Before we get into our New York Comic Con coverage of Star Trek: Discovery there are a few little updates, including a bit from late night TV, the connection to Chilean football, more details on Saru, and how Discovery is actually bi-partisan.
Colbert re-imagines Discovery Klingons
Last night The Late Show with Stephen Colbert did a cold open with Star Trek: Discovery, adding some new “deleted scenes” with presidential subtitles to the Klingons.
Discovery appeals to both sides
Speaking of politics and Discovery, a report from Business Insider says data shows that the new Star Trek is one of the few shows that spans the political spectrum in terms of interest. The data comes from social media research firm Fizziology:
[Fizziology cofounder] Carlson said there wasn’t much of an overlap when it came to liberal and conservative television preferences. There were only three shows that liberals and conservatives both seemed to enjoy equally: “Dancing with the Stars,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” and “The Orville.”
Jones: More to Saru
In a new interview with Newsweek, Doug Jones reveals more about the Kelpian Saru. Here is an excerpt:
Saru, according to Jones, is especially adept in water, though we won’t see him afloat in Discovery. We will, however, see Star Trek’s only Kelpien when he unleashes other abilities. Jones says he saw how many Trekkies were complaining about his character’s fearful nature on Twitter while the first two Discovery episodes aired, and he assures us that there is more to Saru than meets the eye. “When a prey species is backed into a corner, they do have some fight in them,” he says
Jones also revealed that “Episode 8 will prove just how skilled Kelpiens are at getting around on their hooves.”
Doug Jones in “Context Is for Kings”
The Discovery Chilean Football connection
Chilean Trek fan Ramon Urkiza tipped us off to a tweet of a 1977 photo of a Chilean football club that had some very familiar looking uniforms.
Members of the Discovery crew moonlighting as 1977 Chilean footballers?
TrekMovie made a little joke about the photo on Twitter and it caught the attention of the Star Trek Discovery writers room who had a witty retort.
Spoilers.
— Star Trek Writers (@StarTrekRoom) October 6, 2017
Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusive in the US on CBS All Access with new episodes released Sundays at 8:30 pm ET. In Canada Star Trek: Discovery airs on the Space Channel at the same time. Discovery is available on Netflix outside the USA and Canada with new episodes made available Monday at 8 am BST.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.
Why do the klingons in Discovery not have hair?
The hair was always very elaborate in previous iterations of the Klingons, especially TNG era.
Why aren’t the Klingons ridgeless like in The Original Series? The Klingons aren’t ridgeless after Star Trek: TOS because they aren’t. The Klingons don’t have hair in this iteration because they don’t. Sheesh. Honestly, if you’ve not gotten over it yet you might want to see a therapist.
He just asked a question, maybe you need a therapist seeing how upset it made you.
The question was “Why is this thing that has always evolved and kept being different, different again?” The answer is because that’s how they’ve been since ST:TMP, kept changing.
That’s fine and to be expected, but this is a prequel. It be like if they made a tv mini series set between when Worf left TNG and arrived in DS9 and he looked like T’Kuvma for no other reason than ”muh 2017,things new”. Obviously the show isn’t going to look like TOS but if you set something 10 years before an established story you’re changes come across as simply for the sake of change. Why isn’t this show set after VOY, nothing about the show or it’s story justifies the time period they set it in. Their depiction of the klingons and the main story thread in the series so far can happen at anytime.
@Sat — you mean like the Trill did between those series?
As for why this can’t be set after VOY; they’re 3 episodes in … why don’t you wait and see why they set it in this period as the story evolves rather than issuing proclamations before you even know what this show is about.
I can understand your point, but the Trill were not an “iconic” alien by any measure in TNG. The Trill were a one-off alien-of-the-week in TNG in an episode that is not generally well regarded or even remembered.
The Klingons have looked basically the same from 1979 (or 1984 for the six people who don’t agree that TMP Klingons look the same) all the way until 2013 (when “Into Darkness” was released). That’s 34 years. They looked the same through all the TOS movies they appeared in, through all of TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT. I know the die-hards easily dismiss this, it’s the same argument that was made with the Bad Robot films – “Hey, things changed between TOS and the films, carte blanche!”
Beyond the specifics of what happens to the characters in this series, we all know the macro-level universe events surrounding the series. We know it takes place between “The Cage” and “Where no Man Has Gone Before”. We all know what ends up happening with the Klingons – they eventually become allies. The story so far seems like it was ripped right out of Star Trek Online, both in tone, feel, setting and even plot. This storyline would fit perfectly in a post-Nemesis time frame.
Who cares?
Right!
He does, hence asking.
Right… “Who cares”. So why even call it Star Trek then? Let’s have Purple Klingons, and Orange Andorians. Nobody cares right? Hell, let’s not even call them Klingons. Let’s call them Klinkers?
Seriously, if you don’t know why you should care about these things, you don’t deserve to call yourself a “Star Trek fan”.
@Meurik — that’s quite a splash you made going off the deep end there …
The producers did lead us to believe it was only T’Kuvma’s ancient sect which didn’t have hair. That was clearly a lie, so really the answer is just… because the producers and designers wanted to update the look.
Honestly, it’s only because DS9 had characters acknowledge the makeup update in canon that we’re so embroiled in this topic. Enterprise indulged the fans who wouldn’t let it go, and now they expect to be catered to while not acknowledging producers and designers did the same thing to the Romulans and the Trill and no one is clamoring for them to get explained either.
I don’t love all the radical change to the Klingons, especially to their once elegant-looking ships, but I will certainly admit their makeup, costumes and set aesthetics needed a refresh – they hadn’t changed much since 1979! By the time DS9’s season 5 premiere trundled the main cast into Klingon makeup and KISS wigs, I realized how dated they looked already, and that was 20 years ago. They had to change, and this isn’t even the first time something major was similarly altered on a whim.
@Ian — good point about the Trill
They changed the look because the studio didn’t want a beautiful actress to have such ugly makeup. I like he new Klingon look much better. Love everything about the new Klingons, almost universally hated everything about TNG Klingons onward.
I hate the unmenorabke ship designs, but the new Klingon sets and costumes are stunning. I don’t really mind the makeup either, but the teeth bother me. Made up language or no, they are clearly making it harder for these actors to talk, and that possibly influenced the decision to have them talk slower, like simpletons.
Looking at the Klingons again in Colbert’s short clip, it seems it might not be the teeth as much as the heavy mask around the actors’ mouths.
Colbert and Star Trek – my two favorite things on CBS AA
He should have said that she cheated on him like a targ.
Those Chilean uniforms are hysterical. That’s obviously more than just a coincidence. Funny thing is, that design isn’t really as effective on a track uniform.