Reminder: ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’ Episode 1 “Runaway” Debuts Tonight

The first Star Trek: Short Treks episode debuts tonight. Short Treks are four standalone mini-episodes related to Star Trek: Discovery, they are being released one a month from October through January.

Preview: “Runaway”

Star Trek: Short Treks – Episode 1

On board the U.S.S. Discovery, Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) encounters an unexpected visitor in need of help. However, this unlikely pair may have more in common than meets the eye.

The mini-episode will be available in the US on CBS All Access at 9:30 pm ET (6:30 PT). In Canada it airs on Space at 9:00 pm ET (6:00 pm PT), it will be available on CraveTV Friday at 9:00 pm ET (6:00 pm PT).

CBS promo trailer (US)

Space channel promo trailer (Canada)

Photos

What say you?

TrekMovie will be posting a full review of “Runaway” later. But you don’t have to wait to offer your views in the comments below.

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It wasn’t there at 9:15 p.m., unless I’m looking in the wrong place. The Star Trek Discovery page has “Will You Take My Hand” as the most recent episode. There’s no listing for “Short Treks” in the list of shows, and neither the “Originals” page nor the “Specials” page has either Short Treks or Runaway listed, but the “Discovery” page doesn’t have it.

You were too early. It shows up by 6:30PM PT/ 9:30PM ET. It’s there now in Discovery, under “Full Episodes”, there’s a new subsection called Short Treks.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/video/

Thanks so much!

Interestingly, it was listed before 6:30, but showed up under Clips. I didn’t try watching it right then, so I don’t know if it was functional.

This was in the CBS app.

Edit: Actually, in my app on iPhone Runaway is still listed under the Clips section, not under Episodes.

yeah in the All Access app it was under Clips, on cbs.com it was under “Full Episodes”, kind of inconsistent of CBS.
And, if you subscribe via Amazon Channels it shows up under Season 2 as “Bonus” content.

Just watched. Was interesting. But very short. Lol

@Kevin — you don’t realize just how short 15 min is until you start watching entertainment in short installments. I watched the STARGATE ORIGINS shorts which were in 10 min segments. Talk about short. By the time you got into it, it was over. Very frustrating way to watch a story. Granted that was an ongoing serial, best viewed altogether, but still, it’s almost blink and you’ve missed it.

Just watched it on Space. I didn’t like the musical score, but it felt like Trek. The tone was definitely lighter than DSC Season 1. Not great, but not bad.

Tilly is a great character and I feel like we’re just beginning to see Mary Wiseman’s acting range.

I liked it. It felt like a solid “B” plot from an episode of Next Gen, taken out and considered on its own. It also felt like a deliberate response to the people who said Season 1 of Discovery was “not Trek enough.”

Also, the sound design for Po’s language before the universal translator kicked in was great.

Seems as though I’ve seen this episode a few times already. Elaan of Troyus, then the episode where Wesley had to protect that Alasamorph princess, and many more. Yawn…

Because of the last 30 second reveal, a character is suddenly so similar as to render the entire short as “something you’ve seen before?”

That’s just silly.

Fantastic to see Tilly again. Good little story well-told.

I’m writing my commentary as I watch…first of all I like the new CBSAA app redesign.

Second I feel like the opening computer monologue was just soooo geeky and so Trekky in like the nerdiest of ways, “All nonessential personnel please exit cargo bay 3 for standard decontamination” like really that’s how you’re starting the dialogue on this one? This is why non-nerds avoid Trek like the plague. And then it’s just people walking through a door in a very long shot…okay…cool?

CGI looking good.

Tilly’s a little fresh to her mom, dialogue feels so rushed and forced. Maybe cuz it’s a Short Trek but like I hate when people are practically speaking on top of each other to get all the lines in, makes it feel so unnatural. The space between words is what gives conversation its emotional weight.

I don’t want a computer telling me to have a glorious day or that my food choices are unhealthy. Also they still use the 20th century your-food-is-ready ding in the future, I guess.

I feel like Tilly’s first move should’ve been to contact security, not chat with the underage intruder. LOLd at Tilly bristling back at the alien, that was funny. Thought their exchange was funny until the ice cream joke, but still liked it. But that was a super weak coverup lie at the end there, Tilly.

I like how this Zahean or whatever is so sassy. I appreciate the “holy sh*t” which was a lot more natural than the f-bomb in S1. And I guess this girl invents a super important technology? What a coincidence! Also I like the girl’s nose ring.

