It has taken us a while to get to our final trailer analysis from First Contact Day, and the season four Star Trek: Discovery teaser was the longest and had the most going on.
Perhaps the most immediately noticeable aspect of the trailer was the new Starfleet uniforms, which were explained by the costume designer during a panel. But the new uniforms along with some new ranks indicate some time has passed between season three and season four, or at least the parts of season four we are seeing in the trailer. And there are a lot more freeze-frame moments. So, let’s now take a closer look to try to decipher what’s going on.
Alone together
The teaser trailer kicks off by establishing a tone and what could be some of the themes for season four. We begin with newly minted Captain Michael Burnham walking alone in a corridor of the USS Discovery, which appears to be in distress.
As Captain Burnham continues her walk we hear her voiceover—and it feels like she is actually talking about life in 2021, not whatever she is facing in the 32nd century.
We are living in uncertainty…
[COSTUME DETAIL: Burnham is wearing a new kind of spacesuit]
We cut to what appears to be a 32nd-century Federation ship or facility that has its gravity inverted as the voiceover continues…
Even for a crew as familiar as it as this one…
We then cut to the bridge of the USS Discovery with Michael and Book looking at the viewscreen with concern.
[DETAIL: Behind them and out of focus is an unknown female in civilian garb who appears to be the President of the Federation… more on her later]
The rapid shots continue with separate glimpses of Paul Stamets and Sylvia Tilly during a ship crisis. Captain Burnham’s voiceover continues…
The stress is taking its toll…
[COSTUME DETAIL: Tilly is wearing new tactical suit/vest]
This opening segment returns to Michael Burnham in the corridor, now entering an empty bridge.
Her voiceover continues as the opening segment wraps up…
But we are not in this alone… None of us are.
Now that’s a big anomaly
In January, executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman teased that season four will not have a traditional big adversary, saying: “What happens when the villain is not actually any kind of living, breathing entity, but something else?” The second segment of the teaser gives us our first sense of what this is. It starts with a quick establishing shot of the USS Discovery along with some other 32nd-century Starfleet ships, including what looks to be a Saturn Class off starboard.
Scientist Paul Stamets (possibly at Federation HQ) gives a briefing on the incredible scale of what they are facing.
Five light years across… That’s the size of the gravitational anomaly.
This giant gravitational anomaly appears to be the big threat of the season and explains the inverted Federation facility seen earlier in the trailer. We get a handful of shots of the Discovery dealing with gravitational problems.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: Detmer has a new cranial implant, and gets her eyebrow back]
And to drive home the point of the threat this gravitational anomaly offers, we hear Admiral Vance ask…
Where is it headed next?
Cut to quick shots of Tilly and Owosekun. Tilly says…
It can go anywhere.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: Owosekun has been promoted from Lt. Junior Grade to Lt. Commander.]
And to give you a sense of how bad things are, Michael looks on in horror.
Then Tilly, Dr. Hugh Culber, and Adira Tal observe devastating damage done to the USS Discovery as Tilly in voiceover cautions…
We may not have any kind of warning at all.
This president is not above asking for help
At about the halfway point, the somber music pivots to something with a little more hope with an establishing shot of the bridge of the USS Discovery, this time without any sparks flying and with the full crew.
[DETAIL: It appears Saru is on the bridge in Captain’s uniform, but at his previous post as first officer. He is also wearing a pin on his lapel, more on that later.]
We now hear the voice of a new character who appears to be an important part of season four—almost certainly the President of the Federation, who was mentioned in season three but never seen. She speaks about the scale of the problem.
Federation, non-Federation, this anomaly threatens us equally.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: President appears to be partly Cardassian, hinting that Cardassia may have joined the Federation sometime after the Dominion War]
As we hear the president speak we cut to Book and Michael under fire in an alien forest.
[COSTUME DETAIL: Michael is wearing a new red leather outfit]
Cut to Dr. Culber, Dr. Pollard, and Stamets joining hands. Book is on his way in.
Cut to a different moment with Culber talking to Tilly, saying…
Whatever it is, we will figure it out together.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: Tilly has been promoted from Ensign to Lt. Junior Grade.]
Earlier this year, co-showrunner Michelle Paradise said the work of rebuilding the Federation will continue in season four. One major step towards that would be to bring back the Vulcans who had left the Federation and reunified with their Romulan cousins, renaming Vulcan to Ni’Var. We get hints of that in the trailer: While at Federation HQ we see President T’Rina of Ni’Var speaking to the President of the Federation while Admiral Vance and Michael Burnham look on. Also in the background is Michael’s mother Gabrielle Burnham, who was last seen on Ni’Var as a Qowat Milat sister in season three. 
