[+] Star Trek Discovery (Fan) Thread

[Older Beholder]

I just came across a thread that some of the cast of Discovery have started playing D&D.
I thought people might find it interesting:
Link is Here

 

[Umbran]

There’s no post-20th century culture in Star Trek. Culture stopped for 300 years. So all they watch and listen to is 20th century stuff.

"Do you listen to Gorcoloc Bithumen? Aren't they just the thok?"

In fiction, reference to cultural touchstones are there to communicate to the audience. References to culture that the audience does not know serves no useful purpose.

 

[ART!]

Maybe we need more oblique references to future culture, like (IIRC) references to Klingon opera (I think we heard examples eventually) and (again, IIRC) Vulcan poetry: Andorian dance-hall music, Romulan sonnets, Ferengi stand-up comedy. A little creativity - without necessarily showing examples of the future culture mentioned - can go a long way. I bet there's a Star Fleet Academy musical theater tradition.

 

[Umbran]

They are leaning heavily into the Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda thing. The sentient ship? Yep, that's from there - the ship is one of the main characters of the other series.

"Hey, maybe we can do Andromeda without the baggage of that Sorbo guy?"

And a bit of a theme of "handling trauma" this season.

 

[MarkB]

They are leaning heavily into the Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda thing. The sentient ship? Yep, that's from there - the ship is one of the main characters of the other series.

As a concept it's kind-of overdue in Star Trek. Even in the TNG era ship's computers are powerful enough that they can spin off fully-sentient human-like personae as part of their subroutines, whether on the holodeck or as an over-achieving emergency medical assistant. That the ships themselves don't display similar levels of personality and independent thought is more a matter of design intent than capability.

 

[Umbran]

As a concept it's kind-of overdue in Star Trek. Even in the TNG era ship's computers are powerful enough that they can spin off fully-sentient human-like personae as part of their subroutines, whether on the holodeck or as an over-achieving emergency medical assistant. That the ships themselves don't display similar levels of personality and independent thought is more a matter of design intent than capability.

Um... for one thing, Discovery is a Pre-Kirk era ship.

For another, they just came from encounters with some of the first AI developed by Section 31... and it did not go well. Control was heck-bent on destroying all biological life in the galaxy, iirc.

So, doesn't it seem like maybe, just maybe, the Federation would have made some guidelines against that sort of thing in their ships for.. a good long while, at least?

 

[MarkB]

Um... for one thing, Discovery is a Pre-Kirk era ship.

For another, they just came from encounters with some of the first AI developed by Section 31... and it did not go well. Control was heck-bent on destroying all biological life in the galaxy, iirc.

So, doesn't it seem like maybe, just maybe, the Federation would have made some guidelines against that sort of thing in their ships for.. a good long while, at least?

And then there was the whole M-5 catastrophe in Kirk's era, when Daystrom attempted to demonstrate his new brainchild.

Like I said, design intent. Just pointing out that there's no particular technological limitation preventing it from having become a reality before now.

 

[Umbran]

Like I said, design intent. Just pointing out that there's no particular technological limitation preventing it from having become a reality before now.

Well, except that "now" for you the viewer, and "now" for the ship Discovery are not the same.

If the original Enterprise didn't have such systems, there's no reason for Discovery should have them. It would be anachronistically early for Discovery to have them, she's not "overdue" them.

 

[MarkB]

Well, except that "now" for you the viewer, and "now" for the ship Discovery are not the same.

If the original Enterprise didn't have such systems, there's no reason for Discovery should have them. It would be anachronistically early for Discovery to have them, she's not "overdue" them.

Which isn't what I said. I said it's a concept that's overdue to show up in Star Trek.

 

[Umbran]

I'm not finding the tactic of making emotional moments out of parting with characters we hardly know to be terribly compelling.