I am incredibly grateful to Game of Thrones for this adventure I have found myself sucked into for some years now. I am grateful for all the emotions it brought me since day one, bitter and sweet alike. I am grateful for all the laughs, all the tears, all the jokes and gags, every single bit of it, I really am grateful and appreciative of it all. It's been just... wonderful.
That said, I am feeling robbed and betrayed right about now. This ending is arguably one of the worst series finales in the history of television and trust me I realize how bold of a statement that is. The terrible violations the characters have suffered this season, the lack of proper resolution to many of the plots and narratives developed over seasons worth of buildup, the seeking of shock value at the expense of quality writing... that and much much more solidified this as an absolute disappointment of a finale, as opposed to the marvel wrap it could've given this cultural phenomenon.
This episode does have its positives, as always the score, acting and cinematography are perfectly performed but I just do not think it's nearly enough to compensate for how lackluster the writing has been, as much as I wish they did. Oh well, sad as it may be, I'll just hold on to the good stuff and hope that GRRM's book, once finished, will tackle the ending in a more coherent, more respectful and more meaningful way. It's been real y'all...
P.S: I'll leave this here lest some people jump me again. This comment is a representation of my own personal opinion, I am entitled to one just as all of you are. If you enjoyed this season and felt this finale delivered what you were looking for then more power to you mate, but that doesn't nullify my opinion nor does it make yours any valid. If you want to discuss or challenge my views, I'd be more than happy to engage you on that basis but if all you have to offer are petty remarks then please keep them to yourself.
This was a good movie but not a great movie (this will not be a popular opinion). First the good stuff: Lady Gaga was perfect for and in this role - acting singing, chemistry, song writing - all fantastic. The chemistry between Bradley Cooper and Gaga was believable and, at times, breathtaking. The first two thirds of the movie had a great arch and captured us (as a friend, who watched the movie with me, said, "I could watch the first part of this movie on repeat.") I am also a big fan of about 5 of the songs, and would add them to my library without hesitation, they are beautifully written. Now, the not so good stuff: the last third of the movie was too long - it could easily be cut by 20 minutes, but Bradley Cooper, as director, was more than a little self indulgent with his own scenes (we got the struggle, drawing it out didn't serve the storytelling). Ally's character arch was disappointing. As her star rose she didn't learn to love what Jack saw in her. She didn't learn to take ownership of her own story, the very gift Jack was trying to give her. Ally's story wasn't resolved until the very last moments of the movie, it was eclipsed by Bradley's directorial obsession with Jack's decline, belying the original premise of all the STAR IS BORN movies and lessening her triumph. I guess what moved it from great to good, for me, was that the first two thirds proved it could be great but the last third got hijacked (no pun intended). I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10. [Music-centric Romantic Drama]
Sorry Angelina, you're in the past now.
Alicia Vikander is phenomenal in this movie, and I appreciate the italian version of the movie for not dubbing her "screams" and "moans" because they are fantastic and add to an already adrenaline pumping movie.
The movie is the same as the first reboot game on the "next" gen, personally I did not play it, but I did play the second one and if they are going to make the next movie the same as the game, it's gonna be even greater!
This cinematic reboot is a rollercoaster. Lara's ability to come out of situation is always a bittersweet taste of disbelief that makes you love it even more. But, in this movie they took a nice step back to her and so we get to see a more inexperienced Lara. Because of this, every failed step doesn't look... "fake" as it did (in my opinion) with the original Jolie movies where she was a badass from starters, feared and known by everyone and still went on about and made stupid mistakes which didn't make sense really.
I gotta say that if you let yourself be immersed, the suspense in some of the scenes is thick and palpable. The line between mythos and reality is thin, but it develops perfectly near the end without resulting boring or monotonous.
Regarding every other aspect of cinematography: I have to say, some of the CGI felt a bit cheap, but usually is surmounted by the amount of action the movie delivers, sound editing and engineering was on point, note that there aren't really big, romatic or thought-provoking photografical shots, but it's to be expected in an action movie.
Alicia Vikander is perfect for the role. I absolutely loved her for the entire runtime and she honestly kept my interest up entirely on her own.
I don't know if Square Enix is to be thanked for the level of quality and "textuality" of who Lara Croft is and what Tomb Raider is about, but I think it's a safe bet and I hope it stays this way.
Please if you have the choice, watch the movie in english, it might sound creepy or weird, but Alicia's screams are fuckin fire in this movie, it gives depth and dignity to the struggle of a character that is supposed to be strong.
I was ok with the poor character development when the TV series departed from the books. I used to like thinking it was a kind of alternate universe from the "real" one.
They struggled on TV to show daenerys as a spoiled and selfish girl instead of the woman who was learning to have patience and wielding power in a so goodhearted way it asked a high price from her in the books.
But nothing could justify her acts on this episode. After their utter and final SURRENDER she says "guess what I'm gonna burn them all". Not even aiming to Central tower. Just make an open air barbecue of the city. The breaker of chains, mother of the slaves, making all peasants BURN. There is no plot excuse. 7 years of character building thrown out the window.
This is not the only problem in this episode. Arya is useless but survives inferno and has a magical horse appearing. Cersei dies in the most disappointing way. Euron just happens to swim to the EXACT LOCATION Jamie is.
Frankly I would not be surprised if D&D choose to end it next week explaining that all of it was a westworld simulation experienced by androids. Because the Deus Ex Machina limit has been breached a long time ago, and they keep forcing it.
When my filmmaker friend told me this movie was the best thing he’d seen this year, I knew it had to be good. But wow, did it exceed my expectations. I agree - this is absolutely the best film I have seen this year.
From the top, you’re hit with the 1970s pastiche all over this movie and there’s an immediate coziness to it that never goes away. Whether we’re isolated at a New England boarding school with four characters over winter break or in the middle of Boston, there seems to be a sense of lived-in belonging that you just want to be a part of. (Perhaps part of that, for me, comes from a massive amount of nostalgia for a New England holiday season.)
All of the characters, for all of their flaws and quirks, are immediately likable - you want to know more about them, and the movie gives you that in the best, most natural way: through conversation, and sometimes, quiet moments alone. The three leads - Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph - bring such truth and humanity to their roles that you don’t want to separate from them.
