Star Trek: Discovery (The New Series)

I'm so glad that Star Trek is retuning to the small screen! With the announcement that the series head is one that previous wrote and produced epos des of Star Trek in the past-Bryan Fuller-it's safe to say that the Trek we've come to know and love is going to make a return with...

Star Trek has always been meant for the television screen. Don't get me wrong, I love the films with a passion, but in order to see characters grow, having them on weekly basis is the way to go. Plus you can focus on certain characters that two hours just wouldn't be able to cut. That's why the films by JJ Abrams don't have much space to breath in between each other. They are motion pictures, which come out ever four years or so. It's hard to capture the feel of the old school Trek if we only have so much time to watch them grow. Sure, you can take a look at the comics and novels showcasing their adventures between films, but it's not enough if you're just an average movie goer who doesn't follow the material or side stories between films.

As of today, August 11th, Bryan Fuller announced that Star Trek: Discovery will "bridge the gap between Enterprise and the original series." This means that the Prime universe will return. For those of you unfamiliar with what I'm referring to when I say "prime", I mean the universe of Trek that existed before J.J. Abrams' reinvention of the franchise. I'll get into my thoughts on JJ's interpretation in a moment, but now I want to discuss the new direction this show will go than any has before. First, it's going to "absolutely have a gay character" as stated by Fuller. Star Trek has never really been the focus on such diversity other than a small hint of it in the current film Star Trek Beyond where Sulu has a male lover. This is something fresh and new especially seeing that this franchise has been around for 50 years.

The new ship is unlike anything we've seen before and was met with mixed reactions. Upon seeing it, I was a bit surprised and underwhelmed as well, but I may grow to like it. Change isn't always a bad thing. Some say the same thing about these new films.

While I love the new films, they are not really what Star Trek has been about from the beginning. It's not about action, war and suspense. Sure, we have gotten more than a handful of that even before JJ, but it's also about the human condition; how we've managed to survive all these years into the future and have beaten disease, poverty and greed. Sure, we deal with different species in the show that still have the traits we have today, but they are not us as they are different beings (and we also need conflict for entertainment purposes), but you get what I'm trying to tell you. Friendship, family and togetherness and exploring the unknown is in the heart of Trek. This is what makes it so different from Star Wars, which I love to death as well. I feel this is going to return to what Trek is all about.

The new series is going to hit the airwaves with a 2-hour premiere on CBS and then head to CBS All Access for the remaining 12 episodes. Oddly enough, only outside of North America will the show be on Netflix. It seems the market doesn't feel they can really profit on people using their new app, and what with a high percentage of Star Trek fans are in the U.S. it appears they are banking on us to get their All Access program, but you can all read my rant on what I think about that in my previous blogs.

In conclusion, we should all stay optimistic and excited that Star Trek continues to remain relevant in our society no matter what form it's in. Live long and prosper!

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE NEW SERIES AS IT GETS CLOSER AND CLOSER TO RELEASE? WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT TAKING PLACE BEFORE KIRK AND SPOCK? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!




Sources:

Selected Quotes from:
-Star Trek: Discovery: 'Prime' Setting, Gay Character, Heavy Alien Presence and 11 More Spoilers 
About CBS Reboot

-Star Trek: Discovery logo
Memory Alpha

Video courtesy of 
moviemaniacsDE

Spock GIF
startrekgifs.tumblr.com