Star Trek: Discovery’s Uniforms, Decoded
Starfleet uniforms get a dramatic redesign for Star Trek: Discovery. Here's how to tell an executive officer from a security lieutenant.
Star Trek has a long tradition of color-coded uniforms that signify in which divisions Starfleet personnel serve. Perhaps most memorably, on The Original Series command division was gold, science and medical were blue, and operations, engineering and security were red. Naturally, that approach continues on CBS's franchise revival Star Trek: Discovery , with some notable alterations.
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Set a decade before Kirk, Spock & Co. set off on their five-year mission, the new show eschews the bright colors of The Original Series , and opts instead for uniforms more akin to those of Enterprise , the 2001-2005 drama that took place about a century earlier, during the early days of interstellar travel. The color piping on the blue fitted jumpsuits corresponded with each of the divisions of the beloved 1960s television series, but designated ranks with silver pips displayed on the right chest, rather than on the sleeves.
"We looked at Enterprise ," executive producer Akiva Goldsman recently explained , "we looked at The Original Series , at that point in canon, and we tried to pull across the color palette."
However, Discovery trades in the Skittles rainbow for something a little more subdued (albeit a lot more metallic), with gold, silver and bronze, a little closer to the divisional designations used in the unaired 1965 pilot "The Cage."
"We are looking at doing the red, blue and gold shirts," said costume designer Gersha Phillips. "We've come up with a system where we're doing a foiled compression panel and delta panels that we're putting in on the jackets that tell that same story of the departments."
As with The Original Series and its prequel Enterprise , the Starfleet uniforms of Discovery use gold to designate the command division, which traditionally encompasses officers and crewmen in command (of course) and control functions. That includes captains, executive officers, helmsmen and navigators.
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On Star Trek: Discovery , First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) and Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) notably wear gold accents.
Instead of the blue of The Original Series , silver is used on Discovery to specify the sciences division, which covers Starfleet officers and crewmen in scientific and medical research and control functions. Those can include a wide range of departments and duties, from sensors and research to surgery and medics.
On Discovery , science officers Saru (Doug Jones) and Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), and medical officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) notably wear silver accents.
The largest division of most any Starfleet crew, operations encompasses such functions as engineering, security, communications and tactical. On The Original Series operations personnel wore red, which gave rise to the term "redshirt," meaning a stock character who dies soon after being introduced. However, on Discovery , operations officers and crew are designated by bronze accents on their blue uniforms.
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On the new series, operations personnel include security officer Lt. Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) and Cadet Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman).
Ranks and Division Badges
The color coding of the Starfleet uniforms on Star Trek: Discovery continues with the metallic badges, which correspond to the gold, silver and bronze of each of the divisions. What's more, those badges display the division insignia as seen on The Original Series : the stylized star for command, a "ringed planet" for sciences and a spiral for operations.
But there's a twist, with ranks on Discovery indicated with pips, akin to those of Star Trek: The Next Generation , only here displayed on the badges themselves: four pips for a captain, three for a commander, and so on.
In the United States, Star Trek: Discovery debuts Sunday, Sept. 24, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, before moving to the CBS All Access streaming service for subsequent episodes. In Canada, the series debuts on CTV and Space at 8:30 pm ET, with its second episode set to air immediately after on Space — subsequent episodes will air Sundays through Nov. 5. Internationally, the series will stream on Netflix.
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Star Trek: Discovery — The Details Of The Federation's New Uniforms
Costume Designer Gersha Phillips shares a closer look at the attire's new streamlined details.
Along with Costume Designer Gersha Phillips, take a closer look at the attire's new streamlined details and 3D-printed accessories.
Star Trek: Discovery streams exclusively on CBS All Access in the United States and is distributed concurrently by CBS Studios International on Netflix in 190 countries and in Canada on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and OTT service Crave.
Star Trek Points Out What’s Off About Discovery’s Starfleet Uniforms
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 3 - "Jinaal"
- The 32nd-century Star Trek: Discovery uniforms are formal but modern.
- Starfleet uniform evolution incorporates designs with division colors and rank insignia.
- The most practical and stylish Starfleet uniforms for missions are the red tunic and TNG later season styles.
Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) hosts an 800-year-old Trill consciousness named Jinaal Bix in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal", who points out something odd about the 32nd-century Starfleet uniforms. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Lauren Wilkinson and directed by Andi Armagian, "Jinaal" sends the USS Discovery crew to Trill for the next clue to finding the Progenitors’ technology. Jinaal leads Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) on a dangerous journey to prove their worthiness and retrieve the next clue.
