star trek discovery season 5 buildup

Star Trek: Discovery – Season 5 Wishlist

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 and the trailers, teasers, and announcements for Season 5.

With Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth and final season due to premiere in just a few weeks’ time, I thought it could be a good moment to look ahead! Season 5 is going to be the show’s last chance to tell a different kind of story, explore under-utilised characters, and potentially lay the groundwork for Starfleet Academy and other possible spin-off projects. It’s also Discovery’s final opportunity to win over sceptical Trekkies – hopefully bringing to a close one of the most contentious chapters in the history of the Star Trek fan community. Suffice to say there’s a lot that needs to go right!

I admit that I have concerns already, even at this early stage. The revelation that Season 5 wasn’t originally written with the show’s cancellation in mind could prove fatal, and last-second re-writes and pick-up shots could end up feeling obvious and tacked-on. Then there’s the premise itself: is the mystery at the story’s heart going to be yet another re-hash of the tired “all life in the galaxy is in danger and only Burnham can save it!!!!” trope?

Still frame from Star Trek: Discovery 4x01 Kobayashi Maru, showing characters amidst rubble and debris. — *Discovery* has consistently raised the stakes in its stories… and it’s past time for something different.

On a personal note, I’ve been feeling burned out on Star Trek since midway through last year – and even though I still consider myself a fan of the franchise and want to see it succeed, I’ve stepped away from Star Trek over the past few months. I haven’t finished watching Strange New Worlds’ second season, nor even started Lower Decks’ fourth, and I haven’t played either of the Star Trek video games that were released last year despite having planned to do so.

Discovery’s fifth season thus exists in a strange place for me at this time. I don’t feel a great deal of hype or excitement for its premiere, not in the same way as I did for all four of the show’s previous seasons. If I’m being brutally honest with my introspection… I can’t even say with 100% certainty that I’ll watch it as it’s being broadcast, or whether I’ll pick up Paramount+ later in the year for a month or two and watch it then. I’d love to be able to say “stay tuned for weekly reviews,” as I’ve generally enjoyed the process of writing reviews for Seasons 3 and 4. But at this point… I’m not 100% committed to doing that.

A behind-the-scenes photo showing the USS Discovery bridge set. — A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the USS Discovery’s bridge set.

But enough about that for now! I have a longer piece on the burnout I’ve been feeling – which you can find by clicking or tapping here – if you’re interested to read more.

As I look ahead to Discovery’s fifth season, there are several loose ends that I’d like to see the series tie up, some narrative traps that I hope can be avoided, and a couple of fantasies – that will almost certainly go unfulfilled – about the series tying its 32nd Century setting closer to the rest of Star Trek. It’s these points that we’re going to look at today. I’m calling this piece my “wishlist” for Season 5!

But first, I have to give my usual caveats! Firstly, I have no “insider information,” and I’m not claiming that anything discussed below will be included in Discovery’s upcoming season. This is a wishlist from a fan, and nothing more. Secondly, we all have different opinions about what makes for a good Discovery story. I’m offering my subjective take on what I’d like to see included, and you are free to vehemently disagree with all of the points I raise. Nothing about this is “objective” in any way! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started!

Wish #1:
A proper ending.

The famous "That's All Folks" graphic shown at the end of Looney Tunes cartoons. — Season 5 will be *Discovery’*s final outing.

Season 5 is to be Discovery’s swansong, and I’m already deeply worried about that. Comments from people who worked on the season – most notably director and Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes – have confirmed that last-minute re-writes and extra filming sessions were required to “make the finale into the finale” after news of the show’s cancellation broke. To me, that suggests that Season 5 was not written with the show’s cancellation in mind, and that raises some pretty big concerns about how conclusive and definitive its ending will be.

There are many different ways to bring a story to its end. I’m not, for example, suggesting that the entire main cast should be killed off, nor that the show’s end needs to be explosive and dramatic. But other Star Trek shows have done their best to give their crews a proper send-off – whether it was Deep Space Nine showing its characters going their separate ways, Voyager finally making it home, or even Enterprise’s ultimately disappointing attempt to show the founding of the Federation. Discovery’s characters deserve an ending, in whatever form that may take.

Still frame from the Deep Space Nine Season 7 episode What You Leave Behind showing Chief O'Brien in his cabin. — Chief O’Brien left DS9 and headed for Earth in the series finale.

Let’s be blunt: there won’t be a Picard-style resurrection for these characters in twenty years’ time. While it’s still possible that we might see the likes of Tilly or Kovich in Starfleet Academy (assuming that series is still going ahead amidst the neverending chaos of the Paramount corporation), for most of the crew, this is the end. And that end, however it may come, needs to be worthy of the show and its great cast of characters.

At the very least, I’d like to see all of the main characters get an ending to their respective arcs and stories – and if we can stretch things out, there are several prominent secondary characters who deserve that, too. Again, we don’t need to see anything explosive or dramatic for everyone; something as simple as Admiral Vance choosing to retire with Burnham taking over as head of Starfleet could be one way to handle those characters, for instance. One way or another, though, we need to get an ending that feels conclusive… and doesn’t feel like it was written on the back of a napkin in twenty minutes because Paramount’s executives have no idea what they’re doing.

Wish #2:
Lower the stakes.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 2 episode Such Sweet Sorrow showing a spaceship launching a fleet of unmanned drones. — Control threatened to wipe out all life in the galaxy in Season 2.

Discovery has, over its four seasons so far, put the entire Federation in danger no fewer than four times. Putting Earth itself in the firing line at the end of Season 4 was just the icing on the cake… but it’s past time to try something different. Other Star Trek shows have used the “massive galaxy-ending threat” storyline quite sparingly – and that’s been to their benefit. It’s only Picard that’s come close to over-using this trope as much as Discovery.

There are so many stories that can be told in this wonderful sci-fi setting that don’t require such high stakes. Stories can focus on individual characters, factions, planets, and so on without forcibly cranking the drama up to eleven. This is now Discovery’s last chance to tell a story that doesn’t involve some sort of existential threat to the Federation and/or the entire galaxy, and I’d really like to see how Captain Burnham and the other characters thrive in that kind of narrative environment.

Still frame from Discovery Season 3 showing the destructive event known as "the Burn." — The apocalyptic disaster known as “the Burn” was the driving force behind the story of Season 3.

The season’s original premise seemed to tease a mystery – one that could tie into the events of The Next Generation or even the Picard eras, which could be a ton of fun. Unravelling an archaeological mystery, searching for some kind of hidden treasure, and striking out on a bona fide adventure are all ideas that could make for an entertaining and compelling story.

Some of my all-time favourite Star Trek episodes (and favourite Discovery episodes too, come to that) are smaller character-focused pieces, or stories that put exploration and adventure at their core. We’ve seen glimpses of this in Discovery, with episodes like An Obol for Charon in Season 2 and Choose to Live in Season 4, but those stories still came along as part of season-long arcs about imminent threats to all life in the galaxy. It would be great if Discovery could take this last opportunity to tell a story with lower stakes and let us see how the characters we’ve come to know would cope with an altogether different kind of mystery.

Wish #3:
Finally explain the events of the Short Treks episode Calypso.

Still frame from the Short Treks episode Calypso showing Craft in the USS Discovery's shuttle bay. — Craft aboard the long-abandoned USS Discovery.

If you’ve been a regular reader for a while, you might remember this particular point from my commentary leading up to Seasons 3 and 4 as well! Thus far, Discovery has taken steps toward embracing some of the plot points from Calypso – including the creation of Zora from a merging of the ship’s computer and the sphere data, as well as the use of the term “V’Draysh” to refer to the post-Burn Federation. But on the other hand, the ship’s retrofit, the galaxy-wide ban on time travel, and the show’s current place in the timeline have all taken steps away from what we saw in this mini-episode.

Maybe I’m one of the last people to still give a shit about Calypso. It was a fifteen-minute mini-episode produced in 2018 for the sole purpose of trying to retain subscribers to what was then still called CBS All Access in between seasons of Discovery. Maybe I should just… write it off. But because Calypso still feels like such an outlier – and a mysterious one at that – I can’t. I want to see some kind of conclusion to its story, and with this being Discovery’s final season, it’s all but certain to be our last chance to get one.

Still frame from the Short Treks episode Calypso showing the USS Discovery engaging its tractor beam. — The USS Discovery in *Calypso*.

A big part of me suspects that Calypso will be brushed aside by Paramount. It seems clear at this point that it was written at a time when Discovery was flirting with cancellation after an unimpressive first season, and could have served as a kind of epilogue to Season 2 with only a couple of narrative tweaks. It also set up Season 2 in suitably mysterious fashion, leaving us wondering about the thousand-year time-jump and the state of the galaxy in the far future.

If left unresolved, Calypso wouldn’t be the only outlier in the history of the franchise – not by any means. Star Trek’s world has grown and evolved over decades, with storylines and ideas falling by the wayside. Maybe it would be too complicated to write an explanation for Calypso in the confines of a ten-episode season that also has a lot of work to do for other characters and storylines that are arguably much more important. But with talk of a mystery that could be centred on the 24th Century… I can’t help but wonder. Could some kind of time-travel be on the agenda? And if so… could the USS Discovery and its computer end up hidden in a nebula for hundreds of years, waiting for the crew to return when the time is right?

Wish #4:
A major connection to the Picard era.

Still frame from Star Trek: Picard Season 3 showing the USS Titan approaching a space station. — The USS Titan.

For two shows in the same franchise that were in production simultaneously for three full seasons, there’s been remarkably little crossover between Picard and Discovery. The inclusion of the Qowat Milat from Picard’s first season has been the biggest, but it feels like both shows missed open goals when it comes to making bigger connections. I don’t want to see Star Trek go down the Marvel route of making every show and film one piece of a bigger puzzle – because that kind of storytelling has its own limitations. But there’s more Paramount could do to connect disparate parts of the Star Trek franchise, even with Picard and Discovery being set centuries apart.

A teaser trailer for Season 5 (which was only shown at a fan convention, as far as I can tell) featured a Romulan scout ship of the same design seen in The Next Generation – according to reports from those who saw it. Combined with what we know about the story’s “ancient mystery,” some kind of connection to the 24th Century seems to be a possibility – and that’s great! Anything that ties into The Next Generation and the shows of that era would be wonderful to see.

Still frame from The Next Generation Season 3 episode The Defector (remastered version) showing a Romulan Scout Ship. — A Romulan scout ship in *The Next Generation*.

But there’s got to be more to it than just a hit of cheap nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. A successful story that ties into the events of The Next Generation and Picard could do a lot for the languishing Picard spin-off pitch – Star Trek: Legacy. Many Trekkies, myself included, would love to see another series or film set in the Picard era, and Discovery’s final season could help set it up and rally more support.

In any event, this is Discovery’s last chance to connect to Picard. With Picard having concluded its run, perhaps the necessity of such a connection is lesser now than it was a couple of years ago… but I’d still like to see something more. It doesn’t have to be a major appearance by a main character or anything like that – though that could be absolutely phenomenal if handled well – but if Discovery could do something more to connect with its sister show, I’d appreciate it!

Wish #5:
Undo some or all of it?

Still frame from the Discovery Season 2 episode Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 showing Michael Burnham time-travelling. — Could time travel lead to a reboot of Star Trek’s far future?

This isn’t something I’m sure I want to see – hence the question-mark! But Discovery’s 32nd Century has certainly been a departure from what we’ve come to expect from Star Trek’s incredibly positive and optimistic take on the future. Furthermore, its place in the timeline casts a shadow over practically every other Star Trek story; the knowledge that the Burn will come along and cripple the Federation is now forever present, and that can have an impact on how future stories are perceived.

