MovieChat Forums > Star Trek Continues (2013) Discussion > Episode 7 "Embracing The Winds"

Episode 7 "Embracing The Winds"

posted 8 years ago by BB-15
11 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this episode.
I've been impressed with how far the production values of Star Trek Continues have progressed.
Sets on another planet; a shuttle, two star ships, special effects.

As for the story, I've often enjoyed trials in Star Trek.
And this one had a secondary story line (used in lots of classic Trek).

Finally, several of the regular cast who are usually overlooked got lots of screen time.
It was not only a love letter to the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise.
But it was also a thank you to all the main cast actors who have stuck it out as volunteers of the fan project.

And that leads to the announced ending of the series on the STC website. The script has been written and things will soon be over.
With the CBS/Paramount guidelines there really was not much choice.
Decent to good fan productions of Star Trek (like this) are going to end.

BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

[–] simonpcpearson 8 years ago

It's a dull one. As you say production values are fine, the guy playing Spock is surprisingly effective, Michele Specht is pretty good, Erin Gray is still a classy and elegant woman.
The scenes on the Hood are terrible and seem shoe-horned in to try to create a little drama. Kim Stinger's make up in this episode looks bizarre, which wasn't the case in other episodes.
I don't think that even Roddenberry would have approved of such a damp squib of a script, and are we expected to believe that sexism is still a problem in whatever year this is?
If STC only has limited episodes its a shame that this was one of them.

[–] BB-15 8 years ago

by simonpcpearson;

"and are we expected to believe that sexism is still a problem in whatever year this is?"

An FYI; STC is pretty faithful to the original series and that includes the fact in TOS there had not been any woman captains commanding a starship in that series.
This idea comes from the last TOS episode; "Turnabout Intruder" and "Embracing The Winds" explains the problem in a non sexist way and resolves the issue.

From "Turnabout Intruder";

Lester; "Your world of starship captains doesn't admit women",

Memory Alpha speculates that while there were female captains in Starfleet, none of them AT THE TIME OF TOS were allowed to command a Federation ship.

taken by some to mean that women could not yet become starship captains by this time. However, it might also mean that women are not allowed to intrude on the discipline and burden of command..

Kirk. Captain Erika Hernandez in ENT: "Home" showed that there were female captains in the pre-Federation era but there is no firm evidence either way of female captains existing at this time. A female captain would appear 17 years later on the bridge of the USS Saratoga in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Turnabout_Intruder_(episode)

* What the viewer of "Embracing The Winds' is expected to believe is that the original series sets up this problem about female captains not being in command of Federation starships during TOS.
What "Embracing The Winds" does;
1. It provides an explanation which was not based on human or Vulcan sexism but due to the objection of another space alien race.
2. The ending of "Embracing The Winds" resolves the problem by showing that whatever obstacles there were to females commanding Federation starships, that this would not be in effect in the future.

BB ;-)

PS. As for the comparison between the Roddenberry original series vs. STC, regarding "Embracing The Winds' vs. "Turnabout Intruder", I would prefer "Embracing The Winds" every time.
"Turnabout Intruder" is a relic of a sexist 60s culture infecting Star Trek. Even as a kid I could see that and I didn't like the episode for that reason. It is one of my least favorite TOS episodes.
Whatever the limitations of STC are; it's a fan production with volunteers after all, I enjoyed "Embracing The Winds" a lot more.

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

[–] simonpcpearson 8 years ago

fair enough, but "Turnabout Intruder" is very much written from a 60s viewpoint, and the sexism is dated by 2016. An example of nothing dating faster than science fiction.
I still think it's a waste if STC only has a limited number of episodes

[–] BB-15 8 years ago

by simonpcpearson;

'fair enough, but "Turnabout Intruder" is very much written from a 60s viewpoint, and the sexism is dated by 2016. An example of nothing dating faster than science fiction."

I agree.
Still the thinking of the STC crew might have involved;
- TOS ended with "Turnabout Intruder" so as an homage to Trek it made sense to have one of the ending episodes in STC be a similar story,
- Second; I think the STC crew thought this was a way to fix the sexist slant of "Turnabout Intruder" which has bothered many Trek fans since it was aired in the 60s.

BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

[–] ZAROVE 8 years ago

I think you are maing a common mistake, in that you seem to Think Hisory is an inevitale march towards Progress. But iyt snot. The simpel reality is, somimes the Future abandond trends we see in earlier ages. Sometimes the unexpected happens.

It's enturely possibel for a society to overcome Sexism, only to embrace it at a Later Time. Just iek its enturely possible for a Society to, say, embrace Hedonism then become Puritanical later on as future generations spurn Hedonism.

History isnot a long march to a predestined ENlughtened future, its an odd hodgepodge of events unfolidng and ideas mixing and reixing over Time.

[–] k_iliad 8 years ago

I just watched it for a second time. While a new episode is greatly welcome and appreciated, I would have to give it a 6-7 as well. Too many WTH moments that were not logical (Star Fleet has only 2 possible candidates for captaincy?) and too many military chain of command inconsistencies as others have noted (Garett was covered in red flags which didn't give her a chance to begin with), and it was too preachy with no clear resolution. The destruction of the Hood was a copout. Erin Gray and her tensions with Kirk saved it. Also can you please turn up the lighting just a wee bit? I kept checking my phone thinking the battery was dying.

[–] johnnysokko 8 years ago

I'd give it a score in that range too. Blatantly preachy and one sided. Obvious questions are never raised, like is it ok to discriminate against Spock for simply being born a man. What percentage of female captains will be assigned before equally qualified men are allowed for considerations again? STC generally balances things quite well in their stories. This one was pretty lopsided. Counter arguments were almost non existant. Deliberate distractions, like giving her a belligerent personality as an argument against promotion seemed like an attempt at avoiding the issue fairly and on the merits alone.

Still, I enjoyed the subplot, and it was great to see Erin Gray.

[–] ae36 8 years ago

I tend to agree-- technically, this episode was outstanding-- equal to or superior to TOS in every aspect.

I found the on-going with issues with uniforms a bit of distraction, though.

The "away hazmat uniforms" that the crew wore on the Hood was a bit out of left field. They didn't seem to serve a purpose.

Now if they were in true hazmat suits or even space suits to begin with and those were the under uniforms-- ok, fine. But to me it made little sense to to introduce a new uniform that was never used for such a purpose in TOS.

And if the argument is well, its more practical when working in engineering, then why not have a specialized uniform for engineering at all times?

I also thought the uniform dresses on some of the women were overly long--some almost extended down to the knee-- its just a noticeable continuity error.

The episode itself was OK-- a little preachy at times as some have stated but Roddenberry was a little heavy handed when it came to social commentary episodes as well.

Overall I agree with those who give the episode a "7" or so rating.

Great technical achievements, solidly constructed and produced, but overall a bit bland. But still a win.

Congrats to the team behind the magic!

[–] BB-15 8 years ago

by ae36;

"The episode itself was OK-- a little preachy at times as some have stated but Roddenberry was a little heavy handed when it came to social commentary episodes as well."

Agreed that Star Trek could get preachy (with or without Roddenberry's direct involvement).

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is a clear example of that (without Roddenberry being the controlling producer in season 3).
But in Next Generation season 2, Roddenberry was more in charge and "The Measure of a Man" is as preachy as it gets in ST. (Good episode though imo).

BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

[–] nephihaha 8 years ago

The selection of Spock created an interesting dramatic tension - would Kirk support him, because of his reservations about Garrett, and look like a favoritist... or would he back Garrett and look like he was afraid to lose Spock from his crew. An interesting conundrum.

The one bit I don't buy is them deciding on a captain while the ship is floating in space. Surely it would be salvaged, towed and an investigation started, and then they would proceed. Having a potentially deadly fault onboard and selecting a new captain at the same time...

--
It's not "Sci-Fi", it's "SF"!

"Calvinism is a very liberal religious ethos." - Truekiwijoker

[–] Rheli 8 years ago

The full expression is "embracing the winds of change".

Ironically, this episode didn't really do that. Sure, they finally promoted Chekov for all his hard word, but I was expecting them to give Spock his own command, but that was conveniently ducked.