Star Trek: Discovery

:

Season 1
Season #: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
4.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1324 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 527 out of 1324
  2. Mixed: 158 out of 1324
  3. Negative: 639 out of 1324
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  1. Awaken
    Sep 28, 2017
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unnecessary urgency - timers, countdowns, flashing warnings. Unrealistically frilly, convoluted, overcomplicated klingon customs, design and architecture. Heroes and zeroes - a single character that matters, everyone else is fluff. Everyone on the fed side being a 2017 human in values and outlook. No evolution of humanity. Plot plagiarism. Even more plot plagiarism. Dialogue plagiarism. Lack of plot. Obvious tropes. Convenient lack of autopilot for dramatic effect. More obvious tropes. Being unable to transport without lifesigns 2 minutes after transporting a bomb just fine. Too much CGI eye candying. Unnecessary conflict between colleagues. Too much unjustified tension. One dimensional characters. Not enough moral ambiguity. Shared assumptions of right and wrong. Everyone on "our side" being okay with mining corpses. Only decent moral examination taking place with a computer. Too much stating of the obvious. Uncomfortable subtle likening of Klingons to idealogically driven terrorists facing off against the USA / Federation. Zealous enemies saving laser bullets to allow cinematic convenience. Serious light bulb shortage in 23rd century court. The physics of a space ship, no matter how pointy it is, cutting slowly through another space ship instead of pushing it away.… Expand
  2. soulassssns
    Sep 24, 2017
    0
    Pros:
    Visuals look great
    Intro is fantastic Cons: Visuals: I know I placed them in the Pro category but I am listing them here as well since they seem to be highly influenced by the JJ-Verse films. Tech: Way to advanced looking for a show that takes place 10 years prior to TOS. Klingon's: New look is horrible. Klingon's: Sound like they have cotton in their mouths Writing is sub    Pros:
    Visuals look great
    Intro is fantastic

    Cons:
    Visuals: I know I placed them in the Pro category but I am listing them here as well since they seem to be highly influenced by the JJ-Verse films.
    Tech: Way to advanced looking for a show that takes place 10 years prior to TOS.
    Klingon's: New look is horrible.
    Klingon's: Sound like they have cotton in their mouths
    Writing is sub par as if it was written as fan-fiction. It is very obvious that liberals are writing the scripts by some of the discussions between the 1st officer,Capt and the Admiral as well as the dialogue of the Klingon leader.
    Character back stories: Sarek having a human (adopted?) daughter, that somehow was never mentioned in any other Star Trek show or film that the character was in?

    Why does a female human that was raised by Vulcans magically get a 1st officer commission on a Star-fleet ship? Why did she not go to Star-fleet academy?    … Expand
  3. andreadavided
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    first of all it's all wrong, the klingons the uniforms the timeline it's all wrong. Secondly the main role and secondary role (95% of all action) is held by two women who seem out of place in a hard sci fi tv show. Basically it went the gender inclusion route and messed up. Skip.
  4. Shermos
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    Surprise, Surprise. The critics are wrong again. This is not Star Trek.

    Terrible writing, unlikable characters, mediocre special effects, with only the barest resemblance to pre 2009 ST, yet it's supposed to be in the prime timeline! Wtf is with the Klingons?

    Don't waste your money.
  5. Voodoo123
    Sep 28, 2017
    1
    +Visual flair puts this shows aesthetic in line with 2009 JJ abrams film
    +Great cast
    +Interesting period for star trek lore -No longer a show about an advanced yet peaceful culture of unified civilizations -OTT lens flare/camera tilts/camera pans way too much movement for my taste -Starfleet crew noticeably relish in the death of their perceived 'enemy' -OTT klingon prosthetic makeup    +Visual flair puts this shows aesthetic in line with 2009 JJ abrams film
    +Great cast
    +Interesting period for star trek lore
    -No longer a show about an advanced yet peaceful culture of unified civilizations
    -OTT lens flare/camera tilts/camera pans way too much movement for my taste
    -Starfleet crew noticeably relish in the death of their perceived 'enemy'
    -OTT klingon prosthetic makeup impairs the actors ability to emote or even speak clearly
    -Story flavors mindless action over philosophical / ethical debate

    I really wanted this to work out but my heart sank when apparently someone at CBS thought 'lets do it JJ stylee'. I'm not sure any of this is fixable but what we have here feels like a massively lost opportunity...

    A first officer who vulcan nerve pinches her commanding officer to ATTACK a vessel who is supposedly brought up in a vulcan culture??? Did the producers ever watch an episode of star trek before making this show???

    I will keep watching in the hope something gets better but so far these 2 episodes are star trek sacrilege. (if this was anything other than star trek would've given 4/10 hence the 1/10)    … Expand
  6. KnightMarshal
    Sep 29, 2017
    1
    This is the first time I've felt the need to write a review. Huge Star Trek fan all of my short life (22). In terms of CGI 10/10. However, CGI does not make a series good. Character development is god awful. Star Trek was good because it developed multiple characters. This can't even develop 'the main' character properly. (Why is there even a main character?!) Most importantly, to theThis is the first time I've felt the need to write a review. Huge Star Trek fan all of my short life (22). In terms of CGI 10/10. However, CGI does not make a series good. Character development is god awful. Star Trek was good because it developed multiple characters. This can't even develop 'the main' character properly. (Why is there even a main character?!) Most importantly, to the developers, Thanks for **** on my favorite franchise you SJW cucks. Star Trek has always been progressive, but this is insanity. You all need to be fired, out of a torpedo bay preferably. End of rage rant.… Expand
  7. ggf51724
    Sep 24, 2017
    0
    Lets see...
    -purple hairless lizard klingons
    -prequel
    -one chillion gender ****
    -non captain protagonist
    -ugly ship
    -**** on the lore
    -midle finger to all the fans who dare to complain
    yep, dont like it
  8. Ashenkhar
    Sep 24, 2017
    0
    Complete garbage.

    Ignore the clowns giving this anything above a zero. This is not Star Trek, and is a disgrace to Gene Roddenberry's legacy. STD is an apt acronym for this. You should avoid it like the plague. Boring, and heavily commercial-laden turd. I watched the first episode, and couldn't stomach finishing the two-part premier by watching the second. Why was the captain    Complete garbage.

    Ignore the clowns giving this anything above a zero. This is not Star Trek, and is a disgrace to Gene Roddenberry's legacy. STD is an apt acronym for this. You should avoid it like the plague. Boring, and heavily commercial-laden turd.

    I watched the first episode, and couldn't stomach finishing the two-part premier by watching the second. Why was the captain even there? She served no purpose, other than as a set piece for her first officer to steamroll whenever she felt like it.

    There was so much suspension of disbelief required that I couldn't make myself do it. Footsteps in the sand... really? Really!?

    The user reviews of true fans speak for themselves. It is obvious that CBS is using this as a marketing ploy to lure people in to CBS All Access. There is zero merit to this show. With so much good content on Netflix and HBO, why bother with second-rate tripe such as this?

    I can't believe I wasted time watching this. Do yourself a favor, and trust the reviews steering you away from this.    … Expand
  9. 1738Creations
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is below zero stars, it's zero kelvin. No. Temperature scales, not that ridiculous ship.

    The torturous opening pretty much sets the tone for the first episode. Likely the rest of the series. Captain exposition is on a planet explaining everything to us as though we're 5 year olds... "I'm the captain"... "I'm your first officer", "We've served together for 7 years"... "I'm the captain and think you should get a promotion"... "If I were on this planet I'd blend in because I'm a xeno-anthropologist". That's scarily similar to the actual dialogue. No joke.

    Terrible writing throughout. Star Trek is legendary for it's technobabble (in a good way). This is just babble. "Point 7 second field burst at level settings 13 point 5". However you're reading that, it's better than the actress that delivered it. I was offended.

    Then we find the girls have been walking in a 'circle', still on this damn planet. No, they draw out the Starfleet insignia with their footprints in the sand so the ship could spot them. That's right, the ships sensors couldn't penetrate some interference but their cameras could somehow see under the storm clouds. We're not idiots.

    ...well, aside from those that up-rate this garbage. Not including all the studios fake accounts.

    I'm glad all the girls in the series are fugly as hell. This way I'm not offended that they aren't wearing skirts short enough to see their underwear. Even the lovingly innocent Terry Farrell managed it in DS9. They aren't Enterprise uniforms, they aren't the original series. They were probably left over from some rubbish like Defiance. Wouldn't know.

    Actors? Terrible. Every single one of them. Maybe not the doctor but he hasn't much screen presence. You know why Asians don't get cast in lead roles more? Michelle Yeoh. I've seen more realistic acting from puppets in Team America. She arches in the captain's chair as though she has severe piles and her arms are taped to it. Surely they'd have given her a cushion or something? When she's given the acting stick and tries to interact with another human, she just stares with a paralyzed lifeless glare. It's even more laughable when she's trying to interact with a CG character. Has anyone explained to her how a green screen works?

    The black girl? Can't even remember their character names, that's how little impact they had on viewers. Just as bad. Has a bit more of a spring in her step, but zero acting ability. Delivered lines like she was on an episode of Dawson's Creek (watch it, loved that show). On such a high profile series you'd have envisioned high profile actors. Any actors would have been nice. Maybe another dog like in Enterprise. Everyone is a dog, that would be more believable.

    There was a science officer who didn't seem to be able to do his job? I can believe that would happen with so few candidates to chose from over a hundred worlds. There's simply no thought or intelligence gone in to the series, beyond making money for another film no one wants.

    I can't remember a crew who I've instantly hoped would all die from the offset. Not even The Orville and I wish Seth McFartlane (bum reference) the worst misery imaginable. Adrianne Palicki saves everything. Texas forever.

    The effects? They're very good for a TV show. Which is what the whole series is based around; style over substance. An actor falling against a 'metal bulkhead' and seeing the whole set wobble is what makes sci-fi. It's serious, stupid, believable, ridiculous and always fun. This is stupid, but in a serious way.

    The ship? Had a name? Something Chinese-ey? I don't know. It looked like a ship. Given the era you can't expect anything fancy, just a Constitution or Miranda. Looked a bit rubbish to be fair. Some background model left over from the latest film?

    Finally... the Klingons. As you have already heard, are missing. Replaced with Rhinopians from planet Rhinos 7. Apparently one of the producers gets $1,000 every time a subtitle appears onscreen. So no more looking away for a split second, you have to read every damn word they speak. Or learn Klingon. Well it saves on hiring talented actors when they don't have to read lines with any inflection! Should have subtitled Michelle Yeoh.

    Like whoever commissioned this nonsense, I have no idea what's going on. I hope there's no afterlife so Gene Roddenberry won't be in some torturous hell having to sit through this on repeat.

    For the record. I survived until 5 minutes before the end of episode 1. Apparently it gets worse.

    Just because it's new, doesn't make it good. When you realise the milk in the fridge went off 3 week ago, do you still drink it? Or do you get off your arse and find something better? Just watch a series you've seen before or try something completely different. You may like it. Don't watch this junk because they play the theme music and put up 'Star Trek' titles.

