Wot I am watching now

[Brentbaggie]

**  Warning Mini Star Trek Rant **

I have been a fan of Star Trek since the eighties watching the Shatner Kirk TOS and filums with me Dad as it brought us together with our shared fondness for Sci-Fi and gave us opportunity to bond. Therefore, I've seen my fair amount of Star Trek in my time from TNG and DS 9 through to Discovery and Prodigy - so I feel I have a certain amount of grasp of Star Trek and it's underlying premise.

What do you think the one single thing in modern story writing that the various writers for Star Trek have thanked their bloody lucky stars for is? Yes! You've guessed absolutely right, it's the "multi-verse" methodology!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for elaborating stories, changing bits and pieces here and there using pieces from the original key story model and or plot devices to keep avid or "the hardcore" fans and viewers happy/engaged, and this now brings me to the latest in the Star Trek universe offering; Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

To put this particular show simply - it follows about 6 cadets from various alien backgrounds starting afresh at a brand new Star Trek Academy on Earth (San Fran of course) - in the 31st Century, after a cataclysmic event that wiped out pretty much everything technologically advanced to work or explode a hundred years before, in the "after the Burn" Prime Universe.

What the Star Trek writers did with creating the plot device the Burn, while using a very good Star Trek: Discovery series to deliver this shocker, and completely rip-apart all relevance of Star Trek past and future timelines, therefore writers can do whatever they want up to and after that point.

The result of this insane plot device on the main timeline is? The shitshow that is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a complete hogwash of a show where we are led by pure stupidity and indeciferable storylines, with very little entertainment or reasoning. It is akin to Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills 90210, Dawsons Creek - rammed into a Star Trek wrapper machine before being fired out at the audience with the panache of shitting dog that is not shaking. The first episode was promising, the rest - now up to episode 5 are by far some of the worst things I have ever seen on any Star Trek show. 

What's brought on this rant is the last episode, seeing "based on Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry" - at the start, whom is probably very disappointed looking down on this tripe, watching the actual shit show of an episode, and then in particular which sent me into a fit of rage - had the gall to put "Thank you Avery" at the end credits (referring to the actor of DS 9's Captain Sisko), I just shook my head in disgust.

As an aside, Rotton Tomatoes have had to envoke their "review bombing" procedure to stop general public casting their opinions / votes (currently at 46%) - certainly not on this Earth is any wonder how the critics gave it 88%, they've clearly never watched any Star Trek. IMDB however has not turned off their rating/review controls and it currently sits at 4.3/10... To put that into some sort of perspective for the uninterested or unintiated to the Sci-Fi world of things, Hyperdrive (if anyone can be bothered to remember with Nick Frost and Miranda Hart) is 6.6 on IMDB.

** Rant over, carry on **

Its so bad its actually a joke, i gave up after the 2nd episode and have actually enjoyed watching the absolute pile on from youtubers like Critical Drinker way more than the show.
The rest of the recent Trek stuff had been pushing the wokeness further and further, but this took it to a whole new level. I dont actully know who its aimed at as most Trek fans are middle aged blokes, not the 20 something's they seem to be wanting to watch it, who actually have no interest in Star Trek at all.

Did you see the youtube clip taking the piss out the Klingon cadet with the skirt / kilt on? (cor find it now as not on me phone) 

Like you, I also think they have tried to aim this at an audience that just does not exist for Star Trek - the 16 to 25 something gender neutral/fluid yoof of today are watching TikTok'ing or LiveStreaming games. Or watching something that is not Star Trek because that's what their Dad's & Moms watch.

I can't believe I've made it to episode 5....

to be fair dude, you deserve a fkin medal for that achievement! Yeah I’ve seen the Klingon skirt vids… ridiculous lol. I think it’s telling that despite being free to watch on YouTube, a streamed Star Trek action figure sat on a chair by nerdrotic had more views than the first
Episode of Academy 

In many drama writing programmes there is a term much loved by the doyen of such courses (an American named McKee) called "internal logic". This is where the narrative structure, characterisation and dialogue should, essentially, be rational and coherent so that audiences are not fazed, abused indeed, by plot devices that either come out of nowhere or characters behaving in such a manner that illogically defied and contradicted all their previous actions. What I find slightly odd about Science Fiction aficionados is their complaint that a world or future that is often engineered without substantial relationship to such of the universe as we know it, should be so exercised by the lack of rationality in a TV series that is based on a fantastical construction and lack of continuity to previous iterations.

Then again, if it's just crap that's another matter.

p.s. McKee has made millions teaching creative script writing for film whilst never ever having had a script made into a movie.

[Man from delmonte]

Small Prophets. BBC Iplayer. Really good.

Finished watched this today. I thought it was excellent.

[Bob Fossil]

Small Prophets. BBC Iplayer. Really good.

Finished watched this today. I thought it was excellent.

Same. Pearce Quigley is brilliant. Also well written by Mackenzie Crook who, almost, steels the show with his cameo character.

[col lard]

Small Prophets. BBC Iplayer. Really good.

Finished watched this today. I thought it was excellent.

Same. Pearce Quigley is brilliant. Also well written by Mackenzie Crook who, almost, steels the show with his cameo character.

Steals. Steels puts a completely different spin on the comment

[Tom Joad 25]

Small Prophets. BBC Iplayer. Really good.

Finished watched this today. I thought it was excellent.

Same. Pearce Quigley is brilliant. Also well written by Mackenzie Crook who, almost, steels the show with his cameo character.

Yes! Everyone knows a boss like that.

[Old Fart]

I am now on series 3 of the Mayor of Kingstown.

When I was doing A level English Literature I was taught that every Shakespeare play has a "comic relief" scene where the tension is broken to give the audience a break from the drama.

For example, the  mother and daughter story lines in Landman are there for that reason.

But The Mayor of Kingstown is relentless misery.  

It's great to watch,  but  on an average evening Mike goes out and escapes three assassination attempts, kills six gunmen on the way to McDonalds,  attends a funeral for a member of his family,  shoots another couple of right wing MAGA nutters, then comes home and repairs the bullet holes in the wall of his home and the local mafia guy kills a barmaid while the prison guards get rogered with their own truncheons ( called Billy Sticks) during a riot akin to the IDF trashing Gaza. His brother's wife leaves him and a young man keen to live a better life puts his head under a truck wheel rather than live in the prison.  I know how he felt. 

All of the characters talk about getting out of Kingstown but never do.  I'd have fucked off after episode 1.   The story line has now become implausible which is a shame because the production quality is very good. 

A good watch if you can suspend belief.

[MrBater]

Just watched Primate, it's as you would expect. The sort of film with a bit of gore to fill a cold, wet Thursday night in February, in.

[SausEggBaton]

Cross Season 2 on Prime now (first 3 eps)

[1952]

The RIP Netflix. Decent film, not difficult to follow

[Fido]

New season of Lincoln Lawyer.

5 episodes in. Excellent so far.

Just finished it last night. It’s one of those shows that both me and the missus enjoy and was very good again. Back to watching TVs in separate rooms again!