Star Trek: Discovery Will Return On January 7th, 2018 (theverge.com) 278
CBS announced that Star Trek: Discovery will return for the second half of the split season on Sunday, November 12th. There will be roughly a two month gap between the last episode of the first half of the split season, which aires on Sunday, November 12th, and the first episode of the second half of the split season. The Verge reports: When the network announced the series's September release date, it revealed that the first season would be split into two "chapters." The second chapter begins with the show's 10th episode, "Despite Yourself." Chapter 2 will contain the season's remaining six episodes, and will run through February 11th. According to CBS, the show will apparently find the crew of the USS Discovery in "unfamiliar territory," and they'll have to get creative about ways to return home. In this week's episode, the crew came face-to-face with the Klingon Empire over the planet Pahvo, after the planet's native species summoned them, hoping to resolve their conflict. After that, it'll be a longer wait for the show to return: CBS recently announced that it renewed Star Trek: Discovery for a second season, but that announcement didn't come with further details about a second season release date, or the number of episodes or chapters planned for season 2.
They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:5, Insightful)
By splitting the season long enough that they hope people won't cancel it since the next half is just around the corner.
Split seasons are why I stopped watching shows as they broadcast. When they started splitting Breaking Bad that was the final straw for me. Now I only watch once an entire season is available, and half the time I don't even care about the show anymore and just forget about it entirely.
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Split seasons
Split seasons is the reason I don't watch many network tv shows any more. I just wait till they come to hulu, netflix, or comcast demand and watch them all at the same time or when I want too. An I've formed the option if they don't come to any of those services then they are not worth my time.
Yes, I have comcast cable because it is the only thing that is available. Of all the flaws of comcast their on demand system doesn't seem to be one of the. Holy shit, I just defended comcast.
Re:They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not just the magic spore drive, everything about the writing is sloppy techno-babble and stupid character decisions.
Look at the groundhog's day episode, some two bit smuggler manages to get his hands on time-travel tech that everyone seems to know about but no one is going to ever use again because it's 'illegal' or something, so we're going to see entire spaceships destroyed in the war when this thing could easily resolve battles in the favor of any side that uses it?
So he murders the crew, what, 50 times, but it's ok, the timeline resets, it's not like there's a possibility of 50 alternate timelines where the survivors just have to go on from that point, no, har har, we'll punish him by making him go back to his girlfriend.
Oh, you've been having trouble maintaining your magical telepathic link to the Vulcan guy? I'll just replicate this device I've been working on in two minutes.
Oh, I got to the rank of a security officer on this special ops starship but I'll just open the cage for this large creature with giant claws and impervious skin and attack it to do what exactly, besides getting killed and clearing a spot for the next guy?
I could probably go on, but the whole thing is not really that memorable and is starting to fade for me.
I was looking forward to seeing what a continuous plotline would look like in the Star Trek universe, or what happens when the reality of war sets in and the Federation can't hold on to its rules and ideals.
I think television writing in general has evolved past the trope of the week thing, but I could probably live with it if it wasn't so fucking sloppy.
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Oh, you've been having trouble maintaining your magical telepathic link to the Vulcan guy? I'll just replicate this device I've been working on in two minutes.
This is exactly what I hate of most star trek films. They can do everything in two minutes just with pushing randomly on some buttons.
I love sci-fi (books), but star trek is pure drama. And not particularly good one. Drama in sci-fi context is still drama, not sci-fi.
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And if that doesn't help, try it in subspace. Or with a tachyon beam. Or a reverse tachyon beam in subspace.
Or as someone said about the Star Trek murder mysteries: The particle-of-the-week did it. In all of them.
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Try reversing the phase. You'll enjoy it more.
Meh, it's still Star Trek even so. Try reversing the polarity of the neutron flux for real entertainment. Then you'll get time travel devices that make some kind of sense.
