Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Sounds right to me. I don't get the feeling that either are essential like any doctors from previous shows. If someone actually got sick, they would be better off getting Burnham to find a cure.
Discovery has not had any medical episodes. The show has a story it tells throughout each season and there are few one off episodes that would allow for medical episodes. I suppose they could do some triage scenes with Dr. Pollard acting the sarcastic Voyager Doctor role when they do fighting. Mostly in the first season it was like no one even worked in the sickbay except Dr. Culber. Just a big empty room most of the time. I think the main thing is that the Discovery writers are not the same writers as the other series so you do not see the retread episodes from the other series like how there kept being the same episodes in tng, voyager and enterprise.
Pollard's sittin' up there in my strongest MED with Bashir and Cornwell and Culber and Pulaski like "Oh, hey there" and I'm like "Who are you and why do you belong among these greats?"
Pollard saved the lives of two seriously injured main crew members in one episode. That's pretty great to me.
Excuse me, I can't hear you over the uproarious laughter of Beverly Crusher, Julian Bashir, and the Doctor. I'll go tell them to quiet down.
Oh ok, so unless Discovery does a cliche episode where the crew is all infected by a virus that has killed many other people before the crew was infected but yet somehow only kills one crewman we have never seen before this episode and somehow Dr. Pollard cures the gravely sick main character in sickbay we are supposed to be worried about and everyone else on board you will not be happy? Or do you demand a ripoff plague episode where there is some plague that is wiping a whole population of people out and yet somehow the ship doctor can not only cure a disease that no other doctors could but also cure it in a couple days?
Yes, that's exactly what I want. This is a TV show, not real life, you understand? Quit standing around and do all that sht you just said!
In any case, if you're trying to turn this into me hating on Discovery, that's silly, because Hugh Culber is amazing.
I'll give Pollard season 3 to show me what she can do, but until then she's on probation.
What did Culber do (medically speaking) that was so amazing? I assume it was in Season 1, but I'm not really remembering.
Technically the most amazing thing he did was die, and be reborn in a quantum realm of energy, then reconstituted with his own DNA to bring him back to life in our universe. (ergo, Medically speaking).
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Exactly. They had to do something different just like every trek series does something different. TNG was more technical and exploring space anomalies, DS9 was a space station with lots of character development and a long war, Voyager was a Lost in Space tv show with the crew trying to get home, Enterprise was a prequel showing how the Federation was formed and now Discovery is a character driven show using a cool teleporting ship. In many ways Discovery is like DS9 where characters evolve and grow through season story arcs. I like Discovery but yes the captain switching does get a bit old.
It would be nice if the writers would just make Saru or Burnham the captain and stop with the captain switching, that does get old. Lorca is great then he is gone. Saru is great then Pike takes command. Pike is great then he is gone. The main character in a trek show is the captain. It seemed clear the writers wanted Burnham to be captain but take a while to get there. But we are there so would be good to get that settled. Course if they go a couple more seasons they can make Tilly captain! She is after all on the captain track and already been pretend captain.
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Exactly. They had to do something different just like every trek series does something different. TNG was more technical and exploring space anomalies, DS9 was a space station with lots of character development and a long war, Voyager was a Lost in Space tv show with the crew trying to get home, Enterprise was a prequel showing how the Federation was formed and now Discovery is a character driven show using a cool teleporting ship. In many ways Discovery is like DS9 where characters evolve and grow through season story arcs. I like Discovery but yes the captain switching does get a bit old.
It would be nice if the writers would just make Saru or Burnham the captain and stop with the captain switching, that does get old. Lorca is great then he is gone. Saru is great then Pike takes command. Pike is great then he is gone. The main character in a trek show is the captain. It seemed clear the writers wanted Burnham to be captain but take a while to get there. But we are there so would be good to get that settled. Course if they go a couple more seasons they can make Tilly captain! She is after all on the captain track and already been pretend captain.
Oddly enough, I like the captain switching. It's never been done before. But there is that element of, "this is the captain and the buck stops here." In every previous Trek, the CMO had the ability (and occasionally reminded the captain) to order the captain to take shore leave or some such manner of relaxation to prevent fatigue. Can't do that when there is no CMO. The chief engineer would have a special attachment to the ship (or station) that would supercede just about anything. Who cares about the Discovery in such a way? Stamets seemed close, but he was willing to leave. No... This crew could abandon the ship at the drop of a hat, as long as they all stay together. The only thing keeping them aboard is the show title, as far as I can tell. Yes, the point of a show is to tell good stories. But they are missing opportunities to tell the stories better, in a way that is more true to the classics.
