Value Subtracted @ ValueSubtracted @startrek.website

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“What I loved about the Gorn was it was an opportunity to retcon something into a real monster. What we do in Star Trek—and you’ll see we’ll even do it with the Gorn—is we start by seeing the other and often we end by engaging our empathy and understanding common ground. And that’s great, and it doesn’t mean that there isn’t real evil in the world. And so what we wanted to do with the Gorn was to give you a monster, and a monster that at least at first, seemed irredeemable.”

I find this statement a little aggravating, because in my opinion they really haven't retconned the Gorn. In "Arena", they slaughtered the entire Cestus colony, and the Gorn captain is utterly merciless.

"Arena" is about mercy, but the Gorn didn't really earn it in the episode, which was really kind of the point.

I'm only going to speak for my own playstyle...I've really only ever played as a single-player game, following the linear storyline for the most part. Once you hit endgame, there are 5-player team-up events to participate in, and things like that.

The bottom line for me is that it's not a difficult game to play, the PvP scene is basically non-existent, and there's not really a lot of incentive to get really grindy with it unless you're really a "make the numbers go up" kind of person. The game provides opportunities throughout the year to earn things through gameplay that would otherwise be locked behing IRL currency.

I have spent maybe $10 on the game in the last several years, and even that was more because I was bored more than out of "necessity." That said, I bought a Lifetime Subscription in 2010 that gives me the equivalent of a $5 store credit each month, so I have the means to occasionally "buy" things without spending any money.

Lastly...it's an old game. The gameplay is, by all accounts, pretty dated. But for the price of $0, it's a pretty enjoyable Star Trek sandbox to play in.

Deadline seems to have taken a much bleaker interpretation from the very same content:

‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Casts More Doubt Over Series’ Future As UK Ratings Plummet: “We Don’t Know What’s Happening”

One thing that I don't think I've seen anyone mention about that "oh, hello" is that it's another fourth-wall breaking moment, this time not from Mrs. Flood/The Rani. Does that mean anything? Who knows!

And there’s Susan, of course.

Good to hear he doesn't seem to have abandoned that thread in the wake of the finale.

(I’m still wondering who Gus is, from Mummy on the Orient Express. Maybe they’re the same!)

Also good to hear he's still a dedicated troll.

Speaking in this week's issue of Doctor Who magazine, Davies wrote: "No, not the end, don’t be mad. Doctor Who will never end!

"There are pathways leading to potential futures – we’ve still got the mystery of that bright and blazing ending, 'Oh, hello,' yes indeed, hello Billie! And there’s Susan, of course."

He went on: "I wonder if we’ll ever find out who the Boss is. Or who the Boss are. (I’m still wondering who Gus is, from Mummy on the Orient Express. Maybe they’re the same!)

"But we don’t know what’s happening yet, and while everyone works that out, I’ll take a pause on this page ... Hopefully, we’ll have news soon, and certainly, The War Between the Land and the Sea is about to break out, so there are great things ahead. Until then."

Eh?

Stories included have not only been written by Tennant, Capaldi and Whittaker, but also by Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Chris Chibnall, Steven Moffat and Hugh Bonneville. In fact, there are more than 50 contributors.

Jump 900 years into the past and do a period costume drama.

I always figured TAS was the final two years of the five-year mission...

I think Goldsman's actual statement is pretty vague - he could easily mean a spinoff with the non-TOS cast. Just redress the sets and you're off to the races.

He could also mean a movie, or...some third thing.

And in any case, he's moving on with his career.

It's cool that they're excited about possibilities, but I remain very skeptical that there's any actual traction there.

The pass, which launches on Friday, doesn't require registration or a physical card. Instead, the benefits will be available upon arrival at parks, national museums and when booking train tickets. Canadians and foreign tourists are eligible.

It's not really a "pass" then, but cool.

Yeah, that really didn't sink in for me until some time had passed, but he was a real star. If the team really is that deep and it's not a mirage...

Okay, this is kind of a nothing story, but...what an interesting "what if"...

All that money for "the Doctor walks through some fan blades".

Heck, it was pretty much Goldsman's pitch:

In the first pitch document that we sent to the network… we opened with a question asking, “What if we just did Star Trek?” And they said, “Okay.” Every day in the writers’ room, we try to imagine how would Gene Roddenberry and his team make The Original Series if they were doing it today?

I...don't really think this one is all that good?

I'm going to jump straight into something that I forgot to talk about last week: the Ninth Doctor himself. I've been trying to put my finger on what sets him apart from the others, and...for me, it's his goofy aloofness. He's at once extremely enthusiastic and slightly contemptuous of those around him, with an edge that definitely doesn't carry forward to his successors. He certainly throws Rose into the deep end in this episode, dropping her far into the future, well after everyone she knows is dead and gone, just in time to (almost) watch her planet get destroyed by the sun.

There are really nice character bits throughout, like Raffalo the plumber and of course Jabe the tree lady. Lady Cassandra certainly is memorable.

The Doctor lets Cassandra dry out until she explodes in the end. Remember kids, the Doctor never does cruel things, and the more recent seasons have ruined everything!

Not the worst episode ever, but hardly the best. It continues to focus on Rose's journey, and her reaction to exactly what it means to travel through time and space. It also continues to lay out the Doctor's backstory in small drips.

Edit: Oh, and it's sort of weird that they didn't tie the Adherents of the Repeated Meme more directly into the Bad Wolf nonsense.

Trek Movie: Early Review: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Returns With Added Adventure And Romance For Season 3

For those following along, it's the season two finale, not the season three premiere.

JAKE: Maybe we'd better go back to the station for help.

NOG: Good idea. Computer, fly us back to the station.

COMPUTER: Please restate command.

JAKE: Computer, disengage autopilot and lay in a course back to the wormhole.

COMPUTER: Enter authorisation code.

It's clunky, but it sounds like the "autopilot" is what's keeping them locked in orbit of the planet, and they're trying to break out of that pattern.

I just clued in that you're visiting from a Mastodon server. In that case, it's unfortunately two clicks - first the startrek.website link, then the Gizmodo link that goes to the actual article.

Federation is an imperfect beast sometimes.

If you're interested in the article, you could try, y'know, reading it.

Edit: I was being a bit of a dumb-dumb.