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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 37m

We deserved a better story about Michael Burnham, about Starfleet, about What Star Trek Is About.

SHE deserved a better story.

Michael Burnham in a prisoner’s uniform and a Starfleet delta from season 1 of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 42m

What is the Ballad Of Michael Burnham about?

‘Discovery’ ends up defaulting to: she had good friends and cool adventures because she was so awesome.

Often that was a lot of fun. But it wasn’t very interesting.

Michael Burnham looking practically regal

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 46m

95% of the gripes about Michael Burnham being a Mary Sue were just misogynoir.

But the fundamental problems with the show did help to animate them. The problem wasn’t really with her character, quite, but with the story the show told about her.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 48m

The show doesn’t earn it. Michael is just Awesome.

She has feelings — and the show does good work with that — but she doesn’t have conflicts. Deep down, everybody loves her. And even worse, she doesn’t have conflicts within herself.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 51m

From the very first episode, we of course know that the story is •eventually• going to make Michael the captain of the USS Discovery.

It makes that look impossible. She’s a mutineer!

How will she earn it?

How will the show earn it?

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 48m

The show doesn’t earn it. Michael is just Awesome.

She has feelings — and the show does good work with that — but she doesn’t have conflicts. Deep down, everybody loves her. And even worse, she doesn’t have conflicts within herself.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 51m

From the very first episode, we of course know that the story is •eventually• going to make Michael the captain of the USS Discovery.

It makes that look impossible. She’s a mutineer!

How will she earn it?

How will the show earn it?

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 51m

From the very first episode, we of course know that the story is •eventually• going to make Michael the captain of the USS Discovery.

It makes that look impossible. She’s a mutineer!

How will she earn it?

How will the show earn it?

In The World of Star Trek, David Gerrold opens up dialogue on the people, places, and events that made Star Trek one of the most popular series eve...

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 59m

Gerrold said there are two kinds of Trek stories:

Kirk in danger
Kirk makes a decision

The first is bad; we know he isn’t gonna die.

The second is good, because it delivers a morality play, which is what Trek is for.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

In 1973, David Gerrold wrote a book about how Trek works which eventually landed him the gig writing the show bible for ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’.

The World of Star Trek

www.simonandschuster.com

In The World of Star Trek, David Gerrold opens up dialogue on the people, places, and events that made Star Trek one of the most popular series eve...

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

In 1973, David Gerrold wrote a book about how Trek works which eventually landed him the gig writing the show bible for ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’.

The World of Star Trek

www.simonandschuster.com

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

Worse, too often the thing that ‘Discovery’ gives us as Michael’s decisive advantage is that she is really good at running and punching.

Star Trek has a lot of running and punching but it is not ABOUT that.

My trouble with Trek

Star Trek as liberal propaganda

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

But instead of that potentially interesting superpower, ‘Disco’ ended up just giving us Michael Is Good At Everything, which is lazy.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

I think the thing that ‘Disco’ storytelling TRYING to give us as Michael Burnham’s superpower was that she came at problems sideways.

That papers over the problem of her mutiny — she wasn’t wrong, she was a lateral thinker! — but it is a good conceit.

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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

I think the thing that ‘Disco’ storytelling TRYING to give us as Michael Burnham’s superpower was that she came at problems sideways.

That papers over the problem of her mutiny — she wasn’t wrong, she was a lateral thinker! — but it is a good conceit.

1 2

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

And part of the problem there is that the ‘Disco’ writers have their virtues but were not good at justifying that Michael Is Awesome. Instead, the show mostly just drafts behind SMG being awesome and letting that sell it.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

But Fuller exited the show shortly before it started. His fingerprints are still on that first season but it became something else.

Writers were in a hurry to deliver Michael Is Awesome, Actually.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

Bryan Fuller has been politely evasive about what he wanted ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ to be, but I have a hypothesis.

He wanted to show the slow, hard process of Federation values redeeming Michael Burnham, making her into the person we want her to be.

1 3

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

But Fuller exited the show shortly before it started. His fingerprints are still on that first season but it became something else.

Writers were in a hurry to deliver Michael Is Awesome, Actually.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

Bryan Fuller has been politely evasive about what he wanted ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ to be, but I have a hypothesis.

He wanted to show the slow, hard process of Federation values redeeming Michael Burnham, making her into the person we want her to be.

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

In this Michael Burnham resembles another SF TV antihero played by a charismatic actor.

Malcolm Reynolds was originally meant to be a nasty piece of work who earned his dignity and our respect the hard way, and studio meddling blunted that … which is why fans love him.

Joss on Mal

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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

‘Disco’ needed SMG to be so charismatic so that we would root for her despite being a dangerous loose cannon who demonstrates at every turn that she shouldn’t be in Starfleet boots, much less destined for a captain’s chair

Star Trek as liberal propaganda

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

Bryan Fuller has been politely evasive about what he wanted ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ to be, but I have a hypothesis.

He wanted to show the slow, hard process of Federation values redeeming Michael Burnham, making her into the person we want her to be.

Star Trek Michael Burnham GIF

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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

After a little prologue, the first real sequence in Michael’s story sees her committing mutiny because she objects to the captain delivering the best line of Star Trek dialogue ever written.

Michael is talented, capable, goodhearted, and … BAD. As wrong as wrong can be.

Captain Georgiou with the caption “Starfleet does NOT fire first”

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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

I think part of the problem is that Sonequa Martin-Green is TOO compelling a screen presence for what I think the show originally meant to do

JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

I find myself wondering what the heck the writers of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ thought Michael Burnham’s story was about

Alt: Michael Burnham from ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ saying “I’m dying to talk about it”

media.tenor.com

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JK @miniver.bsky.social · 1h

‘Birth/Rebirth’ is obscenely good. IMHO the only film whose engagement with Shelley’s novel shows sophistication rivaling ‘Penny Dreadful’.