Star Trek: Discovery - our first look!

Wow.  So immediately, I can tell that this show is going to do what we're probably never going to get in the Abrams movies, which is the big Klingon confrontation, teased in Star Trek Into Darkness.  I wonder if in some ways that's the whole reason Discovery is even happening, because someone realized JJ Abrams wasn't interested in doing what seemed so obvious.  He cut the Klingons from 2009's Star Trek, and Justin Lin didn't have them at all in Star Trek Beyond.  (I wonder if that's part of the reason Beyond made so relatively little at the box office.)

But I like it.  Very excited.

Star Trek: Discovery - Rainn Wilson joins the cast as Harry Mudd

You've probably heard that Rainn Wilson, as the title of this post indicates, was recently cast as Harry Mudd in Star Trek: Discovery.  I think this is great news.  Wilson's Dwight Schrute in The Office was an instant classic, arguably as important to the sitcom as Steve Carell's Michael Scott.  The only reason he didn't go on to an equally successful movie career (The Rocker doesn't really count) is because Wilson is much more of a character actor than Carell, and a pretty singular one at that.  Dwight was a once in a lifetime gig. 

Still, Wilson has genre credentials.  He showed up in Charmed as a demon where he got to ham it up.  He was one of the aliens in Galaxy Quest (making this the first official link between Star Trek and its best sendup).  And now he'll be Harry Mudd.

Harry is a Star Trek icon already.  In the days of the original series he was such a standout character he appeared twice and then a third time in the animated series.  At the time he was about as big as anyone outside the main cast could get.  Then the movies happened and Harry Mudd no longer belonged in a world suddenly dominated by the legacy of "Space Seed."  His next reference came extremely obliquely in Star Trek Into Darkness (the otherwise unexplained "Mudd incident"), poorly fleshed out in an IDW prequel comic that was atypical of the quality the company had previously exhibited with the 2009 movie and generally in the rest of its output. 

So to see Harry return in Discovery is a great, great thing, basically resurrecting the character in a modern context.  Wilson's Dwight already demonstrated his ability to be likable and despicable at the same time, which is exactly what Harry Mudd is all about.  Obviously Wilson's Harry can't really be Wilson's Dwight, but that won't really matter. Actually, this bit of casting is the first real "television" feel of Discovery, which otherwise seems to be focused on the cinematic aspect a lot of TV shows have been going for since Enterprise ended in 2005.  This doesn't mean Wilson's Harry will be campy, but if he is, it's not the end of the world.  He guaranteed, if nothing else, to be a fascinating presence, which fits right in with the casting of every other major role.  Like James Frain's Sarek, Harry will be an automatic hook for fans in the later episodes of the first season, in case they hadn't found anything else interesting, another chance for a first impression.  I love that the producers are letting fans in on these things well in advance.  With the patience all the delays have already necessitated, at least we're getting a lot of good news while we wait.

Star Trek: Discovery - Jason Isaacs joins the cast

A ton of casting news has occurred since I last wrote about Star Trek: Discovery  The lead character will be played by Sonequa Martin-Green, whose major previous credit is The Walking Dead.  The other notable name since added is James Frain, who will appear as Sarek in one episode.  Among his other credits, I'm familiar with Frain from his work in the short-lived superhero drama The Cape.

Jason Isaacs needs little introduction, but here are some highlights all the same:

• The Patriot (2000) His breakthrough role saw Isaacs chew scenery as a villain in Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War drama.
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Isaacs debuted as Lucius Malfoy in the second movie and appeared in each succeeding entry except Prisoner of Azkaban (the third one).
• Peter Pan (2003) He played both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in this version of the classic story.

I'd list further credits, but those are his major ones.  Isaacs won't be the lead, but he'll add significantly to the credibility of the cast.  He's equally capable of supporting roles as leading ones.  No part is too small; this is a guy who can make anything seem bigger.

Needless to say, but his casting ratchets up my interest further than it already was.

