I was expecting to hate it, but I watched the first two episodes and I actually liked it. I am very much excited to see more.
As a female Star Trek fan, I was happy to see a female captain and a first officer. Michelle Yeoh is amazing, I've always loved her and she did a great job portraying a Starfleet captain in a crisis. Didn't really like the Michael Burnham character but she's also a typical first officer, full of herself. Reminds me a bit of Riker. We'll see about her character development. I thought I was going to hate the show because of the new Klingons, but I was once again surprised to find them believable. They look menacing and scary. Out of all the races in Star Trek I've always disliked the Klingons and the gimmicky childish way in which they're portrayed. In all the previous series characters spent more time talking a lot about Klingon honor, culture and conquests but in most scenes portraying them like dimwitted apes that just shout at each other and lose every battle shown in the series. So I can't wait to see what the war against the Klingons actually looks like.
Some parts of the plot were a stretch for me. The Klingon ship design is a bit excessive, not in decorations, but in the size of the ships. They were a bit too large. The costumes and the masks the Klingons wear are so stiff. I can't really see them being very effective for combat and you can't read any facial expressions through the masks.
I am a bit surprised at all the negative commentary, even more, surprised at the reasons listed behind them. Anyone calling this show bad because it doesn't look exactly like all the other shows before isn't a real Star Trek fan. It would be sad for any SCI-FI show to adopt such an outdated image today and there are enough episodes already made for us to watch if we feel nostalgic. Even I as a fan can say that from today's perspective old Star Trek episodes seem a bit childish and naive. They also had many plot holes and ridiculous plot lines. The fact that I find a comedy show Orville to be very similar to Star Trek is just proof. I like it but let's face it. Television has progressed beyond the familiar frontier. It has become more grey, more bold with its topics, ready to challenge our black and white ideals. So I think we should give Star Trek a chance.
All in all, I like the direction they're taking it in. I just hope that on that road they won't lose the main spirit of Star Trek and that's the exploration of human society, our ideals and what makes us human while referencing real issues we face every day in a highly futurized environment. Loosing this was the first mistake the Star Trek movies made when they turned Star Trek into a firework of visual effects without any content. ------------------------ So after the pilot episodes, this show took a weird 180 degrees turn. The third episode is like a completely different show than the first two episodes and not in a good way. Apart from 2 characters we're introduced to a whole new cast of characters who are all extremely unlikeable. The atmosphere is completely changed from "we come in peace" attitude to "we will cross any line for the greater good". Characters have become really irrational and aggressively impulsive in their decisions. I still don't understand the Klingon arc. I was expecting it to become clearer with the progression of the show, but I just don't understand what the heck are they on about. They keep talking to each other like we're in Season 3, dropping names and terms I am not familiar with. What is a torch? Why is it important? Why is this T'Kuvma dude so special apart from possesing a torch? They spent 5 seconds with him, why is he suddenly a messiah? The show treats this as a matter fact topic. I don't know, it's like a completely different show.
As a female Star Trek fan, I was happy to see a female captain and a first officer. Michelle Yeoh is amazing, I've always loved her and she did a great job portraying a Starfleet captain in a crisis. Didn't really like the Michael Burnham character but she's also a typical first officer, full of herself. Reminds me a bit of Riker. We'll see about her character development. I thought I was going to hate the show because of the new Klingons, but I was once again surprised to find them believable. They look menacing and scary. Out of all the races in Star Trek I've always disliked the Klingons and the gimmicky childish way in which they're portrayed. In all the previous series characters spent more time talking a lot about Klingon honor, culture and conquests but in most scenes portraying them like dimwitted apes that just shout at each other and lose every battle shown in the series. So I can't wait to see what the war against the Klingons actually looks like.
Some parts of the plot were a stretch for me. The Klingon ship design is a bit excessive, not in decorations, but in the size of the ships. They were a bit too large. The costumes and the masks the Klingons wear are so stiff. I can't really see them being very effective for combat and you can't read any facial expressions through the masks.
I am a bit surprised at all the negative commentary, even more, surprised at the reasons listed behind them. Anyone calling this show bad because it doesn't look exactly like all the other shows before isn't a real Star Trek fan. It would be sad for any SCI-FI show to adopt such an outdated image today and there are enough episodes already made for us to watch if we feel nostalgic. Even I as a fan can say that from today's perspective old Star Trek episodes seem a bit childish and naive. They also had many plot holes and ridiculous plot lines. The fact that I find a comedy show Orville to be very similar to Star Trek is just proof. I like it but let's face it. Television has progressed beyond the familiar frontier. It has become more grey, more bold with its topics, ready to challenge our black and white ideals. So I think we should give Star Trek a chance.
All in all, I like the direction they're taking it in. I just hope that on that road they won't lose the main spirit of Star Trek and that's the exploration of human society, our ideals and what makes us human while referencing real issues we face every day in a highly futurized environment. Loosing this was the first mistake the Star Trek movies made when they turned Star Trek into a firework of visual effects without any content. ------------------------ So after the pilot episodes, this show took a weird 180 degrees turn. The third episode is like a completely different show than the first two episodes and not in a good way. Apart from 2 characters we're introduced to a whole new cast of characters who are all extremely unlikeable. The atmosphere is completely changed from "we come in peace" attitude to "we will cross any line for the greater good". Characters have become really irrational and aggressively impulsive in their decisions. I still don't understand the Klingon arc. I was expecting it to become clearer with the progression of the show, but I just don't understand what the heck are they on about. They keep talking to each other like we're in Season 3, dropping names and terms I am not familiar with. What is a torch? Why is it important? Why is this T'Kuvma dude so special apart from possesing a torch? They spent 5 seconds with him, why is he suddenly a messiah? The show treats this as a matter fact topic. I don't know, it's like a completely different show.