Interview: Alex Kurtzman On Future Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ Section 31, ‘Lower Decks’ And More

On Sunday the cast and creatives from Star Trek: Discovery held a panel at PaleyFest Los Angeles (see our recap). While there, TrekMovie had a chance to talk to Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman about where the show was headed and about the status of other Trek shows in development.

Let’s talk about canon, if Patrick Stewart as Picard on his new show pulls up his computer, will all the events we have seen on Star Trek: [Discovery]

[cuts off] You are asking me a very sneaky question right now, and I’m not going to answer it. I know what you are doing, and tell you what, I will answer it for you at the end of the season. Is that fair? I don’t want to ruin it.

What would you say is the status of the Section 31 show?

[Showrunners] Erika [Lippoldt] and Boey [Yeon Kim] are just breaking story now. And they are double-dutying between season three of Discovery and Section 31. So, we are just breaking story and the plan is to start shooting it as soon as we wrap season three.

So, you have a series order? 

We don’t have a series order yet. We are just breaking story now. As soon as there is a script—usually they order a series off of a script, but everything is in place now.

So if that were to drop, would you expect in 2021 or 2022?

Yeah, what we have found on these shows is they take an enormously long time to prep and an enormously long time to post. And what we don’t want to do is rush anything. It’s not worth it. Fans will be really disappointed if they feel we are rushing them through the experience that we are making. So, I would say 2021 or ’22. Maybe ’21.

So, for 2020 to 2021 would you expect season three of Discovery, and…

You’ll have our Picard show—as yet untitled. We have Discovery season three, and hopefully Section 31.

What about the animated show [Lower Decks]?

Yes, you’ll have those too.

In ’21?
So, the animation takes about a year to turn around, it’s a very long process. Both of those shows are moving forward now, and have series orders and we will drop them when they are ready, but I would say 2021 or ’22.

But the Picard show will start in December?

Yes, we will be airing this year.

Can you clarify if the Picard show will be on Netflix or airing on other outlets overseas?

News on that will be coming very soon, which I cannot break.

Can you confirm the kid’s animated series for Nickelodeon?

Yes on the kid’s animated show on Nickelodeon—very different from Lower Decks…that is happening.

The deal has been cut?

We are very close.  We are very, very close—very excited about it. The Hagemans are amazing. And they have a really wonderful take.

Any comments on the Starfleet Academy or Khan series that have been previously reported in development?

Can’t tell ya.

Watch the video interview with Alex Kurtzman

More from PaleyFest LA

In case you missed it, we also covered Alex Kurtzman’s comments about the upcoming Picard show from PaleyFest. You can also check out our red carpet interview with Ethan Peck. And we have more red carpet interviews coming, so stay tuned.


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

176 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

TM: Let’s talk about canon, if Patrick Stewart as Picard on his new show pulls up his computer, will all the events we have seen on Star Trek: [Discovery]…

Kurtzman: [cuts off] You are asking me a very sneaky question right now, and I’m not going to answer it. I know what you are doing, and tell you what, I will answer it for you at the end of the season. Is that fair? I don’t want to ruin it.”

So the answer is no then.

There has to be something about Discovery somewhere then, otherwise where does that leave season 3?

I assume they’re gonna be disappeared out of history and it’s related to Zora and Craft and the 1000 year-old Disco waiting for its crew in space.

They said that the Picard show will focus on his love of archaeology. . . Maybe he’s going on a quest to find the long lost Discovery!

The only mention of archeology in the Picard series has only been fan speculation. Nothing about that has been mentioned by those running the show. In fact, nothing about the show at all has been said by them.

Based on his remarks elsewhere people are now theorizing the show may indeed end up in a post Nemesis future timeline at the end of the season. I don’t personally see that happening but nothing can be ruled out I guess. I just would find it hard to believe they spent two years establishing their place in this era just to throw them several centuries in the future. Tons of fans would leap for joy over it though lol.

And it would be mind blowing if it did link up to Calypso somehow. That would get the fanbase intrigued and excited for sure.

The reason I don’t think it’ll be a post-TNG future is because I can’t imagine how hundreds of Disco’s crew would handle being ripped from their families and friends in their own time permanently like that. What a depressing twist when you think about it.

True but you basically just described Voyager.

And that wasn’t really depressing because the crew ended up being their own family so I imagine the same would happen here if it did happen. But I don’t think the show is going to a post Nemesis future personally, but fans seem to really think its possible so who knows? I think however they want to prove that it wasn’t a mistake to put this show in this era of the PU and will double down on it no matter how many people want it to be in another time era or even universe.

Personally I’m of the opinion that they’ve made their bed now, they might as well lie in it. I’m glad they listen to fans but they can’t just pander to us, otherwise we’re just going to end up with a load of fanwank that doesn’t please anybody. I don’t need an episode about why they stopped using holograms or why Spock never mentioned Burnham in TOS. Let’s just move on and focus on giving us good stories. If they jump into the future, Im fine with that I guess but I just don’t think it’s necessary. I’m just slightly concerned that they’re going to do a story that somehow resets the timeline so that none of Discovery actually happened in the PU.

The only thing that will piss me off is if they abandon the 23rd century. But if Discovery goes to the future, and we get the 23rd century story somewhere else (Pike preferably, but S31 as well), I’m okay with it.

I can live with a future setting but like yourself I’d rather stick with a 23rd century show. My main concern is they’re going to go too far in terms of pandering to the fans. If they do go along the lines of resetting the timeline to appease a section of the fan base then it will feel a bit like everything that’s come before has been invalidated. Of course all we have at the moment is a few cryptic comments so given that I’ve been enjoying the season immensely I’m just going to reserve judgement until I’ve seen the finale.

Man, they have MULTIPLE shows happening from Section 31 to maybe even Starfleet academy. My guess is majority of the new shows will still take place in that era, I don’t think anyone is abandoning it even if Discovery were to leave it.

I’m sort of there too. Don’t get me wrong, if they do actually jump into another century that would excite me, but now that we have the Picard show coming, its not a big deal anymore.

And they’ve already established themselves here. I don’t love its a prequel but you can’t undo it now, it is what it is. And its crazy they would do that just to explain Burnham lol. I mean that just seems CRAZY to me. Spock didn’t mention her to Kirk or Picard so your solution is to throw the show in another time or erase her?? Here is a better idea, don’t make Spock her brother on day one and your problems instantly go away. If they go this route, it would basically be admitting it was a mistake to have her as his sibling.

But yes its not that big of a deal. Its still just a TV show, so he doesn’t mention her, its ridiculous on one level but so what? Most people still seem to watch TOS just fine knowing he now has a sister even if no one else don’t. Just tell your stories and move on.

