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Unfortunately Foundation's second episode wasn't very good, full of all the tropes of modern TV that I dislike. Gone are the clarity of storytelling and awe-inspiring spectacle of the first episode. Instead there's mumbling and inaudible dialogue, flat and boring characters, a camera that won't stay still like they think viewers will lose attention if they don't stay at one angle for more than 2 seconds, poor dialogue that makes everyone sound unnatural because they can't just talk like normal people, and a complete lack of wit, fun, adventure or wonder. We're talking about a galactic empire but we see very little of it, we don't even get much of a sense that Trantor is a city-planet. It's all very self-important and like a lot of modern TV it doesn't realise it has to earn that gravitas.
 
Springer said:
Unfortunately Foundation's second episode wasn't very good, full of all the tropes of modern TV that I dislike. Gone are the clarity of storytelling and awe-inspiring spectacle of the first episode. Instead there's mumbling and inaudible dialogue, flat and boring characters, a camera that won't stay still like they think viewers will lose attention if they don't stay at one angle for more than 2 seconds, poor dialogue that makes everyone sound unnatural because they can't just talk like normal people, and a complete lack of wit, fun, adventure or wonder. We're talking about a galactic empire but we see very little of it, we don't even get much of a sense that Trantor is a city-planet. It's all very self-important and like a lot of modern TV it doesn't realise it has to earn that gravitas.
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Personally thought S1 was really strong space opera. Stick with it. I've enjoyed it quite a lot. It's not perfect, but definitely above average.
 
hypatia said:
I hope you enjoy it, I really am. And it’s a good choice for binging, too.
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This was utterly superb. So tightly written and beautifully executed.

Was a nice counterpoint to the Stranger Things conclusion, which I found overstuffed, badly paced and simply 'okay'. They ended the series fairly well, but it's not something I've ever thought was 'excellent', just perfectly good entertaining TV that doesn't require too much of the viewer, which is totally FINE.

But, Pluribus was next level TV for sure. So good.
 
Foundation is bloody brilliant. And it looks amazing. Worthy my investment in a good TV alone!

I'm watching Devs. Late to the party, but really liking it. It's very stylish and I love the mood.
 
On top of many other things, trying to keep up with FALLOUT S2.

And referencing the Stranger Things Finale, I was okay with it because it was just okay. The more I talk to people the more I find they didn't care for certain things, but I just keep telling them there are spin-offs and whatnot coming. Maybe those issues will be explained....Or not. 🤪
 
Looney said:
On top of many other things, trying to keep up with FALLOUT S2.

And referencing the Stranger Things Finale, I was okay with it because it was just okay. The more I talk to people the more I find they didn't care for certain things, but I just keep telling them there are spin-offs and whatnot coming. Maybe those issues will be explained....Or not. 🤪
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How are you liking season two? I'm holding off watching till all eight (whee... eight!) episodes are released, so another three weeks to go.
 
I'd also be curious to s2 views. I thought s1 started off strong, then for me got very boring very quickly. It became kill the monster of the week like the Mandalorian.

I don't currently plan to watch s2 unless people tell me it's great and unmissable.
 
AntonyF said:
I'd also be curious to s2 views. I thought s1 started off strong, then for me got very boring very quickly. It became kill the monster of the week like the Mandalorian.

I don't currently plan to watch s2 unless people tell me it's great and unmissable.
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I’ve enjoyed season 2 much more than season 1. It’s’ kind of digging into some hard decision making in morally grey areas. There are sometimes no great choices, but you see how everyone moves forward. Interesting character development.

It has some kind of scary (for me) wasteland stuff. But it amazes me how they can sneak in the snarky humor in the middle of some dark stuff.

The vault side of the story is not as interesting, but it has interesting aspects and seems to be developing background so I cut them a break (for being less exciting than the wasteland part of the story).
 
Absolutely loving Season 2. Quite annoyed having to wait for episode releases. I totally agree that the Vault-Side of the story is not all that interesting... YET. Here is hoping. 😉🤞
 
I kinda like I am having to do Starfleet Academy as a weekly watch.

I'm somewhere between hate watching it and begrudgingly admitting it's not that bad. Have hopes it could turn out okay if there's more episodes like Episode 4.
 
Looney said:
I do wish I had done that. I lasted a few weeks before I started, but then I blew it.
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Supposedly Fallout episode 8 will air next week, so for those of us who have been waiting, guess next weekend will be time to give it a look.

