Thursday’s Star Trek: Discovery episode “Through the Valley of Shadows” ended on a sort of cliffhanger with Pike ordering a rendezvous with the USS Enterprise.
The teaser for next week’s episode (titled “Such Sweet Sorrow”) attached to Thursday’s episode shows the return of the Enterprise and gave us our first look at some new aspects of the ship’s design on Discovery. With so much going on, we have again decided to give this promo the full TrekMovie screencap and analysis treatment. As usual, the following contains spoilers and our analysis includes some informed speculation as well.
[WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW]
Abandon ship
Sarek meditates on a beach
Sarek looks out as we hear Saru’s voice-over: “there is a battle coming”
Michael looks out of a window with the USS Enterprise in reflection, Saru V.O. continues: “The odds are not in our favor.”
The USS Enterprise alongside the USS Discovery
Captain Pike moves through the Discovery
Nhan helps with the evacuation of the Discovery. Michael Burnham V.O.: “Captain Pike has always had faith that we play a part in some grand design.”
Pike, back in his Enterprise uniform, says “All of you, will face your destinies, with bravery and honor.”
Spock on the Discovery, with the Enterprise seen through the window.
A close-up on Michael.
Agent Georgiou on the bridge of the Discovery
Burnham hugs Tyler with her V.O.: “I wish I had her certainty.”
To battle
A number of Section 31 ships warp in around the Discovery and Enterprise.
The bridge of the USS Enterprise. Number One tells Captain Pike: “Nine more enemy vessels dropped out of warp.”
SIDEBAR: OMG – The ENTERPRISE BRIDGE!
While we have seen Spock’s quarters and a corridor, it appears they went all the way to construct the iconic bridge for the Discovery version of the USS Enterprise. While redesigned to match the Discovery style (it looks like it may be a significant redress of the USS Discovery bridge set), the Enterprise bridge contains many classic elements including: the red railings, the iconic 1960’s style bridge chairs, the general layout of the bridge consoles, and the lowered “well” for the captain’s chair, and the navigation and helm stations.
USS Enterprise bridge from TOS
Saru in the command chair of the USS Discovery says “Prepare for battle.”
Michael Burnham on the USS Enterprise
Tilly on the USS Discovery
The USS Enterprise fires photon torpedoes
Captain Pike on the bridge of the USS Discovery says “It’s time”
SIDEBAR: XAHEA
The planet identified on screen as Xahea is the homeworld of Po, who came on board the Discovery in Short Treks “Runaway.” In that episode, Po revealed that she had invented a process to recrystallize dilithium. Po – who returned home to become queen – also gave Tilly a bit of dilithium as a gift. It’s possible they visit Xahea to get the energy they need to power the time crystal they picked up in “Through the Valley of Shadows.”
Po departs the Discovery in “Runaway”
“Such Sweet Sorrow” debuts Thursday, April 11th.
Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on Space and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.
Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.
if they built the bridge then we must be getting a Pike show.
That would be a logical assumption.
…the wants of the many, outweigh and so forth and what have you.
Fairly certain they did not build a new bridge set just for a few minutes of screen time in this episode, as we noted in the article we’re pretty sure it’s a redress of the Discovery bridge. So it’s not a separate standing set just waiting to be used.
If it is, the angles will probably be cropped quite a bit since I’m sure the Discovery set extends wider than that. So we might not see the whole thing.
Yeah, my assumption is the built up a new temporary back wall, to make the existing set smaller. And/or, as you said, we may not see much of it, just the angles needed for the shots they wanted.
It’s also possible that it’s a digital set entirely.
I’m not that sure it’s a redress…
Same feeling here but I was wondering if it was a mostly CGI set with a few practical items like chairs, consoles, stairs, and railing? Mostly thought that because something about the crew at the corner workstation looked superimposed but it’s a quick moving scene. Also, the angles on the view screen / window seem a bit different then the one on Disco? Either way, I’m happy and can’t wait to see more.
It would be great for them to have a legit third bridge set they could use for other Starfleet ships in the fleet.
I’m pretty sure it is a fully practical set. How? I just am. Trust me. :-)
Looks like a redress to me. They are using the same bridge window.
It’s not a redress, its a whole new (expensive) set. Apparently the first set they’ve made out of “real” materials, metal and such.
Which begs the question: why, if it’s just for a couple of shots in the last two episodes of Disco? *strokes chin and ponders*
Frankly, it looks cheesy to a degree that I could believe they didn’t spend an inordinate amount of money on it.
Glare-y and cheesy, a fool’s combination. Pretty much as expected.
They built a whole new set. This according to a guy in a message board who made a number of claims back in October that ended up coming true. Including the claim that Discovery would be evacuated near the end of the season. According to him the Enterprise bridge set was expensive and was the first set to use a fair bit of real metal.
It could also be possible that if Discovery is going bye bye into the future or whatever, that they filmed all the remaining scenes involving Disvovery sets, then either tore them down, or more likely, permanently redressed them as Enterprise sets going forward then filmed the Enterprise scenes.
