Another canon character included in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which debuts this week, is Robert April. In the new series, April is played by Adrian Holmes. This news leaked out over the weekend from one of the early (supposedly spoiler-free) reviews, before being officially revealed today by Paramount+ with their preview materials. While some fans have expressed issues with the character looking different than the one appearance in Star Trek: The Animated Series, the writer of that episode is expressing his excitement to see the character brought to live in live-action Star Trek.
Fred Bronson welcomes Adrian Holmes as April
The character of Robert April first appeared in 1974 in the season two episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series “The Counter-Clock Incident.” April was established to be the first captain of the USS Enterprise, preceding Captain Pike and Captain Kirk. In the episode he visits the Enterprise with the rank Commodore, approaching his retirement age of 75. Via an encounter with a “reverse universe” April became younger for a time, before returning to his original age.
While the canon status of The Animated Series is debatable, April was listed as one of Starfleet’s most decorated captains in the first season Discovery episode “Choose Your Pain.” The second season Discovery episode “Brother” also confirmed April as the first commander of the Enterprise with Christopher Pike as his first officer. April’s name actually goes back to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s original pitch; he eventually changed the name of the commander of the Enterprise to Captain Pike for “The Cage.”
Robert April in Star Trek: The Animated Series
On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, April is played by Adrian Holmes, an award-winning Canadian actor who was born in Wales in 1974. He is currently starring in Peacock’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot Bel-Air as Uncle Phil and may be known to genre fans for his recurring role on Arrow as police captain Frank Pike. In Strange New Worlds April is an Admiral who first appears in the series premiere, flying a shuttle out to visit a bearded Captain Christopher Pike.
Adrian Holmes as Admiral April
The TAS episode “The Counter-Clock Incident” was written by Fred Bronson under the pseudonym John Culver. This morning he reached out to Holmes to thank the actor, saying he has been “waiting” for someone to bring him to life since 1974.
@iamadrianholmes Hi, Adrian. In 1974, I created the character of Robert April when I wrote the final episode of the animated #StarTrek series, "The Counter-Clock Incident." I've been waiting ever since for someone to bring him to life. Thank you!
— Fred Bronson (@FredBronson) May 2, 2022
There has been some debate online about casting a Black actor to play April, but when asked about “anti-fans who are upset” Bronson said he wasn’t aware of the controversy, although he acknowledged the 48-year-old Holmes is younger than he imaged April.
Not rude at all. I haven't seen any of those comments, but I would not agree with them. Sure, he's younger than he should be as I created him, but I can live with that.
— Fred Bronson (@FredBronson) May 2, 2022
Okuda joins in
The depiction in The Animated Series isn’t the only time we have seen April before. In the 1994 Star Trek Encyclopedia reference book, there was a photo of Robert April that put Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s head onto Captain Kirk’s body. That book was authored by Star Trek design veteran Michael Okuda, who added his voice to welcoming Adrian Holmes to the franchise as Robert April.
As the person who photoshopped Gene Roddenberry's face on a photo of Captain Kirk to create a photo of Captain Robert April in the Star Trek Encyclopedia, I love Adrian Holmes being cast as Admiral April! https://t.co/USqJKCNMyM
— Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) May 1, 2022
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuts on Thursday, May 5 exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Latin America, Australia and the Nordics. The series will air on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave in Canada. In New Zealand, it will be available on TVNZ, and in India on Voot Select. Strange New Worlds will arrive via Paramount+ in select countries in Europe when the service launches later this year, starting with the UK this summer.
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I always wondered how they composited that image of Gene for the Encyclopedia – is his head a little too large? Anyway, I saw the first two eps of SNW yesterday in NYC and I have no problems with April – he’s essentially a cameo, and his character was, well, barely established beforehand anyway. Of all my nitpicks with SNW, April being Black literally never occurred to me as something to complain about. The Enterprise hull being black, however, is worth a debate.
So, I gather you didn’t like it?
No, I absolutely loved the first two eps, and the ship! I think the hull is a little dark is all
It looks silver to me in the footage and photos so far?
I was also at that screening and the hull isn’t black but it’s definitely dark gray.
The first time I EVER even heard of April was from the Encyclopedia and I kid you not I had no idea that was Gene Roddenberry’s head lol. It never occurred to me at the time. I was still just a teenager. I didn’t know who Robert April was and assume he was in some aborted Star Trek pilot from the 70s and where the photo originally came from. I been thinking about this picture in fact since the news April was coming to SNW but for some reason I remember him being bald lol. Look at that, now he is! ;D
Nothing in the Encyclopedia is canon anyway as was known as that even during the TNG days so its a whatever thing to me lol.
Well it was the Memory-Alpha of it’s day and a great reference for all the shows and movies. I honestly loved it. I got my copy as a birthday present and it was the best present I got that year lol.
This is exactly what I thought when I was a kid reading the Encyclopedia lol I didn’t know it was Gene and thought it was maybe some random person in uniform from The Cage
This is a really, really stupid complaint. He was white in one (OK, arguably) non-canon animated episode where he had, what, five minutes of screen time? Every other character there looked like a cartoon. I am outraged that Kirk and Spock were not cast as cartoons in subsequent Trek outings.
The real outrage is that no one can cast a Sikh, or even an Indian actor, to play Khan.
Exactly. I mean, Bollywood is the largest film industry on Earth. There are plenty of superstars in that industry that are athletic, charismatic, speak English, and are hungry to crossover to Hollywood. They didn’t even try after not getting Benicio del Toro for the role.
Into Darkness is probably the only installment in all of Trek that I’ve only seen once.
Yeah, April being black is a big nothing complaint. I think it’s perfectly fine.
The age thing bugs me a bit, but that’s a nitpick.
Jesus. These shows are not produced by Bad Robot. Alex Kurtzman, in spite of being a former employee, does not work for Bad Robot. And who cares what anyone calls them? “Reboot,” “re-imagining,” “soft reboot,” “continuation,” whatever — you either like these shows on their merits, or you don’t. What lacks merit or any degree of seriousness is this sort of argument.
Can you elaborate on this? Is the ship actually black?
No I’m exaggerating, I’m just echoing what others on TM have said that the hull is too dark and the aztec-ing is too dramatic. I think the ship looks really good, but it still doesn’t have the same weight as a physical model. I don’t care how cheesy the 60s effects shots were – they look like real, tangible objects. The CGI even in 2022 still looks like CGI.
Seeing that image of him kind of makes me want a SNW prequel (perhaps a single, direct to streaming movie?), although I don’t think there are any phrases left in the ‘Where no man has gone before’ speech for it to use as a name. Star Trek: April will have to suffice.
What about Star Trek: Final Frontier?
YES!!! I loved that novel!!! Would be fantastic!!!
They should do it as a movie, Chris Hemsworth as Kirk’s Dad in the prime timeline with this new Robert April actor.
Would that rock….
Your comment brings to mind this — maybe we will see Captain Decker in SNW at some point…before his promotion to Commodore.
Yea, that would be a great name the Captain April Enterprise future P+ series. It would be cool for the first few eps to cover the pre-planning and construction of the ship.
Some Earth based Star Trek was the original plan for ENT S1, with the NX-01 beinng constructed and I’d actually be down for that idea being revisited. We’ve seen the 1701’s demise above the genesis planet but we’ve not seen the very start of her story.
Hmmm, the following are seemingly available (not that I want to encourage Kurtzman to create more series like mushrooms):
Star Trek: captain’s log
Star Trek: space
Star Trek: the final frontier
Star Trek: these are the voyages
Star Trek: five year mission
Star Trek: to seek out new life
Star Trek: new civilizations
Star Trek: to boldly go
Star Trek: where no one has gone before
At one point, everyone was seemingly convinced that the Kelvin universe was going to use Star Trek: To Boldy Go. Could still happen I suppose, if the fourth one ever gets made. That one is probably the best for a hypothetical April based streaming film/mini series, it has an air of the beginning of something, which would be apt for 1701’s maiden voyage.
