gay couples in star trek

Star Trek’s First Gay Couple That Wasn’t

Their interaction is immediately flirtatious, which was shocking considering the era in which it aired — early 1993, when queer characters were regarded as a daring novelty on television. Just a few years earlier when Thirtysomething depicted two male lovers, advertisers pulled $500,000 worth of ads ; later in 1993, queer characters on Tales of the City would prompt Republicans to call for a cancellation not just of the show, but of the entire Public Broadcasting System.

So why did DS9 ’s producers decide to take such a huge risk with a gay couple on their new show? They didn’t. It was all the sly work of one actor who saw an opportunity to slip some subtext under the showrunners’ noses.

Since its start in the mid-1960s, Star Trek has had a reputation for breaking boundaries. Creator Gene Roddenberry was one of the only producers who would hire women to write; he made sure to feature characters of various ethnicities; and he fought to put one of the first interracial kisses on the air. (There had been others, but Star Trek ’s was the most prominent to date.)

That’s not to say the show was perfect — it can be shockingly sexist, managing to fail the Bechdel Test with a determination that seems almost impressive. In one episode, the Enterprise stops at “a planet dominated by women” who give the ship’s computer a female “personality,” which means that its voice becomes sensual, affectionate, and tinged with giggles.

But given its time, Star Trek still managed to make a name for itself as one of the most progressive shows on television, despite the original series only running from 1966 to 1969. Given that history, it might make sense that the franchise would be ready to tackle queer couples like Garak and Bashir when it returned to television with The Next Generation in the late ‘80s.

Alas, it was not. Creator Gene Roddenberry promised that there would be gay characters, and writer David Gerrold even wrote a script to fulfill that promise for TNG ’s first season. But Gene’s health was failing, and a team of producers was taking over that was clearly averse to showing anything queer. They axed the script with two gay men; when Gene proposed showing same-sex couples in the background, they told a writer to ignore him. A guest character whose gender identity changes is deemed un-romanceable (though one of the characters offers, “perhaps one day our ability to love won’t be so limited”).

So by the time Deep Space Nine came along in 1993, it seemed as though the franchise’s interest in trailblazing had gone cold.

But one actor decided to take things into his own hands. Andrew Robinson had been hired to play the character Garak, a charismatic tailor who might also be a spy for the recently-departed Cardassian army. In reading the script, Robinson started to wonder why his character would introduce himself to Bashir, and decided that the interest was, at least at first, sexual. And so he threw himself into a flirtatious delivery: He locks eyes, he smiles, he offers physical touch. Every line of dialogue seems to feature hungry air quotes.

Not everyone picked up on the delivery, but many in the audience did; and Garak/Bashir fan works exploded on what was, at the time, a relatively young Internet. But alas, the writers of the show avoided any explicit exploration of their relationship. Though Garak would return for all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine , the flirtation remained subtextual, never explicit. Years later, showrunner and writer Ira Steven Behr would express remorse at their failure to plumb those depths, and said that he wished they’d had Garak come out as gay so they could have explored the relationship further.

Fortunately, though, fan works were far less inhibited. Starting on Usenet forums and then moving to Fanfiction.net and later ArchiveOfOurOwn.com, thousands of stories and images (some quite bawdy!) examined the pairing of Garak and Bashir from every conceivable angle. Robinson himself contributed to the discourse, writing a novel about his character that took the form of an extended, affectionate letter to Bashir.

And finally, last year — two decades after the series ended — the actors who played Garak and Bashir reunited for readings of fan-written scripts, including one on which their characters are married. Meanwhile, with the Star Trek franchise under new leadership, Discovery and Picard have introduced queer characters, and even updated old ones to have had same-sex romances in the intervening years.

It’s disappointing that the people running the show back in the ‘90s were unwilling to follow Gene’s lead. But it’s also unsurprising that fans were willing to take matters into their own hands. Star Trek has always attracted a fandom that dreams of humanity at its best — a philosophy that Gene himself distilled into a simple concept: Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

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How Queer Is Star Trek ?

Star Trek is not just one of the longest-running sci-fi franchises ever, it is also the most hopeful. The Federation represents the pinnacle of humanity: the idea that we can and will make a better life for each other. Yet, despite Trek’s message of a better future for all, LGBTQ+ characters are few and far between, and this exclusion has led to more than a few clashes between Star Trek creators and fans in the past. As Star Trek: Discovery heads into its next chapter , let’s look back at the franchise’s history of LGBTQ+ representation. Does Discovery fulfill the promise of a more harmonious, progressive future? Or does it, too, fall prey to the pitfalls that have plagued Star Trek’s past?

Not in front of the Klingons

For decades, queer people have been drawn to Star Trek , and the shows have gained cult status within the gay community. Why? To answer that question, we need to slingshot around the sun and time-warp back to The Original Series , a show with so much sparkling chemistry between its male leads that Kirk and Spock became the OG ship, launching a thousand fan fictions—which, back in the ‘60s, were painstakingly typed out on typewriters and handed around at conventions.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry did not vocally oppose the fans interpreting Kirk and Spock as lovers. Always a supporter of fan works, Roddenberry attended many of the first conventions, and encouraged his writers to read fanzines ( Spockanalia , in particular)—and although these didn’t include “slash” fanfiction, he wasn’t unaware of this fan response to the show.

When interviewed in 1979 for the book Shatner: Where No Man , Roddenberry was asked what he thought of the fan belief that Kirk and Spock were in love. His response was thoughtful: “Yes, there’s certainly love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, we never suggested in the series [that there was any] physical love between the two. But we certainly had the feeling that the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style of the 23rd century.”

But it wasn’t just the homoerotic subtext that LGBTQ+ fans subscribed to. Star Trek has long been a beacon of hope for marginalized people, as it presents the vision of a better future , one in which humanity has learned to celebrate diversity. Star Trek teaches us that we can not only resolve our differences but learn to love them, an idea that has strengthened countless viewers.

That was certainly the case for Wilson Cruz, who plays Dr. Hugh Culber, Discovery’s doctor and husband of Chief Engineer Paul Stamets. Speaking to me on the eve of Discovery’s season two premiere, Cruz explained that Star Trek was very important to him as a child. “I was one of those kids who needed to be reassured of a hopeful future, and Star Trek did that for me. It helped me imagine a future where I could love whoever I wanted, and inspired me to do whatever I needed to do to get us closer to that.”

This message, along with a comparatively broad scope of representation in terms of race and gender, has long appealed to the queer community. We watch Star Trek because it gives us the rare opportunity to see a version of the future where we also have a place among the stars. Or at least, it does in theory.

Unfortunately, there is a divide between what the Federation claims to be, and what it actually is. Star Trek’s writers want us to believe that the Federation is a utopian society, wherein the social problems of the past have been solved. And yet, nothing is ever that simple, and fiction can’t help but be a product of its time. The Federation might be beyond sexism, racism, and homophobia, but its creators certainly aren’t—which became more evident as the years wore on, and fans started to demand canon gay representation.

Infinite diversity…except for the gays

Trek’s vision of a utopian future was perhaps strongest in The Next Generation , as the crew of the Enterprise-D traversed the galaxy, solving conflicts with diplomacy and staying true to the Federation’s values (even veganism ). With this new era of possibilities came the idea that Star Trek could actually feature a gay character. This was suggested to Gene Roddenberry during a Boston fan convention in 1987, and he pledged to introduce a gay character in The Next Generation . This led to “Blood and Fire,” an unaired episode penned by David Gerrold in 1988 that has become infamous among LGBTQ+ fans.

