The new pre-Kirk era series delves into the murkier side of the franchise
Thirteen years have passed since Star Trek: Enterprise ended. It was a closing chapter to a sprawling TV franchise, revived back in 1987 with The Next Generation. In between, Deep Space Nine and Voyager continued to tell tales of this galaxy train from the stars, invigorating interest in TV sci-fi and spawning a host of rival shows. This competition proved to be Trek’s undoing, driving it off the air (the muddled production that was Enterprise certainly didn’t help). JJ Abrams-verse efforts aside, that’s a long time without an ongoing Trek series, one rectified this year with Discovery, a show intended to kick-start a new era, not just for the franchise, but the fledgling CBS streaming service. For those unable or unwilling to subscribe to the latter, you can now check out the first season of Star Trek: Discovery on a spiffy new home video release.
Synopsis:
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself. The series features a new ship and new characters while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers. STAR TREK: DISCOVERY stars Sonequa Martin-Green (“First Officer Michael Burnham”), Jason Isaacs (“Captain Gabriel Lorca”), Doug Jones (“Lt. Commander Saru”), Shazad Latif (“Lt. Ash Tyler”), Mary Wiseman (“Cadet Sylvia Tilly”), Anthony Rapp (“Lt. Paul Stamets”) along with guest stars James Frain (“Ambassador Sarek”), Rainn Wilson (Harry Mudd) and Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou).
For perspective here, I am a Trekkie. DS9 reigns supreme, but I enjoy all flavors of Trek; even later in its run, Enterprise had its moments. So the return of the show had me excited, moreso when it was revealed that Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies, Hannibal) was acting as showrunner. While he eventually stepped down, being replaced by Alex Kurtzman, my enthusiasm for the show remained. A new ship and crew, set in the pre-Original Series (pre-Kirk) era was back in the Prime universe after the lens flare-bathed excursions into JJ Abrams’ reboot of the franchise.
The opening two-parter sets the scene. Set around a decade before Kirk and the Enterprise set off on their 5 year mission, this is a galaxy on the brink of war. One of Starfleet’s most renowned officers, Captain Georgiou (a tremendous Michelle Yeo), commands the USS Shenzhou, along with her first officer Michael Burnham (the series lead Sonequa Martin-Green). It’s an invigorating start, this dynamic of mentor-mentee, and the potential for following their adventures is palpable. Then the series flushes it all out of the nearest airlock. A mission throws them up against one of the Federation’s most grave threats, the Klingon Empire. Long beset by internal conflict, a new iconic figure, T’Kuvma, has arisen and looks to unify the warring Klingon houses. The mission turns sour when Burnham takes it upon herself to strike first in the hopes of deescalating the conflict. Shortly after she is stripped of rank, the gathered ships begin battle. The consequences are severe on both sides, as the Federation nurse their losses, the Klingons mourn the loss of a leader, something that brings them all together to turn their ire on the ever-growing Federation in the form of all out war.
These events depict the first twist of many that come to define the first season of the show. The material depicts an era long anticipated by fans, and rich enough to sustain a show, becoming entwined with other elements and surprises, some that work, others that detract. The third episode picks up several months after this battle. Starfleet takes devastating losses, prompting one Captain Lorca (played with militaristic gusto by Jason Isaacs) to grant Burnham a pardon before bringing her on as a specialist aboard his experimental starship, the USS Discovery. It’s a vessel propelled by a prototype “spore-drive” that allows instantaneous transportation between any two points in the galaxy, it just needs a few kinks worked out first. The urgency of getting this system working reliably becomes paramount as the conflict with the Klingons gets all the more dire.
Where Discovery differs from its predecessors is how it embraces a more serialized structure. While common structure for TV shows these days, the older Trek series rarely played with longer form storytelling (exceptions such as DS9’s 6-episode Dominion arc or the Xindi-focused Season 3 of Enterprise spring to mind). There’s plenty going on throughout, with groundwork being laid, interesting developments, new characters and old ones (think TOS) introduced. It speaks much to how the show should be evaluated as a complete season, rather than as individual episodes. How things develop is certainly fascinating at times, but the grounded work done in those first two episodes, and the pure excellence of Yeo, make you yearn for more of that, rather than the more sporadic content that defines the later episodes. Since its inception, Gene Roddenberry’s show has been about human advancement and progress. Discovery thoroughly embraces one of the tenets of Star Trek, not just in the characters but the cast too, building on its predecessors by having women take the helm (literally) and giving prominent roles to people of color and of different sexualities. Sonequa Martin-Green excels as the first woman of color (and non-Captain) to act as the series lead. A restrained character, due to being raised by Vulcans, she’s still emotional, yearning for approval from her commanding officers as well as her adoptive father, Sarek (James Frain). She’s a flawed character, beset by internal conflict and just enough arrogance in her own (admittedly impressive) abilities to get into trouble. Doug Jones (Hellboy, The Shape of Water) again shows his mastery of crafting an incredible character despite being covered by prosthetics as Commander Saru. The rest of the crew, brought to life by Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, and Wilson Cruz, also impress, their energy and enthusiasm being most infectious.
