Even at its least artistic level music serves the same purpose as a laugh track. It's a way to create context for a scene without making the scene much longer to allow dialog and action to paint the full picture. You can use music to code a character as a villain, to inform who the audience is supposed to side with in a conflict, or just to signal that something important was just said. Used properly it lets a show do in a scene what Picard needs half a season to talk through.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
"How could anyone be so [Rick Berman] at their job?! It's their job! The whole requirement is to not be [Rick Berman] at it!"
is a refrain I have had on constant loop in my head my entire adult life
And now I've been reminded to post this video, from the end of the previous era, which IMO is greatly enhanced by the use of one of the best pieces of that era.
Again this episode is fun. It is showing off the crew and their special abilities. Freakin' Tilly is back! Love it. Action freakin' Saru! We get weird science answers to things.
More Book but I love Book.
Also the old Romulan backdoor for friends. So good.
Yes its a big galaxy spanning thing. But its a puzzle/quest. With Romulan trickery. People's pasts. And the Progenitors.
But also it is 100% the end of the series but in a good way. I approve of it.
I thought TNG replaced the music director rather than fired them? You can hear a very distinct change in the music from S2-S3, S1/2 have a very electronic score, while S3 moves to more traditional strings etc. I actually really like the electronic score from early seasons but it's quite 80s.
Just got done watching season one of Prodigy, and now I'm left wondering who thought it was a good idea to hide the stealth sequel to Voyager behind the facade of a kid's show.
Just got done watching season one of Prodigy, and now I'm left wondering who thought it was a good idea to hide the stealth sequel to Voyager behind the facade of a kid's show.
It's so good right! It fixes so much of my problem with Voyager!
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Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
I watched the first two eps of Disco S5 last night. As much as I pine for the show to do self-contained episode style plots, this Progenitor mcguffin plot-line seems pretty interesting, enough for me to keep watching anyhow.
It's weird how I ended up liking the cast/crew of SNW more than Disco though.
It's certainly the show I'm more excited to see take up the mantle of Trek.
Just got done watching season one of Prodigy, and now I'm left wondering who thought it was a good idea to hide the stealth sequel to Voyager behind the facade of a kid's show.
I’m really curious about Season 2 being released in France (for some reason) this past week. I don’t think they have the English dubs, however.
They're waiting to not get sued. The network in France that decided "TBA" means "immediately upon receipt" is probably going to get dinged with some contract penalties.
So, Star Trek III:The Search for the guy we lost last time... Its an odd numbered movie so as the saying goes its... Kinda good. Its not great and its a step down from WoK, but its a good movie. It lacks the tense set pieces off WoK, but it has its own that are good enough. If it has a flaw its that it requires you to be invested in these characters before viewing. You have to care about Kirk and Co in order for the stakes to feel relevant. Not much, you don't have to have seen TOS, but WoK will do fine. Compared to the MCU or the DCEU, its practically approachable. There references in the background, but none that last more than a few seconds and none that matter.
The Villain is a step down, but Kruge works for the movie. Considering how much the Klingons have been built up in Star Trek Lore, this movie is the first time we see them in their modern form for any length of time. First Use of the Klingon language as we know it. First showing of their distinctive weapons. Even the first showing of what will be the defining Klingon ship the Bird of Prey(It was supposed to be a stolen Romulan vessel, but they decided to streamline the story). This is the movie where the Klingons started to transform into the honorbound warrior race instead of the thinly veiled russian stand-in. Kruge is played by veteran comedian Christopher Lloyd, one year out from his defining role in Back to the Future and his second Maltz is played by John Larroquette. Makes you wonder how the internet would have reacted to these "new" Klingons considering when the reaction to Disco Klingons. (Badly, the answer is badly).
The action is fast paced but lacking in intensity until they get to Genesis. We know that Starfleet isn't going to kill our heroes so the Spacedock escape and Excelsior pursuit are not as thrilling as the meeting between Enterprise and Reliant, (the two models and the model of the USS Grissom would be staples of the show for the next 15 years). Once we get there, it becomes tense again. The Enterprise should swat the Bird of Prey out of the sky, but since was damaged in the last movie and is run solely by bridge crew its at a disadvantage. Kirk uses his skills to get the first shot in, showing that he should win, but the Enterprise lacks the firepower to do so. Kirks solution is to bluff, but Kruge being a modern Klingon decides to use the hostages he had taken earlier to counter. One of which is Kirks son David(skipping whole subplots and characters here, but then if you don't know watch the movie).
