Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Riker's beard vs. Sisko's beard is an interesting question, though...
I'd have to say Sisko wins just based on sheer presence. Then again, part of the change for Sisko was the shaved head... Would the beard have worked as well if he kept the same hair? I feel like the answer is clearly no:
A little context, perhaps, for those who weren't around at the time:
Avery Brooks' most notable role, just before DS9, was Hawk in "Spenser for Hire", who had basically the same look he ended up with. The studio wanted him to change it, to make a clean break/draw a line between that and Sisko. He went along with it for a few seasons before they relented/everyone was like "yeah, go with the other look, it's much better for you."
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
Riker's beard vs. Sisko's beard is an interesting question, though...
I'd have to say Sisko wins just based on sheer presence. Then again, part of the change for Sisko was the shaved head... Would the beard have worked as well if he kept the same hair? I feel like the answer is clearly no:
He does actually have the beard + hair when he first grows it out, although he trims the hair back a bit (it's not a full shave, though). It looks fine.
I wouldn't presume to choose between Sisko's beard and Riker's beard. They both have weird totemic power as turning points for the respective characters/shows.
It is kind of funny how true the old adage is, though: in Hollywood, if you want to show character growth for a dude, you grow his hair out. For a lady, you cut it off.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
Seriously, it's a great game and a great deal, for a great cause (the NAACP Legal Defense Fund). You can't go wrong with this one.
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Out of all the new Trek shows I have to say Lower Decks is looking the best to me. If only because I'm a sucker for the TNG era aesthetic. I hope all the comedy isn't of the manic "it's funny because someone is saying/doing silly stuff rapidly" variety, though.
Out of all the new Trek shows I have to say Lower Decks is looking the best to me. If only because I'm a sucker for the TNG era aesthetic. I hope all the comedy isn't of the manic "it's funny because someone is saying/doing silly stuff rapidly" variety, though.
Yeah, I hope it's closer to Futurama than Family Guy.
Over the course of this rewatch I've re-evaluated DS9. I think it's my favorite Star Trek overall now. Until about the middle of Season 6. Specifically after Waltz, where Dukat should have died or been left stranded forever.
Over the course of this rewatch I've re-evaluated DS9. I think it's my favorite Star Trek overall now. Until about the middle of Season 6. Specifically after Waltz, where Dukat should have died or been left stranded forever.
Yeah. If they had to bring him back at all. Leaving him a broken man who is ultimately irrelevant to galactic history is more fitting than "Space Antichrist fights Space Jesus after dating the Space Pope."
I like everything about the finale except the Pah Wraiths/Prophets. That stuff only really works when its used for character development or worldbuilding. Anytime they come out to play, they're just another hokey godlike being.
I don't necessarily dislike the idea of the Pah Wraiths, but for all that build up to lead to a climax where Sisko just football tackles a guy is ... anti-climatic, to say the least.
Maybe less time and budget spent on big dumb explosions in space and more time on making that scene longer/better. It's such a complete afterthought to the story.
Am I reading it wrong or did Bashir implicitly come out as bi to O'brien in Extreme Measures?
I don't necessarily dislike the idea of the Pah Wraiths, but for all that build up to lead to a climax where Sisko just football tackles a guy is ... anti-climatic, to say the least.
Maybe less time and budget spent on big dumb explosions in space and more time on making that scene longer/better. It's such a complete afterthought to the story.
Am I reading it wrong or did Bashir implicitly come out as bi to O'brien in Extreme Measures?
I think it's supposed to be the two of them admitting a genuine strong and caring platonic connection to the point of being basically brothers, but not necessarily a romantic one.
On the other hand, if Bashir is coming out as bi then O'Brien is doing it too because they both agree they feel the same way.
But O'Brien loves his wife.
Ninja Snarl P on
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MsAnthropyThe Lady of Pain Breaks the Rhythm, Breaks the Rhythm, Breaks the RhythmThe City of FlowersRegistered Userregular
I don't necessarily dislike the idea of the Pah Wraiths, but for all that build up to lead to a climax where Sisko just football tackles a guy is ... anti-climatic, to say the least.
Maybe less time and budget spent on big dumb explosions in space and more time on making that scene longer/better. It's such a complete afterthought to the story.
Am I reading it wrong or did Bashir implicitly come out as bi to O'brien in Extreme Measures?
One thing I liked about the finale was the extended send off every character got to have. I thought it was nice and definitely made me miss my space friends when it was over.
