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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show follows the crew of the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike.

• Akiva Goldsman
• Alex Kurtzman
• Jenny Lumet
• Anson Mount
• Christina Chong
• 1K User reviews
• 38 Critic reviews
• 9 wins & 32 nominations total

Episodes 31

• Captain Christopher Pike …

• La'an Noonien-Singh …

• Lt. Erica Ortegas …

• Una Chin-Riley …

• Nurse Christine Chapel

• Nyota Uhura …

• Dr. M'Benga

• USS Enterprise Computer …

• Lieutenant George Samuel 'Sam' Kirk

• Jenna Mitchell

• Captain Batel …

• Admiral Robert April

• Captain James T. Kirk …

• T'Pring
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Bruce Horak , the actor who plays Hemmer, is legally blind, just like his character's species, the Aenar, who are also blind.
• Goofs There are some rank insignia mistakes. Number One is introduced as "Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley" yet she is wearing the rank insignia of a full commander: two full stripes. A Lieutenant Commander's rank insignia is a full stripe under a thin stripe (in TOS it is a full stripe and a staggered stripe). It is not uncommon for a ship's first officer to be a Lt. Commander if they have not been in the position long. Spock at this point is a Lieutenant but he is wearing Lieutenant Commander's stripes; a Lieutenant just has one stripe. La'an is the ship's chief of security and the ship's second officer. She is also wearing Lt. Commander stripes but is addressed as a Lieutenant, but it would make more sense for her to be a Lieutenant Commander. Either way both of their rank insignia are not matching the rank they are addressed by. Ortegas is addressed as a Lieutenant but is wearing Lieutenant Commander's strips. A Lieutenant Commander may be addressed as a Commander or Lieutenant Commander but never as just a Lieutenant, so either her rank insignia or the manner she is addressed by the rest of the crew is in error.

[opening narration]

Captain Christopher Pike : Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

• Connections Featured in Nerdrotic: Woke Hollywood is FAILING, and That's a Good Thing (2022)

User reviews 1K

• May 5, 2022

Technical specs

• Runtime 52 minutes
• D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything You Need to Know

'Strange New Worlds' is a prequel returning to 'Star Trek' roots.

Do you have a hankering for some good, Old Fashioned Star Trek without jumping through several dimensions and time jumps every season? Then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds may be the series for you.

Some Star Trek shows may be tired of the constantly changing demands and paradigms some newer shows have put upon the fan base. Discovery introduces some magical space mushrooms, Lower Decks is a fun adult animated comedy , and Picard definitely takes some liberties with the audience's expectations. This newest show coming to Paramount+ follows the original formula a bit closer. We once again have a strong lead captain, a familiar Vulcan science officer, and a (mostly) unaltered timeline. From what we know so far, this may be a return back to some people’s favorite form of Star Trek . But if you aren’t all on board the train to old-timer land, this new series also boasts an impressive cast, some amazing action, and more than enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Related: Anson Mount on 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,' Pike's Future, and Working With Different Directors

When Is the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Release Date?

For you to be able to enjoy this new series, you will need to have the home of everything Star Trek , Paramount+. As with all the new Star Trek series , this new show will stream exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States, and with various other streaming services outside the United States. The premiere date in the United States is May 5, 2022, but viewers in the UK and Australia will have to wait until May 6. In Canada, the series will be available on the CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Crave on May 5.

Watch the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Trailer

As of right now, we have had two different trailers released for Strange New Worlds . The first of these was released on March 9 of this year. It is one minute and twenty-five seconds long. The teaser trailer shows just a few glimpses into a disturbed Captain Pike not answering the calls of Star Fleet and some beautiful images of new Star Trek planets that we will see in the future.

The second trailer that has been released is a full trailer with another minute and fifty-eight seconds worth of content. We finally get to see Strange New Worlds ' Uhura , as well as the Enterprise in this segment. We also see Pike and the crew getting to their stated mission of exploring new worlds, and just a taste of the whimsical first contacts that seem to be an integral part of the series.

Related: 9 Best Mirror Universe Episodes in 'Star Trek'

Who Is in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Cast?

The cast list begins with Star Trek veterans Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Peck and Ethan Peck as the famous Spock. Both of these actors previously starred as the same characters in Star Trek: Discovery and some of the information they learned in Discovery 's Season 2 will be haunting them as they stay behind in the timeline. Another new face but in a familiar role are the actresses Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura and Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel. This is almost a direct nod towards the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series , with many of the original characters being revived for this new series. In that way, it would appear that Strange New Worlds is pretty much just a return to the original show. A bit like how Picard tells new stories with Star Trek: The Next Generation characters .

This is not the case, however, as Strange New Worlds has also added no less than six more recurring characters. One of these characters that were also in Discovery is Number One (Una Chin-Riley) played by Rebecca Romijn . She is the X.O. of Enterprise but appears to have at least a few secrets up her sleeve. The other new characters include Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh, alongside Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M'Benga, Melissa Navia as Lt. Erica Ortegas, and Bruce Horak as Hemmer. Most of these actors and characters are a little on the newer side but allow for some character development in this prequel.

Related: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Images Spotlight the Crew of Captain Pike's Enterprise

What Is the Plot of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds?

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds contains 10 episodes that will be released weekly starting from May 5 and running through July 7. As of the writing of this article, the first five episodes have been named, and short descriptions have been released for the first two episodes. These descriptions have released very little information, and as of right now there is little indication of a series-long villain or overarching problem for the show.

So far the main issues presented in the series seem to be the mental stress on Captain Pike and Spock knowing their futures. That would certainly be enough for the main plotline, and it seems likely that each episode will have its own story arc similar to some earlier episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise . In the trailers, we see several run-ins with different alien species that result in “aggressive negotiations” (please forgive my fandom-bending puns, but this was too great to pass up). These negotiations could be a recurring theme or could lead to a more substantive villain. Here's the official synopsis from Paramount+:

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan favorites from season two of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY: Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series will follow Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

Will There Be a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2?

Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has already been confirmed by Paramount+ and it will also have ten episodes. This next season is set to come out in 2023, barring any interruptions in its production, and will feature Paul Wesley as the younger James Tiberius Kirk. After a few episodes of Season 1 are released, we should have a better idea of what the possible plotline of the next season might be but for now, it is too early to say.

This new series is a call-back to a more traditional formula for both science fiction and Star Trek . Given some recent feedback for the newer series has not been all positive, this author for one is excited about some return to Star Trek ‘normality,’ and some more exploratory action as Star Fleet boldly goes... you know the rest.

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Here's what's ahead for Star Trek.

It’s a golden era for Star Trek tv shows, as the franchise is churning out more content than ever before. Fans with a Paramount+ subscription can stream a plethora of old and new content from one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

There’s a ton of new Star Trek content coming in the future, including the debut of a new show as well as the return of all the ones fans already know well. For those who need a breakdown of what all to expect, look no further because here’s where and when all the new Trek will arrive in 2023 and beyond. There’s even some information on planned shows that aren’t quite ready yet, but hopefully, we’ll see them soon enough. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - Premiering On April 4th 2024

Captain Michael Burnham and the crew are back, and based on what we've seen and heard about Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 so far, some changes are on the way. Season 5 will see the crew race against others in an attempt to secure an ancient power, and will apparently have a tonal shift that will skew more toward action and adventure. We also learned that this coming season will be the final adventure , as Paramount+ decided to end the series after this coming season. The final season will kick off in April and, fingers crossed, leave an avenue open for more stories with these characters in the 32nd century. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 - In Production

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for Season 3, and is currently filming for the upcoming season. It's likely the season will kick off with the second part of the adventure started in the Season 2 finale . Pike must decide whether or not he's going to listen to Starfleet and retreat to avoid further conflict with the Gorn or to stay and try to save the kidnapped crew members. I have a hunch I know what decision he'll make, but I'm also very invested in seeing if Scotty will remain with the crew and what other adventures will come as well. 

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 - Coming In 2024

Paramount+ originally renewed Star Trek: Prodigy for Season 2, but announced later that it had been canceled alongside other shows on the platform. While the news was a bummer to many and encouraged responses from stars like Kate Mulgrew , there is a silver lining. After some talk with other companies, Paramount managed to negotiate a deal where the series will transition over to Netflix , and Season 2 will release over there. At this time, it's unknown whether or not this will lead to more seasons of Prodigy , but fans are thankful they'll at least get to see the season that was being worked on coming up in 2024. 

Section 31 Movie - Production Underway

Section 31 was one of the first Star Trek spinoffs announced after Discovery , and yet it took the longest to get off the ground. The series was supposed to Michelle Yeoh ’s Phillipa Georgiou and her efforts in the secret ops Starfleet faction that does the jobs that others in the organization would rather not know about. Other former Discovery stars, like Shazad Latif, were involved at one point, but some believed the odds of it happening aren't great after Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win .

It turns out Yeoh was interested in making it happen, and Paramount+ decided to alter the idea to a movie . Fans are excited about the project all the same, and ready to see Michelle Yeoh back in her role. Production on the film is officially underway, and it's looking like a premiere sometime in late 2024 to 2025 is likely.

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Starfleet Academy - Production Starting In 2024

Alex Kurtzman revealed not long ago that Star Trek is actively working on another new live-action series , and it’s going to be set at Starfleet Academy. Of course, we don’t know exactly what era this series is set to take place during or who is going to star in it yet. We don’t really know much of anything, though it’s worth noting that Star Trek: Discovery did write off its character Tilly when she took an offer at Starfleet Academy. The episode where that happened seemed like it could be a backdoor pilot for the show, but again, we have no idea. We do know that the writer's room is underway, but details are scant beyond that.  

As shown above, there’s still a ton of Star Trek on the way in 2024, and beyond. The only way to watch these shows is with a Paramount+ subscription , which is totally worth picking up with the increasing amount of shows and movies available to watch. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: everything we know about the Star Trek prequel

The latest intel on Original Series prequel Strange New Worlds – including its release date and mysterious Khan connections.

• Release date
• Is there a trailer?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2

The adventures of the USS Enterprise didn’t start with James T Kirk. Star Trek : Strange New Worlds is set around a decade before he embarked on the most famous five-year mission in TV history, and puts his predecessor – Christopher Pike – back in the captain’s chair.

Pike first appeared in original Star Trek pilot ‘The Cage’ back in 1966, but it was his comeback in Star Trek: Discovery’s second season (where he was played by Anson Mount) that earned him his own spin-off show. Pike and fellow ‘Cage’ veterans Number One (played by Rebecca Romijn) and Spock (Ethan Peck inheriting the role made famous by Leonard Nimoy) proved so popular with fans that Paramount Plus decided to make Star Trek: Strange New Worlds the latest addition to Trek’s rapidly expanding shared universe .

And when it launches later this year, the show will feature a few more iconic names from the ’60s, including Nurse Chapel, Dr M’Benga and a genuine Trek legend in the form of Uhura. There’s also a mysterious crew member called La’an Noonien-Singh, whose surname has a special resonance for fans of the final frontier.

With producers promising less serialized storytelling than Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds looks set to get back to the cosmos-exploring traditions of the Original Series and The Next Generation. Here’s everything we know so far – hit it!

What is it? A Star Trek: Discovery spin-off following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike, science officer Spock and first officer Una Chin-Riley (better known as Number One) on the USS Enterprise, around a decade before James T Kirk takes command. 

Release date: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will beam onto Paramount Plus on May 5, 2022 – after Star Trek: Discovery season 4 and Star Trek: Picard season 2 have finished boldly going.

Cast: Alongside its familiar trio of lead characters (still played by Discovery's Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn), six new crew members will be taking their places on the Enterprise bridge. Read more about them below. 

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds release date

Star trek: strange new worlds release date: may 2022.

It's so long ago that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds got its greenlight (May 2020) that Paramount Plus was still known as CBS All Access at the time. 

Unfortunately, coronavirus significantly delayed its departure from Spacedock, and the show didn't make it in front of the cameras until March 2021. Production on Strange New Worlds' 10-episode first season eventually wrapped in October 2021, as confirmed in a video announcement from star Anson Mount:

Incoming transmission from Captain Pike himself Anson Mount ✨ #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds pic.twitter.com/7MzivTtKCH October 11, 2021

Now the wait for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is almost over. StarTrek.com confirmed on January 18, 2022 that the new voyages of the USS Enterprise will boldly go onto Paramount Plus in the US on Thursday May 5, 2022 – coinciding with the conclusion of Starfleet stablemate Picard's second season. 

Jess Bush, who'll play Nurse Christine Chapel in the show, celebrated the announcement by posing in one of the Enterprise's Jefferies Tubes with co-star Christina Chong (La'an Noonien-Singh).

A post shared by Jess Bush (@onejessa) A photo posted by on

While we know Strange New Worlds will stream on Paramount Plus in the US, it may vary depending on where you are. The streamer is set to launch in the UK in 2022, and we'd expect to see Strange New Worlds debuting on there – especially after the recent controversial announcement that Discovery's fourth season has been shifted from its traditional international home on Netflix, to help launch Paramount Plus around the world.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer

Is there a star trek: strange new worlds trailer.

There's no sign as yet, but with less than three months until the series' launch, it can't be long until we get to see a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds trailer. Indeed, with Star Trek: Discovery returning from its mid-season break and Picard's second season kicking off in early March, Paramount have a pair of tentpoles they can hang a promo off.

That said, journalists at the show's Television Critics Association panel on February 1, 2022 were treated to first-look footage focussing on Cadet Nyota Uhura (played by Celia Rose Gooding), the character made famous by Nichelle Nichols in the Original Series. Den of Geek reported that most of the bridge crew were also accounted for in the clip.  

Back in September 2021, the Star Trek Day event also unveiled a brief teaser introducing the cast. It contains a few stills from the new series, including a glimpse at the new-look USS Enterprise uniforms – a modern riff on the classic gold, blue and uniforms we saw in ’The Cage’ and the original series.

Meet the cast of #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds 💫 https://t.co/M6D2tyQuBA pic.twitter.com/z6ImvEKwZV September 9, 2021

Going back even further in time, leads Anson Mount, Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn beamed in an announcement video in May 2020:

As you’d expect, the party line was very much that the show exists because of fan demand. “Without you this wouldn’t be happening,” says Peck, while Mount explains a bit about the tone of the series. “[It’s] a classic Star Trek show that deals with optimism and the future.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds poster: the frontier is waiting

While Paramount are keeping us waiting for a trailer, the tantalizing new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds poster is doing more than enough to get us excited about the show. It features Captain Pike on horseback in what looks like his home in the Mojave desert – but the real excitement comes from what's in the sky above him. The iconic USS Enterprise is hovering in front of a pair of alien worlds – and, no doubt, several new life forms and new civilizations. 

