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Reviews
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
A mediocre show and pretty terrible Star Trek
So many fans wanted to see a show about the Federation rebuilding itself after the Dominion War and rediscovering its moral and cultural center, and exploring the struggles of reforging its alliances.. Instead we got a show that further attacks the heart and soul of the franchise. Rather unfortunate, honestly.
Picard is a show that, rather than reviving Star Trek and breathing fresh air into an old idea, takes it further down the path of dystopian science fiction, focusing on tired subject matter and cheap action to drive it forward rather than focusing on providing good story telling, interesting characters, and deep exploration of the world around them.
STP is a very flawed show that had all the potential in the world, but didn't apparently have the talent and vision behind the scenes to make it work. The tone is all over the place. The writing leaves a lot to be desired. And the plot is pretty much recycled from any of the many other shows about secret organizations and terrorism that have been made in the last couple decades. They had a whole universe to explore, an endless number of good choices that could have been made, and they chose to focused on interpersonal drama, terrorism, and secret plots. So very boring and unoriginal.
The camera work can get pretty bad, too, as can the acting and dialogue. Half the time it feels like they are trying to force a response from the audience that the scene isn't naturally providing. I simple conversation with overly dramatic music, for example. Or a scene with odd camera work that doesn't feel right.
Picard has its redeeming moments, don't get me wrong, but they seem few and far between. Mostly it's a pretty juvenile show. Patrick Stewart often feels out of place in this off-kilter version of the Star Trek universe they have created, and unnecessary to the story. Certain scenes they have chosen to include are downright cringe worthy, in fact.
Of all the directions they could have taken the franchise this seems like one of the worst, and it is unfortunate. I can watch the older shows time and again, yet found myself struggling to get through this show even once. It is just so unoriginal. So many other shows have explored these subjects and told this story, and done it better. Star Trek deserves better than this.
I very reluctantly feel obligated to give this show the score it deserves 5/10. Passive entertainment with few memorable moments and a lot of creative issues.
Enterprise (2001)
A decent show with some drawbacks
First off, the intro needed to go. Horrible. After we get passed that little hiccup the show really isn't that bad, at least not the early episodes. The first season or two of this show are the best, really enjoyable, then it gets way worse, improves a little, and then goes completely Willy Wonka nutter butter on us.
Unfortunately, this show marks a shift in the franchise, in later seasons, that was almost fortune telling for what would happen to the Star Trek franchise in its fall from glory. The characters became less believable, more compulsive and combative, and the stories began to focus almost entirely on action and war, and the writing went down hill.
Still, if you can forgive some very serious flaws, and maybe just stick with the earlier part of the show, this isn't a bad Star Trek show, it just lost its way and then got cancelled before it could find its way back (probably for the best, though). And it is still miles ahead of recent Star Trek in most areas.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)
Still some of the best Trek ever made.
This show isn't quite as good, or as well written or thought provoking as Star Trek The Next Generation, but it is still a fantastic series. It explores many aspects of our humanity that TNG only touches on, such as religion and war and greed. In this way it is enjoyable. And the setting is a nice change of pace. I rank it among the best science fiction ever made.
It has some great characters, and some great episodes, but it sometimes goes in weird directions that don't seem likely, and it starts to focus way to excessively on war and action (especially in later seasons). I am also not a big fan of the fact that this show was serialized so heavily. I liked the standalone episode format of TNG because it permitted a much wider array of stories to be told. But I did like that it was able to tell, more deeply, the story that it did. I guess it is one of those give and take situations, and they didn't too heavily rely on it, so there is still good variety to each episode. Top notch science fiction that has aged well. Definitely worth a watch.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Very likely one of the worst shows I have ever seen
I'm sorry but the word "trash" is what comes to mind when I think of a descriptive to use on this show. It is not only bad Star Trek it is bad television. The writing is bad. The editing is subpar for a show with this much money. The camera work is the worst I have ever seen. The acting is atrocious. The special effects are so over the top they actually look bad. And the characters are down right unlikable and unrealistic. The story telling, plot, and overall settings are bad. In fact, I can't for the life of me picture nearly any of these characters being permitted in Star Fleet, let alone getting placed in a situation and setting like they are in this show.
Some of my personal worst scenes in television history can be pulled straight from episodes of this show. It's that bad.
And we haven't even gotten into the disrespect it has for the franchise it is based on. The history is wrong. The technology is wrong. The aliens are wrong. most of the ships are wrong. The cultures are wrong. The dialogue and situations are wrong. Everything is wrong. I only gave it two stars because the opening scene of the show was kinda promising until it went almost immediately all wrong and never recovered.
This is a ridiculous, poorly made romp through the galaxy that is meant to appease to what I'm guessing is an audience of about thirteen to seventeen years of age. If I could suggest what should be done with this show, I would say that it needs to be placed in a trash heap with about 80% of the "reality" television that has been made, set on fire, and then plowed over so that we can all forget that it existed and can get back to the science fiction worthy of our attention.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Star Trek at its finest and some of the best television ever made
I grew up watching this show and to this day absolutely love watching it. Although not without its problems, it is some of the best made science fiction of all time. The writing and acting is top notch most of the time. The editing and camera work is some of the best in the industry.
TNG not only sparks the imagination, it has a positive view of the future, of society, and of humanity, that very very few works, including the new Star Trek, is willing to do. It explores us as a people, challenges established ideas, and explores a post capitalistic society where people are judged not by financial cunning but by their skill and ability and the quality of their character.
If you like good science fiction and want something that focuses on more than cheap interpersonal drama, war, action, lust, and violence, then this is probably a show you would be interested in. It is unrivaled in the depth and variety of story telling that occurs in its seven seasons, and tries to be more than just another angsty teen drama.
The Expanse (2015)
A good show with a few drawbacks
The Expanse is a good show that does a lot right, and a few things wrong, that takes a weird turn in later seasons.
I have really enjoyed this show. It has been willing to do its own thing rather than copying other shows, which is rare these days, and appreciated. So much mediocre science fiction has been created in the last several years that it is nice when someone takes the time to do one right.
The Expanse is a near future science fiction show where we have explored and expanded out into the solar system, and in doing so created new political and social dynamics, and not always pretty ones. This show is an exploration of that situation and, in some ways, an exploration of us as a people. There is a lot going on in this show and it takes a while to get going, but it is worth it to stick around.
The creators have done a fine job here, and created a very interesting and well developed world. I have read the first couple books in the series this is based on and it feels like a complement to those works rather than a replacement. It has benefited from that material and because of that The Expanse feels really well fleshed out.
Definitely worth a watch.