Star Trek: Discovery "First Look" Trailer

[Neverhoodian]

So a new trailer recently dropped for Star Trek: Discovery...
...And I'm left with a resounding "meh."

Before I begin, let's be clear on one thing; I'm not lukewarm about it because of the supposed "SJW feminazi propaganda" that idiots are claiming in the YouTube comments. Anyone bitching about diversity in Star Trek obviously doesn't understand the overarching theme of the franchise...y'know, about humanity embracing said diversity to create a better future. That said, I have to shake my head at certain uber-progressive outlets hailing this as some sort of cultural milestone for the franchise. Star Trek: Voyager was a thing that existed, you know.

Anywho, I just found the trailer to be lackluster. Maybe it's a case of bad editing, but nothing got me excited about this. The cliche dialogue, the weird vocal inflections, the utterly generic music score, the godawful lighting (seriously, enough with the lens flares!), the apparent focus on action and spectacle over moral and philosophical issues, etc.

It was my understanding that this show takes place in the Prime universe...so why do the visual aesthetics scream Kelvin timeline (aka "Abramsverse")? It's exceedingly difficult for me to picture this belonging to the same continuity that Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Archer all called home. If they wanted a Kelvin-style show so badly then why not set it in the Kelvin universe? Hell, create another continuity altogether for all I care. Speaking of timelines, do we have to keep revisiting the TOS era? Between Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek: TAS, the Abrams reboot and various fan films I'd say we're past due for moving the story forward again.

Of course, none of this is helped by the fact that CBS is essentially holding the show for ransom by hiding it behind a paywall with their "All Access" program. They're essentially poisoning the well before people have even given it a chance yet.

Oh yeah, and can I get some good glamor shots of the ship already?! Y'know, something like this:

Just one classic, well lit three-quarter view, that's all I ask!

 

[Hawki]

Y'know, I was wondering how long it would take for a thread to be made on Discovery. Longer than I thought actually. Make of that what you will. Because of the points Neverhoodian covered, I'll quote them as I go along, as they touch on my own thoughts as well:

Before I begin, let's be clear on one thing; I'm not lukewarm about it because of the supposed "SJW feminazi propaganda" that idiots are claiming in the YouTube comments.

But...but the captain and No. 2 are minorities! And female! And one of them's gay! I demand that CBS respect my safe space and not feed me such propaganda!

That said, I have to shake my head at certain uber-progressive outlets hailing this as some sort of cultural milestone for the franchise. Star Trek: Voyager was a thing that existed, you know.

Snark aside, I agree there. When it was announced that the lead would be female, as if that was some kind of milestone, I was like "...so?" It's rediculous to accuse Discovery of pandering, but it doesn't earn brownie points for its diversity either.

Anywho, I just found the trailer to be lackluster. Maybe it's a case of bad editing, but nothing got me excited about this. The cliche dialogue, the weird vocal inflections, the utterly generic music score, the godawful lighting (seriously, enough with the lens flares!), the apparent focus on action and spectacle over moral and philosophical issues, etc.

I'll be honest, I...kinda liked it. It reminded me of a professionally made fan film if that makes sense, given its aesthetic, but honestly, Star Trek has always come off (to me at least) as a budget show, and bar the Kelvinverse, the same has held true for the movies. It certainly seems to be aiming to be akin to a Star Trek show. If anything, given the high tech look (more on that later), it actually looks somewhat plausible. As in, I could imagine these kind of spacesuits existing in future space exploration.

It was my understanding that this show takes place in the Prime universe...so why do the visual aesthetics scream Kelvin timeline (aka "Abramsverse")? It's exceedingly difficult for me to picture this belonging to the same continuity that Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Archer all called home. If they wanted a Kelvin-style show so badly then why not set it in the Kelvin universe?

I did notice the Kelvinverse aesthetic similarities as well. From an in-universe sense, it does seem weird that the crew of this show appears to have more advanced tech (and far better uniforms) than Kirk and co. Enterprise felt a bit more modern, but even with its sleakness, also felt appropriately retro when compared to TOS (e.g. the jumpsuit-esque uniforms). This is Kelvinverse through and through.