The plot moves slowly, but the atmosphere and characters are the real draw here. Don’t get me wrong - this movie is FUNNY. Dry, yes, but I laughed a lot. I also cried a lot. This movie touches on abandonment, depression, loss, and the deprivation of potential - but also the power of conviction, connection, found family, and the power in the unknown laid out before you.
I spent the entire episode grinning like a fool. It's so good to have Doctor Who back! And beyond amazing to finally properly meet Jodie's Doctor!
Oh, Jodie. When she first took off that hood in the reveal video back in July 2017, I immediately started crying. The thing is, I hadn't even allowed myself to hope for a female Doctor - I thought there was no way BBC would take such a risk. And I had never been happier to be proven wrong. I spent the last 15 months devouring every interview, every panel, every talk show, anything I could find, and making my way through Jodie's filmography (because of that, I can now understand her accent pretty much perfectly, which, as a non-native speaker of English, I'm really proud of). I knew she was a phenomenal actress, and in this episode it became obvious that she was born to play this role. Her Doctor is just the right amount of quirky, she's funny, brilliant and a delight to watch. One thing that stood out to me right away was the sharp contrast between her and Twelve's bedside manner - or, in his case, lack thereof. Thirteen is wonderfully empathetic, she seems to understand human emotions way better than her predecessor did. And it makes sense, too - after a darker, more troubled Doctor we get one who's bubbly, joyful and full of childlike wonder. Someone a little softer, which I love.
The episode itself was very enjoyable. I thought the storyline was quite clever and Tim Shaw (yes, I know that's not how it's spelled) was a pretty good villain. There were moments that definitely reminded me of Broadchurch - you can already clearly feel the difference between Moffat's style and Chibnall's. The whole thing also looked really good. Very cinematic. I already like the new companions - or friends, as they're now called. I wasn't a fan of Graham at first, but his speech at the funeral was very sweet. The Doctor explaining what regeneration feels like was excellent and moving, it also served as good exposition for potential new viewers. And I adore Thirteen's outfit.
It's times like these that I wish Doctor Who was a Netflix show. I want more!
UPDATE: This episode was watched by 8.2 million people in the UK upon its debut, which is the highest overnight viewership since The Day of The Doctor. Guys, I'm trying to be a good person here, I really am. But when I remember all the assholes on YouTube going "RIP Doctor Who" when Jodie was first revealed, I can't help but cackle. I'd say the show is doing just fine.
I'm very torn over the original Star Trek series. I'm too young for it; I grew up in the 1980s with the original cast films - which I loved and still do - but my real adoration for Trek began with The Next Generation and then especially Deep Space Nine. The original Star Trek is a very different show from any of that, and I have to look at it with a different mindset to try and appreciate it. I don't have any nostalgia colouring my view.
To put it bluntly, it's horribly dated and oftentimes difficult to watch or enjoy. It's campy and looks very cheap. BUT, it's saving grace is how good the actors, writing and characters are. They brought the show to life, and at points made it a complete joy. For the time it was made it did incredible things with progressive storytelling and strong special effects.
I'm never going to love the original series, or even really get it. It's not my Star Trek, but it has its place in history and that can't be denied. I feel it got it chance to shine when it moved into the film format (conversely, TNG and the rest of the franchise worked far better on TV than as films).
Happy New Year, everyone!
I know that I'm in the minority when I say that I genuinely liked series 11. For starters, I found the overarching storyline a lot more coherent than a large chunk of Moffat's era. And I thoroughly enjoy Jodie's Doctor. She's bright and quirky and fun and she's got that oh-so-Doctory, slightly unhinged glint in her eye. I absolutely can't wait for her to finally snap Time Lord Victorious-style because I have no doubt that she's gonna do it brilliantly. The companions have grown on me too, as all of their predecessors did. Was last season perfect? No, it wasn't. But did I vibe with it? Yes, I did. I know there are a lot of edgy fanboys out there who'd love to explain to me that it was in fact garbage and the worst thing in the history of everything, but you can pry my enjoyment from my cold, dead hands. It's a lot more fun to like things, even if I see their flaws.
Anyway, I really liked this episode! I felt the mystery was quite compelling, there was a good mix of action, suspense, comedy and drama, and the score was REALLY good. The companions are coming into their own more and more - I particularly enjoyed Yaz and Ryan's scenes together. Jodie is exactly as chaotic and living her best life as I expected her to be, and I would absolutely die for her. And that reveal at the end? Just (chef's kiss) delicious. Can't wait for more!
I'm very pleased to say that I really loved this! As much as I enjoyed the premiere, it didn't fully feel like a Doctor Who episode to me. This one, however, absolutely did. I think it captured the essence of the show perfectly.
Something that Chibnall does very skillfully is create an engaging mystery that really draws you in. I was on the edge of my seat for a big part of the episode, waiting to find out what happened to the population of the planet. And what do you know, it looks like the Stenza are going to be a recurring theme this season! I'm curious to see how that will play out. And what - or who - could the timeless child be?
One of the strongest points of this season is the cinematography. Some of the wide shots that we got in this episode looked like they belonged in a Star Wars movie. And the music is excellent as well. It's kind of subtler than what I've gotten used to with Doctor Who, but it's lovely. The new composer is doing a great job.
Another strong point is obviously the acting. While I do think that Jodie, just like every Doctor, will need a few episodes to fully come into her own, I love everything she's given us so far. The quick wit, the quirks, the boundless energy, the enthusiasm and the charm that she brings to the role - it's all exactly right. And I'll be honest, the emotional moments in this episode really got me. Her face when she saw the hologram of the Ghost Monument and realized it was the TARDIS! And the reunion was so soft and gentle and wonderful! I actually cried happy tears when she said "You've done yourself up! Very nice". I adore Thirteen. And the companions are growing on me too. I like the interactions between the three of them and the Doctor. I can't wait to see these individual dynamics develop over the course of the season.
The opening credits are awesome. I've never seen the classic series, but the theme has a very retro vibe to it and I like the color scheme. It looks like a kaleidoscope. I dig it.
And finally, the TARDIS! She's redecorated all right! The interior looks more organic, kind of like Nine's and Ten's were. I liked the sleek, mechanical designs of the Moffat era, but this one is so appropriately alien. The biscuit dispenser is a cute little touch, especially considering that they put it there as a gift to Jodie and packed it with her favorite custard creams.
