When did Discovery JUMP the Shark?

[TerryTrek]

As we approach Discovery's final season and Cancellation, lets look back at where things went off track.

There may be a few fans who think Disco has always been super fantastic and never dipped.

However, this is for those who noticed that audience apathy for the show has reached it's peak. Especially amidst the cancellation. There doesn't seem to be much fan demand for future seasons.


It seemed there was some positivity for Season 2. Pike was universally praised and brought new life to the show. The storyline and writing made no sense, but audiences seemed charmed by Pike at least.


Then came Season 3. This is usually where Trek shows find their footing. I think this was the season that Broke Discovery.

Everything hinged on the Burn mystery. Even a lot of the braindead story decisions (like Ensign Tilly being made first officer) could have been waved away if The Burn payed off. It didn't.

The story of the crying superpowered Kelpien, crying for his mommy...causing the Burn was underwhelming at best, silly at worst. Even reviewers that defend Discovery like TrekCulture, admitted that this was lame.


After that, I noticed all the IMDB scores for Disco S4 episodes were consistently low;
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5171438/episodes/?season=4&ref_=tt_eps_sn_4

Tending to fall in the 5/10 range. Still with thousands voting.

IMO S3 is where Discovery burned away it's audience goodwill.

 

[fireproof78]

The story of the crying superpowered Kelpien, crying for his mommy...causing the Burn was underwhelming at best, silly at worst. Even reviewers that defend Discovery like TrekCulture, admitted that this was lame.

Lame? Hardly.

There may be a few fans who think Disco has always been super fantastic and never dipped.

Always fantastic? Who thought that? Discovery has an uphill battle since episode 2.

 

[Nerys Myk]

From Wiki "The idiom "jumping the shark" or "jump the shark" is a term that is used to argue that a creative work or entity has reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with, or an extreme exaggeration of, its original purpose."
So. I'm joing with DISCO hasn't. Even with the time jump it's been the same show.

 

[Nerys Myk]

As for good will? I dunno. There a thousands (millions?) of fans all with an opinion. Things like RT are just a small sampling. I think the season three plot was Star Trek at it's Trekest. It hit a variety of well worn Trek Tropes.

 

[TerryTrek]

Normally I wouldn't even use 'Jump the Shark'

However, dat mushroom drive tho.


I think the question being asked is when did so many audiences just sour on the show?

We went from consistent IMDB ratings in the 7-8 ranges... to the 5s. After S3.

 

[fireproof78]

I think the question being asked is when did so many audiences just sour on the show?

Why?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Normally I wouldn't even use 'Jump the Shark'

However, dat mushroom drive tho.


I think the question being asked is when did so many audiences just sour on the show?

We went from consistent IMDB ratings in the 7-8 ranges... to the 5s. After S3.

So, season 4? The latest season. Rewatching it right now. It's better than season 3. So I'm not sure why those who bother to "rate" things don't like it. What are their given reasons?

You think? It's your question, if you don't know who does?

 

[TerryTrek]

If one doesn't rate what they don't like.... then the votes should be skewed largely positive.


Which has happened before, especially here. Even with a much smaller number on here.

 

[Nerys Myk]

If one doesn't rate what they don't like, then the votes should be skewed largely positive.


Which has happened before, especially here. Even with a much smaller number on here.

Nah. People like to down vote as much as up vote in those places.

 

[fireproof78]

People see "Discovery" and down vote just as quickly, if more so, as up vote.

 

[TerryTrek]

Which should theoretically balance it all out.

It will be interesting to see how Discovery S5 does in the viewership streaming numbers, now that they are public. They've spent a lot of money promoting the final season. Is there an audience for it, or was the cancellation justified? We'll see.

 

[fireproof78]

Is there an audience for it, or was the cancellation justified? We'll see.

It was canceled for saving money. Casts become too expensive.

Which should theoretically balance it all out.

Not how humans work.

 

[Lord Garth]

I think Discovery will jump the shark with Episode 66. Complete and utter lack of content that will be impossible to watch. Literally.

 

[Cyrus]

It didn't

 

[Mage]

I think I'll go and look for something interesting to read on the forum.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Probably when it was announced as the next Star Trek series.
(someone whispers that applies to way more than just DIS)

Whoops, never mind...

 

[Quantum21]

As we approach Discovery's final season and Cancellation, lets look back at where things went off track.

There may be a few fans who think Disco has always been super fantastic and never dipped.

However, this is for those who noticed that audience apathy for the show has reached it's peak. Especially amidst the cancellation. There doesn't seem to be much fan demand for future seasons.


It seemed there was some positivity for Season 2. Pike was universally praised and brought new life to the show. The storyline and writing made no sense, but audiences seemed charmed by Pike at least.


Then came Season 3. This is usually where Trek shows find their footing. I think this was the season that Broke Discovery.

Everything hinged on the Burn mystery. Even a lot of the braindead story decisions (like Ensign Tilly being made first officer) could have been waved away if The Burn payed off. It didn't.

The story of the crying superpowered Kelpien, crying for his mommy...causing the Burn was underwhelming at best, silly at worst. Even reviewers that defend Discovery like TrekCulture, admitted that this was lame.


After that, I noticed all the IMDB scores for Disco S4 episodes were consistently low;
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5171438/episodes/?season=4&ref_=tt_eps_sn_4

Tending to fall in the 5/10 range. Still with thousands voting.

IMO S3 is where Discovery burned away it's audience goodwill.

This assumes all IMDB ratings are pure and impartial, obviously this isn't so. The ratings went down after the show was taken off Netflix in season 4 in protest for example.

You can go to any number of voting sites and the ratings are quite high, some fan ratings nearly at the top. Amazon ratings are 4.5 out 5 for example for Discovery season 4. Season 3 a 4.7 out of 5!

So since your premise is erroneous we can't really assume anything in your post is accurate beyond your own opinion.

My ratings I've come with are sightly different than the TrekBBS ratings because I use a different method, but I rank the seasons as:

Season 1: 8.8
Season 2: 9.0
Season 3: 8.3
Season 4: 9.0

I rank all these higher than season 3 of Picard.

So I don't see much Shark jumping. I do see some trolling though.

 

[BillJ]

Jump the Shark? I don’t know if it did that or not. I lost complete interest in the show with “Unification III” and haven’t been back since.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

To jump the shark, something has to be universally loved and then dip suddenly in quality.

DSC stumbled out of the gate and it's been reeling ever since, but it never jumped the shark because there was never a shark to jump.

 

[Quantum21]

To jump the shark, something has to be universally loved and then dip suddenly in quality.

DSC stumbled out of the gate and it's been reeling ever since, but it never jumped the shark because there was never a shark to jump.

By what metric? Again this is your opinion not supported by actual an metric, which show the series is not only popular but a critical success. Try again.