Took me a while, but I finally made it to the end of episode 1 of Discovery.
It's not bad. But I consider this to be a different canon. It is a different Star Trek with a different tone, and perhaps different values. Time will tell.
What sets it apart from prior Star Trek like the original series and TNG is its format. Prior shows were more like procedural dramas. A problem presents itself; the crew investigates; decisions must be made; a resolution is reached.
The J.J. Abrams movies, unlike the prior shows, presented themselves more like an action movie, where the characters spend more time running around amidst chaotic events than they do trying to solve a problem. The movies were fast-paced; there wasn't much intellectualizing, pondering, or pontificating; and the villains left no room for moral dilemmas--they simply had to be stopped. (If there was a moral gray area, the heroes were never in a position to make a decision and act on it.)
After having seen only one episode, the best way I can describe Discovery is calling it a soap opera in space. This show cares less about the politics and more about personal motivations.
Perhaps this will change down the line. It's certainly different. And I can't really call it bad, although I'm sure many other Trek fans would leap at the chance.
I am intrigued, though. It's fascinating.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Sunday, October 27, 2019
A Watchmen for our time
Took advantage of a free weekend of HBO to see the first episode of Watchmen.
I liked it a lot. If it stays this good, I will likely purchase it at some point.
I think it also helped me understand something about the original comic that I didn’t understand before.
I didn’t like the original comic. I recognized it was well written, well plotted, well designed. I recognized it was complex and dark and different. I recognized it was interesting. I recognized that, at one point, it was relevant.
In misunderstanding this comic, I decided that the reason I disliked it was because it was dark and joyless. I blamed the tone. But that doesn’t really make sense, because there are some dark and joyless things that I actually like.
Watchmen is a comic about ideas. It has superheroes, but it is more about the *idea* of a superhero, and what happens to that idea when it departs from the fantasy world and clashes with realism. What is a superhero in the “real” world if not something that looks ridiculous and strange? What are superpowers in the “real” world, and what happens to humanity in a world where superpowers exist? Does a person have to be insane to put on a mask? Is a costume a reflection of masculinity or femininity? Is a man who can see all of time a god or a prisoner? Are superheroes even effective? Do the good guys even win in the end?
These are all interesting ideas. But I was unable to connect with this book before, and I think I realize why: It was the time.
The book is set in a specific time period, the 1980s, where the issues of that era govern people’s motivations. Fear over nuclear war, for instance. The fears and uncertainties that plague the world of Watchmen feel very near to them, but they feel very distant from me.
In other words, despite being *interesting*, it lacked the one thing that would have probably made me love it—relevance to me and my time. I had a hard time relating to the *people* in the Watchmen comic, so I could only really relate to the interesting *ideas*. Without a human connection, I couldn’t truly get into it.
Maybe I lack empathy. But I prefer to believe I simply lacked context.
This new show on HBO is promising something to me that a 30-year-old comic was unable to deliver: relevance. It is set in a world that understands what we are afraid of *today*. It understands that the ticking clock we hear today is not the same as the one from 30 years ago. It understands what we fear will happen when it stops.
This may be the Watchmen that was made for us, and for our time.
As long as they don’t fuck it up.
I liked it a lot. If it stays this good, I will likely purchase it at some point.
I think it also helped me understand something about the original comic that I didn’t understand before.
I didn’t like the original comic. I recognized it was well written, well plotted, well designed. I recognized it was complex and dark and different. I recognized it was interesting. I recognized that, at one point, it was relevant.
In misunderstanding this comic, I decided that the reason I disliked it was because it was dark and joyless. I blamed the tone. But that doesn’t really make sense, because there are some dark and joyless things that I actually like.
Watchmen is a comic about ideas. It has superheroes, but it is more about the *idea* of a superhero, and what happens to that idea when it departs from the fantasy world and clashes with realism. What is a superhero in the “real” world if not something that looks ridiculous and strange? What are superpowers in the “real” world, and what happens to humanity in a world where superpowers exist? Does a person have to be insane to put on a mask? Is a costume a reflection of masculinity or femininity? Is a man who can see all of time a god or a prisoner? Are superheroes even effective? Do the good guys even win in the end?
These are all interesting ideas. But I was unable to connect with this book before, and I think I realize why: It was the time.
The book is set in a specific time period, the 1980s, where the issues of that era govern people’s motivations. Fear over nuclear war, for instance. The fears and uncertainties that plague the world of Watchmen feel very near to them, but they feel very distant from me.
In other words, despite being *interesting*, it lacked the one thing that would have probably made me love it—relevance to me and my time. I had a hard time relating to the *people* in the Watchmen comic, so I could only really relate to the interesting *ideas*. Without a human connection, I couldn’t truly get into it.
Maybe I lack empathy. But I prefer to believe I simply lacked context.
This new show on HBO is promising something to me that a 30-year-old comic was unable to deliver: relevance. It is set in a world that understands what we are afraid of *today*. It understands that the ticking clock we hear today is not the same as the one from 30 years ago. It understands what we fear will happen when it stops.
This may be the Watchmen that was made for us, and for our time.
As long as they don’t fuck it up.
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