star trek discovery science officer

Chief science officer

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The chief science officer , often simply called the science officer , was the senior staff member aboard a starship or starbase with the broad responsibility of coordinating the sciences division of the post. ( DS9 : " Melora ")

• 2.1 List of science officers

Science officer was a standard position aboard space vessels. Starfleet , Arkonian , Klingon , Romulan , and Vulcan vessels all operated with science officers. ( ENT : " Dawn ", " Impulse "; TOS : " Day of the Dove "; TNG : " The Next Phase "; DS9 : " Soldiers of the Empire ") In the Vulcan High Command , the science officer was assisted by a deputy science officer . ( ENT : " Impulse ") In Starfleet, several junior science officers assisted the science officer. ( VOY : " Flashback ")

The science officer's primary responsibility was analyzing, observing and theorizing explanations for strange or seemingly unexplainable circumstances in such a way as to provide answers. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " Spectre of the Gun ", " The Savage Curtain ", " Shore Leave ", " Plato's Stepchildren ") Then supply the commanding officer with all reports, observations, and speculations that might have affected the safety of their vessel. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " Balance of Terror ")

When it came to the matter of explaining procreation to the Vaalians , Captain Kirk passed the responsibility of providing an explanation to Spock, citing that " You're the science officer. Why don't you explain it to the young lady. " ( TOS : " The Apple ")

Additional duties included:

• In a medical emergency, the findings of the science officer were heavily relied upon. ( ENT : " Observer Effect ")
• Required to keep sufficient data, "all the time". ( TOS : " The Immunity Syndrome ")
• General survey party required the direction of a science officer. ( TOS : " The Ultimate Computer ")
• According to Jadzia Dax , it was a science officer's job to always have a "better idea." ( DS9 : " Paradise ")

Science officers [ ]

In 2268 , Harry Mudd observed that Spock " may be a wonderful science officer, but believe me, you couldn't sell fake patents to your mother . " ( TOS : " I, Mudd ")

In 2270 , James T. Kirk considered Commander Spock to be the best science officer in Starfleet. ( TAS : " The Jihad ")

In the 2270s of the mirror universe , Doctor Carmen Cho was the junior science officer onboard the ISS Enterprise . After crossing to the prime universe, she joined Starfleet, eventually rising to the rank of branch admiral. ( DIS : " Mirrors ", " Whistlespeak ")

In 2285 , Commander Pavel Chekov assumed the position of acting science officer aboard the USS Enterprise following the death of Spock. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

When Admiral Gregory Quinn wished to show Commander William T. Riker the parasitic being he had brought aboard the USS Enterprise -D in 2364 , Riker told him that he wished to summon his science officer. Quinn then grabbed Riker by the arm and told him that it wouldn't like his science officer, and proceed to attack the commander. ( TNG : " Conspiracy ", " Shades of Gray ")

When Captain Jean-Luc Picard spoke of the mission he had to complete at the Epsilon Pulsar Cluster to Katherine Pulaski , instead of attending to his own medical needs, Pulasksi was quick to point out that the mission was an " astronomical survey to be conducted by the science officers, I believe. " ( TNG : " Samaritan Snare ")

In 2368 , Jean-Luc Picard honorably made Jay Gordon Graas an acting science officer during a ship-wide emergency. ( TNG : " Disaster ")

When Kieran MacDuff attempted to gain the allegiance of Worf , explaining that they were not like the others on the ship. He noted that the "Enterprise had science officers, medical specialists , engineers . Our captain is undoubtedly an accomplished diplomat . But we, we are the warriors . " ( TNG : " Conundrum ")

The Romulan officer Parem referred to Geordi La Forge as "the science officer." ( TNG : " The Next Phase ")

In 2370 , acting Captain Beverly Crusher requested that Ensign Taitt stay on because she needed a science officer at the aft science station . ( TNG : " Descent, Part II ")

List of science officers [ ]

• Adislo, Hars – 2375 ( Star Trek: Insurrection )
• Burnham, Michael – USS Discovery , 2257 ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")
• Chu'lak – Deep Space 9 , 2375 ( DS9 : " Field of Fire ")
• Deep Space 9, 2369 – 2374 , chief science officer ( DS9 : " Emissary ", " Tears of the Prophets ")
• USS Lexington , 2371 (illusion) ( DS9 : " The Search, Part II ")
• IKS Rotarran , 2373 ( DS9 : " Soldiers of the Empire ")
• Decker, Will – USS Enterprise , 2270s ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )
• Frazier, Riley – USS Roosevelt , 2365 – 2366 ( VOY : " Unity ")
• Icheb – USS Coleman , 2386 ( PIC : " Stardust City Rag ")
• Kalandra – USS Tecumseh , 2372 ( DS9 : " Nor the Battle to the Strong "
• Kustanovich – USS Livingston , 2350s ( DS9 : " Invasive Procedures ")
• Janeway, Kathryn – USS Al-Batani , 2360s ( VOY : " Caretaker ", " Innocence ", " Bride of Chaotica! ", " Live Fast and Prosper ")
• Lucero, Lynne – USS Enterprise, 2250s
• Mara – Kang's battle cruiser , 2268 ( TOS : " Day of the Dove ")
• Masada – USS Constellation , 2267 ( TOS : " The Doomsday Machine ")
• Mirok – Romulan science ship , 2368 ( TNG : " The Next Phase ")
• Saru – USS Shenzhou , 2240s – 2256 ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")
• Sonak – USS Enterprise , 2270s ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )
• Spock – USS Enterprise , 2250s – 2270; 2270s ( TOS : " The Cage "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture )
• Spock (alternate reality) – USS Enterprise , 2258 – USS Enterprise -A , 2260s ( Star Trek ; Star Trek Beyond )
• Stamets, Paul – USS Discovery , 2256 ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")
• Swenson – USS Enterprise -D, 2364 ( TNG : " Skin Of Evil ")
• Syvar – 2372 ( DS9 : " Shakaar ")
• Taitt – USS Enterprise -D, 2370 ( TNG : " Descent, Part II ")
• T'Pol – Enterprise NX-01 , 2151 – 2161 ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " The Andorian Incident ", " These Are the Voyages... ")
• Tuvok – USS Excelsior , 2293 , junior science officer ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; VOY : " Flashback ")
• Valtane, Dimitri – USS Excelsior , 2293 , junior science officer ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; VOY : " Flashback ")
• Vanderweg, Greta – Deep Space 9, 2372-2375 ( DS9 : " Field of Fire ")
• Wildman, Samantha – USS Voyager , 2371 ( VOY : " Dreadnought ")

See also [ ]

• Chief scientist
• Scientific advisor
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

• Action/Adventure
• Children's/Family
• Documentary/Reality
• Amazon Prime Video

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Who’s Who on Discovery’s Crew

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• Star Trek: Discovery

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R.i.p. kenneth mitchell: 'star trek: discovery' and 'captain marvel' star dead at 49, stream it or skip it: ‘star trek: lower decks’ season 4 on paramount+, featuring the continuing (mis)adventures of starfleet’s proudest platoon members, best star trek gifts for trekkie fans in 2024.

In the grand Star Trek tradition, CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery has introduced us to Starfleet officers that we absolutely love. The series, now in its pulse-pounding second season, has started to really dig into the interpersonal relationships that really make this franchise special. Saru and Burnham’s deep trust, the sweeping romance of Paul and Hugh , Stamets and Tilly’s unlikely mentor/mentee dynamic, Pike’s everything –all of it’s just great, and it’s why we stick with Star Trek decade after decade!

But unlike every other Star Trek show, Discovery’s cast is a bit more… fractured, is a word to use. Star Trek (or TOS ) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (or TNG ) both had casts led by a dynamic captain with a crew backing them up. That’s not the case with Discovery , the first Star Trek show to not focus on a Starfleet captain. Beyond that, a lot of the characters have gotten promotions or changed roles, or they’re part of departments we rarely see highlighted on Trek shows (WTF are you doing, Stamets?). The actual bridge crew, the officers that do essential things like handle operations or pilot the ship, are mostly on the periphery! Who are they, and who does what?

That’s what this list hopes to suss out. Below you’ll find a list of all the major Star Trek officer positions, who fulfilled those roles on TOS and TNG , and who does the job on the currently-airing Discovery ( DIS ). As you’ll find out, a whole lot has changed regarding how Starfleet staffs a ship.

Commanding Officer

• TOS: James T. Kirk
• TNG: Jean-Luc Picard
• DIS: Gabriel Lorca (deceased), Christopher Pike (active)

Of all the positions in Star Trek , this is the one that’s always easiest to identify. Which character is top-billed and gets all the action? That’s the captain, like Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). Leave it to Discovery to complicate matters, though, because “top-billed” and “gets all the action” actually describes Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green, who is not the captain! Initially, the USS Discovery was captained by Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) until he was outed as an evil citizen of the Mirror Universe at the end of Season 1. Then Saru (Doug Jones) took over as acting captain until the arrival of Captain Pike (Anson Mount) in Season 2.

First Officer

• TNG: William Riker

It’s the first officer’s job to make sure that the crew carries out all of the commanding officer’s orders, and he also takes an active role in leading away teams while the captain remains on ship. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) pulled double duty as the first officer and the science officer. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was Picard’s number one. Saru started out as the chief science officer of the USS Shenzhou and became the first officer of Discovery , a role he still fulfills today.

