Right out of the gate, I have a problem with it. The series opening reel has more of a Star Search or Dancing with the Stars feel to it than a Star Trek one. It doesn't convey that sense of space exploration or adventure that all the other ST's, and, dare I say, even Discovery's opening reel conveys. But this is minor compared to my main beef with the series, and, for that matter, the new stewards of the franchise. Episode 5 is a perfect example.
The first problem is that the writers seem to want to connect with a newer, younger demographic, and they seem to believe that this demographic requires content centered around personal angst. Ok, not a first, soap operas are built on this theory. However... a Hollywood writer, no matter how young, who's making hundreds of thousands of dollars and essentially living their dream, cnnot possibly know the ongoing anxst of the average viewer. More importantly, unless they served on a warship -- as Gene Roddenberry did -- they can't possibly know the personal internal machinations of someone serving on the most advanced, most sophisticated ship ever put to screen. This, imo, is why the new STs will never reconnect with my generation. I'll give you an example from the very first episode. It's not a spoiler, because its just a character reveal from the very first episode, and it hasn't gone anywhere yet. It hasn't contributed to the story or plot, and since we already know what happens with this particular detail (because of the ST:OS cannon), it really has no great impact on anything. So, no spoiler, but if you're still worried, quit reading now.
Uhuru tells us in the very first episode that she's not sure she wants to make Starfleet her career. She's not sure she wants to be a Starfleet officer. She's just a cadet. In fact, we see a lot of cadets on Pike's Enterprise.
"Wait, what????"
If you were choosing a crew for your most advanced starship, your flagship, wouldn't you choose from the top five percent of the class? Wouldn't you pick the elite? When you're being interviewed for a job at MacDonalds they ask you where you see yourself five years hence. Is this how Starfleet was made? With people who get posted based on answers like, "I don't know what I really want to do when I grow up."?
It's a logic hole, but not the only one. Every episode has similar jholes in logic. There's another huge one in Episode 5 having to do with #1. I won't mention it because that would, indeed, be a spoiler.
I found Episode 5 to be painfully expositional, painfully angst-driven, painfully illogical (cadets again, but also Pike, Spock, and #1), and painfully boring.
The first problem is that the writers seem to want to connect with a newer, younger demographic, and they seem to believe that this demographic requires content centered around personal angst. Ok, not a first, soap operas are built on this theory. However... a Hollywood writer, no matter how young, who's making hundreds of thousands of dollars and essentially living their dream, cnnot possibly know the ongoing anxst of the average viewer. More importantly, unless they served on a warship -- as Gene Roddenberry did -- they can't possibly know the personal internal machinations of someone serving on the most advanced, most sophisticated ship ever put to screen. This, imo, is why the new STs will never reconnect with my generation. I'll give you an example from the very first episode. It's not a spoiler, because its just a character reveal from the very first episode, and it hasn't gone anywhere yet. It hasn't contributed to the story or plot, and since we already know what happens with this particular detail (because of the ST:OS cannon), it really has no great impact on anything. So, no spoiler, but if you're still worried, quit reading now.
Uhuru tells us in the very first episode that she's not sure she wants to make Starfleet her career. She's not sure she wants to be a Starfleet officer. She's just a cadet. In fact, we see a lot of cadets on Pike's Enterprise.
"Wait, what????"
If you were choosing a crew for your most advanced starship, your flagship, wouldn't you choose from the top five percent of the class? Wouldn't you pick the elite? When you're being interviewed for a job at MacDonalds they ask you where you see yourself five years hence. Is this how Starfleet was made? With people who get posted based on answers like, "I don't know what I really want to do when I grow up."?
It's a logic hole, but not the only one. Every episode has similar jholes in logic. There's another huge one in Episode 5 having to do with #1. I won't mention it because that would, indeed, be a spoiler.
I found Episode 5 to be painfully expositional, painfully angst-driven, painfully illogical (cadets again, but also Pike, Spock, and #1), and painfully boring.