Timothy Peel on Twitter confirmed the big news – “Definitely NOT a redressed Discovery.”
Potentially huge the implications of this. Potentially…
Can’t get too excited.
Link – https://twitter.com/timothypeel1/status/1115332917130027008?s=21
Well there ya go. Surprising.
It also dawns on me that if the CBS/Viacom merger happens, it would be very easy to spin the Pike/Spock 1701 ship into the next movie series: keeping the film set on the most famous ship (The Enterprise), with one of the most famous characters (Spock), without any need for off-shoot continuities.
Just a thought.
CBS could make a Pike show but that’s unlikely to happen. At least we are getting a Picard show ^_^😀😂
They should at least consider a stand-alone TV movie of a three-part miniseries or something. It is insane of them to leave that pile of cash sitting on a table.
I think that would be the better compromise. People hoping a Pike show is just going to happen when they already devoted themselves to five other shows, most not even airing until 2020 or 2021 are probably setting themselves up for disappointment.
But I think TV movies or mini-series can work. And they can probably shoot it faster and get it on the air within a year.
I don’t know why no one else is thinking this, but I’m guessing they are going to have a role on Section 31. Obviously not a lead role but possibly recurring. But it never even gets mentioned as a possibility which is weird considering we seen how closely they been working with Section 31 all season (but yes, not the best situation ;)).
I really doubt Section 31 is going to be that kind of show. I’m thinking it is going to be “Mission Impossible” in space.
Probably but they will most likely still work with Starfleet personnel too. I just don’t think they can get away with a show that has no starships involved and probably why they created a much closer relationship to Starfleet we’ve ever seen before. I believe they did this as an excuse for the show to have Starfleet send them out on missions and work with others.
No, we should be getting a Captain Pike series. Fans have been interested in Captain Pike for years. There is a 10-11 year gap (I’m not that dedicated of a Trekkie to know the actual time frame) from his introduction to his fate to work with.
Despite the writers attempt to make Burnham into something she just isn’t, interesting, Anson Mount’s portrayal of Captain Pike has been spectacular. He is the only reason I returned for a “paid” season 2 and I have no regrets.
It would be absolutely tone deaf to the fans of Star Trek for CBS not to carry this character forward. In my opinion, Captain Pike, and specifically Mount’s portray of Captain Pike, has been the most engaging Star Trek character since Captain Benjamin Sisko. He is on a whole other level than any STD character.
And now that Captain Pike knows his fate years in advance and remains dedicated to service to Starfleet….. D#$% that’s a compelling story right there!! That’s territory we’ve never been in as fans of Star Trek. Pike made the ultimate sacrifice and continues to make it regardless of his known fate!!!
I’d rather watch a DS9 Ferengi episode than Burnham and Tilley. And that’s not really fair because most of the Ferengi episodes had depth in character storytelling.
I have to agree. Pike is boss.
Agree 100%. Pike is a compelling character, and Anson Mount has done an amazing job bringing him to life. The actor can be dramatic one minute and show a wry sense of humor the next,the comparison to Sisko has occurred to me as well.
LOL, harsh!
I agree with you about Pike though. Yeah he is a great character. But I’ll be very honest, I kind of wish they just named the guy something else and we could’ve had this character full time on Discovery. Pike is the name that sells the character but its pretty arbitrary because they essentially made a different character and Mount said from day one he’s playing it how he wanted to. There is no pressure to play Pike the same way it is for Peck to play Spock.
But of course I can’t blame them for not calling him Pike, he was what they marketed for most of the season outside of Spock and it gave them an excuse to show the Enterprise (although they could’ve done that regardless because of Spock). It would’ve just been a way to keep him on the show full time and they could’ve made another Pike for his own show in the future. But what’s done is done now.
I agree with most of what you wrote. However you left out Suru, suru and pike are what’s carrying this season.
I think Spock has been good as well, but yeah, Pike and Saru are the reason I come back to this show.
They really f*up I’d rather have a pike show come on line than a section 31show
They build sets based on what the scripts dictates, not on shows that don’t exist.
There’s a dude on TrekBBS who has inside info which has been 100% accurate thus far. He says the bridge of 1701 is made out of metal and had a lot of time and design expended upon it. It is a permanent structure. Make of that what you will.
Maybe Discovery will become about the Enterprise next year… they did say the finale is shocking. Perhaps the shock is the loss of Discovery.
If that were the case, Mount wouldn’t be leaving after this season, just the opposite.
Tiger, maybe they are all pulling a Khan on us?
What about the possibility that Discovery crew are reassigned to a Constitution-class ship after sending the eponymous vessel into the future? That would necessitate usage of such an expensive set.
And what happens to the crew already on board the Enterprise? It would make more sense for the Discovery crew to get a new ship. I’m sure Starfleet is very busy building new ships to replace the ones that was lost during the war.
Precisely. And if Starfleet scuttles/hides the Discovery we’ve seen up until now, couldn’t they just utilize that name for a newly constructed Constitution-class vessel carrying the crew from the previous Discovery?