Jinaal tells the Starfleet Officers, “ I love what you’ve done with the uniforms. A little formal, though .” Indeed, Star Trek: Discovery ’s 32nd-century uniform designs are a departure from previous Star Trek shows, embracing a more formal and stylized look. Attempting to maintain and develop the uniform continuity of the Star Trek multiverse timeline yet also deliver something fresh, Discovery 's season 4 and 5 outfits are reminiscent of the "monster maroon" uniforms in the Star Trek: The Original Series movies. Discovery 's 32nd-century outfits incorporate modern technology and are significantly different from the uniforms in other Star Trek series.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide
What’s off about star trek: discovery’s 32nd century uniforms, the uss discovery crew's blue uniform changed to grey in season 3.
Star Trek: Discovery 's uniforms were originally an sleek update of Star Trek: Enterprise 's blue jumpsuits. At the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Discovery 's crew donned tailored grey uniforms with colored stripes denoting rank that drew comparisons to the uniforms showcased in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Already an odd choice, Discovery ’s updated uniform design incorporated a stiffer, thicker fabric and featured a division color swatch down one side. Discovery' s grey uniforms appeared unnecessarily formal, seemingly more suited to a political environment than the bridge of a Starfleet starship.
Starfleet's chronological evolution of uniform designs is a fascinating study.
Starting with season 4, Star Trek: Discovery 's uniforms switched to the franchise's traditional color-blocking. Discovery 's newest uniforms feature a black stripe down one side with the standard black pants and boots. The asymmetrical tunics denoted division - red for command, blue for sciences, white for medical, and gold for operations. While a clear improvement on Discovery season 3 style, the current Star Trek: Discovery uniforms are still not generally among fan-preferred uniform designs, and they haven't proven popular with cosplayers. Starfleet’s chronological evolution of uniform designs is a fascinating study, with designs veering regularly from the early blue jumpsuit style to primary color jumpers and jumpsuits to more formal jackets with undershirts and pants – and back again.
Which Starfleet Uniform Is Best For Star Trek Missions?
Starfleet's command gold transitioned to command red between the 23rd & 24th centuries.
Though each iteration of Starfleet’s signature style offers something valuable, it can be argued that some designs are certainly better and more appropriate for their purposes than others. Somewhat subjective, each Star Trek uniform design updates and expands on previous versions. Undoubtedly, the early Star Trek: Enterprise blue jumpsuits offer the most practicality (and come complete with pockets), though perhaps not the most interesting or aesthetic overall design. The slightly ill-fitted designs from Star Trek: The Original Series and early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation offer a more standardized look to Starfleet’s finest but a little less practicality. The same can be said of Star Trek: Discovery ’s options for each season.
With a view to Star Trek missions, however, two clear front-runners emerge based on practicality: the red Star Trek: The Original Series movie uniforms and Star Trek: The Next Generation' s uniforms from seasons 3-7. Iconic, sleek and practical, these designs provide a good balance of functionality and style, offering a clear representation of Starfleet along with a comfortable and immediately usable ease of movement . However, Star Trek: Discovery' s black away mission uniforms offer a rugged balance to the more formal style of the current season 5 Starfleet uniforms.
Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Discovery
Release Date September 24, 2017
Streaming Service(s) Paramount+
Why The Uniforms In The Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Teaser Mean More Than You Think
As fans prepare for Star Trek: Discovery season 4 , there are many who wonder where the series will pick up after the end of season 3. Now that a teaser for the new season has been released, the most diehard Trek fans are poring over every detail of the footage, hoping to gain some insight into what the upcoming Discovery episodes might have in store.
One of the biggest changes that's likely to come with the new season is actually hiding in plain sight, though. In this case, it's a change in the colors that the crew are wearing throughout the season. While the uniforms in the Star Trek universe may not seem like a big deal, the ones seen in the Discovery season 4 teaser suggest that the show may be shifting its tone so that it feels more like the series that came before it. Although it's a small detail, it's one that should get Star Trek fans excited about the possibility of what's to come.
The uniforms are multicolored
In most of the Star Trek shows, the crew's uniforms are a variety of different colors. The colors are meant to represent the role that person plays on the ship, and are an easy way to visually distinguish one person from the rest. The Star Trek movies mostly got away from that idea, and instead gave every member of the crew an almost identical uniform. Instead of different color uniforms, the only difference between members of the crew is the color of the undershirt that they're wearing, which is a much more minor detail.
Every Stark Trek series kept the uniforms separate colors — until Discovery , which chose to model its look after the movies by giving all of the crew the same gray uniform. In season 4, though, it seems like the series has decided to change course in this regard. Based on what's seen in the teaser for season 4, each crew members' uniform has a distinct color palette, suggesting that Star Trek: Discovery is moving more towards the franchise's roots in previous series.
