Your Name
2017-09-25 05:33:24 UTC
The review from Variety.com ...
TV Review: 'Star Trek: Discovery' on CBS and CBS All Access
-----------------------------------------------------------
When Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) first meets Captain
Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), his room is dimly lit. He mutters
something about an eye condition requiring low light, but, as
with most of his statements, there appears to be information
the captain is deliberately refusing to share.
Lorca's lair is far from the only interior on "Star Trek:
Discovery" that is shadowy. As Burnham frequently negotiates
dark corridors and murky settings, one thing becomes clear:
"Discovery" is trying, with some success, to convey that this
is not your father's "Star Trek."
It might be your mother's, if she is a fan of "Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine," which is widely considered to be the best of the
"Trek" TV efforts. (To forestall nerd debates, yes, each
Federation series has its merits, but "Deep Space Nine" and
"The Next Generation" top most critics' lists.)
The later seasons of "Deep Space Nine" depicted an array of
conflicted characters - led by Benjamin Sisko, an
African-American captain played by Avery Brooks - fighting a
grinding, complicated war that sapped their energy and
challenged their ethics even as it strengthened their bonds of
friendship and love. It was serialized - a rarity back then for
any drama, let alone a "Trek" series - and it grew more and
more character-oriented over time. At first glance, "Discovery"
appears to be paying some homage to the spirit of "DS9":
Ongoing story arcs are woven through the first three episodes
(and clearly will continue beyond those hours), and its
resourceful protagonist has as many challenges in front of her
as Sisko often did.
Of course, "Discovery" has yet to prove itself a worthy
successor to "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" or
"Battlestar Galactica" (where several "DS9" writers ended up
after that "Trek" series ended). But there are reasons to hope
that "Discovery" will be promising addition to the "Trek" canon.
If it capitalizes on the conflicts at its core, and if it
embraces the ambiguity and complexity baked into its DNA,
"Discovery" could provide viewers with the kind of
character-driven, space-set sci-fi narrative that has long been
missing from the television scene. It's early days yet, and the
CBS All Access drama, which contains some wobbly elements, may
let lapse into the usual array of alien-of-the-week formulas,
but this voyage has potential.
The first three hours of "Star Trek: Discovery" provide
serviceable space opera and reasonably exciting interstellar
battles. And as a whole, the drama takes the optimism at the
core of Gene Roddenberry's vision and, in the tradition of the
best of the "Star Trek" canon, uses it to examine the choices
of well-intentioned characters faced with compromises, mysteries,
alien cultures and moral dilemmas. "Discovery" may be set in a
time of war, but it is not uniformly grim; there are some welcome
comedic touches that hit the mark without detracting from the
drama's generally earnest approach.
It's worth noting that there's also a fair bit of the original
"Star Trek" woven into "Discovery's" premise, given that it's set
about a decade before the events of that program. Even the
communicators look like the flip devices of old. But there's one
detail that unites all the "Trek" series, including this one:
There are always Jefferies tubes.
"Discovery" had a difficult gestation process, and so there are a
number of narrative hiccups, likely resulting from the departure
of original showrunner Bryan Fuller while Season One was still
being mapped out. A few plot points and character arcs don't quite
track, and some aspects of the show haven't gelled yet. The
Klingons, who are dangerous enemies in this world, are very
elaborately garbed and their scenes are often ponderous and too
slow (the actors give their level best, but they labor under
imposing facial prosthetics that make their expressions hard to
read). Another complaint: The new Federation uniforms are terrible.
Why give these capable officers panels of disco-friendly gold cloth
on their hips?
But relatively speaking, these are Tribbles - er, I mean, quibbles.
The core mission of "Discovery" is to make viewers care about
Burnham, and it succeeds in that regard. Martin-Green is
charismatic and quietly forceful in the lead role, and her
character is an outsider in many ways, which gives "Discovery's"
writers a lot of interesting psychological territory to explore.
Her professional relationships in the present and her personal
bonds from the past are mostly fraught and complicated, and
"Discovery's" handling of those aspects of her story may well
determine whether it becomes must-see viewing or not. The capable
cast around Martin-Green - which includes Doug Jones, Isaacs,
Anthony Rapp and Mary Wisemen - all make fine first impressions.