To be fair, Mount leaving was titled as “no longer a regular”. That doesn’t mean he can’t return in several guest starring episodes.
I agree Mike. I’m just saying don’t expect him to have some huge starring role. My guess is he could appear next season but we don’t know. Its just the constant wishful thinking. This was literally the same thing said about Jason Issacs even after he made it clear he wasn’t coming back next season…and he didn’t.
HAP/Lorca will return.
We also had Tamara Deverell speaking at the Directors Guild of Canada, since production ended, saying that:
1) what they did for Spock’s quarters was what was possible with redressing, and
2) she would have loved to have been able to build an Enterprise bridge…implying she didn’t get the chance.
But she was also pretty cagey about Talos IV…
LOL. Ok.
Why?
Remember, in TOS-era lore, the vast majority of ships have very similar bridge designs, corridor designs, etc.
So, the “Enterprise bridge” you see here might, in fact, be reused as some other ship’s bridge, not the Enterprise’s bridge.
It could be another Connie, or any other similar “newer tech” class.
Doesn’t HAVE to be Enterprise.
I like the Enterprise bridge. It looks futuristic but I love how it respects the original design philosophy from TOS like the colors and whatnot. I think Control is behind the fleet of Section 31 ships about to attack Discovery and Enterprise. The time crystal will lead to Calypso from Short Treks. Everything is connected now. It’s starting to make sense.
I like it too. It’s pretty much perfect IMO.
I love it, but the colors are not accurate. Pike’s bridge is not orange, but black. Orange came in after Where No Man Has Gone Before.
Except we don’t know that David. We only have the two episodes, The Cage and WNMHGB and nothing canon wise between them (until now). And that’s literally a 13 year gap between the two stories. Isn’t it just possible they re-painted the ship a few years after The Cage happened or even the next month. ;)
So canon wise, absolutely nothing stops it. And I think people keep forgetting the episode of The Cage was three years before this show started so things simply changed. It doesn’t have to look like that episode much at all.
The Big E bridge looks good redressed for 2019. The respect for its heritage is evident. Nice work by the designers. This aspect at least, it seems they got right.
Man, when it comes to this show we’re on opposite sides on just about everything. :-)
No harm, no foul, Michael! :)
What’s it like, always being in a small minority?
Alan,
Ask Holly Hunter’s character from BROADCAST NEWS that question.
One thing I noticed was the size of the displayed along the outer edge of the bridge, they’re smaller than whats on Discovery’s bridge.
I think they got it right for the Discovery world. It fits in as it should. But I think if it were being done from scratch without the existing Discovery aesthetics it would look a lot better. Still updated but more reminiscent of the era it is supposed to be in. But I wish it were lighter. I feel that way about Discovery, too. It needs more light.
Bitching about the Enterprise bridge commences in 3…2…1…
Says you. Phil. If you are a keyboard warrior, please stand up lol.
Surprisingly a lot of fans don’t hate it. There’s a reddit post on /r/StarTrek called “[SPOILER]: First look at a certain starship’s bridge…” and it’s upvoted to 90%. There’s 230 comments, and a bulk of them seem positive.
Personally, I like it.
I’m one of the people who upvoted that thread! :)
I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. Hell, I’ll go so far as to say it looks okay.
I still question the need, though, like I questioned the premise of a prequel that no one was ostensibly asking for.
Many were asking for it. Sorry the world of Star Trek doesn’t revolve around you, Mike.
The need was CBSAA Subs, Mike.
I still really hate they went with another prequel but I can’t lie its pretty interesting to see the original Enterprise back, but modernized for 2019.
As someone who has mostly liked the production design on Discovery (and who further had no issues with it being a visual reboot of the Trek universe), I have to confess that my inner sixteen year-old geek is just dismayed by what was done with the Enterprise bridge. If you Google Images for “Discovery Enterprise Bridge” there are a couple of CGI renderings of an alternate design that, for my money, are vastly superior both as a sleek update to Pato GUzman’s iconic bridge design and as a believable tie-in with the Discovery aesthetic. And while it ultimately won’t much affect my judgement on DSC’s second season overall, this tacky, clunky misfire is as big a disappointment as J.J.’s Enterprise.
I think you need to see more than one angle, and out of Red Alert, before you start to make such harsh statements.
You may be right in that. Let’s say I’m seriously hoping for a big dish of crow next Thursday. :-)
Look on the bright side, and by that I mean the dimmer side — it’s not blindingly lit with white LEDs on every surface and in every corner.
Point taken. But they actually did lift a bit of the J.J. bridge, if you’ll look to that piece of trim just to the right of the main viewscreen.
Indeed, I could do without any hint of the JJ bridge, to be honest. The dark with the red-orange reminds me of the second Tron movie, and I’m not sure if I like that or not. But at least I’m not ‘blinded by the light.’
It’s awfully glare-y, which ruins the low-light look along with the eye’s ability to dilate.
It looks like the rumors were right Kmart, there was a bridge showing up after all!