If the "The frontier is waiting" tagline isn't enough to get Trek fans firing up their warp drives, chances are nothing will.

A post shared by Star Trek (@startrek) A photo posted by on

“We wanted [the poster] to reflect that the [concept] of the final frontier is at just the beginning,” executive producer (and Star Trek's de facto commander-in-chief) Alex Kurtzman told the show's TCA panel (via Syfy ) . “We think it brings the sense of nostalgia hope, optimism, exploration and sense of adventure."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast

Star trek: strange new worlds cast: who’s beaming onto the enterprise bridge.

The principal Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast looks like this:

• Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike
• Ethan Peck as Mr Spock
• Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley/Number One
• Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel
• Christina Chong as La'an Noonien-Singh
• Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Nyota Uhura
• Melissa Navia as Lt Erica Ortegas
• Babs Olusanmokun as Dr M'Benga
• Bruce Horak as Hemmer

Ever since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was confirmed in 2020, we've known that three actors would be reprising their roles from Discovery.

Anson Mount is back in the captain’s chair as Captain Christopher Pike. Meanwhile, after proving himself worthy of donning the pointy ears that once belonged to Leonard Nimoy, Ethan Peck returns as Spock. Rebecca Romijn continues as first officer/helmsperson Number One.

A ‘start of production’ video released in March 2021 introduced five other members of the cast: 

The five new additions to the USS Enterprise bridge crew are Melissa Navia (from Dietland), Celia Rose Gooding (Jagged Little Pill), Christina Chong (Doctor Who, Line of Duty), Babs Olusanmokun (Black Mirror), and Jess Bush (Skinford). 

At the Star Trek Day panel in September 2021, it was finally confirmed who each of them would be playing.  We also learned that the full name of Number One is Una Chin-Riley – the first time this has been confirmed in the character’s 56-year history.

Intriguingly, three of the new cast members are playing characters who – like, Pike, Number One and Spock – were first established in the 1960s. 

The most famous of these roles goes to Celia Rose Gooding, who plays a younger version of Nyota Uhura, the Enterprise communications officer famously portrayed by Nichelle Nichols in the original series and first six Star Trek movies. (Guardians of the Galaxy's Zoe Saldana took on the role in JJ Abrams' rebooted Trek.) 

Gooding explained to the assembled journalists at the TCA event in February 2021 that this will be a much less experienced version of the communications officer we saw serving alongside Captain Kirk in the Original series. 

“Nichelle had a level of understanding and clarity [in her portrayal], but we're showing different parts of her humanity, which isn't as sure and asks questions as we go along,” the actress explained. “Getting to represent an iconic character in a multi-faceted way is an honor and now we're getting to see other sides of Uhura that go outside of the limitations set for Black women in the '60s."

Babs Olusanmokun plays Dr M'Benga (originally played by Booker Bradshaw), a character who filled in as the Enterprise's chief medical officer when Dr McCoy was absent in the original series. Jess Bush, meanwhile, inherits the role of Nurse Christine Chapel, who worked alongside McCoy in the Enterprise Sick Bay. 

Chapel is one of two Strange New Worlds characters who were originally played by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry back in the 1960s – the other is Number One, who made her one-and-only vintage Trek appearance in 'The Cage'. (Barrett-Roddenberry also went on to play Lwaxana Troi and voice the Enterprise computers in The Next Generation.)

Of the Starfleet newbies, Bruce Horak's Hemmer is a member of the Andorian species. The fact he's wearing a red shirt – aka Star Trek's sartorial kiss of death – doesn't bode well for his life expectancy. The same could be said for Melissa Navia's Lt Erica Ortegas.

The most mysterious addition to the cast, however, is Christina Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh. The fact she shares a surname with The Wrath of Khan's Big Bad can't be a coincidence, but seeing as Trek canon tells us the cryogenically frozen 20th century villain won't be thawed out until after Kirk has taken command of the Enterprise, it's unclear how they're linked – but there definitely is a connection. 

"She's related to Khan for sure, and, uh, the deal will unfold...” co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman confirmed at a Television Critics Association panel in February 2022 (via the Hollywood Reporter ).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds already has its first great mystery...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds story

What can we expect to see in the star trek: strange new worlds story.

Star Trek: Discovery spoilers ahead – proceed with caution if you haven't seen season 2.

Pike, Spock and Number One have been part of the Star Trek story even longer than James T Kirk – they were on board the Enterprise in original Star Trek pilot ‘The Cage’, unaired in the ’60s and set more than a decade before Kirk’s famous five-year mission. Jeffrey Hunter, Leonard Nimoy and Majel Barrett originated the three roles.

While we know that the trio have been together at least three years by the time Star Trek: Strange New Worlds kicks off and that a tragic fate awaits Pike – more on that later – most of their voyages remain undocumented. That means it’s prime storytelling territory and – after the more serialized Discovery and Picard – a chance for Trek to get back to the standalone stories of its earlier years. 

“We’re going to try to harken back to some classical Trek values, to be optimistic, and to be more episodic,” executive producer Akiva Goldsman (and director of the Strange New Worlds pilot episode) told Variety in May 2020. “Obviously, we will take advantage of the serialized nature of character and story building. But I think our plots will be more closed-ended than you’ve seen in either Discovery or Picard.”

The ability to visit a huge galaxy of, well, strange new worlds, should allow the show to feel different from week to week – after all, this versatile formula is a big reason for the franchise’s longevity.

“We want to do Star Trek in the classic mode; Star Trek in the way Star Trek stories were always told,” fellow EP Henry Alonso Myers said at a Star Trek Day panel (via TrekMovie ). “It's a ship and it's traveling to strange new worlds and we are going to tell big ideas science fiction adventures in an episodic mode. So we have room to meet new aliens, see new ships, visit new cultures..."

Strange New Worlds won't be entirely devoid of serialization, however, as writer Akela Cooper explained: “While we'll have individual one-off plots, the character arcs are what's going to carry us through in a more serialized fashion. There's probably one point that we will be sprinkling through this series until we actually get to the episode. And that's all I can say about that.” 

Goldsman explained a bit more about the structure of the show in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in April: “If you think back to the original [Star Trek] series, it was tonally more liberal – I don‘t mean in terms of politics but it could sort of be more fluid. Like sometimes Robert Bloch would write a horror episode. Or Harlan Ellison would have ‘City on the Edge of Forever’, which is hard sci-fi. Then there would be comedic episodes like 'Shore Leave’ or ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’. So [co-showrunner] Henry Alonso Myers and myself are trying to serve that. We’ve all become very enamored, myself included, with serialized storytelling. Picard is deeply serialized but Strange New Worlds is very much adventure-of-the-week, but with serialized character arcs.”

Going on Mount’s performance in Discovery, Pike is the ideal captain for an optimistic mission of exploration. 

“The writers have done a magnificent job of establishing this captain as his own iteration of what a Starfleet captain should be, independent of other captains in canon,” the actor said at the TCA panel (as reported by Syfy ). “Humility is a big part of his character. And his father was a science teacher and scholar of comparative religion, so exploration is a big part of Pike. He’s looking at the things that made us see what’s next over the horizon? Are we searchers or conquerors?”

We can also expect to see a Spock more prone to displays of emotion than his Original Series counterpart, as the younger version of the character struggles to balance his logical Vulcan side with his human urges.

Indeed, in ‘The Cage’, Number One was the more buttoned-up, logical member of the crew – her personality traits passing to the Vulcan when Star Trek went to series. “She's way more complex than y'all know,” actor Rebecca Romijn teased in the cast introduction video released on Star Trek Day, and she expanded on the theme in the panel.

“'The Cage' being such an old pilot, the writers have this very unique opportunity where they've had this character that's existed since the beginning of the canon, but she's never been written,” Romijn pointed out. “I can't wait to find out how vast her skill set is. What are the arrows in her quiver? My number one question is, 'What's her backstory?’ [The writer's room] floated an idea for Number One's backstory that I'm not going to share right now because it blew my mind when they said it.”

Despite being made more than half a century after the Original Series, the look of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will echo those early ’60s designs – from the Enterprise starship interiors to the Starfleet uniforms. 

“It’s a fine line because, obviously, we want to keep continuity with the storytelling and the style, but we also want Strange New Worlds to be a different show,” Goldsman told the Hollywood Reporter. “It’s not Discovery. There are a few more reach-backs [to the Original Series] and the uniforms have been adjusted slightly, the sets are slightly different. Remember, the Enterprise existed as a little piece [of Star Trek: Discovery], but now it’s its own object. When you close your eyes and think of the key sets and situations that you think of the Original Series, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Intriguingly, at this point in the Star Trek timeline , Kirk and other members of the original crew must be out there somewhere in the universe, so the smart money would be on a few headline-grabbing (recast) guest appearances – as the older members of the Original Series line-up, McCoy and Scotty would seem prime candidates.

If a few familiar faces do turn up, however, we may have to wait a while to see them, with Goldsman telling the TCA panel that bringing classic characters back into the fray isn't a priority.

“We’re starting wth this crew and don’t want to bring folks into the show to be splashy,” he said. “We want to dig deeply into the characters in this ensemble. We’re open to widening our arms, but right now, and this is said in the best possible way, what you see is what you get."

Perhaps the biggest elephant on the Enterprise bridge, however, is Pike’s tragic story…

When we meet him in Original Series two-parter ‘The Menagerie’, it’s revealed that he’s been left severely disabled by a radiation leak. In Discovery, he’s forced to endure a vision of that future, so it'll be intriguing to see how that knowledge preys on his mind, and how much it plays into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ story.

“The most honest thing I can say is, I'm still figuring out,” Mount explained at Star Trek Day. “Pike didn't just learn how he dies, he learns in what circumstances. So we do know that at some point he's going to be presented with a promotion opportunity to Fleet Captain. And he has to accept that in order for the fate to come into existence. So what is it that's going to allow him, both in terms of circumstance and emotion, to accept that promotion? It's a tough question but I think we'll figure it out together.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 is already confirmed

The show hasn't even aired yet and Strange New Worlds: season 2 has already been confirmed by Paramount Plus via StarTrek.com . In fact, the streaming service is so engaged by the prospect of a follow-up season that it's already shooting – one journalist at Strange New Worlds' TCA panel on February 1, 2022 noted that Ethan Peck was wearing his Vulcan ears and costume because he was already working on the new season. 

At the #StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds #TCA22 panel, Ethan Peck has his costume and Vulcan ears on. He's currently shooting. February 1, 2022

Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.

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In honor of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2, a tour of the physics

Regina G. Barber

Berly McCoy

Rebecca Ramirez

Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered June 15 ( streaming on Paramount+ ). So today, Short Wave boldly goes where many, many nerds have gone before and explores the science — specifically the physics — and the science- fiction of Star Trek . Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber chats with two Trekkie physicists about why they love the franchise. Astrophysicist Erin Macdonald is the science consultant for Star Trek , and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist and author of the book The Disordered Cosmos .

This episode, the trio discusses the feasibility of warp drive, global cooperation and representation and how the transporters that beam crew members from the surface of a planet to the ship might be breaking fundamental laws of physics. They end at the galaxy's edge — and discuss why its portrayal in Star Trek might be problematic, scientifically.

Space is vast – it takes years for real spacecrafts to travel within our solar system! In Star Trek, characters zip around the galaxy in their starship vessels thanks to warp drive, which let spaceships travel faster than the speed of light. But physics puts a speed limit on anything with mass. These objects have to move slightly slower than the speed of light, which itself has a speed limit. So what's the loophole here?

According to Erin, good ol' suspension of disbelief isn't necessary because, "the math checks out." For that reason, it's one of Erin's favorite pieces of sci-fi in the series. Spacetime is the three dimensions we humans are used to living in, plus time. The universe is situated in the four dimensional fabric of spacetime, with heavier objects "pulling" that fabric down more than lighter — or, weightless, in the case of light — objects. So, spacetime itself could be a loophole to this speed limit. Erin says that to bypass the cosmological speed limit of light, you could simply, "build a bubble of space time around your ship, and then that pushes you faster than the speed of light. " This is the various warp speeds . One bubble for warp 1, another bubble around that first bubble for warp 2 and so on.

Of course, Erin and Chanda both point out that using spacetime in this way requires an extraordinary amount of energy — well beyond what humans are capable of at this moment in time.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season 2 is a classic sci-fi adventure

Transporters.

It would be great to teleport to work, as Star Trek characters do thanks to their transporters. Upside? No traffic. Downside? The fear that once you've been broken down into particles and beamed across the city, you might not be rearranged in the right order.

In order for a transporter to work, users would have to know both where a given particle is and its velocity. Unfortunately, this is not possible due to a well known physics conundrum, the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle . Star Trek plugs this plot hole with something they call a Heisenberg Compensator that is connected to their transporter mechanics. How it works is never explained. All we need to know is that, in the Star Trek universe ... it does!

So, transporters require a little more suspension of disbelief than warp drive — or good-humored humility if you're Chanda. "I don't think transporters will ever be a thing that we can do. But I always say that it's important for me as a scientist to be humble, and so it may be that there is some science beyond the uncertainty principle that we are just not aware of at this point," she quips.

Galactic Barrier

Warp drive can get ships to light speed and faster in the Star Trek world but space is still HUGE. The Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light years across so, even at Warp 9, it would take the Star Trek crew years to travel the galaxy. It's pretty rare that any starship gets near the edge of our galaxy, but in the 1960s, Star Trek writers had the crew arrive at the " galactic barrier ." According to the show, this barrier doesn't let communication signals through, is dangerous and gives characters " strange energies ."

Chanda says that the impenetrability of signals is what winds her up most about this fake barrier. "But we see other galaxies all the time, and those are signals," she says. "We see radio observations. We see across the electromagnetic spectrum."

These three sci-fi concepts barely scratch the surface of what "science" — and science — Star Trek uses throughout the series . There's so much physics we didn't cover — and so there will be much more science to dissect in the future.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify , Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts .

Questions about the "scientific" underpinnings of other pop culture? Email us at [email protected] . We'd love to hear from you!

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Katie Daugert. Josh Newell engineered the audio. Johannes Doerge is our main legal duderino.

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Star trek: discovery season 5 episode 6 is a welcome classic tng episode reminder.