So, you haven’t even gotten the prequel yet, and you’re already wanting the prequel to the prequel? To paraphrase Jesus (per Monty Python): there’s just no pleasing some fans! 😊
Hahaha when you put it like that! It was just a split second thought that came to my head after seeing the promo photo of April :D (I just want a prequel to the prequel that would technically be a sequel to my beloved Enterprise). I know, I know, SNW is a sequel to ENT… so consider me hyped!
I want to know who (for SNW) should be cast as April’s wife, the first CMO of the Enterprise?
Hint: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC).
Before that, though, we need members from ENT to re-appear. Maybe Admiral Travis Mayweather.
Even though I knew it was a long shot, I was still holding out hope maybe Archer would show up in the premiere. Yes, I know his age would make it pretty unrealistic but I would’ve overlooked it. ;)
All the shows don’t seem to care about logic. So why not. Just bring in Archer and just don’t explain, why he’s still alive. And why not bringing in Sisko as well. Just give him a nice Cameo on the old Enterprise.
And when questions arise on the internet, why those characters are on the new show, completely out of time and common sense, some guys will say smtg like “They went back and forth in time on the old shows, so why not here?” Or they could say “They all are in the Nexus, so everything can happen and still make sense.” Or smtg. like “Q send them there for no reason, just for fun. It does make sense, of course.” And everything will be fine. And the people complaining about plot (black) holes will think: “Yeah, I just didn’t see it, thank you so much for explaining. It all makes sense, now.”
I don’t think so. Travis would be like 150 years old. Not a fan of that.
Don’t care that they cast a black guy given all we have for reference is a joke photoshop job & TAS as a baseline, I’ll judge the casting when I see the performance. If anything the show has no real Asian representation so they have still to check that box if you’re checking boxes.
I enjoy the fleshing out of quasi past canon & don’t care if it’s a little fast & loose in certain respects, Meyer played it that way in ST2&6. I am looking forward to SNW this week & hopeful 3rd time is the charm with cbs / paramount trek.
Christina Chong (La’an) is of Chinese ancestry. And you still have chief Kyle (André Dae Kim). Box checked! :-)
Still, I agree with Sean, the Asian presence in new Trek series is lower than it should be given both demographics and how many engineers and high-tech companies there are coming from those countries. Also, I’d like to see more Middle Easterners. I am in one of the engineering professions, and the percentage of ME grad school and PhD level super smart kids today entering the job market is very high…and the majority of them are female.
I’m still waiting for a Brazilian in all of Trek. None so far… one day it will happen. :-)
Yep!
Hoshi Sato was shown teaching in Brazil in “Broken Bow.”
She may have been a Japanese resident who landed a gig at a Brazilian university (her bio in “Through a Mirror Darkly” implies this), but then again, she may be Brazilian-Japanese.
There has never been a Turkish character in all of Star Trek.
There has never been an Indian main character, perhaps excepting Landry, but she was around for all of one episode.
There has never been a Malay or Indonesian character.
Never been a Jewish character, identifiable or not. That’s really glaring, especially considering how many of the actors and creators have been Jewish.
Roddenberry was reported to have been an atheist. I wonder if it was him that all characters on the ship were either like himself, or any beliefs were held private. Now if I recall correctly, there weren’t any main characters who were of any of the Abrahamic faiths, not to mention Buddhists, Wiccan, or any other faith. In the TOS episode, Bread and Circuses, the inhabitants of that planet, were getting ready for the return of the “Son” When Shatner mentioned that “wouldn’t it be something, to see it, all happen again.” Chakotay, followed spiritual customs of his Native American Ancestry. I’m prepared to be incorrect and I’m sure one of you here will correct me.
For the record, I agree that there should be a Jewish character. I’d also welcome characters of any faith, may they be Christian, Muslim or Wiccan or just flat out spiritual, in that they believe in a higher power. I’d like to see them all meet up in the recreation lounge where they have interfaith meetings for understanding. To prevent infighting, their Starfleet oath trumps their faith. In other words, one is allowed to follow their faith, provided it doesn’t get in the way of their duty, or mission.
Yeah, it’s kind of hard to show that a character is a member of one religious group or another without them wearing some physical sign of their religion, or saying something explicit, which even I think would be pushing it. But I like your ideas.
So the actor playing April is 48, so it doesn’t mean the character is the same age – It’d put a couple more years on him – say 50? This being 2259-2260, and Pike’s going into his 3nd FYM, this would put April at 35 taking command of the Enterprise at Launch in 2245. So it’s not like he was young, but what would Pike’s age have been if he was April’s first officer?
April should be 60 at the time of SNW, 15 years before “The Counter Clock Incident.”
That’s probably about right. April should have been a little older. But… Meh….
People age slower in the future. McCoy was what? In his 140’s by TNG’s time.
137 during Farpoint
Jean-Luc Picard is canonically about a decade older than Patrick Stewart. If people are healthier and live longer in the future, of course it makes sense to cast on the young side of characters’ ages.
Patrick Stewart was 47 when TNG started, but given season one was in 2364, he was playing 59. Star Trek characters age much more slowly than humans do today.
Can anyone that’s seen the first couple of episodes say whether Dr. Boyce appears? His relationship with Pike in The Cage was among the most fleshed-out in the episode.
This show is supposed to take place *after* The Cage, so, Boyce’s absence is more easily explained than, say, M’Benga, Chapel, Uhura, and a Khan descendant being aboard.
Does that mean M’Benga is the CMO, so took a demotion when McCoy joins the crew?
Or the TOS-M’Benga is the son of the SNW-M’Benga.
No demotion or anything of the like is needed to line this up with TOS.
In TOS, M’Benga was acting CMO when McCoy was off the Enterprise, and McCoy had specifically requested that M’Benga do that for him due to M’Benga’s expertise in Vulcan physiology.
More, M’Benga was in transition to a CMO a position on a station so he already had the rank, the acting part of the title had to do with it being a short term assignment covering for a colleague, not because he wasn’t at level.
Sorry if I come across as irritated, but we’ve covered the ground on this every time M’Benga is mentioned, and it’s easily researched on Memory Alpha and other resources even if our head canon may be different.
His character teaser released a while back says that he’s the CMO. One of the questions of the series will be how McCoy ends up as CMO with M’Benga still on board. Some have guessed that he’s like an advisor in TOS or something like that.
This has been touched on before. And yes, it does present a dilemma. It very much seems he is CMO here under Pike. Yet he appears to be subservient to McCoy in Krik’s days. So the most reasonable conclusion is demotion. It makes less sense he would be CMO, go away somewhere else, heads back to the E to temporarily be #2 doctor even if he is there for his Vulcan specialty. I’m hoping they come up with something reasonable that no one here has been able to come up with. So far none of the explanations for this pass the logic test.
I really wish they had found a way to incorporate Boyce. It’s easy enough to explain his absence — he was getting long in the tooth, and retired — but we haven’t seen many older characters in Star Trek (at least not outside the final TOS movies and Picard and such). It might have been a fresh take.
Indeed not, but I guess older people just aren’t beautiful enough to be part of a starfleet crew. Boyce was clearly Pike’s confidante, and I think having a captain with a degree of self-doubt that Jeffrey Hunter’s did would’ve also given us something we’ve not seen on Star Trek up to now. It would’ve been interesting seeing a character getting their confidence back without it being a clumsily inserted allegory for how mental health aware the writers are.
I’m hoping we do get some actual character development in this series though. Discovery, especially, has been severely lacking. The smaller ensemble of Picard has enabled a bit more, but it’s so severely bogged down in other areas that it’s left wanting.
Just want to throw it out that that a good compromise would be re-releasing TAS using the voice over and story but with new CGI graphics!
We need to get Gazelle Automations to pick up on this idea. It would make an interesting follow up to their TNG Filmation work.
Y’know, I thought of this idea some years back, wouldn’t it be cool to provide an “alternative” version of the TAS stories using the same voice soundtrack (maybe some new music?) but with all new 3D animated visuals?
When the music is mentioned those same 3 cues start repeating again and again in my head!
With a few notable exceptions, most male guest characters on TAS were voiced by James Doohan, including Robert April, so it would remain true-to-form to use the same voice no matter what April looks like.
I thought it would be nice for the Kelvin actors to refilm the whole TAS live. But failing that, either cleaning up the glaring mistakes in TAS or redoing all the animation in CGI.