So I can’t buy they are going to do that. But then I have been wrong before of course. I just have a hard time thinking they would finally give in and change the entire era of the show because losers like me been shouting the show should be in another era. I didn’t think they would actually do it lol. It would be bonkers if it happened.

“So I can’t buy they are going to do that. But then I have been wrong before of course. I just have a hard time thinking they would finally give in and change the entire era of the show because losers like me been shouting the show should be in another era. I didn’t think they would actually do it lol. It would be bonkers if it happened.“

Exactly. I mean it’s nice that they listen but don’t do everything we say!! Let’s assume the rumours are true and we do have a crazy time jump looming. I suppose it’s possible they might completely skip the 24th century and pick up where Chabon left off. That timeline we saw almost felt post Federation and the Discovery had its own female AI – Maybe we’re getting Star Trek Andromeda lol after all it was a based on a Rodenberry idea!

Most of the time when I’m whining about something here, its mostly to vent. Its nice if people out there who runs these shows sees people’s issues and take what they say to heart, but I don’t ever expect them to make wholesale changes. Giving Klingons hair and having your ship meet new aliens once in a while is a no-brainer and should’ve been done in season one. But sending your show hundreds of years into the future because people like me think the show looks and feels too advance for its period is pretty insane lol. Yeah I say it a lot, I don’t TOTALLY mean it either. ;) Just make the show a little closer to the period its suppose to be in, you don’t have to strip it away completely.

BUT, I do think if this is all true and it was always meant to tie in to Calypso it would be extraordinary in a lot of ways. It would tell you they really did think long and hard about this and they are taking a VERY crazy idea, throwing them a thousand years into the future, and running with it. This is the stuff many or us want in Star Trek in general. Discovery is fine, but it does play it too safe with its actual premise. Throwing them in a place that is utterly new and foreign could do wonders for the show.

I remember how excited I was just hearing the idea of a story taking place a thousand years into the future on a Short Trek and you responded to me lol. That alone was enough for me. I would’ve liked if they followed up with it in some way but I never expected them to. But if this was always part of a bigger plan, then WOW!

But I’m not going to over think it for now. I did that for months with the Red Angel and look where that got me lol.

Spock also had a half-brother he never mentioned until he showed up and stole the Enterprise. So should we be surprised he never mentioned an adoptive sister?

Maybe Spock just doesn’t talk about his family unless it’s pertinent?

Yes, this has been argued over and over again. I guess either you accept it or you don’t. Either way I don’t think its worth changing your entire show over, we’re all adults and understand its a retcon but since it doesn’t really affect Spock in TOS or the films its not a huge deal end of the day.

I think in reality most people just don’t like this kind of story telling. It just feels a little cheap to some you add a sibling to an iconic character in attempt to get people to watch your show or make your new star character feel more relevant out of the gate, not because its vital to the understanding of the original character. And while I like the new Spock and the story line is fine, its all still pretty unnecessary if I’m being very honest.

the reason Sybok isn’t mentioned – he’s a Paramount studios character. not cbs.

That has nothing to do with it and that’s not how it works. CBS owns ALL the characters, it doesn’t matter if they were in a movie or not. And the Kelvin movies have mentioned characters from other shows not from TOS so that doesn’t work either.

of the top of my head we haven’t really seen any characters on the TV side that have been invented solely for the movies so I get why people say this. To be honest this notion is so widely discussed online that I just assumed that there was something to it. However, you did correctly point out to me that CBS is the owner of the licence and they lease it Paramount and they regularly reference the TV shows including even Enterprise. It therefore makes zero sense that they’d enter into a legal agreement that works entirely in Paramount’s favour. So I think you’re right, if they want to use something (like the Hobus star supernova in the Picard series) then they will. It’s just that the movies are for the most part set many years after Discovery so there’s not much call for it. Sure you could throw in a cameo for a young lieutenant Cartwell but it’s just fan service, it doesn’t really add anything. I think if we ever see a young Jim Kirk as a regular on one of the shows then they’d probably find a way to introduce Carol Marcus as well as that’s obviously a significant point in his life. I personally would be happy if we just got a Sybok mention. I get why they don’t include him in the series, he’s just not relevant to the story they want to tell and would likely just confuse new viewers of the franchise. We know that Spock knew Sybok from his childhood so it’s implied that Burnham does too but given he was born to a Vulcan princess before Sarek and Amanda married and we know how long lived Vulcan’s are it’s probable that he was already an adult at this stage in the timeline and that he had limited involvement in Spock and Michael’s family life.

Even if it were a situation where Paramount had the control over the license or just the movie characters, I highly doubt anyone is going to take someone to court for mentioning Sybok, one of the least popular characters in one of their least liked and profitable movies lol. Companies don’t sue over every little IP violations, majority of the time that’s only done if that IP violation is either benefiting or excluding someone from making $$$ with it themselves.

Its the entire reason why CBS never cared about the Star Trek fan films and let them use whatever they wanted even to the point some of the original actors took part in them because no one was making a profit. But once people were finding ways to actually make money, even if just a little, through youtube advertising, crowdsourcing, gofundme and all of that stuff THEN that’s when it became an issue and they shut that down fast. Because people had figured out how to make money by selling Captain Kirk’s name and none of it was going to CBS.

In Sybok’s case, no one is making any money lol. He’s pretty irrelevant now and I highly highly doubt Paramount has any plans to put him in a film even if they did own him exclusively, which they don’t. They probably would’ve just asked for permission, someone would’ve said ‘sure’ and that would’ve been it. He’s simply not mentioned because he’s not relevant, that’s simply it.

And for the record I wouldn’t mind a shout out either. He’s still canon at least, even if just barely.

Yes Tiger, that’s what I’m saying I don’t think there’s an issue at all it’s just that there aren’t many characters from the movies that are relevant to this timeframe. From a nerdy point of view I’d like a Sybok Easter egg but he’s hardly required for this story and his inclusion would likely have over complicated things.

Tiger, I think there are more, better reasons to jump the ship to the future than an explanation for Burnham. The spore drive, for one. And it solves a number of other issues. As dumb as the Lorca reveal was, shifting Discovery forward is probably the only way it makes sense and keeps the show going.

But couldn’t they just get rid of the spore drive? I don’t understand why jumping into the future would ‘solve’ that? If you’re looking for a solution, just stop using it. Simple.

But yes I guess there might be other reasons too. I’m not really against it and a year ago I would’ve been thrilled with it lol. But now, they have built up a lot of plot lines in this era and have rooted these characters here. No its still not perfect for sure and they are probably leaning too much on the Section 31 stuff for some people, especially after the last episode, but they are actually trying to make this era their own now (not counting Spock and Pike of course).

One of the things I hate about prequels is all the obligatory fan service and constant, constant connections and callbacks. I bring this up sometimes but exhibit A: SOLO! Case closed. We shouldn’t have a story where we have to constantly look up Wookipedia to keep up with all the references.

