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Star Trek: Discovery discussion

29K views 127 replies 40 participants last post by  bobmac 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Star Trek New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017

Apparently it will be based on the "reboot" time line. I was a big Star Trek fan as a kid when ST:TNG was running. This was especially true for The Best of Both Worlds between seasons 3 and 4. I must confess that I'm really excited about the prospect of more Star Trek on TV. I hope they don't screw it up.

I'm also hoping that we get long story arcs. In the past Star Trek tended to stick with story lines that "put things back where they found them" at the end of the hour. Presumably this was because TV episodes were designed so that new viewers could jump in at any time without confusion. But with modern streaming solutions to deliver TV in-order and on demand, I think that that long story arcs makes for better story telling.
 
#91 ·
Star Trek Discovery Renewed for Second Season

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for a second season, it was announced today by CBS All Access.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Sunday nights on CBS All Access in the U.S. and Space Channel in Canada.

Comment: No specific announcement about season 2 on Space, but I'm sure it will happen since Bell Media has been bragging about the ratings (see post 74.)
 
#92 ·
The F-bomb was completely unnecessary. IMO, of course. A show about gangs or cops or whatever, set in the *real* universe, I can see how it would be appropriate. But the Star Trek universe is a somewhat idealized utopia where no-one is fat or bald or sick if they don't want to be, no one is poor, no one is underprivileged in any way (i.e. completely unrealistic). And until now no-one used vulgar words (at least not in English). There was zero need for these two, and they did not add anything to the story.
 
#104 ·
The F-bomb was completely unnecessary. IMO, of course. A show about gangs or cops or whatever, set in the *real* universe, I can see how it would be appropriate. But the Star Trek universe is a somewhat idealized utopia where no-one is fat or bald or sick if they don't want to be, no one is poor, no one is underprivileged in any way (i.e. completely unrealistic). And until now no-one used vulgar words (at least not in English). There was zero need for these two, and they did not add anything to the story.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard?
 
#93 ·
I find the new Star Trek series intriguing but will resrve judgement until the end of this season. The F-word added nothing to my enjoyment. Seemed out of place.

I echo the comments about the Klingons and their jarring appearance. This series is supposed to PRE-DATE Shatner's Star Trek missions no? Was expecting some commonality in terms of appearance and customs we have seen with past Star Trek series since this predates all others theoretically.
 
#95 ·
I personally enjoy this series more than most of the other series. I don't like the Klingons as much as the other commenters above have said, but I do like the ongoing rather than wrapping up with a happy ending each week. I have a few quibbles with some of the plot lines, but very much enjoy this series so far.
 
#98 ·
I found the first 2 episodes so bad -- wooden writing and comatose acting -- that not even authentic words like f*** could save it. I wanted to like a Star Trek reboot, made in Canada, but the show should remain undiscovered for those who enjoyed the Star Treks of the past. Maybe the show is as unnecessary as the f-bomb.
 
#101 ·
The F-bomb in that show didn't even register with me when I watched the show. I found out about it some time later. Given the context, I doubt it registered with a lot of people. There is a lot of difference between uses of the word. As an expletive, as in "f-ing cool", I don't even consider it to be profane. When directed at a person or group, then I do. Any person who objects to the word in the given context needs to get their priorities reordered.

What really bothers me is when swear words are unnecessarily bleeped or cut out. I see it done often in talk shows, even some that are aired late at night after 11pm. It's sometimes jarring and ruins the show, especially when used for emphasis or comic effect. It's not that I find swearing funny but it can be used as part of a punch line or humorous exchange to increase comic effect.
 
#103 ·
One point that hasn't been made so far is that Star Trek Discovery was not intended for regular for regular television under the control of the FCC/CRTC. It was intended as the flagship programme for CBS's new All Access Streaming service over the internet. Neither the FCC not the CRTC has any control over the content on the internet. The series ended up on Space in Canada simply because CBS did not want to sell it to any Canadian streaming services (few in number) because it wanted to keep the series for its own Canadian version of CBS All Access which is expected to start operations this fall. Once that service starts operating I suspect the role of Space will be reduced to at the most a second run source for those who choose not subscribe to All Access. Had CBS' Canadian service been up and running in fall 2017 the series would have been streamed on it and this tempest in a teapot would never have occurred.

FTR: I like Star Trek Discovery but only as long as I treat it as a standalone show with no connection to Gene's universe.
 
#106 ·
Space had first rights for season 1 not Crave. Next year I expect CBS will keep first run for themselves. Space and Crave will get second etc. if they still want it. Judging by the reaction to season 1 at this and most other TV review websites, it has been anything but positive.
 
#107 ·
@reidw According to Bell Media's original press release in post 42, they have the exclusive linear television and SVOD rights in Canada. That contract also included all 727 existing episodes of the STAR TREK television library (not necessarily exclusive.) These deals are usually multi-year, but the exact details weren't disclosed. I expect Bell Media will retain first-run rights for season 2, based on what has happened with other series involved with distribution changes. Of course, CBS could have inserted specific language in the contract in contemplation of launching All Access in Canada, but I'm sure Bell would have fought hard against that.