Eager to address the AIDS epidemic , Gerrold’s proposed script saw the Enterprise crew encountering a ship infected with Regulan bloodworms. The solution called for Enterprise officers to donate blood, a plot point that Gerrold hoped would encourage viewers to do the same, as he told TrekMovie in 2014: “I wanted us to put a card at the end of the episode saying you can donate blood, contact your local Red Cross.” Aboard the infected ship were two male characters (Lts Freeman and Eakins) in a committed romantic relationship. Tertiary characters at best, the two men only appeared in “Blood and Fire,” and their relationship was established in a few lines of dialogue . “How long have you two been together?” asks a one-episode character from the Enterprise. “Since the Academy,” replies Eakins, and nothing more is said about it. As representation goes, it was refreshingly matter-of-fact—or it would have been, had the episode ever made it to air.

In the decades since, opinions have differed on why the episode was canned. According to Gerrold in his interview with TrekMovie , producer Rick Berman raised concerns that the subject matter was too risqué for The Next Generation’s timeslot, and that it would cause the show to lose viewers. This led to weeks of heated debate among the staff writers, resulting in the episode being axed and Gerrold furiously quitting the series. While we don’t know exactly what went on behind the scenes, it seems safe to say that there were concerns among the producers that showing gay characters onscreen would hurt ratings. Roddenberry, however, didn’t give up on his promise to fans—though he wouldn’t live to see it fulfilled.

On August 8, 1991, Roddenberry was quoted in the magazine The Advocate as saying: “In the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, viewers will see more of shipboard life in some episodes, which will include gay crew members in day-to-day circumstances.” This interview was conducted in response to a fierce letter-writing campaign from fan group the Gaylactic Network, which implored the Star Trek writers to include gay characters. Both sci-fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke and actor Leonard Nimoy (Spock) wrote letters in support of this campaign. Yet, despite Roddenberry’s renewed pledge to include gay representation, he died just two months later, leaving Rick Berman at the reins of the franchise. The Next Generation never featured a gay character…although it did come close.

The Next Generation often explored social topics through allegory, and in the season five episode “The Outcast,” the writers tackled themes of sexuality, gender, and ostracisation. In the episode, Riker falls for Soren, a member of an androgynous race who identifies as female, in defiance of the accepted neutral gender. Soren is ultimately forced to undergo “treatment,” a brainwashing procedure that is a clear criticism of conversion therapy —a bold stance to take in 1992. For Jonathan Frakes, however, the writers fell short of making a real impact.

“It seemed to me that it was such a great opportunity, since Roddenberry had always taken such pride in addressing these issues, to cast a man in that part instead of a female actor.” Frakes, who played William Riker and continues to direct many episodes of Star Trek shows, told io9 that he feels that by casting Soren as a woman, The Next Generation missed the chance to show a true outcast story, as two male actors portraying a romantic couple would have challenged viewer perceptions at the time. “I mean, that was the message of the whole show,” he said, “But we had this girl and we put a Puck wig on her to make her look unisex. I don’t know, it was very bizarre.”

Considering that “The Outcast” was The Next Generation ’s only response to the fan campaign for gay characters, it’s a shame that the writers yet again fell back on allegory. And it didn’t have to be allegorical—although having a male actor portray Soren only occurred to Frakes years later, the writers considered casting a man, but the idea was shot down. Explaining the situation to the San Jose Mercury News later in 1992, Berman again raised his concern of viewer reactions: “Having Riker engaged in passionate kisses with a male actor might have been a little unpalatable to viewers.”

Had “The Outcast” featured a male actor in the role of Soren, this would have been a huge stride forward for television, as there had only been four gay couples on TV thus far . Yet, just like with “Blood and Fire,” attempts to make Star Trek queerer were prevented before the episode aired, and Soren was portrayed by a cis female actor instead. As it stands, “The Outcast” was still an important step for Star Trek challenging the boundaries of gender and sexuality, and it was one which paved the way for the next spinoff to be even bolder.

“Time to win the war”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Discovery marks the first time a queer relationship was depicted on Star Trek . But while Stamets and Culber are the first long-running gay couple, the honor of the first kiss between two women in Trek history goes to Deep Space Nine .

Jadzia Dax was a Trill, an alien comprised of a 700-year-old symbiote and a mortal host. As symbiotes switch between male and female hosts, this enabled the Deep Space Nine writers to push the boundaries of sexuality: Jadzia commented on the attractiveness of various women, and would often talk about her experiences living as a man. This came to a head in the 1995 episode “Rejoined,” wherein Jadzia is reunited with Lenara Khan, wife of Dax’s previous male host. Despite the Trill law against reassociation, ie: rekindling old romances, Jadzia and Lenara are unable to overcome their attraction to one another—and thus was born Star Trek’s first gay kiss.

When io9 spoke to Ronald D. Moore on Deep Space Nine’s 25th anniversary , we asked him why, as co-showrunner and writer of “Rejoined,” he chose to cast Lenera Khan as a woman. “It was really built into the concept of the Trill, so we thought what if Dax encountered a woman from the past that it had been involved with as a man, y’know, wouldn’t that be daring. At this point, love between two women was very controversial to portray.”

For Moore, this decision was rooted in a sense of duty to Star Trek’s history of social commentary. “We thought let’s do it, because we are Star Trek and we’re supposed to be challenging these things, in the way that the original series challenged a lot of taboos about race relations back in the ‘60s. So shouldn’t we be trying this too?” Challenging taboos was never going to be easy. But after much back and forth between producers and writers, Moore is happy they were able to get the episode on the air. “We were able to push it through the system and get the episode made,” he said. “Ultimately it was the right moment to win that war.”

“Rejoined” was a heart-wrenching love story, which still resonates with fans today thanks to its exploration of societal prejudices. But beyond the social commentary, “Rejoined” established a crucial fact about the Federation—that same-sex relationships are not just accepted, but unremarkable, as none of Jadzia’s coworkers are surprised at the idea of two women being in love. This was a subtle but significant victory for Star Trek , especially considering how Beverly Crusher had balked at the idea of rekindling her own romance with a now-female Trill in The Next Generation episode “The Host,” which aired in 1991. “Rejoined” was also something of a landmark episode for television at the time, airing just four years after the first gay kiss in USA TV history (on LA Law in 1991), and featuring the fifth lesbian kiss ever to be shown on television. And yes, it did indeed prove to be controversial.

Before the episode even aired, several of Paramount’s regional affiliates cut the kiss from the broadcast, and in the aftermath, Paramount’s phone lines lit up with complaints from conservative viewers. In an interview for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion book, producer Steve Oster recalled one viewer phoning the show to accuse them of “ruining my kids by making them watch two women kiss like that.” According to Oster, the production assistant who took the call asked the man if he would be all right with his children seeing one woman shoot the other. When the man replied that this would be fine, the PA said, “Then maybe you should reconsider who’s ruining your kids.” However, Oster also revealed that for every phone complaint the show received, other fans wrote in expressing their gratitude to Deep Space Nine for showing romantic love between women.

The battle continues...

Ultimately though, this was just one episode, and for the rest of the show, Jadzia’s romantic plots focused on men. While modern viewers may be able to recognize Jadzia Dax as bisexual (and arguably genderfluid), much of her sexuality was confined to suggestive comments and subtext, and we never saw her in a romance with another woman. It’s worth noting that Deep Space Nine did feature queer characters in the Mirrorverse episodes, with Intendant Kira Nerys sharing a kiss with the un-joined Trill Ezri Tegan (the eighth lesbian kiss on TV) in season seven’s “The Emperor’s New Cloak,” but they were minor antagonists who didn’t return after that episode.

Then there’s the question of Garak, a recurring character whom actor Andrew Robinson played as “not having a defined sexuality.” Speaking to Liz Sourbut for Amazon in 2012, Robinson explained that for him, Garak’s sexuality was “inclusive,” and that the Cardassian tailor always found his close friend Dr. Bashir attractive. However, he hit roadblocks in trying to portray this attraction. “This is a family show, they have to keep it on the ‘straight and narrow’, so then I backed off from it. For the most part, the writers supported the character beautifully, but in that area they just made a choice they didn’t want to go there, and if they don’t want to go there I can’t, because the writing doesn’t support it.” However, Robinson has subsequently penned several Star Trek books that confirm Garak’s “inclusive” sexuality.

