We are now just 13 days away from Star Trek: Discovery and the pace of new bits to share is increasing. Today we have a time-lapse video of the Shenzou set and Sonequa Martin-Green talking about her character Michael Burnham’s arc. There is also a fun fan video from Netflix Spain and more.
Shenzhou bridge set time-lapse
The official Star Trek YouTube account released a time-lapse video of the building of the USS Shenzhou bridge set. As we reported from FanExpo, the set had to be built off the floor due to how the bridge is on the underside of the ship.
One of the cool reveals is the dedication plaque for the USS Shenzhou showing it is a Walker Class ship that was built at the San Francisco Fleet Yards.
Sonequa Martin-Green on Burnham’s desire to be captain
New interview with the official Star Trek site actress Sonequa Martin-Green talks about the character arc for Michael Burham:
Well, it is quite a journey, and I think that part of what is going to allow for more engagement than shows in the past is that you are entering this world through the eyes of a first officer who has this aspiration to be greater, and to be more, and to be captain, of course. And so, you get to see me on that journey, but you get to see all of the pitfalls, and you get to see the turmoil, and you get to see the failures. You get to see the mistakes. You get to see the triumphs. I think that it is an incredible journey, and I think the writing is truly courageous in that way. It certainly knocks me off my feet quite often, seeing how far we go! I think it’s going to be something to see. So, the journey never ends, you know? It continues on, and I think it’s going to be quite exhilarating.
The actress also talks about the character’s Vulcan upbringing:
The idea of how Vulcan I am versus how human I am is one facet we’re exploring. Because there is this dichotomy of Vulcan indoctrination versus human emotion and human DNA, versus Starfleet ideology. And so, it’s really about all of these things, all of these tenets of my being, and how they are relating to each other, and how they’re opposing each other, right? So, I was born into a human family, and a human life, and then was sort of forced into Vulcan culture. So, there’s the acculturation that has happened, and there was certainly the assimilation that I fought to achieve. And then you have Starfleet. And so almost, I feel as if Starfleet has provided a bridge for me between my humanity and my Vulcan upbringing.
Michael Burnham has her eye on the captain’s chair
Discovery visits Ceti Alpha V
Yesterday was the first night of 35th anniversary screenings of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Discovery co-executive producer Ted Sullivan shared a photo of how he and some writers and cast took an away mission to see it.
Our text hello to @SonequaMG after watching #WrathofKhan together @marythechief @gryphonmetal @MrKenMitchell @extspace pic.twitter.com/9ZfSKFW6tR
— Ted Sullivan (@karterhol) September 11, 2017
Singing Star Trek in Spain
The official Netflix Spain twitter account shared this fun video of fans singing the theme of the original Star Trek as part of their promotion for the Netflix premiere of Discovery.
Los trekkies nos cantan el tema principal de Star Trek. #StarTrekDiscovery, el 25 de septiembre. pic.twitter.com/rEk4Qu9WLW
— Netflix España (@NetflixES) September 10, 2017
Star Trek: Discovery premieres on September 24th on CBS with all subsequent episodes on CBS All Access in the US. In Canada Star Trek: Discovery will premiere on Bell Media’s CTV and the Space Channel on the same night. Netflix will launch Star Trek: Discovery on Monday, September 25 to countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Unlocked version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ono_kL8B8
Thanks Luther!
Thanks buddy, great video! Anyone know if the music is from the show, or is it just a generic piece?
Cool time lapse. The professionals building the sets are just another in a long list of unsung heroes. Good job. I just hope this bit of accompanying music isn’t the theme song. Has great atmosphere, but no hook.
Someone in the YouTube comments (a dark and terrifying place) says that the music is actually from a number of different sources (Inception, Children of Dune, …) edited together. I doubt they would premiere the theme music in a behind-the-scenes youtube video, but you never know.
I definitely heard the Inception bits
With the greenscreen on the floor in front of the helm and nav stations does the Shenzhou have bridge windows facing down (i.e. crew walking over the stars / looking down to see planets, etc)? If so that should look pretty cool.
There was a shot in one of the trailers where you could see the bottom side of the saucer section and Burnham taking off in her space suit on the bridge screen/window. So yes, I definitely expect to see more variety through the windows than the mostly static star fields (unless there were at warp) from TNG.
@Cmd. Bremmon — it actually makes a lot more sense than putting the bridge on top of the ship in terms of being able to see out of windows in the center of a saucer. And it always puts the ship on top of a ship that which has a bridge in the nose, or on top. This is especially true if it’s going to be landing on a planet.
I think it will be cool, I am looking forward to it!