This is where we see that Shatner is a better actor than the Khaaaaaan parodies have led us to believe. Here is a man who faces unimaginable loss and Shatner plays it beautifully. He is shaken, but still in control of himself. You can see Kirk break inside, but remain the captain he was. He hates Kruge, but instead of a paroxysm of anger, he immediately starts working on a plan to get out of the bind he is in. It works sort of, but it ends in a final showdown on Genesis, mano a mano against Kruge. Strangely enough Kruge has earned the dreaded Double fist punch from Kirk in a way that Khan never did. Even if Shatner can't really emote it, you get the idea that he hates Kruge in a way he never hated Khan.
It ends with the guy we lost last time being back with Leonard Nimoy as Spock. And the Adventure continues! It says so in the text at the end.
Best Character is David Marcus played by Merritt Butrick. Not for anything he really did in this movie, but because he performance in both this and WoK. He did a good job being the son that Kirk knew was out there but who he had never really connected too. Kirk's loss of a relationship with his son would be one of the cornerstones of ST6 and shows that character growth is possible in movies. He made Kirk a better character. Some people might wonder what happened to Merritt Butrick and this is where it is my sad duty to inform you that he passed away in 1989 due to complications of AIDS. He was only 29 years old. This means when we see his picture in ST6 released in 1991 he was already dead. A tragic loss from a despicable disease. Rest in Peace
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
"I...Have had...ENOUGH OF YOU!" is something I quote to this day when some piece of technology is pissing me off.
"The Word? The Word is no, I am therefore going anyway" is also a favorite as it sums up Kirk.
Star Trek 3 is odd in that it's basically the 2nd half of WoK. Star Trek 2,3,4 are a trilogy but 3 really feels like it's just the next reels from WoK - it carries on barely a few weeks later but to the viewer it feels like the next day. [Technically 2,3,4 and 5 all take place within just over a year!] They even bring back Horner who just uses riffs from the previous movie along with new music so it feels like the same movie.
3 gives Kirk the physical confrontation denied in WoK - who wouldn't want Khan getting a boot to the face. In a very early draft Genesis was going to regenerate Khan so they could continue the fight face to face but this was dropped as daft and undermining the previous film.
Star Trek 3 reminds me a lot of Back To The Future 2, it exists as a vehicle to get from where they started to the finish.
RazielMortem on
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HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
After SNW I will try my very very best to watch Discovery again. I figured out I stopped in season 2 so I’ll pick it up there.
Otherwise I’ll probably go through the films in chronological order. Whatever I do I’ll devote 20% of my brain to missing Anson Mount until he gets back in my teevee.
"I...Have had...ENOUGH OF YOU!" is something I quote to this day when some piece of technology is pissing me off.
"The Word? The Word is no, I am therefore going anyway" is also a favorite as it sums up Kirk.
Star Trek 3 is odd in that it's basically the 2nd half of WoK. Star Trek 2,3,4 are a trilogy but 3 really feels like it's just the next reels from WoK - it carries on barely a few weeks later but to the viewer it feels like the next day. [Technically 2,3,4 and 5 all take place within just over a year!] They even bring back Horner who just uses riffs from the previous movie along with new music so it feels like the same movie.
3 gives Kirk the physical confrontation denied in WoK - who wouldn't want Khan getting a boot to the face. In a very early draft Genesis was going to regenerate Khan so they could continue the fight face to face but this was dropped as daft and undermining the previous film.
Star Trek 3 reminds me a lot of Back To The Future 2, it exists as a vehicle to get from where they started to the finish.
I'd go so far as to say 2-3-4-6 are a quadrilogy, with many of the themes of the first three movies reaching their conclusion in 6. You've got Kirk's fear of getting old in 2 maturing into acceptance in 6, his hatred of Klingons for murdering his son in 3 being set aside to save Klingons. Even his demotion in 4 over his actions in 3 come back to bite him in the ass.
