Greetings; you are watching the Star Trek: Discovery update – Part TWO.
Yes, that’s right this is Part TWO of the update, so if you want to about NEW theme
music, a NEW starship and NEW Federation crew then please click the link to Part 1 in the
description below or the link that should be showing on this video somewhere above.
Still here?
Then you’re probably after information on the NEW technology and NEW Klingons and insights
into what this show could be about.
Welcome to the Final Frontier and Part TWO of the Star Trek: Discovery update.
But before we look at the technology of DSC we have to backtrack a little because since
Part 1 aired we’ve had two new members added to the crew of the USS Discovery – and this
is big news.
Say hello to Jason Isaacs because Lucius Malfoy is Captain Lorca of the Discovery, which is
an absolutely stellar piece of casting.
Joining him on the Discovery will be Mary Wiseman who will play Cadet Tilly a Starfleet
Academy Cadet in her final year of study.
This is very much a blink and you’ll miss it affair but take a look at the background
of these two shots.
Yes, it’s very blurry but there are certainly some things we can still take from it.
I very much get an Enterprise-like vibe in terms of darker lighting with dark metallic
panelling, and there are also a number of angled girders giving it a functional, industrial
look.
We also see very large, probably touchscreen, displays with a strong blue theme..
But it’s also reminiscent of the USS Vengeance so perhaps this is the Dreadnought-class USS
Shenzhou we see here, outfitted with the very latest in technology.
And we get to see the Captain’s Chair – no doubt of the Discovery – which, to the eagle-eyed,
is the same as that tweeted by Bryan Fuller in July of last year!
Having taken a look at the Federation, it’s now the time for the Klingons.
We know of three recurring Klingon characters in the show: Chris Obi will play T'Kuvma,
the Klingon leader seeking to unite the Klingon houses.
Shazad Latif will play Kol, the Commanding Officer of the Klingons and protégé of T'Kuvma.
And Mary Chieffo will play Battle Deck Commander L'Rell.
The teaser trailer showed images of what we thought might be Klingon uniforms and lo-and-behold
an insider picture posted by an extra on Instagram appears to show Klingons from the show wearing
these very same uniforms.
And you’ll notice that the Klingons themselves look pretty different from those we’ve encountered
so far in the Star Trek universe, with ridges that go from the front of their head all the
way to the back, and no facial hair at all.
I also want to point out that there seems to be one Klingon that has a lighter coloured
and subtly different style uniform to the left of the picture, which I suspect may denote
some importance in rank.
The look overall seems to be reminiscent of early concept drawings for Klingons by Robert
Fletcher – a costume designer for Trek – so, rather like the Discovery herself, it does
look like the showrunners have been rummaging through original sketches so they can finally
realise the original visions.
There may also be a very valid reason for the Klingon redesign.
To understand this we need to look at some concept work produced by the production designer,
Mark Worthington and/or by the concept illustrator, Samuel Michlap.
These illustrations were prepared for a project named ‘Green Harvest’ last year, which
we now know was actually the working title for Star Trek: Discovery.
Now, if fans are up in arms about the Klingon redesign, imagine what the reaction will be
when they see these wildly different Klingon starships!
Yes; these may be just concepts, but what I initially want to draw your attention to
is the title for one of these illustrations.
A ‘Klingon Sarcophagus ship’ sounds intriguing; it would literally imply a ship full of coffins.
But we know that Klingons – at least in the age of TNG – view the dead body as an
empty shell, so a Sarcophagus ship would not really make any sense UNLESS the ship was
perhaps an ancient one and from an era when Klingon beliefs may have been different.
So, these are just wild concepts that won’t make it onto the screen, right?
Wrong!
Check this image out very carefully…
Now; what we thought was a Federation ship in construction in the teaser trailer is actually
the Klingon Sarcophagus Ship!
The design of the stairs on the set very closely mirrors that of the artwork, as do the curved
pillars.
In this image we can even see the separate platform where the three figures are standing.
So stick with me for a bit on this theory: We have an ancient Klingon ship from a pre-warp
era when the Klingons would go into cryostasis to travel across space over decades…
this prolonged cryostasis would be regarded as almost a death-like state – hence the
term ‘sarcophagus’.
So something goes wrong and this Klingon sarcophagus ship drifts in space with the Klingon crew
in suspended animation.
Hundreds of years later they are awaken, perhaps even by the crew of the Discovery?
This would therefore explain the ancient/original look of the Klingons…
So, what do you think?
Vote and let me know!
Personally, I love the new-look Klingons and the ship too, and am a little surprised by
the anger in some quarters with this tweaked look.
Bryan Fuller already revealed that DSC would feature not only “new, exciting aliens”
(like we will see with Lt Saru) but also “re-imaginings of existing aliens”, so this ‘re-imagining’
of the Klingons should never have been a surprise to anyone.
So let me make this clear, DSC is very likely a soft reboot for Star Trek.
What this means is that everything canon will remain in terms of story and timeline BUT
there will be a visual upgrade to take advantage of the technology we have today – this includes
funkier alien designs that simply were too expensive to achieve previously; also expect
updates to ship technology to reflect the advances in technology we have seen since
Trek started – as shown in glimpses of the large display technology in the Federation
ships.
Unlike most other previous Star Trek series, the 13-episode first season of DSC will be
written like a novel, with each standalone episode acting like a chapter in the story.
With Klingons as recurring characters, and the show set 10 years before Captain Kirk’s
5-year mission in the Prime universe, there is strong evidence to suggest that the story
revolves around the Federation-Klingon Cold War, perhaps even during the 4-year Klingon
War.
My pet theory is that it perhaps involves the Battle of Donatu V, which took place in
2245 between Federation and Klingon forces, as was mentioned in the TOS episode ‘The
Trouble with Tribbles’. 2245 was also happens to be the date the USS Enterprise was launched
from San Francisco Fleet Yards under the command of Captain Robert April, so it would be a
very compelling nod to the original series.
Some doubt on this setting is cast by the fact that IMDb lists the Klingon characters
as appearing in only 2 of DSC episodes.
What we do know is that the theme of the show will be about understanding each other, especially
looking at things from perspectives different to our own.
Something very pertinent to the world we live in today.
DSC was originally due to air in January and then pushed back to May of this year.
Unfortunately, CBS have delayed the release date once again with a need to “do this
right than to do it fast”.
However, Doug Jones has recently said that we can expect the premier to be in or around
September; CBS have said “late summer, early autumn/fall”, so expect it August/September
time.
You’ll be able to catch the premier on CBS in the US, with the remaining episodes broadcast
weekly on CBS’ online streaming service CBS All Access.
The rest of the world can watch on Netflix with the exception of Canada who can see it
on the Space network.
So, shooting has very likely completed on the first episode and it's probably in post-production
– very exciting times!
September is a long way away but I totally agree that doing it right is better than doing
it fast.
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