For much of Season 3, I wondered whether Discovery’s writers were planning to “undo,” through time travel, parallel universes, or other technobabble shenanigans, the Burn and the post-apocalyptic 32nd Century. Going that route could’ve even tied in with Calypso, the Short Treks episode we discussed a moment ago. It didn’t happen in the end – and Season 3 came to an end with the Burn’s cause being explained and the Federation beginning the slow task of rebuilding.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 2 episode The Red Angel showing Michael Burnham. — Time travel and undoing broken timelines has been a theme in *Discovery* already.

At this point, with two full seasons set in this time period and having been introduced to several genuinely interesting characters, wiping out this version of the 32nd Century would be difficult to pull off from a narrative standpoint. In-universe, however, there are still some good arguments for doing so. Saving the lives lost during the Burn is one, as is saving the future from more than a century’s worth of strife and difficulty. Going back in time could also save Kwejian and other worlds from last season’s dark matter anomaly.

I doubt that this is the way Discovery will choose to go in its final season… but there are arguments in favour of resetting the 32nd Century to bring it more in line with the rest of the franchise – especially if Paramount hopes to make the 32nd Century the setting for other projects. Starfleet Academy seems all but certain to be set in this era, and while there’s something to be said for stories about rebuilding after a disaster… Discovery hasn’t really done much with that idea so far. Maybe it would be better to admit now – before it’s too late – that “post-apocalyptic Star Trek” was a mistake, and find a way to undo it.

Wish #6:
A big-picture look at the state of the galaxy and its factions.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 3 episode There Is A Tide showing Admiral Vance and Osyraa at the negotiating table. — The Emerald Chain is one of the only new factions we’ve met in the 32nd Century so far.

Star Trek has built up its factions and their relationships over the course of decades, and only rarely has the franchise “zoomed out” to take a broader look at the shape of the galaxy. But with the 32nd Century still being a relatively new setting, there’s so much that we still don’t know about how the galaxy looks in this era. It would be great if Discovery could shine a light on at least some of the factions that we remember from past iterations of Star Trek, showing us what became of them over the centuries.

Several factions have been name-dropped over the past couple of seasons: the Borg, for example, and the Q Continuum. And we’ve seen background characters from races like the Ferengi and Lurians that indicate they’re still around. But other major races and factions from Star Trek’s past are noticeably absent: where are the Klingons, the Betazoids, or anyone from the Delta Quadrant? It would be great to catch up with even one returning faction and see what position it’s in – and if I had to choose, I guess the Klingons would be the most interesting. Not only has the Klingon Empire been a major faction across Star Trek’s history, but Captain Burnham and the crew had multiple run-ins with them in the 23rd Century.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 1 premiere showing the Klingon character T'Kuvma. — The Klingons played a big role in *Discovery’*s first two seasons.

If Discovery could zoom out, though, even just for a few moments, and show us other major players in the 32nd Century beyond the Federation and the Emerald Chain… I’d really appreciate it. It would be wonderful to see how the Star Trek galaxy has evolved over that time, as well as seeing how powers like the Klingons or the Borg coped with the effects of the Burn and its aftermath. With the Burn now 100% confirmed to have originated with the Federation… could that cause tension or even conflict? There’s a lot that could be explored here.

Setting up what the galaxy looks like beyond the Federation’s borders could also be to the benefit of Starfleet Academy and any other potential spin-off projects, giving them something to build from. Discovery’s 32nd Century feels very open-ended at the moment – and that can be a good thing, don’t get me wrong. But beyond just the curiosity of seeing more of the galaxy in this era, there are solid narrative reasons for establishing the status of major factions and races.

Wish #7:
Properly explain Dr Kovich and his role in the Federation.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 5 trailer showing Dr Kovich and Captain Burnham. — Dr Kovich and Captain Burnham in the first Season 5 trailer.

Dr Kovich is a fun and enigmatic character, portrayed brilliantly by David Cronenberg. But he’s also mysterious to the point of being frustrating, and I’d like to see Discovery finally explain who exactly he is and what his role is within the Federation’s hierarchy. We’ve seen Dr Kovich as a psychiatrist, a military analyst, a commander with the authority to give orders, a teacher or professor, someone with classified medical knowledge, and more. Last season, he told Captain Burnham that he couldn’t accompany her on Discovery’s mission to the galactic barrier because he had “more important things to do,” only for that line to be ignored as the season came to a close.

So once more I’m asking this question: who is Dr Kovich? What’s his role in Starfleet/the Federation? Is he, as I’ve long suspected, the head of – or perhaps even the sole survivor of – Section 31? The latter could be an interesting tie-in with the upcoming Section 31 TV movie.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 5 trailer showing Dr Kovich. — Could Dr Kovich work for Section 31?

Enigmatic and mysterious characters are a ton of fun. But Dr Kovich has, for me at least, crossed a line. He seems to be too perfect; a master of too many trades and a jack of none. Narratively, he seems to be moved around at the drop of a hat to fill any senior role that the writers need – but with no explanation of how he has all of this classified information and knowledge of such a broad range of subjects. If he was part of Section 31 in this era, a lot of that would make sense.

Perhaps that will have to be my own personal “head canon,” though! Still, with Dr Kovich returning this time, it would be nice to learn more about who he is and what exactly his rank or position is within Starfleet or the Federation. He’s also a character who has the potential to reappear in Starfleet Academy… so if he can’t be given a full explanation or spotlight episode this time, maybe there’s still hope!

Wish #8:
Tee up the “next phase” of Star Trek.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 4 premiere showing Burnham addressing a class of Starfleet Academy cadets. — A series set at Starfleet Academy has already been announced.

Discovery’s cancellation, if you really think about it, could be a turning-point for the Star Trek franchise. It was the first made-for-streaming Star Trek series, the first fully-serialised show, the first Star Trek series on the small screen in more than a decade, and the first to explore this new 32nd Century setting. Its finale will mark the end of an era – so the question “what comes next?” should be firmly on the minds of executives and producers.

Discovery is bound to do something to lean into or set up Starfleet Academy – I think that’s a given. We already saw a “backdoor pilot” in Season 4, and I think Season 5 could expand upon that, perhaps giving some of the cadets from that episode more of a starring role. But beyond Starfleet Academy and Section 31 – another Discovery spin-off – what else can this final season do to give potential future projects a foundation to build upon?

Still frame from the Discovery Season 3 episode Terra Firma, Part II showing Burnham and Georgiou. — Season 3 has already set up the *Section 31* TV movie.

There are many ways this could go – from doubling-down on characters and themes to killing off half of the cast or even overwriting some or all of this iteration of the 32nd Century. But if Discovery could use this final season to blaze a trail that other shows could follow – without leaving things unresolved or ending on a deliberate cliffhanger – I think that would be fantastic.

Star Trek’s future is up in the air right now, with three of the franchise’s shows all coming to an end and questions over Paramount’s future. Personally, I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine a time in the very near future when Star Trek is once again on hiatus. But a solid final season from Discovery could include something for fans to keep in mind – and for the franchise to return to in the future.

Wish #9:
Spend a bit more time with one or two of the secondary characters.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 4 episode Coming Home showing T'Rina and Saru. — T’Rina and Saru.

The question of Discovery’s secondary characters – and the bridge crew in particular – always feels like a contentious one in some quarters of the fan community. We all agree that Discovery was pitched as “the Michael Burnham show,” but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to spend a bit more time with some of the other members of the crew… especially as Burnham has arguably seen her main character arc come to somewhat of a conclusion.

It was interesting in Season 4 to spend a bit of time with some of the folks at Federation HQ – T’Rina, President Rillak, and Admiral Vance all made fine additions to the show’s cast of characters, and several members of the crew also got moments in the spotlight. Not all of these character moments have worked as well as they should, perhaps, but I appreciate the effort!

Still frame from Discovery Season 4 episode Coming Home showing Admiral Vance with his wife and daughter. — Admiral Vance with his family.

It would be great if Season 5 could find the time to explore someone like Owosekun or Rhys a bit more. Or even to bring back someone like Gray, who was rather unceremoniously shuffled off the series at the earliest opportunity. Now that Burnham is firmly embedded in the captain’s chair, has resolved her issues with Starfleet, and settled her relationship with Book, there’s perhaps more of an opportunity than in past seasons to spend more time with other members of the crew.

Obviously in a ten-episode season with a mysterious main story, we aren’t going to have time for a detailed look at everyone. That’s a shame – but it is what it is! I’d settle for even a single episode with a focus on one of the secondary characters, or storylines featuring a couple of them spread throughout the season.

Wish #10:
Standalone episodes and storylines to offset the season’s main narrative arc.

Still frame from the Discovery Season 4 episode Choose to Live showing the interior of the Abronian spaceship. — Saving the Abronians in *Choose to Live* was one of the highlights of Season 4.

When I think about Seasons 3 and 4, my favourite episodes and storylines were actually off to one side, not really part of the main season-long narratives in either case. Episodes like Terra Firma and Choose to Live were among the highlights of their respective seasons, and that’s because they did something that Discovery hadn’t really done before: self-contained episodic storytelling.

Since the likes of Lost and Game of Thrones set the entertainment world ablaze with incredibly popular serialised stories, that’s the only model that most executives have wanted to pursue. But a franchise like Star Trek was built on an older style of episodic storytelling, and that’s something many fans have long appreciated and want to see more of. It’s also, I would argue, why a franchise like Star Trek proved to be so popular in re-runs and on DVD: you don’t need to have followed a whole season-long story, it’s easy in most cases to just pick up an episode or two and have a great time. But that’s a longer conversation that we’ll have to save for another time!

Still frame from the Discovery Season 3 episode Terra Firma featuring the character of Carl. — “Carl” in *Terra Firma Part I*.

Strange New Worlds managed to strike a wonderful balance in its first season. Characters could have season-long arcs, learning, growing, and changing as their adventures unfolded, but each week the crew would be in a different situation, orbiting a different planet, facing a different foe, or tackling a different challenge. This blend of serialised arcs with episodic storytelling was fantastic – and I would dearly love to see more of it in Star Trek (and on TV in general!)

I don’t expect Discovery to fully go down the Strange New Worlds route – as much as I’d love to see it. But there really ought to be time for a couple of standalone episodes, perhaps focusing on other characters off to one side as the ship and crew travel to their next destination. Opening up the season to new and different adventures would be well worth it!

So that’s it!

Promo photo for Discovery Season 5 featuring Captain Rayner. — Captain Rayner… a new character for Season 5.

Those are ten of my wishes for Discovery’s upcoming fifth season. Although I’ve been feeling that sense of burnout that I described earlier, I do fully intend to watch Discovery this spring. Whether I’ll sign up for Paramount+ in April to watch it week by week or whether I’ll wait till June and binge it… I can’t be sure right now! But as I said shortly after New Year when I put together my annual “looking ahead” list, Discovery is a series that I’m looking forward to.

My biggest concern at this early stage has to be whether the series can manage to put together a solid, conclusive ending given that no such ending was originally written. Can re-writes and a couple of days of additional shooting make up for that deficit? Or will the series come to a close in unspectacular or even disappointing fashion?

I hope you’ll stay tuned here on Trekking with Dennis, because there will eventually be episode reviews and perhaps some additional commentary once Season 5 gets going. And when the series has broadcast its final episode, I’m sure I’ll have something to say about the way it ended – as well as perhaps taking a retrospective look at Discovery as a whole. Until then… Live Long and Prosper!

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 will be broadcast on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform is available beginning in April 2024. Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now, and are also available on DVD/Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Discovery and all other properties discussed above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

I have serious concerns about Discovery’s finale

Wed 02.08.23Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4.