That said, the plotting of the Bajor part was way too effing rushed. They honestly should have taken a note from LotR and B5 and had more time between defeating the ‘big villain’ and dealing with the secondary more local villain. It probably would have also been nice if it had fit thematically in some way with the ending of the Dominion War arc. Like in LotR, the Scouring of the Shire is important because it points out how no place was unaffected by the War of the Ring—there was no going home for some people. For DS9 it kind of just... happens in such a perfunctory fashion.
With world circumstances being what they are, I've been think much about The Inner Light in regards to how what sort of existing technologies we could use to document the breath and width of our civilization before we brought ruin onto ourselves. Are 1s and 0s etched into a gold disc the best we can do for data storage that can endure thousands of years to let others know who we were (and the sort of dumbasses we are that brought about the end their own existence)?
Black lives matter.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
With world circumstances being what they are, I've been think much about The Inner Light in regards to how what sort of existing technologies we could use to document the breath and width of our civilization before we brought ruin onto ourselves. Are 1s and 0s etched into a gold disc the best we can do for data storage that can endure thousands of years to let others know who we were (and the sort of dumbasses we are that brought about the end their own existence)?
yeah, plus it's just a clever way for Megatron to hide a secret message for future Decepticons... but that's besides the point.
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CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I don't necessarily dislike the idea of the Pah Wraiths, but for all that build up to lead to a climax where Sisko just football tackles a guy is ... anti-climatic, to say the least.
Maybe less time and budget spent on big dumb explosions in space and more time on making that scene longer/better. It's such a complete afterthought to the story.
Am I reading it wrong or did Bashir implicitly come out as bi to O'brien in Extreme Measures?
One thing I liked about the finale was the extended send off every character got to have. I thought it was nice and definitely made me miss my space friends when it was over.
I thought that was okay with O'brien but it was very weird that Worf's reminiscence did not have one shot of Terry Farrell. It had one shot of him meeting Sisko, one shot of him in a white tux smoking a cigar, and then ... banging Ezri. And getting shoved through a window by Gowron. And then hanging upside down next to Ezri.
It was all very strange. That's really all you could muster up, DS9 team? Was there some kind of existing contract issue or bad blood with Terry Farrell over her departure? If over half your shots are going to be from season 7, couldn't you have thrown in the baseball game where Worf declares death to the enemy? No? Okay then.
Seriously, it's a great game and a great deal, for a great cause (the NAACP Legal Defense Fund). You can't go wrong with this one.
Wow, I thought I had all the STA books, but there's a LOT more material there than I own. $15 is a steal for all of that content, especially the map tiles.
No one puts 6 series from the same property into production who isn't desperate to make a dime off said property. This is no different then Disney with Star Wars, except a little stranger because it's not like they just bought the thing. Aggressively try and monetize the property. Full speed ahead, greenlight everything. And streaming has lowered the bar towards turning shit into a TV series. Which we are seeing all over the place with various streaming platforms.
At peak 90s Trek, I'd say almost certainly the height of Trek's mainstream cultural cache, they had like 2 things in production at the same time.
Maybe three, counting movies? Pretty sure there were at least a couple movies done while TNG/DS9 or DS9/Voyager were still on. But never this bizarre level of desperation in trying to get traction on something.
Yeah RDM has said a couple times that one of the reasons S7 of TNG was weak was because he (and others) was directly involved in S7 of TNG, whatever season it was of DS9, and doing preproduction on the Generations movie.
I'm not bothered by trying a bunch of new Trek things, but I'm plenty irritated that they have such little confidence in anything they're putting out that they're just putting out a shitload of stuff. On top of that, somebody pointed out in the last thread that the only thing they seem to not be trying is to just make a damned Trek show that works like regular Star Trek. Voyager was terrible because it was terrible and Enterprise tanked because it tried to do the same overdramatic one-upmanship crap as Discovery; it had nothing to with the format and everything to do with showmakers who thought they knew better than making a Trek show like Star Trek.
Voyager was mostly terrible because that cast had some pretty lackluster chemistry. That's a fixable problem, but not an easy one, especially given the premise of the show.
I'm not sure I accept the premise, either. Both Picard and Discovery take elements of the things that existing Trek series emphasised, and run with them (Disco does epic scope really well, and is slowly building that bridge-crew camraderie, though it's not coming of as an ensemble show, Picard has some tight characterisation and more contemplative, thoughtful tone and room to move, for example).. And Lower Decks has some of it too, off that trailer. Which is all good. Neither of those shows is TNG, and for me that's OK. Variations off the main theme are cool.