Very cool! I almost forgot where I knew Robert April from in Star Trek lore because I haven’t watched The Animated Series as much as TOS or TOS as many times as TNG but it’s cool to see a live action version of such a deep cut character. There’s so much to look forward to in this show wow!
They might have considered using an early 30’s aged actor for April, and then using makeup for this SNW cameo role to age him to like his early 50’s. That way, the would have preserved the same actor to fit into a new P+ series say 7-8 years from now for a SNW prequel series with Captain April and his crew.
That’s what Kevin Feige would do. Maybe it’s time for the Trek franchise to plan out phases?
Naaa
Nah. Marvel cast a younger actor for Iron Man’s dad. They can do the same if by some chance they do a Captain April series, which probably won’t happen any time soon. Sometimes you just have to live for today.
So… The next series comes along with revisionist history, going pre-SNW (which is pre-TOS), yet post-ENT. How many fans will clamor for Captain(s) between Archer and April? A few. Best to leave that alone.
I tell you, Trek fans are their own worst enemy at times.
Well Trek fans that know the history of Star Trek know that April was the first Captain of TOS Enterprise, and took part in it’s construction, so that rules out your uniformed idea that there could be further TOS Enterprise-based series which would include Captains before April.
And on-screen canon has the NX-01 being retired after the final ep in the series, so that ship can’t be used to add additional captains either.
Nice try though. :-)
I liked your comment better when you were Jack Wise. ;-)
Never seen the animated show, but I know the actor from Arrow so I’m excited to see him! I love the idea of the character and getting to see the captain Pike served under
Great casting in my opinion. He seems to bring a certain gravitas to the role, at least based on the images. I’m usually a stickler for wanting to maintain visual continuity but always considered TAS to be non-canon anyway. Parts of it have become canon when referenced in other live action episodes or movies, but as a stand alone piece I think of TAS the same as the Countdown companion comics from the JJ films or the Voyager novelizations by Jeri Taylor … they can be considered canon until something later on screen overrides them… and that is the case here…
Yeah the casting doesn’t bother me. Changing the design of the exterior of the Enterprise does. I don’t care about some changes to the scale inside the ship, bridge, transporter room, medical, engineering etc. The fact we had the TOS design all the way up til 2005 means its a durable lasting visual continuity. To paraphrase Bones, I know concept artists, They love to change things.
I agree with you on that. The new design is fine. But the original is what is “canon” for me. Here’s hoping they change it to look that way at the end of SNW. Maybe Pike will favor a more simple and sleek aesthetic when he becomes Fleet Captain. I’m not holding my breath… but am hopeful!
I look forward to seeing Robert April on screen finally. I don’t mind that he’s African-American. But I was confused by it at first because I know the character not only from TAS but the book The Final Frontier as well. In both appearances, he was Caucasian.
But the timeline has been messed with so much in Star Trek that maybe something happened to one of Admiral April’s parents, probably his father? Maybe his father was killed due to something or someone involved in the Temporal Cold War, and his mother found love again with another person and she got pregnant and named the child Robert because, one, she liked that name, and, two, her dearly departed husband and her had picked that name out for their first child before he got killed of course so maybe that happened? Star Trek nowadays has sooooooooo many continuity discrepancies it’s not even funny. The only reason why I wondered about Admiral April at all is because this got me thinking that maybe this isn’t the Prime Timeline we’re in in STW?
I know everybody says we are and I’ll keep my mind open about it for now. But it doesn’t look like the Prime Timeline. For one thing, all of the Enterprise sets are huge!!!!!!! I love that ‘cuz I love the Enterprise and I have loved her since I was 12 and I’m now 42.
I have been a Trekkie since 1991. I love it all and I will love this too, over time. But it just feels different to me. The original Enterprise only held like 400+, 450 I believe, crew.
This Enterprise looks like it’s probably got 500+ or more. It could even be way more because of how big she is.The engine room is like 12x the size of the one on TOS and yet this is only a few years away from TOS so how do we go from having such a large warp engine to having such a tiny one on TOS? This is what I mean when I say “discrepancies”.
This Enterprise looks like a luxury liner, instead of a ship for exploring. And I saw in one of the trailers that it looks like we’re gonna be revisiting Amok Time. T’Pring is in this show. Why?
There’s a scene with Spock and her in bed, again why? Nobody knew anything about Spock having a wife until Amok Time. Now we’re gonna be finding out about Spock’s wife almost a decade before he revealed he even had one. And Nurse Chapel is on the ship right now too but in Amok Time, she was pretty shocked to learn that Spock had a wife.
More “discrepancies”, like I said before I really don’t think we’re in the Prime Timeline anymore. Either that or the people writing this stuff just don’t care about the canon of Star Trek anymore and just want to tell the story they want to tell and canon be damned. Well, the journey starts on Thursday 🙂 so we’ll get to see how much history they really want to revise then. Live long and prosper, Trekmovie 🖖.
*sigh* Again, I know how hard it is to get these episodes made and in the can for streaming.
If Holmes got the job because he was the best actor auditioning? Awesome! The casting director was color blind and looked at talent. The best actor got the job.
The showrunners may have offered the job to a white actor. He may not have been available due to scheduling conflicts. His agent may have asked for too much money and the budget for the ep was maxxed out. Mr. Holmes, being Canadian, may have been the best choice due to his talent, availability, and Covid travel concerns. Getting into Canada from the US, one had to show a negative Covid test at a land border or airport. The rules were fluid and changed, often. (I’m Canadian, with an American girlfriend. Travelling was brutal.) The pilot episode was filmed in two halves. One at beginning of season with completion at end of season. So, with Mr. Holmes being Canadian, there would have been no potential delays at a border crossing or dealing with ever changing Covid travel rules. If they cast a different actor with a different skin color, than the ANIMATED guy was and that bothers you? Wow, I’m flabbergasted….
No, that doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is someone like you that turns the issue I was making into something about color. I don’t care who plays the part but having grown up with Star Trek in the ’80s and having read the books, I would just like some consistency in this franchise. Robert April was always portrayed in TAS and in his brief appearances in many novels (of which I am also referencing The Final Frontier by Diane Carey which clocked in at almost 400 pages back in the ’80s and that was quite a feat for a Star Trek novel.)as Caucasian.
Now, how would you feel if all of a sudden Alex Kurtzman and crew decided to just up and make Captain Sisko Caucasian, huh? Wipe away everything Avery Brooks did with that role, would that be all right with you? Let the role go to the best actor but when there’s such a drastic change in appearance from how he was portrayed in the past to now then there’s a reason for that, in story, and that’s what I want to know. But Robert April has always been portrayed one way and now he’s portrayed another.
Why? The timeline must’ve changed somewhere in Star Trek and that’s what I’m saying. That’s a story I’d be interested in knowing. Who tried to change the history of Robert April?
Now, if you want to make it about color, that’s on you, not me. But whenever something happens in Star Trek to a character that is known to Trekkies, there’s a reason behind it other than “Oh, he’s all we could get because of COVID” and that’s the story I’m curious about. I could care less about someone’s travel visa. Live long and prosper, dennycranium 🖖.
“Now, how would you feel if all of a sudden Alex Kurtzman and crew decided to just up and make Captain Sisko Caucasian, huh? Wipe away everything Avery Brooks did with that role, would that be all right with you?”
Funny, there was someone on the “Data” Facebook page who said nearly the same thing you did. No, it wouldn’t be alright with me. But it’s an entirely different thing to change an established black character to a white one without explanation a la the Batman and Harry Potter movies rather than a white character to a black one. Why? Racial historical context. White people have not been historically oppressed, enslaved, and continue to be the victims of racial inequality due to their appearance. It is not the same thing. It never will be.
One, I’m not on the Facebook page. Two, don’t lump me in with bigots, you don’t know me. My point isn’t about the color of Admiral April’s skin, if you took the time to actually read all of my comments you would see that. I’m not talking about the oppression of an entire community, I’m talking about how one character’s appearance has changed so drastically.
