After being joined on their search for the Federation by a new addition to the Discovery crew, the ship heads to a familiar Alpha Quadrant planet to continue their new mission.
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With the revaluation that Adira (Blu del Barrio) is a human carrying a Trill symbiont, the Discovery and crew heads to the Trill homeworld to see if the alien race explored throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine can help uncover the hidden knowledge inside the young officer.
Jadzia Dax visits the Caves of Mak’ala. (“Equilibrium”)
While members of the Trill species have been seen in Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks since the franchise’s television revival in 2017, the Trill homeworld hasn’t been visited since 1994’s “Equilibrium” — in which Jadzia Dax learned of a previously-unknown prior host, Joran.
In the same episode, Jadzia visited the sacred Caves of Mak’ala, where unjoined Trill symbionts live until a suitable host can be matched — and where Jadzia integrated the repressed memories of Joran into her consciousness.
Michael Burnham visits the Trill homeworld. (CBS All Access)
From promotional images and trailers for Discovery Season 3, it appears that Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) may join Adira on a visit to the Caves in the 32nd century.
Here are fourteen new photos from “Forget Met Not,” along with one previously-released image:
'Star Trek: Discovery' - Episode 304: 'Forget Me Not'
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Burnham and Adira visit the Trill homeworld. (CBS All Access)
Burnham and Adira visit the Trill homeworld. (CBS All Access)
Burnham and Adira visit the Trill homeworld. (CBS All Access)
Burnham points her phaser at an unseen threat. (CBS All Access)
Michael Burnham in caves on the Trill homeworld. (CBS All Access)
Adira and Burnham on the bridge. (CBS All Access)
Dr. Culber scans Lt. Detmer. (CBS All Access)
Adira in sickbay. (CBS All Access)
Culber and Adira in sickbay. (CBS All Access)
Captain Saru and Dr. Pollard in sickbay. (CBS All Access)
Saru hosts a dinner in his ready room. (CBS All Access)
Saru hosts a dinner in his ready room. (CBS All Access)
Saru and Georgiou stay after the meal. (CBS All Access)
Stamets and Culber at dinner. (CBS All Access)
Culber and Georgiou at dinner. (CBS All Access)
Finally, if you didn’t catch it at the end of “People of Earth,” here’s a new preview for the episode, along with a clip from “Forget Me Not” which aired as part of last week’s episode of The Ready Room — as Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) takes stock of the Discovery crew’s well-being.
FORGET ME NOT — Burnham and Adira visit the Trill homeworld in hopes of unlocking the secrets trapped within Adira’s mind. Back on the U.S.S. Discovery, Saru’s efforts to help the crew reconnect with one another take a surprising turn.
Written by Alan McElroy & Chris Silvestri & Anthony Maranville. Directed by Hanelle M. Culpepper.
Star Trek: Discovery returns Thursday, November 5 with “Forget Met Not” on CBS All Access and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. International viewers get the episode November 6 on Netflix, in all other global regions.
“People of Earth” introduced Star Trek: Discovery‘s newest recurring character of the 32nd century universe: Blu del Barrio’s young Earth Defense Force officer, Adira, who may hold the key to finding what’s become of the Federation.
Like their character, del Barrio identifies as non-binary, and the new-to-the-scene actor spoke with Entertainment Tonight about Adira’s arrival to the Discovery story, bonding with fellow LGBTQ actors in the cast, and why Adira’s story begins with “she” pronouns.
Blu del Barrio as Earth Defense Force officer Adira. (CBS All Access)
To start, del Barrio discussed what drew them to the role on Star Trek: Discovery.
The whole year before I got this job, I was struggling a lot with trying to understand who I was and struggling a lot with my gender.
I was questioning a lot of things and I started auditioning for non-binary roles because I knew I wasn’t cisgender and I was trying to figure myself out.
I kept getting drawn to wanting to play a non-binary role, probably because I wanted to be able to explore myself that way but I wasn’t really telling anyone about it.
So getting this job and getting to play Adira was really overwhelming at first, but overall a massive blessing because it allowed me to explore myself. I’ve grown alongside Adira.
It’s a really strange way for it to happen, but I’m so glad that it has. It’s given me a community of people here who are incredibly supportive of me. Wilson and Anthony and Ian [Alexander] are my rocks here and they’ve helped me through a lot of stuff that I couldn’t go through myself alone.
They also discussed how Adira’s journey has helped their own personal experience in life.
It’s helped me to be open about things and totally transparent about things. What helped a lot is they gave me a lot of freedom with Adira to go wherever I needed to go because I was still questioning myself at the beginning of the season.
I didn’t want to make Adira somebody who was a hundred percent confident in how they wanted to present themselves to the world because I wasn’t there yet either.
Because of that I got to sort of grow and become more comfortable with myself and allowed that to influence where Adira was and vice versa.
It just went back and forth, but I’m really grateful that they let me go in that direction because I didn’t want to play a character who was totally confident in themselves when I wasn’t yet, especially surrounding something so sensitive.
