star trek continues the movie

‘Star Trek’ Origin Story Movie Set From ‘Andor’ Director, ‘Star Trek 4’ Still in the Works as ‘Final Chapter’ of Main Series

By Michaela Zee

Michaela Zee

• Cecil Murray, Longtime Pastor of First AME Church, Dies at 94 1 day ago
• Kiernan Shipka Pays Tribute to Chance Perdomo: ‘His Humanity Was a Generous Gift’ 5 days ago
• Chef José Andrés Says World Central Kitchen Members Were Killed in Gaza Airstrike 6 days ago

A new “ Star Trek ” film is in the works at Paramount with “Andor’s” Toby Haynes on board to direct and Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script, Variety has confirmed.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, the upcoming feature will be an origin story that is set decades before 2009’s “Star Trek,” as well as an expansion of the “Star Trek” universe. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is producing.

A fourth “Star Trek” movie starring Chris Pine was first announced in July of 2016, with Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho and Simon Pegg expected to return. Chris Hemsworth, who appeared in the 2009 original, was set to return to the space saga as George Kirk, the father of Captain James T. Kirk (Pine). According to Paramount at the time, “Star Trek 4” would see Pine’s Captain Kirk cross paths with his father, who was “a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born.”

During a Paramount Global investors day presentation in February of 2022, Abrams announced that a new “Star Trek” movie would begin shooting by the end of that year with the Pine-led crew. Pine and his co-stars reportedly had no idea Paramount was moving forward with another “Star Trek” film, which was eventually removed from the studio’s film slate in September of that year.

Haynes recently directed six episodes of the “Star Wars” series “Andor,” starring Diego Luna as the titular role. He also helmed the “Star Trek”-inspired episode of “Black Mirror,” titled “USS Callister.” Haynes is repped by WME and attorney Peter Nelson.

Grahame-Smith is best known as the author of the best-selling novels “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” He also wrote and produced 2017’s “The Lego Batman Movie.” Grahame-Smith is repped by WME and attorneys PJ Shapiro and Wendy Kirk.

Deadline was first to report the “Star Trek” news.

More From Our Brands

Little big town, sugarland announce 2024 ‘take me home’ tour, how todd snyder is decoding luxury menswear for a new generation, ncaa targets units for women’s basketball tournament in 2024-25, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, those about to die: peacock’s roman epic starring anthony hopkins gets release date — plus, watch a teaser, verify it's you, please log in.

While The Star Trek 4 Wait Continues, The Sci-Fi Franchise Has Unveiled Another Big Movie That Has Me Intrigued

Where are they going with this?

The TV side of the Star Trek franchise has been thriving for seven years now thanks to various shows being delivered exclusively to Paramount+ subscribers (although if you’re a Star Trek: Prodigy fan, you’ll now need a Netflix subscription to keep following along with it). Film-wise, however, there hasn’t been anything delivered since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond , and we’re still no closer to Star Trek 4 ’s arrival . But while the public continues to wait for the next entry in the Kelvin timeline, another big movie has been unveiled for the sci-fi franchise that has me intrigued.

Word’s come in that Paramount Pictures has tapped Andor ’s Toby Haynes to direct a Star Trek movie that hails from a script being written by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ’s Seth Grahame-Smith . Deadline describes this specific project as “an origin story that takes place decades before” 2009’s Star Trek . It was also clarified that Star Trek 4 remains in “active development” and is described as the “final chapter in the main series,” but that particular tidbit can be talked about another time.

Between Haynes’ experience on Andor , the popular Star Wars show that’s returning for a second season, and Grahame-Smith’s other genre work, like The LEGO Batman Movie and IT (which he produced), I’m interested to see what this duo can do together in the Star Trek franchise. It’s also good to hear that this new Star Trek movie is something separate from Star Trek 4 , akin to what Fargo ’s Noah Hawley had been working on until late 2020.

What I’m especially curious about, though, is how closely this Star Trek movie will be tied to the Kelvin timeline movies, if at all. The fact that it’s described as taking “decades before” the flick that introduced us to Chris Pine ’s James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto ’s Spock, among others, would indicate there will be a notable connective thread. However, it’s also important to remember that the Kelvin timeline’s divergence from the main Trek timeline occurred on the day Kirk was born. Technically speaking, within that timeline, everything up until that day should have happened the same as it did in the main timeline. 

On the other hand, perhaps when it comes to the Kelvin continuity, that one change may have produced ripples that led to alterations to the entire timeline, similar to what happened in DC Comics’ Flashpoint storyline. I may just be overthinking this, but regardless, I don’t mind the idea of the Star Trek franchise’s film side continuing to expand the Kelvin timeline rather than delve back into the main timeline. That reality is already getting plenty of attention with the shows on Paramount+, and the streaming service also has the Michelle Yeoh-led Section 31 movie coming up. Let the movies keep carving out their own distinct corner.

Still, with so many Star Trek movie-relate false starts in recent years, there’s no guarantee just yet that Toby Haynes and Seth Grahame-Smith’s movie will be officially greenlit. If that happens though, naturally we’ll share the news on CinemaBlend. Meanwhile, although the Kelvin timeline movies are still accessible on Paramount+, if you want to watch any of the first 10 Star Trek movies, you’ll need a Max subscription .

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.

‘This Is An Anthem For The Underdogs’: Dev Patel Talks Including The Trans Community In Monkey Man

Every Wayans' Family Movie, Ranked

As Mike Tyson And Jake Paul Prepare For Their Fight, A UFC Veteran Explains Why He’s Not A ‘Fan’ Of The Idea

Most Popular

By Riley Utley April 06, 2024

By Sarah El-Mahmoud April 06, 2024

By Megan Behnke April 06, 2024

By Ryan LaBee April 06, 2024

By Erik Swann April 06, 2024

By Jessica Rawden April 06, 2024

By Corey Chichizola April 06, 2024

By Adam Holmes April 06, 2024

• 2 ‘He’s Just The Sweetest Man’: Brittany Snow Shares Friendship With Dave Bautista That Led To Key Role In Her Directorial Debut Parachute
• 3 Every Wayans' Family Movie, Ranked
• 4 An Insider Just Spoke Out About What's Going On With Yellowstone Season 5, And There Are Some Intriguing Ideas About The Kevin Costner Issue
• 5 I Just Learned About Disneyland’s Hug Rule, And It’s The Sweetest Thing Ever

• Tagging & Taxonomy
• Earn Points
• Notifications
• Favorite Series
• Favorite Movies

• Edit Series
• Edit Translations
• Delete Delete
• Delete All Series-Level Artwork
• Delete All Season-Level Artwork
• Delete All Episode-Level Artwork
• Delete All Character-Level Artwork

Vic Mignogna as Captain Kirk

Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock

Chuck Huber as Doctor McCoy

Christopher Doohan as Mr. Scott

Grant Imahara as Mr. Sulu

Wyatt Lenart as Ensign Chekov

Kim Stinger as Lieutenant Uhura

• Background 7
• Cinemagraph 0
• ClearLogo 1
• Add Background
• Add Cinemagraph
• Add ClearArt
• Add ClearLogo

No artwork of this type.

