Thirty Days of Star Trek: Favorite Discovery Episode

Day 25 - Favorite Discovery Episode

Magic to make the sanest man go mad, still. It's an inventive take on the Groundhog Day trope, with the still unusual choice of telling it not from the pov of the looper; at the same time, it develops several relationships (Michael's with the crew in general, Michael & Paul Stamets as well as Michael & Ash Tyler in particular), Tilly (literally) lets her hair down in the party sequence (the sequence which is also Exhibit A to show to people who claim the Discovery crew, at least in s1, dislikes each other and is grimdark all the time - as I always suspect people voicing said criticism never watched beyond the third or fourth episode at most). Harry Mudd is a great take on the amoral conman trope who manages to be both funny and dangerous in a way the show makes the audience feel, and mind. ( Spoilery observation ensues. )

While the show is at it, it also updates a sexist TOS backstory (Stella). The way the day is eventually saved consists of both Michael being badass and the entire crew working together. And there are so many priceless moments both funny and touching (Michael and Stamets holding hands!). (Even some additional ones in view of later revelations, like Lorca's expression when Saru and Michael explain the Discovery has to stop and take care of the Space Whale. (( What Loca must be thinking. )

)

In short, it's Disco at its best, and I love it a lot.

( The Other Days )

This show needs better writers!

In Star Trek: TNG's sixth season, there's an episode called Tapestry which early on has a scene where Picard has a near-death experience, Q shows up and says "welcome to the afterlife, Jean-Luc. You're dead. And I'm God". To which my favourite Captain replies that Q is not, because "the universe isn't that badly designed".

I always loved that exchange and never failed to smile over it, but these last few years, as reality has gotten crazier and crazier, I've started to think maybe Picard's belief in the rationality of the universe was over confident. I mean, no tv show could get away with either a US President feuding with the weather forecast (to name a detail of a million that's insane about the Orange Menace's era) or the three years of (preparations to) national self suicide that's commonly known as Brexit. I long for the restraint and sanity of Spitting Image, I do. Meanwhile, I must say I'm distressed one of my favourite characters of Brexit: The TV Show has announced his impending exit, but otoh am satisfyied that the way he's arranged said exit foils another dastardly plan by the horror clowns currently in charge of government. This "Best of Bercow" collection might serve as a tribute as as well as any:

"The Best Ever Put-Downs From House Speaker John Bercow" (Watch on YouTube)

Meanwhile, renember how Steve Bannon identified with Thomas Cromwell, somehow seeming to miss how Cromwell exited the historical scene? Boris Johnson fancies himself Augustus in his Gaius Octavius phase, bloodily purging Rome of his opponents, but with decades of Pax Romana and praise as the best Emperor ever just around the corner. Um. Leaving aside the characteristic modesty here, I'm insulted on behalf of Augustus, and I never was a fan of the man. Octavian/Augustus could plan, and count, you know. Could he ever. Also, none of the current PM's sidekicks strikes me as a Marcus Agrippa, without whom the transition from Octavius to Augustus would have been impossible. (If we must cite a Roman Emperor for comparison, I'm tentatively eying, no, not Caligula, that one's already taken by Boris' overseas twin, but Romulus Augustulus, ruling over the shadow of an Empire as it collapses.)

The other pop culture precedent recently quoted by Mr. Johnson is the multiple retribution killings at the end of the Godfather. Good lord. No wonder that Coppola basically replied with "I knew Michael Corleone; you are no Michael Corleone". (Okay, whath Coppola actually said was “I feel badly that scenes in a gangster film might inspire any activity in the real world or [provide] encouragement to someone I see is about to bring the beloved United Kingdom to ruin", but same diff.) Honestly, at this point I'm only waiting for Boris the Buffoon to declare himself the real life Walter White and try his best Bryan Cranston imitation whilie growling "I'm the one who knocks". Which, as you may or may not recall, Walt didn't say at a point when he was actually in charge but when he was little more than Gus Fring's wageslave in the basement, complete with daily humiliation, and needed to rebuild his ego by trying to scare his wife.

Lastly, have two links rydra_wong shared first:

An unprecedent 10 days: the Guardian attempts a summary.

How Britain plunged into its worst constitutional crisis in 400 years: what the label says.