It helped me in a lot of ways and I think Adira is going to continue to grow and become more confident in the same way that I am doing.
Adira and Tilly in Discovery’s engineering bay. (CBS All Access)
del Barrio’s casting made headlines for their non-binary identification, and it was a surprise to some that Adira spent their first episode being referred to as “she” and “her” — rather than the expected “they” and “them” pronouns.
[The use of those pronouns were] really important for me. I care a lot about an accurate representation of Adira and trans representation, especially. Because I wasn’t yet fully out to a lot of my family and some of my friends still, I didn’t feel comfortable right off the bat having everyone use they/them pronouns for Adira because I wasn’t out to everyone yet.
So I wanted to wait until really I was, until I was in a place where I could talk to my family and my friends and tell them who I was. At that point I could then feel that this is now an accurate way for me to represent Adira onscreen as well because I’m there too. I didn’t want to rush it. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself.
I just wanted it to be as honest as possible because there are so few trans characters onscreen, and I wanted to make this character as transparent to my own experience as possible because we don’t see a lot of trans characters onscreen who are questioning, who are maybe not completely out talking to everyone about how they’re feeling about themselves.
There’s so much pressure in the media for us to be 100 percent confident and really sure about ourselves so that people watching the shows don’t question us. But there are so many people who struggle with their identity and I wanted to at least have one character onscreen do that… be able to see someone go from keeping everything inside to them sharing because that’s what everyone has to do.
Adira aboard Discovery. (CBS All Access)
As the unexpected human host of a Trill symbiont, Adira’s story is far from over — as it appears the Discovery crew will take a side trip to the Trill homeworld in next week’s episode, allowing us to learn more about this new character and their history.
Star Trek: Discovery returns for the fourth episode of the season, “Forget Me Not,” on November 5 exclusively on CBS All Access (USA) and CTV Sci Fi Channel (Canada); the episode arrives November 6 on Netflix for all other global regions.
After spending the first two episodes of this season separated — by both time and space — Michael Burnham finally reunites with the Discovery crew in “People of Earth,” setting up their mission for the season: find the Federation and unravel the mystery of The Burn.
Building off a clue discovered by Burnham during her yeah alone in the 31st century, Discovery heads for Earth, hoping to find the voice behind a 12-year-old Starfleet transmission… but the Earth they find is not the Earth they left. It remains a paradise, but one that has closed itself off from the rest of the galaxy.
During her year alone, Michael Burnham searches for information on The Burn. (CBS)
Upon arriving to what they thought was the head of Starfleet and Federation operations, the Discovery is confronted instead by the United Earth Defense Force, and their representative Captain Ndoye (Phumzile Sitole). Following The Burn, Federation Headquarters was relocated away from Earth, and the planet rebuilt itself to be a self-sufficient stronghold, one that has grown hostile to outsiders, a consequence of near constant attacks by dilithium raiders.
After the Discovery helps Earth manage their way through a raider attack, it is revealed that far from the evil pirates United Earth believed its enemies to be, they are in fact desperate people from a research colony on Saturn’s moon, Titan. With the help of Book and his ship, Discovery mediates a truce between Ndyoa and the leader of the raiders, Wen (Christopher Heyerdahl).
Meanwhile, we are introduced to Adira (Blue del Barrio), one of the United Earth inspectors under Ndoye’s purview who immediately suspects that there’s more to Discovery than meets the eye. After earning the trust of Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), they reveal that the message-sending Admiral Senna Tal lives on… in the form of the Trill symbiont inside Adira.
Tilly and Burnham share a long-needed hug. (CBS)
Written by veteran Discovery scribes Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, and directed by Jonathan Frakes, “People of Earth” is an episode of reunions and introductions. Burnham’s reunion with the Discovery is a bittersweet one, as she has changed a lot in the year away from the ship, and the 18-month gap between between Discovery seasons (thanks to the pandemic’s impact on post-production) really helps reinforce the emotion in these scenes.
Despite the growth in the Burnham character — some of which is only hinted at and we expect will be explored more in upcoming episodes — and the introduction of new characters that will inevitably alter the chemistry of the show’s cast, some things never change. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Sylvia Tilly’s (Mary Wiseman) relationship remains as sweet as ever…. and Burnham and Saru’s relationship remains as complicated as ever.
After being teased in the trailers leading up to this season, “People of Earth” finally allows Saru (Doug Jones) to drop the ‘acting’ tag and officially names the mild-mannered Kelpien the new captain of the starship Discovery. Burnham’s willingness to back away from the big chair, as well as her inability to bring Saru completely into her thinking as she executes a daring plan that puts Discovery’s dilithium at risk, makes Saru suspicious of her.
Burnham mocks Book’s love for his cat, as he jumps into uniform to blend in with the crew. (CBS)
Though the now-Captain Saru wants Burnham to be his first officer, trust issues remain between these two characters. The Burnham-Saru scene in Saru’s new ready room, where he is installing the late Captain Georgiou’s prized telescope (last seen in Season 1’s “Choose Your Pain”), shows that the two characters have come a long way, but they have not yet entirely resolved their issues.