As the two presidents greet each other with the traditional Vulcan salute, T’Rina says…
Indeed, we are more than allies.
You are the captain now
The next segment gives us a sense of mission the crew of the Discovery is being tasked with, with an establishing shot of Michael Burnham on the bridge while the ship is in distress.
Perhaps clarifying the chain of command with regard to Captain Saru (previously seen on the USS Discovery), the Federation President addresses Burnham at Federation HQ…
Captain Burnham, make no mistake, you are in charge.
This is followed quickly by Burnham in the captain’s chair, to emphasize the point.
Gray ghost
Adira Tal, now an Ensign in Starfleet, speaks to their boyfriend Gray (presumably about Captain Burham).
She has faith in me.
One of the storylines promised for season four is that Gray will become visible to others besides Adira; however, in this moment from the trailer, Gray still appears as he did in season three (with the same season three ghost boyfriend costume). This may be before they have figured out how to make Gray seen by all.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: Adira has new shorter hairstyle, Gray’s hair remains the same]
Off we go…
The final moments of the trailer get even more rapid-fire, with a sense of the Discovery heading off on its mission to save the galaxy from the anomaly, starting with an establishing shot of the ship warping away.
Michael and Tilly are joined by Michael’s mother and the unknown Vulcan female seen earlier with President T’Rina at Starfleet HQ. They are all examining an alien ruin.
Michael can be heard in voiceover…
We are facing something we don’t understand… Something that could tear us all apart.
[DETAIL: Michael and Tilly are in the new tactical suits and have Qowat Milat swords.]
Season three ended with Saru back on Kaminar to help Su’Kal, who is not seen in the trailer. But we do get a shot of a Kelpien female, and Saru.
[COSTUME DETAIL: Here Saru is not wearing a known Starfleet or Federation uniform. But he is wearing the same pin seen earlier on his Starfleet uniform]
We cut to Ni’Var with T’Rina and Book, with Stamets looking on. 
T’Rina prepares to perform a Vulcan mind meld on Book as we hear Michael’s voiceover…
But there is only one way to confront the unknown…
The music and the clips ramp up faster and faster as the teaser comes to a close, starting with Book hugging Michael, followed by more chaos on the Discovery including some gravity flipping and a Grudge cameo.
[CHARACTER DETAIL: Detmer has been promoted from Lieutenant to Lt. Commander]
Things come to a fever pitch as we return to Michael alone on the bridge with the spacesuit’s helmet now deployed.
Cut to black and then a shot of (guessing) Michael and Saru’s hands clasped. Her voiceover ends by emphasizing the theme of this trailer (and possibly the season)…
…together.
It’s all in the cards
In addition to the shots and dialogue in the trailer, there are a series of title cards that also tell the story…
Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.
Thanks for the detailed analysis! You guys catch so much.
Er, at one point you say, “We then cut to the bridge of the USS Enterprise with Michael and Book looking at the viewscreen with concern..” Are you sure you don’t mean the USS Discovery?
nice catch, force of habit.
That sounds like most of us here, Anthony: both ships, and their crews, are part of Trek lore and beloved now. LLAP!
An entirely understandable force of habit! I wasn’t criticizing; I just thought you’d like to correct it. I always hate it when I make a mistake in one of my stories, and I realize that a thousand people read it without anybody giving me a heads up so I could fix the darned thing. So I was giving what I like to get. :-)
Could it be the USS defient from the Terra universe. Would be great to see the empires agent. Maybe another semie cross over with the a romulan and cardassian twist. Still hoping the cat is a shape sifter BRING ON THE DOMINION addition
I do enjoy Discovery, and thought Season 3 was pretty good (if not a bit rushed at the end – which seems to be a thing for nuTrek), but I’m kinda sick of the constant “world ending” threat. Disco Season 1 had the Klingon war AND the potential death of the Mycelial network, Season 2 was Control and the death of all sentient life, Season 3 obviously had the burn, and it looks like Season 4 will have a massive gravity-based anomaly that can destroy anything in its path.
Fortunately, we still have Lower Decks and it sounds like Strange New Worlds will be episodic in nature (so hopefully no season long galaxy-ending threat).