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HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
Okay I'm back in Discovery, started from S2A2.
It's really interesting how different it is to SNW in tone of course but also the production. It looks much more expensive, gritty and has really different expressivity in the filmmaking. Seemingly a lot more special effects also. There's merit to both styles it's just so completely different.
Oh the films 2-6 are weirdly the most cohesive set of films in any genre. Whether you don't like the odds, they really are all worth watching together.
It's really interesting how different it is to SNW in tone of course but also the production. It looks much more expensive, gritty and has really different expressivity in the filmmaking. Seemingly a lot more special effects also. There's merit to both styles it's just so completely different.
Season 2 is still them trying to figure out what to do with the show. I think they manage to find a rough outline of it in season 3 and absolutely nail it in season 4.
Season 2 is still them trying to figure out what to do with the show. I think they manage to find a rough outline of it in season 3 and absolutely nail it in season 4.
The funny thing is you can apply this to multiple Trek series and have it be accurate.
Nobody remembers the singer. The song remains.
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HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I'm liking this Discovery season plenty well so far. I'm not yet to the point where I dropped off initially, I don't remember exactly when that was but I recognize the plot beats so far.
A recap reminded me that one of the main things I disliked about the show was Ash Tyler. I hope his presence going forward is minimal.
Season 2 is still them trying to figure out what to do with the show. I think they manage to find a rough outline of it in season 3 and absolutely nail it in season 4.
The funny thing is you can apply this to multiple Trek series and have it be accurate.
Honestly that is true of many series. First season S1 is establishing the setting and the characters, while S2 is figuring out phase, S3 is the combination of fleshed out setting and figured out story and S4 is the conclusion.
The S5 is the what now phase, S6 is the let rerun the greatest hits, while S7 is the final season we are out of ideas sprint to the finish line aka lets wrap things up phase. Then you have S8-9 Is the let us die phase, while S10-11 is That thing still on phase. S12+ is the they are still paying so we might as well keep making this shit.
Thankfully No Star trek series has ever suffered a S8+ series. The only exception would be if you considered S1-3 of Picard as S8-9-10 of TNG, in which case it fits perfectly.
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
Yes but Michael Burnham in Season 1 made me want to scream. That was new for Star Trek.
Watching S3 now with a friend. It's getting better, but they need to stop wedging her into the center of every episode. (I hear they do, eventually.)
Season 4. She's still kind of there sometimes when she doesn't need to be, but the season gives a lot of underutilized characters critical jobs and then trusts them to do them without Burnham coming in at the last minute, while also creating an equally critical situation near the end that only she could resolve.
So, Star Trek III:The Search for the guy we lost last time... Its an odd numbered movie so as the saying goes its... Kinda good. Its not great and its a step down from WoK, but its a good movie. It lacks the tense set pieces off WoK, but it has its own that are good enough. If it has a flaw its that it requires you to be invested in these characters before viewing. You have to care about Kirk and Co in order for the stakes to feel relevant. Not much, you don't have to have seen TOS, but WoK will do fine. Compared to the MCU or the DCEU, its practically approachable. There references in the background, but none that last more than a few seconds and none that matter.
The Villain is a step down, but Kruge works for the movie. Considering how much the Klingons have been built up in Star Trek Lore, this movie is the first time we see them in their modern form for any length of time. First Use of the Klingon language as we know it. First showing of their distinctive weapons. Even the first showing of what will be the defining Klingon ship the Bird of Prey(It was supposed to be a stolen Romulan vessel, but they decided to streamline the story). This is the movie where the Klingons started to transform into the honorbound warrior race instead of the thinly veiled russian stand-in. Kruge is played by veteran comedian Christopher Lloyd, one year out from his defining role in Back to the Future and his second Maltz is played by John Larroquette. Makes you wonder how the internet would have reacted to these "new" Klingons considering when the reaction to Disco Klingons. (Badly, the answer is badly).
