, is this the one with the Quark/Jake/Odo story? That was silly and while I think with better writing, Odo going against his usual nature could work, the episode didn't sell me one it.

Tears of the Prophets

This isn't a bad episode but I feel like the show was trying to have a sense of a big season end shift in the same way the much better "Call to Arms" did but it does it with plot points I don't care much about. I stand by my opinion that Dukat's story was over last season and while the character never clicked with me, Jadzia's death should have more emotional weight than it does. Also, stop trying to sell me on Vic Fontaine. The fact that EVERY other character likes him doesn't make me like him, it makes him feel like a fanfic character. Compare that with Morn, a character everyone seems to like to some degree but he's also an enigma, which makes that element more charming.

Image in the Sand/Shadows and Symbols

This is kind of a mixed bag two-parter. Again, too much Vic Fontaine (why is the hologram complaining about his place getting fucked up? And why is Quark even giving him the time of day?), which is some. Sisko's story... its fine. I don't like retconning his nature as a chosen one, even if it does make a certain level of sense from the non-linear prophets and the fact that even though the prophets seem pretty ignorant of the awful manipulation of a person they did, Sisko should be a little more upset with them. Despite riding the coattails of a much better episode, I didn't mind them using Far Beyond the Stars and found that scene and Sisko's freakout effective. That said, while I like that, I feel like as a conclusion to the Pa'Wrath threat its kind of anti-climactic, even if I wasn't that interested in it as a threat. Really, I was more interested in the idea of God (or Gods) very publically being removed from people's lives. A "how do you go on" story of hope and sacrifice in the absence of God feels like a LOT of untapped potential. I also feel like the Pa'Wrath cult exists purely for a quick bit of tension and disappears. And I don't care that much but aside from implying "this is dangerous", why even? Its functional in a small way but feels so disposable for a threat that stops being a thing after they are explained.

I liked Kira's story. The funny thing is, I was thinking in the early interactions with Kira and the Romulan, I already sensed more romantic tension than in ANY of Kira's other relationships. Its probably the consistently strongest thread of the three. The weakest is Worf's story. Obviously, closure was needed but Quark's involvement makes zero sense in terms of his character. And its not that I don't think Quark, despite his nature, wouldn't do something brave or heroic against his usual nature, I don't buy that this is the way in which he would do so and he never actually does a thing, meaning this was a "we need to keep Armin around" subplot. He would have made more sense shoved into the Kira plot, frankly.
 

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
Vic Fontaine is used well exactly once, and it’s one of the best episodes in the whole franchise.
 

zonetrope

(he/him)
Vic is kind of like Q for me — the character is ridiculous god-level bullshit, but the performance is very charming. The only one of his episodes I flat-out dislike is the one that introduces him.
 

FelixSH

(He/Him)
Years ago, I watched DS9 for the first time. I remembered Vic as really irritating. I felt like you, every member of the cast loved him, but he seemed so, dunno, perfect and boring? And just never fit into the world of DS9.

When I rewatched the show a year ago, I didn't have much of a problem with him. Yes, he was still mainly pointless (except for that one episode Sprite mentioned), but he also appeared less often than I remembered. Maybe knowing about him makes him less annoying.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Afterimage

An episode designed to fit new character Ezri into the new cast on a fulltime basis is... mostly fine. There's Garak business, though I feel like the character's had bigger and better breakdowns. Also, Jesus Sisko, you end the episode sending Garak more codes for Garak to crack when that is literally what made him... crack? That's fucked, m'dude.

Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite

This is everything I wanted a baseball episode of Star Trek to be. It was very fun. Also, they had the perfect opportunity to have Vic Fontaine sing the Federation Anthem or whatever and they didn't and for that, I'm grateful. Definitely one of the best lighthearted episodes that wasn't about Ferengi.
 

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
I’m just about done season 2 of DS9. And most of the season so far has been the show figuring out what makes it different from all the preceding and consequent Trek series; and that’s the fact that now everything in the squeaky clean future is terrible. After a few episodes that tried to put Cardassians into a more sympathetic light we get a pretty hard reminder that, no, their entire culture is either straight up nazis or else Stalinist Russia (depending on the episode) and meet the most successful defence attorney Cardassia has ever produced... because he loses every case and therefor makes the government look strong for executing so many dissidents.

Several episodes earlier, we also learn that the only reason the One Single Nice Cardassian is so cordial is because he has a brain implant that constantly flooding his skull with endorphins.

In conclusion; these lizard men suck
 
...and that’s the fact that now everything in the squeaky clean future is terrible.
Everything on the fringes of civilization/outside of the Federation, sure. But that's not really any different than TOS or TNG where every week they visit a new messed up place full of problems. The difference in DS9 is that instead of zipping off into the sunset to never think of that messed up place again, they stick around and really dig into the setting to give it multiple dimensions. Meanwhile, when Sisko goes home to visit his dad, Earth seems like a pretty dope place to live. I'd love to be able to run a restaurant or just work at a restaurant, without having to worry about the financial side of things and just serving people lovingly crafted food because I felt like it. Meanwhile, Nog can just transport to said restaurant any evening he feels like it in an instant despite being over 2,000 miles away because hey why not.
 