Maybe Strange New Worlds will have a new galaxy-ending threat each episode ;-)
Oh my!
I didn’t mind the Mirror Stamets experiments damaging the Mycelial Network and weakening the barriers between universes in the multiverse. In my head canon that is where the planets on TOS episodes Miri,Breads and Circuses, and Omega Glory came from.
Instead of yet another “threat that may end all life as we know it” it would be nice if they faced a challenge that was a bit more intimate in scale, a challenge specific to the crew of Discovery.
Regardless of whatever this threat might be and the 10 episode journey leading to the season finale we already know that it will be resolved by Michael and her crew in what is becoming a bit of a punchline for this series.
I would be happy if we would get something Saint Burnham can’t solve. There is nothing which she can’t solve, the rest of the crew is just there for filling the time. I miss the times when they really needed a team to solve problems.
Sort of like how MISSION IMPOSSIBLE stopped being about the team and started being The Tom Cruise Show about 25min into the first movie. Maybe’s it’s a distressingly ordinary Paramount variant on the Hero’s Journey, rather than mining the wonderful triad chemistry of TOS or the somewhat successful ensemble chemistry of DS9 and to a much milder degree, TNG?
Yes, this series still seems stuck in hero, top of the call sheet rails on writing.
I can accept that ViacomCBS was trying to target a different, CWish, market with Discovery, but I have to wonder if this “write everything to make the hero look heroic” format is past its prime.
I watch Supergirl with my kids, and it’s really failing to attract viewership in it’s final season, particularly in its key demographic. It seems as though the market is maturing and the generation following might be seeking something else.
Yes, it’s campy and the production values are lower, but there are a lot of similarities to Discovery in the way the “team” around Supergirl are obliged to constantly say how wonderful a leader she is and not only solves global threats but is one of 7 Paragons in the rebooting of the multiverse. The sad thing is that the even though the writers are making sure to resolve plot threads and relationships across the ensemble in the finale season, and the show’s many excellent cast members are doing their best to clunky tell-not-show moments, it’s just not very compelling. The infamous “corridor conversations” aren’t fulfilling as they resolve major character points that go back as far as the show’s first seasons, and many have that same clunky feel as a the Nhan goodbye speech to Michael or Adira’s request that Stamets use the pronoun they.
So, recognizing that S4 is nearly done, and Kurtzman has been scanning the environment with a view to the future of the franchise, can Discovery learn from the problems of other series like Supergirl and do better on the grounding and the dialogue as the series moves into its final 3 seasons?
Not familiar with SUPES but definitely am thinking they need to realize that the occasional ‘lose’ or ‘I’m wrong’ is of considerable value. Thinking A PRIVATE LITTLE WAR and ERRAND OF MERCY, along with how Picard has to make self-realization in Q WHO. (it doesn’t happen in DS9 when Sisko goes after and captures Eddington and becomes an unrepentant dick in the process, which is a double-bummer for me because I love so much of DS9, but then again, I still think Eddington and the maquis were some of the best stuff in the series, and despite multiple rewatches, Dominion does not do much for me.)
I’d be interested to get your take on the the new Superman and Lois.
That one seems to pitched to a very broad audience, is very grounded and has high production values for a cable series in 1080.
I and many adults like it while at the same time it’s appealing to teens and pulling young adults.
This broad demographic seems to be the kind of thing that Star Trek used to be great at, but that the current live action series aren’t pitched for. I like Discovery for what it is, but I’m thinking that Star Trek needs one broad anchor series that appeals from preteens to late adulthood.
Perhaps SNW will be that, but I’m thinking that it may be a bit more mature in its trippyness.
Saru, Culber, Adira and Grey solved it in S3, while Burnham and Book were busy fighting with the Emerald Chain.
Well, to be fair, Burnham didn’t really resolve the Burn. She played an integral part in figured it out, but it was Saru that ultimately formed a bond with Su’Kal to rescue him from the dilithium planet and prevent another Burn from happening. But otherwise, yeah, she’s really become her own deus ex machina.
Yes, it’s true that she didn’t solve the Burn, but she was there when they figured out that it was Su’Kal who caused it (just before Book beamed her out). Also, she personally bested the “big bad” Osyraa and destroyed the Orion ship Viridian.
A couple of things. Some have speculated that the Federation president is half-Cardassian, half-Bajoran. The alien shown in the Tilly scene is an alien from the Kelvin timeline films, bringing an alien from there into Prime canon. And finally, the shot of the Discovery warping away shows the pre-refit Discovery, so that’s an oddity.