As for the new characters, Adira makes a good first impression, and appears to fit in well quickly with the show’s cast (despite initial friction with Tilly). We knew from the first Season 3 trailer that we would be meeting the Trill this year, and it appears we now know a little about how that will happen — as the human Adira carries a Trill symbiont who may hold the key to Discovery finding whatever remains of the Federation.
I am excited for this exploration of elements of Deep Space Nine, and having a Trill character will provide a nice link between Discovery’s crew and the galaxy they find themselves in, as the Tal symbiont may have memories stretching back to the 23rd century — and calls back to the very first appearance of the Trill species, “The Host,” where Will Riker carried a symbiont for a short time.
Captain Saru, at last: the Kelpien upgrades his uniform to reflect his post. (CBS)
In addition, Book (David Ajala) is introduced to the rest of the Discovery crew as he tags along with Burnham for the trip to Earth, and Ajala continues to shine as the ultra-charismatic Book, who has come across as roguishly sweet in his first two appearances. There is so much more chemistry between Book and Burnham than there ever was between Burnham and Ash Tyler as the show inches towards setting up a will-they-won’t-they romantic subplot for the two characters.
We’re two episodes into their story, and I am already a big fan of this potential couple.
United Earth is an interesting allegory for major Western democracies that have found themselves turning inwards in recent years, believing that prosperity is best served by cutting themselves off to outsiders rather than being part of the global (or in this case, galactic) community. But while that path might lead to prosperity — the few glimpses we get of planet Earth show it to still be a thriving place – it also leads to a society that has become cold and cruel.
Stamets takes an interest in young Adira. (CBS)
“People of Earth” begins to demonstrate the power and promise that the antique museum science vessel from the 23rd century can bring to the technologically advanced 32nd century. Not just a new form of propulsion to replace warp drive, but the old values of the Federation that large swaths of the galaxy have abandoned since The Burn.
Even in a small interaction between Captain Saru and Captain Ndoya — where Saru insists they communicate with Wen’s raiders rather than comply with standard United Earth protocol to fire first — we can see the differences in values that guide the Federation’s Starfleet versus the United Earth’s Defense Force in stark contrast. And the values of the Federation are ultimately the most effective strategy, with a little bit of 32nd century daring improvisation for good measure.
And after speculating earlier in the episode what from the Earth they remember might have survived the 900 year jump into the future — Tilly wonders whether the Great Pyramids of Giza or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis may have survived — the human crew of the Discovery find meaning not in any of the surviving great landmarks of Earth, but in a tree.
On the grounds of the former Starfleet Academy, the Discovery bridge crew’s human members find a tree from their Academy days still standing 900 years later, a sign that some things that create meaningful connections between people can endure almost indefinitely… and probably thanks to Boothby’s green thumb, too.
Nillson, Owosekun, and Bryce enjoy a moment in the sun. (CBS)
Other Observations
Burnham tells Saru that she sent a message to Terralysium to try and find her mother — but they responded they had no knowledge of her. Is this tying up a loose end, or setting up a potential mystery to explore later in the series?
The year 3188 is equivalent to Stardate 865211.3, according to Burnham’s opening log entry.
Christopher Heyerdahl, who played Wen, is well known to Stargate fans for having played multiple roles in that franchise — most notably Todd the Wraith on Stargate Atlantis — but this is his first role in a Star Trek show.
Tilly makes a reference to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and keeps Gateway Arch snowglobes in her quarters, which makes us think it’s the character’s hometown.
The much-mentioned Sphere Data from last season’s storyline finally returns as Saru learns about Trill symbionts from the massive alien database; this tracks with 24th century continuity, as the knowledge of symbionts were largely unknown before The Next Generation‘s mid-2360s time period.
A familiar location in three eras: 2258 (‘Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2’), 2399 (‘Star Trek: Picard’), and 3189. (CBS All Access)
It’s nice to see that the Golden Gate Bridge survived to 3189, and a San Francisco skyline that looks appropriately advanced from the 23rd and 24th century depictions we’ve seen recently in both Discovery and Picard.
Discovery carries a lot of dilithium aboard, even after sharing with last week’s Cordian miner crew. It’s unclear whether the chamber that Burnham gets the dilithium from is the ship’s reaction chamber — which were much smaller by the 24th century, which actually would make sense technologically — or if it’s some kind of area where they story dilithium for eventual use in the warp core.
Burnham offers Book a fraction of Discovery’s dilithum inventory. (CBS)
United Earth might be insular, but it’s not a homo sapiens only club: the United Earth inspectors who board the Discovery include a Tellarite and at least one additional insectoid species.
Tilly’s wall of Starfleet badges memorializes 24 Discovery crewmembers, including five cadets.
Discovery’s poor excuses for being a technological relic flying around the 32nd century are going to wear thin quickly, as most of the characters in this episode don’t even believe them. I hope we move on from that quickly.
“The Federation and Starfleet haven’t been on Earth for a hundred years.” Where they did they go? It looks like this season is going to be about finding out.