The battle to include queer characters in the main cast of a Star Trek show would rage on for years—and fans hoped this would finally happen when Seven of Nine was introduced to Voyager . In 1995, a fan organization dubbed the Voyager Visibility Project was formed to pressure Paramount to add a gay or lesbian character to the show. This project was endorsed by GLAAD , and Voyager producer Jeri Taylor seemed sympathetic to their cause. When it was announced that Seven of Nine would be added to the show in season four, rumors abounded that she would be a lesbian, or at the very least, that she would “experiment with her sexuality” while adjusting to life after the Borg.

However, in the March 1998 issue of TV Guide , Taylor regretfully debunked these rumors, saying: “The idea is something I’m absolutely sympathetic with, and I have tried several times to do it. But for various reasons there has been opposition, and it gradually became clear that this is a fight I could not win.” Neither Voyager nor prequel series Enterprise featured a queer character in the main cast, and as time wore on— Enterprise ended in 2005—fans got increasingly exasperated with the lack of representation.

The producers were far from oblivious about the fans’ desire for LGBTQ+ characters. In 2011, Brannon Braga (longtime Star Trek producer, and showrunner for Voyager and Enterprise ) told magazine AfterElton that he regretted never including a gay character in the main cast of any Trek show, explaining that the decision-makers were “squeamish” about the prospect. “There was a constant back and forth about how we [should] portray the spectrum of sexuality. There were people who felt very strongly that we should be showing [it] casually, just two guys together in the background in Ten Forward. At the time the decision was made not to do that.” Braga said he felt confident that nowadays, those same decision-makers would make a different call—and with Discovery , the time finally came for Star Trek to live up to Roddenberry’s promise, for better or worse.

Discovery fulfills the promise, but falters

Before Star Trek: Discovery even had a name, another promise was made that we would finally see gay characters walking the decks of a Starfleet vessel. In August 2016, then-showrunner Bryan Fuller told fans that there would “absolutely” be a gay character in the main cast, achieving what had been fought for but blocked for so many years. However, we’re far beyond the era of sneaking gay kisses past censors, and the new show’s queer representation has been contentious to say the least.

Discovery season one introduced us to Lt. Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, a married couple whose love story was already years in the making—which resonated well with Anthony Rapp (who plays Stamets) and Wilson Cruz’s long-term friendship. Reflecting on his time playing Culber, Cruz told io9 how impressed he and Rapp were from the first moment they read the Discovery scripts. “We were moved by how seriously this relationship was being treated by the show, that it was being held up as an example of true love.”

Culber and Stamets are your typical married couple, and it is the understated nature of their relationship that, ironically, makes it rather remarkable. So often in media, if queer people are included it’s to make some kind of socio-political point. We even see this in Star Trek : both “The Outcast” and “Rejoined” revolve around relationship taboos, and feature tragic or bittersweet conclusions. While this has its place, LGBTQ+ life is not inherently political, and it’s important to show queer relationships as just another part of life. This was something that Cruz really appreciated about Culber and Stamets’ romance.

“Our lives are more than just our relationships and our sex lives; our lives are as complicated and complex as anybody else’s,” Cruz told us. “Not all our problems have to do with who we love. Most of them don’t actually. So I’m happy to see that that evolution is happening in media.”

However, Discovery’s approach to representation has not been without its share of controversy. Culber’s death at the hands of sleeper agent Ash Tyler led to huge fan backlash, as many people felt that Star Trek had fallen prey to the surprisingly common “bury-your-gays” trope, in which gay characters are introduced only to be killed later. To say this is damaging would be an understatement, and while no one is arguing that LGBTQ+ characters should be immortal, when representation is so sparse and then queer and trans characters are more likely to die, that hardly sends an affirming message. For this to happen to Star Trek’s first gay couple after years of fighting for LGBTQ+ representation in the franchise, Culber’s death felt even more personal to fans—and to those working on the show.

As he directed “Despite Yourself,” the season one episode in which Culber is killed, Jonathan Frakes was reminded of “The Outcast,” and the shadow of what could have been. “Stamets and Culber’s relationship was so powerful,” he explained, “So important to them and to the show. And I thought oh my God, this is like a strange revisit of a missed opportunity. You don’t want to kill one of the lovers of what is going to be an iconic gay couple on a hit television show! It just doesn’t make any sense.” Frakes also recalled the moment that Cruz was told Culber was being killed off. “I was with Wilson weeping at the idea that he would die on that show. This show was huge for him. It was huge for all of us! But when he got the phone call before he shot that scene, it was devastating.”

Culber’s death was not without purpose, though, and at the end of season one he was able to guide Stamets from beyond the grave. This made for a beautiful moment, one which Cruz found heartening: “I may have died but it really was our love that allowed [Stamets] to save not just our universe, but every universe. Gay love did that! And that’s pretty incredible.”

It is very rare for heroic, romantic moments to be awarded to LGBTQ+ people; if romantic love is going to save the day, usually it will be the love between a man and a woman. Yet, as groundbreaking as it was for Discovery to give this moment to a gay couple, its importance was far overshadowed by the controversy of Culber’s death…although there was still more to the story. [Warning: Spoilers for Discovery season two to follow.]

“You’re my home”

Culber’s resurrection in a shocking season two episode allowed the show to explore him as a character, as he confronted his purpose and found it difficult to reunite with his husband. “I got to define him a lot more this year,” explained Cruz. “He’s such an empath and he really wears his heart on his white sleeve, and that makes him a better doctor.” This made for a compelling story that granted Culber some meaningful character development, while revealing what made Culber and Stamets’ relationship work, even as it fell apart.

Although this plot often falls prey to the trap of telling, not showing (and we’re left wondering if it was tacked-on last minute), every moment between Rapp and Cruz carries great emotional weight, which is due in large part to the strength of the actors. The scene in which Culber tells an ailing Stamets that he’s staying on the Discovery , because Stamets is his home, is one of the finale’s highlights . Of course, the show could always do more—we still haven’t seen any trans or non-binary characters on Discovery —and sole responsibility of the franchise’s LGBTQ+ representation cannot rest on just two characters. Thankfully, there are no longer just two in the main cast, but here, again, we see Discovery both succeed and falter in providing good queer representation.

In a touching finale scene with Culber, new character Jett Reno (played by Tig Notaro) refers to her late wife, continuing the trend of refreshingly matter-of-fact representation. This is an effective way to establish that a character is queer, as Reno’s story doesn’t revolve around her sexual identity. The only weight this revelation carries is to create romantic solidarity between Reno and Culber—not because they’re both queer, but because they have both experienced love and loss. So, points to Discovery for that.

Then there’s Michelle Yeoh’s deliciously amoral Emperor Georgiou, who seems to have a fluid sexuality: At the end of season one, she goes to bed with two Orion dancers, one male and one female. Georgiou being queer is fantastic, especially as she’ll be Star Trek’s first LGBTQ+ lead once her Section 31 series is released. However, she is also a textbook Depraved Bisexual , a damaging trope wherein a bi character’s sexuality is framed as another part of their villainy.

While you could argue that Georgiou doesn’t like boundaries of any kind, there’s a scene in the episode “ The Red Angel ” which is stunningly tone-deaf, as Georgiou hits on Stamets only to be told that he’s gay, which she scoffs at. Not only is this a strange way to establish that the terms “gay” and “pansexual” are still being used in the 23rd century, it also perpetuates negative stereotypes about opportunistic bisexuality and sets a bi woman against two gay men. Again, Discovery tries for good representation but plummets into the pitfall of another damaging trope.

