Star Trek: Discovery returned to the Starfleet fold after landing in the far future this season, and with the new era came surprising casting in the form of legendary horror director David Cronenberg.
Cronenberg portrays the mysterious Starfleet representative Kovich, introduced during Philippa Georgiou’s debriefing in “Die Trying” earlier this season, and the “man of widely-varying interests” revealed during an interview this week with Variety that he’ll be continuing his stint on Discovery not just into the final run of Season 3 episodes, but also into next year’s Season 4.
The famous filmmaker also spoke a little bit about his casting in the series, which he joked was due to his Toronto residency — where the series currently filming for its next run of episodes.
I’m cheap and I’m available. I live in Toronto, and it’s being shot in Toronto. I think that’s my main qualification.
But I just got a note through people that I know, casting people, saying that [executive producer] Alex Kurtzman was really thinking of having me do a spot on the show. I said, of course, I’d be absolutely delighted. Who wouldn’t be, especially as an original Star Trek fan — and for Canadians, too.
I mean, because William Shatner, one of the lead actors on the [original] show, he was a very well known Canadian actor. To have him be in a successful U.S. TV series was quite thrilling.
So it’s kind of come full circle that “Star Trek” should be shooting in Toronto. And so of course I was delighted to be a part of the multiple universes of “Star Trek.”
Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Kovich (David Cronenberg) aboard the Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Cronenberg didn’t speak much to who his still-secretive character truly might be, or position within Starfleet’s ranks, but he did talk a bit about his thoughts on the Discovery sets and production team.
They are fabulous sets. I don’t think I’ve ever built a set myself that was as complex and as inventive in that particular sci-fi way as they have here in Toronto. Very impressive. I mean, I’m really a kind of a dilettante dropping in the show which has been ongoing for years, as you know.
They’re just so polished and everybody is so professional, and it’s a lovely experience. And, of course, I was interested in the handling of the visual effects and what was there on the show that was practical and what was obviously going to be done later in post-production.
It was just kind of seamless, really, and some of it was surprisingly simple. I was very interested to see that, because of course I’ve dealt with visual effects myself, but I hadn’t done tons of CG — you know, computer graphics. The director part of me was very intrigued by that.
Star Trek: Discovery returns Thursday, December 17 with “Terra Firma, Part 2” on CBS All Access and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. International viewers get the episode December 18 on Netflix, in all other global regions.
In addition to being just the starting half of an oddly-unbalanced story, “Terra Firma, Part 1” is a tough episode to review, packing a lot of confusing and unnecessary obfuscation around a story element that — if you weren’t paying really close attention — may drastically change your enjoyment of what just occurred.
Setting up a number of elements which seem primed to exit Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) from the series, this week’s Star Trek: Discovery tale is filled with scenes and symbolism that imply a conclusion to her story, at least until the long-gestating Section 31 series arrives (not-so-coincidentally being led by two members of this episode’s writing team, Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt).
But before we get into the big events around the former Terran Emperor, let’s spend a moment on the new developments surrounding The Burn. The revelation that the lost Federation ship broadcasting from the Verubin Nebula is a Kelpien vessel — and not some duplicate of the USS Discovery, as some fans had speculated — allows The Burn investigation to make only marginal progress in the season story arc, taking time away from this episode’s clear Georgiou-centric intentions.
(While I’m not yet convinced that the Discovery won’t have some role to play in being part of what caused The Burn — somehow, somewhen — we don’t seem to be heading down that road yet, as there’s clearly still something about that Kelpien ship yet to be explored.)
That said, it’s a nice touch to see Captain Saru (Doug Jones) experiencing hesitation and making minor missteps as an inexperienced captain. His initial inclination to shut down the idea of a mission to Dannus V is logical — based in the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one — but Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) approves the mission while offering some important advice about how to earn the loyalty and respect of his crew.
This is a lesson that other captains in Star Trek like Kirk or Janeway did not need to learn, but as Saru continues to come out of his own Kelpien shadow, watching him progress towards that level of revered commanding officer a rewarding journey — but just as the Kelpien connection to The Burn gets started, the episode abruptly says “That’s all for this week!” and puts it all back in the box to shift the spotlight fully to Georgiou’s story.
The Section 31 agent and Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) beam down to a cold, wintery planet in search of a way to stop her medical degradation — caused, we learn from Kovich (David Cronenberg), by her trip across dimensions coupled with her jump into the far future.
Following a path gleaned from Discovery’s ancient Sphere Data, Burnham and Georgiou trek for miles across an arctic tundra — a trip which mirrors the Burnham/Georgiou desert excursion in “The Vulcan Hello,” another sign that this may be the end of the road for this character pairing.
At the end of their hike appears a enigmatic, dapper gentleman calling himself Carl (Paul Guilfoyle of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fame) who spouts vaguely deep-sounding riddles while goading Georgiou to step through a mysterious — there’s that word again — freestanding door in the middle of the snow. The door, he says, is her only way to survive.