The action is fast paced but lacking in intensity until they get to Genesis. We know that Starfleet isn't going to kill our heroes so the Spacedock escape and Excelsior pursuit are not as thrilling as the meeting between Enterprise and Reliant, (the two models and the model of the USS Grissom would be staples of the show for the next 15 years). Once we get there, it becomes tense again. The Enterprise should swat the Bird of Prey out of the sky, but since was damaged in the last movie and is run solely by bridge crew its at a disadvantage. Kirk uses his skills to get the first shot in, showing that he should win, but the Enterprise lacks the firepower to do so. Kirks solution is to bluff, but Kruge being a modern Klingon decides to use the hostages he had taken earlier to counter. One of which is Kirks son David(skipping whole subplots and characters here, but then if you don't know watch the movie).
This is where we see that Shatner is a better actor than the Khaaaaaan parodies have led us to believe. Here is a man who faces unimaginable loss and Shatner plays it beautifully. He is shaken, but still in control of himself. You can see Kirk break inside, but remain the captain he was. He hates Kruge, but instead of a paroxysm of anger, he immediately starts working on a plan to get out of the bind he is in. It works sort of, but it ends in a final showdown on Genesis, mano a mano against Kruge. Strangely enough Kruge has earned the dreaded Double fist punch from Kirk in a way that Khan never did. Even if Shatner can't really emote it, you get the idea that he hates Kruge in a way he never hated Khan.
It ends with the guy we lost last time being back with Leonard Nimoy as Spock. And the Adventure continues! It says so in the text at the end.
Best Character is David Marcus played by Merritt Butrick. Not for anything he really did in this movie, but because he performance in both this and WoK. He did a good job being the son that Kirk knew was out there but who he had never really connected too. Kirk's loss of a relationship with his son would be one of the cornerstones of ST6 and shows that character growth is possible in movies. He made Kirk a better character. Some people might wonder what happened to Merritt Butrick and this is where it is my sad duty to inform you that he passed away in 1989 due to complications of AIDS. He was only 29 years old. This means when we see his picture in ST6 released in 1991 he was already dead. A tragic loss from a despicable disease. Rest in Peace
While fandom always reacts poorly to change, the different Klingons in the movies is a whole different level from what Disco tried to do.
They were still Klingons, but now more distinctly so than actors in eyeliner. Not actors with facehuggers grafted on, trying to emote in an artificial language with a mouth full of oversized novelty teeth.
The Dicso concept wasn’t inherently doomed, which made the poor execution just that much worse.
So, Star Trek III:The Search for the guy we lost last time... Its an odd numbered movie so as the saying goes its... Kinda good. Its not great and its a step down from WoK, but its a good movie. It lacks the tense set pieces off WoK, but it has its own that are good enough. If it has a flaw its that it requires you to be invested in these characters before viewing. You have to care about Kirk and Co in order for the stakes to feel relevant. Not much, you don't have to have seen TOS, but WoK will do fine. Compared to the MCU or the DCEU, its practically approachable. There references in the background, but none that last more than a few seconds and none that matter.
The Villain is a step down, but Kruge works for the movie. Considering how much the Klingons have been built up in Star Trek Lore, this movie is the first time we see them in their modern form for any length of time. First Use of the Klingon language as we know it. First showing of their distinctive weapons. Even the first showing of what will be the defining Klingon ship the Bird of Prey(It was supposed to be a stolen Romulan vessel, but they decided to streamline the story). This is the movie where the Klingons started to transform into the honorbound warrior race instead of the thinly veiled russian stand-in. Kruge is played by veteran comedian Christopher Lloyd, one year out from his defining role in Back to the Future and his second Maltz is played by John Larroquette. Makes you wonder how the internet would have reacted to these "new" Klingons considering when the reaction to Disco Klingons. (Badly, the answer is badly).
The action is fast paced but lacking in intensity until they get to Genesis. We know that Starfleet isn't going to kill our heroes so the Spacedock escape and Excelsior pursuit are not as thrilling as the meeting between Enterprise and Reliant, (the two models and the model of the USS Grissom would be staples of the show for the next 15 years). Once we get there, it becomes tense again. The Enterprise should swat the Bird of Prey out of the sky, but since was damaged in the last movie and is run solely by bridge crew its at a disadvantage. Kirk uses his skills to get the first shot in, showing that he should win, but the Enterprise lacks the firepower to do so. Kirks solution is to bluff, but Kruge being a modern Klingon decides to use the hostages he had taken earlier to counter. One of which is Kirks son David(skipping whole subplots and characters here, but then if you don't know watch the movie).
