Entertainment
Star Trek’s Best Writer Just Threw Fans Under The Bus
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Arguably, the greatest current Star Trek writer is Tawny Newsome: after voicing the hilarious Beckett Mariner on Lower Decks, she began writing for Starfleet Academy, all while working on a new, live-action Trek comedy. Newsome is a powerhouse writer who helped SFA craft its recent tribute to Avery Brooks, but she ruffled more than a few fandom feathers on a recent podcast appearance. That’s because she basically threw the fans under the bus by implying that anyone criticizing Starfleet Academy is simply hating on the show’s younger performances.
Recently, Tawny Newsome conducted an Ask Me Anything on YouTube, and she discussed the criticism that Starfleet Academy had been getting. “The side of the fandom that enjoys tearing these shows down … they exist. Which is fine,” she said. “But there is something different now with this show, because our cast is so young. And I just want to say: really think about who you are tearing down.”
Calculating Who To Blame For Star Trek’s Failures
Taken at face value, Newsome seems to be conflating most (if not all) criticism of shows like Starfleet Academy. That is, anyone who is “tearing these shows down” is also trying to tear down its young cast. However, this reaction doesn’t make any logical sense because almost all major criticisms of the show focus on failures at the writing and production level.
As someone who is deeply entrenched in NuTrek criticism (having contributed many thousands of words to it myself), I can confidently say most critics and even outright haters of Starfleet Academy focus more on the writers than the actors. Sure, you can find the occasional person taking potshots at, say, overweight characters, but even those critiques are limited almost exclusively to the older actors. The general consensus about Starfleet Academy’s young cast seems to be that they are very talented and would simply benefit from better writing and direction.
You’ll Eat What Trek Gives You, And You’ll Like It!
Why, then, is Tawny Newsome deliberately conflating criticism of the show with criticism of its young actors? The simplest explanation is also the saddest: this looks like a very transparent attempt to silence any and all critiques of Starfleet Academy. That show’s biggest defenders will now use her words to argue that anyone who criticizes this new Star Trek spinoff is someone who must hate its young, diverse cast and is therefore not worth listening to.
This is doubly disingenuous because very few NuTrek critics are interested in “tearing these shows down” for the fun of it. For the most part, these are passionate Star Trek fans (usually on the older side) who want the franchise to return to its former glory. For such fans, Starfleet Academy would be a much better show if it focused less on embarrassing Zoomer humor and more on just giving us a good Star Trek episode. “Series Acclimation Mil,” for example, very nearly ruined its touching tributes to Avery Brooks and Deep Space Nine with lowbrow d*ck and fart jokes that were downright embarrassing to watch.
Naked Hypocrisy From Paramount
Using Newsome’s logic, my criticism of this episode’s lowbrow jokes is tantamount to me trying to tear down the cast of Starfleet Academy. But it wasn’t the youthful cast that filled this episode with weird potty humor; it was the middle-aged Newsome, who wrote it! In this sense, her recent podcast comments take on a kind of self-defensive tone, with her instantly demonizing any and all criticisms of the very show she works for.
Tawny Newsome’s words are already pretty offensive to fans like myself who genuinely want NuTrek to improve. However, what is more concerning is the idea that she might speak for Alex Kurtzman or other powerful figures at Paramount when she dismisses all criticism of Starfleet Academy as some inexplicable hatred for its young actors. The biggest hope among many critics is that the new show will get better over time, but it seems clear that the show will never improve if everyone involved with its production is busy making excuses and generally throwing well-meaning critics under the bus.
Paramount To Fans: It’s Always Your Fault
At the end of the day, all that will matter to Paramount is the numbers. Starfleet Academy has already been renewed for a second season, but the series has proven to be controversial among fans and quickly fell out of the Top 10 ranking on Paramount+. This is despite it being a well-marketed new Star Trek show. Should viewership get low enough, the show might get prematurely canceled, like Discovery and Lower Decks before it.
For Starfleet Academy skeptics, this is the ultimate Kobayashi Maru: if you watch the show and complain, then you are criticized for tearing down the series and its actors, and everyone will ask, “why are you watching if you hate it?” But if the show gets canceled, you’ll get blamed, with fans saying the series could have succeeded if you and other haters had simply sucked it up and watched. For NuTrek critics, Tawny Newsome’s words are a sobering reminder of the Paramount mentality: no matter what negative thing happens to a new Star Trek show, it will always be your fault for not blindly liking it!
