Messages

Banned for killing the thread

My review (some vague spoilers):

Monday the 25th of September was the most excruciatingly long day as I waited for my best friend, his flat mate and his girlfriend to finish up their day to day tasks so that at last, after spending the last decade catching up on all Trek there is to Trek... I could watch something new.

Annnnd, hoo-boy is it new.

Star Trek, the show commonly mocked for 'funny foreheads (as my grandma used to say) and starting the (now almost) universal trope of bizarre creatures all speaking English it back, it's back, it's sleek, it's shiny and more important than that. Everything about it is solid and universally consistent.

Did the fact that the Klingons spoke Klingon in all of their solo scenes result in frustration at times, boredom at others? Perhaps. But retrospectively I absolutely loved it. This is a Trek that's not afraid to break the franchises rules to create a deeper, richer viewing experience.

Our first taste of Michael Burnham puts her on the precipice of getting her own command; that is until shes confronted with her fears of the past. Has this been done before in Trek? Sure. Worfs parents were killed, Trips sister was killed.etc giving rise to a racial hatred that the characters confront over the series. It also gave a fascinating insight into Vulcan logic because, of course it logically makes sense to attack an aggressive species that typically doesn't negotiate first. It's fascinating to view things through the Vulcan perspective and consider that ironically, they are likely the cause of a lot of the tension in the Alpha Quadrant. Wars with the Andorians in Enterprise, the obvious disenfranchising of the Romulans and now we discover they fire on sight at Klingons. Peace in our time it would seem is not logical.

I had great fun trying to spot the individual references to previous shows, my favourite subtle one was the triangular chair in Burnhams quarters. Little touches that just show that this is the universe we know and love.

The cinematography was extremely reminiscent of the JJ films, but this pilot is designed to draw those Trek fans in. They know we'll put up with it and from what I hear (and see in the season trailer) the dutch angles and lens flares calm down quite a bit post-pilot.

All in all, even after mining the salt from the Reddit Trek sub for the past few days I still absolutely love this show already. I can't wait to explore the dynamic of Burnham post-pilot.

Bob Taylor will return.

I'll be there.

Well a certain long running character will certainly be making a return

Character Name: Robert Lawson
Character Race: Human
Most Desired Position: COU
Second Most Desired Position:
Third Most Desired Position:
Model: Spider
Comments:

Better safe than sorry!

Fair enough, I just wanted to add my two cents. Makes a lot more sense now when you put it down to a failure of intention rather than actual technology.

Not sure if this is the right place to offer some feedback or strike a debate, but I must point out a  flaw in the 'Worse with Kinect' article.

Grizz, you write 'The Kinect is horrible tech which more often than not doesn't work properly - that's providing you have a suitable room in which to use it in. At least Playstation Move has some decency to it and is generally put to good use. Whereas the Kinect is serving as a huge gimmick'.

Yes, the Kinect is a huge gimmick and everybody knows it, but horrible tech? The Kinect is a seriously advanced piece of technology. I believe I remember reading somewhere that they were considering using it to pilot spacecraft, among other things:
http://www.1up.com/news/ten-best-uninte ... for-kinect

It's all about having the right conditions for use, from the sounds of things you haven't been using the Kinect in the right environment (sounds cramped), what your article is saying is like saying:
'Oh my computer is crap because it overheated, I'm in the desert, but that shouldn't effect it. It should be able to function anywhere'

Okay, bad example. But you get the gist.

The Kinect has it's flaws. But it's biggest one is the fact that Microsoft is marketing it as a kids toy.

In the Minecraft article

"In the end, Minecraft may seem like a little high priced for the graphics you get, but the excitement
and creativity it brings is well worth the money and more"

annoys me no end.

This implies that Minecraft intended to have good graphics.

It didn't, that's why it's been such a success and that's it's addictive charm, you don't spend money on Minecraft, get on it and think 'Boy, these graphics suck. I sure regret spending the money on this'. That's like buying 'Sins Of A Solar Empire' for it's first person shooting mechanics.