Modern Star Trek Megathread: A holistic approach to starship security

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Balsa: May 10, 2020; Turbo Nerd

Quinton posted:

I definitely don't have a problem with "watered down rick & morty" if that means skipping the excessive gross-out humor or needlessly offensive just-to-be-edgy stuff. Besides we already have R&M for people who want that.

I don't see a problem with these characters in a Trek universe. It's a big universe -- not everyone needs to be perfectly competent, noble, and an example for everyone else. It makes me think a bit of Banks' Culture novels... that usually focus on folks that don't quite fit in to the mainstream of their utopian post-scarcity society -- because the people that do are not as interesting or relatable...

I don't mind little references to other Trek stuff -- why not? Their target audience is people already into Trek, so this stuff seems fine -- I don't think I catch all the little references or visual gags, but that's okay too.

I do hope we get some characters arcs or development, because while on one hand I firmly believe the stakes don't need to be "save the universe" constantly, I prefer at least some lightweight continuity or story progression, not just sitcom-y reset it all every episode stuff.

The interesting thing about lower decks is that commonly, its not really a "post-scarcity society"
I would say its 80% of the way there, but there are lots of cases of money needing to exist, trading for goods, or ships being supplied with lovely tricorders

Early on, it even has that officers get better programmed food for the replicators. WTF is that about?! Shouldn't a engineering replicator be able to make anything top teir with just a software update from a star base over subspace?

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:25

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 10:47

blastron: Dec 11, 2007; Don't doodle on it!

Has there been a hint as to why Georgiou is back? I thought she stayed behind in the past to star in the Section 31 spinoff.

Also there were a lot of shots of Burnham smiling and none of her crying so that�s good!

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:32

Farmer Crack-Ass: Jan 2, 2001; this is me posting irl

CharlestheHammer posted:

I feel like people are expecting much. Hell someone brought up futurama earlier and you barely know anything about the characters. Most of their backstories outside Fry don�t happen until the backend of the original run.

It also has a poo poo ton of 90s references. Like a surprising amount for a show about the future

Is this the part where I admit that Futurama never really grabbed me, and also that the "IT'S A SPACESHIP SO SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ZERO AND ONE ATMOSPHERES!!!!!!" reference has literally never made me laugh? :v:

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:32

Powered Descent: Jul 13, 2008; We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.

ashpanash posted:

Take your hate and direct it here instead of at Lower Decks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70dm3WzNuss

Trailers can be deceiving...but it looks like the worst thing I'll watch every episode of this year.

I don't know, that looks like it has real potential. Of course, that's what I said about the trailer for Picard, and probably for the first two Discovery seasons too now that I think about it, so that opinion definitely calls for a grain of salt.

But this wholesale change of setting just might be exactly what the show needs.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:33

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

Balsa posted:

Early on, it even has that officers get better programmed food for the replicators. WTF is that about?! Shouldn't a engineering replicator be able to make anything top teir with just a software update from a star base over subspace?

I think this can be explained, in-universe, as "this ship ain't the Enterprise." It's not decked out with the most amazing tech and the top of the line equipment. It's meant for a different purpose, and its crew - while they're Starfleet and still express much of the Starfleet ethos, are still pretty low on the totem pole.

If you're going to be on the Enterprise and be expected not only to risk your life against crazy god-like creatures or destructive time loops every week and
STILL operate at 95 - 99% efficiency, you drat well better be getting the best food in the fleet!

I know that wasn't how it was presented in TNG, but I can totally accept that as part of the way it works. I can totally buy that only a few ships like the Enterprise have holodecks that are capable of making sentient creatures or replicators that are high-resolution enough to make any meal for anyone, because they have a large enough warp core to run a city and have the best of the best constantly making sure everything works exactly as it should. It's the flagship, after all.

ashpanash fucked around with this message at 21:38 on Sep 8, 2020

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:35

Big Mean Jerk: Jan 27, 2009; Well, of course I know him.
He's me.

blastron posted:

Has there been a hint as to why Georgiou is back? I thought she stayed behind in the past to star in the Section 31 spinoff.

She was onboard the Discovery when it time-traveled. Presumably she�ll get tossed back into the past sometime this season so she can be in the S31 show.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:39

Balsa: May 10, 2020; Turbo Nerd

ashpanash posted:

I think this can be explained, in-universe, as "this ship ain't the Enterprise." It's not decked out with the most amazing tech and the top of the line equipment. It's meant for a different purpose, and its crew - while they're Starfleet and still express much of the Starfleet ethos, are still pretty low on the totem pole.

If you're going to be on the Enterprise and be expected not only to risk your life against crazy god-like creatures or destructive time loops every week and
STILL operate at 95 - 99% efficiency, you drat well better be getting the best food in the fleet!

