star trek generations full movie

Star Trek: Generations

Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard team up to thwart mad Dr. Soran's quest for the Nexus of joy. more

Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard team up to thwart mad Dr. Soran's que ... More

Starring: Patrick Stewart William Shatner Malcolm McDowell

Director: David Carson

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Capt. Kirk and Capt. Picard team up to thwart mad Dr. Soran's quest for the Nexus of joy.

Starring: Patrick Stewart William Shatner Malcolm McDowell Jonathan Frakes Brent Spiner

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Star Trek: Generations (1994) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'star trek: generations' online.

Want to watch ' Star Trek: Generations ' on your TV, phone, or tablet? Searching for a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or watch the David Carson-directed movie via subscription can be difficult, so we here at Moviefone want to take the pressure off. We've listed a number of streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription options - along with the availability of 'Star Trek: Generations' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into all the details of how you can watch 'Star Trek: Generations' right now, here are some specifics about the Paramount action flick. Released November 18th, 1994, 'Star Trek: Generations' stars Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , Brent Spiner , LeVar Burton The PG movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 57 min, and received a user score of 65 (out of 100) on TMDb, which collated reviews from 1,274 top users. Interested in knowing what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years." 'Star Trek: Generations' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play Movies, Apple iTunes, Max , AMC on Demand, HBO Max Amazon Channel, and Spectrum On Demand .

'Star Trek: Generations' Release Dates

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Star Trek: Generations

  PG | action | 1 HR 58 MIN | 1994

Captains James Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard team up to save the universe from a mad scientist.

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Star Trek Generations

Captains Kirk and Picard meet in a strange "Nexus" that defies time and unites forces to save a planet from destruction.

Star Trek: Generations

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Star Trek: Generations - watch online: stream, buy or rent

Currently you are able to watch "Star Trek: Generations" streaming on BINGE, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Foxtel Now, Stan, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel . It is also possible to buy "Star Trek: Generations" on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Telstra TV, Fetch TV as download or rent it on Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Telstra TV, Fetch TV, Apple TV, Amazon Video online.

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Where does Star Trek: Generations rank today? The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

Streaming charts last updated: 5:14:36 am, 10/06/2024

Star Trek: Generations is 5198 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The movie has moved up the charts by 4103 places since yesterday. In Australia, it is currently more popular than An Eye for an Eye but less popular than The Crescent.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.

Videos: Trailers, Teasers, Featurettes

Streaming Charts The JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. This includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. This includes data from ~1.3 million movie & TV show fans per day.

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Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online

Our Star Trek streaming guide will allow you to go boldly where you've never gone before, without getting off your couch.

How to stream the Star Trek Movies in the US

How to stream the star trek tv shows in the us, how to stream the star trek movies in the uk, how to stream the star trek tv shows in the uk.

Here's our Star Trek streaming guide, so you know where to go boldly where you've never gone before... Without leaving your sofa. We've come up with this Star Trek streaming guide because since the first ever episode aired back in 1966, there's been  a huge number of additions into the franchise. 

Star Trek is currently in a bit of a purple patch for content as Paramount Plus , which is the home of all things Star Trek, is responsible for several new shows in recent years. But, it's not just new content, you'll also find where to stream the classics both movies and TV series below. 

Before, Star Trek content was scattered all around different streaming services and searching for what you wanted to watch could feel like hunting for a cloaked Bird of Prey. However, these days you're able to stream all Star Trek content out there on Paramount Plus. However, we do have round-ups of the best sci-fi movies and TV shows on Netflix , Disney Plus and Amazon if you want to check them out. 

You can also check out our take on the Star Trek movies, ranked so you know which movies to beam up onto your device. While Paramount Plus has everything Star Trek out there, you can find the odd bit of content on other platforms. So, below you'll find where you can watch what, regardless of where you're based, in our Star Trek streaming guide.  

The Star Trek movies can be divided into three tidy groups: the original cast, the Next Generation cast, and the reboot cast. All of them can be found on Paramount+. However, Paramount+ isn't the only place you can stream the movies and in some cases you can rent or buy from places such as Amazon .

Here’s how to stream the Star Trek movies in the U.S., in order of release:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ , Spectrum Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+   Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Beyond — Paramount+ , DIRECTV , Freevee

When it comes to Star Trek on the small screen, you can find them all in one place. Paramount+ not only has every episode of every legacy Trek show, it’s also the home of all the new Star Trek programming, such as Picard and Strange New Worlds. If you’re a Trekkie, you absolutely want to have Paramount+ to keep up with the object of your affection. A word of warning though, other streaming platforms may only have select episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: The Next Generation — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  — Paramount+ , Sling , Spectrum Star Trek: Voyager — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Enterprise — Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ , DIRECTV Star Trek: Picard — Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Lower Decks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ ,   DIRECTV , FuboTV , Spectrum Star Trek: The Animated Series — Paramount+ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

Now that Paramount+ has arrived in the U.K, streaming Star Trek is a lot easier. You can view most of the movies on the streaming platform. Star Trek Beyond is the exception but that can be found on Amazon Prime. If you're not prepared to subscribe to Paramount+, the movies are available to rent or buy from a number of different platforms. 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+ Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Beyond — Amazon Prime

Now that Paramount+ has reached those across the pond, the U.K. can enjoy streaming Star Trek shows as well. Netflix is also another great option to fulfil your Trekkie viewing needs, especially if you're interested in checking out Star Trek: The Animated Series, which is exclusive to Netflix. 

However, for the likes of Picard and Lower Decks, you’ll have to hop on over to Amazon Prime. It's worth noting that platforms such as SkyGo may only have a select number of episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series —   Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: The Next Generation — Netflix , Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Voyager — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Enterprise — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ Star Trek: Picard — Amazon Prime Video , Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — N/A Star Trek: Lower Decks — Amazon Prime Video Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: The Animated Series — Netflix Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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How Long It Would Take To Watch All of Star Trek (Yes, ALL of It)

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Over the five decades since its inception, the Star Trek universe continues to inspire new generations of Trekkies. The original series that began in the mid-1960s has spawned countless spinoffs in television shows, as well as animation and feature films, some of which are still under production.

Someone new to this massive franchise may be wondering just how long it will take to watch all of Star Trek. With so many series and films in the catalog, catching up on everything may seem like a daunting task. Even some diehard fans have no idea just how many episodes of Star Trek there are. This list will divide the franchise into different categories to show just how long it takes to watch them. This way, consuming the entire Star Trek saga won't seem so intimidating after all.

Updated by Robert Vaux on June 8, 2024: Star Trek stands at something of a crossroads with Discovery finishing its five-season run and Lower Decks preparing for its fifth and final season. Despite that, the franchise has a very bright future, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds carrying the banner forward and projects like Star Trek: Section 31 in active production. The article has been updated to include information on ongoing Star Trek series, as well as new details on all of the entries in the franchise.

13 The Original Series Introduces Viewers to the Cast and Universe of Star Trek

Every star trek role played by clint howard, from tos to discovery.

Although Clint Howard has played four different roles across four eras of Star Trek, he's also the only actor to be on both TOS and Discovery to date.

For a series with so much significance in television and pop culture history, it's surprising to find out that Star Trek: The Original Series lasted for just 79 episodes over three seasons. Ironically, that's shorter than the "five-year mission" it touts in its opening credits. That was enough for it to enter syndication, however, which is where the bulk of its fans first discovered it.

Each TOS episode lasts around 50 minutes for a total of 3,950 minutes, meaning it will take just under 66 hours to watch them all uninterrupted. In other words, The Original Series can be finished in less than a week with constant binging. Even those who don't have that much time can finish watching the show in under a month by screening 2–3 episodes an evening. Unlike most subsequent Star Trek series, TOS episodes are designed to be interchangeable, so switching the viewing order won't disrupt any larger plot threads.

Star Trek: The Original Series

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

12 The Next Generation Found an Audience Starved for Science Fiction

Star Trek: The Next Generation was so successful during its seven-season run that it's arguably more popular today than The Original Series . It successfully released the series from covering the exploits of just one crew, and cemented the formula that every Star Trek series since then has followed. The Next Generation 's episode count topped its predecessor by almost a hundred for a total of 178 episodes, each with an approximately 44-minute runtime.

That adds up to a series total of 7,832 minutes or 130.5 hours — just under five and half days . If the viewer is free from work for about two weeks, The Next Generation series can be completed with ease. While it adopts a more formal structure than TOS -- with the characters advancing in age and experience from season to season -- most of its episodes are either stand-alone, or one of a two-part arc, making them very easy to enjoy in small 1-2 episode doses.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

11 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Proved There Was Room for Multiple Star Trek Series

How star trek: discovery's trill story connects to dax on deep space nine.

Star Trek: Discovery returned to the Trill home world in Season 5 for a mission with a symbiont host that connects to Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine.

Near the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's run, Paramount created another series that could run alongside it. The new series broke from Star Trek tradition by being set on a space station, Deep Space 9, that connected the Federation to the Milky Way galaxy. It explored the darker side of the Final Frontier, culminating in the terrible threat of the Dominion War that forced the entire Alpha Quadrant to stand together.

Another breakout success, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ran for another seven seasons from 1993 to 1999. Those seven seasons, comprise 176 episodes, each running an average 45 minutes. That's a grand total of 7920 minutes or exactly 132 hours. People willing to watch five episodes a night could likely finish it within a month's time. Deep Space Nine was the first Star Trek series to embrace longer and more complicated plot arcs. Viewers should be prepared for longer binges, or else break big story lines down into multiple viewing sessions.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

In the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, the Federation space station Deep Space Nine guards the opening of a stable wormhole to the far side of the galaxy.

10 Star Trek Voyager Continued To Break From Traditions

Star Trek: Voyager took over after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, ensuring there were still two Star Trek series on the air. The series went back to setting the series on the starship Voyager. T he Voyager is run by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew,) the franchise's first female lead , who aims to get her people home after being stranded. It took big risks on wild story lines, resulting in some of the saga's best episodes as well as its most bizarre.

Star Trek Voyager was another success for Paramount and their new network UPN, running for seven seasons. Like the prior show, each episode ran 45 minutes. At 172 episodes, that places the full series runtime at 7,740 minutes or 129 hours. This is another series that would require roughly a month of binging to get through. Its format is reasonably loose, however, and individual episodes can be readily watched without having to commit to anything more in a single viewing.

Star Trek Voyager

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

9 Star Trek: Enterprise Is Star Trek's Last TV Series for Over a Decade

After running multiple Star Trek television series throughout the '90s, the franchise was gradually beginning to cool off. Finally, Paramount launched one more series, Star Trek: Enterprise . Unlike the others, Enterprise was intended as a prequel even to the original series. It followed Earth's first attempt at trying to make First Contact with other alien races. Led by Scott Bakula's Captain Archer, the first U.S.S. Enterprise paved the way for the founding of the United Federation of Planets.

Star Trek: Enterprise didn't quite have the same popularity that the other series did, and was hobbled by behind-the-scenes developments that had little to do with the show itself. Instead, it ran for four seasons and only 98 episodes. At 42 minutes an episode, that adds up to 4116 minutes, or 68.6 hours. That means it can be viewed in less time than the previous three Star Trek series, though it makes use of longer plot threads, and fans may need to plan for longer binges to get through them.

Star Trek: Enterprise

A century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.

8 Short Treks Offers Mini Side Stories

Some stories within the Star Trek universe don't need a full forty or fifty minutes to reach a satisfying conclusion. With that in mind, Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman launched Star Trek: Short Treks . Running alongside Star Trek: Discovery , Short Treks gives viewers a chance for smaller stories to check out.

The project began back in 2018 with a season of four episodes, while a second season launched a year later with six episodes. The shows run from 8 to 18 minutes, and with only ten episodes, there are only 150 minutes so far . Fans can check that out in a single weekend. They're designed for easy single viewing sessions as well, and can even be added as riders to episodes of Discovery .

7 Star Trek: Picard Revisits Many of the Ideas From TNG

After years of fans watching stories about new characters, the new era of Star Trek finally decided to revisit an older era. In 2020, Star Trek: Picard decided to tell the first new story with Admiral Jean-Luc Picard since the Star Trek: The Next Generation films. Initially, Picard worked with a new cast that wasn't connected to the original series, but across the show, more of the classic characters were gradually added back in.

Star Trek: Picard ran for three seasons from 2020 to 2023, with ten episodes in each season for a total of thirty episodes. Episode lengths varied wildly since the series was on CBS All Access and could go from 39 minutes to 62 minutes. The full minute count, though, is 1350 minutes, or 22.5 hours. That's basically one solid weekend of marathoning or a week of leisurely watching episodes. Like Star Trek: Discovery , each season of Picard is based around a single large story line: allowing for single-season binges of about 10 hours apiece.

Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

6 Animated Star Trek Series Have Become an Important Part of Star Trek

'hopefully we find a new home': jack quaid reacts to star trek: lower decks ending at paramount+.

Star Trek: Lower Decks' Jack Quaid laments the show ending while deeming himself "unbelievably grateful" for the chance to star in this world.

Star Trek: The Animated Series only lasted for two seasons in the early 1970s, releasing 22 episodes that were each 24 minutes long. Franchise creator Gene Roddenberry initially disowned the series -- making it hard to find for many years -- though it has since rejoined canon and now serves as the de facto fourth and fifth years of the original Enterprise's five-year mission. The Animated Series is only 528 minutes long or just under 9 hours. The whole series can be watched in just a single day, and individual episodes can be viewed as riders alongside TOS episodes.

Star Trek: Lower Decks premiered its first season in 2020 with 10 episodes. Each episode is 25 minutes long, totaling 250 minutes, meaning that the entire first season can be watched in just over four hours. Seasons 2 through 4 of Lower Decks also have 10 episodes each, making the total runtime around 1000 minutes. A final fifth season is planned, which will likely bring the total runtime up to around 1250 minutes or so. In addition, Very Short Treks is the most recent animated Star Trek series with five episodes, each running about 10-15 minutes long. All three animated series combined would take just under 1600 minutes or just under 27 hours.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

The support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, have to keep up with their duties, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.

5 Currently Active Star Trek Series Continue To Expand Star Trek's Universe

At present, there are only three Star Trek series that are still running: Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . The first season of Prodigy is already out: 20 episodes amounting to a total of 480 minutes or 8 hours. A second (and presumably final) season is due in the summer of 2024, with another 20 episodes and another 480 minutes assumed in totem. That will boost the screening time for the entire series to 16 hours, or a single long day of binging.

Star Trek: Discovery has just completed its fifth and final season, leaving 65 episodes in its count with a total running time of 3,138 minutes or 52.3 hours . Episode lengths vary widely, as is typical in the streaming era, but average about 45 minutes apiece. Discovery uses season-long plot arcs the same way Picard does (it was originally conceived as an anthology series), and viewers who wish can comfortably binge a single season in a single day's viewing without trouble.

Finally, Strange New Worlds has two seasons with ten episodes in each, running a total of 1,082 minutes or a touch over 18 hours . That's short enough for a single-day binge. (A third season is on the way, which will add about another 9 hours to the total running time once complete.) Strange New Worlds emphasizes stand-alone episodes, making it very good for short viewing sessions of one or two episodes apiece.

Star Trek: Discovery

4 star trek: tos films gave the original series cast a comeback.

Ten years following the end of The Original Series , the adventures of Captain Kirk continued on the big screen. The TOS movies proved to be vital parts of the franchise, including such key moments as the death (and resurrection) of Mr. Spock and the original cast's formal good-bye at the end of the six-movie run.

Running times reflect the theatrical release of each movie, and may extend slightly, depending on whether any extended or alternate cuts are being viewed. Star Trek: The Motion Picture has a run time of 132 minutes. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , universally considered the best film in the franchise, is 113 minutes long. The Leonard Nimoy-directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is 105 minutes, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is 122 minutes. William Shatner's Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is 106 minutes, and Nicholas Meyer's The Undiscovered Country has a 110-minute running time. Overall, the original film series clocks in at a total of 688 minutes, which equals 11 hours and 28 minutes.

3 Star Trek: TNG Movies Offer a Sense of Scale to the New Era

The Next Generation did not have the same big-screen success as the original series but made four films following the end of the show. The first film, Star Trek Generations , featured both Picard and Kirk and is 118 minutes long. The best-reviewed of the films, Star Trek: First Contact , clocks in at 111 minutes, Star Trek: Insurrection is shorter at 103 minutes, and the last film, Star Trek: Nemesis , is 116 minutes long.

The four Next Generation films combined run at a total of 448 minutes, equaling 7 hours and 28 minutes. Binging all four movies can be done within the span of a single day, though their varying quality may induce some viewers to break them down into shorter viewing periods.

2 The Kelvin Timeline Movie Series Press the Reset Button on the Series

Star trek is getting a kelvinverse origin, but why are fans skeptical.

Star Wars veteran Simon Kinberg has been added to an upcoming origin movie for Star Trek and the Kelvin Timeline universe, but fans aren't pleased.