“Vulcan indoctrination”! Here we go again with the antagonization of Vulcans (and alien cultures with non-Federation/US approaches in general, I suppose). I thought we had seen enough of that on George W. Archer’s Enterprise…
I think you are reading more into the word “indoctrination” than they (notably SMG) are intending. It is often used with a negative implication, but here I think they simply mean it as Burnham was educated and raised in the Vulcan way. Understanding the value of her humanity (emotions, etc.) is new to her but important and that is what goes against the Vulcan “indoctrination”.
With such a focus on Burnham, Sarek, and, by implication, Spock, I can’t see Discovery painting Vulcans in a poor light. Yeah, they might not be perfect, but Spock (nor Sarek) wasn’t perfect in TOS – he thought and acted negatively regarding aspects of humanity, probably because of his personal experiences with it (intoleration from other Vulcans and issues with Sarek).
Thoguht, I guess I never thought Enterprise bashed Vulcans or other races/cultures. I thought the Vulcans, humans (specifically Archer), and Andorians (specifically Shran) were all shown to have negative aspects early on in the show. Over time, all of them evolved as we got to know them, coming to value the other cultures and work with them – the whole basis for creating the Federation in the first place. I particularly liked the Vulcan Arc of season 4 and their return to the true ways of Surak. It’s unfortunate that we never got season 5 as I felt 4 finally hit the right aspects of a prequel series to TOS.
I agree with you about not reading too much into “indoctrination.” But ENT mostly blew it with the Vulcans so far as I was concerned. I liked the initial idea of some friction with humanity as it was counterintuitive and the humans would presumably be at least partly responsible. But it became obvious early on that the Vulcans were just being set up as obnoxious foils for the heroes, and the notion that they needed to be redeemed from their fall from grace by a human starship captain I found offensive in the extreme.
That said, since Sarek is one of the most beloved and sympathetic characters in the franchise, I don’t expect to see that happen in DSC.
My problem was that the humans were always seen to be morally superior than the Vulcans which I’d like to see be the case 51% of the time. Some times the needs of the many ARE greater than the needs of the one. Being logical without feelings all the time might mean no World War 3 but at what cost? And why would Vulcans want to work with such illogical humans, would have been nice to have us prove ourselves. Had I wrote the pilot it would have been about a Vulcan science ship near us that is captured by Klingons/Vegan Tyranny that the Vulcan embassy has considered a write off no worth risking lives when we report it to their ambassador (subspace comms with Vulcan will take a week to get back). Earth decides to prove itself by attempting a rescue anyway despite our primitive nuke powered/armed ship. Lots of opportunity to present a more dynamic relationship.
Isn’t the friction with the Vulcans a plot point in the final season of Enterprise?
I thought even in TOS the Vulcans were, much like every alien race in Star Trek, incredible hypocrites. Enterprise was just keeping with tradition.
I guess the Shinzou isn’t going to be destroyed early on if they invested this much in the set. But what about the Discovery?
It’s possible, the budget of this version of ‘Trek is quite large and a set like this might be considered disposable?
Since the show is named Discovery I don’t think they will destroy the ship named Discovery any time soon. There was a previous interview where they said that they designed the sets to be interchangeable between Discovery and Shenzhou. Maybe not the bridge, but probably corridors, quarters and even the transporter room (even though it looks quite different).
@Lee — I’d imagine even if Shinzhou is destroyed, that there are other starships of this class we might see in this part of the galaxy.
As a production design/bts geek, I LOVE this kind of stuff! That’s a heck of a bridge!
What is the soundtrack of that video…???
I think the dedication plaque says “All existing things are really one” from Zhuangzii a Chinese philosopher http://izquotes.com/quote/204483
1:31…
Canadians everywhere outside the GTA agree: Leafs suck :D
awesome video though!
From a Canadian outside the GTA, YES I AGREE!
Wow, after seeing this, I have a feeling the Shenzhou will have a larger role to play in the series…. I hope they won’t destroy it early on after all the work they put into this.
I was thinking that too, and yet, look what we ended up with. They spent a massive amount of time, effort, and money for that bridge to appear in less than two hours of the series?
WOW. WOW. WOW.
I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud but the design of this bridge looks a bit silly. Don’t they have health and safety in the 23rd century? All those low beams to bang your head on and so many trip hazards. Very impractical! Looking forward to seeing Trek on TV again. Hope it’s going to live up the Hype!
“Bridge Traversal 101” is a required course at Starfleet Academy.
Maybe it’s just another example of Trek presenting an overly optimistic view of the future. “Imagine a far-off time when mankind has learned to live without… OSHA!”
I’ve read that the Discovery bridge and the Shenzhou bridge are different sets. This looks like a lot of work and detail for a bridge that will only be in a couple episodes… meaning maybe we will see more of the Shenzhou than we think.
Sonequa Martin-Green prefaces most of her replies and sentences with “I think…”.
So?
My thought exactly.
At least she’s thinking, unlike some people here! hahaha