Thanks, das Monkey!

Ratguy

Do you guys think it would be worth the effort to post a thread in the Studio forum with our likes and dislikes regarding the show? I would think, well-thought out and polite, professional sounding posts might be taken into consideration.

I was suprised how many guys didn't care for the shower scene.

Yeah. It’s not an issue of being against pornography of any “core” level, but rather how appropriate that scene was for the show. It would have seemed out of place on ER or Law & Order as well. It felt to me like they were singling out their audience, not as people who enjoy fun and well thought out science fiction, but as all male, socially inept, horny shut-ins. Please.
Besides, I didn’t have my towel handy.

I does seem like that's all they consider their core audience to be and I find it a bit insulting.

Bummer about the towel. Hope you had a box of Kleenex near-by (grin and duck)

I did really enjoy the scene, but also thought it was very out of place for the show. What might be right for me, might not be right for the show.

And I did have my towel nearby.

Ratguy

As a Douglas Adams fan, I always carry a towel when I travel the galaxy. You can never count on alien kleenex.

What surprises me is that after all these years, Paramount still hasn't figured out their demographic. Breast lovers will never watch Sci-Fi unless they like Sci-Fi to begin with, and people that like Sci-Fi are usually looking for more intelligent TV. There are many other channels to get T&A, and the Star Trek demo is probably adept enough with their computer to find plenty on the Internet, so it just doesn't make sense to me.

Paramount has a long history of pooping on their fans. They don't understand simple concepts. Like non-profit fansites ... my degree's in Electrical Engineering, so perhaps I don't understand the innerworkings of cut-throat money-grubbing, but it seems to me that non-profit fansites are nothing but free advertising, promoting discussion and interest in the shows. But what do I know? All I care about is breasts ... at least that's what their research tells them.

das

I thought the same thing. Thankfully, Towelie is touring the world reminding us all.

das

das - okay, this is creepy. Glenn has a degree electrical engineering too. He could wander in here later....

Towelie - You wanna get high?

Well, its an even balance between the good and the bad attempts at moving forward...
The Showering was trying to be sexual like the first series (at least I'm sure thats the excuse they'll make), but in this day and age, it seemd too obvious and hackneyed. It aint the swinging sixties anymore, and Trek fans like to drool but not have it so bluntly forced on them. They already gave us one sexual object character who looked like she had been punched in the mouth, now we have another, so its shaky ground there. Agree she needs a better wig, it flattens out at the top awkwardly.
The Theme Song is just lame.
Cussing Fine by me. Say what you can get away with, its how people talk.
Limited Technology is great. They need to have the technology be more a source of conflict, rather than a solution to conflict like Next Generation and Voyager always did.

Am I the only person who thinks the uniforms need to evolve a little? I just dont like the ranking being so slight, even in the army today, the rank/core insignias are easier to distinguish. It makes little sense that he rankings went from slightly defined (today), to less-defined (Enterprise), to well-defined (all other Trek series). That little band of color just isnt enough, they at least need some chest insignia or arm band.

they have TNG style pips on their right breast
the color is their department like in TOS
gold: command
red: engineering/security/general services
blue: science/medical

I basically agree with a lot of people here... my overall grade is a B-/C+ for the first episode. I'll definitely stick with it for a few more episodes, and if I do get sick of it and bail, I'll probably peek in during Season 2 or 3 to see if things have improved.

Overall impressions:

I love how lots of articles have been mentioning how the show was trying to not stress "Star Trek" so much... sort of distance itself from the previous shows (no ST in title, pop theme song, etc.) Yet once the show started, we jumped straight into technobabble head first! I suppose I consider this a good thing (since I enjoy ST), but I just had to laugh, after being told how "different" this show would be.

I'll keep my thoughts on the theme song brief, because I think there is nearly 100% agreement. The images were wonderful, the song is terrible and inappropriate for the show... I don't know how no one seemed to realize this.

The cast is pretty good so far. Except the breasts, er... vulcan. She is doing an absolute terrible job of portraying her character. I don't know if it is the acting or writing (or both), but someone seems to think that being emotionless and logical is the same as being bitchy. The shower scene and skin tight suit they have her in are both stupid as well.

I would have liked to see a bit less technology used in the show. So far, it seems to be fairly high tech for being 100+ years before Kirk. I was expecting to see a real klunky ship, but the ship almost looked like something out of DS9. I have to cut them a *bit* of slack here (since it must be pretty tough to build a bridge from this show to TOS to TNG), but I suspect this will be a problem for the whole run of the show.

The writing (as usual lately) was pretty weak. I didn't get the "sense of wonder" that I should have had about this maiden voyage, nor did I ever get the sense that this crew was unsure of themselves or ever in any real danger. When we are venturing deep into space for the first time, I (as an audience member) should definitely be feeling some emotions -- awe, anxiety, danger, etc. There was none of that in this first story -- it just seemed to be going through the motions.

First shows are always difficult and awkward, so I tend to give them a break... they've had to introduce a bunch of cast members, create relationships, and also tell and interesting story. Tough to do. So, I will definitely stick around for a while... but I hope to see some improvements.

Edited to add: Forgot to mention that UPN deserves a big thumbs up for broadcasting this in widescreen.

Yes, I know, but my point is they are not distiunguished well and fade into the dark color of the uniforms. I would like to see either bolder breast, shoulder or arm pathces.

what would be cool would be shoulder stripes, like US navy personnel, that would lead easier to the TOS stripes on the sleeves. why go from pips, to stripes, to pips

LOVED this premiere--one of the best of the season. It gave Star Trek an edge it hasn't had in a long time and made me want MORE!

Only two complaints: the contrived rubdown and the contrived way that Archer got stranded on the alien vessel. Other than that, excellent.

