Patient and not-so-patient fans are finally getting some information about the repeated delays on the Star Trek: Discovery premiere date. In addition to finally getting a specific date — September 24! — showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg (who stepped in after Bryan Fuller left the show late last year) talked to Entertainment Weekly to explain the delays.
Harberts talked about the props, costumes and sets, and the level of “artistry and custom craftsmanship” that goes into every detail of them. Apparently we’re long past the days of early Trek when the production teams would go through other shows’ trash to see what was usable.
Harberts said:
“These things have to be designed and manufactured. We flew a costume designer to Switzerland to pick up the fabric for the Starfleet uniforms. Several items on our uniforms are 3D printed. Some of our sets can take over six weeks to make. CBS has given us the time and the money to make something the fans will find worthwhile.”
Berg added:
“You can’t cut corners or have 95 percent of what’s on screen be completely original and inspired and then have five percent something you bought at a store. It has to be cohesive — and it is. I’m so proud of what’s on screen, it’s so beautiful and it’s taking world-building to a whole new level.”
Showrunners cite production design time as factor in show’s delay
In a nutshell, it’s the attention to detail that’s taking so long, according to Harberts and Berg. For those who forget their premiere delay history, a new Star Trek show for CBS All Access (later titled Star Trek: Discovery) was announced in November 2015 and then set to premiere in January of this year. Last September the launch was moved to May 2017 and in January the date was pushed back again to the fall. It took until today to lock in the actual date of September 24th. (We have more details on subsequent episodes here.)
Discovery is a whole different bridge
Much has been said about the look of the ship from the Star Trek: Discovery trailer. This new article confirmed what TrekMovie reported last month, that the ship and bridge seen in the trailer is in fact the U.S.S. Shenzhou, described by EW as “an entirely different (and older) ship than the Discovery.” It also notes that the production had to build a different set for the U.S.S. Discovery which “has yet to be revealed.” Having to build different bridge sets is given as yet another reason for the show’s delay.
Bridge of the U.S.S. Shenzhou as seen in Star Trek: Discovery trailer; the U.S.S. Discovery bridge is yet to be seen
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.
I just saw a leaked photo of the Discovery Bridge. It looks great! I think this will attract an entirely new fan base.
What does it look like?
would be believable if you changes the pic of the ship next to the turbolift door lol
LOL yeah if you’re over 60.
I’m not over 60 (though I’m getting there) and I still think it looks awesome. Tone down the garish ’60s color scheme, update the control interfaces and viewscreens, and I’m good to go.
No. no no. There is SO much more wrong with the TOS design than just garish colors. It’s terribly flat and boring. If they use it as inspiration and a template, fine, but replicating it would be a HUGE visual mistake.
Your opinion, and that’s fine. But I know for a fact that many folks would disagree, and quite a few of them are well under 60.
That bridge inspired every bridge that followed over the next 50 years. As for the color scheme, it was designed to take advantage of color television which was pretty much where 4K was in households just over a year ago.
Yes and from what I saw in Discovery they ARE following the the basic bridge design…for the 21st century. But every show has followed TOS lead: Round/oval shape area, view screen, com system, Captain chair, work stations, etc. The basic design has been ingrained in every show. In fact its surprising it took 50 years for a ship to put the bridge under the saucer section. Shake it up a bit.
But to bring this back would just feel ridiculous.
To hell with continuity eh? Doctor Who still honors the sixties, Rogue One honored the seventies, why can’t Trek?
I can’t speak for the Doctor Who, but Star Wars is not OUR future: Star Trek is. Star Trek needs to be believable as our future. That 60’s bridge does not hold up unless in our future we suffer some sort of apocolypse that sets back our space tech OR we end up building spaceships to look like a 60’s TV show out of some weird nostalgia.
Yep, the SW aesthetic was never particularly ‘futuristic’ in the first place.
There was a apocalypse in Star Trek, World War 3 was mentioned in ‘Encounter at Farpoint’.