I’ll come back to Carl in a minute, because there’s a lot to unpack: and whether you have a sense of his identity or not will go a long way towards understanding what’s going on in this deeply-frustrating episode, which ends with more of a simple act break than a cliffhanger to keep us hooked in for next week’s conclusion.
Georgiou steels herself and walks through the open doorway — only to immediately find herself basically Quantum Leap-ing back into the role of 2350’s-era dictator of the Terran Empire, keeping all of her memories of the past and future and offering her a chance to change her fate.
She’s still got her future Fitbit to monitor her health, but besides that she’s all Terran again, trying to figure out what she’s doing back home and shaking off the temporal confusion to assert herself back in her Emperor role while giving viewers a look at the Mirror Universe from a time before the Discovery crossover in 2018.
Georgiou averts an assassination attempt by Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), killing him in the process (we saw him alive back in Season 1), and learning from her own recollections of the past — and sparing the life of her Burnham, who was supposedly killed during Lorca’s rebellion.
It’s delicious to dip back into the Mirror Universe after almost three (calendar) years away; seeing the gleaming gold costume design and over-the-top makeup work on the Discovery cast is a surprise likely no one expected ahead of this week’s viewing, and something CBS has done a remarkably good job of keeping under wraps — something that was spoiled for fans back in Season 1.
Hearing the crew talk about the long-gone Gabriel Lorca as current foe, seeing the Mirror counterparts of Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), still-human Airiam (Hannah Cheesman), and alive-again Ellen Landry (Rekha Sharma), and finally getting to meet the dastardly Terran version of Burnham and the much-feared ‘Captain Killy’ (Mary Wiseman) are all a lot of fun — but ultimately, the episode doesn’t give us any explanation of what’s going on, or why any of it matters.
That is, unless you’ve figured out what’s up with Carl.
Leaving his identity hidden from all but the most eagle-eyed viewers, I think, is probably the biggest storytelling mistake this episode makes… because unless you’re able to get a good look at “tomorrow’s newspaper” advertising Georgiou’s impending demise, you’re going to have a lot of questions.
“Everything you need to know is right here in black and white,” Carl says, leading most to focus on the Georgiou-centric front page story, but it’s what’s on the back pages that tend to be the most revealing about what’s actually happening here. (Check out our full break down of the front and back pages below.)
With a splashy, advertisement for “Good Soup!,” a glimpse at the name of the 21st Street Mission, a half-seen woman’s portrait and a very visible offer to “Let Me Help!” on The Star Dispatch— all elements from Edith Keeler’s work in the 1930s, seen in “The City on the Edge of Forever” — these puzzle pieces seem to immediately unveil a connection between Carl’s magic door and the iconic “doorway back through time” from Star Trek legend: the Guardian of Forever.
“A time portal, Captain. A gateway to other times and dimensions, if I’m correct.”
If somehow Carl truly is connected to (or a personification of) the Guardian — either the original portal visited by Captain Kirk and company, or perhaps a second Guardian located at this new planet — “Terra Firma, Part 1” is suddenly seen through a very different light, and the stakes become much clearer.
On a brief note, having a personified Guardian — if that’s really what’s happening here — is actually a concept that dates back to Harlan Ellison’s concept for what eventually became the Star Trek episode fans are familiar with; in the 2014 IDW Comics adaptation of Ellison’s original teleplay, the Guardian is not a talking stone donut, but in fact actual entities who call themselves the Guardians of Forever.
The IDW Comics adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s original ‘Guardians of Forever’ concept.
If Carl really is connected to the Guardian, then Georgiou has likely in the process of really changing her own history. That makes me so much more invested in the story than the sly “What the hell is going on here?” eyebrow waggling that the episode attempts upon first watch; even the little tap of the wrist band by Georgiou when she arrives in the Mirror Universe, which also may be designed to indicate the reality of the situation, is too coy.
More than once in its run, Star Trek: Discovery has gotten so wrapped up in making things in a puzzle to solve — What’s up with Lorca? What are the Seven Signals? Who’s the Red Angel? What caused The Burn? Who is Carl? — that it often neglects an important part of storytelling: telling the audience why what’s happening is supposed to matter.
This is where I think “Terra Firma, Part 1” really stumbles — for everybody who doesn’t live with a copy of Memory Alpha in their heads like many of you reading this review — because the final scene in which Georgiou spares Burnham matters so much more if it’s really happening.
Burnham’s care for this version of Philippa Georgiou isn’t a one-way thing, and the longer that the Terran has been part of the Prime universe we’ve seen her reciprocation slowly grow. As recently as last week, Georgiou expressed her concern for Michael when Discovery went to Red Alert over Kwejian (even if only the audience saw it), and sparing Mirror Burnham’s life this time around shows that she’s fundamentally changed since joining ‘our’ Discovery‘s crew.
Beneath all the rude bluster, the former Emperor may just no longer be the brutal and genocidal ruler she once was — and that’s an important milestone if this version of the character is on her way to become the lead of her own Star Trek series.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
Kovich’s discussion with Culber in the opening moments of the episode labels the main Star Trek universe as “the Prime universe.” Aside from a glancing mention in last season’s “Perpetual Infinity,” this has been a term used only outside of storytelling, to delineate the main setting of the franchise from the Kelvin Timeline — the universe of the three Chris Pine-led Trek films — and the Mirror Universe, home of the Terran Empire.