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As for time travel, I wish writers would just stop using that as a plot device. It's the ultimate lame deus ex machina, done to death, yet incredibly hard to do right (and believable).
Re:They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:5, Informative)
I was looking forward to seeing what a continuous plotline would look like in the Star Trek universe, or what happens when the reality of war sets in and the Federation can't hold on to its rules and ideals.
If you want to see what happens when the federation goes to war then you need to go watch Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Its main plot arc is the Dominion War [wikipedia.org] the preludes starts in season 2 war stars in earnest in season 5 ends at the end of season 7.
If you want to see Star trek with a continuous plot-line go watch Star Trek: Enterprise Seasons 3 The Xindi [wikipedia.org] Afterword you will know why there wern't any movies for seven years, or a Star Trek series on air for 12 years, despite having had multiple series (some concurrently) running for 18 years, and this season killed the franchise. It is bad, really bad.
Re: They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:2)
Season 3 of enterprise is relatively good, although there are a few bad filler episodes, including the abysmal "North star".
It was cancelled in season 4.
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Season 3 of enterprise is relatively good, although there are a few bad filler episodes, including the abysmal "North star".
It was cancelled in season 4.
did anyone watch it though?
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did anyone watch it though?
Yep. And they killed it off just when it was starting to get its feet, under new writing direction.
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I wasn't a great fan of Enterprise.
The problem was that the characters were wooden, to the point that the sexy Vulcan thinks they're beneath her. Archer and his southern sidekick are simply on the wrong show - NCIS New Orleans to be precise. Reed is completely dull. Phlox is your quirky non-human doctor but didn't we see that with the hologram? And Mayweather fills the Wesley/Harry Kim/Chekov role.
So when the most interesting character on the show is Hoshi, it's because the male cast are meh.
B5 (Score:5, Funny)
If you want to see what happens when the federation goes to war then you need to go watch Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
Or just check out the source material [youtube.com].
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I was looking forward to seeing what a continuous plotline would look like in the Star Trek universe,
Because you skipped ST:DS9, ST:V, and ST:E? We've seen it three times, and the reaction has been yay, meh, and boo respectively.
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I hate to be that guy, but:
I was looking forward to seeing what a continuous plotline would look like in the Star Trek universe
Just get a few seasons into DS9.
or what happens when the reality of war sets in and the Federation can't hold on to its rules and ideals.
Sisko straight up assassinated a Romulan senator. Easily one of the greatest episodes to ever come out of Trek.
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Agreed, they're having a huge continuity problem here. This is supposed to be a prequel to the original series (aka 5yr mission). Replicators? They didnt show up until TNG. These pistol shaped phasers? That didnt appear until Season 1 ep 26 (devil in the dark). Until then everyone was using 'type 1 phasers' not these new upgraded 'type 2'. And why do they feel the need to incorporate all these lesser TOS characters like Harry Mudd into the show? Completely not necessary. A jump drive? Why spend all that tim
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True, however, it's also true that it's around the time of the winter haitus most TV shows undergo mid-season. In a typical TV season it starts around August or September, runs until November sweeps and a few episodes beyond, but by December all shows go on haitus until mid January or so when they all resume normal programming again.
I know Netflix has distorted the idea of a season, but th
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True, however, it's also true that it's around the time of the winter haitus most TV shows undergo mid-season.
Why? Does it get too cold to film? Just set a bunch of episodes on an ice planet.
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But I am not paying the broadcast company money for the months I am not getting content. I am checking out other stations.
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Considering that Discovery is a pretty expensive show to make, I can imagine that they were gambling that if it was a flop, they could pull the plug, but if it was a success, they could use the hiatus to film more episodes.
Thus far, while it isn't my favorite ST (I'm a TOS fan, myself, with DS9 in second place), it isn't bad. Judging by what's happening to Stamets, I suspect there's a reason the spore drive ends up in the wrecking yard of failed FTL technologies, where transwarp drive will join it later.