A 2nd one of galactic proportions would have to take place between Enterprise and TOS, or rather between DSC and TOS – it would have to effect everyone, not just Earth and knock them all back to the 1960s (instead of the stone age).
This show will bring nothing new to the table in my opinion, pretty much like ‘Enterprise’ didn’t. It’s all prequels nowadays and most fail, this should have been post TNG.
I agree Spud69 it should’ve been post TNG, but it isn’t. All we can do is hope they will do something interesting with it. So far I’m hopeful at least.
I agree. It doesn’t. But doing something that completely contradicts the timeline doesn’t work either. And the solution is SO simple! It’s 2470. Tech has advanced. Aesthetics have advanced. Done.
If it looked like TOS, it contradicts the timeline, as well as reason and common sense.
The new asthetic from Enterprise to Nemesis is reasonable and so far, in our limited exposure, Discovery fits.
The 1960’s dont. And maybe, hopefully, they will do a very thoughtful “update” to the Constitution (namely, the Enterprise).
Here is the original placed in the reboot films with correct lighting etc. It works. Ofcourse this is the outside
https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/10/8185787/star-trek-original-enterprise-new-movies
Someone did create a brief video of the original bridge updated with flat screens etc to look modern. But I cannot find the youtube clip anymore.
Because looking good is more important than being accurate to 50 year old bargain basement sets. Being “authentic” is not as important as attracting a larger audience so the show can thrive. Old school fans like us are going to just have to be open minded or take a walk.
Doctor Who is camp. It fits.
Rogue One honored designs that were far more interesting, a lot better designed and crafted, and held up a helluva lot better than simple cardboard TOS sets.
@ Torchwood, There is nothing wrong with TOS design if you actually look at in the context of when is was designed. If you do you will see and respect the work Matt Jefferies put into the production of that show and how advanced it was for the time. Of course they can’t build sets like that today. But they can with some creativity make an effort to at least appear as though they are in a period 10 years before. Star Trek Enterprise did and they did it well.
No. No and No. This is how ships looked like back then. Full stop. Deviate a little, fine. But if you place it 5 years prior to what was established, you can’t throw it all over board. They didn’t do it with all the other Star Trek shows. They didn’t do it with Star Wars.
If they wanted a new look, find a different point in time. There’s nothing to stop them from saying it’s 2470, and the enemies aren’t the Klingons, but the Krangons. It’s not like these new Klingons seem to value the same things Klingons as we know do, anyway. They look much more vicious and violent. Less honorable.
^^This was the entire reason I hoped they put it post TNG. These arguments are going to last for years now.
Its how the ships looked back then…as if it was real. No, its not how the ships looked in 2265. But it is how they were shown to us in the 1960’s. Thats the way you need to look at it.
I agree. HUGE canon guy here. And I LOVE TOS. I would love to see them take that TOS bridge and make it work for the “new” continuity.
So to me, that means respecting the space, respecting the shape. Respecting where the chair is and where the other stations are in relation to the big chair. Change those awful “screens” to flat panels. Make the instrument panels appear to actually do something. Update the view screen to the “new” way of doing it.
Keep the chair very very close. Update the materials. Mute the garish colours but keep the railing (a darker shade of red).
Its easy to make the bridge look like it belongs in the new continuity while also making it look like the bridge. Sort of a 4K version of an SD image.
No offense Michael but if you’re ‘getting there’, you’re still very much in the range.
The point being CBS isn’t trying to sell the show to people who were around when TOS was around. This only looks cool to them because this is what they grew up with naturally. They are not even trying to sell it to people when TNG was around (although probably closer) but to newer audiences. You’re not going to win them with something that literally looks out of the 60s.
Holy crap! That turbolift is over the captain’s left shoulder, but on the model exterior it’s clearly directly aft! Now Discovery will be delayed until 2018 while they fix it.
You think you’re kidding, but do you remember that guy obsessing over the turbolift placement after the release of “The Cage” Remastered? That went on for, like, years.
That is because the viewscreen & bridge consoles do not face forward – the bridge is rotated to one side. That was always my impression. I remember seeing a schematic somewhere that showed this but it was like a million years ago and I have no idea where it was (maybe just in my head canon).
