‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunner Dismisses Post-‘Voyager’ Setting – Says S2 Will Reconcile Canon

One of the biggest decisions made early on for Star Trek: Discovery was to set it a decade before The Original Series in the 23rd century. Speaking to the press in the UK (via Metro), co-showrunner Aaron Harberts discussed and defended co-creator Bryan Fuller’s vision for a prequel to TOS instead of a sequel to the 24th century series Star Trek: Voyager:  

‘I’m glad that it is [a prequel] because it set up parameters for us. Let’s say we set it 100 years after Voyager, the canvas is so broad. To try to contemplate, you’re creating a whole new mythology really. I think Bryan [Fuller] was interested in The Original Series and I think he was interested in the lead up to where The Original Series is. I think he was very interested in the Klingon / Federation conflict, but I don’t know definitively why he picked that.’

While Bryan Fuller eventually settled on the show being a prequel to TOS, it has been reported that his original pitch to CBS was for an anthology series that was set in a different era each season, including going beyond Voyager (a show that Fuller worked on). That idea was deemed too costly, so the show was structured around a single era with a single crew, but with new story arcs for each season.

Of course Discovery isn’t the first Trek series to make the decision to not go beyond Voyager. Star Trek: Enterprise debuted a few months after Voyager’s finale and it was set in the 22nd century. Recently talking to TrekMovie Enterprise co-creator Brannon Braga also dismissed the idea of a show set after Voyager saying “It was hard to imagine at that time what it meant to jump 200 years into the future.”

The finale of Voyager was set in 2378, 122 years after Discovery

Season 2 to reconcile canon issues

Harberts also addressed the issue of how Discovery will reconcile the introduction of technology and characters never heard before:

‘We have ten years until The Original Series comes into play. It is a challenge creatively because we have lots of choices, in terms of how do we reconcile this [Spore] drive? This surrogate daughter of Sarek? How do we reconcile these things the closer we get to The Original Series? That’s going to be a big discussion that we have in season two. What’s so fun about the character of Michael, just because she hasn’t been spoken about, doesn’t mean she didn’t exist. A lot of the writers on our show are deeply involved in Star Trek, their knowledge is some of the finest around, they really do help us find areas where we can steer around things.

Sarek and Amanda with their ward Michael Burnham

Andorians and Tellarites confirmed

Speaking of season 2, we recently reported that Harberts has already started working on that this week. And this morning he addressed a consistent issue with fans which is that we still haven’t seen some classic Federation aliens on the series.


Star Trek: Discovery is available on CBS All Access on in the US and airs in Canada on the Space Channel. It is available on Netflix outside the USA and Canada.

Keep up with all the Star TrekDiscovery news at TrekMovie.

 

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Why don’t we hear about Michael or Sybok in TOS??

Sarek, Spock, Sybok, and Michael overcame their differences… until they went to lunch one day with T’Pau.

T’Pau: “Dis eez de best fish place, Spoke?”

Spock: “It is, T’Pau, mother of Vulcan logic and philosophy.”

Sybok: (doing his best Rodney Dangerfield impression) “Talk about fish faces, it’s tough to tell which one’s supposed to be on the plate!”

Michael: “Yeah, and what about that hair? Does the Bride of Frankenstein know you stole her wig?” (both laugh out loud)

Sarek: “From this day forward, Spock, we will not acknowledge either of your siblings.”

T’Pau: “You are fortunate I do not have my lirpa.”

lol very nice. I’m sure that’s how it all went down!

This is canon. Or at least it should be. Hilarious!

Vulcan vegetarians would never be seen in a seafood restaurant. This is a catastrophe!

Welcome to the Caddyspock Breakfast Club!

SPOILER WARNING!

Reasons for setting this 10 years prior to Kirk…

1. Thematically it’s pre TOS. Humanity is not there yet. We still have conflicts.
2. No Holodeck. This is the best reason. No stupid ” the cgi video game character has somehow gotten past all security measures and seized control of the ship despite not even existing. ”

It is a shame that nobody from any other series can cameo but…

I agree. We had enough of that. I can’t even fathom what they would do with stories in the future. Surely they’ve done them all lol

Does anyone honestly think conflict is gone by 24th century? Rubbish!
Or rather unlikely in the extreme. Take a look at human history over the last 20 centuries! It aint rosy!

And all that is solved in next 250 years? We can all dream I surpose!

Dreaming is what Star Trek is.

TNG, DS9 and Voyager all showed conflict was alive and well.

That’s what Star Trek Is/was/Says- that’s the future Universe the fans supported for 50 years so YES. if you think differently & want Star Trek to be changed (like Discovery) to be the same as our world today because you cant believe in or conceive of you are not, were not & should not call yourself a fan or post here, you just insult everyone who believes in star Trek & the future it portrays.

Star Trek has often been at its best when doing a sort of social or societal commentary on current times and events. Discovery and its writers I think are doing this here. We all want a great future and we all dream of a just society, but each of us has our own opnions on what that means or looks like. I do not think the Nazis thought they were evil when they fought in WW2. They had an ideology which THEY thought was rightous and great for mankind. Same with with the communists or imperial Japanese. Even today America often sees itself as a beacon of light and the best nation on earth.

But see America is the greatest nation in the world because we’ve helped more nations than any other country and every nation we help out succeeds and every nation we abbadon failsi think that makes us a great nation!

If by “help” you mean undermine social cohesion & install puppet regimes so it can exploit the nation in question, and then let the same thugs that were used to maintain control by intimidating the civilian population take over when all the resources have been consumed… then… yeah… America’s great 😏

No it’s not the greatest nation anymore. Were fighting 9 wars at last count. You know why? Not to help these people but to get there resources,oil, etc.We can’t even take care of our own anymore. The rest of the world is laughing at us because we refuse a single payer healthcare system even Russia has.Come on Tony get informed and stop watching mainstream new , they lie.

Trekboi – You are the worst kind of Trek fan. Making statements like “If you think differently, go away…”. Can’t you see your attitude is the antithesis of what you say Trek stands for? You are espousing a future without conflict while at the same time acting like a complete tool. Tell me how that makes sense?

Compare the first half of the 20st century to the latter half, the 21st century is even more peaceful…

The costs are far, far greater for the big nations with thousands of nuclear bombs on stand-by for launch within minutes. Its probably a fair bet that those weapons have kept global war at bay for the last 70 plus years.

Post scarcity like in Star Trek? Sure. Most conflict would be a thing of the past. You have to think, what causes conflict in the first place?

Borg, Dominion war, Maquis, Section 31, Cardassians, Romulans, yes there is no more conflict in the 24th century.

If you don’t want to have holodeck stories, then don’t write holodeck stories. i means its as simple as that. I didn’t realize Roddenberry wrote a decree stating because they had a holodeck they had to write 10 stories a year about them. As I say over and over and over again, and as Discovery proved, it comes down to the writers at the end of the day and what they want to write.

There is no Internal conflict in the Human Race, no fighting, discrimination or wars. The Borg was TNG & External- the others don’t count because they were in DS9 which like Discovery is not Star Trek mostly because it was Pro-War & had a captain who glorified his war crimes.
This was not Roddenbery’s vision of Star Trek but a deliberate bastardization of it executed after his death.

All well and good. But the thing is the less Roddenberry was involved with Star Trek the better it got. Yes, he dreamed up the concept but other people made it work better.

Say whatcha want it was the best trek ever

ridiculous- you think Starfleet regressed after Star Trek Enterprise & stagmented for a century thenevolved in 1 decade to be the universe we knew in Star Trek TOS?