The most recent movie series, known as The Kelvin Timeline films, takes place in an alternate reality featuring the crew from The Original Series. It was created when Spock attempted to stop the Romulan sun from going supernova and exists in a parallel-but-separate timeline from the rest of the series. It's credited with keeping the franchise going during the extended gap in TV series between the end of Star Trek: Enterprise and the beginning of Star Trek: Discovery .

The Kelvin movie franchise consists of three films, with each film varying in length. 2009's Star Trek runs 127 minutes, the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness is just five minutes longer at 132, and the latest film, Star Trek Beyond , is actually the shortest at 122 minutes. The film trilogy totals 381 minutes, or 6 hours and 21 minutes. New Trekkies can finish this trilogy very quickly.

1 How Many Hours of Star Trek Are There?

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All 13 Star Trek films have a combined total of 25 hours and 28 minutes, or just over a full day. Every single television series, both currently airing and retired, totals up to around 48,700 minutes, which is approximately 812 hours or 33.8 days. Every series and movie combined totals 837.5 hours, meaning it will take 34.9 days to watch them all uninterrupted.

Obviously, watching them all consecutively is impossible, but realistically, watching everything in the Star Trek franchise could take less than half a year. This doesn't even include upcoming movies like Star Trek 4 and new seasons for existing series. For those who believe this beloved universe is worth investing over 50,200 minutes, it's time to boldly go where only die-hard Trekkies have gone before.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

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The Best Sci-Fi TV Shows and Movies Inspired by Star Trek

From classic space adventures to parodies to stories about loving Star Trek, these are the best TV series and movies inspired by the Final Frontier.

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Star Trek is one of best and most well-known science fiction franchises of all time, so it’s no surprise that it’s had a huge influence on the rest of the genre. From other space-faring adventures to distant worlds to straight up parodies of the Enterprise and its crew, there are plenty of shows and movies that owe a bit to Gene Roddenberry ‘s creation.

This is not a list of every single show or film that has been inspired by Star Trek because that list would cover a pretty good proportion of sci-fi on screen since 1966. But if you want to watch something Star Trek -adjacent, we’ve picked out 10 of our favorite shows and movies that were, to a greater or lesser degree, inspired by Star Trek .

Back in 1998, BBC 2 ran a Red Dwarf Night featuring interviews with celebrity fans, one of whom was Patrick Stewart. Stewart talked about how he was channel hopping (remember that, fellow oldies?) one night around 1993 or 1994 and came across something that, to his own “horror and outrage”, appeared to be a “rip-off” of Star Trek: The Next Generation . He was reaching for the phone to call his lawyer, “when something happened that made me laugh – and it was something that certainly would not have happened on The Next Generation .” Stewart realized the show was a comedy, not a cheap rip-off, started laughing, and became a fan.

Red Dwarf actually started around the same time as Next Gen , both being developed from 1986, though Red Dwarf was delayed in getting to air until 1988 due to an electricians’ strike. Following the misadventures of the last human being alive as he embarks on a 3 million year journey to get back to Earth, the series combines elements of a few different space-set shows and films, including Silent Running and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , but there is clearly a hefty dose of Star Trek: The Original Series in there. As time went on, more and more Next Generation crept in as well, especially with the addition of android crewmember Kryten as a full time cast member in Series 3.

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Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1 was spun off from the 1994 Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich film Stargate , and the basic premise comes directly from that film: a US Air Force team go through a mysterious gate found in Egypt to another planet – or, in the case of the TV show, lots of other planets. When the show was adapted for television, although it did not feature many spaceships until later seasons, it did start to draw on the well-established tropes of Planet of the Week style space opera that Star Trek helped to popularize. The tortured military hero gained a wise-cracking style to suit star Richard Dean Anderson that aligned him more with “always a joke at the end of the episode” Kirk, the typical 1990s-nerdy Egyptologist slowly became more of a respected expert who sneezed less often, and more importantly the team gained a woman who was not sold to the Egyptology nerd in marriage (yes that is really the plot of the movie and yes, she calls him out on it) and a stoic alien.

The addition of Teal’c is where we can really see the influence of Star Trek creeping in because Teal’c is basically the love child of Spock and Worf, in the best way. He is extremely calm and composed – he has very deep emotions, but he keeps them under the surface and meditates frequently. He is also quite fond of a raised eyebrow. The “scientist” position on the team was already taken by Carter, so Teal’c fulfills the “warrior” role. Standing out as a warrior in a military setting is quite the task, but like Worf, Teal’c’s “honorable warrior” approach and fondess for his own culture’s weapons marks him out as a warrior among warriors.

Futurama follows Philip J Fry, who accidentally falls into a cryogenic freezer on New Year’s Day in 2000 and wakes up on December 31, 2999 (and leaves his dog behind, in quite possibly the most traumatic episode of television ever made). Fry finds work with his distant nephew (an elderly man) at a delivery company called Planet Express. Being a science fiction comedy set in a future full of spaceships, there are of course references to Star Trek scattered throughout, and the short-skirted, egotistical, womanizing recurring character Captain Zapp Brannigan clearly has more than a bit of Kirk in him.

Futurama also incorporated Star Trek into its stories more directly on occasion. The show’s very first guest star was Leonard Nimoy as his own cryogenically preserved head, welcoming Fry to the Head Museum (a regular feature on the series). And later there was a whole episode dedicated to Star Trek itself, “Where No Fan Has Gone Before.” In this episode, Fry discovers that Star Trek inspired a whole religion, which led to the Star Trek Wars, which led to the show and everything associated with it being banned. But a powerful alien being has watched the whole show, and has given the preserved heads of most of the original actors new bodies so they can participate in an eternal Star Trek convention. It’s a loving, joyous send-up of the show and features all but one of the then-surviving original cast members plus, inevitably, Jonathan Frakes, because every spin-off of Star Trek in any form must feature Jonathan Frakes in some role. This is the Rule.

Battlestar Galactica (reboot)

Battlestar Galactica 2003/4 – 2009 is a reimagining of the original 1979 series Battlestar Galactica , so needless to say its main point of reference is that show (though the original has some connections with Star Trek as well, as we covered here ). But it was also developed, executive produced, and had many episodes written by Ronald D. Moore, who first earned his stripes as a writer on The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and briefly on Voyager before his working relationship with his writing partner Brannon Braga broke down and he left.

While in many ways Battlestar Galactica was deliberately the anti- Star Trek – featuring a somewhat grimmer world view and an even higher body count – it also had many similarities, inevitably, since they are both set on space ships and led by a ship’s Captain or Commander. But Moore also emphasized some of the most interesting themes of 1990s Star Trek in his noughties version of BSG . Having left Voyager after only a couple of episodes, he obviously felt he had more to say about a spaceship on a long journey to get to Earth. And he had done a lot of work on Deep Space Nine , at the time the grittiest Star Trek series (possibly overtaken by Discovery or Picard since then– argue that out in the comments!). DS9 ’s penchant for morally gray characters and storylines and for stories based around a mysterious alien religion is clearly reflected in the themes emphasized by Moore’s reimagining of Battlestar Galactica .

Firefly/Serenity

Firefly (and its follow-up movie Serenity ) is another show that, on the surface, seems to be deliberately doing something different to Star Trek . Set in the future and following the crew of a spaceship, it has a Western-inspired vibe. The ship has a courtesan and a mercenary on board, and the use of Chinese phrases scattered among the English seems to be a reaction against the perceived tendency of Star Trek and other series to make the future look very American (somewhat unfairly, and Uhura’s native language is very specifically established as Swahili in “The Changeling,” although she is admonished and told to speak English which is especially odd as they all have Universal Translators… but we digress).

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But actually, Firefly is very directly inspired by Star Trek , which was famously conceived by Gene Roddenberry as a “wagon train to the stars.” Its even more famous tag line describes space as “the final frontier,” clearly positioning the show as basically a Western in space. Firefly takes that basic idea but goes in a different direction with it. Instead of focusing on the exploration aspect of the movement of immigrants to America ever further west in the 19th century, Firefly picks up on other elements of Westerns and Western tropes – particularly the lawlessness in a frontier environment with minimal law enforcement. It is the yin to Star Trek ’s yang.

WALL-E ’s most obvious and immediate inspirations are the films Silent Running and 2001: A Space Odyssey , but if you look closely, there is a good bit of Star Trek in there as well. It is, of course, largely set on a spaceship and one of the main characters is the ship’s captain – so far, so superficial.

But there are deeper connections to Star Trek here. One of the things that is notable about WALL-E is just how good and well-intentioned all the future human characters are. The present-day human character played by Fred Willard, and by implication all the other present-day humans, are somewhat terrible, but all of the future humans we meet are good people who are open to new experiences when they are exposed to them. Their sedentary, passive lifestyles are simply what they have been taught and brought up with. The simplest and briefest exposure to the world around them, even just by being accidentally toppled out of their mobile chairs, sets them off on a journey of discovery, and the ship’s captain is thrilled and excited to learn more about Earth and about his own ship’s true mission. That attitude is pure Star Trek – a passion for discovery and exploration, even when it is one that ultimately leads back to Earth again.

The Orville

There was a point, around 2017-2019, when The Orville was famous for being more like Star Trek than Star Trek . This is not meant – by us anyway – as a criticism of Star Trek: Discovery , which is a great show. But in its first two seasons, Discovery deliberately leaned away from some of the Star Trek series that had come before, following a disgraced former mutineer instead of a Captain or Commander, featuring a morally dubious Captain who actually turned out to be “evil,” focusing on war and trauma, and using arc-based instead of episodic storytelling. It was pretty similar to Deep Space Nine in many ways, but for fans of the more upbeat, Planet of the Week, episodic storytelling of the Original Series , The Next Generation , or Voyager , it was a bit of a shock ( Star Trek: Enterprise , like Discovery , re-tooled itself somewhat halfway through).

The Orville , on the other hand, basically is Star Trek in the 1990s mold of Next Gen or Voyager . Seven episodes of the show were actually written by Brannon Braga with his new writing partner, former scientific consultant on Star Trek , André Bormanis. And yes, writers are of course capable of writing different things, but although The Orville started out as a Star Trek spoof, pretty much the only difference between the two by season 3 is that people on the Orville sometimes eat pot brownies.

The show also stars Deep Space Nine ’s Penny Johnson Jerald in a regular role as the ship’s doctor, and has guest-starred Next Gen ’s Marina Sirtis, Voyager’ s Robert Picardo and Tim Russ, and Enterprise ’s John Billingsley, and the show’s directors include Star Trek ’s Brannon Braga, Robert Duncan McNeill and, of course, Jonathan Frakes. So it must be Star Trek .

Avenue 5 is a sadly short-lived science fiction comedy that blends elements of Voyager , Red Dwarf , and WALL-E . It takes from Red Dwarf and Voyager the basic plot that a spaceship has ended up a long way from home, and an essential crew member has been killed and must somehow be replaced. It then adds a well-meaning Captain who was only ever intended to be a figurehead, and not to actually run the ship, from WALL-E . Hilarity – and some surprisingly shocking deaths – ensue.

Although the somewhat less than inspirational characters skew closer to Red Dwarf , Battlestar Galactica , or Firefly , Avenue 5 shows its Star Trek side pretty clearly in the hiring of Voyager ’s Ethan Phillips (Neelix) as former astronaut Spike Martin. It also features an entire plot line built around the ability to split the ship into two, a clear reference to one of the Enterprise -D’s most famous (and least used) features.

Avengers: Endgame

This one is probably the biggest surprise on this list. Granted, it does feature spaceships and space travel, but as a big budget superhero film, it does not obviously have much in common with space opera.

What connects the second-highest grossing film of all time with Star Trek is the importance of the ensemble and the relationship between a group and its leader. Kevin Feige has mentioned a couple of times (both times speaking to Entertainment Weekly ) that he loves The Next Generation and that he had its final episode “All Good Things” in mind when developing Avengers: Endgame . “All Good Things” (written by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore) has some time-hopping going on that is not dissimilar to Endgame , but Feige talked specifically about the very last scene, when Picard finally sits down to play poker with his senior officers. That relationship between the Captain and his crew and them all coming together, just like the shawarma-based post-credits in the first Avengers film, is what Feige really wanted to take from Star Trek and incorporate into the MCU.

The film also takes its title from the final episode of Voyager and directly lifts its closing images featuring the autographs of the actors playing the six main characters from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , the final film focusing on the original Star Trek crew played by their original actors, symbolizing its similar position as a grand ending to the earliest phase of a franchise.

Galaxy Quest

We’re finishing with a film and a show that are not just “inspired by” Star Trek – to all intents and purposes, they are Star Trek , or very nearly. The premise for 1999’s Galaxy Quest is that aliens have been watching a Star Trek -like show and mistaken it for “historical documents,” so when they find themselves facing an enemy they can’t defeat, they crash a convention to ask the “crew” of the NSEA Protector for help. With a cast led by Tim Allen (a perfect Shatner-a-like), Sigourney Weaver (of course), and Alan Rickman (whose sad passing is the reason a proposed TV show never got off the ground), the resulting story is hilarious, heart-warming, and heart-breaking in equal amounts.

Galaxy Quest is perfect. It just is. If you are a Star Trek fan and you haven’t seen it, why not? Go and watch it immediately! You will never be able to watch an episode of Star Trek without quoting a line from Galaxy Quest ever again (especially not the Original Series episode “Arena”). Hear yourself constantly saying, “I’m the guy that dies to show the situation is serious!” “Quick, let’s get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!” “Does the rolling help?” “I see you managed to get your shirt off,” “Whoever wrote this episode should die!” and of course, “That’s not right!” And I know I just spoiled several of the funniest lines, but go and watch it anyway, I promise it’s worth it.

Juliette Harrisson | @ClassicalJG

Juliette Harrisson is a writer and historian, and a lifelong Trekkie whose childhood heroes were JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. She runs a YouTube channel called…

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Star trek unveils the breen's terrifying ultimate weapon, the chimera.

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Star Trek Confirms the Most Feared Species in the Galaxy & It'll Blow Your Mind

20 best episodes of star trek in tv history, ranked, star trek officially confirms [spoiler] is a scotty-level engineer.

• The Breen have evolved from a running joke to a serious threat in the Star Trek universe.
• The mysterious Chimera super weapon poses a significant danger to the Federation.
• Starfleet is taking the threat of the Breen and their powerful new weapon very seriously.

Warning: contains spoilers for Sons of Star Trek #3!

The Breen have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Star Trek universe, and now they have unleashed the Chimera , their massive super weapon. In the alternate universe of Sons of Star Trek , the Federation is fighting a costly war with the Breen and issue three reveals the mysterious race is working on a fearsome new weapon that could end the war for good.

Sons of Star Trek #3 is written by Morgan Hampton and drawn by Angel Hernandez. Nog is trying to return to his home universe, while at the same time helping the USS Avery fight off a Breen attack. Helping him is Lieutenant Shaw , who tells Nog the Chimera is on its way. The Chimera is a Breen super weapon cloaked in mystery: everyone who sees it does not live to report it.

The Chimera is rumored to consist of a Breen ship augmented by captured Starfleet warp cores.

The Breen Started as a Running Joke--Then It Became Serious

The breen's powerful weaponry is no laughing matter.

The Breen began as something of a running joke in the Star Trek universe. They were mentioned for many years in different shows, with the implication that they were a hostile race. A sole Breen debuted during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s fourth season. During the show’s seventh season, the Breen allied themselves with the Dominion. Their entry late into the war, coupled with weapons that could drain energy, nearly cost the Federation. The Breen were one of the few races to successfully attack Earth. The Breen are still considered a threat as late as the 32nd century.

The Breen were first mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Loss."

Shaw acknowledges that what is known about the Chimera comes from rumors and hearsay, and given the Breen’s secretive nature, this is only fitting. The Breen were first mentioned during Star Trek: The Next Generation’s fourth season. By the time they appeared on-screen a few years later, the Breen had already built a reputation both in the show and throughout the Star Trek universe as a mysterious, but powerful, race. Their actions during the Dominion War cost many lives, and they showed no mercy and performed no penance for what they did.

The Star Trek franchise is full of terrifying species, but as revealed in issue 19 of IDW's new ongoing, there is one that inspires the most fear.

The Chimera Will Establish the Breen as a True Galactic Super Power

The breen have effectively weaponized that which makes them scary.

The Chimera might prove to be the Breen’s moment of triumph. While the weapon remains an enigma, it is clear Starfleet is already taking the threat of it seriously. The Breen have weaponized their reputations for mystery, and the Chimera is taking full advantage of it. By keeping the Chimera’s specifics under wraps, the Breen is committing a potential psy-op against the Federation. It is possible the Chimera is a powerful weapon, but may not live up to the hype. Regardless, the Breen has the Star Trek universe running scared at the prospect of the Chimera, their new super weapon.

Sons of Star Trek #3 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!

