Some, like Sheldon Cooper, will say that Star Trek is superior to Star Wars. And as a Star Trek fan, it would be hard for me to say otherwise.
Since its creation in 1966 by Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek universe has only expanded. After a dozen films and series, the last of which – the unjustly unloved Enterprise, stopped in 2005, it seemed necessary to fill the "trekkies" eager for adventures. A daring bet for Netflix, especially when you take into consideration the hundreds of fans of the franchise, determine that the greatness of Star Trek is not altered.
"For everything, there is a first time. » -Spock
Space has no borders, except those of its universe
Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a disgraced former model deck officer, is about to be imprisoned for mutiny. Transferred to the U.S.S.S. Discovery, a scientific ship led by the enigmatic -but no less charismatic- Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs), she will be confronted with the beginnings of a war between the Federation and the Klingons of which she seems to be the central element.
Star Trek with Netflix sauce
Farewell, tender format "one episode, one story". Place to a long narrative, whose ins and outs are no longer counted in episodes, but in seasons. Where each episode once developed a story of morality, ethics, society or science, the new series develops a story where there is sometimes a profound lack of cohesion. And it's a shame, roundly carried by this brand new crew, finely interpreted by a good cast, the series has everything to please. Skimping neither on the means nor on the narrative, we will unfortunately deplore a smooth realization, never allowing to question, as could have done the original series. It now seems that this possibility of combining science, politics, diplomacy and war is exploited by the excellent series The Expanse powered by SyFy and Netflix.
We can not take away from it, this series wants to innovate while talking to fans of the first hour. Like the Star Trek films released between 2009 and 2016 – also produced and scripted by the same people as Discovery, the franchise seems to want to be modern, in order to be able to perpetuate its presence on our screens. A Doctor Who syndrome will you tell us? Not wrong, if we consider that kitsch and good feelings no longer really have their place in cinema, if not to make fun of them.
Star Trek: Discovery is still a very good entertainment it must be admitted, and especially that fans of the franchise accept it. If the series revolutionizes the franchise, by changing its approach, it also brings Netflix into another era, thanks to its excellent special effects and convoluted storytelling. The reversals of situation, numerous, rarely leave respite to the spectator, who will be able to marvel at the adventures of this ship like no other. The characters, like Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), scientist aboard the ship, transcribe quite well the universe of the franchise and know how to make themselves endearing and interesting.
The modernization of a mythical series
Star Trek fanatics? Good luck. A small leap into the past: at the end of the Second World War Gene Roddenberry, a former fighter pilot in the US army shocked by the horror of the conflict, creates a futuristic world in order to convey his pacifist ideas. From this was born Starfleet, a society without discrimination, where conquest is made through scientific and peaceful discovery, without ever disturbing the development of other societies. Shocking, for 1960s America, to design a series where women, men, extraterestres, blacks, whites, Asians, homosexuals and followers of inter-species sex would have an equal place within a society and in the command of a ship.
In 2017, Discovery shattered the very foundations of the series to offer a testosteroneous show, where action is king. Probably produced silently by Michael Bay, the series wants to establish itself in the 2000s by modernizing its approach to the franchise. And after all, it would be hard to blame him.
Star Trek: Discovery trailer