I know that wasn't how it was presented in TNG, but I can totally accept that as part of the way it works. I can totally buy that only a few ships like the Enterprise have holodecks that are capable of making sentient creatures or replicators that are high-resolution enough to make any meal for anyone, because they have a large enough warp core to run a city and have the best of the best constantly making sure everything works exactly as it should. It's the flagship, after all.

Hrm.. I wonder, even the shuttles could make pretty good food, Im guessing its just a trope not to be spent time on, but its one of the world building things that has been eating at me.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:41

Arglebargle III: Feb 21, 2006

lol "we traveled into the canceled zone"

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:41

The_Doctor: Mar 29, 2007; "The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

Big Mean Jerk posted:

She was onboard the Discovery when it time-traveled. Presumably she�ll get tossed back into the past sometime this season so she can be in the S31 show.

I imagine she�ll get the red angel suit working.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:42

Powered Descent: Jul 13, 2008; We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.

Balsa posted:

Early on, it even has that officers get better programmed food for the replicators. WTF is that about?! Shouldn't a engineering replicator be able to make anything top teir with just a software update from a star base over subspace?

It could just be that people program their favorite customized recipes into the replicators they share with their co-workers, and Boimler assumes that the command staff's recipes must be better, purely because they're the command staff. Shaxs's hasperat isn't really any better than the default pattern, it's just customized to add spiced katterpod beans, the way his mom used to make it.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:45

TomR: Apr 1, 2003; I both own and operate a pirate ship.

The Federation isn't Capitalist, and they are pretty much post scarcity, but Starfleet is still a hierarchy so for whatever reason the senior staff get their own menu and Boimler thinks the food is better. The stuff we see everyone eating looks pretty good though so it's probably not a big deal. I think if you were sick of not being able to eat what you want and it bothered you enough you could resign from Starfleet, become a civilian and eat whatever you want as a Federation citizen. I'm not sure it's possible to have Star Trek be totally consistent over every iteration because so many different ideas have been presented that contradict, though.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:56

King Burgundy: Sep 17, 2003; I am the Burgundy King,
I can do anything!

The_Doctor posted:

I have a suspicion that Disco and Michael didn't all emerge at the same spot temporally. I'm imagining months apart.

For some reason I thought this was something we knew already. From a preview or interview or something?

But for the life of me I can't find it now, so maybe I imagined it.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 21:56

The_Doctor: Mar 29, 2007; "The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

I�m assuming Michael arrives earlier, spends a bunch of offscreen time with new character Book, grows her hair out, then Disco arrives.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:04

Gravitas Shortfall: Jul 17, 2007; Utility is seven-eighths Proximity.

Alchenar posted:

Everything about Mariner's characterisation tells us she should not want to be in Starfleet.

I figure she loves all the crazy bullshit that Starfleet ships get into on the regular but hates everything else.

Also that new Discovery trailer looks.. sort of good?

# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:28

some kinda jackal: Feb 25, 2003; �
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Eh, nothing about the Disco teaser excited me but it also didn�t make me want to not watch. I guess I�m along for the ride.

I almost managed to forget about the stupid red angel iron man suit :sigh:

# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:30

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

Balsa posted:

Hrm.. I wonder, even the shuttles could make pretty good food, Im guessing its just a trope not to be spent time on, but its one of the world building things that has been eating at me.

They're Enterprise shuttles! (Did they make good food? The only episode where I can even remember a meal is from Timescape, but that was a runabout, and seemed like a more executive version of it (with a huge dining room!) besides. I seem to remember that DS9 had lovely replicators because, you know, Cardassians, and the Defiant also wasn't making 10-course meals. As I've said, I didn't watch a whole lot of Voyager, but I know they needed Neelix to cook for them, but they also may have just explained that away as an energy issue (even though they had plenty for their holodeck and whatever else most of the time, but whatever.)

So yeah, from what I can recall, it works.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:01

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

They just announced an official Star Trek podcast hosted by Tawny Newson and Paul F. Tompkins. Holy poo poo.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:02

Snow Cone Capone: Jul 31, 2003

Eagerly awaiting whatever dumbass political event/galaxy-spanning terror #473 is "the Burn" that caused the ~~Federation to fall apart~~ the galaxy to take a hard left :rolleyes:

I'm excited to see the crew get more screentime, but other than that...I dunno. And I've been the resident Disco Apologist since S1.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:07

TomR: Apr 1, 2003; I both own and operate a pirate ship.