As we covered more in-depth in Monday’s article, Betelgeusian ‘time soldier’ Yor was a refugee from the Star Trek: Nemesis era of the Kelvin Timeline – the year 2379 of an alternate universe created by a Romulan mining ship – which makes this the first mention of that alternate universe outside of the Chris Pine films.
Hannah Cheesman as the human, pre-cyborg Airiam, still organic in the Mirror Universe. (CBS All Access)
There are a lot of references to the Temporal Wars and Temporal Accords this season, and this week we learn that the Accords include ‘iron-clad’ provisions regarding ‘interdimensional displacement restrictions’ which ban against universe-hopping. If our thoughts on the Guardian of Forever (above) are correct, that may serve as a way to bypass the Accords to get Georgiou out of this time – and dimension.
Culber, Stamets, and Airiam are shocking themselves with agonizers in the ISS Discovery’s mess hall – what a fun party game!
The Kelpien scientist mentions the USS Hiraga Gennai, which was named for an 18th century Japanese ‘polymath’ — or Renaissance man — who know much about many subjects. (Quite an interesting fellow.)
The price of a copy of The Star Dispatch newspaper? 15 Quatloos, of course.
Besides Georgiou’s fate, other headlines in Carl’s paper reference the missing USS Jenolan which carried Montgomery Scott to the 24th century (TNG: “Relics”) and the fall of the T’Kon Empire by supernova (TNG: “The Last Outpost”).
The back page of the paper features a column about Worf’s win at the bat’leth competition at Forcas III (TNG: “Parallels”). The honeycomb-shaped crossword puzzle on the back page, complete with two spiral-shaped black areas, could be references to the hexagon-shaped ships which make up a Suliban Helix, where key events occurred during the Temporal Cold War in Star Trek: Enterprise — but both the header and questions appear to be printed in Bajoran script.
(Perhaps the Vulcan script at the bottom says that the Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible.)
Like the ‘hand cannons’ used by the Emerald Chain, 32nd century Starfleet phasers are able to compress into wrist-mounted badges when not in use, thanks to programmable matter tech.
Culber’s red Terran uniform – also worn by other actors typically seen in medical white aboard the ‘prime’ Discovery – was first featured as concept art during a 2018 episode of After Trek. While not used in the first trip to the Mirror Universe, early story concepts included a Culber appearance during that first season tale.
Book’s desire to help Discovery navigate the future – while pulling his weight – gives me a strong Neelix-and-the-Delta-Quadrant vibe. Hopefully Book’s better in the kitchen!
The Kelpien doctor in the century-old hologram is played by Hannah Spear, who also played Saru’s sister Sirannah last season.
Wilson Cruz finally shows off his Mirror counterpart’s look, established several years back. (CBS All Access)
Overall, I am really conflicted about this episode. There is a lot that I like, but keeping Carl’s secret in the deep, deep background of the story robs the episode of its stakes, and creates a situation where it feels a lot like the whole back half of the episode set in the Mirror Universe is exquisitely-produced filler material, just biding time until “Terra Firma, Part 2” finally lays all of its cards on the table.
Though its gilded production design looks amazing as always, “Terra Firma, Part 1” is ultimately a jumbled mess of great scenes that piece together to form a story of very little substance. Here’s hoping next week’s “Part 2” sticks the landing in a way that makes Georgiou’s detour to the past worth the trip.
The company behind the long-running Official Starships Collection has expanded to their next level of Star Trek model: a do-it-yourself, extra-large build of the hero Next Generation starship — the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D!
After initially testing the waters for such a program more than a year ago, Hero Collector today officially announced the launch of their Build the Enterprise-D subscription program, set to officially debut in March 2021.
Fans who subscribe to the four-times-monthly delivery plan will be able to build a 27″-long, fully lit and saucer-separable model of Captain Picard’s starship — the USS Enterprise-D — over a 2.5-year construction plan that will kick off in the new year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73QFY1nNOEk
A hybrid design of the three different Enterprise-D filming models used in Star Trek: The Next Generation production — the two, four, and six foot models — the Hero Collector build-up model uses elements from all three versions of the ship to be a faithful to the overall on-screen look of the ship as possible.
The subscription program is expected to run for 120 issues, with 4 issues arriving monthly — for 30 months of deliveries in total — with each containing a portion of the model kit and instructions on how to assemble the new components. (Each issue is $12.90 plus shipping, which at 120 issues is certainly a commitment of both time and finances.)
Subscribers who stick with the program will receive several ‘free gifts’ along the way, including a binder for each month’s magazines, T-shirts, a display stand for the starship model and more. The weekly magazines also include a history of the Galaxy-class design (both real-world an in-universe), as well as construction guides.
