Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery - Official Thread (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

Do we get any clue from the upcoming disc release dates of the last seasons of each show?

Not really.

 

[TJPC]

You know, it is the immensely detailed and helpful replies to questions I ask, from fellow HTF members that keep me returning and returning to this site!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

You know, it is the immensely detailed and helpful replies to questions I ask, from fellow HTF members that keep me returning and returning to this site!

I’m sorry I didn’t have a better answer

The longer answer is that the disc releases for the new Trek shows haven’t been consistently timed to when the new seasons will begin.

Discovery S1 disc was Nov 2018, S2 began airing Jan 2019.

Discovery S2 disc was Nov 2019, S3 began airing Oct 2020.

Discovery S3 disc was July 2021, S4 began airing Nov 2021.

Discovery S4 disc coming Dec 2021. S5 will air???

Picard S1 disc was Oct 2020, S2 began airing Feb 2022.

Picard S2 disc was Oct 2022, S3 premieres Feb 2023.

Lower Decks S1 disc was May 2021, S2 began airing Aug 2021.

Lower Decks S2 disc was July 2022, S3 began airing Aug 2022.

Prodigy S1-Part 1 disc is scheduled for Jan 2023, S1-Part 2 began airing Oct 2022 (before disc release).

So it’s been all over the place. That’s what I meant by “not really” - there have been a lot of production delays and pandemic delays that have resulted in inconsistent scheduling, which means that the releases that have come out aren’t necessarily predictive of what will follow. I wasn’t trying to be cryptic or unhelpful.

 

[Josh Dial]

Also, for what it's worth, Discovery had the absolute tightest COVID protocols of any show filming in Ontario. My sister-in-law worked (works) on the show and she said it was extremely safe. That undoubtedly added weeks and weeks to the production schedule (I assume).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Also, for what it's worth, Discovery had the absolute tightest COVID protocols of any show filming in Ontario. My sister-in-law worked (works) on the show and she said it was extremely safe. That undoubtedly added weeks and weeks to the production schedule (I assume).

I read the same in one of the behind the scenes articles. It made mention that they were especially keen on safety given that Martin-Green was pregnant and they really wanted to protect her health and safety - a very admirable goal, I thought. Ultimately, I’m thrilled that we’ve gotten as much new Trek as we have given the circumstances they’re all working through.

 

[Jason_V]

Hitting the news…

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ To End With Fifth Season In Early 2024 On Paramount+

Paramount+ announced today that its longest-running original drama series, Star Trek: Discovery will end with its upcoming fifth season in early 2024.

deadline.com

This does make me sad, honestly.

 

[TonyD]

Okay that’s nuts.
This show to me has been somewhat aimless and the last season at least they finally seems to have a direction. Now they’ll just be doing a farewell tour season.

 

[Jason_V]

Something in that article is sticking on my brain.

They wrapped production and then went back and added filming days.

This, to me, means they didn’t plan on Season 5 being the end and had to go back and film new stuff to retrofit the season finale into a series finale. Or to make the season a final season versus another adventure.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Hitting the news…

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ To End With Fifth Season In Early 2024 On Paramount+

Paramount+ announced today that its longest-running original drama series, Star Trek: Discovery will end with its upcoming fifth season in early 2024.

deadline.com

This does make me sad, honestly.

It makes me a little sad but also a little relieved - I enjoyed the previous two seasons a lot when they first aired but revisiting them on disc for the HTF reviews, they seemed a little lacking (I wrote as much in my season 4 review). I think going down to ten episodes for the last season will help, but I’d also rather see the show end well then stick around too long.

I think one issue with Discovery - a show I do genuinely enjoy - is that each season has committed to a universe-ending threat as a continuing storyline, and how many times can they keep going back to that well. I was hoping Discovery might transition to a less high stakes storyline but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for them.

The 2024 date is annoying. This season should have started airing this past fall to keep it on pace with previous years, and I find these large gaps between seasons to be enormously disrespectful of their paying audience.

Something in that article is sticking on my brain.

They wrapped production and then went back and added filming days.

This, to me, means they didn’t plan on Season 5 being the end and had to go back and film new stuff to retrofit the season finale into a series finale. Or to make the season a final season versus another adventure.

I think that’s just part of the way they shoot the entire season in a big chunk before going into post production, more like a movie shoot than a traditional TV shoot. Having time set aside for reshoots to fill in any gaps discovered during editing is pretty standard.