Star Trek Discovery: Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp

After the announcement of Michelle Yeoh joining the cast of the forthcoming Star Trek: Discovery TV series, I was wondering how famous the rest of the cast might turn out to be, whether they'd be recognizable (like Yeoh) or obscure.  Given how most Star Trek casts have been assembled, I expected additional names to be lean toward the obscure, but the next two have been named, and they're recognizable.  You can read a more complete write-up, including details about the characters they'll be playing, here.  But here's some quick info on where you might've seen Doug Jones and Anthony Rapp before:

Doug Jones

• Hellboy (2004) His breakout role was as the aquatic Abe Sapien, who was otherwise voiced by David Hyde Pierce.
• Pan's Labyrinth (2006) He worked with Guillermo del Toro as the standout Pale Man.
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) He performed the role of the Silver Surfer, which was otherwise voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Reprised his performance as Abe, plus appeared as a few other characters.
• John Dies at the End (2012) Oh, um, spoiler alert...
• The Neighbors (2012-2013) Sitcom about aliens.
• Falling Skies (2013-2015) TV show about an alien invasion.
• The Strain (2014-2016) TV show based on a concept by del Toro.

Anthony Rapp

• Rent (2005) With Rapp I'm going to summarize his career with his lead role in this breakthrough musical about the emerging new mainstream, which he originated in the Broadway debut and reprised in the later movie adaptation (starring opposite Rosario Dawson in that version; how awesome would it be to see her stop by Star Trek?).  He'll be making franchise history as the first openly gay character conceived as gay (remember the retrofitting of Sulu in this past summer's Star Trek Beyond), and he's got the history to prove he'll be taken seriously for it.

Star Trek Discovery: Michelle Yeoh

If you're anything like me, once an actor is cast in Star Trek the rest of their career becomes more interesting, so it becomes a fun little game catching up with what they've done previously.  Arguably Michelle Yeoh, recently the first-announced cast member of the forthcoming Star Trek Discovery TV series, is the most famous ongoing actor to appear in the franchise.  There have been plenty who had a certain profile prior to their casting, such as LeVar Burton's turn in the rating juggernaut Roots, but Yeoh has been appearing in blockbuster movies for years.  Here's a primer full of her highlights:

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Her breakout Hollywood role was in Pierce Brosnan's second James Bond flick.  Yeoh was cast as Bond's counterpart, not as a Bond Girl, making her unique in that franchise's history.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Yeoh's next big role was in this callback to classic martial arts cinema.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) You can see at this point that she'd become a staple in Hollywood's efforts at bringing the Asian experience to a global audience.

Sunshine (2007) Yeoh's first taste of sci-fi was Danny Boyle's mindtrip, which finally took her out of the hole Hollywood had pegged for her.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) Her next foray into franchises saw Yeoh both return to Hollywood's image of her as well as expand the Mummy's scope past Egypt for the first time.

Babylon A.D. (2008) This second sci-fi experience saw Yeoh in a more conventional experience than the last one and will probably be one of the more fun experiences her new Star Trek fans will have with her career.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) Yeoh back in her typecast, but this time animated!  Also, technically her third franchise experience, making Star Trek Yeoh's fourth, if not for...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny  (2016) Yeah, there was a sequel!

Mechanic: Resurrection (2016) And so yeah, Yeoh has done plenty of franchises. 

So far we know Yeoh will be a captain in Discovery, so she won't be the lead character, unless something has changed, because Number One is not a captain.  Even if she's not the lead, though, Yeoh will obviously be leading the cast.  It would be surprising if the series filled up on name actors, which would be even more atypical for the franchise.  But, can we hope for guest performances from her past famous co-stars?  Just imagine Vin Diesel in Star Trek!

Star Trek: Discovery - Number One!

Bryan Fuller has been making more announcements about the upcoming CBS All Access series, revealing the name of the lead character: Number One.  This will sound familiar to fans of the original series, whose first pilot, "The Cage," featured the same character. Number One was also the first character Majel Roddenberry played in the franchise.  This was to be Star Trek's first trailblazer, a woman in a command position.  Now there's a second chance to get it right.  Number One's name will be an instrinsic mystery of the first season (you'll recall that Picard usually referred to Riker that way).

Star Trek: Discovery - character details emerging

Further information concerning Star Trek: Discovery, the forthcoming CBS All Access series, has emerged, this time about the character make-up (read the full scoop here).

In brief, the lead will be a woman, there will be a gay character, and there will be a rich assortment of aliens.