But getting back to Discovery and season 2 is obviously doing tons of that. BUT I have to admit the way they are doing it is really good IMO. Not perfect, but fine. So now I’m worried if they jump to the 29th century or something I might miss that lol. I know, I’m the worst fan ever. ;D

It seems to me that they would need a good reason to just stop using the spore drive. To me, a good reason would be Discovery jumps somewhere and doesn’t reappear. To people in the 23rd century. Then it reappears in the future. To people in the past, that could be enough to say, “Yeah. We just lost an entire ship trying this. We’re done. Too dangerous.” On the other end, one can easily come up with a reason why Discovery cannot just “jump back”.

I know you hate prequels but they CAN be done well. Exhibit A: Rogue One.

“I’m just slightly concerned that they’re going to do a story that somehow resets the timeline so that none of Discovery actually happened in the PU.”

Gotta be honest. I would be totally find with that. I still have a hard time seeing this show as taking place in the PU. It has reboot written all over it. And that is NOT a bad thing!

Haha I thought you would definitely be down with that ML31. Either way there’s a season 3 coming so I’m going to keep an open mind.

I figured there would be three seasons at least and that was before season 1 ever streamed. I kept an open mind to season 2. I will do the same for 3. I’m just hoping they jump to the future.

No theory at all, it’s been officially spelled out multiple times that it will be around 20 years after we last saw Picard.

What if they don’t get blasted to the future, but the ancient past? You know, Planet of Titans style.

Well, they already resurrected the design of the ship from the 1970s…

“There has to be something about Discovery somewhere then, otherwise where does that leave season 3?”

The one piece that does not fit with Discovery disappearing into the future or being nixed from the timeline is reports of Space Hitler appearing in season 3.Unless she joins a ride into the future to be back in time for her own Space Hitler show after season 3. But if Discovery comes back (and season 3 is a temporary “lost in space” story) , nothing has changed regarding the future canon perspective.

It almost sounds like they’re planning some temporal shenanigans that will somehow invalidate the previous development, presumably by making it a result of Red Angel interventions.

We already know there’s abandoned Discovery, controlled by an AI, drifting in the distant future. So maybe, just maybe, Discovery will erase itself from the current era and moves into the future to fight in the Temporal war, or something.

There was this cool sixties novel by A.E. van Vogt and Edna Mayne Hull – “The Winged Man”, about a submarine that was kidnapped by a time traveler to fight in a future war. Maybe CBS thinks nobody remembers it anymore, and decided to use the same idea for their third season. ;)

Hmmm. If I recall correctly, there were some other comments by cast or crew at PaleyFest indicating a big surprise at the end of the season that would contribute to reconciling with canon and that if the folks frustrated with continuity didn’t like it they won’t like anything. I’m still thinking there will be a reveal that Discovery is in a slightly different timeline than the rest of canon, which is basically what Tony was asking and that Kurtzman wouldn’t answer. I’m sure it will be more complicated than just that, but there are several hints that something along those lines are in the works. Not sure what that would mean for the story in Season 3 or for the Georgiou-led Section 31 series presumably set in the same timeline, but I trust that they have an overall vision of where things are headed and how it all fits together. I know a lot of folks don’t like and/or trust Mr. Kurtzman, but I think he has the fans and the franchise’s best interest at heart.

if you take them at their word they are PU only

“I know a lot of folks don’t like and/or trust Mr. Kurtzman, but I think he has the fans and the franchise’s best interest at heart.”

If that was true, they would respect canon, respect the (Prime) timeline and not shower us with incompatible prequels for 20 years that all but necessitate “timeline shenanigans”.

I really hope he’s not saying that the season will end on a reset.

He looks happy. I’m glad.

Is it fair to ask if you’re getting involved with Trek again in the foreseeable future?

I will not be involved.

Pity. I was really intrigued particularly by the idea you had for STAR TREK III ( following INTO DARKNESS ).

I’d still like to know what exactly that story was! All I have are rumors.

Ditto, maybe it would make a good novel…

Was about to ask what you are up to these days, Mr. Orci, but figured it might not be a bad idea to just Google it. Going to try your hand at another video game based production, I see. Anything you’d care to tease?

Writing a movie and a show.

Positive vibes. Always good to keep busy.

Can’t wait to see them. Your love of, and contribution to Trek have been amazing. Very grateful for all the moments in Trek 2009 and Darkness that captured the characters and world in the way that only an observant fan could. With special note for how the character of Spock was handled in all his incarnations and ages in 2009, as well as the awesome jujitsu of making Trek 2009 a reboot, prequel and sequel all in one – and keeping it a continuation of all the cannon that preceded it. Please ignore the rude nobody’s nothing’s comments on here. You rock. Live long and prosper.

And thank God for that. The movies you were involved in, SUCKED! Beyond was the only one that was even remotely like Star Trek.

Uhuh. I am so hurt,

Mr Orci – thanks for your work! Hoping for a day when you’re back involved with the franchise.

You know Mike, you can say how you feel without trying to destroy someone in the process. I have no problems saying how I feel about Star Trek but when fans come off like you you have to wonder why anyone wants to make these shows or movies. My god. They couldn’t have been that bad. You paid and watched them. And probably multiple times too.

Trolls, Tiger2. It’s one thing to engage in a conversation, even if you’re not seeing eye to eye with the other person. Others are just looking to stir the pot, hoping to capture their fifteen minutes of fame…

I guess that makes you feel pretty big Mike coming on here and directly insulting a Star Trek movie writer and producer. To the majority of us it makes you look pretty damn small.

That’s unfortunate.

Certainly busy. Hopefully burnout doesn’t become an issue.

Is this the real Orci?
People write to Boborci like he is…

It’s me. Ask me one question for proof.

You guys were high school buds. What’s the right thing to say? Financially you are doing fine but it’s the other stuff you lost that makes me feel sad. All of you together including, Bad Robot, were a great vibe, but now it feels like the knights wandering alone after the fall of Camelot. I wish you the best, Bob, and if you ever need someone to bounce things off of, you know how to reach me (BTW, I hope Adele didn’t turn red at my suggestions for her movie reviews, but she asked us and I said what I really thought, lol. No snark or meanness, just trying to provide useful feedback. Hope she understands).

Anson Mount.
Captain Christopher Pike series.
MAKE. IT. SO.

Second that. Please engage on the Captain Pike on Enterprise show!

Give the word, Admiral…

Yes.

I’d love to see that show and something tells me the folks at CBS are thinking a Pike series may be a better bet than a Section 31 series.

Alex Kurtzman knows what’s up. I might watch the Section 31 show. I hope Star Trek: Discovery is referenced on the Picard show. CBS needs to make a Captain Pike show.

…and I killed a guy with a trident!

