It's time to go back to the final frontier.
After twelve long years, Star Trek finally returned to television with last night's premiere of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS. If you haven't seen the show's first episode yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now. If, however, you're wise enough to know that reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...live long and prosper.
As many of you know, it's been a rough road for Discovery, or STD if you're feeling a bit snarky. The show was first announced by CBS in November 2015, with an original premiere date of January 2017, and immediately found resistance with the additional news that every episode after the first would only be shown on CBS' "We want to be like Netflix" subscription service, CBS All Access. In February 2016, Trek fans received some encouragement with the announcment that former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager writer Bryan Fuller would serve as showrunner, because hey, bringing in the former showrunner of Hannibal, Dead Like Me, Heroes, and Pushing Daisies seems like a really good idea. Oh, and let's just add Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country director Nicholas Meyer as a writer and consulting producer, and Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, while we're at it.
Well, the show started running over its per-episode budget, and Fuller was busy dividing his time with his other new show American Gods, leading to the series' debut being pushed back to May 2017. Fuller's choice for the lead role of Michael Burnham, Sonequa Martin-Green, was finally selected after a difficult casting process, but she wouldn't be released by AMC from her contract with The Walking Dead until her character was killed off in April 2017, meaning yet another delay. In October 2016, CBS asked Fuller to step down as showrunner, although he would remain as an executive producer to keep a hand in the production. Akiva Goldsman, often the scourge of sci-fi fans for his previous work, joined the series as a supporting producer, while Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts were made the new showrunners. In May 2017, Discovery was formally presented at the CBS upfronts with a first season of 15 episodes, split between episodes 8 and 9 to give the second half more time for completion, and soon received the new premiere date of September 24, 2017.
And that's the short version.
So, with all that creative behind-the-scenes chaos, what was the final result? Set in 2256, roughly ten years before the original Star Trek series, "The Vulcan Hello" begins, rather awkwardly, with a Klingon named T'Kuvma preaching to a group of Klingons to "remain Klingon" and unify under the religious teachings of Kahless. These Klingons aren't the human-looking offshoots from the original series, nor the armored, hairier versions from the Star Trek films and the era of Star Trek: The Next Generation. No, these Klingons are bald with distorted faces and mouths full of marbles as the actors struggle with long sequences of speaking Klingon with mouth makeup appliances. Even hardcore Trek fans who understand Klingon are probably thankful for the subtitles.
We cut to the First Officer Michael Burnham and Captain Phillippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) of the Starfleet vessel U.S.S. Shenzhou, who are on a desert planet looking for a well. There's a race on the brink of extinction from a storm and Starfleet is trying to save them. Georgiou says she believes it is time for Burnham to get her own command.and quizzes her on what she would do if they were stranded. Burnham says she would adapt to fit in, while Georgiou says she would simply escape. The scene provides an interesting contrast between the two, but also shows their close friendship that ends up being severely tested later on.
After the two are picked up by the Shenzhou, thanks to Captain Georgiou's apparent superpower of creating a perfect, gigantic Starfleet symbol by leading Burnham through desert stand during a storm, we see the Discovery opening credits. Jeff Russo, who did some impressive work on FX's Legion, turns in a solid theme that borrows just enough from the original Alexander Courage Star Trek theme while remaining distinctive. The visuals, meanwhile, are surprisingly unusual for a Star Trek series, essentially an animated design sketchbook that look very artistic, as one might expect from a Bryan Fuller series, but fail to capture any sense of exploring space.
Next, a First Officer's log entry informs us that the Shenzhou is investigating a relay that was damaged while orbiting a binary star. We see the bridge and are introduced to Science Officer Lieutenant Saru (Doug Jones), a new alien called a Kelpian that was presumably created to be Discovery's "alien exploring humanity" character similar to Spock and Data. Right from the start, Saru and Burnham show a contentious relationship as both officers attempt to impress Captain Georgiou. The Shenzhou picks up some readings and struggles to pinpoint the source, with a sensory dead zone blocking the ship's ability to bring up an image. Burnham suggests that something is lurking is out there and suggests going outside to do a flyby to investigate the source for herself.
Now that we're in space, we really see Fuller's influence on the series. The production values look top-notch and positively stunning, easily making Discovery the best-looking Star Trek series to date. Actually, it's possible the visuals look too good, because if you recall, Discovery is set between Star Trek: Enterprise and the original Star Trek, but the Shenzhou bridge looks far more advanced than anything Next Gen, DS9 or Voyager had to offer.
Donning a Starfleet thruster suit, Burnham allows herself to laugh with excitement as she rockets towards the source. She eventually stops after losing contact with the Shenzhou but sees some kind of structure. Burnham records that the structure is very old, centuries old, a singular, uninterrupted form that may have been carved rather than built, appearing as stone with metal outer alloy. Burnham uses her boots to connect to the structure and it responds by fanning out. A proximity alert sounds in Burnham's suit, as a Klingon in an armored suit suddenly attacks her with a bat'leth. As the Shenzhou attempts to transport Burnham back aboard, we see that Burnham's helmet is damaged, with the First Officer unconscious and floating through space.
