Dial of Destiny has a great premise and an enjoyable first and third act, but all in all it's brought down by lazy plotting and poor writing in the 2nd act. I'm glad I watched it. It filled a void in the franchise. However, it could and should have been much better. Indy's goddaughter has no redeeming qualities through most of the movie, and she never really arcs in a meaningful way. In the third act, she acts like she finally grows a soul. Unfortunately there's no foreshadowing to make it seem anything but a convenience. She is singlemindedly all about the money for most of the movie, and her actual change of heart comes off as contrived. I found her annoying. The logic used to explain the story beats are quite unfounded and also come across as completely contrived. Worth watching if you're over 70 and couldn't wait to see Raiders when the trailers first appeared on TV. I actually went to a screening with friends who had no idea what they were going to see.
Reviews
21 Reviews
A Glorious Season 2 Finale
17 November 2023
I saved my review until now because I was enjoying the series that much. Kudos to the writers on this show. Everything is just perfect for me. Great casting, dialogue, story, and pacing. It's the kind of series you can watch over and over.
Loki was always a two-dimensional character in the comics but this series opens up a whole new side to him (a fourth of you take into account the time slipping), and frankly, I just dig it to death. (That's a winky, winky joke. He died, remember? And more than once.)
At some point, they'll have to reconcile the Loki we all had a love/hate relationship with, and I'm looking forward to the writers and actor playing with that inevitability. Clearly, Loki can't remain where he is at the end of S2E6. He has a role to play, literally, in the makeup of the one true timeline. I'm hoping it brings him full circle. I would like to see him end up as the God he has to be for the sacred timeline, not the one he wants to be. The ultimate sacrifice. But perhaps this is it for the series, and if it is, I'm happy.
Loki was always a two-dimensional character in the comics but this series opens up a whole new side to him (a fourth of you take into account the time slipping), and frankly, I just dig it to death. (That's a winky, winky joke. He died, remember? And more than once.)
At some point, they'll have to reconcile the Loki we all had a love/hate relationship with, and I'm looking forward to the writers and actor playing with that inevitability. Clearly, Loki can't remain where he is at the end of S2E6. He has a role to play, literally, in the makeup of the one true timeline. I'm hoping it brings him full circle. I would like to see him end up as the God he has to be for the sacred timeline, not the one he wants to be. The ultimate sacrifice. But perhaps this is it for the series, and if it is, I'm happy.
Flagship Crew My A$$
11 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Well, all I can say is, at least nobody is singing. However, nobody really acts like they belong on the flagship of the fleet. This has been and continues to be a major bugaboo for me with this series, that, and of course the absence of logic and basic science. I realize it's imagination science, and TOS and TNG to great liberties with physics, too. But this series has more holes than a Swiss cheese, and it gets irritating.
SPOILERS....
The big SAVE in this episode has to with a plan to use the destroyed Farragut to knock out a Gorn tower on a planet. This array conveniently prevents the Enterprise from communicating or using its transporters. Again, another contrivance to make the story work. Just like Starfleet ordering Pike to stand down and avoid antagonizing the Gorn. The Gorn are planting eggs in human hosts -- Ala Alien -- Pikes commanding officer tells him to stand down. These creatures are depicted as a step below dinosaurs, but capable of building starships and travelling at Warp speeds. Their technology even appears to outclass that of the Enterprise, but apparently, they can't recognize changes in momentum due to acceleration.
The end of this episode is embarrassing. I'm almost surprised Pike didn't try to cook something in the last scene, or take out a sandwich. I would have actually preferred him eating a sandwich than freezing the way he did. Cooking, eating, and hugging, he does these well. He's a great hugger, a respectable crier, and he can emote right up there with all the other drama queens on the Enterprise, including Spock.
Now why again was the colony built to look like a 1970's Midwestern town? How does that make any sense? Please, don't bother trying to explain these things in dialogue anymore. "Because it was easier for the colonists to acclimate." What? Might as well just say, because we had this set nobody was using that week.
SPOILERS....