There's a strong legacy of Star Trek shows that lean into the campy elements of Discovery 's premise while also wringing real drama out of individual moments between characters. Discovery may have started out as a series that wanted to be a slightly more serious version of Star Trek , but in its fourth season, the new uniforms suggest that the show may be ready to have a little more fun.
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Watch Captain Burnham Deal With A New Threat (And New Uniforms) In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 4 Teaser
| April 5, 2021 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 78 comments so far
Paramount+ has confirmed that the fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery , which went into production last November, will debut in late 2021. A brand new teaser trailer was also revealed during today’s First Contact Day virtual events.
Disco S4 teaser
The crew of the USS Discovery faces the unknown in this teaser trailer for season four of Star Trek: Discovery . The teaser trailer was introduced by series star Sonequa Martin-Green following the “Women In Motion” panel during today’s virtual global First Contact Day celebration, which also revealed that season four will premiere in 2021.
In addition to the updated uniforms there is a lot to go over with this new teaser, so stay tuned for the traditional TrekMovie trailer screencap/analysis later on, following all of the First Contact Day festivities.
A new threat for Season 4
Here is the official synopsis for season four:
Season four of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered. With Federation and non-Federation worlds alike feeling the impact, they must confront the unknown and work together to ensure a hopeful future for all.
Discovery season four cast members include Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Ian Alexander (Gray).
First Contact Day continues…
There is much more to come on this big First Contact Day, with more announcements expected. So stay tuned to TrekMovie for our full First Contact Day coverage .
The free First Contact Day virtual panels will be available to view on-demand on Paramount+’s YouTube Channel and on Paramount+ in the U.S., following their initial airing on StarTrek.com/FirstContact today from 12:00-2:45 PM, PT/3:00-5:45 PM, ET.
Star Trek: Discovery streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. In Canada Discovery is broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. It is also available on Netflix in 190 countries around the world.
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Was that a Denobulan?
Or part Cardassian? There was a comment on the panels today about creating a neck prosthetic that didn’t fit in the original costume design.
Cardassian. Probably a human hybrid. You can see the spoon head.
Part Cardassian. It’s the future! Everybody has interbred. I cant wait to see the Mugato/Andorian hybrid! ;)
It’s funny because there is an element of truth to it.
This is turning out to be a fun day. Feeling a little under the weather today and this is all lifting my spirits.
It’s lifting mine as well. After the last year, a full First Contact Day’s worth of content is doing wonders for my psyche, and I hope for many other people as well.
OMG, they are taking First Contact day very seriously today!
It never even occurred to me we would see a Discovery or Picard trailer. I would’ve just been happy if we got an image of Janeway in Prodigy and called it a day.
Man so much to unpack! Not surprising we have another big mystery on our hands that can probably take down the galaxy, Discovery loves it’s galactic anomalies lol. But looks good and LOVE the new uniforms. I think they realized the grey just wasn’t working. And cool they went back back to the solid yellow, red and blue colors. It’s a nice throwback to TOS…just updated by 900 years. ;)
I like the new uniforms but it also seems a little odd that they’ve given them uniforms that look pretty similar to the updated TOS one’s that we’ll likely be seeing again in SNW when they’ve said they want each show to have its own look and feel. Good trailer though.
Yeah but they are still very different. The colors are the same, but everything else is very different. I’m just happy we are finally done with the band uniforms although I’m curious will we still see them on SNW? But my guess is they will probably move on from those entirely now and keep the TOS uniforms as the only uniforms.
It’s a nice uniform, a definite step up the grey Starfleet outfits they were using last season. I actually think they might give us a new updated take on the TOS uniforms for SNW.
Yeah. I like them but they do seem out of place 900 years from TOS.
Even when this show gets something right they still get it wrong.
Yup, I have to agree that the new uniforms look great. I assume costume designers enjoy having the freedom to come up with completely new looks for their clothing designs BUT when you are working for a franchise like Star Trek, that freedom only goes so far. I liked the Disco S1 uniforms but I totally understand that there was also a need to somehow reflect the legacy of TOS and The Cage, which quite honestly they ignored. That of course changed in S2 and now S4 of Disco has come full circle, now embracing the colours of TOS as well as TNG, DS9 and Voyager, with red being the command colour worn by Burnham. Too bad we didn’t see anything from SNW but that is okay, yesterday’s Disco trailer and the return of John de Lancie as Q were fantastic. Btw, de Lancie’s voice sounded exactly like he did 3 decades ago.
BUT when you are working for a franchise like Star Trek, that freedom only goes so far
That might have been true sometime in the franchise history, but has that been true at any point since 2005 or so?