As you may know by now, the upcoming fifth season of Star Trek: Discovery, which is due to be broadcast early next year, is going to be the show’s final outing. Paramount broke this news back in March – and true to form, did so in a poor way and with shockingly bad timing, though I suppose that’s somewhat beside the point. Discovery hasn’t always been everyone’s favourite Star Trek show, and I get that. But I think the one thing that Trekkies and viewers should be able to agree on is this: Discovery’s fans deserve to see a decent and conclusive ending.

Whatever you may have thought of the show, its characters, and its storylines, a creditable final season capped off with a solid ending could reframe how we view the show, and could even bring in some new fans. And every show, especially serialised ones like Discovery, should see their main character arcs and narrative threads tied up by the time the curtain falls for the last time.

When news of Discovery’s cancellation broke, I wrote the following here on the website:

“It’s my hope that Discovery’s writers will have known the end was coming well enough in advance to have planned out a conclusive ending for the series and its characters […] If this recently-announced news had been known to the producers and creative team, hopefully they will have been able to put together an ending worthy of the show and its great cast of characters.”

When a creative team knows that their production is coming to an end, they can find ways to wrap up storylines and pay off character development, bringing things to a conclusive end for at least some of the characters in the show. That’s what I hoped would happen for Discovery.

Captain Burnham exploring a ruin in the Season 5 trailer.

But unfortunately, we’ve recently learned that a conclusive end to Discovery was never written. In fact, it sounds like the show’s finale was a rushed affair comprised of last-second rewrites and pick-up shots – because in true Paramount style, the corporation has no idea what it’s doing with the flagship series for one of its biggest brands.

Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes directed the first half of Discovery’s fifth season finale – the episode that will now serve as the series finale. And he recently had this to say about it:

“When we did it [filmed the Season 5 finale] we didn’t know it was the end. And then Olatunde Osunsanmi had to go back up and do two or three days of new stuff to actually make the finale the finale.”

Jonathan Frakes with Saru actor Doug Jones during production on Season 3.

I don’t want to cast aspersions on the work of Olatunde Osunsanmi, who has directed some fantastic Discovery episodes – including Season 4’s Coming Home, which I regard as the high-water mark of the entire series. But Frakes’ comments sound incredibly ominous, and I have a bad feeling about Discovery’s finale right now.

In what Frakes recalls as being “two or three days,” additional work was done on the finale to wrap things up. Considering that a normal episode takes far longer than that to produce… I just don’t see how enough can have been done, even with a good director and a team who were ready to go. That’s on top of the emotional toll that would have been taken on the cast and crew as they learned – apparently at the last moment – that the series was to be cancelled.

Mary Wiseman as Tilly in the Season 5 trailer.

Although Starfleet Academy may serve as a spin-off of sorts, continuing Discovery’s 32nd Century setting for another season or two, I doubt we’ll get much more of a follow-up. Discovery isn’t The Next Generation – there won’t be a fan campaign to bring it back, nor is there likely to be a Picard-style resurrection in a few years’ time. This is it for Discovery, and as a series with such a strong serialised focus, that means a definitive and conclusive ending is necessary. It just isn’t possible to write something like that on short notice, let alone film it in a couple of days.

After working on a series for five seasons across more than seven years, the cast and crew had to have known that there were almost certainly fewer days ahead than there were behind. But even so, the manner of Discovery’s cancellation feels all the more brutal in light of Frakes’ comments, and I really feel for everyone involved in the production. Apparently Season 5’s original ending would have at least left the door open for a potential sixth season, and with filming having been completed, that was then ripped away from the cast and crew at the last possible moment. Not for the first time, we’re talking about a lack of professionalism, management, and just basic decency at the upper echelons of Paramount.

Tom Ryan, CEO of streaming at Paramount Global.

Paramount Plus is failing. Discovery’s cancellation is one consequence of that, Prodigy’s equally abrupt end is another, and there are other examples we can point to beyond the Star Trek franchise. As Paramount’s executives continue to flop around, unable to get to grips with a streaming market that they have no clue about – and continue not to understand – desperate decisions like these will keep being taken. With writers’ and actors’ strikes on top of that, the future of Star Trek beyond 2024 feels very uncertain indeed.

If there was any evidence of a coherent plan behind the cancellations of Discovery and Prodigy, maybe it wouldn’t feel that way. Slowing down the Star Trek franchise, refocusing on fewer productions that might all share a single timeline, and prioritising quality over quantity are all good things – and if that’s what Paramount was doing, I’d actually be supportive of it.

But that’s just not what’s happening.

The seemingly chaotic way in which Discovery was cancelled, after its entire fifth season had been written and filmed, speaks to that. There’s no plan here, no direction. Paramount saw the losses mounting for its streaming platform and has hit the panic button. There may well be serious narrative consequences for Discovery as a result.

No one expected Discovery to last forever, and after several cancellation scares and rumours in years past, as well as being an expensive series to produce that arguably never quite managed to make good on that initial investment… the writing has arguably been on the wall. But as a fan of Star Trek, and as someone who has supported Discovery as best I can across its run, I want to see the show get a decent ending. Whether or not you think Discovery as a series deserves that… surely you can agree that its fans and supporters do.

Sonequa Martin-Green during production on Season 5.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the chaotic and haphazard way in which the overall Star Trek franchise is being handled, that its flagship series was cancelled without a plan and without an ending written. Paramount is incompetent at every level, so nothing about this situation shocks or surprises me any more. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing – or any less worrying.

Seasons 3 and 4 both had their issues. Pacing, structure, overused tropes, forced drama, and boring relationship nonsense all dragged down what could have been stronger and more interesting stories. But there was also a sense that Discovery was rediscovering some of that Star Trek magic, and especially in the fourth season finale, things seemed to be improving. I wouldn’t have chosen to cancel Discovery if I were in charge.

*Coming Home* set the stage for what should be a great fifth season.

But if there was a threat of cancellation in the air – and after more than seven years in production, with five seasons having been created in that time, it’s inevitable that those conversations would have been happening behind the scenes – then a timeframe for that decision needed to be in place. If cancellation were a realistic outcome, a story with a definitive ending needed to be written – not one that had to be rewritten at the last moment.

There’s a very real danger, I fear, that Discovery’s finale will be a disappointment. Moreover, depending on when these additional scenes and sequences may have been filmed, there’s also the prospect that they’ll be incredibly obvious and that it’ll be painfully clear which scenes were part of the original version of the episode and which were the last-second pick-up shots.

Kovich and Burnham in the Season 5 trailer.

With Star Trek’s future so uncertain, and the survival of Paramount Plus hanging in the balance, the last thing we need is a disappointing, underwhelming, or incomplete Discovery finale. A poorly-received final episode could end up seriously detracting from the show’s very real successes, as well as harming the prospects of both of its upcoming spin-off projects: Section 31 and Starfleet Academy. Paramount needs to get this right – and realistically, that meant planning for the end from the ground up. Season 5 as a whole needed to be written with the show’s end in mind, and it wasn’t. It couldn’t be – because once again, Paramount dropped the ball.

After Coming Home had been such a fantastic end point for Season 4, and with the promise of Discovery finally dropping its “the whole galaxy is in danger and only Burnham can save it!” premise, I felt that Season 5 had a solid foundation to build upon. When the show’s cancellation was announced it was a disappointing blow – but one that, under the right circumstances, could have worked. Now that we know Season 5 wasn’t intended to be the show’s final season, and that last-second rewrites and pick-up shots were needed, I really am concerned that the show’s ending won’t be as conclusive, as definitive, or as enjoyable as it ought to be.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform is available, and are also available on Blu-ray. Season 5 will stream on Paramount+ in early 2024. The Star Trek franchise – including Discovery and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

The end of the beginning… or the beginning of the end?

Fri 03.03.23Fri 03.03.23Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 and the trailers and teasers for Season 5.

We’re going to have to delay my review of the latest Star Trek: Picard episode by a day or two in order to do something that I rarely do here on the website: cover some breaking news. If you haven’t heard, let me be the bearer of what may or may not – depending on your perspective – be a bit of bad news: Star Trek: Discovery is going to end after its fifth season.

Forgive me for thinking negatively, but as soon as I heard that announcement, I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. Since filming wrapped on Discovery’s fifth season late last year, no live-action Star Trek has been in production for the first time in a couple of years. Not only that, but Picard’s ongoing third season is going to be that show’s swansong… and despite a spectacular first season, there’s been no news on a third season renewal for Strange New Worlds, at least at time of writing, even though production on Season 2 wrapped months ago. So could this be, as I fear, the beginning of the end for Star Trek in its modern incarnation?

How much life is left in the Star Trek universe?

Discovery brought Star Trek back to its small screen home in 2017 after twelve years in the wilderness. The show served as a launchpad for the Star Trek franchise as it exists today – and it’s highly likely that we would never have seen Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, or of course Strange New Worlds were it not for the trail that Discovery blazed. But with its cancellation after Season 5 – which is due to be broadcast sometime in early 2024 – is Star Trek in a better or more secure place than it was in 2017… or in 2005?

I’d argue that it isn’t.

Shortly after new year, I published a piece here on the website titled 2022: A Great and Terrible Year for Star Trek, in which I took a look at what I considered to be the highs and (considerable) lows that the franchise endured over the course of a rollercoaster year. Although there was a lot to say, perhaps my biggest conclusion was simply this: franchise fatigue is beginning to set in. It’s through that lens that I must view the news of Discovery’s imminent ending.

The final shot of *Discovery’*s fourth season finale.

Unlike with Enterprise in 2005, it’s my hope that Discovery’s writers will have known the end was coming well enough in advance to have planned out a conclusive ending for the series and its characters. Enterprise’s finale was divisive among fans, and the show’s final season seemed to leave more than a few characters and storylines up in the air by the time the curtain fell. If this recently-announced news had been known to the producers and creative team, hopefully they will have been able to put together an ending worthy of the show and its great cast of characters.

And as I’ve said more than once: it’s infinitely better for a show to end leaving its audience wanting more, lamenting that we didn’t get “just one more season,” rather than dragging on too long and having us regret that the end didn’t come earlier! Discovery has been an imperfect production, don’t get me wrong, but with the current state of Star Trek being what it is… maybe this is simply the right time for the show to come to an end. If there weren’t great ideas on the table for future story arcs, then I’d rather it came to a close with one last hurrah instead of dragging on ad infinitum.

Michael Burnham in the trailer for *Discovery* Season 5.

Star Trek can’t keep up the pace that we saw in 2022, where more than fifty episodes across five shows all debuted in a single calendar year. It’s just too much – and it risks putting off new viewers, who are precisely the people that Paramount needs to convince to tune in if Paramount+ is to have a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving the streaming wars. Making Star Trek too dense, too convoluted, and just too large is what’s been happening over the last few years, so stepping back from that shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing. If anything, it should be a net positive for the franchise.

With Picard also coming to an end, there’s the potential to perhaps scale back Star Trek and refocus. Take what worked about the shows over the last few years and hone it, disregard failed experiments, and have Star Trek operate in a similar fashion to other streaming franchises – with a focus on quality over quantity.

*Star Trek: Picard* is also coming to the end of its run.

But is that Paramount’s goal? With two live-action shows coming to an end, there’s the potential to put more money and energy into Strange New Worlds, for example, as that show was very well-received. But with no third season having been announced so far… I can’t shake the feeling that this really could be the beginning of the end for the franchise as a whole.

Depending on how things are scheduled, there’s enough Star Trek in production or post-production to coast through into the first half of 2024. But what then? A third season of Strange New Worlds – if one is to be produced – might also debut that same year… but 2025 could end up being like 2005: the end of the road.

