New 'Star Trek: Discovery' TV Series a Go at CBS All Access*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by dirwuf, Nov 2, 2015.

  1. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    I get a kick out of those who are complaining about the subtitles for the Klingons. And then I think of just how many times over the years in my STAR TREK fandom that I've had to put up with criticisms of the show that point out the aliens speaking English perfectly. It would seem that there are those who will criticize no matter what the creators do.

    :shrug:
     
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  2. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    They can hardly be Star Trek fans if they criticized something for which there is a perfectly good in-universe explanation for - Universal Translator.

    The criticism of having to constantly read subtitles (and the anxiety it induces to finish reading before the next batch appears) is a valid one. It takes your attention away from the visuals, which is the whole point of film/tv. I hate it, and not just in Trek, but in all (the ever growing) tv shows that are trying to be 'authentic' by speaking foreign languages that need subtitles. Just stop!
     
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  3. Rubber65

    Rubber65 Forum Resident

    Wife and I are really enjoying the new series. But because I'm all about canon and "logic" when it comes to treknology, I don't know how this is supposed to tie into TOS. The technology seems way more advanced than what we see in TOS. I did notice though the phaser rotating emitter setting in Discover look similar to the phaser or "laser" in the pilot episode The Cage. I still can't wrap my head around the different look for the Klingons.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    I - and they - are likely referring to the innumerable times that our heroes are locked up, far away in space and time from any "universal translators", and yet their jailers are perfectly understandable.

    Please note that I am not one of those that have criticized any production for having aliens or people back in time that speak English. I recognize that this is an entertainment - it's not real - and having the aliens speak English is a convenience for me. I too wish they would use the HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER model, zoom in, and have the Klingons speak English.
     
  5. jriems

    jriems Audio Ojiisan

    I think a lot of the naysayers are just too jaded to let some things slide. I'm pretty jaded, too, but I watch enough subtitled anime and foreign shows/movies that the Klingon subs don't bother me at all. The KLINGONS on the other hand... ;)

    I get the Universal Translator default workaround. But how does that even come into play on board a Klingon vessel with only Klingons on board? It doesn't. As long as the scenes of Klingon/Human interaction are in English, then they're doing the right thing by differentiating the scenarios, in my opinion. To me, that's imminently more logical than previous Star Trek series showing clusters of Klingon-only dialogue - with no humans anywhere to be found - occurring in English.
     
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  6. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    I saw (and paid for 1 month) three episodes and really enjoyed them. BUT reason stepped in. This is the only program I want to watch on CBS All Access so why pay many monthly fees to watch the program piecemeal (15 episodes??). I'll wait until the season is over, sign up again and watch all of the season then.
     
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  7. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    It's not only the subtitles. Maybe it's the new Klingons (kind of lame) and the how they speak. It's really distracting. I also have no issues with subtitles. I love films from around the world and enjoy reading the translations. I'm currenty living in the Netherlands and subtitles are everywhere. No problem. However, the use of this for fictional characters on Star Trek is not a pleasure. If they are really trying to push a logical reality (at the audience's or at least my own personal expense) then why do all the humans speak late 20th/early 21st century english in the 23rd century? Surely, the language would have evolved or another language became the more globally used one? Do all humans (unlike today) even speak english? Again, this is a fictional tv show. Most of is are fine if everyone speaks english for the our sake (the audience). We get it. It's a tv show. No more subtitles please. Can somebody please make them stop or I may end up yelling at a cloud........ :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
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  8. Meng

    Meng Forum Resident

    The subtitles don't bother me. At all.
     
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  9. lambfan68

    lambfan68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minnesota
    I just started reading the first tie-in novel "Desperate Hours" which takes place on the Shenzhou about a year before the events of the first episode. It has some good character background especially on the relationship between Burnham and Saru.
     
  10. Blimpboy

    Blimpboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    Above all other considerations, a TV show has to be relatable and engaging for the audience. If all shows were totally realistic they would be boring. Even police procedure shows make exceptions in reality for the sake of drama. If the audience is having difficulty understanding your dialogue, spoken or captioned, then you are failing as a program. If it takes them out of the moment, you have failed. You are trying to tell a story, not a documentary. Most people around the world don't speak English, but they do on American TV, so we can understand it. There shouldn't be sound in space, but guess what? It's boring TV without it. I just think Discovery is being "too cool for the room" at the attempt in storytelling. My two cents.
     
  11. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I very much agree with this sentiment. Engagement and relatability comes from likable characters (whether totally moral or ambiguously so), forming a clique, comradery, that can carry even weak episodes. TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager have all had such a core of main characters. Does Disco have any such likeable characters that can elevate even the bad episodes?
     