All of Discovery’s uniforms have been too generic, too bulky, with harsh angles, odd asymmetry, etc. I don’t think there is anything iconic about any of the uniforms they’ve introduced. The only one that has gotten close is the Enterprise/Strange New Worlds uniforms, but that’s because they’re similar to the TOS ones.
- The blue ones were not offensive, but were generic and had zero connection to the uniforms the viewer had seen of this era beyond including some minor detailing (division colors from shoulders to the waist). Other than that, they could have been from any generic science fiction series.
- The future gray ones were fine, at least since they were so far removed from the rest of the show. However, they look like they found the original gray uniforms from Babylon 5 ‘s spin-off, Crusade and made some adjustments to the uniforms.
- I haven’t watched since I gave up on the show in season 1, but the “new” uniforms in season 4 look like the same basic design of the future uniforms with just different coloring. I know the real-world reason is that it’s the same people designing the uniforms, but that seems lazy if you’re going to try to apply in-universe reasons for it. Interesting enough, they look even closer to Babylon 5’s uniforms. The B5 uniforms had a strip of leather running down the length of the uniform just like the future and S4 uniforms have.
The switch up of the division colors seems like a discontinuity given that the show takes place while the division colors remained consistent from 2254 to at least 2268. The changes aren’t consistent with any uniforms that we’ve seen in-universe until the 2350s (TNG). The Red film uniforms have their own unique division color scheme, so this seems like they’re trying to tap into the TNG-era and just tossing any remaining visual continuity aside.
There is certainly a way to differentiate Discovery and Strange New Worlds uniforms without going through so many redesigns and variants. TNG and DS9 uniforms were different – essentially swapping the color mid-section with the shoulder black. TNG films/later DS9 differentiated their uniforms with Voyager by having the color top go to gray with the division color becoming the undershirt. They seem more like a 15+ year natural progression of the uniform than what has been happening in the franchise over the last 4 or so years, where we’ve had basically a new Starfleet Uniform introduced every season or so.
Wish they could have just worked out a way to get the USS Kelvin uniforms (and transition at some point to TOS uniforms) or just used the TOS-style uniforms (either updated like in the Bad Robot films or even the Strange New Worlds uniforms).
Different uniforms on each show sounds more like a way to try and sell more merchandise.
when you are working for a franchise like Star Trek, that freedom only goes so far.
There is some truth to that but when you are working 900+ years into your franchises future the reality is there ought to be nearly no limit to their freedom to create a look.
Uniforms: Love the traditionally bold colors, not loving the asymmetric lower hem — it looks like a mis-buttoned shirt. A little asymmetry adds visual interest, yes, but it’s already provided by the vertical black stripe.
I thought they just got new uniforms?
Comment from the costume designer on a panel today – apparently the gray uniforms blended in with the walls on the set lol. The black base and division color kind of works better than the gray and division stripe. Especially if there’s an away team variant that isn’t quite so suit-like.
I understand the reasoning and I love colorful Starfleet uniforms. But I also liked the Space 1999 retro feel of those grey uniform which I will sadly miss…
It would be cool if we found that the grey ones are the dress uniforms…explaining why they were worn at HQ? Then Vance could keep his. Just a thought.
I wonder what the in-universe explanation will be? That they kept bumping into each other in the corridors? :-)
LOL…would make for interesting flashbacks. We only saw uniforms worn at HQ personnel and visiting Captains. In the preview it looks like Vance is still in grey, so maybe my random guess is right – the grey are the dress uniforms. The end of S3 played out like a ceremony had just taken place. So maybe the more colorful S4 uniforms were worn on starships all along?
I liked the gray, although I can see how they blended in to the gray walls. And I like the asymmetry; the TOS movie and TNG uniforms both had asymmetrical features, as did the TOS captain’s tunic.
The in-universe explanation can be something like “the gray is for ground/station-based personnel, the color for starship-based personnel” (rather like we originally thought for DS9, back in the day). The idea of dress uniforms being worn at HQ does not make sense; Class As are supposed to be the equivalent of a civilian suit, dress the equivalent of black-tie. You don’t show up at corporate HQ in a tux.
Why did they come to this revelation that they blend with the walls after they designed them already. Had the team wear them, film it and broadcast it to the World?
Are they truly just doing stuff filming it, broadcasting and the going oh look! That didn’t work let’s change it!
Maybe there’s a time jump. We can pretend they wore those uniforms for years.
That seemed awfully quick! I’m hoping for more Picard here soon.
Wow I still have to watch the third season yet. Having so much new Star Trek to watch, even mediocre to bad Trek, is a good problem to have. Bring it on! Star Trek is amazing
Oh, good, another season-long mystery to underwhelm me when it concludes.
