It’s been a long wait, but finally we got a new Star Trek television series, and my expectations were surpassed by multiple warp factors.
First, I better preface that by saying that my expectations were very, very low. After all the terrible TNG movies, and the somewhat entertaining but definitely NOT Trek JJ Abrahms movies, I was expecting another explosion fest of people running around killing aliens and saying ‘That’s not logical’ or other catch phrases.
And while there was some running around shooting things, the majority was thoughtful, and there was some great dialogue and the acting was not terrible at all.
The primary conflict of the episode is between ‘number 1’: Michael, and the Captain, after they encounter a Klingon ship, after not seeing Klingons anywhere in Federation space for 100 years. Michael, due to her experience with Klingons and knowing they are a warlike people who seek battle, and respect violence, tries desperately to convince the Captain to fire on the ship, to shoot first, as it’s the only way to get their respect and have any chance at peace. The Captain is determined not to, saying the Federation never shoots first, and we can’t attack just based on their race and Michael’s prior experience.
It’s great because you can see each character’s point of view, no one is an idiot or asshole or villain, and it makes you think. Gosh, imagine that, thinking while watching Star Trek..
This is the first episode, so they have to open with some kind of battle. (TNG opening with Measure of a Man might have been bad, even though it’s one of the best episodes ever.) But I sure hope this war isn’t the entire focus of the show. I want discovery, and exploration, and other dilemmas and thought experiments based on things other than fighting and war.
There are still a lot of ways this could go wrong, but it was a good start and I’m optimistic!
Jonas David 