Overall, I thought this was a really great episode. Now that we have the TARDIS back, I'm excited to see what adventures await us.
What the fuck were the writers thinking when they wrote this piece of crap?
He left his wife BY LETTER?!?
The others I'd understand, but leaving your life by letter and telling her you love her in it isn't just a dick move, its THE dick move!
The music is background music is the same one they play when they show sad but necessary stuff being done. This isn't necessary.
He could have talked to his wife trying to find a solution, but he just left and sent out letters...
After telling her time and time again that she doesn't need to be afraid, he wouldn't leave her.
But I guess when the media tells you constantly that all men are evil and only trying to supress women you start to believe that THIS is normal male behaviour...
The only reason to leave by letter is if you hate your partner and want to hurt him as bad as you can or if he/she is abusive (well then I wouldn't leave a letter to him/her, just maybe a relative to tell the police that I'm not missing...).
He was supposed to have matured, but I guess he is somehow a worse person than he was 15 years earlier...
Well, I didn't plan on sleeping tonight anyway.
I do have to say though, aside from the bathtub-smashing spider traumatizing me for life, I enjoyed this episode very much. I've been reserving my judgement of this season, but after 4 really good - in my opinion, at least - episodes, I can officially say that I already like it more than most of Peter Capaldi's run. I mean, I adored Peter himself, but the writing didn't do him justice most of the time.
I fall more and more in love with Jodie every week. Everything she does is so perfect, from her excited "Tea at Yaz's!", rambling about getting a flat and buying a couch, the whole Ed Sheeran thing, her confused "I don't think so. Are we?" (by the way, I am fully on board the Yaz/Thirteen ship, fight me) to her mourning the dead spider mother (despite my raging arachnophobia, I did tear up during that scene because growing to the point where you can no longer breathe is a horrible fate that no creature deserves). Mandip Gill is definitely a standout among the companions. I really like that Yaz follows the Doctor into danger so unflinchingly, I just hope it doesn't get her killed. And so many people seem to think that Bradley Walsh is a bad actor for some reason, but to me, he nailed the emotional moments in this episode. The fact that he keeps seeing Grace everywhere in their house is such a realistic portrayal of grief and it was done in a lovely way. Tosin Cole is the hyperactive 8-year-old of the group, which I don't really mind. Ryan blasting music through the speakers to get the spiders to the panic room did make me laugh. That's just peak Doctor Who.
I also love that the spiders weren't the villains of the story at all. No, the true enemy was a selfish man and corporate greed, which is so true for so many things in real life that it actually hurts. Keep spilling that tea, Doctor Who.
Team Tardis is officially a thing! The Doctor was so happy, bless her hearts. I can't wait to see what shenanigans these losers get into next.
Overall, this episode maybe wasn't flawless, but that's not really what I expect anyway. If something keeps me entertained, leaves me wanting more and actually gets the intended emotional response from me, I consider it good. During this episode I laughed more than once, I felt excited, I felt sad, I felt angry (seriously, fuck that guy) and I'm already pumped for next week. So as far as I'm concerned, mission accomplished. Now, if all of y'all who are getting this episode below 70% could perhaps stop, that'd be great. This was worlds better than fucking Love and Monsters and you know it.
This was an absolutely phenomenal episode, undoubtedly the best of the season. From start to finish I was hooked and invested in every single story line. I really adored Octavia's story and I am glad that the show explained everything that happened to Octavia as soon as she went into the anomaly in season 6; all the way to the season finale of season 6, bringing a wrap to the prequel story for Octavia, Hope and Diyoza. We got Countless answers to many questions from the reasons Octavia forgot her memory, to how Hope was able to get the message (trust bellamy) in her arm. Really strong storytelling in this episode. I also really loved Levitt's character, especially his reaction to all the things Octavia has done, it is interesting how Levitt, an outsider, could see the good in Octavia when others see the bad, a very interesting parallel on perceived morality. I was laughing to his reaction to Pike dying. I also enjoyed the present day workings in Bardo, however I dont agree with Echo's choice to kill the guy in the white room, I know she was angry about the purported death of Bellamy( I am about 99 percent sure he is not dead), however she needed to act rationally in that situation. The sanctum story was really interesting, I know others will dislike, but I dont care this is my view. I loved Indra and Murphy working together and I really liked the leadership role both characters took. Indra finally finding out that Sheidheda was alive, was the strongest part of the sanctum storyline, Indra still continues to be one of my all time favourite the 100 characters. Overall, The best episode of the season. At this point, I just want to know why Clarke is the key to everything, I dont know if it has to do with Cadogan's twelve levels, but I am intrigued.
9.2/10. I truly loved this episode All the storylines, Sheidheda, The Bardo storyline. I first want to say how great J.R Bourne is as Sheidheda. A very, very captivating performance, he commands whatever scene is in and that really shows the extent of his acting capabilities. I thought the title was really fitting, not only for the Bardo storyline, but for the sanctum storyline. Everyone had to sacrifice something for the an end whether the end is good or not. Indra had to sacrifice respect, her dignity, to bow to someone who she did not want to bow to to save Madi, and Madi the same to save her people. I also really loved the battle between Indra and Sheidheda honestly remined me of Lexa and Roan's battle in Watch the Thrones( Season 3 ep 4), One of the best fight sequences I have seen on this show, great direction for this episode and for that scene in particular. I thought we were going to lose Indra this epiosde, but we ended up loosing one of my favourite all time the 100 characters, Charmaine Diyoza, her wit and general badassery was great all the way till the end. I loved watching her character grow over the 3 seasons and although I am sad to see her go, and I wish he death was done a bit better(hope was stupid) she had a sick death scene, and she saved her family. I loved her character, and I dont know what I would do without my weekly dose of Diyoza, but I am glad she took Anders with her. In peace may you leave the shore. In love may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground. Yu Gonplei ste Oden Diyoza com eligus kru.
And here we have it, the real blemish on an otherwise great show and a contender for the worst episode in the whole Trek franchise. This is quite a disgusting episode for very clear reasons: it makes light of sexism, sexual assault and attempts to turn trans-genderism/gender identity into a joke. I honestly have no idea how anyone thought this was a good idea, other maybe than "it'll be funny!". It's a shame, because the episode starts with the very interesting issue of women getting equal rights on Ferenginar before becoming derailed. It also has the superb Wallace Shawn and Jeffrey Combs doing their usual excellent work.
