Ups & Downs From Star Trek: Discovery 5.1 - Red Directive

[@gatehouseauthor]

It's only Andorian Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of Andoria. Otherwise, it's just sparkling Andorian wine.

[@BoojayDeeth]

To my mind Andorian Cava is just as good and for the fraction of the latinum.

[@dayegilharno4988]

@@BoojayDeeth :) My palate agrees, and so does my purse.

[@DarkKnight52365]

good point but maybe it's more a cocktail of champagne and some andorian drink and given moniker of "andorian champagne"

[@BoojayDeeth]

@@DarkKnight52365 That would be an Andorian Mimosa or perhaps a Blue Velvet, depending what it's mixed with.

[@apmcd47]

"You have not experienced Champaign until you've drank the original Andorian"

[@yannickgilbert668]

You missed how cool it was when Michael "upgraded" the hand phaser to a full riffle. That was super cool.

[@Pitsy]

As a 52 year old Star Trek Nerd I love this channel and wish it existed when I was 18 and watching Star Trek first time around 😂😂😂

[@mbatwechief]

Right there with you brother (or sister)

[@trollboy665]

yeah, but cetacean observations would have sucked..

[@32face]

i love it too, i come here after each new ep .40 y/o here

[@tlouiseallen9302]

I’m a sixties kid and I wish there’d been some sort of thing like this when TOS hooked me. 🖖🏼

[@fozzyrinker313]

Trip transferring from the Colombia to the Enterprise would be a good example of being in a warp bubble.

[@barrybend7189]

Dal and Janeway with their weirdness of the body swap.

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

@@barrybend7189now THAT was trippy!

[@barrybend7189]

@@Beyondthe5thPanel to be fair Janeway mentioned threshold before they did it.

[@trollboy665]

Yup! I came down here to say this.

[@jeffjr84]

yeah when they combined warp bubbles it was almost like they weren't moving at all.

[@coreymoore2719]

I can actually explain the condition of the romulan body. When a body dies in dry conditions it doesn't always decay the same way a body wood in moist conditions, especially if they died in the sterile environment of a spacecraft, that body is mummified. Naturally mummified.

[@laurencetodd171]

No microbes or insects or UV light...

[@sklaWlivE]

@@laurencetodd171If the ship was bombarded by a sterilizing and intense radiation field with it's shields and deflectors down, that could also killed all the microbes and desecated all the moisture in fell swoop. Instant flash-fried mummy!

[@MarcioHuser]

Yeah. Even the microbial life in his body would eventually die out of starvation, long before being able to reduce the body to pure bones

[@moonkey2712]

That's what I was gonna say

[@ChrundleTGreat]

Wood?

[@DaveCummings76]

About the Romulan corpse, we don't know the atmosphere makeup in the ship. It's entirely possible that it allowed for his mummification. Especially if there's not a lot of bacteria in there that would allow for decomposition

[@QuintusAntonious]

We also don't know how the biology of a Romulan with copper-based blood functions. Our only point of reference is our iron-based blood. In the real world, copper oxidizes than sulfurates and finally carbonates to a stable relatively durable patina. It's entirely possible the Romulan blood doesn't decay like human blood does. If the bacteria that exist in the Romulan environment release sulfur like certain anaerobic bacteria do on Earth or sulfates are a decomposition product of the Romulan body then maybe even in a non-sterile environment a Romulan body will partially mummify as their tissue converts to copper carbonate. If they breathe oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, and their bones are calcium based like ours, then all the necessary ingredients are there if a source of sulfur is also available.

[@aqdrobert]

McCoy: It's that damned green blood, Jim.

[@jasonwalker9471]

@@QuintusAntonious So, I'm going to blow your mind with actual science here, rather than scifi stuff. We know all about copper-based blood, because it's not uncommon on Earth. Mammels have iron based blood, but plenty of other creatures have copper-based blood. Like Octopuses and snails. We use hemoglobin, they use hemocyanin. Copper-based bloods act pretty much the same as iron based bloods. Blood comes in many types and colours, from clear to blue to green. Hemerythrin (used by some weird types of worms) is *bright pink* like Klingon blood, so I assume that's what Klingons use. There are a fair number of different types of oxygen carrying protein and molecules in bloods on Earth, and they all appear to have evolved independently in different groups. While it's fair to assume that Earth didn't happen to develop all the different types of oxygen carrying blood molecules (probably not even close), and that we might see many other types if we're able to investigate aliens worlds in other star systems, it's also interesting to note that it appears that two different groups of animals separately evolved hemocyanin copper based blood, and that they have very similar structures. So there are probably limits to the methods of efficiently transporting oxygen around a circulatory system, and we should expect to see nearly exact analogues of things like hemocyanin and hemoglobin as we (...eventually...) investigate alien worlds.

[@labcoatman]

Yeah - you’d assume 24th century ships have very good anti-bacterial filters, and no other critters in there to decompose him.