Chief Engineer

• TOS: Montgomery Scott
• TNG: Geordi La Forge
• DIS: Jett Reno

It’s the chief engineering officer’s job to make sure the ship runs smoothly, and you usually see them away from the main bridge and down in the bowels of the vessel. This is what Scotty (James Doohan) did on the first series, and it’s the role Geordi (LeVar Burton) took on in Next Gen after spending the first season as the helmsman. As for who acts as the chief engineer on Discovery , well, that’s confusing. You’d think that job would fall to Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), but his job is more specific than that (more on him later). There is an engineer on board Discovery as of Season 2, though, and that’s Jett Reno (Tig Notaro), survivor of the USS Hiawatha disaster and new (although rarely seen) addition to the Discovery crew.

Science Officer

• DIS: Michael Burnham

On a vessel tasked with exploring the far reaches of space, you need someone with a science background on board to help make sense of new alien worlds and species. Spock fulfilled that role while serving as Kirk’s number one. By the time of Next Generation , science officers had become less common on Starfleet vessels. Still, science officer duties sometimes fell to Data (Brent Spiner). On Discovery , Michael Burnham–you know, the show’s lead character–is actually the science officer. There’s also another science officer on board: the scene-stealing Linus !

Chief Medical Officer

• TOS: Leonard McCoy
• TNG: Beverly Crusher, Katherine Pulaski
• DIS: Hugh Culber, Tracy Pollard

This job really needs no further explanation past the title, does it? These people keep the rest of the crew alive. That’s what Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) did in the original series and it’s what Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) did a generation later (there’s also Pulaski , but Trek fans don’t like talking about Pulaski). On Discovery , that job falls to Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) as well as Tracy Pollard , who filled in for Culber while he was, uh, dead-ish.

Communications Officer

• TOS: Nyota Uhura
• TNG:  Pendleton
• DIS: Milton Richter (former), R.A. Bryce (active)

The communications officer handles all transmissions incoming and outgoing, a gig that becomes stressful when you’re trying to communicate with potentially hostile entities. Uhura served as communications officer, playing an important role in pop culture. That’s why it’s kinda wild that TNG just didn’t have a communications officer, at least one that was onscreen. Geordi name drops a Chief Pendleton in one episode, but we never see him. The communications officer torch was picked up in Discovery Season 1 by Milton Richter , and then carried by R.A. Bryce (Ronnie Rowe Jr.) in Season 2.

• TOS: Hikaru Sulu
• TNG: Geordi La Forge, Wesley Crusher, various
• DIS: Keyla Detmer

When you get down to it, who has the most necessary job on a ship? The helmsman–you know, the person that actually flies the ship . Sulu (George Takei) flew the Enterprise through a bunch of missions in the first series. Geordi sat behind the “wheel” in the first season of TNG before moving to engineering. After that, a series of helmsmen took their turn, including Sariel Rager and Ro Laren . Oddly enough, the most notable TNG helmsman is probably teenager Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). On Discovery , Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) has served as the helmsman for both the USS Shenzhou and USS Discovery .

Tactical Officer/Security Chief

• TOS: Pavel Chekov
• TNG: Natasha Yar (deceased), Worf
• DIS: Ellen Landry (deceased), Ash Tyler (former), Nhan (active), Gen Rhys (active)

Over the course of canon, chief tactical officer and security chief have been combined into one role. Chekov (Walter Koenig) had the job, as did Worf (Michael Dorn). It’s also a dangerous job; TNG’s Tasha Yar and Discovery’s Ellen Landry both died while on the clock. Ash Tyler stepped into the role on Discovery until his true identity was uncovered. Now Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) has transferred over to Discovery from Enterprise and serves as security chief. Separate from the security chief, Gen Rhys acts as Discovery’s tactical officer.

Operations Officer

• DIS: Joann Owosekun

Data’s primary job on the USS Enterprise was as the operations officer, the man (or rather android) in charge of keeping track of the resources being allocated to all parts of the ship, from navigation to engineering. On Discovery , Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) keeps everything running smoothly.

Transporter Chief/Spore Stuff

• TNG: Miles O’Brien
• DIS: Paul Stamets, Airiam

The transporter chief does exactly what you think they do: they control the super important transporter system. During the original series, that role fell under the umbrella of engineering, hence (the misquotation) “beam me up, Scotty.” Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) served as transporter chief on TNG before being promoted and moved to Deep Space 9 .

And then there’s Discovery , a show that doesn’t have a transporter chief (that we’ve met). It does, however, have a whole department devoted to the ship’s one-of-a-kind spore drive that allows the ship to essentially teleport long distances via the mycelial network. All that spore stuff is kind of a massive transporter, one that transports the whole ship. Stamets and Airiam (Sara Mitich S1; Hannah Cheesman S2) are in the very small spore department.

• TOS: Various
• TNG: Wesley Crusher
• DIS: Sylvia Tilly

Ensign is the rank usually assigned to officers fresh out of Starfleet Academy. At first, ensigns were mostly the redshirts that beamed down to alien planets just to die. For a long time, TNG’s Wesley Crusher was the most recognizable ensign in Trek canon, until Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) came along and started seeing action on a weekly basis (seriously, she does a lot for an ensign).

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Interview: Wilson Cruz On Dr. Culber’s Arc In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 And Who Is Chief Medical Officer

| March 14, 2024 | By: Joe Andosca 77 comments so far

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery arrives on April 4. Paramount+ held a world premiere event at SXSW in Austin on Monday, where TrekMovie had a chance to speak to star Wilson Cruz on the red carpet about what’s new for Dr. Hugh Culber this season.

Culber has been through so much—including death—but this season, he seems super chill. What do you see as his arc in season 5 or has he achieved ultimate Culber-ness?

I think at the end of season 5 he has achieved ultimate Culber-ness. Because I think his whole journey has been about owning the life that he deserves, right? And I think when we see him at the beginning of this season, he’s getting there. You see that he’s in a different place. He’s ready for whatever comes at him. But a big existential question does come to him during the season. And I think it’s the final key to his anxiety, to his view of how he fits into the world. And I can talk about that later on in the season, I guess. But yes, I think at the end of the season he really is completely in his skin in a way that he’s never been, even before he died.

A lot of season 4 was dedicated to Culber counseling Book. Who in season 5 needs the good doctor the most?

I think my husband [Paul Stamets] does need me a little bit because he’s going through a bit of a crisis, but he handles it. I think everybody needs me, which is part of Culber’s anxiety. But I do end up spending a lot of time with Book this season in a friendship way. Like we develop a real friendship that’s beyond our counselor and a patient, if you will. Like we get to the point where we see him counseling me a bit this season, so it’s great.

David Ajala as Book and Wilson Cruz as Culber in season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)

Okay, this is a nerdy question: Who is the Chief Medical Officer of the USS Discovery?

[Laughs] Trick question! I think at this point I could probably own the fact that I am the Chief Medical Officer. But nobody has actually said that yet. Also, the fact that there was some controversy over whether Paul and Hugh were actually married or not. Which we were kind of confused about as well. But [co-showrunner] Michelle [Paradise] said, “You’re definitely married.” So, I’m going go ahead and go out on a limb—whether these f—ers want to support me or not —I am the head motherf—er in charge. [laughs] What are they going to do, fire me now? [laughs]

Well, will we see Culber again?

Oh, I think we will. They know that. How do you not bring me back? [laughs] I’m just kidding.

There’s the Academy  show…

I have no comment [laughs]

We know the season starts with an 800-year-old Romulan ship . Did you do any research to bone up on canon connections?

What did you watch?

If I told you that, it would be spoiling. But yes. I did the appropriate research for how this season is connected to Star Trek lore, I’ll say that.

Wilson Cruz as Culber and Mary Wiseman as Tilly season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)

More to come from SXSW

TrekMovie has more interviews and coverage from the SXSW 2024 premiere and panel discussion so check back later for more exclusives. See our previous interview with Sonequa Martin-Green .

The fifth and final season of Discovery debuts with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Discovery will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and is also expected to be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Early on in the show I think they were trying to give the impression that there was a lot of stuff going on on the ship, so that’s why they were coy about titles and implied there was a chief engineer that we just didn’t see and stuff like that. But we’re past the time were we should have met all senior staff (think of all the crazy stuff that has happened, they would have to have been involved in those things happening!), so they just go with it being the established characters. Its a minor thing and not a big deal though. It just isn’t a show that is concerned with defining all the roles and job titles.

I’m excited for the new season, I’ve always enjoyed the show despite its flaws.

Or defining any of the characters.

In the future, the science will likely dictate a completely different division of work. The producers could have really used that to their advantage.

The fact we never met the chief engineer is another reason why this show is so bad. They should’ve just made Statements the chief engineer long ago.

Him or Jett Reno. In fact when she was introduced on the show I thought she was going to be the new chief engineer. Instead they had her reporting to him too although we never saw him. Why not put her or Staments in the role?

This show is truly mind boggling at times).

The show was actually pitched to the fans as a “lower decks” sort of thing- sure, we knew who the captain was, but he wasn’t the major character, who was of course Burnham. So the other characters are people like Stamets- who obviously isn’t the chief engineer but a sort of scientist/engineer in charge of an experimental technology- and Culber, who’s sort of a junior doctor, and Tilly, who’s a cadet, etc. Except they started Burnham as a senior officer, which meant it was probably only a matter of time before she was one again (and, within about two seasons, the commanding officer), and they made the spore drive a regular thing, which bumps Stamets up, etc. etc. So yeah, you’ve got Dr. Pollard out there, and a whole bridge crew we barely know, and presumably some engineer, and so on. It’s just a bit weird we don’t know them.