    This is as much Star Trek as those Nike trainers you ordered from China off eBay.    … Expand
  10. drmagnumwolf
    Sep 27, 2017
    0
    This is not Star Trek, if you want Star Trek, watch The Orville. There are numerous continuity errors, prime directive violations, technological misplacement, and it focus on one character instead of the entire crew.
  11. lilkillpappy
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    They want me to subscribe to yet another service to watch this. Not going to happen Worst marketing idea in history. This show is going to bomb because of these greedy practices, and just so you all know, even after the additional cost there ares still commercials on CBS all access. This is so disgusting I want to vomit.
  12. ThemBakerBoys
    Sep 25, 2017
    1
    This dialogue is horrible! I have taken creative writing classes where the teacher would have roasted us for writing this bad. What a shame. Good cast and fairly good visuals wasted on a show where I want to mute the volume. There are also problems with the pacing and energy. They go to such great lengths to build up some little bit of momentum and then lose it when they cut to theThis dialogue is horrible! I have taken creative writing classes where the teacher would have roasted us for writing this bad. What a shame. Good cast and fairly good visuals wasted on a show where I want to mute the volume. There are also problems with the pacing and energy. They go to such great lengths to build up some little bit of momentum and then lose it when they cut to the Klingon scenes. Who knew Klingons were such chatterboxes? Like watching paint dry.
    "Something something, honor. Something something, torch." Snore!
    I guess Twin Peaks had me expecting something new and fresh and this is just stale cookie cutter "TV show" with the ubiquitous music rising to dramatic crescendo before the cut to commercial.
    To top it all off, the opening title sequence looks like a Chrysler car commercial from 2005. We have seen that "drawing comes to life" animation trick a thousand times. Watch the title sequence from True Detective season 1 if you want to see an opening that pulls you into the story and characters. And watch Green on any episode of Walking Dead to see what she is capable of in the hands of a competent director with a script that doesn't make you want to kick your sofa.    … Expand
  13. Vorter
    Sep 26, 2017
    1
    This suffers from the same problems as a the Kurtzman/JJAbram "Star Trek" movies. The motivation of the actions for the characters is so out of whack that you can't relate to them or understand why they do what they do. The dialog is awful, the acting subpar and the Klingons have been retconned into looking like and acting like Romulans (which is not surprising since whoever controls TrekThis suffers from the same problems as a the Kurtzman/JJAbram "Star Trek" movies. The motivation of the actions for the characters is so out of whack that you can't relate to them or understand why they do what they do. The dialog is awful, the acting subpar and the Klingons have been retconned into looking like and acting like Romulans (which is not surprising since whoever controls Trek IP for the last two decades has a stiffy for Romulans). This whole production is a mess. I don't expect Season 2. 30 minutes of episode 1 was all I needed to know of this train wreck. There's good Sci-FI out there, it's just not on CBS or their paywalled streaming service.… Expand
  14. bob12345
    Sep 25, 2017
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Star Trek Discovery: To boldly go where no fan wanted them to go. Dark, pointlessly dramatic with nonsensical plotting, this blatant cash grab fails to understand what Star Trek is supposed to be about in the first place. Not helping matters is the blatant JJTrek aesthetic - whereas normally Starfleet ships are bright and cheerfully lit, the Shenzhou prefers moody dramatic lighting and ugly lens flares. Characters, and I use that word loosely, spout exposition about themselves or their species in ways that have no bearing on the story itself.

    As to the story - well, there really isn't one. The boring reimagined Klingons, here a barely disguised substitute for ISIL extremists, show how bad the costuming itself has gotten. Mush mouthed, and at one point with obvious black makeup smeared over the teeth, they've effectively taken everything interesting and fun about the Klingons and turned it into a farce.

    As to the Federation - committing a war crime is not in character, at all. Blatantly violating Klingon funerary rights by putting a bomb in a sarcophagus is against the ideal of everything Star Fleet, and Star Trek was supposed to stand for to begin with. That's without touching on the whole "life sentence" absurdity. Someone forgot what a post scarcity utopia is supposed to be about.

    Bottom line, Star Trek: Gothic Trappings is an angsty teenagers wet dream of Scifi, masquerading as a beloved series.    … Expand
  15. Bulk88
    Oct 8, 2017
    0
    By episode 3, this show has really doubled downed on nonsensical plot lines and dark grittiness(literally no one wants to flip the light switch). Discovery's writers do not seem to have an interest in making characters at all likable, Michael Burnham' is arrogant and aggressive and Captain Lorca is Lex Luthor in space, but instead wants to show off how updated and edgy Trek is now.By episode 3, this show has really doubled downed on nonsensical plot lines and dark grittiness(literally no one wants to flip the light switch). Discovery's writers do not seem to have an interest in making characters at all likable, Michael Burnham' is arrogant and aggressive and Captain Lorca is Lex Luthor in space, but instead wants to show off how updated and edgy Trek is now.
    Continuity has been totally ignored in too many way to list. Suffice it to say that I'm starting to suspect that this show is more a part of JJ's Trek than the original universe. (also the Klingon makeup makes it impossible to recognize emotion in their faces)
    Episode 3 pretty plays like Ridley Scott's Alien more so than Star Trek, the Orville is the better Trek show. The episode also introduces some bizarre and unexplained super spore that allows for an inexplicable scene of stargating around the galaxy.
    Really this show is not Trek. it's got a lot of action very little moralizing or philosophy. Really this show would be better if Seth McFarlane's pitch to CBS had been accepted and they had just made the Orville.    … Expand
  16. Rastan88
    Sep 24, 2017
    0
    Let Star Trek Die, please.

    There isn't a whole lot to say other than I hate this show. This show is not Star Trek. It is a grim, unsatisfying, cruel, poorly written mess of a show. Cloaked in the near time frame of the wonderfully iconic(and well lit)Star Trek original series. Dark, and depressing. Ugly set design, costume design, alien design. I thought "Enterprise" didn't have    Let Star Trek Die, please.

    There isn't a whole lot to say other than I hate this show. This show is not Star Trek.
    It is a grim, unsatisfying, cruel, poorly written mess of a show. Cloaked in the near time frame of the wonderfully iconic(and well lit)Star Trek original series. Dark, and depressing. Ugly set design, costume design, alien design. I thought "Enterprise" didn't have the greatest chemistry of actors, but this...oh my what an uncharismatic bunch.

    Well Netflix is funding the show so I'm sure we will get 9 or 10 seasons of it. My Star Trek ended with "Enterprise"

    For true Trekkies, stay far, far away. For Game of Thrones, or The Walking Dead fans, this may suit you.    … Expand
  17. Ripandread
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    With the exception of the special effects, the debut of Star Trek: Discovery was horrible.

    Unlike previous Star Trek series, the lead characters of Discovery are bland and boring.

    The science officer was especially irritating. He made Jar Jar Binks look good.
  18. fabittar
    Sep 26, 2017
    0
    It's late; I should be asleep, but what I just watched is SO BAD I could not go to bed without issuing a warning: this show is so terrible that I am seriously concerned it might've given me cancer. I only watched 2 episodes tho, so maybe I'll be alright.

    This is not Star Trek at all. This is made for the masses of mediocre, stupid people. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow to elaborate, but    It's late; I should be asleep, but what I just watched is SO BAD I could not go to bed without issuing a warning: this show is so terrible that I am seriously concerned it might've given me cancer. I only watched 2 episodes tho, so maybe I'll be alright.

    This is not Star Trek at all. This is made for the masses of mediocre, stupid people. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow to elaborate, but for now - and just in case I'm too lazy and/or forget about this - heed my warning: STAY AWAY FROM THIS.

    Whoever is responsible for this should be ashamed. Better yet, they should remove this show from TV / streaming, ask people who recorded this horrible travesty to delete it, have all physical copies destroyed, and then apologize.    … Expand
  19. GarvielLoken
    Sep 26, 2017
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This isn't Star Trek.
    -canon got pooped on
    -Klingons are now Locust from Gears of War.
    -Klingons, sorry, Locust, shouldnt even have stealth tech yet, they bought it from the Romulans after TOS.
    -No more coloured uniforms (no more yellow, red, blue). Now everyone has the same uniform.
    -Main protagonist is a female black lesbian first officer that commits treason and war crime over emotional reasons, despite being half Vulkan, and attacks her own captain, a friend known for 7 years. Is that how Starfleet acts? muh emotions and treason?
    -every single person on the bridge is questioning everything. thats not how a ship works.
    -the captain teleports a bomb to a body of a Klingon officer that was being taken for burial, and blows it up. Is this ISIS, or Starfleet?
    -The asian captain couldnt speak english. It physicaly hurt to listen to her talk.
    -So much lens flare, it will make your eyes bleed.
    -the whole show is being recorded at 45 degree camera angle. Dont ask me why, i have no idea.
    -the captain made foorprints on the desert so the ship can find them. So i guess finding footprints in a huge-ass sandstorm is easier than looking for life signs.
    -why did the USS Europa blow up? why was is cut in half? laws of physics and logic dictates, it shouldnt happen. the ship should be pushed back, not cut, not to mention they could just.... reverse.

    All of it just doesnt make sense.    … Expand
  20. scifinerd215
    Sep 27, 2017
    0
    I was so disappointed. This should have been a spin-off set in the Star Trek universe instead of Star Trek series. Putting all of the canon issues aside, this on it's own was mediocre at best. The main character, i hate to say, was a terrible actress. One scene they say no one has seen the Klingon's in over 100 years, and in the next scene the main character was angry that Klingons killedI was so disappointed. This should have been a spin-off set in the Star Trek universe instead of Star Trek series. Putting all of the canon issues aside, this on it's own was mediocre at best. The main character, i hate to say, was a terrible actress. One scene they say no one has seen the Klingon's in over 100 years, and in the next scene the main character was angry that Klingons killed here parents. Also they need to tone down the lens flare. Why did they get rid of the intro? "Space the final frontier". Also the episode that aired on CBS was only like 25 minutes long and everything else was commercials, and to watch the rest of the episode you had to go online... This is a big pass for me...… Expand
  21. Manalto
    Sep 25, 2017
    0
    Unlike many of the other negative reviews, it matters little to me whether this show follows Star Trek dogma or not; all I care about is - is it any good? Unfortunately, it's so bogged down in PC casting and character development (strong women, clownish men) that it's just dreary derivative drivel. The lead character MUST be a woman and she MUST be African-American. The only surprise isUnlike many of the other negative reviews, it matters little to me whether this show follows Star Trek dogma or not; all I care about is - is it any good? Unfortunately, it's so bogged down in PC casting and character development (strong women, clownish men) that it's just dreary derivative drivel. The lead character MUST be a woman and she MUST be African-American. The only surprise is that they didn't send her out on that space walk in a wheel chair. Pleasant lighting.… Expand
  22. ChrisWebb
    Jan 29, 2018
    0
    Whenever this gets good, the next episode is stupid and consistently 'jumps the shark' with ridiculous scenarios. I watched up to 13 epsiode and can't watch anymore.
    The writing goes from being great to ridiculous.
    How two women can beat a room full of men in hand to hand combat,is ridiculous. It'll be rdiiculous if was two men... ...RIpley from Alien is one of my favourite action    Whenever this gets good, the next episode is stupid and consistently 'jumps the shark' with ridiculous scenarios. I watched up to 13 epsiode and can't watch anymore.
    The writing goes from being great to ridiculous.
    How two women can beat a room full of men in hand to hand combat,is ridiculous. It'll be rdiiculous if was two men... ...RIpley from Alien is one of my favourite action heroes, she's cannot beat up a roomful of marines, but she has more grit than all of them, that's what makes her heroic.    … Expand
  23. Adules
    Dec 19, 2017
    3
    This show feels like CBS meddled with the production, transforming Bryan Fuller's ambition into a generic sci-fi action show. If you were expecting quality writing and characters akin to Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, and Enterprise, you will be disappointed. The main word I can use to describe this show is "thoughtless". It feels like they were more interested in making a generic,This show feels like CBS meddled with the production, transforming Bryan Fuller's ambition into a generic sci-fi action show. If you were expecting quality writing and characters akin to Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, and Enterprise, you will be disappointed. The main word I can use to describe this show is "thoughtless". It feels like they were more interested in making a generic, manipulative, action movie than they were about verisimilitude, realistic characters, and subtext.

    The idea for the show is intriguing, but that's where the positive aspects end. It is distinctly not star trek. The klingons don't look, act, or think like klingons. The themes of the show is more focused on grim-dark story telling than the optimistic thought provoking soul of star trek.    … Expand
  24. shag00
    Jul 8, 2018
    2
    As I see it, Star Trek has always been a sci-fi exploration show, both of the cosmological and human spirit while occasionally addressing some of the edgier issues of American culture.

