As a Star Trek fan I have
been asked a lot lately if I like the new TV series: Star Trek Discovery. And being
an honest person I answer honestly: Not really. Now there are definitely some
things I do like about it such as the characters of Commander Saru and Cadet
Tilley, but other than that I just am not a fan of this series. It seems some
are under the mistaken impression that as a ‘Star Trek Fan’ you must like all
things Star Trek. This is simply not true. You can like a franchise but doesn’t
mean you must like everything in that franchise. For example you can like Coca
Cola and not like New Coke (80’s kids will get that reference) or you can like
Pepsi but not like Crystal Pepsi (90’s reference). When people ask me to go
into detail why I don’t like the new series I have some main points I share:
-
When the
producers pitched this series they said it would tie into established
continuity and not change things. This simply did not happen. For example the
Klingon look, language and culture seemed to be completely different than in
previous continuity. If they had just said “This is a reboot of the franchise”
I’d have been alright with that. Reboot it and do what you like, but when you
go out of your way to say nothing will be changed then it is…I have a problem
with that.
-
The
previous Trek series were about the crew and being a team/family. Granted in
the original 60’s series it originally was all about Kirk, and then as the
popularity of Spock and McCoy grew it became more about the three of them. But
the supporting cast all contributed in some way to give the viewer a sense of comradery,
but this new series is about Michael Burnham, Saru, Tilley, Engineer guy…there’s
no real sense of team/family here. Most
of the bridge crew has so far remained nameless
-
Lens
flares, Admirals hiding in shadows as they speak, focus on ship redesigns and special
effects…this new show has the look and feel of the JJ Abrams ‘Star Trek’ films
(2009-2016) and not the previous Star Trek TV series.
I could go on but I’ve
said my peace. I’m not saying YOU will not like this show, YOU just might. This
could be the Trek series you have been waiting for. But for me it’s just not my
cup of tea. I’ll watch season 2 (coming in January 2019) and I am holding out
hope that the new Captain Picard series will be good (coming out in late 2019)
