Ottis

The very first time Uhura heard the noise, I assumed it was a garbled alien message. If even I can think that, come on, Uhura. Poor Ramon never had a chance. I was disappointed to see this James Kirk again, Go away, Ace Ventura. I cannot take him seriously. Surely there was a better way to stop the refinery than to blow it up. So does this series have the opening stardate read by the character who the ep is about?

Have to mention how much I hate, hate, hate the lazy device of showing a scene and then stating “X months earlier.” All that does is make me tune out until we catch up to real time. It is such an irritating way to grab the viewer, only to immediately disappoint.

Thanks for that great research. It makes it easier to see the possibilities. It's pretty clear that the writers of SNW are taking some liberties with canon to fill in white space and deepen stories only hinted at in TOS. I think, though, that I can still go along with them, because the stories are pretty good. Also, they have some wiggle room. The "my name is Christine" line, for instance, could be read as an exasperated former lover reminding the now maddeningly formal Spock, "My NAME is Christine." Perhaps after deciding once and for all to suppress his emotions and end the relationship, Spock elected to go back to calling her Nurse Chapel. Is it perfect? No. But it is workable given we have a show from almost 60 years ago that no one expected to become what it did now being linked to a show in 2023. If you have to weight perfect canon with good storytelling, there will be some (hopefully minor) misconnects.

That's where I land. This Spock is still wrestling with how he feels about his human side. He ultimately will decide to firmly suppress it, and we see that in TOS, as well as learn of Korby and Christine. Heck, Spock is on a break and may not see T'Pring again until Amok Time, I suppose, though I don't recall all of TOS in detail. Christine boning Spock? Well, consider ... there were scenes in TOS where Christine clearly had a crush on Spock, and it was not reciprocated. I used to wonder what that was about. Easy to handwave and say it was something never consummated BUT ... it is possible those TOS interactions were remnants of a past relationship, one we are seeing happen now. Then it will end and Spock will suppress it and Christine will as well but she is occasionally wistful. Overall, I loved this ep. Some very nice human touches, including Spock acknowledging his mom's sacrifices in a way that will carry her through their future interactions. A few laughs as well. Man, Mount really enjoys playing goofy. His U-turn in the background as Spock revealed he was human was a treat. Canon aside, this felt like Star Trek to me, with overemoting here and there. ADD: ST:Enterprise was the only ST I ever quit watching, thought it was awful, so I don’t know where “stinky humans” originated but the fact we smell is a truth.

Agreed. Liked the concept, but it was weirdly limited. Yep, Pike has big quarters. They have been shown before, they are absurd. Ok, then. The guy left behind, Zac, was lightweight. Just a stand in for a bad decision, I guess. But nothing to him. The moral seemed to be something about love, but it felt rushed.

That is incorrect. La'an has augments, apparently the same augments as her ancestor, Khan. That would mean she is essentially a genetically engineered human and would presumably have his strength. This was covered in an earlier episode, and now that I can check that, it is confirmed: Strange New Worlds Finally Reveals If La’an Is Like Khan In Star Trek (screenrant.com) "La'an Noonien-Singh finally confirms to Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki), Number One's legal counsel, that she did, indeed, inherit Khan's augmentations." If I only pay half attention and sort of remembered that, I'm not sure what the writers of this ep were doing. Also ... Possibly. It is also equally possible that if Vulcan strength comes from higher gravity on their home world, and Romulans have evolved elsewhere for some time, that Romulans no longer have that Vulcan strength. I honestly don't know what canon says about Romulan strength. I don't recall eps where Romulans were shown to be stronger than humans. I do recall that Vulcans, and Spock specifically, are shown to be stronger than humans. So my question remains as to how the Romulan could so easily beat a trained security officer who also has genetic augments.

It aired, right? I watched it. The best line in the ep for me was Wendy noting Prince was so dangerous because Prince’s MO was to view an idea as great solely because he thought of it. It got to the heart of the matter, bypassing the point that Prince does sometime have good ideas. It took me half the episode to figure out who Gordie was. He seemed to have aged quickly. The fact that Prince thought he and his wife could pull that charade off is nuts.

