Today the cast and crew of Discovery took the stage of Ballroom 20 at San Diego Comic con bringing with them news of the next chapter of Star Trek and sneak peeks ahead of the shows September debut!
Michael Burnham
During the panel we learned more about Burnhams relationship with Sarek and their back story. They revealed that Burnham/s parents were killed and that Sarek became a surrogate father to her. But for those wondering why we’d never heard of Spock’s human adopted sister, executive producer Alex Kurtzman took the issue head on, “we’re aware Spock’s stepsister isn’t canon.” He said, adding, “Be patient with us.”
Aaron Harberts was one of many to give praise to the new lead Sonequa Martin Green, echoing previous showrunner Bryan Fuller’s comments that it was difficult to find the right person and so they waited for her contract on The Walking Dead to come to an end.
Isaacs continued the praise, calling her the queen of the set and describing her as ‘fierce’.
As for Sarek, Frain spoke of his character and how they explore who he was in his youth and the reasons behind him marrying a human and trying to raise a human in Burnham. Frain also revealed that Sarek chose Georgeou (Michelle Yeoh) as a mentor to Burnham.
Emotional Complexity.
With Frain setting the stage and discussing the evolution and internal emotions of Vulcans, Shazad Latif, who will play a Lt Tyler on the show, added that the characters on the show will be ’emotionally complex’.
Putting it more bluntly, when asked about Captain Lorca, actor Jason Issacs said his character had a lot of sharp edges as he tries not to emulate his predecessors. when it comes to his emotional complexicty, Issacs described Lorca as more ‘f–ked up’ than we’ve seen of a captain before.
The Look
One of the most debated parts of the show was how it looked in comparison to the original 1960’s design. Kurtzman addressed this saying in the modern world that they can’t give sets that mimick the 60’s, but with so many behind the scenes huge fans of the original series, it became an inspiration and they are always mindful of the canon; reinforcing comments he made to EW in which he claimed one of the writers was a stickler for ensuring they kept within the lines of established Trek.
Doug Jones revealed something we didn’t know about the look of the show, or more accurately his character. He has hooves! Performing the ‘Saru Walk’ on stage, he revealed Saru was as tall as 6’8 on screen!
Unity
Diversity and unity was a hot topic, with Martin-Green commenting on how important those ideals were to Star Trek and what made it so important. It seems it’s still at the core of the show with Aaron Herberts claiming one of the main motivations of the series is to show how conflict can be resolved by finding peace and common ground.
He added that the Klingons will also be fleshed out. They won’t be one dimensional thugs but a diverse culture we, the viewers and the Federation, want to understand. Though to understand them, we’ll need subtitles as co-showrunner Gretchen Berg added that Klingons will be subtitles throughout their appearances.
Akiva Goldsman added that the search for peace and the solution to those conflicts will show a Utopian and hopeful future in the sporit of Star Trek.
“I promise you that we passionately believe in what we are doing.” Anthony Rapp added, “We want to do something meaningful & honor what came before.”
Star Trek Discovery launches on September 25th in the UK. For more on the panel and all over SDCC, SFCQ2 member hub Starbase Europa has recaps and photos from the event and exhibition.
To catch up on every so far, you can check out our latest edition of SFC Q2’s Comms available NOW to all members!
The Summmer 2017 Edition of Comms is available to all logged in registered members at sfcq2.com/comms. To join SFC Quadrant 2 and gain access to Comms and all other members benefits, signing up is quick and easy and membership is completely free! Click here to join Starfleet Command!
the latest edition of Comms, as well as the Comms Archive, is free to all members of Q2. Login now to read more!
About the author
A Fistful of O’Brien
Entering the Star Trek world as an unnamed extra with a few bits of dialogue, O'Brien soon became a fixture on the Enterprise D as it's transporter chief before moving to Deep Space Nine to head up engineering and operations on what was thought to be a backwater outpost before it became one of the most strategically important stations in the quadrant!As the only enlisted or non commissioned officer to feature in the main cast of any Star Trek show to date, O'Brien stands as the only working class hero in the Star Trek universe with a vast and varied career taking from the front lines of the Cardassian war as a soldier, to the front lines of the Dominion War as an engineer, retrofitting DS9, keeping the Defiant from blowing itself apart, and even sniping Dominion troops. All in […]
[Q2&A] Career Track
SFC has always structured it's internal reward and recognition system on the command structure of Starfleet on screen. Newbies are cadets. When they become full members, they become Ensigns. And those eager to take on a leadership role can rank up to Commander or Captain. Even the board of directors are mirrored within the theme as Commodores and Admirals! It's always been the way, but the path of an officer isn't for everyone... Despite the original idea of all star ship personnel being highly trained astronauts, therefore nullifying the need for enlisted crew, the enlisted ranks have existed in some form since the original series. More defined in the film era, particularly under the revision of style and structure in The Wrath of Khan, they have been slightly more prominent since. Most notable of the enlisted members of Starfleet was […]
[Retro Review] Space Seed
By chance, the Enterprise comes across an ancient Earth ship drifting through space. On board they find a whole bunch of people held in suspended animation, wake up the leader of the gang and accidentally unleash one of the most iconic villains of the franchise. Being coy with his identity at first, ship historian Marla McGivers becomes fascinated with a glimpse at the past while Kirk and the rest of the non-historians figure out that he just happens to be one of the most notorious war lords in Earths history... Star Trek, Season 1 , Episode 22 For all the action and adventure of deep space and the idea of using alien make up to mask more down to earth stories, Space Seed gives the first real glimpse of Star Trek's history. Khan is a relic of Earth from long […]
Resistance Is Optional: Choose Your Adventure!