I don’t think so. Her ears look much more human than Ziyal’s did, and it doesn’t look like she has the nose ridges.
900 years after TNG, we should expect to see complex hybridization among some of the major humanoid Federation species.
The President could be daily human or some more human appearing species, while Cardassian in some modest proportion.
So true. In the Enterprise episode Future Tense, the dead Temporal Agent pilot they found from the 31st century was a cross breed of multiple species.
So she could very well be human and a mixture of other species.
I see no reason that any alien species would exist in Kelvin and not in Prime
I wonder if this anomaly is the Nexus. A way to tie Discovery with Q and Picard.
I like this idea, as it provides a multitude of possibilities. It’s not like the Nexus just up and disappeared after Generations.
They are bringing back elements and characters from all the previous shows. And I am enjoying all this very much.
The gravitational anomaly reminds me a bit of the spatial anomalies from season 3 of Enterprise. I doubt that’s where they’re going with this, but it would be cool to see the Sphere Builders make a return.
I didn’t know I wanted to see them return until I just now read this. That would be really interesting.
So they’re seriously doing the same story for a fourth time. Was there even one episode in TNG where they’re literally saving the universe? Even threats to earth or the Federation were relativly seldom occurances. And when they did, they made it matter like with the dominion war.
This seems like … yeah … gotta save all life in the universe again. It’s kind of what we do. Just a normal ship in the fleet. nothing special. You should see how much those other ships are constantly saving the universe …
Also … at some point you have to ask: should an entire universe thats on the brink of beeing desdroyed every year really continue to exsist? At some point the odds of the same person saving it over and over again do become quite slim …
There was Parallels, the TNG episode where Worf was sliding back and forth across the multiverse. There’s a moment at the end where Data figures out how to save not just one universe, but all of them. I think the producers missed an opportunity to poke fun at fans who complained about Wesley. He should have been the one to save not only the ship, the federation, the galaxy, and the universe, but all possible multiverse incarnations of said things. It would have been hysterical.
Didn’t he only have a small cameo in that one? 🤔 … anyways … I always liked that one but it constantly appears on Lists of the worst TNG or Trek Episodes 🤷🏻♂️
I’ve never seen a list were parallels is one of the ‘worst episodes of TNG’. In fact it’s one of the highlights of season 7.
I’ve always thought that was one of the better TNG eps, myself. “The Borg are everywhere” moment is awesome.
Yeah never heard this either. Parallels is one of the best TNG episodes, especially in that season. And it’s the only Star Trek episode to this day that did a deep dive into the Trek multiverse.
I always considered “Parallels” a fun, but incredibly goofy episode. The “What if?” aspect is interesting, but that’s where it ends for me.
I was shocked when I discovered it showed up on a lot of “top” lists (not bottom lists). Granted, it’s one of the better Season 7 episodes, but it’s not that good of an episode (in my opinion).
It’s been a while since I watched it, but I’m not sure if it counts as a “universe ending” story as another poster mentioned above.
Maybe. Whatever solution they found seemed to fix the universe-jumping issues involving Worf. Time resets for everyone, with Worf returning to the moment the anomaly first occurred. The whole thing is a little wonky anyway. Where does the alternate Worfs go when the Prime Worf shifts into their universe? Why is a copy of Prime Worf on the Prime Enterprise when the Prime Worf is already on an alternate ship? Was this all just another kind of pocket universe a la Crusher in “Remember Me”? If no solution was found, would the “multiverse” have ended? (if they say “yes” in the story, I’m simply forgetting that scene).
No I don’t consider it a universe ending story either. It never claimed the multiverse was collapsing or anything, just that other universes were feeding into each other.
But I don’t disagree, it is wonky…but that’s most of Star Trek. ;) I just liked the idea of it mostly.
TNG finale?!
Proves my point pretty well, doesn’t it? 😉
No Parallels was not the finale.
Some TNG episodes in which either Earth is in direct immediate danger, or the threat of war exists. Aside from that, there was a kind of looming threat of war from the Romulans and Cardassians, as well as the threat of Borg invasion, that pervaded the series.
Conspiracy
Q Who
Yesterday’s Enterprise
The Best of Both Worlds I&II
The Wounded
Ensign Ro
Chain of Command I&II
The Pegasus
All Good Things I&II
The bigger question I would ask in response to the OP is “why does it matter if this was never done before?”