The big SAVE in this episode has to with a plan to use the destroyed Farragut to knock out a Gorn tower on a planet. This array conveniently prevents the Enterprise from communicating or using its transporters. Again, another contrivance to make the story work. Just like Starfleet ordering Pike to stand down and avoid antagonizing the Gorn. The Gorn are planting eggs in human hosts -- Ala Alien -- Pikes commanding officer tells him to stand down. These creatures are depicted as a step below dinosaurs, but capable of building starships and travelling at Warp speeds. Their technology even appears to outclass that of the Enterprise, but apparently, they can't recognize changes in momentum due to acceleration.
The end of this episode is embarrassing. I'm almost surprised Pike didn't try to cook something in the last scene, or take out a sandwich. I would have actually preferred him eating a sandwich than freezing the way he did. Cooking, eating, and hugging, he does these well. He's a great hugger, a respectable crier, and he can emote right up there with all the other drama queens on the Enterprise, including Spock.
Now why again was the colony built to look like a 1970's Midwestern town? How does that make any sense? Please, don't bother trying to explain these things in dialogue anymore. "Because it was easier for the colonists to acclimate." What? Might as well just say, because we had this set nobody was using that week.
Nope
4 August 2023
Either the showrunners and writers are messing with us, or they have decided they can do whatever they want and get away with it. One thing for sure, they simply don't take the franchise seriously. I think they know they're going to be cancelled and they're making sure they display their talents and create demo reels that will get them new jobs. The songs in this episode were impressive. If it hadn't been Star Trek, I would have given the episode a ten for inventiveness and creativity. However, it is Star Trek, and an obvious a musical - which this is - is just completely contrived. I can guess what Season Three will be. So, I am officially done with ST and Paramount. ST is why I signed up for Paramount in the first place.
Should Have Been On BD
28 July 2023
I love Frakes and I think he's a very good director. I think he's been an enthusiastic and loyal Trekkie too. Not sure what his thinking was here, or why he wanted to make his play on SNW with this, but I did not find it funny at all. Found it kind of annoying, actually, and after watching it from start to finish, can be fairly certain BD is not for me.
Story was ok. Direction was fine. Story beats worked. Nod to ship construction protocol was clever and worth two Stars. The dialogue and banter irritates me. They talk to fast, about inconsequential things and feelings. Pike talking about his father? Really? Why? I doesn't/didn't matter. It has no bearing on anything that came before, and probably won't matter in the future. The scene in the elevator with Chapel, talking about Spock, seemed like something that could and probably should be an important, serious bit of foreshadowing, but to bury it in the middle of the ep, and not highlight it as a kind of cliffhanger, is the same as throwing it into the wind and telling viewers to just forget about it.
ST:SNW is not my Star Trek. Neither is Discovery. Picard came closest. I get it now. I'm a dinosaur and this franchise, which I faithfully supported and loved since its debut in 1966, has been hijacked by people who don't speak my language. I'm sad about that, but life goes on.
Story was ok. Direction was fine. Story beats worked. Nod to ship construction protocol was clever and worth two Stars. The dialogue and banter irritates me. They talk to fast, about inconsequential things and feelings. Pike talking about his father? Really? Why? I doesn't/didn't matter. It has no bearing on anything that came before, and probably won't matter in the future. The scene in the elevator with Chapel, talking about Spock, seemed like something that could and probably should be an important, serious bit of foreshadowing, but to bury it in the middle of the ep, and not highlight it as a kind of cliffhanger, is the same as throwing it into the wind and telling viewers to just forget about it.
ST:SNW is not my Star Trek. Neither is Discovery. Picard came closest. I get it now. I'm a dinosaur and this franchise, which I faithfully supported and loved since its debut in 1966, has been hijacked by people who don't speak my language. I'm sad about that, but life goes on.
Starts As A Nine, Ends as a One
28 July 2023
This episode started off with a great premise but ultimately fell apart in the last act. Pike continues to be a non-entity. I mean, we're talking zero leadership skill, zero command presence. He might as well not even be a character anymore. All he did in this episode, literally, was make Jambalaya.
The episode centers on three characters. The doctor, nurse Chapel, and a Klingon ambassador. All three share a dark past, a combat-ridden battle couched in a mystery. Thing is, there's really no foreshadowing of the mystery, so when the reveal comes, it arrives as a shocker, but also feels misplaced. It's like the story was going somewhere, but then when the writers realized they couldn't fit their ending into the allotted time slot, someone suggested a twist to make it all work.