It doesn’t *have* to be this way- after all, in Lower Decks we know the names and stories of all the senior officers as well- but it’s how Discovery ended up.

When people question why I criticize this show’s writing, I can now offer this article as an example: the fact that we’re five years in but still don’t know what role Culber–a main character–holds is proof that this show is too broadly and arbitrarily written. The writers spend all their time writing needlessly melodramatic cry-and-emote scenes, when they should have spent more time actually defining the characters.

Was Culber the chief medical officer? Was Stamets the chief engineer? We didn’t know for several seasons. But if not, why were they the ones who always made the decisions? It’s just bad writing–and those are only two examples of how poorly defined Discovery’s characters are.

Meanwhile, Michael Burnham was raised on Vulcan and first showed up almost computer-like in her emotionlessness, yet now she cries more than a televangelist’s triple-mascara-painted wife. And Tilly’s characterization has been all over the place, changing from one episode to the next. The writers (and, to some extent, the actors) have never really had any clear plan about how to approaches these characters, and it shows.

We’re at year five; they should have gotten better at it by now. They haven’t. And before all the Comic Book Guy types attack me for this, this is **my opinion.** Yours may vary, and that’s fine. I’ll vehemently respect and defend your right to love this show, so I’ll thank you to show me the same courtesy.

I agree about the arbitrarily written character roles. They could have done a lot better job with that. It only takes a few minutes for them to define those roles and then have someone in the writers room make sure they stick to it. I just don’t think it was ever a priority for them. Some fans don’t even require them to. I was always one of the ones where it bothered me they didn’t. But to each their own!

Burnham’s role has changed quite a bit on Discovery but it’s worth mentioning all of the backstage issues may have contributed to this. Every season they have made the choice to revamp, most likely due to ongoing criticisms, but it has lead to a sense of unevenness where some characters are concerned. It’s unfortunate because their hearts have always been in the right place but the execution is what falters for me. For example, Wilson shouldn’t have to ask if Paul and Hugh are married. The show should have already addressed that on screen. Ultimately, Discovery is what it is at this point! As a critic, I think in order to find any enjoyment in the show you have to know this will happen and move on. Otherwise I think a viewer will get bogged down by it.

I do agree that their hearts have always been in the right place, despite the poor execution. These are great idea people, but not great writers, and they’re very sloppy in how they do things. The same was true on Picard–there were some excellent ideas on that show, but also a lot of bad writing.

It seems like the Discovery writing team just throw ideas at a dart board, then never bother to develop them once they hit. I offer Gray Tal as an example. That character was utterly pointless and did nothing of consequence, despite how important the IDEA behind the character was. Same goes for Adira.

Characters who could be really cool, such as Nhan and Airiam, are given precious little to do. And most of the people on the bridge are so blandly written that even after five years and two full viewings, I can’t remember all their names. This is the only Star Trek show for which I can’t name the bridge crew. LOL.

For me, the biggest indicator that they’ve not done this show justice is that many of the most entertaining characters on Discovery–Pike, Spock, Number One, Harry Mudd, Sarek, Amanda, Stella Mudd, and Vina–all originated on TOS. At least half of the characters who originated on Discovery pale in comparison to them. When Stella freakin’ Mudd is more interesting than a main cast member, that’s a writing failure.

Every season they have made the choice to revamp, most likely due to ongoing criticisms…

Not so much after season 1 (with the exception of dialing back the Klingons a bit), but starting with S2, yeah, and it was most likely due to those criticisms. They should have stayed the course and just lived with the fact that a very loud subset of fans was never going to like it, but keeping faith in all of the new younger and diverse fans that the show was bringing to the table.

He’s the ship’s counsellor is he not?

This was a fantastic post and pretty much the reason I stopped watching the show at the end of season two. And it’s not lost on me that I’m posting too much about a show I don’t watch anymore, but honestly I still feel bad. DSC is the only Trek show I’d ever quit watching, at the time. Now sadly, quitting Trek shows has become commonplace for me. But DSC started it, so it’s a sore spot. Anyway, well put.

Danpaine I really wish I had your will power. Would’ve save me seasons of disappointment and pain.

But every season I always stayed hopeful it would get better since every Star Trek show prior always improved. I had faith this one would too …couldn’t have been more wrong.

And despite it all I’m still hopeful season 5 will be good, especially with the glowing reviews about it, but I’m a sucker for punishment I guess.

I stopped watching it as well. I’m pretty sure many did. Why keep watching something you know you think is bad? I don’t know if I will watch season 5 either.

Nearly all of the issues you mention were either started, or exacerbated starting with S3, when they made the mistake of “listening to the fans” and then continually over S3 and S4 (and it sounds like again in S5) — made changes and wholesale setting/purpose revisions and implemented tone differences, etc. etc. etc.

“In my opinion” there was very little wrong with the great S1 and S2 — with the one significant issue being the moronic changes to the Klingons that the overated Bryan Fuller stuck us with. The issue was it was a different type of Star Trek, with a different model for the lead character that some fans have never warmed up to. S1 had the awesome Prime Lorca/Mirror Universe storyline, and S2 had the Enterprise Arc that gave us the best Trek spinoff since DS9, with SNW. For me, those two seasons of DSC are right up there with SNW S1 and Picard S1 — for me, those are the four best seasons of Star Trek that I have watched since DS9 S7.

So, in my opinion, those of you who unnecessarily ragged on this here and on other fan sites (simply because you didn’t want a different kind of Star Trek show) bear some responsibility for the lackadaisical constant changes in S3 and S3 that your post above complains about — but Kurtzman and company are predominantly responsible for listening to all than underserved fan BS and then substantially changing the show to respond to it. If they had simply ignored all of you and continued the series without all of those changes I think we’d have already seen S5 and right now S6 would be in production.

I will say this for LDS — a show which I cannot stand — Mike McMahan heard a lot of fan criticism early on for his juvenile cartoon sitcom, but ignored all that and kind of doubled down on his approach. I gotta respect that, and the result is the series is still going strong today, whether I like it or not. So I think it’s unfortunate that Kurtzman, Goldsman and Paradise didn’t have the balls that McMahan had to ignore the internet fanboy critiques and stay the course for LDS after its early seasons.

Interesting. I completely agree with your 2nd paragraph but I won’t accept that the blame for S3 and S4 are all on the fans. How do you know it is in fact the result of the showrunners listening to the fan criticism? I for one don’t recall specific complaints about the show not having enough emotions or diversity or too rigorous a military structure pertaining to the Discovery crew. All this is completely on Paradise’s and Kurtzman’s shoulders.

And the reason why McMahan didn’t listen to the fans is moreso because the critics were complaining about the show being a cartoon and a comedy and you can’t change either of those as they’re integral to the foundation of what the show is.

It’s hysterical that the fans are being blamed but not the bad writers or show runner who is being paid a lot of money to make this show.

And BTW, fans complained about all the previous Trek shows. The producers listened and made changes to those too. And fans ended liking them more because they had competent writers who came up with better ideas and characters. TNG is the best example. Fans hated the first two seasons like many hated Discovery first two seasons. So they brought in a brilliant show runner and made the show awesome in third season listening to the complaints.

But with Discovery it got the opposite. 🙄

And I don’t remember anyone saying Discovery doesn’t have enough crying and hugging or that they have lame endings like a child crying that crippled the galaxy.

The blame goes to the people making a bad show even worse.

Yeah that burn thing. It still hurts thinking about it. I would really like to know who came up with that. Surely someone who has no understanding of science fiction or logic. Probably the same genius who thought out the tardigrade and the mycelium network.

The Burn was actually a very interesting concept but the people making this show clearly have no science fiction background when you land on such a ridiculous explanation for it. It’s insulting people’s intelligence.

It’s truly insane not only did someone come up with that but no one told them it was a bad idea.

Don’t get me started on the tardigrade nonsense. And having a spore drive in that era was just more stupid. It belonged in the 25th century, not the 23rd. It was obvious the people making the show just didn’t care about canon or basic consistency of the universe.

If you can’t write a proper prequel then maybe don’t make your show a prequel then.

They got away with their inability to stay within the confines of a prequel and the logic and canon of Star Trek by escaping to the far future. It’s no longer a prequel and if it doesn’t feel like Star Trek well that’s because it’s 700 years in the future!

In line with your last sentence I’ll add that if you can’t write a proper Star Trek show don’t call it Star Trek, but of course they wanted the fan base…

They got away with their inability to stay within the confines of a prequel and the logic and canon of Star Trek by escaping to the far future.

Yes, exactly. There was no reason for it, but they obviously were feeling the heat from the incessant Trek internet fanboy types who post 20+ negative comments on every single article evening remotely referencing DSC

Which was proof why it never should’ve been a prequel. I will never understand why not just put the show in the 25th century?? Did they just want to name drop Spock that badly? Or was it just having a war with the Klingons? Since that never even happened in canon it was even more nonsensical to do it

Discovery may have still been a bad show if they put it in another time period but it wouldn’t have felt so jarring either like it’s first two seasons. 🙄

Again you have to blame Fuller on that one. He was really into the idea of redoing TOS since he said that was his favorite era. But then you see what we got and I have no idea how Discovery felt anywhere close to TOS?? It felt nothing like it. It could’ve been ANYWHERE else and you lose absolutely nothing outside of TOS references.

