“Star Trek: Discovery” is set almost 1000 years in the future and now the franchise is charting its own course.
One of the things “Discovery” did well was navigating their stories sandwiched in a small pocket of the timeline and attempted to do a soft reboot, updating the look of the original series, and telling new stories. What we were given were two seasons of new characters and some fresh perspectives of some old characters. But it was met with mixed results. Purists on one said were raising their voices in dismay at the slightest change to the “Star Trek” they knew while on the other side viewers were praising the series for these very changes. It was the great debate that would be fated to continue until the show would end unless there was another option. The showrunners found just that, launch the ship far past any recorded “Star Trek” timeline, and voila!.. They have effectively removed any and all canon and now are writing their own. It was a brilliant strategy and a well-timed move. The playing field is completely changed:
The Burn
Around 150 years before they landed in this timeline all the Dilithium, everywhere explodes and effectively brings star travel to a near halt. How does this serve the Discovery? Besides being a mystery that needs solving it leaves Discovery the option to rediscover strange new worlds. They are in a position to solve this Dilithium issue to travel the universe and extend the benevolent arm of the Federation.
The Federation
We have just been introduced to what’s left of Starfleet and it’s less than the expansive organization we remember. Now the out intrepid crew has to help the Federation begin to grow and flourish again. The stories will no doubt contain these stark remembrance of the ideals of the Federation. What better crew to deliver this message than the crew that gave everything up to travel to the future and save the universe.
Starfleet
With the stories now grounded in a new setting, it gives the creators a much-needed breath of fresh air. Ship designs can be more organically created, no longer having to constantly make sure each new design fits into the very regimented canon. We can see what creators and designers are really capable of, and one can imagine there will be many homages to fan-favorite ships of the past. This will be the same with all the other various technological achievements of the time period.
Finally, Discovery and her crew are truly charting an undiscovered country, cutting a new path in the Star Trek universe. New canon is being written with every episode and it’s exciting. They’ll be sailing through the stars much in the same way as Kirk and his crew did. From here we can only hope that the franchise flourishes and keeps moving forward, where no one has gone before.
Written by Victor Mercado