SNW continues to struggle with Chapel's character. At every turn she displays super human abilities. There is nothing she can't do. In this episode she helps save the day with her engineering prowess. I'm sick of her.
The Doctor is clearly the best male character in SNW. He has more going on than Pike or Spock and has since the very beginning. Unfortunately, the doctor's part in ST's success is as a crewmate, friend, and confidant to the captain, not as the central force. It isn't Chicago Med.
The writers of SNW have completely abandoned Roddenberry's focus on naval protocols and the working relationships that must exist aboard a ship for it to function. Frankly, I find myself sick of the writers' apparent disdain for maritime standards and procedures. The show is void of any real connection to the operations of a real ship, and a lot of the ideas or devices, eg Product 12, are not fully thought out. (Genetic engineering is outlawed and feared but Product 12 is not; The doctor and Chapel are super soldiers turned medical professionals, but still have supersoldier skills.)
I see there is another season coming. Maybe Pike's vision of his future -- a plot element all but forgotten -- will materialize, Kirk will take command of the Enterprise, and things will all get back to normal.
The episode centers on three characters. The doctor, nurse Chapel, and a Klingon ambassador. All three share a dark past, a combat-ridden battle couched in a mystery. Thing is, there's really no foreshadowing of the mystery, so when the reveal comes, it arrives as a shocker, but also feels misplaced. It's like the story was going somewhere, but then when the writers realized they couldn't fit their ending into the allotted time slot, someone suggested a twist to make it all work.
SNW continues to struggle with Chapel's character. At every turn she displays super human abilities. There is nothing she can't do. In this episode she helps save the day with her engineering prowess. I'm sick of her.
The Doctor is clearly the best male character in SNW. He has more going on than Pike or Spock and has since the very beginning. Unfortunately, the doctor's part in ST's success is as a crewmate, friend, and confidant to the captain, not as the central force. It isn't Chicago Med.
The writers of SNW have completely abandoned Roddenberry's focus on naval protocols and the working relationships that must exist aboard a ship for it to function. Frankly, I find myself sick of the writers' apparent disdain for maritime standards and procedures. The show is void of any real connection to the operations of a real ship, and a lot of the ideas or devices, eg Product 12, are not fully thought out. (Genetic engineering is outlawed and feared but Product 12 is not; The doctor and Chapel are super soldiers turned medical professionals, but still have supersoldier skills.)
I see there is another season coming. Maybe Pike's vision of his future -- a plot element all but forgotten -- will materialize, Kirk will take command of the Enterprise, and things will all get back to normal.
A Six For The Cast Only
21 July 2023
SNWs follows an old theme with this episode. You will find the inspiration for it in TOS and TNG. In my opinion, the earlier franchise episodes did it better. For one thing, they kept the mystery a center piece, unlike here, where it's just a vehicle to explore more character backstories. I'm sorry, but these on the nose confessionals are tiresome. I don't want characters to tell their stories at inappropriate times. It's unnatural and it feels forced and contrived.
Everything about this episode seemed off. Nothing quite meshed. There were some huge logic holes, not the least of which was going into unknown life form territory and applying human traits to it. The sentimental ending was a cheap shot, and Pike's complete abdication of his duties as Captain is an insult to every real Trek fan.
Everything about this episode seemed off. Nothing quite meshed. There were some huge logic holes, not the least of which was going into unknown life form territory and applying human traits to it. The sentimental ending was a cheap shot, and Pike's complete abdication of his duties as Captain is an insult to every real Trek fan.
Back to Basics
15 July 2023
I guess to each their own. Some people hated it. I thought it was the best of all the episodes so far, and granted, I've been really critical of SNW. I don't like how they're claiming to be returning to Trek's roots but in reality they're showing complete disdain for canon, ignoring science and logic, and creating character life experiences that could have never been a part of the characters from TOS. Nurse Chapel is a perfect example of the latter, and yet, at least with this episode, they tried, and imo, succeeded in touching base with canon.
