CBS is continuing to ramp up their promotion for the premiere of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, coming on January 17th. Today a new video was released, along with some new photos.
Anson Mount on “Becoming Pike”
CBS released a new video featuring Anson Mount talking about coming aboard to play Captain Christopher Pike. The video also shows snippets from season two, including some moments that haven’t been seen in previous promos.
CLOSER LOOK: In the video, there is a moment from when Pike comes on board the USS Discovery that shows his Starfleet service record. In addition to the USS Enterprise, he is shown to have served on the USS Chatelet, USS Aryabhatta, and the USS Antares. The first two are new ships and are likely named for the French mathematician Émilie du Châtelet, and Indian mathematician Aryabhata. The Antares is a ship referenced in the TOS episode “Charlie X,” which ends up being destroyed by Charlie Evans. The record also references Captain Robert April, who was the commander of the Enterprise before Pike. April appeared in the TAS episode “The Counter-Clock Incident,” and was also referenced in the Discovery episode “Choose Your Pain.”
Pike’s record
Mount’s Pike is not Kirk, nor Lorca
There’s also a new feature at EW.com, including Mount talking about how his Pike differs from some other Starfleet captains:
“Kirk has a swagger, and is good at thinking outside the box because he’s a rulebreaker. Pike is very by-the-book. He refers to the Starfleet code of conduct more often than not. What sets him apart from other captains, especially from Lorca, is he knows like any good leader the most precious resources is his crew. when he’s stuck, he’s not afraid to say, ‘I’m lost, anybody got a better idea?’ He uses the bridge as a bigger brain.”
EW was also given the first look at a couple of new images from season two.
Oyin Oladejo; Anson Mount; Sonequa Martin-Green in Star Trek: Discovery
Ethan Peck as Spock in Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery is available in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on Space and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie
We see a different angle of the Enterprise when Pike is talking to Burnham and the Enterprise looks like she’s being towed. New theory, probably right on this, I think the Enterprise was investigating one of these “bursts” and was badly damaged. She’s being towed back to a starbase for repairs, but Starfleet wants Pike to pursue his investigation and gives him temporary command of the Discovery to do so.
I posted before I saw your post. I think you are right.
The reason that he is commanding Discovery might be more than just that the Enterprise is being repaired. The red bursts are apparently spread all across the galaxy, and Discovery is the only ship that can travel that far that fast.
Retrofitted and repair to tos standard I bet.
Maybe they’re gonna get her potato peeler nacelle struts replaced.
Wow, can’t wait!
Ok the ship being tractored by the three tugs is driving me crazy with curiosity.
I agree with you both on the theory above. I’m curious why it would take 3 tugs to tow the Enterprise through space…
Part of me wants to make a crack about Kirk visiting the ship and the added weight being what mandated the use of additional tugs…
More seriously, it could be you need a pair to achieve a balanced warp tow. As for why there are three … that’s probably just aesthetics, I’m out of rationalizations/justifications, three doesn’t fit into warp mechanics, it has pretty much always been pairs of nacelles, except for the AbramsVerse horror.
I recommend you look up ships in the “Star Fleet Technical Manual” by Franz Joseph.
Neb,
Been there, not canon’d that. The Dreadnought is pretty absurd looking.
Back when I pitched a TNG story requiring a temp install of warp capable saucer, I had two baby nacelles that deployed, not a single cigar.
“Pike is very by-the-book. He refers to the Starfleet code of conduct more often than not.”
Now we know which Captain was Picard’s hero growing up. ;D
I am very excited to see him as Pike. I think he’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.
Pike also said “engage” in The Cage, and he calls his first officer Number One. It is clear that they were borrowing a little bit from Pike when they created Picard.
It very much felt like Gene, now with more creative control, went back to his original vision of what his Captain should be (Pike), rather than the kind of captain the network wanted (Kirk).
“Number One”is a common name for the first officer in the RN. Roddenberry liked it because Horatio Hornblower used it and Patrick Stewart as a Brit just naturally referred to Ryker that way. I bet he improvised it one time and they just kept it. Just a guess tho. I am so looking forward to season 2.