@trekboi Show me actual evidence of regression or stagnation in Discovery’s Starfleet/Federation.

If “Ready Player One” is a big hit, CBS is probably going to be asking, “wait, you basically had Ready Player One’s OASIS with your Holodeck in TNG/VOY, why aren’t you doing THAT? There’s a lot of money there!

Do a Borg episode!

The Borg are Borging

That’s one of the things they can’t do.

no

No way Borg are old news need to move on.

But the Klingons can be written for another 50 years.

First… Who says it has to be two hundred years after TOS or even 200 years after Voyager? Why can’t it be perhaps 5 years after Voyagers return home? For that matter, why can’t it be 10 years post Undiscovered Country? It sorta sounds like Harberts is limiting himself here.

And next regardging addressing canon… That sorta sounds like they never reconciled the canon inconsistencies in season one like they said they were going to do all year and instead have just swept it forward to season 2. I’m at the point now where I will believe it when I see it.

I liked hearing the potential Andorian and Tellarite sightings in season 2. But again, at this point everything Habarts says should be taking with lots of grains of salt.

Did they promise that all of this would be resolved by the end of the season, or the series?

I never heard “end of season 1”. I heard “as they get closer to TOS” and assumed end of the series.

They are in damage control, they know they have to pacify the real Fans to limit the bad press so people will watch, they won’t resolve anything they just need us to watch till the end, they don’t care if they don’t deliver.

which “real fans” are those?

Some group I keep hearing about who cannot accept any changes to Star Trek after TNG. Or maybe TOS.

They seem to believe they are the Right and True Carriers of the Star Trek Torch, and are not to be contradicted in their views, and if other Trek viewers call themselves fans yet like the things They Do Not Like, they shall be called Unbelievers.

@Trekboi Yeah, no. Again: evidence.

It absolutely could be set just after the events in TUC. There’s what, 80 or 90 years between then and the start of TNG? A perfect time period to populate with some great lore.

And with technology what it is now on-screen, why they thought they couldn’t go post Voyager/Nemesis is beyond me, except for the possibility there’s a little lack of creativity in the writer’s room? Just saying – some weak statements by management here, IMO.

really all the tech we have seen that looks more advanced than earlier Trek, apart from the DASH Drive (which we will see get discarded eventually) is holographic display stuff and more touch screens than on TOS.
It’s just glitzier, it doesn’t come of as more powerful.

My thoughts exactly. I like everything Harberts has been saying for the last year or so, but I’ve yet to see him and the rest of crew execute it on screen. Also why create canon issues that need to reconciled in the first place. I was very hopeful and gave Discovery a lot of leeway in the beginning, but now we’re at the midseason break and they have only deepened my reservations.

I think I’m even further annoyed as I have also been watching Star Wars Rebels and that show, which is a cartoon more geared for children, has managed to replicate the 1970s look of the original Star Wars film as it takes place in a similar time period. Same goes for Rogue One which managed to replicate the 1970s look in a 2016 film. Before the show debuted I didn’t think it would bother me that the design was different, but they keep mentioning Spock and the Consitution Class. This takes place a year after The Cage and we know Spock is out there with Captain Pike dressed in the velour jumper. Why create that issue in the first place? Why not set the show a year before The Cage?

I don’t want to nitpick the show, and I think if I felt the writing and character work was better on the show itself these other issues wouldn’t bug me. I really hope they tighten up in season 2.

@Colin

I’m in agreement. A lot of hinges were said that never showed up on screen as promised If the show was better none of the inconsistencies would bother me nearly as much. So I think it really comes down to the show isn’t as good as many of us had hoped or expected. Especially considering the comments from the show runners and the fact that we are expected to pay extra for just that one show.

Ugh. Auto correct. THINGS. Not hinges.

Why?
It’s not like they have been dishonest with us.

I think it’s a case where their eyes are bigger than their stomachs whe they speak. They’ve stated they revamped the klingons because they’re showcasing them in a way they hadn’t been before and would be digging deeper into their culture and that just hasn’t been the case. What have they done with the klingons that hasn’t already been done 20-30 years ago? I certainly like statement of intent to dig deeper into Klingon culture, but I certainly haven’t seen that come to pass.

I wouldn’t consider the Klingon stuff a failure just yet. We still don’t know exactly what T’kuvma’s deal was, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it had SOMETHING to do with the Augment virus storyline from ENT. The transformation of a large part of the the population can’t have gone down smoothly and his whole “Remain Klingon” mantra could be a response to what many in the Empire would have seen as genetic pollution caused by the Federation.
The first issue of the IDW comic is finally coming out in less than two weeks so we will see what happens there.

Hauke, That is a really cool idea. “Remain Klingon!” does indeed sound like a call for “purity” of the race.

I am totally down for that if they go that route, I just I am kind of doubtful it will happen in the next 6 episodes. I’d like to think that Kol being related to Kor would have payoff otherwise it just feels kind of pointless to make that connection. Thanks to Enterprise we know Kor is affected by the augment virus and thus looks like white dude with bronzer and a goatee. Why tie Kol to this existing character if there won’t be any payoff to that connection?

Is there a reason he can’t pick up the phone and ask Fuller more about his motivations for the setting of the show? Harberts was one of his understudies, after all. Would it mean them cutting a giant cheque to Fuller they don’t wish to do? That could be the only reason surely, as it’s just too crazy to think they’ve now stopped consulting him completely.

Get ready for the Rogue One or Star Trek Continues approach. Just kill everybody that wasn’t seen in the next series/movie :-(

I am okay with that approach

Me too

RE: Rogue One – apparently, in an earlier script draft, Jyn and Cassian *did* survive by carbonite freezing themselves on a transport shuttle. So, it would have been that they were still alive, but just drifting through space in stasis.

See, I would’ve been cool with that.

An anthology was too costly? Okay, I can see that. But it is a bit funny, considering how elaborate that Torchbearer costume was and it was on screen for what? 30 seconds? They don’t seem to be afraid to spend money.

I totally agree. They blew a substantial amount of budget on the retconned Klingons and their immense bridge set. I wonder how much the extra CGI cost to “twirl” the Discovery during the spore drive jump?

An anthology series would have been TONS better!

The great thing about CGI effects is when you’ve animated it once, you can use it from different angles again and again, just move the camera, swap the background, press “render” and wait a couple of hours (minutes?).

What they mean is every season they would have to (possibly) create a new ship, new timeline and hire a new cast of actors. In other words kind of start from scratch every season if you decide to focus on a completely new set of people and setting. Thats when TV shows cost the most, during their start up. Once you build your main ship sets then its a lot cheaper going forward. Its not ‘cheap’ but its cheaper.

Oh sure, I know. But now they Discovery has taken a deep dive into the multiverse-timeline super highway, it’ll be interesting to see how they manage new sets, assuming they make the universes very different. They may not.

Yeah but that might only be for 1-2 episodes and since its more likely the Mirror Universe, nothing would change all that dramatically sets wise at least.

Whats funny is Star Trek has done very little parallel universe stories when you DON’T count the mirror universe. But outside of that universe you can count the parallel universe stories on one hand. The Kelvin timeline is the only deep dive into another universe and that was just done to rewrite canon however they wanted.

Frankly I’d prefer they go full Sliders with the concept. The Klingon war ain’t doing it for me.