What do you think of it?
The first thing I thought when I saw the iBridge online in 2009 was: who would ever want to work in such a glare-y, overlit space? The second was: God, I hate the ‘sci-fi’ convention, beloved by hack production designers down through the decades, of having light come up from the floor, as if it’s “futuristic” to conclude that the soles of one’s feet could be light-deprived. (Okay, I know that Kubrick got away with it, but still.)
Well, I actually thought the iBridge was one of the few design choices that JJ got right. Who wants to work in such an utterly dark, somnambulistic environment?
They make missile silo control rooms overbright so people don’t fall asleep in them. Is that really going to factor into starship bridge sets – not likely. However, what would factor in is being able to see your displays and controls clearly, which is not likely given spotlights shining in your face no matter what screen you look toward. That’s not even getting into idiocies like the contemporary bar code scanners on the consoles, which I wouldn’t have tried in a zero-budget super-8 movie, or the 20th century floors and accoutrements in Engineering — which didn’t they just drop black liner on the floor? Stuff that somebody making an amateur movie for three figures can think up that the big boys can’t — or wont?
When dark looks good (DAY OF THE DOVE, end of JOURNEY TO BABEL), it looks appropriate dramatically and visually. When dark looks dingy bad, like the DSC sets with what seems like dirty windshields, it’s appropriate only in trying to copy sad trends instead of achieving innovation or greatness.
I’m no fan of the iBridge, but compared to the Budgineering (c) “set” (and I use that term loosely), well….
I hate the iBridge, but in all honestly it was one of the better sets on the Kelvin Enterprise. Nothing else on that ship made any sense, except maybe Sickbay.
Well, the corridors looked pretty good :)
It’s better than I thought it would be. I have no love for the space window, but I like the railings and the helm console. But then I still think the TOS bridge looks good today — except when they show the edge of the “wild” sections on screen.
Love the bridge :-) Is that Ben Sisko in his Trials TOS uniform walking behind Burnham? Just kidding :-)
“Such Sweet Sorrow” . . . so who is parting from whom? In this respect, the shot of Michael indicating a goodbye to the Enterprise seems like a good start.
I was thinking the same thing.
I’m thinking they are referring to parting from Discovery. They do appear to be evacuating.
Since we are tying in to the short treks I think they are evacuating to Enterprise
to send Discovery to the future.
I definitely thought that. But are they doing the third season on the Enterprise? Especially when “they say” Pike’s not coming back?
Such Sweet Sorrow… approved by this aficionado of alliterations!
Really love the look of the bridge. It’s nearly exactly how I pictured it would look like. I’m shocked they made it this close of a replica as they did (they even have the same freaking chairs). I guess after the backlash of the Kelvin movies of turning the interiors and the bridge of the Enterprise into a hipster urban mall or people giving Discovery all kinds of hate with the ‘reimaginings’ they wanted to stay true to form on this as best as they could or they knew people would go nuts.
Honestly I really like it. Once again, it makes you wonder why they couldn’t go more in this direction in first season? I don’t mean a replica of the bridge but at least something to this size and aesthetic at least. It doesn’t feel open like a department store like the other bridges on this show for some reason do. Anyway, it looks great!
I think had they not had the limitations of the established Discovery aesthetic it would have looked even a lot better!
The Discovery is a brand new ship. The Enterprise is an old junk bucket compared to it.
Kind of like my PCs. I have a desktop from 2011 that’s been upgraded a lot but is still based on old tech, that is nonetheless more powerful than my laptop from 2017. Even though the laptop has some capabilities the desktop doesn’t (nothing so handy as a spore drive).
So I guess that explains the Shenzhou which is suppose to be as old as the Enterprise and yet seems to have the same aesthetics and extra space of Discovery. ;)
Under Fuller’s direction his primary focus was creating Star Trek as he envisioned it. I suspect that we would have had a much different looking show without Fuller.
I just watched the new special clip from CBSAA about Pike. In it, Kurtzman (yes, yes, I know) talks about being freed from canon by Pike’s decision to take the crystal, but it also “allows for an entirely new set of stories.” What’s up with that?
Thanks for the heads-up Holden.
I’m with you, I struggling to make sense of how Pike’s choosing to embrace his fate by accepting the crystal in any way frees them from canon…
Unless….
it is only backwards freedom.
Is it through Pike’s selection of that particular time crystal and acceptance of the the fate it requires of him, that all the future timestreams for Discovery winnow to the Prime timeline?
And anything prior that doesn’t fit with that timeline, and is somehow out of canon cannot be known or impact the Prime timeline going forward.
Basically, drawing a time crystal created some kind of discontinuity…
Will Pike and Spock recognize that there has been a discontinuity? Will the Enterprise be different than they recall?
And FYI for Canadian viewers, Space.ca has it on their website and SpaceGo app. No delay in getting this ‘Moment of Discovery’ up.
https://www.space.ca/show/star-trek-discovery/clip/spoiler-alert-moments-of-discovery-pikes-fate/1652780/1834/
I was actually think that he was planting the seed for more Pike stories but your time line narrative is much more interesting.