This will mark the second time in franchise history, after Voyager's Captain Janeway, in which a woman is in the lead.  Notably, some 50th anniversary observers thought Janeway was more historic than Deep Space Nine's Captain Sisko, the first black lead in Star Trek.  Now that there will be two out of seven series with female leads, the odds will have begun to even out a little (although technically, two the males were the same guy: Kirk was featured in both the original and Animated series).

Following Sulu's somewhat controversial (bizarrely, if you're George Takei) outing in Star Trek Beyond, this will also be the second time an openly gay character appears in the franchise.  This was long a sticking point in the fan community for a franchise so famous for its inclusive nature.

Finally, the expanded presence of aliens in the cast will be a welcome sight for a franchise that so often features nearly exclusive human crews despite the fact that it features a future where human are part of a vast interstellar community.  The series with the highest percentage of aliens to date is Deep Space Nine (the changeling Odo, the Trill Dax, the Ferengi Quark, the Klingon Worf, the Bajoran Kira).  Actually, that'll kind of be tough to top.  Still, another welcome development.

The female lead is also going to be the rare Starfleet lead who won't be a captain, but rather a lieutenant commander (three steps below a captain in the ranks).  The last time a Star Trek series launched without a captain was again Deep Space Nine; Sisko spent the first three seasons as a commander (finally promoted to captain in the third season finale).

Whether it can possibly please fickle fans remains to be seen, but clearly Discovery is taking great strides to addressing some of the creative issues that've bothered some of them over the years.

One final note: apparently the show will be set ten years before Kirk takes command of the Enterprise.  This could put it in Pike continuity, or even Robert April, the first captain of the ship.  Or feature entirely new characters.  We'll see!

Star Trek Discovery coming January 2017

At this past weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, Series VII was given a name: Star Trek Discovery.  Bryan Fuller also made it clear that Discovery will take place in the Prime Timeline, which for all you laymen means the same timeline as each of the previous six TV shows and the first ten movies (The Motion Picture thru Star Trek Nemesis).

He also confirmed that Discovery will feature serialized storytelling, meaning each episode leads directly into the next.  Given the title, and Fuller's comments (read about them here), it seems the new series will also put a strong focus on the practical aspects of Starfleet life, by which I mean following the familiar mandate of exploration rather than (presumably) the more action-oriented nature of the film series.

The title, to me, seems like another nod to Star Trek's Western, frontier-style roots.  The Corps of Discovery, the team around the famous explorers Lewis & Clark, were among the early pioneers of westward expansion in the United States, a precursor to the settlements behind the concept of Wagon Train, a TV series that was one of Gene Roddenberry's inspirations for Star Trek.  If much of the franchise has reflected the obvious maritime traditions behind Starfleet ranks and travels across space, it seems fitting (Deep Space Nine's outpost metaphor, the space station, is Discovery's predecessor in this regard) that the frontier returns to the forefront of a franchise that has always called space the final frontier.

Bryan Fuller sets the record straight on Series VII

In a recent interview (recapped here) Bryan Fuller denied most of the details that had apparently leaked above the forthcoming new Star Trek TV series, debunking the anthology rumor and that it's set between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

He also suggests there will be multiple crews involved, which is definitely good news.  I loved it when Star Trek: Enterprise brought in another ship (chiefly to fan the flames of the Trip/T'Pol relationship, but it was still groundbreaking) in its fourth season. 

I'm glad we're getting new information, even if it still seems like a trickle to some fans.  As I pointed out elsewhere, they haven't even announced casting decisions yet.  It's way, way too early to expect more than we've gotten.  I'm just glad we have people like Fuller interested in getting the record, as it is, straight...

New Series VII Teaser Trailer released

CBS has released a new teaser trailer for the next Star Trek TV series.  You can read more about and view it here.

While it's too early to have any footage, much less a name (assuming it will be something other than, simply, Star Trek), the teaser is still a good reminder that this thing is coming up in a little over half a year, which is exciting.  The logo, as presented, is a dynamic new rendering of the franchise title, which might give a clue as to what we can expect.  We're being promised a lot of new things, but as rumored, we will still find familiar things.  I'd venture to guess we see the ruins of Praxis, the Klingon mining world featured in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which would fit in the thinking that the series will take place somewhere in the gap between the original series and The Next Generation.

