‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Update: Cruz Talks Stamets/Culber Love Story In Season 2 + More

Hugh Culber and Paul Stamets in Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery may be off the air, but there are still bits of news to cover about the show. Today’s update has Wilson Cruz talk about his return to the show, schematics for the Discovery phaser and tricorder, Kol’s original name, the latest news from awards season and more.

Cruz talks Culber’s return

In an interview with Emmys.com, Wilson Cruz talked about the plans Discovery showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg have laid out for the planned return of Hugh Culber.

Aaron and Gretchen explained what was gonna happen and told me I was part of the story for next season. This is a longer, epic love story and this is just a part of that that we have to do in order to tell it. I know what that story is and as an actor, I’m really excited about it. But even as a viewer, I think that’s gonna be fun to watch!

We haven’t seen the last of Wilson Cruz’ Dr. Hugh Culber

Closer look at ‘Discovery’ Starfleet equipment

CBS posted videos on Twitter, with technical schematics of the standard issue phaser and tricorder used on Discovery.  Check them out below.

 

‘Game of Thrones’ beats ‘Discovery’ again

Just like at the Visual Effects Society Society Awards, Star Trek: Discovery was bested again by Game of Thrones, this time at the Costume Designer Guild Awards. Discovery actor Wilson Cruz was one of the presenters at the awards held last week in Hollywood and star Sonequa Martin-Green was also in attendance to cheer on Discovery costumer Gersha Phillips. Martin-Green shared a photo of the trio on Instagram.

The Costume Designers Guild Awards was a very inspiring night. @gershaphillips our very own from Star Trek Discovery was nominated. Beyond deserving. Gersha I tell you all the time how brilliant you are and I won’t be stopping any time soon. I was so grateful to be there with you. ❤️ I had so much fun with you @wcruz73 presenting Excellence in Period Television! (Congrats Jane Petrie!) Backstage was LIT, key-keyed with talented ladies @hereisgina (you betta HOST honey!) and @sarahhyland whom I adore. #lilytomlin happened. 😄 I was gazing at the dynamic sketches and images on the screen, sensing the passion that fuels the artistry and feeling the profound connections between the artists in the room. It was awesome. Inspiring for REAL. #cdgaawards #artislife

A post shared by Sonequa Martin-Green (@therealsonequa) on

Mitchell reveals Kol’s original name

In an Instagram post from January, actor Ken Mitchell showed off an early design sketch for the look of Kol’s costume. He also revealed Kol’s original name was “Er’Toom.”

Speaking of Ken, yesterday he shared this photo of a Los Angeles night out with his fellow Discovery actors Wilson Cruz (Dr. Culber) and Mary Chieffo (L’Rell) and writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lipoldt.

Fan video of the week: Bang your head to Disco

If you like Discovery and you like metal music, you may like this metal cover of the Discovery theme by ‘Captain Meatshield’ on YouTube.

More Disco Bits

Here are some of the latest bits from around the web discussing Discovery.

Decider: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Boldly Goes Where No Show Has Gone Before — A Fully Woke Universe.

Comics Verse: Michael Burnham is the Black Heroine We Need.

The Verge: Why can’t Star Trek: Discovery stick to serialized storytelling.

Syfy: What Star Trek: Discovery has brought to Trek canon, and where it could venture next

 


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

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.

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Being the honest person I think I am, I do not have any real interest or excitement at the prospect of more of the love story with Stamets and Culber. The writers may prove me wrong, but so far I am simply not interested in it, find it among the weakest elements of the series so far.

I agree! Discovery was touted as the first Star Trek to feature an openly gay couple, but it was an EPIC FAILURE! DO NOT BRING CULBER BACK AND FIND SOME WAY TO DITCH STAMETS. PLEEEEEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t think they should have killed off Culber to begin with but I think they would be better having Stamets find a new relationship at some point than awkwardly bringing him back.

Why the hell would you want to get rid of one of the best characters?

Seconded

In other words, Josh has no idea what he’s talking about.

i hate to admit it but you are totally right, they did, the writers that is a total hack job, i don’t think it can be repaired at this point, he should have never been killed in the first place. IMO the epic love story or what should be the epic love story on discovery should be Tyler/Burnham and the writers have managed to screw that up as well at this point by sending Tyler off with uggs uggs L’Rell, I do hope they are able to get Tyler back on board the Discovery within 3-4 episodes, but honestly i am just about given up on the show runners and writers

Agreed that Culber should never have been killed. Seemed like a “hacky writing” thing to do. Shock value, lotsa social media action.