I wish it were possible for Trekmovie to take a poll. I hope they do. Do fans want a Section 31 series or a Pike/Spock/Number One series? I don’t think the result would even be close.

I don’t want either of them. Like many have said, the S31 show seems completely unnecessary and outside the scope of what we want from our Trek. Aside from liking Michelle Yeoh, who I hope we can all agree is universally wonderful, there is literally no audience for that show.

But I also don’t want a Pike and Spock show. I like that they were here, they were both great, but I’m not interested in more. I want 25th century future Trek or a new ship with a new crew that doesn’t force itself to attach to canon by being a prequel that has to “end up” somewhere to make sense. Just give us a show about a 25th century ship exploring space, bring back a few alien races, and make it cool. Hell, like many have said, if Disco were a 25th century show it would still have made total sense in S1, and they could have made S2 work by bringing in the Enterprise G or something with its new captain. That would have all worked beautifully.

Enough with the prequels and pockets that have to line up to canon. Move forward.

Fine post, Marcelo! You saved me some typing!

I think THAT is the current idea. They learned the hard way there’s no one single series that is going to appeal to all fans. So they are giving to each faction its own piece. So, you will get Picard, 25th century, new crew, yadda-yadda. If some people like espionage stuff, they will get Section 31 (hopefully bringing in new viewers, with new concept+Michelle Yeoh). If you’re a kid, you’ll get a cartoon. If you’re an adult and like cartoons, you’re in as well. And if you dig the original characters and want to see more of them, hopefully, a series with Pike would fit nicely. So,THAT WAY, everybody who cares about SOME part of Trek get their due. Let’s rejoice! There has never been a greater time to be a fan! :-)

This is true. I will say that on various Trek-related areas of the internet I have not seen a single person who wants the Section 31 show. But I’m open to it.

Yeah, I personally don’t care for the Section 31 concept, but it is all in the execution. It could become very interesting, if they do it right. And, as I said, I’ll have plenty to keep me entertained, even if S31 proves to be not my cup of tea. (I’d love a Pike show though.)

I WANT a Section 31 show. See now.

Great! Ask and thou shall receive!

Even though I’m also open to the Section 31 show, I still think its a big mistake and it would probably be a better idea to do the Pike show over it if they are considering both. My guess is Section 31 is more appealing for them because they see Yeoh as important to keep around. And I think as much as people want the Pike show Kurtzman has made it clear he doesn’t want it to be two starship shows both going at the same time. That’s probably the REAL issue and even during Rick Berman’s time they felt the exact same way and why DS9 was made when TNG was on because they wanted the shows to feel unique to each other.

This is probably the same thinking they have with Discovery and whatever other show takes place in that period. Section 31 is a stark contrast. The Pike show wouldn’t be. And then you have the issue of a show with two siblings leading each show in literally the same period. The universe would feel even smaller.

That said I think Pike would just be way more successful than Section 31 because Discovery itself is proving that. Both of them are mainstays on the show this season and its no question which one is more popular over the other. All that said though it doesn’t mean Section 31 would be a bad show and why I still have hope for it no more than it mean a Pike show would automatically be good. But people want the familiar so I don’t blame them.

I been saying though nothing stops them from adding Pike and the Enterprise to that show either and that could be a great compromise to keep both. And it will give fans who are reluctant to a pure S31 show a reason to check it out more.

Yeoh is certainly not wonderful as the cartoony Georgeau.

Totally agree with you 100% .

A spin off episode with pike&co would be a nice extra but a whole series? I’m unsure. I still struggle connecting with this Spock tbh, and how he can end up becoming that man in tos who still had unresolved delusions about his human/vulcan sides. Further retconning Spock prime’s story isn’t something I need because I already feel like Discovery makes it seems he went backwards in tos.
Spock prime’s ‘destiny’ is already written and so is Pike’s honestly. They aren’t into another reality where everything can be unpredictable.
That’s why they make reboots. When you make an origin story of something as old as a show made in the 60s, there is no way it can truly align with the original thing. You don’t want things to be like they were in the 60s.
Discovery is a reboot that ostensibly doesn’t want to get called like that.

“Enough with the prequels and pockets that have to line up to canon. Move forward.”

This may be an understatement but truer words have never been spoken :)

Personally, I don’t want either. You can tell stories of intrigue without creating the Federations own CIA to do it, and surely, there has to be an interesting Starfleet story to be told that doesn’t have the name Enterprise on it.

I’m telling you, I have this sneaking suspicion that Star Trek Discovery taking place in a parallel dimension is not off the table yet, and Kurtzman’s response only strengthens my conviction this theory is still in play.

Interesting. Maybe it is part of the prime timeline… Or is it

I’ve thought of it as “Prime-A” since the start. And some of the dialogue–Spock saying how certain tech advancements might be because of time travel–seems to lean that direction.

With them seemingly feeling more valid because the show claims it’s the prime timeline, and not the kelvin one, it would be kind of comical if discovery is an alternate reality too. Yet, it seems the easier way to explain everything.
Maybe Discovery did what the movies didn’t do and thus cancelled (gasp!) the original timeline. You all better keep your tos episodes in a safe place before they self destruct, lol

I’ll bet we see (via the magical spore drive chamber) glimpses of the original “TOS” universe, revealing that this series takes place in a parallel but “re-skinned” universe, explaining why everything looks so different and yet is supposed to take place in the same timeline. And just think: we could see the Matt Jefferies Enterprise! Burnham in a micro-miniskirt! The possibilities are almost endless.

Don’t hold your breath on that.

Using that to explain why the spore drive is never mentioned again, or to explain other actual plot relevant discrepancies, would be fine. But using it to explain the visual differences would be super lame. There’s no need to explain it at all. Our ability to do CGI in the 60s was super limited, and our view of what future technology might look like is way different now than it was back then, and aesthetic things like that don’t really effect anything. You can just view the old shows under the lens of what we thought the future might look like at the time, with our ability to display it at the time. Now that we have a different idea about what the future might look like, and a better ability to display it, it will obviously look different. There’s no way a real 23rd century space ship would have visible magnetic tape drives and such primitive displays everywhere. My car has more advanced looking controls.

Or Discovery will be lost in time, their very existence threatening the timeline.

Ugh, no I really don’t want a Section 31 show and feel the resources spent on that could be used to a better show: like a Captain Pike on Enterprise show!

But I’m so stoked about the Picard show it doesn’t matter.

Nope, a Pike show would be boring. I doubt the actor playing Pike would want to do it anyway.

What in the world would make you think that??? Have you looked at Mount’s twitter page, its nothing but images of him being Pike lol. He clearly relishes this role and why would a working actor not want a full time Star Trek show starring himself? I think Mount would jump on it in a heartbeat if they do it.

