I never watched the original Star Treks so there's no nostalgia bias when I say I enjoyed this a lot. I would definitely choose it over the unnecessarily bland, unfun and unimaginative Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 pilot. But I think what the critics didn't get about it is that it's not meant to be a comedy or a serious drama either. That's what gives it its charming vibe, that it's a combination of the two, unlike most of what we see on TV these days.
There's a hopefulness about the future of humanity here which you don't get that much anymore. To be sure, darkness and grittiness have their place but it's nice to have a show like this that can present space travel with the excitement of a five-year-old child instead of filling it with the angst we already see in enough other shows. The CGI does a serviceable job, you can tell it doesn't have the budget of STD but it manages to do well despite that. A lot of visual details are done well, like the depiction of a futuristic Earth which it clearly revels in. The ships, the death-by-ageing and the lab on Epsilon 2 are all eye candy as well here. They don't look as realistic as what you see on higher-budget shows but that's made up for by the creativity.
One thing that really makes it tick is the relations between its characters, with sharp dialogue which is underlined by unsubtle but welcome humour. Sure, not all the jokes land. But it's hard to deny there's an upbeat vibe and a hopefulness that the future of humanity doesn't have to be all dark and gritty.
The plot itself is about what you'd expect from a first episode whose primary aim is to introduce you to the concept and the characters. It's interesting enough to keep your attention and has enough charming quirks (like the role the redwood seeds play) but it can easily be reduced to the 'crew protect powerful technology from bad people' trope. At one point there is also an escape scene that is pretty cheesy, and not in a charming way.
This consistently put a grin on my face in spite of its flaws. Looking forward to seeing the rest.
There's a hopefulness about the future of humanity here which you don't get that much anymore. To be sure, darkness and grittiness have their place but it's nice to have a show like this that can present space travel with the excitement of a five-year-old child instead of filling it with the angst we already see in enough other shows. The CGI does a serviceable job, you can tell it doesn't have the budget of STD but it manages to do well despite that. A lot of visual details are done well, like the depiction of a futuristic Earth which it clearly revels in. The ships, the death-by-ageing and the lab on Epsilon 2 are all eye candy as well here. They don't look as realistic as what you see on higher-budget shows but that's made up for by the creativity.
One thing that really makes it tick is the relations between its characters, with sharp dialogue which is underlined by unsubtle but welcome humour. Sure, not all the jokes land. But it's hard to deny there's an upbeat vibe and a hopefulness that the future of humanity doesn't have to be all dark and gritty.
The plot itself is about what you'd expect from a first episode whose primary aim is to introduce you to the concept and the characters. It's interesting enough to keep your attention and has enough charming quirks (like the role the redwood seeds play) but it can easily be reduced to the 'crew protect powerful technology from bad people' trope. At one point there is also an escape scene that is pretty cheesy, and not in a charming way.
This consistently put a grin on my face in spite of its flaws. Looking forward to seeing the rest.