Inside the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Series Finale: The Last-Minute Coda, the Surprise Easter Eggs, and What Season 6 Would Have Been About (EXCLUSIVE)

SPOILER WARNING: This story includes descriptions of major plot developments on the series finale of “ Star Trek : Discovery,” currently streaming on Paramount+ .

Watching the fifth and final season of “ Star Trek: Discovery ” has been an exercise in the uncanny. Paramount+ didn’t announce that the show was ending until after the Season 5 finale had wrapped filming — no one involved with the show knew it would be its concluding voyage when they were making it. And yet, the season has unfolded with a pervasive feeling of culmination. 

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“I think there’s more to it than just, ‘Oh, it was a coinkydink!’” the actor says with a laugh, before explaining that she’s thinking more about subtext than direct intent. “I’ve gotta give Michelle her flowers. She has always asked the deeper questions of this story and these characters. Those questions of meaning and purpose led to questions of origin and legacy, and, yes, that is quite culminating.”

Martin-Green and Paradise spoke exclusively with Variety about filming the finale and the coda, including the surprising revelation about the origins of one of “Discovery’s” most memorable characters and what Paradise’s plans for Season 6 would have been.

“It’s the Most Complicated Thing I’ve Ever Seen”

Once the “Discovery” writers’ room decided the season would be organized around a search for the Progenitor’s technology, they also knew that, eventually, Burnham would find it. So then they had to figure out what it would be.

“That was a discussion that evolved over the course of weeks and months,” Paradise says. Rather than focus on communicating the intricate details of how the technology works, they turned their attention to delivering a visual experience commensurate with the enormity and complexity of something that could seed life across the entire galaxy.

“We wanted a sense of a smaller exterior and an infinite interior to help with that sense of power greater than us,” Paradise says. Inspired in part by a drawing by MC Escher, the production created an environment surrounded by towering windows into a seemingly endless procession of alien planets, in which it’s just as easy to walk on the walls as on the floor. That made for a daunting challenge for the show’s producing director, Olatunde “Tunde” Osunsanmi: As Burnham battles with the season’s main antagonist, Mol (Eve Harlow), inside this volume, they fall through different windows into another world, and the laws of gravity keep shifting between their feet.

“It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen, directorially,” Paradise says. “Tunde had a map, in terms of: What did the background look like? And when the cameras this way, what’s over there? It was it was incredibly complex to design and shoot.”

Two of those planets — one in perpetual darkness and rainstorms, another consumed by constant fire — were shot on different parking areas on the Pinewood Toronto studio lot.

“The fire planet was so bright that the fire department got called from someone who had seen the fire,” Paradise says. “It should not be possible to pull those kinds of things off in a television show, even on a bigger budget show, with the time limitations that you have. And yet, every episode of every season, we’re still coming in on time and on budget. The rain planet and the fire planet we shot, I believe, one day after the other.”

Martin-Green jumps in: “Michelle, I think that was actually the same day!”

“It Felt Lifted”

The last time a “Star Trek” captain talked to a being that could be (erroneously) considered God, it was William Shatner’s James T. Kirk in 1989’s “Star Trek: The Final Frontier.” The encounter did not go well.

“I had my own journey with the central storyline of Season 5, just as a believer,” Martin-Green says. “I felt a similar way that Burnham did. They’re in this sort of liminal mind space, and it almost felt that way to me. It felt lifted. It really did feel like she and I were the only two people in this moment.”

It’s in this conversation that Burnham learns that while the Progenitors did create all “humanoid” alien species in the galaxy in their image, they did not create the technology that allowed them to do so. They found it, fully formed, created by beings utterly unknown to them. The revelation was something that Martin-Green discussed with Paradise early on in the planning of Season 5, allowing “Discovery” to leave perhaps the most profound question one could ask — what, or who, came first in the cosmos? — unanswered.

“The progenitor is not be the be all end all of it,” Paradise says. “We’re not saying this is God with a capital ‘G.’”

“There’s Just This Air of Mystery About Him”

Starting on Season 3 of “Discovery,” renowned filmmaker David Cronenberg began moonlighting in a recurring role as Dr. Kovich, a shadowy Federation operative whose backstory has been heretofore undisclosed on the show.

“I love the way he plays Kovich,” Paradise says of Cronenberg. “There’s just this air of mystery about him. We’ve always wanted to know more.” When planning Season 5, one of the writers pitched revealing Kovich’s true identity in the (then-season) finale by harkening back to the “Star Trek” show that preceded “Discovery”: “Enterprise,” which ran on UPN from 2001 to 2005.

In the final episode, when Burnham debriefs her experiences with Kovich, she presses him to tell her who he really is. He reintroduces himself as Agent Daniels, a character first introduced on “Enterprise” as a young man (played by Matt Winston) and a Federation operative in the temporal cold war. 

This is, to be sure, a deep cut even for “Star Trek” fans. (Neither Cronenberg nor Martin-Green, for example, understood the reference.) But Paradise says they were laying the groundwork for the reveal from the beginning of the season. “If you watch Season 5 with that in mind, you can see the a little things that we’ve played with along the way,” she says, including Kovich/Daniels’ penchant for anachonistic throwbacks like real paper and neckties.

“I didn’t know that that was going be there,” Martin-Green says. “My whole childhood came back to me.”

“We Always Knew That We Wanted to Somehow Tie That Back Up”

Originally, Season 5 of “Discovery” ends with Burnham and Book talking on the beach outside the wedding of Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) before transporting away to their next adventure. But Paradise understood that the episode needed something more conclusive once it became the series finale. The question was what.

There were some significant guardrails around what they could accomplish. The production team had only eight weeks from when Paramout+ and CBS Studios signed off on the epilogue to when they had to shoot it. Fortunately, the bridge set hadn’t been struck yet (though several standing sets already had been). And the budget allowed only for three days of production.

Then there was “Calypso.” 

To fill up the long stretches between the first three seasons of “Discovery,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ greenlit a series of 10 stand-alone episodes, dubbed “Short Treks,” that covered a wide variety of storylines and topics. The second “Short Trek” — titled “Calypso” and co-written by novelist Michael Chabon — first streamed between Season 1 and 2 in November 2018. It focuses on a single character named Craft (Aldis Hodge), who is rescued by the USS Discovery after the starship — and its now-sentient computer system, Zora (Annabelle Wallis) — has sat totally vacant for 1,000 years in the same fixed point in space. How the Discovery got there, and why it was empty for so long, were left to the viewer’s imagination. 

Still, for a show that had only just started its run, “Calypso” had already made a bold promise for “Discovery’s” endgame — one the producers had every intention of keeping.

“We always knew that we wanted to somehow tie that back up,” says Paradise, who joined the writers’ room in Season 2, and became showrunner starting with Season 3. “We never wanted ‘Calypso’ to be the dangling Chad.”

So much so, in fact, that, as the show began winding down production on Season 5, Paradise had started planning to make “Calypso” the central narrative engine for Season 6. 

“The story, nascent as it was, was eventually going to be tying that thread up and connecting ‘Discovery’ back with ‘Calypso,’” she says.

Once having a sixth season was no longer an option, Paradise knew that resolving the “Calypso” question was non-negotiable. “OK, well, we’re not going to have a season to do that,” she says. “So how do we do that elegantly in this very short period of time?”

“I Feel Like It Ends the Way It Needed to End”

Resolving “Calypso” provided the storytelling foundation for the epilogue, but everything else was about giving its characters one final goodbye.

“We want to know what’s happening to Burnham, first and foremost,” Paradise says. “And we knew we wanted to see the cast again.”

For the latter, Paradise and Jarrow devised a conceit that an older Burnham, seated in the captain’s chair on Discovery, imagines herself surrounded by her crew 30 years prior, so she (and the audience) could connect with them one final time. For the former, the makeup team designed prosthetics to age up Martin-Green and Ajala by 30 years — “I think they were tested as they were running on to the set,” Paradise says with a laugh — to illustrate Burnham and Book’s long and happy marriage together.

Most crucially, Paradise cut a few lines of Burnham’s dialogue with Book from the original Season 5 finale and moved it to a conversation she has with her son in the coda. The scene — which evokes the episode’s title, “Life Itself” — serves as both a culminating statement of purpose for “Discovery” and the overarching compassion and humanity of “Star Trek” as a whole.

To reassure her son about his first command of a starship, Burnham recalls when the ancient Progenitor asked what was most meaningful to her. “Do you know how you would answer that question now?” he asks.

“Yeah, just being here,” Burnham replies. “You know, sometimes life itself is meaning enough, how we choose to spend the time that we have, who we spend it with: You, Book, and the family I found in Starfleet, on Discovery.”

Martin-Green relished the opportunity to revisit the character she’s played for seven years when she’s reached the pinnacle of her life and career. “You just get to see this manifestation of legacy in this beautiful way,” she says. “I will also say that I look a lot like my mom, and that was that was also a gift, to be able to see her.”

Shooting the goodbye with the rest of her cast was emotional, unsurprisingly, but it led Martin-Green to an unexpected understanding. “It actually was so charged that it was probably easier that it was only those three days that we knew it was the end, and not the entirety of season,” she says.

Similarly, Paradise says she’s “not sure” what more she would’ve done had there been more time to shoot the coda. “I truly don’t feel like we missed out on something by not having one more day,” she says. “I feel like it ends the way it needed to end.”

Still, getting everything done in just three days was no small feat, either. “I mean, we worked ’round the clock,” Martin-Green says with a deep laugh. “We were delirious by the end — but man, what a way to end it.”

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'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Review: The Enterprise Crew Is Back and Bolder Than Ever

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'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Review: A Bigger, Bloodier Return That Could Overshadow 'Game of Thrones'

'presumed innocent' review: don't write off this twisty, seductive legal thriller, this sci-fi series brought leonard nimoy out of retirement.

Star Trek has a long and storied history of boldly going to new and glorious heights in the sci-fi genre, and Strange New Worlds Season 2 is set to do just that with the show's return. The prequel series debuted last year with a spectacular first season following Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ) and the crew of the USS Enterprise, roughly a decade before the events of The Original Series , and the first six episodes of Season 2 are even bigger and better than that strong start.

The first half of Strange New Worlds Season 2 takes full advantage of the series' episodic storytelling to offer up unique and captivating one-hour adventures. In Season 2, every episode feels like its own mini-movie, optimizing the show's streaming runtime and covering every genre from tense courtroom drama to romantic comedies through a brilliant Star Trek lens. With Strange New Worlds , no two episodes are alike in a way that allows the show to feel extremely fresh and wildly entertaining from week to week. The characters themselves are consistent, and the shifting genres and storylines allow the actors to flex their range.

Though each episode is fairly self-contained, Season 2 also does a great job of picking up the threads left dangling after Season 1 as well as some from Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery . We learn where La'an's ( Christina Chong ) journey with the little girl they rescued takes her, and Una's (Romijn) Starfleet trial is on par with classic episodes like The Next Generation 's "Measure of a Man." Spock's unruly human emotions are a running thread that leads to some incredible comedic work from Ethan Peck as well as some delightful Original Series references. While Pike missed the Klingon war, there are members of his crew who certainly did not, and it's quite compelling to see the other side of that coin. The first episode of the season also features a dedication that will no doubt conjure emotions from longtime fans.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2: Celia Rose Gooding & Melissa Navia Reveal Their Favorite Episode

'Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Revels in the Power of Possibility

In Season 2, the Enterprise has gained a new crew member in the form of the legendary Carol Kane . Her energy invokes classic Star Trek while simultaneously feeling like something entirely unique within the franchise. The way by which she joins the crew of the Enterprise is equal parts unexpected and delightful, as she comes in to fill the role of Chief Engineer left open after the tragic passing of Hemmer ( Bruce Horak ) in Season 1. The playfully chaotic nature she brings is a marked difference from his stoic pacifism.

In each episode she's featured in, Kane gets to play into her comedy skills opposite some of the Enterprise's most straight-laced characters including Spock, La'an, and Una. Pairing her up with these characters is brilliant, and it makes for some true television magic each time. She's completely compelling, and you can't help but fall in love with Pelia's mischievous energy immediately. Strange New Worlds weaves in a fascinating backstory for her akin to The Next Generation 's Guinan ( Whoopi Goldberg ), making her one of the best new additions to the franchise in quite some time.

Of the returning cast, Peck is certainly the strongest stand-out, as he really gets to inject an impressive amount of nuance into his performance that would make Leonard Nimoy proud. Though Vulcans are known for suppressing their emotions, Peck really digs into his younger version of Spock's human nature through triumph, heartache, and even comedy. There are also more notes of romantic tension between Spock and Chapel ( Jess Bush ) and while it's true to The Original Series , Christine's story does suffer a little from primarily being about her love interest. However, she still earns several kick-ass scenes, particularly in the first episode of the season with Doctor M'Benga ( Babs Olusanmokun ), and she never loses her agency both on her own and in regard to Spock.

Mount and Romijn's Captain/First Officer dynamic feels richer and more lived in. There's a strong sense of the shared history between their characters, and they're both able to find a balance of emotional honesty and humor in their roles as the mom and dad of the ship. Mount's performance in particular makes Pike one of the best Starfleet captains to ever grace the bridge of the Enterprise. His good-natured Boy Scout instincts are still present, but he also gets to show a propensity for darkness that proves how deliberate his choice to lead with kindness and gentility really is. Meanwhile, the revelation of Una's Illyrian heritage allows her a new level of comfort aboard the Enterprise and a new level of camaraderie with the crew — but don't worry, she's still a stickler for protocol, which allows her to bump up against Kane's Pelia in very fun ways. Celia Rose Gooding does really fantastic work with Uhura once again, embodying the classic character while adding profound new layers of depth and emotion to her backstory. There's also more great character work and history for Melissa Navia 's swashbuckling helmsman Erica Ortegas, including more of the "why" behind Ortegas' dedication to her crew.

As teased in the trailer for Season 2, there is an episode in which La'an and Kirk ( Paul Wesley ) encounter a bit of time travel, and while saying anything more would venture too deeply into spoiler territory, it is easily one of the best Star Trek episodes I've ever seen. While many fans initially voiced concerns that Wesley's Kirk would take over the series following his appearance in the Season 1 finale , Season 2 does a great job of utilizing the character in a guest capacity that complements the Strange New Worlds crew beautifully. Wesley's Kirk is a near-perfect hybrid of the Kirks that came before him, blending inspiration from William Shatner and Chris Pine while putting his own twist on the character in a way that proves he's the right pick for this role.

As far as relationship dynamics and creating a satisfying balance for the show's stacked ensemble of characters, Season 2 improves upon the groundwork laid by the first season. Each of the connections established in Season 1 comes back in ways that move these characters forward, and each episode shifts the spotlight between various members of the crew in a way that doesn't leave anyone standing in the dark. The strength of the show's cast takes center stage right from the start of Season 2, as Pike and Una are pulled away into the storyline reserved for the second episode and Spock leads the rest of the crew on an absolute thrill ride in their absence. The only drawback here is that Strange New Worlds Season 2 only clocks in at 10 episodes, which feels like an insufficient amount of time with this story and these characters.

The Enterprise Can't Go to Warp Without an Outstanding Crew

This review would be incomplete without taking a moment to praise the incredible people behind these episodes : the writers. Strange New Worlds ' episodic nature allows for a variety of writers to tell vastly different stories. Showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman pen the premiere, which takes fans on a daring adventure that will have hearts pounding through its thrilling climax. Dana Horgan tackles the resolution to Una's fate in Starfleet in Episode 2 through a riveting courtroom drama. While I can't say much about the plot of the remaining episodes yet, David Reed who has also worked on The Magicians and The Boys , also delivers phenomenal work.

Other returning Strange New Worlds writers include Davy Perez , Bill Wolkoff , and Onitra Johnson . Johnson penned Season 1's acclaimed fairytale episode , while Perez was behind La'an's gorn backstory and Hemmer's farewell , and Wolkoff wrote some of Season 1's most tense moral quandaries. Kirsten Beyer , who has penned several beta canon Star Trek novels and comics and has writing credits on both Picard and Discovery , throws her name behind an episode, and Kathryn Lyn makes the jump from Lower Decks to inject a delightful dose of humor into Strange New Worlds Season 2.

Season 2 is also incredibly constructed with breathtaking visual effects that make every episode feel worthy of theatrical showings. The costume department also once again knocks it out of the park, continuing an impressive show of craftsmanship following Season 1's new uniform designs and fairytale fits from "The Elysian Kingdom." The first half of Season 2 boasts gorgeous undercover outfits for multiple occasions as well as a fresh take on the dress uniforms of this particular era of Starfleet.

Everything both in front of and behind the camera comes together for a bigger, better season that offers bold new adventures, grounded character work, and a true sense of wonder. Strange New Worlds Season 2 feels fresh and exciting, while also honoring every other Star Trek series that has come before it, in ways that will delight fans both new and old.

Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns on June 15, exclusively on Paramount+.

