The latest Star Trek series and the first to première for a major network since the original 50 years ago, debuted Sunday evening with Star Trek: Discovery. Discovery is the second series (Enterprise being the first) to be a prequel to the Kirk and Spock story. Part of the problem with prequels is that no matter how much they wish to make it seem before the time of Kirk and Spock, it still looks light years ahead. Once you can overlook those cosmetic details, you’ll discover, no pun intended, a series with potential.
In the pilot set to the year 2256 we are introduced to the Klingons. In particular the Klingon T’Kuvma who wants to unite the 24 great houses of the Klingon Empire which would lead his race into war against the Federation. Caught in the middle of all this will be the USS Discovery. Veteran actress Michelle Yeoh plays Captain Philippa Georgiou and Walking Dead alum Sonequa Martin plays first officer Commander Burnham. We learn that Spock’s father, Sarek, raised Burnham on Vulcan. How this plays into the canon remains to be seen since Spock has never mentioned her. From what I’ve read, an explanation will be revealed as the series progresses.
The biggest moment of the pilot was the faceoff or more accurately the potential mutiny between Georgiou and Burnham over how to deal with the Klingons. The Federation has not encountered the Klingons in nearly a century and Burnham seeks Sarek’s advice how what approach they should take. The first time the Vulcans dealt with the Klingons, they were fired upon and many had died. The second time they met, the Vulcans fired first and it was met with respect. One of the best lines of the pilot was from Burnham telling her Captain that violence brought respect and respect brought peace. Star Trek has been and will always be a mirror of the current world we live in. We saw this in the 60’s and again in the 80’s and 90’s. One only needs to read or watch the news and the parallels are scary.
If there is any negative to Star Trek: Discovery is that if you want to see how this all plays out here in the U.S., you would need to subscribe to CBS All Access streaming service. I wish that wasn’t the case but I believe this is how the future of programming will be dealt with. Until then, I do recommend if you can do so, to check out this new entry into the Star Trek lore.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
Enjoying the new show!!!