@CaptainSheridan — that’s the retcon. If you look at the model in the cage, the turbolift is directly aft, and the view screen portal is directly forward. The bridge was rotated to accommodate the camera angles after the models were built, and likely filmed, and nobody thought to change it.
So they refit the Enterprise between The Cage and Kirk-TOS? The colors all changed too didnt they?
I’m there.
There was a waiter at Sardi’s in New York back in 2001. We had just seen a Broadway show and went to eat there afterwards. He was a bit indifferent to us because we weren’t drinking with the meal. As soon as one of us ordered a drink he said, “Now you’re talking!” His voice, that phrase comes to mind.
Wow… the old girl looks kinda dated. But in a good way.
Way too modern, totally not period-appropriate.
We wish!
I agree 100 percent with Kadajawi and Tiger2. I’m only 32 years old and have only been a Trek fan for 10 years. I got hooked on Trek when I was 22 and the first series I saw was TOS. I consider TOS to be the greatest thing in entertainment history. I know I’m in the minority and most people my age or younger can’t watch anything before 1993 but I’ve never been one of those people. I can watch any movie or show from any time period and enjoy it. I guess I’m more mature than most. It does sicken me to my stomach to see supposed Trekkies on here bash TOS for whatever reason. Trek is one of the few franchises were the original incarnation is not treated with religious fervor. It’s sad but in 2017 nothing really surprises me. Anyways I disagree wholeheartedly with people saying that’s not how the ships look in the 2260s but how the 60s showed them to us. That’s absolute bull as every Trek show besides Voyager I believe, showed those were in fact how the ships of the day looked. Even if the other shows didn’t bother to confirm that point everything shown on screen is canon. It doesn’t matter when it’s made. It doesn’t matter that TNG looks like the 1980s or DS9 looks like the 90s. That’s what they became since that’s how they were shown. You can either choose to accept that or throw continuity out completely. You can try to come up with as many excuses in your head as you like since you don’t like anything about TOS but they will all be illogical. As one Trek podcaster I listened to said “you have to treat the Trek timeline of the show your doing in as historical recreation.” You wouldn’t go and put assault rifles in the hands of civil war vets since you think it looks cool or that muskets don’t hold up well. That’d be ridiculous. You have to treat whatever franchise your adding to the same way or your not adding to it but remaking it. There’s a difference. It takes a strong producer to tone down these extremely talented set designers and visual effects artists of today who rightfully want to let their creative juices loose but if you’re going to set it during an established time period it must be done. Unfortunately none of the people on this show are strong enough or care enough to reign these people in or correct them. I didn’t think they would since people don’t seem to respect Trek’s history like they do other franchises (e.g. Star Wars). That’s why I hoped they’d just do a time jump to the future after this 12 year layoff like they did in 1987 after an 18 year layoff. Then they could of recreated the look to their hearts desire (like they did for TNG). That’d be the logical thing to do. But again you can’t expect logic when it comes to Hollywood or people nowadays.
What show doesn’t have production delays and issues like these throughout its conception? I think the problem here is that CBS made the announcement too soon to try to capitalize on the 50th. They missed the window already and wanted it to seem like they hadn’t. I don’t think it’s especially unusual that they switched roles or other oddities befell production. It’s just that they were so public about certain things upfront that when plans changed it makes it look like there are loads of issues, when in reality it’s Hollywood and some of this is commonplace.
I would say Fuller’s exit is concerning though. That one is tough to take at face value, but I’ll remain open-minded until the show premieres. I urge all of you to do the same, because writing off a show before we’ve seen more than a single trailer seems unproductive (especially considering how Trek trailers tend to be). And yes, CBS is airing this on All Access in the US and that’ll hurt its numbers, but that was their call to make and it has been talked about to death.
Most shows don’t have lengthy production delays and “attention to detail” doesn’t pass the smell test. There were likely a number of factors that resulted in the delay and “attention to delay” is probably pretty far down on the list.