    What Discovery is, is a show, not much more than a liberal leftist take on homosexuality and doing "good" for various minorities such as dark-skinned people and people with intellectual disabilities set    As I see it, Star Trek has always been a sci-fi exploration show, both of the cosmological and human spirit while occasionally addressing some of the edgier issues of American culture.

    What Discovery is, is a show, not much more than a liberal leftist take on homosexuality and doing "good" for various minorities such as dark-skinned people and people with intellectual disabilities set in a well established commercial franchise. Seemingly gone forever are conundrums, lesser of 2 evils and truth, justice and the American way.

    A number of comments suggest, "it's a good sci-fi show just not a good Star Trek show", well quite frankly that's a crock of **** it's a terrible show, if it wasn't called Star Trek no one would watch it. Mid way during season 1, one of the most unrealistic scenes I have seen lately where one of the ship's crew opens the cage containing a ship-destroying-dinosaur-thing so she can cut it's toe nails.

    I found most of the other negative comments by other posters to be fairly accurate, no wonder the first guy in charge got fired because he obviously knew the show sucked. I feel disappointed also that the majority of so-called professional reviewers are more concerned with being perceived as politically correct than they are with critically appraising a long running, well established series which is both a prequel and a sequel, thereby leaving very little room to change many aspects of the over arching story, within which it fits.    … Expand
  25. sonny2dap
    Feb 13, 2018
    3
    This was mixed to begin with, and went downhill.

    The performances in general were solid by the cast but the writing and direction were lacking exemplified best by the finale. So we have set up a backs against the wall scenario, a war like implacable foe is at the city gates and everything you know says the enemy will not back down unless confronted with overwhelming force, they    This was mixed to begin with, and went downhill.

    The performances in general were solid by the cast but the writing and direction were lacking exemplified best by the finale.

    So we have set up a backs against the wall scenario, a war like implacable foe is at the city gates and everything you know says the enemy will not back down unless confronted with overwhelming force, they respect warriors and strength and if you don't defeat the enemy everything you know will be destroyed, you're playing for all the marbles.

    You have a way to strike back at the enemy and save your people but to do so will mean compromising your ideals and millions of the enemy will be killed, whereas if you don't act millions of your people will die and the ideals you stand for will be gone too as they're not shared by your enemy. Had the writers followed the internal logic of their story and had it play out that Starfleet the idealistic organisation has to compromise its' ideals to survive and make some point about that's why they're ideals and people are imperfect and sometimes horrible acts are necessary to prevent even worse outcomes, that would have been a poignant arc and thought provoking, instead we had our lead character come up with an implausible solution that essentially has the war end because someone with no army or navy or broad base support, from a minority religious/political group turns up making terrorist demands.

    The message is hardly appealing to most audiences and the reaction of the honorable warrior Klingons who respect strength of arms in battle is also unbelievable in that they meekly acquiesce to such an extremist demand, in complete contradiction of the way Klingons have been portrayed all season.

    i could go on and on, the injection of certain contemporary politics which will date this show horribly is another topic that you could easily spend another few thousand words on.

    Season 2 is coming as we know already but unless serious changes happen on the writing team, 2 seasons will be it.    … Expand
  26. thatabramswoman
    Mar 1, 2018
    2
    Paid for it, watched it, wasn't impressed. I find it hard to imagine that before STOS they had a spore drive, SO much more advanced that NC-1701 or even NC-1701-D. The way the Klingons are being portrayed, being only shortly before STOS, is mind blowingly different. I know, I know, they didn't have the make-up abilities for STOS but this is just too far from anything I've ever seen orPaid for it, watched it, wasn't impressed. I find it hard to imagine that before STOS they had a spore drive, SO much more advanced that NC-1701 or even NC-1701-D. The way the Klingons are being portrayed, being only shortly before STOS, is mind blowingly different. I know, I know, they didn't have the make-up abilities for STOS but this is just too far from anything I've ever seen or imagined. The story line was bearable in the first season I guess. They completely lost me in season 2. It is just not worth $5.99 a month to watch one show that is not at all good. This is very dark and not a vision of the future that Roddenberry had. While I think Discovery is probably closer to reality (dark, sad, lacking in hope) Roddenberry wasn't trying to show reality, he was trying to show possibilities. In doing so he created a fan base of people who wanted a positive view of the future. Discovery does NOT live up Gene Roddenberry's future.… Expand
  27. marc5477
    Apr 14, 2018
    2
    I am being very generous with the 2 rating. This show is cheap, predictable, illogical, and a total bore. Its a chore to sit and see a bunch of high schoolers in star trek officer uniforms pretend that they are smart and emotionally stable. You might as well call this Star Trek Kids instead of discovery. The only problem is that it might be a bit too dark for kids but then again they getI am being very generous with the 2 rating. This show is cheap, predictable, illogical, and a total bore. Its a chore to sit and see a bunch of high schoolers in star trek officer uniforms pretend that they are smart and emotionally stable. You might as well call this Star Trek Kids instead of discovery. The only problem is that it might be a bit too dark for kids but then again they get worse from watching the news so perhaps not.

    Anyway, as many point out already, Star Trek has taken a very dark yet awkward tone. Awkward because its clearly trying to send a political message. Half of the characters are either minorities or gay. I have had friends from all said groups (I am of a hated minority group myself) but I dont like it when people stick politics in my entertainment and doubly so when the writing and acting is iffy. This is Star Trek, not blacks vs whites. Not gay vs straight. No men vs women. All the major leaders in the show are women. Half of the main characters are black. Half are gay or bi (okay I can sort of buy that one). But the point is, its not realistic and this is supposed to be SCIENCE fiction, not activism fiction. I want to see worlds that I have not dreamed of before, listen to someone talk about zero point mechanics, or subspace communication theory, or math, or science, etc. The only attempt at science in this show seems to be the silly spores which sounds more like a Tolken fantasy. Just add a few elves... wait...

    The show is very poorly written with quasi-teen level dialog and too much interpersonal drama rather than actual "discovery." Also, the characters seem to contradict themselves at every turn. Micheal is hailed as some sort of genius and was raised by logic fanatic Vulcan, yet is in a permanent state of surprise at nearly everything that happens and cant make a good decision if her life depended on it, which it did and she mostly got out of it with silly luck (a la Kirk silliness).

    I think the creators of this show were going to a TOS feel. TOS (the original series) was largely a failure which barely finished 4 seasons and was only replayed due to lack of color TV content at the time. It was clearly given away cheap as it played in the worst time slots on the worst channels back in the day. Why would you want to emulate that? The biggest hit in Star Trek, the one that attracted nerds and geeks is the Next Generation (TNG). Yet, the creators here took a dump on TNG and all that followed, lost their viewership and rolled back Star Trek to its failure days. Great work!    … Expand
  28. GarethB
    Sep 30, 2018
    2
    Over the top action and CGI do not make good characters and stories, craps all over the real star trek as its another prequel where they have to get everyones nostalgia hyped but fail miserably. Bring back Gene Roddenberry's vision.
  29. Artimecion
    Mar 15, 2018
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (some spoilers if you haven't seen the first season.)

    Firstly, I should probably point out that I've seen all of the other Trek series and must admit that I'm not an Enterprise Fan, nor am I fan of the newer reboot films. This may help to explain some of my views with Discovery.

    Discovery is a tedious mess of a show that just doesn't feel like Star Trek. Unlikable, dumb characters and unnecessary changes to established design (Especially the Klingons) really stand out in the absence of an engaging story. The characters are emotionally very one-dimensional and make absolutely baffling, and often unrelateable, choices. I often found myself thinking "in what possible scenario was this choice a good idea?'. Compounding the issues with the story and characters is that there are very few consequences to actions. Major plot elements happen with no feeling of gravity (except perhaps the start of the klingon-federation war that the series mostly focuses on) and people get injured or 'die' with relatively little impact.

    The characters are a particular annoyance. The formula is usually a) the character 'dies' only to reappear later or b) the character is actually not who they claim to be. This is fine when these thing happens once, but it becomes groan worthy when yet another character is masquerading as something else. This is to the point that, by the end, most of the remaining cast are either not what they appeared to be in the opening episode and only one of the 'deaths' appear to be permanent. The cast is also pretty unmemorable to the point that I can only really remember the names of Burnham and Lorca - the others just become 'the klingon lady' 'the annoying scientist' or 'the awkward ginger one'. Compare this to Deep Space Nine, for example, where the characters are relatively complex and memorable from the get-go.

    The show also suffers heavily from being a prequel. Technology exists where it shouldn't in the Trek timeline, but this sits alongside an awkward attempt at continuity (backwards and forwards in time). These issues really impact on this being an engaging star trek show when you're constantly trying to figure out where things fit because it is a prequel. Then there are weird anachronisms, such as the 'disco' sweatshirts and the nightclub on board the ship which feel out of place and pop-culturey. I'm really hoping the series gets better, but the cast needs a complete overhaul and they really need script writers than can write an engaging sci-fi story that fits the star trek universe.

    To give some credit, it does look pretty and the story picks up briefly about 3/4 of the way through with an unexpected jump the alternative universe. However, this is short lived and the last few episodes become a tired return to 'oh look, another character isn't who they say they are' and 'oh... that character is back...'.

    The writing is very poor and is probably the element I take the most issue with. Dialogue is generally awkward and people don't really speak 'naturally'. Plot points are introduced for temporary convenience and forgotten in a drive to move the story along. Albeit minor, one problem that highlights this (and irrationally infuriates me) is how they deal with the difference between Terrans from the alternative universe and Humans in the federation-verse and the framing of this. They mention that there is a difference in people's vision, with Terrans being more sensitive to light, therefore explaining Lorca's optical affliction. However, nobody else seems to demonstrate this (particularly the empress when she is bought back to the federation-verse). In addition, this fact is dealt with in the alternative dimension, not within the federation-verse. Therefore, surely it should have been explained that the Federation Humans are less sensitive to light, with the Terran sensitivity being normal in their universe? It's probably ridiculous, but it does bug me that a Terran described themselves as having an 'affliction' that would have been entirely normal to them in their universe. Maybe i'm nitpicking, but the culmination of poor story and character elements mean that Discovery is a miss for me.

    I'll gladly watch season two, but if the characterisation and story remains dull, I do not see myself going out the way to watch any future seasons.    … Expand
  30. Antares8001
    Nov 16, 2018
    3
    It's basically a mediocre sci-fi action thriller that someone slapped a Star Trek sticker on.
    When I heard that this show was gonna take place in the original timeline and not the one of the god awful movie reboots I was excited. But then I started watching it and oh boy...
    Everything that made Star Trek great is missing. The likable characters, the diverse and thought provoking    It's basically a mediocre sci-fi action thriller that someone slapped a Star Trek sticker on.
    When I heard that this show was gonna take place in the original timeline and not the one of the god awful movie reboots I was excited. But then I started watching it and oh boy...
    Everything that made Star Trek great is missing.
    The likable characters, the diverse and thought provoking story-lines, the social criticism, the positive outlook, the focus on diplomacy and exploration has all been traded for terrible dialog, run of the mill sci-fi art style, a CGI action spectacle, second rate story-lines that have been not only been done to death but also seem to belong in an angsty teenage drama show, all topped off by characters that you couldn't pretend to like or relate to with a gun to your head. And let's not say anything about that utterly ridiculous and unnecessary Klingon redesign other than:"What were those P'takhs thinking?".
    Don't get me wrong, the older Star Trek series have more than a few rather campy and outlandish episodes, but as a whole they mostly managed to be thought provoking and created one of the most thought out and coherent Sci-Fi universes populated by believable characters and species.

    If they didn't call it Star Trek I would consider it a kinda ok 6/10 sci-fi show you wouldn't mind watching on a slow evening or as a distraction while doing chores. But as it is simply another laughable and sad entry into the Star Trek canon. If only they had kept it within the movie timeline, at least then it wouldn't have left such a sour mark on Gene Roddenberry's legacy.

