Spoilers Re-watching Season 1 & trying to guess where Seasons 3, 4, 5 go

[guyute03]

Re-watching Season1 right now, am in the mid-point, right before they cross into the Mirror universe and am wondering where does this show go in future seasons? Kurtzman has stated Season 2 is about "faith" and that's great and all, but I can't help but wonder where Season 3, 4, 5 and future seasons (if it runs that far) go. Do they keep linking up with TOS (like with the Pike stuff) or do they chart new territory like season 1 did with the Mirror stuff, spore drive, etc?

Am curious what people's thoughts are.
Does the show keep linking up with TOS, or does it chart new territory, or does it do both?

 

[thribs]

We still have Kirk, Scotty, and McCoy. I'm sure they'll show up later on.

 

[Timo]

I'm really hoping for major revamping at each season threshold. A new CO every time is a must, until Burnham finally gets the job. A new mission, too. Hopefully, a new centerpiece alien culture. Possibly a nifty new tech gimmick.

Meeting people from TOS is logical enough, if they are somehow associated with Spock. But we have little reason to think Kirk or McCoy would be. Gary Mitchell, perhaps...

Then again, Kirk is a young war hero at the time (or at least the S1 war is his likeliest chance at gaining his warrior reputation), but definitely not a starship skipper; perhaps meeting a hero of that sort would come naturally, too? Perhaps he still hates Burnham's guts for having been forced to fight that war?

Or then the show will settle in its S2 format and I'll be disappointed.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[thribs]

I don't think Burnham will ever be captain. I think that nonsense at the Binary Stars will stop her ever being one.

 

[Timo]

But since there never has been a mutiny aboard a starship, Burnham did nothing wrong.

As matters stand in "Brother", her record has not been wiped completely squeaky-clean yet. But that may still be in the near future. And Starfleet has generally dished out promotions instead of decorations when people do good; Burnham is likely to amass those in the upcoming seasons.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Cyrus]

I expect a young Kirk will eventually show up, but probably not as part of a season long arc. McCoy and Scotty are possible too.

 

[BillJ]

Kirk was probably waiting on Vulcan to take command of Discovery.

 

[ELURIA]

Season 3 and beyond? Expect more of the same.

Michael Burnham saves the universe while on her lunchbreak, everyone she meets is wrong, the bridge crew remains subservient to her character, Sarek smiling some more and they keep abusing TOS as a crutch

 

[ELURIA]

Meeting people from TOS is logical enough, if they are somehow associated with Spock. But we have little reason to think Kirk or McCoy would be. Gary Mitchell, perhaps...

Only logical if Alex Kurtzman keeps insisting the Star Trek universe is really really small and TOS goes on being used as a crutch

 

[Timo]

And why not? It doesn't make Earth particularly small if a cop show spins off from a court show or vice versa and both take place in the same sordid side streets of the same midsize US city; moving the action to Zimbabwe or an elementary school would serve little purpose. Star Trek can well be about some specific aspect of the Star Trek universe.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nyotarules]

And why not? It doesn't make Earth particularly small if a cop show spins off from a court show or vice versa and both take place in the same sordid side streets of the same midsize US city; moving the action to Zimbabwe or an elementary school would serve little purpose. Star Trek can well be about some specific aspect of the Star Trek universe.

Timo Saloniemi

If the cop show is about a futuristic global, Terran, law enforcement organisation sticking to some midsize US city would make Earth particulary small.

 

[eschaton]

I'd like to think after having existential threats to the Federation/galaxy twice, the writers would know better than to go back to that well again. After all, once you've upped the stakes that much, there's nowhere else to go except to more small-bore drama.

I should also note there are rumors going around that Discovery will have some sort of time jump in the second season finale (almost certainly after dropping off Pike). It would help to explain why we never heard anything about Burnham from Spock up until now. It would also set things up well if they decided they wanted to have a Pike show, since they wouldn't have to worry about ensuring tight continuity between the two series.

 

[Jadeb]

I agree, but the odds we'll return to smaller-scale concerns seem pretty small to me. It seems to be an expectation in certain quarters. Look at the modern Doctor Who -- every season involves a threat to all that ever was and ever will be. At least until this last season, and a lot of fans complained.

That sort of thing seems dramatically inert to me -- clearly the whole universe isn't going to be destroyed -- but people seem to like it.

 

[eschaton]

I agree, but the odds we'll return to smaller-scale concerns seem pretty small to me. It seems to be an expectation in certain quarters. Look at the modern Doctor Who -- every season involves a threat to all that ever was and ever will be. At least until this last season, and a lot of fans complained.

That sort of thing seems dramatically inert to me -- clearly the whole universe isn't going to be destroyed -- but people seem to like it.

I haven't watched any Nu-Dr. Who at all, so I can't comment on that.

In general, I think repetitive world-threatening plots work better in movie form than on TV. If you are using the exact same characters over and over again, there will at least be a three year or so gap for the audiences to not see how derivative your plot is. The MCU is a special case. They can get away with sharting out three movies per year because they mix in smaller-stakes plots like origin stories. If there was a movie every single year featuring Thor or Iron Man the franchise would quickly run out of steam.

 

[Mudd]

nuWho is better than oldWho.

Maybe you have one more season ahead of Musical Captain's Chairs, and then they'll decide that's played out and stick Saru in the seat or hand it over to Michael provisionally - that is, in the context of a long mission or emergency where the supposed "real" captain is neutralized for some reason.

I really don't think that, to the extent these folks are capable of planning anything, their plans envision Burnham as Discovery's captain much before the end of the series.

 

[seigezunt]

I strongly suspect each season will feature a that-season-only appearance of a TOS (or TAS or elderly ENT) character, especially if this appearance by Pike charts well.

Also, part of me "hopes" that the Captain's seat is like the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts, and just cycles a new person in each season.

 

[Jadeb]

nuWho is better than oldWho.

Sacrilege. The old show stumbled at the end, but there's a lot of brilliance packed into the first 20 years. Cheap, tatty brilliance, but brilliance nonetheless. Bob Holmes' dialogue has never been surpassed.

 

[Noname Given]

But since there never has been a mutiny aboard a starship, Burnham did nothing wrong.

As matters stand in "Brother", her record has not been wiped completely squeaky-clean yet. But that may still be in the near future. And Starfleet has generally dished out promotions instead of decorations when people do good; Burnham is likely to amass those in the upcoming seasons.

Timo Saloniemi

IMO - Yep. It's a similar situation to TOS - "The Menagerie" - with Spock lying about the Captain's condition (IE being granted 'Rest Leave') and Spock effectively stealing the 1701 to take Pike back to Talos IV? (Just curious.)

My point? Ultimately Burnham's mutiny was on the same level as that. It was one officer involved who believed such action was justified.

I'd say at some point Starfleet (while still finding these actions a violation of regulations) reclassifies these individual incidents as not full scale mutinies.

 

[Mudd]

Sacrilege.

It's what I do.

 

[Nyotarules]

It would help to explain why we never heard anything about Burnham from Spock up until now.

There is no need for any explanation on Spock's non metioned familial relationships.
The audience gets to know Spock has a cousin, sister, uncle, brother, pet cat or a human mother when the story requires it. The first episode of TOS did not establish Kirk had a brother until the story required him to have one. No one knew McCoy had a daughter until TAS, same with Sulu, and the audience did not need to know Chekov did not have a brother until Day of the dove.