• Custom (Top 25)
• Add To List

Select an existing list or create a new list.

• All lists are publicly visible and can be browsed and favorited by other users.
• Refrain from vulgarity and slurs in the titles and overview.
• Popular lists, as determined by voting, can be converted to official lists which may be used in apps that use our API. Lists that are made official cannot be deleted and mods will be granted the ability to modify the entries or official title (in addition to the original creator). Barring abuse, official lists will give credit to the original creator of the list.

Star Trek Fan Productions

Johnnybebad1972, delete series.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

Star trek continues.

S1.E1 ∙ Pilgrim of Eternity

S1.E2 ∙ Lolani

S1.E3 ∙ Fairest of Them All

S1.E4 ∙ The White Iris

S1.E5 ∙ Divided We Stand

S1.E6 ∙ Come Not Between the Dragons

S1.E7 ∙ Embracing the Winds

S1.E8 ∙ Still Treads the Shadow

S1.E9 ∙ What Ships Are For

S1.E10 ∙ To Boldly Go: Part I

S1.E11 ∙ To Boldly Go: Part II

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore.

Recently viewed

Advertisement

Supported by

To Live Long and Prosper, Do What George Takei Does

For the “Star Trek” actor and author of the new children’s book “My Lost Freedom,” it’s all about green tea and antioxidants. “I drink it every day, all day. I am an addict,” he says.

• Share full article

By Leigh-Ann Jackson

When George Takei talks about his childhood, he speaks of both anguish and beauty.

The actor best known as Sulu from “Star Trek” was only 5 when he and his family — like thousands of Japanese American citizens during World War II — were relocated from their Los Angeles home to a string of incarceration camps.

Takei captured some of his family’s wartime experiences — in a horse stall in Arcadia, Calif., a camp in Rohwer, Ark., another one in Northern California — in his picture book, “ My Lost Freedom ,” due out April 16. “This is an American story that Americans need to know about,” he said in a video call.

The book continues his mission to shed light on a dark chapter in U.S. history. It follows his 1994 autobiography “To the Stars,” his 2019 graphic memoir “ They Called Us Enemy ” and the 2015 musical production “Allegiance , ” which was inspired by his life.

Takei, 86, discussed meeting dignitaries with his husband, Brad, as well as the keepsakes he treasures and his one healthy addiction. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Seeing Your Work in Lights

I got a phone call that the marquee for “Allegiance” was going up at 8 a.m. Our apartment was so close to Longacre Theater, in Manhattan, we ran down there to see the letters being put there. It was thrilling — a life landmark experience! I wished both my parents could be there.

At Rohwer, my father arranged to borrow a record player from the camp administration every couple of months, and after dinner, the tables were dragged away, the benches were put off to the side, and the teenagers got to have a dance. My bedtime music was the music from the mess hall. I still get a lump in my throat when I hear big band music from the 1940s.

My parents loved sending me to summer school. There was a session in Tokyo at Sophia University. I think I was 17. One of the guys came up with this idea: “They allow people to climb up to the top of Mount Fuji. Would you guys want to do that?” About a dozen of us said, yeah. When you begin, they sell you this staff. At each station they have an old man with a branding iron who’ll mark the staff; that’s proof that you reached the station. I have the whole staff with the final branding.

Dining With Presidents

Brad and I are a gay couple, I was raised in American prison camps, and we went to a State Dinner, in the White House , as guests of President Clinton in 1999 to welcome Prime Minister Obuchi to Washington. And I got another invitation from President Obama to greet Prime Minister Abe and his wife in 2015. Obama put us up on the dais, I was seated next to the first lady of Japan, and Brad was seated next to Nancy Pelosi. How about that?

Sydney Opera House

A couple of years ago, we were in Australia, and Brad was dealing with jet lag by going to bed. My attitude is, you’ve got to walk around and get the blood coursing, and a sense of the place where you are. I was walking along, and there was this street lamp advertising “The Phantom of the Opera” at Sydney Opera House. So I rushed back to the hotel, woke Brad up and said, “We’re going to go to the theater!” It was a fantastic production.

Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles

It’s one of the premier institutions in America — the place for anyone doing any kind of research on that chapter of American history. I’m a former chairman of the board, I’m still on the board of trustees, and I founded that museum with others.

Shellfish in Australia

For “Blood Oath,” we filmed right near Moreton Bay. They have these crustaceans that look like bugs, a midsize crab with a thousand tiny legs. They said this was a unique dish to Queensland. It’s a combination of the consistency of oysters and the flavor of lobster and shrimp. You have to taste it to know what it’s really like. It’s so indescribably good.

Olympic Torch

In 1984, the idea was having runners carry the Olympic flame every five kilometers all the way to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “Star Trek” producer Harve Bennett said, “Well, George, you’re a runner. Paramount would love to sponsor you.” It was the most heady run, and I got to keep the uniform and the torch.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles

When we came out of camp in 1946, the whole world opened up, and the Chinese theater was a glamorous place for me. You’ll find my name, together with my “Star Trek” colleagues, right there on that sidewalk.

I carry Ito En Oi Ocha tea bags around. They have lots of antioxidants that help you live long and prosper! I drink it every day, all day. I am an addict.

Screen Rant

15 star trek actors in the mission: impossible franchise.

Both Star Trek and Mission: Impossible were Desilu productions, so there was crossover of actors, writers, and directors which continues to this day.

• Mission: Impossible and Star Trek: The Original Series both originated with Desilu, and both franchises have shared talent in front and behind the camera.
• Iconic actors like William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban showed their range in the realm of Mission: Impossible, crafting captivating characters.
• The links between Star Trek and Mission: Impossible continues to this day in the Tom Cruise-led movie franchise.

Given their shared origins, it's no surprise that multiple actors have appeared in both the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises. While Mission: Impossible is now best known as a multi-million dollar movie franchise led by Tom Cruise, it originated on TV in 1966, the same year that Star Trek: The Original Series debuted. Like Mission: Impossible , Star Trek was made possible by Lucille Ball and her production company, Desilu. While Star Trek: The Original Series was sold to NBC, and ran for three seasons, Mission: Impossible aired on CBS and clocked up seven seasons between 1966 and 1973 .

Given that Star Trek: The Original Series and Mission: Impossible were Desilu productions, there was considerable crossover of talent between both franchises. For example, before playing Rollin Hand in the first three seasons of Mission: Impossible , Martin Landau turned down playing Spock on TOS . The crossover between the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible franchises continues long into the 21st century. In 2006, J.J. Abrams made his feature debut directing Mission: Impossible III . Three years later, Abrams would direct the 2009 Star Trek reboot, bringing along M:I 3 star Simon Pegg as the Kelvin Timeline's version of Scotty.

What Simon Pegg Has Done Since Star Trek Beyond

15 william shatner as tommy kroll and joseph conrad, mission: impossible season 6, episode 2, "encore" & season 7, episode 6, "cocaine".

