Star Trek: Discovery – Under the Twin Moons – TV Review

TL;DR – We get our first goodbye, and our race forward continues.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

The USS Discovery-A next to the twin moons.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

We know going into this season that there was not a plan to have this be the last when they were shooting and that extra filming needed to take place to tie things up. However, today, we get to see how, even without planning it, they have started the process of saying goodbye, and I think that was for the best.

So to set the scene, after Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) outsmarted the crew of the USS Discovery-A, there was a need to catch up before they stumbled across some technology that could put the galaxy at risk. Thankfully, Stamets (Anthony Rapp) was able to recover the data and discover that on the planet Lyrek, there are twin moons that cast a dual eclipse once every seven years, an excellent place to start looking. Once the Ship is free of dust, Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) is raked over the coals, and everyone gets ready to bid Saru (Doug Jones) goodbye. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Trek: Discovery – Red Directive – TV Review

TL;DR – With a welcome lighter tone, we get a great opening episode to set up the season.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

The USS Discovery-A docks.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

Well, it was a rocky start to Star Trek Discovery, and also, it seems it will be a rocky end. Which is a pity given everything they have thrown into it and how it has finally found its voice. However, if this is to be the final season, I am glad they look to be going out on a high.

So to set the scene, we open in a friendly Federation gathering full of ambassadors as the crew help shore up this new growing Federation that is starting to get close to the resurgent Tholian Republic or the Breen Imperium. But the dinner is interrupted by a Red Notice, and the crew of the USS Discovery-A have to make a rushed jump to the wreckage of an old 24-century Romulan ship and get what is inside before scavengers can get to it. Cut to scavengers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) 100% getting there before anyone. Now, we will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Trek: Discovery – Full Season 4 – TV Review

TL;DR – A season that is equal parts uplifting and frustrating  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

The crew get lifted into the air by a gravity wave.

Star Trek: Discovery Review –

When I was doing an overview of the site, I realised that there were a couple of missing moments that I was not able to tie up due to things happening at the time. Well, given that today is a public holiday, I thought it would be time to correct this, and the first thing we should do is look back at Season Four of Star Trek: Discovery. When I look at this season, what I see are two distinctly different parts, one which might be the best Star Trek has to offer, and the other which was an unfortunate anchor that weighed the entire series back, and today, we will break those two halves down.  

So to set the scene, after saving the galaxy by finding the cause of “The Burn” in Season Three. The USS Discovery-A has settled into being the leading edge of the resurgent Federation. Negotiating with new members and helping distribute dilithium. However, when a mysterious force destroys the entire planet of Kwejian, there is a race to try and work out who is scouring space before another planet is destroyed. Now, we will be looking at the season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Star Trek Discovery: Su’Kal – TV Review

TL;DR – After a season we start getting answers while things fall apart

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this series.

Star Trek Discovery: Su’Kal. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Su’Kal Review –

There have been several on-going questions through this season of Star Trek Discovery, and at the core of them is what caused The Burn. Today, after a season of questions, we finally get some answers, before things start falling apart.  

So to set the scene, we start this week’s episode right where last week’s Terra Firma Part 2 finished with a memorial service. While this is happening Stamets (Anthony Rapp) gets a notification from the ship that they are watching that there is a life form on board, which given it has been 125 years, and the amount of radiation seems unlikely, but here we are. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Saints of Imperfection

TL;DR – While there was a lot that happened in this episode, it just didn’t click with me the way the rest of the season has.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Saints of Imperfection. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review

We are about at the mid-point of the season and the story of the red lights is still unfolding. However, as we go along, there is still nothing concrete to hold onto, Spock is still missing, the red lights are still an enigma, and who knows what Section 31 is up to. Now while this has been fine up until a point, at some time we need to have a moment of focus. Without that, we get today’s episode that is full of promise and cool moments but is lacking something.

So to set the scene, we start today’s episode in the moments after An Obol For Charon finishes with Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) racing to the engineering section after hearing about Tilly’s (Mary Wiseman) disappearance. When she arrives all she finds is the alien cocoon pulsating on the floor and no Tilly in sight. However, all of that is put on hold when the USS Discovery catches up with Spock’s shuttle, only it is not Spock that makes a graceful exit after it docks with Discovery, but an old friend … though I don’t know if you could call her that. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Point of Light

TL;DR – This week we take a moment to look at many of the other stories swirling around Discovery, with a return of a few old friends.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Point of Light. Image Credit:. CBS Studios.