*cough* Westworld *cough*
So far it sounds reasonable. And I’m pretty excited to see the Discovery bridge now. If the Shenzhou is an older (read less advance) ship and already looks pretty convinced compared to TOS and those films than Discovery might like look really really cool. I would just be happy if we got the Shenzhou but more excited Discovery’s interior.
” It also notes that the production had to build a different set for the U.S.S. Discovery which “has yet to be revealed.” Having to build different bridge sets is given as yet another reason for the show’s delay.”
I hope the difference between the set above and the set of the Discovery isn’t that great as the difference between the Kelvin and the Kelvin-timeline Enterprise. An upgraded and contemporary version of the Enterprise bridge of the Cage-era or at least inspired by that version would be nice. The new Enterprise “I-bridge” is way too advanced.
In what sense is the “I-bridge” more advanced? We can literally build it today.
I hope Discovery’s bridge has elements of the constitution-class design. Just a little signal that they’re 10 years behind the constitution-class It shouldn’t look retro but it should have things that seem familiar. As opposed to the JJ-verse Enterprise bridge that looks absolutely nothing like the original. They could have-at least-made the turbolift doors red- geez
LOL have you NOT seen what Discovery itself looks like? There is nothing and I mean NOTHING about it that looks like a Constitution class ship, so why would you expect the inside to look anything like that? Its a reboot, every image of this show has made that clear. Yes they will always keep the general aesthetic of Starfleet ships but if you are hoping its going to look anything like a 60s show the Shenzhou has made that very clear its not. And Discovery is suppose to be newer than that ship.
But maybe the turbolift doors will be red lol.
When it comes to “reboot” status, I think it’s fair to say it’s a “VISUAL REBOOT” but not a story reboot, at least from what we know so far.
That was my thought as well. TMP was essentially a visual reboot of TOS.
But they explained it. The TMP Enterprise was updated. And I could get over DSC looking like TMP. I don’t think TMP looks very dated. The design can hold up with Star Wars. There are screens everywhere. Just say that the TOS-design was a fad, or the Shenzhou and Discovery are newer than the Constitution-class (which was in service for a while before we saw it). The Constitution-class was launched in the 2240s, say early 2240s. Discovery is 2255, so the Shenzhou could be from the mid 2240s, thus already have the new screens and controls seen in the refit-Enterprise. The Discovery could be the latest ship, more modern than the Constitution-class. Perhaps a prototype, that would explain the different design. Something experimental. The Excelsior-class looks quite different from other ships of that era.
If they tried, and didn’t push it too far, they could make 2255 work. Or better yet, just make it play after 2400. As ships got faster, the Federation could send ships further into unknown territory. Or an alien race that looks like the “Klingons” has made their way to Federation space. With some minor modifications they may be able to tell the same stories, just in the future, which would also justify faster ships, faster guns, new looks, new tech. What would the harm be? What would be lost by moving it into the future?
Those fans who are nostalgic for TOS and thus want it to play around Kirk, they want it to look like TOS too. Newcomers don’t care about TOS. You can easily introduce new viewers into the Star Trek world, no matter where it plays. A few lines of dialogue and they’ll know enough. Introduce a character who is new to the universe, who doesn’t know how things work. Like Crichton in Farscape. Characters then can explain to him what he needs to know, and thus we as viewers find out too. Doctor Who creates entry points for new viewers every few seasons, and it works. Fans don’t mind, and newcomers can join without any pain.
“Newcomers don’t care about TOS. You can easily introduce new viewers into the Star Trek world, no matter where it plays.”
You just said it which is why I don’t get this decision at all? Its just weird. They want to attract new people who don’t care about when it takes place at all and they want the old fans which is why they even put it in this period but then they change everything about the period?
It seems to be upsetting more fans than exciting them. Its starting to feel like the same issues of the KT films all over again.