Yet, as the USS Discovery sails into the future in season three , Discovery has an excellent opportunity to provide LGBTQ+ representation that goes beyond the classic definitions of gay, straight, and pan/bisexual, as well as binary gender. Everyone deserves to get a slice of that bright future, and showing LGBTQ+ youth a world where they are accepted and loved is what Cruz has always considered to be the most rewarding part of his role. For him, Discovery “sends a message to those young people that we have always been here. That we are a part of the human fabric, and that we will reach the kind of society where your sexuality and gender have less to do with how you’re valued than what you do and who you are. For me, the most important thing is the reassurance to young people that everything is going to be all right.”

Looking to the future

Speculative fiction plays a vital role in our narrative pantheon. It is the space where we can imagine literally any possibility, build better futures, and hope to influence real life by showing what’s possible. If LGBTQ+ people are consistently ignored and cut out of this genre, then a clear message is sent: In all these realms of possibilities , queer people still don’t have a place. That certainly doesn’t support Star Trek’s core theme of inclusivity and celebration of diversity. The promise of the Federation is the promise of the future, a future free from prejudice, a future in which we’ve evolved beyond everything that holds us back.

After the years of prejudice that have plagued Star Trek’s journey to queer representation, Discovery has taken some huge strides forward. It’s no longer surprising if anyone mentions a lover who is the same gender as them. “The universe in which we live in on the show is a place where everyone is willing and capable of loving anyone,” says Cruz, and that’s crucial to establish for an apparently utopian society. Although Discovery has stumbled in providing representation, Star Trek is finally learning how to live up to the hopeful promise of the Federation: That one day, decades or centuries from now, we will all find a better future among the stars—regardless of who we love.

For more, make sure you’re following us on our new Instagram @ io9dotcom .

Spoiler notice: This blog will discuss characters and plot points in various Star Trek shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery. 

When we began working on our QueerSpace project, especially our second episode that explores queer worldbuilding in science fiction literature , I immediately began wondering about Star Trek and its history with including LGBTQ+ characters and storylines. 

To be honest, I expected Star Trek to be at the forefront of LGBTQ+ inclusion. After all, Star Trek : The Original Series (1966-1969) is so well known for being a leader in terms of gender and racial integration — featuring an initial cast of men and women of different races working together. But it turns out this environment of inclusion did not extend to queer identity. I sat down with space history curator and the Museum’s resident science fiction (and Star Trek) expert Margaret Weitekamp to learn more and explore Star Trek ’s history with LGBTQ+ stories and characters. 

According to Weitekamp, part of the reasoning behind Star Trek 's groundbreakingly diverse cast was to signal that the show took place far in the future: “To have a truly integrated group of men and women and aliens of different races working together, we must be centuries from where we are now.” But that representation then had a profound effect in its contemporary moment.

This makes the delay in introducing LGBTQ+ characters even more pronounced. Surely this future society wouldn’t be exclusively heteronormative and cisgender?

The first openly gay characters in the Star Trek television universe weren’t introduced until the first season of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. (Although it is worth noting that in the 2016 film Star Trek Beyond it is established that the Hikaru Sulu of the Kelvin Timeline, portrayed by John Cho, is gay — a nod to George Takei, who originated the role of Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series and publicly came out as gay in 2005.) 

Star Trek: Discovery ’s Paul Stamets and Dr. Hugh Culber, portrayed by out actors Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz, are the first openly gay characters and the first gay couple portrayed in the central cast of a Star Trek tv show. “They don’t start with some big reveal,” Weitekamp explains. “They introduce each character in his professional role, doing his professional stuff, and then there’s this great intimate moment of them standing next to each other, brushing their teeth, just like any couple would.” 

There is one disappointing moment where it seems that Discovery is playing into the “bury your gays” trope with the (spoiler alert!) murder of Hugh Culber. But fear not, he is brought back to life (this is still sci-fi, after all). The team behind the show insist that his short-lived death isn’t a “bury your gays” moment , with executive producer Aaron Harberts saying in an interview with IndieWire : “It was essential that this crime not be gratuitous. It had to push the story, and it had to come from character and emotion. Culber is killed because he’s the smartest person on the ship. He’s not killed because he’s gay. He’s killed because he’s a threat…”

Later on in Star Trek: Discovery , a non-binary teenager named Adira is introduced, portrayed by non-binary actor Blu del Barrio. In a scene in season 3, Stamets, not yet aware of Adira’s pronouns, refers to them as “her,” and Adira corrects him, saying, “‘They,’ not ‘she.’ I’ve never felt like a ‘she’ or a ‘her.” I would prefer ‘they’ or ‘them’ from now on,” which Stamets accepts in stride. When we discussed Adira’s coming out scene, Weitekamp was especially impressed by a moment later in the episode when, with Adira asleep at their workstation, Culber and Stamets have a conversation, both referring to Adira using their correct pronouns without hesitation. Seeing those scenes in succession really shows how simple it should be to respect a person’s identity: Stamets didn't know, now he knows, and now he'll use the right pronouns.

Through Adira we also meet their boyfriend Gray, a transgender Trill portrayed by Ian Alexander, the first trans actor in Star Trek history. As Adira and Gray’s story unfolds, “they really present Stamets, Culber, Adira, and Gray as a kind of queer family of choice,” Weitekamp said.

With Star Trek: Discovery , the franchise made huge strides in introducing LGBTQ+ characters, casting queer actors to play them, and making those characters fully-realized and their experiences authentic.

But it took a while for Star Trek to get there. So what took so long? And was the absence of queer characters as conspicuous as it seems today? 

“It’s really in the 1980s that people start to ask questions about same-sex relationships and that kind of representation in Star Trek ,” Margaret shares. In the mid- to late-1980s, a group of science fiction fans formed a group called the Gaylactic Network with the truly incredible slogan, “Out of the closet and into the universe.”

“As various groups of gay and lesbian science fiction fans, like the Gaylactic Network, start to push that they wanna see more positive representation, Star Trek seems like a really likely place because it had been so out in front in terms of positive depictions of African Americans, Asian Americans, women in leadership roles,” Margaret explains. “So they really start pushing for some way of seeing this addressed.” 

There are conflicting accounts on whether Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry promised that there would be an out gay character in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), but ultimately there isn’t. Instead what we see are a few allegories to queer experiences, most notably in the Season 4 episode “The Host” and the season 5 episode “The Outcast.”

In “The Host” (1991) Dr. Beverly Crusher falls in love with a Trill named Odan. The Trill are a humanoid species joined with a symbiont who can pass from host to host with little concern for the presenting gender of their Trill host. After the symbiont Odan’s host body dies, he is eventually transferred to a new host — this time with a female body. Although the new Odan professes love for Crusher, she rejects the overture from Odan as a woman, saying “Perhaps it is a human failing, but we are not accustomed to these kinds of changes… Perhaps, someday, our ability to love won't be so limited.” 

And then there’s Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 episode 17, “The Outcast” (1992). When I spoke with Weitekamp, she told me this is an episode that she frequently used for classroom discussion when she was teaching. It’s quite fascinating to examine the episode in terms of what it hoped to accomplish, how it was perceived at the time, and the way we interpret it today.

The episode features the J’naii, a humanoid race that has no gender, believing that they have evolved past it. Will Riker meets a member of the J’naii named Soren and their chemistry and attraction is clear. 

Soren confesses to Riker that she secretly identifies as female and the J’naii eventually realize this and arrest her. In order to return to her society, Soren must undergo “psychotectic treatments” to remove her gender identity and make her androgynous once again. Riker sets out to rescue her, but it’s too late. “The heartbreaking thing at the end,” Weitekamp explained, “is the character comes back and says essentially ‘I'm so much happier now that I'm a part of the way society is supposed to be.’ She’s clearly kind of brainwashed.”

This whole episode was intended as an allegory for the way that queer people are often treated by their communities. Soren’s identity is called a “perversion” and she is referred to as “deviant.” The psychotactic therapy is a stand-in here for conversion therapy.

