Inspiration departed somewhere between the Borgs arrival onVoyagerand the end ofDeep Space Nine.
The rhythms ofTrekTV became familiar, torpid.
Could a new ongoing series revive this brand?
Jan Thijs/CBS
Should any franchise last 51 years?
Star Trek: Discoverylaunches this week, a late step by CBS into the world of streaming.
The release already feels a bit strange.
The first hour aired on CBS this Sunday, with the second hour immediately available on CBS All Access.
The first two chapters are also essentially a prologue; next Sundays episode is the true pilot.
but its worth remembering thatStar Treks release patterns have always been messy.
The original series needed two pilots, too, andthe first episode airedwas the sixth filmed.
In the first two hours, there wasnt a trek, disappointingly little discovery.
The outer-space effects are impressive hot damn this thing looks expensive!
but what really sells the moment is Burnhams enthusiasm.
Martin-Green laughs, dodges a few asteroids.
Theres some hip androgyny in Burnhams presentation here, the Ruby Rose haircut and themust-have-cool-parentsfirst name.
ButTrekwas doing fluidity and parity decades ago.
Just as impressive, I think, is how Martin-Green latches onto some essentialTrekprotagonist ideal.
Call it dutiful toughness.
Blasted full of radiation, she strolls out of sick bay covered in burns.
With equivalent material, Chris Pine played his Kirk with physical comedy and flop-sweating tension.
Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer Burnhams no-bull professionalism.
Martin-Greens performance is great in another way: Shes covering up some very strange, rather hazy characterization.
Burnhams got a tragic past, see, which we learn about all the time.
Theres some vague notion put forward that shes struggling with her human ancestry and her Vulcan upbringing.
When shes a kid, Sarek says her human heart is a problem.
Later, in Part 2, Captain Georgiou says the Vulcans built a shell around her.
And the Sarek stuff is the first sign thatDiscoverys got some kinks to work out.
Theres a great foundational idea inDiscoverys first two parts.
He declares a passionate need for self-preservation, and runs his campaign under the banner to Remain Klingon.
On this show, the Klingons wearHellraisercostumes, and their spaceships look like Antoni Gaudi dreamscapes.
TKuvmas flagship is covered in coffins containing Klingon bodies, some of them thousands of years old.
This is one of the single most florid pieces of production design inStar Treks long history.
The show could use more stuff like that!
There really are a lot of spaceships, but the strategy gets a bit hazy.
Fuller departedDiscoveryearly in production, and Im loathe to attribute any specific story points to him.
But there are gloriously strange flourishes, and then there are bizarre narrative shorthands.
We get tragic flashbacks for Burnhamandfor TKuvma, overly dramatic and inert.
And truthfully, Im not quite sure this decision is quite as complicated as the showwantsit to be.
Georgiou feels betrayed by Burnham, but she also goes into battle with her in the rushed climax.
The third episode also introduces certain key members of the supporting cast, not to mention the titular ship.
This feels like a show struggling to find its heart.
But at least Martin-Green gives it a pulse.
Two Hour Premiere:B
First Three Episodes: B+