Hero Collector 'Build the Enterprise-D' Model
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Here’s the official press release on the new program:
Build Your Own U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D With Hero Collector’s New Star Trek Build-Up!
“Let’s make sure that history never forgets the name… Enterprise.”
(London, UK) – Hero Collector – designers, manufacturers, and publishers of high-quality collectibles from across the worlds of pop culture – are ready to launch Star Trek fans on a new voyage with the Build the U.S.S. Enterprise-D subscription program!
Whether you’re a collector, model-maker, hobbyist, or simply a Star Trek fan, you’ll soon be able to construct your own U.S.S Enterprise-D right at home. Subscribers will receive regular deliveries of parts and simple instructions, but there’s no need for glue or paint (or a degree in starship engineering) – every component of this easy-to-build starship model comes pre-painted, and will simply click or screw together to form your own U.S.S Enterprise-D, ready to be displayed on its model stand.
At over two-feet long, the complete model is an exacting replica of the iconic starship from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The legendary Dan Curry, VFX producer on The Next Generation, as well as Star Trek:Deep Space Nine, Star Trek:Voyager, and Star Trek:Enterprise, says that this “beautiful model” was “such good quality that we could have used it for some of the shots we created for The Next Generation. Nowadays visual effects are mostly done with CG. This reminds me of the incredible models we used to work with for traditional effects, which were built by master craftsmen.”
Based on a careful study of the different studio models used in filming, the model replicates every last detail of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, from its phaser strips and RCS thrusters to the captain’s yacht, including:
– Expert color-matching to the starship’s on-screen appearance
– Decals to capture the tiniest details of each component
– Saucer and stardrive sections that can be cleanly separated for display, just as seen on screen
– Working internal lights that match the original studio model, illuminating the ship’s windows, engines, navigation lights, and main deflector
– Separate power sources for the stardrive and saucer sections, to keep both lit
Every issue in this subscription comes with simple instructions, labelled and color-coded for ease of assembly – and is also packed with extra features for Star Trek fans. With each delivery, you’ll build a collector’s guide of behind the scenes information, insightful interviews, and astounding art from the people who made TNG, starting with how Andy Probert designed the U.S.S.Enterprise-D itself!
Hero Collector 'Build the Enterprise-D' -- Magazine Sample Pages
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If you’re looking to dive into this giant build, you can head over to the Hero Collector site today to preorder the first few issues ahead of the March 2021 launch.
In addition to focusing on the wide-ranging fleet of Federation starships — including several pages detailing many different classes of familiar vessels — the new issue of Star Trek Magazine includes extensive new interviews with Star Trek: Discovery cast members Doug Jones (Saru), David Ajala (Book), and even Julianne Grossman, who voices the Discovery computer on the series.
As part of the new issue, Doug Jones goes into depth about how he’s brought now-Captain Saru to life over the last three seasons — and we’ve got an exclusive preview of his length discussion with the Star Trek Magazine team.
Star Trek Magazine: Obviously hugging is a little difficult right now, but when did you become a serial hugger?
Doug Jones: [Laughs] “When I was 18 years old. I was about to turn 19, and I was at the end of my freshman year at college. My father passed away. I was not a hugger before this. And at my father’s funeral, my brothers and I all hugged each other for the first time. And I was like, “Oh. This has been missing. And I need to keep incorporating this into the rest of my life.” So I became a hugger, a face cupper, a petter of people from that point forward.”
We’re so glad we asked that question – it was actually meant to be playful, but that was quite the revealing, serious reply. The same thing might happen with this next question: when you shave your head, is that the official signal that hey, you have work to do?
[Laughs] “Yes! Indeed, it is. It’s not a look I love on myself, especially to the skin. Very few characters have actually required shaving to the skin, where it actually helps. Normally, I’ll give myself maybe a number two crewcut, just to get under some prosthetics. But Saru is to the skin.”
Is it a must in order for you to play Saru, or does it just make it easier for you during production?
“It doesn’t require it. They could bald cap me ahead of time, and stick all of Saru to the bald cap. But that adds another layer, and it also adds more time. I want to cut all that down and keep the amount of time in the chair as short as possible. So, I shave my head just as a matter of ease. It’s something I can do at home the night before; just take my electric razor and [makes buzzing sound]. For touch-ups, it’s very simple. So again, not my favorite look to carry throughout the year, but it works for making Saru happen faster.”
It feels as if Saru has become an entirely new character just in the first two seasons of Discovery. What have you made of his arc so far?
“Oh, wow. The writers keep surprising me about this arc. They’re constantly doing that. So many aliens are written with one note, you know? Over the course of my career, I’ve played many of them. But the time I’ve been able to spend with Saru has given us a chance to peel back the onion and see the layers.
His arc started from the biggest thing: “I live in fear. I’m born into fear. I sense the coming of death. That’s what I’m meant to be and do.” And then losing my threat ganglia, that happened unbeknownst to [Saru]. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought we were all programmed to think that’s the end of our lives and it’s time for our mercy killing. Well, now that I’m away from my planet, away from that system, I’m going through vahar’ai on the ship, by myself, thinking, “Oh, this is where we die.”