And while this episode was very clearly Star Trek ’s foray into a “gay rights” episode, it left many disappointed. After all, the couple at the center of this big moment in Star Trek history was unmistakably heterosexual. Right off the bat, Weitekamp notes, it’s immediately evident that all members of this adrogynous race — including Soren — are played by female actors: “They very clearly cast a woman as this androgynous figure. So you, the viewer, are not made uncomfortable or made to confront an actual same-sex relationship.” Actor Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker, has since spoken on the subject , saying that the show wasn’t bold enough with their casting in the episode and that it would have been more effective if Soren had been played by a male actor, to really push boundaries.

It’s also fascinating to look at this episode, 30 years on, in the way it approached gender identity. In 1992, it used gender identity as an allegory for homosexuality, but watching it today, you can’t help but wish it could have treated the idea of being non-binary not as an allegory but as an idea to explore respectfully in and of itself. This may have been many viewers’ first exposure to non-binary individuals, yet they are presented as the bad guys, trying to oppress others. And their non-binary identity is telegraphed by removing their personality and emotion, implying that a binary gendered identity is what makes someone lively and interesting. 

Although we cannot change the past, what we can do is continue to establish science fiction as a realm that is welcome to people of all backgrounds because, after all, the future — real or imagined — is what we make it. It’s gratifying to see the strides that Star Trek has made in Star Trek: Discovery and I hope it continues on this show as well as across other Star Trek properties. And who knows, maybe someday we’ll revisit the J’naii and see that storyline play out in a more satisfying way.

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The ‘Star Trek’ Cast on the Radical LGBT+ Representation of ‘Strange New Worlds’

FINAL FRONTIER: PRIDE

The out stars of “Strange New Worlds” discuss what the show’s unapologetic depiction of queerness and gender means to them and the “Star Trek” franchise’s history of allyship.

Pari Dukovic/Paramount+

When the Starship Enterprise finally continues its voyage this week, the loud and proud contingent of LGBTQ+ Star Trek fans will see something very special: themselves, represented in the 23rd century.

“I love that we’re premiering during Pride Month,” actor Melissa Navia tells The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, speaking ahead of the Season 2 launch of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds June 15 on Paramount+. “I feel like our poster is about that, too,” she adds. Promotional advertisements and videos prominently feature rainbow coloring and graphics, much to Navia’s delight. “I don't know if that was on purpose, but I’m going to go ahead and say it was!”

On Strange New Worlds , Navia plays Erica Ortegas, the pilot of the U.S.S. Enterprise . The Star Trek prequel series is set in the future, but also the past; the adventures take place in the 2200s, but it’s several years before those depicted in the original series from the 1960s, when Sulu (George Takei) served as helmsman under William Shatner ’s iconic Capt. James T. Kirk.

When Strange New Worlds launched last summer, Navia was asked by Variety about her character’s androgynous appearance and demeanor. “I like that we’re approaching it in a way that nobody bats an eye. Like, they shouldn’t, right? Everybody should be a bit queer,” she said. “I know I give off this wonderful queer energy. It’s just been a part of who I am.”

Kharen Hill/Paramount+

Almost a year later, Navia tells us she “absolutely” stands by those statements, and the community.

“Throughout my career, the trans and LGBT community have been just such rock stars for me, in terms of people who love what they see in me. They love what I bring to the screen and what I bring to characters,” she says. “The fact is, gender [fluidity] plays almost inherently a part of me and always has. So whenever I’m cast in things, I think people somehow see that. [The LGBT community] have been absolutely my biggest fans.”

“I’m queer,” says actor Jess Bush, without hesitation, speaking about both her own life away from the TV screen and on the Paramount+ streaming series. “I am so delighted that there's more representation for all expressions of sexuality and gender in Star Trek . That’s really exciting to me, and I’m really proud to be a part of that representation.” The Australian native returns as Nurse Christine Chapel, who in this incarnation is an openly bisexual character—but still with the hots for Spock.

“I would like to see [sexuality and gender] explored more for Chapel and for anyone else who’s on the show,” said Bush. “That is something that I think the fandom really appreciates, and it’s also a direct reflection of our society right now. The increased visibility and the increased acceptance of queer folk is something that's being celebrated a lot right now, but is also threatened a lot right now. There’s a lot of violence towards people who are queer.”

Bush was alluding to incidents like the Glendale, California, Board of Education meeting that erupted in a brawl between anti-LGBTQ+ and pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators this month. And as The Daily Beast has reported , far right extremists have been targeting schools that show support for queer students. Bush mentions how, throughout its history, Star Trek has addressed current conflicts through science fiction storytelling, from war to racism and, more recently, LGBTQ+ and nonbinary inclusion.

“I think Star Trek has a certain power that could be used to fight that [violence],” she said. “I urge the [producers] to do that with the writing. I think it’s an opportunity for them to really step up and stand behind our queer fans.”

Those fans have long fantasized—and composed reams of fan fiction—about a potential romance between Star Trek’s original lead characters, Kirk and Spock, shipping them as “Spirk.” Paul Wesley plays a young Jim Kirk on Strange New Worlds , while Ethan Peck, the grandson of the legendary actor Gregory Peck, wears the famed pointed ears this time around.

“I do think one’s relationship with another actor offscreen, or your general chemistry, does actually translate onto the screen,” Wesley says. Spock meets Kirk for the first time in Season 2, and Peck says their foundational friendship was key to that scene.

“It really added a lot of nuance to that moment, the momentous moment that these two characters meet,” Peck says, after which Wesley deadpans: “Can we get ‘Spirk’ tattoos?”

Celia Rose Gooding is breaking ground in Strange New Worlds , not just as the first actor to portray communications officer Nyota Uhura since the death of the trailblazing Nichelle Nichols , but also as the first queer actor to play the role.

“As an out queer person, as someone whose relationship with their gender is ever-evolving and ever-changing, it is so exciting to be a part of this, especially playing a role that has been originated by cis women and has historically only been played by cis women,” Gooding says , adding that she is humbled to be trusted with Uhura’s story .

“To the trans and nonbinary queer community, know that there is an entire cast of people who want to do right by y’all and want to represent y’all in a way that is human and true and beautiful and lovely. And to have your support means the moon and beyond to all of us, but especially to me, because I am someone who has learned the most about myself from queer people, and as someone who is myself every day and has to show up as myself to play this character,” Gooding says.

“It just means a lot to me to be a part of this and to be just a small piece of an incredibly delicious franchise pie and have my little queer stamp on it and say, ‘A queer person was here and reprised the role and made sure that everyone knew that this person is here and is proud to be a part of this community and has a role to play in Star Trek.’ ”

Rebecca Romijn, who fans may recall as Mystique in the first three X-Men movies, plays a character who was hiding a terrible secret that was exposed in the first season. The revelation resulted in her arrest in the season finale, and she will go on trial in the second episode of this second season. Romijn’s character is Una Chin-Riley, an “augment,” meaning she is the result of genetic engineering, which is banned by Starfleet and the Federation. She is the Enterprise’s first officer and Capt. Pike’s “Number One.”

Given that Romijn also previously played a trans woman on TV’s Ugly Betty, we asked her if she saw a parallel between her characters’ experiences and the way society treats trans people as outcasts.

“It's like these three characters keep coming back in my life and I love it,” Romijn says. “Even though we have this utopian, futuristic world in Trek, sometimes we still grapple with these very human issues like prejudice and persecution. That episode really puts the spotlight on that. I think that the message that Una wants to send is, just because I can hide doesn't mean I should have to. And I would like to think that's what a lot of trans people feel like, too.”

