The Human Adventure Continues

It's hard to put into words the feeling in the room before Discovery aired. It had been more than 12 years since the last time Star Trek beamed into our viewscreens each week. Oh, sure, we've had dozens of novels, a handful of games, and three rebooted movies in the Kelvin Timeline, but where Star Trek truly soars is through the television medium. I would say I felt a sense of wonder, excitement, and, yes, some skepticism--it could be possible that CBS All Access could miss the mark: what with the multiple delays, Bryan Fuller's exit, and a serious lack of news and updates during the majority of the first season's production. And speaking of delays, the additional 18-minute delay we fans had to endure because of the NFL game going into overtime didn't help the collective blood pressure of Trekkies & Trekkers in the States. But it came, in all its glory, as the camera zoomed out from the eye of T'Kuvma and the next chapter of the human adventure began.

Star Trek: Discovery opens with all the cinematic trappings fitting a show in the Golden Age of Television. Starting off with the introduction of an ominous new enemy which leads to stand out performances from Michelle Yeoh (Captain Georgiou) and our new protagonist played by Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham). Discovery takes a risk in its approach telling a two-hour prologue rather than introducing the ensemble cast as in previous Trek incarnations, we’re optimistic this will pay off in the long term.

The core components of Star Trek are all there: mystery, community, exploration, and no lacking of phasers. Burnham provides an excellent medium to tell a story of human growth with a back story which ties to the very core of Trek lore through Sarek, Spock’s father. The struggle between her logic-driven upbringing and human nature will be an interesting conflict to watch unfold.

The production values on Discovery are unlike anything seen from Star Trek on the small screen.

The show's opener is clearly a prologue to the larger story with the ensemble cast we can expect to see throughout the remainder of the series. Every main character of each series has moments in their past that define them. For Picard, it's the loss of the Stargazer; or Sisco and the Battle of Wolf 359. Of course, we never get a full-length feature of these events, in this way Discovery launches with a story that starts at the characters' defining moments. We started to fall in love with all the characters but by the end of it, they're torn away from Michael and the viewer.

The future for Burnham seems bleak.  Captain Georgiou exemplified the very core tenants of the Federation and Starfleet, Jason Isaacs's captain seems to be rougher around the edges. The show is setting up big conflicts among her new captain and crew.

All this conflict does disappoint the die-hard fan who was looking for the optimistic view of our future. But as Ensign Kim once said, “…it’s the journey that matters.” It’s the hope that Burnham will redeem herself by resolving the personal and galactic conflicts in the pilot.

So, what's next? This isn't the first time a Trek series has had a two-part pilot; however, Discovery treated Sunday night's episodes as more of a prologue to set the rest of the series in motion. We wouldn't be surprised if the next episode opens with lots of time passing between last week's premier and Context is for Kings. One thing is for certain, we know that we will finally meet the titular ship, her crew, and learn more about what's to be discovered. In the meantime, we're going to curl up with "Desperate Hours"and learn more about the characters of this show and what makes them tick.

*Talking Discovery is not affiliated with CBS
Watch Star Trek: Discovery Sundays at 8:30/7:30c only on CBS All Access.