[Discovery 503 review starts at 23:00]
Anthony gives an update on the Star Trek prequel movie, then he and Laurie dig in to the latest on the Paramount/Skydance talks, talking about why shareholders aren’t thrilled about Shari Redstone’s plans and what that could mean. They discuss the new offerings from the Roddenberry Archive and new Star Trek-branded coffee, then turn their attention to Star Trek: Discovery. They talk about showrunner Michelle Paradise’s reasons for using TNG’s “The Chase” as an inspiration for the season, plus Mary Wiseman’s (not-so) cryptic comments about the Starfleet Academy show, and play some audio from Laurie’s recent interview with Wilson Cruz on the same topic. They briefly chat about the “This season on…” trailer and then dive into their review of Discovery episode 503, “Jinaal,” talking about Wilson Cruz’s strong performance (with more of Wilson’s interview), Trill mythology, Rayner and Tilly, the challenges of juggling multiple stories where some are less compelling than others, and more. Then it’s time for their bits of the week: Ernie Hudson’s description of auditioning to play Deep Space Nine‘s Ben Sisko and a podcast about Leonard Nimoy and the early days of Star Trek fandom with Bonnie Moss.
Links:
Paramount Pictures Officially Confirms Star Trek Origin Movie For Its Upcoming Film Slate
Skydance Reportedly Looking To “Supercharge” Paramount+, Potentially Merge It With Another Streamer
Roddenberry Archive Expands With Virtual Tours Of Deep Space 9 Station And The USS Discovery
Star Trek Coffees Launching In May With Several Blends
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunner Explains Why They Reopened A TNG Mystery To Start Season 5
Sonequa Martin-Green Talks About Exhausting Last Day On Set For ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Mary Wiseman Really Doesn’t Want To Talk About Tilly Returning On ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Preview Offers Intriguing Clues And The Return To [SPOILERS]
Bits:
Anthony: Ernie Hudson talks about auditioning for Ben Sisko
Laurie: Trek Untold podcast: The Life & Legacy of Leonard Nimoy with Bonnie Moss
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While focusing story time on mature relationship conversations between Saru and T’Rina may not be everyone’s cup of tea (Star Trek coffee?), I think it’s all part of Saru’s arc this season. Considering the lack of agency so many female characters have had in older Trek, it’s good to see T’Rina’s response to Saru, and that it was low key and not the end of their relationship. I prefer this to the whole Crusher/Picard secret love child story arc, the Seven/Raffi season 2 to season 3 what happened to their relationship mystery, and the endless Spock/T’Pring/Chapel drama in SNW.
Thanks for the podcast (I’ll listen to the second half on my commute home) and keeping the comments readable and on topic.
I think I just wished their argument had been about something more important than a wedding announcement, but I confess I am generally bored by wedding planning hoopla. (I still hope we get to see a fun alien wedding with these two, despite that.) Glad you enjoyed it, though!
I enjoyed the Saru-T’Rina storyline in this episode. I just love seeing those two together. They can communicate so much with just a little tip of the head or a long look. I didn’t care about the engagement announcements either, but not every storyline has to be about the possibility of the galaxy ending! I did get a little worried about the Vulcan Extremists though. They had better not kill off T’Rina! We really NEED a happy ending for these two!
@Laurie Ulster, I had not considered that Raener was similar to Shaw on PIC S3. I really think they’re distinctly different. I feel like Raener is closer to the Prime Lorca we throught we were getting. Battle hardened, aggressive..a lot of grey area where rules are concerned. Shaw was abrasive and prickly, but ultimately a company man, who needed a lot of convincing before breaking protocol. They’re both straight shooters is really the only similarity. That’s just my take. As always, you two have great insight, and I appreciate how you both find the upside in everything!
That Lorca comparison seems very apt.
I think I may have originally mentioned Lorca and Jellico even, but they cut it. Agree that Lorca is a better match, although vibe-wise, Shaw is in similar territory. The big difference, as I said, is that Rayner actually listens to other people!
yeah, vibe is a good word for that.
Just seen the news that Lower Decks will end with its 5th season later this year and Strange New Worlds is getting a 4th season
The ending of Lower Decks is the saddest news! I really enjoy SNW, but LDS is where my heart is for Trek right now. (The less said about the other current/near-term output, the better.) What a bad way to head into the weekend.
Laurie, do you think that you guys could have Mark Altman on the podcast sometime soon to talk about what the Star Trek Origin movie is actually about? He has made some remarks on his Treksperts podcast that it is set in the First Contact era, suggesting that he has some actual insight into what the project is about. It would be illuminating to hear you, Tony, and Altman dissecting what this project is.
We just had Mark on not that long ago! Maybe after Discovery is done we can delve into that… our weekly reviews will keep us busy until then.
By the time Discovery is done, the origin movie will probably already be cancelled, if it follows the recent pattern of announced Trek movies…
That’s a huge leap to assume this proposed movie is anything more than an announcement at a press conference. Hang around long enough and I’m sure someone will post that it’s a go because their best friends cousin’s second husbands brother is building sets….
If anyone is going to become a god, it will probably be Rayner.
I think they leave Zora watching over it. Which will finally explain Calypso.
I’ve been in the camp that Calypso is apocryphal, becuase it just doesn’t fit into anything.
That would make sense. It just doesn’t seem likely that they would have written the ship out if they thought that the show was going to continue beyond season 5.
I also wondered what was going on with Detmer and Oyo in this episode. Maybe they are off on some secret mission that we will find out about later on? It would be so much fun to see those two really get to do something! There probably isn’t enough time for that in this season though……Maybe someone will write some novels about their adventures.
More likely, the actresses simply weren’t available for the shoot and that’s why they are missing in this episode.
Laurie is right about Shaw and Rainer being completely different. And Rainer is the better, more well rounded character and better written.You can see in the acting and writing that he is listening and trying. Shaw never did any of that. Much more one-dimensional
It wasn’t until the end that Shaw showed a little growth. But then they ruined it with the revelation after he died that he thought Seven should be captain all along because guess what, he was a good guy all along!! Drives me nuts.
I´m wondering if this great new technology will connect to the short trek Calypso and Zora. Maybe they find the great technology and instead of trying to destroy it they transfer it to Discovery and leave the ship and Zora to guard it and that´s what Craft finds all those years later.
I just don’t agree with Shaw being one dimensional. He was fairly complex, particularly when you find out why he’s so tough on Picard and Riker. Shaw’s role feels smaller. His function in the Picard story was what it needs to be, and it works. And for his revelation to come when it does is great. Raynor is working for this story too, as he’s written. He’s one of the most intriguing and charismatic personalities we’ve had on this show. As for the Zora stuff and Calypso connection, I don’t know if it’s being abandoned or not.. if there is, I doubt there is a big lead-in since they didn’t know this would be the final season until after the main story was shot. We’ll see, but I think whatever overarching story Chabon had in mind left the franchise with him, and was thrown out a long time ago. Just my thoughts on that, though.
I’d wondered out loud if anyone who purchased the Trek branded alcohol has ever actually tried it. No one has ever really fessed up to trying it…..
I’ve seen lots of people posting their experiments with it! And Tony & I both brought Picard wine (Worf’s “sour mead”) to our respective Thanksgiving dinners.