Let’s see:

“The Alternative Factor” (TOS)
“Remember Me” (TNG)
“Parallels” (TNG)
“Scorpion” (two-parter) (VOY)

Yup, you’re right! Even if you count “Scorpion” as two episodes, you’ve counted ’em on one hand.

There were some three MU episodes in DS9.

“Scorpion” wasn’t multiverse/parallel universe.

So irritating… This is just a case of writers being lazy. We need a show after Voyager! It doesn’t have to be hundreds of years later. It can just be 5-10 years after. There’s plenty of “mythology” that the old shows left to write off of. I feel like they keep doing a disservice to Star Trek fans because TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager are just being left in this void to rot. I’m sure there’s a lot of questions fans want answered about story arcs that were left open and the state of that universe they left open from those shows.

Agreed, Link. But I don’t think they really care much about keeping current fans happy, or about completing what could be interesting story arcs from previous series. It would follow they want new fans, young fans, and stuck this show right before TOS so they could re-imagine existing ideas and throw a few familiar names out there to to reel die-hard fans in.

Agree. The main opponents against a post Voyager setting keeps saying 100+ years after Voyager and most people aren’t saying that. They simply want a show a little bit after those events. That could be 10-20 years later.

Although I don’t think the other shows are being left to rot because as long as they treat them like they are all part of canon (and they keep saying that although Discovery looks like its ignoring all Trek canon on many levels) then it matters. But yes it is amazing since Enterprise we have been stuck in this prequel bubble for the last 15 years. I don’t mind SOME prequels but I don’t want to be stuck in this era for the next 20 years. I would like to go forward again at some point and the irony is Fuller had every intention to do that. He was just going to work his way there season by season.

I’m waiting to find out what happens to Sisko canonically after being trapped in the celestial temple.

Why do we “need” a show set after Voyager? I don’t want or need that. Things got so bogged down with the whole tng, ds9, voyager era. The future looked like it was getting boring. I like what they are doing. I like that they are bridging the gap before tos. I’m really not interested in a series set 5, 10, 50, 100 years after voyager. Sometimes stepping back is the right thing to do. I like the grittiness of Discovery. I like the flawed characters. I am definitely interested in seeing how they will play everything into canon.

Why do we ‘need’ a pre-TOS show? Answer, we don’t! And as far as I can tell thus far there is nothing about this show that needed to tell its story in this era. Nothing.

And you want to talk about ‘boring’. Like we needed another story line dealing directly with the Klingons? Yeah that’s never been done on Trek before.

I don’t care about ‘bridging the gap’. Enterprise was made to bridge the gap. That went well. And what exactly is being bridged since they keep saying over and over again what we are seeing now will be radically changed by the time TOS arrives?

And I don’t care for having a show set after voyager. I am happy with what we have. Sucks to be you if you didn’t get what you wanted. I’ve wanted a show like this way before TNG even came out.

I don’t hate what we have, I just don’t see the point when nothing about it feels 23rd century. No one would know this show was placed in that era without references thrown in.

And the tech just feels too distracting, which is the problem. It could be placed in a post-Voyager setting and no one would blink.

And also tells you there was no real priority for a 23rd century show. Its more in marketing than actual story telling.

You are way too hung up on this post voyager notion. You can’t see anything else.

And you seem just as hung up with not having it.

Point, counter point my friend. I’m just replying to your obsession.

Its not an obsession, its discussing the topic. Thats what we are doing here. If I was that bothered then I wouldn’t like any of the prequel shows and films. Many people are just sick of going backwards, thats all. Hopefully we will get a show again that will move forward again. I’m giving Discovery a wide berth, but nothing about it feels like it needed to be set in this period, which is the real problem for some.

And as said multiple times now, maybe if this show actually felt more like a 23rd century product it might be better for some, but it doesn’t feel like that at all which is part of the problem and probably why many are scratching their heads why its even in this time period.

Or maybe if the made the sets out of cardboard with a 1960s flair, you’d be more into it.

If Discovery did anything right, it avoided making the show look like cheap cardboard sets with big buttons and bad alien make up. But to completely avoid everything seen on that show, even changing the look of all the ships and designs makes it feel like its basically in another universe like the Kelvin films. And at least those films got similar uniforms to TOS.

Yeah,the velour pajamas would be great now! Sooooo futuristic!

YOu must be bored. And I’m saying there isn’t ANY tie in to the look of the 23rd century, so what’s the point? At least the Kelvin films did try for some tie ins. Discovery looks like its in both another era and universe entirely.

I guess its good enough to market the era but not good enough to actually base the look of the show around. And why we have a show that can fit in the 25th century just as well.

That’s because this isn’t 1966.

YOu do realize you can update designs without completely reshaping everything? They did that for all the other shows and films, those weren’t made in 1966 either. This basically just a reboot of Star Trek altogether and again partly where the issue lies.

Or just cal it a reboot. I’m not sure why they are so afraid of using that word. Thats all the Kelvin films was but they put that in another universe because they were afraid saying its a reboot of the prime universe would get some fans upset I guess.

@Ransom. I agree. I’ve wanted a show set before TOS for decades, long before enterprise (which was really more of a TNG prequel/sequel).

I’m still waiting to find out what happens with Gary Seven and Miss Lincoln… *bwodloip!*

Reconcile the tech by introducing a stealthy cyber-attack vector into those touchscreens that renders them completely useless. Therefore, Starfleet re-engineers all controls to be 95% physical in order to harden them.

Also, the spore drive eventually destroys the Discovery and all her crew…with the exception of Michael Burnham, who barely escapes. NCC-1031 is RE-commissioned as a CONSTITUTION CLASS cruiser and Burnham is assigned as First Officer to a NEW captain, with everyone wearing the new TOS uniforms of that class.

Easy-peasy.

FINALLY we’ll get to see Tellarites and Andorians! You know, co-FOUNDERS of the Federation along with Earth and Vulcan!

But your post tells me why Discovery SHOULDN’T be in this time period. I don’t get the point of it frankly? So you build this (very) advance star ship and different uniforms just to find some convoluted plot device to say all that cool advance stuff was just a fluke for a few years and why we now have big buttons, smaller bridges and women in go-go boots in TOS period? Then either just start the show off that way from the beginning or (better) put it in a timeline where it would just fit, ironically in a post Voyager setting.

I honestly would just ignore TOS altogether (in terms of visual canon) because frankly downgrading from Discovery’s universe to TOS would just feel silly to me at this point. I really wish they put this show in a post TUC era at least and even there this show would fit in much better than pre-TOS. The holodeck (or whatever they call it) would fit in better there as well working up to what we see in TNG.

I agree 100%!! I was merely providing a way out of the current quagmire for the feeble-minded showrunners/writers. A post-TUC show would have solve MUCH! (And probably would’ve costed less.)

But, c’mon….who doesn’t wanna see go-go boots and miniskirts one more time??? /sarc

OK, sorry! Yeah sarcasm is hard to read sometimes. But yes if this is what they are truly suggesting I really, really hope they don’t do it. I can see why they have to explain away the spore drive because that whole thing looks out of place in any previous time period. But I really don’t need an explanation how we go from a bridge like Discovery to a bridge like 1701. Just don’t do it. Most people will simply have accepted either Discovery is just doing its own thing or it looks different because its now 2017 and not 1967. And it doesn’t explain things like why the Klingons look so different or their ships look nothing like the other ships in canon.

But if they feel this strongly about it, oddly it tells you they know how out of place their show looks next to TOS because frankly it is. But they decided to go in this period so just go all in at this point.

