Star Trek: Discovery

There have been reports before the fact about this series that are the stuff of nightmare, and there is of course the whole concept of having to pay for it as part of CBS' new All Access network, so even before it started, "Star Trek: Discovery" had a hard road ahead of it. First imagined as an anthology series, taking place at any time or place in the mainstream Trek universe (as opposed to in the Kelvin timeline of the last three cinematic films - here, here, and here), this series now might just be about one ship, one crew, and one time - time will tell.

I have been impressed with the previews myself, especially the acting and casting, but not so much with some of the designs, particularly the Klingon ones. Further while I was very happy with the casting of "The Walking Dead"'s Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham and one of my favorite actresses Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou, I was disappointed that Green would take lead as the POV protagonist with Yeoh in a more background role. That said, as with all such things, I should have an opinion until I actually see it, right? It's what separates the Trekkers from the Trekkies, I suppose, pre-perception.

I loved the opening of the first episode, "The Vulcan Hello," as well as the new theme. The composition by Jeff Russo incorporates elements of the original theme, and while it's no country song like in "Enterprise," which I found original, refreshing, and catchy, it is adequate. The visuals are much less exciting, and disappointing. But as noted, the acting and lesson of the intro with Green and Yeoh showed much promise and dedication to the cause. It had my hopes up that I was able to get through the less-than-stellar credit sequence.

Ten minutes in, introduced to Doug Jones' paranoid science officer Saru, and others in the diverse crew of the USS Shenzhou, this was feeling very Trek, from the dialogue, to the uniforms, to the procedural, and I was digging it. This crew gets along, knows each other's quirks, and has a camaraderie similar to later seasons of "TNG." There is however an annoying Motion Picture conceit of showing off special effects and model building, almost like a child jumping up and down and yelling, "Look what I can do!" and it results in scenes dragging and taking much longer than they should.

And then there are the Klingons, some might say drastically different in appearance and conduct to what we have known before. They have been known to change their physical appearance in the past, but this is quite different, and quite possibly what drove fans up the wall when images surfaced. We have more gothic, more bestial, more feudal Klingons here, with a darker, larger, more sinister and menacing bird of prey. I am willing to accept this, after all, who knows how much and how fast Klingons might evolve physically or change culturally.

A more sophisticated explanation from the showrunners suggest that the Klingon Empire is huge, and not all Klingons come from Kronos. Their various cultures and styles and even physical manifestations vary from house to house, their system of power, similar to that of "Game of Thrones" in a way. Just like a New York businessman would look different from an Aborigine shaman for instance, these Klingons are just as different as say Kang and Worf are to each other. Seems like a lot of dancing to just make more fearsome alien monsters and not change the name. And once the thought that they were more like "Doctor Who" monsters than "Star Trek" villains entered my mind, it would not leave.

The setting is ten years before the original series, and the USS Shenzhou has discovered a Klingon ship. Burnham, who has a history with the Klingons who haven't but rarely been seen in generations, goes to investigate and ends up killing one of their Torchbearers. Burnham, we learn was the only survivor of a Vulcan-Human space station attacked by Klingons. Her parents killed, Sarek (yes, that Sarek) took her in, educated, and trained her. So this discovery is a hot issue for Burnham.

As the episode continues we see more of Burnham, as well as Saru and Geogiou, all doing fantastic jobs. The performances are on mark. Meanwhile we are also learning of Klingon culture and how one house is trying to unite all twenty-four houses against the Federation. The cliffhanger on the first episode is a tight one, and must have been very frustrating for those not subscribed to CBS All Access. My take on this however, based on the first episode, would be it's worth it.

Lucky folks outside the United States got to see it on Netflix, it should be noted. And in watching the second episode, "Battle at the Binary Stars," it's evident that the structure of the show fits Netflix to a tee. This is a binge series, and watched best as a binge. It's episodic, with a binge-worthy flow, interspersed with character-revealing flashbacks - this is a Netflix show, and CBS couldn't have found a better formula to copy. It's damn good. I dug this a lot, recommended.