If that were to happen, Paramount only has itself to blame. The corporation has mismanaged both the Star Trek franchise and its streaming platform in catastrophic fashion, seemingly led by the most inept team of morons to ever assemble in a boardroom. Before Discovery had even been conceived, an ageing corporate board with no knowledge or understanding of streaming or the internet saw the success of Netflix and said “make me one of those.” CBS All Access was born – and Star Trek was tapped to be its flagship franchise.

But was Star Trek ever big enough to place such a burden upon it? Even if Discovery had been flawless and had landed with minimal controversy, pinning the profitability of a streaming platform on its success was always a bad idea. It isn’t Discovery’s fault that CBS All Access – as Paramount+ used to be known – didn’t become the “next big thing” in streaming… and it isn’t Discovery’s fault that Paramount+ remains massively unprofitable today.

*Discovery* was created to be the flagship series for CBS All Access.

Paramount is in the wrong business. The board is right about one thing: streaming is the future. But they jumped into that market a decade too late, unprepared, and without the technical know-how or infrastructure to really make it work. The only thing CBS All Access/Paramount+ had going for it were shows like Star Trek – but I think Paramount is belatedly learning that the Star Trek franchise simply doesn’t have the mainstream appeal to carry an entire streaming platform.

So what does all of this mean for Star Trek’s future? Maybe it’s too early to hit the panic button… but I confess that I feel echoes of 2005. It’s been surprising to me that no spin-offs or new projects have been announced, and in a way, the announcement of Discovery’s cancellation was another opportunity to do so. The tone would be very different if the press release had stated that “Discovery is coming to an end… but Starfleet Academy or Captain Seven are entering production.”

Does Alex Kurtzman have a surprise up his sleeve?

So here we are. After a creditable six-year run, and numerous cancellation scares, Discovery will be coming to an end. Its imminent fifth season actually looks fantastic – and if it makes good on its promise of telling a different kind of story, perhaps in another world that could have set the stage for the show’s continuation. Perhaps the tragedy here will be that Discovery changed tack too late – that four whole seasons of “the galaxy is in danger and only Burnham and the crew can save it!” was just too much. That would certainly be my assessment, and as enjoyable as parts of Season 4 were, maybe if a different kind of adventure had been written last time around, we could’ve gotten an extra season or two.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. What of the backdoor pilot for a Starfleet Academy series that we seemed to get partway through Season 4? If Star Trek as a whole continues, will another series pick up Discovery’s 32nd Century setting – or does Paramount consider the far future to have been a bit of a misfire? Will Star Trek continue at all after Strange New Worlds Season 2 and Discovery Season 5? Is anyone at Paramount ready for a difficult conversation about what’s going wrong?

Paramount ought to reconsider many of its recent decisions…

I’m not thrilled to learn that Discovery won’t continue. Although not every season and every character fully stuck the landing, there’s been some fantastic entertainment along the way – episodes and moments within episodes that hit all of the high notes that we know Star Trek can. Moreover, by the time the curtain fell on Season 4, I felt that Discovery had finally turned a corner. Having settled Burnham into the captain’s chair, and told a story about seeking out new life – the very core of Starfleet’s mission – it felt that the show had finally achieved its potential. Season 5 will hopefully capitalise on this – but it will be short-lived, with only ten episodes left for the series to shine.

The history of Star Trek is one of stepping-stones: series and films that lead to new, different, and often better things. Just as Enterprise and the Kelvin films led to Discovery, so too has Discovery led to Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Strange New Worlds. Whether these shows will lead, in turn, to new things, or whether the trail will go cold for a while, Discovery played its part. It may not have always done so perfectly, but I’m confident that its place in the franchise’s history is assured – and I suspect that at least some of its critics will be won over if they give it a second chance!

I’m still looking forward to Season 5 – but it’s now a rather bittersweet feeling, knowing it will be our final outing with Captain Burnham and the crew. Not to mention that this news has massively increased concerns for the overall direction – and indeed the future – of the Star Trek franchise as a whole.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform is available, and are also available on Blu-ray. Season 5 will stream on Paramount+ in 2023 or 2024. The Star Trek franchise – including Discovery and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 – my thoughts on the latest trailer

Tue 22.11.22Tue 22.11.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 and the trailers, teasers, and announcements for Season 5. Minor spoilers are also present for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

At New York Comic-Con in October, we caught another glimpse of Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth season. The news earlier this week that filming has officially wrapped makes it seem like a great time to take a look at the teaser trailer and see what – if anything – we might be able to glean about the new story!

So to begin with, filming has just wrapped on Discovery Season 5 at time of writing. With Picard Season 3 and Strange New Worlds Season 2 both also well into post-production, there’s now no live-action Star Trek being worked on… at least, nothing has been officially announced. So that’s definitely something interesting – and while I’m expecting a Season 3 announcement for Strange New Worlds at literally any moment considering how well Season 1 was received, it’s definitely noteworthy that, at least in terms of live-action production, Star Trek seems to be entering a quiet period.

Sonequa Martin-Green on the set of *Discovery* Season 5.

At Star Trek Day back in September, we were treated to a set tour with Wilson Cruz, but I was a little surprised that the set tour and a single still photo were all that there was to show for Discovery at that point. I guess Paramount was saving this teaser trailer for Comic-Con, though, which came barely a month later. I’m glad we finally have something to get stuck into, even though I would guess that Discovery Season 5 may not hit our screens until after Picard and Strange New Worlds, potentially meaning it could be up to a year away.

Earlier in the year I wrote a piece about my “biggest wish” for Discovery’s fifth season. If you missed it, I can summarise it thusly: I don’t want Discovery to try to tell another “the galaxy is in danger and only Burnham and the crew can save it!!!” type of story. We’ve had four of those across the show’s first four seasons, and I know I wasn’t the only one in the weeks leading up to Season 4 to say that it was already beginning to verge on the repetitive. Trying to cram another story into that same creaking framework would be too much… and I’m pleased to say that, based on both this teaser trailer and the official synopsis of Season 5, Discovery seems to be trying something different this time around.

Here’s to a different kind of story in Season 5!

The teaser trailer certainly contained a lot of action – explosions, fire, injuries, weapons, masked alien adversaries, and a fair amount of running away. But these disconnected moments seem – if the voiceover and selected clips can be believed, at any rate – to be in service to a new and different kind of story, possibly one about… treasure hunting!

I know that we don’t have a lot to go on in a teaser trailer that was less than a minute long, so I hope I’m not being misled or getting too excited based on a single line that could, I admit, be open to other interpretations. But I really think that the idea of a treasure hunt could be a good one for Discovery if that’s the route that the new season will go down. At the very least it represents a change from what the show has done before, and as I’ve said previously, Discovery doesn’t need to keep re-using the same “horrible galactic disaster” narrative in order to tell stories that are exciting.

I hope that this rather desolate location isn’t indicative of another galactic-scale threat or disaster.

As viewers, our investment in a story is not inexorably tied to a sense of scale. On the contrary, some of the best films and television shows of all time have told character-centric stories that were a million miles away from civilisation-ending disasters – and some of the worst and most boring works of entertainment have tried and failed to compensate for lacklustre storytelling by going too big on the scale of the threat.

Past iterations of the Star Trek franchise also used the “galaxy is in danger” story archetype very sparingly, when you think about it, and some of the most well-remembered films and episodes don’t focus on villains or disasters on anywhere near that scale. If Discovery really is willing to set aside this framework for Season 5 – a framework that I would argue it has pushed to the limit – I think that can only be to the show’s overall benefit. Based on this teaser I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re going to get a main story that goes in a different direction. Fingers crossed, anyway!

Some of the clips in the teaser tie into this theme of an “epic adventure across the galaxy,” to quote the official synopsis released by Paramount. We saw a slightly different look at Burnham on her speeder bike from the previously-released photo, and it seems as though Stamets will be joining her for that part of the quest! Stamets was relegated to a minor role in Season 4, missing out on key storylines, even those which involved Gray, Adira, and Dr Culber – so seeing him back in action will definitely feel good!

We also briefly saw two characters who may be competitors or adversaries as Captain Burnham and the crew race to solve this mystery. The characters’ names have been given as Moll and L’ak, and their official descriptions read somewhat like a 32nd Century Bonnie and Clyde! Their backgrounds as couriers could give them a connection to both Book and Burnham – the latter having spent roughly a year as a courier after arriving in the 32nd Century before the ship and the rest of the crew joined her. There’s scope for some drama there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both characters were known to Book, at least.

I can’t tell what planet L’ak hails from, though his design feels at least somewhat familiar. There’s something Kelpien about his look, but at the same time I don’t think he is a Kelpien. I can’t put my finger on why he looks so familiar, though! Perhaps some kind of connection to an established Star Trek race or character will become apparent once we meet him. Moll, on the other hand, is giving me flashbacks to Farscape’s Chiana – I think that’s just the hairstyle, though!

There were a few clips of ancient-looking statues and ruins that seem to connect with this theme of ancient mysteries and treasure-hunting. I’m reminded of episodes like Captain’s Holiday, The Chase, and Gambit from The Next Generation, and the archaeological sequences set in the ruins of the Bajoran city of B’hala in Deep Space Nine. Jean-Luc Picard studied archaeology, and set off to uncover more than one ancient mystery in his time! Perhaps the story of the season will play out in a similar fashion – and there could even be references to some of the individuals or events in some of those earlier archaeological stories. Discovery hasn’t been big on drawing these kinds of connections, but some smaller references have made it to screen, so it’s possible at least!

It seems that the enigmatic Dr Kovich will be back for Season 5 – and after an occasionally frustrating time with this character, I have to say I hope that we’ll learn a little more about him. I haven’t forgiven Discovery’s writers for Kovich’s line in Season 4 that he had “more important things” to do than join the mission to contact Unknown Species 10-C; the fact that that line wasn’t paid off in any way at all wasn’t great. Despite appearing in seven episodes across two seasons, Dr Kovich’s role within the hierarchy of Starfleet and the Federation is still unknown.

I like the idea of Dr Kovich being the one to set Captain Burnham on the right path to begin this quest, as I think he’s the kind of character who could conceivably know something about whatever this mystery is that needs to be unravelled. But I hope that we learn more about Kovich himself, including how he seems to know so much about some of the subjects that he’s an expert in. What rank does he have, for example? Is he, as I’ve suspected since Season 3, an operative of Section 31? Dr Kovich is in danger of become a bit of a joke; a character used only for exposition and whose ambiguous background grows to accommodate anything a story needs – teacher, administrator, psychiatrist… I think we need to pin down who he is and what his official role is!

One character who we barely glimpsed in the trailer is new series regular Captain Rayner. This Romulan or Vulcan (at least by appearance) is described as a “gruff, smart Starfleet Captain” who had a “track record of wartime success,” but struggles in peacetime. Rayner sounds like he’s being set up to be a kind of antagonist for Captain Burnham to butt heads with; perhaps a Starfleet officer who doesn’t appreciate her lax attitude to rules nor her style of command.

We had a similar setup, in some respects anyway, with President Rillak last season, and I was on tenterhooks waiting to see if she’d betray Burnham and the crew – or if she was involved in some way with the DMA. Since arriving in the 32nd Century, senior Starfleet and Federation personnel haven’t fallen into the Star Trek trope of being the “bad admiral,” so I wonder if there could be more to this Captain Rayner that his official description might suggest. It does raise an interesting question, though: what ship will Captain Rayner command? The USS Discovery already has two officers on board who hold the rank of captain: Burnham and Saru. Surely Rayner can’t also be assigned to the USS Discovery – but if he isn’t, how could we expect to see him as a series regular?

Sticking with characters, let’s talk about Tilly. I talked about this after Star Trek Day, when Mary Wiseman appeared during the behind-the-scenes look at Season 5, but I hope that Tilly’s apparent return to the USS Discovery doesn’t undermine the emotional story she went through in Season 4 – a storyline that led to her leaving the ship for a role at Starfleet Academy.

