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I am a die-hard Star Trek fan. Yes, I am one of 'those people' who knew the name of Spock's mother (Amanda) even before the movies came out and knew that Data's creator in Star Trek: TNG is Dr. Noonian Soong. I even knew that at one point Keye Luke’s name was bandied about to play Soong in the series. I will confess however that I have never dressed up as a Star Trek character or have a room in my house decorated in a Star Trek theme.
Anyway, I say this to make a point. When you are a Star Trek fan, any new venture in the Star Trek Universe is always met with both a high degree of anticipation and perhaps an even more amount of trepidation. Talk to any of us and we’ll tell you the two most important things in a Star Trek story is that you have to fall in love the characters (especially the lead, Captain or not) and you have to believe in Gene Roddenberry’s vision for humanity.
As much as we love the Enterprise and phasers and transporters and photon torpedoes, the heart of Star Trek is an Earth that has overcome poverty, starvation, war and bigotry. ‘Infinite diversity in infinite combinations’ may be a Vulcan medal in Star Trek lore but it is the core of human aspiration in Roddenberry’s dream of the future.
So every adventure then begins with a crew that carries these values with them into a universe of unknowns. The Captain (or lead) is the focal point of a crew who band together in devotion to their cause and to each other. And it is in this devotion to one another that we see the strength of Roddenberry’s vision. Groups that are brought together in devotion and love can overcome almost anything. This is their strength. Whereas those gathered together through fear and hatred may be hard on the exterior and can destroy things easily but they are also brittle and can shatter just as easily.
The problem then for producers of Star Trek is simple. How do you create conflict (which every story needs) in a world where there is no conflict? I remember a scene in Star Trek DS9 when Captain Sisko laments (I’m paraphrasing here) that the problem with Earth is that it’s Paradise. So we (humans) have forgotten what it is to struggle. I can’t help but think this was a scene written by a frustrated writer struggling to flesh out a DS9 story while staying true to the Star Trek bible.
And so it is now with Star Trek: Discovery. Not only do the writers have to face the challenge of keeping to Star Trek dogma but there are also 75 years of history that are not to be violated.
Let’s pause a second and remember that CBS ripped our hearts out by holding the series hostage. Really? I have to subscribe to what? Just to watch it? That alone kept me from watching the entire first season of ST: Discovery in protest. How dare they!?! So I waited for the blu-ray. And that’s when everything changed.
The first episode did not get off to an auspicious start. In fact, it almost ended it for me right then and there. First, I didn’t particularly care for Michael in the first few scenes. And the rivalry between her and Saru was well… meh. But that’s usually how it is with most new series. I did fall in love with Captain Giorgiou pretty quickly however. She is what a Starfleet Captain should be. Strong, smart, and someone who clearly cares about her ship, her crew and her mission. But then, near the end of the first episode the wheels came off.
Michael shoots the Captain!?! Really!?!? Mutiny on a Starfleet vessel!?! Are you friggin’ kidding me!?! And she’s supposed to be the hero of the series!?! For the villain sure. But the hero? Nope. I’m done. It’s over. I. Am. Done!
I stopped watching the show. I literally put my blu-rays in a drawer thinking of who I could give them away to. It wasn’t until Season 2 had already been filmed that I took another chance on it. And even then it was only because my girlfriend (who did finish watching Season 1) convinced me to try it again. She insisted that I wouldn’t be disappointed.
So I watched the second episode. And the third. Then the fourth. Until finally, like a jilted lover who grudgingly forgives the girlfriend who wants to come back, I let the series back in.
I think if I had to put all of Season 1 into a single word it would be 'redemption'. How does a character come back from a heinous crime, even in the world of Star Trek, and win back the trust of her shipmates and (for the writers) the trust of the fans? Somehow, they did. The character of Michael will always have to live with the stigma of what she did. And for that alone, the idea of her ever becoming a Starfleet Captain is hard to see ever happening. But what I like most about Michael is she never made excuses for herself. She could have. She didn’t mutiny for power or treason. She honestly thought she was doing the right thing. But in the end, she accepted her fate and offered no defense. It was only circumstance that gave her a second chance. And even then, that was only from a career standpoint. Betraying her Captain, her mentor, her friend was/is the thing she has a harder time reconciling with herself. And that is something I am glad the writers did not shy away from. I can honestly say I love this girl now.