Similar to the Klingons of TNG and similar to John Harrison a.k.a Khan. I said that there must be an IN STORY reason for why his appearance has changed, like the Temporal Cold War. I didn’t say anything about oppression or slavery. I said in my very first reply, troll, that I thought it was cool but that there must be a reason for his appearance to have changed so much.
Another person contacted me back and tried making my conversation about color and that’s when I said what I said about Captain Sisko. And then I told him that I am not having a conversation about color and that if he wanted to, then he could have a conversation with himself. How about reading what I wrote before chipping in your two cents, huh? I have the right to an opinion and to defend myself and my opinions from trolls, keyboard ninjas, and
people who only see one color in the world, like you, and that’s the color of rage.
Your probably the type of person that screams “Inequality” but you make over $2000 a week in your cushy office job. Why don’t you read ALL of my replies and comments and read them closely before responding back in hate. You know it’s funny I run across people like you all the time on these boards, someone always itching to “inequality” or “injustice”. You pretend to be a Trekkie but you’re not one.
I am one and have been since 1991. I’m 42 years old and I’ve been a Trekkie since I was 12. I believe in the concept of IDIC. You probably don’t know what that is without Googling it.
I believe everyone counts in this world and that everyone should have a voice but some people don’t. I am medically disabled. I have a rare neurological condition called Huntington’s Disease. I was born with it and it gets worse as I get older so do you feel tough now coming after a disabled person?
Like I said you don’t know me so before you sit in judgement over me, how about looking at yourself first in the mirror because I don’t attack people online for having an opinion like you do. I have no problem looking at myself in the mirror. Can you say the same? Live long and prosper, Giselle🖖.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/T%27Pring
TOS: T’Pring was bonded with Spock. Amok Time dealt with Spock returning to Vulcan to marry and mate. He was not married at that point. We’re also assuming ethnocentric ideals about Vulcan marriage. Maybe SNW will provide more insights.
Yes, you’re right. I should’ve said bonded but I always think of Spock and T’Pring as an “arranged marriage” type of deal. They were always together, apart and forever together that’s what T’Pring said. My whole deal and why this is such a thing for me is because, according to Amok Time, Spock had not seen T’Pring since he was a kid and that’s even what he told Captain Kirk.
But, in the trailers, they clearly show Spock on Vulcan with T’Pring. They show T’Pring and Spock in bed together and Spock’s clearly wielding a lirpa fighting probably for T’Pring. Now for someone whom Spock hasn’t supposed to have seen since he was a child, he and T’Pring are pretty close in the trailer and that to me is a discrepancy or, if you want to go there, a canon break because it clearly states in Amok Time that he had not seen T’Pring since they were children so he did not know how beautiful she turned out to be. It’s got my mind boggled!
It’s about as bad as having a Salt Vampire running around on Lower Decks a 150+ years in the future after they went extinct 🙂. Live long and prosper, T’Pring It Here 🖖.
Addendum: It would be April’s maternal line that facilitate the difference in looks for Robert April, since “April” is the surname. Basically, Robert’s great-grandfather married a Black woman instead. I blame the Temporal Cold War for the change, in-continuity.
Well, no, it could still be his birth parents. Someone in the Temporal Cold War could’ve played with the genetics of the April family line and changed a strand of DNA or RNA here and there and that’s how we get a totally different Robert April. Either the father or the mother could be black and in the future, there may not be women taking the last name of their husbands anymore, it may be vice versa because it’s an enlightened future, remember? It may happen some time where the women take the man’s last name still but the men taking the women’s name may happen just as much and might depend on the woman and if she wants to preserve her heritage.
If Robert April’s mother was black, she may want to preserve her family’s heritage. There’s a lot of strong, black women out there that feel this way and want to pass their heritage on to their children. But it could be his birth parents that were messed with or I’ll agree that it could’ve been his maternal line that was messed with as well. I think Robert April’s grandfather would’ve been alive during Captain Archer’s time and that’s why I said that the Temporal Cold War is probably involved in this somehow.
People can see it as being blase about the casting. But that’s not it at all. When they re-casted Khan for Into Darkness, there was an in story reason for why his appearance changed so much. The Klingons on TNG and the movies, the same thing.
Why were there ridges on their forehead when, in TOS, there were none? Whenever someone’s appearance changes in Star Trek, there’s always a reason for it. It may take time for the reason to be revealed but when a character changes their appearance, there is always usually a reason for it and that’s what I’m trying to get at and that’s what I want to find out. Live long and prosper, DSWynne 🖖.
He’s not African American, he’s Welsh Canadian.
Yes, I know he is. I read the article. I called him “African-American” because I didn’t want to say “black” and then people might get offended by me not recognizing his African heritage. Thanks for letting me know, though.
I didn’t know he was Welsh. I knew he was Canadian, though. I’ve got Welsh in my family on my Mom’s side so that’s pretty cool. Sorry for any confusion I might’ve caused 🙂. Live long and prosper, Ashlito 🖖.
Not African-American. Black Canadian or British.
Black people in Canada identify as Black Canadians, as does the actor himself.
It’s important to refer to communities and individuals in the way they refer to themselves. Black history in Canada is rich and deep, and involves more than just being the end of the underground railway from the US.
The character Robert April however has been written previously as British, and the actor was born in Wales, but we don’t know if that will be confirmed in this continuity or what accent the actor will use.
In neither case does “American” identity come into it, and that’s a good thing because up to now we’ve had two captains (Sisko and Burnham) who were African-American, but none who were Black from outside the US.
Several of us here, and the All Access Podcast, have discussed previously how making Star Trek too American-centric (as in US-centric) has actually held back it’s IDIC message, and appeal outside North America.
I agree. I apologize for that. I’m not denegating any one group of people. I’m not a historian for one and I’m from America so I just assumed that he was from here.
That was my fault. I don’t really know this actor. I don’t watch Bel Air. I easy interested in Fresh Prince as a kid so why would I watch it now.
If they casted Idris Elba for this role, then, yeah, I would’ve said British because I loved him in Luther and other things I’ve seen him in so I’ve heard his voice and I know that he’s got an accent. I’ve never seen this guy before and I’ve never heard his voice before. Thursday is the first time I’m seeing him when Strange New Worlds premieres. I don’t know about the Underground Railroad going to Canada, I’m not a professor of history.
I am medically disabled and have a rare degenerative neurological condition called Huntington’s Disease. So I wasn’t trying to denigrate anybody with what I said. Also, I do agree that there should be Captain’s that are from other countries but didn’t they have those already? Captain Picard is British and Sir Patrick is from Britain.
George Takei’s Sulu is from Japan and he was a Captain. If anything should change in Star Trek, it’s the fact that there are not nearly enough alien Captains in Star Trek. Not alien like illegal alien either. Alien as from another planet.
There are plenty of different species in Star Trek, why haven’t any of them been a Captain yet? Why not a Gorn Captain or a Tholian Captain? You felt free to make me feel bad for being an American, well, let me tell you something, in Star Trek, it’s about being a part of something much larger than oneself and not worrying about things like “Oh, well, this Captain’s nationality should be this, that, or the other thing”. Star Trek is about recognizing everybody, regardless of race, sexuality, and nationality.
As for Star Trek’s overseas appeal? I’ll just cite the facts that when Paramount+ launched overseas, the Trekkies over there in the UK and Australia got in an uproar because they couldn’t watch it because Paramount+, originally, was unavailable. So that doesn’t sound to me like people overseas are upset with how they are being represented in Star Trek and that also sounds to me like Star Trek is doing just fine adhering to the IDIC concept. But you’re welcome to your opinion and I mine since I am just a lowly Irish, Welsh, German, and Scottish Caucasian American male, after all.
God, what a terrible thing that is to be 😄🙂! Live long and prosper, TG47
Johnny Diamond, I’m happy Paramount is making efforts to expand the reach of the franchise.
I’m just conscious that it’s not been as successful overseas as SW and Marvel. And while I love the franchise and want it to be successful, I am aware of what can hold back it’s appeal outside North America and the UK.
Canadian are pretty aware that Americans tend to assume actors are American unless confronted with evidence otherwise – to the point that it’s a tired trope in humour here.