[@xedalpha1]

I unironically love how the illuminated-with- a-single-color soundstage wall from early TNG and TOS doesn't take folk out but the AR wall does 😂

[@MotherShipMedia]

I think it makes sense that the comms holograms would have "glitches" baked into the programming on purpose. We've seen elsewhere that holograms are essentially as "real" as real people are, visually, to the touch, etc. The intentional glitch is a good way (IMO) to ensure everyone in the room KNOWS who is there in person and who is there by holo for security reasons, at the very least, but I think it's valuable to have some sort of "obvious clue" when dealing with holo-comms of other people to be able to differentiate the local and remote participants and as we've seen, you can't really do that with advanced holograms ... they look, act, and sound real.

[@jaspervlogt3843]

Agreed, i think tahts the correct in universe explanation. Headcanon now.-

[@Yvario]

That’s what I’ve always thought as well. When it’s supposed to be a real person, hologram by proxy, it’s probably required to have a “tell”.

[@garthrim]

I always thought that is was a result of static of some kind because of the distances. or like stated by MothershipMedia, an intentional identifier for comms,

[@jaspervlogt3843]

@@Yvario Likely due to the whole Control fiasko. Though why taht didnt happen opn teh USS Defiant in the 24th century...lets say, thats why it was shelved again till the future

[@jasonwalker9471]

While I think that the glitches we see in scifi are intended to represent either signal degradation or recalibration of an unsynced 3D image (when the entire image ripples it's recalibrating), I think you might be right in general. Introducing a subtle uncanny effect into otherwise perfect holograms might well end up making people feel more at ease with them. Human brains are funny things, and they don't respond well to a constant need to "reality test" everything around them. Whether it's news or visuals, if your brain needs to constantly discern whether something is real or fake, it's incredibly challenging for it. Eliminating the stress of constant reality testing by introducing minor, purposeful "glitches" into holograms might be one solution to this problem.

[@remisam]

Picard was also mentioned in season 3 when Burnham watches the footage of Spock from Unification Part 2. 🙂

[@IanSandersonPhotography]

I actually yelled out FINALLY when i saw the callback to the progenitors. I was on the fence about this season until that moment, after that I am ALL IN!

[@PatriciaCross]

I am pretty sure that Fred is a reference to The Most Toys. I believe the implication is that Kivas Fajo immediately procured a custom synth in Data's style, and eventually Fred continued Kivas' collecting. If you took the time to examine all his collection, you likely will find some Easter Eggs. I am pretty sure the fact Fred's first choice of weapon didn't fire was reference to the fact Kivas was sure Data could not shoot him.

[@tlouiseallen9302]

Yess .. that’s what I was thinking.

[@TheMAZZTer]

Pretty sure Fred was the same type of synth like the ones we see on Mars when the Romulans make them all go nuts and kill everyone. So Fajo would not have been able to purchase one, at least not right away, it would have taken years until they were even developed. And that's assuming he'd get out of whatever Federation penal colony the Enterprise dropped him off at.

[@ojtheviking]

@@TheMAZZTer Fred was more of a Data-style android, not like the ones on Mars. The ones on Mars were designed and constructed by the Daystrom Institute's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research, while it was mentioned that Fred was modeled after Soong's design.

[@RadzPrower]

@@ojtheviking I'd need to specifically cross reference the times, but didn't they mention the Picard mission was roughly 800 years ago while something about Fred mentioned roughly 600 years ago? Granted, it could have just been in reference to something that had happened to him rather than a rough estimate of the date of his creation, but if it is true that he was created approximately 200 years after that TNG mission, he should be MORE advanced than either model unless it was specifically a tribute project (which is implied by the line about his serial number or whatever having "AS" for Alton Soong as a tribute if I remember correctly).

[@ojtheviking]

​@@RadzPrower Fred said that he hadn't encountered a tan zhekran in a little over 600 years, yes, but that doesn't imply anything as to when he was created. And yes, AS stands for Alton Soong, and it was said he was based on Soong's design. Which again means Fred was unrelated to the Mars androids (which I know was not a claim made by you personally). EDIT: Altan* Soong, sorry

[@Parker-Green]

I’ve been wanting further exploration of the ancient Progenitor race from that Next Gen episode for the longest time, I’m very excited!!!

[@Knightfall182]

I'd rather it be done on a better series in the 25th century, with someone like Matalas at the helm, who knows his Trek. This story is too big for Discovery

[@grigss3027]

​@@Knightfall182 same, would have preferred this type of goose chase as a star trek legacy opener or enterprise g series opener

[@tlouiseallen9302]

Me,too. I like where they’re taking the story.

[@the_house_of_el]

@@Knightfall182 star trek discovery hatin bastard!

[@the_house_of_el]

@@tlouiseallen9302 me too! but i do hate that we have star trek hatin bastards in the comments!

[@mackemdale]

It's the music in the first couple of episodes which sets the tone for me. There's so much lightness and a sense of adventure, such as with the theft of the Enterprise in STIII or all of STIV, that they're all but telling us that this is a light-hearted adventure romp.

[@winespringinc.9447]

I love how they used the "4h earlier" bit not as a cheap way to build tension but as way of checking in with the characters

[@amylaneio]

I am intensely invested in the Saru-T'Rina relationship, and if it doesn't survive until the end of the series, I am going to have some very loud things to say to the producers.