William Shatner was one of many actors who found work on Mission: Impossible after Star Trek: TOS was canceled in 1969. Shatner made two appearances in Mission: Impossible , first as aging gangster Tommy Kroll in the season 6 episode "Encore". Tommy Kroll was Shatner's most memorable M:I role, because of the high-concept plot of his episode, "Encore." To solve a decades-old murder, the Impossible Mission Force convinced Kroll that he had time traveled to the year 1937 . By watching Kroll repeat the events of decades earlier, the IMF were able to uncover new evidence to close the case.

William Shatner returned a year later to play Joseph Conrad, the trusted lieutenant of a cocaine smuggler, Carl Reid. In the appropriately named Mission: Impossible episode "Cocaine", the IMF convince Shatner's playboy gangster to lead them to the location of Reid's latest shipment. The ruse this time involves a machine that can create synthetic cocaine, something that the IMF correctly surmise will drive a wedge between Conrad and his employer.

Both of William Shatner's Mission: Impossible episodes were written by Harold Livingston, who would later write the script for Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

14 Mark Lenard as Felipe Mora, Col. Cardoza, Aristo Skora and Col. Bakram

Mission: impossible 107. "wheels", 202. "trek", 321. "nitro", 511. "the rebel".

Prolific character actor and the man who played Spock's father in Star Trek: The Original Series , Mark Lenard also played four different characters in Mission: Impossible . The most notable of these roles was Colonel Bakram in M:I season 5, episode 11, "The Rebel". The episode sees the Mission: Impossible team captured by government forces in a Latin American nation, headed by Mark Lenard's Colonel Bakram. "The Rebel" was a family reunion for the Spock and Sarek actors, as Leonard Nimoy's Paris became a nemesis to Mark Lenard's Bakram as the IMF tried to get their people out alive.

13 Leonard Nimoy as The Great Paris

Mission: impossible seasons 4 & 5.

Spock actor Leonard Nimoy joined the regular cast of Mission: Impossible in 1970, after NBC canceled Star Trek: The Original Series . Nimoy played The Great Paris, an actor, magician, and master of disguise, who aided the IMF's missions in Mission: Impossible seasons 4 and 5 . Paris replaced the IMF's resident master of disguise and role-play, Rollin Hand (Martin Landau). While the Great Paris' real name was never revealed, he did reveal a tragic backstory involving a love triangle between him, his magician mentor, and the mentor's assistant. Paris' talents as a magician allowed the team to infiltrate a royal palace and avert a military coup in the three-part episode "The Falcon".

In an odd coincidence, years after he took a role first offered to Martin Landau, Leonard Nimoy replaced the actor on Mission: Impossible when he left after season 3.

12 John Colicos as Commissioner Taal Jankowski

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 16, "the reluctant dragon".

John Colicos played Star Trek: The Original Series ' first Klingon antagonist, debuting as Kor in 1967's "Errand of Mercy" . Earlier that year, John Colicos played Commissioner Taal Jankowski in the Mission: Impossible episode "The Reluctant Dragon". Colicos' character was a Soviet security chief who suspected rocket scientist Dr. Helmut Cherlotov (Joseph Campanella) of wishing to defect to the West. However, Cherlotov is loyal to his country, forcing Rollin to show the scientist the bleak truth about his country and how it treats its scientific community. Eventually, the IMF convince the scientist to emerge from the Iron Curtain, just as Colicos' character feared.

DS9 Brought Back (& Changed) 3 Classic TOS Klingons

11 ricardo montalban as gerard sefra, mission: impossible, season 1, episode 21, "snowball in hell".

Best known as Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek , Ricardo Montalban was a prolific character actor, who also made an appearance in Mission: Impossible season 1. Montalban played Gerard Sefra, the villain-of-the-week in the episode "Snowball in Hell" . Like Khan, Gerard Sefra was a cruel tyrant, who ran a penal colony that doled out sadistic and old-fashioned punishments to its prisoners. Sera has also come into possession of cesium, an element that can be used in the construction of nuclear weapons. At the end of "Snowball in Hell", Ricardo Montalban's character is undone when his new weapon explodes in his face, not unlike the Genesis Device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

10 Paul Winfield as Klaus

Mission: impossible, season 2, episode 24, "trial by fury".

Ricardo Montalban's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan co-star, Paul Winfield appeared as Klaus in the Mission: Impossible episode "Trial by Fury" . Set in a Latin American prison, it sees Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) try to save the life of an innocent man accused of being a snitch, by revealing the true informer. Paul Winfield's Klaus is one of the hardened prisoners who wants to have Cardoza killed for passing information to the Commandante. Klaus was one of Winfield's earliest roles, and he makes a strong impression in a tense episode of Mission: Impossible that has a thorny dilemma at its core.

The prison's Commandante was played by Joseph Bernard, who played Tark in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Wolf in the Fold".

9 Joan Collins as Nicole Vedette

Mission: impossible, season 3, episode 22, "nicole".

In 1967's "The City on the Edge of Forever", Joan Collins played Edith Keeler, the best of Captain Kirk's love interests in Star Trek: The Original Series . Years later, Joan Collins played Nicole Vedette in Mission: Impossible , an enemy agent with whom Jim Phelps fell in love. In the episode, named after Joan Collins' character, Jim Phelps is wounded during a mission, and receives aid from Nicole, who risks her life to help an enemy. The two begin to fall in love, but Nicole is tragically killed, just like Edith Keeler in Star Trek , allowing a grieving Phelps to escape with Rollin before the enemy guards regroup.

The villain of the week in "Nicole" is General Valdas, played by Logan Ramsey, the Proconsul from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Bread and Circuses".

8 Michael Ansara as Ed Stoner

Mission: impossible, season 7, episode 21, "the western".

Michael Ansara played the Klingon Warrior Kang in Star Trek: The Original Series , season 3, episode 7, "Day of the Dove", later reprising the role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Blood Oath". Ansara had a long list of acting credits between Kang performances, including roles in the short-lived Shaft TV series, Fantasy Island , and Mission: Impossible . Playing the small role Ed Stoner, Michael Ansara was underused in the episode , essentially a gun-toting ranch manager who tries to scare Jim Phelps and Barney Collier (Greg Morris) off the land owned by the villain-of-the-week, Van Cleve (Ed Nelson).

7 Barry Atwater as Dr. Carlos Enero, Matthew Royce and Others

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 13, "elena" and season 7, episode 21, "the western".

Barry Atwater also appeared in the Mission: Impossible episode "The Western", playing Matthew Royce, the betrayed criminal partner of Van Cleve, who gets killed in the opening minutes. Atwater had a more substantial role as the psychiatrist Dr. Carlos Enero in the season 1 episode, "Elena". Paired up with Martin Landau's Rollin, Enero has to figure out why an agent is acting so erratically, so they can avoid an international incident.