It would be nice though if the great IDIC values of Trek would mean that countries other than the US see themselves reflected in the crews and characters of the shows. Roddenberry clearly wanted this as is shown by his creating characters in TOS that were intended to come from other countries, and Picard from France in TNG.
Yes, you’re right, I agree with all of your points. I am American and I have done what you said. I do assume that the actors are from America. I am not doing it though because I think America is the center of the universe.
Honestly, I am doing that because I believe that the actors are from America, if not born here then they live here. It’s not an attempted to belittle someone or demean them. I know in today’s age everyone wants to seen for who they are. It’s just if they live here, I count this as their home and a lot of actors, especially actors from other countries, do live, just look at Sir Patrick Stewart.
I know that’s not necessarily true because they’re not citizens until they’re naturalized but that’s what I do. I do not know this actor at all but now that I’ve seen him on SNW, I like what I’ve seen. I will get to know who he is, just like I am getting to know the new actress who plays T’Pring, Gia Sandhu. These are new actors I’ve never seen before so I’m learning as the show is on.
But I will be more mindful in the future. I do wish IDIC was performed more often in this insane world myself. Maybe in time, right? Sometimes it looks like the world makes some progress and then it looks the world is taking a step back.
I don’t know if you’re from America or not but the Supreme Court in this country is getting ready to overturn a pretty important document that gave women the right to control being pregnant or not. Well, It looks like the bill’s getting overturned in June. It’s sad to me that this is happening here. Women have fought so hard to get what little they have and now something extremely important to all women in America is being taken away by a bunch of fat cat conservatives who care only for their own agendas, especially in election years.
That’s what I mean by sometimes it looks like we’re making progress and then other times we’re right back in the “stone knives and bear skins” era. That’s why I love Star Trek so much because it’s all about having hope for a better tomorrow. And I will be more mindful of myself in the future. Thanks, TG47, and live long and prosper 🖖.
I’m so thrilled we now have a live action Robert April. I couldn’t care less what his color is.
I strongly suspect that is a majority view.
And of course people are pissed for a character we saw one time in a not canon show.
He looks great. I am just worried that the show will suck just like Discovery and Picard. Let’s hope not.
I’m guessing that this actor, with whose work I’m completely unfamiliar, got the role in part to fill the Canadian requirement for hiring local talent. In any event, in any sane world — certainly, any world comprised of Star Trek fans, who are supposed to be forward-thinking people — this should be a complete non-issue.
I don’t see the problem. April was only ever established in animated form, for one episode, same as here. Give the guy a chance before shouting for his head…
There has been some debate online about casting a Black actor to play April, but when asked about “anti-fans who are upset” Bronson said he wasn’t aware of the controversy, although he acknowledged the 48-year-old Holmes is younger than he imaged April.
Umm… when, where, and how? Last I checked, there was a grand total of ZERO complaints about April’s race among fans. The “anti-fans” are the idiots making things like this up – conflicts that don’t exist.
Robert April has been and always will be…. A non-canon character until Discovery and now SNW who fleshed him out. TAS isn’t and was never canon to begin with. I have no problem with the “race swap” for April because, quite frankly, there is no “race swap” that exists. Why do people have to make up faux controversies to rile up the fanbase for no reason? I never got that until Discovery came on the air.**
I, for one, don’t mind it because we have never seen a live action Robert April anyway. In TAS, Robert April was created from photocopied *Captain Kirk/Bill Shatner* animation cells, that that should tell you all you need to know about whether April in TAS was canon or not.
I have no problem with the actor – he’s phenomenal in Bel-Air as Uncle Phil. I can’t wait to see his take of Robert April, even if it’s just a one-liner, “Time to get back up there, Chris.”
**Correction: I remember Star Trek Into Darkness, people were complaining that a British white dude was playing an Indian character played by the magnificent Ricardo Montalban (a Hispanic) in the 1960s and 1980s… BC didn’t work as Khan to begin with, no matter what race the actor was playing him…. Out.
I thought Cumberbatch was going to be Gary Mitchell. Cumberbatch was great as a villain, he just didn’t have the intellectual intensity Montalban had, or the charisma. He was more like an evil Superman or something. On paper it should work he was Sherlock, but as filmed it strangely doesn’t. I feel as though he would be the perfect Grand Admiral Thrawn for Star Wars, of course he said he wasn’t interested.
This.
Double post
I don’t remotely care who plays Robert April. For the overwhelming majority of people, they have no idea who he is outside of a few references or if you saw TAS. But I doubt most fans have ever watched that show. I seen it for the first time myself a year ago and I been watching Trek since the late 70s. And it’s not canon. Or at least that seems to be the prevailing notion.
And as a black guy myself, it’s kind of cool to know the first Captain of the Enterprise was black.
But sadly you know all the critics and haters of all things ‘NuTrek’ will use this as another example why these shows are too ‘woke’ or just more proof that the shows take place in an alternate universe. And I’m guessing this is just the first of MANY canon debates this show is going to bring lol. But I been saying that the day it was announced. It may not be as decisive as Discovery but it’s clearly going to do things people will question as much as DIS did.
First, Tiger2, and I know you know this because you like this show that I am about to mention right here, the first Captain of the Enterprise was Jonathan Archer. Captain April was the 2nd or 3rd Captain of the Enterprise. He was the first Captain of the Constitution-class Enterprise, though. Me, personally, I’m more ticked off to see T’Pring in this show than an African-American Robert April.
Spock never mentioned T’Pring to anyone until Amok Time and yet here she is in this show nearly ten years before TOS and Nurse Chapel is on the ship. Yet in Amok Time she was just as surprised as everyone else to learn that Spock has a wife. There’s inconsistencies abound so far. And the Enterprise’s engine room, how are they going to explain away the size of it because it’s not the same one from TOS.
Now I know the Enterprise went through a refit before Captain Kirk took over but why would Starfleet take out the larger engine to put a smaller one in especially when the larger one looks more advanced? As for Admiral April’s skin color, I think Admiral April’s history was messed with during the Temporal Cold War. Whenever a character’s appearance changes drastically, there usually is an in story reason for it, like John Harrison a k.a. Khan. Now that reason given was because it was an alternate universe.
I do think that this isn’t the Prime Timeline no more, though. I also think that Discovery and Picard both have really messed up the timeline bad. I’m still gonna watch STW but there’s just a lot of inconsistencies already for me. I love Star Trek and I’ve been with it for 31 years so I’m not going nowhere. I just want to enjoy this show, you know what I’m saying?
Live long and prosper, Tiger2 🖖.
I’m 99.9999% sure Tiger2 meant the first captain of the good ol’ NCC-1701 (no bloody A, B, C or D!) and not the NX-01 Enterprise.
We already discussed that, Tiger2 and I and I was just stating that Robert April is the first Captain of the Constitution-class Enterprise. But the first Captain of the Enterprise was Jonathan Archer or did you forget that the ship was called Enterprise? The Enterprise has a very long history of being used as a name for all types of different ships going way back to the whaling days in the 1700s. Jonathan Archer was the first Starfleet Captain to ever command a starship almost a hundred years before Captain April did.
If you didn’t like the show, then that’s on you. I like ALL of Star Trek and it all deserves to be recognized. I knew about Robert April being Captain of the Enterprise back in 1992. It still doesn’t change the fact that once Jonathan Archer took command of a starship called Enterprise in the 2150s that he officially became, in canon, the first Captain of the Enterprise and that was my point.
Thank you very much and live long and prosper, noraa🖖.
You’re right about Archer, he was the first Captain of the Enterprise in Starfleet. I was really referring to the ship that started it all in the franchise.
In terms of the size of the ship and everything, I understand what you mean and believe me, we are going to hear about this endlessly lol. People were already not happy just by how they changed the exterior waaay back in the Discovery season one finale (but I think most have gotten use to it by now). Personally I’m not bothered by these things because they are just trying to modernize the ship for today. Now I get what you mean about the size of the engine room, etc. I don’t have an answer obviously. And I always wonder myself WHY do these ships have to be SO big today? Some has said it’s just due to how things are filmed today and they want to have the room to shoot any angles they want. I have no idea how true that is, but I leave that to much smarter people than me.