Though her parents were human, after their deaths during her
childhood, Burnham was raised by Spock's family on Vulcan. Though
she's energetic and steadfast, she's not quite as comfortable in
the Federation or even among humans as some of her fellow crew
members. It remains to be seen whether her African-American
identity will be mined for storytelling purposes. "Discovery"
hesitantly brings it up once, before quickly dropping it. It would
be intriguing - and timely - if "Discovery" explored that aspect
of Burnham's experience now and then, instead of assuming, as
"Trek" so often blithely has, that in the future humans will live
in a post-racial society.
We don't at the moment, and that's just one reason why it's a real
joy to see an African-American woman and a woman of Asian descent
(Michelle Yeoh's Captain Philippa Georgiou) charging through the
universe - leading, strategizing and kicking ass when necessary.
Though "Discovery" has a number of patches of leaden exposition,
the mentoring relationship between the two women is nicely
sketched out by Yeoh and Martin-Green.
But it's the moral murk that Burnham must wade through that gives
"Discovery" its tantalizing possibilities. Once the set-up is out
of the way - and that takes most of the first three episodes - it
will be interesting to see whether new showrunners Gretchen J.
Berg and Aaron Harberts will be able to capably capitalize on the
ethical and personal dilemmas inserted into the premise during
Fuller's tenure (his name is among those getting story or script
credits in the first two hours).
If "Discovery" builds on the best parts of its opening hours,
Burnham will continue to be thrown into situations that have no
easy answers and will be given missions that will bring about
challenging consequences. It also remains to be seen whether
"Discovery" will drive subscriptions to CBS All Access, where
episodes will arrive weekly. (The hourlong premiere airs on CBS
Sunday; that episode and the second installment hit CBS All Access
Sunday night, and "Discovery" outings arrive on the subscription
service weekly thereafter.)
"Trek" has been off the air for a while, and the strategy of
reviving the TV franchise via CBS All Access is not without risk.
And within the world of the show, the Klingons' philosophy is dark
- a new leader rises whose philosophy could be summed up as "Make
Kronos Great Again." But the tenacious drive that Martin-Green
brings to her character's quest to prove herself means no one
should count out the Federation just yet.
<http://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/star-trek-discovery-cbs-all-access-review-sonequa-martin-green-1202569322/>
TV Review: 'Star Trek: Discovery' on CBS and CBS All Access
-----------------------------------------------------------
When Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) first meets Captain
Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), his room is dimly lit. He mutters
something about an eye condition requiring low light, but, as
with most of his statements, there appears to be information
the captain is deliberately refusing to share.
Lorca's lair is far from the only interior on "Star Trek:
Discovery" that is shadowy. As Burnham frequently negotiates
dark corridors and murky settings, one thing becomes clear:
"Discovery" is trying, with some success, to convey that this
is not your father's "Star Trek."
It might be your mother's, if she is a fan of "Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine," which is widely considered to be the best of the
"Trek" TV efforts. (To forestall nerd debates, yes, each
Federation series has its merits, but "Deep Space Nine" and
"The Next Generation" top most critics' lists.)
The later seasons of "Deep Space Nine" depicted an array of
conflicted characters - led by Benjamin Sisko, an
African-American captain played by Avery Brooks - fighting a
grinding, complicated war that sapped their energy and
challenged their ethics even as it strengthened their bonds of
friendship and love. It was serialized - a rarity back then for
any drama, let alone a "Trek" series - and it grew more and
more character-oriented over time. At first glance, "Discovery"
appears to be paying some homage to the spirit of "DS9":
Ongoing story arcs are woven through the first three episodes
(and clearly will continue beyond those hours), and its
resourceful protagonist has as many challenges in front of her
as Sisko often did.
Of course, "Discovery" has yet to prove itself a worthy
successor to "The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" or
"Battlestar Galactica" (where several "DS9" writers ended up
after that "Trek" series ended). But there are reasons to hope
that "Discovery" will be promising addition to the "Trek" canon.
If it capitalizes on the conflicts at its core, and if it
embraces the ambiguity and complexity baked into its DNA,
"Discovery" could provide viewers with the kind of
character-driven, space-set sci-fi narrative that has long been
missing from the television scene. It's early days yet, and the
CBS All Access drama, which contains some wobbly elements, may
let lapse into the usual array of alien-of-the-week formulas,
but this voyage has potential.