Burnham and Tilly encounter a fascinating new alien language in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, reminding us of a classic TNG episode.

• "Whistlespeak" in Star Trek: Discovery pays homage to TNG's "Darmok" with a unique language element.
• Despite a promising setup, Discovery's use of whistlespeak was abandoned early in the episode.
• The episode missed an opportunity to use whistlespeak creatively to resolve the story's conflict.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak" contains a welcome reminder of a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Discovery season 5 is a sequel to TNG season 6, episode 20, "The Chase", and so connections to the iconic Star Trek show are expected. Discovery season 5, episode 6, written by Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz, and directed by Chris Byrne, is a reminder of a completely different TNG episode , however. In "Whistlespeak", Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) visit the pre-warp planet of Halem'no, where Burnham's forced to break the Prime Directive.

While the story of a pre-warp society forming a religion around failing technology is a well-worn Star Trek trope now, Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6 makes a good stab at bringing something new to the table. One of the most interesting aspects of "Whistlespeak" is the titular language spoken by the Halem'nites. At the start of the episode, Burnham explains to Tilly that the Halem'nites have two languages, a phonetic language for day-to-day interactions, and whistlespeak for communication across distances. This completely alien language is a reminder of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 2, "Darmok" .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

How star trek: discovery season 5, episode 6 recalls tng’s “darmok”.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 2, "Darmok", Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is stranded on an alien world with a Tamarian captain whose complex language of metaphors is incompatible with the universal translator. It's only through unpicking the alien language of Captain Dathon (Paul Winfield) that Picard can find a way off the planet. "Darmok" is one of Captain Picard's best TNG episodes , and a wonderful Star Trek story about the importance of communication, no matter how alien the other person's language is.

"Darmok" marked Starfleet's official First Contact with the Tamarians, leading to at least one member of the species, Kayshon, becoming a Starfleet officer in Star Trek: Lower Decks .

From the opening, it appeared that Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak" was going to tell a similar story. However, Burnham and Tilly's universal translators quickly translate the Halem'nites' second language before they even beam down to the surface . It's odd that understanding and using Halem'nite whistlespeak isn't a key part of the story, especially as Tilly becomes stranded inside the High Summit weather station with Ravah (June Laporte). Despite this great distance, Burnham doesn't deploy any whistlespeak to help Ravah and Tilly with their predicament , instead opting to beam directly into the weather station's control room.

Why Discovery Season 5, Episode 6 Didn’t Do More With Whistlespeak

Star Trek 's Tamarians unique language of metaphors was certainly easier to write in the script for Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Darmok". Lines like " Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra " are more poetic and enigmatic than increasingly complicated whistling. It's likely for this reason that Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6 abandoned whistlespeak almost immediately, barring the coda at the end of the episode. There was perhaps a feeling among Discovery 's writers that having Burnham and Tilly communicate purely by whistling would undermine the life-threatening drama of the situation.

The weather station in which Tilly and Ravah were trapped was designed by Star Trek: Enterprise 's Denobulans, who installed them on Halem'no to help its people cope with the punishing dust storms.

Given that the whistespeak was a unique element of Star Trek: Discovery 's formulaic pre-warp planet, it feels disappointing that the episode didn't do more with it. Burnham could have saved herself from breaking the Prime Directive by using whistlespeak to communicate some means to stop the weather tower from suffocating Ravah and Tilly to death. Instead, "Whistlespeak" opted for an abrupt conclusion that just beamed Burnham into the heart of the action to save the day. However, given that Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Darmok" is an unimpeachable classic, it may have been wise for Star Trek: Discovery to avoid remaking it.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

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• May 3, 2024 | Chances Of Skydance Takeover Of Paramount Fades; Competing Sony Deal Reportedly Unlikely Too
• May 3, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Listens For “Whistlespeak” With Commentary From Mary Wiseman Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
• May 2, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Goes On A Spiritual Journey In “Whistlespeak”
• May 1, 2024 | Toronto Stage Used For ‘Discovery’ Renamed “The Star Trek Stage” By Pinewood Studios

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Goes On A Spiritual Journey In “Whistlespeak”

| May 2, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 93 comments so far

“Whistlespeak”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 6 – Debuted Thursday, May 2, 2024 Written by Kenneth Lin & Brandon Schultz Directed by Chris Byrne

A classic Trek setup delivers a solid episode exploring character arcs and big ideas.

Hey, I’m in this episode too!

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“The most important thing is to work in harmony”

Picking up on the clue they nabbed in the previous episode, Paul and the geek squad run into a science wall deciphering the simple vial of water so the captain suggests they try cultural analysis instead before she pops off to the mysterious Infinity Room. Kovich tells her that another ship is tracking Moll and L’ak, and the Disco has to stay on task for the Progenitor Tech. He does offer a bit of help, providing a list (on actual paper!) of all the scientists from Vellek’s team. Returning to the science lab the team quickly sorts out which scientist left the water clue, it was a Denobulan named Dr. Kreel who designed rain-making weather towers. A bit more detective work narrows things down to an arid world on an old Denobulan trade route and presto shroomo, they arrive at Planet Helem’no. The good news is they found one of Kreel’s weather towers. The bad news: the tower is surrounded by some “weird energy” preventing scans… and a pre-warp society. The captain flexes her xenoanthropology, revealing Helem’nites have three gender identities and no concept of class status; sounds like just the kind of place a Denobulan would party. Tilly is tagged to join on the field trip and so it’s good ol’ alien disguise time!

On the planet, they have a bit of a hike to get to the tower so they walk and talk about Tilly’s new life as a teacher at Starfleet Academy, where she is concerned one of her students is thinking of leaving. Soon enough they follow some “whistlepseak” (title alert!) leading to a group of pilgrims, only to witness one collapse due to spending too much time in the dust storms. Michael and Tilly struggle over that old Prime Directive, but the local woman ends up being saved by High Priest Ohvahz and his cool “sound cure,” which has the surprise side effect of knocking Michael out. She wakes up to find Tilly making friends with the priest’s kid Ravah who is super excited to get to the temple at the high summit, which is actually an 8-century-old Denobulan weather machine. Shhh. There is a traditional “Journey” race with the winner getting the honor to enter the temple and so Michael and Tilly sign up as a way in to search for the clue. Ravah signs up too, but priest dad is suspiciously not into the idea. Tilly encourages them, seeing the same kind of ambition she admires in her cadets. Michael takes a surreptitious sidebar to talk to Rayner and the gang on the Disco. Adira discovered more old (and broken down) weather towers and this last one is about to fritz out too. This fun day trip just turned into one of those “everyone is going to die if we don’t fix it” kind of things.

Why am I getting a sense this is no “fun run.”

“Let’s go meet the gods together”

Meanwhile on Discovery, Culber is still feeling a bit off. He decides to get counseling from a holo grief program based on his own abuela, who was known to dabble in the spiritual. He is looking for answers to what’s been happening to him since he merged with a Trill , but grandmother reminds him she was also a doctor, suggesting he stop trying to examine his soul before examining his body. So he grabs his hubby and they head to sickbay because “nothing is as romantic as a neural scan.” Aww. All Paul can detect is Hugh’s brain is normal, and of course “handsome.” Adorable. Culber was hoping for more, revealing ever since Trill he feels “more connected” to something big, but he just doesn’t know what to do it about. Is someone about to meet a Koala ?

Michael has a curious chat with the cured woman from earlier talking about how she really misses her old friend who won the last big race. Like priest dad, she suggests there are other ways to show devotion besides participating in the Journey ritual. Hmm. The race begins with the sucking of a cube that parches the competitors as they head up a course lined with water bowls, which they can’t drink without being disqualified. After spotting some mutated moss, Michael leaves the race to find the radiation-leaking control panel. Eventually, Tilly and Ravah are the only two left, both tripping big-time with dehydration. The ritual now calls for carrying water bowls, which seems particularly cruel. Ravah drops theirs and Dad is elated, but Tilly steps up and shares her water with her new little protégé, and they continue to the high summit together. Teamwork! They tie up and both get to enter the temple. As Ravah takes in the spiritual moment, Tilly uses her cool new retinal tricorder but isn’t finding any clue. Priest dad shows up looking miserable, telling the winners their sacrifice will bless Helem’No for many seasons. Sacri-whatnow?

Upon reflection, fire was not a good call for the vacuum chamber.

“Beliefs can evolve”

As the walls are about to literally close in on Tilly, Michael gets some tech support from Adira to fix the weather system’s control panel, which is in the middle of the forest for some reason. The ensign is still feeling out of sorts since letting the time spider on board (not their fault) but Rayner rallies them so after some technobabble, the system is fixed. Tilly is now trapped in a vacuum chamber and can’t be beamed out so Michael breaks the Prime Directive and beams into the room right next door where Priest Dad is hanging out. With the air escaping, Ravah is now having second thoughts as Michael goes all in with their father, revealing his whole world is a lie so he should just open the door. Yeah, that didn’t work so Michael makes contact through the impenetrable wall using her subcutaneous communicator and starts humming a song she hears from Ravah that their mother used to sing. That gets Ohvahz’s attention and with “I am not a god but maybe I was sent here by one,” he opens his mind to a new reality… and the door. By this time Ravah has collapsed but Culber’s medical team can now beam in for the save. Heisenberg be praised!

As Culber and his team work everyday miracles, Ohvahz takes in the wonder of a hologram of his planet as he learns aliens called Denobulans saved them centuries ago. Now it’s his job to keep their technology working… no prayer required. Michael plays agnostic on whether this big reveal disproves the divine, leaving him with the thorny issue of getting his society to stop the pointless (yet popular) sacrifices. As Dad and Ravah reunite, Tilly has big news, showing Michael wall markings matching those on that persnickety water vial clue. They are in the wrong tower, but the next map piece and clue is in tower #5. Back on the ship, Book is sulking for not getting picked for the fun away mission, doing what dudes do… playing video games – technically shuttle combat simulation, but it looked just like Asteroids . Culber joins to cheer him up with a snack and to find a new outlet to talk about his burgeoning “spiritual awakening.” The former courier offers solace saying it’s okay for Hugh to have a part of his life he doesn’t share with Paul, while Book inadvertently shares how much he misses what he had with Michael. As the boys share a nice moment, Tilly and Michael have one too as they put the fourth piece of the map in place and ponder the big picture, and how each of the scientists seems to be sending them a message through time, warning of the “massive responsibility” of the Progenitor tech. Before they work all that out, the word comes that Moll and L’ak have been found. Black Alert!

Wait ’till I tell you about Denobulan marriages, it’s going to blow your mind.

Faith of the heart

“Whistlespeak” is a decent mid-season episode that takes a moment to pause and reflect on the season’s themes and impact on the characters. The pacing was slower by design, giving time to take in the location, performances, and character development. And they threw in the world-ending stakes to keep it interesting. Like other season 5 entries, the premise is classic Trek with an actual visit to a strange new world. Exploring a pre-warp society and coming into conflict with the Prime Directive, evokes episodes like “Who Watches the Watchers,” “The Paradise Syndrome,” and many others. You may not even notice it but the facial markings and even Tilly’s hairstyle were added as they beamed down, a subtle 32nd transporter tech upgrade to having the doctor handle alien disguises. It’s always hard to come up with a new culture on Star Trek but keeping it simple worked for “Whistlespeak.” The events on Helem’No were also a bit of a microcosm of the season itself, a race to receive the grace of the gods is not so different than the USS Discovery’s race to find the Progenitor’s tech. Like the Progenitors, the Denobulans played God with this planet but there is a warning about even good intentions can have unintended consequences. Confronting the Prime Directive — one of the core tenets of Federation philosophy — isn’t so different than how the High Priest had to evolve his worldview. The season’s focus on connection was nicely woven throughout the various plots and stories with a strong emphasis on the recurring theme of exploring spirituality without getting too heavy-handed, showing respect, and learning lessons from different points of view, which is all very Star Trek.

This was a great episode for Mary Wiseman as she showed off all the familiar aspects of Tilly from her dry wit to her whip smarts, with the season’s added layer of her growing into a mentor figure, such as how she immediately bonded with Ravah, ably played by guest star June LaPorte. And once again this final season reminds us where it all started, bringing back some of the Michael/Tilly bonding seen in the first couple of seasons, including a bit of running together as they used to do around the USS Discovery. Extended scenes with Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green have been missed. But as this was a Tilly-focused episode, the show could have held back some of its tendencies, giving her more of the “aha” moments to move the plot along. Burnham will also be the hero, but share the character wealth. Wilson Cruz also stood out as we explored his character’s spiritual awakening. This storyline has been playing along nicely and seems to be setting something up. Simple things like paying off namedrops of his abuela show how much Discovery has improved on layering in these season-long character arcs.

Tilly is concerned about her listing on ratemyprofessor.com.

Reach for any star

While the intriguing big Breen reveal from the previous episode was set aside for this week, the search for clues structure continues to allow for these nice little episodic adventures. It’s always great to meet a new culture and expand on the canon. Once again the season doesn’t shy away from utilizing franchise lore, in this case bringing in a few bits of Denobulan society through Dr. Kreel. However, after we got to (sort of) meet the first two Progenitor research scientists in episodes 1 and 3, the show is missing an opportunity to continue that by introducing the others. Instead of just talking about Denobulans, it would have been a treat to actually get to see Dr. Kreel (and Dr. Cho in the last episode, too), and that could have also helped sell some of the episode’s themes. On the other hand, it’s always great to get to learn more about the enigmatic Dr. Kovich, with David Cronenberg continuing to intrigue us with more tidbits about his character who has a penchant for old legal pads. This and his “Infinity Room,” all feel like it is leading somewhere and hopefully this series doesn’t wrap up without finally explaining what is his deal.

Of course, the episode also has some of the usual frustrations. Discovery needs to find some more creative ways to explain away when and how and where the 32nd technology doesn’t work. It seems every episode has some weird energy field preventing the transporters from working so that the episode can progress at the desired pace, specifically a walking pace. That being said, the retinal tricorders were a nice new bit of tech, although perhaps not discreet enough if someone checks out what’s happening with one of your eyes. And while it may only be the “Prime Suggestion” to many Trek captains, it still isn’t clear if the season plot “Red Directive” supersedes the Prime Directive, but for obvious reasons, it’s not likely Burnham will face the same kind of tribunal as (formerly) Captain Rayner. The disruption to this society was pretty profound and they probably should have noted that Starfleet would be back to check in to make sure they didn’t just kick off a religious war. By the way, why didn’t the Denobulans ever check in after leaving all their tech running? These quibbles are not episode breakers but are the usual kinds of things that Discovery doesn’t seem interested in tying up, and perhaps they are a bit nitpicky, but that too is a Trek tradition. Finally, this may not be a nitpick, but the crew seems a bit blasé in how they treat the slowly-assembling map, which seems to be left around various parts of the Discovery. Like every hero ship before, the USS Discovery has been boarded by the bad guys on several occasions, so maybe this is setting up for a coming heist.