----

New press releases:

Production Underway on Season 2 of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY - Bell Media
The cast and crew of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY are back to work in Toronto on the second season of the smash-hit series. From inside the wardrobe department, to the green screen, and on the set itself, take a look behind the scenes as production gets underway on Season 2!

https://youtu.be/MYGBcB6RpAY

Broadcast details for Season 2 of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on Space are still to be announced. Season 1 is streaming now on CraveTV.
Star Trek Discovery Begins Production on Season 2 - StarTrek.com

The Next Chapter of Star Trek: Discovery Begins Production - CBS All Access
 
#108 ·
Yes I was wrong about who has the first run rights for Season 2 in Canada. When CBS gave the rights for season 1 last year to Space, it looked to me that it was just a one year stop gap measure until the CBS All Access streaming service went live in Canada. I still find it hard to believe that CBS would be willing to give away the program that is their flagship show on All Access in the United States. Kudos to Space for securing this deal but I shake my head at the thinking of the CBS executives who made it.

Looking at CBS All Access Canadian offerings it looks to me that there won't be much there. The shows they are highlighting such as Bull are already shown and streamed on Canadian networks. Or does this mean that CTV, Global, and CITY are all about to lose some or all of the CBS properties that they have been offering online through their GO apps?
 
#109 ·
I doubt that Space itself acquired the rights for ST: D. It's probably part of a much larger deal between CBS and Bell/CTV. Bell pays US networks a small fortune for programming annually. How much of that money is CBS willing to forego in order to hang onto exclusive to Canadian ST: D rights? CBS All Access is currently unproven in Canada but the deals with Canadian broadcasters are a proven cash cow. The better plan may be to fill a small niche with CBS All Access for now and let Bell continue to fill the CBS coffers.
 
#110 ·
@reidw I like your use of the phrase "gave away." ;)

I took at look at Space's last CRTC filing and they spend about $20 million/year on content, which would put the price of the Star Trek contract at well over $1 million/year, especially considering the back catalog of the previous series. Whether it was a standalone contract or an addendum to a master agreement between Bell Media and CBS, it probably generated more revenue for CBS than the incremental revenue they would get by having it as part of All Access.

I can't guarantee Bell Media will have exclusive rights going forward - I can think of any number of possibilities including joint first-run rights for season 2.

Judging by the reaction to season 1 at this and most other TV review websites, it has been anything but positive.
Star Trek: Discovery is regularly in the top 30 Numeris ratings which is very rare for a specialty channel series. That means good subscriber retention for those monthly fees and good advertising revenue.
 
#111 ·
Star Trek: Discovery is regularly in the top 30 Numeris ratings which is very rare for a specialty channel series. That means good subscriber retention for those monthly fees and good advertising revenue.
Yep. Not to mention that "TV review websites" are not an indication of overall success anyway. The Internet echo chamber decided pretty early on that it wanted to hate Discovery, so it did. Mainstream audiences care very little what those people think, and the show was popular with them.
 
#112 ·
What it comes down to is that the show is popular with those who have never seen the canon Star Trek series. By itself Discovery is a good series with good casting, excellent sets and some very striking special effects (e.g any depiction of the spore drive in action). It loses points with those who recognize the umpteen deviations and violations of seemingly everything in the earlier series and movies. This wouldn't matter so much in a lesser series but Star Trek fans have always set a high bar for consistency ever since the original series in 1967. Any departure from canon has always been received negatively.

The answer as I said in an earlier post is to treat Star Trek Discovery not as the latest inheritor of the Star Trek mantle but rather as an independent entity free of the 50 years of baggage classic Star Trek carries with it. When you do that the series becomes a quite enjoyable piece of TV science fiction.
 
#115 ·
The answer as I said in an earlier post is to treat Star Trek Discovery not as the latest inheritor of the Star Trek mantle but rather as an independent entity free of the 50 years of baggage classic Star Trek carries with it. When you do that the series becomes a quite enjoyable piece of TV science fiction.
If we're talking about taking it as a standalone sci-fi show then there's better ones (in my opinion) out there. 12 Monkeys, The Expanse, Dark Matter (unfortunately cancelled), Killjoys, The Orville...
 
#113 ·
I've been watching ST since 1966, when it first aired, and have seen the entire original series and several of the followup series several times. I see ST: D as a revival of the series, not any sort of deviation or aberration. I thought that the whole ST franchise went into decline after the loss of Gene Roddenberry and stopped watching. Even before then I thought the movies suffered from too much baggage, partly due to original cast member cling-ons (pun intended.)

The more recent movies have put new life into the series and ST: D continues that. It's unfortunate that Gene Roddenberry is not around to continue his vision but it was of his time and his creations stand as a fine body of work. It's time to define a new vision of ST for the 21st century and I think ST: D does a fine job of that.
 
#116 ·
@ExDilbert: I could agree with most of what you say but what I object to is when some lazy writers hitch their new wagon body to an old chassis. The result is likely to please no one. The problem today in TV and movies is the lack of originality. At one time sequels and series of shows were the exception not the rule. Now they're the norm. A provocative movie like Shape Of Water comes along and everyone is stunned when the creators say no sequel is planned. If E.T. came out today does anyone doubt that the studios would be pushing for E.T. 2? The amount of creativity that must have been available back then then compared to today is staggering to think about. Rod Serling's Twilight Zone turned out a polished, provocative and original one off sci-fi story every week as did The Outer Limits and on a lower level of quality the 1950's Science Fiction Theatre. No one even tries that anymore for a number of reasons not all artistic.

Yes the new ST offers some new ideas and that's good but it didn't have to graft them on to the existing Star Trek "universe". The Discovery story could just as easily been set in another imaginary universe with its own rules, customs, geography, politics, aliens etc. By putting it into the already well developed "universe" of the Federation it was bound to get itself into trouble with the many long time devoted fans who are notorious for demanding consistency to a level few other TV series or franchise movies are ever expected to reach.
 
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