Wow these last two episodes for season 2 are looking fantastic with massive plot twists and answers for a lot of questions. Short Treks Calypso may be a huge hint of what is about to happen but we will have to wait and see. As for the Enterprise bridge – I was really worried about what they were going to come up with. Of course it won’t please everyone, but I have to say it looks really good to me. I nice mix of TOS (and memories of the old plastic bridge model I had when I was a kid) and 21-century production design. I said this on another thread but these final two S2 shows look like “must-see” tv for me and I am really wondering what they are setting us up for in S3!
I don’t want another Star Trek prequel. Star Trek: Discovery is good enough. I’m sick and tired of prequels; Star Wars prequels are worse compared to Star Trek prequels. Star Trek needs to boldly go beyond not backwards. A Pike show is unnecessary.
Um, is there some law that says they can’t they do both?
For a lot of us that were sick of prequels, we weren’t totally against not having them, but simply wanted a show to go forward again as well. NOW that we are getting that with the Picard show, people seem much more relaxed about other possible prequel shows like the Section 31 show (which is really more of a spin off but you get it).
So I agree. I think it just bothered a lot of people Star Trek was ONLY going backwards for the next decade and not boldly go into new territory. There are a lot of people out there that never accepted Enterprise, the Kelvin movies and now Discovery for these reasons alone. But that finally looks to be changing though so I’m fine if they make more prequels, just as long as we get stories that goes into the 25th century…and beyond.
And I will agree with PS, a Pike show probably IS unnecessary because we have Discovery. I know that will ruffle some people the wrong way (especially if they already hate Discovery) but I do think that’s part of the issue and the conundrum why there doesn’t seem to be any talk (so far) of a show, because you will basically have two star ships exploring the same territory in the same time. Yes its a BIG galaxy, so it seem silly you can’t do that, but that’s how Rick Berman felt about it when he was running Star Trek and apparently Kutzman now. Its more about trying to diversify the brand instead of making it feel like CSI and NCIS spin offs I guess.
What would set the Pike show apart from Discovery outside of it being on a different ship? DS9 and Voyager had tons of differences for example. The biggest DS9 was on a station while Voyager was on a starship. But DS9 was also able to set up an entire war arc that affected the entire Federation and yet had nothing to do with what Voyager was doing. That really tells you how different the shows were even though they too took place in the same period. Other words you have to make the two shows feel completely different from each other in tone, style and premise and that’s the big challenge placing Pike along with Discovery. Probably why they are more gung-ho for Section 31, its clearly going to be something totally different.
THAT said though if the rumors do turn out true and Discovery does jump into the future, then yes that would leave it open for a Pike show to take over. And Discovery would all but be a post-Nemesis show now so fans on both sides of the argument will get their wish.
OMG ENTERPRISE!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE a show with Pike, Spock and Number One. Make it so!
Ditto
Hear! Hear!
Hear Hear Hear!
Will the people with the power hear us?
I have been asking for the same thing for about 20 years now!
I just came by to say how amazing the updated bridge of the Enterprise looks in my opinion. I love how they kept iconic elements like the chairs and the red accents and also updated it so that it looks stunning and current.
From TOS to DISCO is almost like the difference between 60s Batman movies and Nolan’s Batman movies. And that encompasses not only the breathtaking look of the show, but also the storytelling, the depth of the characters, the acting…
I don’t like everything about it. But I like a lot about it. I am glad Star Trek is back. I am glad DISCO is so successful that we have more coming!
The Enterprise is stunning.
I am flipping out. It looks insanely good. Both nostalgic and forward thinking at the same time. Bravo.
Aye. A credit to her name.
Looks pretty epic. Somehow, they’ve got to figure out a way to use the Infinity Gauntlet to keep the T-1000 from enslaving them in the Matrix.
That’s a lot of ground to cover, to be sure.
WHERE ARE THE THREE TRIANGLES ON THE BACK OF THE CHAIRS??????!!!! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! IT IS NOT THE BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE UNLESS THERE ARE THREE TRIANGLES ON THE BACK OF THE CHAIRS!!
That was tongue-firmly-in-cheek, right bmar?
I noticed the triangles too, but hey TOS is 10 years earlier. The Federation quartermaster may have updated the specs.
You mean almost ten years later?
Yup, Discovery is 10 years earlier than TOS.
Thanks for the catch Ugh. Nice to hear from you.
Not a fan of the viewscreen,it should be smaller, and the bridge should be a little smaller, other than than its not as bad as I feared.
I have been dreading what this team would do to it.
I think the dread was because you knew they would have to conform to the Discovery aesthetics. Which meant there was only so much they could do to hit the right target of modernizing the TOS bridge but still evoking a good feel for the original.
ML – you have basically said the same exact thing is several of your posts in this article. I think we all get it by now – you do not like the Discovery aesthetics. Personally, I love the update. Bring the look of the bridge from the cardboard 60s sets into something that looks amazing for 2019.