No one wants to be typed casted. Just looked at most of the TNG cast.

yep my thought too. Mount may want to do it, but I bet Peck wouldn’t

it’s called money.

So you’re saying actors care more about money?

Yes and that’s why you have five Star Trek shows coming lol. Hate to break it to you, everyone on Discovery with the upcoming Section 31 and the Picard show who wasn’t already a big star will be typecast, so what’s the difference?

Everyone knows the score and yet fight tooth and nail to be on Star Trek for a reason, because its still a great franchise to be a part of and instant job security for a few years. Yes the TNG cast got type cast, they are also multi-millionaires who doesn’t have to work a day in their life anymore and still making money off the show and films today along with merchandise and conventions, so life could be harder for sure lol. And imagine NOT being on Star Trek and just being a working actor getting bit parts for the rest of your career. That’s the life of 90% of actors today. Most would kill to land a Star Trek show full time.

It’s a bit different now Tiger, since the show isn’t a 25+ episode season show a lot of the cast can appear in other works.

Uh, you are the one who suggested he would be typecast just by starring in it, not me chief. ;)

Well, ya’ know, sometimes people expend so much energy being contradictory that they sometimes contradict themselves.

You just contradicted your own point about Anson Mount not wanting to be typecast.

Do people get typecast post Berman era? I don’t see the likes of Saldana, Pegg, Cho, Pine, Quinto or Urban being typecast at the moment. I think Mount will be fine and this will very likely prove to be a springboard for Peck.

The movies are a bit different because its just playing the role literally once every few years. Their life is not tied to the movies the way an actor is tied to a TV show. That’s one of the reasons most actors prefer to do movies. Besides the fact they can make more money they are not playing the same character for eight months a year every year and have a range of opportunities.

But when you make 100+ episodes of ANYTHING, you are going to be type cast to a degree. But it doesn’t mean everybody. Stewart certainly wasn’t and in fact all the actors who were Captains got to play a lot of different stuff when they were done with Star Trek.

Scott Bakula for example was cast on Enterprise because people knew him for sci fi but since that show ended he’s done tons of other movies and shows and none of it has been sci fi based AFAIK, including his current role in NCIS.

Mount has already played a ton of other stuff, he would get the same roles after its over just like actors Colm Meaney and Tim Russ do today because they already had a pedigree of work before they did Star Trek. Nothing huge but steady acting jobs and not just sci fi.

Tim Russ has been in a lot of scifi B movies.

I literally said not JUST sci fi roles, that was my only point. I recently just saw him pop up on the new Showtime show Black Monday (hilarious show btw), which I saw him in a few weeks ago. I don’t know if its a guest star or recurring role but the point is he plays in non-sci fi stuff too.

That’s great news then. I really felt sad seeing him in those B movies.

He’s a multi-millionaire and probably makes more a year just showing up at conventions than most Americans with full time jobs make, don’t feel too bad for him. But he’s still an actor, he will always want to work.

Ah, but thats doesn’t applay to Michelle Yeoh then, who will take the same role in the S31 sequel? Not an argument.

Anson Mount is a bit of a chameleon as an actor. Place his performances from “Hell On Wheels” and “Discovery” side by side and you’d be hard pressed to know that it was the same guy. The industry has changed, actors now work multiple projects and that flexibility means less likelihood of being typecast in a roll.

Your opinion. Not mine.

“Ugh, no I really don’t want a Section 31 show and feel the resources spent on that could be used to a better show: like a Captain Pike on Enterprise show!”

Everybody keeps saying that would be too similiar to Discovery (and KM probably thinks it) but where exactly do fans of old school episodic Trek get their fix? And don’t say reruns or the upcoming kiddo cartoon! :P

So it sounds like its 2021 when things will be in high gear and there will (possibly) be 3-4 Star Trek shows all happening at once: Discovery (most likely season 4), Section 31, Picard show (season 2) and even Lower Decks that year. That sounds like an insane amount of Star Trek lol. But I guess since they will all have a lot less episodes than the previous shows it will probably work well and they can spread them all out as they already said they don’t want them to air at the same time and even have a few months off between each show. And that doesn’t include the other animated show but since it won’t be on AA it has more room.

And this is assuming both Discovery and the Picard show are renewed of course. Its also interesting he hasn’t ruled out the Academy show and Khan (ugh) yet. I was hoping Khan was dead for good, guess not sadly. And many want a Pike show to happen but honestly with ALL these other shows still at some stage at development I just don’t see how that would happen anytime soon if the Section 31 show is still 2-3 years away from happening. But this is all pretty exciting and it sounds like everything is being considered. We will have enough Star Trek to keep us busy for years and hopefully in multiple eras.

I’d be fine with a Khan miniseries if it was based on Greg Cox’s entertaining Eugenics Wars books that came out back in 2001-02. That would please the Khan and the Assignment: Earth crowds!

If its just a mini-series then yes I guess that would be OK. But no one really cares about their time on Seti Alpha 5, most want the Eugenics wars. So yes if they go that direction I wouldn’t be so opposed to it. Right now, my stomach turns every time its even mentioned lol. All the other shows I’m generally OK with, even the Academy show (but also wouldn’t be high on the list).

I’ve never read those books Scott, did the author reinterpret real world events and conflicts to portray the eugenics war? It makes far more sense if they want to do Khan to focus on this period.

“I’ve never read those books Scott, did the author reinterpret real world events and conflicts to portray the eugenics war?”

Corinthian7, just in case Scott is otherwise occupied, the answer to your question is “Yes”. The writing was very clever. The author also did a great job depicting relevant aspects of Indian history and culture (speaking as someone from an Indian background myself). Greg Cox really did his homework.

Khan’s moral trajectory was handled sensitively and realistically too, especially the huge impact of certain real-life events that Khan is caught up in. Shades of The Godfather too; the idealistic hero that has to deal with some very nasty external stuff and eventually becomes more of a tragic anti-hero.

I think another option for a Khan tv show would be for the Eugenics Wars to be merged with World War 3 (Section 31 meddling from the future would be a convenient way to explain the change in timeframe). It has exciting possibilities: Massive geopolitical events, commentaries on our present times, a genocidal villain in the form of Colonel Green, and so on. But it would need the right cast, a large budget, and very intelligent writing.

“And many want a Pike show to happen but honestly with ALL these other shows still at some stage at development I just don’t see how that would happen anytime soon if the Section 31 show is still 2-3 years away from happening. But this is all pretty exciting and it sounds like everything is being considered. We will have enough Star Trek to keep us busy for years and hopefully in multiple eras.”

Didn’t take 2-3 years with the Picard show. We don’t really know why the Section 31 show is taking so long to develop, is it because of scheduling with Michelle Yeoh? Has another show jumped ahead in the queue? Are the studio confident in Section 31? I’ve not watched the video yet but the transcript makes it sound like Alex is keeping his cards close to his chest.