I had similar thoughts. But I am thinking I will be underwhelmed the entire way. Not just how they wrap it up.
I did have a morbid curiosity where they would go for S4 but I watched this teaser and now I just don’t care. But I am a huge fan and like watching my favorite teams lose games every week I will still tune in to this potential train wreck. Because like when I watch my favorite teams I tune in with a hope that I might see something positive even though every logic in my head tells me I won’t. That is the essence of being a fan I guess. God help me.
yeah…. what ML31 said. I will watch every thing that is labeled Star Trek … forever… regardless how good it is.
At 00:45 it looks like Saru has been promoted. Still the Captains Batch on the right Shoulder and an additional Badge on the black part of his Uniform. Fleet-Captain or Commodore ?
Uniforms look great !
The new uniforms are a huge improvement on the dross at the end of the less season. Will the writing be improved?… *watches trailer* “Ah a galaxy ending threat. How novel”… No.
My exact thought lol.
I’m not crazy about those new uniforms either, esp. that opening at the bottom
Landing this year. I guess TPTB decided they couldn’t go a long stretch without fresh content….
It’s been in production since October 2020 and will wrap in June.
This seems about the normal post production delay to premiere.
I still don’t like the uniforms.
The shoulder marks plus the gorget is plain stupid. Does having three rank insignia at the same level make up for the fact you can’t read their rank at any real distance? That was my problem with the original Discovery badges, you couldn’t see the wearer’s rank except on close-ups.
A gravitational anomaly isn’t the most compelling hook I’ve seen for a new season of Discovery, usually every season has something to hang your hat on to look forward to and this isn’t really it. Hopefully it’s just a little premature for a fully formed trailer. The new uniforms are not my favorite have to admit, the vibrant color and boxy long tunic isn’t that flattering. I’m glad they didn’t retain the light gray uniforms however, although I wish they had simply made them a darker charcoal gray, perhaps with a white accent framing the duty colors. I love the way the medical uniforms look with the White and Dark Gray.
At least… they fixed the uniforms.
“Season four of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered.”
Oh great, another threat. Yawn.
“Oh great, another threat. Yawn.”
Might as well turn off your tv entirely if that’s the case.
More like “encountered a threat very much like others they have encountered before.”
A “gravitational anomaly”? Wow, the creativity of this writing team is unparalleled. So basically a TNG/VOY episode stretched across entire season. Spoiler alert: Michael Burnham will save the galaxy/universe once again. This is just sad.
Is it you, Captain? Are you in Starfleet’s Corps of Healthineers? Just asking, because a friend of mine, whose initials are J.S. as well has never been a great DSC fan either :-)
I don’t get your problem with this plot device. The three Enterprise shows had ships exploring space just for the sake of it. It was their mission. And yeah, that concept is hopefully revisited on SNW. VOY added that “lost in space” angle but ended up with standalone episodes doing nothing else but explore space on their journey home.
Now DSC still explores space against the backdrop of changing season arcs but in in the end, all they do is go places to solve those season-specific problems. We still have our fair share of exploration, just connected by a changing metathreat.
Die-hard Trekkies may feel this is superfluous because the mission to seek out new life and new civilizations is more than sufficient but then, I don’t think it does hurt to have that additional plotthread / threat in the background.
Imagine a season of TOS against the backdrop of a looming V’Ger attack. The cloud gets closer and closer to Earth and the Enterprise is on a mission to solve its origins in order to stop it because they can’t get inside without being ripped apart. They would still bump into some standalone worlds, only with a little more focus on the overall season threat. That’s what we got in S3 of DSC and basically the other two seasons as well. It’s a neat structure.
It may not be necessary for us as we are more than eager to simply explore space but maybe TPTB believe an overall threat attracts more modern-day audiences that are used to ongoing story-arcs. If that’s the price to pay, I’m more than willing to pay it…
Honestly I do not mind the main character of the show be the hero. That’s how it supposed to work. But I do mind when that character is dull and has nothing to personally overcome. I like growth. Even an episode or two where the lead learns something about themselves and works to overcome it. Even Kirk had a couple of episodes like that. But I don’t recall Burnham truly earning or overcoming anything.
I kind of wish they wouldn’t make it so that every season the fate of every sentient life, in all of the galaxy, depends on this crew AND somehow it’s all so obviously connected to them, no matter how random. 1st Season: Klingon war, imminent destruction of the Federation 2nd Season: Nanowar, imminent destruction of the Federation and Galaxy 3rd Season: Dilithium issue, imminent possible destruction of what remains of the Federation and Galaxy 4th Season: Looks like Anomaly with… possible destruction of the Federation.