Arrow S03 E19: "Broken Arrow"

Here's where we stand. Because Oliver won't become the next R'as Al Ghul, R'as has promised to destroy him and make his life a living hell. That campaign started by framing the Arrow for multiple murders and culminated last episode when R'as revealed to Quentin Lance that Oliver Queen was the Arrow.

Lance announces to Starling City this fact and vows to bring him in. With no other options, Oliver turns himself in. Then while en route to Iron Heights, Roy attacks the police convoy and confesses that he is the Arrow. Of course that's not where we start. We begin with Starling National Bank under attack by some sort of power surge after hours. Not a power surge, a metahuman, with red death vision... Deathbolt.

In the comics, there's this thing called retroactive continuity. They are stories set in the past, written later, and chronicling events that we previously did not know existed. Deathbolt is the product of that. We already know that the showrunners have a thing for the characters of the Golden Age. We've seen Wildcat, Solomon Grundy, and over in "The Flash," the Mist, now Deathbolt.

Deathbolt first appeared in All-Star Squadron, a comic from the 1980s that told the adventures of the Justice Society during World War II. Jake Simmons was a murderer experimented on by the evil Ultra-Humanite until he became a living electrical battery. Extremely powerful and not a nice guy, Deathbolt was one of the more dangerous super-villains of the retroactive Golden Age. Here Doug Jones plays the just as dangerous, but slightly less flamboyant version.

Lance and the police make a raid on the Arrowcave that sounds so much more dramatic than it is, reminding me somewhat of the 1960s "Batman" TV show when the bad guys would get into the Batcave. Come on, powers that be, I know that's a comparison you don't want to hear again, so get it together. So while Roy's in jail, and the police are dogging Oliver, a plan is hatched, one probably gotten from watching "The Flash" the night before... an Arrow/Atom team-up to go get Deathbolt.

The chatter between Felicity and Oliver, with Ray in the field is fun, but something tells me it would have been much more fun on "The Flash." They are really trying to work their best day/night, Metropolis/Gotham vibe with Central/Starling here. But seriously, the jokes would have been much funnier if someone just turned the lights up in the Arrowcave. Annnnd also never send someone in armor to fight a human electrical battery.

In Flashback Hong Kong, it seems as if Oliver is getting played, and he, as well as Maseo, Katana, and their son Akio are in the middle of some weird test or game between Amanda Waller and General Matthew Shrieve. At best, in a packed episode like this, even the best of a flashback can only do so much. I suppose it's nice to see skinny Waller again, and equally nice that Shrieve hasn't been forgotten.

Remember that aborted feature film that was in the pre-production works for while - Supermax? The plot had Green Arrow convicted of a crime he didn't commit and placed in a supermax prison full of super-villains, sort of an Escape from Alcatraz with super powers. The scenes with Roy in Iron Heights kinda reminded me of that even though it never got made. I'm pretty sure what we saw would have been pretty close.

The killing of the Speedies really took me by surprise. I was expecting neither, and it's a shame to see Roy go. I think it's a given that Thea is coming back, but I wonder if Roy might not be back somewhere down the road as well. I guess we'll be finding out all about R'as' fountain of youth very soon now.

But that will be on "Arrow," there's still one mystery that will be solved in an upcoming episode of "The Flash." Once Deathbolt is defeated by terrific teamwork between the heroes, Ray takes the villain for imprisonment in the pipeline beneath the particle accelerator in Central City. Cisco had theorized Deathbolt was another metahuman empowered by the accident, but it's just not so.

Jake Simmons was in Opal City at the time of the explosion, not Central City. Where did he get his powers? In the comics, it was the Ultra-Humanite, who knows in this case? Speaking of the comics, Opal City is the home of Starman, and another pipeline inmate, the Mist, was his archenemy. Deathbolt had some solo clashes against that hero as well. Two Starman villains in the pipeline? Could they be getting ready to introduce Starman the way they did Firestorm, slowly but steadily?

Next: Team Arrow goes to Nanda Parbat in "The Fallen!"



For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.