Romijn also shouts out Jesse James Keitel, the out trans actor who played a nonbinary villain in a groundbreaking Season 1 episode directed by a trans woman, Sydney Freeland. “Having that episode with them, with Jesse James Keitel, she was so amazing on our show. We just can’t wait to figure out a way to bring her back.”

It’s clear that the stars of Strange New World know how powerful and how radical the show’s LGBT+ representation is.

As an active user of social media, Navia has heard from queer fans, asking about her character’s love life. “I know people want to see more of Ortegas in terms of her relationships and what I would say to that is, ‘Just hang on. Hang on for sure!’” she says. “I can't wait to see what fans and especially the trans and LGBT community continue to see in Ortegas. And hearing from them also inspires a lot of what we then bring to the role. So, thank you to them and, yeah, Pride month: Let's do it!”

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For the first time in Star Trek television history, the upcoming series Star Trek: Discovery will feature an openly gay male couple. This decision by the showrunners continues Star Trek ‘s tenet of an inclusive crew.

At the Discovery panel at the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, actor Anthony Rapp , who plays science officer Lt. Paul Stamets on the series, announced that his character will have a male partner, Dr. Hugh Culber . Culber is played by actor Wilson Cruz . Both actors are openly gay.

“I play the first openly gay character in the history of TV Star Trek,” said Rapp at the Comic-Con panel. “I’m very proud of that and he’s a scientist.”

The only other openly gay character in Star Trek was seen in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond , where it was revealed that Lt. Sulu (John Cho) was gay.

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“Thrilled to hear that #StarTrekDiscovery will feature an openly gay couple played by @ablinokid and @wruz73. How far we’ve come.” Takei said on Twitter.

Cruz’s announcement rounds out Star Trek: Discovery ‘s diverse cast, including Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou) Jason Isaacs (Captain Gabriel Lorca), Sonequa Martin-Green (First Officer Michael Burnham), Chris Obi (T’Kuvma), Doug Jones (Lt. Saru), James Frain(Sarek), and Shazad Latif (Kol), Anthony Rapp (Lt. Stamets), Sam Vartholomeos (Ensign Connor), Mary Wiseman (Cadet Tilly), Mary Chieffo (L’Rell) and Rainn Wilson (Harry Mudd).

A new trailer was released for Discovery at the panel as well. The show’s 15-episode first season will premiere on September 24 at 8:30 PM ET on CBS. Immediately following the first episode’s release, the second episode will be available on CBS All Access, with subsequent episodes released on Sundays. The first eight episodes will run from September 24 through November 5, with the series returning in January 2018.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

23 Comments

July 24, 2017 at 4:10 pm

In recent years television science fiction has more than made up for lost time in turning the genre into an endless attempt to normalize and celebrate sodomy. (Print science fiction has been that way for many years.) In addition to Star Trek, there’s Doctor Who, Orphan Black, Killjoys, Dark Matter, and of course all the Greg Berlanti superhero shows on The CW. The makers of such shows actually believe this is a continuation of the civil rights movement of the sixties, but equating being black with engaging in gay sex is odious.

Greg K Nicholson

July 25, 2017 at 2:50 am

Who said anything about sex?

Why are people so keen on equating romantic relationships with specific ways of having sex? It’s fair enough having an interest in sex, but there’s no need to make *everything* all about sex.

siylencedogood

September 6, 2017 at 1:34 pm

It’s implied by the very nature of homosexuality. Homosexuality is the physical act of having sexual relations with the same sex. A man can love a man without it being homosexuality, but a man cannot have sex with a man without it being homosexuality.

September 7, 2017 at 2:57 am

I dispute your definition, but even if we accept it:

Where has anyone from CBS said that any of the characters are homosexual? They’ve only been described as “gay”, which is universally used to describe people’s genders with reference to romance.

I mean, if you want to spend your time thinking about sex, fine, but then you can’t complain when you see sex in everything.

September 7, 2017 at 5:45 pm

ho·mo·sex·u·al ˌhōməˈsekSH(o͞o)əl/Submit noun 1. a person who is sexually attracted to people of their own sex. synonyms: gay, lesbian; More

Homosexuality 1. sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one’s own sex.

September 12, 2017 at 5:45 am

It seems to me that CBS have been using the word “gay” to mean that these 2 men are in a romantic relationship. You can argue that CBS’s use of English is imprecise according to the definition you’ve presented; I think it’s likely that CBS weren’t aware of this particular definition, or they were simply not using that definition. Meanings of words change. (For example a person might call themself both gay and asexual, if they are romantically attracted to people of the same gender, but have no interest in sex.)

But hey, if you want to talk pedantry, let’s do it. By your definition, “gay” is a synonym for “homosexual”, which is “a person who is sexually attracted to people of their own sex.” It is *not* defined as “a person who does a specific sex act with persons of their own sex”. Homosexuality is a “desire or behaviour”, not *necessarily* a behaviour.

All CBS have told you about these characters, by your definition, is that they are in a relationship, and that they are sexually attracted to men. No mention of doing, promoting or celebrating sex acts.

You are welcome to believe that the promotion for this show has involved many mentions of sex, even though sex has not been directly mentioned. You are welcome to believe that the programme itself will involve many mentions or descriptions of sex. Believing that will not make it so. You are also very welcome to avoid watching the show if you don’t want to.

But it’s illogical to suggest that CBS are promoting a sex act.

September 14, 2017 at 1:18 pm

I think it’s rationalizing that being in a homosexual relationship doesn’t imply the physical sex act. If a heterosexual person states they are in a relationship it is implied that they are engaged in physical acts that reflect the relationship, unless they are specifically being abstinent until marriage. Familial and simple friendships do not imply sexual acts nor does an overtly abstinent relationship due to religious faith or some other compact, but CBS never once mentioned abstinence. It could happen, but I doubt it.

July 25, 2017 at 10:25 am

Odious sodomites? Dude, you’re OG intolerant.

July 25, 2017 at 8:56 pm

To be accurate, I called equating the two odious. You are misrepresenting what I said. Also, I’d hardly call merely having an opinion about this subject “OG intolerant.”

July 26, 2017 at 12:49 am

I’d call it paraphrasing, but whatever. Look, if Star Trek has anal sex themed episodes I’ll be unhappy too — straight or gay. That’s not what the show is about. Including a gay couple on the show is hardly that. If you think so, that’s your own personal hang up. Now I’m not saying that gay characters have to be chaste either. I’m just saying that their sexuality should be treated like most characters. Maybe Kirk liked oral sex & taking a random finger or two. We’ll never know because it’s not relevant. FWIW, comparing any race to a specific sex act is creepy. Luckily Star Trek hasn’t and almost certainly won’t ever do anything like that.

Eric Laranjo

July 24, 2017 at 5:35 pm

I am not a supporter of the LGBTQ agenda. I believe marriage is between one man and one woman, and I do not believe in gender fluidity. So I will give the new show a chance, but if it ends up being propaganda for the LDBTQ agenda, then I have 5 other series and 13 movies that I enjoy watching over and over. I just FYI, I have never been diagnosed with any phobias.

July 24, 2017 at 6:01 pm

I don’t recall there being this much intentional pandering in previous Star Trek series. STD seems very focused on identity and props. The focus on story is questionable. Its interest its setting is arguably worse still.

Seriously? TOS was pretty much entirely pandering to straight white men. They had like 2 main characters who weren’t a straight white man.

July 25, 2017 at 8:51 am

Pandering and casting aren’t the same thing. The closest thing I can think of is STV and the first female Captain. I don’t remember Rick Berman trotting out Avery Brooks and then a few months later Alexander Siddig like “behold, a black guy and an Arab,” respectively, and then pretending like that was going to make me more interested in the show. They were just people, and I thought of them as just people. Now everyone is a token. The production team seems to be guilty of all the -isms Star Trek is supposed to be against.

Even if my people have never been “represented” in Star Trek, I’ve always loved the show. It never even occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t, but I don’t think Star Trek was ever supposed to be about asking where is my pound of flesh?