Really like the idea of planetary evolution and what it’d be like to transition into a warp-capable civ, what it would mean for the individuals living through it. I’d imagine it’s pretty painful. Don’t envy this girl for what she’s going thru.

Coordinates are 2345…gee so original.

The whole “I just needed you to be you or something”…idk I’m not into this sentimentality, since they literally just met. The whole thing is just so short, the brevity prevents it from having emotional impact. I don’t like the format, I think.

Aww I actually did feel something when Tilly said “I’m sure, she’s your twin,” that was good writing.

Aaaaand it’s over….so wait I paid 6 bucks a month for nine months just for that?! Oh CBS you got me so good.

Well, I said it before, I don’t think Trek is really suitable for a short format. Stories in Trek need to be bold and big and with messages, they can only do so much in a short format time frame.

Well. We know that there is still Nokia with its ringtone… so the food-is-read-ding doesn’t seem too awkward for me.

“This is why non-nerds avoid Trek like the plague”
They can stick to Star Wars then. You can’t change the formula of ‘Trek and still call it ‘Trek. The nerd part is what partially makes it higher brow, unique and more popular among more intelligent SCI-FI viewers and those who work in technical, engineering and scientific professions.

“I hate when people are practically speaking on top of each other to get all the lines in, makes it feel so unnatural”
That’s how people talking in the real world, especially when arguing. It’s VERY natural.

“I feel like Tilly’s first move should’ve been to contact security, not chat with the underage intruder.”
I agree with this 1000%. Very un-Starfleet of her.

I feel this was trying to be a TNG piece but fell short and was forced. I can’t quite put my finger on it, because there was nothing wrong with the acting.. Maybe the directing maybe the quick conclusion of s story? It just felt at times like a student production.

It’s also very influenced by current social politics to the point of making it it’s own enemy and extremely polarised.

Why do you feel it was influenced by current social politics? The themes (becoming an adult, struggling with parental expectations, etc.) seemed pretty timeless to me.

Yeah, I think the general vibe I got from it was ‘forced’. I know I keep holding Disco next to GOT, but in Game of Thrones there’s never dialogue said so quickly like in the Tilly-mom scene, which just felt forced, again. I dunno why but I notice a difference between dialogue that’s said quickly in a natural way vs an unnatural way, and I found the Tilly-mom exchange to be unnatural, which could partially have been the result of editing.

Also I just felt like the computer dialogue in the beginning was just needlessly technical for the start of this Short Treks endeavor. I agree with you that Trek tends to be ‘higher brow’ than other sci-fi, but it can be high brow and deep without being technobabbly.

SPOILERS – They packed a lot into this 15 minutes! And I’m so happy it was a Tilley moment, Wiseman is delightful at every turn. My only criticism is Po initially sounded like a velociraptor and behaved so primally, then we learn she is a gifted teen engineer (among other things) from a warp-capable civilization who is familiar with humans and the Federation…wait, what? The story had to be compressed, understandably, but it was a big, quick leap from growly hungry lizard girl to engineer-princess. That said, these “short treks” are wonderful gifts to keep us excited for Season 2.

help me out why cant i find it?

why cant i find it on all access

Did you notice that Mary Wiseman had her mole removed from her forehead?

Well, that pretty much sucked. Wiseman is a delight, but the writing and guest star performance were distressingly reminiscent of first or second year TNG.

Please, let the Chabon segment be better.

Just saw it. And I liked it! Felt very TNG in its writing and style. Maybe a sign of what’s to come in season 2. :)

I won’t over analyze the story, it was decent for something 15 minutes long and a small character piece. Tilly is really growing on me and certainly made me laugh with a few of her lines, especially the hormonal space rabbit bit. And I liked the relationship between her and Po. Nice chemistry between them.

The only ‘canon’ question I have are about the replicators. I thought that technology didn’t happen until the 24th century? But yes, I know, this is Discovery lol. It is what it is. Not a huge deal either way.

Can’t wait for the next one!

They had something similar in TOS. Think of Kirk ordering his chicken sandwich and coffee in “The Trouble with Tribbles.”

Oh you’re right. But I always just imagined it was just some kind of automation system in TOS, like an advanced vending machine that has certain dishes already prepared, you just tell it which one you want. But that scene on Discovery made it seem like the computer was just making the stuff as it was being thrown out. And in the subtitles it was literally called a replicator. That’s really why I questioned it.

But maybe it’s similar to whatever they had on TOS as you said. It doesn’t bother me either way. I won’t over think it.