And then, little did I know that my threat ganglia would fall out, and I’d feel leagues better! [Laughs] All of a sudden, “I have no fear. There’s a huge, long life ahead of me. Kelpiens might live hundreds of years. We don’t know.” So, this is a very exciting time for Saru. He has a whole new lease of life, because he has a whole new life. He was on the command track through Starfleet, he made it up to first officer as a fear-based animal. Now, without fear, he’s sitting as acting captain, in the chair at the end of season 2.
What will a fearless Saru be able to accomplish in Season 3? So, this has been a beautiful story to follow. And especially in the Saru episode of Short Treks…”
The new issue also gives a featured look at the work of modelers Gary Kerr and Matthew Cushman, each experts who participated in the Enterprise model conservation project at the Smithsonian, and their efforts in documenting as much information as they can about the original 11-foot filming model of the Constitution-class starship — and putting that knowledge into practice, building an interior diagram of the entire layout of the ship.
In addition, stick around to listen to Caleb’s theory about the role that the Temporal Cold War might play in Star Trek: Discovery (and maybe Star Trek: Picard!), and Alex’s wish for a Star Trek: Enterprise version of the recent Star Trek: Voyager — A Celebration book.
WeeklyTrek is available to subscribe and download each week on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify— and we’ll be sharing the details of each new episode right here on TrekCore each week if you’re simply just looking to listen in from the web.
Do you have a wish or theory you’d like to share on the show? Tweet to Alex at @WeeklyTrek, or email us with your thoughts about wishes, theories, or anything else about the latest in Star Trek news!
This week brings us to the ninth of this season’s Star Trek: Discovery episodes, and we’ve got a new round of photos from this Georgiou-centric tale, “Terra Firma, Part 1,” for you today!
In this new episode, Michal Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) travel to a distant planet to try and find a way to save the rapidly deteriorating former Terran emperor, whose medical condition has her facing death.
Meanwhile, back on Discovery, Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) make a breakthrough that offers surprising news on The Burn.
Here are just four new photos from “Terra Firma, Part 1” — which means there’s not a lot that CBS wants to reveal about this story, a Georgiou-centric episode conceived by the lead minds behind the Star Trek: Section 31 series, Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt.
'Star Trek: Discovery' - Episode 309: 'Terra Firma, Part 1'
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Captain Saru speaks with Georgiou and Burnham. (CBS All Access)
Georgiou and Burnham prepare for their mission. (CBS All Access)
Georgiou grabs a new phaser. (CBS All Access)
Hugh Culber in sickbay. (CBS All Access)
Finally, if you didn’t catch it at the end of “The Sanctuary,” here’s a new preview for the episode, and a clip featuring Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Kovich (David Cronenberg) discussing a unique visitor from another time — and universe — which debuted during Thursday’s episode of The Ready Room.
The reference to “a Romulan mining ship” — Nero’s ship from Star Trek ’09, the Narada — would seem to be the first acknowledgement of the Kelvin Timeline’s existence from within the ‘prime’ Star Trek universe… and giving us a first hint as to the visual state of Starfleet from the TNG-era of that alternate universe, where officers still wore the TNG Season 1 uniform (2364) in the Star Trek: Nemesis era (2379).
Also note that in the extended Ready Room clip below, the incorrect Voyager-era combadge seen in the above trailer has been corrected to the appropriate TNG-style badge for the Starfleet uniform worn by the Betelgeusian ‘time soldier,” along with a refined look for the alien himself — and there are also a few other moments of unfinished visual effects and incomplete color timing in the “Terra Firma, Part 1” episode trailer, as well.
The ‘Terra Firma’ trailer uses unfinished footage compared to the final episode.
As we get closer to the end of the season, we’re starting to run up against the work-from-home challenges that the Star Trek: Discovery post-production team have been facing since the pandemic impacted the show’s work — and we expect future episode trailers to have similar issues — as the VFX and editing crew race to finish before each episode’s air date deadline.
TERRA FIRMA, PART 1 — The U.S.S. Discovery crew journey to a mysterious planet in hopes of finding a cure for Georgiou’s deteriorating condition. Stamets and Adira make a stunning breakthrough with the newly acquired Burn data.
Story by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt & Alan McElroy. Teleplay by Alan McElroy. Directed by Omar Madha.
Star Trek: Discovery returns Thursday, December 10 with “Terra Firma, Part 1” on CBS All Access and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. International viewers get the episode December 11 on Netflix, in all other global regions.
Star Trek: Lower Decks creator and showrunner Mike McMahan recently appeared for a two part interview with popular Star Trek YouTube host Ketwolski that included a wide-ranging discussion looking back at Season One of the popular animated Star Trek show, and ahead to provide some hints about the direction the show will take in Season Two.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic having altered plans for many of the live action Star Trek productions, it is uncertain — after Discovery ends in January 2021 — when the next Star Trek show will air. But it appears that Lower Decks is continuing full steam ahead towards a 2021 return
McMahan said about Season Two production:
I can tell you right now, we are so deep in production. Not only is it all written, but I’ve got Episode 209 to watch over this week in animatic format — and we have already sent the first 4 episodes to coloring departments.