As for the rest of the season, I am slowly becoming enamored of the crew. Saru is still a bit hard for me to like but the bridge crew is becoming familiar to me and I like them. Now throw in a weird Captain, who kind of but not really fits the mold of a ‘Starfleet’ Captain (and yes I absolutely love that story line!), add the alternate universe and a veeeery different Phillipa Giorgiou then lay all of that on top of a proto-Klingon ‘Almost’ Empire and I’ll be, this is pretty good! In fact, I would even go so far as to say that yes, they have earned the Star Trek name.
I haven’t watched Season 2 yet but judging from the arrival of the Enterprise in the last episode, wow! I’m back to my high degree of anticipation and even higher degree of trepidation. But at least for now, I have a little more faith that the producers will stay true to everything that is ‘Star Trek’.
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From the manufacturer
Synopsis
Star Trek: Discovery follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.
Over 2 Hours of Special Features
Special Features
- DISCOVERING DISCOVERY: THE CONCEPTS AND CASTING OF STAR TREK: DISCOVERY
- STANDING IN THE SHADOW OF GIANTS: CREATING THE SOUND OF DISCOVERY
- CREATURE COMFORTS
- DESIGNING DISCOVERY
- CREATING SPACE
- PROP ME UP
- FEEDING FRENZY
- DELETED / EXTENDED SCENES & MUCH MORE
Cast:
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Sonequa Martin-GreenFirst Officer Michael Burnham |
Michelle YeohCaptain Philippa Georgiou |
Jason IsaacsCaptain Gabriel Lorca |
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| Star Trek: Discovery - Season 1 | Star Trek: Discovery - Season 2 | Star Trek: Discovery - Season 3 | Star Trek: Discovery - Season 1-3 | Star Trek: Discovery - Season 4 | |
| Customer Reviews |
9,146
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3,629
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437
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2,233
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| Price | $23.19 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $52.79 | $34.99 |
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1-3 | 4 |
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Star Trek: Discovery - Season One [Blu-ray]
Merchant Video
Reviews with images
100 years after ST: Enterprise and 10 years before ST: TOS a great adventure took place
Alright, when Discovery was announced as a streaming series on an all new service called CBS All Access (CBSAA), I was skeptical if it would be any good or even make it a full season. Well, because I dodn't want to pay for CBSAA, I waited for the series to hit home media. Fortunately it did, so I bought the BD set. Well, I binge watched the series over 3 days. And what did I think? Well, it helped to watch the Special Features to discover what's really going on with the production, as I often find that it does. Well, let's go over some of those points brought up in the featurettes.One, the time period in Star Trek Canon. 100 years after Enterprise and 10 years before Kirk takes over the Enterprise in TOS. (This is all Prime Timeline Trek, btw...not JJ Alternate timeline). The whole design of the show, from the tech on board the ships (display screens, transporters, etc) and the small handheld props (phasers, tricorders, knives, Batlifs) were created by thinking of established canon and throwing out what was out of place with the franchise as a whole. And that was the production style and values of the 1960s TOS series. All the while keeping the same basic ideas of those classic prop designs. So what we get is a 100 year advanced technology from the Enterprise time (2150s) to a 10 year backward engineered tech from the TOS time (2260s) to give us the 2250s. The display technology is using see-thru display screens which ironically a brand new modern tech, so it's not a visual effect...they're actual on-set props. And stuff like hand phasers and tri-corders are essentially modified (but modernized) versions of the TOS versions.Ship design is also a take on what 100 years ahead of Enterprise would be. You still get relatively smallish ships, with a slightly more advanced submarine look, but with USS Vengence (JJ ST2) style nacelles instead of the Jeffries style tubular TOS nacelles. Ship shapes seem to mirror what some of the models of the old Star Fleet Battles boardgame had back in the day.Now then, story lines....the first season seems to be split into two main plotlines. The Klingon-Federation War that has been alluded to numerous times throughout Trek history and the Mirror Universe. All of which got intertwined in some surprising and shocking ways. Most episodes were serialized with only a few that didn't fully fit in with the overall story arc. The timeloop episode with a favorite character from TOS is kinda one of those.Writing and Acting...now I've seen a lot of criticism with this here and elsewhere, and honestly yes, some of the acting at times was questionable, but I chalk that up to being Season 1 and