Captain Georgiou’s telescope returns to a place of honor in Saru’s ready room. (CBS)
Overall, “People of Earth” is a great episode of Star Trek. It has a clear story, some great character moments, and some important messages that resonate back 1,100 years from the 32nd century to the 21st.
If “People of Earth” is a template for the rest of the episodes this season, I will be very pleased.
Star Trek: Discovery returns for the fourth episode of the season, “Forget Me Not,” on November 5 exclusively on CBS All Access (USA) and CTV Sci Fi Channel (Canada); the episode arrives November 6 on Netflix for all other global regions.
Mego, the vintage toy company relaunched in 2018 with an ever-growing line of classic Star Trek action figures, is now expanding into the next chapter of the final frontier… Star Trek: Discovery!
Debuting in the United States in select Wal-Mart stores for $14.99 (check local availability here), the 8-inch Commander Saru figure is the first of three Star Trek: Discovery figures coming from the company, as Mego has already announced plans to follow the Kelpien with Commander Michael Burnham and Captain Christopher Pike — each expected to debut in the first quarter of 2021.
While they will debut at Wal-mart, they’ll be coming to online retailers in the weeks following — and in the UK, the Discovery figures will launch at B & M stores.
Product photo via eBay.
In addition to Mego’s Star Trek: Discovery expansion, the company is also adding on to their legacy series figures with their new Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures, their first outside of the long-running Original Series lineup.
After kicking off their TNG line with both Jean-Luc Picard and Lt. Commander Data figures earlier this summer, Mego now expands into the Next Generation fan-favorite villains with the impish Q (in judge robes) and the dangerous Locutus of Borg.
The 8-inch Q and Locutus will also launch at Wal-Mart stores in the United States, expected to beam down in December at a retail price of $14.99.
We’ll bring you more news on the Star Trek: Discovery additions to Mego’s action figure lineup as it breaks, along with any other notable new releases from this Star Trek licensee.
After finally being reunited — just hours for the crew, but a year for Michael Burnham — the USS Discovery team is back together for “People of Earth,” the third episode of the season.
Returning to the Discovery for the first time since her arrival in the 32nd century, Commander Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) must make the adjustment after being separated for so long — spending her days getting used to the idea that her crewmates were gone for good. Book (David Ajala) visits Discovery for the first time as well, as the ship heads to Earth to see what the future has made of their home planet.
Blu de Barrio as Adira. (CBS All Access)
This is the first episode for cast newcomer Blu del Barrio, who plays Adira, set to join the Discovery story for their Season 3 adventures for the upcoming run of episodes — and is the first of three episodes this season to be directed by Jonathan Frakes.
Here are 13 new photos from “Far From Home,” along with one previously-released image:
'Star Trek: Discovery' - Episode 303: 'People of Earth'
1 of 14
Michael Burnham returns to Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Michael Burnham returns to Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Michael Burnham returns to Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Burnham and Saru in a corridor. (CBS All Access)
Burnham on the bridge. (CBS All Access)
Saru greets Adira and Captain Ndoye. (CBS All Access)
Adira and commanding officer, Captain Ndoye. (CBS All Access)
Adira aboard Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Adira aboard Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Adira aboard Discovery. (CBS All Access)
Georgiou looks on. (CBS All Access)
Tilly and the bridge crew visit a sunny location. (CBS All Access)
Tilly and the bridge crew visit a sunny location. (CBS All Access)
Nillson, Bryce, and Owosekun enjoy the sunshine. (CBS All Access)
Finally, if you didn’t catch it at the end of “Far From Home,” here’s a new preview for the episode, along with a clip from “People of Earth” which aired as part of last week’s episode of The Ready Room.
PEOPLE OF EARTH — Finally reunited, Burnham and the U.S.S. Discovery crew journey to Earth, eager to learn what happened to the Federation in their absence.
Written by Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt. Directed by Jonathan Frakes.
Star Trek: Discovery returns Thursday, October 29 with “People of Earth” on CBS All Access and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. International distribution begins October 30 on Netflix in all other global regions.
It’s been eight months since the first Star Trek: Picard novel arrived, telling some of the backstory of Jean-Luc Picard’s transition from Enterprise captain to Romulan-refugee-wrangling admiral — and now the next chapter of the Picard book series has been revealed!
Following February’s The Last Best Hope, next January brings Star Trek: Picard — The Dark Veil from author James Swallow, which centers around Captain Will Riker and Commander Deanna Troi — seen in “Nepenthe,” one of the fan-favorite episodes of Star Trek: Picard’s first season.
Set after the time of the synthetic’s attack on Mars in 2385, the new novel follows Riker and Troi on the USS Titan — where the pair ventured off to in Star Trek: Nemesis after leaving the Enterprise-E.
Within the United Federation of Planets, a terrorist strike on the shipyards of Mars has led to the shutdown of all relief efforts for millions of Romulans facing certain doom from an impending supernova.