I'm genuinely not sure what "regular Trek" is, if we dismiss Voyager and Enterpise and Disco and Picard and Lower Decks. What is the ideal Trek that people are looking back at here? Given how much of the early seasons of TNG and DS9 were...not great, and how TOS gave us masterpieces like Spock's Brain, I don't really understand the harking back to some golden era of Trek. Some have been better than others in aggregate, but IMO it's far too early to judge the new stuff. I'm reminded of how much people hated TNG when it first came out.
We're in a renaissance of Trek right now, and as someone who grew up with one or two series on TV at once, it's amazing. We won't all like all the bits of it, and that's OK too (ask me about Discovery's Klingon throughline). But everyhting I've seen has hit some of the key notes of the existing material, and it's asking questions, either explicitly or in the background, about people and who and what we are. Maybe there's more Big Booms now, but...not always, and there always seems to be a heart I can get behind.
Only really early season TNG was mostly bad. It's a meme at this point. Season one and 2 of DS9 are great.
That said, the plotting of the Bajor part was way too effing rushed.
It was definitely sort of shoehorned in there, but on my latest rewatch it actually felt like it took forever because Kai Winn's and Dukat's scenes were boring as hell. But that's partly because I only cared about the war arc and have always thought the Bajor/Prophets ending was completely unnecessary and dumb, so on rewatches, it's automatic skip over material.
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MonwynApathy's a tragedy, and boredom is a crime.A little bit of everything, all of the time.Registered Userregular
Got to the first episode in my TNG rewatch I didn't remember ever seeing before.
"The Chase" Season 6, Episode 20. Find out that all intelligent life was a seed project from an ancient species.
Never spoken of again?
I am in the business of saving lives.
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CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I have one comfort in my annoyance at how frequently "this isn't Star Trek" gets bemoaned at the current crop of new Star Trek series, and that is that in 20 years all the people who grew up with that Trek will be calling it the "real" Trek, and whatever new stuff comes out (that probably most closely resembles TNG) will be called "fake." As a result all of the "not real trek" people today will have to listen to the ocean of 30yr-olds complain about exactly the kind of series they always wanted while they grumble in their old and withered husks where nobody cares about what they like anymore.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited August 2020
I guess that's an interesting take, except I've yet to hear somebody go "these new ones aren't real Trek" but I've heard plenty of "it would be nice if they weren't so stubbornly mediocre and could get their act together". Aside from the animated show, which can't be "real Trek" because it's all jokes and whatnot and there's nothing about it that meshes with the live-action stuff (which isn't a criticism, the show just operates outside the normal Trek show stuff while being in a Trek setting).
People are able to readily enjoy ToS, TNG, and DS9 despite those encompassing decades of realtime and a wide spectrum of style. If the new stuff wanted to catch people, it should've been... well, better, not flashier or more dramatic.
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CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I guess that's an interesting take, except I've yet to hear somebody go "these new ones aren't real Trek" but I've heard plenty of "it would be nice if they weren't so stubbornly mediocre and could get their act together". Aside from the animated show, which can't be "real Trek" because it's all jokes and whatnot and there's nothing about it that meshes with the live-action stuff (which isn't a criticism, the show just operates outside the normal Trek show stuff while being in a Trek setting).
Ok it's pretty funny that you seemingly straightfaced called something not-Star Trek in your point that no one says that, but also:
From the first page of results (eliminating the first one since it appears that there is a 2010 Parody that is named This Isn't Star Trek)
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
it would be nice if they weren't so stubbornly mediocre and could get their act together
It definitely would, Trek has been hitting a lot of low points ever since Voyager...But I've sort of come to a personal maxim that it is no longer possible to write modern Trek that current fans will love (at least not until they find someone who will actually spend money on it), and I just try to take the good and not get my jimmies too rustled about the bad. My one wish is that fans would stop being so hard on any new Trek show that comes out, though part of that problem is that negative youtube hot takes collect all the views. And to be clear I'm not leveling that complaint at anyone in here. It just gets so frustrating to go into the comments on any new Trek show and see the same fucking manchild holding court on why it sucks.
it would be nice if they weren't so stubbornly mediocre and could get their act together
It definitely would, Trek has been hitting a lot of low points ever since Voyager...But I've sort of come to a personal maxim that it is no longer possible to write modern Trek that current fans will love (at least not until they find someone who will actually spend money on it), and I just try to take the good and not get my jimmies too rustled about the bad. My one wish is that fans would stop being so hard on any new Trek show that comes out, though part of that problem is that negative youtube hot takes collect all the views. And to be clear I'm not leveling that complaint at anyone in here. It just gets so frustrating to go into the comments on any new Trek show and see the same fucking manchild holding court on why it sucks.