We didn’t see a lot from Tilly in the trailer, but she was present for several clips, including aboard the USS Discovery. She could be “just visiting,” of course, or accompanying one or more of her cadets, but I’m not sure. I get the impression that something has changed for Tilly behind the scenes (yet again) and a reversal of a previously-established arc could be coming. As much as I love Tilly and want to see her continue on the show, her departure in Season 4 felt final… but moreover, it felt right for her character. Undoing that would not be my choice. I wonder if plans may have changed regarding the rumoured but still unannounced Starfleet Academy series – a series which could potentially have included Tilly. If last season’s All Is Possible (an episode that felt like a possible backdoor pilot) wasn’t as well-received as hoped, perhaps a rethink of that series and which characters it might include is underway. That’s something we’ll have to consider in more depth on another occasion!

We saw members of the bridge crew at their posts and on an away mission in the teaser, and I’ll repeat what I said in the run-up to both Seasons 3 and 4: there’s still scope to do more with some of these characters. With the return of characters like T’Rina, Admiral Vance, and President Rillak, Discovery is definitely building up a good roster of secondary characters, so it would be neat to see at least one of the bridge crew given a storyline or sub-plot this season.

And that raises another question: will Season 5 retain Discovery’s heavy plot armour for all of the named characters? After so many disasters, conflicts, and dangerous assignments since the crew arrived in the 32nd Century, it’s a miracle that everyone has survived! As I wrote in the run-up to last season, audience expectations are changing in the aftermath of shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, so giving every character heavy plot armour to survive deadly situations doesn’t really work any more. As sad as it would be to lose anyone – even one of the secondary characters that we don’t know so well – I think it’s something Discovery’s writers ought to at least consider doing.

One thing that I found interesting in the trailer is the puzzle box. The markings on the apparently wooden box were unfamiliar to me, but they look suitably “alien.” They could be Vulcan, perhaps, or Ferengi, or even from a planet like Risa. Whether the puzzle box will be an important macguffin in the story – or whether it was little more than a fun visual metaphor for the trailer – isn’t clear at this stage. Will it be an important artefact that the crew spend much of the season chasing down or trying to figure out?

But there is something more to say about the sequences in which the puzzle box is prominently featured. Look at the fingers that are moving the pieces into position. Do they look familiar at all? They absolutely could belong to an alien – like the new character of L’ak, for instance. But something about those fingers says “android” to me; they remind me a lot of how Data’s hands looked in The Next Generation. Could this mystery connect in some way to Data, Lore, or the Coppelius synths from Star Trek: Picard? Maybe that’s a complete overreach… but you never know!

…and a closer look at the fingers of whoever is using it.

It’s hard to know what else to say at this stage, really. Some of the clips in the trailer were very short, and without more context it’s hard to say more other than all of the characters from Season 4 seem to be returning. I’ll be curious to see more from President Rillak, who was a fun addition last time, and it’s my firm hope that Discovery will find a way to settle the relationship between Book and Burnham – their relationship drama was not one of the better aspects of Season 4. Book seems to be aboard the USS Discovery in the trailer, so there’s hope in that regard!

For a first look, the teaser trailer did a good job at getting me interested for Season 5. I like the idea of the show striking out and trying something genuinely new and different as it enters its fifth season – giving a bit of a refresh to a show that’s been running since 2017 and is quickly approaching its sixty-fifth episode is no small feat, and I’m rooting for Discovery to succeed.

Although there’s a lot of post-production work to be done, I’m hopeful that we’ll see Discovery Season 5 on our screens in 2023. If I had to guess, I’d say that the show could be targeting a broadcast next autumn, with Picard Season 3 and Strange New Worlds Season 2 going first. If we get any more big news or another trailer (which we surely will before the season arrives) I hope you’ll check back as I daresay I’ll have more to say. For now, I hope this was a fun look ahead to Season 5!

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Paramount+ in countries and territories where the platform is available, and are also available on Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Discovery and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

What happened at Star Trek Day 2022?

Fri 09.09.22Fri 09.09.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the entire Star Trek franchise, including recent and upcoming seasons of Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy, and Lower Decks.

The 8th of September is Star Trek Day! That’s the date in 1966 when The Original Series premiered in the United States with the episode The Man Trap, and Paramount chose to mark the occasion with a live broadcast for the second year in a row. I tuned in with some degree of excitement; the press release promised “announcements and reveals throughout,” and with Picard finishing up its run next year there was hope, I felt, for some kind of big announcement of a new series.

Star Trek Day was overshadowed this year by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I wasn’t entirely sure whether the event would go ahead as it became clear throughout the afternoon here in the UK how serious things were, but with the official announcement of her death coming mere minutes before Star Trek Day was due to start (and after most of the guests had already arrived), there wasn’t time to do anything about it. As someone who is categorically not a monarchist, this didn’t bother me in the slightest! But I hope that Star Trek Day proceeding as it did, with light-heartedness and humour, didn’t upset anyone in light of such an historic event.

Hosts Paul F. Tompkins and Tawny Newsome on the main stage at Star Trek Day 2022.

There were some fun chats with stars of all of the present Star Trek shows, but Star Trek Day lacked any major announcements or reveals, in my view, to fully justify a two-hour live broadcast of this kind. It was fun – up to a point – but there were expectations that Paramount had placed on the event through its promise of “announcements and reveals” that weren’t met, at least not for me.

I’m not just talking about brand-new projects, either. We could have seen announcements for things like Lower Decks Season 5 or Strange New Worlds Season 3, the latter of which is surely being worked on at this stage with filming having already been completed on Season 2. But no such announcement was forthcoming at Star Trek Day, and really the only big news (if we can call it that) was the announcement from Nicholas Meyer that his Ceti Alpha V pitch is going to be turned into a podcast.

All of the guests took to the stage stage at the end of Star Trek Day.

As the event’s hosts and guests gathered together on the stage to bid farewell to Star Trek Day, I was thinking to myself “surely that can’t be it!” Some kind of final announcement to wrap things up, like last year’s Picard Season 3 revelation, felt like a possibility. But then the live stream ended and, as it turned out, that really was it.

So I confess to feeling a little disappointed that we didn’t get any of the major announcements that I had been half-hoping to see. As I said a few weeks ago when previewing Star Trek Day, though: Paramount hasn’t been shy about making announcements and revealing details about upcoming projects this year, with news being made at events like Comic-Con. In a way, it’s a testament to how broad Star Trek’s base is as the franchise continues to enjoy its renaissance that so much news has been made so far in 2022. Still, a part of me feels at least a little sad that this made-for-fans event couldn’t have included some kind of big announcement.

Alex Kurtzman on stage at Star Trek day.

But that’s enough about what didn’t happen at Star Trek Day! Let’s talk about what we did see, because there were some trailers and teasers, some fun conversations, some fan-focused moments, and some trademark Star Trek weirdness thrown in for good measure.

First up, to get this out of the way, there were some technical hitches that definitely didn’t go unnoticed. Hosts Tawny Newsome and Paul F. Tompkins both struggled with their teleprompters at different points in the event, leading to some awkward moments as they didn’t know what to say or how to fill the space.

Also on the technical side, at least on YouTube the live stream cut out at least half a dozen times. This only happened for a few seconds at a time (and thankfully not during any of the teasers or trailers), but it’s something that really shouldn’t be happening at this level. Paramount is a massive corporation with a big budget and with lots of experience in running live broadcasts. This wasn’t an issue at my end, either, as I saw a lot of people making similar comments on social media about the quality of the stream itself. This didn’t happen last year – and if Star Trek Day is to return in 2023, I hope it won’t happen again.

The YouTube live stream cut out multiple times.

Last year, Star Trek Day felt rehearsed and choreographed. The hosts (Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton) felt confident, and everyone involved seemed to know where to go, what to say, and what was coming up next. This year… let’s just say that the whole thing felt a lot more “casual.”

Hosts Tawny Newsome and Paul F. Tompkins had great chemistry together and both brought a lot of energy to the stage, but neither of them seemed to have the faintest idea what they were doing, who they were about to talk to, or what was coming up next during the entire broadcast. There was chaos on stage at several points as one or both of the hosts got distracted, forgot what to say, or because of the aforementioned teleprompter issue. One or two instances of this could feel charming, but for two hours of occasionally cringeworthy viewing… I felt it rather outstayed its welcome. While I like both Newsome and Tompkins, and they definitely had great chemistry, I think a dress rehearsal of some kind would have been to their benefit. They didn’t have that many lines to learn, and several of the panels only consisted of a couple of questions, so it just feels as though on that side of things, Star Trek Day wasn’t as polished or rehearsed as it might’ve been or as it was last year.

Paul F. Tompkins and Tawny Newsome (both of whom star in *Lower Decks*) were on hosting duties.

This also applies to the DJ who was present throughout the event and the stand-up routine that took place partway through. Musical taste and comedy are both very subjective things, of course, but I felt that neither DJ Reggie Watts nor comic Brian Posehn excelled. Neither appeared well-rehearsed or coordinated, and I think that’s such a shame. Had a bit more effort or at least practice gone into their acts, Star Trek Day might’ve been a bit more enjoyable. As it was, both were pretty forgettable, with the only points of note being jokes that appeared to fall flat in the auditorium and a DJ who didn’t know what buttons to press and whose music didn’t seem to start on time.

Aside from big announcements of new projects, I was hoping to get news of Prodigy’s first season, Picard’s third, and Strange New Worlds’ second. We got a few tidbits of information about these projects, which was great, and in a moment I’ll break down the trailers and teasers that we saw. But first, a word about the live panels themselves.

Brian Posehn performed a short stand-up act.

Only Strange New Worlds felt fully-represented, with the majority of the main cast making an appearance. The Strange New Worlds panel was also probably the least cringe-inducing to watch, as host Tawny Newsome managed to get in a few interesting questions that prompted the cast to talk about both their experiences of Season 1 as well as drop a few teases about Season 2.

The other panels, however, were pretty lacklustre. Sir Patrick Stewart was present along with Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan to talk Picard Season 3, but the truncated panel only had time for a couple of questions before rolling the new teaser trailer. The Lower Decks panel completely fell apart, and while I don’t like to be too critical of performers who come down with a case of what seemed to be stage fright, Noël Wells and Tawny Newsome were not at their best as they seemed to have no idea what questions to ask or how to answer them.

The *Lower Decks* panel went completely off the rails.

The Prodigy panel was so short as to basically amount to nothing; Brett Gray, who plays Dal, barely got to say two words before a teaser clip for the second half of Season 1 was shown. I’m glad that Prodigy finally has a release date for those episodes, and I’m happy to see that Picard Season 3 will be on our screens in Feburary next year, but the panels were one of the parts of Star Trek Day that I was most looking forward to, and it’s just a shame that they were cut short. Better preparation from the hosts and some of the guests would have improved things, too.

The announcement of Ceti Alpha V as a podcast, that I mentioned earlier, is an interesting one in some ways. I’m glad that the Star Trek franchise hasn’t committed television or film money to this project, as it wasn’t one that I was desperately interested to see. But an audio drama of some kind is something different, and if Paramount markets it well it could become something of a sleeper hit. I won’t go into my full critique of the Ceti Alpha V concept again; suffice to say that I feel the chapter of Khan’s life in between Space Seed and The Wrath of Khan may not be the most interesting one to revisit. But if Nicholas Meyer was dedicated to it, perhaps an audio drama is a good compromise. I would say that Meyer didn’t seem thrilled to be making the announcement and specifically mentioned that he wrote it for television; perhaps there’s some degree of sour grapes there! You can read my full thoughts on Ceti Alpha V by clicking or tapping here.

