A BOLD RETURN
Discovery charts a new future for beloved Star Trek franchise
Star Trek: Discovery Thursdays, Space Fridays, Crave
Two familiar faces are returning to the Star Trek universe on Discovery, but they are played by entirely different actors. Captain James T. Kirk’s predecessor Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and a younger, hipper Spock (Ethan Peck) appear in the Toronto-shot show’s second season.
“We love that,” says series star Sonequa Martin- Green, 33, who plays Commander Michael Burnham. “I love that my character is a part of that family — Spock, Sarek, Amanda — they’re an institution in the Star Trek canon. I love that I have a place there.”
Also on the horizon for the franchise are a stand-alone series revisiting Patrick Stewart’s JeanLuc Picard, a possible spinoff centred on Michelle Yeoh’s Discovery character Philippa Georgiou and an R-rated feature film from Quentin Tarantino.
Martin- Green discusses the show.
Q What’s it like to be part of this extension of the Star Trek universe? Discovery is the first Star Trek show since Enterprise ended in 2005 — and it kicked things in a new direction.
A That’s definitely what we were trying to do. Exactly what you just said — we wanted to kick it to people in a new way. We wanted to bring this legacy to a new generation of people — pun intended. But it’s been a difficult balance. We have to be brand new, yet familiar. That’s a tricky place to be. It’s almost like walking a tightrope. We wanted to establish our own identity, and we wanted to explore new things. Today’s society is different and each iteration of Star Trek has always mirrored the society that it’s in. Now, things are very different, especially in this Trump era, and we have to reflect that. But at the same time, we have to have this connection to the canon, so it’s this balance of establishing our own identity and making those hardcore Trekkers and Trekkies proud. It’s about making them proud, but also grabbing new people as well. Q Where does Burnham fit in? A (To be in the Spock family), I love that’s where I’ve been placed in this ongoing story.
We love that some of the characters will be perhaps a little more familiar to Trekkers and Trekkies. Captain Pike, Spock and Number One (played by Rebecca Romijn), we get to see these characters breathed to life by these incredible actors.”
Q What’s it like to be part of this storytelling narrative that always pushes boundaries?
A You know, it’s absolutely necessary that we challenge the norm. That we don’t conform to European standards of beauty and that we don’t conform to closed-minded thinking and those paradigms we should leave in the past. We’re thrilled and honoured to do that, episode by episode, each storyline at a time. And I do think, because of what we’re doing and the power of storytelling, we’re able to help shift what people believe. Being part of something that’s already had that kind of impact is exhilarating. It’s also incredibly humbling and can be overwhelming at times, to be honest.
Q In the first season, Burnham had a fall from grace and had to build herself back up. How have things changed for her now?
A It’s been quite a journey. Michael started on top of the world and then lost it all. (In Season 1) she had to climb and claw her way back up. What was most important to me in Season 1 was this idea of redemption ... having to struggle for that and fight for that was a big part of my journey as Michael Burnham during Season 1. I was reinstated at the end of Season 1, so there was this professional absolution and there were some restoration to some of the relationships as well. Now, in Season 2, we’re excited because we go places that we just weren’t able to go last season.
Q Hipster Spock, as Stephen Colbert called him, and Pike are two iconic Star Trek characters.
A I love that they show up because we always have that deep, deep, deep connection to the canon. Also, being 10 years prior to TOS (the original series), it helps strengthen that connection as well. So I love that we’re getting to see these pillars in the Star Trek lore.
Q How do the writers, how do you yourself, keep all these timelines straight and make sure it all syncs with what’s to come in the movie and TV show timelines?
A I have to credit our amazing writers for keeping all of that stuff straight. We have a group of people who are diehard fans and they LOVE this franchise. They grew up with this and it’s important to them. We have a Star Trek novelist on our team. They know what they are talking about. They’re the resident encyclopedia for all things Trek.
When we all of a sudden are wondering what floor a particular room on the ship might be, we text them and ask. If you could see the writers’ room, the walls are covered. It’s like one of those scenes in a movie where the serial killer has all their plans on the wall with the pins and the strings.
We also have (co-creator) Alex Kurtzman, who is so boldly and brilliantly helming our show now. He has his experiential knowledge having worked with J.J. Abrams in the past.
Q Star Trek turns 53 this year. Is it something you think will still be going strong in another 50 years?
A That it’s still something that’s capturing people’s imagination 50 years from now is something we all hope happens. That’s why it’s so important to tell a story that makes you look to the future. I remember seeing something on YouTube where some people were a little upset that we had such advanced effects on the show. They were arguing that since we are 10 years before TOS, we shouldn’t look the way we do.
But if we were to change, then you lose the spirit of Trek, which is to make people look to the future. If we looked like they did in the ’60s, then all you’d be thinking about was the ’60s. Obviously, we are so much further ahead as it relates to special effects and technology and we have to reflect that.
We have to take it further because that’s where we are now. But in order to look to the future, you have to present a future that would be futuristic to us, today, in 2019.
Q Will Discovery ever catch up to show us a young Kirk or a young Bones or a young Uhura? Will we meet those characters down the line?
A (singsong voice) Maybe.