Re:Slightly OT, but... (Score:3)
I found out the other day that the character of Lt. Stamets (the "magick spores" wrangler) is based on a real person. And the same guy was also the inspiration for a character in an episode of Hannibal Lecter as well. There's a brief discussion of both characters in this recent Joe Rogan interview. [youtu.be] Fascinating stuff... the truth is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction.
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The spore drive is pretty tame compared to some of the silliness seen on Star Trek. Right from the get-go we had Kirk talking computers to death, space Nazis, space native Americans more than once, space hippies, countless holodeck malfunctions, ad numerous villains with a grab gab of unexplained superpowers.
Remember season 1 of Next Generation? Apparently Westley can go faster than warp speed with his mind.
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Re:They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:4, Interesting)
It will be like the cure for the Jem'ha'dar addiction, invented in one episode so apparently not that hard to do, but some excuse is given as to why it can't be mass produced and used long term.
Similarly I expect that either the spore network will be destroyed or its toll on the human computer component will lead to it being banned.
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The spore drive is pretty tame compared to some of the silliness seen on Star Trek.
I don't think there's too many complaints about tameness or silliness. The problem is that it is shoehorned into the original series and happens prior to the events of the original. This implies that the universe took a giant leap back in technological capability to get to the original startrek.
All powerful is fine if it is consistent. At least if it were set in the future compared to the original it would be somewhat believable.
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Similar to Enterprise then, the original NX-01 had better tech than the NC-1701 a century later.
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The only thing I can think of, is they get ahold of a Suliban ship that can cloak, and they use it for a rescue once
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They have flat touch screens. A century later and they are back to big clunky buttons and neon indicator lights.
Re:They're Trying To Milk Subscriptions (Score:5, Funny)
They switched only because 23rd/24th century feminists found that flat touch screens were sexist.
It turns out male fingers were rougher and thus worked better on touch screens. Coupled that with stronger upper body strength meant that male Starfleet officers were able to enter commands faster and more accurately, which led to a gender gap in promotions and getting holodeck and replicator privileges.
As for flat screens, they were done away with as they trigger certain women who are sensitive about their body shape not being curvy enough.
23rd century MRAs tried to fight against this, by mansplaining that men got more promotions because they were more willing to wear red shirts and go on away missions. "Redshirt" became a rallying cry of 23rd century alt-right movement.
To combat this, they switched red to be the color for command division, while rigging bridge consoles to easily explode upon the slightest irregularity happening to any part of the whole ship, so as equalize the death gap.
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Well, the problem with that is that we, right now, have better tech than the TOS Enterprise.
Could you really make a TOS era show in this day and age, with banks of toggle switches and blinkenlights?
Personally, I think Discovery is doing a fine job of trying to be evocative of the original series, without looking like horrible 60s throwback.
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Star Trek Continues is a TOS era show and it stands up really well. Okay, you have to suspend your disbelief at how primitive all the tech is, but it's easy because the stories are so good.
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TOS was the height of science compared to TNG, where there wasn't a problem that couldn't be solved by a well placed tachyon beam. For TOS, the technobabble was mainly just to set up a situation, for some TNG episodes, the technobabble was basically the story.
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I always viewed Kirk's ability to drive computers nuts to be the dramatic version of:
10 PRINT "DOES NOT COMPUTE"
20 GOTO 10
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I found the entire Star Trek Discovery project just an abuse on the Star Trek fan base.
Just because they put the Star Trek label on it it is a guaranteed minimum turnout. So they use it to leverage their failing all access.
I don’t know about you, I am still trying to find ways to cut down on monthly payments, not finding more. And CBS all access cost nearly as much as the other streaming service but for only show I want to watch. And then they put in these gaps which I am paying for and not having c
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I made it to episode 5. "maybe it will get better." ....