July 25, 2017 at 9:02 am

There was a bit of “OMG a Russian! and a Japanese!” with TOS, but I take your point. They shouldn’t be saying “Hey guys! Wow! Look at us! We hired a black woman!”

In fairness, I don’t think I’ve seen CBS do this. I think it’s just the various press coverage around it. For those for whom it’s a big deal, OK fair enough, it’s a big deal.

I think we’ll see less of this now that we’re starting to learn more about these characters beyond their (and their actors’) basic identity. I’m hoping that “adopted by Vulcans” is far more interesting than “black woman”.

July 24, 2017 at 6:39 pm

Well here’s to hoping they don’t draw attention to it at any point in the show. That T’Pol & Tripp side show was just annoying.

July 25, 2017 at 3:09 am

Can we all either stop saying “openly gay” or (perhaps more entertaining) start describing Picard as “openly French”?

Frankly, a same-sex couple is hardly medal-winning diversity. Why is nobody genderqueer in the utopian future? – except for Riker’s scandalously-gendered love interest from that genderless species, who eventually went through with conversion therapy? Why are there no trans people? (Trill joining doesn’t count: that’s “gender = body’s appearance” – very much not trans.) Why are the only bi people sadistic BDSM space station intendants from the mirror universe? Why not cast an actual real-life native American to play Chakotay?

(My headcanon: the mirror universe is the one we live in. It’s got far more realistic amounts of war and idiocy, and in our real world bi people exist. In the main Star Trek universe bi people do not exist, which is why Sulu couldn’t possibly have been bi all along in both timelines.)

Star Trek really shouldn’t be claiming to be a bastion of diversity. It hasn’t earned that, yet.

July 25, 2017 at 5:49 pm

Diversity and acceptance = the message of star trek since TOS the only difference is that it seems they’re actually living up to it now, and that it’s 2017

July 25, 2017 at 10:09 pm

Well it’s good to see things in commercial television are cruising right along. Another Trek. No mention of science in the science fiction. But thank goodness they wheeled out this completely unknown and never discussed topic. And ofcourse, a story about a Starship full of space explorers is the perfect plot to showcase the characters ruminations on their fun sweaty parts set against the trials and difficulties of subjugation of the galaxy to accept the many variations of human genitalia thrust at all things animal, mineral and vegetable and comply with unquestioned acceptance and a big kiss. Certainly the design of the newest Enterprise will reflect a more acceptable configuration of being based on the architecture of a mosque. And maybe they will finally do something about that HATEFUL preamble. “To boldly go, where no Lesbian,Gay,Transgendered or self proclaimed Victim status minority has ever gone before.” And the evil threatening space monster empire will be really scarey! With the Trump tufts on their mellons and the ghastly white skin, oh shiver! The space monsters will be so awful, they will have no concern for the feelings of others and blatantly carry guns and have global warming bombs. This show is not SCIENCE FICTION. It’s a proudly displayed matter/anti-matter powered parable of the politically correct agenda. Comercial television’s sole purpose for exsistance at this point. This kind of.story being trotted out for approval by the chief kool-aidoliogists of the fatally misguied used to be funny. Now it’s just pathetic. The drum has been beaten loudly, the agenda is no longer relevant, your point has been made, it’s still flawed , and to wrap it in the well used funeral shroud of another Star Trek fiasco is ridiculous. At least by this galactic gay couple annoucement is a guarantee that the cancellation isn’t far behind.

July 26, 2017 at 4:13 pm

They need to remake “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” for modern audiences…

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/0/0b/Bele.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080809070725&path-prefix=en

“You’re queer on one side and straight on the other.” “I am gay on the right side.” “I fail to see the significant difference.” “Lokai is straight on the right side. All of his people are straight on the right side.”

October 23, 2017 at 5:51 am

Anthony Alterbridge

July 27, 2017 at 2:48 am

I am not in favor of watching gay people make out. It’s not my preference. I have watched other TV shows and they have gay couples too. In the end it hasn’t offended me, since that is not the focus of the show. What is amazing is how much focus Star Trek is putting on gay relationships. They took Sulu’s character and during the Kelvin timeline made him gay. Even George Takei didn’t think that was right, despite his desire to have gay characters involved in Star Trek.

I planned on watching Discovery as I have with with all the other Cannon out there. Heck, I even watch the non-Cannon video’s (Star Trek Continues, and can’t wait for Axanar). I decided not to watch it since they are charging for it through CBS’ All Access, and because I feel like there’s too much attention put on the gay rights, as opposed to the real focus – Star Trek… the great stories told, the great characters (yes, they can be gay, just don’t go crazy. I’d expect the same for the heterosexual characters too). The ships, the whole evolution of technology, and science. Yes, civil rights were a focus of Star Trek, but notice it wasn’t shoved down everyone’s throats all the time.

In the end it’s all about respect. I do not force my values on anyone else. I will share my values to those who want to hear about them. I believe everyone should respect each other, even if opinions are on the opposite side of the galaxy. I would hate to see Star Trek reduced to a political pawn of the writers in Hollywood. Write good stories, develop the characters, advance the technology, and Star Trek will thrive.

August 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

aside from the autistic speech of the sons of the empire , AND THEIR GARBAGE REDESIGN NO ONE ASKED FOR ; DISCOVERY is the apology for giving us voyager * and by correlation the half a**ed later seasons of enterprise * id rate the plot for this miniseries as 8 out of 10 ( the 2 stars for the klingons trash ) ; seriously how the heck can you redesign the klingons but not the andorians or the nerdy vulcans >__>

i dont care if there are gay characters , trek is all about utopia on earth ( and we would have it if everyone would just BE EXCELLENT TO EACHOTHER ) ; this couple was adorable as hell and im not gay , but if you gonna bash a gay couple AND YOU HAVE THAT TYPE OF ahem RESEARCH MATERIAL IN YOUR HOME you are a hypocrite . ( and yes im calling all who hate this couple out , cus we all have porn in our computers or homes )

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Meet the Lesbian Co-Showrunner Queering Star Trek: Discovery

Michelle Paradise is helming the franchise toward greater LGBTQ+ representation.

As evidenced by the profiles in Out 's January/February issue , Star Trek: Discovery is one of television's queerest shows. Out space heroes like Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio), and Gray (Ian Alexander) routinely perform feats of derring-do aboard the U.S.S. Discovery . Behind the scenes and the camera, there are LGBTQ + folks and allies ushering in a universe of rainbow representation for the long-running sci-fi franchise.

Michelle Paradise, in the captain's chair as Discovery 's co-showrunner, helps guide the writers' room in crafting these groundbreaking storylines. Diversity is an imperative for her. "From the moment I've come on to help run the show, we've always talked about the need for and benefits of a diverse cast, and people being able to see themselves on-screen."

"That's very much in the tradition of the original series," she adds, noting how the Star Trek: The Original Series creator, Gene Roddenberry, went where no man had gone before, beaming a racially diverse cast into America's living rooms. But it wasn't until the 2017 Discovery premiere that out central characters would become canon: first, gay couple Culber and Stamets, then Adira and Gray, who are nonbinary and trans.

Expanding Star Trek's diversity is a common writers' room topic. "'What kind of characters do we have?' 'Who else do we need?' 'What more do we need in visibility?' 'Who is not represented?' And those are...discussions that we have on a regular basis," says Paradise.

The goal is great storytelling in an inclusive universe that resonates with real-life viewers. "If just one person gets to see themselves in a new way or gets to feel hope or optimism or support or possibility from seeing the show and seeing the stories that we tell, and the actors that we've cast...then I will have considered it all a success," she says.

