http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/07...trek-discovery-trailer-story-details-revealed
Lots of details for Discovery here....
The cast and crew of Star Trek Discovery arrived at San Diego Comic-Con today ready to boldly go (come on, I had to) as the long-awaited revival of Trek on TV’s debut approaches this fall.
Series stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Jason Isaacs, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Anthony Rapp and James Frain, along with executive-producers Alex Kurtzman, Aaron Harberts, Gretchen J. Berg, Heather Kadin and Akiva Goldsman beamed in (yep, I did it again) to give fans their first in-depth look at the new CBS All Access show.
First up, a new Star Trek Discovery trailer was released, which you can check out
right here.
Rainn Wilson moderated the panel, which was appropriate since he plays the classic Trek character Harry Mudd in the new show. One of the first questions for the group was how the show will balance the technology of our modern world with the more simplistic aesthetic of the original William Shatner/Leonard Nimoy series.
“We are all the biggest fans of The Original Series and we’re taking a tremendous amount of our inspiration from it,” said Kurtzman. “They’re are raging debates all day in the writers room about what’s canon [and what’s not]. But we also have to recognize that we now live in a world where if we give you a four-walled set, you would not be happy, especially as you have to pay for it. … It’s a little bit larger than The Original Series, but we are consistent [with that world].”
Martin-Green, who plays First Officer Michael Burnham, talked about her seven-year relationship working with Michelle Yeoh’s character, Captain Philippa Georgiou of the starship Shenzhou. “It’s a very close relationship. I graduated from the Vulcan Science Academy and went straight to the Shenzhou and she took me under her wing. And my surrogate dad, Sarek -- I was raised by him and Amanda on Vulcan after the death of my parents.”
At some point, Burnham leaves the Shenzhou for the Discovery apparently, though the producers are still keeping the circumstances of that change a mystery.
Frain spoke about playing Sarek, who of course is also a character from the classic show -- and Spock’s father. “It’s an exploration of who he was when he was younger. We know where he ends up. One of the things that was always fascinating was that he married a human. That’s Spock’s background. So that’s one of the things we’re unpeeling sort of with each episode. And he’s a mentor to [Burnham]. … He’s complex. Because the whole Vulcan ideal is something they evolved over centuries and the reality is they still have emotions and they have to cope with them, and that’s something Sarek has to cope with. Because he has a human child and a half human child, and this opens up a door in him that he didn’t think was there.”
Kurtzman is aware that this seeming break with Trek continuity might trouble some fans, but he says to hang tight. “Some brains may be exploding that Spock has a sister we never heard of, and I just want to say just be patient with us,” he said. “We’re aware. Just see where it’s going, but we are staying consistent with canon.”
Isaacs plays the captain of the Discovery, Gabriel Lorca, and he hinted at how his character differs from previous captains from the series.
“He’s probably more f#@ked up than any of them,” he said. “He’s a complicated guy; it’s a complicated story for our times.” He also said that Discovery is similar to the old show in that the team is attempting to reflect the real world issues of today with the series. “My character was born out of war, and it gives him a lot of sharp edges as well.”
The reaction in some circles to the casting on the show was also addressed. “Star Trek has always been about diversity and universality and unity,” said Martin-Green. “I truly believe it is one of the main reasons it is still important to so many people even today. And if you say you love the legacy of Star Trek, and you don’t love that, then you’ve missed that. And I encourage you to join us, come on the journey with us. Hopefully you’ll learn something about the people around you because that’s what our story does.”
The topic of the Klingons came up, the classic race who will play a major part in the new series. During this period of Star Trek history, Starfleet is at war with the bumpy-headed, honor-obsessed characters… though the producers of the show are reluctant to call them villains.
“Because of the story we’re telling about the Klingons in this season of Star Trek, it was very important for us to have them speak Klingon and there will be subtitles,” said Berg. “It was important to see the Klingons [as their own people]. It’s a very fascinating culture. … We [want to] deepen what was already [out there].”
Harberts spoke about balancing a war with the Klingons with the peaceful mission of Starfleet.
“That’s gonna take a lot of episodes,” he said. “That’s big. We’re having them come at each other. We’re trying to show how conflict is solved by peace. Sometimes we make the wrong decisions along the way … It’s been a very interesting challenge given where the Klingons and Starfleet wind up [in the future]. We really wanted to [add dimension to] the Klingons so they weren’t just the villains of the universe. We wanted to understand that there isn’t a right or wrong. … It often comes from fear.”
Also, the Klingon being spoken is in fact the “official” Klingon language that has existed here on planet Earth for decades now.
Doug Jones, who has played so many memorable genre characters over the years, talked about his role as Lt. Saru, who is a member of the alien Kelpian race.
“As a Kelpian, what you have not seen yet is my footwear,” he laughed. “My feet are hooves, so I’m the tallest character on the show, balancing on my balls of my feet.” The actor then demonstrated his Saru walk to lots of laughs from the audience, since it’s somewhere between a fashion catwalk stride and an ostrich’s prance.
The first season of the show will definitely be one 15-episode arc that tells a complete story. Kadin said that in taking that approach, the producers are aiming for a fuller emotional story as well.
Rapp confirmed that his character, Lt. Paul Stamets, will be in a relationship with another man on the show. “Wilson Cruz will be playing my love interest, my partner -- my man love -- and we’re both officers on the ship,” he said. “My character is the first openly gay character on the TV [incarnation] of Star Trek. And I’m very proud of that. And he’s a scientist!” Also, he’s really good at that old Star Trek staple -- technobabble. (He read some off for the crowd today, but it would be impossible to transcribe it with any accuracy here. Sorry!)
From the sound of it, the cast and crew are really aiming to make this an entry in the Star Trek canon that is truly worthy of the name.
“It’s full of nothing but characters,” said Isaacs. “It’s true we have these amazing special effects and sets, but what happens between the humans and the aliens is where the true drama is.”
Added Wilson: “This is not a show where they’re playing it safe in any way, shape or form. They are going for it … in a way that I have never seen in any Trek iteration yet.”
Star Trek Discovery will debut on September 24 on CBS, with the rest of the season running on CBS All Access in the U.S. and on Netflix in most international territories.