This is where we see that Shatner is a better actor than the Khaaaaaan parodies have led us to believe. Here is a man who faces unimaginable loss and Shatner plays it beautifully. He is shaken, but still in control of himself. You can see Kirk break inside, but remain the captain he was. He hates Kruge, but instead of a paroxysm of anger, he immediately starts working on a plan to get out of the bind he is in. It works sort of, but it ends in a final showdown on Genesis, mano a mano against Kruge. Strangely enough Kruge has earned the dreaded Double fist punch from Kirk in a way that Khan never did. Even if Shatner can't really emote it, you get the idea that he hates Kruge in a way he never hated Khan.
It ends with the guy we lost last time being back with Leonard Nimoy as Spock. And the Adventure continues! It says so in the text at the end.
Best Character is David Marcus played by Merritt Butrick. Not for anything he really did in this movie, but because he performance in both this and WoK. He did a good job being the son that Kirk knew was out there but who he had never really connected too. Kirk's loss of a relationship with his son would be one of the cornerstones of ST6 and shows that character growth is possible in movies. He made Kirk a better character. Some people might wonder what happened to Merritt Butrick and this is where it is my sad duty to inform you that he passed away in 1989 due to complications of AIDS. He was only 29 years old. This means when we see his picture in ST6 released in 1991 he was already dead. A tragic loss from a despicable disease. Rest in Peace
While fandom always reacts poorly to change, the different Klingons in the movies is a whole different level from what Disco tried to do.
They were still Klingons, but now more distinctly so than actors in eyeliner. Not actors with facehuggers grafted on, trying to emote in an artificial language with a mouth full of oversized novelty teeth.
The Dicso concept wasn’t inherently doomed, which made the poor execution just that much worse.
I think maybe a bigger part is that at the time of ST3, Klingons weren't as strictly defined visually. People are willing to cut you some slack on a low-budget 60s show that this is the best you could do. So there's room to expand on it later with the movies or later shows. So ST3 comes along and is like "This is what Klingons were always meant to look like" and everyone just rolls with it.
But then you get literally decades of that look being set in stone. If you come in afterwards to try and change stuff, for no reason other then because you can, people are gonna go "Wait what? That's not what Klingons look like". You aren't gonna get cut any slack anymore based on "updating the effects".
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Kelvinverse tried to update the Klingons too and I really don't know why anyone thought that was necessary twice.
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited April 7
Yeah, the visual "updates" to Klingons was both stupid and totally unnecessary. Discovery didn't even update them in a way to make them more tolerable for the actors, instead putting them in getups that made simply acting difficult and piling stupid prosthetic teeth on top of it.
DS9 nailed it: Klingons looked different in TOS than later and they don't talk about it. The fact that somebody who didn't even grow up Klingon is embarrassed by it says anything we need to know. Stop fucking around with it and stick with the right design. It works. It's immediately distinct and alien yet allows for a ton of visual variation while allowing for enough of the actor's face to show to allow for proper performances.
They just need to embrace the variety at this point, and have all versions of Klingons appear at once in an episode of Lower Decks with an absurd Grand Unified Klingon Theory explanation that Memory Alpha can enter as canon.
Discovery Klingons are Northerners, TOS Klingons are Southerners.
The issue isn't a redesign per se, as said on these threads several times, Kelvinverse also did their own take on Klingons, but the issue is that the Disco design is just bad since they overdid it on the makeup. Michael Dorn put it as such:
I am actually really glad that I am not in that makeup, because if you go online and look up YouTube of Mary Chieffo – just a wonderful, just a sweetheart, but what they do to that poor girl is mind-boggling. There are three makeup artists working the whole time on her…I mean, it’s okay. It’s just another iteration.
Gates McFadden: It’s an incredible look and she is able to do incredible things when she is wearing it. It is different, though.
Michael Dorn: That is the problem. There is nothing of her, at all…Nothing. Just her eyeballs. That’s it.
Like, the archetypical example on Disco is the climax of the Battle of the Binary Stars. T'kuvma using the Cleaveship to ram a Federation ship is supposed to be this moment with gravitas....but the actor can barely emote, so it just looks stupid and completely takes you from the scene.
