Topic: Ten Forward - The Star Trek Topic

Some more BTS from Voyager, this time COSTUMES

new article on the official Star Trek web page about Captain Pike

Captain Pike Represents the Future 'Discovery' Needs

When we first meet Captain Christopher Pike on Star Trek: Discovery, he looks like he’s straight out of Central Casting, a virtually perfect representation of what an ideal Starfleet officer should do and be. He’s handsome, charming, friendly and warm. He rocks some seriously great hair. It’s almost impossible not to like him immediately, particularly since he’s such a direct contrast to the controlling and ultimately evil Gabriel Lorca.

The thing is, though – Pike really is that man. It’s not an act or a false persona. He truly believes in the mission he serves and dedicates himself to living the ideals of Starfleet.

Honestly, he should be so irritating. Instead, Pike’s arrival is the best thing that could have possibly happened to Discovery’s second season, and his journey reminds us all why we love these stories in the first place.

His character perfectly blends the nostalgia of classic Star Trek with more modern sensibilities, creating a leader that viewers want to root for. Sure, we knew who he was – and more importantly, what happened to him – prior to his appearance on Discovery, but aboard the ship, Pike finally becomes a fully rounded person. He is a man who doesn’t abuse his power over others. He values the opinions of those around him, no matter their rank or station. He tries to make up for his mistakes, and steadfastly works for the benefit of those in his command, rather than himself.

In short – Christopher Pike is a good man. That’s a rare thing in television, perhaps more so than ever these days. But it’s exactly what we as viewers – and Star Trek as a franchise at the moment – need more of.

In this era of peak TV, anti-heroes reign. Many modern television dramas center on the stories of good men or women who fall from grace. Others tell stories of bad men who become even worse versions of themselves, displaying little to no remorse over their previous actions. But whichever version of this story we see, the moral trajectory of these characters is always pretty much the same: Dark. A character like Pike, with his single-minded idealism and capable kindness, would probably find himself the butt of everyone’s jokes there.

Pike hails from an era that may seem somewhat removed from more modern takes on the Star Trek franchise, but his character remains an important symbol of the power inherent in it. If Trek is an optimistic reflection of our best selves as a society, then Pike’s character offers a similar take on what it means to be human. Flawed, to be sure, but decent and brave –the kind of everyday hero we could all hope to be in real life.

And that’s why Discovery needs this character so badly after its first season. He reminds us all that good people can make a difference, even in the face of seemingly terrible odds.

Goodness, after all, is not a character trait. It isn’t something you are; it’s something you do. It’s a choice, and it’s one that must be made repeatedly. That’s what makes it hard. It takes real work to be a decent person, and it’s an effort to choose to do the right thing simply for its own sake. (“Without hope, without witness, without reward,” as fellow sci-fi elder statesman, Doctor Who, once described it.)

Discovery deserves praise not just for making Pike such an unequivocally good guy, but for insisting that a story about a good man is still one that’s worth telling. Potentially a risky decision, given that mainstream entertainment appears to see characters who dedicate themselves to doing the right thing as bland ciphers. Here, however, it leads to one of the bravest decisions in Star Trek history. The Discovery crew needs a time crystal in order to save all sentient life in the galaxy. But in order to claim said crystal, Pike must face a terrifying vision of his own future. In it, he is horribly disfigured by radiation and forced to spend the rest of his life in unspeakable agony.

If Pike takes the crystal, that fate becomes irrevocable, and the events we see in The Original Series episode “The Menagerie” will come to pass. If he does not, he has a chance at a different life. For Pike, however, the choice is an obvious – if not necessarily easy – one.

“You're a Starfleet Captain,” he tells himself. “You believe in service, sacrifice, compassion, and love.”

When it matters most – alone in the dark, afraid and with full knowledge that he can never tell anyone what he’s done – Pike chooses to live the values he espouses. He doesn’t look for a way out or attempt to cheat the system. Instead, he faces a destiny he never asked for and gets on with it, all for the greater good.

Pike’s sacrifice doesn’t just take place on the planet Boreth, either. It’s an ongoing decision he must make every single day thereafter. Sure, Klingon Time Keeper Tenavik claimed that taking the crystal made his vision permanent, but how many of us would reject that assertion, and waste the rest of our lives trying to undo it?

Instead, Pike not only accepts his fate with grace, but he also allows it to propel him forward, using it as motivation for doing as much good as he can for as long as he can. It adds a bittersweet tinge to the fact that we know he has a decade of adventures left with Starfleet, and will be a dedicated, decorated officer right up until the end. He doesn’t shy away from what he knows is coming – just as we know he’ll save those cadets when the time comes, too. Every day, Pike chooses the path of light, of hope. He trusts that what he did was worth it – that it mattered – both then and now.

Star Trek itself has always been a franchise about hope. Discovery’s first season flirted with darker storytelling elements and characters, but with the season-ending decision to launch its titular ship into an unknown future, the show has put its own twist on the uplifting tone of what has come before. Perhaps Discovery will find the far future a dark and frightening place. We don’t yet know what the 33rd century will look like, or what sort of beings – humans or otherwise – will inhabit it. But in the Season 2 finale, Michael Burnham and the rest of the crew boldly go forward, with the hope that all will be well in the end, even in the face of terrible odds, if they’re the best people they can be.

Like Pike himself, Star Trek is at its best when it’s aspirational. When its characters point us toward a larger meaning than ourselves, and remind us that we have the potential to do great things for one another. Good people can – and do – change the world. And as Discovery heads into an unknown future, much like those of us watching, that’s a very comforting thought.

you know if you read this you can tell while they are putting a spin on it they are pretty much admitting that in the first season, they effed up, it's nice to see them saying it even if they wont actually straight up admit it

Original Article StarTrek.com: Captain Pike Represents the Future 'Discovery' ...

