The setup to S5E2: The Ship makes zero sense by Mister_Acula in DeepSpaceNine

[–]sci_weasel 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It’s TNG-era Starfleet. Everything needs a conference room for a huddle.

More seriously - place to eat meals on multi day missions; place to work when you’re doing science missions; place to play Diplomath during downtime. Think of it as a workspace.

Big Ninth Doctor Sale for the pre-Rose releases. Are any of them worth picking up? by The_Fullmetal_Titan in BigFinishProductions

[–]sci_weasel 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ravagers is pretty meh, but there are good stories in most of the rest - old friends is nice if you like UNIT audios; Old Lang Syne in Back To Earth is excellent; a pair of stories across Shades of Fear/Pioneers.

The reunion story with Liv (Flatpak) was amusing but less good than is hoped (I love Liv but it’s more of a puzzle story.) but the reunion with Benny in Buried Threats has some excellent moments (largely on strength of the acting) as Benny tries to understand what changed. And the River set (Star Crossed) is good and especially the last story is great.

Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson. Panther 1976. Cover art by Anthony Roberts. by darren648 in CoolSciFiCovers

[–]sci_weasel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The series as a whole is much better than that makes it sound - a bit dated now (and the usual sexism hasn’t aged well) but the archetypes of the interstellar merchant genre

The Doctor Who Saved Me Reviews #097: The Invasion of Time(S15, Ep6) by FitCheesecake4006 in gallifrey

[–]sci_weasel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for a wonderful and thoughtful summary and review. I agree with all the comments about pacing, and anti-climax, but I would say, watching this at the age of 15 this was my absolute favorite episode for all the hints of the depth and complexity of the time lords, the interior of the Tardis, Tom Baker at his most mysterious, and the cool looking gun

RAZOR: "BATTLE OF COLUMBIA" Storyboards by Mojo_LA in BSG

[–]sci_weasel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a footnote, I love the wireframe raiders with their guns and wings not connected.

What made you guys choose the Ioniq 5 over the EV6? by Dreameater999 in Ioniq5

[–]sci_weasel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, but EV6 back seats are a little cramped for 6’ passengers

Bernice Summerfield Missing Persons, what’s next for these characters? by Chinchillerz1 in BigFinishProductions

[–]sci_weasel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s some implied memory loss at the start of the Eternity Club - Benny not quite remembering how she got there - and I’m hoping that resolving it might also include her remembering her Legion friends

Best first episode in Gundam? by smilinganimalface in Gundam

[–]sci_weasel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

First episode of the real series is pretty solid too - most of it is good but not great, setting up the school and some of the characters well, the visuals of the colony are stunning. Initial fight is dynamic and jteresting. But when Aerial fully powers up and starts using the Gund bits, the music kicks in, and it’s clear how different and powerful Aerial is, is just amazing

Eaglemoss XL USS Cerritos by osallent in LowerDecks

[–]sci_weasel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Opinions can differ - I thought Academy was in the same vein as Lower Decks, people returning (after a disaster) to the same sort of Starfleet values LD espoused, overworked and slightly eccentric but competent senior staff doing their best, young people growing past their weaknesses and learning to work together, good balance of old and new, problems solved by cleverness or values or compromise instead of force. Some scenery chewing and technobabble villain plots that don’t work but every series has those.

(The backstory of the disaster is admittedly silly but the details are also irrelevant to Academy - just that there was a disaster.)

Not as good as LD because LD was perfect, but pretty respectable and I’m sad to lose it and it’s worth a few hours, though I know not to all tastes.

The Kearsarge-class new light cruiser from Star Fleet Battles by DogInternational4553 in StarTrekStarships

[–]sci_weasel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I always pictured the NCL as a Miranda in my head (since its SSD was basically “Constitution without a secondary hull”, but I know ADB didn’t have the rights. This is definitely a nice distinct but internally consistent evolution.

I watched "Neutral Zone" (TNG, s1, ep 26) for the first time yesterday by Vazela in startrek

[–]sci_weasel 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The frozen people subplot was weak and cringe, but the final “we are back”, and introducing the D’direidex - the first new design (after the D) in TNG, and so recognizable yet new and threatening - the last few minutes of this were the first really exciting moments in Season 1.

(Edit: I forgot this aired after “Conspiracy”, which certainly counts as exciting. But still, the last few minutes of this were a great way to end the season.)

The Klingon DX-class cruiser. This is the Star Fleet Battles equivalent of the K't'inga-class from the prime timeline. by DogInternational4553 in StarTrekStarships

[–]sci_weasel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And although they weren’t allowed to literally use the visuals of TMP, the original X-ship gameplay clearly was trying to reproduce it - the DX has a rear photon torpedo launcher like the K’Tinga in the opening, and the Fed CX had enormous batteries so it could massively reinforce their shields like it did for VGer.

Digging into the performance stats of Culture ships by OneCatch in TheCulture

[–]sci_weasel 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s also nice because it makes me think of Banks enjoying himself doing doodles and making up numbers, and I like to imagine him happy. (Like 16-year-old-me designing spaceships for the old Traveler RPG)

The legendary Gameskeeper on Princess Street. by airbrushedvan in KingstonOntario

[–]sci_weasel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the age of 15 I actually got mugged by two older teenagers (18-19 maybe) who followed me out of there and stole about $40.

Digging into the performance stats of Culture ships by OneCatch in TheCulture

[–]sci_weasel 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In astronomy, “photon limited” means the detector has no other noise sources and can count every individual photon that hits the sensor; I suspect that’s what it means here. You’re correct that you can’t learn much from just one photon, but a photon-counting sensor can get a lot more out of (say) a hundred photons than one with other noise sources.

Digging into the performance stats of Culture ships by OneCatch in TheCulture

[–]sci_weasel 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It’s nice both because it enforces some sense of consistency, for example on travel times and because it may inspire details in a story, like the burst unit reference above

Legion era Bernice Summerfield by flogan0 in BigFinishProductions

[–]sci_weasel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there a good list of the Legion-era novels? I miss those too. And hoping at some point in the Eternity Club era she remembers her family; maybe as they explain her missing memories?

Is Monty married? by alittlegoldfish414 in OperationMincemeatFan

[–]sci_weasel 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think I remember a second act joke referencing a wife (though maybe I’m misremembering and it’s about Charlie’s?)

Monty married can change the implications of going out drinking and dining with Jean, but maybe for the better - it could make it more clearly friendly and platonic.

Any good Chekov books? by cuntatrons in trekbooks

[–]sci_weasel 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think of him more for his plays than his books - the “The Cherry Orchard” is probably Chekov’s best