Roddenberry created TOS “The Cage” — and TNG — so the character was probably
,Commander William T. “Will” Riker. First Officer “Number One” to Captain Picard
Incorrect. “Number One” goes all the way back to “The Cage,” and it was in the script to “Encounter at Farpoint” before Patrick Stewart was cast as Picard. Stewart had nothing to do with it.
I have no proof of this but my guess is that when GR created TNG he borrowed from himself. Elements from “The Cage” that were dropped. “Number one”, for example.
It strikes me that with TNG, Roddenberry– with more creative control– created a captain more in line with his original vision (Pike) than the one the studio mandated (Kirk).
Looking back it’s not hard to wonder if this was Roddenberry, who was given far a lot of creative control of TNG, creating for the series the kind of captain he had always envisioned (Pike) rather than the one the network wanted (Kirk).
AFAIK, when they asked him to do the second pilot he wanted Jeffery Hunter again but he declined, so they created a new character. Again, from what I read, it could be wrong. But I don’t think the network had any issues with Pike, it was just the story itself. Spock basically stayed the same and wasn’t turned into an action hero.
That is true. From what I’ve read it was Hunter’s wife who was agaist him taking the part.
Regardless, it was clear they wanted an adventurous go-getter, a captain that would get into a fist fight with the enemy, and not sit in his chair and try to out-think him. So when handed more control over TNG, he went back to his original vision.
That said, it also is interesting to imagine the character of Pike continuing and BECOMING more like Kirk after the pilot. How would fans have reacted? Would they have complained that he was acting out of character?
Yes, that was sarcastic rhetorical question.
The story is that the network did not like both having a female 2nd in command and the devilish looking alien. GR fought and was able to keep one. He opted for the alien.
And I think Hunter was doing a movie at the time the 2nd pilot came about and was just not available. At least, that was the story I had heard.
Yeah, that is the STORY, but the truth probably is that the network had no problem with a female first officer, but GR casting his girlfriend. At least Justman told so.
Me, too. Season 2 looks to come out of the gate strong!
Holden, great to see you back! It’s been awhile. :)
But yes season 2 is looking WAY up compared to season 1 IMO, at least based on what has been shown. It could still suck but I think they are going to really improve it.
Great to hear from you too. I’ve been around, lurking. LOL. For some reason, DISCO is the only thing I feel motivated to post about and the closer to the season premiere we get, the more invested I get. (I think the Picard show will have a similar effect once more details emerge). I’m an old school Trek fan as much as the next, but I’m more interested in new material than rehashing old stuff.
Yeah, season one was up and down, but I always felt it was headed in the right direction, and everything I’ve seen about S2 is confirming that for me. Very excited.
I hear you! I think most people come here is mostly for info on about new content. At least why I do.
I really want to like Discovery next season (or should I say next week!!!). I’m still being cautious of course but I have a feeling if nothing else it will feel more entertaining. But its clear the Picard show is going to be what’s on most Trek fans minds being new and not another prequel. So can’t wait to see where its all going.
I remember some fan commentary on TNG “Unification” positing that when Spock tells Picard, “you remind me of another captain of the Enterprise,” he’s actually referring to Pike, not Kirk.
Oh, that’s cool! That never occurred to me until now but yes it would make sense.
He was obviously referring to Kirk as they were talking about “cowboy diplomacy”. And they were kinda sorta pimping TUC a bit, as well.
Yes, it was an obvious Kirk reference, and even if it wasn’t obvious, the writers would not have been referencing Pike, the intent was clearly Kirk based solely on his fame in the franchise.
Still, it’s an interesting notion, and I applaud the thought.
This portrayal has me more exited about Trek than I have been in quite some time… I really hope this works :) It may be hard to see a 3rd season now without these characters, but I reckon we cross that bridge (no pun)…
Hey, let’s just cheer for a spin-off! :-)
The moment I realized they were casting Pike and Spock and Number One so carefully, I figured, “Pike’s Enterprise” will be another series. And why not?