None of this is real, pal.

The Desperate Hours novel already explains most of the discrepancies nicely.
Constitution class ships are a radical design philosophy shift. Designed as deep space exploratory vessels which can operate alone for an extended period of time, they forego a lot of the luxury afforded to ships that operate closer to home. They are very powerful vessels compared to the likes of the Shenzou, but the durability and power comes at the cost of not wasting space. As part of the Constitution program, the crew wear different uniforms during the Cage era, before the vessels become more mainstay after the Klingon War and the original TOS uniforms are introduced.
Holographic communication will fall out of fashion later, the novel suggests they are datahogs unsuitable for longer distance communication and also more vulnerable to be deciphered as the larger amount of date and older standards provide more avenues for hackers.

Nice. And now we don’t need to see thar on screen.

And many of the novels have always played with this sort of stuff, suggesting that the TOS viewscreen was really a 3D hologram, for example. The displays/interfaces/controls have often been suggested to have been more sophisticated/advanced than they looked.

What about that idiotic lookin’ Klingons?

I agree they should have stayed with the “Worf” Klingon look. How could they change so much from “Enterprise’ to Disco to TOS. How do they say this fits between those two?
Did they suffer a species wide plague that left them all monstrously warped and barely understandable when they speak? Oh and the “next generation” (wink), reverted back through gene therapy? Thus by Worf’s time all the stricken were gone? Thus Worf’s look is the standard Klingon by Next Gens day? Coulda happened.
Naw just the new kid at the helm wanted his Klingons scarier. Ooop. He missed the target and makes Disco feel like another “Mirror, Mirror” , except not the mirror image but just a alternate, like the TOS movie reboot.
Not the same timeline / universe as the original Sulu, who was “not gay.” Even George Takei, cried Bull Shit! With due cause. The reboot TOS is not the original timeline /universe, So I say NEITHER is Disco. So what? They can admit it now and move on and continue keeping me as a fan of the new “alternate universe” TREK ! There are theories of parallel universes that may be alike but different.
TV’s Flash takes full advantage of the idea and “runs” with it. Multiple different Flashes, each slightly different from parallel Earths. So I ask. Is another good alternate universe Trek a bad idea? IMHO I say No! Keep the tale good and engaging and
I am with Disco to the end! SET PHASERS TO KILL AND ENGAGE THE ENEMY ! It’s war!

I would assume this is a result of making attempts to fix the augment virus. Perhaps the Klingons used genetic material from a prehistoric version of their species (like humans taking genetic material from early home sapiens)or they could be a previously oppressed subspecies who have been able to rise up in the aftermath of the augment virus, like the Remans are to the Romulans.

You may have something there. Wasn’t there a prehistoric Klingon in TNG? I seem to recall one,but can’t remember his name.

Yup.. And in that episode Worf is asked why do they look different now at which he answers he does not wish to speak about it.. First time I saw it it was hillariousbut I did like how they reconsiled bad make up from TOS and the new look of Klingons in the TNG.

Worf… in the dreaded ‘Genesis’. He devolved.

Just remembered was Fek’lhr in “Devils Due” I recall the look was closer to “Discovery” Klingons than regular Klingons.I’ll have to look up some pics

I have to agree and I was afraid of this. They keep talking about reconciling technology, never before seen aliens, Burnham and spore drive but they never mention reconciling the look of the Klingons and that needs explaining big time.

I think saying the show can’t be after Voyager is a cop out. For some reason all these new people on the creative team think a show can’t be on a ship exploring space. I like that idea but oh no, that doesn’t appeal to brain dead audiences of today. How about a show about a ship sent to the Gamma quadrant through the DS9 wormhole. Who knows what they might find in it’s farthest reaches.

100% agree, Jack.

They didn’t want to tell that story. What’s so hard about accepting that? Maybe someday there will be a series set then, but not today.

I like Discovery. I just want a good show. Stop worrying so much canon. Let’s face it technology in TV and production is better now so just embrace it and get over trying to make everything fit into a perfect canon box with the original TOS.

No, thank you

@Brandon — great idea!

If the show was better than it is, Brandon, I would be right there with you.

So, in other words (re: not setting the show after Voyager), the folks spearheading Star Trek have no imagination, nor a desire to put thought into something out of their comfort zone (or ‘parameters’). Which leads to no series post-Voyager; it’s too ‘complicated.’ That is one of the biggest lines of bullshit I think I’ve heard. A broad canvas, dear show runners, allows for much more in the lines of original ideas and story telling, that which doesn’t require a crutch to lean on.

Yes thats what is sad, the fact they think its ‘too complicated’ lol. How complicated is it when one of their writers on Discovery, Kristen Beyer, was writing novels that were literally in a post-Voyager setting. In fact they hired her based on how well received her stories have been.

So its not ‘complicated’, there are plenty of writers up to the task. This guy is just pretty new to Star Trek in general and in reality is following what his boss created first with Discvovery. Now to give him credit I certainly believe he helped with the premise of Discovery but clearly the main ideas came from Fuller. And as we now know Fuller actually wanted a post Voyager show and and planned as such, he simply wanted an anthology and work through the time periods. So if Fuller can think that far ahead, any writer worth his salt could.

Oh…I thought they said, they will explain in this saison why nobody has heard about the Discovery, why klingons look that way etc. . Now it seems that they never planned that. We won‘t get an explanation. This is just how it is now. Don‘t get me wrong. I really like that show, but I can‘t get over the fact that the producers are selfish by doing whatever they want to do, without honouring what has come before. Why not place the series after Nemesis?

I said this over and over again the day it was announced the show would take place pre-TOS, it was going to be Enterprise all over again. And I mean that people would just have problems reconciling a prequel going its own way and therefore contradicting earlier canon. Not everyone, not even me to be honest but ENOUGH to certainly make it an issue. It was an issue in Enterprise and it was one in the KT films and that was literally set in another universe and fans still complained. Discovery, IMO, has gone even much farther than those every have in terms of canon violations.

Now that said i’m not saying either just placing it after Voyager would just make any complaints just go away or that it would be a better show. My guess is being Trek fans we will always complain about something lol. But placing Discovery in this period just makes their job harder and frankly because they haven’t done that good of a job of telling us this show is pre-TOS because nothing about it feels like it. It could really be anywhere and fit right in.

At least with Enterprise the show did feel like it took place in an earlier time even if the ship in reality did feel more advanced than 1701, the show runners really did try to create a tone and spirit this was in a much earlier time with a much younger Starfleet.

But with Discovery if they came out and told you the show took place post Voyager minus the Sarek and Spock references no one would blink. The ships look too different and too advanced from what we know. Everything looks completely different minus the phasers. I don’t get the point of it frankly. Its like its a show where they wanted a more advance period to tell their stories in but put it in the 23rd century to market it better.

I agree with you, Tiger2. Instead of Sarek it could’ve been Ambassador Tuvok. Done.

I agree completely!

I agree with much of that. And even Enterprise was smart enough to set themselves over 100 years before TOS. This show handicaped itself severely by only being 10 years off. It seems they did that only for the Sarek connection. But from my point of view, even though the best episode dealt with the Burnham Sarek relationship, the Sarek thing could have been replaced by any Vulcan. My guess was they only did it to have a TOS character connection. Which to me is placating the fans. It’s the same reason there is a tribble in Lorca’s office. Makes no sense but producers thing fans want to see that sort of thing. But the time frame kills that concept. The tribble cameo in Search for Spock made more sense.