I'm even less interested in Discovery than I was before. I watched season 1 and decided it wasn't for me. Federation falling apart? No thanks.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:09

Cross-Section: Mar 18, 2009

Snow Cone Capone posted:

Eagerly awaiting whatever dumbass political event/galaxy-spanning terror #473 is "the Burn" that caused the ~~Federation to fall apart~~ the galaxy to take a hard left

I'm kinda just hoping that it's some massive gravity anomaly that literally flings trillions of beings into the nearest bulkhead

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:09

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

blastron posted:

Has there been a hint as to why Georgiou is back? I thought she stayed behind in the past to star in the Section 31 spinoff.

Also there were a lot of shots of Burnham smiling and none of her crying so that’s good!

There was absolutely at least one shot if her crying

I'm a little gassed out on poo poo Sucks but Here's a Speech Trek, but I'm obviously going to watch it. Reno's still on it.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:11

ashpanash: Apr 9, 2008; I can see when you are lying.

The Bloop posted:

I'm a little gassed out on poo poo Sucks but Here's a Speech Trek, but I'm obviously going to watch it. Reno's still on it.

Yeah I think that's a lot of what turned me off about the preview. It seemed like a lot of scenes of "poo poo gets bad but Burnham gives a speech about 'What the Federation really is' and that fixes everything," which is a well they've already gone to a LOT. poo poo, at this point it feels like Kirk has overpowered the logic of computers less often.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:14

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Snow Cone Capone posted:

Eagerly awaiting whatever dumbass political event/galaxy-spanning terror #473 is "the Burn" that caused the ~~Federation to fall apart~~ the galaxy to take a hard left

Yeah I'm dreading whatever that is supposed to mean

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:19

G-III: Mar 4, 2001

I'm glad discovery has a new setting for S3 that way we can keep the dumbassery of that show solidly air gapped from the rest of trek.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:20

pik_d: Feb 24, 2006; follow the white dove

TRP Post of the Month October 2021

G-III posted:

I'm glad discovery has a new setting for S3 that way we can keep the dumbassery of that show solidly air gapped from the rest of trek.

Wrong, they're going to find a way to save the past just so they can stick their dick into everything

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:21

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

G-III posted:

I'm glad discovery has a new setting for S3 that way we can keep the dumbassery of that show solidly air gapped from the rest of trek.

It also helps that everybody back in the normal 23rd/24th century is sworn to secrecy about them

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:22

Powered Descent: Jul 13, 2008; We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.

ashpanash posted:

They just announced an official Star Trek podcast hosted by Tawny Newson and Paul F. Tompkins. Holy poo poo.

* googles Paul F. Tompkins *

Oh, he's the voice of Mr. Peanutbutter. Neat.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:35

Big Mean Jerk: Jan 27, 2009; Well, of course I know him.
He's me.

I love PFT in TV stuff but in podcasts he has a tendency to just ramble on for ages with his bits long after the joke has run it�s course.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:49

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

Paul F. Thompkins is all about space plans.

And pens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdIDwYW_JZg

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:54

sbaldrick: Jul 19, 2006; Driven by Hate

Snow Cone Capone posted:

Eagerly awaiting whatever dumbass political event/galaxy-spanning terror #473 is "the Burn" that caused the ~~Federation to fall apart~~ the galaxy to take a hard left

I'm excited to see the crew get more screentime, but other than that...I dunno. And I've been the resident Disco Apologist since S1.

I hope the Burn is a the collapse of Warp space for like a couple of hundred years.

Also everyone on the Discovery should get there asses hand to them in every fight.

# ? Sep 9, 2020 00:06

Erulisse: Feb 12, 2019; A bad poster trying to get better.

sbaldrick posted:

I hope the Burn is a the collapse of Warp space for like a couple of hundred years.

Also everyone on the Discovery should get there asses hand to them in every fight.

This is bold of you to remember the phenomenon of subspace collapsing due to extended speeding in warp.
'Showrunners' certainly didn't and 'the burn' will be all political

# ? Sep 9, 2020 00:21

The_Doctor: Mar 29, 2007; "The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

The Burn(ham).

# ? Sep 9, 2020 00:46

Brawnfire: Jul 13, 2004; 🎧Listen to Cylindricule!🎵
https://linktr.ee/Cylindricule

I feel like every trailer I see these days just makes me feel tired.

# ? Sep 9, 2020 00:51

Quinton: Apr 25, 2004

Lower Decks S1 Second Half Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itEsO1Z0QWg

Looks like fun to me.

# ? Sep 9, 2020 00:53

skasion: Feb 13, 2012; Why don't you perform zazen, facing a wall?

Michael's new haircut looks nice. Maybe it's just the editing making her look super zany, but I kind of like the direction it suggests for her character as well. "Crazy freaking out fool protagonist" has worked for other shows and would be much more entertaining than whatever the first two seasons were going for with her. Of course it seems determined to treat us to plenty more of her patronizing oratory also.