CBSAA could be AKA The Star Trek Channel. LOL
Man I get more and most excited for Disocvery season two with each new trailer or interview. I think peck will make an awesome Spoc, maybe the best since Nimoy. Mount seems perfect for Pike too! I love that their season appears to have a mystery.
I may start sounding like a broken record, but I want to say again that I really want to see Captain April in the show. Perhaps as a commodore or higher ranking Starfleet officer. Get Robert Patrick for the role.
That would be cool, maybe commodore april
That would be some excellent casting.
Agreed but April is British so for me I’d love to see Clive Owen
The reference in “Choose Your Pain” was enough for me. But if I had to cast someone i’d go with Edward James Olmos because why not?
Now that would be great,but we could also show George Kirk
We could see Admiral Jonathan Archer
No. We wont. Archer would be at least 170+ years old.
Interesting
His casting seems so spot on. I’m really thrilled to watch him as Pike.
I hate to say it, but in hindsight, they should have made Discovery Pike’s ship after he left the Enterprise. It really is great casting, and filling in more about Pike is a fascinating notion when you consider he’s a Trek legend who we only ever saw once.
I can easily say he is pretty much the only reason I’m tuning in for Season 2. Nice job in casting there, nice timing.
To be fair there are two bigger reasons you’re tuning in. They are the two words in the title that precede “Discovery.” But he is definitely a BIG reason for excitement even for me, someone who enjoyed Season 1.
Just wow I’ve always loved pike and totally see pichard idolizing him as a kid. I do hope we get a spin off he is well received. What is known about April’s era or enterprise?
The 1701 is going back for repairs and retrofitting into a more tos 1701, I am sure.
I like to think that we`re gonna see a HD-version of the TOS 1701. They should keep the shape of the original 1701 and just add more texture.
So the Enterprise is going from looking similar to TMP refit, to looking like it did in the 1960s, so it can be refit again to go back to looking similar to how it first appeared on Discovery? Odd. And I hope not.
Yeah makes no sense. A. Why would they do that? B. Isn’t the point of it is to look more modern in the first place? Why make it look more outdated? I don’t see that happening either or they would’ve just, you know, showed it in the original form from the start.
Am I the only one how thinks that Anson Mount as Pike bears similarities to the original Pike AND Capt. Kirk?
Once again, video not available in the UK. Seems a bit short-sighted to have foreign markets then keep them from seeing your promotion.
Netflix has international distribution rights outside of North America. That’s why it is Netflix’s business to promote the show there. I think Netflix has released at least some of the previous promo videos, but with some delay. I get that it’s frustrating (I live in Europe) but there’s really no point in complaining about it (here) each and every time a new video is posted.
Try this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsW7zuecf1A
Hmmm, so got an F in Astrophysics? Also note how they seem to subtly hint at the similarities between the “Cage” excursion jackets and the DISCO uniforms (but maybe that’s just me: I think I remembered the jackets as light grey and the trousers as dark grey rather than shades of blue)
I definitely noticed that, as someone who’s only seen the Cage once or twice. It feels like the placement of the zipper was influenced by The Cage. I’m surprised nobody has pointed that out (that I have read anyway)
The text in Pike’s Starfleet bio seems to be taken from the beginning of his entry on Memory Alpha.
It appears they made Pike a kinder, less dark Captain who is not sociopathic/evil like Lorca. In other words, they might have remembered what Star Trek is and not just mindlessly stayed on the dystopian sci fi bandwagon that is the rage these days. And humour, and perhaps some interaction between crewmembers based on compassion and warmth instead of conflict and arguing all the time. Maybe somebody actually watched previous episodes of Star Trek before writing season Two of STD. One can only hope.
Good lord, there was humor between the characters in Season 1!
Good lord, Marja, no there wasn’t. There was barely any humor in the entire dark, mean-spirited, we-all-suck-but-say-pretty-words dreck that was Season 1.
It’s fine to like Season 1, but pretending it had much humor is laughable.
Wow just wow
If you didn’t find it to be anything but joyless, that’s fine, but don’t go around gaslighting people.
