Tag Archives: Star Trek Discovery

TV Review – Star Trek Discovery: If Memory Serves

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TL;DR –  In today’s episode the shoe finally drops and it is so much better for it.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: If Memory Serves. Image Credit: Netflix/CBS.

Review –

It is starting to get to the pointy half of the season and for the longest time, Star Trek Discovery has been holding their cards close to their chest. Which has meant that the last couple of episodes have been falling a little flat with me. Well today, not only do they fix that, they give us a hint of what is to come for the rest of the season, and I can say that I am very intrigued.

So to set the scene, and the end of last week’s Light and Shadows, we discovered two very important things. The first is that Spock (Ethan Peck) needs to go to Talos IV to get help and that Airiam (Hannah Cheesman) had been infected by something from the probe, oh and also that Section 31 can’t be trusted, but I think we knew that one already. Well as we start today’s episode the Starfleet admirals give Section 31 some clear orders in how they should recover Spock after Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) outmaneuvers Leland (Alan van Sprang) showing just how integrated Section 31 is at this point (well will get to that a bit later). However, Pike (Anson Mount) is having none of that and knows a ruse when he sees it. While all of this is happening Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Spock finally make it to Talos IV only to find it is not quite what they thought it would be. 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: Light and Shadows

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TL;DR –  The Search for Spock is over, long live The Search for Spock

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Light and Shadows. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Review –

We have reached the mid-point in the season, the point where the story should be coming into focus and propelling itself into the back half of the season, and today I think we got some of that, though maybe we got more questions than answers.

So to set the scene, at the end of last week’s episode The Sounds of Thunder, we discovered that the Red Angel is actually a being using some very advanced, possibly future technology. This means that there is a time travel component to their travels, which is backed up with the traces of tachyon particles found at every location it has visited. This means that the Red Angel might be from the future and might be messing with the timeline, and that is possibly not very good at all. So they decide to attack this on two fronts, Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) goes back home to Vulcan to find Spock (Ethan Peck), and Pike (Anson Mount) decides to stay and explore the slight fracture in time around Kaminar which is when everything falls apart. 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: The Sounds of Thunder

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TL;DR –  We get a powerful look at Saru and his world, but it does still feel like we are waiting for the other shoe to drop

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: The Sounds of Thunder. Image Credit: CBS Studios

Review –

Star Trek Discovery is a show that is juggling a lot of different stories all at once. Yes, we have the main drive of the red lights and the red angel. However, we also have The Klingons, The Mycelium Network, Section 31, and more. As the season has gone one, it has been interesting to see how the show brings all these different elements together to help with the central premise or using the central premise as an excuse to look at these different side plots, depending on your perspective. One of those side plots has been the life and biology of Saru’s people and today all of that comes to a head.   

So to set the scene, since we were first introduced to Saru (Doug Jones) we knew there was something out of place with him and why he was the only Kelpien in Starfleet. Over Season One we found out that there was a devastating dynamic on his planet where Kelpiens were not the dominant species. We learned about his threat ganglia derived from the biological need to stay safe. All of this fell into place in the Short Trek The Brightest Star, when we discovered that there were two species living on the Kelpian homeworld, one that preys on the other and that a certain point in their lives all Kelpiens are sacrificed to the Ba’ul. It is murder disguised as ideology, as the Kelpiens believe that this is the will of the universe called the great balance, and they are going to die anyway in the Vahar’ai, so what is the matter. However, in An Obol For Charon, we discovered that the biological shift that triggers the culling was not actually fatal, and every part of Kelpien society was a lie. At the start of this week’s episode Saru is discovering just what biological changes are happening to his body now he does not have a threat ganglia, only for another red signal to blare out, only this time it is coming from his homeworld. 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

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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: An Obol For Charon

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TL;DR – This week we delve into a very classical episode of Trek, with an emotional punch that left me in tears.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: An Obol For Charon. Image Credit: CBS Studios

When you watch a TV show there are many things that can draw your attention. There could be some cool effects, some nifty action, some big emotional moment, or something witty that makes you laugh. For me personally, I find myself focusing on the things that show off someone’s or in the case of a show, everyone’s talent. That can be that beautiful starscape that awes me to the core, or it can be an emotional moment where the actors with the help of the director, script and the whole crew bring words to life and make them their own. In tonight’s episode of Star Trek Discovery, we get several moments like this including one that ripped out my heart and made me weep.