 

[Jason_V]

I think that’s just part of the way they shoot the entire season in a big chunk before going into post production, more like a movie shoot than a traditional TV shoot. Having time set aside for reshoots to fill in any gaps discovered during editing is pretty standard.

I 100% understand reshoots and they happen. My bigger concern is will this be an Enterprise style finale or something like DS9. In my mind, a production needs to know you’re going into the final season to write it properly. I don’t think that happened here or else we would have heard about it a LONG time ago.

The Season 5 trailer came out, what, six months ago? Not a peep.

I am hoping for the best and will enjoy every second of it…2024 or 2030. LOL!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I could be misremembering but I recall hearing some talk before shooting began that this could be the last year - I don’t necessarily think the decision was a surprise or unanticipated.

The season 4 finale could have served as a series finale too if it had had to, the last couple years have had more closed-ended finishes.

Really hoping for one last satisfying ride.

And strange to think that we’re down to just one confirmed live action Trek now.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It makes me a little sad but also a little relieved - I enjoyed the previous two seasons a lot when they first aired but revisiting them on disc for the HTF reviews, they seemed a little lacking (I wrote as much in my season 4 review). I think going down to ten episodes for the last season will help, but I’d also rather see the show end well then stick around too long.

Agreed. I also think having a series set several centuries after everything else being made in Star Trek boxes in the storytelling of all of those other projects. The early 25th century, where the current run of "Picard" is set, feels like it should be the "present" of the Trek universe.

 

[Sam Favate]

The show has been hit-and-miss since the beginning, but I’m sorry to see it go. Still, 65 episodes or so in the streaming era is something to be proud of. I’m sure it will go out with its head held high.

 

[Nelson Au]

I am kind of surprised the series is coming to an end. I agree, it’s been quite a rollercoaster of sort. The first season was chaotic from the way so many hated the new depiction of the Klingons to the shift to the Mirror universe. But looking back, it was different. I feel like it was quite an experimental series as it likely taught Kurtzman and his team a lot about what the fans wanted to see and helped them with the development of the other shows. I think it’s clear we wanted to see what we are familiar with.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I am kind of surprised the series is coming to an end. I agree, it’s been quite a rollercoaster of sort. The first season was chaotic from the way so many hated the new depiction of the Klingons to the shift to the Mirror universe. But looking back, it was different. I feel like it was quite an experimental series as it likely taught Kurtzman and his team a lot about what the fans wanted to see and helped them with the development of the other shows. I think it’s clear we wanted to see what we are familiar with.

I think it was hamstrung by a couple things from the beginning:

1. This show got greenlit on the strength of Bryan Fuller's creative vision. Given his track record as a writer on DS9 and "Voyager", the CBS execs had every reason to believe he could bring in a Trek show on time and on budget. That quickly proved not to be the case, hampered by the fact that the "American Gods" production was disastrously unraveling around the same time. Fuller had overcommitted himself, and this show paid the price. And then his chosen successors got fired for being, apparently, abusive asshats. So by the time it got on its current trajectory in the third season, it had undergone two seasons made more or less entirely in crisis mode.
2. The story that they wanted to tell, of a hot war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, meant that it had to be a prequel. The Khitomer Accords were signed in the last story with the TOS cast, and by the TNG era the Federation and the Klingons had fairly friendly relations. The one fairly brief exception to that, during DS9's run, required a Changling imposter as the Klingon head of state. But setting it before TOS boxed them in with regard to the stories they could tell, especially with such a revolutionary form of faster than light travel at the show's center. Worse, the show's production didn't engage with the restrictions inherent in telling a period piece, such that the mid-23rd century ships looked far more technologically advanced than the 24th century ships of the TNG era.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I'm glad to see it go so the budgets can be used for better Trek. DSC had credibility problems in every facet of the Prime timeline, stories, and ship design for me from the first scene of the first episode, and never escaped them, IMO. I thought the scores were great. I won't say good riddance. I'll just wait for the next better Trek series to show up.