    It's a truly weird day when a Seth MacFarlane parody is widely considered to be the true spiritual successor to the likes of TNG, DS9 and Voyager and the actual canonical franchise entry feels like the parody.

    On a semi-relatied side note I find it very odd that quite a few people seem to criticize this "libtard, SJW crap" considering the social criticism and very progressive world view that has always been integral to Star Trek is pretty much non-existent here. Unlike previous entries it never even tries to seriously deal with social issues.    … Expand
  31. WJF3
    Jan 25, 2019
    3
    In Star Trek there is no main character, and anyone can be a hero (Reginald Barclay). In Star Trek Discovery there is only Michael Burnham. The whole series is about her. She is the Main character; the smartest, the toughest and the hero every time. It begins to become predictable. And where is the delight and playfulness that we all love about Star Trek? Discovery takes itself tooIn Star Trek there is no main character, and anyone can be a hero (Reginald Barclay). In Star Trek Discovery there is only Michael Burnham. The whole series is about her. She is the Main character; the smartest, the toughest and the hero every time. It begins to become predictable. And where is the delight and playfulness that we all love about Star Trek? Discovery takes itself too serious. I tried to be positive about Discovery, and I keep trying to stick with it, but watching it has become too laborious. I hope that this is not Star Trek's last act, that would be embarrassing. J.J. Abrams please make another movie.… Expand
  32. Vectis99
    Oct 24, 2018
    3
    A failed attempt to adapt the Star Trek franchise for a modern audience. Pointlessly edgy and crude, Star Trek Discovery tries to squeeze out as much dark shock value as possible accompanied by little else.
  33. spretasky
    Jan 1, 2019
    2
    I came into this Star Trek not knowing about the drama for it and the hatred. until later when I personally finished watching season 1 and start looking up what people were saying on this "Star Trek" This is not Star Trek . People are telling I should watch Orville vs this. I haven't seen any Orville episodes yet to judge it . This Star Trek was awful. People giving this a 10 are lying toI came into this Star Trek not knowing about the drama for it and the hatred. until later when I personally finished watching season 1 and start looking up what people were saying on this "Star Trek" This is not Star Trek . People are telling I should watch Orville vs this. I haven't seen any Orville episodes yet to judge it . This Star Trek was awful. People giving this a 10 are lying to the fan base. It is a real shame that these people are tribal and robots and can't see how bad this Star Trek is.. Shame!!… Expand
  34. timpfel
    Jan 5, 2019
    2
    I don't know what this is, but it's not Star Trek.
    I like the uniforms though.
  35. TheTokenSquare
    Jan 7, 2019
    2
    Gene Roddenberry is dead. I'm watching The Orville. I gave STD a 2 for having at least great special effects and production value. Would have given another point or two if the characters were more than one dimentional and the writing was decent. Another point docked for putting the show behind a paywall.
  36. sgtfalcon
    Jan 12, 2019
    2
    This is not Star Trek. Star Trek is supposed to be an optimistic view of the future. Every character in this show is pretty despicable. The writers don't seem to understand Star Trek at all. This show needs someone to turn it around. Bring back the normal Klingons, develop strong "Horatio Hornblower" type characters. Have the ship "Discovery" explore wonderful new worlds and bring back theThis is not Star Trek. Star Trek is supposed to be an optimistic view of the future. Every character in this show is pretty despicable. The writers don't seem to understand Star Trek at all. This show needs someone to turn it around. Bring back the normal Klingons, develop strong "Horatio Hornblower" type characters. Have the ship "Discovery" explore wonderful new worlds and bring back the morality play that was Star Trek. Occasionally, bring in the Klingons for some battle scenes and make them more like the Soviets as in the original series. This show completely conflicts with the morality plays that were Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise.… Expand
  37. P4inskiller
    Feb 2, 2019
    3
    Beverly Hills 90210-Star Trek. This is real "2019" Star Trek....a lot of "Me too", woman power, feelings and emotions - even the Klingons..?! People in 400 years will not be like this! To strange, unrealistic, stupid and therefore nothing for me. I hope the Picard show will be less stupid...
  38. wodan1234
    Feb 2, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To give it 2 points is way to gentle. it deserved MINUS-12 !

    So far i watched all of season 1 and all of what we got so far for season 2.
    Thankfully i escaped the Short Treks, because Netflix Germany wasn't stupid enough to take them AS PRESENT!
    And not only did it got worse, for example the weird religious stuff that doesn't belong in Trek or to Captain Pike. (Who is neither very religious nor a "fun guy" on duty).
    Or the unstable psycho-killer named Spock.
    Yes, yes THAT HAPPENED! Hes a Psycho killer according to STD.

    Watching episode 3 however really killed all hope, that this show will get any better. The Kling-Orcs ( Who seem to live in 8th Century, Valhalla) look worse than ever with hair.
    Nope.

    "Space Hitler" now rules the "Space Gestapo" (Section 31) , without any reasoning as to how they gave her that posting.

    And that stupid Ghost-friend that Tilly met, just went full bor racist, when she was expecting Lorca or "at least Kirk"( How did she even know him? Even Tilly doesn't know him!)
    By describing James. T Kirk, as the "Much whiter and much much blonder" GUY.
    #TheUeberArian.

    Also that fake body positivity theme, really went sour when chubby Tilly outran an entire staff of much slimmer and fitter extras, in a half marathon.
    Which she should have lost, for falling back and talking with her Ghost-Friend.
    And you could actually see how those extras did "run" extra slow.
    But off course, afterwards she got the SJW typical, "TRIPPLE AFFIRMATION!" within 2 Minutes.
    Oh yeah, that "Friend" of hers, was actually a "Spore infection".
    What the hell?

    Also "off course" ;) Burnham, not only is a splendid astronomer, test-pilot, Power-Girl (For surviving 9 G for ELEVEN Minutes!) Nooo! Oh no... That wouldn't be sufficient for "the bestest person Evaaar".
    She's also a "Xeno-Antropologist"... Ja...
    **** you CBS...

    "Jim! Its Dead!"    … Expand
  39. Alxh
    Dec 17, 2021
    0
    Star trek is not the same as season 1-3 season 4 is just boring and like other views to political correct if this season doesnt improve i wont be back , I’ve always been a treky but this year is boringly very bad
  40. slicelook
    Feb 17, 2022
    2
    This season went full hollywood sjw with lqbtqt "i identify as whatever, pay attention to me and my irrelevant useless story that has nothing to do with star trek"
  41. v3nt
    Mar 31, 2019
    2
    More about the character' brothers, sisters or whatever's than any type of discovery. It is too character driven and most of them are quite annoying. Almost every story arc is about them. General story line seems a few steps back compared to the originals. Secret factions, alternate realities...
  42. RedShiftXIII
    Dec 2, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm a bit of a trekkie and have watched most of the series throughout my life, but while I may be biased, it's in favor of the shows—I kinda liked Star Trek: Enterprise. With that said, I don't think it's unreasonable to conclude that Star Trek: Discovery is a bad show in general.

    Exposition is a massive problem. While they do try to cover it up by inserting it into dialogue, it's as if the core concept of the show is how to fit as much exposition into dialogue as humanly possible. The conversations between characters almost always can be summed up as two robots interacting with each other who both just learned they were programmed with the ability to cry. Furthermore, everything from exposition sloppily hidden in dialogue to stubbing of toes, has to be a massively big deal.

    In the very first episode of this season, it's basically a bunch of fancy special effects and hilariously meaningless conversations: Why are we suppose to care that a captain doesn't want a president on their ship? Why is it a problem enough for a captain to continually openly protest and cause conflict where none needs to be had? Why did a captain ask the f***ing president, if she lied to a dude who was panicking, as if it was important to ask while everything is supposedly on the edge of complete disaster? Why do a bunch of officers ignore their captain when she asked for a status update but they're apparently too busy being dramatically quiet as the hangar burns down? Absolute nuttery.

    It's like they're trying to make a soap opera in space with zero self-awareness. While this may seem like a knock on the actors, the fact that this is consistent with every character, tells me it's a writer/director problem. Maybe I'm wrong, but the end result is the same—it's bad.

    Lack of continuity isn't always a bad thing, but one deeply important concept of the federation is that it's heavily influenced by maritime tradition. There's multiple explicit and implicit reminders of this throughout the IP's history, but Discovery seems to have forgotten that, or doesn't give a crap. It's fine if they want to build on that or even tear it down, but it's fairly obvious the writers didn't make any attempt to learn of Federation or maritime traditions to the point it'd be like a bunch of white guys making a movie about China and never actually researching Chinese culture. This isn't a big deal for ornamental things, but clear insubordination that isn't addressed because nobody knows it's insubordination both misses an opportunity to utilize already built concepts to introduce actual drama and tells us these aren't organized people with rules and regulation—they're just dudes, dudettes and duets, who we are told are smart and happen to be on a ship with some logos on it. Nobody in the show knows the difference between an ensign and the president of the Federation, nobody in the show has even a remote interest in displaying the level of professionalism even the most unprofessional international organization has.

    This isn't Star Trek; it's an exercise in fitting as much exposition into dialogue as possible and drama from nothing . . . with Federation logos. I really wanted this show to be good—that's why I sat through three seasons of it—but I don't think they've learned anything based on the beginning of the fourth season. I hate this show and I hate that i've wasted so much time watching it. I hope I've saved at least one person the trouble.    … Expand
  43. Simon_Says
    Apr 5, 2021
    0
    Malon antimatter waste. Need I say more? The same anti-trek ADHD "nu trek" as the Kelvin crap. AVOID
  44. Startrekmickie
    Apr 12, 2019
    3
    We were so happy to see this produced and presented but we can barely watch it for the overwhelming volume of the music during dialogue. Likely done for dramatic effect it has become so distracting we are considering stopping watching it. We have subtitles on but you cannot hear the dialogue at certain time because the volume of the music takes over the entire scene. Please correctWe were so happy to see this produced and presented but we can barely watch it for the overwhelming volume of the music during dialogue. Likely done for dramatic effect it has become so distracting we are considering stopping watching it. We have subtitles on but you cannot hear the dialogue at certain time because the volume of the music takes over the entire scene. Please correct it...we love the show and the new twists and turns but will have to stop watching and subscribing if this issue is not corrected.… Expand
  45. Inferno1102
    Sep 3, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I cant stand this sjw crap, star trek has shown kisses yes, but i dont think it ever really followed a relationship as crazy as they follow the engineer guy and yeah its cause they are gay you want to follow a good example of a relationship to follow withiut making it sjw bs try mimicing paris and belona(sp?) From voyager. Season three possibe spoiler next. Then youre going to have two entire parts about a trans trill man, this crap is to much stop focusing on the stuff you want it in fine, if gender equality is a thing in the future there will be no focus itll just be normal, people wont caee, but nope you have to social justice warrior bulls**** it this is why real trekkies wont watch discovery.… Expand
  46. Mighty_moose416
    Oct 25, 2020
    1
    A chaotic jumbled mess that splurges across the screen with 2 bombastic cgi heavy episodes that are barely coherent and then.... drops that to present you with what is effectively a second pilot. Then they plod along for a while with a war storyline for half a season before picking up a mirror universe storyline. This storyline is better but ends abruptly to take you back to the original storyline
  47. ajewo
    May 25, 2021
    2
    Star Trek: Discovery is primarily about fast-paced action and one big mystery plot for each season rather than episodical mystery, exploration, ethical or social issues. The episodes are not very memorable, unlike other Star Trek series. Discovery is a gritty, non-optimistic version of Star Trek with prequel continuity issues, e.g., the Klingon makeover is just unnecessary, holograms, orStar Trek: Discovery is primarily about fast-paced action and one big mystery plot for each season rather than episodical mystery, exploration, ethical or social issues. The episodes are not very memorable, unlike other Star Trek series. Discovery is a gritty, non-optimistic version of Star Trek with prequel continuity issues, e.g., the Klingon makeover is just unnecessary, holograms, or the "instant everywhere" spore drive. However, some issues will be reverted in the second season.
    If you start to think about the plots for a minute, you will often find many issues that do not add up. Some episodes are so packed with "stuff" and contradictions that I didn't even care to follow the plot in a logical sense anymore. The voice-over pathos inspired by the JJ Abraham movies is just another empty element. And most of the characters are shady (especially in the first season) and unlikable. Some characters become charicatures. Michael Burnham, for example, is supposed to be the hero of the series, but since she's not the captain of the Discovery, she's not in a position to make the big decisions, yet she has all the answers and rebels without consequence (because she's always right in the end).
    As for the production, the series is well done. There are annoyingly overused light glares in the first two seasons, but the costumes, masks, and visuals are very good at movie level. All in all, I wish they had invested the budget in better scripts, stories, and dialogues written by actual science fiction authors.
    I recommend watching the earlier Star Trek series, The Expanse, or The Orville instead.    … Expand
  48. roblrich
    Jan 2, 2022
    0
    Seasons One and Two were decent and entertaining. But since this series has turned into a politically correct, think as we do or you are a pig crap show. There is relatively no entertainment value in this series. None. It seems to be more of a liberal, political statement. This is sad, as it has turned my family against the Star Trek genre. Rest in peace, Star Trek. You had a good run.
  49. fotograf
    Mar 8, 2018
    1
    what the??? What happened to the Star Trek universe? What happened to Klingon Warriors? Where is the honor in this psycho babble nonsense that they came up with? Spores? Seriously? Whats with Lorca? Who is this man? Terrible acting. He should have been a woman to fit the rest of the narrative. Just terrible! Another dead franchise! Shatner must be so pleased he has nothing to do with itwhat the??? What happened to the Star Trek universe? What happened to Klingon Warriors? Where is the honor in this psycho babble nonsense that they came up with? Spores? Seriously? Whats with Lorca? Who is this man? Terrible acting. He should have been a woman to fit the rest of the narrative. Just terrible! Another dead franchise! Shatner must be so pleased he has nothing to do with it and Leonard, DeForrest and James must be rolling in their graves. And as for the critics? Are they paid these days by the studios? How on earth can you praise this nonsense.