DS9 was heavily criticized for being too dark and then too much about war, telling stories that Trek had never or had rarely done. Voyager and Enterprise were both heavily criticized by fans too for being unlike previous Trek (or in some cases being TOO like previous Trek, as was the case with Voyager being often described as “TNG Lite”).
Now, i’ve got my own problems with DSC, it’s hardly my favorite, and my enthusiasm for the next season isn’t very high. But the world-ending season long arc concept isn’t really among them. Write the characters better, write good stories, that’s all I want.
DS9 is my favourite among the TNG Series but I do understand, that it would not work, had there not been a TNG before it. It was about questioning the universe without breaking it. Pushing, what Star Trek could be. But all that only works because of the contrast. It’s what Discovery tried and failed to do in its first Season.
Voyager pretty much failed creatively as it never lived on to its potential. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that it should have been better. And Enterprise simply had all the prequal problems there are. It’s frankly amazing, that it worked as well as it did.
But “fans” will bitch about everything, that’s not really what should be the measure of something working. As you say yourself, ST:D has plenty of problems apart from not being a good Trek Show. And one of those – in my opinions – is the derivative Doomsday Plots. I mean where Do you have left to go, if you save all Life in the Universe (twice)? In that case, they went to the Future and saved all Life in the Universe (again). It’s incredibly lazy. And it’s not even a good “saving the universe” plot.
I’ve said that countless times before but to me the core of Star Trek was always, that were not following anyone special. Sure, it’s the flagship in case of the enterprise, but must With most plots it was more of a coincidence that it was the enterprise taking care of the problem. It was Story’s happening to the people that just happened to be there. That’s how you built a believable Universe. If you want Fate and Chosen ones and Story’s where something had to happen to a specific character no matter where he is in space and time, go watch Star Wars. That’s very much the core of that Franchise. Just look what happened, when Rian Johnson tried to ground that one a little more in ins own world 🤷🏻♂️
Well agree to disagree, because the problems I have with DSC have nothing to do with whether it is “good trek” or not. Conceptually, it’s fine Trek. I am just not a huge fan of the execution.
Btw, as mods have said, if you use the term “STD” you may be banned for obvious trolling.
Seriously? But it’s called Star Trek: Discovery … why would I shorten that to anything else than its Letters? 😅
Trolling is a question of content, not vocabulary 🤷🏻♂️
Star Trek Voyager isn’t generally abbreviated STV either. But the reason the abbreviation “STD” is generally frowned upon by the mods is that it has an established meaning as “sexually transmitted diseases”. And the abbreviation is used specifically because of that other meaning by many detractors of the show.
But more to the point: when you say conceptually it’s fine Star Trek, then what is a Star Trek show to you? Where’s the line Cannot cross before it becomes just a random SciFi Show?
What – fore example – differentiates Star Trek from Babylon 5 or Farscape? Or Lost in Space (the original one)?
I’m really not going to argue what is Star Trek with you. You’re on a whole different page. You don’t like the show, I get it. I’m sure you’ll continue complaining about it for years, and continue watching it, too, though.
As for “STD” you know what you’re doing by calling it that. Mods have said that those who continue to use that acrnym troll will be banned. Not my rule, but I support it, and suggest you change your label for the series. You’re not helping yourself.
What’s with the reproachful tone? o.0
Anyway: I don’t want to argue with you, I just want to know, what Star Trek is to you, specifically the way I phrased the question above. I get that it will obviously be different than my take. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise … If you somehow took this as a personal attack, it was certainly not intended 🤷🏻♂️
Are we really at the point, that we can’t talk about different opinions on a certain fictional IP anymore? 🤔
In the case of TNG All Good Things was avthreat of the end of humanity but not the universe.
The Motion Picture could he construed as an end of the universe plot but even that was only a threat immediate to Earth and surrounding systems, not the whole galaxy and not the universe.
That is one of the things I loved about All Good Things. It makes us think the universe is under some big galactic threat when it really just came down to proteins not being able to form to start life on Earth billions of years ago. That’s the stuff of Star Trek I love!
Quite right. Clever storytelling for sure. Kurtzman and co only need to look at past episodes to get some inspiration. There are plenty of ’em. Heck, I wouldn’t even mind if they copy something like All good things and just update it with the unique Discovery look. I’d be fine with that.