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Too bad the "magick spores traveling faster than warp" concept is so fucking retarded
I know a few people who travel the universe courtesy of Magic Mushrooms :)
Warming up to it (Score:3)
I'm trying to keep an open mind, and I'm gradually warming up to it. Throwing the entire timeline out the window (it is set before TOS, but is far more advanced technologically - I guess so the Klingons can be the bad guys again) is the worst part, IMO. They should have just placed it in some time after TOS and used some other species besides "Klingon" for the bad guys.
Anyway, to address your point more specifically:
Too bad the "magick spores traveling faster than warp" concept is so fucking retarded in contrast to the rest of the Star Trek universe.
In my opinion, TNG is the best Star Trek series. It epitomizes a lot of what is best about
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1: It's magic, we don't gotta explain shit. Probably the least believable part was "why here and why now?" Transcended species are a staple of science fiction, Q was just more of an asshole than is usual. There was also a TOS episode that had two magical beings running the show.
2,3: The holodeck and replicator are based on transporter technology. If you want to talk about magic, that's the elephant in the room. It can somehow re-assemble your atoms perfectly, thousands of miles away? I can accept the platf
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The spores are the midichlorians of the Star Trek universe. An answer to a question nobody asked and gave a fuck about.
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o bad the "magick spores traveling faster than warp" concept is so fucking retarded in contrast to the rest of the Star Trek universe.
Stars and stones, thank the gods there is someone else who thinks this way. Of all the Star Trek concepts that has the be the most stupid one they have come up with. Sad part, is it didn't have to be that fucking stupid. There are plenty of concepts that would let them do the same thing with out stupid "spore magic." Some of them are even Star Trek canon.
I think I remember this (Score:5, Funny)
”According to CBS, the show will apparently find the crew of the USS Discovery in "unfamiliar territory," and they'll have to get creative about ways to return home.”
This is the episode where Kes and Neelix join the crew, right?
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Speaking of Klingons, my #1 gripe with ST:D is that the Klingons now look like the 'engineers' from Alien/Prometheus. The only reason I can think of for doing this would be to "leech" off the popularity of those movies. In the same vein, the opening title sequence for ST:D looks like it was designed by the same team that did it for Westworld. Oh yeah, and Ex Machina was really popular, so let's put a robot/cyborg on the bridge crew too... it'll be great!
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Speaking of Klingons, my #1 gripe with ST:D is that the Klingons now look like the 'engineers' from Alien/Prometheus. The only reason I can think of for doing this would be to "leech" off the popularity of those movies.
More realistically: there's only so many ways of gluing bits of latex to an actor's face that won't bear a cursory resemblance to an alien species seen in another franchise.
Re:I think I remember this (Score:4, Insightful)
However they could had glued the latex in a way that looked like a Klingon. They had that model and it’s rights to use.
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Re:I think I remember this (Score:5, Funny)
”According to CBS, the show will apparently find the crew of the USS Discovery in "unfamiliar territory," and they'll have to get creative about ways to return home.”
This is the episode where Kes and Neelix join the crew, right?
Oh yes Voyager seasons 1-4 the time we sat there uncomfortably watching Nelix the bumbling broom headed pedo alternate between ptsd flashbacks and obsessing over the attentions of the three year old Okompa (alien from planet jailbait) Kes...
Then we get to season 5 where Kes explodes and we get to watch Janeway continue to endanger her crew during her ongoing child custody battle with the borg queen over their lesbian lovechild^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Seven of Nine. Oh and Nelix finds a new child to obsess over in the form of Naomi Wildman half alien born earlier in the series.
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With a captain like Lorca, if someone like Jar Jar showed up, he'd be spaced in about five seconds. Lorca is one very bad guy.
Screw ST:D... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Screw ST:D... (Score:5, Interesting)
Never watched STD (Oh how I love that nobody noticed that unfortunate abbreviation) and never going to as long as The Orville runs.
I was really apprehensive about a ST clone mad eby Seth McFarlane but it really works. He replaced the stuffiness of the Federation with his humor but the rest, that what I always liked about Star Trek, is there.