    I am a real fan of many years having watched every episode (even enterprise) many times over but
    this is not Star Trek. Its something... dunno what... but Star Trek it aint.

    Orville is closer! How sad!    … Expand
  50. Almostpilot
    Apr 17, 2018
    1
    They managed to ruin the star trek universe. Grotesque what they did with the Klingons, ignoring all previous history of star trek.
  51. dougal83
    Oct 20, 2017
    3
    The production values are good but it's ruined by screenwriters shoe horning in their politically correct agenda. Edgy writer give a female a man's name for reasons... Klingons are obsessed with their cultural purity rather than being testosterone filled; strong and honorable, nothing wrong with that. Last straw was the two odd overly groomed officers being homosexual... Not a programThe production values are good but it's ruined by screenwriters shoe horning in their politically correct agenda. Edgy writer give a female a man's name for reasons... Klingons are obsessed with their cultural purity rather than being testosterone filled; strong and honorable, nothing wrong with that. Last straw was the two odd overly groomed officers being homosexual... Not a program I'd let my children watch.

    Still waiting for a Star Trek reboot... Bring back Deep Space Nine.    … Expand
  52. CybershamanX
    Oct 13, 2017
    3
    Gorgeous visuals don't make up for the fact that the true spirit of Star Trek is missing from this the latest installment to the franchise. Yes, it's all show with the "go" consisting of heavy plot shoveling and character motivations that make no sense whatsoever. Unfortunately, you will not be discussing the finer details of each of Discovery's episodes in the far future which is aGorgeous visuals don't make up for the fact that the true spirit of Star Trek is missing from this the latest installment to the franchise. Yes, it's all show with the "go" consisting of heavy plot shoveling and character motivations that make no sense whatsoever. Unfortunately, you will not be discussing the finer details of each of Discovery's episodes in the far future which is a hallmark of each of the previous series. Yes, they've chosen to go a more serialized route but that's not a problem. They've got amazing visuals to show us and they are heavily anchored to an overarching plot that, damn the torpedoes, will be told at the heart's expense. Why they chose to wedge this show between Enterprise and TOS, I will never know. It limits them by having them attempt to conform to existing canon, which I have yet to see how any of it fits despite the creators claims to the contrary. It might have been better for them to have just set the show after Voyager. At least then it would have been somewhat of a clean slate and they pretty much could have done whatever they want without too much trouble. I can understand why they wanted to update the look of the show. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that it had more to do with keeping it in line with the look of the JJ Trek "Kelvin timeline" than anything else. Short of vaguely looking like what has gone before, Discovery has little in common with previous Treks. At the time of this writing, I have yet to see anything worth discussing as far as how it relates to the "real world". Gone are the heady discussions of man vs. machine, race, government or any of the other topics that Trek has so boldly tackled in the past. What we have on display is space combat and very snooty characters attempting to outdo each other's putdowns. Indeed this is NOT your father's or mother's Trek. So, if generic space shoot 'em ups are your thing, then buckle up and take Discovery for a spin. Literally a "spin", as you will find out in episode 4. But, if you're looking for something a little deeper that will have you talking about other things than the look of a show, look no further than The Orville. THAT show looks like it will be shaping up to be the Trek we were all waiting for. And it will make you laugh, at that. ;)… Expand
  53. AlexMotan
    Mar 4, 2018
    1
    This is not remotely Star Trek. Is a pointless "politically correctness" intifada, drove by shameless profit greed on behalf of an icon brand and millions of fans.
    Even as not a Star Trek series, this is pathetic. Apart from CGIs, there is no reason you should like this show.
    Acting is bad, story is p*** poor. Soap opera raging in space.
  54. Honest-Yan
    Jul 10, 2018
    1
    This is the worst Star Trek ever made but it is still watchable if you are a big fan and you have thick skin. There are some references to superior Star Trek and some moments of entertainment to be had. It can be very predictable. There seems to be a preoccupation with 'diversity' to the extent that the only heterosexual White male on the show is the villain. The only White man who is notThis is the worst Star Trek ever made but it is still watchable if you are a big fan and you have thick skin. There are some references to superior Star Trek and some moments of entertainment to be had. It can be very predictable. There seems to be a preoccupation with 'diversity' to the extent that the only heterosexual White male on the show is the villain. The only White man who is not a villain is in a gay relationship with a Black man. There is a gay male alien too. The least competent female character is the White one. There is an Asian man who is too scared and incompetent to act heroically, unfortunately being Asian alone does not earn enough diversity points to warrant having a positive representation in this show. The remaining cast are female. heroic and confident, they are also Black and Asian and share homosexual moments. Maybe the future is non-White and homosexual, and while this show's representation of a future with a rigidly predictable social hierarchy may go down well on many college campuses, there is a flaw in this obsession with 'diversity'. When the Asian man was too scared to help save the ship, I kept feeling that it was more to do with his gender and sexuality than his conveniently scripted PTSD. When the main protagonist singlehandedly beats a superhuman Klingon in hand to hand combat I get the impression that this has less to do with her federation training and more to do with creating a positive representation of her gender race and ambiguous sexuality. It all comes across as inauthentic and overly contrived. To be fair, the original series claimed to be diverse, and maybe it was for its time, but it was mostly about White heterosexual men. Kirk fought Klingons too, but William Shatner looked physically stronger than other cast members on the bridge and clearly had a lot more muscle mass than Sonequa Martin-Green. At least the original show didn't make Uhura or Sulu villains or incompetent. It will take a lot less than 60 years for people to realize that the social politics behind Star Trek Discovery has caused very narrow minded and contrived stories, possibly more contrived than those produced less intentionally during the 60s show. At this rate we will have invented teleporters and warp drives before we can see past our sociopolitical tribalism to the extent that we make a truly inclusive Star Trek. I hope for a positive, inclusive and diverse future for the franchise... and also some better writing.… Expand
  55. Chris_T_Hill
    Oct 29, 2017
    0
    Awful. I found myself constantly groaning as nothing fitted into Star Trek lore and by heck those Klingons look even worse on screen than in pictures.

    I found myself constantly picking it apart and I…. No there’s just no way, no way on gods green earth anyone, not one single person on that production team can even have seen one episode of Star Trek, nothing was right. Everything was    Awful. I found myself constantly groaning as nothing fitted into Star Trek lore and by heck those Klingons look even worse on screen than in pictures.

    I found myself constantly picking it apart and I…. No there’s just no way, no way on gods green earth anyone, not one single person on that production team can even have seen one episode of Star Trek, nothing was right. Everything was wrong.

    It felt more like a cheap poorly written Sci Fi show, probably more Star Wars than Star Trek and worst of all I found myself bored as it droned on. It got to the point when I started flicking through news on my tablet while I waited for it to end.    … Expand
  56. antina
    Nov 7, 2017
    3
    To put it simple: this is not Star Trek.
    Someone must have tought that a good sci-fi show must be dark, gritty and grim. Maybe they are right, but please, please, don't call it star trek!
    This show has nothing of what made legions of fans fall in love with Roddenberry's vision. Nothing.
    Ad, apart from that, is really bad.
  57. EliOli123
    Jan 15, 2019
    0
    Another classic series goes PC. I watch TV to relax and get away from all the crap we have to put up with every day from social justice warriors trying to shove their left wing ideology down our throats. Now we have to put up with these guys using our favorite super heroes, Sitcoms, TV genres etc... to push their PC propaganda. When I'm at home I don't want to be bombarded with all thisAnother classic series goes PC. I watch TV to relax and get away from all the crap we have to put up with every day from social justice warriors trying to shove their left wing ideology down our throats. Now we have to put up with these guys using our favorite super heroes, Sitcoms, TV genres etc... to push their PC propaganda. When I'm at home I don't want to be bombarded with all this crap. I watch TV to be entertained, not indoctrinated. This new Star Trek is more of this same baloney. A big thumbs down from me.… Expand
  58. Yzaak
    Dec 28, 2017
    2
    I just tried watching it. Barely made it through the first episode.
    This is not a show I will continue watching, what a horrible disrespect toward anything to do with Star Trek.
  59. frankthetank420
    Jan 28, 2019
    0
    This show is absolute trash, such a far shot away from what Star Trek is really supposed to be about. The overall story is weak, and I don't find any of the characters particularly likable. I wish they would go back to their roots, and focus on some of the things that made Star Trek great.
  60. Hawk321
    Nov 1, 2017
    3
    Not Star Trek to me. Acting, story, dresses, logic....all far beyond TNG, VOY or DSN 9.
    And why the heck do those klingons have no hair anymore ??? While I find it interesting to hear real klingon voices and to see some klingon skin heads....it makes no sense to me why each klingon is now hairless.
    There are a couple more of stupidity stuff that is not kanon proofed like modern beaming,    Not Star Trek to me. Acting, story, dresses, logic....all far beyond TNG, VOY or DSN 9.
    And why the heck do those klingons have no hair anymore ??? While I find it interesting to hear real klingon voices and to see some klingon skin heads....it makes no sense to me why each klingon is now hairless.
    There are a couple more of stupidity stuff that is not kanon proofed like modern beaming, spore jump, spocks step sister, klingons organic looking star ships and peacock alike space fighter "jets".    … Expand
  61. Niftyfifty56
    Jun 3, 2018
    0
    What a let down, leftist rubbish. Not true to the original Star Trek atmosphere. Bad plot lines, bad acting. Should be called something else but Star Trek.
  62. DoctorMan
    Oct 6, 2017
    3
    This is NOT Star Trek. No logic, no character development. Characters are unlikable and then just die. Too dark, damn lens flare. I really wanted to like this but I guess I'm going to give The Orville a chance instead.
  63. Qgal5kap
    Feb 13, 2018
    0
    I was madly disappointed by the show. I regard it as highly disrespectful to the name of Star Trek. As the episodes progressed I felt the cringe factor increase equally as much as my sadness did. I kinda wanted to not watch it, but as I love sci-fi, I continued, but not without sustaining a fair amount of mental anguish.
  64. gaargod
    Nov 3, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I gave this show a chance but after episode 7, I give up. On the bright side, the visuals are great.