Our Rating:

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)

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Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Pulls It All Together For “Life, Itself”

| May 30, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 241 comments so far

“Life, Itself”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 10 – Debuted Thursday, May 30, 2024 Written by Kyle Jarrow & Michelle Paradise Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

A solid season finale ties things for the season plot and the characters, with a bonus bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion.

The Progenitors may be all-powerful, but would it have killed them to add some signage?

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“Let’s go get what we came for”

We are back at the binary black holes, the portal is out of reach of the Disco, there is no contact with the captain, the Breen dreadnaught is launching a swarm of fighters, and Primarch Tahal is one hour away from escalating things beyond any hope: just the kind of stakes and ticking clocks we expect for a finale. Inside the portal, Michael finds herself looking at a tunnel of seemingly infinite gateway windows she “cannot explain” to her tricorder, for posterity. She picks a bright light in the distance as her destination but when she notices an odd distortion, she is soon pulled through to a windswept desolate world and greeted by an angry Breen, who isn’t in a talking mood. After dispatching him and another Breen back in the tunnel, Moll shows up with some sarcastic praise, a bleeding wound, and a big gun. Michael offers a dermal regenerator as a peace offering. But soon enough they are at odds again, as Moll is willing to work with the Breen to use the tech to bring back L’ak and doesn’t trust the Feds. Michael has seen that dark future and isn’t going to let that happen, so cue the fight music and VFX as the pair punches and kicks their way through shifting gravities and multiple worlds like a TV-budget Christopher Nolan movie. Michael switches tactics, connecting emotionally over loss, giving Moll her personal promise to use the tech to bring back L’ak. (Remember Moll’s pattern buffer? Her heart is literally on her sleeve). Together the reluctant partnership heads off down the yellow brick road Progenitor tech tunnel.

Off to see the wizard?

“I have kind of a crazy idea”

Things are hectic on the Disco as Rayner realizes he can’t get to the portal and fight off the Breen at the same time, so Book volunteers to take a shuttle to grab the portal. Cleveland is given a short ticking clock before the black hole radiation will fry him but Dr. Culber volunteers to join anyway, as he has a weird feeling he is going to be needed. As they head off, Tilly hatches a plan involving a plasma cloud and the power of science. Back at Federation HQ, they need to divert the approaching Breen fleet, so Saru and Nhan volunteer to confront Tahal with an unarmed shuttle because for these Disco vets— and as the great Vin Diesel says —it’s all about family. They catch up with Tahal, who isn’t in the mood to have a nice chat and is curious why the Feds don’t want her finding out what’s going on with Runh’s old dreadnaught. Suru makes his first move, offering Tahal a Federation trade route through the L’Tar Nebula, which would give her an advantage over other Primarchs, but she rejects it. Nhan is nervous but Saru remains calm, even after being given 30 seconds to leave. The offer is rescinded after he calls Tahal a coward, then escalates to telling her he is a predator, she is his prey, and if she doesn’t take his deal, she will never get the Imperium throne. He now knows she already has hidden bases in L’Tar and his friends in the region will attack, diverting her attention and keeping her from winning the Breen faction war. She thinks he is crazy and bluffing but Saru compels her to look into his eyes and ask if she doesn’t see resolve. It works. Nhan is impressed: That’s some cold Kelpien cowboy diplomacy.

Sorry Commander Nhan, if one of us isn’t going to make it, I’m guessing it’s you.

“Every clue has prepared us for this”

To find their way through the endless tunnel of gateways, Michael starts thinking multidimensionally—like a Progenitor—and finds a new hidden vista, this time with flowers and a promising central dais. This whole place is the tech they have been looking for, and they are reminded of the danger as they pass a makeshift monument to the 24 th -century scientist who was killed trying to use it. The control interface is an unmarked scatter of triangles, and as the two debate how the “one between many” clue fits, when Michael can suddenly hear Book’s transmission. The distraction gives Moll a chance to knock the captain out before forming a pyramid on the interface, getting her zapped and pinned as the system wakes up with columns of energy. Outside, the portal draws matter from a black hole, impressive but not helpful to everyone out there. Tilly’s trick of blowing up the Breen fighters with a nearby plasma cloud works, and Book is ordered to grab the portal before the dreadnaught shows up, but he can’t get a tractor lock. Now Culber understands his mysterious drive to be there and relays the exact resonance frequency Book needs for the tractor beam… We’ll sort that out later. Michael wakes and pulls Moll off the pedestal, down but conscious. She works out the triangle puzzle (“one between many” means creating a larger triangle with the negative space, duh). She is rewarded by another transition and greeting from an actual extinct Progenitor, waiting to offer instructions… like Clippy , but with the power of creation. From what she heard from Book, Michael knows the portal is causing all sorts of dire problems, so the first thing is to shut it down. The Progenitor explains it is just powering up to perform its primary function: the creation of life, but it can’t bring back the dead, which is bad news for Moll and L’ak. Michael is concerned the tech can be used to create armies of destruction, but the Progenitor points to the evidence in the tunnel, all those gateways to worlds full of life. She then drops the big head-scratcher, the Progenitors didn’t create this thing, they found it. The Progenitors have progenitors? They are just part of a “cycle of creators and creations countless times over.” It’s progenitors all the way down. Mind Blown GIFs .

Let’s see what happens when I touch this invisible thing.

“It’s the right thing to do”

Tahal may have turned around, but she has sent a cloaked scout to see what’s going on. The Discovery crew can’t let that or the dreadnaught have access to the Progenitor tech, so Rayner has the craziest idea yet: Just remove all the Breen… with the spore drive. This is Discovery, where they do five impossible things before breakfast, so he rallies the crew with a speech to make it happen. Inside the portal, Michael is told she has passed the tests so she is now the “steward” of the tech. During a montage of the raging battle outside Tilly and Stamets zap the Breen away to the galactic barrier thanks to a cool saucer separation manuever. The Progenitor talks about how her race found themselves alone, so they found meaning by creating all the varieties of life throughout the galaxy, and now it’s Michael’s turn to play god. What is most meaningful to you? No pressure. For now, the captain wants the whole thing shut down while she considers her options. The Progenitor says she can wait and gives Burnham a quick data download of a few billion years of the history of life in the galaxy. No big whoop. Michael grabs Moll, lets her know about L’ak (sorry) and they beam to Book’s shuttle. Everyone reunites and hugs (Saru too, of course) but they soon debate the use of the Progenitor tech. Rayner talks of orders and Stamets of science, but Burnham is determined. They already have infinite diversity in infinite combinations, they don’t need the tech, and she’s sure Rillak and Vance will back her up. The portal is placed beyond one of the black holes’ event horizon, but the captain figures whoever made it could always figure out how to get it out if they are still around. Back at HQ, Moll and Book share a moment and her icy attitude thaws a bit; also, it turns out she is being offered a job with Kovich if she wants it. Speaking of that enigma, Kovich tells Michael the Red Directive is over, everything is classified, and that’s that. He tells her he has lived many lives and she is top of the list of aggravations, but he’s still impressed. Thankfully, she doesn’t let this latest mysterious comment go, pressing him to reveal who he really is. He finally introduces himself: “ Agent Daniels .” Damn, and I already used up all my mind blown GIFs.

Get ready for even more hugging.

“Last dance”

Cut to weeks later: We find ourselves at a beach destination wedding. Yep, T’Rina and Saru get hitched and seal it with a kiss. Aww. Everyone is there having a good time. Suru sums up the season with Michael as he looks at the gathering of diverse friends and well wishers, nothing it would make the Progenitors proud to see how “we are all in the most fundamental ways, connected.” After hearing how Tilly has a mentorship plan tailor-made for a spinoff series about Starfleet Academy , Michael finds Book and the two dip out to have a chat on the beach. He has been busy and now he is a free man, full of hope again. Both are looking to the future and agree that future should be together. “You, me, and Grudge.” More aww, more kissing, but they are interrupted: It’s a call from Kovich. Another mission. And the season ends with just the right note. “What are we waiting for? Let’s see what the future holds.” Fade to black… but wait, there’s more.

Marriage is logical.

Cut to an isolated cabin on Sanctuary Four (where Book planted that Kwejian world root, BTW). It’s Michael and Book, many years later, with gray hairs and fun banter over bad coffee. There is talk about it being a big day before a shuttle arrives, piloted by their son! He’s a Starfleet captain! She’s an admiral! New uniforms! They are not messing around. Mother and son head off, mentioning Tilly is still at the Academy, and she gives some advice for his first big speech in command. She reflects on her (classified) mission, talking of the question about what is most meaningful. Her answer, “Sometimes life, itself (title alert!) is meaning enough.” Channeling her own inner Diesel, she talks of their family, her Discovery family, and how her son will find family with his new crew. He drops her off at the USS Discovery in space dock, which is getting the -A removed from its registry as the ship is being reset to its original 23rd century design and parameters for its “final mission.” On board, the admiral greets Zora and informs the AI she will take the ship into deep space and then leave her, to await something to do with “ Craft .” Reflecting on how it’s been “a hell of a journey,” Michael sits in the captain’s chair and all the feels come back to her. We see her younger self on the bridge and she’s with her Disco family. Everyone is there, even Detmer, Owo, and Bryce. There is a lot of hugging and chatter and laughing and joy as we fade back to older Burnham coming out of the moment. The OG Discovery exits spacedock and all the ships and shuttles at HQ are lined up as an honor guard. Nice. For one last time, she orders “Let’s fly” as the classic music swells and we fade to black for the final curtain. Goodbye, Star Trek: Discovery . I really will miss you.

Zora, if you are so smart, how come you didn’t predict we would get canceled?

All good things…

This was a solid season finale that nicely tied up plot and character stories amidst fast-paced action and philosophical questions—with a few answers. Packing so much in did perhaps bloat the episode, which got even heftier when the epilogue (shot later, after the series wasn’t renewed) was tacked on. But the themes of the season were woven throughout, which in true Disco style were made clear with all the talk of connection, diversity, and family. From the beginning, this show has always been about Michael Burnham, and her hero’s journey was certainly on full display here as she was deemed worthy to hold the power of the gods, with Sonequa Martin-Green delivering a fantastic performance covering the required range needed for all the plot, romance, and action. The rest of the ensemble had hero moments throughout too, notably Doug Jones’ Saru, who ended the season strong showing just how formidable he is, without having to fire a shot (or quill). Everyone was smart, clearly worthy of their positions, and the show doesn’t need to make the baddies dumb to keep the plot moving. Even the USS Discovery itself got a hero moment, one of the many spectacular visual effects moments they saved up for with the finale. Director and EP Olatunde Osunsanmi really understands this show and these characters and knows how to pace things so that extra time did fly, although he is definitely over-enamored with the spinning camera rig.

Inside all that action were big and little moments of character to pay off elements that had built up through the season. A great example of this was Rayner, a new character introduced in conflict with Burnham at the start of the season, and who we learned later is haunted by his past with the Breen. For the finale, he spots his own errors and pivots, he has the trust of the crew, and he even has a tiny bit of mercy for the Breen. Callum Keith Rennie was one of the standouts of the season and its sad that we won’t get to see where the character would have gone had there been another season. Wilson Cruz’s Culber also had a nice bit of closure here, as the doctor’s spiritual journey brought him onto the (almost suicide) mission with Book, where he took that leap of faith and learned to embrace the mystery of how “Jinaal” has changed him. Sadly, the same can’t be said of his husband Stamets, who got the short end of the stick this episode (and all season) with Anthony Rapp mostly relegated to technobabble and subbing in as chief engineer in the weeks Tig Notaro couldn’t make it to Toronto. Stamets has looked for meaning after the spore drive and that journey will continue now that the Progenitor tech has been taken away. Mary Wiseman’s Tilly had fun moments this episode but her backstory about struggles at the Academy and her solution (a mentorship program) seems more about setting her up for the new show than servicing the character.

Did anyone see my dead husband? I seem to have lost him.

Meeting the makers

For the finale, the big bad Breen mostly took a back seat. We never got a glimpse into what was happening on the dreadnought with Moll gone. We got some FaceTime chat with Tahal, who was just as one-dimensional as Ruhn, but the various Breen ships did pose enough of a credible threat for there to be high stakes for our heroes. In the end, it was Moll who was the main adversary for the episode, as she stuck with her single-minded determination, resulting in probably too many fight scenes inside the Progenitor portal. Also, why did she fight the Breen who were supposedly working for her? The adversaries Moll and L’ak were certainly stronger than previous villains for the show, but the last few episodes didn’t really pay off some of the promise of earlier ones. Maybe her redemption was planned to come later as an agent for Kovich. Speaking of that enigmatic character, it was quite satisfying to finally address his backstory, and tying it into the Star Trek: Enterprise character of Daniels was clever and makes a lot of sense.

The biggest reveals for this episode were tying things up with the Progenitors as this season picked up the thread left by the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Chase” and really ran with it. The scenes with Burnham and the Progenitor (ably played by Somkele Iyamah-Idhalma) were strong, turning their mission of seeding the galaxy into Star Trek’s recurring theme of infinite diversity, as laid out nicely by Saru at the wedding (in case you missed it). The one thing that didn’t land was the “one between many” triangle thing, which turned out to be a basic IQ test and not something tied into the rest of the clues, tests, and cultural understandings Burnham has passed throughout the season.  Of course, Burnham was the one who was deemed worthy to become the steward, but it also fit with the character that she had the humility to reject the power and hide it away as the galaxy already had plenty of life and it was too dangerous to leave lying around. The twist that the Progenitors were only the latest in a line older than the universe itself is a very big idea straight out of classic sci-fi, and even scripture. It’s a nice touch to add a bit more mystery to all of it.

Sometimes even in Star Trek, dead is dead.

Sometimes it’s okay to cry

As for fans of romance, you got a twofer with Michael and Book getting back together and Saru and T’Rina getting married. A wedding in a finale is a bit cliché, but it was nice and used well to wrap things up. The final moment on the beach with Michael and Book was sweet and did a decent job of hinting at more to come, and it could even have made for a reasonable series finale, with an optimistic and hopeful Star Trek look to the future and the next mission, together.

But then the producers were given the chance to shoot an epilogue to wrap up the series after they found out this season would be their last. This brings us to the extra bits that start at the cabin with older Book and Michael. Wrapping things up with this kind of leap forward into the future was a bit trite, but they didn’t have a lot of time to pull it together and what they did was pretty impressive, albeit with the focus on Michael Burnham. It was still well-earned and satisfying to see her happy ending as an admiral, shepherding her son to be the next generation of Starfleet. They didn’t have to, but continuity-lovers will appreciate how they used this coda to really tie a bow onto connecting the series to the Short Treks episode “Calypso,” right down to explaining away how the ship in that future didn’t have the 32 nd -century refit. The conversation with Michael and Zora was very sweet, all part of the right tone for this coda. Things got even more on brand for Michael’s memory sequence, bringing in the rest of the cast—her Discovery family. Only Saru (barely) got an audible line, which may disappoint fans who want to know what’s up with the other characters, but the emotion of it all was there and this leaves plenty of opportunities for those characters later if they show up on the Academy series. All in all, it was very Discovery , and what more could you want to tie things up?

Did no one think to bring drinks for this party? Reno?

Final thoughts

This season had big ideas and “Life, Itself” answered the right questions and posed some more, which is a good thing. This is the best finale for the best season of Discovery , and sadly it will be their last. The show really hit its stride in season 5, delivering on the promise of a new adventurous tone while still servicing the characters and their many emotions.

Where have you been?

• At 1:25:35, the finale has the longest runtime of any episode of Discovery— or any single episode of Star Trek, not counting 2-part episodes.
• The epilogue added 15:40 to the runtime.
• Michael uses her Vulcan meditation technique to clear her head to solve the puzzle.
• The L’Tar Nebula sounds like the Lantar Nebula mentioned by Vash in “Q-Less,” but probably something different.
• After getting mentioned a lot over the last couple of seasons, we saw the Pathway Drive in action on Saru’s shuttle when it caught up to Tahal’s fleet.
• A possible continuity error: The first shot of the triangle test shows 10 triangles, but both Michael and Moll used only 9 for their different solutions, with no extra triangle.
• After Culber revealed the subspace frequency he said, “I’m a doctor, not a physicist,” classic Star Trek .
• The EV suit computer voice Julianne Grossman, who did the computer voice for the USS Discovery for the first 3 seasons before Zora (Annabelle Wallis) became the ship’s voice.
• When Kovich tells Michael that everything from the season will be classified, she says she was “familiar with how those things work now,” possibly referencing how the USS Discovery and spore drive were classified at the end of season 2 ; however, she was not present for that, as she had already jumped to the future.
• Reacting to Saru’s gambit with Tahal, Nhan said she didn’t want to play him in Ferengi Rummy.
• Book was late to the wedding because he ran into some Talaxian pirates.
• It’s not mentioned in dialogue, but Burnham and Book’s son’s name is Leto. He’s played by Sawandi Wilson.
• The registry on Leto Burnham’s shuttle was UFP 47 .
• Michael talked to Leto about recently visiting Crepuscula .
• Molly the trance worm had a baby. Aww.