OK, I see this is going to be a constant argument between us lol. I will repeat what I just said, if they are already talking about Section 31 being 2-3 years away, a show they are already developing and writing for, I don’t see how the Pike show would be any sooner. They said awhile ago why the Section 31 show is going to take longer because they just don’t want to release too many shows at once. The Picard show didn’t take that long because it was literally the first show announced after Discovery and CBS clearly sees that as a strategic way to get fans not into Discovery on board or wanting a post-Nemesis show so that one is being given special attention.

The others seem to be developed slower because CBS clearly has some strategy in place and wants to take their time releasing them instead of putting four shows on the air at once. I think that’s a great strategy. It would be a way to build on both the fanbase and AA releasing them one at a time. That’s why I say don’t hold your breath for another to come anytime soon if it happens at all. They already have a lot of shows that they announced now and none of them sound like they will show up even in 2020 except the Picard show and Discovery 3rd season. Its why I said its 2021 where it sounds like things will get really busy. And I think the fear is releasing two shows (Discovery and Section 31) taking place in the same time period is pushing it. THREE shows might just be too much and might even wait for Discovery to end first.

But look I don’t want to do the back and forth every time its mentioned. We don’t know if a show is coning yet. I’m still not convinced of that, but yes I definitely think its under consideration. But SO FAR I’m only going on what they are saying and right now its Discovery, Picard, Section 31, Lower Decks and the Animated show officially happening.That’s already a lot of freakin Star Trek lol. Khan (ugh), the Academy show and yes probably Pike are all still being discussed but until they are officially green lit, who knows? Its a lot of shows to juggle so they are figuring it out I imagine.

Haha no I think you’re right in that 2021 seems be when it’s going to hot up. 2020 doesn’t sound too bad either though as Picard is obviously still going to be on air at be start of the year and it sounds like we’ll still get Discovery season 3 as well. You might see Pike and Spock pop up in a short Trek next year, as I assume they’re going to be still making those and there’s a good chance that we will be seeing the Enterprise bridge before seasons end. Plus it makes sense that they might try and film some of those when they have access to the DSC as well as Yeoh, Mount and Peck etc. You’re absolutely right though it’s really not feasible that we would see a Pike show before 21 at the earliest. My point is more to do with the production schedules for each show, Section 31 seems pretty long whereas Picard comparatively short. I seem to recall reading that Discovery and Section 31 are affected by the capacity of the Toronto studio were it’s filmed. I might be misremembering this but I think I recall reading that they are going to be making another sound stage and this will potentially increase their output in the next few years. Picard has obviously been filmed in California so perhaps that explains the quicker turnaround. Therefore, it’s possible we could see another project jump ahead of Section 31 if they opt to use another studio. I’m not saying this would be Pike, you’d have to imagine if that gets added to the list it will be competing for a spot in Toronto as it would likely be taking advantage of some of Discovery’s/Section 31’s assets. However, we know that they have been discussing other projects for longer than that. I’d like to think that the Khan project is dead but you never know ;-)

I seen posts on Reddit where people are saying we will see the Enterprise bridge the end of this season. Apparently one of the production designers confirmed it on his twitter feed but I don’t know, don’t have twitter! I do think its happening though.

As far as your other points I agree, its probably a lot of issues and the other could just be production space. We know they already made more space just for Discovery this season. They did say Section 31 will also film in Toronto and since those sets are literally being built with Discovery then maybe its just an issue of trying to squeeze in another show there.

I think the Picard show was always going to be in California because of Stewart and probably one of his demands was for the show to shoot around L.A. since he basically spends most of his time in L.A., NY and London and they got tax credits to shoot in California as well. But yes maybe that could be why the show is being made quicker because they found a different space.

But I really think CBS just wants that show on ASAP and was going to make it happen no matter what. And yes, we do have to factor in Stewart’s age as well. He’ll probably outlive myself lol but I don’t think anyone wanted to wait 2-3 years either.

The other shows are a priority but probably not the same way as the Picard show is, especially since in all reality the others are a MUCH bigger gamble and want to take their time with it where as this is a sure thing if its good.

Yeah it’s understandable they want the Picard show out there ASAP not just because of Stewart’s age but it’s the show that’s really sold their vision to fans. Also, yeah Stewart almost certainly pushed for California but they have a working relationship with that studio now and sets they could redress so you never know…

I figured the filming was in SoCal because that would be easier for Stewart.

Love the beard.

Hmm, If Michael’s mother has interfered with Burnham’s history since she was a child, and she dies at the Vulcan outpost as history went, then Discovery may find themselves in an all-new timeline where the Klingon war never happened. Georgio is still alive, and the prime/Lorca didn’t die on the Buran…

Intriguing…

Infinite diversity and infinite combinations…

Wait, Disco Season 3 in 2021? So it’s taking 2020 off?

No. It’s the red carpet, lots going on. He simply got the time tables confused.

They’re filming season three of Discovery in July of this year, so it is expected season three will be out in early 2020.

My guess is season 3 of Discovery will come out in the Spring of 2020 the earliest. Picard will be done in March the latest (if there are no breaks) so they can take a few months off and release Discovery.

And maybe Lower Decks will premiere next year too but maybe in the Fall. It’s feasible at least since he said it would take about a year to get the animation finished. But we could have three shows in 2020 now that I think about it.

These huge breaks between short seasons really screw up the momentum. Next year when we have more of the franchise on TV it will be better i suppose

Why not ask if they are going to stuff a feature length story into the mix as well?

Phil what do you mean? These new Star Trek shows are as feature length as it can be.

They’re not really feature length PS, I don’t think there’s been many episodes longer than 50 minutes. If you’re referring to the production quality then I will give you that as they look very cinematic.

A single, one off production, with a run time of about two hours. Not necessarily tied to a TV series in either the Prime or Kelvin universe.

Presumably Paramount is still in charge of the film end of Trek, even though it sounds like their formerly announced plans for a fourth Kelvin movie are dead.

I doubt there would be anything preventing Paramount from taking a Trek feature straight to a streaming service. More studios are seeming to go that route. In the broader picture there seems to be little interest in the feature film franchise as a whole at the moment. Paramount has projects penciled into 2022, with no mention of Trek anywhere except for the occasional studio talking head who speaks fondly of the franchise in the past tense.

I really think Star trek: The Worf Chronicles would have been a stellar idea. (Pun intended) Michael Dorn did a great job, and would make a great lead, as Captain of his own ship. We could have learned so much about the Klingon culture, and the show could have served all the Worf and Klingon fans at the same time. I can just imagine Federation law being implemented in a Klingon fashion. There’s just so many more ideas you could come up with than Section 31, or a Starfleet Academy show. DS9 helped us to love the Klingon’s, but just as they were getting really interesting DS9 went off the air. And now we get Klingon’s that are so far removed from the Klingon’s we knew, they practically seem like a whole new alien race. Even after TPTB realized their mistake, all they gave us was a slight prosthetic change, hair, and a D-7 prototype that we know already existed in the battle of Danatu IV. (Pardon my butchering of the name), that happened decades earlier.