    I can perhaps forgive inconsistencies with the previous shows (such as Vulcans being able to telephatically communicate instantaneously at distances of several light years). However, what kills the show is bad writing. And I'm being very polite when I call it 'bad'.

    Episode 7 is a great example of what's wrong with the show. The ship is in the middle of the war. Somehow, a dude called Mudd has access to technology which is way too advanced for the era (maybe it will be explained later), and is able to almost take the ship and sell it to the Klingons.

    Despite the severity of the situation, the writers decide to focus on a cheesy love story. Seriously? Towards the end of the episode, it turns out that the Klingons would be more interested in Michael Burnham than in getting the most advanced ship in the alpha quadrant.... The reason? Michael is special. Oh, so special. I almost threw up in my mouth at how bad the writing was at this point.

    Finally, at the end of the episode the crew decided that the punishment for Mudd is not a summary execution or prison, but getting married to a rich girl which he doesn't really like. The guy almost caused the Federation to lose in the war against the Klingon empire. He also has knowledge of all the ship's secrets, which would be very valuable to the Klingons, and which are not widely known even in the Starfleet. And they let him go. Just like that.

    Nope, I can't take this anymore. They are butchering Star Trek with this writing. It's better to rewatch an old series with solid writing, and forget that this garbage even exists. I hope that the show gets either cancelled, or that they get completely different writers for Season 2.    … Expand
  65. SirIsaacBrock
    Oct 18, 2017
    2
    I have tried to like this show but with each passing episode it seems more like miniseries then a journey of discovery, or at least I hope it is a miniseries so it will end before ruining Star Trek forever.

    The graphics are amazing and Michael is a likeable character, but the rest feels forced. I guess I will have to watch Next Generation or Original to get the taste of this show out of    I have tried to like this show but with each passing episode it seems more like miniseries then a journey of discovery, or at least I hope it is a miniseries so it will end before ruining Star Trek forever.

    The graphics are amazing and Michael is a likeable character, but the rest feels forced. I guess I will have to watch Next Generation or Original to get the taste of this show out of my mouth.

    Sorry for the bad review but it doesn't feel like Star Trek.    … Expand
  66. Whuling
    Oct 13, 2017
    2
    As a generic sci-fi show, this would be forgettable and bland. As a Star Trek show it is shockingly bad. There are very few named characters, most of whom are aggressively unlikeable. The main character is devoid of emotional expression and constantly makes idiotic decisions based on leaps of logic. The scripts are unfocused, and the dialogue is very poorly written and delivered.As a generic sci-fi show, this would be forgettable and bland. As a Star Trek show it is shockingly bad. There are very few named characters, most of whom are aggressively unlikeable. The main character is devoid of emotional expression and constantly makes idiotic decisions based on leaps of logic. The scripts are unfocused, and the dialogue is very poorly written and delivered. Science has been abandoned in the technology of the show and replaced with magic. This show has already, in 3 episodes, had telepathy, light, and fungi that violate relativity. The sets are poorly lit and shot. The CGI is very expensive looking, but has yet to be used to make anything original or memorable.

    This show is basically an extremely high budget version of the dozens of forgettable sci-fi shows that have appeared over the years. The only reason that it has garnered any attention is that it has had the Star Trek brand slapped on it. As an actual product, Discovery has no interest in using the Star Trek brand for anything other than marketing. This program abandons the philosophy, technology, history, and visual language of Star Trek. So, as a viewer I am left with a simple question. Why does this thing exist?    … Expand
  67. frontlinegeek
    Jan 8, 2018
    0
    I am sitting here watching the mid season return. I swore I would watch the whole first season. I can't do it. I am not even done the episode as I type this up and I can barely bother to finish it, but I will.

    This show is shallow, reductive, extremely predictable, FAR too SJW laced (This latest episode has the mirror universe set with Earth as the center of effectively, the alt    I am sitting here watching the mid season return. I swore I would watch the whole first season. I can't do it. I am not even done the episode as I type this up and I can barely bother to finish it, but I will.

    This show is shallow, reductive, extremely predictable, FAR too SJW laced (This latest episode has the mirror universe set with Earth as the center of effectively, the alt right).

    SMG was terrible in TWD. She is WORSE in this!

    When the most enjoyment I have with this show is watching someone, anyone, DIE, I have to admit that there is no way that this is a good show and that it can't ever recover either. I have come to accept at this point, Star Wars is dead and now so is Star Trek.

    So ya. I am out. I have about 5 minutes left of this utter drek and that is it for me. Oh and possibly the most annoying character on the show just died!!! YAY!!! I leave on a high point!!!

    And just so it is clear where I am coming from...

    I have watched all of every ST series other than the animated series. I have watched nearly every scifi show in the last 25 years. BSG, BSG reboot, Farscape, Firefly, Continuum, Dark Matter, ALL of Stargate, and on and on and on...

    For how much money that has been tossed at this, STD is THE worst TV show, scifi or not, that I have ever watched. Even if you didn't call it Star Trek and removed all the Star Trek things, STILL would not be good...

    Anyone that wants GOOD scifi, go watch The Expanse. That is all.    … Expand
  68. BorisGovnic
    Feb 18, 2018
    0
    From What I have Gleamed and Read Everywhere this Show Is not worth Watching.
    The best Hope is that someone will come along from the 29th century and determine this was an alternate time line needing to be purged (I'm looking at you Captain Braxton) due to some temporal cold war tampering with the timeline. Or they could Admit its an alternate universe Parallels style. We did have over    From What I have Gleamed and Read Everywhere this Show Is not worth Watching.
    The best Hope is that someone will come along from the 29th century and determine this was an alternate time line needing to be purged (I'm looking at you Captain Braxton) due to some temporal cold war tampering with the timeline. Or they could Admit its an alternate universe Parallels style. We did have over 200,000 enterprises appear in one sector before, and that would be the way for them to Claim the Show was still "canon" because it was one of the alternate realities introduced from the prime universe. Purge this useless Trek from our memories and give us the show we truly deserve.    … Expand
  69. Spider69
    Feb 19, 2018
    0
    One positive aspect about this site is that there are no negative numbers so zero is it.

    Discovery should stop using the star trek logo and the term star trek. This is probably the worst series i have ever seen. Heck i would put the animated st series above this one. This series has single handly destroyed the klingon race, redefined cat fights and created a dis-functional    One positive aspect about this site is that there are no negative numbers so zero is it.

    Discovery should stop using the star trek logo and the term star trek. This is probably the worst series i have ever seen. Heck i would put the animated st series above this one. This series has single handly destroyed the klingon race, redefined cat fights and created a dis-functional federation. I can now say i am happy that the writers disrupted the time line so that second real crew has a chance.

    So much of this series sucks. There are only two really good actors and one died. Why was this show allowed to air. I cant even watch the last three shows. Just stop it please cbs. At least give aspiring engineers something to dream about other than a future filled with douche bags and wimps.    … Expand
  70. JRob
    Mar 5, 2018
    0
    I could have put up with the sub-par acting...but, seriously, is there some secret mandate that every new show has to contain F-Bombs??? Hey writers, guess what, you don't have to insert vulgarity to make something 'more realistic'. Its SCI-FI!!! Maybe in the future we evolve to a point where we don't need to use profane language to express ourselves? After all, we don't just point andI could have put up with the sub-par acting...but, seriously, is there some secret mandate that every new show has to contain F-Bombs??? Hey writers, guess what, you don't have to insert vulgarity to make something 'more realistic'. Its SCI-FI!!! Maybe in the future we evolve to a point where we don't need to use profane language to express ourselves? After all, we don't just point and grunt anymore, do we? I am a huge Star Trek fan. One of the few shows we could watch as a multi-generational family. It was smart, imaginative, classy, funny and had a moral message. Thanks so much for RUINING that!! I wont even mention the disgusting violence, well, ok, I mentioned it...its .gross. Immensely disappointing. You owe Gene Roddenberry a HUGE apology!!!!… Expand
  71. BobbyMcBobface
    May 14, 2018
    0
    Has it come to this? A Star Trek fan for 40 years, who bought every movie and every series on DVD, and then bought them all over again on Blu Rays... and now we have a Star Trek show so ill-conceived, so terrible in concept and execution, that I can't sit through it any more.

    I could spend hours writing about the show. Suffice to say that literally every single creative decision made    Has it come to this? A Star Trek fan for 40 years, who bought every movie and every series on DVD, and then bought them all over again on Blu Rays... and now we have a Star Trek show so ill-conceived, so terrible in concept and execution, that I can't sit through it any more.

    I could spend hours writing about the show. Suffice to say that literally every single creative decision made seems to have been utterly flubbed. I sit watching characters I hate - especially the protagonist - doing things that make no sense in a world that looks nothing like it should.

    I tried, really I did. I tried so hard to like this. But it is impossible. It's just too terrible. I got half way through the first season and gave up. Fortunately I didn't pay CBS one penny for the dreck that they served up, a thought which gives me some comfort.

    Oh well. At least there is The Orville. Is there some way we can cancel Discovery and reveal that The Orville really is a Trek show, tucked away in some hitherto unknown corner of the Federation? Clap your hands, children, clap and make it so.    … Expand
  72. mortendynamo
    Dec 1, 2018
    1
    This is an abomination of what Star Trek is. I Have watched all the previous Star Trek series, and have loved them all, but this were just utter garbage.
  73. udhos
    Feb 14, 2018
    2
    This series is a real pain to watch.
    I've watched every episode really hoping it would deliver a bit more of adventurous plots than politically correct stances on... EVERYTHING.
    Very unfortunately, STD could not do it. It is a thing so obsessed about political instances it can't deliver anything other than progressive agenda. It hits Trump. It hits manhood. It hits patriarchy. It hits    This series is a real pain to watch.
    I've watched every episode really hoping it would deliver a bit more of adventurous plots than politically correct stances on... EVERYTHING.
    Very unfortunately, STD could not do it. It is a thing so obsessed about political instances it can't deliver anything other than progressive agenda.
    It hits Trump. It hits manhood. It hits patriarchy. It hits Vulcan intelligence. It hits money. It's a relentless political show. If you enjoy PC, watch it. Skip it otherwise.    … Expand
  74. thapeloa
    Feb 1, 2018
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show is so political its boring...nothing feels natural in the show. The gay couple reveal did not feel like a natural relationship but mainstream TV checking the box that they had the first gay couple. Burnham is acted out by a brilliant actress pity her character went from emotionally devoid to ultra loving and caring in the space of 3 episodes! Took the mystery completely out of her. Then the show blatalntly once again tries to check the boxes from episode 12 by turning a very interesting character (Lorca) into a male villain who is taken down by two female heroins, the other female heroin being a previously ruthless emperor who tortured and murdered people but for the sake of checkboxes she turned into a loving co-star for Burhams (Marvel-esque) action sequence in episode 13. Instead of the evil empress dying in the end Burnham saves her so they can go live happily aboard the discovery. The script writing in this show is horrendous nevermind all the politics of the show. Oh and the show touches on slavery too in a total of probably 2 minutes on screen, the slaves were being sold by Burnhams new best friend the emperor...but Burnham forgot all that in favor of ticking check boxes.… Expand
  75. fevbwfth
    Dec 18, 2018
    1
    Beware, a show named Star Trek actually has female asian Hitler. I cannot believe this.
  76. startreksucks
    Jan 26, 2019
    0
    Season 2 os STD (what an acronym) started poorly. Look at episode two for example. It is a reboot/recycle of other episodes in the franchise, i.e. "Northern Star" (Star Trek Enterprise) and "The 37" (Star Trek Voyager). We pay money for Netflix subscriptions for this. People would expect the show creators to come up with something original, but their minds are so preoccupied with politicalSeason 2 os STD (what an acronym) started poorly. Look at episode two for example. It is a reboot/recycle of other episodes in the franchise, i.e. "Northern Star" (Star Trek Enterprise) and "The 37" (Star Trek Voyager). We pay money for Netflix subscriptions for this. People would expect the show creators to come up with something original, but their minds are so preoccupied with political correctness and making sure that the actors excel at being bad at acting.
    Martin-Green is not a brilliant actress and she does not bring something unique to the show. She just hangs around, acts bossy and all knowing (a cheap imitation of a true Vulcan) and she constantly disobeys orders or she constantly challenges them. She is like one of those nagging kids that keeps asking "Why" just to annoy you. The woman that plays ensign Tilly is another bad example at acting, besides being goofy, I have never met a cadet with that behavior in the entire Star Trek franchise.