But when the USS Titan is drawn into a catastrophic incident on the Romulan-Federation border, Captain William Riker, his family, and his crew find themselves caught between the shocking secrets of an enigmatic alien species and the deadly agenda of a ruthless Tal Shiar operative.
Forced into a wary alliance with a Romulan starship commander, Riker and the Titan crew must uncover the truth to stop a devastating attack—but one wrong move could plunge the entire sector into open conflict!
As this story takes place before Riker and Troi retired to planet Nepenthe, following the death of their son Thad, The Dark Veil very well may feature the young Troi-Riker child as part of its narrative — as Picard showrunner Michael Chabon noted on Instagram earlier this year that Thad was about 15 years old upon his death.
Author James Swallow shared a bit of detail about the setting of the novel, along with what connections it may have to the Star Trek: Titan novel series:
‘The Dark Veil’ is set a year after Jean-Luc Picard’s resignation from Starfleet (as seen in flashback in the episode “The End is the Beginning”) and several years before Will and Deanna retire from the service (as mentioned in the episode “Neptenthe”).
I have to give a big Vulcan salute to Jim Salvati, the amazing artist who created the cover… It was a thrill for me to revisit the Titan once again – I’ve previously written about the ship and its crew in my novels ‘Synthesis,’ ‘The Poisoned Chalice’ and ‘Sight Unseen’ – and a unique challenge to write in the ‘new’ continuity set up by ‘Star Trek: Picard.’
Long-time fans of the Titan series will notice some differences, but also some familiar faces too…!
The cover art for The Dark Veil is based upon two production photos: one of Captain Riker on the USS Zhang He bridge (in reality, Jonathan Frakes on the USS Discovery bridge set), and a Deanna Troi photo, taken during Marina Sirtis’ time on the Star Trek: Nemesis set.
Marina Sirtis in ‘Star Trek: Nemesis,’ and Jonathan Frakes in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’
Of course, this artwork was likely produced without knowledge of the final episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks’ first season, where the Luna-class bridge of the USS Titan was seen for the very first time in “No Small Parts.”
Riker and Troi aboard the USS Titan in ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks.’
While many (including our team) were predicting a Seven of Nine, Hugh, or Cris Rios-centric story for the second Star Trek: Picard novel, it does make a bit of sense — while filming on the second season of Picard is still months away at best — to set the book around a pair of characters not vital to the television show’s primary storyline, to avoid conflicting character beats that might be overwritten when Picard returns to television.
Star Trek: Discovery took a lot longer than expected to get Season 3 out to viewers, thanks to the complicated challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic — and now we’ve got some more details about the work needed to bring the series back to Earth.
Sonequa Martin-Green, director Olatunde Osunsanmi, and David Ajala filming in Iceland. (CBS)
As has been widely reported, principle photography on Discovery Season 3 ended just shy of two weeks before continent-wide lockdowns shut down the United States and Canada, meaning there was no chance for the show’s filmmakers to go back in studio for “pickup” shots — needed bits of filming with actors and props, identified during the post-production editing process, typically shot days or weeks after the original shoot dates.
Speaking to IndieWire,Discovery showrunner Alex Kurtzman explained that because those shots were needed — but weren’t possible to film in person — the Discovery visual effects team managed to create them through the use of extensive digital effects including creating motion-capture-based doubles of the Discovery cast when it wasn’t safe for the actors to go in front of cameras.
There was no ability to do pick-ups for inserts or connective reaction shots, so meticulous computer-generated images were used to double characters and create a sense of visual continuity even when coverage hadn’t been there.
“The visual effects team was extraordinary, because there are some shots that you will never know aren’t practical, aren’t actually shot on location, that are full CG shots, full CG elements of things that would typically have been an insert,” Kurtzman said.
These aren’t entirely CG doubles for the actors, though. Each actor who needed pick-ups received motion-capture equipment to finish elements of their performance at home.
For those inserts, Kurtzman said, “It’s an actual actor at their home motion-capture studio, which then gets rendered in the computer as a living thing. It’s a real person… Each of our actors have been scanned, so we can actually impose their faces on a body, which is quite something.”
In addition to the filming challenges, the need for the entire post-production process to be done from the Discovery crew’s homes meant that home offices became editing bays, recording studios, and screening rooms to work through the laborious Season 3 process… which is still being worked on even now as episodes have started to air.
“Our editors, miraculously and heroically, took their editing bays into their living rooms,” Kurtzman said. “And we cut the entire season, in collaboration, just the way I’m talking to you right now. We also scored the entire season, mixed the entire season, color timed the entire season, all from this laptop [over which this Zoom interview occurred].”
Composer Jeff Russo sent microphones to each of the orchestra members’ homes so that they could record their individual parts and they could all be mixed together later on, as if playing in unison. Kurtzman and Paradise reviewed visual effects with VFX supervisor Jason Michael Zimmerman several times a week. Creating VFX even under normal circumstances takes 8-10 months per episode, and work on Season 3’s VFX continues.