HOPEFULLY though it will win people over. I’m actually excited about the changes but I agree it would fit better in a post 24th century timeline. Its a bizarre move but I guess they think the show will win people over regardless.
if this site was around for the TMP, the same people would be going insane over the “re-fit”. Or when the bridge looked different between Trek IV & V. Actually, it looked different in every film. Oh the humanity.
Which is why it would’ve been smarter to put it in its own time period completely like TNG did. And at least TMP time had moved on so the differences aren’t that glaring. If TMP was a prequel, yeah, big difference.
Yes thats what I meant, a visual reboot. But that is what is bothering everyone just the same. I don’t understand how someone can look at the Discovery ship which doesn’t look like it belongs in any previous time periods but it expect it to look like something from Enterprise. Why? And wouldn’t just just feel super lazy? You created a ship with a completely different design and language (mostly the hull I guess) but then go back to the status quo of the interior?
My guess is Discovery is going to A. Look nothing like a ship we seen before and B. Probably quite advanced. Maybe not Enterprise D advance but KT Enterprise advance (which many argue looks more advance than the D but whatever).
I hope the Discovery bridge has a paper printer on it like the Enterprise did in ‘The Cage’.
@Spud69 — that wasn’t paper or a printer — it was ultra-thin flexible displays, and that was the dispenser.
Lol like somebody in the 1960’s said that.
Well, what we have seen of Discovery’s exterior suggests the interior look will be more USS Kelvin then TOS Enterprise….
The best thing in the JJ films was the USS Kelvin so Im okay with that.
Y’all forget the enterprise has been flying for years at this point. If anything Discovery, if it’s a brand new ship, should look more advanced than the Big E does.
I suppose the relative amount of advancement would theoretically be comparable to how much more advanced looking the USS Voyager was compared to the 1701-D, or the 1701-B was to the 1701 refit.
Of course, my guess is that the Shenzhou was launched fairly close to when the NCC-1701 was launched. If Michael Burnham served for the first seven years of Shenzhou’s service, then that would place the launch date at 2248, three years after the NCC-1701, and possibly 7 years before the USS Discovery.
@Eric Cheung — either way, it’s going to look more advanced, especially if it’s an experimental design, using state of the art, top secret prototypes not generally available throughout the Federation.
More advanced, yes. I’m fine with that. But a) there should be a few old ladies flying around, and b) it can’t be too advanced. It shouldn’t look more advanced than the Excelsior, for example. Now what we’ve seen so far is too advanced. I agree that you can’t just design a ship like the original Constitution-class, that wouldn’t work on screen. But IMHO the TMP Enterprise would work. It fits in the universe, it would make sense for the Discovery to be related to that ship, and I think it is a ship that could work on screen and not look terribly dated.
I’m going to ignore all the endless nit-picking. What I see so far is that they are spending the time and money to make a modern HD quality TV show, that’s on the same level with the best of what’s out there, like Game of Thrones.
If they didn’t do that, then it might as well be on the CW with The Flash and Arrow. Those shows are fun – heck the CW even has its own junior version of Game of Thrones with castles and swords and people riding around on horses, and lots of intrigue! But it’s not the same.
And Star Trek by design is about characters and drama, and everything we’ve seen from the writers and producers supports that. So I’m looking forward to this!
Well said, Jeff. I couldn’t agree more.
Amen,brother! Looking forward to September!
Hear, hear, Jeff.
Michael Cimino went way overboard making expensive authentic sets for Heaven’s Gate using period materials and such. Didn’t help much.
Wait wait, modern HD?? But I thought this was streaming in low quality? lol
“Where’s the Discovery set?”
“What Discovery set? We only built the Shenzhou set!”
“Aw jeez! More delays! We gotta build a whole other set!”
The End
Without question! The detail alone on that Klingon bridge looks amazing. The Klingon costumes and their bridge have some Egyptian influences. Im loving it. And since the Shenzhou bridge is an older bridge i.e. USS Kelvin I’m really excited to see what the Discovery bridge looks like…and the transporter room and engineering.
The Klingons are cool, but they aren’t Klingons. What’s the harm with giving them a new name?
You dont know the details or if there is an in-universe reason. Why dont you stop whining until youve seen the show?