I disagree with your Burnham/Tyler comment though. Chemistry: near zero, despite the outstanding efforts of two good actors.

I do think it’d be interesting to bring Tyler back o/b Discovery [say, as a “Klingon expert/ambassador”], many interesting dramatic conflicts there.

@Marja — to one of your other points about why the convoluted conversion of a Klingon to a human when they can already transfer consciousness; I’m not sure that Tyler/Voq doesn’t have more secrets to reveal than we’ve seen so far.

since i am not huge on cannon, i would support them breaking cannon and making ash the first klingon to serve in starfleet, at this point. i say this because the writers/show runners have gone out of their way to lead us to believe that Ash was saved, so IMO anything short of him being able to return to star fleet as as a full fledge star fleet officer makes no sense. if they didn’t wanna take that route than they should have had L’rell use her magic tricks. as for him serving as some sort of envoy or whatever, i am kinda blah about it. Again i blame the writers and show runners for F***ing up one of the best characters on the show.

i hear the point you are making about the tyler/burnham love story, but i think its passible. staments/culber i see Zero chem with those two, out of the pair i blame the staments for that. i mean this is star trek so i don’t come here for romance. that being said Tyler made Burnham a more likable char. for me, before he showed up i was not feeling her at all.

I’m looking forward to it, Cruz’s description of it really intrigues me. An epic love story playing out on the massive canvas of Discovery, it could be great. We’ll see how it plays out.

I was very moved by his and Stamet’s parting words before the 133 jumps.

I’m basically neutral on it. I don’t mind it but if he stayed dead I would be fine with it too. But I guess since its the ONLY couple on the show (well Ash and Burnham did have something) I can see why they want to keep it going. I’m curious how he will be brought back though.

Agreed, this theme in particular was a let down. One of the many plot points that ended up feeling undeserved and flat.

Mat,
That YOU are not interested in it does not a majority make. I think it’s one of the best and sweetest elements!
See what I mean?

Good news for Discovery – there will be no competition from Game of Thrones at any awards shows for 2018…

Poor Star Trek. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief.

So leave. You’re clearly not a fan.

“No true Scotsman…”

It was a great disservice to the show in that they decided they needed to kill Dr. Culber in order to tell their story. I don’t believe these “woke” writers and showrunners quite understood the cultural impact this type of storytelling has on gays. If they did they chose to ignore it, which is stupid as it’s caused a ruckus for weeks. They’re still writing about it. I’ve read a lot of articles, Tweets, and Tumblr posts with unhappy, virulently angry, and now distrustful fans and reviewers. If fans don’t trust they’ll move on. There are a few other shows with gay male characters at the front that are not being killed off to tell a resurrection tale. I suppose when the market is flooded with many gay characters the death of one won’t hold so much meaning and the moniker of “Bury Your Gays”.

I don’t really get it. *Not* killing a character because they’re gay seems… just as bad, doesn’t it? I recall that the producers communicated with GLAAD due to the sensitive nature of the death. At least Culber is coming back next season, though in what capacity we’ll have to wait to find out.

To some people *anything* is offensive, no matter what you do. They should watch Star Trek: Safe Space.

Coming from the most easily triggered individual in the Trek orbit, that statement is just hilarious.

Michael H,
Hee! True! “Snowflake” much?

@VS This is a textbook example of projection.

Or maybe they should’ve written some stories that have a cultural impact on the 60 million people obviously feeling disenfranchised? Instead of, you know, calling them fascists on the show ;-) I do think that is a tad more outrageous than killing off the couple representative of the 3%. As we have been lectured there are plenty of “modern tv shows” out there that are more “progressive” than Discovery to begin with, so maybe that demographic might want to watch those shows?

While Stamets & Culbert made for a nice dynamic in a show otherwise pretty much devoid of any levity (which they readily killed off though), pandering to ever smaller minorities at the cost of half of your audience does not even make sense from a business perspective. I never thought I’d have to say this but the times of big network television were better ones – they had to program for the largest inclusive audience and not feed divisiveness (also see: The Orville).

LOL. The show is immensely popular. You have no idea what you’re talking about.

Oh, he knows what he’s talking about, all right. In the fever swamps of his imagination, at least. That’s what makes it so sad.

@VS: Sigh, I’ll bite: what divisiveness?
Putting gay characters in a show and talking about it at press events? Is that it? This is the same sort of faulty logic behind jibes that Obama was “race-baiting” anytime he talked, reasonably, about racism in America.

Are two different people using your name here? Because you’ve had insightful, well-written analysis in some nonpolitical posts — but the political, snowflakey ones tend to get pretty incoherent. They don’t really sound like they’re written by the same person.