Don’t get me wrong. For the most part I like the show. There are some things that annoy me, but in general the writing has improved, the cinematography is outstanding, and the casting nearly perfect. Although I do wish Ariam could have been around long enough to regain back most of her humanity, and we could have watched her evolve into a long-lasting character whose costume covered enough that any actress could play her. A problem that left Brent Spiner dealing with his own aging body whilst trying to portray a character that doesn’t age. Ariam could exist in any Star Trek era. IMO.

I would’ve been fine with Worf having his own show. What I WOULDN’T have been interested in was Worf having his own show focusing on Klingons. That would’ve bored me to death. After seeing what Discovery did with them last season, it only confirmed I would’ve been bored since I was so bored of them on Discovery. But I think Worf being Captain of a starship would’ve been fine. They could still do Klingon stories of course, but not solely be about them. I just don’t think fans are as into Klingons as the writers seem to think. They are good for side stories and learning about Klingon culture but not be the main focus.

But I agree with you, the only time I really liked Klingons being the main focus was on DS9 when, ironically, Worf was introduced on that show because they did a great job wrapping it all into the Dominion war. But on TNG most of Klingon stories bored me to be honest. They didn’t have them on Voyager as much for obvious reasons but I didn’t miss them. TOS they felt like an entirely different species completely so I don’t even count them on that show. And it was like five episodes that they showed up in.

The rest I agree, neither the Section 31 or Academy show would be my first choice but you can do a lot with those shows (as Section 31 is proving on Discovery) and its nice not to just do more ship based shows. I’m up for changing things up and why I’m not against the Section 31 show.

Finally! Someone not named Michael Dorn wanting a Klingon based series. The only problem you’re going to have is, which Klingon culture are you going to get? The ‘single man can cut a thousand sleeping throats’ blood soaked culture, or the Shakespeare spouting family honor culture?

I want a Klingon show starring Mother.

Star Trek: Mother Knows Best

Awesome title.

So interested in a Captain Pike show, even if for a limited run. They did such an awesome job casting and characterizing them, not an easy thing to pull off.

I’m starting to get the vibe that the Discovery series, in it’s entirety, is going to be one big “Yesterday’s Enterprise” …

Yeah, Kurtzman’s response to that question made me think Discovery will end up being another timeline. His refusal to answer may have just said everything or it may turn out not to be anything that we are speculating about. Either way I am so much looking forward to that season finale

How did you come up with that? Weird. He’s just not going to say anything about how the season ends.

I think season 2 is either finale will be a giant reset that will somehow tie into Calypso and the crew ending up in the 31st century. The Federation will be overrun or corrupted and it will be up to Discovery to restore it.

I also think that the powers that be at CBS or Kurtzman and company had no clue how much of a success they would have with Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, or even Rachael Ancheril (Nhan). After reading Ethan Peck’s interview I think they’re hustling to put a Pike Enterprise era series together. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see that before we see a Section 31 series.

But I’ve been wrong before.

I think that the S31 series not being greenlit means that the Pike show is either greenlit or being developed to right now. This could be the reason for another Exec Producer in for Discovery. Also Anson Mount does an incredible amount of promotion across many medias and is continuing to do it, as Ethan Peck is. Would they be doing that if they were done with Trek, just waiting for the last few episodes to air? I think in the end, as I said above, we may see 8-10 episode seasons of Discovery, Pike, and Picard, and possibly S31. Picard will be standalone, but the other 2 or 3 series can have multiple crossover episodes, and All Access may be stretching to 35-40 weeks of new live action Trek per year, which means continual subscriptions with no subscription holds for Trek fans.

No…

“The Federation will be overrun or corrupted and it will be up to Discovery to restore it.”

So they are remaking Andromeda? Surak be damned if they cast Kevin Sorbo as the next captain! That reminds me that Kurtzman DID work on Hercules. We are DOOMED!

I smell the mother of all reset buttons coming. Funny given how much people resented Reset Buttons in Star Trek in the past, even if for only one or two episodes (eg Year of Hell). So either the timeline is being altered or Discovery disappears into the future or both. Possibly Burnham doesnt end up Spocks sister in the end. In either cases, much of what we have seen will be rendered meaningless. But considering they did exactly that when they rendered Lorca’s story and moral ambiguity meaningless after he was revealed to be a lying mirror universe murderer, and Tyler’s “PTSD” meaningless when he was revealed a Klingon sleeper agent, this is EXACTLY what these people like to do. Assassinate a character for the benefit of a twist. Or the whole show.

While I would not be happy with a giant reset button, the difference here is that it’s not reset, reset, reset, reset, and there’s no chance for character growth like in Voyager (a show almost criminally lacking in ambition). If they reset the timeline (which isn’t needed but some fans are lacking in imagination) but the Discovery is launched forward in time, that’s not a ‘reset’ like the annoying on in Voyager, because we know all those events still do happen and we still have the characters we have now. The Federation still has a war with the Klingons for one example. That’s not going to change.

If they just go forward in time, I agree. But if he’s saying what others are predicting and the show resets itself where Burnham is not Spock’s sister anymore than yes that would be a hard reset and set everything new from the beginning. That’s what he’s suggesting. I don’t think they would do that but who knows at this point? Voyager did the reset button a lot but it was after just one episode. Here the consequences would be much greater. I know that would make a lot of DIS haters happy lol but I really hope they are not thinking that either.

You made Burnham and Spock siblings, just stick to it! Especially after spending an entire season of watching them work out their problems. Why undo all of that now?

I agree, I don’t think you reset. I would be pretty ticked by it – and there is no reason to do it. They have established (via the flashback) that this Pike is exactly the same Pike we saw in the cage – the Enterprise is the same Enterprise from the cage. they are different for the same reason that Roddenberry made Klingons different in The Motion Picture, and then different again in TNG— because it is made in a different time and they modernized the look.

There are plenty of ways to retire the spore drive. And there never needed to be an explanation of why Spock doesn’t talk about Burnham. For gosh sakes, McCoy also never mentioned his daughter through 78 episodes of TOS, 6 movies, and 1 episode of TNG! But if we met Joanna McCoy in Discovery would anyone have a conniption about how it can’t be McCoy’s daughter because she was never mentioned?

Wait, hold up! McCoy has a daughter????

It’s not officially canon but one of the scripts discussed for a possible season 4 was for McCoy’s daughter to show up and have an attraction to his friend Jim Kirk.