We open with Quark, a character we've come to love through his faults, openly encouraging a female employee to perform sexual acts on him under the threat of being fired. But it's okay, right? It's meant to be funny.
Quark is forced to have gender reassignment and becomes woman. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
We all laugh at Quark trying to act like a woman, and the way his hormones now make him feel. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
A Ferengi male traps female-Quark in his quarters and chases her around in an attempt to have sex with her against her will. It's all very slapstick. It's meant to be funny!
At the end, it turns out that Quark's female employee actually wants to perform the work-enforced sex acts on him! Women always say yes if you're persistent enough, right? SO FUNNY!
Quark doesn't actually learn anything from his experience as a woman! Ha! Sexism wasn't ever a real thing! Oh MY!
I often see this derided as one of the worst DS9 episodes, and while it's definitely not going to win any awards I found myself seeing the good in it. It's certainly got a lot of issues and major story problems, but the episode has a heart and emotional punch which affected me. It also manages to be a very generic and unambitious Trek story.
Yeah, big parts of this don't make sense. Once Molly comes back as an 18 year old, the possibility is discussed of trying again to grab her through the time portal and bring her back as an 8 year old instead. This entire idea is dismissed by both the O'Briens and Dr. Bashir immediately. Why? Because they don't want to deny her the years she's had on the planet. Completely alone, separated from her parents, forced to learn to survive, scared out of her mind. OF COURSE YOU SHOULD TRY TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING. So, that's moronic.
Once back on the station, no real attempt is made to rehabilitate Molly. There are no child psychiatrists or doctors (bar Julian, who doesn't do all that much) assigned to help her. Miles and Keiko attempt to do everything alone, and it's insane how little patience they have. Miles is getting annoyed when Molly won't pass the ball back to him - based on the amount of balls she collects, they've been trying for all of 5 minutes. They put her in situations among crowds and seem surprised that she lashes out; why didn't they just beam to and from the holosuite to avoid problems?
Their final solution is to just send Molly back. Alone, to remain alone for the rest of her life until she dies alone. There is no feasible way that this is a good idea. For some reason the O'Briens completely reject the notion of Molly getting professional help and being rehabilitated properly.
As for the good stuff, I thought that Keiko especially brought a lot of emotion to the episode. Seeing a child separated from distraught parents is quite upsetting to watch. It's a shame that Molly isn't really a fully formed character, despite appearing on both this show and TNG for so many years (impressively, played by the same actress all this time too!). O'Brien's family in general seem to be a background thing that he doesn't need to deal with unless the story calls for it. Something of a missed opportunity there.
The actress for 18 year old Molly was fantastic, and easily the highlight of the episode.
Dr. Leah Brahms returns and is so much more interesting here, as her real self. She's feisty, driven and blunt but still manages to show her playful, friendlier side. The episode rolls along quite nicely with her until the end when she discover's Geordi's holodeck version of her. She's entirely right to feel violated, but somehow Geordi makes himself out to be the victim and makes HER feel bad. Deeply unpleasant to watch, and not at all in line with what Star Trek should be about.
Back in the episode 'Booby Trap', Geordi didn't do anything particularly wrong with holodeck Leah as he didn't ask for things to happen to way they did, he just got caught up in it all. He started things from a position of innocence. It's his actions in this episode that are reprehensible.
Which is such a shame, because for once Geordi gets to have some character development. However sidelined characters like Troi and Crusher often were, it's always felt to me like Geordi got the least amount of effort or attention put into his writing. They cast him off and injected very little personality, made him have almost no social skills. So it was great to see him during the first half of this episode actually engaging with Leah and trying his best with her. The scene with Guinan asking about his "old visor" is an absolute gem, too.
And not knowing that she was married seems a bit crazy. There's no way that Geordi didn't do the 24th century equivalent of Facebook stalking her.
There's also some story about a space creature that thinks the Enterprise is its mother. Not very interesting, outside of Patrick Stewart doing a wonderful job showing the regret and upset of accidentally killing the first one they encounter.
It wasn’t made by national geographic, so clearly it’s all pseudoscience! Just kidding, this is great stuff, very well made. People like jason in the comments, along with archeologists holding on for dear life to the current narrative, are why humanity has very clearly been stuck in the same place for the past century. They will tell you this docuseries is bs, they’ll accuse the creators of cherrypicking (lol, as opposed to what, downright ignoring evidence? Good one) that more evidence is needed, etc. but no funds go towards these projects from the known big players, so they have created and maintained a stalemate, where they (at least in their own minds) have the power to shoot down every attempt that is made to present new evidence. The agenda here should be blatantly obvious to anyone with half a brain. As for the motive, one can only guess. I have my suspicions, but this is not the place to discuss them as far as I’m concerned.
You simply can not say “renowned archeologists/the big players don’t confirm this, so it’s not true!” in a time where none of those “renowned” archeologists nor the big players can even be bother to look into this stuff. Time’s up. Mankind has waiting long enough for these clowns to advance the science, and when they refuse to, God knows why, it’s up to others to push the frontlines. This docuseries does that, in a visually pleasing way. I don’t care that dominant players such as national geographic are not involved in this, they’re clearly invested in preserving the currently established knowledge without expanding on it, so it is up to others to pick up the ball. They can claim pseudoscience all they want, slander from fossils who have long given up on even pretending to be engaged in science, is meaningless. Put you money where your mouth is, and if you can’t be bothered to invest in these projects, stfu and sit back while others do the legwork. Simple.
Highly recommend this series, very good stuff. Deserves the attention.
[2.3/10] Once you’re within spitting distance of the end of the series, you think you’ve more or less seen the best and the worst that Star Trek can give you. You’ve seen “The Menagerie.” You’ve seen “Spock’s Brain”. Surely, everything else will fit roughly somewhere along that spectrum, right?
Then, an episode like Elaan of Troyius comes around, and you realize you have not scraped the depths of how unpleasant, backward, and frustrating the show can be. Take out your knives, boys and girls, because this is, barring some real cratering in the back half of this season, the Worst Episode Ever.
Where to begin. Let’s start with The Dohlman. I tend to think of Star Trek as being pretty inconsistent in its sexism. One episode it’ll have Kirk bedding the babe of the week and talking to her like she’s a babe in the woods, the next it’ll have a female guest character taking charge and having real agency and an inner life, and the one after that it’ll have some well-meaning outing for Uhura or Nurse Chapel where you can tell their intentions are good but the whole thing comes off patronizing. That’s the danger of inconsistency that comes from the show’s freelancing spirit.