[@dramonmaster222]

I just finished watching it. Not a bad start for the Final Season. And they weren't kidding about a treasure hunt. Although, was anyone else reminded of Star Wars with the sand bikes? Plus why did they ram their ships into the ground? Couldn't they have just created a shield bubble onstead?

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

There was even some Star Wars-esque music accompanying the sand bikes scene.

[@dellytancyl524]

If you've never been in an avalanche, it's difficult to explain. Basically, the ground underneath doesn't stay still, the incoming debris picks up everything in it's path that will move and carries it along, getting heavier and creating even more momentum as it goes until it either crashes into something that slows it down or it runs out of material to feed it's growth.

[@susanscott8653]

I got Star Wars vibes too, but I loved the costumes. Also wondered why they crashed two ships into a planet. Those ships are too valuable a resource to have out of commission while they repair them.

[@Avatar2312]

Power of the engines to shields. Digging the ships in not only stabilizes them, but also starves the avalanche. The angle is actually to blunt the impact force by directing it upwards

[@AndyGPYM]

First episode. Well too long, too much drama. And I still laugh of the stupid line when the y feel the dead android and say “he’s still warm” wtf. He is an android. How could he be warm? Not Star Trek realistic. First episode all that for the last 5 minutes to know what the season is about. First thought on the planet “it’s tatoine” then someone said “what now what it’s left they’re going to be on speed racers” and a minute later they were. Cmon. Discovery’s writers haven’t grasped the essence of Star Trek. For me, is a watch to see how they end the series. Se in’s episode better. But on first too much BS they can easily be shortened to a 35 minutes episode. The other is simply useless drama.

[@chrisdyer1064]

a short comment on burnam on the ship at warp you forgot the NX01 trip teather from columbia to enterprise with warp bubbles in sinc

[@tomk8729]

Canon means nothing to these bozos. Plenty of explosions though.

[@jceggbert5]

They had to willingly work together to merge theil warp fields, and then the Columbia had to continue producing the field during Enterprise's reboot. Burnham was in the warp bubble of an enemy ship, so merging the warp bubbles isn't going to happen, at least not for long before the enemy remodulates something and breaks the merged field.

[@chrisdyer1064]

They weren’t at warp when she landed on the ship

[@jasonwalker9471]

I saw nothing that was outside of established canon in this scene. When the ship went to warp, she was inside their bubble, so she went along with them. When the field was going to destabilize, she was worried about dying, because she'd probably have been ripped to pieces by a rapid unscheduled field collapse. When the warp field was brought down in a controlled way (which minimizes stress on the ship), she survived as you'd expect she would. She floated a short distance away, and thus wasn't caught up in the new field when they went to warp again. That all fits very well with behaviour we've seen in the past. While you *can* forcibly merge warp fields, that's likely to result in the destruction of both ships unless one is vastly large and more powerful than the other, so I'm not surprised that they didn't attempt that. It all made sense in universe, which is all I ask of technobabble scenes like this in any story.

[@rigues]

Moll is SURELY heavily inspired on Daryll Hannah's character (Pris) on Blade Runner.

[@lunnunis]

Yes I thought exactly that.

[@barshafoxman4169]

I liked the Infinity Room, although I was slightly worried that Kovich may be working for Wolfram & Hart :p

[@AdaptableAdept]

I thought the same! Glad to see another Angel fan in the house!

[@sonicsean34]

Nice to see others had the same thoughts

[@deidrelea3185]

That would explain the uneasy feeling I've always gotten from that guy. 😂

[@mossiegee4674]

Nice to see the Firefly reference "Shiny' but also Serenity used the same multiple drive trail emitters fake out before jumping to warp

[@LeeCarlson]

I thought the glitching in Adm. Vance's hologram resulted from being beamed to the ship via subspace while the vessels were under warp. However, that was just my Trekkie mind rationalizing what I was seeing.

[@moonkey2712]

It's just too remind the audience it was a hologram!

[@Tyrone-Ward]

I went "oh he's not really there" when the gram glitched... Which was the point of the glitch ​@@moonkey2712

[@Sk8rToon]

Fred was so good! If they ever do a flashback to a younger Data (& Brent Spiner doesn’t want to &/or like they did in Mandaorian with Luke Skywalker) I nominate this actor to play the role.

[@jeffs6090]

RIP Fred! I definitely would like to have seen more of him.

[@Lewis5020]

Definitely! However, and I realize it would've impacted the story, we are once again cheated of seeing a Data-type synth kick ass. The speed with which Fred turned those pages is how fast he could've disassembled our two baddies. He wouldn't need body guards, either.

[@tashtom1]

Loving the new season so far, and the accompanying Up & Downs. Can we have a Retro Ups & Downs for TNG's The Chase, to tie in ?

[@beauwyattjohnson3004]

2nded

[@MrMann0123]

3rded

[@MrMann0123]

Dadmiral!

[@jeffs6090]

Make it so!!

[@BobSperber]

I’m so glad to get back into some new season ups and downs. All the depth and just as much fun. and I am surprised how strong this episode was, and happy it’s going to warrant lots of re-watching, new fans, and converted naysayers for decades to come.

[@xedalpha1]

I hope they never explain just who Kovich really is. I love that people just do what he says when he walks into the room. Also, I hope Fred gets fixed.