early episodes with the cast just getting into their rolls. Let's face it, TNG wasn't that great until S3. And the writing? Eh? To me, it wasn't that bad. If anything it was just hard to follow at times with all the technobabble. Especially with the all new Spore Drive.But the biggest criticism I hear most is that this isn't really Trek. It's a space drama with Starfleet uniforms and ships. That it doesn't follow Roddenberry's origjnal vision. Well folks, let's be honest here. Since Gene died in 1988 (right?) what Trek series (including TNG) has followed his original vision to the way he would have done it? The answer is NONE. Even TNG took a slightly different direction in S3 than it would have otherwise. Every Trek series since, from DS9 onwards, has been different than its predecessor. Discovery just happens to start out in a war between the Klingons and the Federation. Not much time to explore planet of the week stories when you have a blood thirsty alien race trying to destroy you. I've never understood some of the Roddenberry purists aversion to action in Trek. I mean to me, planet of the week stories were boring as Hell. Give me a war anytime. That builds tension. The Dominion War in DS9 were some of the greatest episodes ever in Trek. But with that said, it appears Season 2 will deal with the Christopher Pike years of the Enterprise. That could be really interesting or boring.So after my lengthy review, I give this new Trek 5 stars because it's a good start into what could eventually be a classic.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2018
One, the time period in Star Trek Canon. 100 years after Enterprise and 10 years before Kirk takes over the Enterprise in TOS. (This is all Prime Timeline Trek, btw...not JJ Alternate timeline). The whole design of the show, from the tech on board the ships (display screens, transporters, etc) and the small handheld props (phasers, tricorders, knives, Batlifs) were created by thinking of established canon and throwing out what was out of place with the franchise as a whole. And that was the production style and values of the 1960s TOS series. All the while keeping the same basic ideas of those classic prop designs. So what we get is a 100 year advanced technology from the Enterprise time (2150s) to a 10 year backward engineered tech from the TOS time (2260s) to give us the 2250s. The display technology is using see-thru display screens which ironically a brand new modern tech, so it's not a visual effect...they're actual on-set props. And stuff like hand phasers and tri-corders are essentially modified (but modernized) versions of the TOS versions.
Ship design is also a take on what 100 years ahead of Enterprise would be. You still get relatively smallish ships, with a slightly more advanced submarine look, but with USS Vengence (JJ ST2) style nacelles instead of the Jeffries style tubular TOS nacelles. Ship shapes seem to mirror what some of the models of the old Star Fleet Battles boardgame had back in the day.
Now then, story lines....the first season seems to be split into two main plotlines. The Klingon-Federation War that has been alluded to numerous times throughout Trek history and the Mirror Universe. All of which got intertwined in some surprising and shocking ways. Most episodes were serialized with only a few that didn't fully fit in with the overall story arc. The timeloop episode with a favorite character from TOS is kinda one of those.
Writing and Acting...now I've seen a lot of criticism with this here and elsewhere, and honestly yes, some of the acting at times was questionable, but I chalk that up to being Season 1 and early episodes with the cast just getting into their rolls. Let's face it, TNG wasn't that great until S3. And the writing? Eh? To me, it wasn't that bad. If anything it was just hard to follow at times with all the technobabble. Especially with the all new Spore Drive.
But the biggest criticism I hear most is that this isn't really Trek. It's a space drama with Starfleet uniforms and ships. That it doesn't follow Roddenberry's origjnal vision. Well folks, let's be honest here. Since Gene died in 1988 (right?) what Trek series (including TNG) has followed his original vision to the way he would have done it? The answer is NONE. Even TNG took a slightly different direction in S3 than it would have otherwise. Every Trek series since, from DS9 onwards, has been different than its predecessor. Discovery just happens to start out in a war between the Klingons and the Federation. Not much time to explore planet of the week stories when you have a blood thirsty alien race trying to destroy you. I've never understood some of the Roddenberry purists aversion to action in Trek. I mean to me, planet of the week stories were boring as Hell. Give me a war anytime. That builds tension. The Dominion War in DS9 were some of the greatest episodes ever in Trek. But with that said, it appears Season 2 will deal with the Christopher Pike years of the Enterprise. That could be really interesting or boring.