But damn if “Elaan” doesn’t roll in every female stereotype into one frustrating package. The Dohlman is a brat. She is entitled. She is duplicitous. She is unreasonable. She is irrational. She just wants to be liked. She is unladylike. She uses her feminine wiles to interfere in real men’s business. She is bloodthirsty in that way that Star Trek seems to like its female characters to play Lady Macbeth from time to time. She is childish. She is rude. And she is, of course, dressed in a series of outfits that hardly even qualify as lingerie.
And maybe all of that could be okay. Maybe there’s a version of this show (most likely one with more women behind the scenes) where The Dohlman is a character who gets to be as flawed and difficult as your Don Drapers and Selina Meyers or, if we’re going a little more contemporary, your Bialystock and Blooms, and the show makes something of it. (A brief pitch for everyone to see Young Adult which is, in a weird way, the best version of what “Elaan” is going for.) But this is not that show, and instead, we get insulting outing after insulting out where Kirk basically goes extreme My Fair Lady on her, with insulting results.
And that’s before we even get to the racism! It’s less the episode’s focus, but make no mistake, there’s something terribly uncomfortable about Kirk calling a dark-skinned woman with braids from a foreign people a “savage” and trying to civilize her. As I say again and again in these write-ups, to some extent I try hard to set my 2017 preconceptions by the door and take a 1960s television program as I find it, but this stuff is beyond the pale.
Nevermind the fact that Kirk slaps The Dohlan to teach her some manners. Nevermind the fact that he threatens her with a spanking. Nevermind that he tells Spock that Vulcan is the only place in the universe where women are logical. Kirk’s interactions with The Dohlan are the worst kind of patronizing bullshit, the sort where the captain gets to play the beneficent and wise man of wisdom and good breeding who whips this sorry, tempestuous female into shape.
But it’s all okay, because you know what The Dohlan really wants? What she wants deep down? It’s just to be liked! Don’t you understand? All that women who dare to bristle at the minor inconvenience of essentially being sold to a foreign government as a mail-order bride is just for people to like them. Then, not only are all their problems and behavioral issues solved, but then they’ll love you, really love you.
What kills me is that there’s a really interesting story to be told here. The notion of a princess from one culture being signed up to be part of one of those diplomatic marriages to end the hostilities between warring peoples against her will raises some very interesting issues about the intersection of personal agency and notions of the greater good and the nigh-impossible task of balancing those values.
But “Elaan” isn’t really that. It’s a wily woman story, where the focus is on Kirk trying to teach her to be civil and then struggling between his duty as a Captain and his affection for her. Even if The Dohlan weren’t such a mangled, retrograde character here, “Elaan” is telling Kirk’s story more than it’s telling hers, and that’s nearly as much of a problem if this the type of story you’re telling.
In the meantime, the meat and potatoes Star Trek stuff going on in the background of all this is no great shakes either. It’s another “conspiring with the enemy” plot, where one of The Dohlan’s guards is colluding with the Klingons because he loves her and doesn’t want the marriage to happen, and of course the Klingons want the dilithium crystals that are conveniently located on the planet, and the spy transmission is coming from inside the ship. It’s all pretty standard stuff without much of a wrinkle.
There’s some minor checkmarks in the episode’s favor. The Troyian ambassador had a distinctiveness to him, both in design and demeanor. There’s some worthwhile interstellar strategizing as Kirk figures out how to fend off the Klingon ship when the Enterprise has a dwindling power supply. And the actually firefight between the two ships is reasonably cool (at least in the remastered version of the episode I saw.) But even then, the episode gets resolved on a cheesy “Captain, her necklace is made of dilithium crystals story beat.
Nevermind the fact that the entire time this is going on, The Dohlan plays the devil on Kirk’s shoulder, demanding that he give up his duties or blast the Klingons out of the sky or do whatever she demands of him because she wants him to only be devoted to her. And naturally, despite the fact that The Dohlan’s tears are supposed to make her magically (er...chemically) irresistable, Kirk ultimately proves himself immune, or at least sufficiently resistant to her charms, because he is a Great Man™ and his one true love is the ship.
Good god is the whole thing insipid. The Original Series has had it’s share of misguided episodes, or episodes with premises or values that seem backward to the modern eye. But never before has it provided an offering that so doubles down on all the retrograde perspectives, tired stereotypes, and all around shlock that “Elaan of Troyius” features. It’s a wasted opportunity, a dull forty minutes, and the absolute low point for an otherwise good show, that’s taken time out of its busy schedule to present its audience with a big hunk of crap that should have been blasted out the airlock in the first place.
Mostly memorably for the pretty great twist at the end, but it's Nog's story which remains the best part of the episode. His desire to enter Starfleet seems to come out of nowhere, but through a combination of some good writing and Aron Eisenberg's great performance, it all manages to feel right. The scene in which Sisko wrings his reasons out of him is mesmerising to watch due to impressive work from both actors. I also love the moment in which Rom defies Quark and lets Nog know he would be proud of him.
The Kira/Odo A-plot is a bit more problematic. Not because of it's content, which is great, but because of how off so much of it feels in execution. Nana Visitor's performance is just not very good, and while I sincerely hope that this because she was trying to convey that she's NOT really Kira, it's something that I can't say with certainty. Her strained voice becomes grating very quickly, and the dialogue is unnatural. Again, possibly clues that she's not who she appears to be, but hard to watch without cringing.
Rene Auberjoinois, meanwhile, is fantastic. The story of how he got his name is charming, and it's heartbreaking that the reason he realises he's not talking to Kira is because she tells him that she loves him too.
OK, to be honest, you're gonna have to check your expectations and pre-conceived notions at the door, and just kind of go with the flow on this one. It seems to be riffing on Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Galaxy Quest, Idiocracy, Airplane, Modern Family, and a mishmash of every other comedic space themed serial in recent memory including WALL-E, that is, at least the part on the "Axiom".
