One more sleep until a new Star Trek TV series premieres. The last time I could say that was September 2001, 16 years ago.
(It was 21 years between the premieres of TOS and TNG, so it’s not a record).
The early reviews (or to be more accurate, the headlines of the early reviews as there is no way I’m reading that now) seem fairly positive. But I maintain my skepticism from the earlier posts in this series. But I’m also excited – this will be only the second time I’m watching a Star Trek series as it launches.
(TOS and TNG premiered before my TV watching, VOY and ENT never captured my interest when they were on. I’m fairly certain I watched DS9 from its start, but honestly would struggle to prove that).
The main things I’m looking for are:
– Is this Star Trek, or generic SF show number seven? This is both a question of history, but also one of philosophy – Star Trek at its best is the excitement and danger of exploration, and the battle for the moral high ground.
– Is there a reasonable explanation for the fourth iteration of Klingon makeup? More to the point, does it mean something, or is it just a gratuitous change because a makeup designer wanted something more modern (looking at you here, Star Trek Into Darkness Klingons)?
– How is the continuity with The Original Series? Sarek and Harry Mudd are two of the most obvious points, but I’ll be surprised if we don’t get a few other easter eggs.
– Is it a good TV show? Does it have interesting characters telling an interesting story?
– Is there an explanation for why we go from the set design seen in the trailers to the set design of TOS within 10 years? This matters not at all to me (for some reason it feels very different to the Klingon makeup), but I’d like to see them at least try. DS9 made it work.
I’ll be returning to the Trekathon series as of tomorrow, writing up some brief thoughts on each episode. Assuming everything works and it appears on Netflix according to schedule that is.