And most fans wanted to go forward again. That had been obvious for years now, especially after the Kelvin movies. People were ready to forge new ground again and come up with new settings. It’s amazing how no one got the message at the time. Well they obviously got it now lol.

Now all that said if Discovery was just a BETTER show then people would’ve been fine it stayed in the 23rd century. SNW obviously proves that. Because it actually feels and LOOKS like a TOS prequel as well.

None of the is black or white. Discovery being a prequel wasn’t the real problem, it was simply its execution that was.

“They got away with their inability to stay within the confines of a prequel and the logic and canon of Star Trek by escaping to the far future. It’s no longer a prequel and if it doesn’t feel like Star Trek well that’s because it’s 700 years in the future!”

I think the real problem was Bryan Fuller. He just wanted to reboot the show in his own image basically and why we got the things we got.

But the show has no business being in the 23rd century IF they wanted to keep it in the prime universe. I will always say that was probably the show’s biggest mistake more than anything and TPTB seem to agree and why they moved it.

But the biggest irony about the spore drive issue is that wasn’t actually Fuller’s idea. He was on the Robert Meyer Barnett show and confirmed that was developed after he left the show. So that can’t be blamed on him at all. It was the new show runner ms who didn’t seem to either take account the time period they were writing for or just didn’t care.

And it goes back to what I been saying about people writing Star Trek, it doesn’t matter WHAT period you put the show in, in the end how consistent it is will simply be up to the writers. And since most of them want to write cool advanced tech then put your show in a period it makes sense in

Well no one can’t say that’s a problem in the 32nd century lol.

And you just said it SNW works because they simply made a show that felt like it belonged in the TOS era. The biggest issue with Discovery is it never did.

And the other reason why they felt they had to move the show because they wanted to keep the spore drive. It made absolutely no sense in canon (and BTW I always thought that was Fuller’s idea as well. Good info!). That was the problem. They made far fetched tech they clearly loved using and didn’t want to let go of it. So what did they do! They not only moved it to a period where it wasn’t breaking canon every episode they also created a premise where they had to constantly rely on it thanks to the Burn. So they knew the show couldn’t stay in that era as long as they wanted to use it. They put themselves in the hole and that was their only solution.

And btw, most fans didn’t even like the spore drive. Many assumed they were going to get rid of it but instead they doubled down on it. They w loved it so much they were willing to move the show just as an excuse to keep it. But yes let’s blame the fans for their constant mistakes. 🙄

It just shows how much the show was in conflict with itself. They put it in a time period no one seemed that interested in writing outside of throwing in TOS fan service. But the show itself felt and looked like it was made for another era altogether because the people making it basically treated like it was in a different period altogether.

And then they were shocked when people complained about it.. Gee…I wonder why?

For the record I loved the spore drive. That was literally the only new concept that came out of season 1. And I NEVER thought they would get rid of it. It’s just too good of a plot device to ignore. You have something that can literally transport you to any part of the galaxy in seconds to tell whatever story you want. Who would give that up lol.

But yes by using it they put themselves in the hole. It made NO sense in the 23rd century. But I always assumed they would just keep it (or why introduce it at all?) but whenever the show ended maybe destroy it then or something. I doubt anyone thought that hard about it lol.

Until the complaints over it rolled in. And instead of destroying it they just put it in another time period. Problem solved.

Discovery just had so many internal issues because they were simply following Fuller’s blueprint but at the same clearly wasn’t in love with the idea. It’s disingenuous to pretend the show was firing on all cylinders when it sounds like it had just as much internal issues behind the scenes as there was external on where to take the show.

These are the same people who stated twice in interviews we would not ever even see Spock on the show just to not only throw the guy in the very next year but give him a season long arc as well. I still believe that came from the very top along with many other things.

And as said Discovery still doubled down on some of its flaws to this day. A lot of the things fans complained about in season 1 they still complained about in season 4.

For example people kept saying let’s not do another galaxy in peril every plotline every season and yet..

So are they listening to the fans there? Obviously not. And these literally drive the entire season.

Now look at SNW. They took EVERY complaint people had over Discovery and just made an inheritly more appealing show. How? A. They were just able to start from scratch and B. I have to think the other showrunner Henry Alonso Meyers just understands the show and its audience better. I want to include Goldsman but he still gave us Picard season 2 and yes Discovery. But again obviously I don’t know.

But the results are obvious. SNW is a more popular show because the people making it truly heard all the complaints and produced a better show overall. It’s certainly not perfect as I have made many complaints about it myself and I know many people, some on this board, don’t like it or think Discovery is better. All valid opinions.

But it can’t be denied the response to it was overwhelmingly positive out of the gate. It still is.

Discovery is in the hole it’s in because admittedly it tried to over ride all the Fuller stuff but the people running it today has still presented a lot of questionable issues on their own LIKE the spore drive.. And questionable decisions keeps happening every season like the galaxy being destroyed. Has SNW had one episode where the galaxy was on the verge of destruction? No. Guess what no complaints about it then lol.

To pretend like Discovery just did a complete turnaround is disingenuous at best. Some of the shows biggest problems NEVER went away. And regardless how people feel about the show personally the people making it ultimately have all the power and makes all the decisions so they will get either all the credit or the blame as they should.

I think why so many people like reading your thoughts is you know how to cut things down in an honest and very analytical way.

The point about the galaxy crisis plotlines is one of the biggest issues this show has had. People complained about it the first season. They complained about it the second season. And then the third season and then the fourth season. This has never went away no matter how many times fans said they just want something simpler and more exploration based.

It’s no different than the constant complaints with the the TNG movies and later JJ verse where fans got sick of Marvel villains trying to destroy the Federation but they just kept doing it anyway. 🙄

More proof at the end of the day they do what they want. They have certainly changed things due to fans complaining but not every time either.

And as said SNW shows the difference of not just listening to fans complaints but actually executing it with good ideas and just better stories. Two things Discovery has been lacking for four seasons now.

For the record the galaxy in peril storyline don’t bother me that much. I didn’t love how they did it season 2 but it was a means to an end so whatever. I loved the Burn idea in season 3. I think most people did. The mystery behind it really soured me, but the basic concept was cool at least.

Season 4 is when I finally rolled my eyes and said enough already. Ironically I think that one was actually done the best lol. Again what is frustrating about Discovery is great concepts but very poor execution and horrible pacing issues. But yeah people complained about them every season, mostly because they never really ended that well.

Anyway I wasn’t trying to turn this into a rag on Discovery thread lol. But I agree with pretty much everyone here. Hopefully season 5 will be better overall.

And to keep this more positive (and on topic lol) the reviews have said Culber is one of the big stand outs this season. I think him and Staments sound like they will have an interesting arc. We’ll see.

To kind of continue on your point about SNW, I think the biggest problem with that show is that the 10 episode format is not working for it. It needs to have more episodes in a season so it can truly balance the sillier episodes with more serious ones.

Budget restraints forced shorter seasons, and Anson Mount may have influenced the decision. Pike was supposed to be only S2 of DSC, then he was finished with Trek. In interviews, he expressed frustration at being in front of a green screen for hours. His previous show, Hell On Wheels, took place in the 1860s. Anson mentioned that he enjoyed filming outside. SNW wouldn’t have happened without Anson Mount, who used this to his advantage when negotiating. On his (excellent) podcast, The Well Pod, Anson made a side comment about having dinner with Bill Shatner before SNW was greenlit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shatner encouraged him to take the role. So, I’m guessing that budget restraints, negotiating salaries for the stars, and other factors got us ten episodes a season. FWIW, I’d LOVE love a longer season or SNW movie in between seasons…

Agreed. At least 12, but better 14. That way those who want the silly BS get their two gimmicks shows, but then we have at least 10 shows that reflect core Star Trek elments.

Yeah I agree. It would be nice to have more episodes of them ‘boldly going ‘ too. Maybe there are too many comedic or light episodes.

Of course they can just make less of those but people seem to respond to them positively although the musical one was very mixed.

The crying Kelpian kid is truly one of the dumbest things they have done in Star Trek and that’s saying a lot. To this day I don’t understand how anyone thought this was a good idea??? Not only to hang an entire season on but the entire basis of the Federation collapsing.

There were SO MANY better and more logical ways to take it. They were so busy trying to not have anyone guess the mystery they lost the whole plot.

Yes it does hurt thinking about it. A fantastic idea that was trashed over this nonsense. This is truly one of those times I wish they had an experience sci fi writer in charge.

The Burn came in S3 — that aligns with my my point. And again, my point applies to those of us, who I think include you, that either loved or at least were OK with S1 and S2 of DSC — for us fans in that group, the “listening to the fans” thing did not make the series better.

There was no major problem on DSC that needed fixing after S2. They should have stayed the course and let the whiners whine.

The Burn only proved none of these clowns making this show shouldn’t be working on Star Trek period. And here is a secret, season 3 is actually my favorite season but clearly that’s not saying much lol.

The show has been a complete train wreck for four seasons now. I will be fair and say they actually have decent story ideas every season but executing them has been abysmal. At the end of season 2 when the Red Angel thing turned into a bad Terminator rip off was proof this show was simply in the wrong hands.

Well said. Discovery has incompetent writers from the start who didn’t really understand Star Trek. It didn’t even feel like Star Trek either. Even if you didn’t like some of the other shows they all felt like Star Trek. This show felt like it was trying to be something else.

That did improve more in season 2 at least but it was still a dreadful show.