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
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at Amazon
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Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
Are you going to use all 14 ports at the exact same time? Probably not, but you’ll never have to dig through your bag for a specific adapter again. You just plug a single cable into your laptop, and the dock handles the rest. It features a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and your choice of HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. It’s also fast enough to transfer a 150GB file in 25 seconds.
Entertainment
How I scored ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents
SAVE $26: As of April 22, returning subscribers can score two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents per month with the code N8C27L. Usually $13.99 per month, that’s $26 in savings. Just note that your mileage may vary.
$0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) with code N8C27L
If you’re looking to save some money on your streaming lineup, my number one recommendation is to cancel your subscriptions. While it doesn’t work for every streamer, many will offer you a special discount to come back. Not to mention, you’ll be eligible for any new deals that may appear that are marketed to “new and returning customers.” Case in point: as of April 22, returning subscribers can get two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month.
I’ve tested this out myself, so I can vouch for it. When you navigate to Paramount+ and sign in to your existing account, you’ll be prompted to pick a plan. Select the Paramount+ Premium monthly plan for $13.99 per month. On the “Welcome back!” page, scroll down to the box that says “Have a promo code?” and enter N8C27L. Once you hit “apply” the price should drop to just 99 cents per month.
Credit: Paramount+
That’s all, folks. You can take advantage of two full months of ad-free Paramount+, Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS live TV, UFC fights, and more for less than two bucks. That’s $26 total in savings.
Mashable Deals
Paramount+ has a surprisingly hefty library. Subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS hits like Survivor and NCIS, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. Not to mention, there’s a lineup of movies that’ll keep you fully entertained for your two-month promotional period. Just be sure to cancel again before the second month is over if you want to avoid paying full cost. You can always sign up again when another deal arises. I know I will.
Entertainment
How Stargate SG-1 Used A Classic Trope To Emotionally Wreck Its Fans
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Garfield and Friends said it best: “Oh no, we’ve resorted to an evil twin storyline.” Star Trek: The Original Series did it the best with Mirror Universe Spock, and ever since, it’s been a lazy excuse for every series to use when they run out of ideas. The exception is Stargate SG-1’s sixth episode, “Cold Lazarus,” which plays with the trope by making the twin less evil and more confused.
When fans say they skip this episode when rewatching, it’s not because it’s a lazy, poorly written episode. In fact, it’s the opposite. The ending of “Cold Lazarus” is a pivotal character moment for Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and a gut punch to the audience.
Stargate SG-1’s First Evil Twin
“Cold Lazarus” opens with the SG-1 team on a planet that doesn’t look like Vancouver (it was a giant pile of sulfur at the port of Vancouver). The desert landscape is dotted with shattered blue crystals that look like the remnants of a civilization until we see a crystal eye-view of O’Neill, a mysterious light knocks him out, and all of a sudden, a second O’Neill is looking down at the first. Turns out, the crystals are the civilization.
Fake O’Neill is trying to figure out who O’Neill is and what SGC is all about. When he pulls out photos of his family, it takes Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) by surprise. O’Neill’s never mentioned his wife, Sara, or his son, Charlie. Confused, the Fake O’Neill goes to the home, where Sara is disgusted he’d come by and thinks it’s a sick joke that he’s asking about Charlie. If you’re wondering if you missed a key part of O’Neill’s backstory, don’t worry, this is the first time that either Sara or Charlie is mentioned, and tragically, we soon learn why.
No One Ever Dies
Charlie shot himself with O’Neill’s gun. Fake O’Neill starts to piece this together when he goes into Charlie’s old room and breaks down, prompting Sara and him to finally have the conversation about their shared grief. Back in SGC, the crystal’s nature is revealed to be an energy alien calling itself Unity, which accidentally killed a Jaffa, and the Goa’uld shattered them in retribution. That’s when O’Neill stumbles back through the Stargate, and the team realizes the mistake they made.
The Fake O’Neill is soon captured at a local hospital, suffering from Earth’s radiation, where he explains that he sensed O’Neill’s pain after he took his form and wanted to help ease the suffering, as nothing ever truly dies to Unity. To prove its point, Unity transforms into Charlie, giving O’Neill and Sara one last chance to see their child. Fans who haven’t lost a child can understand the emotion, but for fans who have, this scene is emotional torture, in the best way possible.
Jack knows this isn’t Charlie, but he talks to him like he is, and then they walk together through the Stargate back to Unity’s planet. It’s a beautiful moment that explains so much about O’Neill’s throwing himself into work and how even his friendships remain professional. “Cold Lazarus” may have started out with the “evil twin” trope in full effect, but the ending is proof that even early during its run, Stargate SG-1 was going to be the greatest.
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