Yesterday was a big day for Trek fans. Not only did we get a first image from the production, but at the CBS Upfront presentation, the network championed their upcoming offering, Star Trek: Discovery, with some pretty big reveals—not the least of which is the first trailer above!
I. Am. So. Here. For. This. Show. Here are the top four reasons why this trailer rocked my socks:
- Still here for the ladies. From the looks of this trailer, Birnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) at least starts out serving under Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), and Georgiou talks about Birnham having her own command. The rest of the trailer seems devoted to what makes a good leader, with Sarek (James Frain) talking about leaders needing a cause for people to rally around, Birnham ready to dive in and explore and/or fuck shit up when necessary, and Georgiou and Birnham disagreeing over when (if ever) it’s a good idea to get violent. So if this trailer is anything to go by, the season will be about Birnham coming into her own and perhaps getting to her own command. Yes, please, and thank you.
- Cool alien stuff! For example: KLINGONS. But, you know, Klingons ten years before Kirk. And they look badass and ancient. Of course, one has to wonder: they have head ridges here. When Kirk meets them, they have flat foreheads, but by the time we get to Worf on TNG, we’re back to head ridges, and on DS9 he seems really embarrassed by the appearance of the “old” Klingons in “Trials and Tribble-ations” and totally doesn’t wanna talk about it. So what’s the deal? Will they address The Deal? There are also Vulcans. Specifically, Sarek (you know, Spock’s dad), who seems to have some kind of a history with Birnham. She seems to have spent time with him in childhood for some reason, and was apparently “too human” to learn to speak Vulcan. And then there are some new aliens that seem like they could be interesting. I’m really curious about that beige dude who was made to “sense the coming of death.” There’s also a blue dude who vaguely resembles a Bolian, but has a pock-marked head rather than a face ridge. I love that there are more aliens on this crew.
- I’m loving those uniforms! I want one. Dig the gold accents. Dig the cut. In further superficial analysis, I’m also digging Birnham’s hair, and I have to wonder if the style is Vulcan-influenced. Whatever it is, it looks good on her. In fact, all of the design on the show is really cool, from the spacesuit Birnham wears while outside the ship, to the ship itself, to what I can only imagine is Q’onoS, this show has a great look. And they even managed to snag some of J.J. Abrams’ lens flares from the 2009 Star Trek movie. Meh, they look good here as long as they don’t overdo it!
- It feels like Star Trek while also feeling entirely fresh and not at all stuffy. It’s got all the Star Trek themes we need—What does it mean to be human? Prime Directive vs. Fucking Shit Up For the Greater Good. What makes a good captain/leader?—but it also feels rough-and-tumble, and adventurous, and awesome. It has the vibe that Star Trek: Enterprise should’ve had, but didn’t.
According to Deadline Hollywood, “After some delays, Star Trek: Discovery, currently filming its sixth episode, is on track for a fall launch with a premiere on CBS.” Yes, CBS. The first episode will be broadcast on the main network, with subsequent episodes exclusively available on the CBS All Access streaming platform.
CBS also seems to have enough faith in the series to have increased their episode order, making the first season of ST: Discovery 15 episodes long instead of the original 13. You know what else will be available along with the show? A companion after-show, called Talking Trek (you know, like Talking Dead or Talking Bad but not on AMC). No word yet on whether or not Chris Hardwick will be hosting. on a host.
We’ve gone from drips and drabs to full on promotion and confidence from the network, and I’m so excited! What do you think of the trailer and what we have to look forward to so far? Let’s talk Discovery in the comments below!
(images: screencap/CBS)
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