Yeah this is the issue with VS, when he just talks like a normal human being and talks about issues with the show in a nonpolitical way he’s actually really insightful even if I still disagree.

But once he starts the ‘SJW’ conspiracy rants he does sound like a loon. It could be a different person but since no one has accused the other of taking their handle sadly its probably the same guy.

Maybe it depends on, um, meds or something. I highly recommend that any prescriptions be taken as prescribed

You know what’s weird with that statement? I agree. If he keeps to the subject at hand and doesn’t try to reverse-Jedi mind trick DSC’s producers or claim they’re oppressing the God-given viewing rights of 60 million Trump-supporting bozos by portraying a gay relationship in a positive light or stating that fascism is, you know, historically not so good, his insights aren’t all that bad.

Sad to say, he just can’t seem to help himself.

No one cares about the crazy alt right nuts so why would a Star Trek show cater to that audience?

I still don’t get how striving to give everyone equal rights under the law and to uphold the rule of law — which are basic liberal, and Trek, principals — disenfranchises anyone.

But you actually make a good point: those people are “feeling” disenfranchised, but aren’t actually.

THANK YOU JACK
This is why a minority of voters in states with disproportionately powered electoral votes won a certain election in 2016.

VS,
“ever smaller minorities”? Where are you getting that?
“cost of half your audience”? Same question
60 million people “obviously” feeling “disenfranchised”?

[To get a sense of empathy for “disenfranchisement,” may I recommend you read some news stories about the huge number of Americans removed from the voting rolls? Or how many have been discounted in the Electoral College System because their voting districts have been gerrymandered right down to the street address level?]

I really think you need a firmer grip on FACTS, and a little less of a grip on FOX and friends. [An OPINION program, by the way.]

@Marja — don’t you love that? It’s an Opinion show, yet somehow, there’s no disclaimer preceding or following the show, nor interspersed throughout following commercial breaks or even scrolled along the bottom occasionally. Same with Hannity’s program. Yet it appears on FOX NEWS!

Seriously — this is on the level of Orson Well’s 1938 broadcast of WAR OF THE WORLDS, with the audience not being able to distinguish between opinion and news. Talk about “fake”.

Ahhh, but the ruckus made for a hella lot of attention on social media, doesn’t it. We are now in the age of Twitter/Facebook and fan sites running shows.

Ummm, that cover HAS to be season two’s theme – seriously! :)
Awesome job

No more love story. It run its course. Star Trek has always been about thrilling excitement and adventure. Bring on Pike and Spock as well as prime Lorca. Don’t water it down with Stamets and dead Culbers upcoming EPIC love issues.

I’d like both, actually. The matching Starfleet PJs were cute.

That said, I’m interested in where Spock and Michael are at present. I have a fun angle on Spock, Pike, and Michael Burnham I’d love to pitch, if anyone’s interested. In fact, I’ve been trying to get Disco’s attention for the past month. It’s not going well, lol! Happy to share with anyone willing to listen.

I guess that’s a “no.” *sigh No traction at all.

Y’know, I keep wondering if people get to wear individual PJs, like ones with cats or Eeyore on them

Stamets’s could have little cartoons of fungi ;^)

I don’t know if we ever saw anyone’s night attire before TNG. Everyone except Beverly was in some sort of satin number. These jammies are far more practical.

Why are the two mutually exclusive?

I SERIOUSLY do not want to see any TOS characters. To hear of them, fine. But DISCO should be able to stand on its own, and I think the appearance of Enterprise was complete, total, fanservice, as well as the “this is who we are, hurrah” moments at the end of the last episode.

You know you want to see me as Spock lol!

@Marja — with the exception of Pike and Number One, I tend to agree. Those are two exceptional characters who deserve more stories told about them than the obscure pilot in which they starred and later incorporated into canon by “The Menagerie”. Spock should be away on leave, for Pon Far or otherwise. Or, we could see him in the background of a view screen conversation with Pike, but he wouldn’t actually participate in the episode since Number One would perform all of the functions Spock would during TOS. Sarek and Burnam could talk about Spock, who refuses to make himself available to them, and maybe even get an explanation not only for the lack of mention about Burnam over the years, but also Sybok (though I’m just as content to let sleeping dogs lie).

I do wonder if the distress call might involve the rescue of a landing party, on which planet Spock might be trapped, and Burnam might be involved in his rescue, but he’s otherwise not part of the story. Working with Number One and Pike could make for an interesting story arc for all of those characters, without necessarily detracting from DISC, in much the same way the Mudd episodes did.