 

[Nelson Au]

I think it was hamstrung by a couple things from the beginning:

1. This show got greenlit on the strength of Bryan Fuller's creative vision. Given his track record as a writer on DS9 and "Voyager", the CBS execs had every reason to believe he could bring in a Trek show on time and on budget. That quickly proved not to be the case, hampered by the fact that the "American Gods" production was disastrously unraveling around the same time. Fuller had overcommitted himself, and this show paid the price. And then his chosen successors got fired for being, apparently, abusive asshats. So by the time it got on its current trajectory in the third season, it had undergone two seasons made more or less entirely in crisis mode.
2. The story that they wanted to tell, of a hot war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, meant that it had to be a prequel. The Khitomer Accords were signed in the last story with the TOS cast, and by the TNG era the Federation and the Klingons had fairly friendly relations. The one fairly brief exception to that, during DS9's run, required a Changling imposter as the Klingon head of state. But setting it before TOS boxed them in with regard to the stories they could tell, especially with such a revolutionary form of faster than light travel at the show's center. Worse, the show's production didn't engage with the restrictions inherent in telling a period piece, such that the mid-23rd century ships looked far more technologically advanced than the 24th century ships of the TNG era.

Yes, all those issues resulted in the chaos of the first year and continued to the second. Fuller was a problem as were his successors.

 

[Harry-N]

DISCOVERY has always been a bit of a love/hate relationship for me. Initially, I was thrilled to have a TV Trek show to watch on a weekly basis, but like others, I hated the redesigned Klingons, and I had trouble with the ship being so technologically advanced looking. Yet I was really happy with Captain Lorca and wished we could see more of him. He was a bit of an enigma which made his character more interesting than all of the rest.

I wasn't thrilled with all of the [...] stuff that felt forced to me. It was like "we can do this", but did it really enhance any stories that they were telling. And I disliked the direction of the show (all that lens-flare and quick cuts). Didn't they learn anything from THE MOTION PICTURE that we trek fans like long looks at the ships?

There were all sorts of characters that we couldn't even focus on for more than a split second and they were running the ship as the bridge crew. We should have gotten a chance to meet them and know who they are as people (robots?).

I liked Martin-Green in the lead but felt it was a mis-step to start her off as a traitor. Tilly is a fun character as is Saru. I liked Stamets, especially in his mysterious and grumpy first episodes. Michelle Yeoh was fine at the start and her character wore VERY thin after awhile. And haven't we all had enough of the alternate universe stuff?

Thankfully the show gave us a pretty decent Season Two that introduced us to Captain Pike, the new Spock and Number One (Una). That season launched a much better series as far as I'm concerned.

I'll still watch Season 5 and hope that it goes off in a blaze of glory rather than limping to a conclusion.

[MOD: Edited]

 

[Chris Will]

I do not feel sad about this as I have never fallen in love with this show. I watch it because it was Trek and I'm obsessed. I have big problems with something in every season. The only moments I truly loved were the Pike, Enterprise moments of season 2, which spawn a much better show.

I hated the universe is ending stories every single season. Star Trek is not Marvel or James Bond, this is not the stories Trek tells. Of course, then Picard does the same thing in season 2. Just not fun at all IMO and they just keep jumping in this same well over and over. It's boring at this point.

I never grew to like Burnham. First, she cause many of the problems each season but somehow gets the credit and promotions at the end. Her becoming captain never felt earned, just what the writers wanted to happen. Plus all the crying, so... so... much crying. I do not like this character and she was the lead, the focus of 80% of the show.

All other Trek shows, even Picard and SNW, gave the other main characters more to do and we got to know them much better. 4 years in, there are still bridge crew that have barley any screen time. So much time spent on Burnham hurt every other character. SNW did more character development for everyone in 1 season than DSC has done in 4.

The spore drive was a stupid idea, especially for a prequel. It is way to over powered for the Trek universe and I hate it. The "turbo lift" internal views of the ship are stupid as well. Some kind of crazy Doctor Who, Tartis, bigger on the inside voodoo that has no place in Star Trek. Basically, I do not like the production design of this show. I don't like the disconnect nacelles in the future either. My future idea for nacelle would be like most real life tech, they get smaller and more powerful, maybe even integrated into the hull so separated nacelles structures are a thing of the past. Kind of like how our cell phones no longer have antennas sticking out, they are integrated. They definitely are not floating next to our phones.

I just don't think this show has been very well planned and thought out. Maybe it is fun science fiction but, it is not fun Star Trek. Finish this show and Picard and dump all that money into Strange New Worlds, because they finally got it right. SNW is real Start Trek IMO.

 

[Sam Favate]

I know the next shows are rumored to be Section 31 (Michele Yeoh couldn’t be a bigger deal right now) and Starfleet Academy, but they’d be really, really foolish to let Terry Matalas get away. He’s created one of the best Star Treks ever. And, yes, continue SNW, which is excellent.