@RogerRoger @KALofKRYPTON so i started watching TOS again decided to watch the original version on DVD as the ones on Netflix are the remastered ones and i wanted to watch the original 60's version

also anyone remember HD-DDV, if MS supported that properly on the 360 then that might have even been able to beat blu-ray

@FullbringIchigo Yeesh, you're braver than I. Not sure I could ever stomach watching the original-original after seeing what a good job they did with the remaster.

Ah, good ol' HD-DVD. Never got anything on that format, but I do have six Bond films on UMD. That's my claim to "obscure format" fame (and gives me half-decent portable versions to watch, providing I remember to take my PSP anywhere with me).

@RogerRoger i have all the Harry Potters on UMD and Advent Children: Final Fantasy VII

@FullbringIchigo The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day for me. I'd have gotten all of the Roger Moore films, but they stopped releasing them after a while, alas.

@RogerRoger yeah but that was to be expected when the PSP started to die off

i still love it though

@FullbringIchigo Oh yeah, it's awesome picture quality (or at least was, back in the day).

@FullbringIchigo Nice. I'm glad someone still has HD DVDs! Though it is one of the few times that the actually better (Blu Ray) format won! *pours one out for my boy BetaMax

@RogerRoger I still regret getting rid of all of my PSP media. Even with the relatively low resolution, the PSP screen size helped massively make UMD movies a joy to watch! Even the Predator UMD was great, and that was well before the decent Blu Ray version came along!

@KALofKRYPTON yeah i suppose but just imagine if MS had a HD-DVD player built into the system instead of as an add on that cost as much as the system itself did it could have been very different

although HD-DVD while it didn't have as much storage also had it's advantages over blu-ray too, the discs were cheaper and they loaded faster than blu-rays did (at the time anyway)

the PS3 helped blu-ray win but i have no doubt if MS had properly integrated HD-DVD then there is a good chance that might have been different

@FullbringIchigo I think even from a pure marketing stand point, Blu Ray was all-round more attractive. It sounded better and could be sold as something 'new'. HD DVD just sounded like a 'more of the same' cash grab format for most people.

@KALofKRYPTON that is also true

@RogerRoger @KALofKRYPTON so i'm on mu current watch through of Deep Space Nine and just finished The Visitor

i bloody LOVE this episode and i'm not afraid to admit it, i even cry a little, such a good showing of strong characters and just how important Ben and Jake are to each other and it's one of the few shows on at the time to show a single father in a positive relationship with his son (something that is sadly missing from todays TV of anti heroes and dark gloomy characters)

this was the episode that cemented DS9 as my favourite series, well this, The Way of the Warrior and Trials and Tribble-ations and DS9 showed that Star Trek can do the serialised story, that it can go dark and gritty when it needs too and evolve and grow it's characters while still sticking to the ideals that made Trek what it was (and yes i said WAS, DIscovery is decent sci-fi but it's bad Trek)

@FullbringIchigo It's a very powerful episode, for sure. Whilst I never quite bought into Cirroc Lofton growing up to be Tony Todd, I kick myself for thinking that every time because of course you're gonna cast Tony Todd whenever you can; he's excellent, as is everybody in the episode.

And yay for Captain Nog!

For me personally, Deep Space Nine doesn't have the same consistency as The Next Generation or Voyager... but when it shines, blimey does it shine bright.

@RogerRoger what was odd is a few episodes later he is back as Worf's brother Kurn and i remember the first time i saw it saying "wait isn't that adult Jake"

@RogerRoger @FullbringIchigo
"Whilst I never quite bought into Cirroc Lofton growing up to be Tony Todd..." very much that

I don't mind 'The Visitor', I'd definitely stick in the 'filler' category though.

so now that it's been out a while, what was your take on "Disco" Spock, did you think Ethan Peck did the character justice (even if the writing didn't), what did you think about his relationship with Burnham and how do you feel about them retconing Spock to make him Dyslexic?

also "DISCO" Spock, i really don't like that being the offical short name of the show it's stupid, i hear Disco and Spock and i think this

@FullbringIchigo Peck's performance was fine, the dyslexia thing was virtue signalling at its worst and completely pointless and out of step with both the character and species.

The entire Burnham/Spock familial set up was a nonsense anyway, so...

I preferred Zachory Quinto's take, but both are unfortunately playing a character 50 years in the making and unequivocally owned by Nimoy.

@KALofKRYPTON yeah when they first said he was Dyslexic it was a bit of a WTF moment because it has NEVER even been hinted at at any time in any other Trek series or film, not even in books or comics

as much as CBS say it's prime i'm still in the mind this was a complete reboot and they just wont admit it because they know as soon as they do most of the fanbase will stop caring about it

i say CBS should just make it it's own universe like the Kelvin films and do their own thing, that way they can do whatever they like with the characters and not have to worry about locking it in to over 50 years of stories and continuity

@FullbringIchigo
Well knowing that Netflix and potential licencing partners weren't particularly happy with Discovery and the necessity to limit the use of the tardigrade, we can assume with no small degree of certainty that the Enterprise and co were a late addition to S1 and featured for S2 to add familiarity and something sale-able about the series to appease fans and 3rd parties alike.

I think most people would be happier if they just laid it out as a reboot rather than have the ham-fisted attempts at 'enriching' the franchise and the show runners having to be constantly questioned and occasionally trying to justify design, character and changes to a few fundamentals.

I honestly think a lot more people would get on board, or at least, the ones like me would be just happier watching it and critiquing Discovery for what it is rather than watching along feeling hard done to and tearing it to shreds not only for the poor storytelling and style over substance presentation - but also the unnecessary dumps it takes on canon.

If S3 actually gets released, I'll be far happier watching it in the new setting than the previous 2 seasons.