Today marks the day we have gained an exciting new look into CBS’s highly anticipated new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery, which will screen internationally (including in Australia) on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.
It must be a science fiction extravaganza this week as Fox’s new Seth McFarlane series The Orville also planted a trailer online in the last few days.
Star Trek is one of the most iconic and influential global television franchises and it returns to television 50 years after it first premiered its original series with William Shatner as the now iconic Captain James T. Kirk. The series will feature a new ship The Discovery, new characters including 1st Officer Burnham, a human whom was raised by Vulcan’s and played by Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha in AMC’s The Walking Dead).
This Star Trek series will, for the first time, be taking the view of the 1st Officer over that of a Captains, Captain Lorca (played by the wonderful Jason Isaac’s of Harry Potter fame) and in another blue alien role, Doug Jones who played Abe Sapien in Hellboy 1 & 2 will star as Lt. Saru, among many others… this is a pretty amazing cast to say the least.
In the new teaser we open with the clear explanation that is set before Kirk and Spock started their voyages on The U.S.S. Enterprise (ten years before to be exact). We see Michelle Yeoh as Captain Georgiou talking to Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) telling her that she believes her ready for Command. A ship (known to be the USS Shenzouh) enters from the upper atmosphere and beams them up. The new special effects they have used for materialising them looks somewhat distracting compared to previous iterations of being beamed up (I really loved J.J. Abrams effects take on this).
We are shown the new look of the Klingons, again more of a nod to current film versions, but nothing like the original series. If you follow any Star Trek lore, you may recognise their sarcophagus ship, bringing to mind they may have been in some form of sleep and could be from the distant past of the Klingon Empire? Some awesome space battles ensue and we even witness the shiny new coloured uniforms and the iconic uniform insignia’s Star Trek has become well known for.
We already know Discovery will be seeing some great talent coming onto the planned 15 episode first season which includes Rainn Wilson (The Office) bringing back the creep fest cargo smuggling pirate that was Harry Mudd (from the Star Trek Original Series), we see a young Sarek played by James Frain (Gotham). What other original characters are set to return we wonder?
If the series takes off and is given further seasons, will this all lead neatly into Star Trek: The Original Series? Or will they throw a slingshot at us and have it emerge as a link to the J.J. Abrams alternate universe (The Kelvin Timeline)? From what has been announced, it looks like CBS is taking the original timeline route and if that is the case, why does this look so much like J.J’s movie series, even down to that damn lens flare? We can split hairs and complain or contemplate the possibilities but in the end we know one thing for certain, Star Trek is back! Let us hope it stays around for more than its predecessors abrupt four seasons, I am looking at you Star Trek Enterprise!
Star Trek Discovery will air on CBS All Access in America and Canada and Netflix for the rest of the world towards the end of this year, including in Australia! Keep your eyes here on The Iris for more!
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