The first three hours of "Star Trek: Discovery" provide
serviceable space opera and reasonably exciting interstellar
battles. And as a whole, the drama takes the optimism at the
core of Gene Roddenberry's vision and, in the tradition of the
best of the "Star Trek" canon, uses it to examine the choices
of well-intentioned characters faced with compromises, mysteries,
alien cultures and moral dilemmas. "Discovery" may be set in a
time of war, but it is not uniformly grim; there are some welcome
comedic touches that hit the mark without detracting from the
drama's generally earnest approach.
It's worth noting that there's also a fair bit of the original
"Star Trek" woven into "Discovery's" premise, given that it's set
about a decade before the events of that program. Even the
communicators look like the flip devices of old. But there's one
detail that unites all the "Trek" series, including this one:
There are always Jefferies tubes.
"Discovery" had a difficult gestation process, and so there are a
number of narrative hiccups, likely resulting from the departure
of original showrunner Bryan Fuller while Season One was still
being mapped out. A few plot points and character arcs don't quite
track, and some aspects of the show haven't gelled yet. The
Klingons, who are dangerous enemies in this world, are very
elaborately garbed and their scenes are often ponderous and too
slow (the actors give their level best, but they labor under
imposing facial prosthetics that make their expressions hard to
read). Another complaint: The new Federation uniforms are terrible.
Why give these capable officers panels of disco-friendly gold cloth
on their hips?
But relatively speaking, these are Tribbles - er, I mean, quibbles.
The core mission of "Discovery" is to make viewers care about
Burnham, and it succeeds in that regard. Martin-Green is
charismatic and quietly forceful in the lead role, and her
character is an outsider in many ways, which gives "Discovery's"
writers a lot of interesting psychological territory to explore.
Her professional relationships in the present and her personal
bonds from the past are mostly fraught and complicated, and
"Discovery's" handling of those aspects of her story may well
determine whether it becomes must-see viewing or not. The capable
cast around Martin-Green - which includes Doug Jones, Isaacs,
Anthony Rapp and Mary Wisemen - all make fine first impressions.
Though her parents were human, after their deaths during her
childhood, Burnham was raised by Spock's family on Vulcan. Though
she's energetic and steadfast, she's not quite as comfortable in
the Federation or even among humans as some of her fellow crew
members. It remains to be seen whether her African-American
identity will be mined for storytelling purposes. "Discovery"
hesitantly brings it up once, before quickly dropping it. It would
be intriguing - and timely - if "Discovery" explored that aspect
of Burnham's experience now and then, instead of assuming, as
"Trek" so often blithely has, that in the future humans will live
in a post-racial society.
We don't at the moment, and that's just one reason why it's a real
joy to see an African-American woman and a woman of Asian descent
(Michelle Yeoh's Captain Philippa Georgiou) charging through the
universe - leading, strategizing and kicking ass when necessary.
Though "Discovery" has a number of patches of leaden exposition,
the mentoring relationship between the two women is nicely
sketched out by Yeoh and Martin-Green.
But it's the moral murk that Burnham must wade through that gives
"Discovery" its tantalizing possibilities. Once the set-up is out
of the way - and that takes most of the first three episodes - it
will be interesting to see whether new showrunners Gretchen J.
Berg and Aaron Harberts will be able to capably capitalize on the
ethical and personal dilemmas inserted into the premise during
Fuller's tenure (his name is among those getting story or script
credits in the first two hours).
If "Discovery" builds on the best parts of its opening hours,
Burnham will continue to be thrown into situations that have no
easy answers and will be given missions that will bring about
challenging consequences. It also remains to be seen whether
"Discovery" will drive subscriptions to CBS All Access, where
episodes will arrive weekly. (The hourlong premiere airs on CBS
Sunday; that episode and the second installment hit CBS All Access
Sunday night, and "Discovery" outings arrive on the subscription
service weekly thereafter.)
"Trek" has been off the air for a while, and the strategy of
reviving the TV franchise via CBS All Access is not without risk.
And within the world of the show, the Klingons' philosophy is dark
- a new leader rises whose philosophy could be summed up as "Make
Kronos Great Again." But the tenacious drive that Martin-Green
brings to her character's quest to prove herself means no one
should count out the Federation just yet.
<http://variety.com/2017/tv/reviews/star-trek-discovery-cbs-all-access-review-sonequa-martin-green-1202569322/>