by Robert Gillis
5/2020
One of the benefits of quarantine (such as it is) — I’m halfway through Star Trek: Discovery Season 2.
The reviews I read all talk CANON. And how the show violates canon.
As a die hard Trekker since 1982 who can quote entire movies (really) and knows what year Kirk took command of the Enterprise (2265) and knew Uhura’s first name 30 years before it was made canon (Nyota), and gets every reference and Easter egg and homage, I find more and more I don’t really care about visual differences in continuity, what is canon and what isn’t, why changes are made, what is official and what is not.
William Shatner said it best — The original Star Trek was one third REALLy good, one third OK, and one third really bad. There have been GREAT Trek movies (Khan, Voyage Home, Undiscovered Country, First Contact, the first two Kelvin trek Films) and poor films like Star Trek 5 and Insurrection that we don’t talk about.
Trek was in production before I was born and is part of the cultural zeitgeist, and with seven incarnations, one animated, several in production for 2021, (not to mention and 13 movies) well, a 750+ hours, it holds together remarkably well in-universe(s).
I still ‘care’ about Star Trek. Always beloved. But it’s become less of an interest in “transporters don’t work that way” (ask me about the Heisenberg compensator, targeting scanner and pattern buffer) and more about the STORY and PEOPLE and whether it’s worth watching.
These days, if the writing is great (required) it’s faithful to the Trek concepts and premises, and the acting is good (it is), I really don’t care what doesn’t “fit” into trek history. Spock never mentioned a sister? NCC-1701 NEVER looked like that? They didn’t have holograms in 2156?
Seriously, who cares? If the change makes for a better story, go for it. Punch it. Make it So.
It’s been two years of damn good TV and expanded the franchise dramatically. And it’s FUN. Discovery and Picard have brought a franchise that had grown somewhat stagnant and repetitive and a little dull — and into a modern 21st century television with movie quality cinematography and stories.
I can still tell you all about the Mutura Nebula, what a katra is and the significance of April 5, 2063. But I am no longer the Trek fanatic I once was, not at all, there are other things that become more important as you grow older — but I still enjoy a good Star Trek series or film, and both Discovery and Picard are worthy successors in the franchise.
As Captain Pike said to Burnham, “Wherever our mission takes us, we’ll try to have a little fun along the way too, alright? Make a little noise. Ruffle a few feathers…”
It’s ALL good!
I have also started watching Star Trek: Picard. I lived the first half of my life in Dochester, just south of Boston and was delighted to see Boston in Star Trek.
The first episode of “Star Trek: Picard” takes place in 2399 and has a crucial scene set in Boston. This is the first appearance of Boston in canonical Star Trek.
The Good news: On the eve of the 25th century, Boston looks better than ever and is a thriving Metropolis.
The Bad news: After 400 years there are STILL delays on the MBTA Red Line subway, but service will be restored shortly.
(All images remain the property of CBS, Parmount and their original copyright holders and and are used here for entertainment purposes in what is beloved to be fair use).