I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a Trekkie. Let's face it, I prefer Star Wars, but the original Star Trek series does hold a special place in my heart. When I was growing up, we only had three channels on our TV. That's right, we could only get CBS and NBC. ABC was available only if the weather was good. Do you want to hear something else shocking? Not only was our TV black and white, it had a screen that was only 3 inches! That's right, my first TV as a child was half the size of the screen on the phone where you may be reading this blog. So it was a real treat when we went to my grandmother's house. Not only did she have a big screen, color TV (in reality probably 30 inches at most) she also had cable! This opened up an entirely new world to us with TV shows like Love Connection, Mission Impossible, Lost In Space, Hogan's Heroes, and of course Star Trek. To this day, I can't hear that iconic theme music without singing along just like my sisters and I did so many years ago.
I have to admit that most of the relevance of that original series was lost on me at the time. I didn't see the cultural importance of actors portraying roles that didn't include stereotypes of their respective races. Though it was odd to see so many people wearing weird ears and makeup, I didn't fully understand the important themes that were conveyed like tolerance and understanding of those who are different. For me, it wasn't even the thrill of a Sci-Fi show that captured my attention. Sci-Fi didn't capture my full attention for another couple of years with the release of the first Star Wars movie. No, for me the show was just entertaining and fun.
As I grew up, my interest in Star Trek waned. I saw the movies and they were somewhat entertaining; though, I only really remember the first two and I recall there being whales in one of the later ones. When I started dating Kevin, who is a pretty big fan, I still didn't get into any of the Star Trek TV shows. I tried watching episodes of Next Generation, but they didn't capture my interest. It could be that I hadn't started watching at the beginning, so the characters were unknown. I know that I often chuckled at some of the absolutely over-the-top costumes. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to IMDb and look through the images for the show. Wow!) Regardless, the appeal just wasn't there. That is until recently when we noticed the start of a new Star Trek series, Discovery. The trailers revealed a show that looked unlike any previous series I had ever seen, so we watched the pilot with much anticipation. I immediately became hooked, so we looked forward to the next installment. Unfortunately, we found that it was only going to be available on a new service, CBS All Access. At the time, we had no interesting in paying for access to network TV shows plus a couple of originals; however, this changed earlier this year when they advertised a second Star Trek series, Picard. Before diving into that series, we knew we needed to watch Discovery.
And here, finally, is what I thought of it. I can now officially proclaim myself a Trekkie. Well, I know I am a fan of this show for certain. The characters are well written and very well acted. I was a fan of Sonequa Martin-Green when she was on The Walking Dead and was disappointed that she left that show. Now I know why she did and I am very grateful. Her performance as Michael Burnham, a human rescued and raised by a Vulcan family, is multi-faceted. She is seamless in her transition from a logical person reared to tamp down her emotions to a highly reactive woman fighting for what she believes is the right course. The cast is full of equally talented actors including Michelle Yeoh who is endearing as both the 'good' and 'evil' Philippa Georgiou. I've enjoyed watching her since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and before that when she held her own with Jackie Chan in numerous martial arts action films. Jason Isaac is fascinating as Gabriel Lorca, the captain of Discovery whose motives I immediately questioned. Doug Jones' Saru is intriguing both in the way he acts and in the way he moves which adds so much to his interpretation of what a Kelpien is. Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly provides some needed humor and humanity. I thoroughly enjoyed the evolution of her character. The series is successful in capturing the audience's attention quickly and developing anticipation for the next week's installment with interesting and often culturally relevant subjects. I have always enjoyed TV shows that provide backstories and Discovery's writers do a great job of revealing what drives the crew of the ship. The special effects are very good for a smaller budgeted TV show. I even enjoyed the opening credits and theme so much that we rarely fast forwarded through it. It's almost as catchy as the original series' theme, which is saying a lot! AND there were no over-the-top, ridiculous costumes!
As I sit here in a world where the proverbial pause button has been pressed, where everything is on hold until we know things can return to some semblance of normal, I wonder when the next season will be available. It could be a while, but that's ok. I look forward to watching Star Trek: Discovery again and revisiting a world that is equally far from my own and near to my heart.