I don't know why the writers felt it necessary to have Nurse Chapel -- in her formative years in Starfleet -- be 1000% more skilled and educated than how she ends up in TOS. Unless they plan on having her memories erased at some point in the near future like Uhura's were in The Changeling... Actually. I do know why the writers do this. Because there are obviously too many people running this show who think empowering female viewers should be a driving theme. Unfortunately, the result is superficial and phoney, and actually an insult to the nursing profession. All the building blocks were there in Nurse Chapel to do something really great with this character and her unrequited love for Spock, but instead of using them, the writers fell back on the two-dimensional theme that all women on television must now save the day with their super intellects or MMA fighting abilities.
So. Ok. Now for the good. The Chapel/Spock arc in this episode was fun, despite it not being respectful to canon or the nursing profession. The Spock/families arc was fun, too. There were comic elements. The double-entendre of the title was fun. I laughed. The characters had a camaraderie. It "felt" like a TOS episode, like I was finally on the Enterprise, and the ending was mostly satisfying.
If only the writers would find a way to empower their viewers without smashing them over the head with blatantly transparent, two-dimensional character traits. Sheesh! You had a chance to make a statement about one of mankind's most honorable professions, and you squandered the opportunity.
I don't know why the writers felt it necessary to have Nurse Chapel -- in her formative years in Starfleet -- be 1000% more skilled and educated than how she ends up in TOS. Unless they plan on having her memories erased at some point in the near future like Uhura's were in The Changeling... Actually. I do know why the writers do this. Because there are obviously too many people running this show who think empowering female viewers should be a driving theme. Unfortunately, the result is superficial and phoney, and actually an insult to the nursing profession. All the building blocks were there in Nurse Chapel to do something really great with this character and her unrequited love for Spock, but instead of using them, the writers fell back on the two-dimensional theme that all women on television must now save the day with their super intellects or MMA fighting abilities.
So. Ok. Now for the good. The Chapel/Spock arc in this episode was fun, despite it not being respectful to canon or the nursing profession. The Spock/families arc was fun, too. There were comic elements. The double-entendre of the title was fun. I laughed. The characters had a camaraderie. It "felt" like a TOS episode, like I was finally on the Enterprise, and the ending was mostly satisfying.
If only the writers would find a way to empower their viewers without smashing them over the head with blatantly transparent, two-dimensional character traits. Sheesh! You had a chance to make a statement about one of mankind's most honorable professions, and you squandered the opportunity.
Best of S2 But Still Too Much
8 July 2023
This episode gets back to what Paramount/Disney promised us, a new world and a new adventure every week. It was interesting, it held my attention, and it had major characters performing and doing what we expect them to do, that is, all except Spock. He kinda punted here, when in fact he was left aboard as Captain. The show runners still have no regard for shipboard protocol or ST canon, and still want to let the graphic artists turn a pre-1701 Enterprise into a luxury condo, but I'm not going to nitpick too much on that score. Let me just say they played loosey goosey with logic and basically let the challenge at hand be solved on its own. Pike and his crew may have been pro-active, but it was ex-machina that saved the day.
Boldly Going Their Own Way
30 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Strange New Worlds. SPOILERS...
I had such high hopes for this show. Sadly, I'm not feeling it. Writing seems amateurish to me, and there seems to be nothing but disdain for the Roddenberry canon. I get that social and cultural attitudes have changed and certain conventions of the sixties and seventies are now considered out of touch. I'm ok with that. I don't want to live in the past any more than a Gen Z-er does. But there are just certain standards you shouldn't violate if you want to ride the coattails of someone else's success. For example, in Search for Spock, after Kirk does the unthinkable, he gets to second guessing himself when he destroys the Enterprise. He says to Bones. "What did I do?" And Bones replies. "What you had to do. What you always do. You turn death into a fighting chance." If there's one perfect descriptive of who and what Kirk is, this is it. But in S2E3 of SNW, they have a time traveling, alternate timeline Kirk facing a Romulan spy with a gun. This spy needs a hand print from Kahn's daughter in order to break into and sabotage a nuclear power plant. Kirk's way of handling the threat is to say, "You're not going to shoot me." And guess what? He turns out to be wrong. And he gets shot and dies. Not exactly what I would call a Kirkian attempt to turn certain death into a fighting chance. Pretty lame and lazy writing for an iconic character that virtually birthed one of the greatest TV franchises of all time.