The most important thing in the Federation makes for a nice conversation piece.

Final thoughts

This (dare I say) “filler” episode was a solid outing that delivered some classic Star Trek to Discovery . With four out of five pieces of the map assembled in six episodes, it feels like we are making progress without getting sidetracked. The pivot in Season 5 continues to be finally finding the sweet spot in episodic adventures, serialized plot, and character development.

Only four more, y’all.

• For the third episode in a row, Doug Jones is not credited. Saru is confirmed to appear in at least the finale episode, so he will be back.
• The actual whistlespeak heard in the episode was performed by professional whistler Molly Lewis .
• Michael studied xenolinguistics on Vulcun under a Dr. T’Prasi.
• Denobulans use silver iodine to make it rain on Denobula, which is used today in cloud seeding .
• The walls of the Denobulan vacuum chamber were made of solid Tritanium , which was commonly used by Starfleet in the 24th century, but perhaps the thickness prevented beaming.
• The (replicated) Culber family Mofongo con pollo al ajillo is a traditional Puerto Rican dish with rice, chicken, and garlic.
• The “sound cure” bowls used by the Hilem’No are like so-called Tibetan “ singing bowls ” which have been used in the modern era for “ music therapy .”
• The sound wave pattern shown during the “sound cure” is a real phenomenon called cymatics .
• The weather control interface was in the Denobulan language , first seen on  Star Trek: Enterprise .
• If Kovich’s 21st century legal pad is made of acid-free paper, then it could indeed survive for centuries .
• Vellek (Romulan)
• Jinaal Bix (Trill)
• Carmen Cho (Terran)
• Hitoroshi Kreel (Denobulan)
• Marina Derex (Betazoid)… obviously named in honor of Marina Sirtis .

Four more?… for you maybe.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery  will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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It’s a good stand-alone ep. It proves you don’t need bad guys chasing for the same relics. I realized how unnecessary they are.

I echo that sentiment, big-time!

The best Trek is without “bad guys”. Always has been. Too bad modern writers don’t get it. This was a gem of an episode.

Great episode i really enjoyed the slow pacing of it and i always like a episode involving a trip to a pre warp society.

It’s great that they have gotten 4 of the 5 pieces of the puzzle already and not leaving it to the penultimate episode.

I do agree with the review that it would be nice to see the rest of the scientists and i hope when they do find the Progenitor Tech we find get some form of flashback with the scientists finding the tech.

I really like it when NuTrek references Enterprise.

What do you mean, exactly? I didn’t get get it

Possibly he’s referring to the Denobulans.

This is like the trill episode. A lot of other stuff happens with a minimal plot advancement. I’m ok with that, if it’s interesting. If you’re going to recycle and re-use tropes, it needs to be interesting. This was largely, not. I found it more interesting than the Trill episode, and I loved the delivery of the message Burnham gives at the end. That why I found this episode better than that one. But still wasn’t all that great.

I was bored rigid. This is what happens when you take 45 minutes of plot and stretch it out over 10 episodes.

I finally started watching Slow Horses on the weekend – and ended up binging all three seasons this week.

Six 40ish-minute episodes a season, no filler, complex plots and solid characters, writing and acting.

I wish Trek could pull that off.

Great show.

This is my main problem with it, yes. I loved episodes 1 and 2, but from after that it started going downhill for precisely that reason: because there’s not much of a story here. So we get a whole lot of filler scenes, scenes about people being unsure of themselves (this must be the most emotionally fragile crew in the history of Starfleet–it’s getting kind of ridiculous at this point), and minimal plot advancement. Meanwhile, all the focus is on Action Hero Michael every single episode, with Saru, Stamets, the entire bridge crew, and Reno doing almost nothing all season. Tilly has had more to do this season, which is great. But other than Michael, Book, Culber, and Saru, everyone else has done almost nothing since season two. I really wanted to like this season, and when it started I very much did. But it’s going nowhere fast.

You nailed it.

Wow you said everything I been thinking too. The season is feeling more and more flat and the characters outside a few of them just has nothing to do.

Started off great but halfway through now and I’m getting bored again because it doesn’t feel compelling enough.

Yeah, they took what might have been a solid four-hour story and turned it into ten hours, and they gave us two entirely lackluster villains. One thing that has been a big problem on Trek for a while now–on Discovery, as well as on Picard–has been utterly forgettable and boring villains. Not one of them has really stood out to me on either show, other than Lorca.

This has been the problem with almost all of these. I go back to, if you’re going to deviate a bit, it’s ok.. but it better be engaging.. better be interesting. With Star Trek, you really have to make the theme feel original. None of that happens here. I don’t have a problem with what they’re trying to do.. I have a problem with the execution of it. And that’s the same problem with most of Discovery for me.

agree. I wonder what the financial upside would be if they had the courage to write the main story they want to tell and film it. This should be the benefit of the streaming platform model. If it’s 5 episodes, it’s five episodes but – if they are a great five episodes, wouldn’t that be better for the franchise than 10 of mediocre quality?

Pssst… not sure if you are aware of this or not. But that was the whole premise of the show from the start. It was… and is… about Michael. It was never going to be a cast show. It is a show about Michael. And that is why she is predominately the focus in the episodes.

Bit behind on this series and just watched episodes 2 and 3 this evening., but Culber had a big part in episode 3 in my opinion. Also it seems to me that Captain Rayner has a big part. It isn’t just the Kirk, Bone, Spock show to me with Discovery this season.

This sounds lovely and wonderful! I think I’ll finally break down and join Paramount+ instead of waiting for the DVD release! (And I’m a Tilly fan, too :)

My least liked episode of the season. It was a filler episode without any meaningful filler.

Yeah they found the next clue in the end but it went sideways at times with Tilly and Culber having some kind of personal crisis that went nowhere. .In my opinion, it wouldn’t be noticed if this episode were accidentally skipped. It is a standalone episode that stands still.

Maybe this show is better if the seasons are watched in one sitting?

Hopefully the next episode will advance the plot more than this one did.

To my happy surprise, I enjoyed Tilly’s involvement a lot. I don’t always like her. But here, I thought she worked well. The rest of the episode? Pointless.

So Betazed is the location for both a red herring AND a real clue? Moll and L’ak are going to be pissed they missed it. I mean, they had to have missed it or they would have had no motivation whatsoever to return to Lyrek.

I think that’s more because the clues left for the Trill episode pointed toward the Trill and not the Betazed clue though too. Although, yeah I’d be irritated too.

Anyone else find it interesting though that whatever they’re making they are finding the pieces right in the order they appear in the circular puzzle?

Seems intentional in-universe; the only way to not start at the beginning would be to luck into a random clue and somehow see it for what it is without the Romulan journal providing context and the official starting point.

Does anybody know why Doug Jones is absent for so much of this season? Was he off making a movie or something? It seems odd that he is not actually in the series that he is one of the main stars of…

This season is peculiar because of the missing regular cast, hard to believe they couldn’t get commitments from the actors unless the show simply couldn’t use them or didn’t want them. I suspect it has something to do with controlling the budget or other contractual issues.

It’s peculiar, I agree. Discovery has become the Michael-Book-Culber show, with most of the characters under-utilized and ignored. That, for me, has been its greatest failing in the past couple seasons, but especially in this one.

Tilly was similarly absent for most of last season. It’s keenly felt because it’s a small cast to begin with. That’s part of my frustration with how they never really promoted any of the bridge crew to be a more impactful and fleshed-out character. There’s been plenty of time to do it.

Doug Jones posted that he was out for most of this season due to Hocus Pocus 2.

Thanks for the information, William. I was going to say it was weird that he chose to be absent from a big chunk of the last season of his show, but then remembered that he did not know it was the last season.

Seems like Hocus Pocus 2 came out waaay before this and that wouldn’t have been filming anywhere close to each other – dates in Wikipedia indicates HP2 was done filming by the time Disco 5 was even ordered

But – time is an illusion. Tea time, doubly so.

This is his Twitter post: https://twitter.com/actordougjones/status/1784136793753042992

He was promoting Hocus Pocus 2 while S5 was being filmed.

That’s not how contracts work, though. If they wanted him for episodes of Trek, he’d have had to skip the press tour. This means they let him out of any contract he had, presumably; which in turn likely means they were find with paying him for fewer episodes.

I agree on the statement about how contracts work and it probably was a cost saving measure for them. There’s also the possibility that Doug Jones original contract for Hocus Pocus included sequel clauses and promotional requirements.

This current era of Trek though does seem willing to let their players go do other things. Saru in Season 5 with Hocus Pocus, Tilly in Season 4 with her play, Bryce for his BET show.

It was a descent episode. And since you guys were discussing what a ‘filler’ episode is on you and Laurie’s (amazing) podcast, I too wanted to say: this is a classic filler episode. Nothing really happened but it was injoyable on its own. Funny enough, I give this one an enjoyable 7, where last week was a frustrating 7.

Some of the repeating things are getting annoying:

• Michael headlining EVERY episode.
• Transporters not working.
• Talking about characters but not showing them (at least here it was an unknown).

I still don’t understand what they’re trying to do with Culber and his so-called spiritual awakening. Like you said, it must be going somewheren, because, what else is the point. I’m juist not seeing (or getting) it yet.

I’m shocked you didn’t mention the perfectly machine-made wooden water bowls by the way. That one bugged me, for such a primitive people.

And I cringed at the Marina tribute, because it was just too on the nose as a literal first name of a person.

By the way, regarding Kovich: there might be a chance he’s from the department of temporal whatsit. Although not the same suit as temporal agents on SNW season 2, it is about the same color.

Yeah, I’ve always assumed Kovich could time-travel, so that’s how he gets the paper.

Correction: The episode happened in and around tower #3, the clue was in tower #5

I only mention that because I read somewhere how nitpicking is part of Trek … :)

I guess the fact that the winner of the race was sacrificed was supposed to be a surprise? When the priest tried to talk his child out of it, and the person Burnham saved talked about how the friend who’d won the race she ran when she was young was dead, I was sure that the winner would be sacrificed. If it was obvious to ME, how did Burnham and Tilly miss it?

I know Burnham decided to break the Prime Directive for what she thought was a good reason, but I’m amazed that she decided to show the priest his planet from space. Wait, once it’s broken, you can go whole hog? There’s no attempt to maybe limit the damage?

I’m an atheist because of Occam’s Razor, and I’m always uncomfortable when Star Trek tries to get spiritual. I grew up on Kirk’s unmasking false gods and tearing down computers who pretend to be gods, so NuTrek’s careful tiptoeing around gods always makes me long for a little Jim Kirk. Apollo’s just an alien with an extra organ in his chest, damn it! :-)

I didn’t even like it when DS9 turned the franchise more toward a distinctly non-Roddenberrian spirituality, much less when Discovery does it. That said, I enjoyed this episode.

The extended impact of Culber’s experience on Trill could have played out in a very cliche way, so at least this is different. I suspect his “new outlook” will have a place in the resolution of the Progenitor tech. It’s also sort of retcon of his rebirth, which never really was “used” properly. So far, I am liking this… and I definitely come to Trek to should down alien gods!

Mankind has no need for gods we find the one quite adequate Captain Kirk

McCOY: We were speculating …’Is God really out there?’ KIRK: Maybe He’s not out there, Bones. Maybe He’s right here …in the human heart. …Spock?

SPOCK: I wish we could have examined that belief of his more closely. It seems illogical for a sun worshiper to develop a philosophy of total brotherhood. Sun worship is usually a primitive superstition religion.

UHURA: I’m afraid you have it all wrong, Mister Spock, all of you. I’ve been monitoring some of their old-style radio waves, the empire spokesman trying to ridicule their religion. But he couldn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s not the sun up in the sky. It’s the Son of God.

KIRK: Caesar and Christ. They had them both. And the word is spreading only now.

MCCOY: A philosophy of total love and total brotherhood.

Kirk or Sisko wouldn’t have asked the dad to open the door. They would have blasted it with their phaser.

Could Kovich be a Supervisor ala Gary Seven and Tallinn?

I was wondering – or a Q?

I think he’s a time agent. His suit is different than the time agent in SNW but basically the same dark grey.

Technically he can’t be a time agent. They said in Season 3 that there were temporal accords that prevented those types of personnel in Starfleet.

Future Guy from ENT

Two ‘meh’ ones in a row. Who Watches the Watchers this is NOT!

Sure, It’s great to see a pre-warp prime directive story again and I liked that Burnham revealed herself in the end to save Tilly and the girl. That’s always a Trek trope and I’m trying to think of any episode where they managed to stay completely hidden the whole time. Anyone have any examples?

But this episode just really lacked for me. Not awful just not very interesting either. It tried but just felt pretty flat overall.

As for finding pieces of the progenitor tech, it’s become pretty formulaic now and very little of a challenge. The clues are all easily found and it’s literally like putting together a Jinga puzzle. It just feels too easy. And Moll and Lak doesn’t feel threatening at all. They are just there so they can have some conflict in the story but it also feels so meh, similar to the Book and Tarka’s ‘chase’ last season.

I know they are trying and want to give us this grand adventure story but it’s still Discovery falling back to the same issues again and again. And this show keeps stretching five minutes of plot into an hour story. I wish I could care more about Culber’s ‘spiritual journey’ but yeah I just don’t.

Anyway four more episodes. Trying to stay positive but sadly I think I’m just back for the show to end. Hopefully things will finally start to ramp up and the Breen becomes a bigger part of the story.

Some great acting and character moments happened throughout this episode. But I was amused that violating the Prime Directive is just a matter of paperwork now.

I also always wonder how Michael and Tilly communicated with the people on the planet. Of course they had their universal translators and could understand them, but the people they were talking to didn’t have them.

I was surprised by the Prime Directive being paperwork too, especially after Rayner seemed to lose his command over what they were considering a Prime Directive issue.

yeah, the prime directive stuff is eye rollingly bad. It’s really there for the exact reasons they violate it in this episode. It’s stupid.