  12. Uther

    Uther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    I haven't chimed in yet, but as a lifelong Trek fan, I am loving Discovery. The first episode was iffy (as most first episodes are), but since then it's been increasingly better and better. Between Discovery and The Orville... what a time to be a Trek fan! The characters are all shaping up nicely, and the visuals are utterly astounding.

    As for subtitles, they don't bother me. And they make perfect sense in-universe (there would be no universal translator in use between Klingons on a Klingon ship). And we have seen subtitles used in such situations in Trek before. If Voq's storyline is headed where I think it's headed:

    the Klingon matriarchs are going to use the augment virus to "humanize" him (turning him into a classic TOS style Klingon)

    then it shouldn't be an issue too much longer.
     
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  13. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Too early to say. It took almost a season for me to relate to any of the characters from the previous shows; Picard and Worf in ST:TNG, Quark and Odo in DS9, Janeway and the Doctor in Voyager, and Porthos in Enterprise. I'm not sold on Michael in STD, but Saru is interesting and I like Captain Lorca, though mainly because of Isaacs' Twitter feed.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  14. Meng

    Meng Forum Resident

    Two very strong leads imo. Which helps.
     
  15. m5comp

    m5comp Classic Rock Lover

    Location:
    Hamilton, AL
    :laugh:
     
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  16. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Well, try to explain why there are titles and music in the show. Those don't exist in this world, either. Some of it you have to accept for story-telling purposes.
     
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  17. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Episode 5, another sterling episode, "Choose Your Pain."

    Really, REALLY, feeling like STAR TREK now.

    We get to meet Harcourt Fenton Mudd and there were Klingons with no subtitles.
     
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  18. Kevin In Choconut Center

    Kevin In Choconut Center Offensive Coordinator

    Okay, I have some thoughts on the first five episodes.

    The acting was a bit weak at first, I felt, but improves every week. I can almost see where this fits into the prime universe. It's not quite there yet but it's close, for me at least. The Klingons are supposed to have this rich and diverse culture but all I see is the writing hitting one note over and over, as it were. Episode five was a bit better in this regard, because the Klingons we saw were military officers whose actions were more believable.

    I had initially planned to cancel my subscription to CBS All Access, after the first two episodes, but was offered one free month to not cancel. I took the offer.

    Setting aside the quality of the show, the All Access site needs some serious upgrading. In the last three weeks, near-constant buffering and repeated crashing of the stream has caused my total viewing time to range from 70 to 80 minutes. For a stream that should total something in the ball park of 54 to 56 minutes (show time and commercials), that's just downright unacceptable. For the record, I have high speed Internet with download speeds that average 12 to 15 megabits per second and streaming from sites such as Netflix and Youtube is never an issue.

    Overall grade for the series thus far: B-minus.
    Overall grade for the All Access service - D.
     
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  19. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    I would say it's feeling like it's hitting it's stride now with episode 5, like this is the crew. I'd like to have the big feller they said goodbye to return of their own free will though and be able to communicate. Nice to see a bit of humour that worked. I cared little about seeing that one character, hope they keep that one to a minimum.
     
  20. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I’m starting to really like it. Yes, it’s dark and doesn’t fit in with established continuity with regards to the technology shown but I’m starting to get a real Star Trek vibe with each episode. I’m also suspending that the rescued crew member is slightly swarthy and bearded for a reason.
     
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  21. Uther

    Uther Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Yup. ;)

    This was one of the best episodes of Trek in ALL of Trek, IMO. Ethical dilemmas, fisticuffs, augmented Klingons (maybe), personal sacrifices, action, adventure, intrigue, deepening characterization... it had it all. And F-bombs! And a weird Lynchian ending. Wow! I can't wait for the next episode.
     
  22. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    I can't imagine what the problem on your end is. I'm using a newly-purchased Roku, have only low to middling Internet service and my stream for CBS All Access has been problem free, but then I'm pay the upcharge for commercial-free viewing.
     
  23. Steve Martin

    Steve Martin Wild & Crazy Guy

    Location:
    Plano, TX
    So was that the first (and second) use of the f-word in official Star Trek TV/movies?
     
  24. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    So glad we're keeping score. It helps validate all of you gutter-speak types. :sigh:
     
  25. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I have not had any issues with CBS All Access, but I'm also paying for the commercial free version.

    I have started using the app to watch DS9 again because I kept losing my place in the DVD set and the picture quality on CBSAA isn't stellar, but that may be due to it not being in remastered in HD.
     

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