Of course, many international fans are still waiting for Season 1 to premiere outside of the USA and Canada, and like his comments on the matter back in August, McMahan offered some hope to frustrated international fans that CBS is still working on getting international distribution deals in place.
I was very surprised with how long [international distribution] has taken, but we are aware of it.
It is clearly something we want to have happen and there should be news about it fairly soon… but these are conversations that I’m involved in, but not in charge of.
We totally hear you, we are desperately working on it and we are completely invested in getting it done.
In addition to the return of Jonathan Frakes next season — continuing to voice USS Titan captain Will Riker — McMahan also indicated that the villains from “No Small Parts,” the Pakleds, would also be returning to the show. According to McMahan, the Pakled battle ships seen in the season finale are called “Battle Harpies,” and that they’ll be highly involved in the world-building in next season’s story.
And what of our four main characters: Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Tendi (Noel Wells), and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero)? McMahan says that he wants to give more time in the spotlight to Tendi and Rutherford, giving the show a feel that “there are four leads, instead of two leads — and two sidekicks.”
He also indicated that the writers room felt freer in Season 2 to let their imaginations run wild, given they were not tied down to the responsibility of having to set up and explain to the audience what the show was about.
In the second season, because we weren’t having to explain what the show was to ourselves or to an audience you get some really fun Dr. T’Ana [Gillian Vigman] episodes… even a funny Billups [Paul Scheer] episode.
He’s a secret favorite of the writers.
McMahan also teases what to expect from the new security chief aboard the USS Cerritos, following the death of Shax (Fred Tatasciore) in “No Small Parts.”
The new head of security is… [pauses] I’m really just excited for (everyone) to see who it is. I’m really proud of everything we did with the character there.
All in all, McMahan says to prepare for Season 2 to be even better than Season 1.
Our animators are taking everything they did in the first season and are making it even more beautiful and rich with new lighting and color.
When that all comes together, with the new score by Chris Westlake, everything is going to be such a party. I cannot wait for you guys to see it.
To watch the both parts of the interview between Ketwolski and Mike McMahan, including more discussion about the first season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, head over to Ketwolski’s YouTube channel.
On the surface, “The Sanctuary” is pretty easy to dismiss as a standard, middle-of-the-road Star Trek: Discovery episode. It checks quite a few boxes inside the framework of a standalone Federation mission to a new world, accompanied by requisite space battles, fisticuffs and character beats.
But this weeks’ entry could end up being one of the most importantly-connective chapters of the season, as more than half a dozen characters take significant steps in their journey to figuring out where they belong in the 32nd century. And solving those feelings of detachment, identity and purpose is the central core of this very strong season of Discovery.
Discovery jumps to planet Kwejian. (CBS All Access)
Coming off the heels of “Unification III,” which solidly focused on Michael Burnham’s journey to find her own direction in this far future, “The Sanctuary” turns its sights on a host of additional personalities working to figure out their place, as Book, Adira, Georgiou, Saru, Tilly, and even Detmer get significant time and scenes to evolve their characters.
The best of these narrative arcs continues to be the introduction of Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) to the series, and the story here focuses on a return to his homeworld of Kwejian. The planet, unfortunately, has entered into a submissive long-term partnership with the Emerald Chain — this season’s bad guys — to help alleviate a problem with sea locusts affecting their food supply.
The locusts are wondrously visualized here through the combined talents of creature designer Neville Page, VFX supervisor Jason Zimmerman, and composer Jeff Russo; it’s an amazing visual effect that helps present the world to both Burnham and the viewer.
Book’s ‘brother,’ Kyheem (Ache Hernandez). (CBS All Access)
In reconnecting with his “brother” Kyheem (Ache Hernandez), we learn that the oft-mentioned leader of the faction, Osyraa, is basically running a protection racket with the Emerald Chain and using her leverage, in this case, to lure Book back to his home planet. Her goal is to get him into her possession so that she can get to Discovery, which is harboring Ryn — Book’s Andorian friend from “Scavengers” — who has a secret that she doesn’t want getting out.
Despite the convolution of those plot mechanics, the scenes on the surface of Kwejian are mostly very good. In addition to learning that Book’s real name is “Tareckx,” we get to see him use his ethereal powers to communicate with the locusts and confront Kyheem for the bad deal he made with the Orion leader of the Emerald Chain, Osyraa (Janet Kidder).
“What happens when they come for you? Who is going to stand for you?” he tells his brother, who — after some prerequisite fisticuffs — finally sees the error of his ways.
The two old friends eventually reunite to use their powers to get the locusts to return to the sea, thanks to an assist from Discovery, amplifying their electromagnetic connection from orbit. But consistent with what we’ve seen from the fascinating new cast member, Book stresses that all he can do is ask if they will return, he won’t force them. “It’s their choice,” he says.