Exactly. I cannot believe they cast that actor. It’s a guy doing an impression of Jim Carrey playing Kirk. Incredibly distracting. And he doesn’t talk or act like Kirk at all, or even a captain. He’s like a comedy sidekick. A horrible, horrible call. Also, I detest these budget-saving eps shot IRL. Picard did most of a season that way. Not why we watch ST. And they missed a fun opportunity in the diner scene to show a photo of the Enterprise in the sky from the Gary Seven ep. By the way, do Romulans have super strength? Isn’t La’an augmented? How did the Romulan kick her butt?

True, but there are two elements. One is as you say. The other is that the dark period will happen regardless, and my recollection is that it will last much longer than the expanded lifetimes no matter what is done. If there was a focus for religious fervor, a Jesus perhaps, maybe this could be viewed as a religious fight by people who think fighting will land them in nirvana? But we haven’t seen that expressed. Harry is as close as they come to a deity, and he’s severely lacking. So it seems to mostly be altruism, and that seems unlikely on this scale.

Great point, I had forgotten to add this. At this point I assumed it was fairly well known, at least among those struggling for control. We haven’t seen much effort around security on that matter since early last season. So when it is a revelation here, I was surprised.

Maybe this is interpreted through too much of a modern lens, but I find this show increasingly hard to believe because on the Foundation faction you have people risking their lives so that humanity’s “dark period” far in the future is… shorter. An event they likely will not see, and which will happen in any case, isn’t as long. Too abstract for the risk. It would work better for me if Empire continued to be an ass and people fought against him/it. There was more of that last season. This season is more “big picture” and suffers from that. That said, I enjoy the tone and feel of the show. I like how the 3-part trinity is beginning to come apart. Can’t imagine many viewers follow it, though.

Literally only 3 minutes in, and can I just say how much I hate, hate the “5 months earlier” crap.

This was the least interesting, most contrived, episode yet. They could have started with what was on the drive, skipped how it got there and just moved on. Compared to everything else that has swirled around Prince, sleeping with a willing subordinate who will say she was willing is barely a speed bump. If it had been a thoughtful examination of a modern issue, it may have been worth the time. It wasn’t. At this point, it is two guys who are trying to outdo each other in self-destruction… for what? Not my entertainment.

As long as you are OK with him occasionally taking your stuff and sleeping with your spouse/daughter(s), that works. Because Mike is all about a facade to get what he wants, which is power over everyone and everything - that he is compelled to demonstrate, at the cost of others. I think the point of all this is that Wendy doesn't even know herself. She is supposed to be an expert at motivating others. She could manipulate Axe. Mike is different. She has met someone more manipulative than she is. And so she is lost, and once you are lost, you don't do things you used to do without a thought. That said, it's all ridiculous. If she had somehow grown a conscience after seeing who Mike really is, had her eyes finally opened, and the show gave us more realistic examples of how these trading practices hurt other people, then she could have written the book to expose him or shady practices. Maybe, maybe, it could work. Instead, she sees it as self-therapy and an attempt at stardom. So she is like the rest of them.

I’m watching, and for me, the show is quickly becoming too wonky. The side plots take way too long. The main thread is lost. It’s kind of boring instead of thoughtful.

Yep. At least Wendy finally stated it, and Prince acknowledged it. Like I have posted before, I prefer Axe. He was who he was. That said, they are douchebags because that is how the show wants to depict people with money, as if having money always means someone is a douchebag. The characters never had a chance.

I think most people older than 35 or maybe 40 know that “stress” at 20something is usually laughable compared to stress for grownups. Which is what Wags said with “you’re 12.” I loved that interaction, too, but it was because Wags actually gave good and supportive leadership advice. Prince and Andy have the creepiest relationship ever. Hard to believe she falls for his shit. Prince is just gross. I don’t know if he is purposefully gross or doesn’t realize he is, but as I have said, I prefer Axe. What you see is what you get. Chuck, meanwhile, good grief. Take a win and shut up.

I have never seen The Big Night, but thank you for that. It clearly seemed to be a tribute, but I had no reference. Now, if they had shown the breakfast-making from the perspective of a fly, I would have gotten it!