What I like about the look of the show, from a design perspective, is that it looks like something that would have evolved in the years since Enterprise.
Plus I would love it if it erases the dated TOS designs. Iconic as they are, they are terribly dated.
You fans are never happy!
What are you talking about? I’m thrilled!
Well majority of the fans who come in here love to bitch about something
The Discovery better have a paper printer on the bridge like the Enterprise did in ‘The Cage’ or I’m out!
I agree that from what I’ve seen so far, the look of this show’s design aesthetic certainly looks like it could have evolved from the ‘Enterprise’ show…
…but while the ‘Enterprise’ show worked fine as an early pre-cursor to ‘The Next Generation’ show, it was a bad fit with the overall look of the TOS show to begin with, imo – which I prefer to imagine as being set in an ‘alternate universe’ to the other ‘TREK’ shows.
So if this ‘Discovery’ show does indeed turn out to gel well as an ‘evolution’ of ‘Enterprise’ design-wise, then I’ll certainly continue to look on this as being set in a ‘different place’ to the prime-era TOS show! ;)
That was in relation to Torchwood’s comments by the way.
The choice was clear: Endorse the 60’s era TOS designs and thus, stunt the entire visual design of the Star Trek franchise while also making Enterprise and the USS Kelvin look oddly out of place.
Or accept that TOS took place in the 60’s and respect the over-all visual design of the franchise from Enterprise to Nemesis and create something that fits within that continuity even at the expense of making TOS the one looking oddly out of place.
They made the right decision.
Indeed. It must have been a tough call. I’m glad I wasn’t the one making the decision, because the ones who made it are now taking all sorts of sh*t for it from fans, even though– realistically– it was not only the right call, but the only reasonable one they could have made.
My one caveat to that is, Im sure there will be the inevitable desire to “stunt cast” the Enterprise (or similar Constitution-Class ship) and they should be really really true to that design.
BUT…there is a way to take the design of the ship and bridge and make a few changes to bring it into the modern world. So imagine its the same ship but with 2017 tech, not 60’s.
I saw something on youtube where someone took the TOS bridge and just added modern flat panels to it and it was an improvement.
Id actually love to see them have a crack at updating that ship.
We’ve seen the TMP Enterprise. That is it. They could show a Constitution-class ship that was already refitted, or say it’s the prototype used to test the upgrades.
Anyway, the reasonable call they could have made is late 24th early 25th century. Then everything they’ve done with DSC could work (except for the Klingons). They could create a modern show. One that looks up to date.
No we saw a ship produced in 1979 and one produced in 196-whatever. Every iteration of Trek altered some things. Just get over it. Or dont watch
NO. This ship looks more advanced than the Enterprise-E. It would make sense if it played AFTER Nemesis. It doesn’t make sense to play over 100 years before that. I’m fine with the design, and I do think it’s nice to see something that makes sense from our standpoint. I’m just not fine with when it’s supposed to be. It doesn’t fit in. Either make it look like it’s 2255 (ok, we can ignore TOS and say the TOS designs are simply older, after all Kirk wasn’t first to man the Enterprise, but it has to fit in with TMP).
No it doesn’t really.
This could just as easily have evolved from the Enterprise-E as from ENT. And I do think ENT can fit in between us and TOS. Keep in mind that in TOS everything is sleek, well integrated. ENT does have the more modern looking tech, but the tech is dangling around, it’s jery-rigged. You could argue that during the era the Constitution-class was built they thought physical controls are superior. They changed that eventually when they refitted the Enterprise.
IMHO the main issue with DSC is 2255. It causes lots of problems, it probably doesn’t bring anything important to the show, and enough fans don’t give a damn about that era, they care much more about the TNG/DS9/VOY era. And those who do care probably also like the aesthetics and don’t want to see those changed.
The main problem is you decided you didnt like the era it takes place in so you will find as many reasons as possible, real or imagined, to support your narrative.
Taking their time so as to make the series as good as possible certainly sounds like the right decision to me! I’m eager to see what they’ve made for us.