I don’t disagree with your basic point but this has been the case since the first Kelvin movie and made that ship basically twice the size of the original. It’s just carried on through the shows and the Prime universe as well.
As for T’Pring, that’s one a bigger question mark for sure. And you’re right of course, Spock never mentioned her until Amok Time. I actually just rewatched it two weeks ago just because so it’s fresh in my mind. No one knew Spock was in a relationship of any kind. But I’m willing to see how they handle it. My only guess is we will see her but probably just them on Vulcan together. If so, that’s fine. But I won’t be surprise if that ends up getting retcon; especially if she sticks around more than 1-2 episodes.
And if you feel these new shows aren’t canon, obviously that’s how you feel. I don’t know if you read these boards a lot or if you read some of my other posts. But if you read how I feel about season 2 of Picard, you know I’m not an apologist lol. Not in the slightest. There are a lot of issues I have about these shows too and stated them many times. But I also realized they are still just TV shows. I don’t like stuff like Spock having a sister, spore drives in the 23rd century etc,but I know they are just trying to find interesting ways to tell a story. So I accept it all as canon but I understand why others don’t. And to be honest, if it was up to me, we wouldn’t have shows about Pike OR Picard show and would’ve started anew completely. But it probably gets them more subscribers and that’s what it’s all about.
You make a lot of good points, Tiger2 👍. I liked The Final Frontier book with Robert April in it and George Samuel Kirk as his first officer whom we all know was Captain Kirk’s father. It was a great story and I couldn’t put the book down 😊! And I should clarify for you that I do accept these shows as canon. They just feel different to me somehow and that’s why I keep saying that we must be in an alternate timeline or alternate universe. Obviously, Picard and Prodigy are the Prime Timeline and I’ve got that down pat. But Discovery, Lower Decks, and Strange New World’s feel like they belong to a separate timeline or universe just because of all the canon breaks or retcons going on in them. If T’Pring shows up on STW, which we know she is going to, it’s a canon break because in Amok Time her and Spock both said that they haven’t seen each other since they were children. In the trailer for this show, they’re sleeping together less than a decade before Amok Time happens. Even though they’re not supposed to be anywhere near each other because Spock is too busy turning into a living legend within Starfleet and those were T’Pring’s words, not mine. She’s supposed to be falling in love with Stonn. But instead her and Spock are doing Pon Farr in bed, which that never happened between them. Spock and T’Pring never slept together. That’s why Spock killed Captain Kirk so that he could have the chance to mate with T’Pring and marry her. She’s the one that got away for him. But in the trailer for this show, Spock and T’Pring are getting down and dirty between the sheets. It’s crazy, man!!!!!! As for the Enterprise, I agree 💯 with you. She has stayed the same since the ’09 film and that’s probably because of Alex Kurtzman. Maybe he played a part in her redesign back then and now he’s trying to bring his vision into this timeline? She’s still beautiful ❤️. It’s just her interior is so big! I don’t even think the Enterprise-D is anywhere near as big as this Enterprise is and the Enterprise-D was pretty big! I do read other comments on the boards on here, Tiger2, but sometimes I don’t reply because there’s a lot of hate on here and I don’t want to deal with the hate. Star Trek has brought so much joy to me over the years and I just like seeing it bring that same joy to other people, know what I mean? Prodigy is doing that, spreading the love, and that’s fantastic! Lower Decks drives me nuts with all the inconsistencies in it! Don’t get me started about how the Salt Vampire is running around 150+ years in the future when the species is supposed to be extinct 😄! But it’s still a funny show and I do like it. I can even accept Spock having a sister on Discovery. Trust me, if I can accept Sybok being his brother, which was a pretty tough pill to swallow, than I can accept Michael Burnham being his sister. But the rigid way she acts? That’s what makes Michael Burnham a tough character to like. She only acts that way because she grew up on Vulcan. Like Spock when he came to Earth. That changed him and the way he interacted with other humans. Not every Vulcan is like Spock, though. There’s a lot like Sarek or Soval but we, the audience, don’t know that because the majority of the time in Star Trek the only Vulcan we see is Spock. That’s why I loved T’Pol from Enterprise because she faces another Vulcan point of view other than Spock’s. And I didn’t forget about Tuvok. I liked him as well but he was a really tough character to like. I’ve rewatched Voyager 4 times now and the last time I just started warming up to him. So I do accept these shows, Tiger2. I wouldn’t say that I don’t. If I got into a discussion about the canon of these shows, I would talk about them just like I would all the other Star Trek shows because I love Star Trek ❤️. I have TOS wallpaper on my Roku TV and sometimes I just let the TV go to sleep so that I can look at the Enterprise. The minute I see her, she brings a smile to my face and heart that’s how much I love her 💖. It took me years to sort out what was canon and what wasn’t, like the books and comics, in Star Trek. I just have to roll with what’s gonna come and just enjoy the story is what you’re saying?… Read more »
Honestly that all sounds reasonable to me. Nothing you said was really anything out of left field. I’m glad you do consider all the shows canon. I won’t lie, but it does drive me nuts when I bump into people like that. I mean if you personally feel that way, that’s fine. But when others try to argue why YOU shouldn’t view it as canon either, it’s eye rolling. And as I said, it’s just a TV show, calm down! No one is forcing you to watch any of it. If you are this angry about it, then it’s probably time to find another hobby or stop whatever particular show that has you in such a nerd rage. It’s all just fiction.
But I understand why certain things bother people to the point they don’t want to accept a show on their own terms. Everyone can find something about a show or movie that just feels off to the continuity. And yes, usually when it comes to prequels. Enterprise really was the first. Doing stuff like bringing in the Ferengis, Borg, etc. And some of the tech still probably felt a little too advanced for the 22nd century. And I know some were bothered by how the Vulcans were portrayed, etc. I wasn’t really too bothered by any of it but I understand the complaints. Then Discovery came along and made it ten times worse lol. It just felt like it was in another universe completely. At least Enterprise looked and felt like Star Trek to me. DIS felt like another show using elements of Star Trek basically. I accepted the show fully but a lot of it did bother me.
I think with SNW, it at least feel like it’s squarely back in the Star Trek universe and that alone will get people on board if they weren’t big DIS fans. But yeah, I still predict there will be a lot of canon problems because for whatever reason they just can’t seem to help themselves lol. I mean take La’an Noonien Singh. The question I think most people have is why? And I don’t just mean why is she there? I mean why give yourself the extra burden?? Why give ALL your critics more ammo? Who was asking themselves, “You know what I would like to know? Did Khan have any descendants and did they serve in Starfleet 300 years later?” It’s mindboggling how they are so desperate for ANY kind of fan service connection they pull things like this.
And yes good point that Spock and T’Pring haven’t met since childhood. I do remember that they were put together at 7 years old but I couldn’t remember if they ever met since. So yeah, that’s a MAJOR canon violation. I’m guessing they will try and find a way to explain or work around it, but I also thought that’s what they would do for why the Klingons look so different on Discovery. ;) So I expect some moree big changes as things go. Robert April suddenly being black will probably be the least of it lol.
But you have an open mind and it’s all we can do for now. I have said many times if they want to do a prequel, then just reboot it and do what you want. They seem to think fans want Prime universe or bust. But if you change so much of it, it won’t feel like it’s the prime universe so I guess they are sticking to it no matter what.
Anyway, Trekmovie does have a ‘reputation’ for being a little off putting to some but I never really felt its all that bad minus a few here and there and I been here a decade now. And I know I can get a little much at times too (I usually apologize later…sometimes ;)), but it’s mostly people just being overly passionate. But most of the time if you say your opinion, most will respect it. So give it a try for a week or two. Just a suggestion.
I do try to have an open mind, Tiger2, thanks. I will NEVER tell someone that they shouldn’t watch a show or try to force my opinions onto someone else. There’s plenty of Star Trek to go around for everyone. When I was a teenager, I had a friend who liked Voyager but didn’t like DS9 and I didn’t like Voyager but loved DS9 and we never forced one another to watch either show.