A lot of fans thought the first season was mostly humorless, not just me. MOSTLY, not entirely humorless. That’s why I said “There was barely any humor” instead of saying there was *no* humor. If you think “barely any humor” means TOTALLY JOYLESS, that’s a problem with your reading comprehension, not my comment.
Humor is subjective, and just as Marja expressed her subjective opinion as if it’s a fact (because that’s how most people express opinions), I replied in kind.
Also, I didn’t say anything that remotely resembles gaslighting.
Afterburn, go troll someone else with your sycophantic DSC worship, okay, buddy? This is all you’re getting from me. LL&P.
lol you are too much.
A lot of people found it to be humorless, a lot of people found some humor in it. That’s the funny thing.
As for “worship” I think you need to pay attention to the comments I’ve made on Discovery. lol.
I will keep this in my laptop’s clipboard so whenever anyone accuses me of “worshipping” Discovery without actually reading things I post, I can just copy and paste. This is a post I made last year recapping the first season:
“Overall I’d grade Discovery a B-. An uneven first season punctuated by a handful of standout episodes (and at least one instant classic), i’d say it’s a strong character drama that is weakened by a season-long story that meanders too long as they tried put the focus on the personal journey of a lead character, in this case Michael Burnham (which is something of a new thing for Star Trek).
The series’ strength was exploring the characters, most notably the relationships between Burnham, Saru, and Lorca. But this itself was hurt by the focus on a “lead” whose actor wasn’t quite convincing (made all the more glaring because she was sandwiched between Doug Jones and Jason Isaacs’ stellar turns as Saru and Lorca).
Whether it was Green’s attempt to be true to her Vulcan heritage or not, Burnham came off as wooden and stagey at times. Never been a fan of Yeoh in her English speaking roles, and this series I find to be no exception. I almost would have preferred she deliver her dialog in Mandarin, with subtitles, as in her native tongue she is an impressive actress. The rest of the cast performed ably enough, most notably Tilly and Stamets, who had good chemistry and seemed at ease in their roles once the story got moving (and brought some much needed levity to the otherwise serious proceedings). The narrative, while not as unpredictable as i’m sure the writers thought it was, served the characters’ stories well enough, and while it had a weak, rushed finale, and stayed in the Mirror Universe an episode or three too long, was well constructed and had enough turns, weaves, and bobs to keep me intrigued and watching, despite it’s relative predictable course.
Some fans seemed to feel the show was too FX and action driven, too dour and gloomy, but these elements all served the series well, and can be found in some of the best Trek shows and films of years past. Discovery just took those elements and pumped them up with a bigger budget, and when they did, they did it well, so it’s hard for me to find fault with it.
Clearly this is not your granddad’s Star Trek. It’s not going to be for everyone. If TMP was your favorite movie, Discovery will no doubt make you roll your eyes.
But for my money, as first seasons go, Star Trek Discovery’s first 15 episodes constitute the finest start to a series in the franchise, with relatively few low points. Aforementioned complaints not withstanding, the characters felt reasonably well-rounded and realized within their first episodes, which for me is the most important barometer of success for any series.
Hopefully Discovery can continue to improve the way TNG and DS9 did. It’s already off to a better start than both.”
I retract my comment about you worshipping the show. I stand by my comment that you’re a troll.
You should learn what a troll is. You’re just full of hate.
“Marja expressed her subjective opinion as if it’s a fact (because that’s how most people express opinions), ”
This. It’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine when people accuse others of presenting their opinions as fact. People, in general, don’t. Most are aware that people understand what are opinions and what aren’t. If someone says, “Raw tomatoes taste terrible.” It is understood that it’s a subjective rather than a factual comment. There is no need to qualify it by saying, “In my opinion…”
Jeez…
@ML31 – You explained my point better than I did. It’s not that we present opinions as facts (as I wrote), it’s that we assume people *know* they are opinions (as you wrote). Thanks! :)
Tilly. It’s funny how someone can totally ignore a character and a lot of their interactions with other characters to push a false narrative.
