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Captain’s Log – October 3rd, 2017

By October 5, 2017 Captain's Log


Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

So fandom is well split on Star Trek Discovery.  Some like it, many don’t.  Whether it actually does well on CBS All Access remains to be seen as many fans don’t want to pay for it, and a lot are just pissed at CBS for suing Axanar.

But with so many Star Trek fans not liking Discovery, I thought I would discuss what I DO like, and that first and foremost is the Phaser and Communicator! They are both clear homages to the TOS and Cage era props and as such, I am a huge fan.  In fact, a bit TOO much for a reboot as Discovery is, but I will take them.  The people who designed them obviously got Star Trek.

THE PHASER

Love the “Cage” style front end

Number One and her laser from “The Cage”

Fins like the TOS phaser

TOS Phaser-style detailing

I think the chevron should point the other way.

THE COMMUNICATOR


This incorporates both TOS and ST II Communicator designs. The body is clearly TOS with the Moire and 3 buttons at the bottom…

…and the cover is the perforated style of Star Trek III.

Kirk using the hideous ugly communicator in Wrath of Khan

 

These are both big wins for me.  What do you think?
Alec

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Join the discussion 14 Comments

  • Scott Morgan says:

    Yup, those are the two good points. I’ll add one more; the sound effects from the bridge that they used from TOS, that’s a nice touch that JarJar used in his fan films.

  • Jimmy Hoffa says:

    I like it, but think it’s utter nonsense. Design aesthetic is just as important to the continuity of Trek as are characters and story. A good story no matter how it’s presented, with great acting and direction, will always translate. Story and details are just as important to people as is technological canon. The whole reimagining thing is just a convenient excuse to brand it so that it looks connected to the films, and so that they symbiotically promote each other. Love the phaser, but to have same design on the grill from WOK, is a sloppy way to create “easter egg” discussion with absolutely no logical explanation. The bridge is too dark. Too many things lack aesthetic connections to anything, etc, etc., plus the way CBS treated people like the Okudas, Drexler and so on in the beginning, having dismissed them without proper notice, is shameful. I believe the Ares is from its era. I believe the Ares’ characters and their uniforms are from their era. “Discovery” is a cheap attempt to make money at the expense of a great piece of art/storytelling/creative historical significance and influence on millions of people. I personally find it offensive. Axanar is the shit, and that is definitely something I would pay to see…not more branded prostitution from Les Moonves: https://soundcloud.com/firstlookmedia/cbs-chief-exec-on-donald-trump

  • Jose Page says:

    They both look great, I ike them very much .

  • Scott says:

    I’m ok with them. I think the phaser should be the cylindrical pistol shape, but like you said: reboot. I always thought that design was col, and hoped it would get some play in this. I at least like that this one references it.

  • JOSE PAGE says:

    They look very good, I just love them!!!!!.

  • Rick Newton says:

    Phaser is “okay,” though I dislike the (and this applies to all weapons fire) the “pulse” idea. I believe physics would bear out that a “beam” weapon would only “pulse” if the trigger were to be depressed, let go and then depressed again — in the same manner that a hand gun and laser do today. This would then hold true for the ship’s weaponry. I also agree that the chevron/delta should be facing 180 degrees from it’s current direction; but, then again, why is it even there to start with? I’m curious about the multi-head on the front of the phaser; was the red cutting beam (note it was a continuous beam!) using a different “head” than the “pulse” use? I didn’t see clearly enough (did anyone?) to note a different “head” setting, or a change to indicate such.

    As to the communicator, yes it does incorporate design ideas from TOS and the original cast movies [I am not a fan of the communicator from ST:II!]. My only “complaint,” if it can really be considered such, is that it looks “boxy.”

  • Norm says:

    I was actually hopeful when I saw those 2 props in the Discovery trailer but then I saw the pilot and quickly changed channel. Thank god I don’t pay for that piece of crap (I see it on the canadian Space channel).

  • Tim Jordan says:

    I was pleasantly surprised by these designs. So far I am enjoying the series for what it is. I would say that Orville feels more like classic trek to me….

  • Wtcher says:

    I like the chevron.

    I imagine while clipped to one’s belt, it presents an appropriate face.

  • Caleb says:

    You know I hope axanar will be out soon …or will it?….
    All I can say now is that Discovery is a joke it isn’t startrek doesn’t even close ….The Orville is more startrek then Discovery…..all i know is Axanar is what startrek should be .. not what discovery claims to be

  • Jayme Webster says:

    This is some attention to detail, smaller less important details. The details I see that detract from discovery are as follows. One, tribble on the captains table. Two, the design of the ship, more of later designs from TNG/DS9/Voyager. They look sleek and mean rather talk federation standard. Three, the Klingons, in enterprise, Klingon looked like the did from TNG era, also the ones changed from the augment virus. Added that the new bat’leth looks pretty and alien rather than functional, they redesigned the Klingons for nothing IMO. Four they have had little or no contact in a century. The battle of danatu 5 to an inconclusive result was fought in 2245. The current problems with the Klingons was started in 2223 per star trek wiki. A major battle alone is not little or no. The series destroys the idea of Alec’s vision imo because the conclusion of the 4 year war was about 2251. CBS really has screwed the pooch here.

  • @CybershamanX says:

    Thank you for taking the high road, sir! I have been very conflicted about Discovery for many reasons. (Too many to post here and, besides, I hope this remains one of the few places on the Net that will remain civil and true to the very soul of Trek.) But, I will say this…

    I heard a story about how Gene Roddenberry was handed a script for TNG and after reading it he said something to the effect of “Well, it’s exciting but…what is it *about*?” THAT is what Trek has always been about for me personally. You can make any show about ships flitting about in space pew pewwing each other but without an “about” it’s just another one of those…what do they call them? A “Romp”? I like a fully fortified and nutritious mental meal when I sit down to watch something in the class of traditional Trek. Of course, there will always be an occasional guilty pleasure mixed in here and there. Times when we just revelled in warp engines that wouldn’t shut down or photon torpedoes that had to be modified. But, we cared about those times not because of the spectacle of the roller coaster ride they presented but because the crew, which over time we had grown to practically consider family, were in danger.

    Anyway, to the crew of Axanar, I just wanted to say, thank you. Keep up the good work. I truly hope we get to see what you have done someday soon! 🙂

    PS: I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll never get to see a Discovery “Alice in Wonderland”-esque episode. I don’t know. It’s just a feeling… :/ But, every series has to have one or two trippy episodes, right? 😉

  • Richard says:

    I think we shouldn’t get stuck in the sixties. Personally I’d like to see Star Trek with updated tech. I think they just took the re-imagining of the aliens a little too far, I mean, only the Vulcans are recognizable.

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