In Star Trek: The Original Series , Barry Atwater played the Excaliban projection of the legendary Vulcan, Surak in the episode "The Savage Curtain". Atwater also played three more Mission: Impossible characters between Dr. Enero and Matthew Royce. He played Premier Leon Vados in season 3's "The Play", Grand Duke Clements in season 4's "Gitano", and General Marin in season 5's "The Field".

Bruce Gray played another version of Atwater's Surak in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Awakening" and "Kir'Shara".

Star Trek's 10 Best Vulcans Ranked

6 arlene martel as atheda, mission: impossible, season 4, episode 20, "terror".

Another notable Vulcan to appear in Mission: Impossible is Arlene Martel, who played Spock's fiancée T'Pring in Star Trek: The Original Series . Martel played Atheda in the Mission: Impossible episode "Terror" . Atheda is the right-hand woman of El Kabir (Michael Tolan), a terrorist whom the IMF are trying to prevent from leaving prison. The episode was from Leonard Nimoy's first season as The Great Paris. Sadly for fans of Spock and T'Pring , however, Nimoy and Martel don't share much screen time in "Terror".

5 Brock Peters as Walter DuBruis

Mission: impossible, season 2, episode 8, "the money machine".

Before he was crooked Admiral Cartwright in the Star Trek movies, Brock Peters played crooked financier Walter DuBruis in Mission: Impossible . The IMF uses counterfeit money and DuBruis' own greed to con him into making a huge business deal. When DuBruis is discovered to be using counterfeit money, he is arrested, losing all of his investments and his freedom, saving the West African nation's economy from further damage. It's a villainous role for Peters who, while sharing something in common with Cartwright, was miles away from Joseph Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

4 Gary Lockwood as Nicholas Varsi

Mission: impossible, season 7, episode 16, "the question".

Gary Lockwood played Kirk's friend and enemy Gary Mitchell in Star Trek: The Original Series ' second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Lockwood later appeared in the final season of Mission: Impossible as Nicholas Varsi , a notorious assassin and enemy agent who wants to defect. The IMF interrogate Varsi, but can't tell if he really wants to defect, or if it's a deception as part of his next mission. Varsi is let go, with the IMF hot on his trail as he completes his next assignment; revenge. Much like in the TOS pilot, Lockwood's suspicious character quickly charms one of the female characters as part of his mission.

3 George Takei as Roger Lee

Mission: impossible, season 1, episode 10, "the carriers".

Best known as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series , George Takei appeared as Roger Lee in "The Carriers", from Mission: Impossible season 1 . Takei's character was another member of the IMF, who made his sole appearance investigating an artificial town where enemy agents are trained to impersonate westerners. As a bacteriologist, Roger was an important addition to the team, given that the entire town was infected with a deadly plague. Presumably, Takei's commitments to Star Trek and his movie career meant that he couldn't make future appearances as Roger Lee in Mission: Impossible .

One scene from "The Carriers" redresses the corridor of the starship Enterprise to represent a subterranean corridor leading to the villain's underground laboratory.

George Takei Has A Surprising Link To Star Trek: Enterprise

2 john de lancie as matthew drake, mission: impossible (1988), season 1, episode 1, "the killer".

John de Lancie has the distinction of helping to reboot two Desilu shows in the late 1980s. That's because, after appearing as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation , John de Lancie played Matthew Drake in the pilot of the 1988 Mission: Impossible revival . Drake was an international assassin who had killed Jim Phelps' successor at the IMF, forcing Phelps to come out of retirement to avenge his death. It's a typically fruity John de Lancie performance, as he's clearly relishing the chance to play a charismatic contract killer.

"The Killer" was directed by Cliff Bole, who directed 25 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , including the episode "Hide and Q".

1 Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn

Mission: impossible 3 to mission: impossible - dead reckoning parts 1 & 2.

Simon Pegg's Benji Dunn is J.J. Abrams' lasting impact on the Mission: Impossible franchise , as it was his movie that introduced the long-serving character. While it's hoped that Simon Pegg will return for the long-delayed Star Trek 4 , he continues to play Benji alongside Tom Cruise in the two-part Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning. Much like Scotty in Star Trek , Benji is an incredibly skilled technician in the Mission: Impossible movies, making him an invaluable member of the team. Both of Simon Pegg's characters aren't afraid to voice their frustrations with their commanders, be it Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, or Chris Pine's Captain Kirk.

All episodes of Mission: Impossible and the movies are available to stream on Paramount Plus.

• April 6, 2024 | ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunner Explains Why They Reopened A TNG Mystery To Start Season 5
• April 5, 2024 | Roddenberry Archive Expands With Virtual Tours Of Deep Space 9 Station And The USS Discovery
• April 5, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Reviews The First Two Episodes Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5
• April 4, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Embraces Second Chances In “Under The Twin Moons”
• April 4, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Returns With New Vitality And A Lore-Fueled Quest In “Red Directive”

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Embraces Second Chances In “Under The Twin Moons”

| April 4, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 68 comments so far

“Under the Twin Moons”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 2 – Debuted Thursday, April 4, 2024 Written by Alan McElroy Directed by Doug Aarniokoski

The new season continues strong with more action and a focus on characters and Trek themes.

Meet the captains.

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“Power of creation, here we come”

Captain Burnham has a moment to consider philosophical questions about the meaning of life as Discovery gets all that sand from Q’Mau removed. The profound stakes of her mission to find the Progenitors’ power have her pondering if she will find new purpose. Her mood could also be due to this being Saru’s last day as first officer. Before they can head off to find the next clue, Michael is summoned to a heated tribunal for Captain Rayner, called to the space carpet for his reckless actions in episode 1. Michael doesn’t want to be a squealer but when pressed, admits she disagreed with Rayner and told him so. His Burn-era cowboy ways aren’t cutting it with Admiral Vance and President Rillak, and once he accuses them of sitting on their “asses” ignoring threats, the Kellerun’s future in Starfleet is not looking good. After Vance checks in with Michael to make sure Book isn’t a distraction, she makes sure her ex (and Grudge) are settling in, keeping it friendly and profesh. He is to work with Hugh and Paul to sort out clues left behind by Dr. Vellek. She also gives him (and Grudge) a cute holo-mouse toy, so they’re going to be fine.

Arriving at Lyrek, Adira and Tilly (on loan from SFA as a “science specialist”) brief Burnham and Saru on how the shadow of twin moons points to an old Promellian necropolis, but an energy field means they will have to hoof (literally for Saru… ha!… sorry) from the beam-in spot. In tactical gear, Michael and Saru take a beat to acknowledge their “last dance” and appreciate the serene beauty of this garden spot before heading to the biggest pyramid. The pair takes this time to joke about Reno giving the Kelpien the nickname “Action Saru” and reminisce about how far they have come together. The former USS Shenzhou shipmates are way past their early sibling rivalry, now seeing the best in each other in this sweet moment that feels like a goodbye. Saru offers advice on his replacement as first officer, suggesting she find someone who stands their ground, not unlike Book… but not actually Book. The stakes rise when they spot a very old skeleton, but it still leaves time for Saru to drop a “grave disappointment” dad joke. A spike in the EM field has Tilly concerned, Michael assures there is nothing to worry about… oh, except the killer drones that just emerged from a giant collapsed four-eyed alien statue head. Run!