Nicholas Meyer announced the upcoming *Ceti Alpha V* podcast.

The teaser we saw from Prodigy seems to pick up fairly shortly after the events of the most recent episode, with the crew of the Protostar on the run. It looked tense and exciting, and really like more of the same; a continuation of the story and events of the first half of Season 1. I’m hopeful that Paramount will start to support Prodigy more strongly as I really feel that the show has so much untapped potential to convert a whole generation of kids into Trekkies for the first time. But if that’s going to happen, Paramount is going to have to do more to promote and assist the show. Toys would be a good start; we’re still months away from the first batch of Prodigy toys, and despite showing off some new merch at Star Trek Day, Prodigy was once again conspicuously absent from the lineup.

It’s good that Prodigy will be returning in late October, though – as soon as Lower Decks Season 3 wraps up, Prodigy can fill that slot. It means there’ll be new Star Trek on our screens all the way to the end of the year, which is fantastic. Although the clip that was shown seems to be from the first new episode, there’s scope for the crew of the Protostar to have lots of new adventures – and perhaps connect their story to Voyager in a significant way. I can’t wait to see what’s in store!

*Prodigy* is coming back in seven weeks’ time!

Strange New Worlds also showed a single clip from Season 2 in lieu of an edited and composed trailer, with the action focused on Lieutenant Ortegas as she prepared for an away mission. The planet Rigel VII was mentioned, which was a location first glimpsed in flashback sequences in The Cage and The Menagerie; Rigel VII is a planet Captain Pike has visited before and it’s home to fierce Kalar warriors.

The clip itself was interesting. We learned a little about the relationship between Ortegas and Spock as the latter’s analysis of information caused Ortegas to be dropped from an away mission she was excited for. We also learned that Captain Pike had once been a “test pilot” which made him confident enough to pilot a shuttle under what sounds like difficult circumstances. I’m getting a Gallileo Seven vibe from this story setup; perhaps the shuttle will crash in Kalar territory and the crew – led by Ortegas aboard the Enterprise, maybe – will have to mount a rescue! Am I over-interpreting a short scene? Well that’s a possibility!

Spock and Ortegas in our first look at *Strange New Worlds* Season 2.

A second announcement for Strange New Worlds’ second season introduced a brand-new character: Commander Pelia will become the Enterprise’s new chief engineer, taking over from poor Hemmer. I’m still sad about Hemmer’s departure from the series, but I can’t tell you how relieved I am that the writers managed to resist the temptation to replace him with Scotty! There’s scope to do more with legacy characters in Strange New Worlds, don’t get me wrong, but I want to maximise the time we have with some fantastic new characters, too.

Commander Pelia will be played by veteran actress Carol Kane, who you might know from Taxi, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, or the original stage production of Wicked. Landing someone of her calibre feels like a real coup for Strange New Worlds, and I’m hopeful that Commander Pelia will be a wonderful addition to the crew. I’m excited to see more scenes set in engineering in Season 2, as well!

We caught a glimpse of a new Lower Decks episode during Star Trek Day, too. The clip seemed to feature an aggressive Romulan adversary attacking the USS Cerritos, so I guess we should stay tuned for the Romulans to make an appearance later in the season! Maybe this is a controversial point, but I think Lower Decks may be in danger of over-using the “starship swoops in at the last second and saves the day” trope. It worked so well with the Titan in Season 1, and the Cerritos getting to be the saviour in Season 2 was poetic symmetry. But I think big, emotional moments like this should be used sparingly, so to see another starship doing the same here was… I don’t know. Maybe a little less impactful than it could have been.

However, all of this could be a moot point! It seems possible that the events we saw in the clip are taking place in an alternate timeline, a holodeck simulation, or something like that – because how else do we explain a Boimler clone with a different name in command of the other vessel? It was an exciting clip, though, and I’ll be fascinated to see that episode when it’s broadcast! Stay tuned for a full review!

The promised Discovery set tour was a bit of fun. Season 5 seems well underway, and it’s always nice to catch a glimpse behind the scenes. Wilson Cruz was a great guide, and although we didn’t get to see any brand-new sets, we got to see some of the details in Burnham’s quarters that are often overlooked. Cruz also drew attention to the dedication plaque at Federation HQ; again this is something I hadn’t seen up-close.

Of particular note during this segment was Mary Wiseman’s appearance. Lieutenant Tilly’s departure from the USS Discovery early in Season 4 was an unexpected move, but one that actually felt right for her character. Tilly got an emotional send-off before making an appearance in the season finale alongside Admiral Vance, and it felt possible that her departure could have set her up for a role in the long-rumoured Starfleet Academy series. That may still happen, but for now it seems that Tilly will be back aboard the USS Discovery in some form in Season 5. I’ll be glad to welcome her back – but I hope her return doesn’t detract from her wonderfully emotional departure in Season 4.

Wilson Cruz with Mary Wiseman and Blu del Barrio.

As the tour continued we saw a scene being prepared on the bridge set, with several characters in uniform. The bold primary colours that were reintroduced in Season 4 remain in place – something I’m pleased to see! A conversation with Stamets actor Anthony Rapp and one of the show’s costume/wardrobe artists was also interesting, and we saw Stamets’ familiar blue tunic in that segment.

Finally, a single promotional photo was shown off for Discovery’s upcoming fifth season – featuring Michael Burnham riding some kind of Star Wars-inspired speeder bike across a dusty or desert landscape. The image looks like it’s taken from an exciting sequence, and Burnham seemed to be out of uniform which could suggest she’s on an away mission or undercover assignment. But there’s only so much speculating we can do based on a single image! There was no release window for Discovery Season 5, but filming is well underway and I’m a little surprised that we didn’t get some kind of teaser trailer.

Captain Burnham looks like she’s having fun!

Star Trek Day paid tribute to Nichelle Nichols in very touching fashion. In fact, the pre-recorded segment was my favourite at the event, all things considered. Nichelle Nichols, who passed away earlier this year, made a huge impact on the Star Trek franchise – but more importantly in many ways, on the world beyond Star Trek and entertainment, too.

Performers Dawnn Lewis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Celia Rose Gooding, Wilson Cruz, Michelle Hurd, and more all contributed to the beautiful piece, and it really was the perfect way to salute a unique individual, someone who made a real difference not only on screen and within the Star Trek franchise, but far beyond the world of entertainment. As we discussed when I paid my own tribute to Nichelle Nichols, she played a huge role at NASA in getting more people from diverse backgrounds involved with the space programme. For Star Trek Day to take the time to salute her and recognise her legacy was important, and it was handled beautifully.

Nichelle Nichols at NASA as seen in the Star Trek Day tribute.

Picard’s third and final season now has a release date, and it’s nice to know that we’ll be having one last adventure with Admiral Picard in the early part of next year. The teaser trailer was interesting, and we got to see another new starship: the USS Titan! Spacedock also made a return to the franchise, which was beautiful to see. Sir Patrick Stewart told us that he and the crew are going back to space for Season 3 – after Season 2 spent most of its time on Earth in the 21st Century – and if the teaser is anything to go by, the crew’s return to the stars will be epic!

It was great to see Seven of Nine in uniform, and she seems to be playing an important role in whatever mission Admiral Picard will have to pick up. During the brief panel, Michelle Hurd mentioned that Season 3 will feature some kind of storyline involving the “criminal underworld” of the Star Trek galaxy, a premise that sounds interesting – and perhaps a little Star Wars-y!

The teaser trailer showed clips of all of the returning cast members from The Next Generation, with the notable exception of Brent Spiner. Spiner will be playing a role in Season 3, but who his character will be is still unknown. It could be a member of the Soong family, such as Altan Inigo Soong who was part of the story of Season 1. Equally it could be an android like Lore or B-4. We don’t know at this stage, but clearly Paramount is keeping that under wraps for now!

Aside from seeing the USS Titan up close, the teaser trailer played its cards close to its chest! The brief glimpses that we caught of the main characters were fun and exciting, but didn’t really communicate anything significant about the plot. At this stage, we really don’t know where the story will go or whether it will connect with anything from Seasons 1 or 2. I hope that it does, and that maybe some of the dangling story threads from those earlier seasons could be tied up… but my gut says we’re probably going to get something brand-new.

Geordi La Forge as seen in the Season 3 teaser trailer.

So that’s about all there is to say this time. Star Trek Day was… okay. There were no big announcements, no replacement for Picard, no season renewals for the current shows, and only two release dates for seasons that we already knew were coming. I think it would be unfair to call an event like this that was made for Trekkies “underwhelming,” but I really wasn’t blown away by this year’s Star Trek Day. A combination of technical issues, hosts and guests who felt unprepared, most of the panels being shorter and less-detailed than expected, and the lack of any major announcements or news all came together to put a bit of a downer on what should have been a fun extravaganza of all things Trek.

I felt that last year’s Star Trek Day event – which had a few issues of its own, don’t get me wrong – was better. Last year the hosts and guests felt better-prepared and rehearsed, there were none of the technical hiccups that impacted this year’s event, there were longer and more detailed panels featuring more guests, and there were bigger and more interesting announcements for all of the current shows. This year’s event just feels smaller and less exciting in comparison.

Hosts Paul F. Tompkins and Tawny Newsome with Wil Wheaton (who hosted last year’s event).

Despite that, I had a good time for the most part with Star Trek Day. I’m glad that Paramount put this together and I’m especially glad that it wasn’t locked behind a Paramount+ paywall and was thus accessible to all Trekkies. It’s no one’s fault that there weren’t any major announcements; that’s just the way it goes and if things aren’t ready, it’s infinitely better to wait than to jump the gun and announce something prematurely! Star Trek 2023 and the untitled Section 31 series stand as cases in point to that!

That’s just my take, though, and I sincerely hope that everyone in attendance and the legions of fans who watched from all across the globe had fun. We’re very lucky that the Star Trek franchise is going through a renaissance right now and that events like this still draw huge audiences! Long may that continue!

The Star Trek franchise – including all properties discussed above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. Star Trek series and films are available to stream now on Paramount+ in the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries and territories where the platform is available. Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks are available on Amazon Prime Video outside of the United States. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

What can we expect from Star Trek Day 2022?

Fri 19.08.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the Star Trek franchise, including recent seasons of Picard, Discovery, Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds.

The 8th of September is Star Trek Day! On that date in 1966, The Original Series premiered in the United States with the episode The Man Trap, kick-starting a franchise that’s still going strong fifty-six years later. Last year, Paramount organised a major broadcast to mark the occasion, hosted by Wil Wheaton (The Next Generation’s Wesley Crusher and host of The Ready Room) and Mica Burton (daughter of Geordi La Forge actor LeVar Burton). It was a fun event – albeit one that probably went on a little too long – that celebrated all things Star Trek. With Star Trek Day coming back this year, I wanted to look ahead to the event and consider what we might see when it arrives in just under three weeks’ time.

My usual caveat for these sort of things applies: I have no “insider information,” and I’m not trying to claim that anything discussed below will definitely be included in this year’s Star Trek Day broadcast. This is speculation from a fan – and an opportunity to talk Trek – and nothing more! With that out of the way, let’s get started!

George Takei at last year’s Star Trek Day.

First of all, I think it’s worth talking about some of the big announcements we’ve seen over the past few months, because Paramount hasn’t been shy when it comes to making headlines for the Star Trek franchise. We’ve had major announcements about Picard Season 3, including who will be part of – and excluded from – the main cast, we’ve seen trailers, clips, and teasers for Lower Decks, which will be a couple of episodes into its third season by Star Trek day, we’ve had plenty of news about Strange New Worlds Season 2 – including the surprising return of a fan-favourite character… and much more besides. Events like last month’s Comic-Con saw big panels featuring main cast members and major announcements, like the Strange New Worlds crossover with Lower Decks.