That has always been a problem with the universal translator on Trek. The concept works fine over a comms channel. But as soon as people are in direct communication the concept (as presented on all the shows) kind of falls apart, especially if only one side of the conversation even has such a technology.

I rewatched the Enterprise Incident a few weeks ago where Kirk sneaks onto the Romulan ship and fully disguise as a Romulan but oddly talks to everyone in English. Seems like that would be the biggest giveaway he’s really not a Romulan lol.

Yeah it’s always been a problem from the very beginning. The later shows have tried to find ways to explain it a little better but I don’t remotely buy you can just pretend you sound like a native speaker when A. You just met a race for the first time and B. That they wouldn’t know you’re speaking through some device.

Forget pretending it can just deduce an an entire new language after hearing a couple of words. I don’t buy that regardless the century they are in and it happens on every show.

Sure it’s a stretch that a computer can decipher an unknown language after a few words. But at least it’s technically easy to swap out audio during the transmission. It falls apart when people talk to each other directly. Unless you assume they have a chip implanted in their brains that intercepts the nerve signals from the ears. Plus another chip in their vocal chords that translates outgoing speech. The universal translator exists so that we as the audience don’t need to read subtitles, the actors don’t need to learn made-up languages and the plot doesn’t have to come to a grinding halt each episode while the characters learn how to communicate. Having the universal translator fail and dedicating an episode to showing how people actually figure out how to communicate is interesting from time to time but the majority of the audience would probably grow tired very quickly if this took up substantial time in every single episode.

I am thoroughly enjoying this season of Disco. Possibly because I am not hunting for anything and everything to criticize. Among other things, I think it is nicely balancing the slower pace of a serialized format while also having more episodic stories. It reminds me a lot of DS9 in this regard without having as many episodes per season to work with.

I am also interested in how well they will explore the topic of spirituality, another commonality with DS9. Although in the end I don’t think DS9 quite succeeded in this because the viewers could just dismiss Bajoran Faith as ignorance of the “true” nature of “The Prophets” as “wormhole aliens.”

Looking forward to see how it all turns out, though I wish this were not the final season as the series really seems to have hit its stride. But all good things…

I thought it was “ok.” Definitely tried to be a more traditional Star Trek episode, but I often feel when Discovery, and to a lesser degree Strange New Worlds, tries to do traditional Trek it just feels shallow. Like they are following a recipe to the letter but not adding any of the zest that really makes it stand out. I was also confused why they made such a big deal of the “whistle speak,” and then have it play almost zero role in the plot. Finally, it was really convenient that Michael and Tilly just happened to arrive at the exact perfect time to join the race to enter the temple. I wish I could master the art of perfect timing so well :-)

I though it was pretty clear that the young woman wanted to become and adult and requested the race because she thought she could beat “foreigners” in the race.

But I also thought it was going to become a battle to the death. They never went that far – only starving their competitors!

Ah, could be. I plan to watch it a second time and will look for that… thanks!

Making the race a battle to the death doesn’t really make sense because the winner of the race was actually going to be sacrificed.

I would like some Saru, Owosekun and Detmer now please.

I’m sure they’ll show back up at the end with a refitted ISS Enterprise.

The music in this episode was outstanding.

Is it now a Star Trek trope to show a member of a pre-warp society a view of their planet from space?

Whistlespeak is about caretaking.

Did this week’s episode begin a deeper, exploration of what this all could really mean? Power? Responsibility? Her trepidation is a nice way to end the episode.

I’m in love with the whole idea of sound as language. I wanted SNW’s musical episode to be totally like what we see in this episode – so it was a nice kick for me to get a taste .

That Denobulan’s name Hitoroshi Kreel….Hoshi Sato. Why do I feel like that might be another Enterprise reference?

47 comments so far. Discovery is quite the barn-burner! ; )

Maybe people are just annoyed by all the whining that people post in here.

People keep saying this and yet so far this has been generally a very positive season so what are we missing??

Even this episode, while more divided there are just as many people who liked it as many who didn’t (and unfortunately I am in the latter personally). Actually I would probably say more liked it than didn’t.

This idea that its been nothing but constant hate this season is not remotely any basis in reality. Most people seems to be more positive than negative over it. The real possibility seems to be many have just stopped caring in general as there is a lack of discussions everywhere online besides here and probably why the lack of postings this season.

I’m not sure what you’re reading, but it’s been nothing but negative comments from season one. People are sick and tired of the same comments over and over again. I know many people have stopped commenting due to this. But would be interesting to see what the site traffic numbers are and to see if the site traffic is gone down or just the comment section. It’s honestly the same people saying the same thing over and over and over… Yawn.

The real strength of this season so far is that they have not teased something they cannot deliver. I have really enjoyed each episode without worrying that the characters were going to do something stupid just for the sake of stuffing the plot with action. Seems pretty sad that they are largely “getting it right” and no one wants to celebrate that.

I literally counted the number of positive vs negative posts in the episode 4 thread when someone suggested this and it was 24 positive posts about an episode vs 3 negative ones.

Go back to the first two episodes of the season. Again it was overwhelmingly positive. Nearly everyone liked those. The outliers were the people who didn’t.

I just counted the number of people who were positive about this episode vs the people who weren’t. And I only counted the ones who directly said they liked or hated it.

The people who said they liked it are 13 people. Now some some of those were mixed feelings for sure but if they said they ultimately liked it then it counts. But half of those considered it outstanding. As for the ones, like me, who didn’t like it are 7 people. So again that’s more people here saying they liked it than didn’t correct? So what am I missing?

Every episode this season there has been way more positive posts than negative overall. Yes I get your bigger point people have been putting down the show since the first season which is definitely true lol but it didn’t stop people from talking about the show in droves for YEARS. And your argument doesn’t hold water this season because most people who are commenting seems to LIKE it, right? The minority comments so far are the people who still thinks the show sucks.

And even the people who don’t they are just giving their opinions about it and not attacking or challenging anyone who DID like it. That’s actually one thing I have been noticing about this season and there isn’t a lot of infighting about the show. Again look at this thread, besides me and you lol, who is arguing about it? There is no big debates or people being triggered. The people who said they liked it aren’t being challenged over it no more than the people who said they hated it.

Isn’t this is what we want on a message board? People being civil and not attacking others? And one such troll was finally banned here a month ago who IRONICALLY kept attacking anyone who was being negative about the show and turning everything into a ridiculous fight in every thread; so that probably has helped the civility here a great deal now he’s gone regardless of your personal thoughts about the show.

So I don’t remotely buy this argument. The reality seems to be a lot of people have just moved on from the show in general. When you look at the level of discussion about the show in its first three seasons vs the last two the gap is very obvious.

Again maybe many people are still watching the show. Unfortunately we don’t have any data on that. But we know how this works when people are passionate for a show on the Internet it’s very very easy to see everywhere.

Picard season 3 is the perfect example. I went and checked how many posts its episode 6 got here (since this episode 6 of this season) and it was 450 posts and that was just a year ago. And people slammed season 2 like no one’s business lol.

I don’t think this season has even gotten that many posts if you combined all the episodes.

I’ve also said this before as well and the show had been off the air for two years now. Yes we’re used to seasons having longer gaps these days but that’s still very long even for today and a lot of people could’ve just moved on or lost interest.

“Again maybe many people are still watching the show. Unfortunately we don’t have any data on that.”

Actually I have to correct myself on that because I forgot Paramount+ is part of the Nielsen ratings for streaming. But I have no idea exactly how in-depth they make it publicly. I only know how well a show is doing here when this site reports it.

And maybe Discovery will enter the top 10 this season. Now let me make this very very very clear, even if it doesn’t it doesn’t mean the show is failing in terms of views obviously. When there are 200 streaming shows these days and many on much bigger sites to boot it’s a miracle for any Trek show to be in the top 10 lol. And those listings are very skewed in my opinion since the only ‘top 10’ list we ever see are original shows. So while I’m happy to see Trek on any top 10 lists it still doesn’t tell us the whole picture just much these shows are truly being viewed.

And Paramount+ still avoids releasing any numbers independently unless a show is huge like some of the Yellowstone spin offs.

“Every episode this season there has been way more positive posts than negative overall.”

Hmm, maybe that’s the real problem and it’s all the negative and bitter haters that just finally left haha.

But don’t worry I still show up as much as possible! 😁

I’m teasing I’m actually enjoying the season for the most part but agree I think most people just lost interest. Obviously the people who always loved it are probably still devotely watching but it is probably the fence sitters and the people who always hated it who ultimately moved on which would make sense.

And I have seen people say they just have no interest to watch the show week to week anymore after being burned every season and just plan to binge it when this season was over. I even remember reading you were thinking of doing that so that could be another issue.

“Isn’t this is what we want on a message board? People being civil and not attacking others? And one such troll was finally banned here a month ago who IRONICALLY kept attacking anyone who was being negative about the show and turning everything into a ridiculous fight in every thread; so that probably has helped the civility here a great deal now he’s gone regardless of your personal thoughts about the show.”

This is really is the biggest irony out of all of this. A lot of these comments section does get inflated when you had people like that guy being triggered all the time, making the same 20 posts a day over anything he didn’t like (how many times did he utter the phrase ‘ROTJ’ in every Picard post 🙄) and literally went on constant tangents how people here were just coming here to drown the boards in hatefests?

Instead that lunatic was removed and ironically this place has been the most relaxing in years lol. The very fact as you pointed out no one is spending time arguing with others over their opinions is another reason there are fewer posts because no one cares anymore lol.

I think everyone just resigned to the fact the show is now done and everyone’s views are baked in so what’s the point arguing over it anymore?

And when you remove the disruptive people who wants to act like insullen babies like that guy and Alpha Predator, REGARDLESS how they feel about a show, good or bad, surprise surprise you get a more civil and balanced discussion and board now.

Yeah … shocking! 😉

“And I have seen people say they just have no interest to watch the show week to week anymore after being burned every season and just plan to binge it when this season was over. I even remember reading you were thinking of doing that so that could be another issue.”

Yes this is possible as well. In fact another member here said they were thinking to do just that after they watched the first episode of the season but didn’t like it.

And yes I too was considering it because of just how bad season 4 felt by the end. I was even thinking of doing the same thing with Picard season 3. But once I heard it was the final season (and Picard was bringing back the TNG cast) it’s no way that would happen. And I don’t know if I would’ve done it regardless because I have zero willpower lol.

I guess I’m just surprised because I really expected the opposite for three big reasons. A. Being the final season of course. B. Being so closely connected to a big and popular TNG episode and C. The early reviews were solid.

So I just thought it was going to be a big party lol. Not at the level of Picard season 3 but at least at the level of SNW.

But instead of a party it feels more like a funeral. Or maybe someone on their death bed is a better morbid term lol. Just sorta here waiting for it to end and not really hyped up about the season.

As far as your last point, agreed. No matter what these boards have been a lot more fun and relaxing to write on.

Good for you. You counted the comments the last couple of episodes. What about all the past seasons? Have you gone back and counted all that? People just don’t want to bother with all that negativity. It’s like the movie BEYOND, a far better movie than INTO DARKNESS. But less people went to see because they felt it would be bad like ID. Same thing here. Because of all the negativity last season in the posts, less people are reading and posting comments. Like I said, would be interesting to see if the traffic on this website reflects the comments. My guess, the same amount are hitting the page but less commenting. And the ones that are commenting, are the same usual suspects. People can’t be bothered reading the toxic comments spewed towards the actors, the writers and the producers. Same old blah blah from the same old people. Yawn.

I’m going to say it again.

A. This is NOT the only place that has less discussions. I keep saying this and it keeps getting ignored lol. This is across the board. A great example is Reddit. It’s easily the biggest Trek board. Until this season most Discovery threads had 600+ posts when an episode review was posted. Now most of them are under 500 which is not horrible but it already tells you a huge gap Discovery has when you compare it to the bigger shows like Picard and SNW which easily goes into the thousands. It’s the same with TrekCre, Trek BBS, etc. The show has less people talking about it these days.

B. Your logic doesn’t make sense because if the more negative posts drove away the more positive posts then why are there still more positive posts?? And literally on every review thread. How do you derive at that conclusion if more people are actually saying nice things about it? Wouldn’t it be the opposite then? Or at least a bigger subset of those posts? Help me out here?

C. I have been saying these boards have been negative since 2009. You just made the point for me with STID. That time was brutal lol. Way worse IMO because there were so many more people at the time.

People go on and on about how much hate Discovery gets here but very few threads ever went into the THOUSANDS of people fighting over it like what happened with STID… for years after it came out.

But you’re also right yes less people discussed Beyond when that came around but I don’t think you can blame that all on STID either. I think people grew tired of those movies in general and Beyond just didn’t grab people on its own (and had a HORRIBLE marketing campaign), hence a big reason why it bombed. I don’t think you can blame this board for that lol. In fact I think less postings was simply an reflection that less people had interest in the movie in general and its box office indicated that.

I’m saying the same thing has happened with Discovery. It’s not just ONE thing. I do agree that the negativity has maybe driven some people away. I also think the show itself has driven people away too for those people really unhappy with the last few seasons. It CAN be both right? Just like what happened with the Kelvin movies.

D. How is it any different than all the derision Picard got in it’s first two seasons? And yet season 3 had the highest number of people posting probably simce STID. And most people seem to think season 2 wasn’t just the worst season of that show or even NuTrek but one of the worst Trek seasons ever.

It didn’t stop anyone talking up season 3 to death and not everyone loved that season either.

You can repeat it until you’re blue in the face. Whether it is hear or on other boards… The same repetitive negative people here are the same repetitive negative people on other boards. People are tired of hearing the same drivel no matter where you go because it’s all the same people.

Do you actually believe that people don’t go to multiple platforms? Come on. People are mean. People are arrogant. People are negative. It’s repetitive drivel.

My logic makes perfect sense. And I would put money on that the traffic on the site hasn’t dropped. The articles are still good. Fans want to read them. But people just don’t want to deal with the same crap all the time. How many times does Emily have to say how much she hates nostalgia and legacy before you are sick of hearing it. How many time does Lorna have to slam Martin-Green’s acting and “whisper speaking” before you get sick of it? And the list goes on. Blah blah blah over and over.

I’m going to repeat myself. How come the last season of Picard didn’t get the same problem? You can admit season 2 was blasted as much as season 4 of Discovery was right? I think even worse. It didn’t stop anyone from talking about season 3 in droves.

And I seem to recall others still repeating themselves who still hated that show too.