When it’s all said and done, Book drops a surprising bombshell: he has come to realize, through his strengthening bond with Burnham, that the Federation is doing the same work he’s been focused on: helping those in need…. and now he wants in. A surprising revelation for the vagabond character with a cat named Grudge.
Acting first officer Tilly consults with Captain Saru. (CBS All Access)
Meanwhile, Discovery’s presence in orbit over Kwejian has been deemed by Starfleet as an “observational only” mission, so when Osyraa shows up, Captain Saru (Doug Jones) must balance the situation delicately. Thankfully, he has his new acting Number One to count on, as Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) suggests engaging with the tyrant via the ruse of a Starfleet officer gone rogue on Book’s ship.
And that is where Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) comes in. The unexpected prominence of Detmer’s fight with post-traumatic stress disorder from her years of piloting starships in and out of dangerous conditions continues to be one of the best surprises of the year in Trek. From the very start of the series, Coutts has instilled Detmer with an appealing pathos that has helped ground many of the huge action sequences happening around her.
Beginning with the cranial injuries she first sustained on the USS Shenzhou and her long, piercing stare down of Burnham in “Context Is for Kings” — a moment that certainly indicated early signs of mental trauma — the helm officer has dutifully piloted the ship through asteroid fields, alternate universes and a dramatic landing on an icy terrain.
Lieutenant Detmer goes ‘full manual.’ (CBS All Access)
Her arc throughout this season has been nuanced and complex, filled with realistic highs and lows accompanied by no easy answers. Her epic dinner table meltdown in “Forget Me Not” that led her to seek help from Dr. Culber now stands in excellent contrast to her heroic “rogue mission” with Ryn and Grudge on Book’s ship.
In helping the crew best Osyraa, Detmer vitally takes agency over her internal struggles by going “full manual” and doing what she does best, all while helping Ryn confront his own demons by telling him, “If you face something, you can beat it.” It’s a bit of advice that she is finally beginning to understand herself in this difficult move to the 32nd century.
Making his second appearance of the season, Ryn (Noah Averbach-Katz) an empathetic Andorian who has suffered his own trauma and is extremely loyal to Book, is an interesting addition to the cast as a potential recurring character, especially when he reveals at the end of the episode his secret about the Emerald Chain.
Andorian Ryn (Noah Averbach-Katz) shares a secret with Tilly. (CBS All Access)
Apparently, Osyraa and her crew are running out of dilithium, and that is why she was so hell-bent on getting Ryn back under her control. Averbuch-Katz is excellent as Ryn; he expertly balances his Andorian aggression and snark, with the ability to read the room and trust the environments around him. Hopefully, we will see more of him in future episodes!
As for Osyraa… well, honestly, we’ve definitely seen some better Trek villains. Time will tell on how her story will play out, but for now her scenery-chewing proclamations have been less campy and fun, and more overwrought and unfulfilling. This is especially true when she departs Kwejian with the near-comical decree: “You have just sealed your own fate and the fate of the Federation. I promise you will feel the full weight of the Chain.”
That cliché-ridden salutation came on the heels of a few other overstrung edicts, including this ode to Orion: “My ancestors knew that power is virtue, and there is no nobility in suffering. You do what it takes to get what you need, or you don’t.”
Pontificating from Osyraa aside, it was great to see Detmer and Ryn take out the Orion’s weapons (as she carpet-bombed the planet) via her piloting skills and Ryn’s inside knowledge of having served time working in the Chain’s scrapyards.
Adira is done hiding. (CBS All Access)
Elsewhere, Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) is also trying to figure things out, both personally and in specific reference to unearthing a secret about the Burn. The wunderkind with the Trill symbiont has revealed to Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) that they prefer to be identified as “they” or “them” moving forward, as they’ve never felt like a she or a her.
The long-awaited revelation comes with the news that Gray is no longer talking to them anymore. They know he’s still there, but it feels like he is hiding. Adira and Stamets share a musical interlude — one step closer to hearing Rapp sing on this show! — as the young genius confesses they wake up every day, never knowing which of their hosts they are going to feel more.
The confession, which includes Adira coming out to Stamets about their gender identity, as they admit he is the first person they’ve told outside Gray, feels like an important real-world parallel that the Star Trek franchise has done so well for 54 years. It’s a message to anyone waking up every morning confused, that there are avenues to pursue for help and all those different feelings and personalities have a place in defining who we are.
The source of the Burn: the dangerous Verubin Nebula. (CBS All Access)
In the end, Adira impresses the crew with their stellar work on decoding a Federation distress signal that is coming from the center of the Verubin Nebula, where the Discovery crew thinks the Burn originated. The signal was first identified after some fancy technobabble deciphered it from that piece of music that has been reappearing for much of the season; we don’t know the answer yet, but expect Adira’s work to pay dividends very soon.
While so many of the crew were working on establishing their place in this new century, Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) was focused on trying to not lose hers. In response to the blackouts that have been affecting her since meeting with Kovich in “Die Trying,” she finds herself in sickbay getting a deep analysis from Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Dr. Pollard (Raven Dauda).
