Five days later, I’ve finally brought myself to watch it. Here’s what I’ve got.

This is “Doctor Who” trying to do an episode of “The X-Files,” and falling flat on its face.

It’s brightly (and flatly) lit, when it should be dark and moody.

Murray Gold’s score is unusually lifeless, and seems to strike the wrong tone more often than not. Give me some mournful cello while they’re in Chloe’s room, examining her drawings.

It tries to blend a story about aliens with more “mature” themes like child abuse and depression, and isn’t terribly successful.

The “all it needs is the attention of the world” riff was basically done several episodes ago (and better) in “The Idiot’s Lantern.”

Just a complete failure on damn near every level.

But at least they do a better job of “mature themes” a few years later with “Night Terrors,” and of evil drawings with “Flatline.”

Yeah, I’d like to see a comparison of switching to permanent DST and continuing with the twice-annual changes.

I wouldn’t mind if it was solved through introspection and realization

I think that’s what happened, at the end of the day. Princess Thalia is fictional, but she’s representative of personality traits La’An has suppressed since she was a child.

I don’t remember a cogent explanation for the planet, either - it didn’t bug me, but it is an omission for sure.

Too revolutionary.

Well, their past wasn’t changed, and that’s the only past Starfleet is really concerned about - that’s the problem with predestination paradoxes.

I understand your reaction to the episode, but I also think you’re hitting on exactly the thing that makes it interesting.

The science suggests permanent standard time would be better, but human beings aren’t known for their rationality.

When you get right down to it, that’s the essence of the temporal prime directive, is it not?

From the news release:

In May, Manitobans were asked to share their views on the future of time changes and nearly 72,000 votes were submitted. A total of 92 per cent of Manitobans surveyed wanted to see an end to seasonal time changes. A majority of Manitobans (58 per cent) preferred to stay on permanent DST, while 34 per cent voted to eliminate the time change but stay on standard time.

I’m shocked and dismayed by the implication that the BBC execs aren’t visiting this site daily!

All right, I’ve got about $10 CAD, and I expect them to cover my relocation expenses. I look forward to their response.

Okay, I guess it’s time for some actual thoughts. It was all right.

I’m not really big on Jungian psychology, but writers love it, since it’s so steeped in metaphor. It’s been many, many years since I studied it, so I’m just going to defer to Wikipedia.

In analytical psychology, the shadow (also known as ego-dystonic complex, repressed id, shadow aspect, or shadow archetype) is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and project the shadow, creating conflict with it.

In analytical psychology, the struggle for the superego is to retain awareness of the shadow, but not to become it or be controlled by it. “Non-identification demands considerable moral effort [which] prevents a descent into that darkness”; and though “the conscious mind is liable to be submerged at any moment in the unconscious…understanding acts like a life-saver. It integrates the unconscious.” This reincorporates the shadow into the personality, producing a stronger, wider consciousness than before. “Assimilation of the shadow gives a man body, so to speak,” thereby providing a launchpad for further individuation.

So sure, this is all fine and good. Taking stuff like this and making it literal has a long tradition in sci-fi generally, and Star Trek specifically. I’m glad they addressed La’An’s inner conflict without confirming her fears of her genetic heritage controlling her destiny. I hope they’re finally putting the subplot to bed - it’s hard to see where else they could go with it.

Seeing Hemmer in the previouslys primed me to expect to see Caster show up, but nope.

They had some fun with Carol Kane’s “Princess Bride” connection - too much fun, perhaps, but whatever.

It’s a little disappointing that Ortegas in particular didn’t clock the imposter Pike and Spock immediately - the others I can forgive due to the ongoing crisis, but it would have been nice to see Erica had simply decided to go along with it for a while.

Find yourself someone who looks at you the way Melissa Navia looks at Rebecca Romijn.

Sounds like they’re going to a world that’s both strange and new. I expect everyone will love it.

at the whims of other countries’ laws and size

A hypothetical full membership would instantly catapult Canada to the #5 spot in the EU, in terms of population size. Granted, the other four (Germany, ~85 million; France, ~60 million; Italy, ~60 million; and Spain ~47 million) are all significantly larger.

But in principle, I agree - at the very least, full membership would require a much more in-depth national conversation that we’re simply not having right now.

Yeah, it seems like they’re being very selective for some reason.

Hoo boy. Wait until they hear about the rubber ducky…

…Do I even want to ask?

I’d have to double-check, but it IIRC it was the same map we typically see. But maybe that’s the “problem” 🙄.

Yeah, I think you’re right. On paper, this should be the show’s bread and butter. But the execution of this one is dull as dishwater.

Okay, I haven’t watched this one yet. Mainly, I haven’t had time, but I have to admit, I haven’t gone out of my way to make time.

It’s bad. I think it’s probably the worst episode of the revival. It commits what for me is the cardinal sin, which is to be boring. Really, really boring.

In a way, I’m looking forward to revisiting it, just to try to figure out how and why it’s so boring. But it likely won’t be today.

That’s a good question. There have been two attempts at targeting younger viewers in recent years, and neither seems to have made enough of an impact to stick around.

And I don’t think it’s a question of quality - Prodigy and Academy were both quite enjoyable.

I think an important difference is the characters’ motivations, though - for Reeger, it’s personal, while Ramsey in “Crimson Tide” is merely hawkish and reckless.