We'll see!

So, is the new Star Trek TV show Series VI or Series VII?

As anticipation builds for next year's new Star Trek TV series, there's already something to be settled about its place in franchise lore.  Now, I've been calling it Series VII, because I consider it the seventh TV series.  This challenges conventional wisdom (which is not a thing to be settled on the Internet, I admit), because everyone who was around when the last new Star Trek show was being prepped knew Enterprise, originally, as Series V.  That's certainly how I talked about it.

So what changed?  I discovered The Animated Series.  The short-lived '70s broadcast is generally considered noncanonical, since it was never referenced directly by any subsequent production.  It was probably easy to dismiss because it was eventually superseded, as sequel material, by Star Trek: The Motion Picture and later movies and live action TV shows, and became somewhat lost to history, unlike the classic episodes of the original series, which remain roundly lauded by longtime fans.  Being unique in format to this day, The Animated Series remains a thorny aberration in franchise lore, despite the fact that episodes like "Yesteryear" continue to be cited (such as in 2009's Star Trek reboot movie) indirectly.

When I had the chance to watch the show for myself, following its debut on DVD, I found a series that soundly continued the tradition of its live action predecessor, deviating only in terms of what its formatting allowed and the fact that it had half-hour rather than hour-long episodes, with necessarily constricted plotting that goes along with such time restrictions.

So I began considering The Animated Series as part of the family, and that means there have, to date, been six Star Trek TV shows, and necessarily, that means the next one will be Series VII, just until its official name is unveiled.

Which, to me, means that anyone waiting impatiently for the next series could very easily spend their time discovering The Animated Series, too.  It'll be worth your time.  It's filled with the same kind of mix in quality as every other Star Trek TV show.  I've got a handy guide to them here, if you'd care to have a look...

Further news about Series VII

I caught a Wertzone post about new Series VII rumors, stating that Paramount is going with an anthology approach, so that each season tells a complete story, and the next one tells something different.  As far as everything I've experienced with Star Trek fans, this is about as good as news can get.  I'll refrain from further comments on the grounds that they will only infuriate these extremely touchy individuals...

Furthermore, the first season is expected to be set between Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: The Next Generation, so not only is it set in the familiar reality of the original TV shows and movies, but features a relatively fallow period in franchise lore, previously seen sparingly in Star Trek Generations (the Enterprise-B) and the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise (the Enterprise-C), with rogue Klingons running amok between the Khitomer Conference (Undiscovered Country) and the Khitomer Accords (the peace agreement and site of Worf's orphaning).

This certainly makes it look like the reboot movies won't be touching Klingon conflict after all (Star Trek Beyond doesn't look to follow Star Trek Into Darkness in that regard, anyway), so it's crafty to feature a period in existing continuity where that conflict is once again rife and largely unexplored.

As always, I remain excited...

"Star Trek All Access" news

Counting The Animated Series, the impending CBS All Access live action series will be the seventh TV show in Star Trek history.  Plenty has already come down the pike about its development, including the addition of Bryan Fuller to its creative staff, as previously discussed here.  Word has also come that frequent franchise guest star Tony Todd (Worf's brother Kurn, the older Jake in the Deep Space Nine classic "The Visitor") is in talks to join the cast.  More recently, Nicholas Meyer joined the staff.

You'll Meyer as the director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the movie many fans still consider to be the best in the franchise, which at the very least helped revitalize interest in the pop culture.  He later returned to direct Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the final film to feature the complete original cast.  It's worth noting that Meyer is otherwise associated with Sherlock Holmes thanks to his Seven-Per-Cent Solution.  Holmes has been in the midst of a pop culture renaissance, whether in the CBS TV series Elementary or the BBC incarnation starring Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness.

More recently, it seems observers have started to refer to the new series as "Star Trek All Access."  Whether as convenient shorthand or otherwise, it's certainly interesting.  It also follows the naming scheme of this new era, including Star Trek Beyond.  The show will probably have another name, but this is a good one to use for the moment.  I first knew of Enterprise as Series V, just as technically, this new one is Series VI, but as explained above, I prefer to consider it, for the moment, as Series VII.  Those curious can read all about The Animated Series here at Star Trek Fan Companion, including all the highlights (and otherwise).