In short, I’m not so sure that we should expect a glut of trailers and teaser clips and a plethora of massive announcements! Paramount could’ve saved things like the Picard Season 3 teaser and posters that were shown off at Comic-Con for Star Trek Day, but in a way it makes sense to use an event like that – where all eyes are on the world of entertainment – to make waves and show off Star Trek’s renaissance. Star Trek Day itself, at least based on what we saw last year, is more of a celebration for Trekkies and the Star Trek community.

Star Trek already dropped some big announcements at Comic-Con just last month.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be anything of substance, and the official press release for Star Trek Day promised announcements, reveals, and surprises! With Season 3 being Picard’s last, and principal photography already having been completed, I can’t help but wonder whether we might get an announcement of what could replace it in the lineup. When Picard disappears from the schedule next year, there will be a gap – and as Alex Kurtzman (head honcho of Star Trek for Paramount) has previously told us, there won’t be any new Star Trek until one of the current shows has ended its run. Well, something’s going to have to fill the Picard hole in late 2023 or 2024… so could the announcement of a new project be imminent?

I note that the official press release for Star Trek Day specifically mentioned that Michelle Hurd (Raffi) and Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) will be present to talk about Picard. I know I’m not the only one who’s talked up the possibility of a “Seven and Raffi Show” as a spin-off from Picard, so it’s interesting that these two actors will be present together at Star Trek Day. Sure, they could just be there to talk about Picard Season 3… but maybe, just maybe, there’s more to it than that!

Seven of Nine and Raffi in *Picard* Season 2.

There are at least two unannounced Star Trek projects in the works at Paramount, again according to Alex Kurtzman. I don’t think we’d get two massive announcements like that at Star Trek Day, and if I had to put my money anywhere I’d say that a Picard spin-off or at least another show set in that same 25th Century era is the most likely. But you never know! There are rumours of a Khan-focused project and a Starfleet Academy series, the latter of which may (or may not) be a Discovery spin-off set in the 32nd Century with Mary Wiseman reprising her role as Lieutenant Tilly.

Does the untitled Section 31 series still count as having been “announced,” given that there’s been no official news for almost four years at this point? We could finally hear something about that project, too, I suppose. But I’m not holding my breath on that one.

So there are a few different possibilities for a major announcement. A brand-new series would be a heck of a way to celebrate Star Trek Day, especially if the announcement came along with things like concept art or maybe even casting information.

Are we going to get an announcement about… Khaaaaaaaan?!

The other big project that’s currently up in the air is the untitled feature film Star Trek 2023. As we recently discussed, I seriously doubt whether the film will make its intended December 2023 release date given that most of the main Kelvin timeline cast don’t appear to be on board yet, but Star Trek Day could surprise us with some more information about the project.

So those are the potential projects that I think we could hear something about. As I said, my money would be on some kind of 25th Century Picard replacement if you forced me to make a bet… but there are definitely cases to be made to hear something about a Starfleet Academy series or perhaps a some kind of Khan project, too.

This year’s Star Trek Day will be hosted by Tawny Newsome (Ensign Mariner on Lower Decks) and Paul F. Tompkins (Dr Migleemo on Lower Decks) who co-host The Pod Directive, Star Trek’s official podcast. I’m sure they’ll make a great presenting duo – though part of me feels a little sad that Wil Wheaton won’t be on hosting duties. His energy and passion for Star Trek really elevated last year’s event.

I’m curious to see what may be teased about Discovery Season 5. Filming is currently underway in Toronto, and a behind-the-scenes tour hosted by Wilson Cruz (Dr Culber) promises appearances by some of the cast members and a look at new sets. I’m not sure when Discovery’s fifth season will make its debut; it seems right now as if Picard and Strange New Worlds will be ready first, even though Discovery Season 4 wrapped up back in March, so we could see one or both of those arrive before Season 5 is ready. Still, it’ll be neat to catch a glimpse behind the curtain – and maybe there’ll even be a teaser of some kind!

We’re edging closer to the first anniversary of Prodigy’s premiere, and we’ve been promised a second batch of ten episodes to round out that show’s first season before the end of this year. With a Prodigy panel on the agenda for Star Trek Day, I have to assume we’ll get some more details about those episodes – hopefully including a premiere date. If I had to guess, I’d say that the second half of Season 1 could directly follow on from Lower Decks, which could mean a premiere date in late October or early November.

Prodigy has not been particularly well-supported by Paramount, in my view, at least not so far. Splitting up its first batch of episodes into chunks of four and five respectively with a long gap in between is not a great way for a new series to gain traction – especially with its young target audience. There’s also a lack of toys and tie-in products, and while there are plans in place to address that, at time of writing none of those items are available for purchase. Paramount has a lot of work to do to really sell Prodigy – and I really hope they get on with it, because it’s a unique project within the Star Trek franchise and one that could turn a whole generation of kids into Trekkies if handled better.

We’ll hear something about *Prodigy* at Star Trek Day.

Either Lower Decks or Strange New Worlds stars could go into more detail about the upcoming crossover, and although it’s still early days we could get some kind of teaser for Strange New Worlds’ upcoming second season. I don’t expect to see any clips from the crossover at Star Trek Day – that’s just a hunch, of course, but something tells me it’ll be kept under wraps until much closer to the episode’s premiere. But we could learn more about Season 2, including whether any new cast members will be coming on board. There’s at least one and perhaps two spots open if the producers wanted to make additions, although I hope they don’t go overboard and try to cram in too many new characters – especially not characters from The Original Series.

Season 1 managed to strike a good balance between legacy and new characters, and I’d hope that would continue in Season 2. There must be a temptation to add characters like Scotty, for example, in engineering, but I hope that the show’s writers can resist – at least for now. There may be scope to bring in more legacy characters in later seasons, but for now I’d like to spend more time with some of the newbies who we’re just getting to know.

Behind-the-scenes with Captain Pike and the Enterprise bridge crew.

There’s also a decent chance, in my view, that we’ll hear about a Season 3 renewal for Strange New Worlds. Season 2 has already finished its main production phase, and with Discovery Season 5 well underway, it’s definitely time for those conversations to be happening behind-the-scenes. It seems utterly unfathomable to me that there won’t be a third season (and a fourth…) given how well Season 1 was received. Pre-production may be already happening, so it wouldn’t shock me at all to get a formal announcement at Star Trek Day.

In a similar vein there could be announcements for a fifth season of Lower Decks, a third for Prodigy, and perhaps even a sixth for Discovery – though the latter may be premature at this stage. As Discovery has been running since 2017 (and in production since 2016), it’s not an absolute certainty that we’ll get more after Season 5, but at the same time the 32nd Century feels like a really interesting setting to spend more time in, so I’m hopeful that there’ll be more to come from Captain Burnham and the crew.

Captain Burnham in *Discovery* Season 4.

So those are my main thoughts/predictions. I’m also looking forward to some of the other events that will be part of the live broadcast, including a tribute to Nichelle Nichols, as well as a couple of fan-focused events, some music, and even some stand-up comedy. Star Trek Day’s stated runtime is two hours, and that feels about right for something like this. As mentioned, last year’s event may have dragged just a little – at least for me – so it seems as though some lessons may have been learned from that. But as they say, live events have the potential to take unexpected turns, so I won’t be shocked if Star Trek Day ends up running a little over that time limit!

I guess that’s about all there is to say. I’m glad Paramount is doing this, and I’m glad the event will be free to stream on the official Star Trek website instead of being locked behind a Paramount+ paywall. It’s a nice way to celebrate all things Star Trek, and even if there are no massive announcements about brand-new shows or films, I still think it’ll be a fun time. There’ll be glimpses behind-the-scenes, chats with cast members, and hopefully a lot of positivity and excitement about the Star Trek franchise.

I’m looking forward to Star Trek Day, and when the event is over I’ll be sure to share my thoughts on the broadcast, as well as perhaps take a longer look at any major trailers, teasers, or announcements. Stay tuned here on the website in the next few days because I have a list of a few potential upcoming Star Trek projects currently in the works – and who knows, we may hear about some of those at Star Trek Day!

Star Trek Day will be live-streamed on the official Star Trek website and social media channels on the 8th of September 2022 beginning at 3:00pm Eastern Standard Time/8:00pm British Summer Time. The Star Trek franchise – including all shows and properties discussed above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

My biggest wish for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Sun 24.04.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4.

With Picard Season 2 ongoing, Strange New Worlds Season 1 hot on its heels, and Prodigy and Lower Decks still to come this year, it might seem premature to be thinking about Discovery Season 5 already! But as I was writing up the final part of my Season 4 theory list, it got me thinking. Season 4 wasn’t bad, all things considered. It had some storylines that disappointed or underwhelmed, but there are some genuinely outstanding episodes in the mix as well – and it ended on a very emotional and exciting high note.

It’s never too early to look ahead, and before production gets fully underway on Discovery’s next outing, I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions about where the show could go from here, and what I’d like to see next. That’s what this article will be about – but stay tuned for a more in-depth look at Season 4 and some of its story elements in the weeks and months ahead.

The USS Mitchell in the Season 4 finale.

For me, the single biggest wish I have for Discovery Season 5 is that it steps away from the “apocalyptic, galaxy-ending threat” story archetype that has been used in different ways across all four seasons of the show so far. We’ve gone through the Klingon war in Season 1, Control and the Red Angel in Season 2, the Burn and the Emerald Chain in Season 3, and finally the DMA and Unknown Species 10-C in Season 4. It’s time to give Captain Burnham and the crew a break, and for the series to try using a genuinely different formula instead of slapping a new coat of paint on the old one.

Just because a story is smaller in scale doesn’t make it any less emotional, exciting, tense, or dramatic, and I think that’s a lesson some of Discovery’s writers and producers could do with taking to heart. How we as the audience respond to a work of fiction is guided not by how massive the monster is or how big the explosions are going to be, but by how the characters we’re rooting for react. Their emotions become our emotions, their investment in the world around them becomes our investment, and so on. A story about a group of people working in an office, friends going on a road trip, or star-crossed lovers from rival families aren’t smaller, less exciting, and worse because they don’t have the backdrop of a world-ending disaster spurring them on. And conversely, some of the worst and least-exciting films and TV shows I’ve ever seen went over-the-top with the size and scale of the disaster the characters were facing.

The Burn was the driving force for much of Season 3.

Past iterations of Star Trek used these kinds of apocalyptic stories pretty sparingly, when you look back on it. It’s only Deep Space Nine’s Dominion War arc, which lasted for three seasons, that comes close to being as long and drawn-out an affair, and even within the framework of the Dominion War, DS9 found ways to tell very different and fun one-off stories. Things like the Borg incursions that Captain Picard and his crew had to deal with were either two-parters or one-off films, and they work well in that format.

Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D still found other ways to be entertaining, and many of The Next Generation’s standalone episodes have gone on to be considered iconic, even those that had a far smaller focus than blockbuster outings like The Best of Both Worlds. This doesn’t mean ditching the season-long story arcs or returning to an episodic format, because I think Discovery has done some interesting and neat things with its serialised stories. But it does mean choosing season-long storylines and narrative arcs that are different in a fundamental way to what the show has tried already.

Practically any format can become bland and unexciting when overused, no matter how much fun it might’ve been in its original incarnation or at its best moments. It’s a challenge to keep any television series feeling fresh as it enters its fifth season and races toward its sixty-fifth episode, and there are many examples of shows that ran out of steam somewhere along the way. Heck, I have an entire list of television shows that either ran too long or wore out their concepts, and I can think of many more that I could’ve included.