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Oroville has done Star Trek better than *any* of the spinoffs.
It's just that kirk, err, captain whatshisface, isn't the only one that's incompetent; they all are!
Also, it's camp and understands that, and isn't above mocking itself. (and why are there so many families and children on a ship that's in mortal combat every episode?
hawk
Special effects (Score:2)
Let's hope they do something about the "action scene" special effects.
Not sure if anyone caught episode 8 where Saru is "running" and high speed. It was cringe worthy bad.
Most of the fighting scenes are also laughably bad. Especially with the Klingons. How is that the the Klingon, a warrior race, are so crap at fighting? Super slow reaction times, apparently no motor skills to speak of and complete lack of technique.
I personally hope they ditch the stupid continuum stuff and try to make the show more realis
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Not sure if anyone caught episode 8 where Saru is "running" and high speed. It was cringe worthy bad.
Did it have "ch-ch-ch-ch-chhhhhhh" sound effects?
Who cares about StarTrek HIV+ how is Orville doing (Score:5, Insightful)
AKA the real Star Trek.
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It's moderately better (aka not quite the worst show currently airing), but that is not saying much.
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It got renewed as of a few weeks ago. Happy Arbor Day! :)
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...says the AC who hasn't been watching it. It's been so much better than it has any right to be.
It's better than sad grimdark trek made by grimdark millenials for cynically pushing a streaming service with absolutely no concept of what made Trek fun.
TV Guide (Score:2, Informative)
Slashdot is apparently now the TV guide. While sure, Star Trek is popular with the nerd segment frequenting the site (referencing the News for Nerds tagline, not being rude), so are many other shows.
When does SHIELD start back up? 12 Monkeys? Where's the article about the between-seasons cancellation of Dark Matter, leaving it to end on a massive cliffhanger? What makes Star Trek so special it gets its own article about how long the mid-season break is?!
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Where's the article about the between-seasons cancellation of Dark Matter, leaving it to end on a massive cliffhanger?
Oh man, I hadn't heard about that. It's a good thing we had a discussion about TV here on /.
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Slashdot is apparently now the TV guide
Great! Was wondering what we'll have this week-end.
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What makes Star Trek so special
That everyone has heard of it, unlike say those other TV series (I assume TV series anyway) you mentioned.
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There's always the Doctor Who Christmas special.
The latest fanrage surrounds her wearing braces (suspenders). Did they not have belts on Gallifrey?!
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Possibly because we want to actually contribute to a future humanity that does reach the stars, that becomes a galactic society. You do realise that Shield is delusion super hero nonsense and 12 Monkeys is basically a rush to human extinction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] are you deaf, blind, dumb and stupid (it's in the opening)?
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Ohhh, so we only talk about the GOOD news?
Chapter 2 (Score:5, Funny)
According to CBS, the show will apparently find the crew of the USS Discovery in "unfamiliar territory," ...
They find themselves on the Orville, learning how to be likable. :-)
BeauHD wishes for dictionary for Xmas. (Score:2)
They're "returning" for the second half of the split season in two days? So... there isn't a split at all. Since the show has been "airing" every week so far...
Or, if the coming episode is the last until January 7
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Fuck you all this show is good. (Score:4, Insightful)
This show is more of an authentic Star Trek than the recent movies, is a fun watch, and is approximately 300 times better than the first seasons of either Next Generation or DS9.
God damn I remember people on Slashdot bitching after episode #1&2 that SJW this and Gamergate that - a female crew member named "Michael" was obviously a concession to, I don't know, transexuals or ungendered bathrooms or something.
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Geeks should identify with Bernham. She was raised by Vulkans and always tries to act rationally and logically. The time loop episode was a good example, most people who have had a hard time believing it but her rational attitude towards it was key to saving the day.