As far as Discovery It’s probably a show that has been falling in the ratings awhile, hence it’s cancellation before season 5 even aired. My guess has always been by the end of season four a lot of people had simply stopped watching it because there were people, some on this very board, said they stopped watching it lol.

Again it CAN be both things right? Yes you can be right but what’s weird is you seem to acknowledge a lot of the negative feedback but you don’t acknowledge that maybe many of those same people have simply stopped posting or watching on their own as well.

It IS possible right?

I mean the show is now halfway over. There has not been a single article ANYWHERE discussing the metrics of the show. Not one press release by Paramount that the show is hitting any admirable numbers even if they don’t tell us what they are. This is the one frustrating thing about the streaming era.

And maybe it’s really doing great but the deafening silence is telling.

So I’m going to say it again could you be right, yes. Is that the ONLY reason though, no I don’t think so. Not by a long shot.

But listen if you really feel that way fine. But I’m also the SAME guy who has been begging for an IGNORE BUTTON more times than I can count. I get accused of saying the same things over and over again too and believe me I have said that the most out of everything else lol.

Personally I don’t have an issue what people say here but yes I am sadly more on the negative side of Discovery. I don’t WANT to be but sadly yes although I am still liking this season, but it’s starting to lose me.

I’m not just talking the negativity about Discovery… I’m talking about the negativity towards Trek in general ever since Discovery debuted…all all the shows thereafter. It’s too much dude. Way too much negativity towards Trek in general now. It’s fine to dislike a show regardless if it Discovery, SNW or lower decks… But coming on and slagging the shows ENDLESSLY is tiresome. You even have people PRE-hating the academy series before it’s even shot! Mention section 31 and you get the “space Hitler” people coming out of the woodwork. So no, it’s not just the hate of Discovery, it’s the constant hate of everything new. So that’s why people don’t bother. Enough already.

Which I LITERALLY said has been happening here since 2009 did I not?

Look I don’t know what you want me to say but this isn’t a new thing. We obviously agree on that lol.

Same time though we just have different philosophies on it. I have no problem of people saying whatever they want AS LONG AS they don’t attack others for their opinions or try to argue with them over everything because they don’t like their opinions and trying to shut them down.

And yes that has happened PLENTY of times here but thankfully those people have mostly been banned.

But outside of that this is how message boards operate. People are abandoning this site NOW after nearly 15 years of negativity? What took them so long lol.

And dude I’ve asked you this three times now if that’s the case then why did season 3 of Picard get so much fanfare then? Or season 1 of SNW?

Again I get what you’re saying but you seem to discount all the times fans are generally excited and positive about things here. It’s not all bad all the time INCLUDING with Discovery. Whenever they like something about it people shout it from the rooftops. Remind me how we got SNW again?

I remember having this SAME discussion with TG47 (another guy who looks like took off for good and yes probably due to the negativity) when he complained about people being too negative over SNW. I didn’t see that at all because the MAJORITY of people liked the show, but they still pointed out some of its flaws as they should.

I guess I just don’t know what people expect? Do you seriously just want to come to a board where everyone loves every show only say glowing things about it? OR are you saying that these shows don’t have any flaws for people to be that critical about? I don’t think the answer is yes to either of these questions, so what is the answer.

All I can say is I remembered waaay back in the 90s when fans were crucifying Berman and Braga saying that Voyager and Enterprise were horrible shows, DS9 was a slap in the face to Gene’s ‘vision’ and Nemesis were so bad it killed the franchise.

I didn’t see any of that on this board because it didn’t exist then. But I saw it in plenty of places. And it went on and on until Enterprise was cancelled. Doesn’t mean everyone felt that way(I personally loved DS9 and VOY from the start; no comment on Enterprise or Nemesis;)) but none of this is new bro. It’s been going literally since TNG first aired to be honest. We just didn’t have the Internet then to wallow in the hate lol.

Oh there was a lot of hate going on for Picard season 3. All the people complaining about it being nothing more than nostalgia. Saying the writing was crap and so on. And there were a lot of criticism about SNW and how it doesn’t look like it’s before TOS and how come the Enterprise looks like potato peeler. And so on. Yes, people are finally tired of it. Frankly, so am I. I have actually stopped going to other boards for that very reason. Why wait until now? Well it’s because there were literally years… YEARS… between Trek 2009, ID and Beyond. Barely anything happened on the boards. I actually thought the site would close. Now, with so much continuous Trek and Trek news, you see the whiners and complainers and haters so much more. Back during TNG and the TNG movies, DS9, etc… the internet was as it is now. You would barely hear anything from the fans unless you were at a convention. People were buying magazines and read those articles. So you didn’t see the hate and negativity like you do now. It’s so easily accessible. Anthony, if you are reading, what are the site traffic numbers like? Is there a decline like in the comments? Or are the numbers stable with only the comments dwindling?

Ok I get your point. I guess I’m just decencitize to it lol. But as I said I’m not as bothered. For example I loved season 3 of Picard. It’s my favorite season in NuTrek in terms of live action at least. It brought me back to a time where Trek was very special for me.

But same time I read all the same criticisms as well it was too much nostalgia, a lot of memberberries etc. And I didn’t really disagree with that sentiment but didn’t have any real issues either. I understand people just have issues with the show and I had a few as well but more minor.

Same with SNW, I generally think it’s a good show but I get the criticisms for that one too especially the canon ones which drives me crazy lol. But that’s why we come to places like this, to hash out stuff out with fellow fans. If others are getting triggered over it because some of is just want to discuss these things then OK but this isn’t the place for them obviously.

And no maybe it wasn’t as in your face in the 90s because obviously the Internet as big as it is now. Social media didn’t exist. I always remind people YouTube started the last year Enterprise was on. But still there were PLENTY of places to talk Star Trek and by the late 90s it became very negative by then. It’s worst now in terms of much is out there but the vitriol was still pretty bad. Type in Berman’s name on this site and you will see it here circa 2007 and on.

But if you need a break for awhile certainly understandable.

Amazing episode again. This season the show is just knocking it outta the park! Wish it wasn’t the last season.

Admittedly this is kind of a paint-by-numbers Star Trek episode, but I enjoyed it quite a bit if largely for Tilly’s charisma. I do find the ongoing Culber existential crisis a little off balance, feels like we’ve already been here before with him after a far more significant event. But I do like aspects of his crisis, especially the tug between the scientific and the spiritual and how that’s expressed in his conversation with the analytical (yet caring) Stamets. Like much of Discovery’s writing, the story does take some logic shortcuts that I find distractingly convenient, but at least it fills in most of the gaps. On a side note, although I have a very high end sound system that sounds phenomenal with most streaming content, Discovery has uniquely terrible onset audio, it’s been a constant problem for the show (and seemingly all Toronto-based productions), but this season is by far the worst. It’s making it really hard to understand every word being spoken, I’m constantly rewinding to listen again and I just straight-up miss things all the time because the voices are often garbled.

While I certainly did not dislike this episode, I still found its resolution to be kinda lacking. It left me wondering whether they couldn’t have found a way to bend the Prime Directive instead of outright breaking it (even though, arguably the DISCO-crew weren’t the first to do so but rather the Denobulan scientist who installed those weather towers in the first place). It seemed like they just took the easiest possible route there… Also: Why was the episode even called “Whistlespeak”? Was there any sense in introducing that culture’s whistle language at all? I was honestly flabbergasted that there was no mention of such means of communication actually existing on Earth (on the Canary Island of La Gomera) and it existing on that planet could’ve been a nice setup for another linguistics-centered episode (not necessarily another “Darmok”, but maybe something akin to SNW’s “Children of the Comet” – you know like, a linguistic problem interwoven with a bunch of other problems). However, upon closer inspection, the whole introduction of that concept just went absolutely nowhere. A bit of a pity if you ask me.

Loved this episode. Very smart writing and continued with a great pacing. It had quite the TNG feel to it as well as feeling like a really Star Trek-y episode.

Really loving this season. The writing has been very solid as has been the acting.

For how much I dislike this season, I must admit this was actually a good episode to watch. As usual too many shared emotions, but the plot and the story was enjoyable for once.

I know I have mentioned this before but the dearth of posts this season is really surprising.. It’s the middle episode of the final season and its barely gotten 60 posts so far after a day. And again this is not TM alone. The show has lacked discussion everywhere and nowhere close to the kinds of discussions SNW season 2 and especially Picard season 3 got.

Maybe its getting more viewings than the discussions themselves are suggesting but if not it’s probably was a good idea to end the show after this season. I think a large part of the fanbase have simply moved on.

Yeah, I was curious about this and went back to check. Each recap/review article for SNW and Picard got hundreds of comments.

Yeah! And to be more fair I went and checked how many views those shows previous seasons got in the seasons run to correlate with the current episode of this season and for episode 6 Picard season 3 had 450 posts (which is pretty insane lol). For SNW season 2 it had around 240 posts which to be fair is the more common number for most live action shows.

Picard was more of an outlier for the obvious reasons. But then again it’s also PROOF when people are excited or passionate about a show or season you see it reflected.

It’s not nearly the same for this season. Many seem to like it overall and I include myself in that even if I’m starting to feel more mixed about it, but no one is really jumping up and down about it either.

Also, I wonder if Culber’s holo-Grandma is going to be the medical-holo on Academy. This seems like a perfect set up.

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Original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise Model Is Found After Being Missing for Decades

The 33-inch model surfaced on eBay after disappearing around 1979. An auction house is giving it to the son of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek.”

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By Emily Schmall

The first model of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the starship that appeared in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series , has been returned to Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of the series, decades after it went missing.

“After a long journey, she’s home,” Mr. Roddenberry wrote on social media on Thursday.

For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed.

“Red alert,” someone in an online costume and prop-making forum wrote, linking to the listing.

Mr. Roddenberry’s father, Gene Roddenberry, created the television series, which first aired in 1966 and ran for three seasons. It spawned numerous spinoffs, several films and a franchise that has included conventions and legions of devoted fans with an avid interest in memorabilia.

The seller of the model was bombarded with inquiries and quickly took the listing down.

The seller contacted Heritage Auctions to authenticate it, the auction house’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said on Saturday. As soon as the seller, who said he had found it in a storage unit, brought it to the auction house’s office in Beverly Hills, Calif., Mr. Maddalena said he knew it was real.

“That’s when I reached out to Rod to say, ‘We’ve got this. This is it,’” he said, adding that the model was being transferred to Mr. Roddenberry.

Mr. Roddenberry, who is known as Rod, said on Saturday that he would restore the model and seek to have it displayed in a museum or other institution. He said reclaiming the item had only piqued his interest in the circumstances about its disappearance.

“Whoever borrowed it or misplaced it or lost it, something happened somewhere,” he said. “Where’s it been?”

It was unclear how the model ended up in the storage unit and who had it before its discovery.

The original U.S.S. Enterprise, a 33-inch model, was mostly made of solid wood by Richard C. Datin, a model maker for the Howard Anderson Company, a special-effects company that created the opening credits for some of the 20th century’s biggest TV shows .

An enlarged 11-foot model was used in subsequent “Star Trek” television episodes, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum , where it was donated by Paramount Studios in 1974.

Mr. Roddenberry, who said he gave the seller a “reward” for its recovery but did not disclose the terms, assembled a group of “Star Trek” production veterans, model makers and restoration specialists in Beverly Hills to authenticate the find.

The group included a “Star Trek” art supervisor, Michael Okuda, and his wife, Denise, an artist on “Star Trek” television series and films, and Gary Kerr, a “Trek x-pert” who served as technical consultant for the Smithsonian during a 2016 restoration of the 11-foot model.

“We spent at least an hour photographing it, inspecting the paint, inspecting the dirt, looking under the base, the patina on the stem, the grain in the wood,” Mr. Roddenberry said.

“It was a unanimous ‘This is 100 percent the one,’” he said.

Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 , kept the original model, which appeared in the show’s opening credits and pilot episode, on his desk.

Mr. Kerr compared the model to 1960s photos he had of the model on Mr. Roddenberry’s desk.

“The wood grain matched exactly, so that was it,” he said on Saturday.

The model went missing after Mr. Roddenberry lent it to the makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979, Mr. Maddalena said.

“This is a major discovery,” he said, likening the model to the ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” a prop that was stolen in 2005 and recovered by the F.B.I. in 2018, and that Heritage Auctions is selling.

While the slippers represent hope, he said, the starship Enterprise model “represents dreams.”

“It’s a portal to what could be,” he said.

Emily Schmall covers breaking news and feature stories and is based in Chicago. More about Emily Schmall

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The Future of ‘Star Trek’: From ‘Starfleet Academy’ to New Movies and Michelle Yeoh, How the 58-Year-Old Franchise Is Planning for the Next Generation of Fans

“I can’t believe I get to play the captain of the Enterprise.”

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In other words, “Star Trek” is not just a franchise. As Alex Kurtzman , who oversees all “Star Trek” TV production, puts it, “‘Star Trek’ is an institution.”

Without a steady infusion of new blood, though, institutions have a way of fading into oblivion (see soap operas, MySpace, Blockbuster Video). To keep “Star Trek” thriving has meant charting a precarious course to satisfy the fans who have fueled it for decades while also discovering innovative ways to get new audiences on board.

“Doing ‘Star Trek’ means that you have to deliver something that’s entirely familiar and entirely fresh at the same time,” Kurtzman says.

The franchise has certainly weathered its share of fallow periods, most recently after “Nemesis” bombed in theaters in 2002 and UPN canceled “Enterprise” in 2005. It took 12 years for “Star Trek” to return to television with the premiere of “Discovery” in 2017; since then, however, there has been more “Star Trek” on TV than ever: The adventure series “Strange New Worlds,” the animated comedy “Lower Decks” and the kids series “Prodigy” are all in various stages of production, and the serialized thriller “Picard” concluded last year, when it ranked, along with “Strange New Worlds,” among Nielsen’s 10 most-watched streaming original series for multiple weeks. Nearly one in five Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S. is watching at least one “Star Trek” series, according to the company, and more than 50% of fans watching one of the new “Trek” shows also watch at least two others. The new shows air in 200 international markets and are dubbed into 35 languages. As “Discovery” launches its fifth and final season in April, “Star Trek” is in many ways stronger than it’s ever been.

“’Star Trek’s fans have kept it alive more times than seems possible,” says Eugene Roddenberry, Jr., who executive produces the TV series through Roddenberry Entertainment. “While many shows rightfully thank their fans for supporting them, we literally wouldn’t be here without them.”