Wasting money because they can. very sad. Sometimes a smaller budget forces resourcefulness and creativity that a million dollars can’t buy. THe whole attitude about how they will fly across the world for some silly fabric that the viewer won’t know about, or care about gives me pause.
You’re really just reaching for criticisms at this point. When Lord of The Rings talked about the detail and craftsmanship that nobody would ever notice fans hailed them as “passionate” and applauded their dedication to the production.
Are we now actually complaining about them spending TOO MUCH money on sets? Holy smokes.
No, I’m lamenting the fact that they going to such ridiculous lengths, when there is no real reason to. The only reason to do it is tell everyone what they’ve done. That’s just poor judgement in my book, and more than a little reckless in how they handle that blank check. Will that attitude find it’s way into the meat and potatoes of the show? I hope not.
Im not sure you need to be concerned with the budget of Discovery. Like really… I doubt they get to episode 13 and suddenly run out of money. Dont worry about it.
I REALLY hope USS Discovery not a Federation/Klingon hybrid ship where ‘everyone has to just get along’ for the duration of the show. That would be a gimmick akin to the USS Defiant, which was supposed to have a Romulan Officer on board to guard its proprietary cloaking device, and which fizzled as an idea in about 6 minutes.
Sometimes things have to change to fit the storytelling of the show.
Y’know, it often amazes me how petty some of the fandom can be. Guys, you’re complaining about the SET DESIGN?!?! We are the only fandom in the entire Geek Galaxy that continue to expend this much energy over the minutae of an imaginary spaceship! Finally, we have a studio that is putting their money where their mouth is and upping the production value of TV Trek and all some of you can do is bitch about how sets don’t look like the cheap-o recycles from the sixties. Get over it. I am excited to see a Trek that is reflective of our own futuristic ideals. Instead, let’s all hope and pray that at the scripts are good and that this cast can act! How about that?!?!
….sheesh.
Yes, we are complaining about the set design. The design is part of the universe and part of the what draws us in as fans. Just because it’s not important to you doesn’t mean it can’t be important to others. I can guarantee you if the designers on the new Star Wars movies had made major changes to the look of the Star Wars universe those fans would be up in arms. You know I’m right. We aren’t asking for “cheap-o recycles” from the 60s. What we are asking for is some respect and acknowledgement of where these show is in the time frame of the Star Trek universe and using some creativity in design. The designers of Star Trek Enterprise did. It’s not impossible. So J, we as fans are NOT going to get over it.
Thank you!!!
Imagine they had redesigned the Millenium Falcon. Imagine Wookies looked different.
What have they re-designed that looks different? Comparing the Millenium Falcon to the Discovery makes no sense. If you are going to use that comparison you’d have to use the Enterprise and they have not redesigned it, that we know of.
Plus, get real. There was one Millenium Falcon and NUMEROUS Enterprise’s. It was re-designed in 1979 for crying out loud. Get over it.
Besides, has the look of light sabres not changed over the Star Wars films? Oh yeah, when technology allowed for better sabers. I guess they should have kept using the lame white-light stuttered screen effect from A New Hope, right?
I know that this might seem like a radical idea, but how about people stop bitching until the first episode actually airs?
I know this is me whinging.. but my god stop with the nit picking and thinking today’s star trek should be be about hardcore fans from over the last 50 years
@ Kevin – if you’re trying to say that this is merely a completely new show for today’s audiences who may not have strong views on ANY of the previous ‘Trek’-lore, then fair enough.
As an old-time TOS fan, I’m actually fine with that..as ‘Discovery’ looks a big enough departure from TOS design-wise, that I can personally just look on it as being set in an ‘alternative universe’ to the original source material, without negatively impacting on it whatsever.
Even if this show were to be given a ‘surprise cameo voice-over’ introduction from Shatner himself, I’ll still enjoy it better if I imagine if it’s set in a totally seperate ‘universe’ to TOS altogeher, and look on it as a pre-cursor to the kind of ‘Trek-universe’ which the likes of the ‘Kelvin Timeline’ split off from.
