Slowly but surely, Star Trek: Discovery is getting ready for its September premiere.
Multiple sites have been reporting that a total of four episodes are now in the bag, with the fifth under way. That’s one third of the first season pretty much complete.
Chatting with Collider earlier this month, Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman confirmed that five episodes have been filmed, and also addressed fan angst around the delays that have plagued the much anticipated series.
“We postponed our schedule,” Alex said, “because the truth is we did not want to put out something that was subpar, and as the vision expanded we started feeling like we weren’t gonna be able to deliver the scope and the scale that was on the page.”
He continued, saying something very few show-runners have probably ever said about a studio: “CBS was extremely supportive in saying, ‘okay… you know what, this is streaming, it’s not like we have to beat out right away, let’s do the best version of this, Trek is too important for all of us.”
In an unusually talkative mood, Alex hinted that we should expect a major guest starring cameo or two in the first and following seasons.
“So many actors are fans. We literally got a list of them that were like, ‘Here are people who said they want to be on Star Trek.’ It was awesome…”
Do we know who’s on that list? Unfortunately, no. Alex and the other producers will no doubt keep that close to their chests. It does make me wonder, though, if Rainn Wilson was one of those people?
As he continued to discuss the soon to be released series, Alex gave us something of a rationale for the cosmetic differences between the sixth live action series and its predecessors – something which has annoyed a few die hard fans.
“The line between film and television is utterly blurred.” He said. “Not just at a storytelling level, but visually now. What we’re doing on Star Trek right now, that’s not that different from what we’re doing in the movies. I think that’s what people expect when they pay for Netflix, or HBO, or whatever they’re going to pay for.”
It’s kind of what we were talking about in our last post – modern audiences aren’t going to accept certain stylistic choices just because we, the long term fans, want design continuity.
From my perspective, a little more continuity would have been nice, but ultimately what I care about most are the characters and the stories. I want to get swept up in an arc that I enjoy, and I want to develop a relationship with the characters and love them as much as I do the crew of the Enterprise D. Uniforms and sets are essentially just uniforms and sets. It would be great if there was an explanation offered for the differences, but if that doesn’t happen it’s not going to upset me.
Now that CBS and Alex Kurtzman are addressing the delays, I feel a lot more reassured. I really do believe everyone behind this show is giving it their all.
Last bit of news… for those of you still mourning Bryan Fuller’s departure (like I am), according to Alex, his ‘hand’ is still all over the series.
His ideas weren’t abandoned, and his influence is still very much prevalent and will continue to be prevalent into the second season. How nice is it to hear a producer talk about a second season, when a show hasn’t even aired yet?
Not long to go now, guys. I hope you’re putting away any reservations you may have, or are at least suspending them, and are getting ready to give this series the chance it deserves.
It’s been over a decade since we had Star Trek on television – it’s true home. Let’s get behind this new series and hope that the creative team have given us something worthy of our love and loyalty.
Live long, and prosper.
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