Michael thinks back to Voq… yeah, she married the right alien.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery premiered on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and was broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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“He finally introduces himself: “Agent Daniels”

See, you wouldn’t have gotten that from a series inspired by the Kelvin reboot — or maybe yes since Enterprise is the only series that is canonical in the Kelvinverse. Thought it likely wouldn’t have been as satisfying…

Enterprise is actually not quite as canonical as you think it is in the “Kelvin” verse The origins and outcomes in Kelvin are vastly different from the Prime Universe. SNW pretty much confirms that. Kelvin is not as “divergent” as we thought it was. I figured he was around for the Temporal Cold War given his knowledge about Time Travel. My only gripe with Kurtzman Trek is that they act like they did not do a somewhat soft reboot of the Original Series canon and timeline which they actually did.

Exactly. Just say it’s a reboot and you give yourself freedom from the canon lawers (like me). They should have done that from day 1 of Discovery honestly. It was the perfect chance to re-*discover* what Trek is for us in the 21st century. Alas. No vision or guts.

Yeah Discovery should’ve been a reboot on day one and it could’ve stayed in the 23rd century. But as someone who actually likes that it got to do its own thing and put us in a completely new time period, I’m not too bothered in the end. But of course they could’ve just had the show in the 32nd century from the beginning and just set Trek on a completely different course in the modern era away from everything we knew making this century the ‘present day’ going forward which many fans like me wanted anyway once we heard a new show was coming.

But all of that is clearly in hindsight now.

That’s all on Bryan Fuller. Though his original plan was to set the series in a different era for each season set in the timeline of TOS, Discovery should have had a visual aesthetic that fell somewhere between Enterprise and TOS. Instead he took it in a much different direction. Had he said “It’s a different timeline!” most would have just run with it.

It was telling that when Fuller launched Discovery he didn’t bring in anyone from the Berman era to work on the series. Ron Moore, by contrast, brought in people from the Berman era to work on Battlestar Galactica, Outlander and For All Mankind.

Fuller wanted a full series and visual reboot and should have just said, yeah, this is a reboot set in a different timeline.

Yeah 100% agree.

Discovery made a lot of errors in the first season but the biggest was putting a show that was clearly meant to be a reboot in a 50 year old universe but pretended like it wasn’t a reboot.

Despite all it’s issues starting out that will always be the biggest IMO.

Actually he did bring on Joe Menosky who has worked on all the Berman shows minus Enterprise but it seems like what happened with Nic Meyer and he didn’t gel very well with the new group because he left after the first season and never talked about his time on the show.

I got the impression that Menosky was a bit frustrated by the entire experience and that he was this lone and ignored voice. Given a chance, Menosky probably would have loved working on Picard or SNW where his input would have been appreciated and not ignored.

I rewatched part of DSC S1. Still compelling television.

Aside from that, requesting the visual aesthetics of 60s science fiction? Get real. Its a tv show, not retelling of a future to come. It doesnt matter, if they say its a reboot or not. Technology advanced. Look at scripture. 4 variants of Christs story, in one book. Star Trek is art. Television has no obligation to align with anyones fantasy. Media shouldnt deliver, what people want, but what they might need. I also have an opinion. Did I like it? Dont know. Was I entertained? Yes. If this enough? Yeah, for the moment.

People creating want to create something on their own, always redesigns always new ideas, sometimes they take old stuff and build ontop of it, but usually they go rather somewhere else, like Bajor, Delta Quadrant, Child Universe. Artists are not engineers in that matter, as engineers try to make something work. Artists express themselves. So every iteration of Star Trek is different. So many new uniform styles to keep track off. The costume designers are off the leash.

But I always come back to what Phlox said to Trip about his people having something similar to television until they realized, their lives were more interesting. Live by Phlox’ wisdom!

And yet SNW updated the look to TOS without completely rewritting it and why less people have issues with that show. I been saying this literally since 2017, no one was ever suggesting to recreate what was done on TOS but to simply update the aesthetics and look in the present day and today’s standards which I think SNW has done fairly well IMO.

Why they couldn’t just do something similar instead of presenting a show that barely looked like it existed in the same period or even universe is beyond me?

And if they decided to just keep to what they did with Discovery, I have said this about more times than I can count, then just reboot it completely and do whatever you want, right? We’re not actually disagreeing, but what I find funny about these discussions is people say writers and producers shouldn’t be forced to straddle themselves aligning with canon to a 50 year TV show…as they align themselves to a 50 year old TV show canon. And then even worse instead of pulling a TNG and going forward in a time period that hasn’t been set and you DO have the freedom to do mostly what you want, instead they put it in a period everyone knows and expect no one is going to blink when you ignore the setting you decided to put your show in.

You can’t have it both ways. Either you want to reinvent the wheel and go your own way or you want the trappings of nostalgia and history or why else not just ignore it completely then?

This is the problem when you try to have your cake and eat it too.

And I’m an atheist, I couldn’t tell you a thing about scripture.

I’m so sick of them talking about canon as if they even understand it. They don’t. I’m also pretty tired of the multiverse trope in ALL of these properties. Just reboot and forget any notion of them tying together, then you can remake episodes all you want, and I really can’t complain except when they do it badly (like the Taste of Armageddon re-do). Where we di]sagree is on the visual changes. Everything WAS Canon in that realm until Discovery, but not anymore.. I guess that’s okay… but if it were just the visual, I’d agree with you. My problem is they show federation ships doing stuff they really aren’t capable of doing in TOS, and pretend it’s just a ‘visual update’. Holograms that interact with the environment they’re projected in to instead of view screens. Intra ship transport. If those kinds of things existed in TOS, some stories wouldn’t make sense. It’s fine to call it a soft reboot, so just do that instead of pretending this world makes sense. It doesn’t.

The Khan episode from SNW confirms the Prime universe rebooth. The idea they dropped around Time trying to re-insert itself is interesting. That is the freedom they needed to upend the Gorn story from TOS for example. I have no problem with the soft reboot but just say that is what you did and be done with it.

SNW has begun the process of reimagining TOS. Look as much as I love TOS, not everything about it translates into our modern era. I always thought for years that TOS needed a soft reboot. It is no accident that Time Travel was emphasized in DISCO and SNW. Kurtzman needs to just say it. JJ deicded to be coy about Khan and look how that turned out.

I had my issues with DISCO but I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2.

EXACTLY. And Discovery could have that done too with the Klingons.

If you go by that, go by the Borg. Stranded, frozen from the sphere from First contact. Found in the arctic, chased by Enterprise. Any time travel episode that left stuff in the past could upend what has been established before. Could also be an out for Pike not getting irradiated.

That episode helps confirm that the canon of the Kurtzman era is not the same as the prime. Sorry but the idea of TOS being reimagined is quite insulting to the show that started it all, I would be happier if the current stuff was separate from the Trek of 1966-2005

Again exactly. They had their chance just to do their own thing away from the prime universe and begin anew. Instead they plopped it between Enterprise and TOS and oddly thought no one would notice it’s completely out of whack between those two shows.

And on top of all that… They foolishly opted to go 900 years into their future yet they kept the PD of the SNW era and new Star Trek Discovery era awfully similar. There looks to be no real difference between the two shows at all. It’s like they make mistakes on the production end of the show and just double down on them. And goes for scripts, too.

It makes it work better for us, for sure, but the problem is the creative braintrust says it’s still within canon, that it’s not a new timeline. Which is monumentally stupid, IMO.

Not exactly.

When Beyond came out, Simon Pegg (who worked on the script) floated the idea that changes in the timeline causes ripples BOTH WAYS. So, within their creative intent, they interpret the Kelvin Universe existing in a place where there may be no continuity with anything, since there’s no guarantee any of it matches if the past has been changed too.

Well, I forgot that since Nero and Spock crossed into another quantum reality through the singularity, they were already in a different timeline even before Nero attacked the Kelvin. Just like it happened with Worf.

So, Nero’s attack need not have changed the timeline both ways since it was already different from the moment he arrived.

That whole thing was awfully silly. Since Kovich said he’s lived lifetimes it just made sense he be El-Aurian.

The statement would be applicable to a time traveler too. It’s misdirection.

I don’t think “living lifetimes” applies to time travelers. The term is meant to denote longevity. Not jumping to other eras.

Doctor Who does that whenever they do an episode in which one of his companions is left behind and grows old, then resets to their original age by the end of the episode.

But in the Who case it for sure denotes longevity, too. I cannot think of a case where “lifetimes” refers to anything but a very long time.

Lifetimes can refer to multiple lives, not necessarily longevity.

Think of every time someone in Trek experienced an alternate timeline. Each one of those would be a lifetime.

That includes Jake Sisko in The Visitor, the Enterprise-D’s crew in All Good Things, and the Voyager crew in Endgame, and all other alternate timelines in between.

For instance, Harry Kim experienced at least five lifetimes that come to mind; Non Sequitur, Year of Hell, Timeless, Endgame, and his prime timeline lifetime.

Surely there were others as VOY did multiple alternate timelines.

I can actually buy this. I think Daniels/Kovich was saying every time period he lived in was basically a different life for him. No one could really know he came from the future and he probably made a different identity each time.

That, or just growing old and dying only to reset again back to the age he was when the alternate timeline began.

Archer, for instance, (and, by extension. everyone else) lived an entire lifetime in Twilight, but then that timeline ceased to exist and they reset to the age they were when the deviation began.

Jake Sisko lived well into old age and died in The Visitor, then the timeline reset. That was, for him, an entire lifetime.

Usually, the subjects don’t remember these alternate lifetimes, but, based on Kovich’s line, he does.

I find that to be a stretch. Unless you are referring to the person existing as different people. Which means either at the same time or across eras. If different times that is quite the feat. If it’s across eras then it still refers to longevity. That is how most people would interpret the line. If their goal was to set up ambiguousness then I’d say it was a fail.

No, not referring to them becoming different people.

They’d be the same person who live multiple lives across multiple timelines that then reset, reverting them to the age they were when the deviation began.

Usually, they don’t remember those lifetimes, but Kovich, based on what he said, probably does.

Well they could have if they decided to focus the KT on the Temporal Wars in some way but obviously that was never in the cards.

But I get your basic point and probably why in the end fans will always gravitate to the Prime universe because this is where the now thousand year old history (wow) and all the cool and old characters most fans grew up with lives.

And it’s pretty crazy that Daniels was part of the 22nd and 32nd century. He has basically bookend the entire franchise. This is why I love this show so much because of how imaginative it is!!!

Whatever cements Enterprise further into canon makes me happy.

Although that’s always been the biggest irony that Enterprise is really the only show canon to both universes.

Yep, heh. Back in 2009 the thought that Enterprise was the only Trek series that was still part of canon made me laugh because of how much “real” fans hated it when it came out.

And now a lot of fans hate the Kelvin movies today so I guess it has come full circle lol.

(But for the record I’m NOT one of them)

How goes the white whale, Captain Ahab?

I actually liked what they did with the Kelvin films. How do you reboot a series without rebooting a series? Why, set it in an alternate universe, of course! Where they stumbled was allowing four years between the first and second films and then deciding to revisit Khan instead of trying something entirely new (something like “Beyond” should have been the next film). I was hoping for a new standalone, not a retread of a TOS and the feature film it inspired.

I’d still like to see another Kelvin film and with the cast being who they are now, I think it would do well.

Yes I liked it too and in fact has defended it many times. I thought it was a brilliant idea they could expand and explore more in the future.

And then we got British Khan and destroyed everything they were suggesting in the very next movie. And while Beyond was at least decent the movies never recovered and hence here we are.

For myself British Khan was the least of the problems with that film.

Am I the only one who thought the big reveal was Kovich revealing themself to be Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan, especially given all the TNG-specific swag in his office?

Not saying I would have loved it, but it definitely felt like that’s where it was going as I watched the scene.

One of my Kovich theories was that he was EL Aurian. So close I guess.

My first thought, with the “many lives” snippet, was that he was going to reveal himself as Flint.

I thought that too, or, believe it or not, I considered he may have been Data or a Soong.

I thought a version of Data or a Soong relative at first too, there is beta cannon where Data gets an upgraded body and is able to change his appearance. But I wasn’t completely surprised with the Agent Daniels reveal as it’s been floating around as a theory for a while.

…just watched that episode an hour ago, actually. McCoy tells Spock at the end Flint is dying, will just live out a normal human lifespan.

True. Interestingly the novels (I know very much noncanon) had him fake his impending death.

Now that was not only an awesome episode of Trek but one of the best series finales in the franchise right up there with All Good Things and What We Leave Behind.

I will miss this show/cast and after 5 seasons it has earned its place as my 2nd favourite Trek show with DS9 still number 1.

Only a few episodes of Trek have made me cry tears of sadness like All Good Things, What We Leave Behind, The Visitor, Family, The Siege of AR-558 and now this episode Life, Itself joins the ranks. It was so well written, acted and directed it felt like a feature film and not just a series final of a TV Show. The Kovich reveal as Daniels from Enterprise was shocking as i never expected that but now thinking back at all the episodes of Discovery/Enterprise that Kovich/Daniels was in it makes sense to me.

Discovery separating the saucer section and using both it and the secondary hull to spore jump the Breen Dreadnought and the scoutship was amazing. One of the best CGI sequences in Trek.

Seeing one of the progenitors was cool though i would have loved it if it was Salome Jones but i understand she is in her 90s now. Also interesting to note that the ‘Progenitors’ didn’t invent the tech but found it and they themselves for creating by another race. Another mystery but maybe one that will probably best left unanswered.

As for Moll sadly she was the only thing i didn’t like about this episode. I understand her need/want to bring L’ak back but to be honest I’m not that interested in her story. But i do hope she and Book make amends with each other.

The epilogue was really nice though I wise we got a bit more of the rest of the cast. It does make sense that it featured Burnham as she is the show.

Also i loved the Calypso tie in and i do hope we find out someday exactly why Zora/Discovery has to wait in the Nebula for Craft and how did they know his name. Is it something to do with the Progenitor tech or perhaps Zora herself?.

Burnham told Zora it was a Red Directive, so perhaps Kovich/Daniels needed Craft to not die, and is no longer allowed to time travel due to the Temporal accords? An AI like Zora is timeless and can get to the future to save him in that Nebula. If Discovery still looked like a 32nd century upgraded ship, the Federation might be pinged for Temporal intervention?

Maybe we’ll get an answer, maybe it’ll always be people’s head canon?

The resolution of Moll’s arc was so frustrating. After everything she did to get to that point, all it takes is Burnham to tell her she can’t save L’ak and she’s just basically like, “Oh darn. That saddens me. Okie!”

The show should have had the guts to Toht her ass once she got her tangram puzzle wrong.

Wow! The finale episode was stunning! Lots to think about, but for now I will just rewatch and enjoy the spectacle and nice connecting of the Progenitors with IDIC and with the lives of the Disco crew.

I will miss Soniqua Martin Green. I loved this show.

I will miss Sonequa , too . But , I will follow her career. All of them, really. But Sonequa really spoke to me. Also, she was such a great Trek ambassador.

I adore her. Her grace, warmth, empathy, depth and thoughtfulness. I’m truly grateful to have had Discovery and her. What a great addition to the Trek family and herstory. From the very first episode, her complex performance really brought a depth and grounded reality to the Trek mythos for the first time in a way it hadn’t had before. Before Discovery, Trek was very stylized in its type of acting and character portrayal and SMG really made this universe we all love so much feel that more real.

Hugely underrated actress. Her performances have been richly compelling and, at least once her character initially relaxed a bit, full of warmth and humanity.

That Hope is You Part 1 is one of the show’s strongest episodes, largely due to the carefree performance she gives. I’d love to have seen more of that Burnham. SMG gave it her all to smooth over what was a fairly inconsistently written character amongst several inconsistently written characters. It reminded me of Kate Mulgrew and the shared burden they had of trying to steer a groundbreaking imperfect but semi-superhumanly capable woman through choppy waters with grace, charisma, and style. I’d be fascinated to watch a shared interview with them.

Agreed, greatly enjoyed Soniqua’s portrayal, and that of many of the Discovery crew.

Also, greatly enjoyed the poignant “Agent Daniels” moment and tie-in, thanks for that golden nugget, writers!

An enjoyable ending to a memorable show.

I will not miss her whispering during “dramatic” moments, nor her quivering lips. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

Interesting how often people with little talent lash out at those that are in the public eye and celebrated for theirs. Basic people… shhh. Remember that trying to hide someone else’s light doesn’t make you shine. I’d love to see your audition for the role. Do you have a link to your acting reel?

“ It’s not mentioned in dialogue, but Burnham and Book’s son’s name is Leto. ”

Yes, it is. She says his name.

For a second I thought it was a Dune reference before I realized it was Book’s nephew’s name.

Yep, caught it too. I didn’t know exactly what she said, but as soon as I saw the “Leto” in the recap, I knew that’s what she said.