Alixsar

The Shogun of Harlem
(He/him)
Remember how Star Trek Voyager was an entire series of mid-tier TNG episodes and a handful of legitimately good ones?

Well Star Trek Enterprise is an entire series of awful TNG episodes with a handful of mid-tier ones. Good Lord. Everyone says it gets better after Season 1, and here's hoping so. I'm only like 7 or so episodes in and Captain "Good" Conservative Dad is reallylllllylyyylllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy getting old.

The pilot was honestly not too bad, and then the phrase "temporal Cold War" came up and I was like...fuck, this is gonna be A Thing™ isn't it? Looking forward to more insanely bad ideas.

Also, I've mostly been watching it while exercising, and I take my glasses off so I don't get sweat on them, and it took me two full episodes to determine which white guy was Trip and which was Reed if they weren't talking. That was kinda fun for a while. I also enjoyed the 2nd episode where Hoshi had a crisis and in the last scene I said out loud to myself (as she was putting the slug down) "See little guy? You were a metaphor for my internal struggle this whole time" and then like...there was a line of dialogue summing that up and the credits rolled.

I laughed at how bad it was, but like...God, when does this show get good? People say Season 3...right? Please say 2, because that means it happens sooner
 

FelixSH

(He/Him)
If you don't like S1, you probably won't like S2 either. Except for a handful episodes that I found just great. People who don't like the show seem to think they are just weaker versions of excellent episodes from earlier shows, though, so dunno how they will work for you. On the whole, S2 is just more of S1.

Dunno what else to say, I enjoyed the show, when I watched it a few months ago. I hope you'll find stuff to like, too.
 

Johnny Unusual

(He/Him)
Treachery, Faith and the Great River

A decent character-centric episode centered around Odo, Weyoun and Weyoun. There's intrigue but it is mostly in favour of a good two-hander where we get some depth into one of the show's most persistent enemies. The b-plot is silly fun, too, with Nog using his Ferengi bargaining skills to get O'Brien what he needs, but requires a lot of wheeling and dealing of resources. Its fun and actually works as a more economical version of the Jake/Nog stembolts story from early on in the series.
 

Alixsar

The Shogun of Harlem
(He/him)
Thought I just had: "This came out just after 9/11, didn't it?"

*Googles the air dates of Season 1 of Enterprise*

Okay you know what? Yeah, yup. Yup! Yeah, that checks out. I think everything makes a LOT more sense now, suddenly.
 

Lakupo

Comes and goes with the wind
(he/him)
I think ENT S2 starts off alright. I happen to like Carbon Creek, and A Night In Sickbay is at least... iconic? In good and bad ways. Minefield and Dead Stop definitely showed a lot of promise for better storytelling that did not get fulfilled until S3 and S4. Too much Rick Berman lingering around I guess.

I started watching VOY: Endgame this weekend but stopped it a few minutes in, because I wasn't sure if I wanted the Voyager rewatch to be over already. It's overall been nice fluff to watch this past year. But I've already started on Babylon 5 on HBO Max, so I've got more scifi TV to watch in the background already.
 

FelixSH

(He/Him)
I find Carbon Creek to be one of my all-time favourite episodes of Star Trek. A Night in Sickbay is a personal favourite of mine, but people seem to dislike it. *shrug*

But I've already started on Babylon 5 on HBO Max
This makes me excited, I love B5. Is this your first time or a rewatch?
 
I'm rewatching Ent as well. I'm loving it. Now originally when it was new I felt same as Alixsar. I was annoyed by existence of Suliban, time wars, and the cast I thought was bad, aside from Trip and Phlox, who I loved. I thought Archer and Tpol were bad characters, badly acted.

So i watched the first season, and felt the pre-quelling was done poor, but got excited about the time war stuff, only for the 2nd half of the finale to whiff. So i bounced off and came back for back end of s3, and Xindi have same anachronistic quality as Suliban, plus the interstellar war should be with Romulans right? But s3 got me in, and s4 was a major course correction for using the prequel setting well.

The finale (terra prime) was great.
The actual finale really really sucks, but the final moments are actually beautiful.

So rewatching it now, I'm mid s2 (i missed a lot of cool eps, and first 10 are episodic, but each ep flows to next in a cool way that newer trek could learn from) and I love Archer, and I love TPol. Blalock is straight up kicking ass. I think when you have a new Vulcan, the tendency is to compare to Spock/Nimoy. But that character has a specific arc over 50 years about learning to embrace his emotions, his human side, and being more loose.

TPol is extremely racist versus humans and Archer has a giant resentment against vulcans. But as they travel around they both come around to each other, in an extremely natural way. Archer sees how you have to be more careful, thoughtful in space travel and first contacts, when to get involved. TPol learns about the rigidity of Vulcan dogma and the resourcefulness of humanity. It's totally wild. I also love when she does a sick burn, or someone says something to her and she seethes with arrogance. It's a really nuanced performance.

Oh and I straight up love the Andorians. Incredible make up, more Coombs. Wild
 
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