Discovery is a very handsome show indeed, and its production values seemingly surpass many of the feature films. The ship itself, a call back to the unused designs from the original series, is delightfully retro; the planets visited are colorful alien realms; galaxies are illuminated by nebula and shimmering stars; and we get a beautifully sketched opening credits sequence. Of course it veers into a grittier style and aesthetic at times; this is war after all. But the need to have most new sci-fi series look “gritty” persists. Probably the most notable makeover for the franchise is the re-imagining of the Klingons, here depicted more as religious fanatics, ceremonial figures more concerned with racial purity than drinking bloodwine. It’s another nod to the times we live in; “Make the Klingon Empire Great Again” may as well be their new battle cry. It does serve a wider purpose. The Federation and its unification of hundreds of different planets and species is about the strengths of diversity and cooperation, and this new Klingon Empire is a more stark contrast to such ideals. Like Deep Space Nine previously, Discovery uses the backdrop of war to test what it means to be human, and how far we should go to protect our ideals. It’s a rich era filled with flawed characters that can and should drive the show; it just occasionally over-complicates things. Hopefully the upcoming second season will pare down some of the excess and shoehorned in callbacks and twists, and get to work developing the characters and era they have. There’s much potential here.
The Package
Discovery is a beautiful looking show, but occasionally while streaming, this has been hard to truly appreciate. This Blu-ray release is an eye opener for sure. The darkness that permeated the aesthetics is lifted here, aided by a sharpness that brings clarity to the image. Colors are bold, blacks are deep and inky, detail and texture are superb. The release comes with a nicely produced slipcover, which houses a slightly thicker than standard case containing 4 discs, across which are spread all 15 episodes of season one and a number of special features:
- Discovering Discovery: The concepts and casting of Star Trek: Discovery: Interviews with producers, writers and stars of Star Trek: Discovery about the debut season.
- Star Trek theme: A discussion with executive producer Alex Kurtzman and composer Jeff Russo about creating the Discovery theme and score for the show.
- Creature Comforts: A behind-the-scenes look at the makeup and prosthetics department on Star Trek: Discovery, as they modernize well-known Star Trek species, such as the Klingons, Vulcans, and Andorians, and bring to life a new species, the Kelpiens.
- Designing Discovery: Insight into the production design department led by Tamara Deverell as the team creates the planets, the world within those worlds and the starships to travel among them.
- Creating Space: An exploration of how the VFX team, headed by Jason Zimmerman, creates the reality of space, planets, and starships.
- Prop Me Up: Led by propmaster Mario Moreira, this is a look at Discovery props, with an inside view of the design process from inception to set.
- Feeding Frenzy: A look at the on-set food stylist who creates a galaxy of cuisine.
- A Female Touch: With strong female producers and writers off-screen and powerful female characters on-screen, Discovery exemplifies the groundbreaking inclusionary theme first put forth in the original series.
- Dress for Success: Costume designer Gersha Phillips and her team create an array of clothing, uniforms, and armor for every kind of species in the galaxy.
- Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 1: A look at the adventures and plot twists encountered in the first season by the crew of the Discovery.
These 10 featurettes each run around 10–15 minutes and touch on various aspects of the production including set design, props, score, various set-pieces and associated stunt-work, etc. It’s a nice amount of behind the scenes content that gives greater appreciation for the efforts that brought this new series to the screens, one inspired by previous Trek shows, yet intent on bringing unique takes on them. Short thrift is given to the aforementioned Bryan Fuller, though. He departed the show after much of the pre-production was complete and just as filming began. His influence was great, and sadly little is included here to address that, nor how the show changed after his departure. Sadly there are no audio commentaries included for any of the episodes, but there are deleted/extended scenes for 6 of the episodes.
The Bottom Line
There are moments during its inaugural season that Discovery is just a bit busy, preoccupied with overly complicating plots and adding twists and gimmicks. Underneath, there is an endearing and engaging strand of Trek DNA here, along with a time honored tradition of fascinating characters. It’s a fine foundation for a show that could easily go on to make its own legacy within the franchise. Even if you caught the series on streaming, the presentation here is the definitive way to experience the show, and the included extras only add to the allure of the release. The only thing missing is the inclusion of one of those “DISCO” tees.
Star Trek Discovery Season 1 is available via CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution from November 13th, 2018.