I didn’t quite like how they brought Culber “back” in the mycelial network, it’s hard to take this kind of appearance seriously. And I’m worried they’ll keep looking for implausible ways to keep the character around. They shouldn’t have killed him off him the first place, it didn’t do much for the story anyway.

I just don’t get it. Why can’t Stamets be allowed to simply mourn and then move on, like everybody else? What is so special about this particular relationship that makes it worth resurrecting for the second season? Stamets was a cool character through and through, but Culber was barely more than animated backdrop painting, with all the charisma of boiled beef shank. (I just wrote “Colbert” instead of “Culber”. I can’t even hold his damn name in my head for more than two minutes – that’s how memorable a character he was…)

Also, “epic love story” is hardly the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “Star Trek”… ;)

The “dead character isn’t dead” concept is getting really old and so is the relationship story for Stamets and Culber. It doesn’t feel organic. It doesn’t move the story forward. It feels forced to me. Two starfleet officers wouldn’t make out every time they walked passed each other while they were on duty, why do these guys get a free pass? And like I said – the scenes don’t feel natural in the sense that you would believe them to be a couple. Keep in mind that These two characters are pretty boring and arent very dynamic.

Every single time they ‘make out’ (for one second, some make out) has been a time of high stress and potential danger to one of them. Thay are, imho, one of the most natural couples we’ve had in Trek.

So let’s see, first they anger LGBTQIA and wokes by pointlessly killing off Culbo in the pointless Voqler storyline – and then they anger general Star Trek fans by giving us bloody Force ghosts. #DiscoInferno

do we really need “love stories” in Star Trek? Move on

The ” Inner Light ” from TNG was a love story, and it was one of the best Trek stories ever!!

Again, single episode. I think I agree with the majority here, they told the story, Culber the Generic Starfleet Doctor is dead, let’s just leave it at that. Yes he died like a fish, but his Force Ghost had a heroic ending. I’m not sure his essence, or whatever, could have survived the mycelial network implosion thingy anyway. Season One was not what I expected, but pretty good, hope they don’t mess it up. Star Trek, like most SF, is at its best when the social or political commentary is allegorical.

Nurse Chapel and Spock
Dax and Worf
Odo and Kira
Cassidy and Sisko
Belanna and Tom
7 of 9 and Chakotay
T’Pol and Tucker
Dianna and Riker
Picard and Beverly

Long form love stories happen in Trek.

LOL thanks for finally stating the obvious. Yeah Star Trek has had a lot of long relationship arcs, especially on DS9 out of all shows believe it or not. When that show started, there was literally just one actual relationship happening with O’Brien and Keiko. By the time the show ended, everyone had fallen into a serious relationship at some point. OK not Quark…because he’s Quark. ;)

And I think oddly enough one of the best relationships in Star Trek was Belanna and Tom because they seemed completely opposite of each other and yet they had amazing chemistry. I rewatched a Voyager episode just yesterday dealing with Belanna’s pregnancy and Belanna wanting to strip it of its Klingon genes, which also showed a lot of conflict in these relationships as well.

So yes relationships and ‘love stories’ has happened often on these shows and as shown they get well beyond the surface level as well. Which is why I still laugh when idiots were trying to say Star Trek doesn’t show sexuality with the Sulu controversy of becoming gay in Beyond. Uh, hello, sex and Star Trek has been happening for literally 30 years now. Not so much in TOS outside of a few mentions, but definitely everywhere else.

Quark’s serious relationship was with … Quark, LOL !

Sorry LoveBoat44, Chapel and Spock were NOT a love story [except later, in fan fiction]. Now if you had listed Reg Barclay with Deanna Troi, you’d have an equivalent.

TOS’s Christine Chapel was made a caricature of a love-hungry woman, questing after an unavailable male [joined Starfleet as a nurse, instead of pursuing her career in Xenobiology, just so she could find Roger Korby, then fixated on Spock]. Ugh, it’s really hard to watch now.

But I agree with you on long-form love stories in Trek.

Yeah Chapel had a thing for Spock but that’s all it was. And I think it was only shown in two episodes, though I could be wrong. It wasn’t some thing that went on through the series.

Of course we obviously have to add Spock and Uhura in the KT films. Thats a long romance. I’m actually hoping they get married in the next film, assuming there is another film.

‘City on the Edge of Forever’. Thank you.

That was one episode. Not an “epic love story” over a season arc.

“Arc” stories pretty much didn’t happen in ’60s episodic TV shows. If a typical lead hero fell in love with a woman, she either got killed, was “promised to another,” or moved away …

Like Edith Keeler. I rest my case.