Our trials of bringing the fleet together have been hit and miss with scheduling and dates being a bit slim. So we're opening the floor to the fleet to pick the next date and theme! You can make your selection below on what works best for you ahead of our next fleet event! The final outcome will be shared at Europa on Facebook and in Fleet Alert in the Officers Hub as soon as we have a comfortable number of notes. For more information or to get direct updates on non-Discord online events, you can the subscribe to Twitch channel, visit twitch.tv/sfcq2. Google Meets events are hosted by our google account - you can add sfcquad2@gmail.com to your whitelist to ensure direct notification. Info and invite confirmations may also come from jt@sfcq2.com directly.
Sixty Year Mission…
It's been a really weird year already for the world of Star Trek fans. We started 2026 with a new venture into a strange new future with Starfleet Academy. Then just as the show had won people over, we found out it's the latest in a long list of recent productions to get a cancellation order, is a bit of a weird way to start the 60th anniversary of a legendary franchise. The past few years we've kind of spoiled. Growing up it was exciting to have Deep Space Nine run alongside the Next Generation. In modern times we had multiple shows going at once with Discovery's launch spawning a new world of story telling from revisiting Picard in his post-Starfleet years, to animated comedy with Lower Decks, to finally telling the story of Captain Pike and even a peek […]
[Retro Review] Let This Be Your Last Battlefield
Often shown in highlight reels and quoted in discussions about Star Trek's more forward thinking messages, Let This Be Your Last Battlefield is at it's simplest, a story of the ridiculousness of segregation. En route to a vital mission of mercy, Kirk and his crew end up in the middle of a political minefield. Interrupted in the mission by a stolen Federation shuttle carrying an injured alien, Lokai from the planet Cheron, they're soon further interrupted by Commissioner Bele, an official representing Cheron who announces Lokai as a political traitor and demanding custody. One asylum request later, Kirk's stuck between the two trying to find the right course of action knowing he has orders to follow beyond the situation. The separation between Belle and Lokai is a simple context. And also a strangely charged one looking at it from a […]
Related
Starfleet Academy Welcomes It’s First Class!
The first batch of cast announcements for Academy focused on veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter, the latter in the role of the new Academy Commandant, but now we're getting a full look at the shows first class of cadets as the first five are ready to enlist!
Paul Giamatti joins Holly Hunter for Starfleet Academy!
Looking ahead to the next generation of Star Trek shows, Paramount and Secret Hideout have already began announcing new cast members to lead the Starfleet Academy series coming to the streaming platform in the near future. News of the show has already turned heads with notes that the new academy campus will be the largest seen on TV so far, being filmed in Pinewood';s largest stage in Canada, though in terms of what to fully expect from the young adult drama, things are largely being kept under Red Directive secrecy. However we now at least know who will be leading the new class ahead of the shows production...
[Review] Life Itself…. Discovery S5E10
Trapped between two black holes, the doorway to the Progenitor's legacy is wide open. Discovery's on guarding duty following Burnham chasing Moll inside while the Breen are recovering to take the technology for themselves before a rival faction finds them. With everything to fight for and the chase becoming a race against time, Discovery's crew enter their final house and a bit to end their five season journey.
[Review] LaGrange Point: Discovery S5E09
All the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. Now with the end in sight, Burnham and her crew are on the edge of their greatest discovery. Yet there are still obstacles in the way with Moll and the Breen having taken possession of the combined Progenitor Artifact, the USS Discovery dead in the water and a potential all out conflict in the background. No wonder Rayner keeps pacing....
[Review] Labyrinths, Discovery S5E08
Hidden behind trials, tests and general annoyances that would drive even a sane person a little bit mad, the final piece of the puzzle is in sight. Hidden within an ancient travelling archive of the galaxy's most prized knowledge, the only problem is figuring out what it all means. Arriving at the Eternal Library, Captain Burnham opens the pages of an ancient Betazoid manuscript looking for the final answer only to find herself trapped in a psychological game where she doesn't even know the question...
[Review] Erigah: Discovery S5E7
Answering a distress call sent my Mol and L'ak, Discovery apprehends the treasure hunters only to find themselves staring down one of several Breen overlords looking to get their hands on the duo leading to a potential revival of war against the devestating power of the Breen. As Burnham and Vance look for a diplomatic answer to a fight they can't win, Moll looks for a way to escape (of course!) while Stamets rounds up the troops to try and figure out the final clue, including recruiting a bored and frustrated Book...