Looking ahead to the upcoming fourth season of Star Trek: Discovery, set to start production in Toronto on November 2, the challenges of coronavirus protection demands are evident at the Pinewood Toronto soundstages, as actor Emily Coutts (Keyla Detmer) shared on social media earlier this week:
#StarTrekDiscovery's Emily Coutts (Detmer) is in preparing for Season 4 filming prep, starting November 2
While the barren deserts of Jordan or the volcanic beaches of Iceland are obviously out of the question for the next year of production, that doesn’t mean the Discovery crew won’t be able to virtually visit some of their own strange new worlds in the future.
Kurtzman revealed that the production team is likely to be getting their own augmented-reality wall to nearly have a holodeck on set for Star Trek filming.
The kind of international location shooting we saw in Season 3’s first episode is out, but Kurtzman noted, “it looks like we are going to be getting an AR wall for future seasons of ‘Star Trek’ on multiple shows.”
Essentially an enormous bank of ultra-HD television screens, the technology uses its lighting and visual capabilities, combined with computer ties to filming equipment, to virtually place live-action actors “inside” digital worlds to make their artificial construction nearly seamless.
A cylndrical take on the “AR wall” concept was popularized by the Disney+ Star Wars live-action television series The Mandalorian, where an enormous cavern of the technology was used to integrate the cast into alien worlds and deep space.
Sounds like the perfect way to keep expanding the final frontier.
Star Trek: Discovery returns for the third episode of the season, “People of Earth,” on October 29 exclusively on CBS All Access (USA) and CTV Sci Fi Channel (Canada); episode then arrives October 30 on Netflix for all other global regions.
October has been a big month for fans of the Star Trek Official Starships Collection model series, with a great deal of new announcements for new starships being readied for the ever-growing armada!
Starting off is the biggest news for the long-running model series: with the end of the subscription-level monthly releases at Issue #180 — the Star Trek: First Contact-era Borg Cube — the standalone Star Trek: Discovery subscription series is also coming to a close after its Issue #33…
…and being replaced with a new chapter of The Official Starships Collection, set to feature ships from ALL of the ongoing Star Trek Universe live-action series — Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — set to begin in April 2021.
(Model plans for Star Trek: Lower Decks are still being developed, so not yet included in this new line of ships.)
The first four Star Trek: Picard entries have been officially named, starting of course with the hero ship of the series — Cris Rios’ baby, La Sirena.
The second ship will be the “antique” Romulan Bird of Prey seen in “Absolute Candor,” which got into a scuffle around planet Vashti with La Sirena….
…followed by Seven of Nine’s Fenris Ranger vessel, which was destroyed during that orbital battle in the same episode.
The fourth ship from the Star Trek: Picard lineup will be the Inquiry-class USS Zhang He, “toughest, fastest, most powerful ship Starfleet ever put into service,” which was captained by Will Riker in the season finale, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2.”
* * * *
The larger-scale XL Starships model series is also getting a few more additions, including one many fans of Star Trek: Voyager have been hoping for!
Following that is an XL-sized edition of the starship Voyager’s long-range custom support craft, the Borg-infused Delta Flyer! This is one that many fans have been hoping for since the XL Starships line was first announced, and we’re glad to see that the Delta Flyer will be getting the big-sized second edition.
Finally, there are three more additions to the various lines of Star Trek models coming down the road, starting with the tenth new ship in the Star Trek Online.
The Mogh-class Klingon Battlecruiser, according to Star Trek Online lore, was designed under a team lead by Ambassador Worf, which is why it was named for his father.
Also on the way is a Star Trek: Insurrection special edition model: the giant Son’a Collector spaceship, designed to harvest the special metaphasic radiation from the Ba’ku homeworld — before it was destroyed by the crew of the Enterprise-E at the end of the film.
The second is a docking shuttle seen in four episodes of The Next Generation, working in the service of various Federation starbases.
The third is the Spacematic shuttle owned by 23rd century tribble-trader Cyrano Jones, discussed in multiple episodes but only seen as a part of the Deep Space Station K-7 studio model built for “Trials and Tribble-ations.”
The fourth and final model is the Type 9A cargo shuttle, a design introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, assigned to the Enterprise-D.
Stick around for more coverage of the Official Starships Collection as the model line keeps warping into 202!
After two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery’s third season, it is safe to say we are at the ne plus ultra of personal satisfaction.
“Far From Home” is a superb homage to the Western genre, with swinging bar doors, futuristic jangling spurs and old-fashioned shootouts, and is a gratifying partner to “That Hope Is You, Part 1,” which opened the season focusing on Michael Burnham’s arrival in the 32nd century.
In “Far From Home,” that focus shifts not-only to the crew of the USS Discovery, which has crash landed on a strange icy planet after their time jump, but more notably to Acting Captain Saru (Doug Jones), who permeates the episode with what can now only be described as an assured confidence – something he’s been working toward since day one of Discovery.
Saru considers his options as the crew discusses the situation. (CBS)
From start to finish, Saru is in unwavering control. He expertly guides the crew through the paces in “safely” landing the ship. He quickly gets everyone focused on their individual roles in repairing the Discovery. He navigates the locals by getting the help he needs to fix the ship’s communication system. He balances the anarchistic sensibilities of Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) to his benefit.