And of course we'll all continue to keep tabs as announcements are made.

Bryan Fuller joins the Series VII team

The news of Bryan Fuller joining the new TV show's team has been making the rounds, and I thought I'd chip in some thoughts.

Fuller's recent work includes an upcoming TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, plus Hannibal.  He also worked on Mockingbird Lane, an updated Munsters, and among other credits is known for the cult TV favorites Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me, and Wonderfalls.  He wrote some of the better-received episodes of Heroes, including "Company Man" and "Cold Snap."

And he's worked on Star Trek before.  Contributing the psychologically-charged "Empok Nor" and "The Darkness and the Light" to Deep Space Nine, he then went on an extended run with Voyager, where again he contributed to deepening the mythology of the series.  Here are the episodes he worked on:

"The Raven" (exploring Seven's backstory)
"Mortal Coil" (Neelix suffers a near-death experience)
"Retrospect"
"Living Witness" (one of the show's most clever episodes)
"Drone" (a rare Voyager Borg fan favorite)
"Bride of Chaotica!" (the series at its comedic best)
"Gravity"
"Dark Frontier, Part 1" (returning to Seven's past)
"Course: Oblivion" (one of the best fake-outs in franchise history)
"Juggernaut"
"Relativity" (one of the key later time travel episodes in franchise lore)
"Barge of the Dead" (one of the best Klingon episodes in the franchise)
"Alice"
"One Small Step" (one of several franchise odes to today's space program)
"Spirit Folk"
"Fury" (controversial final appearance of Kes)
"The Haunting of Deck 12"
"Flesh & Blood, Parts 1 & 2" (finishing out the Hirogen in the series)
"Workforce, Parts 1 & 2"
"Friendship One"

These were all episodes that spoke to either the characters or the concepts at the heart of the series, in ways that made it easier for fans who liked what Voyager was doing like it even more.  They represent a full gamut, besides, of what the franchise was capable of, from classic sci-fi adventures to innovative stories that pushed the series to new depths.  The biggest complaint about Voyager was that it wasted its premise for more of the same, and yet in these episodes one can see how unique the series really was, and how easily it fit the storytelling instincts of a creator other pockets of fandom found incredibly endearing.

In short, this is the guy to pull off the new series. 

Joining him are some other guys I have a tremendous amount of faith in.  Alex Kurtzman's Star Trek credentials have been established in the last two films.  He's also been involved with Sleepy Hollow, Limitless, Hawaii Five-O, and Scorpion, and I have a particular soft spot for the guy thanks to his work on Alias and Fringe.

And with Fuller and Kurtzman will be Michael Green, who has done work on such diverse shows as Smallville, Everwood, Jack & Bobby, Kings, and The River (which featured Bruce Greenwood, by the way).  He also worked on Heroes, like Fuller, and the Green Lantern movie, which is a personal favorite of mine.

I have every faith that this will be a rewarding experience, and a fine return to television for Star Trek.

Countdown to 2017

In addition to the forthcoming film Star Trek Beyond, it was just announced that fans will have the first TV series since the end of Enterprise in 2005 arriving January 2017.  Yeah, I couldn't be happier.  The premiere will broadcast on CBS (for the first time ever; NBC, syndication, and UPN/The CW were the franchise's other small screen homes) before airing subsequent episodes digitally.

Obviously, nothing has been announced yet as to setting or casting, but the reports so far have suggested an all-new set of characters. 

A decade has passed since Star Trek has had new adventures in its original format.  Since then, a lot of thing have changed, not merely with the most successful films in franchise history, but a much more broad genre audience than has existed in decades (ever?).  In addition, the parameters for success have shifted considerably (remember the anecdote of ratings that looked better in hindsight for the original series?), and the digital format alone promises less concern about such things.

It's entirely likely that the new series will take into account the grumblings that plagued the fan community in the final years and last few series of the previous era.  Then again, it's ironic that procedural drama picked up considerable momentum in the last decade.  Imagine a crime-oriented Star Trek!

For now, though, we have a little over a year of anticipation, and updates, to enjoy...