And on the technical side, I have another complaint. The Tritium watch. Singh and Kirk track down an immortal alien (like Guinan) hiding on Earth to help engineer a device that they can use to find a nuclear reactor in Toronto. The alien gives them a Tritium watch from the 90s. At this point, in 2023/24, the radioactivity in the watch's Tritium is spent (halflife of 12-1/2 years) and Singh says that all they have to do is walk around Toronto until the watch dial lights up (presumably when the beta emissions from the Tritium at the reactor site are absorbed by the phosphorescent powder in the watch) and they'll find the reactor. Really? That's all? Nope. Tritium emissions aren't like cosmic rays. The Beta particles can only travel a few meters at most, so Kirk and Singh would have to be standing next to the source to find it. It would take Singh and Kirk forever. And this assumes the emission isn't intercepted first by some other object. Beta particles can be stopped by wood, aluminum, steel, concrete, even a few layers of clothing. So, in fact, it would be just as sensible for Singh and Kirk to look for the reactor with a shovel, as it would for them to be looking for it with a Tritium watch.
I had such high hopes for this show. Sadly, I'm not feeling it. Writing seems amateurish to me, and there seems to be nothing but disdain for the Roddenberry canon. I get that social and cultural attitudes have changed and certain conventions of the sixties and seventies are now considered out of touch. I'm ok with that. I don't want to live in the past any more than a Gen Z-er does. But there are just certain standards you shouldn't violate if you want to ride the coattails of someone else's success. For example, in Search for Spock, after Kirk does the unthinkable, he gets to second guessing himself when he destroys the Enterprise. He says to Bones. "What did I do?" And Bones replies. "What you had to do. What you always do. You turn death into a fighting chance." If there's one perfect descriptive of who and what Kirk is, this is it. But in S2E3 of SNW, they have a time traveling, alternate timeline Kirk facing a Romulan spy with a gun. This spy needs a hand print from Kahn's daughter in order to break into and sabotage a nuclear power plant. Kirk's way of handling the threat is to say, "You're not going to shoot me." And guess what? He turns out to be wrong. And he gets shot and dies. Not exactly what I would call a Kirkian attempt to turn certain death into a fighting chance. Pretty lame and lazy writing for an iconic character that virtually birthed one of the greatest TV franchises of all time.
And on the technical side, I have another complaint. The Tritium watch. Singh and Kirk track down an immortal alien (like Guinan) hiding on Earth to help engineer a device that they can use to find a nuclear reactor in Toronto. The alien gives them a Tritium watch from the 90s. At this point, in 2023/24, the radioactivity in the watch's Tritium is spent (halflife of 12-1/2 years) and Singh says that all they have to do is walk around Toronto until the watch dial lights up (presumably when the beta emissions from the Tritium at the reactor site are absorbed by the phosphorescent powder in the watch) and they'll find the reactor. Really? That's all? Nope. Tritium emissions aren't like cosmic rays. The Beta particles can only travel a few meters at most, so Kirk and Singh would have to be standing next to the source to find it. It would take Singh and Kirk forever. And this assumes the emission isn't intercepted first by some other object. Beta particles can be stopped by wood, aluminum, steel, concrete, even a few layers of clothing. So, in fact, it would be just as sensible for Singh and Kirk to look for the reactor with a shovel, as it would for them to be looking for it with a Tritium watch.
A.P. Bio
(2018–2021)
Obnoxious, Narcissistic, Unwatchable Main Character
5 May 2023
O. M. G. What a suckfest. I suffered through four episodes of this before I threw in the towel. Lorne should hang his head in shame for this crap. Kudos to the entire cast (except the main character) for a valiant and impressive effort. Main character doesn't get any credit: It's too easy to play a complete a-hole. If you're looking for some laughs, look elsewhere. If you want drama, pass on this. If you don't want to feel like bashing your head against the wall, go to Hulu. Lorne and his team of writers must have created this to annoy the hell out of anyone with a real job. I have no idea who it's written for.