The are food synthesis machines like how Burnham’s uniform was made. Synthesizer vs replicator is likely a tech difference. But still within cannon as long as they are not called replicators in the show dialog itself. Maybe the difference is like making a land line or cell call. Two totally different technologies that do a similar task.

But why call it a replicator then? Why not just a synthesizer? Or maybe that’s not what the show called it but whoever translated the closed captions I guess. But it did confuse me lol.

And I forgot about the scene when Burnham’s uniform was made. So I guess you’re right, it could just basically be two separate technologies but kind of does the same thing. Or maybe synthesizers are a precursor to replicators like a cell phone made in the 80s is to a smart phone today? Same idea just not as advanced.

A 1980’s brick phone v a top end Android from 2018.. Both phones, both very different abilities and tech.
To a consumer’s point of view, the early synthesiser does indeed replicate food. It’s just semantics.

There were ‘food slots’ in TOS though I don’t know what they were called in dialogue. I think these devices in Discovery are meant to be that.

Going back to the 20th century, there were futurologists predicting we’d already be preparing food like this even by now.

Mary Wiseman is just a joy to watch. So endearing and adorable. Her comic timing is sharp. So funny while real. One of the best actors on the show. Glad she got this focus.

And she’s stacked too!

As I said previously, I thought the plot line was overused in the franchise, but there were a couple of notable things to appreciate. (1) I liked the concept of being born and aging with a planet. I hope they explore that a little more, and (2) What a cool looking dilithium crystal. I’ll bet that, even though it’s tiny it packs a lot of energy within it. Maybe Tilly will save the Discovery some future episode, and (3) It could easily be narrated and illustrated into a neat children’s book. And that’s not a bad thing. Thinking about it afterwards, I can imagine myself sitting back and watching a hundred of these ‘Trek Shorts’. The fact that they stand alone, and are not part of a broader story arch will make them much easier to re-watch. The way the show is made now, you have to watch a whole season long story arch to know what’s going on. You can’t just pick an episode at random to watch of the regular season. You won’t have any idea what’s going on, so in this fashion, Trek Shorts will be an all-new way to watch. I wonder If the Picard series will have ‘Shorts’ like this.

“even though it’s tiny it packs a lot of energy within it”
Dilithium Crystals are not an energy source.

Good point on the accessibility of individual episodes. This is the first episode of Discovery I’ve thought I might want to show my daughters (6 and 3) — not just because of the “mature” content, but because the ongoing arc narratives are generally too complex for their attention spans. Based on this episode, these bite-sized episodes will be much more accessible for younger viewers.

My God it was awful, like YA Star Trek. Just made my skin crawl.

…it was a 15 minute condensed morality play, what were you expecting?

If I took 15 minutes of Shakespeare it’s still Shakespeare. The duration should have nothing to do with the quality. It was ok at best and seemed like a student production at times.

Had the very slight hope to find it as a little surprise on Netflix. Netflix isn’t into surprises though – at least not unless they’re called “The Cloverfield Paradox” (which sadly wasn’t a great film, but a nice “present” if you will). Bummer.

Netflix sometimes offers presents by starting series a day early, and I think Amazon did that with MAN IN HIGH CASTLE s3, because I didn’t realize that was available till I was flipping through options last night. (cinematography was kind of ‘off’ — like they pressed ‘remove highlights’ or something — and there were some VFX bits that didn’t look as good as first 2 seasons, but otherwise no complaints based on first 2 eps.)

It was fine. Not great, but fine.

I thought it was good, not great. Very good to see Wiseman again, 11 month off-season break is too long. Story was good but at 15 mins, there was much to convey and IMO that meant the whole thing felt a little rushed. That said, still looking forward to the next one.

What I don’t get this is why CBS would rather want to make these stories condensed into 15 minute format when they could have just increased the episode number of the season (perhaps to 15 or 17) and make it part of the official season as stand alone episodes like the old Treks. They could still do their story arcs, but these stories could be the breathers between the arc stories. Certainly it is plausible to do. I think they just didn’t want to spend too much money on new Trek but still have some Trek on the air to keep people interested. I’d much preferred if these stories were part of the official season.

Here too. But you must understand the business side of this. These shorts were designed to get those who dropped the service the second S1 ended back a little earlier. I’m sure the ploy has worked for many. It’s not going to work on me. I’ll check the shorts out when I subscribe in January or February. (When I start the subscription will depend on how they will release the episodes.)

This fan did not take the bait. Early next year I can see the entire season and the 4 shorts for a total of $10. No reason to do it otherwise. CBS has a very long way to go for me to become a regular subscriber, if ever.