“And BTW, fans complained about all the previous Trek shows. The producers listened and made changes to those too. And fans ended liking them more because they had competent writers who came up with better ideas and characters. TNG is the best example. Fans hated the first two seasons like many hated Discovery first two seasons. So they brought in a brilliant show runner and made the show awesome in third season listening to the complaints.”

A thousand times yes. TNG was considered awful and they knew fans weren’t happy and brought in new blood who not only understood Star Trek but modernized it that appealed to both and new fans. They made the show feel like its own but still inherently Star Trek with strong stories and character development. The show only got stronger and stronger.

With Discovery they improved some things but the bigger issues never went away. Yes they resolved a lot of the canon issues by throwing it in the 32nd century and they gave the show it’s own setting so it won’t be compared to TOS every second of the day. And it no longer mattered it looked nothing like TOS universe anymore.

So there were certainly a lot of positives. But they still double down on Discovery old problems as well, the biggest making it overly serialized and not developing the characters enough. And then ALL the ridiculous plot twists along the way that just made people scratch their heads.

I think the people making the show just couldn’t effectively write a fully connected season and why it just felt frustrating to watch season after season. Michelle Paradise is just a really bad show runner. If you truly believe the show got worse after season 2 like many seem to then it’s not rocket science the blame falls on her since she became the sole show runner after season 2.

She should’ve been fired after season 4 when the show became a true dumpster fire.

Exactly. And most people thought season 1 and 2 royally sucked. It’s again hysterical to believe the show was a fan favorite in season 2 and yet still sitting at a 36% rating audience score. 😂😂😂

Even though people loved Pike many still thought the season itself was mostly terrible. That’s why they gave him his own show and many at least like that one which BTW they ALSO listened to the fans when making that show.

I think the notes on that show was just do the opposite what you did on Discovery and jackpot! 😉

The show has been a disaster from the beginning. That’s literally why they keep trying to change it to no avail.

Season 2 did start off very popular but yeah by the end it was a big disappointment for many so not surprised why the rating is so low. But more proof people wasn’t digging the show and season 2 is my favorite because the first half was very strong IMO.

I always say even though SNW is a spin off of Discovery it almost feels like an anti-Discovery show at the same time.

I guess you could say the same about TNG and DS9. But the difference being DS9 still followed all of TNGs canon and those characters from TNG popped up on that show constantly.

But they didn’t throw TNG 900 years into the future so the crossovers were much easier lol.

I think it’s a very clear deduction that the wholesale change of the show between S2 and S3 was to respond to fan criticism. I can’t definitively prove that though. But it seems incredibly likely to me.

On McMahan, I think it’s also that the dude has more belief and more confidence in his show than Goldsman/Paradise/Kurtzman had in DSC.

How much rebooting is too much? I think at some point you do have to say enough is enough. If the fans aren’t going to like they just aren’t going to like it. Then again how much of a role does the studio play? We know they send their opinions down and expect them to be followed so I am sure this also played a part in the production process. Maybe one day we will know the entire truth of what went on.

As for a season 6, I am not so sure about that because of the studio’s current financial situation. Most streaming series are barely getting 3 seasons so 5 is more than most. I am not surprised that they have made the choice to move on. However, they must like the characters because there is the chance they can come back in the Academy show.

They have rebooted this show countless times and it never improved. Maybe studio interference is part of that but that’s not the only reason it’s bad. The people running it are simply incompetent.

How much rebooting is too much? I think at some point you do have to say enough is enough. If the fans aren’t going to like they just aren’t going to like it. 

Yes, exactly. Stay the course — there were plenty of existing fans, and a lot of new fans who were really into DSC after the first two seasons. They should have had the guts to continue what they were doing and not cave in the subset of Berman-era older fans who were never going to like it.

Who are “all of you?” I never complained about seasons one and two, yet you’re responding to me. I’ve many times said I enjoyed one and two a lot more than three and four.

Also, blaming the fans and not the folks who write these episodes is hilarious, and it shows a total lack of understanding of how television shows are made.

“And before all the Comic Book Guy types attack me for this, this is **my opinion.** Yours may vary, and that’s fine. I’ll vehemently respect and defend your right to love this show, so I’ll thank you to show me the same courtesy.”

So… you’re going to attack and insult other people’s opinions even after you demanded that they respect your opinions because you respect theirs?

Right. Okay.

Yeah, that comes across like: here is my lengthy opinion on this that you must take seriously, but if you disagree then you must be a comic book clown.

OK, sure, if you didn’t complain about S1 and S2 then this does apply to you. But it applied to many of the posters here and elsewhere who have ragged on this series since Day 1.

Regarding your second comments, I clearly stated that the predominant responsibility of the changes were the showrunners and the producers listening the fans . However, some of the fans who were complaining simply because they just didn’t like type of show they were getting and/or because they were just slamming on the Michael Burnham character (some, not with the best intentions) — those fans bear some contributing responsibility for the changes to the show. And I’m not backing down from that opinion — for example I read tons of negative comments here and elsewhere on Michael/SMG — and on top of the other more reasonable negative comments, that all effected the paper thin confidence that the meek showrunners/producers had on this show, unfortunately.

I agree with pretty much everything you just said. The show has been awful for four seasons straight now. The characters are all over the place and while the story arcs start strong in the beginning they become a mess by the end because the writing is so poor with no clear vision. It’s hilarious that Wilson Cruz is still not even sure he is CMO or not after 5 seasons really says it all. 😂🙄

This show can’t end soon enough.

I’m pretty sure Doctor Pollard is the Chief Medical Officer.

The fact he doesn’t know that, a main actor, speaks to how bad this show really is. And I couldn’t even remember her name.

Wrong again tiger. Be better.

You haven’t been right on anything here in six years lol.

This, ^ was funny… 😄

six years ago? I didn’t even know this website existed six years ago. You’re losing the tread again tiger poo.

You’re so pathetic lol. I can’t imagine how much you love to yourself im real life.

He doesn’t know probably because he doesn’t watch the show in its entirety. He’s only really concerned about his own scenes.

If you watch the show you would know Pollard is the chief Doctor. No need to have her sitting on the bridge doing nothing like crusher.

Also Patrick Stewart never watched TNG when he was filming it.

Can you tell me with a straight face Patrick Stewart didn’t know Beverly was the CMO either even though he never watched it? 😂

Don’t kid yourself man, half the viewers have no clue Dr. Pollard is the CMO either because she’s barely there and Culber makes all the decisions on his own. And if he isn’t why would he assume he was then? Did someone tell him that? Obviously not because he just admitted no one has lol. He’s only saying he feels like he IS the CMO because why wouldn’t he since he acts like one now.

Which leads to the bigger question why is she even the CMO? Why not switch the roles and have her under Culber. That would make more sense right. But this is Discovery, making sense has never been this shows strong point lol.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t say that. Are you okay? Are you hearing voices again?

I was only pointing out how ridiculous that excuse is. The guy has been doing this for five years now. It’s pretty sad in all that time he still doesn’t even know his full position. 😂

Most actors don’t watch their work. I never did.

I mean it’s Discovery so I can’t blame the guy. 😂

I’ll take it, Culber is CMO. Honestly the more Culber I can get the happier I’ll be. I hope he is in the academy show because I’m defiantly going to miss Dr. Culber.

People, including me, rightly complain when it seems like Burnham solves every problem on the series, she’s always the one solving everything, and the reason for that is summed up in this article… The rest of the cast just aren’t defined enough to the point where them getting things done actually makes sense.

Culber: Husband apparently, kind of CMO?, friendship with Book, loves opera, randomly adopted two others.

Discovery is such an awful show it nearly made me question my fandom and I been watching it since the original series aired. I still haven’t finished watching the last two seasons. I gave up both times.

I don’t blame the actors they gave it their all. They can’t help they have badly developed characters and awful storylines.

I actually like Culber but the fact the actor is not even sure if he’s the CMO really says it all.

It was a barely conceived show and no matter how many times they tried to improve it never did it any favors in the end.

I had issues with Discovery from the start and still feel season 1 is one of the worst seasons of Star Trek IMO. Not all bad but still pretty bad.

I did have better hope in season 2. It felt like it was not only feeling more like a Trek show, it was just telling better stories in general, but the season still went off track with the whole Red Angel plot line. But I understand it was just to get them in the future, one I was truly excited for and where the show should’ve been on DAY ONE!

But they managed to screw that up too lol.I know there are plenty of people who truly love this show and I really envy them. I want to love it as much as they do. But there has been a lot of missteps along the way. and no one is to blame for that than the people making it. The fact one of the main actors on the show isn’t sure if he’s the chef medical officer or not (note: he isn’t) speaks volumes to me.

Um I guess Cruz didn’t get the memo the ship already has a CMO? The same one he’s been working with since the show started?

When people say the show has serious problems, this is a glaring example of what they mean. The show is now officially over and the actor who has been on it for all five seasons is still confused over his role on it. Imagine how the average viewer feels.

BTW this is also the first time I’m hearing he and Paul are married lol. Was it ever stated anywhere? Maybe I just missed it. This show man.

And…. 1000 years ago marriage was different. 1000 years from now…

Star Trek may have lasted 60 years so far… but 40 years from now? It’s all going to look outdated.