At least from what I gathered from the trailer, it will make sense for STP to lack structure if they operate outside of Starfleet. As far as Burnham goes... I want Saru to be captain. Isn't it time for an alien captain? Burnham can have S4 and Tilly could be ready by S5. But... My guess is that some captain from the time period where they arrive will become the captain. As much as I liked Anson Mount and especially Jason Isaacs, I think many of us would appreciate someone more diverse. Again... We'll see.
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Exactly. They had to do something different just like every trek series does something different. TNG was more technical and exploring space anomalies, DS9 was a space station with lots of character development and a long war, Voyager was a Lost in Space tv show with the crew trying to get home, Enterprise was a prequel showing how the Federation was formed and now Discovery is a character driven show using a cool teleporting ship. In many ways Discovery is like DS9 where characters evolve and grow through season story arcs. I like Discovery but yes the captain switching does get a bit old.
It would be nice if the writers would just make Saru or Burnham the captain and stop with the captain switching, that does get old. Lorca is great then he is gone. Saru is great then Pike takes command. Pike is great then he is gone. The main character in a trek show is the captain. It seemed clear the writers wanted Burnham to be captain but take a while to get there. But we are there so would be good to get that settled. Course if they go a couple more seasons they can make Tilly captain! She is after all on the captain track and already been pretend captain.
The main character in a trek show is the captain.
That's exactly why they have done the switching thing. They don't want the main character to be the captain. They want to tell a story centered around someone not the captain. If they kept a single captain they would be tempted to make that character the center of the story more and more often. By switching they allow themselves to keep Burnham as the main character without making her the captain.
I really shouldn't comment on this thread since I'm not a Discovery watcher, but just a general observation...
Disco is set (ok, was set) in a time just before TOS. In TOS, Starfleet was an exploratory/peacekeeping agency within a military-style command structure. There is no reasonable reason to think Disco shouldn't have been organized similarly since they would have necessarily shared an Admiralty management structure. It's quite possible to focus the storytelling on Burnham's character as a non-captain while still maintaining the standard command organization. Disco's choice not to do so seems... unusual.
(And while I'm not a Disco watcher, I read enough about it here and elsewhere to follow along. So hopefully my infrequent forays into Disco commentary aren't too ill-informed.)
I really shouldn't comment on this thread since I'm not a Discovery watcher, but just a general observation...
Disco is set (ok, was set) in a time just before TOS. In TOS, Starfleet was an exploratory/peacekeeping agency within a military-style command structure. There is no reasonable reason to think Disco shouldn't have been organized similarly since they would have necessarily shared an Admiralty management structure. It's quite possible to focus the storytelling on Burnham's character as a non-captain while still maintaining the standard command organization. Disco's choice not to do so seems... unusual.
(And while I'm not a Disco watcher, I read enough about it here and elsewhere to follow along. So hopefully my infrequent forays into Disco commentary aren't too ill-informed.)
Informed enough for me since you generally seem to agree with my thoughts on command structure.
Also to your point: ENT had a military style command structure and so did TOS. Why would something chronologically in between the two be different?
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Sadly, the same problem here seems to be present in a lot of shows lately (Looking at you, Game of Thrones). The overall story making sense takes a back seat to "moments" and big action pieces.
They bend themselves into a knot trying to get everyone together in the scene so they can deliver their emotional punch. I think they either underestimate the viewers or they're actually right, and TV just isn't for me anymore!
For example, can ANYONE explain how they knew about 7 red bursts in the first episode of season 2 but somehow spent all season waiting for them to show up?
Well, my observation is that Culber's primary role on the show is to be a love interest for Stamets while Pollard's primary role on the show is to be the ship's doctor.
Very well put. No one {well, except for the 18th century people} has the Stalber couple. But, their main scenes revolve around that relationship. Even Stamets becoming a Tardigrade is ground work for Hugh to worry and fret and fuss over him.
Meanwhile, Pollard is there to keep people alive.
"The truth is like a lion; you don't have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself."
Is this thread still about the topic „Loken“ or has it turned into a Discovery hate/love thread again(as it happens to too many other threads as well)?
Is this thread still about the topic „Loken“ or has it turned into a Discovery hate/love thread again(as it happens to too many other threads as well)?
