Thursday, April 18, 2019

ST: Discovery: Not a fan

For me, it is almost exactly 52 years since I first watched Star Trek as a 6 year old. My initial memory is of being scared by the aliens. Of course, I gradually fell in love with it and its credo has had a not insignificant impact on my life; second, perhaps, only to my Jewish faith. As a fan, I, of course, enjoyed the subsequent spinoffs, notably, as most would agree, TNG.
As an adult, a physician and scientist with some experience in writing non-fiction science, I admire, greatly, the imagination and creative juices of not only the Star Trek writers but others in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. Some of these, Roddenberry, Tolkien, Bradbury, Clarke and Asimov (just to name a few) are etched in my memory as in a cathedral to greatness.
STD, though I use that moniker not at all casually, makes me appreciate that greatness of imagination even more so. We have talents producing science fiction and films, today, but they pale in imagination compared to that previous generation. I am not a huge fan of the term, "the greatest generation", but, perhaps, it plays here.
What prompted the creators and writers to go back to the decade before TOS? Lack of imagination. Why did they feel the need to bring new ST tech and new, real world CGI back to the time before? "We will never use holographic projectors on the Enterprise again", said no real captain anywhere. Literary device to cover lack of imagination. Why was it necessary to tie Burnham to Spock? Could she not have stood on her own as an ST lead? Why create a war with the Klingons (season 1) that did not have reference in any other timelines. Why reinvent the Klingons appearance rather than create something new? Even the concept of the Terran universe taken from TOS: Mirror. Why introduce even more technology into a timeline where we now it doesn't exits? The red angel suit: ironman. Even some of Burnham's kneeling positions are taken from Ironman. Why? Lack of imagination. The finale? A Star Wars (gasp!) look alike. Time crystals? Really? Can you spell Deus ex machina? (What's wrong with a good old hyperbolic trajectory toward the Sun?)
Don't get me wrong, there some moments of goodness but few of greatness. I did like Like and number 1. But if you wanted to do a TOS Enterprise prequel you'd had to have focused on story and not tech. Can't do that? Then don't. The spore drive? Good. But it doesn't fit in the timeline so a distraction. I could go on.
The worst part is that, at the end of season 2, we now know that the abuse of the TOS timeline was just a setup for season 3. Well, that, for me, will be only the first test of their creativity and imagination. And even then, they will have to convince me that couldn't have launched season 3 without a more creative introduction.