Very underwhelming. The journey was far more interesting than the destination, although inside the portal looked really cool. The payoff lacked imagination, and didn’t warrant revisiting the material… so yeah I was disappointed. The science and explanation of the past two episodes was questionable too. They should have gotten Salome Jens or at least tried to imitate that character specifically. Would have made more sense. But the conclusion of what to do with the tech.. how they unlocked it. how they found someone ‘worthy’.. it just makes the mystery of the rest of the season fall apart. So as a season finale.. it’s a fail. Even worse is the series finale coda. If you like these characters and get some of the emotion of all the hugging and stuff in the coda, cool. I never really loved these characters, so it did nothing for me. I thought seeing Book and Burnham together in old age was really nice, and I did like that. The Kovich reveal? Felt a little like the ‘My name is Khan’ reveal in STID. Why should that name mean anything? I had to go look It up. Lt. Daniels was a background character from two of the TNG moves. Whatever. More to explore with that character in Academy? I guess. At this point, I couldn’t care less about him. I guess it’s fitting that a show that has distorted canon so much, would choose to tie in its ending to an event in a small short trek show. A show that they easily just could have (and should have) declared apocryphal, and pretended it didn’t exist or exists in some alternate universe. Whatever plan Chabon had for it didn’t happen, so just let it go. Why they were retrofitting Discovery to its former look makes no sense. The reasons they were taking it there aren’t even presented clearly (or at all.. did I miss something?) It was a dumb way to end the show. I suppose that means it’s an appropriate ending for this series. The season was pretty good up to this point, though.. it was fun. But.. I’m sorry.. it wasn’t a very good season finale, and it was a terrible series finale.

“I had to go look It up. Lt. Daniels was a background character from two of the TNG moves”

Nope… Daniels was the time traveller on ENT, a very, very meaningful player in the TCW… The reveal was AWESOME. I was cheering out loud when it happened….

Ah. I’ll go back and look that one up. When I put Daniels in to memory alpha, that was the only option that populated in the search box, and I didn’t look beyond it, because he had all that TNG and DS9 stuff on his shelf so figured that was THE connection. I stopped watching ENT a year or two in, so if I did see that character, I don’t recall him at all.

I think you’re confusing him with Picard’s chief of security in FIRST CONTACT and INSURRECTION (remember, Worf was stationed on DS9 during those movies and happened to come along for the ride).

The revelation more or less worked, but I thought Daniels died in season four of ENT.

He did, but when Archer defeated the space nazi aliens he was shown alive again.

Space nazi aliens, those were the days.

Why can’t he be BOTH? He said starship enterprise ‘and others’… and TNG is way after ENT. So why can’t he be BOTH Daniels?

Also, he said “USS,” and NX-01 wasn’t a USS. :-)

“ I had to go look It up. Lt. Daniels was a background character from two of the TNG moves. Whatever. ”

Incorrect. He was a recurring character from four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise. He’s a time agent from the far future who was involved in the Temporal Cold War.

Garth Beat you to it.

Very underwhelming. The journey was far more interesting than the destination, although inside the portal looked really cool. The payoff lacked imagination, and didn’t warrant revisiting the material… so yeah I was disappointed… But the conclusion of what to do with the tech.. how they unlocked it. how they found someone ‘worthy’.. it just makes the mystery of the rest of the season fall apart. So as a season finale.. it’s a fail. Even worse is the series finale coda.

Pretty much exactly my thoughts (not for the first time, @heyberto seems to share my taste in Trek).

First off, on the epilogue — look, I didn’t *hate* it, but I found it…”superfluous” is the best word, I guess. The final beach wedding scene would have worked as a series finale just as well. I don’t see the point in revealing that Michael and Book had a son. The New Kwejian scenes looked gorgeous, but we’d seen Kwejian before; that wasn’t enough. Two minutes of hugging was *not* what we needed, and typically for the show, all the other characters were shunted aside. I also struggled to understand just why Starfleet was taking Discovery to meet Craft and how this was supposed to culminate in “Calypso.” Leaving it as Zora’s dream, as this season’s early episodes implied, would have sufficed.

The epilogue was So. Very. Discovery, in short.

As for the main act: lookit, it’s not terribly surprising that the takeaway was “the journey is more important than the treasure”; that’s almost par for the course in quest stories. Think back to “Sword of Kahless” or even “The Chase” itself, or any of the Indiana Jones movies (especially Raiders, Dial, and above all Crusade). Still, I think we needed a bit more ooph here beyond “humanity isn’t ready for this,” because it needed to be something “The Chase” was not. I would have been more impressed with the theories circulating that Discovery’s *were* the progenitors, a la PLANET OF THE TITANS. (Had they known this was to be a series finale, in fairness, perhaps they might have gone there.)

I somewhat enjoyed the revelation that the Progenitors didn’t create the technology, but I’m still left puzzled as to what, exactly, this great technology was and why it was so potentially galaxy-changing. The visuals were impressive, yes, but we’ve seen long-range, Stargate-style teleportation before: the Iconians, that Delta Quadrant tech that showed up in season one of PICARD, “All Our Yesterdays,” etc.

They spent too long dwelling on the Burnham-Moll fight scenes. One would have been enough.

I wanted to love this finale, because in the second half of the season, I actually found Discovery to be worthwhile — a word that, on the whole, I wouldn’t have applied to the series before. Moll turned out to be more than yet another courier. But they just didn’t *quite* stick the landing.

I should add that I binge-watched the last five episodes because I was out of the country and couldn’t get my VPN to work with P+. That may have favorably colored my impression of them; indeed, I suspect that a lot of NuTrek may improve with binge-watching.

of course it will because they are just too-long films. Not episodic television.

Agreed. I lot of what you said are my thoughts as well, as usual.. just stated much better. lol. I think the issue of payoff is a problem for me, not because It’s just a simple idea.. it’s that it’s not anything more than what we could come up with. Looking back, they should have not used the McGuffin of this story by getting it from a past Trek episode. If the goal is to simply tell this ‘kind’ of story, then just do that. I rewatched the Chase before this season, and I remember how I had no idea where they were going, and thinking ‘wow.. what a clever idea’. Granted it was over 30 years ago when I saw it, and I’m probably more cynical now, but I don’t think that’s it. They really needed to elevate the payoff, if they’re going to resurrect it. As you said, we’re in no different place after the episode ends, than when we were at the end of The Chase. Another case where the writer’s room just gets enamored with ideas from Trek’s past, without having a clear story to tell. The fact that they did it better in 9 out of 10 episodes this season than they have in the past is a pale consolation, now that we’re at the end. Just my take, though.

I have to say I was surprisingly satisfied with it all. The Chase had a baaad premise IMHO. Discovery corrects it by bringing mystery back to the origins of sentient life. So that “underwhelmingness” was a real, real plus to me. It´s a good resolution, with classic quest and classic Trek tropes (Michael is offered God status and turns it down).

The Daniels bit didn’t quite work for me (for a moment I thought it would be ole positronic Jean-Luc in a different golem), as didn´t the Calypso thing… but i did enjoy old Michael to my surprise, it was a good end point for her continuosly-restless-and-often-annoying-self and I found myself thinking I´ll miss her (and for a second there I thought Leto was getting the Enterprise-M or something).

Season 1 was the best for me, with 2 and 5 as close seconds. I reallly did enjoy the finale.

See, I think the Chase is fine for an isolated episode. Season 5 did a really great job of sustaining interest, and keeping up a good pace that made it feel like a light hearted romp, but with some significant consequences that felt plausible for this universe. Sadly, (and I was worried about this), the conclusion was just not fulfillable, and that’s the problem for me with the season ending. I think I could have come up with something more interesting, at the very least. It felt very formulaic, and predictable in addition to being underwhelming. I would have liked to have an ending with more stakes. I really thought Culber was going to move on to do something with it that was bigger. As for the finale Coda, it just did things it didn’t need to do. I’m with you on the Daniels thing. I think that wasn’t a bad tie-in at all, but I also thought if they had slow played that a little more after the character’s introduction, it might’ve landed better. I don’t know. I loved the Burnham/Book/Leto stuff. There was so much that wasn’t explained about taking Disco out there, to retrofitting it back to it’s original configuration, etc… Should’ve have kept the send off isolated to saying goodbye to the characters, IMO. None of this is intended to shoot down your opinion of the finale. I’m stoked it worked for you. Wish it did for me, because it was a really enjoyable season.

A good question is why waste time, effort & resources making the ship look like it’s former self? Obviously so it could tie in with that Short Trek. But man… Makes zero sense like a lot of what went down on this show.

My entire point exactly, well said. I think the original idea for what Chabon was doing with that episode got abandoned when he left the show, so they should have abandoned the tie in.

I thought this was an absolute mess.

To have the entire Progenitor story basically amount to a “well no one can be responsible with this, so let’s blow it up” plot, meant all of the running around this season amounted to a waste.

And tacking on “Calypso” because … they “had to” was stupidity on top of stupidity.

Also, for all the people who complained about “memberberries” with Picard , this entire season was memberberries but done in an awful, hacky way. The “Daniels/Kovitch” reveal both felt unnecessary (“why can’t Kovitch just be Kovitch and you reveal something interesting about Kovitch as a character?) and had elements that made no absolute sense to me (e.g., no way do I believe he would have Sisko’s baseball, there’s no way the Bajorans would ever let a “holy relic” from the Emissary sit at Starfleet HQ instead of having it on Bajor).

In Star Trek Online, the baseball is STILL on his desk at DS9, so technically, the Bajorans don’t think of it as THAT holy.

It has been hundreds of years since DS9. In that time, Sisko might have returned from the Prophets and given the baseball Daniels.

Yeah there was a ton of memberberries this season…so it shouldn’t t a shock why so many people loved it lol.

I say it again and again people complain about fan service and yet every time it’s presented the fanbase goes nuts over it.

The producers are just trying to give the fans what they want because it seems to work. Hence why Picard season 3 and SNW were partly so popular.

same thing happened in bond film ‘for your eyes only’ where after all the fighting, killing and chasing, bond destroys the McGuffin to stop falling into anyone’s hands.

I couldn’t agree more. I think the creatives behind this series wanted more to blow it all up, do it their way and comment on every contemporary social dilemma, than create great television and great Trek. The continual plot changes, character additions and deletions and never-ending changes in direction, made this a mess from episode 1. In contrast SNW’s is both classic and contemporary Trek rolled into one neat and tidy package. I sincerely hope the producers of Academy take a good long and hard look at this quagmire and learn what NOT to do. Trek can’t take too many more duds. They have gold sitting there on the table with “Legacy” – if that’s what it’s to be named) and the ongoing SNW iteration. Lets not pretend this was anything more than what many describe it as.

I still firmly believe Legacy is coming in some form…but it will take time.

95% of the episode was awesome, really a great finale but I just don’t get the “Calypso” bit at the very end. It hardly makes any sense to me: erasing the “A” from the hull, downgrading the ship and dumping it somewhere… none of that made any sense for me, other than re-canonizing “Calypso” which had already been written off by most fans as non-canonical. No explanation given for any of that. Even if it’s a secret “red directive”, why then are they given a public send-off by the entire fleet???

It would have been so easy to write that off, and just give Discovery (the show) whatever finale would have been most satisfying. It’s an odd choice for a show that had abandoned the visual aspects of Trek’s canon from it’s very first episode.

I was on that page, too. Found it odd they went out of their way to change the ship back when originally they seemed to go out of their way to abandon anything that even evoked the feel of the era they were in. Just another thing where it feels like they want to supplant the old stuff with their own stuff.

“ which had already been written off by most fans as non-canonical ”

Fans don’t decide what is or isn’t canon, though. It was never non-canonical since it happened onscreen.

I preferred the theory that Discovery got duplicated during the jump to the future personally.

I like it too. There are a million explanations that would have worked better than what they did in this finale.

Yeah, this is where I’m getting hung up too. The episode was, to me, perfect until that moment. I thought the epilogue was supposed to bring it all together, not finish it all off with deep confusion. People keep saying the epilogue “set up” Calypso, but it literally didn’t. It introduced more questions, and if those questions don’t have answers, then it isn’t a mystery – it’s a lie.

I know I’ve been ragging on Disco lately, but that was a very good finale. Sure, Moll was a dull character from start to finish, and sure, SMG ramped up her whisper-acting to an annoying level (I will not miss Michael Burnham at all). But there was a lot to enjoy about this finale, and the two hours flew by before I’d even realized it. The Progenitor world was gorgeously shot, the scenes with the Progenitor were wonderful, and the Kovich/Daniels bombshell was far more satisfying than any theories I’d come up with. Just amazing. Also, I really got a kick out of seeing the ending set up Calypso. Despite my problems with this season (and they are legion), I do have to hand it to the writers for ending it well. The final puzzle was something a 10-year-old would have worked out in five seconds, so I wish the writers had come up with something more clever and non-obvious. Still, that’s a minor quibble, given how much I enjoyed the rest of it. To my surprise, it even made me look forward to Starfleet Academy, as I’m hoping the characters who were horribly short-changed this season (Stamets, Detmer, Owosekun, and Reno) might show up there with more to do. Plus, I’m relieved they didn’t decide to bring Gray Tal back for that hug-fest scene, because Gray never worked as a character. All in all, I’d give this one nine stars out of ten, and I’d rank it among the show’s best.

The big reveal has been a matter of speculation for quite some time so it was more of an, “Ah, OK” moment than a “Holy moly! Never saw that coming!” moment. For those entirely unfamiliar with the history behind that revelation, it won’t carry much weight.

As for the epilogue, it was an unnecessary choice, much like another, unrelated major franchise. That final scene would have been far more effective had it taken place within a year of the resolution of this seasons’ storyline, the other elements could have been left open to explore in the future.

I have never seen even a single person guess Kovich was Daniels.

My first thought was, GOOD ONE! “I never thought of that”.

It made the most sense, really.

Actually I saw a review of the finale on YouTube and they showed a post from Reddit that guessed Kovich was probably Daniels from 3 years ago. So someone certainly guessed right lol.

But yeah I’m guessing the overwhelming majority never thought he would be Daniels, certainly not me. I never thought he would be a legacy character at all, just someone part of a bigger organization Section 31 which many theorized. So it was a great reveal IMO.

I wonder if Discovery had continued we’d have seen a more extended Daniels reveal that brought in elements of the Temporal Cold War. It might seem less impactful simply because they ended up cutting straight to the reveal.

Give us a Daniels/Temporal War streaming movie! 😊

Not around here, no. Elsewhere, yes. We’re going back to season 3 on that one.

Also, they stupidly stated that Tilly was “the longest serving instructor in Academy history,” meaning they can’t place the character in jeopardy in ACADEMY.

And seriously, in 1000 years of history, no one has ever installed a mentorship program at Starfleet Academy? Even informally?

right – not great to write themselves into a box there. But – writing and plot has never really been the strength of this show

I don’t think putting canonical plot armor on the lead character of your new scifi show is as big a choice as you think. First, time travel/alternate futures, but also, I have never once assumed that Burnham or Sisko or Janeway were not going to make it to the final episodes of their series, yet every time they were put in jeopardy along the way I didn’t scoff at the implausibility. I went along and suspended my disbelief, because that’s what you do when you watch any TV.

That’s true of half the SNW characters and yet I don’t think dramatic tension is reduced.

Have watched it yet (spoilers don’t brother me), but if they tied it back to Calypso doesn’t that indicate the Federation goes to shit again? Wasn’t craft fight against the Fed?

And oddly… the vidraysh name apparently will come back into use.. so basically.. the universe is going to crap again, and Roddenberry’s optimistic future will not persevere…. again.

Yep. Federation will be at war.

Exactly my question. I supposed there are ways to square that particular circle (maybe Craft was in stasis and didn’t realize Covid^H^H^H The Burn was over), but the question is: why? What’s the point?

I’m fairly confident that in reality Calypso was based on an early draft of the ideas for the season 3 jump and that Craft was in fact a version of what became Book. But still, it was nice to find a way to acknowledge and incorporate that story, even with the possible holes.

I loved this episode. The final moments really threw me off though. Why was the ship reverted to its 23rd century appearance? Why was it abandoned? Why are they waiting for Craft, who merely shows up and leaves in 1,000 years? For me, the episode was perfect until the very end, and that ending so far is extremely distracting to me. I feel like I had to have missed something.

You didn’t miss anything. All of your questions are left to the imagination…or maybe to future Trek writers…

Clear writing and logical plot threads have never been a strength of Discovery. In this case it seems like they were doing their best to resolve a gaping plot hole that was created with the Short Trek about future Discovery abandoned in a nebula or whatever it was.

All of this is sadly very true. ;)

Yeah all of it is just a huge big question mark. Funny it was meant to tie in to Calypso to give us some answers but instead it just gave us even more questions lol.

But it is what it is I guess.