Posts
is a refrain I have had on constant loop in my head my entire adult life
And here, for comparison and posterity, is the original cut from two years prior, which I think I still prefer in some ways, lower res though it be.
For all its rough spots and sometimes downright dumb bits, I love this show.
More Book but I love Book.
Also the old Romulan backdoor for friends. So good.
Yes its a big galaxy spanning thing. But its a puzzle/quest. With Romulan trickery. People's pasts. And the Progenitors.
But also it is 100% the end of the series but in a good way. I approve of it.
Really enjoying this season.
And also Ready Room for the first two episodes with Doug Jones...(spoilers of course)
It's so good right! It fixes so much of my problem with Voyager!
It's weird how I ended up liking the cast/crew of SNW more than Disco though.
It's certainly the show I'm more excited to see take up the mantle of Trek.
What are you waiting for, Netflix??
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
This demarcation line is nonsense.
the answer to "What If Xenomorph babies grew up to be Predators?"
The Villain is a step down, but Kruge works for the movie. Considering how much the Klingons have been built up in Star Trek Lore, this movie is the first time we see them in their modern form for any length of time. First Use of the Klingon language as we know it. First showing of their distinctive weapons. Even the first showing of what will be the defining Klingon ship the Bird of Prey(It was supposed to be a stolen Romulan vessel, but they decided to streamline the story). This is the movie where the Klingons started to transform into the honorbound warrior race instead of the thinly veiled russian stand-in. Kruge is played by veteran comedian Christopher Lloyd, one year out from his defining role in Back to the Future and his second Maltz is played by John Larroquette. Makes you wonder how the internet would have reacted to these "new" Klingons considering when the reaction to Disco Klingons. (Badly, the answer is badly).
The action is fast paced but lacking in intensity until they get to Genesis. We know that Starfleet isn't going to kill our heroes so the Spacedock escape and Excelsior pursuit are not as thrilling as the meeting between Enterprise and Reliant, (the two models and the model of the USS Grissom would be staples of the show for the next 15 years). Once we get there, it becomes tense again. The Enterprise should swat the Bird of Prey out of the sky, but since was damaged in the last movie and is run solely by bridge crew its at a disadvantage. Kirk uses his skills to get the first shot in, showing that he should win, but the Enterprise lacks the firepower to do so. Kirks solution is to bluff, but Kruge being a modern Klingon decides to use the hostages he had taken earlier to counter. One of which is Kirks son David(skipping whole subplots and characters here, but then if you don't know watch the movie).
This is where we see that Shatner is a better actor than the Khaaaaaan parodies have led us to believe. Here is a man who faces unimaginable loss and Shatner plays it beautifully. He is shaken, but still in control of himself. You can see Kirk break inside, but remain the captain he was. He hates Kruge, but instead of a paroxysm of anger, he immediately starts working on a plan to get out of the bind he is in. It works sort of, but it ends in a final showdown on Genesis, mano a mano against Kruge. Strangely enough Kruge has earned the dreaded Double fist punch from Kirk in a way that Khan never did. Even if Shatner can't really emote it, you get the idea that he hates Kruge in a way he never hated Khan.
It ends with the guy we lost last time being back with Leonard Nimoy as Spock. And the Adventure continues! It says so in the text at the end.
Best Character is David Marcus played by Merritt Butrick. Not for anything he really did in this movie, but because he performance in both this and WoK. He did a good job being the son that Kirk knew was out there but who he had never really connected too. Kirk's loss of a relationship with his son would be one of the cornerstones of ST6 and shows that character growth is possible in movies. He made Kirk a better character. Some people might wonder what happened to Merritt Butrick and this is where it is my sad duty to inform you that he passed away in 1989 due to complications of AIDS. He was only 29 years old. This means when we see his picture in ST6 released in 1991 he was already dead. A tragic loss from a despicable disease. Rest in Peace
"The Word? The Word is no, I am therefore going anyway" is also a favorite as it sums up Kirk.
