ValueSubtracted

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[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

TBH this piece didn't resonate with me at the time, but I have to admit it's just about perfect, thematically.

I'm not a huge fan of the opening theme, but c'est la vie.

I didn't realize this was an original recording for the show.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 12 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

I've been digging a little deeper, and in "Ménage à Troi", Deanna tells Lwaxana that it's "impolite not to speak aloud" when amongst non-telepaths. It's very possible that the president is simply deaf, and they were using sign language to maintain those manners.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 5 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

There definitely seems to be a spectrum - on one end, there's Lon Suder, who says he can't read much of anything, and on the other, there's Tam Elbrun, whose abilities were completely out of control.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 6 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Weird admin question here - did you do something on your end to somehow switch this post to a different community?

I'm seeing this show up as a c/startrek post with the c/daystrominstitute sidebar, which is....a new one.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 6 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

The episode definitely doesn't work as well if the Betazoids can simply read everyone's minds and know their true intentions.

Which is sort of the whole problem with telepaths.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 12 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I think it's complicated by the fact that Deanna Troi is the Betazoid "prototype," but as you noted, she was presented as somehow "weaker" than other Betazoids due to her half-human physiology. And even then, she was capable of full telepathic communication with Riker.

But after that, we had stuff like Lon Suder in "Meld," saying things like, "Most Betazoids can sense other people's emotions," without mentioning telepathy at all. Even Memory Alpha seems to have resorted to using the term "telepathy/empathy" here and there - it all seems rather messy.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I really hope they get into this at some point, but my assumption is that the main limitation of programmable matter is that you have to, y'know, program it first, which takes time.

Also, I had no idea that programmable matter is an actual theoretical thing that scientist have been trying to crack for a few decades now!

In the case of the tricorder...I wonder if that's the Doctor being old-fashioned, since we've also seen that tricom badges have tricorders built into them.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I guess as a response to the youth movement that was pressuring him to negotiate. This sort of thing is unfortunately common IRL.

There are arguably spoilers in the track titles, so browse at your own risk.

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Genesis is an interesting version of charming because at first glance she starts out as a “mean girl” but then you realize that she’s parodying it hard.

From the trailers, I had assumed that Genesis would be the stuck-up mean girl, and Darem would be the friendly tryhard. Turns out the reality is the exact opposite.

Edit: Also, there's no need for spoiler tags in these discussion threads!

[–] ValueSubtracted@startrek.website 9 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I think their initial demands were ludicrous because the president had no real intention of rejoining the Federation - it was all theatre.

 

At the time, she announced she was stepping down from cabinet and would not run as an MP in the next federal election, whenever that may occur.

A few months later, she was named the incoming CEO of the Rhodes Trust, an Oxford, England-based educational charity. Freeland's office confirmed she would move to the United Kingdom for the gig, which starts July 1.

She still represents the Toronto riding of University—Rosedale and has not formally announced any plan to resign as a member of Parliament.

 

TrekMovie has a brief writeup on the feature in the latest issue of SFX but I thought I'd check it out for myself (support your local library!) to see what else might be in there.

Honestly...it's not much, probably because quite a bit of info has already been released. But here are what I think are the highlights:


Alex Kurtzman on what makes the show unique:

"I think the thing that we felt most inspired by is the fact that on every other Trek show, your crew already knows who they are. They've been through the Academy, they've made their decision about where they want their careers to go, and they can't make a ton of mistakes. But these cadets are still figuring it out, and like all students in college, you go through a remarkable journey of self-discovery over the course of those four years. Oftentimes what you enter into college thinking you want to do, and what you leave college realizing you want to do, are two very different things."

Holly Hunter on the same topic:

"There's a safety net built into being a student. It's a place where failure is not necessarily discouraged."

Kurtzman on the setting:

"The new show synchronizes with the first two years of Starfleet returning to its full form. The safest way to look at it is it's like when Discovery ends, we begin - but there's kind of a two-year overlap."

(I found this somewhat confusing, but I suppose it could be explained away with flashbacks. Or maybe the first season really does run concurrently with Disco's fourth season?)

"Star Trek has always been a mirror that reflects the moment in which each series is made. The Federation is actually trying to return to its roots and embrace its core tenets, but the moment we're meeting right now is a world of kids who are inheriting a lot of damage and a lot of chaos, and it's up to them to figure out how they're going to make a brighter future out of it. So it felt to us that if you were to put Starfleet Academy in the halcyon days of the Federation, it would be a lovely fantasy, but it wouldn't really affect what kids are going through now. It felt very topical and relevant to put it in the 32nd century."

Noga Landau on the cadets:

"Because of the Burn, they didn't grow up during a time of abundance, of peace, of stability. Intead it was a time of desperation for a lot of people, so we have characters who grew up in refugee camps, or who grew up on Starfleet ships but have never set foot on a planet. We also have a character who basically grew up as a prince on a planet that had a rare supply of dilithium. They reflect the array of global experiences of young folks, in a way that I think is really important for the audience."

Kurtzman on the possibility of Discovery characters (besides Tilly and Reno) popping up:

"I love our Discovery actors so much, but when you bring a beloved character back, there has to be a specific reason in the storytelling. It can't just be fan service."

Holly Hunter on Chancellor/Captain Nahla Ake:

"I think there is an approachable aspect to being a woman leader in this world. People might be more willing to reveal [themselves]. Nahla has lived long enough to understand that an emotional life doesn't have to be sequestered entirely from leadership. The combination of both roles encourages the cadets to view Nahla as a whole person, rather than only an arm of the Federation.

The article notes that Nahla tends to walk around the Academy barefoot, and can be seen curling up in the captain's chair "like an authoritative cat."

Kurtzman on Nahla:

"I guess I have to take responsibility for the lack of shoes! For some reason, I just thought it was hilarious that the chancellor would walk around the academy without shoes on - she's almost like a space hippy. We also talked a lot about how the way a captain sits in the chair carries an enormous weight for fans. When the chips are down, when there's dire stakes, she's like any other captain would be. But when she's just floating through space, why shouldn't she curl up in the chair and read a book?"

Kurtzman on the 60th anniversary of Trek this year:

"There's quite a few exciting things in the works right now, but I'm not going to say more than that!"

Kerrice Brooks on SAM:

"All her knowledge comes to her in a second and that is something she is very proud of. But she wants to fit in. I don't think she dumbs herself down, but I do think she learns about the balance of what can be seen as "showing off" and finding her tribe who will accept her for who she is.

Karim Diané on medical cadet Jay-Den Kraag:

"I feel like this may be the first time that we're seeing on screen a Klingon who is this different. But from what I understand, the Klingons - like any community - don't just have warriors. Healers have always been there.

"I'd never done anything like [prosthetics] before and you really don't know what it will be like until you sit down for five, six hours transforming. It's tough to do on a daily basis, and I talked to Michael Dorn and Doug Jones because I was seeking help from anyone who had the experience of this. But it was also the most rewarding experience, because the result is this really awesome-looking character.

There's also a photo of Jay-Den looking rather smashing in a skant variant of the Academy uniform.

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