Action Saru… complete with Kung-fu Quills!

“We are running out of body parts here ”

On the Disco, Adira and Tilly struggle over how to help the landing party, now hiding under a giant stone foot as the drones fire on them, and then blow up on suicide runs (only to be replaced by more drones). As the flustered nerds run through a series of unworkable options, Rayner holograms himself into the situation—because he’s been secretly watching from HQ, but that’s totally not creepy—and starts guiding them towards a solution that factors in how the ancient Promellians would power an automated security system. The solve is to overload a phaser inside the giant statue head, the source of the drones, which sort of seems obvious, but still, teamwork! Michael wants to take the tough job of target distraction since Saru is about to get hitched, but he reminds her he is stronger and faster and T’Rina would expect him to do his duty. So off he goes like a Kelpien Steve Austin , dodging fire (actually getting hit once) and dispatching drones with his quills. Action Saru, indeed! Michael drops the phaser bomb, buying them time—by now it’s clear why Dr. Vellek chose this ancient graveyard to hide a clue. Sneaky Romulan.

While everyone else is dealing with the danger forest, Book and Culber are building a profile of this season’s adversaries. Moll and L’ak are dangerous but not inherently violent. Moll is human, but L’ak is a mystery. Book sees they are in love, and their actions in episode 1 show him they are “thrillseekers” having a bit of fun as “Sui” couriers who take the most dangerous jobs. This gives him the idea to reach out directly via “dark coms,” using cringy courier slang. They take the bait and have a not-so-friendly chat via hologram. The former couriers have figured out what’s at the end of Vellek’s rainbow, so his diary is no longer for sale. Book tries to scare them with the Starfleet boogeyman, but the cocky duo relishes the challenge. They question if he is a real courier but seem impressed when he reveals his identity as Cleveland Booker before they hang up the (untraceable) call. Yet Book spotted something—and after de-aging Moll’s image (thanks, Zora) he realizes he knows her. Real name Malinne, she is the daughter of Cleveland Booker IV, his mentor and namesake. He never actually met her, but figures she is “the closest thing to family” he has. Wow.

How is it I am answering to all these primitives from 900 years ago?

“You held my hand and I was not afraid.”

Back on the forest planet, Michael and Saru are under a ticking clock before the drones power up again as they arrive at where the clues pointed with no ancient power source to be found. Curiously, the stone pillar they do find has fresh phaser scorching… There must have been more clues but Moll and L’ak beat them to it! Thankfully SaruSuperVision TM  detects iridescent traces of writing in the form of a Romulan “revlav” poem. Michael deploys her old xenoanthropology powers to determine there are only four verses on the pillar, so where is the fifth? It must be hidden because Romulans are sneaky. They find the final verse under the pillar, which Moll and L’ak don’t have. She also finds a hidden object. Score! They beam out at literally the last second (naturally) before the EM defense field restarts. In the science lab, it turns out the thingie they found matches a mysterious symbol from the diary Stamets has been struggling with. Thanks to Zora creating a nice little stand, it’s now clear they have the first of five pieces of a map that will lead them to the Progenitors. And the poem tells them where piece number 2 is. “A world like no other where two souls entwine, joined as one.” Adira nails it: “We’re going to Trill.” Oh and Moll and L’ak only have the first four verses, which point to the wrong planet: Betazed, where hopefully the locals will passive-aggressively mock them telepathically.

Michael visits Saru as he packs up his very moist quarters. They reminsce again, recalling how in this very room she helped him through Vahar’ai . He offers her more parting advice to “trust the journey.” It’s one of those “it’s been an honor” kind of conversations and you can be forgiven for getting choked up, especially as Saru honors his friend, his family, with a Kelpien forehead embrace. Michael checks in with Vance who gives her the thumbs up on the day’s mission. As for Rayner, he has been asked to retire. She defends his actions and has the twinkle of an idea. Burnham finds the grumpy now former captain staring longingly at her ship. “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore,” he notes, which could be said about him. He is not willing to back down from his principles even if they did get him drummed out, but he regrets not anticipating what Moll and L’ak did on Q’Mau, putting all those people at risk. He seems lost, so Burnham offers him a lifeline… as her new XO. She’s impressed with how he helped out on the Lyrek mission even when no one asked him to. And he deserves a second chance like the one she got from Saru. He won’t be her “yes man,” and she’s counting on that. Zip up, it’s time for this mopey Kellerun to get back to work. Cue the music and fade to black.

Is that smell the swamp kelp?

Goodbye and hello

The second episode of this new season comes in just as strong as the first. With the premiere doing the heavy lifting of setting up the new tone, stakes, and plot arc for the season, episode 2 had more time to explore the characters and their arcs. A strong theme of second chances was woven into these character stories told mostly in pairs, with Michael and Saru getting top billing. Doug Jones was a standout on his last day on the job (thankfully not falling into the “ retirony ” trope) as he and Sonequa Martin-Green took a stroll (almost literally) through a memory lane of their series-long arc from rivals to family. Action Saru was a lot of fun and it was nice to see Discovery remember some of his cool Kelpien abilities. For the most part, the pacing kept things flowing between the character beats, although the show still has a thing for literally stopping the action for feelings sidebars. This can easily be forgiven as the production itself was gorgeous, with the second visit to a unique alien location. This season may have a new Indiana Jones tone and style, but this episode reminds us of the core Trek themes with messages like: “I think the world is bigger than our corner in it.”

Episode 2 also showed us what to expect from the new quest-focused season, laying out a map and clues that can form a nice structure that allow for standalone adventures which still fit into the big picture of the search for Progenitor gold. And even with that mystery thankfully revealed in episode 1, this episode presented us with some nice new ones like L’ak’s background and Book’s connection to Moll. This episode had more time to give almost everyone something to do and also clued us into their season arcs, although Stamets still gets the short end. Some of these characters are a bit lost, especially Book and Rayner, but we also see hints of how they will be found. Episode 2 was particularly good in defining Rayner, including his history with Vance, his drive and helpfulness on the mission, and the vulnerability under his gruff exterior. Callum Keith Rennie continues to impress as this great addition to the series. And it might be just a canon nod, but sharing the Grankite Order of Tactics honor with James T. Kirk is a hint at what they are going for with echoes of that legendary captain finding himself out of touch in post-Praxis 23rd century . No one can replace Saru (and he isn’t really leaving, just moving to Starfleet HQ), but the prospect of Rayner as Disco’s first officer opens up a whole new world of fun possibilities.

So do you get dizzy when the saucer spins around?