Although I did peek at some of the "extras" - the green animation shorts.
 
Ubik said:
I kinda like I am having to do Starfleet Academy as a weekly watch.

I'm somewhere between hate watching it and begrudgingly admitting it's not that bad. Have hopes it could turn out okay if there's more episodes like Episode 4.
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I finally came to the conclusion I'll just rile myself up and this is the first Star Trek I'm not even attempting.
 
They are attempting some continuity by including "The Doctor" from Voyager, although whenever a franchise tries to Break The Mold, they risk losing existing fans.
 
LateArrival said:
They are attempting some continuity by including "The Doctor" from Voyager, although whenever a franchise tries to Break The Mold, they risk losing existing fans.
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So far, it's not quite the train wreck I was expecting. There were definitely a few elements in the opening episodes that made me audibly groan or facepalm... but I quite like Episode 4. Really depends on trajectory of the rest of the season. With these shorter seasons they can't really afford to have bad episodes.
 
Currently re-watching DS9, this has stood up very well.

Continuing to watch Academy and I think it's a country mile better than Discovery and Picard. Has an ensemble cast whose names I can remember and have had steady character development throughout the season. Sure, it has heavy YA vibes, but the balance feel a lot better than a lot of recent nu-Trek. At least it is squarely it's own thing.
 
Ubik said:
Currently re-watching DS9, this has stood up very well.

Continuing to watch Academy and I think it's a country mile better than Discovery and Picard. Has an ensemble cast whose names I can remember and have had steady character development throughout the season. Sure, it has heavy YA vibes, but the balance feel a lot better than a lot of recent nu-Trek. At least it is squarely it's own thing.
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Are you referencing Picard season one, two, or three?

If memory serves, season one ended with Android 🤖 Cthulhu driven away but not defeated while season two ended with the slightly-over-aggressive Friendly Borg guarding some sort of dimensional rift. Season three dealt with the meddling of the Borg Queen (would have been nice if there were some Friendly Borg around to help) to be defeated by the return of the Enterprise-D.
 
LateArrival said:
Are you referencing Picard season one, two, or three?

If memory serves, season one ended with Android 🤖 Cthulhu driven away but not defeated while season two ended with the slightly-over-aggressive Friendly Borg guarding some sort of dimensional rift. Season three dealt with the meddling of the Borg Queen (would have been nice if there were some Friendly Borg around to help) to be defeated by the return of the Enterprise-D.
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I liked parts of seasons 1 and 2 of Picard, but both had bad endings in my opinion and didn't really hold up overall. Season 3 was uniformly excellent (I know cynics will moan about it being nostalgic, but tough).

I did like Discovery, though it veered between excellent and atrocious. I think if season 1 had belonged to some other science fiction show, and wasn't labelled as Star Trek, we'd all be lauding it. Season 2 had a really strong start and a messy ending, ditto season 3 (though I was okay with the explanation for the Burn, though I never felt the writers made the most of the concept). I liked the story in season 4 the most, as a good example of a first-contact story, and season 5 was disappointing to me.

I've seen the first season of SNW, it's good in places but I didn't like the characterisation of Spock or the actor playing him, and it seems later seasons became gimmicky (I am *not* watching a Star Trek musical). Maybe the character of Spock is just too ingrained with Leonard Nimoy for me.

As for Academy, it doesn't really look like it's for me though I may get around to watching at some point given the good word of mouth it has got. I always try and remember IDIC, and then think that people criticising these shows are missing the point. I've got the original series and TNG and the movies 1-10 (well, maybe not Nemesis) to enjoy, it's okay if I don't like all the new Star Trek as other people do - infinite diversity of Star Trek in infinite combinations. There's something for everyone. As for those people who think Star Trek has 'gone woke', give me a break - it always has been. IDIC is as woke a concept as you can get!

I was born in 1980 and don't normally wish I'd been around in the 60s, but to have been there when Star Trek was originally airing, and being part of that zeitgeist, yeah I can imagine that would have been quite special - like being around for when B5 first aired.

(I'll save my ire for DS9 though – boring characters, boring actors, boring stories, boring set design, boring music... I did a rewatch a few years ago and fell asleep watching Sacrifice of Angels - twice! At that point I decided to stop rewatching if I couldn't get through what many people think is one of its best episodes!)

Sorry for the spiel. Just been thinking about the Star Trek universe recently so it was a bit of a stream of consciouness!
 
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