[@starwolf621]

Thank you for mentioning the dust coming off Discovery once it returns to space, I thought that was a particularly nice detail!

[@veggiet2009]

My down for Michael's transporting onto the bridge, was that I didn't like her going directly back into the chair, I wondered who had the comm while Burnham was busy, and why she didn't least need at least a minute to catch her breath before assuming command

[@pupmorningstar]

LOVE the this season the best so far .. also LOVE LOVE LOVE the shirt. Thank you for showing the support for U=U Happy to have new episodes of Ups & Downs and can't wait for part 2

[@bbartky]

I always approach the comments here, particularly when the subject is Discovery, with a great deal of trepidation. However, I have to say I’ve really enjoyed all the comments about Romulan corpse decay versus mummification. Keep it up, folks!

[@Medicranger]

The hologram glitching thing is such a Star Wars trope.

[@Donnagata1409]

So are the sand runners. Please keep SW out of my ST! I like both, but they do not mix well.

[@GrnArrow092]

What surprised me the most was seeing a Soong type android in this episode and he looked a lot like Data, Lore and B4. It's too bad that Fred was killed. I would have liked to see more of him.

[@Tyrone-Ward]

He can be "resurrected".

[@steveleeart]

He looked like the guy who sings the Picard data song…

[@hawkiowan]

​@@Tyrone-WardReduce, Reuse, Recycle! 😄

[@gregoryalexandersipe5436]

@@steveleeart Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

[@marhawkman303]

@@Tyrone-Ward Honestly? I'd rather see Andrea return than the Soong-types.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

I would say so far so good. I love Captain Raynor, he is my favorite new character in this series.

[@steveleeart]

Captain Rayner series!

[@Lewis5020]

Sean nailed it with his Rayner observation.

[@Ancient_Sensei]

So are we not gonna mention that the sizzle reel that played highlighting what was to come this season had a 1 second scene where we saw a shadow of an og constitution class? That deserves a spot in cetacean observations. 😢

[@andrewschwarz3405]

Glad I wasn't the only one who saw that (thought I was wishing things into existence after seeing that!)!

[@nytestorm8689]

I was just thinking the same thing. It's a gorgeous (and DRM'd) shot. It looks like it's coming out of a worm hole-type of thing. Very pretty.

[@fritzhotzonefritz8392]

Thank you so much for splitting the ups and downs into two separate review videos. Cronenberg never disappoints.

[@jasonevans1958]

Let me stop this video at 1:19 and say thank you for the the best U=U shout out I have seen. The fact that you are killing it with Star Trek lore, history, and show reviews isn't enough, you have to go and make all of us in the awareness space look like we aren't even out here trying! GREAT JOB!!!!

[@cannabunnyol]

The Romulan ship doesn't need to have been a vacuum, but with life support off it would have reached well into freezing temps which would have preserved the body. Decomp would begin only once it warmed up enough.

[@MrChupacabra555]

This may be Slow of me, but I just realized why "The Burn" was necessary, Story Wise The show needed something to slow down the technological progress of Humanity (and the entire galaxy) at large, otherwise 1K years of advancement, in STAR TREK, might just as well have been Magic to us. With The Burn, they were thrown back to the 'Stone Age' again (or at least Pre-Original Series Technology), and had to climb back up from that.

[@andrewschwarz3405]

There was ANOTHER previous mention of Picard in Discovery... in Unification III, the footage of Ambassador Spock (from TNG Unification Pt. 2) was announced, by the computer as being from "the personal archives of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard" (or words to that effect).

[@LePedant]

Burnham has a weave, that is not her real hair. If she used programmable matter as the weave, then it being in the helmet wouldn't be a problem. Heck, her weave could become her helmet.

[@therealrobertmcdonald]

Good catch

[@tlouiseallen9302]

That’s brilliant 🖖🏼

[@chazmania3644]

Underrated comment!

[@NotInTheFace111]

It's still wild to me that Trek ships don't have seat belts in the future of the future.

[@JonathanEzor]

Are we presuming that Stamets has done an independent study of android development, that he just knew of Alton Soong off the top of his head? The android-building Soongs definitely came after Disco traveled into the future.

[@tomk8729]

Psychic. Obvs.

[@CRanapia]

No - I'm presuming that Paul Stamets may be the most annoying person in whatever timeline he finds himself in, but he's still a pretty solid scientist. And I'm sure that everyone on Discovery has spent a good chunk of their time playing catch up on the last nine hundred years. I think the history of synths would come up once or twice.

[@CRanapia]

Another thing: I assume Staments would have done a lot of study of android development while assisting his husband's efforts to reintergrate Gray Tal in a synth body. Hugh Culber is a very talented doctor/ship's counsellor but he's no engineer.

[@dellytancyl524]

Did Dr Soong talk about building the android all the way back to the days of Archer? how long was Lore alive for? do we know? what about the B4 models? by the time we get to old Picard, there's been one Soong or another building androids for the last 200 years. Picard's gollum was the latest model.