Star Trek 3 is odd in that it's basically the 2nd half of WoK. Star Trek 2,3,4 are a trilogy but 3 really feels like it's just the next reels from WoK - it carries on barely a few weeks later but to the viewer it feels like the next day. [Technically 2,3,4 and 5 all take place within just over a year!] They even bring back Horner who just uses riffs from the previous movie along with new music so it feels like the same movie.
3 gives Kirk the physical confrontation denied in WoK - who wouldn't want Khan getting a boot to the face. In a very early draft Genesis was going to regenerate Khan so they could continue the fight face to face but this was dropped as daft and undermining the previous film.
Star Trek 3 reminds me a lot of Back To The Future 2, it exists as a vehicle to get from where they started to the finish.
Otherwise I’ll probably go through the films in chronological order. Whatever I do I’ll devote 20% of my brain to missing Anson Mount until he gets back in my teevee.
I'd go so far as to say 2-3-4-6 are a quadrilogy, with many of the themes of the first three movies reaching their conclusion in 6. You've got Kirk's fear of getting old in 2 maturing into acceptance in 6, his hatred of Klingons for murdering his son in 3 being set aside to save Klingons. Even his demotion in 4 over his actions in 3 come back to bite him in the ass.
It's really interesting how different it is to SNW in tone of course but also the production. It looks much more expensive, gritty and has really different expressivity in the filmmaking. Seemingly a lot more special effects also. There's merit to both styles it's just so completely different.
Season 2 is still them trying to figure out what to do with the show. I think they manage to find a rough outline of it in season 3 and absolutely nail it in season 4.
A recap reminded me that one of the main things I disliked about the show was Ash Tyler. I hope his presence going forward is minimal.
Honestly that is true of many series. First season S1 is establishing the setting and the characters, while S2 is figuring out phase, S3 is the combination of fleshed out setting and figured out story and S4 is the conclusion.
The S5 is the what now phase, S6 is the let rerun the greatest hits, while S7 is the final season we are out of ideas sprint to the finish line aka lets wrap things up phase. Then you have S8-9 Is the let us die phase, while S10-11 is That thing still on phase. S12+ is the they are still paying so we might as well keep making this shit.
Thankfully No Star trek series has ever suffered a S8+ series. The only exception would be if you considered S1-3 of Picard as S8-9-10 of TNG, in which case it fits perfectly.
Watching S3 now with a friend. It's getting better, but they need to stop wedging her into the center of every episode. (I hear they do, eventually.)
Give me Genesis!
Season 4. She's still kind of there sometimes when she doesn't need to be, but the season gives a lot of underutilized characters critical jobs and then trusts them to do them without Burnham coming in at the last minute, while also creating an equally critical situation near the end that only she could resolve.
Lower Decks figured this shit out in like 4 episodes.
While fandom always reacts poorly to change, the different Klingons in the movies is a whole different level from what Disco tried to do.
They were still Klingons, but now more distinctly so than actors in eyeliner. Not actors with facehuggers grafted on, trying to emote in an artificial language with a mouth full of oversized novelty teeth.
The Dicso concept wasn’t inherently doomed, which made the poor execution just that much worse.
I think maybe a bigger part is that at the time of ST3, Klingons weren't as strictly defined visually. People are willing to cut you some slack on a low-budget 60s show that this is the best you could do. So there's room to expand on it later with the movies or later shows. So ST3 comes along and is like "This is what Klingons were always meant to look like" and everyone just rolls with it.
But then you get literally decades of that look being set in stone. If you come in afterwards to try and change stuff, for no reason other then because you can, people are gonna go "Wait what? That's not what Klingons look like". You aren't gonna get cut any slack anymore based on "updating the effects".
DS9 nailed it: Klingons looked different in TOS than later and they don't talk about it. The fact that somebody who didn't even grow up Klingon is embarrassed by it says anything we need to know. Stop fucking around with it and stick with the right design. It works. It's immediately distinct and alien yet allows for a ton of visual variation while allowing for enough of the actor's face to show to allow for proper performances.
Discovery Klingons are Northerners, TOS Klingons are Southerners.
Like, the archetypical example on Disco is the climax of the Battle of the Binary Stars. T'kuvma using the Cleaveship to ram a Federation ship is supposed to be this moment with gravitas....but the actor can barely emote, so it just looks stupid and completely takes you from the scene.