It is okay if the stakes are lower but just as impactful. I just got done re-watching DS9 and they did this beautifully. It is truly amazing how ahead of their time they were with their story telling. And in their story arcs, it was not always the case where the galaxy was going to implode and every one was going to die.
I totally understand and agree on many levels BUT you have to remember, serialized tv is more like movie making and motion picture stories. Just look at most of the Trek movies whether it’s Kirk saving the earth from Vger, Kirk taking on Kahn who’s ready to use Genesis as a weapon, Kirk saving the whales and 23rd century earth, Kirk saving the hated Klingon empire, Picard restoring the past to save the future existance of the Federation, etc., etc. I think we will get more episodic stories without the “saving the galaxy” theme in SNW.
Oh absolutely. I often try to think that I grew up with a different way of story telling but then I watch other shows that are serialized, and I do not have such a hard time buying into the story like I do with Discovery. Maybe its my closeness to star trek? DS9 did the serialized story telling VERY well. Watching it this time around I noticed the small subtle hints or plots that would advance different stories. From the Dominion mentions in the very first seasons to the Odo, Kira love story, the Sisko/Prophets story, Dukat story arc, or Nog story arc… it all connects. Things in Season 1 connect with things in Season 4 or 7. Discovery seems to do etch and sketch at the end of every season and its on to the next existential threat lol
Well, those existential threats are bit redundant but at least most of them AREN’T caused by any two-dimensional villains. In the movies we got one bad photocopy of “Khan” after another, trying to blow up planets for whatever shoehorned reason. DSC may be accused of many things but at least their threats aren’t anything like that.
S1 had a very balanced and nuanced structure with surprising turns. Yes, we had the Evil Emperor and we had Lorca, a villain hiding among their own, but none of them were actually the main threat and in the end, they fought fire with fire…
S2 had technology gone rogue, a tad closer to that archetypal villain pattern but still lightyears ahead of cardboard baddies such as Krall, Nero or Shinzon…
S3 had no main villain at all but an accident caused by the most innocent creature imaginable. We got a villain as a secondary plot but that had nothing to do with the actual threat.
S4’s threat seems to be based on a natural phenomenon. While it is yet another existence-threatening situation, there will most likely be no villain behind it either if Kurtzman told the truth.
While these superthreats are a bit repetitive to say the least, I prefer those season arcs a lot over a convoluted story-arc stretched over an entire series. Fortunately, DS9 was not JUST that but had lots of brilliant standalone episodes as well, but if you connect everything like on NuBSG and GoT, a sub-par ending becomes even more of a nuisance and destroys the entire experience. This is why season arcs are a bit better.
But yeah, I would like to see a return to standalone eps and mini-arcs like in ENT S4 as well… Hopefully soon on SNW…
Season one: Not only did the villain turn out to completely undermine and destroy a nuanced character, it turns out there was no dimension at all about him. He was a mustache twirler no deeper than Snidely Whiplash.
S2… They fought a machine bent on destroying humanity. No reason given. No logic explained. Just a Terminator bent on destruction. The motivation seems to be that it’s evil. And left at that. Just like season 1.
S3. There was a season long mystery, sure. But the big bad was just Orion lady. Don’t even remember her name. She was just yet another one dimensional bad guy. Honestly in this case they really could have fleshed her out in an episode or two. They very easily could have spared it. Do two episodes on her rather than that worthless MU thing. They could have found a way to remove Evil-Georgeau with just a few lines and a couple of minutes. She was never important so I doubt many would care.
Season 4 contains a mystery but that doesn’t mean there won’t be yet another big bad to deal with.
@ML31: Lorca was never a “nuanced character”… He was simply and a…hole and totally out of this universe from day one. If he hadn’t been revealed from the MU or as Garth of Izar, I would have stopped watching :-)
Nope. Machines bent on destroying life are not “evil”, they are a higher force, a natural occurance. It’s what happens when humans play god… There is no evil in those machines. I perceive them as a natural reaction to progress, a necessary detour…
And no, Osyria wasn’t that season-long villain. She was a minor distraction from the main plot (the Burn), an additional side plot. She got a little too much to do in the finale but that’s not how I perceive the season. It was about Su’Kal and the Burn. It was about mourning his mother… Osyra… she was just like Jabba the Hut…
And yes, there may be minor villains along the way in Season 4 but that anomaly will be a natural phenomenon…
I do agree there. A feature film HAS to raise the stakes. And if they want their show to be a huge event they they pretty much HAVE to have stakes with universal consequences. That is understood. But it does get a bit tiring to have such stakes every single season. Would be nice to get a little better balance here. Is this TV or is this a movie?