[@moonkey2712]

​@@CRanapiayeah, fair. He must have done research while he was trying to get a body for gray

[@jabba334]

I like your upbeat optimism in your reviews. Glad to have you as a Star Trek fan/critic!

[@robertfarr9186]

Let’s summarize the season with reference to the tng episode it’s based on. In the tng episode everyone chasing the mcguffin had their own biased assumption as to what they were after. In the end it was just a message of peace and only the romulans were receptive to it aside from the federation. What they are after in this season will be something similar.

[@justthinking5091]

I think so as well. Either another message, or some high tech thingy that only allows for generation of life, nothing dangerous and not a weapon.

[@jamesallred460]

"Tilly's an up for me." Well said Sean, well said. 👏

[@ivanoffw]

The USS Defiant with Captain Sisko had a better hologram system when he spoke to Eddington using the Maqui's system.

[@jasonwalker9471]

From a production standpoint that is a purely aesthetic choice. However, in universe we can actually come up with a plausible explanation: in real life people have issues with real looking fake things. Our brains don't like having to constantly "reality test" our surroundings. It takes a lot of processing power, and it's stressful on a subconscious level. Uncanny Valley CGI is an example of this effect. Maybe Starfleet deliberately introduces glitches in its holograms to avoid this effect. And remember, these holograms have to work for 10000 different species, so it isn't just human processing issues they have to design around. So after centuries of tweeking the design of holographic transmissions for comfort and, essentially, ergonomics, the holo-glitch seen on screen is what they came up with. On the other hand on a holodeck the experience is specifically intended to be an "uncanny valley" ultra realistic one, so the holograms are built with a different level of visual fidelity in mind.

[@sonicsean34]

I haven’t liked how they use holograms in the modern shows. They just seem to have copied visual language from other films/shows when Trek has its own, often the newer version is more showy but looks worse I was grudgingly accepting in Disco s1&2 since it was a prequel but couldn’t deal with the eyesore glowy holograms on Rios ship in Picard s1 when TNG holograms were nicer/cleaner looking. But the 32nd tech should look better (but hey least we didn't have programmable matter faces popping out of the view screen cos that looked ugly)

[@StephenLeGresley]

Hey Sean my lad, I'm lucky cause I grew up in Canada watching Callum Keith Renie knock so so many acting roles out of the park. We really need to declare that man to ba a national treasure. When I went to film school, we did a whole chapter on him and his acting. I am loving this season of Discovery so far, I think it has found it's legs and it's running on all cylinders. Maybe if this season does well I'm hoping the door would be open to bringing them back for some long Treks. Thank you for a great video as always and to all the hard working people behind the scenes like Kris who make them happens. Cheers to you all. :)

[@NeilStudd]

In the course of these first two episodes (and last season), Tilly has... left the Academy, gone back to Disco, decided to go back to the Academy, has left in favour of Disco, and is already talking wistfully about a return to the Academy. We get it. You have a spin-off show to greenlight.

[@Beyondthe5thPanel]

She’s Tilly, she teaches the kids; she learns:she teaches; rinse, repeat

[@LordLOC]

It's already in production, not just greenlit - that being said yeah, the Tilly thing is weird. Though I do like her way of explaining trying to teach the new class of cadets - considering she's what, 5 years out of the academy herself (well in the time they were in the past mind you) right? Just interesting and an interesting way to comment on things, so we'll see how they handle it even more specifically in the Academy show itself, since Tilly will obviously be involved in some way.

[@ActuallyDoubleGuitars]

I can't believe they're doing the Academy show after decades of talking about it. I reremember the first time I heard about it people were joking that it'll be like Dawson Creek in space.

[@andrewschwarz3405]

Aww, c'mon! We had three TNG movies where they just kind of gave up on coming up with excuses for Worf to be there! One last season with Tilly in it (while acknowledging her work in SF Academy) isn't bad! (maybe they're on their summer break at the Academy (?))

[@My2Cents1]

Oh god please spare us. No. No no no no, not a Tilly show. I could only stand 2 seasons of her lower-lip-n-chin trembling heart-to-heart talks with.... well anybody.

[@TheMAZZTer]

So I think the confusion over the warp bubble is resolved as follows: Burnham was trying to damage the ships warp engines to force it to drop out, not to destabilize the bubble. The Antares' tractor beam was doing that, and it also messed up her plan by forcing her to bail. I don't think the Antares' bubble was merged with the couriers'. We hear their ship's destruction will probably destroy the Antares, but that's just via explosion, I assume?

[@reniasva]

Well, the ships in the sand will from now on be the star trek equivalent of jumping the shark. Edit: we have seen Latinum in season 4 on the casino vessel where they played poker.

[@richmatheson4305]

The instant EV suit, transforming phaser-to-rifle, etc is similar to the Voyager Elite Force games, where all of your weapons and equipment were held in a belt-mounted pattern buffer that could hold like 12 guns. Always thought that was a brilliant idea, and glad they're finally doing it in canon. Easily explainable Treknology-wise. Also, Happy First Contact Day! :D

[@shaneb5780]

We now need a retro ups and downs for TNG the chase.

[@BaoDeQiang]

Love the tshirt choice, Mr. Ferrick. It matters.