After a commercial break, we find T'Kuvma preaching over the dead body of the Klingon "Torchbearer", who T'Kuvma says was murdered by the Federation. He asks their ancestors to welcome him into the "Black Fleet" as they fight their enemy. So at this point, you're probably asking yourself "What happened after Burnham was attacked?" and the simple answer is, we don't know. We may never know, but something happened between the Torchbearer's initial attack and him ending up all kinds of dead and ready to join the Black Fleet. A deliberate oversight, paying off down the road perhaps?
While Burnham is unconscious and recovering on the Shenzhou, we get a flashback of her as a child on Vulcan, taking a test at the Vulcan Learning Center. She answers correctly until a question about a Klingon attack makes her emotional. Sarek (Yep, Spock's father, now played by James Frain) offers her guidance, telling her to rely on logic when "ghosts from the past" haunt her. We later learn that Sarek apparently took Burnham in after a Klingon attack killed her parents and raised her on Vulcan. The revelation is important, not only as a controversial retcon that Spock had an adopted sister we never heard about, but also that Burnham has a Vulcan background that influences her thinking.
Burnham suddenly wakes up, still covered in radiation burns, and goes to the bridge, where she's stunned that no one is freaking out about the Klingons. Georgiou reminds her that nobody has seen a Klingon in a hundred years and tries to get her to go back to Sickbay. Realizing that she killed her Klingon attacker, Burnham suddenly wants to target the Klingon structure to make them think they will attack, while Saru instinctively wants to retreat. A Klingon ship abruptly decloaks in front of them and the Shenzhou attempts communication.
On board the Klingon vessel, T'Kuvma calls on the Torchbearer's brother to take over. Another Klingon, an albino named Voq who claims to be of no family, steps forward. He expresses his faith in "the light of Kahless", burning his right hand in the flame to prove himself. T'Kuvma says he sees himself in the outcast albino. He gives his own blade to Voq and names him Torchbearer.
After Saru reveals that his people evolved on a planet with a binary food system, where they were prey and evolved to sense death, he explains that he senses death coming. Thanks, Mr. Ominous. Georgiou confers with a Starfleet admiral, joined by Burnham. Burnham suggests the only option is to fight, but the admiral orders them to remain in place because the Europa and other Starfleet ships will be there soon. That's all well and good, until a tremendously bright light from outside the ship blinds their optical sensors and a sharp noise pierces the crew's ears.
Burnham realizes the light flare and the sound are a signal and thinks the Klingons might be calling for backup. She decides to leave the bridge, in the middle of a crisis, and begins a holographic transmission to Sarek. (Anyone wondering why the original Star Trek didn't have holographic transmission yet?) Burnham explains what happened, and Sarek thinks it's odd for them to be calling for backup since the Klingon empire has been in disarray for some time. Sarek believes there is a Klingon leader looking to instigate war to gain political favor. Burnham asks how Vulcans accomplished diplomatic relations with the Klingons, but Sarek warns her the tactic may not work for humans.
Coming back to the bridge, Burnham suggests firing on the Klingons. She explains that the Vulcans manage to gain the respect of the Klingons and achieve peace only through a show of violence. Captain Georgiou rejects her suggestion, causing Burnham to make an unexpectedly emotional outburst that forces Georgiou to pull her into the ready room. Yes, let's go off and have a quick sidebar conversation while everything is about to go to hell.
Hitting the privacy mode option on her office windows, Georgiou chastises Burnham for her sudden eagerness to battle the Klingons and starts to talk her down, until Burnham suddenly knocks her out with a Vulcan nerve pinch. Wait...What? Burnham returns to the bridge and takes command, outright lying that Georgiou is busy talking with the admiral. Burnham gives the order to fire on the Klingons, but Georgiou arrives on the bridge and aims her phaser directly at Burnham. At that moment, the Shenzhou picks up warp signatures as more Klingon vessels arrive in the area, and...
To be continued on CBS All Access for the price of $5.99 a month. Thanks a lot, CBS.
As the first episode of a Star Trek series, "The Vulcan Hello" is decidedly different. We're only introduced to four characters, two of which aren't even going to be members of the Discovery crew. Oh, and we haven't even seen the Discovery yet. More spoilers, we don't see it in the second episode, either, so we'll have to wait for the regular series dynamic with the rest of the main cast.
And yes, the adjustment from an episodic to a serialized storytelling format is a big one for Star Trek, especially for a fanbase that typically hates change, but I have to think it's time to try something new and Discovery seems ready to do just that. Let's hope that this latest look backward actually moves Star Trek forward into the future...