What a Waste
1 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This series sucks. I've tried. I really have. I've given it time to redeem itself but it's cursed. I hate everything about it including the shills who post gushing reviews. Nothing makes sense. The stories are ripoffs. The characters have no continuity with their predecessors. And to top it all off, they in Ep 9, they killed off the only character who was worth a damn.
Yeah, I get it what they were going for, but...
25 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Thematically, sure. TOS did it, TNG did it, Enterprise did it. Red Dwarf spoofed it. But this? No way. It didn't work. Cliched, boring, agonizing. And all for a painfully shallow emotional payoff that not only didn't make sense but also turned a classic scifi trope upside down. The ending violated an obvious fictional standard about alien super beings.
SPOILER COMING...........
When the doctor decides to let his daughter join with the alien entity, she disappears and then returns almost immediately ten or more years older. When he asks how this can be, she tells him that seconds (or minutes) for him has been years for her. Does that sound like a good deal to you, or the type of time-slash-life type of existence a super being would have? It should be the other way around. At the very least, she just should have said, "Time doesn't exist for us as it does for you, so I decided to visit you as I am ten years from now, and some day, in your future, I will choose to visit you as I was on the day you let me go."
The writers don't seem to grasp these concepts. Or maybe they just think ST is about f/x, social warrior stories, and hitting the occasional dramatic drum beat.
I won't rehash what others have already complained about, except to say something more about airing an episode of ST that has in it an alien entity that can alter the actual character traits of the show's heroes. We're not talking about placing hero characters in an alternate timeline and watching their dark sides dominate, or watching Kirk after the transporter splits him into polar oppisites. We're not talking about an alien virus or environ that makes the crew angry and violent, or passive and submissive. On the contrary, this show introduces a supreme being that can alter free will. It turned Pike into Not Pike. Uhura into Not Uhura. Two of ST's strongest personalities. To write and air a ST episode like this, and then not even bother to explore the ramifications of such a possibility, is a missed opportunity of monumental proportions, and just plain dumb.
SPOILER COMING...........
When the doctor decides to let his daughter join with the alien entity, she disappears and then returns almost immediately ten or more years older. When he asks how this can be, she tells him that seconds (or minutes) for him has been years for her. Does that sound like a good deal to you, or the type of time-slash-life type of existence a super being would have? It should be the other way around. At the very least, she just should have said, "Time doesn't exist for us as it does for you, so I decided to visit you as I am ten years from now, and some day, in your future, I will choose to visit you as I was on the day you let me go."
The writers don't seem to grasp these concepts. Or maybe they just think ST is about f/x, social warrior stories, and hitting the occasional dramatic drum beat.
I won't rehash what others have already complained about, except to say something more about airing an episode of ST that has in it an alien entity that can alter the actual character traits of the show's heroes. We're not talking about placing hero characters in an alternate timeline and watching their dark sides dominate, or watching Kirk after the transporter splits him into polar oppisites. We're not talking about an alien virus or environ that makes the crew angry and violent, or passive and submissive. On the contrary, this show introduces a supreme being that can alter free will. It turned Pike into Not Pike. Uhura into Not Uhura. Two of ST's strongest personalities. To write and air a ST episode like this, and then not even bother to explore the ramifications of such a possibility, is a missed opportunity of monumental proportions, and just plain dumb.
Didn't Work for Me -- Possible SPOILERS!
4 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Comedy? Where? I didn't find any of it funny. But ok, humor is subjective. Let's talk about stories that break logic barriers.
Spock's personality took almost an entire lifetime to arc. And at no time in his early career did he acknowledge or display any character traits other than what would be expected of a Vulcan by other Vulcans. SNW's Spock takes place even earlier than STOS's Spock. He should be even more stoic and staid. Also, it's way to early for his commander to be heaping so much praise on him. (Btw, that scene was just in there to solve a plot problem. Good speech, but totally forced.)
Speaking of Pike. He acts more like Santa than a starship commander. He's too friendly with the crew and he's a horrible disciplinarian. He's more like the benevolent headmaster of a boarding school than the captain of a crew and ship that threads the fine line of life and death almost every day. Maybe this is why his cadets act like children.
