The Trouble with Edward
- Episode aired Oct 10, 2019
- 14m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Newly minted Captain Lynne Lucero is excited to take command of the U.S.S. Cabot. That is, until she meets Edward Larkin, an ornery scientist who believes he has found a revolutionary new us... Read allNewly minted Captain Lynne Lucero is excited to take command of the U.S.S. Cabot. That is, until she meets Edward Larkin, an ornery scientist who believes he has found a revolutionary new use for tribbles.Newly minted Captain Lynne Lucero is excited to take command of the U.S.S. Cabot. That is, until she meets Edward Larkin, an ornery scientist who believes he has found a revolutionary new use for tribbles.
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The actors and the director of this episode are great,and this beats the fact the Star Trek creators have no clue about the biology lessons from the school.For example,Odo can turn himself in to a glass ,and can be as easy as a glass ,but in the same time he can transform himself into an iron shape shifting Terminator or in to a very heavy hard solid rock,so ,how much mass has h is body in reality ?!?..or how can he remain alive without eating anything,although he sometimes makes very much effort.. ?!?..or how can you combine a being with a copper based blood with the one with an iron based blood ..?!? ..or how to combine a being with two hearts with the one with one heart ( a Discovery producer would say something about their external ,sexual organs ,because they clearly don't understand such sub textual and still so obvious references) ...?!?...how can a being who eats cereal seeds to grow so fast without food and even they are just omnivore beings how can they eat so fast ,when they don't seem to have the sense of smell,they don't have eyes or mouth or ears ?!?..
Anyway the Critters-Gremlins are still cute enough and the actors the same to save this little episode for bad reviews.I would love to see a Galaxy Quest series with those actors and that ship,but we, the Trekkers, don't have that kind of luck.
I laughed my a** off. The exchange between the Captain and the, er, miscreant had me chortling out loud and rewatching the scene. It's darkish humor but played broadly enough that it is not actually disturbing.
I adore Star Trek. All of it. I love the deep conversations about ethics, about communication with very alien species a la Darmok, with debating the personhood of artificial intelligence, with the plainly written moral dilemmas the Prime Directive entails. I love the action, the swashbuckling, I love Kirk and Riker getting it on with every vaguely female entity that comes within pheromone distance.
I also love Star Trek takeoffs, whether self-generated (as this is) or coming from fandom -- a la Galaxy Quest and the Orville. Bill Shatner's storied appearance on "Saturday Night Live," where he told early Trekkers to "get. a. life!" is funny even as I see myself as one of those Trekkers. All these things can be reconciled if one is not a humorless fundamentalist.
I adore Star Trek. All of it. I love the deep conversations about ethics, about communication with very alien species a la Darmok, with debating the personhood of artificial intelligence, with the plainly written moral dilemmas the Prime Directive entails. I love the action, the swashbuckling, I love Kirk and Riker getting it on with every vaguely female entity that comes within pheromone distance.
I also love Star Trek takeoffs, whether self-generated (as this is) or coming from fandom -- a la Galaxy Quest and the Orville. Bill Shatner's storied appearance on "Saturday Night Live," where he told early Trekkers to "get. a. life!" is funny even as I see myself as one of those Trekkers. All these things can be reconciled if one is not a humorless fundamentalist.
And that's the point! Geeze people, get over this "this isn't star trek" garbage already. It's so boring. This is obviously a comedy episode and it is very funny. John Benjamin's character is hilarious of course, and the captain handles him perfectly. I guess some people still can't stand to see an intelligent woman in a position of power, even on TV. Just because the bumbling science officer is a man doesn't mean this episode is about "gender politics" or whatever nonsense codewords y'all have to cover your backwards and misogynistic worldview. It's sad how easy it is to read between the lines with some of these other reviews.
Designed as a Star Trek story with a lighter tone, it instead comes across as an unpleasant take on a Starfleet that's more reflective of current day society as opposed to the idealistic future Gene Roddenberry had presented in the 1960's and again in the 1980's.
In many ways, the stumbling, awkward character presented in this story is the Reginald Barclay of his day. Unlike Barclay, however, he isn't nurtured or befriended by the crew of the Enterprise or his commanding officers at Starfleet headquarters who see that, at his core, he is a brilliant man. No, Edward's commanding officer views him as an idiot who wants him as far removed as possible without digging a little deeper into what he believes he can accomplish and his fellow crew members are as dismissive and unpleasant as she is. In the end, his ultimate fate is met with a collective shrug.
It seems unlikely that the tone of this particular short, if presented in the 1960's or 1980's, would have inspired two generations of fans to look toward a more hopeful future and to look beyond themselves.
Short Treks have been a lot of fun but this one was a big miss.
In many ways, the stumbling, awkward character presented in this story is the Reginald Barclay of his day. Unlike Barclay, however, he isn't nurtured or befriended by the crew of the Enterprise or his commanding officers at Starfleet headquarters who see that, at his core, he is a brilliant man. No, Edward's commanding officer views him as an idiot who wants him as far removed as possible without digging a little deeper into what he believes he can accomplish and his fellow crew members are as dismissive and unpleasant as she is. In the end, his ultimate fate is met with a collective shrug.
It seems unlikely that the tone of this particular short, if presented in the 1960's or 1980's, would have inspired two generations of fans to look toward a more hopeful future and to look beyond themselves.
Short Treks have been a lot of fun but this one was a big miss.
10Donners
The conference scene alone makes this worthwhile - it made me laugh out loud several times. It serves as a neat origin story for the tribbles (at least in their troublesome form) and features a couple of great performances.
Just as funny are the reviews - never ceases to amaze me how people who bash modern Trek for getting things "wrong" are wrong themselves.
Spock is the only Vulcan in Starfleet? Er...how about the entire crew of the Intrepid for starters.
Trek humour should be restrained "by precedent"? Never seen I, Mudd or Bride of Chaotica, I take it.
Sigh.
Just as funny are the reviews - never ceases to amaze me how people who bash modern Trek for getting things "wrong" are wrong themselves.
Spock is the only Vulcan in Starfleet? Er...how about the entire crew of the Intrepid for starters.
Trek humour should be restrained "by precedent"? Never seen I, Mudd or Bride of Chaotica, I take it.
Sigh.
Did you know
- TriviaJust above the replicator in the post credit sequence can be seen the unit designation A-113. This is the number of the animation classroom at Cal-Arts where many people in film attended. It is commonly found in Pixar movies as well.
- Quotes
Edward Larkin: I made one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time, I'm not the dumb one.
- Crazy creditsThis is the first, and so far only, Star Trek: Short Trek to have a "post-credits" scene.
- SoundtracksJohnny Appleseed
Performed by Bing Crosby and Arthur Norman Choir and Orchestra
Details
- Runtime
- 14m
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16 : 9
- 16:9 HD
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