But the depth of fan devotion to “Star Trek” also belies a curious paradox about its enduring success: “It’s not the largest fan base,” says Akiva Goldsman, “Strange New Worlds” executive producer and co-showrunner. “It’s not ‘Star Wars.’ It’s certainly not Marvel.”

When J.J. Abrams rebooted “Star Trek” in 2009 — with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldaña playing Kirk, Spock and Uhura — the movie grossed more than any previous “Star Trek” film by a comfortable margin. But neither that film nor its two sequels broke $500 million in global grosses, a hurdle every other top-tier franchise can clear without breaking a sweat.

There’s also the fact that “Star Trek” fans are aging. I ask “The Next Generation” star Jonathan Frakes, who’s acted in or directed more versions of “Star Trek” than any other person alive, how often he meets fans for whom the new “Star Trek” shows are their first. “Of the fans who come to talk to me, I would say very, very few,” he says. “‘Star Trek’ fans, as we know, are very, very, very loyal — and not very young.”

As Stapf puts it: “There’s a tried and true ‘Trek’ fan that is probably going to come to every ‘Star Trek,’ no matter what it is — and we want to expand the universe.”

Every single person I spoke to for this story talked about “Star Trek” with a joyful earnestness as rare in the industry as (nerd alert) a Klingon pacifist.

“When I’m meeting fans, sometimes they’re coming to be confirmed, like I’m kind of a priest,” Ethan Peck says during a break in filming on the “Strange New Worlds” set. He’s in full Spock regalia — pointy ears, severe eyebrows, bowl haircut — and when asked about his earliest memories of “Star Trek,” he stares off into space in what looks like Vulcan contemplation. “I remember being on the playground in second or third grade and doing the Vulcan salute, not really knowing where it came from,” he says. “When I thought of ‘Star Trek,’ I thought of Spock. And now I’m him. It’s crazy.”

To love “Star Trek” is to love abstruse science and cowboy diplomacy, complex moral dilemmas and questions about the meaning of existence. “It’s ultimately a show with the most amazing vision of optimism, I think, ever put on-screen in science fiction,” says Kurtzman, who is 50. “All you need is two minutes on the news to feel hopeless now. ‘Star Trek’ is honestly the best balm you could ever hope for.”

I’m getting a tour of the USS Enterprise from Scotty — or, rather, “Strange New World” production designer Jonathan Lee, who is gushing in his native Scottish burr as we step into the starship’s transporter room. “I got such a buzzer from doing this, I can’t tell you,” he says. “I actually designed four versions of it.”

Lee is especially proud of the walkway he created to run behind the transporter pads — an innovation that allows the production to shoot the characters from a brand-new set of angles as they beam up from a far-flung planet. It’s one of the countless ways that this show has been engineered to be as cinematic as possible, part of Kurtzman’s overall vision to make “Star Trek” on TV feel like “a movie every week.”

Kurtzman’s tenure with “Star Trek” began with co-writing the screenplay for Abrams’ 2009 movie, which was suffused with a fast-paced visual style that was new to the franchise. When CBS Studios approached Kurtzman in the mid-2010s about bringing “Star Trek” back to TV, he knew instinctively that it needed to be just as exciting as that film.

“The scope was so much different than anything we had ever done on ‘Next Gen,’” says Frakes, who’s helmed two feature films with the “Next Generation” cast and directed episodes of almost every live-action “Trek” TV series, including “Discovery” and “Strange New Worlds.” “Every department has the resources to create.”

A new science lab set for Season 3, for example, boasts a transparent floor atop a four-foot pool of water that swirls underneath the central workbench, and the surrounding walls sport a half dozen viewscreens with live schematics custom designed by a six-person team. “I like being able to paint on a really big canvas,” Kurtzman says. “The biggest challenge is always making sure that no matter how big something gets, you’re never losing focus on that tiny little emotional story.”

At this point, is there a genre that “Strange New Worlds” can’t do? “As long as we’re in storytelling that is cogent and sure handed, I’m not sure there is,” Goldsman says with an impish smile. “Could it do Muppets? Sure. Could it do black and white, silent, slapstick? Maybe!”

This approach is also meant to appeal to people who might want to watch “Star Trek” but regard those 668 hours of backstory as an insurmountable burden. “You shouldn’t have to watch a ‘previously on’ to follow our show,” Myers says.

To achieve so many hairpin shifts in tone and setting while maintaining Kurtzman’s cinematic mandate, “Strange New Worlds” has embraced one of the newest innovations in visual effects: virtual production. First popularized on the “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” the technology — called the AR wall — involves a towering circular partition of LED screens projecting a highly detailed, computer-generated backdrop. Rather than act against a greenscreen, the actors can see whatever fantastical surroundings their characters are inhabiting, lending a richer level of verisimilitude to the show.

But there is a catch. While the technology is calibrated to maintain a proper sense of three-dimensional perspective through the camera lens, it can be a bit dizzying for anyone standing on the set. “The images on the walls start to move in a way that makes no sense,” says Mount. “You end up having to focus on something that’s right in front of you so you don’t fall down.”

And yet, even as he’s talking about it, Mount can’t help but break into a boyish grin. “Sometimes we call it the holodeck,” he says. In fact, the pathway to the AR wall on the set is dotted with posters of the virtual reality room from “The Next Generation” and the words “Enter Holodeck” in a classic “Trek” font.

“I want to take one of those home with me,” Peck says. Does the AR wall also affect him? “I don’t really get disoriented by it. Spock would not get ill, so I’m Method acting.”

I’m on the set of the “Star Trek” TV movie “Section 31,” seated in an opulent nightclub with a view of a brilliant, swirling nebula, watching Yeoh rehearse with director Olatunde Osunsanmi and her castmates. Originally, the project was announced as a TV series centered on Philippa Georgiou, the semi-reformed tyrant Yeoh originated on “Discovery.” But between COVID delays and the phenomenon of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” there wasn’t room in the veteran actress’s schedule to fit a season of television. Yeoh was undaunted.

“We’d never let go of her,” she says of her character. “I was just blown away by all the different things I could do with her. Honestly, it was like, ‘Let’s just get it done, because I believe in this.’”

If that means nothing to you, don’t worry: The enormity of the revelation that Garrett is being brought back is meant only for fans. If you don’t know who the character is, you’re not missing anything.

“It was always my goal to deliver an entertaining experience that is true to the universe but appeals to newcomers,” says screenwriter Craig Sweeny. “I wanted a low barrier of entry so that anybody could enjoy it.”

Nevertheless, including Garrett on the show is exactly the kind of gasp-worthy detail meant to flood “Star Trek” fans with geeky good feeling.

“You cannot create new fans to the exclusion of old fans,” Kurtzman says. “You must serve your primary fan base first and you must keep them happy. That is one of the most important steps to building new fans.”

On its face, that maxim would make “Section 31” a genuine risk. The titular black-ops organization has been controversial with “Star Trek” fans since it was introduced in the 1990s. “The concept is almost antagonistic to some of the values of ‘Star Trek,’” Sweeny says. But he still saw “Section 31” as an opportunity to broaden what a “Star Trek” project could be while embracing the radical inclusivity at the heart of the franchise’s appeal.

“Famously, there’s a spot for everybody in Roddenberry’s utopia, so I was like, ‘Well, who would be the people who don’t quite fit in?’” he says. “I didn’t want to make the John le Carré version, where you’re in the headquarters and it’s backbiting and shades of gray. I wanted to do the people who were at the edges, out in the field. These are not people who necessarily work together the way you would see on a ‘Star Trek’ bridge.”

For Osunsanmi, who grew up watching “The Next Generation” with his father, it boils down to a simple question: “Is it putting good into the world?” he asks. “Are these characters ultimately putting good into the world? And, taking a step back, are we putting good into the world? Are we inspiring humans watching this to be good? That’s for me what I’ve always admired about ‘Star Trek.’”

Should “Section 31” prove successful, Yeoh says she’s game for a sequel. And Kurtzman is already eyeing more opportunities for TV movies, including a possible follow-up to “Picard.” The franchise’s gung-ho sojourn into streaming movies, however, stands in awkward contrast to the persistent difficulty Paramount Pictures and Abrams’ production company Bad Robot have had making a feature film following 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond” — the longest theaters have gone without a “Star Trek” movie since Paramount started making them.

First, a movie reuniting Pine’s Capt. Kirk with his late father — played in the 2009 “Star Trek” by Chris Hemsworth — fell apart in 2018. Around the same time, Quentin Tarantino publicly flirted with, then walked away from, directing a “Star Trek” movie with a 1930s gangster backdrop. Noah Hawley was well into preproduction on a “Star Trek” movie with a brand-new cast, until then-studio chief Emma Watts abruptly shelved it in 2020. And four months after Abrams announced at Paramount’s 2022 shareholders meeting that his 2009 cast would return for a movie directed by Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”), Shakman left the project to make “The Fantastic Four” for Marvel. (It probably didn’t help that none of the cast had been approached before Abrams made his announcement.)

The studio still intends to make what it’s dubbed the “final chapter” for the Pine-Quinto-Saldaña cast, and Steve Yockey (“The Flight Attendant”) is writing a new draft of the script. Even further along is another prospective “Star Trek” film written by Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) and to be directed by Toby Haynes (“Andor,” “Black Mirror: USS Callister”) that studio insiders say is on track to start preproduction by the end of the year. That project will serve as an origin story of sorts for the main timeline of the entire franchise. In both cases, the studio is said to be focused on rightsizing the budgets to fit within the clear box office ceiling for “Star Trek” feature films.

Far from complaining, everyone seems to relish the challenge. Visual effects supervisor Jason Zimmerman says that “working with Alex, the references are always at least $100 million movies, if not more, so we just kind of reverse engineer how do we do that without having to spend the same amount of money and time.”

The workload doesn’t seem to faze him either. “Visual effects people are a big, big ‘Star Trek’ fandom,” he says. “You naturally just get all these people who go a little bit above and beyond, and you can’t trade that for anything.”

In one of Kurtzman’s several production offices in Toronto, he and production designer Matthew Davies are scrutinizing a series of concept drawings for the newest “Star Trek” show, “Starfleet Academy.” A bit earlier, they showed me their plans for the series’ central academic atrium, a sprawling, two-story structure that will include a mess hall, amphitheater, trees, catwalks, multiple classrooms and a striking view of the Golden Gate Bridge in a single, contiguous space. To fit it all, they plan to use every inch of Pinewood Toronto’s 45,900 square foot soundstage, the largest in Canada.

But this is a “Star Trek” show, so there do need to be starships, and Kurtzman is discussing with Davies about how one of them should look. The issue is that “Starfleet Academy” is set in the 32nd century, an era so far into the future Kurtzman and his team need to invent much of its design language.

“For me, this design is almost too Klingon,” Kurtzman says. “I want to see the outline and instinctively, on a blink, recognize it as a Federation ship.”

The time period was first introduced on Season 3 of “Discovery,” when the lead character, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), transported the namesake starship and its crew there from the 23rd century. “It was exciting, because every time we would make a decision, we would say, ‘And now that’s canon,’” says Martin-Green.

“We listened to a lot of it,” Kurtzman says. “I think I’ve been able to separate the toxic fandom from really true fans who love ‘Star Trek’ and want you to hear what they have to say about what they would like to see.”

By Season 2, the “Discovery” writers pivoted from its dour, war-torn first season and sent the show on its trajectory 900-plus years into the future. “We had to be very aware of making sure that Spock was in the right place and that Burnham’s existence was explained properly, because she was never mentioned in the original series,” says executive producer and showrunner Michelle Paradise. “What was fun about jumping into the future is that it was very much fresh snow.”

That freedom affords “Starfleet Academy” far more creative latitude while also dramatically reducing how much the show’s target audience of tweens and teens needs to know about “Star Trek” before watching — which puts them on the same footing as the students depicted in the show. “These are kids who’ve never had a red alert before,” Noga Landau, executive producer and co-showrunner, says. “They never had to operate a transporter or be in a phaser fight.”

In the “Starfleet Academy” writers’ room in Secret Hideout’s Santa Monica offices, Kurtzman tells the staff — a mix of “Star Trek” die-hards, part-time fans and total newbies — that he wants to take a 30,000-foot view for a moment. “I think we need to ground in science more throughout the show,” he says, a giant framed photograph of Spock ears just over his shoulder. “The kids need to use science more to solve problems.”

Immediately, one of the writers brightens. “Are you saying we can amp up the techno-babble?” she says. “I’m just excited I get to use my computer science degree.”

After they break for lunch, Kurtzman is asked how much longer he plans to keep making “Star Trek.” 

“The minute I fall out of love with it is the minute that it’s not for me anymore. I’m not there yet,” he says. “To be able to build in this universe to tell stories that are fundamentally about optimism and a better future at a time when the world seems to be falling apart — it’s a really powerful place to live every day.”

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Discovery Added A New Wrinkle To Star Trek's Biggest Moral Dilemma

Black alert! This article discusses  spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Discovery."

There are two undeniable givens in the "Star Trek" universe: all Starfleet captains must accept the inevitability of encountering a no-win situation (aka the Kobayashi Maru test ), and you never,  ever violate General Order 1, aka  the Prime Directive . While both are entrenched parts of franchise lore, the latter has always added a unique moral dilemma that transcends each captain and crew. For the technologically advanced societies that make up the backbone of the United Federation of Planets, there's nothing more detrimental than meddling with the development and evolution of pre-warp civilizations. ("Voyager" took this to even greater lengths with the introduction of the Temporal Prime Directive, which added a time-travel component to the usual doctrine of noninterference.) Despite expectations for officers to treat this directive with the utmost seriousness, however, time and again "Trek" writers have sought to bend and even break the property's most unbreakable rule.

This week, "Star Trek: Discovery" all but jumped at the chance to completely upend established tradition in episode 6, titled "Whistlespeak." While following the breadcrumbs that will eventually lead the USS Discovery to the Progenitors' technology , Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Tilly (Mary Wiseman) make their way to a more primitive planet perpetually at risk of destruction due to extreme weather patterns. What the inhabitants don't realize, however, is that their religious pilgrimage to the sacred "High Summit" (in actuality, one of several weather-monitoring stations discreetly planted by the Progenitors and the location of the next clue) has been infiltrated by a pair of benevolent aliens seeking a way inside. Tasked with accomplishing their mission without giving away their true identities, Burnham and Tilly soon confront the limits of the Prime Directive — and make a surprising choice.