On the other hand, if they tried to emualte the TOS look...yeah. It's got a charm to it, but it would be goofy by today's standards. I say this because TOS is goofy by today's standards as well. Not without merit, but, yeah. And I actually quite like the Kelvinverse aesthetic. I'm arguably biased, as Star Trek 2009 was my 'proper' introduction to the franchise, but if Star Trek is a show that sells itself on being a semi-plausible depiction of space travel, then I think having more advanced tech than what we have today is a good move in the long run.

Speaking of timelines, do we have to keep revisiting the TOS era? Between Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek: TAS, the Abrams reboot and various fan films I'd say we're past due for moving the story forward again.

Nostalgia sells. Star Trek has a place in the cultural zeitgeist, but only in so far as TOS, TNG, and the Kelvinverse movies, and even they piggy-back off TOS. Average joe is likely to have heard of klingons, but is less likely to have heard of the Dominion. Also, Star Trek Online is kinda continuing the franchise (as I understand it), so there is that.

 

[pookie101]

apparently some executive with no interest in star trek got involved and wanted it to be the most high tech looking ship time line be buggered.

my pet peeves are the uniforms are wrong for 2255, they had 2 types of uniforms that were gold or blue, 10 years before the enterprise? please *****! captain pike was running around it... grumble grumble

as for the klingons.. htf did they clone mr potato head and get him cast

im usually pretty laid back with star trek, ive seen all the shows, seen all the movies found them all watchable and like it, yeah even the kelvin stuff but this? ho hum.. ill watch it but im not that grabbed by it so far.

i do laugh about the people complaining about SJW's taking over their show when roddenbery himself wrote in the star trek novel in 79 that kirk was honoured that people saw him and spock as having such a close friendship that people thought they might be having a relationship.

weirdly Seth MacFarlane's new show the orville is looking more star trek than star trek these days

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

That said, I have to shake my head at certain uber-progressive outlets hailing this as some sort of cultural milestone for the franchise. Star Trek: Voyager was a thing that existed, you know.

What's more: Star Trek TOS was a thing.

It did the diversity thing 50 years ago. A show that had a black woman, an Asian gay[footnote]Though the gay part was not publicly known till much later. Most of the crew and cast was apparently aware at the time tho[/footnote] man and a Russian mixed in, working together like it ain't no thing. Episodes that dealt with racism, ethnicity and such. It might not seem like much today, but you have to remember it was the 60's.

While it has its flaws, Star Trek has always espoused inclusiveness and people coming together.

 

[pookie101]

That said, I have to shake my head at certain uber-progressive outlets hailing this as some sort of cultural milestone for the franchise. Star Trek: Voyager was a thing that existed, you know.

What's more: Star Trek TOS was a thing.

It did the diversity thing 50 years ago. A show that had a black woman, an Asian gay[footnote]Though the gay part was not publicly known till much later. Most of the crew and cast was apparently aware at the time tho[/footnote] man and a Russian mixed in, working together like it ain't no thing. Episodes that dealt with racism, ethnicity and such. It might not seem like much today, but you have to remember it was the 60's.

While it has its flaws, Star Trek has always espoused inclusiveness and people coming together.

not to mention the very first inter racial kiss on american tv

 

[Breakdown]

I thought the captain was going to be played by Jason Isaacs?

Also, are those aliens supposed to be Klingons?

 

[Hawki]

Y'know, I was wondering how long it would take for a thread to be made on Discovery. Longer than I thought actually. Make of that what you will.

I made one maybe two months ago.

I meant in regards to this trailer specifically.

 

[Zhukov]

Looks okay. I've certainly seen worse trailers in my time.

Star Trek in general hasn't really done it for me since I was a kid though. Their insistence on a visual aesthetic that was originally confined by the limitations of a 60s TV show just irks me. Or to put it another way, those rubber forehead aliens are never going to stop looking dumb.

 

[SirSullymore]

I'm a Trek fan but I've been completely uninterested in this series since it's inception, mostly due to the fact that I'm never going to pay a subscription fee to watch it, partly due to Abrahams-trek.

Also, just a minor thing, but I'm pretty sure Sulu wasn't intended to be gay, he had a daughter (no I'm not saying gay people can't have children, especially in sci-fi settings, but it was the 60's. Trek was progressive but not THAT ahead of it's time). I believe that was an Abrahams-trek addition (that Takei was against if I recall correctly)

 

[Bobular]

I'll echo the comments that it looks too much like the movies, not enough like the series.

And what have they done to the Klingons!