Even Star Trek has hit the wall in the past, running out of energy and failing to keep audiences engaged. By the time Enterprise was willing to try new things in its third and fourth seasons, for example, the franchise was already in such a steep decline that cancellation was inevitable. To Paramount’s credit, lessons have been learned from what happened in 2005 in terms of the way the franchise as a whole operates. Different series are telling stories in their own ways, appealing to broader audiences, and Star Trek as a whole feels varied and diverse. But Discovery on its own doesn’t… and it’s right on the verge of becoming repetitive.

I was far from the only commentator to make the point prior to Season 4 that another “galactic threat” storyline felt samey, coming off the back of three similar narrative frameworks, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one to say that re-using that format a fifth time will be a bridge too far. Making use of the newly-established 32nd Century in different ways, and telling a story that may be smaller in scale but that’s just as impactful, emotional, and entertaining, will be the key challenges that I’d like the writers to tackle in Season 5.

The theme of rebuilding in the aftermath of a disaster was something we only saw Season 4 tackle in the briefest and barest of ways right at the beginning of the season, but this could be a concept that the show puts to much better use next time around. Discovery could follow Captain Burnham as she and the crew jump to different worlds, delivering dilithium, solving problems, flying the flag for the Federation… and most importantly, bringing hope to a galaxy that’s been through a lot.

This is what I’d hoped Season 4 would do, to be honest. The idea of restoring the Federation from the incredibly weakened state it was in when we encountered it is far too important and interesting to be relegated to something that happens off-screen, and I felt even before Season 4 had aired a single episode that this concept offered so much scope for emotional, exciting, and varied storytelling. Discovery could hop to different planets, combining the inclusion of new and visually different alien races (like Season 4’s “butterfly” aliens) with the reintroduction of classic races.

Catching up with some of the factions we remember from past iterations of Star Trek is also something I’ve been wanting Discovery to do for two seasons now. We’ve caught glimpses of races like the Ferengi and Andorians, and heard others mentioned in dialogue and log recordings, but we haven’t actually spent a lot of time with practically any of them. Finding out what became of fan-favourites not only in the years after the Burn, but in the centuries before that event took place, is something that I think a lot of Trekkies would be interested in.

We caught glimpses of familiar races… but *Discovery* didn’t find time to explore most of them in any detail.

If the 32nd Century is going to be a major setting for the franchise going forward, this kind of world-building is important. Just like how The Next Generation laid the groundwork for Deep Space Nine through its introduction of the Cardassians and Bajorans, so too could Discovery introduce us to planets, races, and technologies that future spin-offs and Star Trek projects could expand upon.

Part of that world-building can be done in a serialised story that looks at how the Federation can be rebuilt in the aftermath of the disasters it has already faced; introducing another new disaster to avert or recover from is simply not needed at this point. From the point of view of the characters, throwing them into another extreme situation would also be problematic, and would take the storytelling close to soap-opera levels.

Discovery has, to its credit, attempted to show how some of the events that its characters have gone through have impacted their mental health. Some of these stories have been underdeveloped – Detmer’s in Season 3 and Dr Culber’s in Season 4 being the most egregious examples. But even with this kind of attempted mental health focus, there’s a limit on what we could expect characters to go through and still be alright when they come out the other end.

To be fair, that’s a line that the Star Trek franchise has crossed in the past with characters like Miles O’Brien, for example, who seemed to survive a lot of traumatic events only to be back to normal the next week! But as shows like Picard have demonstrated with characters like Seven of Nine and Jean-Luc Picard himself, it can be incredibly cathartic to revisit some of these characters and give them meaningful, lasting development. But we’re drifting off-topic!

Star Trek’s galaxy is vast, and as we saw in Season 4 with the inclusion of races like the Abronians and Unknown Species 10-C, even in the 32nd Century there’s still a heck of a lot that Starfleet doesn’t know about it. There’s scope for Captain Burnham and the crew to get back to exploring for its own sake, as well as using their Spore Drive to reach parts of the galaxy that it would be difficult for the Federation to do otherwise. There’s the potential for the crew to bring hope to far-flung Federation outposts after the Burn, the Emerald Chain, and the DMA have had such a devastating impact… and it’s worthwhile telling stories like that.

Even if Season 5 doesn’t do much of that rebuilding or exploring, I’m still hopeful that whatever stories it chooses to tell won’t feel repetitive and won’t recycle the same basic story framework that we’ve seen throughout the show’s entire run to date. Discovery could do so much to expand our understanding of the Star Trek galaxy; even more so in a 32nd Century setting that is wholly unconstrained by prior canon. Shooting this far forwards in time was a great way for the show’s writers and producers to give themselves new opportunities to play in the vast sandbox that we call the Star Trek galaxy – so now would be a great time to take advantage of that.

As I look ahead to Season 5, I feel hopeful and optimistic. Season 4 had some problems, but generally it was an improvement over Season 3 and it ended in truly spectacular fashion. There’s potential for what comes next to build on that, and if the series can avoid retreading too much old ground, Season 5 could be Discovery’s best outing yet.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Paramount+ where the platform is available and via a patchwork of video-on-demand and pay-to-view streaming platforms in the rest of the world. The series is also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Discovery and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

A whole host of Star Trek updates and renewals… but trust in ViacomCBS is still hard to come by

Wed 19.01.22Fri 21.01.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There may be minor spoilers ahead for the Star Trek franchise.

Yesterday we got some fantastic news about the direction of the Star Trek franchise over the next couple of years. I’m sure you’re already aware of all of it, but just in case, here are the key announcements in brief:

Star Trek: Discovery has finally been renewed for a fifth season.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 will premiere on the 3rd of March.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will premiere on the 5th of May.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been officially renewed for Season 2.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 will premiere this summer.
Star Trek: Lower Decks has been renewed for Season 4.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 will take a break when Discovery returns, before broadcasting the second half of the season later in the year.
Star Trek: Prodigy has been officially renewed for Season 2.

All of these announcements take the Star Trek franchise well into 2023, and when you add into the mix the as-yet-untitled 2023 film as well, there’s a massive amount of content to come over the next couple of years. It seems as though scarcely a week will go by without at least one new Star Trek episode premiering throughout all of 2022!

This is all unequivocally good news. Star Trek has made an absolutely triumphant return to the small screen since Discovery premiered in 2017, and the franchise has grown beyond my wildest hopes and most optimistic expectations in a scant five years. I hope that this is just the first phase of a new Golden Age, with more Star Trek on our screens taking us to the franchise’s sixtieth anniversary in 2026 – and beyond.

But it hasn’t been a smooth ride for Trekkies in recent weeks, especially for those of us who live outside of the United States. Star Trek: Prodigy is well into its first season for American viewers, but the rest of the fanbase hasn’t been able to see so much as a single episode – at least not via “conventional” means. This is despite Prodigy being a co-production between CBS Studios and Nickelodeon; the latter being a kids’ television channel that is available in more than 70 countries and territories around the world and is wholly owned by ViacomCBS. Surely a Prodigy international broadcast should have been possible – yet the corporation running Star Trek has consistently chosen to prioritise its American audience ahead of fans in the rest of the world, even when doing so makes no sense.

The same situation initially befell Discovery’s fourth season, when an insultingly-worded, awfully-timed announcement saw the series pulled from Netflix with 48 hours to spare. It was only thanks to the huge backlash that ViacomCBS received, leading to a significant fall in the corporation’s share price, that Discovery was shopped out to Pluto TV, Amazon, YouTube, and other platforms. Fans won in the end – but it was a battle that we should’ve never needed to fight.

At the time of the Discovery disaster, I wrote a piece here on the website in which I asked a difficult question: what might the situation and the precedent it had set mean for future Star Trek productions, including those shows that have just been renewed or had premiere dates announced? You can check out the full article by clicking or tapping here, but to briefly summarise: I am not optimistic that the painfully slow rollout of Paramount+ can be sped up, nor that shows like Strange New Worlds will be granted an international broadcast at all.

ViacomCBS is a poorly-managed corporation with leaders and executives who seem utterly incompetent – or who are dusty old relics, ill-suited to a 21st Century media landscape. The lack of care and preparation with which the Star Trek franchise is being handled is indicative of this, and the franchise lags far behind old rival Star Wars in many areas. Where are, for example, 4K HDR episodes? This is something Star Wars has been doing since 2019 with The Mandalorian, and many other television shows on Amazon, Netflix, and Disney+ are now streaming in 4K HDR. Where are the toys that should have been available in time for Prodigy’s debut? And, come to that, where’s the rest of the Star Trek merchandise for other shows?

These are just a couple of examples of how the Star Trek brand is being mismanaged by ViacomCBS, and unfortunately the breach of trust between the corporation and a sizeable chunk of its fanbase means that the plethora of announcements made yesterday are, at the very least, seen through a new lens. At worst they’re completely tainted, with excitement and hype replaced with either apathy or anxiety as fans ask whether we’ll be able to watch any of these new shows and new seasons – and if we can’t, why should we care?

Since I created this website in 2019, I’ve reviewed every Star Trek episode that has been broadcast – except for Prodigy. Why? Because ViacomCBS deliberately chose not to make Prodigy available here in the UK (by lawful means, at least) despite owning and operating the UK version of the Nickelodeon channel and thus having the ability to do so with ease. When a corporation behaves in such an insulting manner, I feel it’s difficult to support practically any announcement or project that they have going on.

It will take time – and most importantly, a significant amount of effort from ViacomCBS – to repair the breach of trust between the corporation and Trekkies. And while these announcements are exciting, I can’t bring myself to fully board the hype train, not until we have more information about how and when these shows are going to be made available.

Here are several key questions that ViacomCBS needs to address in pretty short order:

When will Paramount+ be available here in the UK?
Are there any plans to make Paramount+ available in Asia, Africa, and other regions?
If there are no plans to roll out Paramount+ in a particular country or territory, will these new Star Trek shows be available via some other broadcaster?
Will new episodes of Star Trek be available on Paramount+ outside of the United States, or will the international version of Paramount+ delay the broadcast of some or all of these episodes (as initially happened with Discovery Season 4 in Australia, Latin America, and Scandinavia)?
Can you offer fans a guarantee that Picard Season 2 and Lower Decks Season 3 will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video this year?
Will Paramount+ be available internationally in time for Strange New Worlds Season 1?
If not, will Strange New Worlds be available on another broadcaster or platform outside of the United States?

I love Star Trek. Heck, I run a Star Trek fan website – and in my small way I offer ViacomCBS free publicity and advertising by talking and writing about the franchise in my free time. But I can’t blindly support a corporation that has continually taken decisions that harm Star Trek’s international fans, and until ViacomCBS is willing to answer some of the questions fans are rightly asking about the availability of upcoming productions, it’s going to remain difficult for any of us to fully get on board and be as excited as we want to be.

ViacomCBS needs to get a grip and put real effort into accelerating the international rollout of Paramount+. If Paramount+ isn’t going to be available in time, then the corporation needs to make plans to ensure international Trekkies can watch the likes of Strange New Worlds at the same time as fans in the United States. Star Trek is not an American entity, solely the preserve of American fans. ViacomCBS and its predecessors encouraged the creation of a global fanbase because they saw profit overseas – but that fanbase has been bruised by a slew of poor corporate decisions that have damaged the reputation of Star Trek and Paramount+, and which have unfortunately seen shows like Lower Decks underperform.

As Star Trek gears up for an exciting couple of years, the team in charge has a lot of work to do to rebuild trust between ViacomCBS and Trekkies. Star Trek’s long-term success depends on fixing the problems of the past couple of years and getting things right going forward. I’m interested to see how ViacomCBS will respond – and willing and able to hold their feet to the fire if they continue to get it wrong.

The Star Trek franchise – including all properties mentioned above – is the copyright of ViacomCBS. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.