Newer (post-2010) Star Trek Shows

[GeorgeStGeorge]

We all remember the original series, the Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Enterprise.  (Maybe not so much the last one.  It had, IMHO, a great first year, two silly years, and then another great one, but by that time it was ready for cancellation.)  And, of course, there was the cartoon show.

Starting with Discovery, Paramount has come up with several new shows.  Some are great, some are good, one I'm not so fond of.  Just wondering which of these shows YOU've seen, and what you think of them.  Here are my brief comments:

Discovery:  I was annoyed when CBS aired the first episode but then showed the remainder only on its streaming service (CBS All Access -- now Paramount Plus). I got a free trial of the service and started watching Discovery.  The characters are interesting, and the plot line has been good.  The first season takes place essentially in the immediate pre-Kirk era and is essentially aligned with the original series, although sets are flashier and Klingons look even more non-human than they did in NG and DS9.  The main character is a human adopted by Sarek and Amanda, so there's a lot of Vulcan stuff, including Spock.  In Season 2, Chris Pike transfers from the Enterprise to Discovery, because, why not?  They deal with tine travel and the equivalent of a galactic SkyNet, to defeat which requires Discovery to jump 900 years into the future.  (Pike returns to the Enterprise, along with Spock.)  The last two seasons have involved the future problems (re-establishing StarFleet, overcoming a blight wihich wiped out almost all of the dilithium in the galaxy0.  (Discovery travels by a "spore drive."  Apparently, the universe is permeated with, essentially, a giant fungus; and Discovery can travel anywhere along it, without traditional warp.)  That was a long, brief comment; but it shows that I enjoy the show enough to stick with it.

Picard:  This one I gave up on after about five episodes.  Apparently, post-TNG Picard did something to screw up the Romulans, and now many of them live as refugees aboard a non-functional Bog cube.  I found it rather tedious.  I didn't even stick around for the cameos of Data, Seven of Nine, and Geordi.

Strange New Worlds:  Spin-off with Capt. Pike and the Enterprise.   We see old favorites, Number One, Spock, Nurse Chapel, Chief Kyle, and Dr. M'Benga.  (No Dr. Boyce, probably for "diversity," M'Benga did appear in two OS episodes.  They have done quite a bit with his character.)  We also see a young Cadet Ohura, Sam Kirk, and T'Pring.  I really like this one.  It stays true to the OS.  I should mention that on his stint on Discovery, Pike finds out about his future disfigurement.  A lot of this show has him trying to deal with that, though it's not overbearing.  The first season finale shows him what would happen if he is still captain of the Enterprise when the OS episode "A Balance of Terror" occurs.  (We do see Jim Kirk in this episode, but he's still captain of the Farragut.)

Lower Decks:  A very funny cartoon, apparently taking place just after TNG (a couple of Riker, captain of the Enterprise cameos).  The main characters are all junior officers, one of whom is always at odds with her mother, the captain.  Lots of sly references to the OS, including a direct reference to "TOS.  You know, The Old Scientists.  Spock, McCoy..."  Another: "Our shuttle is surrounded by giants holding spears?  Do I look like James Kirk?"  Third season just streaming now.

Prodigy:  I really don't know much about this one, other than it's a 3-D cartoon aimed at younger audiences.  Timeframe post-Voyager, as Vice Admiral Janeway appears in a number of episodes.  Cameos from OS, Voyager, and DS9 characters.  If you've seen it, give me your take.

There is also Short Treks, not so much a series as a fan fiction in film form.  I'm only mentioning it for completeness, but I'm willing to entertain comments there, as well.

My favorites, in descending order:  Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Discovery, Picard.  (Not enough info to rank Prodigy.)

 

ENGAGE!

George

George

[WordWolf]

I actually haven't seen them.  Mrs Wolf didn't think much of Discovery, and found Lower Decks unwatchable.  I'm thinking I might like LD myself.  On paper, I like the concept, at least. (But the ship looks awful to me, probably meant as a joke.)

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Like Enterprise, Discovery seems to want to reinvent itself every season.  That can be annoying, but the character development is very good.

I highly recommend Strange New Worlds.  There's only one season, so far, so it won't take long to catch up.

George

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Season 2 of Strange New Worlds has been delightful.  In the episode I just watched, Spock has been made fully human, just in time to deal with T'Pring's parents and their engagement ceremony.  (The mom is a real b-tch, but the dad is quite pleasant.)  Spock get fixed, of course, before the end of the episode.

Watch it.  

George

PS  Spock's mom Amanda (Mia Kirschner) is HOT!

Edited August 14, 2023 by GeorgeStGeorge

[Raf]

I imagine she us.

She was the assassin in the pilot episode for 24 in 2001 and she was hot then, too.

I've also taken a liking to Neve Campbell, who has aged gracefully and is hotter now than she was in the Scream movies.

[GeorgeStGeorge]

I haven't watched it yet, but the next SNW episode coming up* is apparently a crossover with Lower Decks, as Ensign Boimler will appear.  I wonder what constitutes "canonical" Star Trek these days.  Another character from LD, Lt. Shaxs, is a minor character in IDW's current Star Trek comic book.

*"The Old Scientists," from a quote by Becket Mariner in a LD episode.  She talked about "TOS," which, of course, means The Original Series to US, but she used it to refer to The Old Scientists Spock, McCoy, etc.  

George

[WordWolf]

Mia Kirschner also played Ruby Cates in "Wolf Lake" (for all of us WL fans out there.)  The 3 of us remember the detective following her across the state looking for her- not that we blame him.

 

AFAIK,  canon for this stuff is usually any theatrical releases, followed by television shows regardless of format.  Afterwards there's other media (novels, comic books, etc.)  So, either 2 or 3 tiers of canon, depending.  For ST, the written works are considered the second tier.  That's why you can find the movies and shows on Memory Alpha and the books on Memory Beta.  On MA, any references in books are listed at the bottom, under "Behind the Scenes" (the same applies to Star Wars and Wookieepedia.)

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Just saw "Those Old Scientists."  Loved it!  It starts with LD in cartoon format.  Then Boimler (and later, Mariner) go through a time portal and wind up (live action) with the Enterprise crew.  The voice actors for Boimler and Mariner are the actors in the live part.  You would enjoy it even if you haven't seen either SNW or LD (but it's better if you have).

George