Why can't they believe it? One person's filler is another person's favorite. How many episodes do people clamor for of being "just filler" and not all about the serialized plot? I thought filler in Trek was in vogue right now?
There are several episodes in the franchise that have titles being similar enough that they are only seperated by a 'the'. ("The Emissary" and "EMISSARY", for ecample.) DISCO couldn't even be bothered to make it "The Anomaly". Truthfully, that's really lazy.
Yeah, no. The scenes with them trying to cross the Galactic Barrier are the very textbook definition of padded out.
What do we think? A movie in Discovery's future? TV Movie? https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-discovery-ending-blessing-in-disguise/ Nope
I’d love for them to do so. I don’t know that I would have written an article that mentions the show ending on a high note when there are still six episodes left in the tank, but I guess I get that it’s timely stuff.
One can, of course, believe that those episodes in Season 4 weren't padded out, but the general critical consensus says otherwise. If someone enjoyed the Galactic Barrier ep, great. That's their prerogative. But if that's one of the episodes many, many people point to as an example of something Disco did wrong, then clearly it missed the mark for a large part of its target audience. At the end of the day, the purpose of a show is to sell itself. You can think the Galactic Barrier is one of the best eps Star Trek ever did, but if no one else is tuning in for it, you also have to face that, perhaps, your opinion is not one that will generate enough fan interest to keep the show alive. The fact that Disco was cancelled unexpectedly would lend credence to that as well.
In the end, the popularity of my opinion will never dictate that I should adjust such an opinion regarding media. If my interest is not enough for a show to stay alive then that's the way it goes. I will not change my opinion because popular opinion states it's now a good show. I've ran out of fingers to count the number of things I personally joy that are considered "unpopular." The large number of films I loved as a child were not. The shows I enjoyed and hoped would stay on the air didn't. The books I think are amazing never got sequels. The films that are in my top 10 list probably wouldn't rank that high for many (save for a couple.) I grow weary of the populist argument. Why can't people enjoy it and damn be the consequences if it doesn't continue? And why should I care if it continues or not?
A reminder that we’re back tomorrow, Saturday, from 9-11 PM BST (that’s 4-6 PM EDT in the US) with another Trek/sci-fi/everything zoom discussion. Link will be posted in the thread at the time of the meeting. Nothing is recorded, come and go as you like, it’s a diverse and friendly international group, all are welcome!
You misunderstand me. I certainly would never claim one should be beholden to the popular opinion of what is liked. What I'm saying is, if someone is claiming something like "Discovery has no filler", but that is a distinctly minority opinion even from fans of the show, there is an argument to be made that the filler does, in fact, exist. My reference to whether people are tuning in is to point out that, if one doesn't acknowledge the general consensus of a show and try to maintain and / or build an audience based off of that, it is doomed to failure.
Well, isn't that subjective? Except, I'm not in charge of such decisions. So, at the risk of sounding extremely pedantic (a flaw of mine), why should I care what decisions are made to try and appeal to the masses?
Absolutely! Which is why it seems odd to me that some fans would so vehemently deny the absence of "filler" in Discovery as if it is established fact. Discussing the why's and how's of these things are essentially the bread and butter of advanced literary theory.
From a certain point of view. Ok, I'm all for that. But, it hasn't been a given that I should care about mass appeal. I don't influence the masses, so I'm afraid if there is a point it is quite lost on me today.
I became more interested in mass appeal when I started to realize that if I wanted more of what I actually liked (Star Trek, for instance) it would have to appeal to more than just my own personal tastes and I'd have to live with it. Then I started to wonder what it is that actually builds the audience for Star Trek, and what would actively drive it away. It's something I've been trying to be mindful of as I pursue my hopes of writing for it.
And that's completely fair and I'm always curious what creates mass appeal. But, it's never something I felt any influence over so I don't pursue it from that angle. From an academic side it is fascinating. From a practical sense, I see no power for me in influencing such decisions.