It might not be on purpose. Human memory is selective. Everybody’s is. It’s a big reason for nostalgia where people basically only remember the good parts of the past and forget the bad. On the other hand it can also enforce a bad memory and make you forget the good parts.
Yes, people see what they want to see and often willfully ignore what they dont.
Not everyone found Tilly humorous. Same for other character interactions. Having different opinions is not an attempt to “push a false narrative.” That would suggest that only one narrative–IT’S SO FUNNY!!!–is the true narrative.
I’d highly recommend a book called “The Basics of Critical Thinking.” You can find it on Amazon.
As with most of your posts, this is meaningless. If you think you can point out an actual flaw in my critical thinking, feel free to do so, but this pathetic little snipe of yours is as laughable as your general “grrr I’m an angry little troll” routine around here.
You’re projecting, and it says a lot. I’m sorry for what you’re going through.
Are you saying Tilly was a humorous character? Spock had more humor in one episode than Tilly did in 13.
As you yourself posted, there is no “fact” here, only opinion. If some found her to be humorous, that is their opinion. If you didn’t, that is yours. But it cannot be argued that the character wasn’t an ATTEMPT at some fun and humor, whether it struck a chord with you or not.
You know a commenter isn’t to be taken seriously when they refer to it as STD.
Flawed reasoning. Reasons behind opinions can still be valid no matter how the show is abbreviated.
Those who say “STD” are sarcastically mocking the abbreviation as a reference to “sexually transmitted disease” where the producers and broader community all acknowledge the accepted abbreviation is DSC.
Sidestepping. Regardless, it doesn’t change the validity of the reasons behind anyone’s opinions. Such reasons have far more to do with how seriously to take another person’s opinions than how they decide to abbreviate the title. There are just different ways to do it. Like DS9 vs DSN. I’ve seen both.
Not side-stepping. I am responding with observation. I’ve never seen ANYONE abbreviate DSN.
I *have* seen VOY vs VGR. VGR being the preferred abbreviation by the makers of Trek. But literally the only people i see using “STD” are those who dislike the show. It’s a way of mocking it, and that’s a cold stone fact.
I love Anson Mount from past “Hell on Wheels” I want disprutly to see him in “Star Trek Discovery” Will I search him out? I am not one to go to the extra expense for fandom! If it is not already on my already expensive Dish, Netflex, Hulu will I search for Anson and Discovery? Well since I am a Prime member. Guess what, this lady will be looking for her favorite Actor! Anson Mount as Captain Pike! Jeez why is it getting so hard to track down your favorite actors. There are so many extra channels and streaming this and that. These folks are bankrupting us just to find a favorite actor or show we want to see. It is getting to be too much!
I am not a canonista, but it seems like this guy is playing Scott Bakula more so than the brooding Captain Pike of The Cage. I look forward to the explanation for his palpably different personality. Maybe meds from Dr. Boyce.
Or the fact it’s a different moment in the character’s life. Bruce Greenwood’s version of the character isn’t brooding either
It’s a few years after “The Cage.” In that episode, he was depressed and recovering from a personal loss, as well as enduring a period of questioning his life choices. The Pike we’re seeing in Discovery is what he’s like after he gets better emotionally.
Also, I sort of got the impression that after the events of “The Cage” Pike seemed to have gotten over some of those issues. Years later he may have gotten past nearly all of it.
Yes, because a character should behave the same way for his entire life as he does over the course of one specific episode. Great logic there. Oh, and by making this complaint you BECAME a canonista, so your preface is moot.
On Monday only 10 more days. I’m going to explode!
Me too – but not because I’m excited. If it’s anything like season one, it’s going to be reminiscent of the head explosion from scanners.
G7, you’re far more joyless, grim, and dark than anything in S1 of Discovery.
SMDH.
Be careful, you’re going to give yourself whiplash.
Humans are unique for me….the characters cannot replaced with another actor… The new captain Pike is not similar with Jeffrey Hunter….and of course i can never accept a new Mr. Spock …..
I understand why you are saying that, but for me, since there was so little Pike before this next season, his recasting is going to be the definitive version for me. Hopefully it’s good!
