DISCO S1E1 "The Vulcan Hello" Review by AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Ok, here we go! Brand new series! Let's do this! Immediately we meet the Klingons, and they have had another makeover. They are now blacker than ever. They still have forehead ridges, but it's no longer the defining characteristic, and they all seem to be bald. We learn that they're organizing for reasons we can only assume are not good for our soon-to-be heroes. Next we meet Commander Burnham and Captain Georgiou wandering around in the desert. Georgiou is telling Burnham that she should get her own command, and proves her wisdom by making the Star Fleet symbol with their footprints so that the ship can find them. Oh! Because communications and transporters can't get through the interference. Some cliches never change.



Back on the Shenzhou, the crew discovers that their big space relay has a bite out of it and can't figure out why. But there is something hiding out there just out of visual range and too far into a meteor field to get any closer to. Burnham straps on her Iron Man suit and flies out to see what it is. There she finds a very old decorative something-or-other and kills a Klingon by accident. After they get her back, and before she is cured of severe radiation poisoning, she barges onto the bridge to inform the captain that Klingons are out there. Klingons have not been heard from in over 100 years, so no one believes her. Except the captain, who calls for red alert. They get the Klingons to show themselves using some posturing, and the crew is shocked. Especially Saru, whose weird alien gills or whatever perk up in response to the threat.

We really only meet four characters in this episode: Captain Georgiou (who we assume will be leaving soon), Commander Burnham (who we know will be getting her own ship soon and become our main character), Lt Commander Saru (who is interesting and I hope becomes Burnham's first officer), and Sarek (who of course we know already). Other than that, there's some random nameless redshirts around. Oh, and someone with a computer for a face.

Soon we learn that the artifact thing is a beacon to call together the Klingons, and that the dude Burnham killed was trying to get it lit. They need someone else to do it now, and they choose the only white Klingon in existence. I assume it's a suicide mission, but who knows? Maybe we'll see more of the albino Klingon. After it's lit, it blasts the Shenzhou with sound and light that is nearly crippling. Burnham runs off to place a holographic phone call to Sarek, who we learn raised her after her parents were killed by a Klingon terror attack. He tells her that the only way to gain respect in an encounter with Klingons is to fire first. The Vulcans coined this practice as "The Vulcan Hello." She tries to persuade the captain to blast away, but of course she refuses because that's not very Star Fleet, is it? A visit to the ready room results in a Vulcan neck pinch, the captain on the floor, and Burnham attempting a mutiny. All of it fails, and the show ends with dozens of Klingon ships dropping out of warp.

UGH LENS FLARES WHYYYYY???

There are some interesting precedents for the series set here. First off, there is a cliff hanger. We can assume that this will be a serial, as is the popular style now. Also, let's talk about tone. This is not a Utopian future where people have it all figured out. This series will be about war, and even terrorism. Altogether I found the series opener to be just Adequate. Yes, I want to watch the next show. But let's face it, I would no matter what. I wasn't blown away, but I liked what I saw. And dammit, the stupid lens flares from the JJ movies made it in! WHY? But still, we have possibility here.

Published Sept 26, 2017