[@mLswanson]

The hologram glitching is likely done (in-universe) on purpose so that viewers know the hologram is, indeed, a hologram. I mean, you would want to know you're talking to a hologram, would you not?

[@barrybend7189]

Voyager EMH says: "what is the nature of the medical emergency?"

[@andrewmurray1550]

@@barrybend7189the EMH has a few glitches himself, caused by all the personality subroutines he loaded of famous people - their personalities clashed and you got "Darkling". (Torres put it more politely).

[@barrybend7189]

@@andrewmurray1550 yeah but very rarely do we see graphical glitches from the Holo projection. My guess is they didn't want to have to do a red dwarf and slap something on them to show they're a hologram in the room.

[@jorahtheexplorer3262]

There’s a line in a Doctor Who novel that people who design lifts/elevators always keep a “wobble” in them despite developments in technology meaning you can go kilometres fast but the human brain freaks out at moving without the feeling of moving, perhaps the same is true for holograms and folks freak out a little at totally life-like but also lifeless images.

[@camtorchwood]

After all the time that’s past I wonder if the EMH is still wondering around with his holo emitter. given the fact his backup program module was stolen from voyager and he eventually sent off back home he should have arrived to the 32nd century from the delta quadrant years ago. Does that mean there are two identical EMH’s

[@Morphatronic]

Sean your T-Shirt is an important message which sadly is still not getting through and even if it only reaches one person you have helped us all take one more step towards a world without hatred and prejudice - thank you!

[@katschaccc]

I'm so happy to have this show back, and I'm so sad it's für the last time.

[@kevenntsmith]

I have been asking for them to give Tilly a romance story since the end of First Season, and I'm so excited that the she an adorable man to swoon over! I'm so thrilled for her character!!!!

[@purefoldnz3070]

she's too fat, she's obese somehow in the future where the food has the perfect amount of calories and non fat.

[@TobyDeshane]

I'm going to push back on that 'down' for the hologram effect with an interesting, plausible idea: even in the 24th century they could make great, realistic holograms. What if there was a social convention that everyone agreed on where if you're present on a holographic call and not actually IN THE ROOM, then there's a visual cue to others who are actually present, that this person isn't there. So it's done on PURPOSE. Because, like you said, 1000 years later and they can't get that right? Oh, they sure can. ;) You might ask why a "glitch" and not, like, an outline, Or even just fade them out a bit. Because you want the illusion of them FEELING like they're in the room, maintaining presence, with only occasional _non-intrusive_ reminders. No big "HOLOGRAM" with an arrow pointing down, either. ;) Of course, yeah, as said, it's a stylistic choice. I don't think it's restricted to Star Trek. More of a general sci-fi trope. :P But yeah, I think that's a reasonable in-universe explanation. 🤔

[@jeffs6090]

I agree! The holograms are too good to be able to know the difference. They put a glitch in it so all real people know who is a hologram, if they didn't already know.

[@ProfCoyote]

Tilly's scenes are just magic, her venting about her students is top notch teacher time. :D Mary Wiseman clearly knows teachers...

[@Cdr2002]

The Tholians were also an “Assembly” previously, so they may have changed from an oligarchy to a more democratic system, whereas the Breen by contrast grew in imperial ambition

[@fritzhotzonefritz8392]

To the other commenters in this thread: if you don't believe that this season premiere is an example of peak Star Trek, the you should do some serious soul searching. Just like Enterprise, this series is sadly getting struck down when hitting its prime. I am loving this final ride with Discovery, but am profoundly sad it is indeed the end. Sure the first season was hit and miss, but that is the norm for Star Trek. Once the spore drive stopped as a gimmick device, the show gained depth. I love how it now allows for the return to base and regrouping interactions, etc., as a new element this season.

[@MatthewStreets-sc1cv]

😔 Yes, it is profoundly sad that Discovery is ending and Tilly, is my favourite character. 🙂 For me, I, have been a Star Trek fan since the original TV series, with William Shatner. Any thing to do with Star Trek, I will watch it. 😏😉 I, do not care what the haters will say to me or, call me a fan boy or any thing worse because, I will not give up to the bullies.

[@hyperiontheevil]

this series cant end soon enough

[@mongoslade7194]

I think Discovery is by far the least of the Star Trek properties. The first two episodes rely heavily on spectacle over substance and quality plot but for Discovery relying on spectacle is an improvement .

[@Munchy421]

thanks for letting us know about episode 2 and not spoiling it, because I had no clue before watching this that it was out already!

[@TheAdam159]

Im enjoying it so far. Liking the indiana Jones adventure quest vibe. And the connection of the arc to THAT TNG episode? Awesome

[@padrecerveza]

An up for me is Discovery appearing with the animated intro we've seen on other shows of late, customized with the eponymous ship jumping into place before zooming around the delta.

[@Alex_Meyer_1311]

UP for the music score in this season so far! 👍🏼

[@mrcellophanefm]

Not sure if you were just tripping over your words or if it was intentional...but calling him "Dadmiral Vance" was brilliant!

[@tlouiseallen9302]

Been calling him that from pretty much the beginning.

[@Enterprise1701J]

Yep Dadmiral is purposeful. He’s a dad and also a daddy. I cringed at myself don’t worry.

