New crews.
New villains.
New heroes.
New worlds.
These are promised to us in the first teaser trailer for CBS’s next series to boldly go where no one has gone before.
You can watch the trailer below.
https://youtu.be/xXpPweAooeE
The trailer offers little information about the show, other than the four promises made above. There have been rumors that the show will take place in the original timeline between the adventures of Kirk and Picard. Concretely, we know that Star Trek will premiere on broadcast television, but then move exclusively to CBS All Access, CBS’s streaming service. I do not watch anything on CBS so I hope that Star Trek will be available on iTunes; I do not want to pay to stream CBS’s steaming pile of a lineup.
Here are some thoughts I had while watching the trailer.
Starfleet
The Starfleet symbol is both weathered and broken. This is what makes me think that the series will take place after the time of Picard. Enterprise showed us Starfleet’s inception and the other series covered its flourishing growth. Even Deep Space Nine, which brought us Starfleet at war, found a peaceful resolution. At no point in Starfleet’s history was it fractured and flailing. A dystopian version of Roddenberry’s utopia would be interesting and potentially very upsetting.
Crews
How many crews are we looking at? Every Star Trek series to this point has focused on one crew, whether it manned a starship or a space station. A series exploring the adventures of multiple crews would be interesting, if not difficult to follow. Television leans towards more serial stories these days, with complicated arcs and character development. I would enjoy seeing multiple crews woven together in a narrative tapestry, like a 23rd century version of Game of Thrones.
Heart
I don’t know where this series is going to have its heart. The current run of Star Trek movies have turned Roddenberry’s dream into a two-hour action flick. I’m OK with that; that’s what a Star Trek movie needs to be. Star Trek is at its best on the small screen when it can explore characters, relationships and the deeper themes that have run through each one of the series. I love the movies, but have wanted Star Trek to come back home to television for years; I guess CBS All Access is technically television.
I’m excited for Star Trek. Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of my best friends in junior high. I’m also excited because Bryan Fuller is running the show, and he’s responsible for Pushing Daisies, one of the greatest television series ever produced. We’ll find out if that excitement is deserved in about eight months.
What do you think about the teaser for Star Trek?
Oh, Great Bird, please no… ixnay on the istopiday idea. I want Trek, exciting and new… come aboard, we’re expec— ahem.
I don’t mind if there’s a few nods to canon/continuity here and there, but I really want something Fresh — more faithful to the spirit of TOS and TNG than, imo, the JJ films have been, but Really Different.
I agree that multiple crews would be cool. They’re doing that in the “Seeker” series of novels, which are really good.
I’m excited for the series, too, despite not knowing anything factual about it. There are always possibilities….!
PS. Now that “Supergirl” will no longer be on CBS, will you watch it? 🙂