Fans of the series STAR TREK will basically watch anything
with the words Star Trek in it. Some will not like the different takes on their
favorite series but they’ll watch it anyway. So when a new series that stems
from the base, a series that only ran 3 seasons in the 60s, arrives and turns
out to be good that’s cause for celebration.
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY takes place after the series STAR TREK:
ENTERPRISE but before the original STAR TREK series. The premiere of the show
was on the CBS Network but subsequent episodes only ran on CBS All Access, CBS’
streaming service. That limited the number of people who saw it but it was a
boost to the then beginning service. Fans now have the opportunity to watch the
series without the service as it makes its way to disc.
The series revolves around female Michael Burnham (Sonequa
Martin-Green). Raised by Sarek (James
Frain), who fans all know as Spock’s father, on the planet Vulcan after being
orphaned Burnham has been raised without emotion and on pure logic. Rather than
being sent on a Vulcan vessel when she is old enough Sarek sends her to work
with Starfleet. Over time she achieves the rank of First Officer of the
USS Shenzhou.
When the ship is
placed in the crosshairs of a rogue religious group of Klingons Burnham tells
her captain Philippa Georgiou that they need to attack first or the Klingons
will take them out. When the captain disagrees Burnham mutinies and attempts to
follow through before the captain shuts her down. The Klingons do indeed follow
through with their attack and during a mission aboard their craft Georgiou is
killed. Burnham is found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to life in prison.
War makes for
strange bedfellows though and while being transported to a different prison
mining camp the transport is re-directed to the starship Discovery. Overseen by
Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) the vessel is a scientific observation
ship. His First Officer is Saru (Doug Jones), a member of the Kelpien race and
the ex-science officer of the Shenzhou.
While he was friendly with Burnham, her appearance worries him.
Lorca is
unpredictable and willing to take chances in an effort to have the best crew
possible and to achieve the goals he has set in place for himself. In this case
he recruits Burnham to a position on his ship in an effort to achieve success
with a secret project his team has been working on, a drive system for the ship
that will transport them anywhere in the universe at the blink of an eye.
All of this takes
place in the first 3 episodes of the 15 on hand here to watch. It all takes
place during a war with the Klingons, often referred to in the original series.
Episodes from here forward involve battles with the Klingons, Burnham’s
discovering the human side of herself, characters like Harry Mudd of the
original series showing up and more. The question is does the show work, is it
any good?
The answer is a
100% yes on all counts. The series retains that sense of wonder at what the
universe holds for us to discover, a driving force in the various series and
movies that creator Gene Roddenberry inserted into all things Star Trek. It
also offers plenty of action for fans seeking that. At the same time we get a
glimpse at aliens working side by side with humans and finding that they all
possess a certain amount of humanity within themselves that makes them more the
same rather than different.
The special effects
on display here are amazing to watch and top of the line for a series. One
would expect them to look this good on the big screen but to have them in a
show that appears on a streaming network shows the faith the studio has in the
project. There are moments when that sense of wonder most of us enjoyed seeing
the original Enterprise fly across space or the battle cruiser in the first
STAR WARS movie fills us once more.
The end result I
felt after watching the first season here was that of anticipation. Why? I want
to find out what happens next! Most people will once they enjoy this first
season. It’s enough to make me even consider signing on for the streaming
service which was the intent of creating this series and placing it there
instead of broadcast television. They succeeded in creating that interests. Or
you can wait and watch as the series hits discs. It’s nice to have options when
it comes to a decent series these days.
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