Spoilers Combined Star Trek SDCC Coverage thread (potential Disco S2 spoilers)

This is just my personal rule of thumb, but I'm obviously not alone with it:
If you have to recast the part, you're doing it for the fan-wank. If you're actually continuing the actor/character story, then it's okay.

I would have been fine with a "surprise" sibling of Spock twenty years ago, when Leonard Nimoy was still alive and would have appeared in cameos as Spock. 20 years later though? They're doing it entirely banking on name recognition alone. From a story perspective, she could have been the sibling of any other Vulcan, or Tuvok's father for all intents and purposes.

The same standard still applies for all eras: If suddenly a sibling or the parents of Pike appear? That's fine! Because this guy's story is being told right now. But, let's say, if the Picard show would introduce a woman and tell everybody "She's Jake Sisko's wife", but then have to re-cast Jake Sisko when she mets him? - Then that would be fan-wank, because it wouldn't be logical conclusion to the original actor/character story, but rather only a vehicle to be allowed to say the word "Sisko" on screen, and hope some DS9-fans would get duped by it.

 

Fuller is a loser. He starts shows with some plan, quits or gets fired and then people need to pick up the pieces. I don't see how this signals that the show was actually in trouble. Most shows go through changes. Disco going 1000 years into the future is no different than Disco Season 2 focusing on the red angel plot instead of the Klingon war. Each season will have a new main plot.

How exactly is it a reboot and not simply moving the story forward in the way the writer wanted? Most of the cast is still there including the ship. The aspects of the show that included the Federation were only really relevant to the war in S1 and then for S31/Control in S2. How was Season 2 not a story reason for them to end up in the future? The whole season led up to the finale and that was the point. And how is telling a 32 century story with a 32nd century crew the same as telling a 32nd century story with 23rd century crew? And what exactly is the difference between having a story reason to do something and having the writers brainstorm ideas, come up with one they are excited by and going with that, i.e. throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks? I'd much rather have a team decide what they are most excited by than have a dictator lay out 7 years of stories and making sure they stick to that plan. Teams that are engaged produce better products than those following someone's plan.

 

Patrick also hints that more side characters from TNG may also show up again.

Del Arco says that Hugh has become more human since we last saw him, though he’s still Borg, and a leader.

 

Ro Laren had better be one of these.

 

No, not really.

 

Del Arco said on the panel that he's not allowed to talk about his Borg makeup, which makes it sound like there will be changes. But he did say it was designed by James MacKinnon, who also worked on Discovery. He had both a body cast and face cast made for it.

 

THOUGHT: What if this week as Frakes back as Riker and Picard back in uniform they're filming the Short Trek? They're usually about 15-18 minutes.

 

It would make sense to film it at the same time as the series, though I would think they'd film it after the finale.

 

It's Borg-ish. Whether we like it or not Borg are huge part of Picard's life. So if we are in fact getting Borg as a subplot, it's definitely a good thing that it's not Borg Borg, but Borg-ish Borg. We get Seven, we get blue-ish Borg cube, some reformed borg? We're not getting Borg trying to assimilate Earth, we are getting something related to Borg, but not Borg Borg. And if you gotta go that way, then that's the way you do it. But god damned, now they definitely need to have Admiral "Red" "I eat Borg for breakfast" Janeway play some role too. If Seven is in, Janeway cannot be far behind.

 

I’m okay with it. First Contact was the best TNG film of the four, IMO. It’s been a while since we’ve gone back to that well. They seem to be looking to do something new with them. I’ll give it a chance.

I am, however, largely ambivalent about Janeway returning. I can take or leave it, but prefer to leave Voyager ties out of it, in general, unless absolutely necessary. Seven/Annika is fine, but let’s not overdo it.

 

Don't forget Hugh. That makes the Borg pretty much a given (sub)plot for the show. And given the opening line "Have you ever been a stranger to yourself?" -- which basically sums up Locutus -- yeah, Borg are back.

 

It still has green lights all over the outside hull, the blue areas appear to be forcefields.

 

Yeah, it looks kind of damaged.

 

So it's Borg, but not the pure evil Borg, but rather Borg with a purpose. I like it.

 

They're back yes, but I don't think they're the enemy, at least at the start. I think these are liberated Borg, probably a faction lead by Hugh (Del Arco did say in an interview that he was a leader in this).

The Romulans appear to be scavenging Borg tech and ripping the implants off/out of drones.

I think the prison where the Romulans are keeping those humans (and Andorian) is on that cube.

 

It is. There's a sign that reads "This facility has gone 5843 days without an assimilation."

 

Plus those Alcoves behind the guards on the upper level sort of look like regeneration alcoves.

 

Well, I don't like it and think its unnecessary.

 

I think we should have full context and story before dismissing it completely.

I mean for all we know there's no 'real' Borg at all, just liberated drones and dead cubes.