Ok I will get it back on track. We are Loken for who should be the captain of Discovery in Season 3. I agree it should be Saru. Burnham was a commander but did she give a single order to anyone all of season 2? Discovery's writers like to put Burnham more in the rebel category. Doing her own thing. Plus poor Doug Jones is stuck in those really uncomfortable platform shoes, if he was captain maybe he could sit down more.
Seriously, anyone, I'm begging you, explain the 7 red bursts to me. They were all there, then they were waiting for them?
I think the 7 red signals came at once but only for a small amount of time and Starfleet was unable to get a lock on the signals as the bursts all together interferred with sensors which is why the Enterprise was out of commission. But then the red signals repeated one by one and when there was only one at a time Discovery could find them because they were in the area and had better sensors attuned to the red signals.
Seriously, anyone, I'm begging you, explain the 7 red bursts to me. They were all there, then they were waiting for them?
I think the 7 red signals came at once but only for a small amount of time and Starfleet was unable to get a lock on the signals as the bursts all together interferred with sensors which is why the Enterprise was out of commission. But then the red signals repeated one by one and when there was only one at a time Discovery could find them because they were in the area and had better sensors attuned to the red signals.
My friend, I think your explanation just gave it more justice than the writers did. My personal opinion is that the plot thread was changed mid-season.
Is this thread still about the topic „Loken“ or has it turned into a Discovery hate/love thread again(as it happens to too many other threads as well)?
Please, for the love that we hold for Trek, I sincerely hope it does not. 🖖🏻
"In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it's us players who define the game." — Nicky Case, The Evolution of Trust
Seriously, anyone, I'm begging you, explain the 7 red bursts to me. They were all there, then they were waiting for them?
I think the 7 red signals came at once but only for a small amount of time and Starfleet was unable to get a lock on the signals as the bursts all together interferred with sensors which is why the Enterprise was out of commission. But then the red signals repeated one by one and when there was only one at a time Discovery could find them because they were in the area and had better sensors attuned to the red signals.
My friend, I think your explanation just gave it more justice than the writers did. My personal opinion is that the plot thread was changed mid-season.
It was confusing and not well explained but I believe they said something to that effect in the first episode of season 2. Discovery writers do need to have many more summation statements and explanations like TNG did. It would be helpful. Sometimes the crew is running around and the viewer is not only not sure why they are running around but are not sure the crew knows why they are running around either. It is tough though for writers as tv shows have changed. Back during TNG days people were fully watching shows not like today where people are only half watching the shows while web surfing and playing games like star trek timelines. So shows take on the new Hawaii 5-0 effect, less plot more action and explosions.
Comments
Sounds right to me. I don't get the feeling that either are essential like any doctors from previous shows. If someone actually got sick, they would be better off getting Burnham to find a cure.
Technically the most amazing thing he did was die, and be reborn in a quantum realm of energy, then reconstituted with his own DNA to bring him back to life in our universe. (ergo, Medically speaking).
Not trying to rag on Discovery, but this REALLY isn’t the kind of show that cares about titles like CMO. I mean are we even sure who the chief engineer is? It’s a character driven drama that plays against the backdrop of “Star Trek” nostalgia, so they’ll use whatever doctor happens to work best for the character moment in each scene. Trying to expect any more from it is asking the wrong question. And I for one kind of like it.
It just gets silly when they cram our characters into nonsense and completely “not Starfleet protocol” scenarios just to have their moments. But whatever.
Yeah, no, I want to know who the CMO and Chief Engineer are. It’s silly that we don’t know these things through two full seasons of the show...even TNG had at least a rotating cast of people throughout the first two seasons who appeared to be in charge of the engineering space. It’s okay if they want the main characters to be other people, those who fit better into the story, but I’d like to know when the senior officers are going completely around the chain of command because they’re friends with someone...having been the victim of that kind of behavior at my last job, I perhaps feel more strongly about it than most.
Let them figure out the Captain mess first! We knew this wasn’t going to be our typical Trek when they said it revolves around Burnham and then made her a criminal in the first episode.
These things would have been handled almost wordlessly in previous Trek. They had a structure, it was part of the show. Discovery is a mess in that sense. Previous Trek told stories with a rank structure. Discovery just decided to do it differently. It's completely wrong and they need to fix it, but they are still telling good stories. I seriously doubt that season 3 gets better in terms of structure. I bet STP will be the same. Bleh...
If they are still telling good stories why does it matter who the captain, chief engineer, or chief medical officer is? I thought the point of a TV show is to tell a good story. If they are telling a good story by changing the structure of the main cast, why should it matter?