A weirdly stellar cast, with House's Hugh Laurie making a reappearance not as a Starship Captain, but, an actor playing one, on a real starship, hired by the actual Captain, who had no social skills, and while pretending to be Star Trek's intrepid engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, has unfortunately impaled himself through the heart, while on an unnecessary EVA to "fix" the 23 second communications delay at the behest of Josh Gad's seemingly portly take on "genius" Elon Musk. Voyagers "Neelix" sans prosthetics, is on board as a REAL astronaut, who was the 30th man on Mars, although he was the FIRST Canadian. Journeyman Actress Rebecca Front (Doctor Who, Poldark, Humans) is irritatingly effective as busy body Karen Kelly, you know, the bossy lady that's always "all up in everyone's business", and, finally, "Being Humans" (Annie) Lenora Crichlow rounds out the cast as "the next in line to the real captain" engineer Billie.
After an (artificial) "gravity flip" during a record breaking in space yoga class flings their combined mass against a bulkhead, knocking them off course by 2.3 degrees, they discover that their 3 hour..., er, 8 month tour, is now going to take them much much longer. I'm not sure where they are going to go with this, but, if your willing to suspend disbelief, and just see how this plays out, who knows, it might just be fun.
it's amazing how doctor who fans hate doctor who, no surprise some people who have never liked the show keep on trying to make it look bad. guess what, disliking things says only about you, not the things themselves. those guys are the worst, but this series is the best, and they truly don't deserve it ;))) chibnall shows an amazing storytelling skill; jodie whittaker is an incredible actor and her doctor is such a good and nuanced one it never fails to entertain, she will be remembered as one of the most underrated ever (because the fanbase guys suck); the side adventures other than the new and old characters just expands this universe so much, making it new again, it's incredible; the decision to take one good director was also a good one to this short -- and clearly expensive -- series. i LOVE azure and swarm. plus, the idea of time as it is presented here is just amazing and gives so much for the future of a very old tv show. this is one of the best series we've had and i'm glad chibnall had the balls to do something completely different from what he was doing, showing a great side of his writing. it's perfect in every way
also: ESTAUTIUS!!!!!!!!!!
[7.7/10] A really fun outing all around! The main story, featuring Mariner and Tendi going on an ill-fated “girls trip” together has a strong character basis to it. The realization that despite working together and being in the same friend group, they don’t really know one another and aren’t really friends is a good throughline for the usual Mariner-fueled insanity. The episode unspools that nicely with each realizing the other doesn’t know major things about them, until the two have an out-and-out argument over it.
But I also like where the episode lands. Despite the distance between them, Tendi’s still willing to blow her big chance for a promotion to save Mariner and Mariner’s still apt to use her “improvisations” to save Tendi’s skin. While things don’t go as planned, the trip works to help them get to know one another, and there’s particular insight into the two of them struggling to open up to people, either because friends get promoted and jet off or from being a natural people-pleaser. There’s emotional maturity at the core of this one, which bolsters all the hijinks.
And the hijinks are fun! The two officers jetting around the galaxy to preserve Dr. Tiana’s fertility idol is a hoot. Seeing homages to Naussicans in pool halls and another visit to the Orions’ planet (not to mention Tendi’s cultural discomfort with the whole thing) is a lot of fun. I particularly love the twist at the end, where for all Tendi and Mariner’s concern about the fertility post, Dr. Tiana just wanted to play around in the box it came in like a housecat.
The B-stories are good too! I got a big kick out of Rutheford being taken aback at Shax returning for the dead and having to know the secret of how while everyone else just takes it in stride. Star Trek isn’t as bad about convenient resurrections or cheats as other nerd franchises, but it’s still amusing to watch the show poke fun at past Lazarus extravaganzas across Star Trek history via Shax’s unexpected return. I particularly like the resolution, where the answer is so dark and disturbing that Rutheford wishes he didn’t know about it, as a fig leaf on why explanations aren't always so forthcoming.
Plus, how can you not love the Boimler/Tom Paris plot? It’s fun to see Robert Duncan McNeil in on screen (so to speak) for the first time since his show ended, and there’s a lot of wonderful gags and homages to Voyager along the way. (I especially enjoyed Boimler humming its theme as he walks down the hallway and a very late resolution to the bizarre salamander episode.) The running gags about the ship’s computer not recognizing Boimler since his transfer, and the escalating, Looney Tunes-like mishaps it forces him to endure, are top notch stuff. And his commitment to his VOY commemorative plate was a laugh and a half.
Overall, this is another winner for Lower Decks, which yet again finds clever ways to poke fun at some silly Trek tropes, while imbuing its madcap adventures with a very human core.
[4.2/10] “Galaxy’s Child” comes sooooo close. When Dr. Leah Brahms finds Geordi’s holodeck program from “Booby Trap” and hears her holographic doppelganger practically cooing at him, she is understandably as furious as she is aghast. She tells him it’s violative. She tells him she’s outraged. She dresses him down for not only turning her very being into some sort of romantic plaything, but then using the knowledge gained from the recreation to try to ply her in real life.
Let’s be frank. Geordi’s behavior in this episode is creepy. Really creepy. His actions in “Booby Trap” are largely forgivable. The computer constructed the ersatz Dr. Brahms without him really asking for it. He utilized the hologram to solve a pressing problem. And while his attraction to this artificial representation of a real person was a little weird, he stopped it before it went too far. If anything, the message of the episode seems to be that technological comforts are no substitute for real life, a lesson Geordi took to heart and one worth imparting to our fellow Trekkies.
But the violation in “Galaxy’s Child” isn’t the fact that Geordi still has that program on his futuristic hard drive. It’s that he uses what he learned about Dr. Brahms from it to try to woo her in the real world, without ever coming clean to her about where his off-putting level of info about her came from. This may be the cringiest, most uncomfortable installment from any Star Trek project this side of Kirk trying to “civilize” an alien princess, and most of that rests on how the episode treats Geordi’s borderline disturbing behavior.
When taken to task for invading Dr. Brahms’s privacy, for her understandable reaction to seeing a recreation of herself making goo goo eyes at a stranger, for all but rummaging through her garbage, does Geordi apologize for any of it? Does he see why it’s wrong? Does he accept that it’s wrong to try to approach someone, even someone you think you might like, in this way?
No, of course not. Instead, he dresses down Dr. Brahms for being “cold” and unfriendly to him when “all he wanted to do was be her friend.” The episode largely leaves it at that in terms of interrogating Geordi’s conduct here, turning it into one of the most lopsided, even gross, false equivalencies the franchise would ever put forward.