I have news for you TrekFan67… The sets on TOS were made from plywood mostly. The same thing the sets on… Wait for it… Discovery are made from. Plus, the Discovery sets may look nice. (I think they do) but they certainly don’t evoke the era they are supposed to be in. Even Enterprise did it much better. But the fact is, even though the sets and props have aged from TOS, that show is still eminently more watchable than Discovery is because of writing, character and story. All those things make TOS much much better. If Discovery had fantastic writing, characters and stories they could be on a Jr. High stage and it would be great.
I disagree completely. The TOS sets look quite horrible. The consoles with gumdrop buttons look like something similar I did as a kid with lego. Having a show with such low production values in 2019 would be laughable.
So true, that’s why I really hated that Enterprise episode. I just couldn’t wrap my head around that TOS style ship. How did the crew from the NX Enterprise know how to work those nonsense controls?
The bridge is amazing! Looks perfect. Bridges change all the time. Enterprise-A had the ultra white bridge at the end of ST4, then the totally different beige bridge that had a TNG color scheme for ST5 (like a week or so after the events of ST4), then the ST6 grey bridge with many of the pervious touchscreen-only stations now having buttons and switches. So even that one ship bridge had multiple major changes. The Disco design team does the single most REALISTIC look for ALL of the Treks previous to it. It is simply the best team with the most money to execute their great design work. All the other shows when I rewatch them now look like low budget kids shows in comparison.
Disagree Herman Zimmerman’s designs are still amazing and some of.ny faves
“The Disco design team does the single most REALISTIC look for ALL of the Treks previous to it.” Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
Why should it be smaller? People have TV’s in their homes bigger than the TOS Enterprise view screen.
Smaller and perhaps more like version in the films
I’m with you on the screen issue A34.
If the purpose of a main viewer screen is for the entire bridge crew to see the same thing at once with sufficient magnification, limiting it to respect the constraints of the 1960s would be form over function.
The TOS screen looks like the kind of fabric screen for projecting film in classrooms of the period.
And I was in lecture theatres in the late 70s that had very much larger ones.
I appreciate that many fans are deeply visually locked on the bridge proportions of the 60s, but there are also many like me, who saw TOS as young children in first run who can roll with subtle and functional updates.
I do however note that the shape of the screen strongly suggests it’s a redress.
Yeah it would only make sense to have larger view screens. I don’t have any issues with that either. This is exactly how an update should be, keep the aesthetics of the old show as possible but update it in areas that keeps in line with a modern audience today. It would look silly to have the same boxy look of the view screen of TOS considering what people have in their living rooms now. So for something CENTURIES into the future, I would expect ships to have very wide view screens and one of the things that didn’t bother me about Discovery. It looks to me but I know everyone sees things differently.
The bridge looks perfect. It doesn’t need to be that TOS aesthetic.
Quite frankly, because it is in the Discovery universe it pretty much CAN’T have the TOS aesthetic. It must adhere to the Discovery aesthetic. The one they severely changed up to look like it belongs in an era post Nemesis.
I too, was almost hoping that they wouldn’t go there… I didn’t really trust Kurtzman to not go nuts and redesign the bridge to more closely match Discovery’s aesthetic for the sake of appearing ‘modern’.
Discovery’s bridge to me seems way too large and open from the standpoint of economy and practicality, and seems to match the way STO’s designers early on made most of their ship and building interiors enormously large and oversized.
Maybe its me but a bridge that approaches the size of a small auditorium seems a bit excessive. :p Not to mention they’ll be in danger of filling the Enterprise bridge space with extraneous crew members beyond the core Bridge Crew… Guess we’ll see next week.
Overall though I’ll agree that Season 2 has been firing on all cylinders though with a good story and characterization. Peck and Mount have been great additions, though I can’t help but wince a bit when I hear Peck’s Spock speak using contractions…
Did they fill the gap in the Enterprise’s nacelle struts? Because it looks that way in that side screenshot.
Nope I still see the gap. Love the gap.
The designer of the model felt that nacelles would be one of the external features most likely to change over the course of refits.
So they gave themselves permission to make a variation there.
It violates nothing.
Whether you prefer the look or not is personal preference.
Pretty sure that’s a new set for the bridge.
It’s possible that they reuse the front viewer wall from the Discovery set, which may be “wild” for camera access.
Maybe this could be used for a Pike show.
we don’t need a Pike show. Let them do what they do.
I’m confused by what you want Professor Spock. At times you say you want a Pike show and other times you say you hate prequels. A Pike show would still be a prequel.
Perhaps the resolution to this season is that the crew uses Discovery as the vehicle to send the sphere data into “perpetual infinity.” Hence the ship ends up in the far future, but fully functioning, in “Calypso.” Perhaps Pike changes his future by piloting Discovery into the future alone.
MB will go into the future to be with mother
Despite what some say, I think this has been one of the best seasons of any incarnation of Star Trek I have seen. The overall arc has been fantastic. The CGI has been movie quality.
