The lack of downtime is a big problem I’ve noticed across a lot of contemporary film and TV, and definitely applies to the new Star Trek stuff.
Another issue with both Picard and Discovery is that the scale of the problem is always as big as it can possibly be, with the protagonists of the show at the center of it at all times. One of the underrated aspects of previous Trek series is that the baseline stakes were much more focused. TOS and TNG were both about the flagship of the fleet, but still just one ship and one crew. DS9 was about a strategically critical starbase at the center of a number of galactic conflicts, but it was still set within those conflicts. Voyager had all sorts of crazy adventures, but the focus was always on the crew trying to get home. There’s room in all of the above for lots of different types of story.
I’m fine with the crew being the main characters of the universe from time to time, but when every episode is about an existential threat to everything, it’s hard to believably scale down the stakes and do something more mundane.
I will say that Lower Decks is doing a good job. There’s a lot of fan service on the surface, but I think it legitimately does a better job being Star Trek than anything made in the last 20 years.
Haven't watched Orville because I don't want to support that racist piece of shit McFarlane, but I thought Star Trek Lower Decks is easily better than both Picard and Discovery.
It's worth a shot, the show really does feel like a labor of love. So many beautiful sets and fantastic prosthetic work in that show.
He also repeatedly states that the Union is a Communist/Post-Capitalist organization which is a weird thing to directly hear in a Nu-Trek era show.
The plotlines are usually kinda goofy, but they manage to take the goofy premise and actually take the whole thing seriously in the context of the show's universe which is also a weird thing to see in a show by the Family Guy.
I think part of the issue is that for star trek as well as many other shows, seasons use to be well over 20 episodes, and now they are like half that. Fewer episodes means less room for silly down time episodes.
The lack of downtime is a big problem I’ve noticed across a lot of contemporary film and TV, and definitely applies to the new Star Trek stuff.
Another issue with both Picard and Discovery is that the scale of the problem is always as big as it can possibly be, with the protagonists of the show at the center of it at all times. One of the underrated aspects of previous Trek series is that the baseline stakes were much more focused. TOS and TNG were both about the flagship of the fleet, but still just one ship and one crew. DS9 was about a strategically critical starbase at the center of a number of galactic conflicts, but it was still set within those conflicts. Voyager had all sorts of crazy adventures, but the focus was always on the crew trying to get home. There’s room in all of the above for lots of different types of story.
I’m fine with the crew being the main characters of the universe from time to time, but when every episode is about an existential threat to everything, it’s hard to believably scale down the stakes and do something more mundane.
I will say that Lower Decks is doing a good job. There’s a lot of fan service on the surface, but I think it legitimately does a better job being Star Trek than anything made in the last 20 years.
Honestly, Orville is the best Star Trek of the past decade.
Agreed
Wild that it was the Family Guy who saved Star Trek, guess he was just a big fan and managed to get a blank slate
Haven't watched Orville because I don't want to support that racist piece of shit McFarlane, but I thought Star Trek Lower Decks is easily better than both Picard and Discovery.
It's worth a shot, the show really does feel like a labor of love. So many beautiful sets and fantastic prosthetic work in that show.
He also repeatedly states that the Union is a Communist/Post-Capitalist organization which is a weird thing to directly hear in a Nu-Trek era show.
The plotlines are usually kinda goofy, but they manage to take the goofy premise and actually take the whole thing seriously in the context of the show's universe which is also a weird thing to see in a show by the Family Guy.
I think part of the issue is that for star trek as well as many other shows, seasons use to be well over 20 episodes, and now they are like half that. Fewer episodes means less room for silly down time episodes.