Have to agree to disagree. The way you get a billion is, you first get a million. And you invest it. And you have a bull market. And you have emerging technologies, like the tech and internet boom. And you do research, and keep investing. And then people who know things start sharing what they know, legally if you want (it's not a crime to know public facts, the issue is most of the public doesn't know some facts are public). None of that means you did anything wrong. I don't know any billionaires (as far as I know), but I know people with a net worth over $100 million who are still investing. They didn't do anything wrong. They are smart, hard-working people. On this show, there are characters who do bad things. Some of them seem to have started out more or less legit and then went bad. Others, like Prince, stole to get rich and now has to live with that. I get it. But to assume that people have done bad things just because they have a billion, no.

I suspect Sacker is working for Chuck, somehow, even with Chuck's reactions and the fact he hired a sort of replacement. If she isn't, yeah, you are spot on. LOL. I am a little older than you, and ditto. I don't swear in any way in front of my mom. I might have said "asshole" once. I blame Judd Apatow and his movies for today's youth and their cussing. I couldn't agree more. I keep expecting the show to reveal it to be a long con. I mean, how can Chuck be a man of the people? As he wears his suit and tie and stands on cars? None of this makes sense, unless it is a long con. Please let it be a long con. On the one hand, I respect that they set up the gov as being vain. Hence the stadium name would appeal to him on some level. But that would also mean the gov is stupid, because that level won't matter if the Olympics are bad in all the ways he has said they will be bad. His name on a stadium will be a very visible joke. He can't be that stupid and gov, can he? He is rapidly becoming the doddering old man, isn't he?

And ... It feels like the show took a hard left this season and decided everyone with money was immoral and unethical. The sheer fact they somehow accumulated money makes them bad, m'kay? So showing these prices seemed like a "look at how much money these awful people spend!" And yet, the "champion of the people" (Chuck) is just as bad, and just as concerned about his own welfare. In fact, ALL of these characters on this show are concerned first with their own success, whether that is defined as prestige, power or money. A few of them occasionally feel empathy, then go ahead and crush it for their own gain. But the show makes a point to highlight money as evil, while barely noting the hypocrisy of others. Sacker wants to leave her job putting bad guys in jail to ... run for office. In its own way, that is as disappointing as anything Prince does. Well, except maybe trapping his ex-wife. This show was much better in its early seasons, when characters were more complex and sometimes they were overwhelmed as events overtook them. Now I don't care about any of them. One thing I am most pleased about in my own life is that I don't drink coffee, and all of these references are lost on me. Never have. It's addictive, and the coffee (and restaurant) industries have created this "coffee culture" thing that has become a social staple - for no reason other than to sell coffee. When people send memes that show they can't function without coffee, it irritates the hell out of me. You can't function without a beverage? Anyway, I am very happy to never have to deal with any of that. Plus it saves me money! Probably. That's how he rolls. He is hugely manipulative under a kind facade, and he does whatever he needs to in order to win. Just like Axe. I prefer Axe. You know where you stand. I don't agree. The show clearly wants us to assume that. But sometimes people get rich because they had a good idea. Other times, like with S1 and S2 Axe, people get rich because they are smart and take time to dive into every detail. Sure, as time went on he broke the law. But I get weary of people IRL who resent those who make extra effort - and benefit from it. Because many times, there is nothing illegal about it. It's just working harder, and often being smarter, than others. And once you have a little money, are smart and good at details, you can grow it fast. The first million is the toughest!

Actually, Denver residents polled strongly against the Olympics. People hated waste of the “investment” more than the traffic. It was enough to sink a bid effort. At this point, tho, I agree, Chuck is just Axe in a different role. He isn’t nearly as smart as he thinks he is, and he lets personal grudges get in the way of doing his job. This show has no moral compass.

After seeming sort of creepy, Prince is officially creepy now. His ex has to feel like a prisoner who can't escape, and who is afraid to try. Meanwhile, Chuck has gone full populist. I don't like either one of them. In fact, what does it mean now that I find Wags less offensive than either of them?

Ok, this is the point that is rapidly souring me on the show. Does no one know who Chuck is? Did he buy that piece of land for his "sabbatical?" Couldn't have been cheap. He lives in fancy places in NYC, usually. Why is he suddenly a grass roots, anti-rich agitator? Also? Simply having a billion dollars isn't a "crime against decency." How you got it, and what you do with it, determines that. The existence of a lot of money is not automatically unethical.

Didn’t Garofalo’s character have something to do with the music industry at some point in her career, too? I think so, and given her age, that reference is no more odd than me quoting Animal House (“Did someone say it’s over? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”). Which I do, I really do.