Exactly. They had to do something different just like every trek series does something different. TNG was more technical and exploring space anomalies, DS9 was a space station with lots of character development and a long war, Voyager was a Lost in Space tv show with the crew trying to get home, Enterprise was a prequel showing how the Federation was formed and now Discovery is a character driven show using a cool teleporting ship. In many ways Discovery is like DS9 where characters evolve and grow through season story arcs. I like Discovery but yes the captain switching does get a bit old.
Oddly enough, I like the captain switching. It's never been done before. But there is that element of, "this is the captain and the buck stops here." In every previous Trek, the CMO had the ability (and occasionally reminded the captain) to order the captain to take shore leave or some such manner of relaxation to prevent fatigue. Can't do that when there is no CMO. The chief engineer would have a special attachment to the ship (or station) that would supercede just about anything. Who cares about the Discovery in such a way? Stamets seemed close, but he was willing to leave. No... This crew could abandon the ship at the drop of a hat, as long as they all stay together. The only thing keeping them aboard is the show title, as far as I can tell. Yes, the point of a show is to tell good stories. But they are missing opportunities to tell the stories better, in a way that is more true to the classics.
That's exactly why they have done the switching thing. They don't want the main character to be the captain. They want to tell a story centered around someone not the captain. If they kept a single captain they would be tempted to make that character the center of the story more and more often. By switching they allow themselves to keep Burnham as the main character without making her the captain.
Pollard , she's kinda main cast , and she's likely to be more featured crew esp when STD starts again...
Disco is set (ok, was set) in a time just before TOS. In TOS, Starfleet was an exploratory/peacekeeping agency within a military-style command structure. There is no reasonable reason to think Disco shouldn't have been organized similarly since they would have necessarily shared an Admiralty management structure. It's quite possible to focus the storytelling on Burnham's character as a non-captain while still maintaining the standard command organization. Disco's choice not to do so seems... unusual.
(And while I'm not a Disco watcher, I read enough about it here and elsewhere to follow along. So hopefully my infrequent forays into Disco commentary aren't too ill-informed.)
Informed enough for me since you generally seem to agree with my thoughts on command structure.
Also to your point: ENT had a military style command structure and so did TOS. Why would something chronologically in between the two be different?
Sadly, the same problem here seems to be present in a lot of shows lately (Looking at you, Game of Thrones). The overall story making sense takes a back seat to "moments" and big action pieces.
They bend themselves into a knot trying to get everyone together in the scene so they can deliver their emotional punch. I think they either underestimate the viewers or they're actually right, and TV just isn't for me anymore!
For example, can ANYONE explain how they knew about 7 red bursts in the first episode of season 2 but somehow spent all season waiting for them to show up?
All kidding aside, I’m for Saru, though I admit my man crush on Pike.
Very well put. No one {well, except for the 18th century people} has the Stalber couple. But, their main scenes revolve around that relationship. Even Stamets becoming a Tardigrade is ground work for Hugh to worry and fret and fuss over him.
Meanwhile, Pollard is there to keep people alive.
Ok I will get it back on track. We are Loken for who should be the captain of Discovery in Season 3. I agree it should be Saru. Burnham was a commander but did she give a single order to anyone all of season 2? Discovery's writers like to put Burnham more in the rebel category. Doing her own thing. Plus poor Doug Jones is stuck in those really uncomfortable platform shoes, if he was captain maybe he could sit down more.
I think the 7 red signals came at once but only for a small amount of time and Starfleet was unable to get a lock on the signals as the bursts all together interferred with sensors which is why the Enterprise was out of commission. But then the red signals repeated one by one and when there was only one at a time Discovery could find them because they were in the area and had better sensors attuned to the red signals.
My friend, I think your explanation just gave it more justice than the writers did. My personal opinion is that the plot thread was changed mid-season.
Please, for the love that we hold for Trek, I sincerely hope it does not. 🖖🏻
It was confusing and not well explained but I believe they said something to that effect in the first episode of season 2. Discovery writers do need to have many more summation statements and explanations like TNG did. It would be helpful. Sometimes the crew is running around and the viewer is not only not sure why they are running around but are not sure the crew knows why they are running around either. It is tough though for writers as tv shows have changed. Back during TNG days people were fully watching shows not like today where people are only half watching the shows while web surfing and playing games like star trek timelines. So shows take on the new Hawaii 5-0 effect, less plot more action and explosions.
So THAT"S where they went!!!