That’s the big takeaway from the A-story here. Dr. Brahms, the object of Geordi’s fantasy, arrives on the Enterprise in person to examine the modifications to the ship. Geordi anticipates a real world chance to hit it off like he did with Leah’s holographic equivalent, taking on an air of familairity with her and concocting little bits of social engineering to grease the wheels of the friendship he wants to forge. But when those plans go awry, when Dr. Brahms seems increasingly uncomfortable at Geordi’s approach, the episode blames her lack of receptiveness to his advances as much, if not more, than it slates Geordi for them.
Thank goodness for the B-story. The Enterprise encounters a sort of giant whale flying through space (Hello Voyage Home fans!) which turns out to be a species the Federation’s never seen before. A brief attempt to study it results in an unfortunate situation where the crew is forced to repel the creature, accidentally killing it in the process. But the creature turns out to be pregnant, and its offspring attaches itself to the ship. As it sucks up the Enterprise’s energy, Picard and company have to figure out how to get it home and detach it safely before it drains the ship of all power.
It’s the best thing in the episode for multiple reasons. For one, it creates some necessary jeopardy to help add a sense of urgency to the episode beyond Geordi and Leah butting heads over changes to the ship. For another, the concept of large creatures that fly free in space and have little hives where they float amongst the stars is just inherently cool, a testament to the wonders of the universe. (Though in fairness, the crew has seen something along these lines already, in the form of Tin Man.)
But what drives it home most of all is Picard’s reaction to everything. His awe at the creature’s existence is infectious, and his sadness and regret when they accidentally kill it is palpable. That creates an emotional urgency, not just a practical one, when it becomes incumbent on the Enterprise to save the offspring and ferry it home. It’s a nice mix of nuts-and-bolts problem-solving, a cool sci-fi concept, and an emotional connection rooted in the captain’s respect and appreciation for the opening mantra’s vaunted “new life and new civilizations.”
Sadly, apparently, that respect doesn’t extend to women who are brusque with you. The big theme of “Galaxy’s Child” is that you have to accept people as you find them and not judge them based on your expectations or for failing to live up to your fantasies. For Geordi, his epiphany is supposed to be that he should accept Dr. Brahms even though she doesn’t align with the woman from his holodeck program. And for Dr. Brahms, it’s supposed to be that she’s wrong for holding a preemptive grudge against Geordi for tampering with the ship specifications she designed. And somehow, these are supposed to be equal sins.
It’s mind-boggling. There’s a good episode to be written about a ship’s designer and a ship’s engineer being at loggerheads over whether the drawing board or experience from operation should drive engineering decisions. There’s a good episode to be written about not pre-judging people based on their reputation or expectations and instead accepting them as the full three-dimensional person they are. But building Geordi and Leah’s interactions around those ideas completely ignores how wrong Geordi’s cyberstalking routine is, and placing blame on Dr. Brahms for being “cold” in response to his creepy behavior is beyond the pale. The approach to the episode is almost as wrongheaded as Geordi’s approach to his dream girl.
This is where I somewhat reluctantly note that the writer for this episode is former showrunner Maurice Hurley. No one’s ever come out with anything official, but rumors have circulated for years that Gates McFadden’s departure from TNG in season 2 stemmed from Hurley sexually harassing her. I don’t want to make too much of something that’s never been fully confirmed, and the episode’s problems exist wholly apart from any behind-the-scenes issues. But it does cast a particularly concerning light on a situation where gross behavior is treated as romantic, and a woman is implicitly chastised for being “cold” and unreceptive to it.
So much of the Geordi/Leah business is just uncomfortable and hard to watch. Geordi’s forwardness to someone he’s never actually met before, his knowing her favorite dish and commenting about how she wears her hair, his attempts to woo her in his quarters, all just come off like the work of a cyberstalking predator. Honestly, at times the episode feels like a horror movie.
Some of that may just be the way the script frames Dr. Brahms and Susan Gibney’s performance. What may be intended to play as “Dr. Brahms feels weird about this because she’s already decided she dislike Geordi because he’s messed with her ship,” instead plays out as “Dr. Brahms feels deeply uncomfortable at this dude she’s barely met reeling off personal details about her and assuming an air of familiarity to their relationship that doesn’t exist outside of the holodeck.” The distance between what the episode is going for and what it actually conveys make its blind spots seem worse.
Of course, by the end, Dr. Brahms and Geordi have to set aside their differences to help the baby whale, and after Leah’s suitably wowed by Geordi’s solution, they save the day at the last minute. There’s a detente, and past trespasses are laughed off in Ten Forward, and the episode seems to settle on more goo-goo eyes and a “We were both wrong” landing spot. The show wraps up the expectation vs. reality theme on both sides of the table, but never resolves the real issue with Geordi’s choices here, or deals with their implications.
At its best, Star Trek isn’t just a series of exciting speculative fiction stories set in outer space. It’s an aspirational vision for what humanity could one day become. That doesn’t mean that the characters at the center of those visions shouldn’t have flaws or that they shouldn’t err in very human ways. There’s something comforting about seeing the brilliant professionals aboard the Enterprise in familiar ways. But it means the show has to know when they’re stumbling, and not minimize their mistakes or, worse yet, paint them as in the right all along.
Geordi’s sin here wasn’t treating somebody like a fantasy rather than a real person. It was violating that person’s autonomy, using her personal information to try to manipulate her, and practically blaming her for it when it doesn’t work out the way he’d hoped. You can’t expect any T.V. show to share all of your values, but the way “Galaxy’s Child” writes off such uncomfortable behavior goes so far afield of my ethical bearings, one informed by shows like The Next Generation, that the episode becomes almost unwatchable. The episode flies right to the edge of the real point, the real problem with its character’s misstep here, and then walks away from it. That’s beyond disappointing for a series whose moral compass was never perfect, but rarely, if ever, pointed its audience in so wrong a direction.
Make that three pickle jar jokes in as many episodes, this time with godawful CGI to go with it.
Interesting that the show is set farther in the future than any Star Trek series, but doesn't have teleportation technology available. An excuse for shuttle docking effects porn every week? (i.e. the exact opposite of the reason why Roddenberry gave the Enterprise a transporter.)
If asked for the most Star Trek–like thing about The Orville, it's that the captain regularly goes on away missions. Dangerous ones.