Yeah, I’m inclined to agree as well – so far there’s nothing about Discovery that precludes it from occurring post-Nemesis. The Vulcan/human upbringing of Burnham does not require Sarek, only a Vulcan that’s willing to adopt a human child. They would have changed a couple of lines in “Lethe”, but that’s it as far as I can tell.

I am enjoying the show, for the most part (streaming issues not withstanding), and am trying to withhold final judgement about the time period until at least the end of the season, but so far I’ve not seen anything that requires setting it 10 years before TOS.

Exactly! I like the show, even with its faults (but expect them to improve on those like most Trek shows) but yeah nothing about the show feels like they are really tying it into the 23rd century outside of superficial references to other characters and easter eggs. Of course that can all change on a dime in the future, but they didn’t seem to have any true need to put it in this period outside of thats what Fuller wanted.

“Everything looks completely different minus the phasers”

Umm… But the phasers shoot differently now, don’t they? It’s not a “constant” long beam of light anymore.

These guys don’t have a clue of where they are going with this

So true. They have no clue where to take this to fit canon. I’m still enjoying the show though. I just hope it doesn’t start going around in circles like Lost did.

I doubt it was Fuller’s decision alone to set Discovery a decade before TOS, if his decision at all. Something tells me that may have been a network request, seeing the TOS era as more marketable to the ‘general audience.’ After all, that is how they introduced the series in the teaser. “10 years before Kirk and Spock…”

Discovery may not be officially set in the Prime Universe, but the Kelvinverse movies are definitely a big influence. Kirk and Spock had the recent spotlight in pop culture. Where do they go from there? Well, they do what modern Hollywood does. They make a prequel.

Typo: I meant to say “may not be officially set in the Kelvinverse”

Fuller has been talking about a pre tos show for years.

Yeah, I find it a little amusing that the arguments against setting this post VOY or Nemesis are so incredibly obtuse. This actually puts me at more unease regarding the future of this show than I had felt before reading this.

“Let’s say we set it 100 years after Voyager, the canvas is so broad.”

I don’t think anyone was ever seriously asking for a show set that far ahead of time – many people commenting here were asking for 5-10 years. I’d have taken 20 years like Star Trek Online.

But let’s say that the show *had* to be set 100 years past Voyager. I’ll admit I’m way behind on Discovery, but from just watching the pilot, it could have easily been set 100 years past Voyager, rename the Sarek character and adjust any dialogue mentioning the year and there’s virtually nothing else that points to it taking place between “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

@Theoden — except setting it after VOY or NEM would have bored the crap out of me, and many others. I can barely bring myself to watch some of those TNG-era episodes anymore.

Why would you be bored by it? Rick Berman wouldn’t be in charge.

Aside from the Sarek and Amanda connection and the Harry Mudd guest spots, they could pretty much tell this same story post Voyager and Nemesis. They might have had to alter some of the reasons for the Klingon war, or dare I say introduce a NEW species, but I don’t see any big obstacles getting in the way of telling it.

Fritz… so basically you are saying that if this same eact show was said to have been set post voyager you would love it… and the only reason you have a problem with it is because it is set pre tos? Really.

Yes, because then it wouldn’t mess with preexisting, established canon. That’s what causing grief. I thought this was obvious.

Do you guys not read the article’s in here or do you just look at the pictures? If you actually read the stuff you would see where it is heading. By the way… The Enterprise is a ship that is 10 years older than Discovery. Think about that when you whine that it doesn’t look the same.

“@Theoden — except setting it after VOY or NEM would have bored the crap out of me, and many others. I can barely bring myself to watch some of those TNG-era episodes anymore.”

@Curious Cadet

This makes absolutely no sense. For one thing what exactly is so exciting we are seeing in Discovery now that made it more interesting than the Dominion war or the Borg? I would give anything to feel half way excited about this Klingon story line as I felt about those.

And if you like Discovery, what exactly stops them from making that show in a post 24th century? This is a real question. Because as far as I can tell they could’ve done this story line in that era exactly as they are doing it not. It’s not exactly like the Klingons never goes against a treaty as DS9 proved (and was also portrayed better in that war too).

This is the entire issue for me for Discovery. It could be any time. You take away Sarek and Mudd would anyone even know the show took place pre-TOS? No. In fact everything we seen technology wise would fit right in a post-Voyager show. New uniforms, bigger ships, cool tech like walking holograms, all would fit just fine. The spore drive idea would make more sense given what happened to Voyager. And the new class of ships would make sense given how many were lost after the Dominion war.

So yeah, I just can’t buy this line. As someone said new people are running the show, it would feel different just like this feels different from TOS. They could do this story line in a post-Voyager setting. But considering the Klingon war is actually one of the WEAKEST parts of the season, I would be happy with a new enemy entirely to be honest. Or a new story not focusing on villains altogether.

I’m laughing at the “I’m glad that it is [a prequel] because it set up parameters for us” line. I’d like to see the parameters they’re using to confine their storytelling.

That they’re claiming they’re going to rectify the discrepancies in season 2 brings up a point: why introduce the discrepancies without an immediate on-hand explanation to begin with? They’d be saving the Trek fan base a lot of grief if they had just called it a reboot or just set it in the Abrams universe instead of calling it a Prime universe prequel and then completely disregarded the “parameters” of that era.

The only explanation they should go with in season 2 is that this show *isn’t* set in the Prime Universe, and never was. The amazing thing is that this wouldn’t actually have to be on-screen since the Prime Universe claims are all in the behind-the-scenes details. Once that’s done, there would be no need to explain why no one ever heard of Michael before. No need to explain why The Klingons look different. No need to explain why there is a “spore drive.” No need to explain why holograms are used instead of view screens. No need to explain the uniforms.

There, I’ve tidied up all continuity issues without needing CBS to spend a single penny writing it into season 2. Just come out and admit it isn’t set in the “Prime Universe” and then you’ll have almost nothing shackling you to the “parameters” you don’t appear to be following anyway.

“Just come out and admit it isn’t set in the “Prime Universe” and then you’ll have almost nothing shackling you to the “parameters” you don’t appear to be following anyway.”

Many thumbs up to that statement. Many.

Indeed, perfectly put. If this wasn’t set in “Prime,” I’d have no gripes whatsoever, and enjoy the show quite a bit more.

It’s amazing that these writers who actually
Worked on Star Trek are saying this about going beyond voyager. It’s literally what I’ve been saying for ages.

Thank you! ;)

Actually only Aaron Hasberts is saying this who has never worked on a Star Trek project until now and of course is just trying to defend the show’s setting, which I get.

But its silly for a guy whose had no experience with Star Trek up until now to say its too ‘complicated’ to do it. Yeah, maybe for him. He’s new at this. Others, not so much, including Bryan Singer who wanted to do a show several centuries post Voyager and an idea I wish he got to do.

Think about what he’s really saying. Star Trek is OUR reality extrapolated. He’s quite correct in saying that the farther you go into the future, the less interesting it gets.

I disagree, immensely. He’s fine to have that opinion and so are you. But stop making sound it like its some unequivocal fact. It’s not. Plenty of people in this thread clearly disagrees with that notion.

Star Trek was always about the future, one NONE of us will ever see because I highly doubt warp drives and transporters will ever really exist anyway. So its not our reality extrapolated. Its all fantays make believe at the end of the day, just enough of real science to make it feel a bit realistic.