That’s probably true as well. I agree.

i wish SFA was set in the 23rd, 24th or 25th century, that way we could be done with DSC in 3 months. this show is broad, uneven and feels like a CBS action procedural with some ST window dressing. Its unique to DSC and not new ST, because SNW, LD and PIC S3 showed you can tell actual do modern tv sci-fi shows. SFA is gonna be a CW HS drama with the DSC crew showing up periodically to cry and speak in whispers something thats suppose to sound profound.

As someone that has Discovery as their least favorite show I definitely understand why others want the SFA show in a different time period but I am really hoping the show just use it more fully.

I get it you want Discovery erased period but I still think focusing on a new time period is good for the franchise overall. But I know I’m in the minority on that one.

Would anyone let a 12th century physician perform surgery on them? I figure that there would be so much advancement in medical knowledge and training over the course of 900 years that Culber simply wouldn’t be qualified to be CMO. Frankly I’ve been a little surprised that Discovery Crew can function so seamlessly in a 32nd century technoverse…

Nothing about this show makes a lick of sense. It’s like it’s being ran by fifth graders.

This is the same show that made Tilly an XO. The same character that was hiding behind a bar when a fight broke out in the same season lol.

Wait when did Tilly hide behind a bar?

Edit: Nevermind. I remember now.

Oh yeah it happened. And I’m not saying you have to be an expert fighter to be in command but you have to at least show fortitude and courage.

And who is the one person they usually send down on the dangerous away missions? The first officer. Do you really want to follow someone like Tilly on an away mission? Just utterly ridiculous.

I know it was just a temporary position but why her at all??? Sorry for the rant lol. Just so many things about this show bothers me.

Is Culber the CMO? Well, I don’t see any other doctors in the senior staff meetings.

Memory Alpha notes that Dr. Pollard was first seen as part of the crew in 2257, after the Klingon War, while Culber was part of the crew since 2256.

Culber appears in 41 episodes, Pollard only in 15, out of 65 episodes to date.

We haven’t seen either of them interact in a way that suggests one reports to the other, so, while it’s not explicitly stated, we can infer that by time served on the ship, he’s the senior medical officer, until it’s contradicted in canon.

As to whether characters are “loosely defined,” I hasten to remind everyone that audiences (and writers) discover things about characters as a series goes along, and they get better defined the more a show finds its footing.

A lot of stuff is Early Installment Weirdness that gets handwaved away.

The other thing that can be an issue is characters who change very little over time. Someone mentioned CBS police procedurals – characters on those shows are practically cardboard cutouts that barely change, because each one has One Personality Trait that defines them, so you don’t have to think too hard. Real people change and evolve over time.

That said, while I don’t have a bunch of trading-card bullet-points about people’s job titles to help me put them in little pigeonholes, I have never really needed them.

I have no questions about who the characters are, what drives them, and who they are to each other, nor what the stakes are.

Yes, it’s fully within everyone’s rights to like or dislike aspects of the acting, the direction, the SFX, etc. But I feel this is crossing over into needless nitpicking.

I don’t go onto message boards for shows I dislike to dump all over them. I don’t feel like I own the shows I like; I own what I like about them, and feel free to ignore the parts that don’t make sense.

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‘star trek: discovery’ casts its spock.

Ethan Peck will play Spock in season two of CBS All Access' 'Star Trek: Discovery.'

By Lesley Goldberg

Lesley Goldberg

Television Editor, West Coast

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CBS All Access has cast its Spock.

Ethan Peck has been tapped to take on the iconic role and will play the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer of the USS Enterprise in season two of the SVOD service’s Star Trek: Discovery .

“Through 52 years of television and film, a parallel universe and a mirror universe, Mr. Spock remains the only member of the original bridge crew to span every era of Star Trek . The great Leonard Nimoy, then the brilliant Zachary Quinto, brought incomparable humanity to a character forever torn between logic and emotion,” showrunner Alex Kurtzman said Tuesday in a statement. “We searched for months for an actor who would, like them, bring his own interpretation to the role. An actor who would, like them, effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion and yearning. Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, Zack and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family.”

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What that enterprising finale twist means for 'star trek: discovery' season 2.

Star Trek: Discovery  takes place before the original Star Trek series. Clues that Spock would be formally introduced came in the season one finale in which the Discovery encountered the USS Enterprise — otherwise known as the ship that would eventually be captained by James T. Kirk and that counts Spock among its ranks.

In Discovery, Spock is still chief science officer under Capt. Christopher Pike (new series regular Anson Mount ). The season two trailer (watch it again, below) offers a better update on what Spock is up to in Discovery as the clip reveals the Vulcan is off on his own journey. “He took leave,” Pike says in a voiceover. “It’s as if he’d run into a question he couldn’t answer.”

Spock has a larger connection to the USS Discovery — notably his father, Sarek (James Frain) and foster sister, Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). With Michael’s theory of her relative being connected to a series of cosmic anomalies, it appears that a  Star Trek  plot could once again revolve around a search for Spock.

Peck, meanwhile, is the grandson of Hollywood icon Gregory Peck. His acting credits include playing Heath Ledger’s part in ABC Family’s TV take on 10 Things I Hate About You and CW Seed’s I Ship It. This past pilot season, Peck was tapped to star in the ABC drama pilot For Love . He is repped by Untitled and Jackoway Tyerman.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to return in early 2019.

Patrick Stewart to Reprise 'Star Trek' Role in New CBS All Access Series

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…and of course, this full-cast photo was released by the streamer earlier this year.

The final season of  Star Trek: Discovery runs through May 30 on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery  Season 5 continues on Paramount+ May 2 with “Whistlespeak,” followed the next day on SkyShowtime in other regions.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season Premiere Recap: Where’s My Damned Red Thing?

Star trek: discovery.

The first season finale of Star Trek: Discovery ended on the ideal type of cliffhanger: the “hmm, that seems like a terrible idea I’d like to block out for a year and circle back” kind. After a whirlwind of a rookie season, wherein choices both smart and utterly inexplicable — but overall unique and daring — were made, the writers made the deeply annoying decision to lean on nostalgia and canon in the final seconds, ending things with a distress signal from Captain Christopher Pike and the U.S.S. Enterprise.

That Discovery takes place a decade before the events of the original series has been well established; we knew the risk of running into canonical TOS characters from the beginning. But actively recruiting Captain James T. Kirk’s predecessor onto the Discovery and into the first new Trek series in over a decade feels titillating at best, a move expressly designed to placate a hardcore cadre of Trekkies who have already expressed serious doubts about the show to begin with. To say nothing of the fact that we’d just managed to kill off the other domineering white guy a few episodes prior! His imminent arrival, along with that of Michael Burnham’s (Sonequa Martin-Green) foster brother, Spock (Ethan Peck) — perhaps the franchise’s most recognizable character — and all the fervor surrounding them has resulted in little impatience for me surrounding the show’s return. Of course I want the show to come back; no first season of a Trek series is its best. But the introduction of familiar characters didn’t bode well at all for Discovery ’s future.

Thus it is with slightly bemused optimism that I report that the season-two premiere, which, for better or worse, ignores almost all of the events of last season, is made delightful almost entirely thanks to Pike’s arrival on the ship. Of course there’s also Burnham’s opening monologue, which plays over the footage of Saturn gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and is so beautiful that I choked up and suddenly wondered why this wasn’t part of the overall title sequence, à la Patrick Stewart’s Next Generation prologue. And there’s Tig Notaro as stranded engineer Jett Reno, whose wry genius manages to be a perfect fit for the franchise while also relatably grounding the story in a way previously unseen in a Trek show. Tilly’s still saying too many words, and Saru is still the undersung hero of my heart .

But — and believe me, it pains me to admit it — with Pike, and in particular with Anson Mount’s portrayal, Discovery has suddenly been injected with a version of the paternalism beloved in Trek s past (see: Picard, Sisko) that may actually be ideally compatible with the future of the series. Equal parts humble, empathetic, and just a bit overly fixated on being the Discovery’s cool new stepdad, the new Pike is the best version of a white guy the show could have: he treats his role on the the ship as temporary as it is, deferring to Saru and Burnham whenever possible, humanizing the heretofore more or less anonymous bridge crew, and making jokes that feel rooted in classic Trek (“Where’s my damn red thing?” “And Detmer? Fly … good”).

To the plot, though: Stranded with only life support functional, the Enterprise — which, we learn, managed to miss the entire Klingon War while it was on one of its five-year missions — needs serious repair. In the meantime, Starfleet wants to optimize its prized Captain Pike, and orders him to commandeer Discovery to investigate a bunch of mysterious red … things that have suddenly popped up across the galaxy. They’re signals, I guess? And maybe they’re malicious! They’re red, after all.

Pike comes aboard with a redshirt with headgear and a science officer who is, much to Burnham’s surprise (and disappointment?), not Spock, but a large adult son fresh off an Ivy League rowing team named Connolly. (Among the many things I appreciated about this character: the actor who plays him is also named Connolly , as though the writers knew he’d exist so briefly they couldn’t bother to give the character an in-universe name.)

The Discovery is tasked with checking out the only one of the signals with a clear location, which happens to be in the middle of a strange asteroid cluster. One of the asteroids has its own gravitational field — which Large Adult Son so helpfully points out is impossible for an object that small — and just so happens to be where the USS Hiawatha, a Starfleet medical frigate thought to be destroyed by the Klingons over a year ago, has crash-landed. The cluster — awfully similar to the debris field where Burnham and Co. discovered the Klingons’ Beacon of Kahless, I should note — is too dangerous to transport through, so Burnham, Pike, headgear redshirt, and Large Adult Son take these little exploratory pods through the field to rescue whoever may still be alive on the asteroid.