I got up early to view it. For what was supposed to be a season finale, and they morphed it into a series finale? It’s as close to a miracle as DSC will get. My nitpick issues with DSC won’t go away, so I won’t go into them here. I want to offer a few thoughts on S5. Firstly, I think DSC’s cancellation was planned at the end of season 4. I guess Par+ only agreed to make S5 with a lot of budget cuts. Look at Detmer and Owoshekun disappearing halfway through the season. They also needed to set up SFA. I hope I’m wrong, but if Tilly is a lead character in this show, it will struggle to succeed. Getting Holly Hunter was brilliant casting. I WILL watch SFA faithfully when it airs. The AR wall saved DSCs behind. Look at Federation HQ. It’s a plain white room. Very little was spent on new sets. I consider Michelle Paradise, the showrunner, the equivalent of Fred Freiberger, who produced season 3 of TOS. She got the job because she’s been described as a “details producer.” They hired her to get these eps in the can and within budgets. IMO, she’s just not that imaginative, and this is evident in some of her story choices. Maal and Laak were totally unnecessary this season as the bad guys. They were used as a lazy story idea to compete with the DSC crew for the coveted tech. The Breen were cool, and all that, but a competition with a Breen Fleet would have moved the plot along. Look at the ending- nothing happened with their characters. For all the DSC haters out there? This show wasn’t meant to cater to TOS or TNG fans. Once I accepted that, I could somewhat enjoy DSC and follow along. My issues were with (some) the writing and acting. DSC succeeded with inclusivity. My gay sibling and I cried together when we saw Culber reconcile with Stamets, and he went to the future with him. The non-binary and trans characters were a welcome addition. It’s a shame they didn’t do much with them, storywise. The lack of strong male characters from s3 onwards (until Rayner) hurt DSC’s storytelling. (Here come all the “butthurt” comments…) DSC brought new fans into the franchise. For a lot of them, DSC is THEIR Star Trek. They will measure past and future shows against that yardstick for comparison. I feel bad for those fans. Finally, a Trek series that marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community could relate to. It was no different for us “nerdy kids” in the ’70s. We read sci-fi books, built models, and played Star Trek in the backyard. I had TWO friends growing up who liked Trek. We were the outcasts. It wasn’t until Star Wars that nerd culture started to take hold. I will rewatch DSC front to back to reevaluate my opinions on it. I AM grateful for DSC. It got Star Trek back on its best home, television. We have SNW, LDS and Prodigy. (with SFA and S31 to come.) Since 2017, we’ve had new Trek episodes to watch weekly. Just like TOS in 1969, DSC now belongs to the fans. I hope they rewatch it and share it with the people they love. If DSC fans nurture their show like we TOS fans have? There are always possibilities…

I consider Michelle Paradise, the showrunner, the equivalent of Fred Freiberger

That’s such a mean, mean thing to say, and wildly unfair. Paradise is an excellent writer who was given a very complex (perhaps convoluted) task when she took up the reins on Disco, and she did a fantastic job elevating it above a mere technical exercise.

The lack of strong male characters from s3 onwards

Dadmiral Vance, Cleveland Booker, and Agent Kovich would like a word. Plus, Culber’s role was really beefed up in seasons 3-5. Even Reese stepped up and became more than a background character in later seasons. Not to mention Saru being the ship’s captain in season 3. In season 4 you have the Tarka/Book plot, which I would describe as extremely male, and even the scientist Hirai played a major role in that season.

I know you anticipated this critique, but there really were lots of strong male characters in later seasons of Disco, they were coming out of its ears there were so many… it’s just that the main cast just wasn’t made up of a supermajority of traditional male archetypes like on previous Trek shows, so it feels like “less” somehow.

People praise Voyager and DS9 for their depictions of woman characters, but both those shows still had like an 80% male cast. DS9 had only 2 women as regulars, and Voyager had only 3.

Disco might seem very female-oriented, but trust me, it really only seems that way. I know that feels like I’m attacking your perception or accusing you of something, but I notice it, too, and have to remind myself sometimes that it’s my beloved older Trek shows that were wildly unbalanced, not Disco, and Disco wasn’t some corrective in the opposite direction, it’s just… actually balanced.

Re Paradise: Mean? Maybe so. Harsh? Yes. She has a (IMHO) dry, sterile form of storytelling. There was no actual coherent flow to this season. They took ideas from the writers’ room and plugged them in to tick a box. She was given the job of cleanup showrunner or backup QB. Her good organizational qualities hurt the passion of the show. A lot of the episode plot points felt contrived. When we compare how heroic Burnham, Georgiou, etc., were and are throughout the series? For myself, there were no male characters I either identified with or was rooting for until Rayner. I was looking for male characters that reminded me of Kirk, Pike, Scotty and the other male costars on TNG, DS9 and the others. For the record, I’m a fan of DSC. I was out there defending it and singing its praises. In S2, we got some of the best Star Trek, period. I stand by my opinion of Paradise as a showrunner, as mean as you think it is.

Wow you are so on the nose with Paradise. I still think she is an awful show runner but this season at least didn’t feel completely tedious with a lot of melodramatic schlock as the last two. But no I won’t miss her either.

She was absolutely the wrong person to leading the writers room, so your criticism is fair. They need sci-fi writers, and too few, if any, on staff. That’s the root of the problem.

For myself, there were no male characters I either identified with or was rooting for until Rayner. 

This post-2015-or-so idea that characters are legitimate only if a viewer can “identify” with them is bizarre.

If I can’t relate to a character, and the story is crap, then why should I watch?

To broaden your horizons. IDIC, and all that.

Yet I watched faithfully—each week. I applauded the strong female characters and DSC’s inclusivity. I didn’t dismiss DSC as crap or not “true” Trek.

I’m not sure I can speak to how being a “details producer” does or doesn’t help the show, but I think at this point it’s safe to say Paradise doesn’t have a ton of range. Problems are continually solved with variations on, “Trust ME! Feelings! It was CONNECTION all along!” She doesn’t have much of a defining stamp beyond that, and didn’t demonstrate a desire or ability to do any episodes that broke outside of a defined box. She peaked with her first season 3 episode IMO.

A “details producer” is usually very organized. Once a script is locked down, the showrunner is responsible for finishing the episodes on time and within the episode budget(s). Being organized is a good thing. As I mentioned, she took a checklist storywise and clicked the boxes. It didn’t matter that the plot points were out of order, didn’t make sense, or pay off at the end of the season. She got the episodes “in the can” on time and within the budget. Moll and Laak made ZERO sense to the plot besides someone to compete with to get the tech. At best, it’s the same retreading of ideas.

I know what a producer and a showrunner does. :) I just meant calling someone a “details producer” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not more than their organizational prowess. It can mean they are good at intricate long term plotting for instance. JMS while running Babylon 5 could be called one, for instance.

From what we’ve seen of her work, I think your assessment is fair, especially as we know she was sweating the detail of “Calypso” for years. She has a vision and overarching direction for the show, but Paradise comes across as a workmanlike producer and writer who has a lane and a certain box of tricks she prefers and sticks to. She brought calm and order to a show previously defined by BTS chaos (and during the pandemic, no less) and no doubt Kurtzman appreciated not having to put out fires while dealing with the headache that was Picard. There’s not much flair to anything but it was competently made and the cast and crew were happy.

I actually really enjoyed this and would have found it a fitting finale even without the additional twenty minute epilogue. Although it was beautiful to see, and, man, Admiral Burnham aged a lot more flatteringly than Admiral Janeway.

I would have preferred Kovich had remained his own character. Some mysteries don’t need explanation.

nice tie in to Calypso though. I need to rewatch that again now.

I’ll miss the show. Despite the vitriol it’s received from so many, I’ve always had a soft spot for it and have enjoyed every season to greater or lesser degrees.

Well Janeway had 25th century aging tech vs Burnham’s 33rd century aging tech. ;D

And I really want to say something about black rarely crack but I guess it’s not appropriate here lol.

I thought we were going to cut away just as he was telling her.

well, that was a waste of everyone time

Not in the least.

I thought it was an absolute mess.

It wasn’t a waste of my time.

So long DISCO! Wow what a ride it has been. THANK YOU to all that had a hand in it’s creation over the years. TREK has never looked better, or had loftier goals. Thanks for the inclusiveness…I will always ship CulMets! AND, root for Adira! :-) Now, time for a start to finish DISCO rewatch. Without DISCO there wouldn’t be a SNW or Lower Decks or all the TREK that WILL follow. If you are ready….LET’S FLY!

100% agree on all of it :)

So happy you enjoyed it! :)

Without DISCO there wouldn’t be a SNW or Lower Decks 

I’m not sure that’s quite the talking point you think it is.

Well, it was a little better than the TOS “finale” but wasn’t as satisfying as the TNG era finales.

Sorry, but the whole Progenitor reveal was a major letdown for me. A lot of stuff to look at, but nothing really happening. Also, the forced tie-in to Calypso at the end made no sense at all. Was it Kovich/Agent Daniels who told Michael about it off camera? Seemed unnecessary.

I’m happy others liked it, but I never connected with the 32nd century version of the show. I watched and I tried to connect with it. It just never happened.

Seasons 1 and 2 will always be my preferred version Discovery.

Hard disagree. Nothing could be as dissatisfying and Voyager’s disastrous finale. Or, shudder, Enterprise.

At least the Voyager and Enterprise finales had an actual story to follow with characters I cared about. I enjoyed them more than what Discovery delivered in its finale. But again, glad you enjoyed it. I didn’t.

I’ve always liked Endgame but could’ve been stronger for sure. I always felt what was missing from it was its own epilogue. Yeah no comment on TATV lol. But I think most people feel Demons/Terra Prime is really that show’s true finale since TATV was Riker literally just in a holodeck reminiscing.

Sorry, but the whole Progenitor reveal was a major letdown for me. A lot of stuff to look at, but nothing really happening.

Exactly. This is what happens when you let the special effects, including that virtual reality wall, supplant solid writing.

I never connected with the 32nd century version of the show.

Agreed; I would have been content had they wrapped Discovery after season 2.

A pretty cool episode right up until the great reveal (even then it could’ve done without several minutes of Burnham-Fu that went absolutely nowhere), but everything after was oh so formulaic and therefore rather disappointing. Okay, at least the notion of “we don’t really NEED that super-powerful technology” added a tiny bit to the old “too powerful for any faction to own”-trope and yet it was that stale trope that drove Michael’s final decision… yeah and the rest was mostly nice, but really just padding. The Kovich-reveal? – Yeah, good old Daniels, so what? – Didn’t really tie into ENT’s Temporal Cold War-arc. Saru finally getting married? – Cute, but it would’ve been a real bummer if he wasn’t. Michael and Book getting back together? – So very predictable. And the epilogue? – Boy did they go to lengths only so a single Short Treks episode would finally make more sense. But at least we got to see Owo, Detmer and Bryce one last time.

So another site is reporting Saru was also promoted to Admiral? Did anyone hear this?

Apparently Admiral Vance calls Saru Admiral at the wedding.

It’s not mentioned in dialogue, but Burnham and Book’s son’s name is Leto.

It is mentioned. When I heard it, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly (really, “Leto?” like from Dune?), but I did hear it.

Leto was thr name of Book’s nephew that was killed in S4.

Leto was Book nephew, tht died in the desctruction of the planet.

One last time. The shows problems have remained problems even after their move to the future. Bad writing and poor characters. The final few seasons relied heavily on the audience caring about the characters. Since I never really cared about any of them that just opened the door to the terrible writing and plotting. This season was pretty predictable all the way. The only thing I really didn’t see coming was Moll just believing Burnham when she told her resurrection wasn’t possible. Although Moll was pretty gullible thinking it was. Obviously it wasn’t. When Burnham told her Moll had bought into the idea so hard that there was no way she should have bought it. She gave up way too easily.

That tagged on coda really didn’t work either. Everyone showed up like the end of Titanic. I’m thinking “did everyone die?” That felt weird. And I guess they wanted to make that Sort Trek relevant but I honestly didn’t see the need to slavishly adhere to it. Still makes no sense, however.

Anyway, it’s unfortunate the Academy show remains in that time frame. All these shows made by Secret Hideout have built in uphill battles but I saw no reason to create more speed bumps by remaining in the 32nd century. Well, it is what it is. That’s one way to satisfy the fans who like Star Trek Discovery. Leaves it open for every actor to show up. And we all know they will.

It didn’t sound like you liked the ending at all but I can’t disagree with some of your issues. I am actually surprised they didn’t resurrect Lak by the end. This is Star Trek, it’s literally a given lol but nice to subvert expectations once in awhile. But overall I did really enjoy it although I was very mixed on the season as a whole.

But I know your thoughts on all the modern shows and they are not very positive lol. But maybe the Academy show will surprise you and others. If not, you will always have ENT, TOS and DS9 to watch.

I have TOS, Enterprise and the feature films on disc. If DS9 ever gets remastered I’ll pick that up. Until then those are the episodes and films I check in on from time to time for my Trek fix.

I did like Prodigy’s first half, however. Hoping their 2nd season can get back to that level.

Deep Space Nine’s first two seasons look hilariously bad on DVD, you’d think someone taped it off tv on a VCR to a VHS tape and that was the version they put on disc. I wish they’d do a 2k 35mm scan. At this point I’ll live with an upscale of the effects, just do it.

Well, that’s done, then.

I truly loved the finale overall. Yeah, there were certainly questionable and unnecessary things in it to say the least but overall it worked for me. I just loved how Trek-y it all felt. I loved how everything looked inside the portal and we met a progenitor (I was hoping among hope we met the original from TNG but yes I know the actress is now 90) to ultimately deciding it was just too powerful to use and so they got rid of it. Yeah I think most people thought they would either destroy it or put it somewhere that no one could access it but it was a very Trek conclusion.

And the visuals and FX were very impressive and beautiful throughout the episode. It felt like a movie and very cinematic. All the money was on the screen for sure.

The best moment for me was when Kovich revealed he was Agent Daniels. That literally got a huge GASP out of me lol. I was truly surprised but a very welcomed one. It was a great twist in so many ways, mostly because we always knew he was involved with the Temporal Wars. I literally went back and watched a ton of Daniels clips on Youtube lol. It really makes you look at Kovich time on the show very differently now.

I thought Saru and T’rina’s wedding was a nice way to end the episode which was obviously the true ending of the episode. We saw it all coming but it was still nicely done.

And I loved the epilogue so much. It was sweet and very endearing. It was nice to see Michael and Book decades into the future happy with a family. And while the tie in to Calypso felt a bit clunky (and raises SO many questions lol) I still liked it as the final scene. It is a little sad Zora is basically out there just waiting for Craft until the 43rd century but I liked the existential feel to it.

While the season has been VERY mixed for me to say the least I thought it ended well enough and sadly the first finale I can truly say I loved on this show lol. I didn’t hate season’s four finale but I was so checked out on the show by then I just didn’t care by then. It’s certainly not All Good Things level but I will say it is better than Endgame and certainly better than TATV lol. But I give the finale an 8/10.

There are certainly things I didn’t like and had issues with which I will certainly talk about but I wanted to leave my overall thoughts on a more positive note. I have given Discovery a very hard time over the last five seasons, most of it well deserved in my book lol. But I have ALWAYS rooted for the show every season and maybe in time my feelings will change on a lot of it. It’s just a very hard show for me to love for sooooo many reasons and still remains my least favorite show in the franchise. But I can also say this was the best season for me by far and I hope everyone who has loved it from the beginning loved it just as much in the end.

Well now that it’s over with, it’s time to leave the 32nd century (for a little while at least ;)) and travel back to the 24th century. The only question is will it be LDS, PRO or Section 31 next? Whatever comes next, I’m excited for it!

Ok now that was awesome. It definitely was a fitting series finale, even if it wasn’t supposed to be originally! I also loved the epilogue, I almost cried as I knew this was the end for these characters. Let’s just hope Starfleet Academy lasts long enough for some of them to return.

Have to admit that while I found plenty to gripe about with regard to the resolution and outcome of the story, the journey and tone of the entire season (and especially the finale) felt pitch perfect Star Trek. Creative and contemplative with excellent character building through sharp writing. This season, more than any other Discovery season, has felt the most embedded in the franchise, I really felt at home and I loved spending every minute with this show. The tedium of recent seasons was gone and enjoyed every moment with this crew and setting. The real standout this season has been Michael Burnham, and that really is the true achievement of the season, she became a confident leader that I believed in and respected for the first time. This really is SMJ grand finale which is the perfect way to end the show.

I will admit to being a little confused by the Daniels revelation, mostly because Kovich didn’t resemble the Daniels I think of at all. I know it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, but the Calypso finale was such a beautiful way to end the story of Discovery. Not only does it give us some finality to the ship, but it also gives a chance to see the ship restored to bookend the show. It’s still insane that Starfleet would abandon its only Spore Drive ship, especially since it’s impossible to classify this thing at this point so people are going to be looking for it. But the Red Directive gives us plenty of head canon to work with to cover those gaps, I suppose.