Really looking forward to season 2. The FX look so much better and it appears the blurred darker space shots are gone, the shots of the nebular and the exterior shots of the Discovery are very clear and are highly detailed. I’m not sure why people think the Enterprise will be retrofitted to look like the 60s version of the Enterprise as this would be such an outdated look and not in keeping with the style of Discovery.
It’s probably people who don’t like the updated look that hope (against reason) for a return to the original design.
A person in charge who the audience can now properly like and root for. This isn’t rocket science, it’s elemental 101 episodic television to do that. This just doubly shows what a total waste of a season it was to piss away viewer’s goodwill for a captain on the cheap twist with Lorca.
I thought it was great!
You just don’t get it Soren. You weren’t supposed to trust Lorca, the feeling you have is the feeling the crew is supposed to have going into season 2. By your words alone, the writers did their job. You know when something like this feels cheap? When it’s a one off body swap story that doesn’t have any impact like what’s been done so often before.
Yes, PEB, the point WAS for the audience to like Lorca, to get invested in him, so that his reveal angered the audience. A good writer elicits emotion from the reader/viewer, even if it’s anger AT the writer!
I remember reading a book once, the first in a series, where a main character was killed off, and I was SO ANGRY because I liked that character and thought there was SO MUCH MORE they could have done with him. Then it dawned on me that if his death brought out such fierce emotions, it was the right choice, because the death served the story, and made me feel something.
There is nothing worse than a story that elicits NO response.
“Yes, PEB, the point WAS for the audience to like Lorca, to get invested in him, so that his reveal angered the audience. ”
If that was the intent then S1 was an epic fail. First, Lorca wasn’t likable at all but he was amazingly fascinating. More so than any Captain that came before, to be honest. But then, when their big “reveal” hit, the only anger was at the foolishness of the situation. It was really disappointment more than anything. Disappointment that we had such a new and radically different kind of Captain only to be undercut by such an indescribably pathetic explanation. Why couldn’t the Captain just be a hard-ass? This was the prefect show to do that in as the main character was Burnham. Not the Captain.
On your final note it doesn’t really apply to something like Star Trek. It will get responses no matter what as there is already a built in fan base who will weigh in. Good or bad. The GoT situation is a bit different.
You stopped making sense a long time ago.
You are being intentionally belligerent for unknown reasons here.
You keep responding to sound arguments with nonsense. That’s my reason.
Since CBSAA was offering a “free” month to re-subscribe, I have been rewatching Discovery. I think that whatever was weird and tricky about witnessing Lorca make decisions is gone. Jason’s acting while hiding the “mirror” is fantastic and totally on point, but the written (and/or edited) arc becomes a little flat.I can’t explain it. It’s like he’s not bad enough! There is that moment when he makes the most fateful decision to take the crew into the mirror universe – and that shot is chopped down in the edit so close that we don’t get to see him react to his own success. What is the mirror universe then? We could have seen that AND still have him “act” as if he doesn’t know where the crew is. That’s where the drama of the season finally loses steam. Lorca really could have been like “and now you are all my slaves!” I’m going to finish the season before Season 2, I think, but I have been thinking about this a lot. Also, on this second view, it becomes much more clear that the rest of the crew is still Starfleet and they want to be.
You seem to think the writers know what they’re doing…
Video not available in my country…again.
Someone posted the link to a non-region-locked version 2 days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsW7zuecf1A
den of geek has a review up already of s2ep1. Don’t know what to make of it, as they talk about the visuals being as strong as they were in s1, where I found them largely to be a disaster.
Yeah I learned to stop listening to DoG reviews a loooooong time ago.
I disagree with his appraisal of Kirk as a “rulebreaker.” Truly, Kirk is a great strategist and often does out-think his opponents, but it’s a mistake to assume he doesn’t respect Starfleet code. Kirk is very charming and uses it to his advantage. That doesn’t make him unprincipled. He CAN throw a punch, but when he does, he means to win. The TOS scripts just happen to be more action oriented. Stop viewing Kirk backwards through Han Solo, please.