So the makers can knock themselves out with bald ‘Klingons’ and ‘Next Gen’-era-looking ships or whatever, as far as I’m concerned. ;)
Why are their opinions not important? They are just as much fans as younger people.
I have to be honest, Im sick of hearing the same stupid crap over and over – if you want to love it, great but dont create this fake narrative that the people who are critical are the hardcore TOS lovers. It just makes you (and others) look stupid.
No disrespect intended. Its the same for being critical of the people who like it as “JJ lovers”.
Im cautiously optimistic (and I strongly disliked the JJ films).
Actually I don’t like TOS very much. It has its moments, but I prefer all the other shows over TOS. Yes, even VOY or ENT. However the new show has to make sense in universe for me to care, and this doesn’t.
So you’ve seen it already?
I really hope they didn’t forget lights on the Discovery bridge, too. Everything being dark and hard to see doesn’t make a series better! Add to that their talk about being grittier than the past series, and I fear another Stargate Universe debacle.
Woo hoo! JJ Verse effects, pizza cutter Roddenberry rejected ship, Ghostbusters Klingons, and GAlaxy Quest ridiculous costumes! So excited! *eye roll*
Just give us a trailer that doesn’t look like a cheap fan film, that last trailer was shockingly bad!
What odd excuses. They had to build sets so that delayed the show. When a show goes into production they figure out what sets are needed and build them. They don’t say “oh we need another set so we better delay the show”. Very odd.
Where did this attitude come from that if one is over a certain age or if they have a love and appreciation of the original series their opinions no longer matter and they can express no negative opinions about Discovery? Seems a big arrogant to me.
To everyone kvetching the possibility that the Discovery bridge will look ‘more advanced’ than the Enterprise bridge, consider this: it’s supposed to!
Think about it–This show is supposed to take place around the time of Pike’s Enterprise, right? Well, how old is the Enterprise at this time? 15? 20 years old? The Discovery is a brand new ship right out of space dock, according to that teaser trailer way back and I assume that’s still the case.
Looking more advanced than the Enterprise is fine. Looking more advanced than the Enterprise-E isn’t. This looks a few decades ahead of the Sovereign-class. And that is an issue.
To make sense in universe, this should look similar to TMP. IMHO a look they could actually sell to current viewers. It’s rather cinematic (d’uh) and relatively modern/believable. The screens and touch elements could be better animated, those are minor changes that are ok.
With all this talk of having to build a new Discovery bridge after the Shenzhou’s … I’m surprised Nicholas Meyer didn’t hightail it down to the sets and say, “Hey, I had the same problem on Star Trek II. I needed two starship bridges and fast. Just use the same set, but move things around so they look completely different. Oh, and reupholster the chairs, too.” ;)
Way back during my A2files days, there was a controversial theory that the over-nostalgified TOS aesthetics was the proverbial monkey wrench that caused the visual break between multiple eras.
Think of it this way, if we completely disregarded TOS, the visuals of ENT-TMP-TNG suddenly make more sense. (NX – Constitution Refit – Sovereign) Its always that damn little tikes buttons and cardboard look that hasn’t aged well. You could BS this by retconning TMP as the TOS look in the first place.
Mileage varies, please put down the damn pitchforks, they’re getting rusty.
This is exactly my point. To copy the TOS look, it actually does more damage to the canon because it renders Enterprise and Kelvin and even TMP+ look out of place.
Skipping TOS, everything works, including the recently produced Kelvin visuals.
People will just have to accept that 60’s produced a look that isn’t “accurate” to the time it was portraying.
If Im on Discovery, I’d love the chance to see the Enterprise or another Constitution-Class and “update” it in a familiar but sensible manner.
I suspect that they spent time during their long development cycle experimenting with a more faithful update to the TOS sets — something that added texture bit kept the basic concepts. The fact that that’s not what we’re getting suggests that they didn’t come up with a version of that aesthetic that worked well enough.
To come in after the fact and say “well, they should have done x” is pointless.