So to set the scene, after last week’s episode Point of Light there was some more focus for the USS Discovery as they had captured the mycelium creature hitching a ride on Tilly (Mary Wiseman). At this start of this week, we get some more focus as Number Two (Rebecca Romijn) comes on-board for burgers and to let Captain Pike (Anson Mount) know that she has found the direction Spock took after fleeing the care facility and allegedly murdering three people. With this information in hand, they warp off to intercept him before someone less savoury finds him. All is fine, well bar Saru (Doug Jones) having a cold, which Linus (David Benjamin Tomlinson) can sympathise with, however just as they get near the warp trail the Discovery is ripped out of warp by an ancient being and held in place as all hell breaks loose. 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

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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

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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 Discovery: Brother

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TL;DR – New faces, old friends, and a new dilemma, sign me up.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Discovery: Brother. Image Credit: CBS Studios/Netflix.

Review –

The first season of Star Trek Discovery was one that started of interesting, took a bit to find its feet, but by the end of the Season a bunch of people had become a crew, and I was there for it. Tonight we dive back in with a bit of trepidation because they ended the season face to face with the most iconic starship in Star Trek history the original USS Enterprise. So where do you take the story from here, well into some very new territory it seems. 

So to set the scene, at the end of Will You Take My Hand? the USS Discovery was on its way to Vulcan to both drop of Sarek (James Frain) and also pick up their new captain. Well before they got there, they had to drop out of warp due to an emergency distress beacon coming from the USS Enterprise. In Brother, we start right from where we left off, trying to hail the ship when nothing else worked it was Morse Code that made it through and the Enterprise informed them that Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and two others were coming on board. Well, both Sarek and Michael (Sonequa Martin-Green) know who severs on the ship, but Spock is not there. Pike informs everyone that he is taking over command of the ship because of an emergency, you see seven lights just blared into existence across the galaxy, at the same moment, thousands of light years apart. Well since they just got out of a war The Federation is understandably nervous about what this might mean because this is not a natural phenomenon. Well off The Discovery goes, once more unto the breach, which turns out to be literal when they drop out of warp behind a fracturing asteroid. 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: The Escape Artist

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TL;DR – What happens when you let Rainn Wilson run riot, well you get a fascinating moment in Star Trek history.  

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Short Treks: The Escape Artist. Image Credit CBS Studios.

Review –

We finish our run through the Star Trek Short Trek mini-episodes by looking at the episode that brings back one of the best guest cast members from Star Trek Discovery’s first season.

So to set the scene, we open inside a ship crewed by a Tellarite bounty hunter Tevrin Krit (Harry Judge) who is having a very good day because he was about to come into possession of Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson) a man who has done great harm to his family. It is with joy that he takes Mudd from the broker (that gave me odd Breen vibes) to the nearest Starfleet vessel to claim the significant bounty, as Mudd pleads for his life every step of the way.

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TV Review – Star Trek Short Treks: The Brightest Star

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TL;DR – We explore the difficult past of one of Discovery’s officers and learn once again that hope is better than fear.

Score – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Star Trek Short Treks: The Brightest Star. Image Credit CBS Studios.

Review –

Our next dive into the Star Trek Short Trek series takes us into the past to let us know more about a character we know very well in Star Trek Discovery and what is driving him forward.

So to set the scene, we open in on Kaminar a planet never visited before in Star Trek and homeworld of USS Discovery first officer Saru (Doug Jones). Though at this moment he is not in Starfleet because his people are part of a pre-warp society, which is a big no go area in Federation law. The Kelpien people live in small villages along the coast where they harvest seaweed and grasses, as well as the flowers of the jungle. However, while Saru looks up at the stars and sees hope, the rest of his people see fear because the Ba’ul are coming for their harvest.

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