The visit to the planet and fighting off those drones certainly brought “ The Arsenal of Freedom ” vibes, but the ancient graveyard was actually another deep cut to the Promellans from “ Booby Trap .” These types of things along with using bits of Romulan lore from Picard , like secret doors, shows how Discovery is fully embracing canon without indulging in nostalgia porn. Episode 2 also had more 32 nd- century worldbuilding tidbits, including talk of Breen infighting and Orions (presumably Emerald Chain) regrouping. Hopefully these nods, along with some from episode 1, are part of a longer game of fleshing out this century and building upon the big season arc. Moll and L’ak now know what they are looking for and it’s likely they can start a bidding war with the various factions. That said, the show still ignores offering details on things that seem important, like what exactly is a Red Directive… and how has Rayner already done seven of them? And of course, keeping track of what programmable matter (which is essentially magic at this point) can and can’t do will only drive you crazy. But these are just nitpicks and in no way distracting from the overall enjoyment of the season so far.

Vance is disappointed his FedNet updates are flooded with “Zaddy” comments.

Final thoughts

Season 2 is off to a great start with an episode that is debatably better than the first, especially if you love these characters. The show has successfully pivoted without losing what makes Discovery , Discovery . After getting two in one day, it’s hard to have to wait for more.

Okay, but I am not moving into Saru’s swamp.

• “Under the Twin Moons” was released simultaneously with the first episode of the season ( reviewed separately ).
• Captain Burnham’s personal log was Stardate 866274.3. The last confirmed Stardate was 865783.7 in episode 411 “Rosetta.”
• The mention of the sands from Q’Mau from episode 501 having “unknown radiative properties” feels like something that could pay off later.
• Programable matter bracelets can make multiple phasers, in case you lose one or in this case, use one as a bomb.
• The Starfleet Corps of Engineering got their first shoutout for the 32nd century.
• Jett Reno came up with the nickname “Action Saru,” inspired in part by how he dealt with Zareh when the Discovery first arrived in the 32nd century in “That Hope Is You, Part 2.”
• Book, Moll, and L’ak trade a lot of 32nd-century slang, including “kav’kar,” which sort of means BS.
• Moll says since Vellek was a Romulan, his diary is out of the Federation’s jurisdiction, but the Romulans reunified with Vulcan to form Ni’Var, who have joined the Federation so ipso facto, it is their jurisdiction.
• Vance’s ( previously unnamed ) daughter is named Charlie.
• Saru’s quarters are going to be left as is, a microcosm of his swampy home planet Kaminar .
• It’s unclear why, but do not touch Kelpien swamp kelp when it is in bloom.
• Among the items Saru packs is the Kelpien knife used to cut off his threat ganglia in “An Obol For Charon.”

I hope T’Rina likes things misty.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery  will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

Related Articles

Discovery , TNG

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Showrunner Explains Why They Reopened A TNG Mystery To Start Season 5

Discovery , DS9 , Merchandise

Roddenberry Archive Expands With Virtual Tours Of Deep Space 9 Station And The USS Discovery

All Access Star Trek Podcast , Discovery , Section 31

Podcast: All Access Reviews The First Two Episodes Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5

Discovery , Review

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Returns With New Vitality And A Lore-Fueled Quest In “Red Directive”

Second episode was really good as well and i enjoyed the scenes with Burnham/Saru and Tilly/Adira they were sweet.

I love how the story so far is collecting pieces of a puzzle to find the Progenitor home world and their tech as i really enjoy puzzle stories.

I really like the characters of Moll/L’ak they are very interesting adversary especially Moll who book eventually realizes that she is the daughter of Cleveland Booker the 4th.

I really liked Raynar in this episode and it will be interesting to see him as Burnham’s first officer.

I have to admit I read these mainly for Anthony’s descriptions under the cut-scenes. I always get a chuckle. Thank you, Sir. 😊

The line about the primitives crossed my mind- like what Rayner might feel about having Burnham as a superior, or Tilly’s cadets think about her. I mean, yeah, technically they’re centuries older, but really…

I watched the prologue earlier this morning and after getting over the usual “no alpha hetero” males in command of Discovery, I thought the intro was very good. I also liked the crew hanging out together as friends. The only negative so far is the action scene with Burnham – IMHO something no captain of a Starship should be doing, but the producers or studio probably demanded some form of ridiculous and expensive action sequences. The opening 6 minutes also made me ponder that the spore drive would have been much more accepted if it had somehow been introduced along with other 32nd century tech like the detached warp nacelles and personal transporters. Even the social evolution taking IDIC to the next level, tries to envision what society might look like 1100 plus years from now. Of course, having more mixed race humans and aliens might be more realistic, but that is a whole other issue. At least we have Saru. So far I have seen a couple of spoiler free reviews and they are making me “cautiously” optimistic about S5. We shall see if that feeling is warranted two months from now. For now, I look forward to watching the first two episodes later this evening.

I don’t see the problem with Discovery not having a straight man in command… even though they have had three in previous seasons, if we include Saru.

Why would we not include Saru?

Because I think the OP was mostly talking about human men. And to be fair, we don’t know if Kelpeins have defined sexualities or whether they just go with the flow!

That is more than a fair comment, but viewer perceptions is what I am referring to. Doug Jones is an amazing actor and his portrayal of Saru is a credit to his acting ability – he comes across as truly alien and does so brilliantly. So yes, I perhaps should not have overlooked him. Btw for those who have not yet checked out this week’s Ready Room, you may want to do so. Doug Jones’ interview was great.

That said, by the end of E2 the addition of Raynor as the new Number One addresses what I was saying. Yes, I know he is also alien, but he does come across as someone who is more human. As someone else said earlier, he reminds many of 007! On top of that I really liked Booker’s line in response to Michael’s complaint’s about him – does he remind you of someone?

I am glad the politician didn’t get to fire Raynor (although he did lose his ship). Sniff sniff, it smells like a bureaucrat’s office in here haha.

Also, I did a major eyeroll in that opening scene of E1 with Burnham riding the hull of Lok and Moll’s ship. I was happy to see later in the episode it wasn’t exactly premeditated and her actions were somewhat justified and not the result of some really bad writing.

Nice to see the writers are actually addressing some of the complaints of the series. Cautiously optimistic and looking forward to next week!

Trek just isn’t Trek without a straight white man in charge. Gotcha.

Nope, Voyager and DS9 are great. Sorry if I offended anyone. I also liked seeing the Shenzhou, the Excelsior, and I hope we get to see the proposed Legacy Enterprise. I know what you are trying to say, but considering my world is full of multicultural and gender minorities including my family, you are jumping to the wrong conclusion.

I feel sorry for you, that you have to ‘get over’ the “no alpha hetero” males. The life you must lead. Such struggle.

😭 No “alpha hetro males”. 😭

The spore drive continues to be a pet peeve (of many this show has). I find it stupendously unbelievable that no one followed up on the spore drive tech over the ensuing 900 years. Much less still using dilithium for warp drive. Speaking of tech, I still find just being in the 32nd century problematic because it’s just impossible to even guess what kind of tech would be like that far out. Just look at how far humanity advanced from 1120 to 2020. Now increase that rate. Yeah. Pretty mindboggling. Just the next 100 years is a tough guess.