I kind of wish they wouldn’t make it so that every season the fate of every sentient life, in all of the galaxy, depends on this crew AND somehow it’s all so obviously connected to them, no matter how random.
It’s a problem with a LOT of shows these days. Has to be the world/galaxy/universe in-the-balance in just about everything.
Maybe audiences don’t accept “small-stakes” story anymore, or maybe writers are just unwilling to write them. Perhaps it’s producers or the studio pushing for huge, grand stories where literally everything is a stake.
Trek is more than capable of having stories that can affect the crew in an impactful way, but don’t need to include some big-bad that will destroy everything if they aren’t stopped.
“but don’t need to include some big-bad that will destroy everything if they aren’t stopped.”
There has been only one big-bad like that on DSC: CONTROL, but even that was technology gone rogue and not your typical weakly motivated villain as seen in most of the last ten movies.
S3 was an accident caused by an innocent creature and S1 didn’t have one superbaddie at all. The Klingons as a species were stopped by a bad guy flipping sides after getting rid of a villain hiding amongst their own ranks. That’s definitely no black-and-white tale of good vs evil…
DSC can be accused of many things but relying on cartoonish bad guys to threaten the galaxy isn’t one of them.
I probably should have expanded on that one line. I meant for “big bad” to include any world-galaxy-universe shattering threat, not necessarily an individual baddie. On the other side of the same coin, the principal cast being the nexus to “fix”/correct everything worldwide/galaxywide/universewide can be just as frustrating to me.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, maybe I’m just out of touch with what audiences want. I think Trek could create a successful episodic show that still maintains strong continuity between episodes (i.e. no Voyager-style “reset button” each week). Each season doesn’t need to wrap itself up in a self-contained bow that resolves threats introduced in the first episode (or in a cliffhanger the previous season).
The show doesn’t even need a “story arc”, I mean, Discovery was supposed to be about Michael Burnham. A strong personal story arc driving the show would make sense, against the backdrop of normal space missions.
At least its not the big bad villain bent on space revenge. They’ve done that far two many times since Star Trek II. That they’ve lost the plot. To the point i would rather see something different in the motion pictures of Star Trek. It has gotten tedious.
Really revenge as a motivating factor was only used with TNG features the one time. SFS Kruge wasn’t looking for revenge. Just personal honor. And a way to do that was to engage James Kirk.
TVH… Could have been revenge. I mean, that probe was the bad guy and it was about to wipe out everything on Earth because they stopped hearing whale songs. (through the vacuum of space somehow) but was it revenge or anger? Whatever it was it was dumb so moving on…
TFF: Sybok wasn’t looking for revenge. Just validation.
TUC: No revenge here. Just a strong desire to maintain the status quo. A fear of change.
Then you get TNG. Gen: Soran wasn’t looking for revenge. Just a path to the nexus and he didn’t care who was hurt in the process.
FC: Revenge the other way. Our main character was out for it and had to overcome it.
INS: Revenge story.
NEM: Less revenge and more a desire for the echo to replace the voice. But looked at another way I could see revenge creeping in there.
Then you get the reboots.
ST: Revenge. Plain and simple. STID: Revenge center stage from Khan. Marcus was merely a war monger. BEY: A desire to teach a weird and illogical lesson but, yeah. The lesson quenched the thirst for revenge, too.
Edit that came too late… That first line should obviously be TOS. Not TNG.
It would be nice if the stakes were more personal once in a while. But I don’t think SH knows how to do that.
I am really looking forward to the 4th season of Discovery and can’t wait to arrive! I really love that it has to do with a spatial anomaly and not any other kind of adversary. This kind of creativity is missing in trek movies since ages. High stakes, danger and heroism haven’t to be connected to a “bad guy”. I like the cooperation vibes on that problem/danger! The Ferderation can proof that it is relevant again inthe 32nd century.
Agreed. But honestly, there hasn’t been any archetypal “bad guy” on DSC at all, unless you count CONTROL, but that’s technology gone rogue, not traditional villain material as in the last couple of movies. No scientists or admirals gone bad, no clones or former Starfleet captains wanting to destroy the Federation…
The Burn was caused by a giant baby mourning his mother! That’s basically “Horta” streched over an entire season but it’s not Soran, Krall, Nero or Shinzon blowing up stars and planets…
No, there has been a big bad in every Star Trek Discovery season (I almost used the shorthand that for illogical reasons is not appreciated by those who run the site! LOL).
Lorca. The Terminator. Orion tyrant lady. All were pretty much cartoon villains who are evil basically because they are evil. The only one really allowed to get away with that is Lorca because, well, MU. But that was the real reason why he was a terrible foil. But that’s an old story.