It’s one f the few things that worked about DSC season 3. That the problem was caused by a grieving child was so very Star Trek.
I think Kurtzman and the writers have listened to the band “Simple Minds” one too many times.
…as a big fan of that band, pairing them with this creative mess here is kind of sacrilege. But I get the joke, and agree with it.
TOS, while being the episodic format we grew up with, did have it’s “Threat To The Galaxy” episodes. “The Doomsday Machine” and “The Immunity Syndrome” come to mind.
The Doomsday Machine… my favourite TOS episode. Just incredible. I’m a sucker for Moby Dick :)
Plot twist: Michael went into a coma in “the Vulcan hello” when she was hit by the beam from the Klingon probe and never came out of it.
The reason we have seen so many “universe ending” events in discovery is related to this.
The gravitational anomaly is a manifestation of the medication working, thus ending Michael’s coma universe.
Hopefully she will wake up safe and sound on the Shenzhou, greeted by Phillipa and the Klingon war, the AI threat, and the trip to the future can all be avoided, and Michael will be rewarded for averting a war by being made captain of the actual uss discovery.
Naah, give her command of the USS St. Elsewhere, flying around through a snowglobe full of gaseous anomalies
Hm…a pre refit Discovery at warp.
Either its old sfx being used as a “holder” in the promo or maybe they need “old tech” to neutralise the gravity threat?
Be cool if a mid series cliffhanger involved a tie in to Calypso, Disco gets pulled back in time by gravitational event, Zora uses Dotbots to regress ship in case found, and then waits for the Crew in the meantime.
Would be amazing if all this fit into Calypso.. I just don’t see how. If Calypso is canon than the Discovery fails to rebuild the Federation (unless is an alternate timeline)? Or does Discovery have to jump forward again.. yet if so why as an “old tech” ship?
Its the whale probe
It says that says that Saru is standing at the science officer’s station. I don’t think that’s accurate. He manned that station as First Officer, while Burnham was Chief Science Officer. And Tilly stood there as First Officer as well.
There is precedent in the TOS films for an officer with the rank of captain serving as First Officer. But I am willing to bet that Saru, a historic celebrity on Kaminar as the first Kelpian to complete vahar’ai alive (in two universes), will begin the season at home with a special role and return to active service on Discovery at least for season four.
Oops! you’re right about the station. I fixed it.
“In January, executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman teased that season four will not have a traditional big adversary, saying: “What happens when the villain is not actually any kind of living, breathing entity, but something else?” “
Isn’t this Control from Season 2??? (lower the Dome of Silence) [google if if you are too young]
What?!!!!
I SAID CONE OF SILENCE!!!
maybe it’s the return of the Giant Space Amoeba! that had a weird gravity area around it – not to mention a zone of darkness – I imagine in 900 years, it’s ready to split…
Didn’t the Enterprise destroy that thing? I guess it could have relatives though.
pair-a-meciums?
This looks so exciting! Any ideas on a release date? I’ve loved all of the discovery series so far!
They said it will premiere sometime this year, but my guess probably at the very end of the year or at least in the fall the soonest.
As the pilot, shouldn’t Detmer be in red?
I suspect that the powers that be for this series want to restrict command red to just a few officers.
Interestingly, it appears that the admiral is in blue.
That seems consistent with the uniform change Tilly had from the promo photos (red) to post-production (blue).
#1) Put some displays on the bridge… is everyone in a factory or a starship bridge? Who knows. The
SNW is going to simply look visually stunning compared to DIS simply because it looks like a bridge with people working together functionally as opposed to shouting at each other in front a door.
#2) I like Captain Burnham, hope they give her a good plot.
#3) I know they like romance but watching people dating is boring (it’s kind of like soccer in more opinion, more fun to play than to watch). Take Mulder and Scully for example, their romance is more exciting BEFORE they start dating.
#4) You know what is missing… the learning. I worry they’ve got full TNG where there is nothing more to learn now except how to beat the next threat. If the Federation comes together because everyone just realizes how awesome they are.. lame. Get back to everyone learning something new together, I hope this gravity threat requires some real exploration, adventure and cooperation to figure out.
Will they ever repair Discovery’s shuttle bay doors?
Does Discovery have shuttle bay doors?
Scotty would have fixed them doors in a jiffy 😜
Yes, and they actually closed in S3 at one point.
The Trekyards guys have vented a lot on this point, but have shown us the moment when they were closed.