    There is no proper chief engineer on the ship, only wannabes that make use of techno babble and not Sci Fi (usually one employs a scientific consultant on the show, or else you end up with **** like an asteroid traveling at 5000 km/s). I know Star Trek is Sci Fi, but it should push this boundary as close to real science as possible. Just to give people the idea that science is cool, but science needs to be cool and palpable, not crap said by some show creator that has not read a science book since fifth grade.

    The show also follows the White Man Bad trend that engulfs the end of the second decade of this century. The fewer white people in the cast, the better.    … Expand
  77. Phix105
    Oct 11, 2017
    0
    Another example of how critics have no clue what is good. One critic commented on today's pessimistic political landscape. We don't want the real world to invade our programs. Leave 2017's politics out. One critic stated that there are things for die hard Trekkies. Where? The stupid tribble that keeps making noise to remind us that it's Star Trek from the past. No way. I had such highAnother example of how critics have no clue what is good. One critic commented on today's pessimistic political landscape. We don't want the real world to invade our programs. Leave 2017's politics out. One critic stated that there are things for die hard Trekkies. Where? The stupid tribble that keeps making noise to remind us that it's Star Trek from the past. No way. I had such high hopes for this and I have been let down just like I was in the last movie.… Expand
  78. shaheinm
    Oct 2, 2017
    0
    I want to like this show so badly, but it's terrible so far. It definitely isn't Star Trek (there are dozens of reviews from other users that detail why; I'll join that chorus in a minute), but more than that, it's just bad TV. The writing is lazy - it's incredibly obvious when they're just creating false tension to move the story along. You can't see anything because the set is soI want to like this show so badly, but it's terrible so far. It definitely isn't Star Trek (there are dozens of reviews from other users that detail why; I'll join that chorus in a minute), but more than that, it's just bad TV. The writing is lazy - it's incredibly obvious when they're just creating false tension to move the story along. You can't see anything because the set is so poorly lit all the time, and every character aside from Doug Jones is one-dimensional, boring, and unlikeable. The science makes zero sense (WTF is that "interconnected web of spores" BS, midichlorians?).

    Ignore all of the talk of "SJWs have taken over" and all that nonsense from people who clearly don't understand or haven't seen Gene Roddenberry's vision. Trek is at it's best when it portrays a hopeful, progressive future for mankind. The problem here is that you can't do that with terrible writing and lazy plotting.

    And as far as Trek is concerned, Seth MacFarlane has created something that captures the spirit of Trek quite magnificently (episode three may as well have just been a lost episode of TNG), and that makes STD all that much harder to watch. I'm a devoted Trekkie, and I want nothing more than a Star Trek series to live on television, so I probably will continue watching the full first season of STD, but it is abundantly clear to me that The Orville is superior in every way (and a better Star Trek show than the one that bears the franchise's name).

    For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone felt the need to "update" Trek (in a prequel, no less) on television, especially in a paid format like CBS All Access. I hate the JJ-verse movies, but I can kinda sorta understand the desire to bring mass market appeal to Trek on the big screen - movies are supposed to appeal to as large an audience as possible. But the only people who are going to pay CBS for a monthly subscription to watch a show week-to-week that still includes commercials are Trekkies. And all we want is a Star Trek show. I can live with updates and changes, but the Klingon redesign was awful and disengaging (they can't emote in those prosthetics - Klingons have always been boisterous and emotional - and the "no one has seen a Klingon in 100 years" line drove me nuts), the cloaking technology reveal screws up all kinds of timeline problems, the tech is too advanced for TOS to be a successor series (Enterprise went to great lengths to keep the tech in the show 100 years behind a show that was created 40+ years before it)... why are you even making a prequel show? Why not just put a show set after DS9?

    Now I'm sad. I'm gonna go watch The Orville to give me hope again.    … Expand
  79. rickrey
    Jan 27, 2018
    0
    This is a very disappointing version of Star Trek. The main actors are weak and lack any command authority that would instill confidence in an actual crew. Absolutely horrible casting. No originality with the stories so far... H. Mudd is back. It can't get any worse.
  80. Smilomaniac
    Dec 21, 2017
    0
    I tried watching it as its own installment and with that in mind, the show is certainly something you could watch and enjoy. As it stands, however, this is a Star Trek show and it fails miserably at being what people love about Star Trek.
    ST:D is like watching a drawn out action flick, completely antithetical to the slow character building and stand-alone format of the previous shows.    I tried watching it as its own installment and with that in mind, the show is certainly something you could watch and enjoy. As it stands, however, this is a Star Trek show and it fails miserably at being what people love about Star Trek.
    ST:D is like watching a drawn out action flick, completely antithetical to the slow character building and stand-alone format of the previous shows. Drastic redesigns to the Klingons, Starfleet aesthetics and the general atmosphere of this universe has failed to revive Star Trek and instead propels everything towards being a heavily politized and moralizing show.
    Instead of highly developed humans (and others) having to find solutions to tough situations, we have overly dramatic and inconsistent characters that force their way through every situation without concern for the consequences. Where the likes of Voyager and TNG explained multiple sides to an issue, Discovery instead tells you the "right choice" and if you don't agree, you're probably a bigot.
    It's a terrible way to treat your viewers and an absolutely horrendous way to make a show, in short it's a disaster.    … Expand
  81. spruceman
    Jan 9, 2018
    0
    I will be boycotting this series. Terrible acting and directing. Ridiculous assumptions with fungal mycellium in space as a transport system. But the worst thing about this show is that it is left wing liberal propaganda aimed at indoctrinating young people. They are exploiting Star Trek to further their political agendas. I could hardly believe my ears in episode 10 when they claimed thatI will be boycotting this series. Terrible acting and directing. Ridiculous assumptions with fungal mycellium in space as a transport system. But the worst thing about this show is that it is left wing liberal propaganda aimed at indoctrinating young people. They are exploiting Star Trek to further their political agendas. I could hardly believe my ears in episode 10 when they claimed that they were the enemy in the alternate universe because they were racist and xenophobic. So they were tyrants and fighting a war because of this An obvious dig at President Trump who is none of those things. Sickening! Boycott! Typical Canadian production too.… Expand
  82. jrgray93
    Oct 29, 2017
    0
    This show feels nothing like a Star Trek series and it is painfully dismissive of established canon. There are few likeable characters and the acting is a mixed bag. The captain is a psychopath and the main character is just boring. Nobody acts like they're a part of the same society as the original series despite there being such a short time between these shows. The klingons have beenThis show feels nothing like a Star Trek series and it is painfully dismissive of established canon. There are few likeable characters and the acting is a mixed bag. The captain is a psychopath and the main character is just boring. Nobody acts like they're a part of the same society as the original series despite there being such a short time between these shows. The klingons have been modified both visually and culturally, ignoring even more established canon. The effects are good, but that doesn't make up for the entire product defeating on a half century of (mostly) good sci fi. The optimistic moral center of Star Trek has been replaced by nonsense and sex appeal.… Expand
  83. AlanJ
    Oct 19, 2017
    1
    I have been watching and reading every incarnation of Star Trek for over 40 years; all the TV series, all the movies, dozens of novels (and there are some pretty bad novels, out there).

    All I can tell you is this: I don't know what Star Trek Discovery is, what it's supposed to be or what it hoped to be, but it sure ain't Star Trek.
  84. fancypants01
    Oct 21, 2017
    0
    Complete disappointment. I'd rather watched Star Trek Enterprise than watch this new show. I hope they turn in around soon but all the new special effects might not save the bad acting and awful storyline.
  85. Testman33
    Oct 27, 2017
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have watched all the shows in this new series so far. On the positive side the show has some great special effects and some capable actors. Since there have been several versions of Star Trek I don't have a problem viewing a darker storyline as it has something to add to the Star Trek world. One problem is actually similar to the same problem that plagued the original series. The main character can't act. Like Captain Kirk she is propped up by the other cast members who can. Eventually William Shatner got better so maybe she will. The character names are hard to remember and after this many shows we should have some idea of their mental and moral qualities. Character development has been so slow it seems to stand still. I am not a big fan of the continuing serial but this is not a bad idea for a ship that goes from place to place sort of like viewing the captains log. But this series has rambled all over the place introducing elements such as the beast that could control the ship that seemed no more than a slightly interesting by-line rather than a major plot. As soon as this got interesting the beast was sent floating off into space. The Klingons are another example of poor character development and the writing has not brought out any qualities one can grab hold of. Having everything they say be in closed caption is a terrible idea. If the writers and directors of this show don't do a better job this one is taking a crash dive that no one will survive. P.S. sorry my review has been so rambling. It is sort of like the show.… Expand
  86. Acriminal
    Oct 20, 2017
    0
    I was really, REALLY...looking forward to STD. Having been a life-long fan of TOS and TNG, as well as DS9 and Voyager, but not as much a fan of Enterprise - it was "OK" I guess. I've loved all the movies, even the "bad" ones - didn't mind the JJ Abrams revamps although they do stray quite a bit from Roddenberry's vision.

    Not as much as Star Trek Discovery. STD is just not Star Trek.    I was really, REALLY...looking forward to STD. Having been a life-long fan of TOS and TNG, as well as DS9 and Voyager, but not as much a fan of Enterprise - it was "OK" I guess. I've loved all the movies, even the "bad" ones - didn't mind the JJ Abrams revamps although they do stray quite a bit from Roddenberry's vision.

    Not as much as Star Trek Discovery. STD is just not Star Trek. I gave the first four episodes a try and I've given it a good chance, but there's just too much that bothers me about it.

    The Klingon revamp was excessive and unnecessary. The last thing I want to do is sit there for half of a show reading subtitles and listening to authentic Klingonese spoken by mouths filled with cotton balls, by aliens that look more like Orcs than Klingons. Excuse me? They ATE the captain!? Why is it that I find that hard to accept about a space faring civilization?!

    Did I actually hear the F word!? And someone said Sh*t? Did the writers of this series even watch the original shows? To quote Spock, there are some "colorful metaphors" here for sure. The show isn't for kids anymore, which is sad and really unfortunate.

    Gene Roddenberry's inspiring vision of the future of humanity has been completely misplaced and ignored. So far there are no social or political parallels in these stories to spark the imagination. Nothing about this show is inspiring or enjoyable. I see nothing about the future of humanity to look forward to here. No exciting worlds to explore, just starships that look more like gyroscopes.

    They got the technology all wrong. Apart from the occasional beep on the bridge from TOS, including the first two notes of the intro sequence, this is all a cheap attempt at making you think you're watching Star Trek but that's about where it ends in its similarity.

    Complete disregard of the prime directive, or ethics towards alien species, the enslavement of alien beings by starship captains!?! Seriously? To win a war. Unreal. Unheard of. Inexcusable.