As I’ve gotten older, I love Voyager now. I’ve got it here in my library. I have a pretty big Star Trek media library and that was thanks in part to my Mom. I was raised by my Mom and she taught me to be aware of other people’s feelings, to be empathetic, and that’s also something I learned from TOS when I was a kid in the ’90s. I even have the Enterprise box set and I just picked up all 16 of the Enterprise books that have been published to date.
I like that show a lot 🙂. Granted there are some bad episodes but that’s the same for all of Star Trek, just look at Turnabout Intruder 🙂. It did irk me though, that Enterprise’s 20th anniversary came and went without a single celebration. That wasn’t right.
As for a descendant of Khan being on the Enterprise, I believe that’s Alex Kurtzman’s bright idea. He’s enamored with Khan. That’s why him and Roberto Orci pushed to have Khan as the villain in Into Darkness. That wasn’t JJ’s idea, that was Kurtzman’s.
Also, as to why all the new shows feel different than from what came before, that’s because Rick Berman is not connected to these shows. Gene Roddenberry had a list of rules of how a Starfleet officer should act and after Gene passed in ’92, it was up to Rick Berman to enforce Gene’s rules for the Roddenberry family. But Rick’s ego got out of control when Enterprise started and that was because Star Trek was on the air every single year straight from 1987 on so he thought he could do no wrong. If he didn’t co-write a lot of Enterprise, if it had been Ron Moore or Ira Steven Behr or Jeri Taylor, Enterprise would’ve been a lot better.
Like I said, I like it but I’ve also rewatched it about 20 times because there’s only 4 seasons so it flys by quick. Regeneration, the one with the Borg, is one of my favorites. My absolute favorite episode of Enterprise is Future Tense, the one with the Tholians in it. The Tholians are my favorite alien race in Star Trek, right up there with the Gorn.
But once the Rick Berman era of Star Trek ended, the Roddenberry’s sold Star Trek lock, stock, and barrel to CBS (Paramount now.). Before people had to get the approval of Gene Roddenberry’s family before a Star Trek show could air or go into production and now they don’t. That’s why Paramount can churn out show after show after show but back in the day, they couldn’t because Gene and Majel had the last word on all the final products of Star Trek. That’s not the case now.
They gave Rod Roddenberry an EVP credit just as a token gesture because Paramount wanted to show that the Roddenberry’s are behind this new era of Star Trek. But that’s why everything feels different because the Roddenberry’s and Rick Berman aren’t involved. A lot of this I learned from reading this great two book set called The Fifty Year Mission vol. 1 and 2. It’s got fantastic interviews in it not just with the actors but also the writers and designers of Star Trek and behind the scenes looks at ALL of the Star Trek shows up to Discovery.
I learned a lot from them. I’m giving Trekmovie a try, Tiger2. You’ll see me around these comments section. Live long and prosper, Tiger2 🖖.
We actually agree on a lot of things.
For starters, I always loved the Berman era of Star Trek. For me, that will probably always be the Golden Age of the franchise. I would probably still be fine if he was running it today. I obviously know a lot of people didn’t like him, especially by the end and thought he was destroying Star Trek. I completely disagreed with that and I certainly didn’t love everything he did either. Nemesis is still my worst Star Trek film to this day. And I did give up on Enterprise very early on. I think he could’ve still ran things but give the creative vision to others, mostly Enterprise. Again, I’m not an apologist for either the franchise or who is running it. If I think it’s bad, I always call it out.
But with Enterprise, when I finally went back to that show and watched the whole thing for the first time, it won me over big time! So I really appreciated what he had did for Star Trek, but yeah it was probably time for someone new to take over. Once you lose the support of a fanbase, it’s time to move on. But my three favorite shows are still DS9, TNG and VOY in that order. And yes Voyager used to be farther down on the list too. I’ve come to appreciate it a lot more over the last few years. All his shows are just so watchable for me. I can rewatch them all anytime and do decades later. So for me Berman did way more good than bad.
But I don’t have a big issue with Alex Kurtzman either. I like him too. None of this stuff is black or white and for me Star Trek is just Star Trek. I actually think Kurtzman has a bigger vision on Star Trek then Berman did. I can’t imagine having a animated comedy like Lower Decks or having a show take place in the 32nd century if Berman stayed in charge. I give Kurtzman credit on doing bigger things with the franchise even if the results are still questionable to others. But a lot of it is still new. This new era has only been around 4 and a half years so far. Obviously longer if you include the Kelvin movies, but I’m just talking about the shows obviously and where Kurtzman has all the control. It’s still very young and yet look how much we have right now? And I will also say this and that every show has gotten stronger than the previous one. At the moment it goes Discovery<Picard<Lower Decks<Prodigy. And SNW could be better than all of those.
Now obviously that’s just my personal list and LDS and PRO are really tied for me. I only put PRO slightly ahead because it does feel more like traditional Star Trek and it has Janeway on it (now two of them in fact lol). In fact Prodigy is a show I could see Berman making for sure.
OK, I’m ranting lol. I understand why people have problem with the new shows and I share a lot of those issues. I have not liked much of the last seasons of both Discovery and Picard overall. That’s not a great feeling to have. But like you, I love this franchise so much I’m always willing to give every show as many chances as possible. And I do love the animated shows and SNW looks very promising at least. And every new season is a new start so you just power through!
And yes you’re right the new shows do look different from the older shows but its 20+ years later and with a new TV landscape. It has to. I’m OK with that because I want Trek to thrive and change. A lot of people who didn’t like TNG when it first started said it looked and felt too different from TOS at the time. That’s exactly WHY I liked it. Star Trek could now be different things and appeal to different audiences. It has to keep doing that today or it will get stale and die (in theory at least). Discovery was that change, but it went too far off the reservation, even for me. But now with all the new shows since they have found a better middle ground IMO. So I’m all for change, just as long as A. It’s GOOD and B. It still keeps to the elements and philosophy of Star Trek.
Yes, I too grew up with the Golden Age of Trek myself. I first became during the 25th anniversary exactly. That’s when I went full on with reading and watching everything that was Star Trek. I had interacted with Star Trek in the ’80s, though. My first episode of Star Trek was in 1984 and I was 5 years. It was The Trouble With Tribbles and I watched it with my Mom. My 2nd interaction with Star Trek in the ’80s was TNG. Both my parents watched Encounter At Farpoint and I watched it with them but, once again, didn’t know what I was seeing because I was only 8 years old. I did have the Geordie LaForge Galoob figure that came out too but I didn’t really know who he was or what that “thing”( that’s how I described his VISOR as a kid.) on his face was. I thought he shot laser beams from it. There was no Google back in the ’80s 😄. Then, as I got older, I found out who he was and what part he played on the show and he became one of my favorites. Here’s a kicker, right, that Geordie LaForge figure I had actually was quite rare because of a defect that the figure had itself and so it became very valuable very fast and I lost it in the ’90s of course. Then my next interaction with Star Trek was with Locutus. They advertised The Best Of Both World’s part 2 like crazy all over the channel TNG was on up here in Connecticut where I live back in 1990 and I saw Sir Patrick say “Resistance is futile”, man, I was blown away! But when the 25th anniversary came, the station TNG decided to add TOS as well and make it a 2 hour Star Trek block and that’s when I fully fell in love with Star Trek 💖. My favorites are DS9, of course, because I absolutely love Captain Sisko and Gul Dukat, ENT, TNG and VOY are tied. I have grown more fond of Enterprise just because every time I watch it I catch something new, like a look T’Pol gives to Archer like she thinks he’s crazy or something and it just makes me laugh. Same thing with Archer and some of the looks that he gives her, it’s hilarious 🤣! There’s a lot of subtle stuff thrown in throughout the show and just watching the show, you actually miss a lot of it. But, like I said, I own it and rewatch it a lot. Plus, all the Star Trek shows are on a channel called Heroes And Icons every day for 5 hours straight so I watch that too to support them. Oh, and TOS comes on MeTV on Saturday nights at 11 pm so I watch that as well. So I watch Star Trek every day 💗. I am now considered an OG when it comes to Trek because I’m in my 40’s so I want to keep showing my support and love for it 🙂. Just like I also still read the books and the comics as well. But the other reason why I have Enterprise higher than TNG and VOY is because the Tholians showed up on it twice and the Andorians. I fell in love with the Andorians because of ENT and I really like Jeffrey Combs as Shran. I loved him as Weyoun so, naturally, it goes to say that I would love him as Shran. That’s why I put it as my number 2 of the Berman era. My list for the new shows are as follows, PIC, PRO, DIS, LD. SNW stands to be my favorite over all just because the Enterprise is on it. I have been waiting almost two decades to see the Enterprise back on a TV screen and, at last, it’s finally happening 🙂. As long as the confusion it causes isn’t mind numbing, I know that I will love it just because the Enterprise is on it and she will be a character herself this time all the actors are saying and that’s wonderful! On one thing, I do disagree with you on and that’s Nemesis. I like it and the reason I like it is because seeing Data sacrifice himself the way that he did was very heroic and gets me teary eyed every time I see it. The same thing happens when I watch Spock sacrifice himself in TWOK or when I watch Admiral Kirk blow up the original Enterprise and they’re watching her come down through the sky on Genesis. But there is two movies that I don’t like. The ones I don’t like are Generations and Beyond. I thought Beyond was a very weak story, especially for something… Read more »
Oh and very happy you are giving Trekmovie a chance! :)
I love this site so much and honestly it’s really the first thing I turn to for Trek news. I now view this site more than I do actual news sometimes lol (it’s a bit less depressing too). There are a few trolls and idiots, many I dealt with in the past. But a lot of those thankfully got banned or just left. Overall most people are respectful and civil. I wish there was an ignore button for some people here but the majority are great even if overly passionate as most of us are here!
