OK. I admit it. I’m a hypocrite. One week ago I was vowing to cancel my CBS All Access subscription because the Star Trek reboot sucked. Yet, I watched it again. And I am writing about it again. For me, the new Star Trek is like that six-month old ‘thing’ in the freezer. You know you ought to just toss it in the garbage, but you can’t resist opening that plastic container, sniffing the contents and then defrosting it just to know for sure what it actually is.
Well, I defrosted episode three, and I think I know what Star Trek Discovery is: the same old shit. I wanted to be wrong- to find that delicious morsel of beouf bourguignon rather than the horrible fish stew that I saved simply on principle.
Star Trek has become the Despacito of sci-fi TV. Like reggaeton, the same beat is there in the bassline no matter how slightly the lyrics and melody might change.
Michael, the traitor, the renegade, is now part of the crew. Destined to be an officer, I’m sure. How often has this been done in Star Trek?
Michael has a roommate with ‘special needs’. Of course, she is full figured and somewhat overbearing – but when did these become special needs? The thin, kick ass woman ( the Angry Black Woman) must have a full-figured, awkward white girl as a foil. Typical ST stereotypes.
The First officer: an ugly ( no insult to his ‘species’ intended), mercurial and brilliant guy like Odo from DS9 or Nelix from Voyager. Or Flox from Enterprise.
A ‘Science’ vessel using biological specimens as propulsion, etc: Hmm … I seem to recall an episode of Voyager in which a ‘science vessel’ was using an alien life form as propulsion. The shades of this episode are so heavy it’s almost embarrassing.
The literary references – Captain ‘Gabriel Lorca’ and Michael’s love of Alice in Wonderland – are heavy handed and awkward.
Oh, and the much-touted casting of Anthony Rapp? Geez, Louise! Another neurotic, mincing, sarcastic ‘gay’ character? Think ensign Lon Suder and Lieutenant Reginald Barclay. They were not designated as ‘gay’ but the stereotype is stuck all over Rapp’s character like white on rice.
There was one saving grace about episode three of Star Trek Discovery: a couple of lingering close-ups of Captain Lorca’s bulge.