⚡Burnham!⚡ Aahh-Aahhh!! Saviour of the universe!!
Thank you Queen!
new uniforms need a belt at the waist wrath of khan style and they’d be much better
Gravitational anomaly? Did the writers see a large contingent of reviewers on YouTube saying Discovery sucks & think “We’ll give ya ‘suck’!” 😏
The theme of the season is going to be finding strength in togetherness, not apartness. Hashtag Together. Hashtag Alex.
That trailer looked good ! First thought was the Voyager episode One Small Step, 6 season 8th episode. Where Voyager encounters a Graviton Ellipse that moves through subspace and travels all over the galaxy. I have a hunch this might be the thing we’er going to be seeing.
Geez, what a cheesy sappy teaser. But totally befitting this weepy soap opera style re-imagining of Trek. Boggles the mind had poorly written this series is, considering the money CBS throws at it. I will say the color-coded uniforms are a much-needed improvement.
OK. Neat. Another anomaly that will destroy everything. Imagine that.
But the new uniforms look much better. They do look like something that would have appeared at some point between TMP and TNG, however.
Still think this show has major issues. But that’s old news.
I call her: Captain open mouth
In Theory I like the Idea of a Gravitational anomaly as the main focus of interest. its just… they say its lightyears big and all that. This all sounds so exeaggerated and overdramatic that in the end it looses all its tension.
Sometimes the really good stories dont need all of the universe to be saved…
Discovery haves a New Who feeling to me…
I’ll bet this trailer has thee Midnight’s Edge creeps pissing in their pants. They repeatedly have prematurely called the show as cancelled or universally hated, neither of which is true.
Burnham can’t help but keep whispering… I’m really tired of that…
I just watched this trailer again (only 2nd time) and was struck by how redundant things in it seem. The voice-over might have seemed informative if you had been seeing unrelated images, like ship flybys or starfields (sort of like how the TWOK trailer withholds any actual footage for the first 30 seconds or so while giving you a narrator setting up Khan), but instead you were just seeing exactly what she was talking about. It’s kind of like this was cut in the style of the original theatrical on BLADE RUNNER, where you have voiceover that is often telling you what you are already seeing, instead of illuminating beyond that.
I just did a couple of interviews with the editors of MINARI and SOUND OF METAL for Filmsupply’s filmmaking blog, and while this material is obviously light-years apart from those fine features, I think the mindset of the makers has to be even further apart, because I just don’t see any attempt to do second-level or any kind of amplification of theme or adding of textures (contrasting or otherwise) here, or on much of any of the first two seasons of DSC. That’s a pretty sweeping generalization, I know, but I’ve been massively unimpressed with the editing on nearly all TREK post-TOS. I remember seeing the ‘coming next week’ bits for TNG and thinking that they seemed made by children and for children. But then I’d watch an episode and see basic actions tenets disregarded consistently (take a look at THE HUNTED, which should have been a pretty good show but features lame cutting choices throughout, from not cutting away in time when styrofoam bounces off Worf to choosing takes shot halfway down the corridor (might as well be a mile away) when crew run afoul of the soldier outside the transporter room. Whereas with TOS, the editing seemed to anticipate how the score would benefit it. Maybe the cutters on TNG knew early on that the score was NOT going to help things, but if so, you’d figure they would go with bold choices to offset that lack of support.
One thing I found reassuring when talking with both of those editors was how they were very much dedicated to letting things play without unnecessary cutting when that choice actually added ambiguity or revealed character . To put it in somewhat simpler but still effective TREK terms, you could remember the scene in TSFS where Morrow is giving his little speech to Kirk while the camera remains on Kirk alone … you get a whole range that Shatner goes through in a fairly (for him) subtle way, and it is something you would probably never see on a current TREK show, because they seem so hell-bent on cutting to whoever is talking, like the talking head is driving the story. That’s a critical failing in pretty much all amateur filmmaking too, but the idea that has taken hold on pro stuff is very depressing and annoying.
This is all probably more consideration than the trailer warrants, but something of my general dislike (read: gorge rising) for AbramsTrek and its streaming brethren seems to have coalesced for me with this viewing. I don’t watch much network stuff anymore and am getting increasingly picky with all my viewing choices (would rather rewatch something I know is good to look for more missed subtleties than invest a full 10 hours in something that plays lame from the git-go, and will probably only pay off with pyrotechnics rather than any sustained brilliance), but it seems like standards for storytelling are going more and more in increasingly opposite directions, with the bar lowering further for most while the good stuff gets increasingly better, like being on a planet where the breathing gets easier the higher you ascend.
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