If it makes you feel better, New Trek is a case study in how the internet echo chamber is far, far less relevant than it wants to believe.
If Youtube's reaction to Discovery accounted for general opinion, it would not be on its third season or generated 5 other shows.
Sturgeon’s Law is, sadly, still generally applicable, and just because the lightning got bottled doesn’t mean it will stay bottled. Honestly, I’m just happy that the relative proportion of “things that were actually made in the setting that are Good” to “things I have had to imagine for myself about the setting that are good” is much higher for Trek than The Other Star Franchise, and that there continue to be interesting and enjoyable new bits. I’m old, and quite exhausted; I no longer rail against imperfection, when instead I can pass a quiet hour with old friends.
I would like more quiet hours with old friends, and less "OMG everything everywhere is doomed unless we [TECH TECH] the [TECH]".
Even DS9 (and B5), which IMO set the bar for "arc" plotting, allowed plenty of time for that.
But I guess we don't do that anymore, or something.
The mature thing to do would be to simply not watch the Rise of Skywalker-ass shows they're going to keep making on the inconvenient streaming service, but I keep playing games that make me mad so who am I to judge these sad nerds
I remember people on the internet (not necessarily here) complaining when Picard had an episode that "barely advanced the plot" and therefore was a complete waste of time. For some reason it seems those are the ones studio executives listen to.
I remember people on the internet (not necessarily here) complaining when Picard had an episode that "barely advanced the plot" and therefore was a complete waste of time. For some reason it seems those are the ones studio executives listen to.
It's the consequence of a crowded market. Everyone's terrified of losing attention because they know the audience has a thousand other options. So they frontload action and high drama at the expense of everything else and keep the stakes as high as possible--otherwise, people might not care. They've forgotten, or don't believe, that audiences only care about those things if they care about the people it's happening to.
The best thing New Trek could do is go back to 22-episode seasons. Imagine how much stronger Picard would've been if we'd had more one-shot adventures in post-Romulan space? Or Discovery if the characters had a chance to breathe?
Such a change might be in the works, though. CBS is clearly listening to fans--Strange New Worlds only exists because of it--and "slow down" has been a pretty common suggestion all the while.
Posts
I'd have to say Sisko wins just based on sheer presence. Then again, part of the change for Sisko was the shaved head... Would the beard have worked as well if he kept the same hair? I feel like the answer is clearly no:
Avery Brooks' most notable role, just before DS9, was Hawk in "Spenser for Hire", who had basically the same look he ended up with. The studio wanted him to change it, to make a clean break/draw a line between that and Sisko. He went along with it for a few seasons before they relented/everyone was like "yeah, go with the other look, it's much better for you."
He does actually have the beard + hair when he first grows it out, although he trims the hair back a bit (it's not a full shave, though). It looks fine.
I wouldn't presume to choose between Sisko's beard and Riker's beard. They both have weird totemic power as turning points for the respective characters/shows.
It is kind of funny how true the old adage is, though: in Hollywood, if you want to show character growth for a dude, you grow his hair out. For a lady, you cut it off.
Seriously, it's a great game and a great deal, for a great cause (the NAACP Legal Defense Fund). You can't go wrong with this one.
Yeah, I hope it's closer to Futurama than Family Guy.
Awesome! This thread inspired me to roll up a character. I might get a chance to play, but it's cool to imagine.
god dammit.
Gotta say. Pretty weak finale
Over the course of this rewatch I've re-evaluated DS9. I think it's my favorite Star Trek overall now. Until about the middle of Season 6. Specifically after Waltz, where Dukat should have died or been left stranded forever.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Yeah. If they had to bring him back at all. Leaving him a broken man who is ultimately irrelevant to galactic history is more fitting than "Space Antichrist fights Space Jesus after dating the Space Pope."
I like everything about the finale except the Pah Wraiths/Prophets. That stuff only really works when its used for character development or worldbuilding. Anytime they come out to play, they're just another hokey godlike being.
Maybe less time and budget spent on big dumb explosions in space and more time on making that scene longer/better. It's such a complete afterthought to the story.
Am I reading it wrong or did Bashir implicitly come out as bi to O'brien in Extreme Measures?
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
I think it's supposed to be the two of them admitting a genuine strong and caring platonic connection to the point of being basically brothers, but not necessarily a romantic one.