Now, Large Adult Son exists seemingly for two reasons. He makes Pike look like a far better white guy by comparison, and establishes a new norm for the franchise: this time around, it won’t be redshirts who die for stupid reasons — it’ll be smug mansplainers who can’t get over a woman being smarter and better than him at their job. So yeah, Large Adult Son refuses to listen to Burnham’s warnings about steering the pods, despite the fact that she literally test-piloted them, and gets hit by debris and explodes as a result. Bye!

On the asteroid they find Jett Reno, who is apparently such a good engineer that she can also keep actual living people medically stable for 10 months with a heap of scrap metal and some batteries. I guess that makes sense, if medicine has indeed advanced that much — I don’t know shit about computers but can troubleshoot my laptop if it goes haywire. Anyway, they figure out how to transport all the patients off the rock. Burnham misses the transport window and has to do some virtually meaningless escaping of the wrecked ship as the gravitational field collapses it; she gets knocked out and stabbed by some molten shrapnel but Pike comes back to save her because he is a Good Dad. The Discovery manually grabs a big ol’ rock from the cluster because Tilly says it’s sending the last of the mycelium spores haywire, and because it apparently contains non- baryonic matter .

Meanwhile, the elephant not in the room this week: Spock. At the very least, his presence (or lack thereof) in the premiere is very “ sorry, sorry, I’m trying to remove it ,” as though to assure us it’s not the lazy fan service it appears. The bait-and-switch with his non-reveal — as the Enterprisers materialize on the transporter, a close shot of Large Adult Son’s square jaw and then his human ear, as though ratcheting up fans’ anticipation of his arrival only to deliberately dash it — was deeply satisfying, not to mention somewhat reassuring.

And judging from Burnham’s flashbacks to her arrival into Sarek, Amanda, and Spock’s home on Vulcan, it’s pretty clear that we’re leaning into the awkward insecurity suggested by Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams’s film franchise reboot (despite the two properties taking place in two different universes). Mean Baby Spock’s vague rejection of Baby Michael is obviously driven by anxiety, if not a deliberate insinuation that he’s on the autism spectrum; Burnham intimates to both Pike and Sarek that there’s more to their relationship that she hasn’t divulged yet, though, so that’s TBD.

And surprise! Pike’s damn red things, Burnham learns at the end when she boards the Enterprise to snoop through her brother’s stuff, were plotted and scattered by Spock himself, as some sort of puzzle or map for Burnham to follow “in the event of [his] death.” Kind of an extreme way to grapple with your existential crisis, bud, but given Spock’s penchant for pretending to be dead so that everyone who loves him will scramble to find him at any cost, I can’t say I’m surprised.

Personal Log :

• Okay, look: I know it’s canon that Pike is from Mojave. I know that some bits of Star Trek over the years have even been filmed out in the Mojave Desert. But has anyone associated with this show ever pointed out that it is, in fact, a desert ? Here’s a bafflingly lush still from the original Pike pilot, “The Cage.” And now we have Pike talking about having learned “back in Mojave” that you have to “jump right into” a “cold stream”? Is the Mojave going to be terraformed in the next 200 years? Is that it? Where is this cold stream in the middle of a desert, Christopher? WHERE.

• Should we be worried about Stamets? He’s talking about leaving Starfleet for the Vulcan Science Academy while also obsessing a little too much over the Kasseelian opera primadonna who commits violent suicide after one (1) performance. Here’s hoping a big new rock to play with will keep him onboard, and, you know, alive.

• Did you notice the proto-visor worn by Discovery’s transporter platform operator? … Hmm? Oh, yeah, that was all I had on that one. Good easter egg, folks.

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Published Aug 14, 2018

Ethan Peck Cast as Discovery's Spock

Ethan Peck has been cast as Spock -- the half-human, half-Vulcan Science Officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise , and foster brother of Michael Burnham -- in the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Discovery . Peck is the grandson of legendary actor Gregory Peck, who counted among his final projects the 1998 TV miniseries Moby Dick , which starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab, the role Gregory Peck famously played in the 1956 movie of the same name.

Peck grew up in Los Angeles and attended college at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. As an actor, his film and television credits include Passport to Paris, That '70s Show, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 10 Things I Hate About You, In Time, Madam Secretary and The Curse of Sleeping Beauty .

"Through 52 years of television and film, a parallel universe and a mirror universe, Mr. Spock remains the only member of the original bridge crew to span every era of Star Trek ," Discovery executive producer Alex Kurtzman said in a statement. "The great Leonard Nimoy, then the brilliant Zachary Quinto, brought incomparable humanity to a character forever torn between logic and emotion. We searched for months for an actor who would, like them, bring his own interpretation to the role. An actor who would, like them, effortlessly embody Spock’s greatest qualities, beyond obvious logic: empathy, intuition, compassion, confusion, and yearning. Ethan Peck walked into the room inhabiting all of these qualities, aware of his daunting responsibility to Leonard, Zack, and the fans, and ready to confront the challenge in the service of protecting and expanding on Spock’s legacy. In that spirit, we’re thrilled to welcome him to the family.”

Among those celebrating the news was the family of Star Trek' s original Spock, Leonard Nimoy: daughter Julie and son Adam, along with their respective spouses, David Knight and Terry Farrell.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are currently streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 are also available on the Pluto TV Star Trek channel in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Discovery is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Star trek: discovery’s 6 best friendships.

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The 10 Best Friendships In Star Trek

Star trek: discovery writer teases “ramifications” for dr. culber’s season 5 trill takeover, i think burnham's star trek: discovery prime directive violation is better than picard's in tng.

• Star Trek: Discovery showcases authentic friendships like Lt. Keyla Detmer & Lt. Joann Owosekun, echoing iconic duos from past series.
• Michael Burnham's dynamic relationships, especially with Philippa Georgiou and Cleveland Booker, add depth to Star Trek: Discovery.
• The evolving bond between Burnham and Sylvia Tilly highlights the show's focus on meaningful friendships and character growth.

Star Trek: Discovery has some of Star Trek's best friendships. Since the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) on Star Trek: The Original Series , friendship has been a big part of Star Trek . Along with Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk and Spock formed an iconic trio, whose friendship came to define the dynamic of their characters. From Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) on Star Trek: The Next Generation to Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany) on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , every Star Trek series has had at least one iconic friendship.

Star Trek: Discovery has worn a lot of different hats since its beginnings, going from a dark revenge-focused story in its first seasin to an intergalactic adventure story in its final season. But through all of Discovery's ups and downs, Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) has been at the center of the story, and her relationships and the relationships of those around her form the heart of the show. Star Trek: Discovery has allowed its characters to show more emotion than any previous Star Trek show, making the friendships among the crew of the USS Discovery feel all the more authentic.

From Kirk and Spock to Burnham and Tilly, Star Trek has been home to some of the most enduring, fulfilling friendships in all of science fiction.

6 Keyla Detmer & Joann Owosekun

Uss discovery's pilot and the operations officer..

Although Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) have been largely absent from Star Trek: Discovery season 5, their friendship has been a subtle throughline since the show's first season. Detmer serves as Discovery's helmsman, while Owosekun (or Owo) serves as an operations officer. Much like Lt. Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and Ensign Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) in Star Trek: The Original Series, Detmer and Owo sit next to each other on the bridge and often trade looks and remarks.

In the latter half of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Owosekun and Detmer finally began helping more on missions and getting more to do.

Throughout Star Trek: Discovery, Detmer and Owosekun have been seen spending time off duty with one another and other members of the crew. As Discovery progressed, it became obvious Keyla and Joann had a well-established rapport, and they have both proven to be invaluable members of the USS Discovery's crew. In the latter half of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Owosekun and Detmer finally began joining away missions and getting more to do, so hopefully they will ​​​return for the last few episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

5 Michael Burnham & Philippa Georgiou

A surprising connection that spans universes..

When Star Trek: Discovery first began, Commander Michael Burnham was the First Officer of the USS Shenzhou under Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). When Burnham's actions inadvertently led to Georgiou's death, Michael was devastated. After Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) took the USS Discovery to the Mirror Universe, Burnham had to pretend to be her evil counterpart. While undercover, Burnham encountered the Mirror Universe Emperor Georgiou , who was much more ruthless than her Prime Universe counterpart.

In the Mirror Universe, Michael Burnham was Emperor Georgiou's adopted daughter.

Emperor Georgiou traveled back to the Prime Universe with the USS Discovery's crew, and she became less of a villain and more of an anti-hero and sometimes reluctant ally. Burnham had looked up to Captain Georgiou, and Emperor Georgiou took on the role of a mother-like figure for Burnham. After Discovery traveled to the 32nd century, Emperor Georgiou began experiencing negative side effects as a result of being displaced in both time and universes. With help from the Guardian of Forever, Georgiou traveled back to "a time when the Mirror Universe and the Prime Universe were still aligned," leaving a tearful Burnham behind.

Michelle Yeoh will reprise the role of Emperor Georgiou as the star of the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 made-for-streaming film.

4 Michael Burnham & Cleveland Booker

From friends to lovers to friends to... lovers, again.

When Commander Michael Burnham wore the Red Angel suit and led the USS Discovery into the 32nd century, she arrived one year ahead of the ship. Upon exiting the wormhole, Burnham collided with the ship of Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), beginning what would become one of Michael's most important relationships. Burnham looked for signs of Discovery, while she and Book worked together as couriers. After Discovery finally arrived in the future and made contact with Starfleet and the Federation, Book continued to help however he could.

