Thursday, 5 October 2017

Star Trek Discovery 1.03 Context is for Kings Review

The third episode of the series, introducing the main setting of the series, the USS Discovery NCC 1031. It certainly was an interesting episode. The introduction on the prison shuttle was quite good, effectively re-introducing Burnham as someone who has reached rock bottom and resigned to her fate. But that isn't the entire story. The introduction of the Discovery with the shuttle in the tractor beams was done rather well, but that is an aside. Burnham's reactions to the various scenarios that confront her aboard the ship, are also done well.
The various officers she meets aboard the ship, are also done well (some more than others), including her roomate, Cadet Sylvia Tilly. She wasn't as annoying as Neelix, Reg Barclay or Wesley Crusher (all of whom I didn't find all that annoying, most of the time). Her anxiety isn't overplayed. It will be interesting to see how she develops. But Captain Lorca is more interesting, he clearly wants to get things done, regardless of whether it's right or wrong. He certainly isn't like any other Starfleet Captain we have seen.
I'm not sure what to make of his menagerie (certainly the fact that he grabs the 'kitty' from the Glenn...), but I liked the Tribble. It is certainly leading somewhere, and this is a good start. Then there is Staments (named after a real mycologist), there isn't much to say, except that his grief when the news about the Glenn's accident came in was done rather well. But so far I have been ignoring the elephant in the room. Or rather the Mycelium in the room. The Spore Drive. It is certainly an interesting concept.

A link with panspermia. (life throughout the universe linked together, sounds like another franchise). It probably fails in some way, given what happened on the Glenn, but the story along the way will be interesting. The scenes on the Glenn were also quite well done (including Burnham quoting Carroll). The re-introduction of Saru as Discovery's Number One was also good, and the way he describes Burnham is quite apt. 9/10.


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