But the time period doesn’t really matter and for people like me cool tech is what I love about Star Trek and why going forward is more appealing. But now you have a teleporting ship that really feels like it belongs in the 25th century anyway, not the 23rd, which tells me it really doesn’t matter what era the show is in, the writers are going to create a lot of futuristic tech beyond what we know anyway.

At least if you put it farther in the future it doesn’t feel as out of whack as it does in a pre-TOS one.

I don’t have a problem with Discovery’s setting. I’d have preferred no cloaked ships and TOS-appearance Klingons with more subtle changes. We know very little about Sarek so I have no problem with him and Amanda fostering Burnham when she was a young girl.

But I wouldn’t have minded a series set 10-15 years after Voyager/Nemesis, either. There’s a lot of story potential there, with the Federation having an uneasy peace with the Romulans, trying to rebuild after the horrendous Dominion War, adapting the Borg technology Janeway brought from the future. Plenty of stories to tell.

Wait. These guys had no idea how they would reconcile it all with canon and they’re now going to talk to each other about doing this in Season 2?! FFS. No one wanted a show 1-200 years after Voyager. 1 year after the destruction of Prime Romulus in the Prime Universe in Star Trek 2009 would have done nicely and would have been a perfectly rich field to seed with all the otherwise interesting sci-fi ideas and characters which STD does indeed carry. *Sigh*

Good I have no interest in anything post Voyager.

So basically they’re saying they weren’t creative enough to come up with something new.

Yep, they said it. Word for word what you just typed.

“‘I’m glad that it is [a prequel] because it set up parameters for us. Let’s say we set it 100 years after Voyager, the canvas is so broad. To try to contemplate, you’re creating a whole new mythology really….”
So basically what they’re saying is they took the lazy writer’s route! It would have taken more creativity (Not necessarily more money) to create a new Star Trek post Voyager. What’s wrong with a broader canvas!? They took the easier path under the guise of having “parameters”. I was really excited about the idea of an even more futuristic ST, taking us to that next generation if you will. Instead, we got a confusing step back into the past with technology & effects that are anachronistic, dramatically reimagined Klingons with no explanation & a leading character so arrogant, so prideful that her life’s motto is “the end always justifies the means!” The creators should have learned from Enterprise that prequels are not necessarily what the viewers want. I believe the essence of Star Trek is what the future holds. Even the anthology idea they proposed sounds better. At least we would have eventually gone beyond the age of Voyager.

Yes they took the lazy way out. That’s it. You uncovered the truth. Bravo. Stop whining just because you didn’t get the series you felt was owed to you.

Discovery is fantastic and is pure Star Trek.

This is the 2nd of your comments like this. Your comments are condescending and add zero to the conversation. You are welcome to disagree, but try presenting it in a way that doesn’t reflect poorly on yourself and adds to the discussion.

My pet theory (and I know I’m not the first to theorize this) is that we will discover (ha) that DSC is actually set in a parallel universe that isn’t the TOS/TNG/DS9/VOY universe but also isn’t the mirror universe *or* an alternate timeline a la the last three movies.

I’m hoping in one of these upcoming episodes we’ll run into a TOS-universe Federation starship crewed by Starfleet personnel wearing gloriously cheesy Cage-era blue and beige velour uniforms. It will be a wonderful trip down memory lane, but everyone will finally see with their own two eyes how hopelessly retro and primitive it all looks.

As fond as I am of the TOS era (seriously, if you haven’t watched “Star Trek Continues” yet, get thee to Vimeo!), I’m hoping this episode will once and for all visually explain why Lorca and company aren’t wearing pajamas and miniskirts and flying around in a 1960s starship with primary-hued interior decor.

Sheesh you fans are way too picky about what you want in a Star Trek series!

Want some cheese with your whine?

“I’m hoping this episode will once and for all visually explain why Lorca and company aren’t wearing pajamas and miniskirts and flying around in a 1960s starship with primary-hued interior decor.”

The explanation is simple; because at the time Discovery is supposed to be taking place – ten years before TOS – the women would still be wearing pants and sweaters with huge turtleneck looking things. Rather, you should be hoping one of the upcoming episodes would explain how the Constitution-Class starship still has paper print-outs and tactile gelatinous buttons while the rest of Starfleet has holographic imaging and touchscreens. :)

For starters,I don’t view ” Discovery ” as Star Trek.It is similar to the Star Trek Universe, but is so different I treat it as a whole new version, whatever Century it is suppose to take place.
So comparing it to any previous “Star Trek Series” is almost impossible. To compare ” Discovery” to the others doesn’t work as this fits into the category of mini-movie series not TV series. At 9 or 10 episodes each year it is hardly long enough to be called a normal series as everything before this had at least 24 episodes a season. Something you could watch every week for six months or more.
Production values are also more akin to mid-range Major movie releases as apposed to fixed budget, Find a way to do this cheaply and buy actors that didn’t make it as movie stars—no offense.
Maybe these “Discovery” actors will never be movie stars,but they certainly have a vehicle which could take them there.

Well its actually 15 episodes a season which is a fair amount.

And it is a whole new version. End of the day its a reboot. They don’t want to say it for some strange reason but anyone with eyes knows thats what it is, just trying to fit within similar canon.

Instead of ending one day, I think it would be interesting for Discovery to lead up to and then launch into a recreation of the stories in the original five year mission of the Enterprise – with new actors playing Kirk and crew but in the new look and style of Discovery, with adding the original outfit colors of course just slightly tweaked. This time go the whole five years, redo and add to the original stories in the new style and sleeker tech.

Isn’t that was the whole point of the Kelvin films? They gave us original stories of the crew with a new style and sleeker ship and universe.

I find it very, very, VERY hard to believe that nobody bothered to float the story possibilities afford by a series set right after the end of DS9. Post-war rebuilding, the inevitable political conflict that comes with it…

Been in that era… done with that era.

Why do these people always jump to ridiculous extremes to justify their “Creative Choices” setting a show after Voyager, which ended 17 years ago doesn’t have to be 100-200 years after Voyager Just 20-25 years would put it fare enough away to free up the writing while keeping the familiar consistent cannon universe we enjoyed through TNG/DS9/VOY

Why? What would be the point of doing it post voyager? It would same old same old. Boring.

Yes, because starting a conflict with the Klingons is a really bold and original idea?

How is that NOT the ‘same old same old’ given that we have seen this done on multiple shows, DS9 the biggest, and two films now?

Tiger… We have had 3 shows already set in that era. That is the same old same old. Think buddy.

And we now have 2 shows and 2 movie series covering this era. How is this not the same old same old?

And as been said all people want is a continuation of the franchise, like most franchises do, ie, go forward. This is now the third prequel series in 15 years when you include the Kelvin timeline. People are tired of just going back and filling in the blanks to stuff we already know whats coming. Although I guess that is a little different with the KT films since they reworte canon completely but it still felt like stuff we knew was coming.

I just wish they could’ve gone with Fuller’s original idea and have a show where they cover all the eras including a post Voyager one. That sounded ambitious and fun.

And you still didn’t answer my question. A new conflict with the Klingons? How exactly is that bold and new? We saw that literally 20 years ago on Deep Space Nine. And better as well.

I want to know why there was conflict with the Klingons. I was tired of moving forward in the SAME ERA FOR 3 SHOWS. We did go back back to 3 DIFFERENT ERAS.

Yes more back story filler. Let’s not make any new stories, but just explain all the old ones. Exciting.

Yeah you’re right. There was a Klingon war… Who cares how it started. It just happened.

