STAR TREK Discovery Trailer
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Didn't like the trailer... due, in fact, to many of the things some really "on-point" previous posters have already mentioned. 
Nicely put, guys.
"WARP PARTICLES!!! ZOMGZ!" /faceplam - That's Voyager, at times... Oh, and "TNG", almost always. (TNG fans almost always overlook this, too. )
In the original series, sci-fi tech rarely "solved" whatever dilemma the crew were caught up in. Sure, sometimes, it was a big factor, but it more often a case of some sort of moral, ethical or internal strength that won the day. That's what I really love about TOS - Often, it was a morality play that addressed cultural, social or political issues of the day in clear, often striking, ways.
TOS was never about special effects or fancy spaceships. It was about very basic human attributes told against the backdrop of science-fiction, which is a genre entirely about how human society is impacted by technology. It was a wonderful marriage, while it lasted.
"Captains" take the forefront in the Star Trek IP because William Shatner was such a commanding presence in the series and because producers saw his appeal to the audience and his capture-the-camera screen presence, not because the series was intended to be his vehicle.
Follow-up IP offerings have rambled around with that, but have learned, IMO, that focusing too directly on "The Captain" as the draw is not generally a good idea and it needs to be tempered for today's audience, who like social soup rather than superstars who defeat alien bad guys with sharp right hooks and bare-chested double-fist swings...
My only direct criticism here will be that this trailer focuses entirely on "The Captain." That's A Bad Thing ™ for this IP to attempt to do. There will be pushback from fans and also very great expectations from those few who really want to see a "strong leader" character - The actor will be compared to their idealized version of Kirk, as every single "Captain" character has been compared in the past.
Accompanying that concern, the producers/casting/PR department/whoever have also chosen a black woman, which I have no personal issue with, but I hope it wasn't done in an attempt to force the issue of race, sex, etc, into some "Vision" to grab social and media attention for "The Captain" character that she will then have to play out under a microscope. IOW - We'll have to see whether or not it's gimmicky casting with a purpose or was truly a good choice, so only time will tell.
PS - The set, aliens, ships, techo-gimcrackery, all look too "Busy" for a Star Trek IP, which tends to have more sanitized sets that don't distract from the "actors." It's not that busy sets and dystopic equipment are bad, though. (Think "Alien" or "Blade Runner.") It's making them so prominent can be. We'll have to see.
Nicely put, guys."WARP PARTICLES!!! ZOMGZ!" /faceplam - That's Voyager, at times... Oh, and "TNG", almost always. (TNG fans almost always overlook this, too.
)In the original series, sci-fi tech rarely "solved" whatever dilemma the crew were caught up in. Sure, sometimes, it was a big factor, but it more often a case of some sort of moral, ethical or internal strength that won the day. That's what I really love about TOS - Often, it was a morality play that addressed cultural, social or political issues of the day in clear, often striking, ways.
TOS was never about special effects or fancy spaceships. It was about very basic human attributes told against the backdrop of science-fiction, which is a genre entirely about how human society is impacted by technology. It was a wonderful marriage, while it lasted.
"Captains" take the forefront in the Star Trek IP because William Shatner was such a commanding presence in the series and because producers saw his appeal to the audience and his capture-the-camera screen presence, not because the series was intended to be his vehicle.
Follow-up IP offerings have rambled around with that, but have learned, IMO, that focusing too directly on "The Captain" as the draw is not generally a good idea and it needs to be tempered for today's audience, who like social soup rather than superstars who defeat alien bad guys with sharp right hooks and bare-chested double-fist swings...
My only direct criticism here will be that this trailer focuses entirely on "The Captain." That's A Bad Thing ™ for this IP to attempt to do. There will be pushback from fans and also very great expectations from those few who really want to see a "strong leader" character - The actor will be compared to their idealized version of Kirk, as every single "Captain" character has been compared in the past.
Accompanying that concern, the producers/casting/PR department/whoever have also chosen a black woman, which I have no personal issue with, but I hope it wasn't done in an attempt to force the issue of race, sex, etc, into some "Vision" to grab social and media attention for "The Captain" character that she will then have to play out under a microscope. IOW - We'll have to see whether or not it's gimmicky casting with a purpose or was truly a good choice, so only time will tell.
PS - The set, aliens, ships, techo-gimcrackery, all look too "Busy" for a Star Trek IP, which tends to have more sanitized sets that don't distract from the "actors." It's not that busy sets and dystopic equipment are bad, though. (Think "Alien" or "Blade Runner.") It's making them so prominent can be. We'll have to see.
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Golden_Gonads
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- Joined: Fri, 13. Feb 04, 20:21
To be fair, The Original Series had gimmicky casting. Each member of the main cast was supposed to represent a continent or country. So Kirk/Shatner for Canada/North America, Nichols/Uhura for Africa, Doohan/Scott for Europe etc. They never (as far as I remember) called attention to this, but that was the reasoning behind the original casting.Morkonan wrote:Accompanying that concern, the producers/casting/PR department/whoever have also chosen a black woman, which I have no personal issue with, but I hope it wasn't done in an attempt to force the issue of race, sex, etc, into some "Vision" to grab social and media attention for "The Captain" character that she will then have to play out under a microscope. IOW - We'll have to see whether or not it's gimmicky casting with a purpose or was truly a good choice, so only time will tell.
And as usual, they forgot about Australia.
Morkonan wrote:What really happened isn't as exciting. Putin flexed his left thigh during his morning ride on a flying bear, right after beating fifty Judo blackbelts, which he does upon rising every morning. (Not that Putin sleeps, it's just that he doesn't want to make others feel inadequate.)
I suppose I should have written "pandering" rather than "gimmicky."Golden_Gonads wrote:...To be fair, The Original Series had gimmicky casting. Each member of the main cast was supposed to represent a continent or country. So Kirk/Shatner for Canada/North America, Nichols/Uhura for Africa, Doohan/Scott for Europe etc. They never (as far as I remember) called attention to this, but that was the reasoning behind the original casting.
But, IMO, the only gimmicky casting in TOS was Walter Koenig as "Chekov", to attract the younger audience, especially young women.
The rest of the casting was part of the underlying theme of the show, really. Besides being a "Wagon Train" (A popular show in the era) in space, it was supposed to show a society that was different, one that was progressive and made up of all races bonded for a common purpose of peaceful exploration... and blowing up aliens that looked weird..
TOS took a LOT of the social questions of the day and splashed them onto the TV set. It was never hidden, never obfuscated other than to fit in a science-fiction story - Right in the face. In that respect, the diversity in casting was integral to the show, IMO.
There have been a few television/other series these days that do little more than pander to the audience using either racial stereotypes or overly forceful marketing packaged as "necessary social justice commentary." (ie: IOW, "If you don't like this show, you must be biased against xxxx.")
That's exactly what I don't want to see happen, here. Star Trek, IMO, really needs to start focusing on what TOS did, looking at social/cultural/world issues and presenting interesting perspectives on them. BUT, it, itself, as a television show, should not be part of that dialogue. It should be a lens, not the subject.