She is a bit socially awkward and they avoid plastering her with make-up so she looks like a real person. Some people seem to have a problem with her skin tone and gender not matching their own, which is ironic because they are usually the same
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I could the same thing about Sisko. Would Kirk have fabricated evidence to draw the Romulans into a war with the Dominion? Lorca is just Sisko without even the need to rationalize fundamentally immoral acts.
Discovery isn't Star Trek (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Discovery isn't Star Trek (Score:5, Funny)
I want a show about Quark's bar.
So Cheers in space with a bit of Breaking Bad mixed in would watch.
Or an black comedy about Garick he is a likeable DS9 charecter too, call it "Keeping Up with the Cardassians".
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It's got all the classic Trek elements. Exploration and discovery, moral questions, new alien species...
No it doesn't. Star Trek was a series about an ideal future where people of all backgrounds overcame their differences to work together. This on the other hand seems more like an idiots guide on how to staff a dysfunctional spaceship. The dynamics of the interactions are very un-Star Trek
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Brunt, FCA, ended this show due to a violation of the 666th Rule of Acquisition:
Ain't nobody got time for talk-shows that also has money to pay for shit.
Just long enough (Score:5, Insightful)
A 2 month break is just long enough for me to forget about my time "invested" in the show.
The show might return in 2 months, but I probably won't.
Re:Just long enough ... to what? exactly. (Score:2)
A 2 month break is just long enough for me to forget about my time "invested" in the show.
And that's the problem. In 2 months it will need all the marketing of a new show. Whereas people who used to watch it will have had enough time to get used to not watching it and will be unlikely to miss it particularly.
The only way I can see this break "saving" the show is if they pull a stunt like fast-forwarding several months or a year and re-boot.
I'd rather watch The Orville (Score:5, Insightful)
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It has its faults, but yeah, I'm on Team Orville. They've been doing what Trek should have been doing - and doing it better - since about episode 4.
Fingers Crossed... (Score:5, Insightful)
Star Trek: Discovery Will Return On January 7th, 2018
...unless one of the lead actors gets accused of sexual harassment.
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> Doesn't matter if it's true or not (just look at what happened to Kevin Spacey when he tried denying the accusations made against him in a diplomatic way that didn't involve going on the offensive)
I think you'll ultimately find that the knives came out so quickly for Spacey because everybody knew already. Just like everybody knew he was gay but nobody ever talked about it because he didn't want it known due to potential career effects. He had power because he made people money, and once that went awa
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>How have you missed them?
I don't follow the news much, so only the biggest, most unavoidable items tend to get to me.
I'd actually still like to see one - can you name a name for something recent I could google?
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Google says... "Danny Masterson".
Accusations, a police investigation that has 'stalled', and the accused denies the accusations.
That's significantly different from the Spacey situation, where there are a large number of corroborated, credible accusers and the accused has admitted - though with an "I was drunk and don't remember" excuse - that at least the first accusation is credible, followed up by no denial of the additional accusations.
Netflix says they're not doing anything about it until more comes to
Don't give a fuck (Score:2)
As long as it's on their own proprietary streaming service, I refuse to even think about the series.
As such, it ranks, in terms of importance in my life, someplace behind even my next bowel movement.
Yawn (Score:3)
>"CBS announced that Star Trek: Discovery will return for the second half of the split season on Sunday, November 12th."
On an expensive subscription service that doesn't work on many devices. Yawn. I will continue to watch and enjoy The Orville, like most Trek fans.
Screw them (Score:2)
...and their subscription model. I'm not going to pay them twice since I'm already paying them through my cable bill. No double dipping allowed.
Meh, maybe i'll pick it up later (Score:3)
Mostly when it comes to netflix in NA. I can wait a year, there's so much stuff to watch that I'm not thirsty to pay money to see ads.
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Sorry (Score:2)
The Champignon drive is so stupid, I can't watch it.
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With CBS buying Channel 10, a struggling TV network here in Australia, I was hoping it would end up on free to air.
But apparently they've already sold the distribution rights to Netflix Australia. :(
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