Starting to Think...

[Vger23]

With the casting news of UFP politicians and Klingon "leaders," (not to mention seemingly countless other Klingons) it seems clear to me that Star Trek Discovery will definitely be about intergalactic relations with the Klingon Empire and far less about exploration and discovery within the galaxy.

For me personally, if this is true, this is a major disappointment. I'll certainly still watch the first season (I've already subscribed to CBSAA)...but I'm hoping I'm wrong even though all the evidence would seem obviously pointed at this as a general plot line for the series.

 

[jamestyler]

It's hard to speculate on that point. Most of these announcements are likely just a couple of episodes, I'd guess Rainn Wilson was just one. I could be wrong, but with two 'leaders' announced in the Klingon camp yesterday, that could just be one episode featuring the council.

One of those "don't know until it happens" scenarios.

 

[BillJ]

For me personally, if this is true, this is a major disappointment. I'll certainly still watch the first season (I've already subscribed to CBSAA)...but I'm hoping I'm wrong even though all the evidence would seem obviously pointed at this as a general plot line for the series.

Definitely. Though, overall, I just don't have the same excitement for Discovery as I've had for other Trek projects.

 

[Dukhat]

A Star Trek show about exploration is a thing of the past. With only 13 (already written) episodes, there aren't going to be planet-or-aliens-of-the-week shows like before. There's going to be a story they are trying to tell, and not in an episodic format like TOS, TNG, VOY, etc.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

No exploration but still, it will be fun... Watching Ph'Ranq Und'Rwud scheming with his wife to get greater political power… Speculating about who will end up sitting on the Klingon Iron Throne…

That's an award winning show for sure!

 

[Mr Awe]

It's hard to speculate on that point. Most of these announcements are likely just a couple of episodes, I'd guess Rainn Wilson was just one. I could be wrong, but with two 'leaders' announced in the Klingon camp yesterday, that could just be one episode featuring the council.

If they are announcing get stars before premise details, that's pretty lame.

A Star Trek show about exploration is a thing of the past. With only 13 (already written) episodes, there aren't going to be planet-or-aliens-of-the-week shows like before. There's going to be a story they are trying to tell, and not in an episodic format like TOS, TNG, VOY, etc.

Totally disagree. I don't know what the new series will be about but it is certainly possible to write a serialized story that involves exploration. There can be a larger arc but that arc can require exploration to advance the story.

Mr Awe

 

[Tenacity]

Watching Ph'Ranq Und'Rblud scheming with his wife to get greater political power

Don't forget the little blonde Klingon woman with the dragons.

 

[loghaD]

I don't really think that the addition of two Klingon leaders tells us much. After all, we already knew that T'Kuvma is on a quest to unite the Klingon houses; I'd've been surprised if we didn't get to see at least a handful of the people he's trying to unite (or unite against).

 

[C.E. Evans]

Exploration need not be limited to the new alien planet or species of the week. It could also include new situations that could span more than just one episode.

 

[rhllot]

leaders of diferent house

 

[Mr. Adventure]

They should have standalone episodes of the Klingons exploring.

 

[Michael]

They should have standalone episodes of the Klingons exploring.

Not sure if you're joking or not, but showing a bit of Klingon exploration would actually be pretty awesome. An episode or story arc that presents them more like a three-dimensional culture and less like the one-note stereotypes from the TNG-era.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

They should have standalone episodes of the Klingons exploring.

The IKS Gorkon novels were pretty cool for that, Klinfon explorarion being all aboit conquering rather than finding friends/allies.

Not sure if it would work as well on the screen though...

 

[The Wormhole]

A Star Trek show about exploration is a thing of the past.

And even then, very few episodes have actually been about exploration. Hell, the first two seasons of Enterprise are the most Star Trek has ever done about pure exploration. And look how that turned out.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Definitely. Though, overall, I just don't have the same excitement for Discovery as I've had for other Trek projects.

Me neither.

Though I was never that optimistic from the beginning. Everything they're doing just seems a little off. A new Star Trek series could have been so simple: a mix of episodic and serialized stories, (Like every other CBS drama) that offer a little bit of everything, set in the Kelvinverse to build upon, and distributed on an accessible platform. Yet it's like they're doing the exact opposite.

The fact that it's been 18 months with almost nothing to show for it doesn't help either.

I'm not going to advocate its failure--that's just douchey. But I don't know if I'll be all that upset if it doesn't last beyond the first season. Bring on Pine Four.

 

[OpenMaw]

A Star Trek show about exploration is a thing of the past.

I... Star Trek. The show is called Star Trek. How is it not about adventure in space? When did that become a faux pas for Star Trek? No, we can't go back to the Berman era, or the 1960s, but the idea that Star Trek can't be about exploration is just silly. Of course it can. You go to a planet, discovery some stuff, drama and excitement happens, characters figure out how to resolve the crisis. Boom.

Though, to be fair... There's nothing to say that Discovery won't have.... Discovery, in it.

What do we know so far? I mean, for sure stuff.

Klingons and Federation Politicians make appearances. Whether that's for most of the season, or just a couple episodes, we don't know.
Sarek makes an appearance. We have no idea to what effect.
We have at least two Federation starships in the show. One of which is almost entirely a mystery. The other has wildly varying speculation on the nature of the vessel's mission.(Discovery.)
We have a cast of recurring regulars that is made up of fairly talented performers.
We know Harry Mudd will show up in at least one episode.
We know our series lead is not the Captain.

That's all we really know for sure. We have no idea what the main thrust of the season will be. We have no idea what Mudd's role is in all this. Indeed, it indicates to me that there may be a lot of variety to be had, and we may see stories that shift away from the main arc of the season to tell one off stories. Something closer to the first season of the Doctor Who reboot, where they told standalone stories that only fed into the themes of the overall arc. (Father's Day... etc.)

 

[CorporalClegg]

Strictly speaking, Star Trek has never really been about "exploration." It's just something that's been woven into the greater tapestry of adventure. Thing is, "adventure in space" can mean just about anything. And it has.

But "exploration" in any real terms wouldn't make for very good television. I don't know about anyone else, but I think Lewis and Clark Across the Milky Way would be boring AF--even with Teri Hatcher.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Despite the time period it's set I was hoping for a move away from Klingons, personally I think they've been done to death and that there should be more focus on other antagonists. For all we know, Discovery may go along the lines of GOT and have multiple groups of cast members, each with their own storylines all intermingled in the same plot. Maybe some great mystery in a nook of the quadrant, the answers to which could tip the balance of power.

 

[Michael]

Despite the time period it's set I was hoping for a move away from Klingons, personally I think they've been done to death and that there should be more focus on other antagonists.

Yes, I feel the same way. I'm really tired of the Klingons and think they were already too big a part of the franchise as is. However, I'm open to a new spin on them and remain optimistic that we might get just that.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

However, I'm open to a new spin on them and remain optimistic that we might get just that.

Same here, the Klingons are recognisable enough that a new audience won't be put off, but with a fresh spin for long time fans. It seems to me as though Discovery will follow the Klingon War narrative which, presumably Into Darkness was specifically setting up and newer fans would have seen, but Beyond then just ignored (although why this isn't set in the Kelvinverse I don't know? Probably licensing issues?).