It felt the technobabble was especially heavy in this episode, almost as if they needed the show to be a bit longer, so threw in an extra science problem followed by an immediate solution whenever they could!

It’s a science fiction show that uses advanced technologies to move the plot along. The characters were problem solving and it didn’t distract from the scene. It certainly wasn’t TNG level of technobabble.

Technobabble is a little awkward in Discovery sometimes. It was often a crutch in Berman era shows, but it came about as just a plausible-sounding way to quickly solve issues to move things along. Discovery simultaneously wants to use it for problem solving and to show the crew working together, but also feels it needs to honor the tradition of technobabble that really took hold with TNG. Because the action and pacing is more in line with the Kelvin films, at times it feels like padding I want to skip over. As when DS9 tamped down on it more and more by the end (to the point where it sticks out in stories like Tears of the Prophets which lean on it), it’s something of an incongruity.

At the same time, I don’t want to see things dumbed down to the same point as where Captain Kirk kicked a complicated engine component until it was fixed.

I thought this was the better of the two episodes, personally, and I’m looking forward to more with Rayner in the future.

Here too. Rayner is currently what is making the show watchable.

Saru is really gone 2 episodes in? Interesting choice

He’s not gone. He’s gone from the ship.

I have a feeling he’ll be back. He’s shown in the promo in scenes not yet seen.

ok – the use of the phrase “Doug Jones last day on set” in the story made it seem like he was actually wrapped

They didn’t say that. It was a plot point, Saru’s ‘last day on the ship’.

The 32nd century world building they’re doing might also set up some stuff for Star Trek: Academy. To some extend – at times – it feels they’re back-door piloting (for the lack of a better word) certain stuff, like the mention of the Breen and some of the the new sets built for season 5. It’s subtle, but I feel it’s there.

I agree but I am glad they are starting to embrace it. We haven’t had much exploration of planets or species since they jumped forward so I like that we are getting brief glimpses of these things.

The writers have also done a better job giving more characters the chance to contribute to a solution this season. It’s not always a huge scene but they are there and I like it. Stamets, may be a character that’s struggling, but I like the idea that he specializes in “ancient” tech. It works given the time period he is from and it gives him a much needed presence in the show.

Burnham and Saru did a great job in their scenes together. This show was a great wrap up for his role as her number one. Vance and Burnham’s mentorship is also moving along quite well. I like that he listens to her and yet guides her when she starts to go down the wrong path. Such as when he reminded her to answer a direct question posed by the Federation President. Burnham is still quite rebellious by nature so his guidance helps to reign her in and remind her of the obligations she has to the rule book. Even if she doesn’t always like it. Glad she is paying her own second chance forward by giving Rayner a second chance.

The revelation, that Book knew Moll, was an interesting addition to the show. This mission is definitely getting very personal for him.

Unfortunately the 32nd century setting really should have been jetisoned. My personal preference would have been post TUC. But any time from there to Picard’s time frame would have been better. Sadly that show, which I was not entirely against the concept of, is not starting out on good footing.

The problem with prequel timelines is that you either walk all over canon or are somewhat restricted by it if you want to bring in big changing events. I was all for the time jump and at the time was greatful that it wasn’t another pre Kirk timeline but they certainly didn’t make the most of it in seasons 3 and 4. Looking forward to watching Discovery season 5 this evening. I have a feeling this will be a good final season.

Agree with this 100%.

Was never into the idea of Discovery being a prequel so was super excited with the time jump.

Unfortunately it mostly felt squandered in the last two seasons. But this season is showing real promise and hopefully will make the 32nd century feel more lived in and interesting.

I am more hopeful about the future now (pun intended ;)).

That’s only a problem if your writers and producers aren’t any good.

I was totally fine with the setting the show was in, but it meant the writers had to have the skill to respect what came before. If that couldn’t be done (and this has been said ad nauseum over the years) then just reboot. It’s not a big deal. Since producers were NEVER going to admit they made a mistake having t hem jumping to the future was the only obvious out. But how far they went was just problematic. There is no way they are going to convince audiences that is 800 years after TNG. Better to have been 100-200 years. Still difficult but at least the future tech would seem a bit more reasonable. And they could have done the exact same stories with the exact same tech.

Anyway, I think the 32md century was a huge mistake and I think the one and only one reason they are setting the SFA show there is to keep Star Trek Discovery alive. If it goes on long enough I guarantee every Star Trek Discovery character will show up there at least once.

I’d argue the pre-pro time for planning a new series is a far better way to flesh out the 32nd century than the shorter time Disco had between seasons. Sure, we’re stuck with the aesthetic, magic tech, and post-Burn storyline, but if they are good writers they’ll find things to make this setting more enticing.

I agree with this and I speak as someone who also doesn’t love the 32nd century setting.

But that’s only because Discovery haven’t done enough with it but it can still be good. Hopefully SFA will just do a better job with it.

Like a lot of people I was really excited to see it go into the far future. I never really cared about the 23rd century and certainly never been excited about it being a prequel to TOS. It was pretty eye rolling to me that was the only time period we were following two straight times after getting it again for JJ verse. Most people were ready to go back to the 24th century (but Post Nemesis) or just a completely new time period. I know a lot of old TOS fans really cared about it but everyone else was ready to move on again including other TOS fans. Just keeping it in this one era really bored me frankly.

Today that’s finally changed once Picard came along but I still wanted a completely new era going forward. But unfortunately it was Discovery that frankly sucked in any time period. Hopefully the new show will make this a more exciting era because Star Trek needs to do new things and new ideas. It can’t just be fighting the Klingons or Borg all the time.

For sire, but even though we seem to be aching for them to do something bolder and keep up this world-building in the 32nd century, it’s been frustrating to not really know anything about what has happened with the other races, including the Borg and the Klingons. We know the Breen are an Imperium now. Woo.

I thought these are two of the most satisfying, hopeful episodes of Discovery in terms of causal fan accessibility and potential rewatchability. This really feels like, “Start here!”

Saw them both with the audience organized by Paramount and NYC Away Team – fun despite complete downpours for the hours approaching the screening. Radiant SMG, Wilson Cruz and one of the season’s directors was there – so hopefully they got the idea that we liked this a whole lot.

In the season trailer it looks to me like they’re inside the sickbay from Pike’s Enterprise.

It is the snw enterprise sickbay set and a snw style constitution class is seen in the trailer inside a greenish colored nebula looks to have the registry number 1701 and the name enterprise on it and lots of hull damage to the saucer edge

Cool. I’m curious to see how it’ll work.

I imagine the episode will tie into Calypso and explain why to Zora it felt as if her crew had abandoned her for a thousand years. Maybe time moves differently in different parts of the nebula.

Could it be that they go back in time to the mirror universe 23rd century, but then have to go through an ion storm to do a shift or something and evacuate the ship, so they wind up back in ‘our’ 23rd century while leaving the ship someplace or somewhen to be CALYPSO’d later? Maybe they wind up in another quadrant so as to not be able to influence anything that happens as we know it in century 23 (not that that stopped TPTB from messing with all that already, given DSC s1/s2.)