In Discovery, the ends (sometimes) justify the means

Although it's not exactly novel for "Star Trek" characters to take the constraints of the Prime Directive and throw them out the window when circumstances call for it (the legendary James T. Kirk practically turned this into his own personal hobby throughout "The Original Series"), "Discovery" takes an even more interesting route on its way to a familiar destination. Rather than a Captain contorting themselves to come up with a different interpretation of the general order or search high and low for a convenient loophole, the typically impulsive Burnham makes another choice entirely. She simply takes responsibility for intentionally violating the biggest rule in Starfleet and accepts the consequences that may fall her way. In other words, she owns it.

The impetus for this brazen act comes from the fact that, naturally, lives are at stake. While Tilly respectfully adheres to the customs of the indigenous people to gain access to the weather station (which involves a punishing race through an arid environment without the benefit of water), Burnham and her Discovery crew hidden in orbit work on a way to beam the Captain inside. What the two outsiders don't fully grasp until it's too late, however, is the disturbing twist that Tilly and her new friend Ravah (June Laporte) have actually volunteered to sacrifice themselves to the gods. Facing the impossible choice of letting them die needlessly versus exposing themselves to less-developed beings, Burnham disregards the concerns of the prickly Commander Rayner  (Callum Keith Rennie) and reveals the truth to Ravah's devout father, Ohvahz (Alfredo Narciso).

In the process, the episode firmly — and perhaps controversially — comes out in favor of the idea that the ends (saving lives) fully justify the means (breaking Starfleet's most sacred rule).

Will Burnham face consequences?

Compared to countless instances in "Star Trek" past where characters in similar predicaments have made essentially the exact same call that Burnham does, it's fair to ask why this development in "Whistlespeak" should feel especially audacious. Previously, characters flagrantly breaking protocol regarding the Prime Directive typically came prepared with a logical justification or by pointing out some arbitrary ambiguity in the letter of the law that allowed them to skate by on, essentially, technicalities. The writers in this latest episode of "Discovery" don't even try to come up with a similar convenience, however, perhaps implicitly acknowledging the creative idea that rules are meant to be broken in order to maximize drama and, as a result, adding a fascinating new wrinkle to the franchise's longstanding tradition.

Namely, viewers are left wondering whether Burnham will face actual consequences for defying Starfleet protocol. For a series that began with our main hero coming under fire for staging a mutiny against Discovery's then-Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), wouldn't there be a fitting sense of poetry in having the final season once again hold Burnham accountable for her (arguably) reckless actions? Admittedly, the episode nods towards this possibility in dialogue near the end, but this wouldn't be the first time "Trek" breezed past the messiness of its own characters for the sake of moving things along and tacitly endorsed their actions by, well, ignoring that they ever happened in the first place. As serialized as this series in particular has always been, not a single Trekkie would be surprised to tune in next week and discover that Burnham only received an off-screen slap on the wrist, at most. Episode 7 now has a prime opportunity to do something different.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" stream on Paramount+ every Thursday.

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It’s been a while since a Starfleet crew thoroughly discombobulated a native population, and that’s exactly what the Discovery crew does in this week’s episode.

After hundreds of tests on the vial Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) retrieved from the I.S.S. Enterprise , the crew learns it contains something incredibly… well, boring: clean water. But thanks to some sleuthing, there’s a much greater significance to the water than meets the eye.

You see, Doctor Kovich ( David Cronenberg ), at home in his white infinity, shares with Burnham a list of all scientists who were involved in hiding the Progenitor tech. With the clues hidden by Jinaal Bix, Carmen Cho, and Dr. Vallek already found, that leaves Hitoroshi Kreel, a Denobulan, and Marina Derex, a Betazoid. Burnham deduces the water vial is the product of Kreel, as the scientist’s specialty was designing weather towers to generate rain. Zora ( Annabelle Wallis ) helps Burnham, Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ), and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ) deduce the water in the vial is representative of one planet, Halem, so that’s where Discovery heads next.

First, let’s talk about Kovich, who the writers for this season are trying to seem even more mysterious than before. Kovich in this episode uses a 21 st -century legal pad to provide Burnham with the list of scientists, and claims he procured such an oddity by being “resourceful.” Just who is this guy? Hopefully, Kovich’s true nature will be revealed before the end of this show; we sincerely hope this character isn’t just quirky for the sake of being quirky, and that he plays a larger role in Discovery ’s overarching story.

Before transporting to the only weather tower still operating on Halem, the crew learns a bit about the native, pre-warp, pre-industrial population. The Prime Directive is in play here, as Kreel disguised the weather tower as a mountain to avoid exposing the natives to outsiders, and now Discovery’s crew needs to follow the same example. The tower functions as a place where Halem’nites go to commune with their gods, so accessing the mountain will be tricky.

“You can learn so much about a society by how the individuals speak to one another.” – Burnham, on the Halem’nites

The humanoids on Halem communicate both via traditional language, and “whistlespeak,” a form of communication that is inclusive, progressive, surprisingly articulate, and allows longer-range communications than traditional phonetic language. All signs point to the natives being a welcoming society.

After helping rescue and escort a group of Halem’nites from outside the weather tower’s safe perimeter into the habitable zone, Burnham and Tilly quickly incorporate themselves well enough into the motley local community as visitors from afar. The Starfleet pair soon enter themselves into a competition that judges who can gain access to the High Summit – a race to the water tower that serves as a test of devotion to the Halem’nites’ gods. Before the race, the pair also encounter a native, Ravah ( June Laporte ), daughter of the Summit’s priest, Ohvahz ( Alfredo Narciso ), and the young native befriends them despite also being a challenger in the race.

On the morning of the race, Burnham checks in with Discovery , where Ensign Adira Tal ( Blu del Barrio ) found other now-defunct weather towers across the planet. The other towers stopped working due to energy issues, and that’s what’s happening now with the High Summit, which means the Halem’nites Burnham and Tilly just started to get to know are in grave danger. The only way to stop the High Summit from failing is if the away team can find an auxiliary control panel somewhere near the High Summit and restart it. As if there wasn’t enough burden on Burnham’s shoulders.  

Considering the Halem’nites are constantly fighting thirst because of their planet’s general aridness, the competitors are subject to extreme thirst as they begin the race to the High Summit. As if running up a mountain wasn’t trying enough. Partway through the challenge, Burnham miraculously notices a point on the race trail where she thinks the auxiliary console is located, and drops out of the competition to pursue the lead. Sure enough, she finds and restarts the console, thanks to assistance from Ensign Tal, which strikes one mission objective off their list.

Tilly is heading toward her own disqualification from the race, if not for the support from Ravah. Soon enough, both Tilly and Ravah make it within striking distance of the finish line, and Tilly returns the favor by helping Ravah limp across in a show of good sportsmanship. Good for Tilly, but this just means both are now heading to the High Summit, which as we see shortly is not the enlightenment we were led to believe.

The winners of the race get to be close to gods who are supposed to bring rain to the natives. Burnham and Tilly know the weather station is actually responsible for bringing good weather, but the Halem’nites think something different: a human sacrifice in the heart of the High Summit is what does the trick. This twist is reminiscent of a similar sacrificial heart-dropping reveal in Strange New Worlds’ “ Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach ,” and suddenly the stakes are much higher for Burnham, who has to rescue Tilly and Ravah from a needless death – even if it violates the Prime Directive.

“Are there no gods? Are there… what is there?” “There is still what you believe. Nothing we have shown you means gods don’t exist.” – Ohvahz and Burnham

While they await their sacrifice, Tilly and Ravah bond over their struggle, and Ravah describes some peculiar numerical markings on the wall of the chamber, which both represent the five serenity prayers within Halem culture and the five weather towers across the planet. Tilly recognizes the fifth symbol as the same as being on the vial back on Discovery , but the revelation may not matter, as suffocation threatens to take Tilly and Ravah both.

Despite the enormous consequences of revealing the existence of people not from Halem, never mind the reveal of the High Summit not just being a tool of the gods, Burnham flips off the Prime Directive and reveals herself to Ohvahz so she can rescue the innocent people trapped inside the High Summit. She convinces Ohvahz that her extraterrestrial story is legit, and that the High Summit is actually a piece of technology – no small discovery for the native.

Should Burnham have blatantly violated the Prime Directive in this way? Of course not, but let’s be honest: the Prime Directive really is more of a guideline than a rule for the protagonists in Star Trek shows. We hope Burnham faces some discipline for this flagrant violation of Starfleet’s most sacred rule. In any case, Burnham breaking the Prime Directive ultimately means the Halem’nites need to start to embrace a major societal change. The ritual race to the High Summit won’t have as much meaning anymore now that they know the rain will come no matter what, but as Burnham suggests, perhaps there are plenty of Helem’nites who are ready for a change. As Ohvahz notes to his daughter, “Perhaps devotion means being able to hear when the gods tell us something new.” This is as great a lesson as any Star Trek episode can offer.

With the weather tower repaired and two peoples’ lives saved from a needless sacrificial death, the Discovery crew retrieves the next clue from one of the planet’s other water towers.  Near the end of the episode, Burnham and Tilly ponder the meaning of finding the clue in a water tower, and they reason that technology can be powerfully dangerous in the wrong hands, and they need to be careful when they find the Progenitor’s tech. And just on schedule, the crew learns of Moll and L’ak’s most recent whereabouts, but that’ll have to wait until next week.

Elsewhere in this episode, Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is still struggling with explaining and processing the spiritual awakening he has had following his experiences in “ Jinaal .” His partner, Paul Stamets, doesn’t seem to quite get what Culber is going through, and not even “grief alleviation therapy” – where a holographic version of Culber’s wise grandmother can have conversations with the doctor – can help.

The person who does offer some welcome perspective and emotional support is Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ). Book asserts that Culber’s spiritual awakening, and accompanying emotional turbulence, is just as important as anybody else’s journey – and that’s all we’ll get from Culber’s multi-episode arc for now. After a few episodes of marginal development, hopefully, something happens with this subplot soon, or else we’re going to start to lose interest. But while Culber’s arc may seem tangential at times, his search for meaning resonates with the overarching themes of identity and purpose woven throughout the series.

So, as the Discovery crew continues their quest for the Progenitors’ technology, they are reminded of the potential dangers that come with wielding such power. It is a sobering realization that underscores the responsibility they bear as guardians of advanced technology in a universe fraught with conflict and peril.

With each episode, this season invites viewers to contemplate the complexities of morality, identity, and the ever-evolving nature of progress. As the crew inches their way toward the ultimate treasure, “Whistlespeak” remains true to one overarching theme of this show: the true measure of humanity lies not in adherence to rules, but in our capacity for compassion and understanding in the face of uncertainty and adversity. That seems to be what this show is all about, yeah?

Stray Thoughts:

• Why didn’t it occur to Culber, a doctor, sooner that he should run a series of tests on his body, as his grandmother suggests, to determine if there’s something medically wrong with him.
• Tilly drops a couple hints about what is going on at Starfleet Academy nowadays, and it’s not a rosy picture. The Academy isn’t giving the cadets “what they need,” so perhaps these conflicts will be at play in the upcoming Starfleet Academy show?
• Why do video games in the 32nd century look no better than Space Invaders ?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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Star Trek: Discovery's Commander Rayner Is The New Riker

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors "

• Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery shows reluctance to lead, akin to Riker in The Next Generation, emphasizing the importance of strong leadership dynamics.
• Similar to Riker on the USS Enterprise-D, Rayner's style proves valuable in solving critical issues in "Mirrors" episode.
• Burnham's mission and leadership choices parallel Picard and Riker dynamics, showcasing a balance of risk-taking and bold decision-making in Star Trek lore.

Star Trek: Discovery 's new Number One, Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) has a lot in common with Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) from Star Trek: The Next Generation . In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan , Rayner has to reluctantly take the center seat while Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is on an away mission. Rayner's reluctance to take the conn, and his insistence that he lead the away mission in Burnham's stead, draws similarities between him and Will Riker.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors" reveals that Rayner, formerly the captain of the USS Antares, is unsure that his style will gel with his new crew. However, by bringing the Discovery's bridge crew together, Rayner is able to solve the problem of how to drag the ISS Enterprise out of interdimensional space . With Burnham back on board, Rayner is back to being the USS Discovery's Number One, but satisfied that he can lead from the center seat, much like Riker at the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 1, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

Jonathan Frakes Is In Star Trek: Discovery Even If You Dont See Riker

Star trek: discovery's commander rayner is reluctant to be captain - like riker in tng.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation , Riker turned down several opportunities to become captain, preferring to stay aboard the USS Enterprise-D as second-in-command to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). However, Riker was often placed in charge of the starship Enterprise , most notably when Picard was assimilated by the Borg Collective. After rescuing Captain Picard from the Borg, and saving the Federation from the Collective, he was happy to step down from Captain to Commander Riker, satisfied that he'd proved his worth as a captain. For Riker, serving as Number One on the Federation flagship was just as huge an achievement as his own command .

Riker finally accepted a promotion to captain of the USS Titan in Star Trek: Nemesis .

Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery was demoted from Captain to Commander in season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons". The USS Discovery is Rayner's last chance, which is presumably why, like Riker in TNG , he's keen not to chase promotion. His reasoning is different to Riker's because Rayner had already been a captain for years before becoming Burnham's Number One . Rayner is reluctant to take charge in "Mirrors" because it's not his crew, and his command style is very different to Burnham's.

Commander Rayner Is The Riker To Burnham's Picard In Star Trek: Discovery

One of the reasons that Rayner gives for not wanting to take the conn is that Burnham's away mission is " too risky " for the captain of the USS Discovery . Riker leading the away missions in Star Trek: The Next Generation became such a trope that Picard jokes about it in his Star Trek: Nemesis wedding toast . Burnham explains why she and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) are the best crew members to take on the mission, forcing Rayner to concede that she's right. Picard would do the same in later seasons of TNG as he took a more active role in away missions.

Discussing Riker's replacement aboard the Enterprise, Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Picard jokes: " I will be training my new first officer. You all know him. He's a tyrannical martinet who'll never, ever allow me to go on away missions! "

When Burnham offered Rayner the role of second-in-command in Star Trek: Discovery she made it clear that she didn't want a " yes man ". Picard didn't want Riker to be one either, which is why he was so impressed by his fierce opposition to Captain Robert DeSoto (Michael Cavanaugh) leading an away mission on Altair III. Riker risked court martial to convince DeSoto that his away mission was " too risky " for the captain of the USS Hood, something that ultimately led to him becoming the second-in-command of the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+

All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are streaming now on Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

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