I say the time crystal throws Discovery forward deep into the future.
I’m holding out hope that what we see IS a new bridge set for the Enterprise (at least part of it) and that there WILL be a Captain Pike on Enterprise show!!
And I love that Enterprise bridge!
Overall I like the second season, but I really don’t like the design of the bridge. Especially in the red-alert looking shot labeled as:
“The bridge of the USS Enterprise. Number One tells Captain Pike: “Nine more enemy vessels dropped out of warp.”
Glaring spot lights everywhere, lights all around the viewscreen, and around all steps and railings. That has to be functionally one of the worst sci-fi designs for a command bridge and view screen looking out into the darkness of space.
It’s that kind of form-over-function nonsense that pulls me out of the story wondering what idiot approved that.
Jeff, It’s not just one idiot that approved all this. It takes a committee — what Heinlein called a life form with six or more legs and no brain — to be this stupid.
kmart you don’t like the bridge at all?
Based on that still, no, but in a few weeks I’ll be able to see it in all its streaming glory, so wait for final word till then.
It is a TV show, not the real world. The spot lights are there so that the actors are always clearly seen. Lights, steps, and railings have been part of every Star Trek bridge since “The Cage”, they’re there to make the set visually interesting.
Agreed. If anything the Discovery bridge lacks some of the cool steps and railings that other bridge sets had that make the Disco bridge look flat and boring. This new Enterprise bridge has that and more. The “captain seat well” makes me think that this is NOT a redress and in fact a new set.
I don’t know, the Defiant bridge was pretty flat and I thought that was a pretty cozy kickass design!
Next week’s episode will see Discovery go into the future like in Calypso to stop Section 31 using the time crystals to protect the sphere data from Control. I don’t know how long Burnham and crew will stay on the Enterprise with Pike until they get a new ship. The red signals are leading us to an endgame.
I’d have preferred the Enterprise arrived BEFORE they encountered the Section 31 fleet. That could have explained why Discovery couldn’t spore-drive out of a tight spot (they couldn’t leave the Enterprise behind.)
I can’t imagine the spore drive likes the presence of a time crystal much. But then again, it doesn’t mind all the dark matter in the cargo bay.
…when did S2 turn into a Monty Haul campaign?
Bridge looks great. Pike was my favorite character before I cancelled Midway through season 2. I just can’t get on board with Tilly as an officer, love triangles, klingon human science projects, Spock with learning disabilities, and the universe all circling around Michael Burnham. The people in charge of trek don’t get trek. 2 seasons in and we have yet to explore an alien species other than kelpians which was very interesting yet brief. The Klingons weren’t explored as much as they were nuked. Hopefully they get some different visions for the Picard show.
The seasons are too short for all those side trips away from the main story arc. Don’t expect the Picard show to be any different.
Love the glimpse of the bridge. Upon closer inspection, the lower left of the viewscreen, shows what I think look like dedalus class ships.
I mostly like the new bridge, but I wish they hadn’t gone with the wall sized view screen, and had gone with a modernized version of the smaller view screen instead. Still, that’s a minor complaint, and I’m excited to see the Enterprise back in action for the first time in 35 years.
Easy to understand why they did, though. We’re already more or less at TOS-class viewscreens today. TOS’s viewscreen doesn’t look futuristic anymore.
I don’t think the Enterprise bridge is a redress. There are too many major differences, it’s also smaller. Even the view screen is a different shape.
There is a video floating around, which shows an updated TOS-bridge. THAT would have been more awesome. Although the new one could be slighty influenced by that one.
I think that’s how a Phase II late 70s bridge, based on the original one, could have looked like.
https://vimeo.com/12023417
Well it’s not Star Trek but it is an O.K. watch.
I can’t tell if we’re still waiting for answers or I lost something in the mumbled dialogue.
–Why did Spock go nuts? If he just met Mama B because she needed a half-human Vulcan with dyslexia (how I hate that plot point!), he should not have gone nuts. If Control or Burnham was in the RA suit at that point, I’m still not clear why that drove (will drive?) Spock nuts.
–Why are we counting down red flashes? (“Boroth is fourth of seven.”) Didn’t we see all seven in the season premiere?
Anyone?
Spock goes nuts because the end of the world is crazy stuff. He thought he was alucinating.
Concerning the red flashes, at first we’ve had seven bursts, but not bright for long enough to determine their exact coordinates. Now, each of them turns bright and stays that way, allowing for them to bem visited.
Um. I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just saying Spock is built of stronger stuff.
OMFG you gotta be kidding.
And no it doesnt mean theres going to be a Pike series just because they reimagined the bridge of the Enterprise.
If it is a new set (and it looks like opinions on that are running about 80% that it is a new set and not CGI or a Discovery Bridge redress) then that is a very large investment for CBS-AA to make for just two episodes. Either an Enterprise series is in the offing, or Discovery will be set on a new Constitution-class ship next season.
The Enterprise behind spock in the first pic actually looks better than I expected, but I sure wish they had a detail aboard that was responsible for washing the windows and putting UV sheeting on the transalum, because that dirty viewport look is beyond old already.