“The Oracle of the Mess Hall,” as Georgiou hilariously refers to him is concerned that they can’t tell if her blackouts are physiological, psychological, temporal or interdimensional. The two go tit for tat in a number of different scenes, and we see another glimpse of the Mirror Universe flashbacks that have been haunting the former emperor recently, flashing images of a fallen friend (?) named San.
Georgiou gives in to Culber and Pollard’s scans. (CBS All Access)
After sneaking out of sickbay with the test results, Georgiou learns that she is dying, although Culber confronts her again and says, “It’s not that cut and dry.” That storyline ends abruptly on that note, so we are left to add it to the many loose threads set-up by this unique episode.
What’s the real story with Georgiou? What is Adira’s algorithm going to reveal about the distress signal they are tracking? And why has Gray stopped speaking to them? Is Book really going to commit himself fully to Starfleet? And seriously, what catchphrase is Saru going to settle on as captain? A lot of questions were left very open-ended at the end of “The Sanctuary,” so we’ll have to wait for the next episode to start piecing some of it together.
Orion leader of the Emerald Chain, Osyraa (Janet Kidder). (CBS All Access)
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
The episode features a quick return to the scrapyards on Hunhau, where we see a vengeful Osyraa playing with an ancient Star Trek: Picard-era combadge while feeding her nephew Tolor (Ian Lake) to a trance worm.
Noah Averbach-Katz, who plays Ryn the Andorian, is married to Mary Wiseman (Tilly), and the two got to share a scene together in the mess hall in which he unveils his big secret.
Osyraa’s ship is named the Viridian, which is a blue-green pigment that leans a little more green than blue. Naturally!
Osyraa was portrayed by Janet Kidder — niece of actress Margot Kidder of Superman movie fame — who has appeared in several genre series and movies, including Earth: Final Conflict, Supernatural, Fringe and Arrow.
An old ‘Star Trek: Picard’ combadge found in the Hunhau scrap yards. (CBS All Access)
The episode was written by Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz. For Lin, it is his first Star Trek writing credit, and for Schultz it is his third, having previously been credited on “Perpetual Infinity” and “The Girl Who Made the Stars.”
This week marks Jonathan Frakes’ fifth turn in the Discovery director’s chair, and his 23rd overall with the franchise.
Saru’s quest for a captain’s catchphrase is a great callback to Captain Freeman in Star Trek: Lower Decks — and quite coincidentally too, as this season of Discovery was originally planned to air before the series debuted.
Maybe “Warp me!” would work for the Kelpien. (CBS All Acccess)
When all is said and done, is “The Sanctuary” an all-time great episode of Star Trek: Discovery? Well, no. But it is a powerful episode, filled with connective moments that focus on some key character motivations, and will likely serve as an important link through the second half of the show’s Season 3 narrative.
How are you feeling about Detmer’s progress? Do you think Book is going to go full Starfleet? And are we ever going to find out the story behind his assumed named of Cleveland Booker?
Let us know in the comments below what you think about these questions, and the other story threads left open here, as Discovery rounds the corner into the back half of a very strong season.
Star Trek: Discovery returns Thursday, December 10 with “Terra Firma, Part 1” on CBS All Access and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. International viewers get the episode December 11 on Netflix, in all other global regions.
If you’re looking to update your dinner table to the standards of the 24th century, Star Trek licensee Ukonic has just unveiled a new dining set right out of the Enterprise-D’s replicator system!
This new sixteen-piece set feature a slick black design, adorned with classic Okudagram-themed labels such as “Beverage” and “Food Services” to bring that Starfleet feel down to Earth.
Ukonic 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' LCARS Dinnerware
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The full set contains four 11-inch dinner plates, four 9-inch salad plates, four 7-inch decorated bowls, and four 12-ounce mugs — and unlike a lot of novelty dishes, these are both dishwasher and microwave-safe items, which make it much more likely that these might end up in regular rotation at home.
In addition to the LCARS-themed set, the company also just debuted a classy-looking Next Generation-themed glass whiskey decanter set tagged with both the Enterprise-D registry and the United Federation of Planets logo.
Ukonic 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Whiskey Decanter Set
Expanding on the line of Star Trek: Lower Decks pins which first beamed down in September, our friends over at FanSets have just added a handful of new items from this year’s new animated series… but watch your back!
The unexpectedly-funny (and wildly-terrifying) rogue hologram Badgey is now available for Lower Decks fans to add to their collections — and the company has produced both “good” and “evil” versions of the dangerous, anthropomorphized Starfleet insignia, so you don’t have to worry about him ripping your heart out if you want that happy delta on display!
On top of that, fans of Starfleet’s new California-class design can also pick up a special USS Cerritos pin — featuring the hero starship of Lower Decks — as the newest entry in FanSets’ long-running Star Trek starships line of pins.
While it’s still a while until we’ll see Eaglemoss release any kind of USS Cerritos model in their Official Starships Collection, it’s nice that ship fans can bring the California-class ship home at least in some way in the meantime.