If you strike Culber down, he shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. #GeneRoddenberry

Regarding the props…

I think they did a great job on the phasers (and communicators). I love the way they bridged the TOS “The Cage” props and the versions shown in the rest of the series. But they missed the boat with the Tricorder. They’re referencing the STMP-era design rather than the classic TOS prop. The TOS-era props are still my favorites designs…

Time to give Klingon’s their hair back. Just a minor quibble.

Minor? They completely destroyed most aspects of the Klingons we’ve loved for 51 years.

Well, there’s that, too.

The design of the phaser and tricorder art is a great throwback to the Franz Joseph Technical Manual. Well done.

OMG I LOVE the metal cover version lol. Can we have THAT version on the show instead of the original one?

Not exactly quite the hook I’m looking for to make me interested in season two, personally.

So sick of the forced love story in star trek, if they wanted to make something completely unrelated to star trek then why did they get the licence? And enough bringing characters back from the dead, again the akward, forced plot that seems completely at odds with everything star trek.

Yeah, cause we didn’t have a whole movie about bringing a character back from the dead.

Re: ‘Game of Thrones’ beats ‘Discovery’ again

This is the problem with cheap knock-offs: people who are really into “dark & twisty” – audience and critics alike – rather stick to the original! Maybe they should’ve hired a Star Trek fan and not a GoT groupie to run the show…

This. It’s Star Trek, not Game of Thrones in space.

I think many of those who for whatever reason hated Discovery will find reasons to continue with their dislike for the show and its characters. For those who liked season one and the characters will feel it is great that Wilson Cruz will be back next year. In the end, Discovery was the Number One digital original and overall ratings winner for the finale – So CBS was happy and producers of the show will do what they think is great!

“Er’Toom” would’ve been apt. Sounds like the German “Irrtum”.

well this is gonna atract more fans and that is for sure …a certain GROUP of fans…anyway this isnt STAR TREK and most of the people WHO have watched STAR TREK over the years know that, but we havent something better so lets watch it as it is and then it will take the place it deserve in anyone, for some should be a star trek series to others a soap opera etc….Long Live TOS ,TNG,DS9,VOYAGER

IDIC – LLAP

Its Star Trek, its simply not the Star Trek you are familiar with. Look if you don’t like it, thats fine, but I guess I get SO sick of hearing people here try to tell others what is ‘real’ Star Trek and what isn’t because it doesn’t flow with their idea of what they want on the show. This is especially what gets annoying to me, because you are telling all the people who DO like it and accept its that it doesn’t really count. Yes it does.

But sadly this is what fandom does and yes this has probably been said about literally every show or film series from TNG through the KT films.

Its ALL Star Trek people. Yes maybe its not what you like or want and yes the format is different but thats just a variation of the franchise but its Star Trek.

And I guess for me personally I LIKE when Star Trek is not in the same cookie cutter comfort zone, which is probably why DS9 is my favorite. Also why I loved TNG because it WASN’T TOS. It doesn’t mean just being different makes it good or better but I want diversity in Star Trek and not just the species kind. I want them to push the boundaries of what we think of Star Trek BECAUSE thats the only way the franchise will grow and stay relevant as it has been for the last half a century.

And trust me, I was not happy when I heard Discovery would be a prequel to TOS. If I’m being honest I’m STILL not happy lol. But oddly enough I’m satisfied in the sense its not trying to just be a modern version of that show and tried to do something very differently. Same time it feels SO different I’m not really sure why they had to even make it a prequel but that’s another topic. I give them credit for trying to go a different way and I hope the next show does something different from this one.

Btw I used to be totally homophobic and anti-homosexuality, until I learned one of my friends is gay.

IDIC and as our favorite first officer would say, “Live Long and Prosper!”

The Discovery prop dept. really like to pat themselves on the back. Props are nice but we need a storyline that actually makes sense. Remaining hopeful and optimistic for season 2.

INSTEAD OF BITCHING ABOUT HOW AND WHY THEY KILLED OFF 1 OF THE ONLY 2 GY CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW WHY DONT YOU ALL SIT BACK, SHUT UP AND WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE WRITERS HAVE IN MIND? THEY’RE THE CREATIVE GENIUS’S NOT WE THE VIEWERS.. SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

Please ditch the caps for future responses Draggone.

I hope the metal guitarist[s] do an ALL-metal version. This was pretty good! But really, can they do it? I think so!

LOL someone else who likes it. Yeah its really good and it jazzes up what I think is a pretty bland theme song.