 

[Hawki]

Also, just a minor thing, but I'm pretty sure Sulu wasn't intended to be gay, he had a daughter (no I'm not saying gay people can't have children, especially in sci-fi settings, but it was the 60's. Trek was progressive but not THAT ahead of it's time). I believe that was an Abrahams-trek addition (that Takei was against if I recall correctly)

You're correct, in as much that there was no indication that Sulu was gay in TOS, and Takei was indeed against it in Beyond. That said, it's so minor in Beyond, if people hadn't mentioned it ahead of time, I doubt half of the people who saw the film would notice.

And what have they done to the Klingons!

The same thing that the original movies, TNG and the Kelvinverse did? Arbitrarily change their look?

But the in-universe explanation I've heard suggested is that these klingons are on their way to getting their forehead ridges back, acting as a bridge between TOS and TNG.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I really like Michelle Yeoh, and I feel a TV format will give me the Star Trek experience I crave since the movies aren't doing it for me but I think they should be doing 200 years after DS9/VOY and not 10 years before Kirk and Spock. After all, Star Trek is about moving forwards to bigger and better and sticking itself in some kind of dead zone between the franchise's original gangster and red headed step-child is just going to leave them with fuck all to do that will have meaningful impact.

 

[happyninja42]

Eh, I'm ambivalent about it. Might be decent, but I could do without the lens flare crap.

I wish they would stop going back further and further though, and just move forward with the plot. Advance it a generation or two, so nobody from the previous shows are alive in the timeline, and come up with some new stuff.

 

[KaraFang]

And what have they done to the Klingons!

The same thing that the original movies, TNG and the Kelvinverse did? Arbitrarily change their look?

But the in-universe explanation I've heard suggested is that these klingons are on their way to getting their forehead ridges back, acting as a bridge between TOS and TNG.

Except this is set 10 years BEFORE Kirk takes the Enterprise. therefore, what should be happening is the Klingon's Losing their ridges and looking like the Human versions in TOS. I presume it will be "these are Klingon from a deep space explorer mission and were frozen"

Being a pretty big ST fan, I'm not feeling this trailer (much like the JJverse trailers).

Why is their bridge so DARK? In space I would imagine a well lit bridge is kinda important... Even First Contact had the sovereign bridge better lit than this and it's officially one of the battle designed Dreadnought classes.

Only good thing about this? Michelle Yeoh, because she can act DAMN well, has the natural demeanour of a Federation captain and, yes damn it, is good looking too.

I really am worried that this show is going to be god awful...

 

[Hawki]

Except this is set 10 years BEFORE Kirk takes the Enterprise. therefore, what should be happening is the Klingon's Losing their ridges and looking like the Human versions in TOS.

The klingons lost their ridges in Enterprise, which takes place 100 years before TOS. There's flavor lore in both the TV series and novels that the klingons in TOS are ostracized because of their lack of ridges, which the klingons were starting to get back by that time. I think, I'm not entirely sure, and Star Trek canon outside the shows and movies is iffy. But I don't have trouble buying two types of klingons existing in the same timeframe, especially when their appearance has arbitrarily been changed between installments.

Only good thing about this? Michelle Yeoh, because she can act DAMN well, has the natural demeanour of a Federation captain

The Destiny probably helped. ;p

(Brownies for anyone who gets the reference.)

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Video is not avaliable? And no it does not specify whether its not avaliable where I live or it got Copyright striken down.

 

[KaraFang]

Just hunt for it on youtube. A LOT of the "trailer" channels have it.

I don't buy the klingon's ostracising those who have the "no ridges" issue after Phlox cured the genetic plague killing them. I mean, you DONT put those kind of people in heavily armoured battlecruisers and shove them on the frontline... because they may just decide they've had enough of being ostracised and kick your ass.

No, I feel that these Klingons have been isolated in some way.

They're certainly going to have to explain this, as it's pretty obvious that almost all the federation have no idea that this happened... see below with Worf. "We do not... talk about it with outsiders."

https://youtu.be/Xka6IYCpj4E

I really am praying that I'm wrong and this new series is kickass, but I'm very very worried.

 

[Scarim Coral]

For those who cannot view the trailer for some reason like me

OT- It look ok but this is coming from a guy whose no longer heavily invest in the franchise anymore per say.

 

[Goliath100]

"10 years before Kirk"

And their went all my enthusiasm.