They found it amusing that the ever-open shuttle bay doors became a plot mechanic when Book crashed his ship into the bay in the S3 finale.
Four seasons in and I don’t know about the bridge crew enough and I have to no doubt see burnham single handedly save the crew and universe again and get high fived and hugged for doing so.
Yeah, this line – “Even for a crew as familiar as it as this one…” I was like, Huh? But I must say when I saw Burnham in redshirt I did get excited for a moment.
We never know about the entire crew on any Trek show. What do you know about Leslie or Ayala. The bridge crew just aren’t main characters on this show.
Together…
Does this mean that the other characters will finally get more screen time, and perhaps be the heroes? Or is Michael going to save the universe again?
Well, it seems likely that at least one or two of the bridge crew will be moving on at some point during the season.
Ronnie Rowe Jr., who plays the comms officer Lt Bryce, has been cast in a starring role in a CBC-BET+ coproduction. He’s nominated this year for a Canadian Screen Awards supporting actor role for his latest film, but hasn’t been given any significant development in his role as Bryce.
It seems likely that he’ll be given the Airiam/Nhan feature episode kind of send off given his stature, especially as he’ll be starring in a ViacomCBS coproduction. It would be better for the series though if he got to do more than respond to orders before his farewell episode.
To be fair, we actually did see Owo save the day in the finale and saved her shipmates in the process.
Oyin Olajedo, who plays Owo, is one of the adult main cast of a CBC/Hulu tween/teen series called Endlings.
I suspect that since they have to work to avoid production schedule conflicts, Discovery needs to give her enough to do to make it worth it.
This may come back to haunt the show: While Discovery has given all the bridge crew actors a relatively steady gig for the last few years, they have rarely been given more than bit parts to play. It’s only a matter of time before a more tempting role is going to pop up. Who could blame them for taking it, especially if it’s a starring role? You also mentioned Ronnie Rowe Jr. above.
Every one of the Canadian regulars has other things going on.
Discovery is clearly a steady gig that keeps them working enough to survive, and gives them profile, but they are focusing their careers on other things. I guess that’s a good thing for the Canadian industry even if it’s not doing a lot for making us believe that there are more than 5 important people flying Discovery.
Most are guest stars on various Canadian series.
Raven Dauda (Dr Pollard) seems to turn up everywhere, and her one-woman stage productions have won awards.
In addition to having major roles in Canadian indie films and a starring role in a new series, Ronnie Rowe Jr is a recurring character on the CBC/NBCUniversal series Pretty Hard Cases, headlined a Hallmark Christmas movie, and will make an appearance in the upcoming film starring Kevin Hart.
Patrick Kwok-Choon (Lt Gen Rhys – tactical) recently was in an FX/Hulu anthology, and has a regular gig as the voice for a major car manufacturer.
Emily Coutts (Detmer) has been focusing as a creator on her own indie film projects.
All to say that it’s clearly not lack of acting skill or talent that’s constraining the development of any of their characters.
It’s good that they thought about updating Detmer, but I would imagine 32nd-centry medicine could do a complete restoration rather than adding an eyebrow and make whatever that device is slightly smaller. That’s not 900 years of advancement.
I had the exact same thought. In fact, I had assumed that the ability to miniaturize these types implants and technological augmentations had occurred by at least the time of TNG since we didn’t see other characters with them by that time. Heck we didn’t see them by TOS!
It also seems that if 23rd century medical technology couldn’t regrow the hair (both the eyebrow and the hair hair), I would imagine 23rd century stage makeup technology could have done a long-term job as soon as the Klingon War was over.
I’m oddly happy about Lieutenant Commander Detmer.
I’m tired of the existential threats like many other folks have commented. At least, they may be moving away from a “big bad villain” and more towards scientific or environmental catastrophes. The Burn was more of a natural disaster, and this setup looks similar. It’s an opportunity to delve into galactic politics as they work together to solve the problem. Still, I agree with others that it’s becoming a well-trodden path.
As a lover of Disco, I was overjoyed to see this trailer and read the analysis. Though I am a big Star Trek fan, I do not have a strong memory for TNG. This means I really can’t tell what was borrowed from that series. I love that Discovery is so far-fetched in some areas and most importantly, I love Michael Burnham as a rebel captain. I stand ready and waiting for season 4!!!
Beyond time. Beyond the known universe. Beyond imagination. An adventure for a new generation.
I still defy anyone to name three or more members of the bridge crew without googling.