Many fans have watched the unfolding saga of the production process of ‘Star Trek: Discovery‘ as the series heads towards its premiere in September and have wondered, simply, if the show will be good. I make no qualms about that fact that I place myself in that group; call it “cautious skepticism,” but the long list of setbacks, creative-team turnovers, and confusing first-look visuals give more than enough reason for pause.
Still, I try to remain optimistic, and I certainly do hope for the best when ‘Discovery’ makes its presence known on-air next month. One of the long-standing themes throughout Star Trek since its debut in the mid-1960s is that the benevolent Federation has consistently found itself at odds with the fierce warrior race of the Klingons – and this is something that ‘Discovery’ clearly aims to continue.
As Doug Jones, who plays main character Lieutenant Saru, said in a recent interview:
“The Klingons in our storyline are the bad guy. They are the ones that can’t be reasoned with and they are trying to take over the universe for their own altruistic reasons that they think are right. But in the sensible world of reason, we are trying to peacefully work this out. They won’t have it. So [as my character,] I reflect the attitude of Starfleet in that we have to win this, but we must do it in Starfleet fashion. We have rules and a Federation to adhere to that is civilized.”
This feels like familiar territory, then, which isn’t all that bad of a thing. The fact that the Klingons visually present as looking wildly different than they “should” (‘Discovery’ takes place in the Trek timeline 10 years before the events of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series,’ where Klingons were shown as dark-skinned and without any real prominent physical alien features) is yet to be explained, and likely won’t be revealed until the series premieres.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ will premiere on September 24, 2017 on CBS.