This is my main complaint about the new stewardship of ST. Situational and character logic is all wrong.
In order for a starship crew to survive the dangers of space exploration it must achieve an elite level of preparedness, conduct, accountability, martial training, and leadership -- and this crew doesn't have it.
This is what the writers and show runners don't get about ST:ToS.
ToS was cheesy, unscientific, not very flashy, silly at times, and certainly by todays standards, downright creepy in the male-female interactions department -- and yet it worked, and still works. Why? Because then, and now, The Enterprise and its crew come off as a well oiled machine operating at peak efficiency. Kirk Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, all the main characters, they're the best of the best. As they have to be. And while they didn't always agree, they fit together in perfect harmony. That, right there, is the key component to making a ship, any ship, work. The fitness and fit of its crew. Roddenberry got this. Orville's MacFarlane gets this.
ST needs to get this.
Spock's personality took almost an entire lifetime to arc. And at no time in his early career did he acknowledge or display any character traits other than what would be expected of a Vulcan by other Vulcans. SNW's Spock takes place even earlier than STOS's Spock. He should be even more stoic and staid. Also, it's way to early for his commander to be heaping so much praise on him. (Btw, that scene was just in there to solve a plot problem. Good speech, but totally forced.)
Speaking of Pike. He acts more like Santa than a starship commander. He's too friendly with the crew and he's a horrible disciplinarian. He's more like the benevolent headmaster of a boarding school than the captain of a crew and ship that threads the fine line of life and death almost every day. Maybe this is why his cadets act like children.
This is my main complaint about the new stewardship of ST. Situational and character logic is all wrong.
In order for a starship crew to survive the dangers of space exploration it must achieve an elite level of preparedness, conduct, accountability, martial training, and leadership -- and this crew doesn't have it.
This is what the writers and show runners don't get about ST:ToS.
ToS was cheesy, unscientific, not very flashy, silly at times, and certainly by todays standards, downright creepy in the male-female interactions department -- and yet it worked, and still works. Why? Because then, and now, The Enterprise and its crew come off as a well oiled machine operating at peak efficiency. Kirk Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, all the main characters, they're the best of the best. As they have to be. And while they didn't always agree, they fit together in perfect harmony. That, right there, is the key component to making a ship, any ship, work. The fitness and fit of its crew. Roddenberry got this. Orville's MacFarlane gets this.
ST needs to get this.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
(2022– )
Still Not Trek
3 June 2022
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.
Oxygen
(2021)
Suspension of Logic - No Spoilers
31 May 2021
It has its moments but adhering to logic isn't one of them.
Why do the chambers have all the controls, monitors, and even the product badge on the inside? The occupant is supposed to be asleep, and they're restrained, tubed, and wrapped up like a mummy. Why does the computer need a robot arm with a syringe when all the cryo subjects are tubed up? Where's all the food and medicine stored? Why have an interactive interface when you're stuck in a cryo cocoon and can't use your hands? Why would you password protect your own pod? Who else is in there to commandeer your computer? Why would your cryo chamber have a phone when you're not supposed to wake up? Why is there no manual override? Why is the computer not programmed to assist a chamber occupant when clearly the entire inside the pod is designed solely for the occupant.
Btw, thematically, the amnesia and troubleshooting parts, are eerily similar to Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary.
Why do the chambers have all the controls, monitors, and even the product badge on the inside? The occupant is supposed to be asleep, and they're restrained, tubed, and wrapped up like a mummy. Why does the computer need a robot arm with a syringe when all the cryo subjects are tubed up? Where's all the food and medicine stored? Why have an interactive interface when you're stuck in a cryo cocoon and can't use your hands? Why would you password protect your own pod? Who else is in there to commandeer your computer? Why would your cryo chamber have a phone when you're not supposed to wake up? Why is there no manual override? Why is the computer not programmed to assist a chamber occupant when clearly the entire inside the pod is designed solely for the occupant.
Btw, thematically, the amnesia and troubleshooting parts, are eerily similar to Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary.
The Midnight Sky
(2020)
Blasters, Robots, and Death Stars it is NOT!