[@mrcellophanefm]

Thanks guys. My first series of Ups and Downs for Disco

[@kar4tube]

So great to have you back in Ups & Downs sir! I held off on watching the dual-premier for my birthday. As always, loved your thorough and appropriately humorous analysis. Thanks Sean and Chris!

[@jonarse]

you don't know the distance the admirial is transmitting the hologram at, they're at the edge of the beta quadrant, that's insanely far, that would have taken days in the 24th century. I don't mind the glitches.

[@CJ-442]

Can’t say that I’m pleased that the main baddies for this season are apparently going to be a pair of glorified FedEx drivers, and we’re just supposed to accept that they somehow have the skills and resources to not only compete with the entirety of the Federation but actually outpace them and present a credible threat to the entire galaxy. Okay, I guess Discovery is going out with a whimper.

[@sofareacts76]

Thanks for making these videos, these videos are the closest I can get to watching the actual episodes as I can't afford Paramount.

[@tomk8729]

You aren't missing much.

[@jelloboi]

The first episode is currently available on KZbin, if available in your area.

[@dellytancyl524]

The show will only last 13 episodes, buy a monthly subscription for 30 days, binge, cancel. set you back $4.99 with ads, $9.99 without. that's what I did after season 2, I binged watch the first 2 seasons, canceled, waiting for season 4, and did the same. I've spent all of $20 on discovery so far and got to enjoy Lawmen: Bass Reeves out of the deal.

[@JustMe99999]

@@dellytancyl524 Bass Reeves was a great show - well worth it.

[@martinkelly9074]

Loved the Firefly Easter egg when the phrase ‘extra shiny’ is used

[@AloofBaloo]

In a sterile environment like a starship a corpse would mummify rather than decompose.

[@core3547]

This really was a finely crafted episode of Trek! Looking forward to the rest of the season!

[@kevinmack9980]

So Excited Disco is back. Its what got me into Star Trek and is still one of my favorites. This season looks like its going to be epic

[@spartan078ben]

The Infinity room sounds like a 32nd-century SCIF (Secure Compartmented Information Facility). Someplace to discuss super secret stuff in a secure area.

[@SlyRoapa]

Down: When Fred is reading the notebook, his own hand blocks his view of some of the text.

[@hawkiowan]

He was skimming.

[@Becvar80]

The only time the AR wall really stood out to me was right before Rayner took off, and all three of them were sitting still. Very obvious at that moment. During the action, though, it wasn't.

[@TobyDeshane]

GREAT opener. Everything. Spot on. Goddamn. And even if I didn't know that was Elias Toufexis under the makeup, I'd still have enjoyed those two. :)

[@DoomPlague]

His voice stands out so much that there was no way I wouldn't know it was him, having played the last 2 Deus Ex games.

[@CainLatrani]

Honestly, that Progenitor reveal saved the episode for me. I wasn't really feeling it until that moment. Mostly what got my excited or it is that the Progenitors are likely to not have left the kind of tech they are expecting lying around. I mean, it may be knowledge, but I think everyone is in getting worked up for what will end up being just some nifty information, much the way it played out in The Chase.

[@fu4616]

Perhaps what is discovered will be a recipe for biscuits.

[@RahulAhluwalia]

Haven’t been a big fan of the recent seasons of Star Trek Discovery, but this episode was genuinely fun and hopefully the show goes out with a bang

[@constellation982]

I am rewatching deep space 9 now and I watched the first two episodes of season 5 Discovery. I am absolutely stunned how giant quality difference there is between those two shows.

[@MrDigimal]

Which do you prefer so

[@Oohcnap]

The scene with Stamets saying he's a packrat and has wires I think is both an up and a down. Cute scene but.... can they not just replicate old tech that's compatible? I'm pretty sure starfleet would have a database about soong-type androids. Even more so it could just be replicated on the spot, as seen with Tilly's coffee.

[@TheOneTrueChris]

You could make a good drinking game with how often the line "Aye, Mister Saru" was said.

[@deejumsduzall8804]

Her hair is programmable matter. The upkeep on that much weave would be intense, it being programmable matter solves all sorts of in universe problems AND jank cgi problems 😂

[@QuintusAntonious]

As funny as it is, you're probably right. She changes her hair style and details pretty frequently and there's no reason why someone couldn't do that in the future.

[@JimmyNotes]

So she's essentially wearing the 32nd century equivalent of weave...

[@Avatar2312]

The hair doesn't even need to be, it just has to be infused with some strains of it. But it would ba a genius way of storing the matter for use.

[@CatsVsCapitalism]

That actually makes perfect sense. If I had access to programmable matter I would change my hairstyle and color every week. Programmable matter hair is canon.

[@jaspervlogt3843]

@@QuintusAntonious She does? i see no difference from season 3 to now, only that she keeps it more bound sicne she made captain.

[@howbradknew]

So glad the show is back, even if it's a final season...I didn't have an issue with, or get taken out of, the fantasy by the background when they're talking on the planet. We get pictures like that all the time in today's world via cellphones and things like portrait mode, etc so doesn't seem fantasy-robbing.