>And as a black guy myself, it’s kind of cool to know the first Captain of the Enterprise was black.
Yes, indeed. Amen.
Yeah, it’s not needed, but still cool!
BTW, are you a big Daisy Duck fan or are you just citing the months as your handle?
Considering both a Mexican and Englishman have played a South Asian leader of the augments, I am not that concerned about who plays Robert April who I only saw once way way back when I was a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons.
I watched this last year and so THIS guy is Rob April to me (great fan show) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAlGf5Wfe4g
Logical, in-continuity explanation for the difference in look: “Temporal Cold War”. There will always be a “Robert April” as the first Captain of the USS Enterprise (Constitution class). But like anything, a slight difference in look (or, in the case of Kelvin-verse Carol Marcus, a change in accents), can be solved by invoking the “someone tried to alter the timeline” rule. Thus, that’s my way out of all this.
Anti-fans? I have no problem with a black actor playing a black character. But you just broke canon. Thanks a lot. I’m actually a hardcore fan thank you very much.
That being said, if he looks the role and embodies it despite being black, then that’s cool. Color doesn’t matter nessasarily, after all there are pink Kzin ships in the animated series, so taking color, even skin color seriously, is a bit much. The problem I have is that he looked really white in TAS.
I know it’s not what you mean but ‘despite being black’ is very problematic and has been used by ‘Civilized Racists’ for a very long time
Not really sure what a civilized racist is, I can tell you were joking which is why you put it in “‘ ‘” marks. But anyway, yeah, the way I meant it was that the character wasn’t originally portrayed as black, so one shouldn’t really expect a black actor to portray a younger version of him. It’s stupid to me, because we’ve already established it on screen. As I said before he only appeared in animation so I might not have a problem with it.
I will wait and see before I decide whether it’s a serious sin or not. Hahahaha. I would have said “despite being white” had the situation been reversed. Another thing I’m a bit confused here about, is him being an admiral. I was under the impression that Commodore was below rear admiral.
If I’m wrong about that, okay fine, but either they forgot what his rank is, he gets demoted or they just don’t care about ST:TAS. And that last one is my biggest issue. TAS is canon. I’m tired of all the debate about it. Back in 2006 CBS even came out and said it was, just like any other TV series or movie. Lower Decks references TAS constantly, so I’m not gonna sweat it, just as long as they don’t run over it with whatever they make canon, and I’m okay.
Marc Henson, I agree with you 100%. I am super excited to finally see Robert April in live action, but that they switched his ethnicity is a definite issue with there seeming to be no way to explain away the discontinuity for me. TAS is canon now. Are they now going back on that? With Benedict Cumberbatch playing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, while it was never canonically declared, an easy explanation for the ethnicity change is that Admiral Marcus had him have cosmetic surgery so I don’t have an issue there. With this, this opens a new can of worms. Even TAS’s notorious coloration issues aren’t an adequate explanation.
The time to change his ethnicity was back in the nineties before TAS was made canon and when it could have had real significance. The perfect time to change his ethnicity would have been in DS9. Captain Sisko could have said he was a hero of his, not only because of all of his accomplishments, but because he was a black captain. That could have been extremely meaningful and poignant, but this seems to have no purpose.
He seems a little young for the role, but I’m sure he’ll do a great job, and hopefully elevate the scripts he’ll be given
The use of a loaded term like “anti-fan” (just because someone doesn’t agree with everything you believe in doesn’t give you a right to pretend he doesn’t exist) by someone who seems to be trying to tick as many boxes as possible makes me strongly suspect that any “controversy” doesn’t exist.
As a resident crazy right-winger on this page, I have no problem whatsoever. Make Spock Asian, make Chapel Indian, I don’t care. Make M’Benga white…oh, no, of course not. There’s the rub. Maybe we poor folk can have Gabler (look him up)? No? Right, sorry for even thinking that.
Me, I want to see Captain Winter, for us *really* old fans, and find out where he fits in.
So everyone who thinks TAS is canon and disagrees with this casting choice is now relegated to the racist corner. Great job by TPTB to start a totally avoidable and unnecessary debate among fans.
Exactly, that was the problem I had with that man’s post. I love Star Trek The Animated Series! And the fact of the matter is they might just be pooping all over it…I’m gonna wait to make my judgement when I see it.
Honestly, the show looks great. The sets, tech, ships…all is starting to look more like TOS and you can kinda imagine how it will gradually look more and more and then exactly like it over the course of a few refits or so. I’m totally excited to see that transformation. Casting is another thing. Uhura is another one. I don’t think this actress looks much like her at all, apart from being black. Nurse Chapel, M’Benga…they don’t really look right either.
Nevertheless, I can get on board with that, because sometimes performance is better than appearance. I think Pike and Number One were the best cast, Spock is close, and I’m sure he’ll grow on me, but he hasn’t quite yet.
When will they give credit to Darlene Hartman for creating M’Benga?
I don’t see what the big deal is. Star Trek shouldn’t be held back by an animation decision made on an obscure episode from 1974. Hopefully Adrian Holmes’ character is Canadian as well.
Hey, you know what, I know what would make be perfectly okay with it, and that’s if they remastered the animated series, used more modern animation, changed April’s design, get the new actor to do his voice etc….otherwise I might say “continuity error.”
So, if there’s any real criticism about the casting it’s that the actor playing April is too young?
Well, maybe. Then again, you probably can just chalk that up to 23rd century healthcare. He looks good for his age.
i think this is a good excuse to declare the animated series as original universe and discovery and spinoffs as another universe as i have always considered them and by the way i love discovery and can’t wait for strange new worlds
Damn I’m going to be on a plane to Singapore when this airs. Now I want Star Trek with Captain Robert April
I think calling people who take issue with this casting as “anti-fans” is a little harsh. Those folks are people who stick super close to canon, that’s all. But they are still fans of Trek.
Nope. As I have been told repeatedly, my dislike of the modern production design and how I don’t think it skews close enough to a direct update rather than changing it to entirely modern makes me not a fan now.
So who’s playing Sarah April?
I’m going with the theory that there are 2 Robert/Bob Aprils in that big Starfleet universe. Just like there are now 2 Wally Wests who are the nephew of Barry Allen in the Flash comics.
In S1E1 of SNW, this character is never referred to as Admiral April. He is called “Bob” by Pike at the beginning of the episode and “Admiral” at the end. If I hadn’t read this thread prior to seeing the show, I really would have had no idea the character was supposed to be Robert April (in another thread, someone mentioned that they watched the episode with subtitles enabled and Robert April appears on screen when the actor speaks, but, to me, that’s different from actually hearing the name in the final print).