In short, he makes the right decisions, at the right time, with no hesitation.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the pivotal scene early in the episode when he and Tilly are exploring their new surroundings in an effort to forge repairs. In back-to-back moments of perfect leadership, Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) catches herself rambling nervously, and Saru perfectly supports her by calmly encouraging that she “keep talking,” knowing that she was dissecting their situation perfectly and providing valuable information.
(She realizes that the “odd and strange” world they are exploring is not what is out of place, it’s Discovery that is out of place. And they are the ones that will need to adjust.)
Saru and Tilly make their way across the barren landscape. (CBS)
A moment later, she questions why he chose her for this mission, and he responds with an ode to Discovery, the series that brought Trek back to television after a 12-year hiatus and is now resetting itself here in Season 3. “We are introducing ourselves to the future. You, Ensign Tilly, are a wonderful first impression.” Such. Good. Writing.
Through all of Saru’s confidence and decisiveness, he makes sure the Federation ethos that has guided his life is a part of everything — even as he is slowly piecing together the fact that the Federation as they know it is no more. From the start he tells the crew they are privy to certain events that may impact any society in which they interact, so in other words, the prime directive is in effect. And then he makes it clear that “we will not abandon what we believe.”
By the end of the episode, Saru has navigated a couple of tricky negotiations, bettered a fun Western villain played with restrained vitality by Zareh (guest star Jake Weber), and unleashed his evolved Kelpien super powers by whipping out a few blistering shots of his neck spikes to help win a classic quick draw shoot ‘em up.
Kal uses programmable matter to replace a broken part. (CBS)
Additionally, he has been validated by a “true believer” named Kal (Jonathan Koensgen), a Coridan miner who knows what the Federation is and stands far — even in the face of its apparent demise in the 32nd century. He immediately recognizes Saru and Tilly’s Starfleet chops and knows they will help them, saying “It’s a part of them. How they are.”
Kal pays the ultimate price in assisting Discovery when Zareh kills him early on, but the other miners learn through his sacrifice that what Kal had never stopped talking about was indeed true: “We were apart of the Federation no matter what.” And ironically it is Zareh himself who says that following The Burn, “We’re all adrift together.”
That is something Saru knows in every decision he is making. And as much as this episode is Saru’s shining moment, showing once and for all he is ready to take command of Discovery — it is also the new pinnacle of Doug Jones’ incredible portrayal of the steadfast Kelpian.
Jones is a wonder — somehow vaulting the popular character into a new stratosphere through his physical and emotive performance. After two years of questions and evolution and doubts, Saru is now a leader on par with the captain’s names that he searched for guidance from way back in “Choose Your Pain” – Robert April, Jonathan Archer, Matthew Decker, Philippa Georgiou and Christopher Pike.
Zareh is not a nice guy. (CBS)
Unlike Saru, though, the crew of Discovery is not doing well. They’ve given up a lot to be in their current position, and what they’ve given up is never coming back. Lt. Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) is not herself after hitting her head while landing the ship. She goes to sickbay looking for help, but when Dr. Pollard (Raven Dauda) tells her she is fine, it’s not what she wants to hear.
She is not fine, but her injuries are apparently psychological, not physical, and she is struggling to deal with it. Her focus is waning at critical times and it seems she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Elsewhere, Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) is recovering from the injuries he received during Discovery’s great 23rd century escape in “Such Sweet Sorrow” and jumps back into duty against the orders of Dr. Culber (Wilson Cruz). He is paired with Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) for some “witty repertoire” reminiscent of their original tit-for-tat in “An Obol for Charon,” and the dynamic between the duo is amusingly on point as she pushes him to admit he is not exactly bringing his A-game.
Keyla Detmer is having some difficulty recovering from her injury. (CBS)
The pair eventually complete the necessary repairs to get the ship up and running, but not before Reno gives the most recent Star Trek series a hilarious shoutout with hazmat Gene (“I’ve already forgotten that.”) performing a Lower Decks-style clean-up as he scrubs the spore chamber of Leland’s remains.
Elsewhere, new series regular Commander Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) seems to be at peace with her decision to join Discovery’s jump to the future, poignantly explaining to Georgiou that she is on the ship to honor Airiam, “a science office who paid the price of a soldier… a life for a life.”
It was Nhan, of course, who jettisoned Airiam into space back in “Project Daedalus,” and that sacrifice is a reminder that everyone on the crew has given up something to stay with Discovery.
Georgiou and Nhan discuss their icy landing site. (CBS)
Like the first episode, “Far From Home” was written by Michelle Paradise, Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman, and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, who takes full advantage of the amazing scenery provided by the production team’s Icelandic location shoot.
The supernal vistas in Iceland enhance everything happening on the planet surface and add to the motion picture level qualities that this series is known for.