As for T'Pol's slightly "imperfect" Vulcan performance, I thought there were a few words exchanged between the characters regarding this--how she wasn't the perfect example of a Vulcan. Made me wonder if we're going to find out she's not full-blooded Vulcan or fully-trained or something.

Caught the re-run tonight, and here are my thoughts:

I am going to cut them a ton of slack on the level of technology. The simple fact is that TOS looked "futuristic" when it aired on television. There is no way I am going to believe that our first ships aren't going to have technology that is available TODAY.
Plasma screens, for example. Why WOULDN'T this ship have that kind of stuff.

Why wouldn't it be designed to be cramped and reinforced with visible supports. I thought it looked more like a submarine/battleship which is exactly what it is supposed to look like.

I agree the T&A scene was a bit much, but I thought it was interesting that the characters never seemed to "get into it." They were doing this obviously sexual thing, but they just kept right on talking and arguing. That was the point, to show that it's going to be awhile before they develop into something.

Loved the fact they weren't 100% sure how to do things. I loved that the engineer chunked their stolen pod into a wall. I mean, the pilots and gunners on all the other series never missed a shot! (Well, except Worf...man did he suck as a gunner)

I liked it, I'll stick with it.

http://www.userfriendly.org/

Originally posted by draven-x:
I agree the T&A scene was a bit much, but I thought it was interesting that the characters never seemed to "get into it." They were doing this obviously sexual thing, but they just kept right on talking and arguing. That was the point, to show that it's going to be awhile before they develop into something.

Fair enough, but I think everybody's complaint is that someone neglected to tell the cameraman...

My quick impression of the pilot ... though these are issues that, thankfully, a lot of other posters have relayed as well.

The theme song has got to go. The collage of images working their way from the beginning of exploration to current (Trek-time) was really really nice, but the song just simply doesn't compliment it at all. The theme is very...UPN-ish.

I was completely disgusted by the shower scene. It was in poor taste and I lost a lot of respect for the folks managing this new Trek series after that scene. As many others have echoed, it was insulting to many of us, both men and women, and there was no point to it...it was not a scene that was critical (or even applicable, as far as I could tell). I knew there was going to be more skin in this series, for example the dancers in the bar catching the butterflies, but I was not expecting what came later.

As the "gel scene" progressed I thought they were going to be introducing some sort of attraction that Tucker had for T'Pol..and it would be an opportunity to introduce some interesting conversation about Vulcan females, mating, etc, and finish it off with Tucker making some sort of self-humiliating pass on T'Pol. But it never happened. I later thought all the skin close-ups were perhaps "following Tucker's eyes" as he checked out T'Pol, but after re-watching the scene, it's clear that Tucker wasn't even really looking at her. The point of the scene was simply "skin" and it being left in the final cut was a shameless, obvious attempt to hook any potential hormone-crazed fans to the series.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind watching a hottie get oiled down, but in my opinion, that kind of blatant scene does not belong in Trek.

I haven't decided how I feel about about the new ship design (I'm sure it will grow on me), but internally, I think the ship is fantastic and the sets are great. I really dig the more..primitive (shape-wise), industrial look and feel. Lot's of metal. Very cool.

Some of the scenes were fantastic and show a lot of matured Trek-goodies we've loved throughout the years and that continue to only get better. The small-arms fight during the Rigel 10 escape was great, as was the first approach and mission to the space station inside the gas giant.

Overall, I think it was a good pilot and it definitely has caught my interest. In my opinion, certainly not the best Trek pilot, but I think it shows real promise. Character development beyond Archer was virtually non-existent, but that's what the next 5-7 years are for. I look forward to seeing more..!

I’m a little late getting into this, but then it took me a couple of days before I had the time to sit down and watch the whole thing without distractions.

First off, das, I’m impressed with your knowledge of Trek. There’s a difference between being an expert and being a geek. At least there was until you started talking about warp speeds.

Some of my thoughts:

Music: blows. Personally, I think any Trek theme music should at least have the three notes that pay homage to TOS. But even forgiving that, Voyager was a step in the wrong direction. This theme sounds even less like Trek.

Language: well, sonuvabitch, I’ve got mixed feelings about that. When TOS aired it was a different time. Language like that wasn’t used on TV. However, even as late as The Voyage Home a reference is made to language. I’ve got no problem with the language, generally. But [I can’t believe I’m saying this] I think it was a bit gratuitous.

Continuity with TOS (technology): it’s only the first episode. If we’re not too critical, I think it’ll be fun watching what could be inside jokes. Remember, McCoy hated the transporter.

Continuity with TOS (other): one can only hope they know that hard-core fans will be watching. Suspension of disbelief, to varying degrees, is necessary for enjoyment of SF and Sci-Fi. ST fan(atic)s do not always understand this. Fortunately, I think there are a lot of possibilities without running afoul of what has already happened in the future.

Something I’m surprised nobody has mentioned:

Love/hate relationship with the Vulcans: how many things have prompted us, as kids, to say, “I’ll never be like that when I grow up”? Especially about our parents. Then we grow up, have kids, and do it anyway. [Trust me, kiddies. It happens.] The Vulcans want humans to grow up before they give us the keys to the car, and we’re pissed! But much later Starfleet develops this Prime Directive thingie. Hmmmm.

I'm having trouble reading this ... is this a compliment or an insult?

das

Let's just say it wasn't intended as an insult. It just kinda came out that way and I'll shut up now...












Hey, das, has anyone ever told you how impressive your Trek knowledge is?

Has anyone found Broken Bow in it's entirety on Morpheus yet?

Nope, you're the first. I'd much rather be known for my mad skills in bed, though, but I'll take what I can get. You wouldn't believe how much the ladies are drawn to a man who knows his Trek.

das

that must be why I have to beat them off with a stick