Review

So far this season we have been focusing very much on the Red Lights, the Red Angels, and the potential threat (maybe) that they pose. However, at the end of Season One, there were a lot of plot threads still hanging there and this week we take a moment to say hello to some old friends, and also kick a bit of ass while we are doing it.

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode New Eden, we discovered that Spock is not only on leave but that he has checked himself into a mental health facility, and is refusing all contact from his family. Well, that’s great but no one told Amanda (Mia Kirshner) that she could not find a way to reach her son. She arrives with Spock’s medical files and one request to Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) break the encryption, which would be a breach of protocol if everything had not just changed. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: New Eden

TL;DR – We get to see what Discovery will be exploring for the first half of the season, and it is an area Star Trek does not often venture.   

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: New Eden. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review

There are some areas of discourse that Star Trek has not really delved all that much in to in its fifty odd years, and one of those is faith. Now, of course, there are references to it in The Original Series and Enterprise, and we do get more of it in Deep Space Nine, but still, the show has been very hands off. Well, last week in Brother we dipped our toes into faith, well today we dive all the way in.

So to set the scene, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) is continuing to command the USS Discovery to find out what the deal is with these red lights that appeared with purpose across the galaxy. Today they have found another red light but this is deep into the Beta Quadrant 100s of years away at maximum warp. There is no way any ship could get there, but then no other ship has the Spore Drive. So off to the Beta Quadrant, we go, and nobody was quite expecting to find what they find. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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TV Review – Star Trek Short Treks: Runaway

TL;DR – A beautiful character piece that makes the most of the short run time.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Short Treks: Runaway. Image Credit CBS Studios.

Review

Today we are going to be doing small mini-reviews for all the Star Trek Shorts, starting with an exploration of what it means to step forward and change your life.

So to set the scene, it is after Will You Take My Hand? and Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) has officially entered the Command Training Program, which is a huge achievement, which is completely lost on her mother Siobhan (Mimi Kuzyk). As this is going on a standard cargo run is interrupted by a stowaway and the two are about to crash together.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Chapter 2 and Season 1 Overview   

TL;DR – We started with a group of people on a ship in space, and over the season, as adversity after adversity piled up, we ended with a crew. I mean I just wrote 1000 words just on the cast, the show is that good.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

The USS Discovery being all majestic and what. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review

This year has been a strong year for Sci-Fi on TV we have Lost in Space, Altered Carbon, The Rain, as well as more Westworld, 3%, and The Expanse. In the middle of all this was a release, which for me was probably anticipated more than anything else, a new Star Trek series. Now the fact that I really like the Star Trek franchise should come as no surprise, indeed a wrote an article all about my love for Star Trek Deep Space Nine. However, there was also a lot of trepidation going in, since DS9 we had Voyager that had some great individual episodes but nothing really came together as a series, and Enterprise that took three seasons to find out what type of show it wanted to be and when it got there decided to end on just about the most insulting note that it could (yes I know it was not meant to be a series finale but still). However, I went into this thinking that I can at least give it a season, and boy what a season it was. So in the first season of Star Trek Discovery the broke it up into different chapters, we took a look at Chapter One here, and today we are going to take a look at Chapter Two which was the back half of the season but also some of the themes that transcend all of the season, you can also see all of our reviews for the individual episodes here. With this in mind, just a warning that we will be looking at the season as a whole, and as such there will be some major [SPOILERS] discussed in this review. So caution is advised if you have yet to finished Season One of Star Trek Discovery, and we would recommend you giving the first season a watch.

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TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: Will You Take My Hand?  

TL;DR – In the end, we started with a group of people on a ship in space, and over the season, as adversity after adversity piled up, we ended with a crew.

Score – 5 out of 5 stars

Will You Take My Hand?

Review

Oh wow, we have reached the end of Season One and what a season it was, there were jumps in time and space, war with the Klingons, even a sojourn in the Mirror Universe. Now all of this was like a freight train barrelling towards tonight’s finale and here we are. So today we are going to take some time to look at how the episode worked on its own, before looking at how the whole season worked as a while in an article a bit later this week.

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