So, here's what I'm thinkin':
- "Unknown object" could be long-rumored "sarcophagus" ship, as there was a sarcophagus on-board, not to mention non-augmented Klingons.
- Shenzhou crew appears to be the Discovery crew, except for the captain. Death that Saru senses? Georgiou. Starfleet sends in Lorca to take over, and ship is re-christianed the Discovery NCC-1031.
- Burnham grew up on Vulcan.
- Uniforms are like TNG and DSVGR uniforms, I guess?
These mirror my thoughts exactly. However, I don't think the Shenzhou is re-christianed, I think it bites the dust. I also think the uniforms look more like Enterprise uniforms. A bit of the standard blue jumper and T'Pol's catsuit with raised shoulders.
A few more points:
- Burnham does indeed seem to have some relationship with Sarek/Vulcalns. I got the impression she's been raised to be a bridge of sorts between species, or at least Sarek's hopeful of that, based on his dialogue; "great unifier". There's also her delivery of the line "it would be... irresponsible to leave whatever that is unknown... and of course there's her haircut.
My initial reaction to the trailer was a slight disappointment with regard to the design, dialogue and the quality of the special effects and makeup.
Design: Apart from its ship designs, I've always felt Trek has never been able to really nail a unified and iconic look (though the TNG - DS9 era came very close). There was something garish about the look of the trailer, this first popped up when the new logo was revealed and seems to have carried through to the production design. The intense golds, silvers, blues and blacks and heavy textures and patterns. However, this sort of ties in to the look of TOS. I'm grateful the show's colorful, I just wish it had a classier look, something I feel Beyond managed quite nicely for the most part.
Dialogue: It's a trailer and has been edited heavily, so it's unfair to judge, but ...Michelle Yeoh's delivery felt off, as did MSG's at points. I also feel as though the trailer failed to provide a satisfying arc/story. The beginning especially just... doesn't make sense out of context and felt like sloppy exposition:
Why are we here on this strange planet?
- I know you know how long we've been working together, but I'll say it anyway for the benefit of the audience. Also, I brought you here to give you... your own ship. SURPRISE!
Effects: They aren't bad, and for the most part they look quite nice. Certain shots, like the landscape profile of Burnham and Georgiou against the backdrop of a ringed planet just looked a little 90's-era Syfy channel in terms of execution, like the compositing wasn't quite finished. It looks like it was shot day for night and a DeviantArt artists painted the background.
At the end of the day: I'm still extremely positive. Whatever folks say, this is the first TV Trek in ages. I want to be positive about it, and I think its success is vital to the long-term health of the franchise.
Also... I kinda think that many of the quibbles I have above could endear me to the show. As much as I love Westworld and Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse, I'm not going to come back and rewatch them over and over and over like I do Trek. There's just got to be a bit of lovable Trek-jank. If it's TOO hard and TOO gritty or polished and perfect, it just sort of bounces off you.
