Really thoughtful read. I especially appreciated this

The term woke originally meant something quite simple: Being awake to injustice. However, in recent years, it has undergone a remarkable semantic inversion. For some critics, woke has become shorthand for any narrative that asks viewers to empathize with someone outside their tribe.

This is why stories about immigration policy, systemic injustice, or forgiveness trigger such strong reactions. They are perceived not as entertainment but as ideological intrusion. They become “the enemy.”

Edit: also this, meant only as a jest 🖖 :

Incredibly well done episode. Not sure others have mentioned these, but I really really liked these things in particular:

• Reno has great presence and delivery. And the sharpest uniform.
• I’m glad the announcer from Children’s Hospital fell through an anomaly and arrived in Starfleet Academy.
• English graffiti and open flames everywhere! J/k how could they get everything else so right but then fumble this so poorly. You’re telling me the venari ral are space romans, but not romulans?

A great first season, I feel like they know what they’re doing and I want more.

They are in the middle of — it’s not just drinking from one firehose, there’s probably ten thousand hoses. And so everything is just happening slower as a result of this massive time of transition. And that is not exclusive to Star Trek.

As a corporate drone I see this as an absolute win.

The odds are near their highest that Academy will be rubberstamped simply because it passes a triage check and they’re too busy to bikeshed the details.

This was an problem that Picard showrunner Terry Matalas ran into when he pitched his Star Trek: Legacy spinoff series set on board the USS-Enterprise-G (formerly USS Titan), as all of those sets were destroyed immediately after Picard season 3 wrapped up, adding significant startup costs to recreate everything for a new show.

Ah so that’s why that sets are relevant. No sets no spinoff.

He’s been meaning to ask her why her uniform is a catsuit made of office carpet.

me: Now when it comes to Ferengi-centric episodes of DS9, Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places, while good, doesn’t hold a candle to subversive gems like House of Quark (which actually preceded this episode), Bar Association, and Little Green Men.

them: shutup shutup shutup!

However, is it only Brakka who is responsible for the con, or is and has Anisha Mir been part of a long con of both Ake and her son from the start?

I like where you’re going. My own hunch is we’ll learn that Anisha (at Nus’ behest after he rediscovered Caleb) agreed to embed malicious code in her encrypted messages to Caleb (and that she only begrudgingly agreed because she lost hope he would read them) and that’s how Nus will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat from Capt. Ake at the very last moment, that he actually won the moment Caleb opened that first message from his Mom.

Probably not exactly that, but something along the lines of discovering that Nus has always been 2 steps ahead.

90s Trek was fantastic and did a great job handing off to each other. Even Voyager being stranded was still moving the world forward. Then we reset back to the first Enterprise, absolutely killing all the momentum.

The best thing Discovery ever did (apart from soft launching Strange New Worlds which got lucky) was launch us into the far future and give us a place to build.

I feel this is a powerful argument against prequels in general, not just for star trek.

Like, I cant help but think you’re right. The latter half of disco did indeed move the setting to a place where Academy can pick up and it seems like it’s working.

We have to accept that Star Trek is almost like scifi’s version of the Simpsons. It’s done everything.

¡Ay, Dios no me ama!

Nowadays, especially nowadays, I’m just grateful that the optimistic spirit/energy of star trek is having a next next generation of its own. I’m here for it. Mostly (sorry disco).

Which imaginary treknologies strike you as the most scientifically sound?

For me it’s the replicator turning shit into food, but everything may as well be magic.

Not sure how that makes it science based…

Just barely, but isn’t that normal for treknobabble to be ripped from science headlines?

Yes and no.

Instant FTL? No.

Science-based? Yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Stamets

I just want to tell you how much I liked the episode that explored Klingon honor and how that hunting scene kept being recontextualized.

The show reminds me of Lower Decks in that it’s different but it’s the same. Cant wait to see more.

This is incredible, my respect and gratitude to those that are making it happen. Also can’t wait.

FWIW, Moorcock discusses often in his forewords living the hellscape of post blitz London as a preteen. I highly doubt he would ever co-sign on another nazi regime.

Haha so right. My original draft lamented how the psychedelic, pansexual, spy with a little gun Jerry Cornelius only lives on in the pale echo of Austin Powers. But then I thought it was too niche.

But ya The Final Programme was my first literary introduction to homosexuality. The weird psychotropic defense towers on the Cornelius estate may have been my first introduction to mind altering states too.

The original velvet suited dandy from swinging London (imo):

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe.

I must say this recommendation is delightfully on theme, nicely done 😎

Stormbringer is Elric’s famous sword. You can hear someone shout it in GoT when Joffrey is about to name his sword. It’s evil and drinks the souls of those it kills, passing some of the energy to Elric.

Anyways. Elric is a sickly inbred albino prince of a an ancient , evil, and decaying empire (aka Fantasy Britain). Without his evil sword he is a total weakling pushover.

And people think this is a white power character/symbol? Blows my mind.