OK, I don’t know what’s going on, but where the hell is The Ready Room? It seems to have disappeared from Amazon Prime (which is where I watch my Paramount+ subscription).

And I’m not just talking about no RR for the Disco fifth season season premiere and episode two… I mean that ALL of the Ready Room episodes from all of the other series and seasons have vanished from Amazon Prime.

Is it just me, or has anybody else also noticed this?

They moved it to startrek.com

You can always just find it on YouTube. That’s where I always watch it.

Better. But I think that can be chalked up to Rayner. Which means I can expect something awful to happen to him before the season runs out.

But… As I noticed in the first episode they are still clinging to that ridiculous habit of having conversations at the most inappropriate moments. I guess that’s their schtick so it’s not going to stop.

Debris hits Burnham while she floats in space. Burnham says a funny line….

Yeah…. Thats Star Trek Discovery. Bad Style over substance.

It is a shame, that a show that diverse is written as poorly, generic and infantile as a saturday morning Cartoon.

While I am not usually the person to defend Discovery, I would also like to point out ST TAS was a Saturday Morning Cartoon and these days is as much of canon and the back story of Trek as anything else.

Lol .. TAS at least hast twice the charm and lucien and a giant spock.

I don’t denie Discovery status as canon. I am just schocked how about its quality.

So much to unpack here!

First, loved the first 2 eps. I was totally wrong about what I thought was going to happen but that is nothing new lol. But the Chase has me very excited.

I’m wondering if there will be a vague reference to Spock mentioning the Preservers in TOS’ Paradise ep. I know it’s not canon that the Preservers are the same as the Progenitors (or even exist) but IMO it would be a cool call back.

A device that can create life sounds a lot like Genesis to me except maybe the Progenitors succeeded where Carol and David failed??

watched it first in german version, which is quite awful. rewatched it in the original – far better. the german voice of burnham in particular has an enervating quality that sometimes makes it hard to take the character seriously. quite different in the original. you should always watch it in the original;) rayner is great! great addition to the show.

Hört hört…

I’d say something about my opinion on the 2 episodes but Laurie and Anthony on the last podcast said that we shouldn’t say bad things about Discovery in the comments. Discovery is fragile and needs censorship to protect it. Our opinions are unwanted. Resistance is futile.

They didn’t say that. They were talking about people who just come to rag on the show but never even watches it. They have no problem with people who actually watches it but still think it’s bad.

I hope I’m allowed an opinion after watching the previous 4 seasons. In my view, the show ends with third season. Afterwards, everything just feeling off for me. The fourth whole season could had easily (with many minutes to spare) be contained in a 2-part episode, the story was stretched beyond belief. Same thing seems to be happening with season 5, they just got an arc from TNG and will make a season out of it. 0 (zero) skills on new story generation and new ideas. I’m not a fan of that type of storytelling. I might get to watch this last season, much later, when I’ll stop thinking about the series lost potential and got nothing better to do.

The stone tablet segment really had some fun classic treasure story elements. I liked the National Treasure invisible ink on the back of the Declaration clue reference with Saru reading the residual bacteria traces. And the Romulan poem reveal mimicking the Indiana Jones Raiders Staff of Ra head piece reference with key information broken up into two parts ie “and take back one kadam…” And the bad guys only have the first part…(“They’re digging in the wrong place!”)

I’m a bit surprised by the somewhat muted response to the first two episodes. Not in the enthusiasm for them but in the number of original posts and responses.

Same. Someone else brought it up in the other review thread. You would think after 2 years and the shows final season there would be a lot more interest.

First episode of Picard last season got over 600 posts a year ago. I get Discovery is not Picard but this is very low in general.

It will be interesting to see where it lands when the streaming numbers come in.

It would be nice to see them break into the top 10 like SNW and Picard, but I am not expecting that to happen. Hopefully they can surprise me.

Yeah, I for one actually forgot that the S5 premiere was this week. Sadly, that is a function of my less than enthusiasm for the show overall. That said, I, of course, did watch both episodes by Saturday morning and I was pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic for the final season and I am looking forward to next week. Hopefully they can keep up the momentum.

It might be indicative of why the show was cancelled after 5 seasons.

The lack of interest is telling to me. Beyond that, I thought about writing a long comment going through everything but …. I just feel like I would be repeating the same criticisms that I’ve had about the show for a LOOOOOONNNNNGG time. And if people like this, more power to them and I don’t want to step on their excitement for it.

I’ll just say this. I found these episodes incredibly generic. It throws in some references to Trek lore but if you were annoyed by the way Discovery handled its characters and told its story in the first four seasons, nothing has changed. The same character melodrama where everyone is related to somebody or has (inappropriate) personal things going on during a crisis of galactic importance.

I’m thinking the same. Two premiere episodes for a show that’s ending after this season and hardly anyone seems to care.

I’m thinking the viewings have dropped like a stone.

I did like the episodes more than you did but certainly see your point., especially all the melodrama stuff. Sigh

We’ll see if any of the ratings outlets have data on how well it has done. Until then, I don’t want to speculate negatively based on something so circumstantial when it could just be down to interest in TM’s comment section in particular.

Of course you’re right but I been theorizing Discovery has already been losing viewers since season 4. I don’t believe it was just cancelled because it was getting too expensive but that a lot of people were just dropping out as well.

Possible. But then why buy it back from Netflix internationally if it’s not doing well overseas at least? Doesn’t mean season 4 didn’t underperform and they got buyer’s remorse, but weren’t there a lot of markets that little stunt deprived of seeing the show for months because Paramount+’s international rollout was so slow?

They relaxed things a bit to just have some fun, which does a world of good – the dour tone of seasons 3-4 was hard to take.

The melodrama is still awkward. They rarely find a way to discuss character development that doesn’t feel shoehorned and staged. The setup for seeing Gray next week, for instance, and Burnham taking time out of a life or death situation to argue with Saru over whether he was the best person to distract the drones, when clearly he was. You could argue because Burnham clearly likes to do it all, that’s in character, but belaboring it by having her waste time with a clumsy argument isn’t my favorite way they could have gone about that.

Book conveniently knowing Moll I’m not holding out a ton of hope for, but they’ve at least explored his loneliness so there’s a foundation for something there.

The show finally seems to be embracing Star Trek’s legacy instead of attempting to reinterpret it. They figured it out too late.

Not too shabby. Saru and Michael quipping while under attack by a Promellian booby trap with Tilly, Adira and Rayner problem-solving was urgent and fun. Rayner’s inclusion is only a good thing. I am a sucker of a quest story arc, so keep the puzzle pieces coming.

Definitely still a little clunky with how character development is handled. Culber immediately tries to extract Book’s inner feelings, Tilly, Adira and Burnham announce their state of mind in a way that doesn’t quite feel natural. But Rayner’s last scene works nicely.

I hope that with five puzzle pieces, the next four episodes don’t all follow the same formula as the second. This one was pretty good, but let’s not do it every time.