On the other hand, if Bashir is coming out as bi then O'Brien is doing it too because they both agree they feel the same way.
But O'Brien loves his wife.
One thing I liked about the finale was the extended send off every character got to have. I thought it was nice and definitely made me miss my space friends when it was over.
That said, the plotting of the Bajor part was way too effing rushed. They honestly should have taken a note from LotR and B5 and had more time between defeating the ‘big villain’ and dealing with the secondary more local villain. It probably would have also been nice if it had fit thematically in some way with the ending of the Dominion War arc. Like in LotR, the Scouring of the Shire is important because it points out how no place was unaffected by the War of the Ring—there was no going home for some people. For DS9 it kind of just... happens in such a perfunctory fashion.
"The only real politics I knew was that if a guy liked Hitler, I’d beat the stuffing out of him and that would be it." -- Jack Kirby
Pansexual.... "ALL can be true". I bet Garak and Jack Harness would have had a grand old time.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Captain of the SES Comptroller of the State
yeah, plus it's just a clever way for Megatron to hide a secret message for future Decepticons... but that's besides the point.
I thought that was okay with O'brien but it was very weird that Worf's reminiscence did not have one shot of Terry Farrell. It had one shot of him meeting Sisko, one shot of him in a white tux smoking a cigar, and then ... banging Ezri. And getting shoved through a window by Gowron. And then hanging upside down next to Ezri.
It was all very strange. That's really all you could muster up, DS9 team? Was there some kind of existing contract issue or bad blood with Terry Farrell over her departure? If over half your shots are going to be from season 7, couldn't you have thrown in the baseball game where Worf declares death to the enemy? No? Okay then.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
That's about what I figured.
F
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Only really early season TNG was mostly bad. It's a meme at this point. Season one and 2 of DS9 are great.
It was definitely sort of shoehorned in there, but on my latest rewatch it actually felt like it took forever because Kai Winn's and Dukat's scenes were boring as hell. But that's partly because I only cared about the war arc and have always thought the Bajor/Prophets ending was completely unnecessary and dumb, so on rewatches, it's automatic skip over material.
Too bad Twitter doesn't allow you to just download the fucking image
I swear to God, for all of Twitter's sins, its absolute worst is that it's encouraged people to use it as a video/image hosting site
"The Chase" Season 6, Episode 20. Find out that all intelligent life was a seed project from an ancient species.
Never spoken of again?
People are able to readily enjoy ToS, TNG, and DS9 despite those encompassing decades of realtime and a wide spectrum of style. If the new stuff wanted to catch people, it should've been... well, better, not flashier or more dramatic.
Ok it's pretty funny that you seemingly straightfaced called something not-Star Trek in your point that no one says that, but also:
From the first page of results (eliminating the first one since it appears that there is a 2010 Parody that is named This Isn't Star Trek)
It definitely would, Trek has been hitting a lot of low points ever since Voyager...But I've sort of come to a personal maxim that it is no longer possible to write modern Trek that current fans will love (at least not until they find someone who will actually spend money on it), and I just try to take the good and not get my jimmies too rustled about the bad. My one wish is that fans would stop being so hard on any new Trek show that comes out, though part of that problem is that negative youtube hot takes collect all the views. And to be clear I'm not leveling that complaint at anyone in here. It just gets so frustrating to go into the comments on any new Trek show and see the same fucking manchild holding court on why it sucks.
If it makes you feel better, New Trek is a case study in how the internet echo chamber is far, far less relevant than it wants to believe.
If Youtube's reaction to Discovery accounted for general opinion, it would not be on its third season or generated 5 other shows.
Your Ad Here! Reasonable Rates!
Even DS9 (and B5), which IMO set the bar for "arc" plotting, allowed plenty of time for that.
But I guess we don't do that anymore, or something.
It's the consequence of a crowded market. Everyone's terrified of losing attention because they know the audience has a thousand other options. So they frontload action and high drama at the expense of everything else and keep the stakes as high as possible--otherwise, people might not care. They've forgotten, or don't believe, that audiences only care about those things if they care about the people it's happening to.
The best thing New Trek could do is go back to 22-episode seasons. Imagine how much stronger Picard would've been if we'd had more one-shot adventures in post-Romulan space? Or Discovery if the characters had a chance to breathe?
Such a change might be in the works, though. CBS is clearly listening to fans--Strange New Worlds only exists because of it--and "slow down" has been a pretty common suggestion all the while.