Regardless of their romantic status, Burnham and Book make a phenomenal team.

Burnham and Booker's relationship became romantic during their year together, but they separated after Book went on a mission of vengeance after the Dark Matter Anomaly destroyed his homeworld of Kwejian in Star Trek: Discovery season 4. In Discovery's fifth and final season, Booker has rejoined the titular ship, and he and Burnham continue to work together as friends. Regardless of their romantic status, Burnham and Book make a phenomenal team and work together seamlessly.

3 Hugh Culber & Sylvia Tilly

Sometimes counselors need counseling, too..

As a cadet, Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) wanted to be a starship Captain one day, but she began questioning her path in Star Trek : Discovery season 4. As Chief Medical Officer and counselor aboard the USS Discovery, Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) advised Tilly to begin trying new things. Tilly can become friends with almost anyone, and she and Culber quickly developed a rapport. Hugh suggested Tilly for a position training a group of Starfleet Academy cadets.

Lieutenant Tilly later accepted a teaching position at Starfleet Academy helping to oversee the first new class of cadets in a century. Culber and Tilly have continued to talk outside of their more structured therapy appointments , and their positions have somewhat reversed. When Culber began experiencing what he calls a possible "spiritual awakening" in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Tilly provided a listening ear and helped the doctor reframe some of the big ideas he had been grappling with.

Dr. Hugh Culber was taken over by a Trill named Jinaal Bix, and his experience will resonate further in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

2 Michael Burnham & Saru

Starfleet's first mutineer and starfleet's first kelpian officer..

As Science Officer of the USS Shenzhou under Captain Georgiou, Saru (Doug Jones) is one of the few characters who knew Michael Burnham before she committed mutiny. While serving on the Shenzhou, they often disagreed as they had very different command styles. As Star Trek: Discovery's later seasons have shown, however, Saru and Burnham complement one another well and have become one of the show's best pairings.

Saru has had one of the most compelling journeys of Star Trek: Discovery' s characters and he grew into a confident and assured starship Captain. Michael Burnham was one of Saru's closest friends and allies throughout this journey, and the two developed an undying respect for one another. Saru's more reserved nature helps temper Burnham's impulsiveness, making the duo an excellent command team.

As seen in Star Trek: Discovery s eason 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons," Burnham and Saru also work well together on away missions, where their trust and confidence in one another makes them a force to be reckoned with.

1 Michael Burnham & Sylvia Tilly

Star trek: discovery's most surprising pair of bffs..

One of Star Trek: Discovery's longest friendships is also its best. When Michael was first assigned to the USS Discovery after her imprisonment, Cadet Tilly was assigned as her roommate. At first, Tilly was nervous about living with the infamous mutineer Michael Burnham, but the two eventually warmed up to one another despite their contrasting personalities. When the two first met, Tilly wanted to be a starship Captain, and Burnham began mentoring her. As Tilly's confidence grew, she helped Burnham open up more and move on from her complicated past.

The relationships on Star Trek: Discovery are one of the best parts of the show, and Michael Burnham and Sylvia Tilly have become Star Trek's best female friendship.

Throughout Star Trek: Discovery's five seasons, Tilly and Burnham have only grown closer and their friendship has helped both characters grow and evolve. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6 , "Whistlespeak," Burnham and Tilly embarked on an away mission that reiterated how well the two work together. Tilly's ability to help others open up and become friends with almost anyone proved to be just as useful as Burnham's ability to think on her feet and get things done. The relationships on Star Trek: Discovery are one of the best parts of the show, and Michael Burnham and Sylvia Tilly have become arguably Star Trek's best female friendship.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

• Star Trek: Discovery (2017)

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's Best Surprise Is Book And Culbers Friendship

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak"

• The friendship between Booker and Culber in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a joy to watch, highlighting natural chemistry and strong bonds.
• Episode 6 "Whistlespeak" celebrates friendships between Culber and Booker, Burnham and Tilly, with loyalty and understanding shining through.
• Friends help friends understand more about themselves in Star Trek: Discovery, as the crew gets closer to life's secret in season 5.

The friendship between Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) is one of the best surprises of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. The importance of family and friendship has become a key part of Discovery since the crew made the decision to strand themselves in the far future in the season 2 finale. However, sometimes Star Trek: Discovery is guilty of telling, rather than showing, that the crew of the USS Discovery is a close-knit group of friends. This recently became apparent when Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) struggled to find his place on the Discovery crew.

Star Trek: Discovery 's best friendships feel natural, with the easy chemistry of the actors coming through in their scenes together. For example, Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak" sees Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) break the Prime Directive to save the life of her friend, Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) . The audience knows how important Burnham and Tilly are to each other because they've watched them grow and develop since being thrown together in Discovery season 1. Mary Wiseman and Sonequa Martin-Green's easy chemistry with each other further emphasizes this bond. However, Discovery season 5, episode 6 also solidifies another winning friendship.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Booker And Culbers Star Trek: Discovery Friendship Is A Joy

Booker and Culber have been frequently paired together during Star Trek: Discovery season 5 so far. In Discovery season 5, episode 2, Book and Dr. Culber teamed up to create a psychological profile of Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) . Indeed, it was Culber whom Book first confided in about his family connection to Moll via her biological father, and his mentor, Cleveland Booker IV . Book, Burnham and Culber visited Trill in Discovery season 5, episode 3, "Jinaal", where Hugh had an eye-opening spiritual experience via a Trill zhian'tara ritual.

The zhian'tara ritual was introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 25, "Facets".

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6 , "Whistlespeak", Book helps Culber come to terms with his spiritual awakening. The scene in which Booker and Hugh discuss spirituality and relationships over a plate of mofongo con pollo al ajillo together is beautifully understated. It's the sort of grounded character interaction that the high-stakes action and adventure of Star Trek doesn't always allow for. However, David Ajala and Wilson Cruz play the scene perfectly, emphasizing the strong friendship that is forming between their two Discovery characters.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 6 Is A Celebration Of Friendship

On the surface, "Whistlespeak" is a traditional Star Trek story about a pre-warp civilization worshipping advanced but broken technology. However, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 6 is also a celebration of the friendship between Culber and Booker, and between Burnham and Tilly . Captain Burnham is obviously fiercely loyal to her entire crew, but her friendship with Tilly adds an extra dimension to her decision to break the Prime Directive at the climax of the episode. "Whistlespeak" is also book ended by scenes between both groups of friends, establishing the importance of friendship .

The ease with which Tilly and Burnham can laugh about the former's near-death experience at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, is a great example of the strength of their friendship. Similarly, Booker's understanding of the importance of Culber's spiritual awakening helps him to accept that it's okay if his partner, Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) never fully understands it. Friends help friends understand more about themselves and the world around them. As the USS Discovery gets closer to the secret of life itself, these friendships could become more important than ever.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green on filming final season ‘we didn’t know would be our last’

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Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green has opened up on filming the final season of the TV series, which the cast originally ‘didn’t know’ would be the last.

Later this month, the beloved sci-fi show – which first premiered seven years ago in 2017 – is set to come to an end with season five.

The programme began by introducing Trekkies around the world to Michael Burnham (Sonequa), an officer who is recruited onto the USS Discovery as a science expert after being sentenced to life in prison for committing mutiny.

Michael has been on an incredible journey since then, and the actress who plays the iconic character was clearly emotional to be saying goodbye to the programme when Metro.co.uk caught up with her.

Sonequa, 39, explained that any time she speaks directly to Star Trek fans about how much their support has meant to her, ‘it tends to get emotional’.

‘There’s just nothing but gratitude and love,’ she said, as recalled how viewers ‘gave us a chance and let us into their hearts’.

Several episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season five have already been released on Paramount Plus , ahead of the eventual finale.

So how does Sonequa think that fans are going to feel when they finally discover how the series has been wrapped up?

‘I wish I could say how it’s going to wrap up. I can’t other than saying how I hope they feel from seeing it, because we ask the biggest questions that you can possibly ask in season five,’ the former Walking Dead star answered.

‘It’s also got this bit of a tonal shift, it’s more fun and adventurous. But the questions that we ask, it just goes as deep as it can.’

Sonequa reflected on what it was like to return to Canada so that she and other members of the cast and crew could give Star Trek: Discovery the send-off it deserves.

‘I think that when Paramount Plus and CBS allowed us to go back to Toronto to actually wrap up the season and the series – because we didn’t know it was our last when we were shooting it – I think we were able to wrap it up in a beautiful way and I think people will be satisfied and I think they’ll feel hopeful from how it ends,’ she stated.

In March last year, it was confirmed that season five would be the last for Star Trek: Discovery, despite it previously being suspected that it would continue for a sixth outing.

At the time, Sonequa said that it was a ‘lot to process’ the imminent conclusion.

‘It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions and I haven’t even spoken about it publicly yet because it’s a lot to process. It’s a lot to process, but I am overwhelmed with gratitude,’ she told ET .

Explaining that she felt ‘overwhelmed’, she added: ‘We’re sending all these messages of love and nostalgic texts back and forth to each other because it’s a lot. It’s a lot to feel right now. I’m very grateful.’

As Star Trek fans will know, characters have a tendency of returning or taking part in unexpected crossovers… so who knows where the cast of Discovery will venture next.

Star Trek: Discovery is available to watch on Paramount Plus, with new episodes of the final season released on Thursdays.

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