hallettj

Oh is that where all the memes went? My instance isn’t federated with lemmy.world so it just looked like the star trek energy vanished.

While I’m here… I finally finished season 4 of Discovery. That show has been getting much stronger as it goes on IMO. I especially enjoyed the last ~3 episodes! I also like the take on the “villains” of the late season (the two humanoid ones). It’s a refreshing departure from unsympathetic, plain evil antagonists.

This is basically the plot of Loki

Hmm, good point. But it was Ursula Le Guin who coined the word. Maybe there’s a workable reference in Left Hand of Darkness, or The Dispossessed.

I think Picard was willing to sacrifice himself to save the kids. He’s an officer who signed up for a risky job - they are not, and also they’re kids. I think he thought that going with them would slow things down enough to add unacceptable risk for the kids. And they did end up spending a bunch of time cobbling together an apparatus to move Picard during which the lift could have fallen.

When the kids refused to go maybe that changed Picard’s calculation: the advantage of going without him diminishes if they use up time arguing. Or maybe it’s TV writing.

But maybe Picard wasn’t certain that the lift would fall. Or maybe if he’d stayed he would have managed to pull out a Picard move to save himself at the last second - you know, the kind that’s easier to do when there aren’t kids watching. Or maybe, as far as he knew someone might rescue him in time. But yeah, he probably would have died, and the kids’ mutiny was the only out that let him save himself while also trying to be noble.

when relays are blown
when power reserves fail
when life support is gone
gravity plating’s pull is relentless
it will carry on

I also have mixed feelings about Discovery, but for different reasons. I love the characters and character writing. I disagree that the rest of the crew doesn’t get any development - but a lot of that does come in later seasons. My complaints are about the plots. I think season 1 was the most problematic in that respect with progressive improvements over the next two seasons. (I haven’t seen season 4 yet.)

• Overly ambitious arcs, and over-the-top stakes make the story feel unbelievable
• Discovery being the only crew able to address several civilization-threatening crises makes the universe feel small
• Leaning on action and artificial tension (like, the ship will explode in 3 minutes) is a cheap way to seek engagement that deprives us of time seeing the characters drive the story

We don’t need constant threats of annihilation in the story to be engaged! The most compelling Trek writing has had much lower stakes. When we have had high stakes, like in The Best of Both Worlds and The Dominion War, the writers managed to make us feel like we were seeing a pivotal part of a much larger conflict. They took the time to build up to the big tension, and took the time to play out satisfying resolutions. And they didn’t make it the entire show.

But things got gradually better,

I love Michael, and I enjoy watching her be great at everything. But she can be part of a larger society of amazing people, and still be amazing herself.

In season 3 things slowed down enough, and they spent enough time letting more of the cast develop and drive the story that I felt like I could enjoy the story without gritting my teeth.

I don’t disagree with you about mirror-Georgiou’s participation being unbelievable. The thing where everybody loves Michael to the degree where it becomes their primary motivation is too Mary Sue-like. Again I think that’s at its worst in season 1. OTOH having Michelle Yeoh on the show is a lot of fun so I’m inclined to forgive the stretch in that character arc.

I thought the changeling that shared Odo’s look chose it to make Odo feel like he belonged. And her disdain for solids might have made her not want to look too much like them.

The only other changelings I remember from DS9 were,

Somehow I’m very familiar with the first line, but none of the other lyrics. TIL!

Well now the tense standoffs in TNG will forever be undercut by giggling

One of my favorites is from Sisko, but I guess this one is more of a soliloquy than a dialogue,

The trouble is Earth! On Earth, there is no poverty, no crime, no war. You look out the window of Starfleet Headquarters and you see paradise. Well it’s easy to be a saint in paradise, but the Maquis do not live in paradise! Out there, in the Demilitarized Zone, all the problems haven’t been solved yet! Out there, there are no saints! Just people! Angry, scared, determined people, who are going to do whatever it takes to survive, whether it meets with Federation approval or not!

It’s Mao Zedong. He said, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” He also led China to mass starvation and terrible poverty, so not someone Picard would subscribe to.

It’s because new phones are too big! I’m planning to take my reasonably-sized phone to the grave!

It did have the drumming for me

Deep Space 9 is a different animal. It’s fantastic if you like a political drama. There is less space adventure than the other series.

give me something

Give Me Something to Sing About - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Huh, I hadn’t heard about any of this. I guess that’s because I use Google Voice, and none of the features going into the Messages app have made it over to the Voice app.

I have a hard time getting over the thing where the story introduces some amazing new capability, and it’s never explored further. In this one it’s, “we found a way to get home instantly, but we’d have to do a thing in sick bay to reverse the side-effects.” A similar case is the episode with the planet of friendly hedonists with long range transporters that it turns out they can’t use because “the power systems are incompatible”.

I’m sure if I weren’t so uptight I’d enjoy these episodes more.

This leads me to another thought: are station residents charged for using the replicators in their quarters? I imagine the replimat charging like other station businesses; so what about private replicators? Or maybe I’m wrong, and the replimat is a free public service?

I’m guessing replicator use would be free under Federation jurisdiction the same way Quark isn’t charged rent. But on the other hand, it’s a Bajoran station - Starfleet only administers it. Now I’m wondering what kind of negotiating went on to get the struggling provisional government to pass up revenue from DS9 rental spaces.

Another time money comes up is the episode, In the Cards, where Jake wants to buy a Willie Mays baseball card to cheer up his dad. He talks Nog into paying for it because as a Federation citizen Jake doesn’t have any money.

I found some of the dialogue on Memory Alpha:

It’s my money, Jake! If you want to bid at the auction, use your own money.

I’m Human, I don’t have any money.

It’s not my fault that your species decided to abandon currency-based economics in favor of some philosophy of self-enhancement.

Hey, watch it. There’s nothing wrong with our philosophy. We work to better ourselves and the rest of Humanity.

What does that mean exactly?

It means… it means we don’t need money!

Well, if you don’t need money, then you certainly don’t need mine!

I also imagine Starfleet officers in a non-Federation posting getting stipends. Or maybe Quark and other business owners bill the Federation for whatever Federation citizens buy? And maybe that arrangement doesn’t extend to the auction with the baseball card?

There are references to Jake buying from some of the station’s businesses. I think I remember him buying jom-jom sticks, and dining at the Klingon restaurant. (Did Jake ever use a holosuite on his own?) I’m thinking either Jake has some sort of allowance or stipend, and is exaggerating when he says he “doesn’t have money”, or those businesses make special arrangements for Federation citizens.

What frustrates me most about “new Trek” is that the characters don’t drive the story. Instead they have constant action, artificial tension, and over-the-top stakes. I love the characters on Discovery, but they’re not allowed to exist as themselves. OTOH SNW is primarily character-driven, as good Trek always has been.