So after my lengthy review, I give this new Trek 5 stars because it's a good start into what could eventually be a classic.
100 years after ST: Enterprise and 10 years before ST: TOS a great adventure took place
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2018
Alright, when Discovery was announced as a streaming series on an all new service called CBS All Access (CBSAA), I was skeptical if it would be any good or even make it a full season. Well, because I dodn't want to pay for CBSAA, I waited for the series to hit home media. Fortunately it did, so I bought the BD set. Well, I binge watched the series over 3 days. And what did I think? Well, it helped to watch the Special Features to discover what's really going on with the production, as I often find that it does. Well, let's go over some of those points brought up in the featurettes.Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2018
One, the time period in Star Trek Canon. 100 years after Enterprise and 10 years before Kirk takes over the Enterprise in TOS. (This is all Prime Timeline Trek, btw...not JJ Alternate timeline). The whole design of the show, from the tech on board the ships (display screens, transporters, etc) and the small handheld props (phasers, tricorders, knives, Batlifs) were created by thinking of established canon and throwing out what was out of place with the franchise as a whole. And that was the production style and values of the 1960s TOS series. All the while keeping the same basic ideas of those classic prop designs. So what we get is a 100 year advanced technology from the Enterprise time (2150s) to a 10 year backward engineered tech from the TOS time (2260s) to give us the 2250s. The display technology is using see-thru display screens which ironically a brand new modern tech, so it's not a visual effect...they're actual on-set props. And stuff like hand phasers and tri-corders are essentially modified (but modernized) versions of the TOS versions.
Ship design is also a take on what 100 years ahead of Enterprise would be. You still get relatively smallish ships, with a slightly more advanced submarine look, but with USS Vengence (JJ ST2) style nacelles instead of the Jeffries style tubular TOS nacelles. Ship shapes seem to mirror what some of the models of the old Star Fleet Battles boardgame had back in the day.
Now then, story lines....the first season seems to be split into two main plotlines. The Klingon-Federation War that has been alluded to numerous times throughout Trek history and the Mirror Universe. All of which got intertwined in some surprising and shocking ways. Most episodes were serialized with only a few that didn't fully fit in with the overall story arc. The timeloop episode with a favorite character from TOS is kinda one of those.
Writing and Acting...now I've seen a lot of criticism with this here and elsewhere, and honestly yes, some of the acting at times was questionable, but I chalk that up to being Season 1 and early episodes with the cast just getting into their rolls. Let's face it, TNG wasn't that great until S3. And the writing? Eh? To me, it wasn't that bad. If anything it was just hard to follow at times with all the technobabble. Especially with the all new Spore Drive.
But the biggest criticism I hear most is that this isn't really Trek. It's a space drama with Starfleet uniforms and ships. That it doesn't follow Roddenberry's origjnal vision. Well folks, let's be honest here. Since Gene died in 1988 (right?) what Trek series (including TNG) has followed his original vision to the way he would have done it? The answer is NONE. Even TNG took a slightly different direction in S3 than it would have otherwise. Every Trek series since, from DS9 onwards, has been different than its predecessor. Discovery just happens to start out in a war between the Klingons and the Federation. Not much time to explore planet of the week stories when you have a blood thirsty alien race trying to destroy you. I've never understood some of the Roddenberry purists aversion to action in Trek. I mean to me, planet of the week stories were boring as Hell. Give me a war anytime. That builds tension. The Dominion War in DS9 were some of the greatest episodes ever in Trek. But with that said, it appears Season 2 will deal with the Christopher Pike years of the Enterprise. That could be really interesting or boring.
So after my lengthy review, I give this new Trek 5 stars because it's a good start into what could eventually be a classic.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
stuart
Absolutely wonderful and nostalgia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2024