I think his daughter MIGHT have been mentioned in the animated show. I’ll have to double check that…

Actually, D.C. Fontana wrote an outline called “Joanna,” that would revolve around McCoy’s daughter coming to the Enterprise. At the time, producer Freiberger knocked it out saying McCoy should be the same age as Kirk and Spock, and wouldn’t have an adult daughter. The story was eventually rewritten and became the horrible “The Way to Eden,” credited to Michael Richards, D.C.’s pseudonym.

Oh wow, interesting! You do learn something everyday, thanks.

McCoy’s ‘daughter’ is something I regularly use as an example when people complain about Spock not mentioning a sister. This episode was never produced but a lot of fans know about it and if it was retconned into canon they would be more willing to accept it because the idea goes back to TOS and is consistent with the original show bible. In fact I’d say there’s a lot of older fans that consider this semi canon for the character. Anyway, I know this is entirely hypothetical and I’m basing it on speculation on my part that I couldn’t possibly back up with credible evidence but my point is that if people could accept learning about new family members for McCoy (or even Sulu in Generations) then why not Spock? I’m not talking about those of you that consider it a bad creative choice, that’s a completely different conversation and I know there are many that think that. I’m probably not even talking about many on this board as most of the critics on here fall into the “bad creative choice” category which is a legitimate opinion but certainly in the wider online community there still seems to be a lot of people out there that cannot distinguish between new canon and canon violation.

But McCoy was never supposed to be the same age as Kirk. In fact, Roddenberry wanted a Dr. who was younger than Piper but still older than Kirk. Kelly was hired partly because he fit the age different requirement.

OK, but is that the same script Salvador Nogueira mentioned below? But OK it doesn’t sound like it was officially made canon and where I was confused.

Voy was unable to develop because of the ‘re set’.
the consequences of eps like ‘faces’ and ‘tuvix’ were just forgotten.

“While I would not be happy with a giant reset button, the difference here is that it’s not reset, reset, reset, reset, and there’s no chance for character growth like in Voyager”

Something I want to reiterate is that with Lorca in season 1, the show already employed the worst effects of a reset button: in-universe, for the characters and Starfleet by avoiding any serious repercussions and discussions of a morally ambiguous captain going off the rails in times of war (a la Sisko in ITPM or Archer in Damage), by picking an easy way out with the mirror universe. And worse, for the audience, by abusing our trust in the show and characters by making anything poignant we been told about Lorca, his lost eyesight and the Buran etc., a lie and meaningless, all character growth not just lost but inverted. Since this concerned not 1 or 2 previous episodes but TEN, for me that is much worse than any Voyager reset button. Lorca is not just mirror but also dead, so when (not if) we meet him again as his PU version, it will be a complete reset. It was a major first for Star Trek, and a stain on the show that I will not forget. So whatever copout they plan for the season 2 finale, I won’t be surprised. Copouts are in their nature.

If they did reset the show like that, they are telling all the naysayers they were right about the show and the first two seasons can be forgotten. I just don’t think they would do that. They would make a some people very happy lol but I don’t think they want to give them that satisfaction personally.

This was exactly why I never expected the Kelvin movies to do that either, because outside of invalidating literally all their movies, they would in a way validate their critics. I can see Discovery jumping into the future because in that sense nothing will be undone, they will just be in another century. But if this meant to undo everything, then that would make the first two seasons completely meaningless and I just have a hard time to believe they would do that to their own show.

I share your trepidation VS.

Parsing Kurtzman and Karin’s spin, what I heard was:

Spock, Number One and Pike can’t stay with Discovery in season 3 and be doing what they need to in order to line up with TOS.

Which means Discovery may be going somewhere / somewhen Pike & Co. couldn’t transit from to get to Prime Enterprise when they need to be there.

By contrast, know from previous messaging that Michelle Yeoh will be in season 3 with more S31 plotlines.

But perhaps S31 will continue to play across time…which would be consistent with their popping up mysteriously in people’s quarters in DS9.

Last thing, I think people are somewhat muddled about Calypso.

Discovery’s hiding in a storm and still waiting in the 33rd century because someone needs to come and get her for some purpose.

But all it would take to fetch her to whenever she’s needed would be a couple of time suits…or maybe even just one if Stamets went on his own and Zora could manage the rest.

It just means that Pike and Spock have to go back to the Enterprise.

Not a fan of reset buttons myself. But if any show is screaming for one it’s Star Trek Discovery.

Just tell me which button to press….

We all seem to be forgetting that Burnham shouldn’t exist in this timeline, she died on Vulcan as a child, she didn’t help start the Klingon war and didn’t join the USS Discovery until interference from Mommy Red Angel changed the past events. What happens if you stop the red angel from happening, a total reset of the timeline.

Man, a whole lotta nuthin’ as usual.

“Let’s talk about canon, if Patrick Stewart as Picard on his new show pulls up his computer, will all the events we have seen on Star Trek: [Discovery]…”

“[cuts off] You are asking me a very sneaky question right now, and I’m not going to answer it. I know what you are doing, and tell you what, I will answer it for you at the end of the season. Is that fair? I don’t want to ruin it.”

Man that first question and answer is really interesting. Why wouldn’t he just say ‘yes’ if its all canon and Discovery completely takes place in the prime timeline and era? I can’t imagine a different answer if someone just replaced NX-01 for Discovery with the same question, it would just be ‘of course’.

So something probably is up here. And way to go TM, you delivered a smart gotcha question and may have given a cool hint of whats to come even without an actual answer! ;)

I would really like to know if the animated series will be CGI animation, full-scale animation, or limited animation.

I have nothing to base this on but I’m guessing it will be CG that look like traditional 2G drawings.

“Any comments on the Starfleet Academy or Khan series that have been previously reported in development?

Can’t tell ya.”

All I can say: Cast Zahn McClarnon as Khan ASAP! That would be incredible! Zaaaaaaaaaaaahn! Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn!

Listen to the fans about the spinoffs. Nobody is excited for Section 31. But a lot of people want to see Pike’s Enterprise.

I want Pike too. But, you can expect them to invest heavily to a character with known destiny!

I hope that for Picard’s series his team of writers will not be the same as Discovery. Star Trek is not a clutter of clichés of technical names revolving around a character of bad temper. Star Trek is something that inspires us, which makes us think and want to watch episodes again, for their content and not for the form. Expensive special effects are not enough for Discovery to be a minimally interesting series.

Hello, Yet An Other, “I know what Star Trek is” fun :D

Anthony! You are AWESOME! You manage to extract super spoiler! His postpone of the reply to after the end of the season makes everything crystal clear, if you ask me. We living an alternative timeline like Enterprise-C on Yesterday’s Enterprise. It’s all about restoring the original timeline. You Are Fan Ta Stic!!!!