We don’t need an origin story to every single event in Trek history. In that case we will need a story to how Federation got into a war with the Cardassians or how the Ferengi became their enemy too.

Some things can just be left alone. In fact I always liked Picard line of how the original Klingon war started by a bad first contact centuries ago and was happy with that simple explanation. And now of course both Enterprise and Discovery ruined that but sadly prequels have a way of retconning things.

I just find it so odd that you would be ok with the show as is if they said it was set after Voyager. But you have a problem with it because of the era it is set in. Maybe just say to yourself it is set after Voyager and then you can enjoy it.

You’re missing my point completely. In a post Voyager show, they don’t have to worry about some lame convoluted idea of trying to make it all ‘fit’ in the previous TOS timeline they keep saying they plan to do. Why do they even feel the need to do that? NOTHING about this show feels like TOS outside of a few small elements now, so why bother of trying to tie it up in the end? But it tells you they clearly know their show looks nothing like that universe but they have to please the TOS fan boys and make the show feel like its really a part of the TOS timeline or fans will reject it. But its not, at least not in any substantive way.

I rather just have the show be open ended where they can have spore drives, huge bridges and wildly different uniforms and not think about how none of that fits to the TOS timeline we know. Placing that in an era that is uncharted would just make the show feel more organic to tell whatever story they want, that’s all. But because they are aware all of this is wildly out of whack, they now have to find away to explain away stuff like this or come up with some convoluted reason why its there and why no one else either heard about it.

And outside of it being another alternate universe or a time travel devise is the only way any of it would make sense. Outside of those, its not going to fit in any plausible way outside of explaining a few random things.

In fact I rather they just pretended TOS didn’t exist and just make the show they want without having to ‘explain’ any of it. It looks different because its 2017. All the TOS writers died long ago and that show is ridiculously out dated today, so just ignore it completely and make what you want. But we know hardcore fans wouldn’t accept it after the KT films, but why I wish they just put it in its own era and can as far as their imaginations can take them and not worry about any of that. Why prequels generally suck.

In YOUR opinion.

LOL, OK. My point is just put it in an era where you can just tell the stories you want and not feel restrained you have to think 5 years down the line how you are going to have to ‘explain’ it all. Its amazing they are giving themselves all this extra work to try and reconcile how Discovery and TOS are the same, when they are clearly not but have to make it all ‘fit’ in some way.

And to be fair to them, it wasn’t their idea to place the show in this period, it was really Fuller’s idea and of course he’s gone now. And it was also his idea to change everything from the start. So they had their hands tied from day one and I guess someone realized they couldn’t radically redo this era without some kind of ridiculous canon explanation and came out and said it will all fit…eventually.

So I give them credit for taking a concept that wasn’t theirs to begin with and doing the best they can. But it would’ve made their jobs 100% easier if it was just in another era completely and they could’ve done what they wanted without having to back track it or figure out how to explain it away later.

So your saying they should have been lazy and taken the easy way out so they wouldn’t have to be creative. Hmm

Seems to me lorca could be section 37 as he has been given the authority to do anything to win the war and doesn’t seen to listen to well to the admirals

According to what I have seen on screen and is canon-
iPads were apparently invented after TOS (didn’t see them on screen until TNG). Wifi still doesn’t exist in TNG (don’t recall it being used, they always had to plug in). Touchscreens were not invented until the 24th century. Fermat’s Last Theorem Wasn’t solved in the 24th century (it was actually solved in 1994, after the episode it was mentioned in aired). 23rd century communicators have very limited functions, etc, etc.

So when the question was posed as to why the series wasn’t set post Voyager the response basically was “we were lazy and lacked imagination”

Wow. Let’s put words in peoples mouths.

Yeah where was that quote?

It was subtext.

Oh subtext, got it. Wonder how I missed that.

Why?
Its not like we can’t trust them.

My one query about their disinterest in a storyline post VOY starts with this: Is Star trek Online’s storyline considered cannon (which perhaps explains why they set DIS in the time frame pre-TOS)?

Pensive’s Wetness

To set it 100 years afyer voyager “the canvas is too broad” meaning… no one on our team is creative enough and doesnt ubderstand Star Trek.

Yeah, they don’t UNDERSTAND it. Because Star Trek is such a complicated thing to understand. Give me a break.

Wrong.

Nobody ever mentioned that Spock doesn’t have a big purple bunny as a sister either, but it doesn’t mean he has. I find this tenuous connection to Spock one of the weakest parts of the show, it’s on very shaky ground and just makes me think that the creators didn’t have enough confidence in their own character being able to stand on their own

I agree with this, RGP; I don’t see any reason why Burnham couldn’t have been adopted by another Vulcan family [and that family could be sneered at as “impure” like Sarek’s family — there, there’s your shout-out to TOS, folks].

I feel like I’m missing something WRT Burnham’s Vulcan-ness. It doesn’t seem to have left a huge impression on her personality. Perhaps Capt. Georgiou made Burnham feel more comfortable with being human.

Exactly. It was just a way to tie their show to TOS and get the fanboys excited. But oddly enough it doesn’t really add much to anything if never see or hear from Spock and its kind of kept as this family secret.

As for Michael being raised Vulcan, its still slightly there but I agree she acts basically human now. I kind of thought the show was going to be about a woman who is struggling to fit in with two different cultures trying to adapt to being more human again, kind of like someone born to two parents of mixed races living in primarily one culture but then experiencing another later on. But they sort of skipped over that aspect completely for some reason.

And its kind of a shame because that flashback scene of Burnham first coming to the Shenzhou was great and showed Martin-Green really did hone in of being a Vulcan.

Good thing the Star Wars folks didn’t think like this ;) A new trilogy beyond the current one is already being planned.

You don’t need to set a new Trek show “100-200 years after VOY”. Just 20-30 years later would work perfectly well, like others here have suggested.

There are some loaded themes and elements that can be extrapolated, life in the Federation wouldn’t necessarily “go back to normal” after a conflict as cataclysmic and traumatic as the Dominion War, and real-life world history and geopolitics is an absolute goldmine of stuff that could be used as inspiration for gripping storylines.

And you can handle the backstory and exposition in ways that work equally well for newbies and Trekkies. Just like the LOTR movies/GoT tv show compared to the much more detailed historical backstory in the books.

Creating that kind of Trek show wouldn’t be “easy” — but it shouldn’t be. You’d need writers/showrunners who are extremely smart, knowledgeable and erudite. People with enough knowledge about the real world — past and present — and enough imagination to intelligently adapt those issues for Trek. People who can extrapolate things logically and realistically. And especially people who will properly think things through and include elements because they actually make sense, not just because they’re “cool” or “controversial”.

“Complicated” to pull it off? Yes, and rightly so. Trek deserves no less if it’s ever going to achieve its full potential. In fact, the freedom of cable television and HBO-level budgets mean the scope is already available (among other things, just imagine the kind of “world-building” you could show). It just needs the right people at the helm.

Jai this makes no sense. There have been tons of novels that has been doing just that for decades now. There are post-Dominion stories out for awhile now, they simply aren’t canon. One of the writers on this show, Kristen Beyer, has been writing post-Voyager novels for years and how she got this job.

There are plenty of writers out there who would love to write in this period and can. Just because one producer who has never worked on Star Trek until now says it can’t be done doesn’t mean no one else can. Plenty can, including people on his own writing staff.