And he always almost gets killed.
The last scene is iffy on the effects.
Stars outside the captain's office window: moving.
Ship: stationary.
What.
Pria shouldn't have vanished. That creates all kinds of plot holes that wouldn't exist if she'd stuck around to be dropped off at a Union base or whatever they would do with her. Since she disappeared, that implies she never existed in this timeilne, so she couldn't have saved the Orville from the dark matter storm, which means Mercer couldn't have ordered the wormhole destroyed. But if the wormhole isn't destroyed, then Pria continues to exist in this timeline, which means the wormhole Mercer will order the wormhole destroyed, which means… Time travel is a bitch to write.
I've tried something a bit different here, and watched this episode during my TNG rewatch as a companion piece to the episode 'The Pegasus'. As an episode of Enterprise, this is an absolutely horrid way to end the series, but taken as an episode of TNG... well, it's still not all that great, but kind of works a bit better.
The issues are numerous. Riker is supposedly trying to make a decision about whether to disobey orders and tell Captain Picard the truth about what happened on the Pegasus, but there is the question of when exactly he finds the time to take a jaunt in the holodeck to work all his problems out. On top of that - perhaps most confusing of all - the story he watches doesn't seem to have any bearing on what he's going through at all.
It's nice to see the recreation of Enterprise-D sets, but they do look a bit cheap and cheerful. It's also impossible to hide the fact that Riker and Troi look 10 years older all of a sudden.
This is a throwaway in every sense and a real slap in the face to the cast of Enterprise. The plot is meaningless and just a mess (how rubbish are those alien "criminals"?) and the death of Trip was unnecessary and poorly done. I'm not sure what was trying to be achieved here.
This final season better be good. I pray this final season is the goodbye Picard deserves. This is a promising start but season one's and two's premieres were also solid before it all went south. This is perhaps the best of all season premieres though. You instantly feel the chemistry between the old (literally!) crew. They must refrain from reprising their old roles though. But if that's really characters that aged with dignity and changed over time, I can see how assembling the old gang was maybe a good idea. We'll see.
I'm also excited to see Seven again. It's the first time in Star Trek Picard that I actually believe that she is the old Seven from the Voyager. It's how I always pictured her after what happened aboard the Voyager. She walks like old Seven, she's witty and funny like old Seven, she's unruly and efficient like old Seven, she's still a vulnerable ex-drone, she still struggles to fit into Starfleet and she still hates food ... Hope we'll see more of her
I don't understand why this season is not connected to season two. Will we learn what happened with Jurati-Queen? And will they tell us why Tallin and Laris look the same? And so forth ... Or will that remain unanswered? Like season two never happened? A very comforting thought btw. Let's pretend it didn't happen ...
Best scene: the GUI of the Starfleet's iconic operating system right before the credits. That's fantastic.
Pretty self-contained and interesting story. I’m really glad to see that most of the stories are getting international, a bunch of stuff (linked to the main story) happening all at once on different parts of Earth. That makes it a bit more… grounded and fun. It’s Sci-Fi, I know. Pretty straightforward story: alien disease. It got to Earth because another humanoid race brought it here to find a cure. An alien bacteria that feeds on microscopic plastic particles. Those particles exist in our own bodies because we’ve been overproducing plastic. It’s in our food, oceans, ecosystems… it’s everywhere! A couple of people got infected and died, but the Doctor managed to create a cure. Later on the episode, it got spread through out the stratosphere. An interesting take on plastic and pollution, much better delivered than the one from the “Orphan 55” story. I think it worked. The companions’ dynamic is way better now, the TARDIS doesn’t feel too crowded, it feels… more balanced.
I just got one question… why wasn’t Gabriela upset about her best friend’s death? I mean… after all that crazy stuff happened to her, she looked okay and ready to move on. HER BFF JUST DIED. RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.
1. It's nice warm summer in Kings Landing. ONE DAY later (S08E06) it's a frosty winter :D LOL Well I guess the GREAT WINTER came after all :D
2. Jon stabbed her in the belly and all of a sudden the knife is in her chest and it seems like two different knifes (maybe someone turned the knife around ^‿^
3. Also there were no foot prints in the snow AND the snow did not melt in front of the dragon when he was spitting fire.
4. Why would the dragon have an understanding of what a throne is, that it has never seen before?? IT's AN ANIMAL! HELLO!?
5. So the dragon is able to forgive Jon and Greyworm is not? Or does he? Unsullied and Dothraki just sailing of like nothing happened. Really?
6. Somehow Jamie & Cersei were underground +plus the roof caved in, so much that Tyron got light down there IN THE UNDERGROUND and somehow Jamie & Cersei were just covered by a few rocks???
7. Surprisingly the throne & the books survived the devastation of the castle, without a scratch or stones on it ^^
8. Where did the Danerys get that XXXXXXL flag from that is hanging over the castle ruin, bigger than a dragon?
9. "I can never be lord of Winterfell, I can never be lord of anything, I am the three-eyed raven." … - … "Why do you think I came all this way?" … Seriously????
AND did I get this straight??? At the end of season 7 the ice wall + the nights watch was completely and utterly destroyed and now the wall & the nights watch is there again??
I mean WTF were you thinking HBO???
Oh my gosh :see_no_evil:
Conclusion: 67 brilliant episodes, 6 bad episodes & 1 unsatisfying ending.
To go where sexism has gone before! Boy... It's like Uhura is the only female character that actually matters. The rest are there simply to carry the captain's tricorder etc, or the tricorder of someone else. If not, they are written as an entirely ridiculous character that just does silly things - of course because she's female.
The first actress who ever played Yeoman, was even written off the show because someone in the production company sexually harassed her. She was supposed to be an integral character in the show - and tbh, she was great (imo she disappears right when her character feels like it's gotten it's footing - right when I started to really like her).
They claimed her presence was getting in the way of the producers' desire for Kirk not to be tied to one love interest.
Silly, right?
Well.... At least the other parts of the show are good, and the movies are much better. I can't say I dont appreciate what came after, either. TNG, DS9 and Voyager are amazing. :sign_horns: Strange New Worlds, Prodigy and Lower Decks, also, recently, have been some of my favorites. A great franchise really.
Plus Leonard Nimoy is the man. He's really fantastic. Live long and prosper, dude.