    Hologram communication even though we've never even seen this in TNG depictions of the future. Long distance mind-meld communication that coincidentally is exactly like the hologram communication except in a hazy dreamlike place with camera play. Very convenient! Cool idea yes, but it would have been a cooler idea if it was in a different timeline.

    Every single character on the bridge is either an alien or some kind of augmented human. It's overdone in my opinion, and we never learn anything about them. We just get a quick flash of "oh cool she's got cybernetic implants, maybe she's like the Borg?!", or "oh cool an artificial lifeform, maybe he's like Data?!", or "oh wow what an ugly alien, what's his story!?". There's no character development at all. Saru is probably the only interesting character on the entire show but we don't get enough of him either. instead we get to learn more about the boring Starfleet cadet with curly red hair sharing a bunk with a convicted-for-life traitor that should be in the brig. Okay that's plausible. Bad writing.

    Stories with worthwhile character development would be preferable over this terrible story about a war with the Klingons and fungus drive. Seriously? Spores. OK. That fits with modern physics theory about the nature of the cosmos. OK there are spores everywhere. I'll buy it. This whole idea may have been a cool plot-line for one or two episodes, but not the basis for the entire season or series.

    Star Trek Discovery is an insult to the intelligence of all Star Trek fans everywhere. It all comes down to very, VERY bad writing, and the writing bar has been set very high by Star Trek fans over the years. Star Trek Discovery has lowered this bar really, REALLY low, and has disrespected the entire franchise.    … Expand
  87. jorge100
    Nov 14, 2017
    0
    I don't understand why CBS has to go to such lengths to ruin Star Trek. Honestly these directors and producers must hate their audiences. Bad actors, bad tech, bad story-lines, no thought to continuity. These people who made this series obviously Hate Star Trek.
  88. SkalderSan
    Oct 5, 2017
    3
    Awful TV series. I am disappointed. I expected a worthy continuation of the famous series, but got full suck. I do not like the main character. I do not like special effects, I do not like the plot and its presentation.
  89. expreed
    Nov 26, 2017
    1
    Gene Roddenberry's vision went out the window entirely and was replaced with a no brains action show with only superficial diversity. The CGI is top notch, but that doesn't carry the show and Trekkies will prefer the 1960's show over this one in the end. Ignoring all the canon, which also went out the window, the show is just dumb and not well written. If the show were well written a lotGene Roddenberry's vision went out the window entirely and was replaced with a no brains action show with only superficial diversity. The CGI is top notch, but that doesn't carry the show and Trekkies will prefer the 1960's show over this one in the end. Ignoring all the canon, which also went out the window, the show is just dumb and not well written. If the show were well written a lot of the canon mistakes could be forgiven.

    Trek fans love Gene Roddenberry's vision and will probably never follow a Trek that borrows heavily from Star Wars... Sarek now has force powers everyone.    … Expand
  90. silkmc
    Oct 31, 2017
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's like a teen drama set in space. We've even had the obligatory (zero chemistry) forced hetero romance thrown at us only 7 eps in (and the whole ep a poor attempt to disguise the fact the episode was about MC getting herself a boyfriend... because y'know, women MC's can't just have their own story, even in 2017... Bechdel test failure in star trek... oh my... just kill me)… Expand
  91. teebow
    Oct 20, 2017
    0
    It’s no coincidence that the initials for discovery are STD, one should stay away…
    But seriously, this is how I see the difference between STD and the Orville:
    The Orville is a fan’s faithful homage to their favourite show with the added humour the creator is know for. Discovery is what happens when fans of Michael bay decide to cash in on the love for an American institution. And what    It’s no coincidence that the initials for discovery are STD, one should stay away…
    But seriously, this is how I see the difference between STD and the Orville:
    The Orville is a fan’s faithful homage to their favourite show with the added humour the creator is know for.
    Discovery is what happens when fans of Michael bay decide to cash in on the love for an American institution. And what does MB do when he gets his hands on someone else’s IP? Completely change what makes the originals compelling, make the characters people u can’t begin to like, let alone root for, throw in a ton of over the top and unnecessary CGI, god awful writing (and even worse dialogue), a little subtle racism, and throw out any thoughts of “canon” or “respect for source material”.
    In other words: pure crap    … Expand
  92. Furball
    Oct 9, 2017
    0
    Having watched Star Trek since I was knee high, STD is just nasty and incurably bad on every level. It's all been said by other people. It's pro gay, anti white, anti heterosexual white male, badly written, badly acted, and just unbelievably boring. It's not Star Trek. It's not even mediocre sci-fi. It's unwatchable.
  93. pchernik
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    Uninteresting, uninspired, forced characters. Atrocious special effects that feel more aged than the much older series.... The main protagonist was supposedly raised by Vulcans, yet she curses in every episode "s**t, that worked!". She is supposed to be a measured, calm, individual, in control of her emotions! Nothing Vulcan apparently rubbed off on her, including her over-elaborateUninteresting, uninspired, forced characters. Atrocious special effects that feel more aged than the much older series.... The main protagonist was supposedly raised by Vulcans, yet she curses in every episode "s**t, that worked!". She is supposed to be a measured, calm, individual, in control of her emotions! Nothing Vulcan apparently rubbed off on her, including her over-elaborate hairdo. And... Don't get me started on what they've done to the poor Klingons.... I hate what CBS has done to Star Trek. This is truly pathetic and sad. I'm really upset by this feeble creation wearing the name of my favorite sci-fi universe.… Expand
  94. MarsCorialanus
    Oct 23, 2017
    0
    I'm a huge star trek fan. Leading up to the premiere I thought the cast looked great, I knew that cinematic technology could allow for some cool new story telling, and I thought the diversity was a definite plus- Star Trek's first gay character. While the actors all do a pretty good job, the writing is god awful, the plots are uninteresting, and, worst of all, its violent and pessimistic.I'm a huge star trek fan. Leading up to the premiere I thought the cast looked great, I knew that cinematic technology could allow for some cool new story telling, and I thought the diversity was a definite plus- Star Trek's first gay character. While the actors all do a pretty good job, the writing is god awful, the plots are uninteresting, and, worst of all, its violent and pessimistic. It is the worst kind of Sci-fi; dark thoughtless explosion porn. I'm six episodes in.... I thought I would give it at least that long. Sometimes Star Trek takes some time to get its momentum. For now, I'm bowing out. Maybe in a season or two it will start to understand that Star Trek challenges its audience, makes them think, and most of all- it provides inspiration and hope in an otherwise in-just and flawed present. At one point, it also name dropped Elon Musk.... Alas poor Star Trek, I knew it Horatio.… Expand
  95. zanban
    Oct 22, 2017
    0
    i watched the first two parts so far, and reading these reviews and i'm wondering were we watching the same show? the main character obviously didn't know its place in the ship command and acted recklessly,from what i understood she was taught by the vulcan race and those would never do what she did, instead of reading those wishful reviews of 80+ read the bottom ones those will telli watched the first two parts so far, and reading these reviews and i'm wondering were we watching the same show? the main character obviously didn't know its place in the ship command and acted recklessly,from what i understood she was taught by the vulcan race and those would never do what she did, instead of reading those wishful reviews of 80+ read the bottom ones those will tell you all that is wrong with the show… Expand
  96. Panettone_3k
    Oct 31, 2017
    0
    An abomination.... This isn't Star Trek anymore.
    The movie franchise was already butchered by J.J. Abrams
    but now the series franchise has received a well aimed headshot. I couldn't even imagine in my wildest dream on how it would be possible to massacre Star Trek even more. I must admit as a huge Star Trek fan, some series were sometimes an acquired taste. But after watching 6    An abomination.... This isn't Star Trek anymore.
    The movie franchise was already butchered by J.J. Abrams
    but now the series franchise has received a well aimed headshot.
    I couldn't even imagine in my wildest dream on how it would be possible
    to massacre Star Trek even more.

    I must admit as a huge Star Trek fan, some series were sometimes an acquired taste.
    But after watching 6 episodes of this immature, cringy and nonsense junk, I can tell myself that I've tried.

    Thank you J.J. Abrams
    Thank you Alex Kurtzman

    Can you both do everyone a favor?
    Can you please let Star Trek die in peace. Don't torture the fanbase, it's bad karma.    … Expand
  97. ttsuda
    Nov 22, 2017
    1
    I really don't like this show. I would have lost all interest a long time ago had the show not been called "Star Trek" They are trying to adapt ST to modern TV story-telling, but it is not working
  98. Acquire
    Jan 16, 2020
    0
    Just awful. This is not Star Trek. There's no exploration, barely any story, sci fi is just the background. There is nothing thought provoking about what's happening. This show is careless with its treatment of the Star Trek universe. Characters, their interactions, the technology, it's all absurd and makes no sense given how close it is to the original series. Feels like a bad war actionJust awful. This is not Star Trek. There's no exploration, barely any story, sci fi is just the background. There is nothing thought provoking about what's happening. This show is careless with its treatment of the Star Trek universe. Characters, their interactions, the technology, it's all absurd and makes no sense given how close it is to the original series. Feels like a bad war action space show.… Expand
  99. tiaga
    Dec 9, 2017
    2
    First off I wanna say it's not bad, I do enjoy it. But as a Trekkie I know it messes up the timeline. And that's super sad. On top of that, you gotta pay like 10 bucks a month to see it on some stupid app, so its not even on tv to watch. Gene Roddenberry would be so disappointed to see his dream be turned inside-out like this. I honestly must say the Orville is more true to the star trekFirst off I wanna say it's not bad, I do enjoy it. But as a Trekkie I know it messes up the timeline. And that's super sad. On top of that, you gotta pay like 10 bucks a month to see it on some stupid app, so its not even on tv to watch. Gene Roddenberry would be so disappointed to see his dream be turned inside-out like this. I honestly must say the Orville is more true to the star trek series than star trek discovery. Seriously, if your looking for more star trek material, go watch the Orville.… Expand
  100. KGT1965
    Dec 30, 2017
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show is almost completely unwatchable. It is like they have bought completely into the new Star Trek Movies rational, but unlike the movies with bad scripts, And irrational changes for the sake of changing. If you wanted to make a new race of aliens make one. Don't futz with the Klingons. That's not original. It's just lazy. Gene Roddenberry Star Trek always posed a problem then fixed the problem. The generally didn't fix the problem by shooting at it first and then waiting to see if it's still alive so that the can shoot at it some more, especially not a Vulcan. I guess this is to be expected since new Star Trek movies have done much the same. The killed of an entire universe and the solution to that problem was "good riddance". Were as, in the old Star Trek movies and series they would go enormous hoops just to make things right again. (Gene Roddenberry vision for a better human race.) And what about all the episode in the star Trek series were the Federation sent people back to fix the time lines. sorry I'm off the subject. I do not like Star Trek Discovery. Lazy script and plot. Changes to charterers for no other reason that a whim. To many guns not enough talk. And what's up with the space flight haven't they heard of probes.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Best TV Season of 2017
1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2017
9
#9 Most Shared TV Season of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    Oct 19, 2017
    50
    Discovery feels like it’s adrift between the adventure-of-the-week format of its network-TV predecessors and the kind of complex serial favored by cable and streaming.
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  2. The Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Kristi Turnquist
    Sep 26, 2017
    60
    Star Trek: Discovery feels like it's just finding its footing. On the promising side, Doug Jones is already a standout as Science Officer Lt. Saru, who's from an alien race called Kelpiens. And James Frain is perfectly cast as Sarek, the Vulcan who veteran "Trek" fans know as the father of Spock. The relationship between Burnham and Sarek is one of the more intriguing aspects of Star Trek: Discovery.
    Read full review
  3. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Sep 26, 2017
    80
    Happily Star Trek: Discovery strikes a balance between what diehard Trekkies love about Roddenberry’s universe and what J.J. Abrams injected into its theatrical resurrection. Ethical dilemmas and a clash between cultures and traditions comprise the fore of the narrative, but the hours don’t skimp on phaser blasts and broadcast-appropriate carnage.
    Read full review
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