Tiger2, I’m aware of all that and I was actually agreeing with you ;) I was contradicting the people claiming it would be “too complicated”, “boring”, “nothing interesting or realistic post-VOY/DS9” etc. My first comment makes the same basic point as you, the second comment explains what I think would be needed to really do such a Trek show justice.

Well firstly, the new Star Wars Trilogy continues the original. So if you’re suggesting doing a new series with Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley, I’d be all for it. Unfortunately, that ship sailed and the comparison to Star Wars would have seen it done in the 90’s. And it was…on film.

Wait another 15-20 years and see if anyone is clamoring for the Star Wars originals to come back!

But to be serious, it doesnt matter. They could set it 1 day after Voyager. They could set it 100 years after Voy. They could set it ten years from now. Who cares. They had an idea and this is it.

But thats not true either Tup. Clearly the old characters are being phased out for new ones. Han Solo was first in TFA and obviously we know Leia will have to end her story. Luke will probably make it to the next one but I doubt not much longer than that.

In other words Star Wars will continue on with new characters. Old ones like Chewbacca will stick around but he’s just a side character. They are basically handing it to the new but in a way that pleases both old and new fans.

Right off the bat, better more monuverable space suits than the current movie series, and walk around long range holograms.. it’s just plain too much, we’re talking technology upgrades that make existing episodes in the cannon not make sense anymore and I’m just using the very first episodes as an example

Any writer who would suggest that writing a post Voyager / nemesis Star Trek show should have been fired on the spot. Writers don’t run from a challenge they rise to the challenge just like the writers did for the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Was it one hundred percent perfect…no.

like someone said before, we have been in prequel hell since Voyager and Spock’s pre-Kelvin actions…enough.

Meant to say any writer who thought writing a post Voyager show was too much of a challenge should have been fired on the spot

Thats not really what he meant, I think. More of, it was the challenge of making it interesting and grounded. Playing in the established sandbox wasnt easier, it was more interesting. In many ways, it challenges the writers way more…

I guess they could have some cameos from the ST:Enterprise cast sure they would be much older kinda like the first episode of TNG when Adm Dr McCoy came aboard. Also when I first watch this I was thinking it was the first series set in the new alternate setting of the new movies. It would fit in perfectly with the Chris Pine era of Star Trek it has the same look and feel to it.

My thought what about placing it during the enterprise c era? Would have cool to see discovery in the era when the time got changed when the enterprise c disappeared

There was a prequel to TOS called ENTERPRISE. Has the creator and producers not seen this or know this?

Jason, you don’t know what your talking about! If it wasn’t for Roddenberry and Shatner, you would not be doing what your doing! So I don’t think you should have anything to say! Your known for Draco’s dad and the SOB in the Patriot. And yes, I’m a Trekkie!

“Let’s say we set it 100 years after Voyager, the canvas is so broad. To try to contemplate, you’re creating a whole new mythology really.”

Let me apply the old universal bullcrap translator to that. What that actually means is, “But if we did that it would have been hard and we are very lazy and unimaginative.”

What a wretched excuse.

Make it available on CBS instead of CBS ALL ACCESS!

I really hope they don’t tie everything up with a bow — there are still decades before TOS, leave room for possibility.

Actually its only one decade before TOS.

Spock, Kirk, Scotty, McCoy and all the others were already in service at this time. They never spoke about the things we see in DSC although they must have played an important part in the Klingon war. Spock was first officer under Captain Pike, Kirk was Ensign/Lt., etc.

The chosen time period for DSC was the worst idea the could have. To say a setting 100 years after VOYAGER would have been difficult to create is an intellectual declaration of bankruptcy. I am glad that in 1987 the writers of TNG weren’t that limited.

Post Voyager you have two choices to mix things up (sorry but Andromeda looks pretty much like the Milly Way). You can have the races become non corpeal jumping entities like the Organians/Q which I think would be boring. Or you could have the fall of the Federation. True.. TNG Feds are on the verge of laziness playing holodeck, acting all superior, slowly eliminating individual rights and freedoms, condemning the TOS era as “cowboys”, etc. I just don’t like the thought that all of the sacrifices made in Discovery and TOS were to end with the fall of the Federation, doesn’t seem optimistic. But then again TNG set up the horror show of the Federation becoming the Borg (which DS9
hinted at).

There’s way more than the two choices you presented.

The first suggestion is a non-starter. Organians or Q can work as guest stars, but as main characters there is no way that could make it work and keep it be entertaining, since there’s nothing to ground us with the characters.

For your second suggestion about the Fall of the Federation, I’d safely say that I would HATE it. Also, it doesn’t really work with established canon (not that the DIS people care about that sort of thing), since we know the Federation survives into the 26th Century, 28th, 29th, and 31st centuries. I suppose you could have a brief time somewhere in there where it collapses, but it will come back. The show Andromeda already played around with this sort of thing, and I just don’t think ST could deal with something so bleak as a “Prime” universe show.

I’m assuming that your comments about the Borg are just a figure of speech, right? That the Federation “assimilates” other species/cultures and not in the literal sense.

The third and most logical option the could have done was to avoid “mixing it up” and just do a well written, serious, but fun adventure series that explored deeper into the galaxy that either:

1) At least attempt to adhere to established continuity if they set it during a pre-established time period.
2) Set it in the future where virtually nothing they could write could mess with established continuity.
3) Set it in an alternate universe where it doesn’t have to play by the “Prime” universe rules.

Gray egghead Klingons. A D-7 that looks nothing like the D-7 we know. Spore drive. The look, the feel… Lorca doing ‘something’ to the navigation pad just before that odd split image jump. Trying to get away from that Admiral who wants to take his toys away?
Are we sure Discovery hasn’t been in a parallel-verse to date and that last jump popped them across to the TOS prime-verse?
Yeah, it’s too-neatly tied up in a bow to work.

Everytime they don’t adhere to TOS canon (TNG canon be damned)I feel it hurts the series. For instance the cloak.. Discovery should have had no cloak and bringing in cloak made the mid series finale a poorer version of Star Trek VI. Why doesn’t Lorca just fire some torpedoes/phasers on proximity (anyone remember the far cooler Balance of Terror?), the Klingon flagship is just sitting there. Easily could have been solved by saying the Klingons have developed “phase shields” that are making their weapons ineffective/unable to hit targets, absolutely nothing would have changed except it would have made sense. The bridge too big, now Lorca has to walk around aimlessly to talk to his crew… Episode is saved by Michael’s boarding action (cool, boarding parties which totally make sense, why not beam over with raids/explosives when shields are done, etc), Ash’s PTSD with the Admiral was super powerful (her yelling at him felt real, something never seen before in Trek).

The context of this particular argument — is it pre-tos or pre-voyager? The hints as in the set design makes one recall the era between what might be TMP and VOY.

Gotta put in salient designs like the pre-tos era phaser and sickbay bed data-tranceiver — just because other areas in the design have round circles you stand inside of when beaming to or from and nothing else seems more “salient” to the original design or resembling a predecessor of the original design — runs the risk of being “too different” in form to accept it’s function — you keep noticing the differences in set-design which distracts from the story-lines and characters — when focus is put on set design and noticing all the things that stand out as not being salient, characters and story loses depth.

Then it’s all about what people think this should have been and that should not have looked like to can you believe how ugly that ship turned out or wishing they had the original ship and not acknowledging and accepting the arc of being in an alternate-universe…

It loses impact and uniqueness. Depth.

That’s my .02% Bars of Gold Pressed Latinum.

Will the Romulans appear in Star Trek Discovery?