Other Observations
The Coridans — or Coridanites — seen in the bar are a call back to a species first referenced in the classic Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” and seen a couple of times (in different forms) in Star Trek: Enterprise. Coridan was known to be rich in dilithium, so it is interesting to see them represented after learning about The Burn.
Saru’s neck spikes were first seen in “The Sound of Thunder,” an evolutionary trait that replaced his threat ganglia after he passed the vahar’ai.
In what might be a fun meta preview of the Section 31 series currently in development, Georgiou mentions that Section 31 would have begged her to take over sooner or later, but since “bureaucracy is where fun goes to die,” she prefers jumping from universe to universe. Having now been a part of three distinct universes in Discovery — the mirror universe, the 23rd century, and the 32nd century — who knows where she might end up when the Section 31 series finally comes together.
According to Tilly, the Discovery has arrived in the 32nd century with 88 crew members.
The icy planet with the artificial decagon pockets of atmosphere is known as “The Colony,” and the Discovery’s crash landing on a glacier in the episode’s opening moments harkens back to the classic Star Trek: Voyager episode “Timeless.”
Stamets is seen recuperating in what is basically a cellular regeneration chamber that, of course, harkens back to Dr. Elias Giger from “In the Cards” — though Stamets’ chamber didn’t seem to have any entertainment features.
During their walk from Discovery, a pair of tiny 21st century humans can be spotted in the far distance, hiking around the Icelandic landscape. (Whoops!)
Captain Pike’s lovely conference room table didn’t survive the trip to the future. (CBS)
In addition to “Hazmat,” Reno utilizes three additional nicknames in the episode, all aimed at Stamets: Sunshine, Cranky-pants and Bobcat.
Rest in pieces, Captain Pike’s wonderful rustic conference table.
The Star Trek: Discovery opening credits have been updated to fully reflect the new series logo — an erroneous ‘halfway’ version which originally appeared in the “That Hope Is You, Part 1” credits, has been fixed as well on CBS All Access and Netflix’s streaming version of 301.
The new 32nd century tech featured in “Far From Home” includes programmable matter, personal transporters, new phaser designs and an artificial atmosphere with “a giant hunk of planet hanging there in the sky.”
Michael Burnham arrived in the year 3188 in “That Hope Is You, Part 1,” the Discovery and crew arrives one year later — continuing the series into 3189 starting with this episode.
Discovery ascends from the planet’s surface — with some help from a friend. (CBS)
All of the above leads to an emotional climax with the Discovery struggling to eradicate itself from the parasitic ice encompassing the ship. Just as all hope seems lost, a blue tractor beam grabs hold of the ship and Michael Burnham reveals herself to the crew telling them she has been searching for them for a year.
Their relief is palpable — even Georgiou’s — and the reintroduction of Burnham to Discovery is reminiscent of her original introduction to the ship in “Context Is For Kings,” when it saved her by ensnaring her in a tractor beam to pull her to safety from an incapacitated shuttle.
It’s a perfect, symbolic culmination of a fun and successful, two-episode reset for the show in the 32nd century. Of course, now the big question is what comes next? Let us know your thoughts on how the crew will move forward from here in the comments below!
The opening titles now reflect the complete new series logo. (CBS)
Star Trek: Discovery returns for the third episode of the season, “People of Earth,” on October 29 exclusively on CBS All Access (USA) and CTV Sci Fi Channel (Canada); episode then arrives October 30 on Netflix for all other global regions.
To celebrate the launch of Star Trek Online’s next expansion into the Klingon Empire, House Shattered,we’ve got another way for PC players to get a leg up over the competition!
House Shattered is a brand new season which continues the Klingon War with characters like Aakar (voiced by Robert O’Reilly from Star Trek: The Next Generation), General Martok (played by J.G Hertzler from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Adet’Pa (played by Rekha Sharma from Star Trek: Discovery).
The update also features a new five-player Task Force Operation inspired by Star Trek: Picard, a full revamp of four missions from the Warzone Klingon Story arc and a Special Event that allows Captains to earn credits for all-new rewards.
In our new giveaway, five (5) TrekCore readers will have the chance to win a Klingon Dahar Master Faction Packs for Star Trek Online‘s PC platform.
The Klingon Dahar Master Faction Pack consists of:
T6 MatHa Raptor (Escort Vessel)
T6 Negh’Tev Heavy Battlecruiser (Cruiser Vessel)
T6 Naj’sov Research Vessel (Science Vessel)
2 Ship Slots
1 Ferasan Bridge Officer
Jem’Hadar Tactical Uniform
1 Targ Pet
Title: Vanguard
Title: Scout
Title: Searcher
The Klingon Defense Force Elite Starter Pack
In addition, we’re also giving out fifty (50) codes for the Klingon Defense Force Elite Starter Pack, which each consists of:
On November 4, we’ll be reaching out to our five Klingon Dahar Master Faction Pack winners — and our 50 Klingon Defense Force Elite Starter Pack winners — to email you the in-game code for redemption, and instructions on how to add the items to your Star Trek Online account.
Star Trek Online’s newest season, House Shattered, is now available on PC and will release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 12, 2021.