They didn’t “update” the bridge design for the Enterprise.
They replaced it.
Regardless of how that Enterprise bridge looks right now, if they go full series they can also do modifications. So I don’t think it matters if it’s a full new set or a redress. I don’t think we are going to get any “quiet” or “still moments” on this E bridge.
Maybe it is the Discovery itself that will carry the sphere database into the future? The show has been tying the short treks into the main story and we know from “Calypso” that USS Discovery survives so maybe they send the ship into the future using a combination of time crystal ands spore drive tech. We also know that Control wants the database to obtain a high level of conscience, so maybe the Discovery computer system does the same thing using the database which creates Zora. The AI Zora has been alone for “almost 1000 years” and we now know time crystals warp time a bit, possibly allowing time for Zora to evolve. Of course Control was built with little moral controls (Klingon genocide anyone), so maybe the basic programming of the Discovery systems results in a more human friendly AI. Also Zora states she can’t leave her station, so it might be the core command to hide the database is still a basic tenant of her programming.
So getting rid of the hero ship of the series would be bold. And maybe we get a new Discovery – maybe a Connie?! Would justify the new Enterprise bridge set…
Man, that bridge is $#%^&ing beautiful!
Ok, What’s the difference between a ‘teaser’ trailer, and a trailer, TREKMOVIE.COM STAFF? No one? That’s right! There is NO difference, because ALL trailers are designed to increase interest in the upcoming movie, by ‘teasing’/revealing certain scenes, and not others (as they have for decades). So, get rid of useless adjectives, and go back to just calling them trailers, please!
Boy, talk about nitpicking…
Wow, you took it too far Andy. So what Andy, its’ just a movie or TV show trailer. The ‘teaser’ is a trailer. The trailer teases a movie.
The use of “teaser” and “trailer” is common, widespread, and logical. It’s not something only done by the Trekmovie staff. You’re barking at the wrong people about something that isn’t a problem.
Man, don’t tell this guy about the word “Promo.”
Also, it’s in Trekmovie’s best interests to use as many useless adjective as possible for the purposes of search engine optimization.
While you guys are all bitching about bridge dimensions, I was enjoying the enterprise FIRING TORPEDOES, that sound…I love it! First time we have heard Enterprise fire a torpedo since…search for Spock?!
I was going to say Undiscovered Country, but I forgot. It’s not the same ship cannon wise.
While most people are bitching about bridge dimensions I just again enjoyed watching the enterprise firing photon torpedoes with that amazing sound…geeky but love it! Haven’t seen that since Search for Spock!
Have to say the Enterprise Bridge looks really good. To the people who complain about it not being an exact replica of the bridge for the 1960’s is say this. TOS is 53 years old. If you think they were going to build/redress a 2019 set to look like a set in the 1960’s you’re crazy. Like Shatner once said, The budget for a episode nowadays would be the catering bill for a modern show. THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE MONEY OR THE TECHNOLOGY to build a set like this back then.
I could only imagine what would happen if the Picard Series showed the bridge of the 1701-D and it wasn’t and exact replica.
Mount as Pike is excellent. His presence in the chair is very Star Trek.
Im starting to like the look of the discovery. The enterprise is a beauty. The bridge of the E looks great. Respects the original and Disco. Best of both worlds. 🤔. Hope to see the 1701 in action. Will they fire beams or bolts? I miss the phaser beams. But the photons are red ! I know they were blue in TOS but they seem more like the torpedoes we know. I also miss the continuous beams from the phasers. Phaser bolts dont look cooler! Maybe a detail and maybe they will get back to that and try explain once again eveything. Where am i going with this ???
In sum the ships look good… season 2 is a good effort and the 2 last ep looks promising. #Bringbackthebeams
Might sound absolutely crazy but could they be destroying Discovery only to have the rest of the series take place aboard the Enterprise?
Think about it, Star Trek: Discovery, might not necessarily be referring to a Starship, but a theme for the show going forward.
Why wouldn’t Pike and Spock be back for Season 3 in that case?
In the shot of the Section 31 ships warping out, what are all those lights? I don’t think they’re full-on starships, maybe they’re shuttlecraft?
EDIT: Yeah, at least some of them are shuttles. And they’re moving towards the S31 ships. My bet is on one of three things: the enterprise is some sort of carrier in this (which is, to me, extremely unlikely given the sheer number of shuttles), Control is summoning any shuttlecraft it has under its control too, or they’re defending some sort of Starbase which is scrambling shuttles to help like Starbases do in Star Trek Online.
How is Xahea an “iconic” planet?
“iconic location” was a non-spoilery way to refer to the Enterprise bridge in the headline.
Ohhh. Yeah, I was totally thinking planet when I read location. For some reason areas of a ship doesn’t come to mind for me when someone says location. I start thinking about the Vasquez Rocks… :-)
I don’t really get why they make the bridges so hugeeeee. You loose all the intimacy the crew members have with each other.