24 December 2020
An intelligent and compelling scifi film that proves you don't have to manufacture conflict between characters to raise the stakes. It also proves you can take a tragic theme and still tell a story of hope and salvation. Characters that aren't pigeonholed by stortellers into acts of hostility, foolishness, or irrationality, who instead exemplify the highest standards of human behavior, will do that, no matter how sad or depressing the subject matter.
If you're looking for an action film, look elsewhere. If you're tired of scifi films devoid of authenticity and common sense, check out The Midnight Sky.
If you're looking for an action film, look elsewhere. If you're tired of scifi films devoid of authenticity and common sense, check out The Midnight Sky.
Megalodon
(2018 TV Movie)
Enough to Make You Hate Movies
19 September 2019
I mean, it's completely unwatchable. EXT. scene of the admiral and captain walking on the deck -- of a WWII vintage Liberty Ship! Lol. And Michael Madsen playing the admiral. It looks like casting found him under a bridge somewhere and stuck him in fatigues. He can barely stand up straight, let alone salute or deliver lines, which, I'm guessing, were written by the 5th grade class of PS 26.
The Wolf's Call
(2019)
Well Done, Good Story, Logic Holes
28 June 2019
If you're into military thrillers, movies like Failsafe, you might like this. It has plenty of twists, good pacing, and a unlikely hero, a flawed sonar man who loves his country and is very good at his job.
The movie is not free of tactical and strategic logic holes, but the pacing, progression of events, f/x, live shots at sea, military action dialogue, and story keep you locked in. For English only viewers, the English dub is excellent.
The movie is not free of tactical and strategic logic holes, but the pacing, progression of events, f/x, live shots at sea, military action dialogue, and story keep you locked in. For English only viewers, the English dub is excellent.
Big Kill
(2019)
Feels Like a Contract Celebrity Movie9
26 June 2019
It's an ok couple of hours to spend but don't expect any magic. Reminds me of the type of movie you get when TV actors come together on a network project they sort of have to do to fulfill a contract. Somebody writes a big screen script for three specific celebrities, but they pass on it, so you end up with a quick draw TV production, pun intended. I know that's not the case with Big Kill, it's just that only three actors really seem like they belong in the old west, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jason Patrick, and Danny Trejo, who is completely wasted in a teaser that goes nowhere. In fact, he's not the only character that shows up and then disappears without a payoff. Watching the guys on horseback is painful, and in some of the shots, the paint looks like a pony. Let's just say being in the saddle doesn't look like second nature to most of these riders. It's like taking the cast of Murder She Wrote and giving them parts in Gone Baby Gone, and then not giving them any time to get into character.
Concept is OK: Town goes bad after silver mines flood, gets taken over by hired guns rustling cattle. Of course, one look at the dusty town and sage brush, not a puddle or raindrop to be seen, and, well, you know, what floods? Whole town looks like a Hollywood back lot. And cinematography is not geared to making a visual statement.
Nothing really makes much sense, and characters just seem to do things at the whim of the screenwriter, especially at the end.
All this being said, I wouldn't mind seeing this same cast again in another western, albiet, better script and higher production values.
Concept is OK: Town goes bad after silver mines flood, gets taken over by hired guns rustling cattle. Of course, one look at the dusty town and sage brush, not a puddle or raindrop to be seen, and, well, you know, what floods? Whole town looks like a Hollywood back lot. And cinematography is not geared to making a visual statement.
Nothing really makes much sense, and characters just seem to do things at the whim of the screenwriter, especially at the end.
All this being said, I wouldn't mind seeing this same cast again in another western, albiet, better script and higher production values.
The Outsider
(I) (2018)
Critics Are Nuts!
23 June 2019
After watching this movie I went to Metacritic to check reviews. Something like 30% on MC and 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. That's nuts. In fact, the quoted highlights from paid movie reviewers were completely non-sensical. Too bad I don't speak Japanese, because imo, the only professional movie critic worth hearing from on this movie would have to be Japanese. American critics are too culturally stunted and biased to appreciate what was being depicted in The Outsider. Bottom line, it is what it is, a hard-edged, violent, unsentimental window into organized crime during post war Japan. If you're into grim stories about criminals, and have a fascination for foreign and especially Japanese culture, you'll probably like it.
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