Either way, I’m extremely happy with the finale and thankful for a season I truly enjoyed…for once! Bravo and farewell! Thanks for giving this TNG+ fan an unexpected gift!

I really enjoyed the finale and this was certainly Discovery’s strongest season since season 2. Loved how it tied into Calypso and the Kovich/Daniels reveal was great.

I would agree as well. This is certainly the strongest season since season 2 and it’s probably a tie for me between them.

I got emotional. I will be watching that again. They did a good job.

So did I man…so did I.

Usually when I’m crying after watching an episode of Discovery it’s for an entirely different reason lol.

LOL True. But this season I was not crying and yelling at the same time!

One of the poorest final episodes I have ever seen.

I have wanted each and every episode to be better, I have tried to justify to others to keep trying to watch this show.

There are great sci-fi stories and adventures but on the whole something keeps missing the spot.

This is the first final I have ever wanted to end and spent time watching the clock.

I felt no emotion to the characters, even though I wanted too and I really wanted a great last episode.

The show ended consistently with how it always was throughout the five seasons: Heavy on loooong, manufactured emotional beats; light on particular details of the plot actually making any sense whatsoever. Heavy on characters wrestling with emotional quandaries the audience has moved well past already; light on organic character development that feels earned. Random thoughts immediately after watching: This episode had about five endings. Quite over-written. I love how we’ve been primed all season for SaT’rinaru’s wedding… and then Burnham and Booker ditch the reception because more space adventures! That’s just cold. Kovich is revealed as “Agent Daniels”… my mouth drops open for 10 seconds… and all I can think to say is… “Who?” Because I haven’t watched most of Enterprise, and what I have seen of that series I’ve forgotten. (Ironically, I did just start watching from the beginning along with the Greatest Generation podcast so I suppose there’s a chance I might finally see the whole show with Archer and co.) I know the writers were going for a deep cut and I suppose this technically qualifies. I’m guessing many Disco watchers had the exact same reaction as me: nonplussed. How does it make sense for there to be TNG and DS9 memorabilia on Kovich’s wall, if he’s a character from Enterprise? For a moment I was thinking they were going to make him out to be Luther Sloane (Section 31, DS9) and as dumb as that would have been, at least I would have known that character. Oh, sure, they tossed in a cryptic line about “other places” so you can head-canon Daniels into the other shows, if you care to try. But sorry, that’s not how nostalgia and callbacks work at all. It was completely shoehorned fake canon stuffed into a deep cut reference. That really clanged. Speaking of shoehorned—I had thought the writers had given up on resolving the Calypso conundrum. Turns out, they should have left it alone. Completely whiffed on tying things up in a way that made sense. Stripping “A” off the paint job and flying it to the middle of nowhere secretly because something something Red Directive? That’s not an explanation. That’s the writers throwing their hands in the air and going, “I got nothin’.” I did speculate this is exactly how it would play out, though. So, no surprise here. What really matters is, Burnham was teary-eyed for a good, long while, feeling her feelings! They sure used the heck out of every square inch of the AR wall. I didn’t believe any of those locations were actual, real, physical places. But that’s become the norm in modern TV. The contemporary equivalent of TOS-style purple skies and painted cardboard rocks on every planet. Not the worst sin, just not nearly as effective as the VFX-obsessed producers probably believe it is. (See most of Andor for an example of how to make sci-fi locations look dense, interesting, and realistic.) Kinda bold move not to bring L’ak back in the episode, I suppose. I expected they would go for the easy, happy ending. They did leave the door open for Moll to find some miracle way to return him in the future, of course. Sadly, I just feel nothing for either of those characters. I’m already forgetting about them. Tilly’s going to be in the Academy show. We get it. We get it. (sigh) I couldn’t help myself, I had to laugh out loud at the nonstop camera shakes and spinning. It’s always been too much. But they cranked it to eleven for the finale. Really felt like a parody, but it was done in earnest. I got dizzy and disoriented, and not in a way that enhanced my enjoyment of the show. I literally said out loud, “stop moving the camera for no good reason!” Lock it down and let these people act, for crying out loud. Speaking of crying, the final final final end scene had me going, “yeah, I don’t really feel anything when it comes to saying goodbye to at least half of these characters, because we don’t know them.” Sad that in five seasons the writers couldn’t give any meaningful characterization to most of the bridge crew. I hope the actors get good residual paychecks or something, because they will get zero career benefits from appearing as a glorified background actor. A few of those people weren’t even in this season, right? But they show up at the end to hug and cry and say goodbye. I do remember there was a scene where that Saurian sneezed a lot of snot on Burnham one time. I think that’s about it, though. Farewell, Disco. You went out the same way you came in. Trying way too hard, yet not hard enough, completely unaware of how awkward you really …  Read more »

I loved some things about this episode and hated others, which is how  Discovery  usually stacks up for me. :-) Exploring the galaxy with Starfleet never gets old, and the Starfleet mandate to not only explore but also to help allied planets in trouble, to protect everyone the Prime Directive allows, and to just generally make the galaxy a better place never gets old for me.

I do wish that we hadn’t had a REALLY extensive fistfight between Burnham and Moll during the middle of the episode, though. We’re trying to bring a person back to life, to keep the Breen from destroying everything, and to discover how life was created, and it all comes down to a FISTFIGHT? Seriously? I know Kirk had to have a fistfight in nearly every episode because NBC demanded “action,” but  Discovery  is on a streaming service … is a fistfight really still necessary? I mean, the backgrounds during the fight were gorgeous, but that just made the whole idea of a fistfight seem even more incongruous to me.

I hate, hate hate Olatunde Osunsanmi’s direction. EVERY time he directs an episode, his direction calls attention to itself, as if the director can’t resist saying, “Look at me; look at meeeee!” The constant camera spinning feels weird and juvenile to me; the direction is supposed to SUPPORT the story, not get in the way of it.

While I agreed with Burnham’s decision to let the Progenitors’ tech fall into the black hole, I thought that spending 30 seconds on that decision vs. twenty minutes on Admiral Burnham and her son and the setup to  Calypso  was a rather imbalanced placement of priorities. I would have liked to have seen Burnham talk aloud about the GOOD that Progenitors’ tech might have enabled her to do and to balance that against the possible negative consequences, whereas she only talked about building an army.

Good bye,  Discovery!  Thank you for bringing us  Strange New Worlds  and  Lower Decks  and  Prodigy .

“I hate, hate hate Olatunde Osunsanmi’s direction. EVERY time he directs an episode, his direction calls attention to itself … the direction is supposed to SUPPORT the story, not get in the way of it.”

I’m not a fan of his directing either. His signature move gets used far too much.

Plus, even from the start it was obvious that the Maguffin would either be fake or destroyed. No way can that sort of power be lying around for just anyone to grab. Even for the awful writing crews at Secret Hideout.

By and large a great episode.. the ending was great.. EXCEPT the contrived ending that made no sense from an in-show perspective. Having them redo the ship back to her original look and parking her in a nebula is a great idea for fans who just MUST have a connection to “Calypso”, but in-universe, from the characters perspective, the best they could do to make it make sense is ‘a red directive’. It literally makes no sense that this ship gets parked in a nebula after being remade to look like she originally did, and not at the fleet museum, if you’re looking at it from in-universe, in-show, at that moment perspective and NOT from a fan who is hung up on the show connecting to a 15-minute short from six years ago. And it took me right out of the moment.

It would have made far more sense to have her restored to her original configuration for the Fleet Museum and putting her there in the series finale so that fans that simply MUST have that connection to “Calypso” can use their imagination to say that some time after the show the ship must get stolen, pulled out of mothballs, or whatever.

Oh, and what a crappy thing to do to Zora, to deliberately leave her aboard an abandoned ship for a thousand years by herself. I guess there are no AI rights in the 32nd century.

I’m going to try to rewatch.. but I go back to.. what is the why? There was a mention of Craft.. but the only thing I could figure was to go back to season 2 when Discovery protected itself.. so they couldn’t destroy it.. had to abandon it.. so it was there to protect the sphere data?.. maybe?

What’s more secure – the Fleet Museum, or some random place in a nebula by itself where nobody’s watching it and anyone could stumble upon it? Okay granted, the ‘red directive’ mentioning Craft indicates someone – Kovich/Daniels – knows it won’t be for a thousand years… and now Kovich/Daniels has taken on the role of a god who can control history and the fates of people and or worlds and or civilizations with his omniscience. A bit much.

My headcanon retcon: Discovery is also going back in time to 2258 and hiding, not just in a nebula, but in time… That’s why it’s disguised into its older form.

Okay – I’ll confess – I teared up a bit when the camera panned over some of that Trek memorabilia in Kovaks office

For all my railin against this episode.. that was cool. Not emotional for me, because this show has lost me to the point that not even those artifacts are enough to get me emotional.

I understand – I’m older than Kovak so anything that creatively integrates TOS and TNG hits me – lol

I thought it was weird he would have them. And Burnham wouldn’t have known what any of them were anyway.

That’s ok.. it was really just for us. I would’ve liked to have seen a bigger array of stuff.. Enterprise, TOS.. I just recall seeing TNG and DS9 stuff.

Oh, what an adventure. My thanks to the cast and crew of Star Trek: Discovery for a five-season voyage.

At the end of the day I’m glad Picard and Discovery had a beginning, middle, and end. Despite the fact sine may not consider it perfect, Star Trek, canon. I’m glad it was able to wrap up.

The final season was a lack luster excise of a Holy Grail quest. Agent Daniels reveal…I just didn’t care.

So basically, the whole season was reset to zero after chasing their tail. A lot like every Doctor Who story: everyone runs around concerned about universe ending consequences… and then nothing happens.

That’s not fair. Sometimes in Doctor Who the universe did actually end. Or at least part of it got wiped out.

Until it’s not. Gallifrey’s destroyed. Oh look it wasn’t after all! … etc.

I think the ending highlights that they had a great concept but watered it down concerning having a 23rd century starship crew end up in the future after something catastrophic had destroyed the Federation and having them having to completely rebuild it. You’d be back to starships being powerful capital ships in the middle of nowhere, no back up, the need to colonize and connect with alien races, threats being extremely dangerous, space the final frontier. The stakes would even be higher. In Balance of Terror the Captain had to make decisions on behalf of the Federation due to communication times, they could have had it where Michael was making decisions because she was all that was left of the Federation. Also a nice theme about the 23rd century frontier can-do boldly go spirit persevering, that today’s humanity still has a place in the 35th. You’d get to reboot Star Trek without having to reboot Star Trek! I think Discovery would have been much stronger had they gone all in vs. a watered down burn, the Federation isn’t destroyed or perverted, it’s just in hiding, the Burn is just a childs temper tantrum, etc. Ironically… I guess this means even this version of the Federation falls and only an old Discovery for some reason can save the day? What? Why? What happens? I actually want to watch that show, as long as they show and not just tell.

I think the ending highlights that they had a great concept but watered it down concerning having a 23rd century starship crew end up in the future after something catastrophic had destroyed the Federation (temporal war and all) and having them having to completely rebuild it. Outside that I think Discovery was a better show pre time jump. You’d be back to starships being powerful capital ships in the middle of nowhere, no back up, the need to colonize and connect with alien races, threats being extremely dangerous, space the final frontier. The stakes would even be higher. In Balance of Terror the Captain had to make decisions on behalf of the Federation due to communication times, they could have had it where Michael was making decisions because she was all that was left of the Federation. Also a nice theme about the 23rd century frontier can-do boldly go spirit persevering, that today’s humanity still has a place in the 35th. You’d get to reboot Star Trek without having to reboot Star Trek! I think Discovery would have been much stronger had they gone all in vs. a watered down burn, the Federation isn’t destroyed, it’s just in hiding, the Burn is just a tantrum, etc. There are still hundreds of Starships after all. Ironically… I guess this means even this version of the Federation falls and only an old Discovery for some reason can save the day? What? Why? What happens? I actually want to watch that show, as long as they show and not just tell.

It’s been a long road.

To me the final scene was a way to reintroduce the original discovery to the universe and delete the red directive on the time jump. Now they can say “oh look we found this long lost ship finally” Yeah it’s a stupid head canon but it could work.

I can’t stop thinking about Zora. Stuck out there, all on her own, for a thousand years.

Did Michael destroy/kill a Progenitor along with the tech?

Did this ending essentially rip off the ending of BSG?

The tech wasn’t destroyed, just moves inside the event horizon.

Thirty seconds of dialog by Kovich could have explained the Calypso situation. He could have said how remarkable Discovery was to history… and when it time jumped, a copy of the ship opened up a new alternate universe. One where they abandoned ship and history in that universe split. It would have tied his comments about the mirror and Kelvin universe he made earlier in the series to the Calypao short…. Plot hole solved … it also would have opened up future Trek storylines as Kovich leads research into this other universe…. Sigh ….

Umm who activated the spore drive at the end?

Burnham and a crew were aboard the Discovery as it departed. After travel to coordinates in deep space, Burnham and crew abandoned ship.

I thought the finale was very good, not great, but as others have said it felt very much like Star Trek. I am not sure what they ended up filming post production, but I assume it was much of the epilogue with Booker and Burnham and their son along with the final scene on board Discovery. Both scenes were filled with hope for the future (even if Zora has to wait for the 42nd century) and that is very Star Trek.

Regarding Agent Daniels, USS Enterprise – nice touch and connection with the much maligned Enterprise. Let’s hope we get to see what really happened to Archer and the rest of his crew sometime in the future (I choose to ignore that series finale as something that didn’t happen haha)

From a ranking standpoint, I would give this finale a solid 7.5 out of 10. Far better than the Enterprise and TOS finales which were simply terrible, but behind TNG and DS9. Maybe it slots in just behind Voyager’s Endgame.

As for legacy, yeah like many I hated the first half of S1 and the show did its best to slowly battle back from a terrible debut, with varying levels of success and failure. In retrospect I must admit Discovery did take some big chances, once again with varying levels of success and failure.

Ultimately, although alienating many legacy fans, Discovery was in many ways ground-breaking, in the last three seasons embracing IDIC more than any other series and targeting new demographics. The show did manage to attract an expanded audience as evidenced by the rather surprising ratings numbers – at least for S5. The show also helped spawn Short Treks, SNW, Picard, LDs and Prodigy and the upcoming S31 and SFA – and that is a worthy legacy by itself. Congrats to the cast and crew of Discovery.

Btw, even though it had just 5 seasons, the show did last 7 years (2018-2024). Let’s hope SNW will exceed that run. LLAP!

I will admit I found the “coda” a bit off-putting. All that to make Calypso canonical? But looking at it, I’m seeing more a bit of them using Calypso for the coda, not the other way around. But there was something else: The only people we really saw were Burnham and Book, and mentions of Tilly and Vance (still on duty? That’s a long time.) Everyone else was in Michael’s vision. Did they really have to do that? She said she had a crew, but there was no one else on the bridge. They had all the actors there- couldn’t the bridge doors have opened and they all would have come out, a little aged? (For that matter, why wouldn’t Book come along?) For all the criticisms that this was the Burnham show, that really sealed it.

Burnham’s Pointless Fisticuffs: Apparently, twenty minutes of gratuitous fighting is the best use of our protagonist’s time before she remembers that talking might be a more effective strategy.

Rayner and Nhan’s Non-Roles: Characters so crucial to the story that they could have been completely omitted without anyone noticing.

Culber’s Magical Connection: Culber’s metaphysical link to Jinaal conveniently giving him the knowledge of subspace frequencies. Because that’s how pseudoscience works, right?

Puzzle in Two Dimensions: Introducing the concept of extradimensional thinking only to present a mundane two-dimensional puzzle.

The Great Anti-Climax: Burnham’s profound encounter with ancient technology boils down to learning absolutely nothing new or exciting.

Unnecessary Epilogue: Adding a continuity fix for a short episode that no one really needed, because tying up loose ends from a Short Trek story is clearly a top priority in a series that utterly wrecked canon anyway.

Spore Drive Nonsense: The already ridiculous spore drive is taken to new heights with impossible feats of magic tech, defying all known laws of science and common sense.

Glad this series is over. Don’t know how anyone ever liked it, but if you did, sorry you’re losing a show you liked. But for me – don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Discovery!

I mostly agree with all points. Except that I think Rayner offer a lot to the season and that the climax was an anti-climax. Keeping the mystery was better drama, and better sci fi. It worked story-wise because Michael overcomes her God complex and makes a wise and reasoned choice that reflects the personal growth that she’s experienced in rumor with no evidence to support the rumor until this moment.

Star Trek finally realizes its potential in its finale. While remaining true to Discovery, the show finally feels like Star Trek. The writers managed to satisfy character arcs while subverting my expectations: Michael gets the opportunity to become a god, and refuses it, overcoming her messiah complex. Stamets doesn’t get his “legacy” but he learns to accept who he is and what he’s been a part of. The epilogue was mostly unnecessary. How fitting that the entire bridge crew would show up and have no dialogue and nothing to do.

And they didn’t even really show up! The actors did and the characters didn’t.

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