[@MrTbk1701]

I always thought The Chase should have been more than one episode. There could be so much more so I’m excited to see what they do. I know how I wrote it out has teenager 🖖

[@BowieRulez]

Fred I’m guessing is Data’s kid, I’m betting. He’s named after Data’s cat. Not sure HOW you didn’t even mention that. I heard Fred and didn’t think of anything by it, UNTIL I saw the guy and I’m like, definitely Data’s kid!

[@Danrarbc]

So glad that there are actually well done and faithful references to past Trek here. It’s something Discovery has struggled with in the past and thus far they seem to have done better this time. I’m happy with that.

[@Raitdj]

Revelation of the Progenitors...at this point i was 100% sure that Kurtzman and the people at paramount are watching this channel 🔥

[@billycovingtonjr1717]

Great job there on your ups and downs for this first episode of season five. I do love the grey dress uniforms, and the relaxed feeling of the episode. I was surprised to see that Tilly's rank is just lieutenant and not lieutenant Commander as most of the bridge crew was promoted all around the same time, and Tilly was also the one that stayed to help Admiral Vance with the evacuations and made sure that their first class of cadets learned how to work in an emergency and save the lives of others. I'm glad that they have Michael and Book start out a little estranged since the last time we saw them , and that Book has accepted the punishment the federation had given him, and he was learning from the people he had since been helping . I was as advertised a thrill ride from the start and we shall see if it ends with the same enthusiasm. Good luck Star Trek Discovery.

[@LeeCarlson]

At the very least, Star Trek has been (mostly) consistent regarding when its tech works and what will disrupt it. I also believe that the ships are protecting a city or town rather than an encampment, though I might be mistaken.

[@adrianbetts9146]

Thanks for the Tee-shirt Sean - smashing HIV stigma plus Ups & Downs - bravo mate, much appreciated.

[@tzarifdam8788]

Season five is easily Discovery's best premiere, in my opinion. Wow. The visuals on this episode were stunning. The lighting seemed to be better compared to last season. The storyline is intriguing. I'm excited to see what happens. The future of the franchise is the 32nd century and I'm ready.

[@Sturmjaeger]

Anyone else get Shin Hati (from Star Wars: Ahsoka) vibes from Moll? Both women with shaggy white hair in villain roles? I'm sure it's just a coincidence but it's funny to me.

[@GavoneGuido]

If you do die in space, your body will not decompose in the normal way, since there is no oxygen. If you were near a source of heat, your body would mummify; if you were not, it would freeze. If your body was sealed in a space suit, it would decompose, but only for as long as the oxygen lasted.

[@librarian1701-D]

I was so happy to see Fred...and then, a few minutes later they kill him. That sums up my experience with DISCO.. so excited to see ST series/season and then they wipe out the feeling within minutes. I watch it because I love Star Trek, but I've been so disappointed in this whole series and concept. After the long chase scene and the fantastic event landing starships in the ground to stop the avalanche, Burnham and Booker stop to have an intimate conversation while she bleeding down her face. It was so out of place, I couldn't help but cringe a bit. The whole show feels incongruent that way.. here's some action and then maybe other writers say 'here's my script for intimate moments just throw it in when you can'. That's how it feels to me. And it takes me away from feeling into the story. I think the actors are good, the writing not so great and the overall concept of DISCO is more of a new sci-fi show that Star Trek. They just slapped "Star Trek on it and put a few pointy ears" I've been watching since 1970 when I was 4 years old. Since it's not episodic, you don't get to focus on each character, it's just a long movie broken up into 9 weeks or so of watching it. That space between makes me less interested. In all four seasons so far, I couldn't tell you much about any character or story line. This sounds negative but it's just that I'm disappointed and I stupidly get my hopes up. Then I come here to feel that camaraderie and esprit de corps but instead disappointed in the review. First time I've felt that way here. But I believe in IDIC I wish Star Trek 'people' wrote, directed, planned the Star Trek series. Hopefully this season is putting more Picard/TNG in it, as it appears to be! Soong android, the Prognitor storyline... Putting real Star Trek into it might make it teh best season so far. Like Enterprise finally 'getting' it in teh last season. Well I'll take Star Trek pretty much anyway it comes but I wish like many Trekkies, that it kept the same style and feel...(including: episodic and philosophic) Philippa Georgiou was the best thing but now gone from the series. Poor Fred. 🖖🏼

[@michaelv2385]

Every time I turn around Eve Harlow is in a show I'm watching. Shield, The 100, The Night Agent, The Rookie, Titans, the list is long. Love her.

[@Donnagata1409]

Hey, just today I've heard The Hundred is a very good series. Do you recommend it?

[@knightnevermore]

Damn, it took 4 meh seasons and a cancellation for the writers to finally tell a good story and make Discovery great. Now I am sort of sad that it ends. Let's hope the writers pass that knowledge on, so that whatever comes after stays that good.

[@Lewis5020]

One episode in but it seems like there's something extra to this season that's finally drawn me in to Disco. I don't recall ever really feeling invested in the show before this. Of course, it's been a long time since I've seen Disco since it's been away so long.

[@joenke9]

i got visions of the ent-d crashing when the disc and the antaren got down to protect the settlement