Paradise has brought LGBTQ+ representation to the screen before: her first developed show was Logo's Exes and Ohs (2007), which centered on a filmmaker, played by herself, navigating the intricacies of lesbian dating. She later became a staff writer on CW's The Originals , a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries , then joined the Discovery team in its second season. She was promoted to co-showrunner, alongside Discovery co-creator Alex Kurtzman, for the third season.

Discovery has had many out creatives: Bryan Fuller created the show with Kurtzman, and Aaron Harberts ( Pushing Daisies ) served as co-showrunner in season 1. Paradise credits ally Kurtzman with aiding in authentic LGBTQ+ casting: "Alex has championed all this from the beginning: queer characters being played by queer actors."

"I'm so proud to get to be part of that and to continue pushing that forward with him," she says. "It is pretty great because growing up, I didn't see a lot of that on TV. What I saw was pretty stereotypical, and those kinds of things can be very harmful."

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Paradise knows the importance of representation firsthand and the positive impact that visibility can have on viewers who, historically, may not have seen themselves represented in the culture. "Making sure that other people feel seen...I definitely feel a responsibility for that," she asserts.

As for her own story, she attended Brigham Young University and came out shortly after graduating, when she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. There, it was "a bit easier to be a gay person," she shares. But she credits an "amazing group of friends" she found at BYU as part of her journey. "I found my community, if you will."

Paradise feels that kinship with the U.S.S. Discovery crew. "They are found family as well," Paradise observes of the characters, folks from far-flung backgrounds and planets who discovered community and purpose while adrift through space and time.

Moreover, many women occupy positions of power in the Discovery universe. Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) sits in the Discovery captain's chair; the Starfleet president is Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal). Paradise also recognizes how important her own helming of TV's most prestigious science-fiction show is -- and how hard this career path can still be for women.

"It seems like such an impossible thing going into this business in the first place. There's no one path to get here. There are 10 million people who want to do it. It's just hard."

"I try to do my best every day. I try to do a good job here on this show. And if someone out there looks and sees me as a model for something positive, then I'm very happy to be that," Paradise says. She paraphrases Martin-Green, who made herstory as the first Black woman to lead a Star Trek series as a captain: "It tells little girls, 'I can do that too.'"

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery drop Thursdays on Paramount+.

Talent MICHELLE PARADISE @michelleparadise1 Creative Director & Location BEN WARD @_benjaminward_ Photographer ANGELA KOHLER @angelakohler angelakohler.com for @agencyarts agencyarts.biz DP ARIAN SOHEILI @arianshreds 1st AC DAVID WINTHROP Stylist NAOMI ZINNS @naomizinns naomizinns.com Makeup DONALD SIMROCK @dsimrock for @uncommon_artists uncommon-artists.com Hair RICHARD GRANT @richardnormangrant for @exclusiveartists   eamgmt.com Catering TIAGO COFFEE BAR & KITCHEN @tiagocoffee   tiagocoffee.com Location AKA WEST HOLLYWOOD 8500 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069 @stayaka stayaka.com

Michelle Paradise is featured in Out 's January/February 2022 issue , a special LGBTQ+ Star Trek edition appearing on newsstands February 22. Support queer media and subscribe -- or download the issue through Amazon, Kindle, Nook, or Apple News.

• The final frontier is here for 'Star Trek's queerest crew ›

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Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Adds Franchise's First Transgender and Non-Binary Characters

Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander have joined the cast of season 3 for the CBS All Access original. 

The Star Trek universe continues to expand its LGBTQ inclusivity and representation with the addition of the franchise’s first transgender and non-binary characters to the cast of the CBS All Access original  Star Trek: Discovery . 

Newcomer and non-binary actor Blu del Barrio (pronouns: they/them), will make their acting debut in season 3  as Adira, who is described as “highly intelligent with a confidence and self-assurance well beyond their years.” Adira will find a home on USS Discovery after forming an unexpected bond with Lt. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), who made history as the franchise’s first openly gay characters.

“Adira is a wonderfully complex character. Mainly because of this duality they have within them: they’re astonishingly intelligent and yet they’re still a kid. They experience their emotions at a heightened level, like most teenagers,” Barrio tells GLAAD about the character. “That’s what makes them so fun to play.”

Meanwhile, after appearing on the Netflix series The OA , 19-year-old transgender actor Ian Alexander (pronouns: he/him) joins as Gray, who “is empathetic, warm and eager to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a Trill host, but he will have to adapt when his life takes an unexpected turn.”

“I absolutely love him, and it was so fun working alongside him,” Barrio adds of their co-star . “Having him join the show with me was a godsend.” 

“ Star Trek has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities because it believes in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” co-showrunner Michelle Paradise said in a statement to ET. “We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy.”

“I couldn’t be more excited for or PROUD of these TWO new loves of my life if I tried. We are family!” Cruz tweeted after the casting was announced. “Love you so much!”

As mentioned, the two actors join Cruz and Rapp as the franchise’s first openly LGBTQ characters played by LGBTQ actors. In 2017, Rapp explained to ET why it’s so “deeply important” to be one-half of the first openly gay couple in a Star Trek  series. 

“For whatever reason, it took this long,” Rapp said. “But it was also important that it be completely part of the fabric of the story. It’s also smart of the writers and meaningful that you see them in the midst of their relationship, that they are already a mature, settled partnership living and working together -- that you get a glimpse of that in a way that’s unusual for Star Trek , in an intimate, very domestic moment like this. I’m proud that it’s so simple and direct.”

Star Trek: Discovery season 3 premieres Thursday, Oct. 15 on CBS All Access. The 13-episode season will debut weekly on Thursdays. 

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George Takei on Why He Had to Hide His Relationship With Husband Brad for 20 Years, Their Diverse Wedding and Being a Team

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For the Power of Pride issue,  Variety  talked to eight LGBTQ couples in entertainment about their love stories. To read more, click here . 

As Sulu on   “ Star Trek ,” George Takei could travel at the speed of light. But when it came to traversing by foot, he wasn’t so fast.  

In the 1980s, Takei joined a gay club called the Frontrunners, and he was struck by the fastest athlete in the group, Brad Altman, whom the actor recalls as “dashingly good-looking.” Takei made the first move, and he later asked Altman to train with him for a marathon.  

Soon, they were doing 5K and 10K runs together. “We also loved theater,” Brad recalls.

At the time, George was famous for “Star Trek.” But as a closeted gay man, he didn’t think he could be out and star on a hit TV series. “I was never identified publicly as George’s boyfriend or partner,” says Brad, who has been in a committed relationship with George since 1985.

“I was silent, and it was totally against my character,” says George, who notes that he was always vocal about his beliefs, including protesting the Vietnam War. “The one cause that was the most personal to me, I had to stay quiet on because I wanted my career.”

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In 2005, George finally spoke his truth. He publicly came out as gay and introduced his fans to his partner. When the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s law prohibiting same-sex marriage in 2008, the two wed that year. “We were married at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles at the Democracy Forum venue,” Brad says.  

Their wedding party included the late Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, whom George had befriended when both were on the board of governors of the museum. And there was a touch of “Star Trek” on the guest list: Walter Koenig (who played Chekov) served as their best man and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) as their best woman.  

“She said, ‘If Walter can be the best man, why can’t I be the best lady?’’’ George says with a laugh. “We wanted to reflect diversity in our wedding and that’s what I remember — the powerful diversity.”

Brad and George have been together for 35 years. The secret to that longevity, according to George, is “We truly are a team — me as the actor, writer, activist and Brad as the manager, scheduler and all-around essential guy. And we love being able to share our lives and our livelihood.”  

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Star Trek Introduces Its First Gay Couple to the Universe

With matching pajamas and a declaration of love, CBS quietly made history.

Star Trek: Discovery has boldly gone where no Star Trek show has gone before.

The CBS: All Access drama introduced a gay couple to its audience Sunday -- a first in the long-running television franchise.

Previously, out actor Anthony Rapp, as Lt. Paul Stamets, made history when he was introduced in episode 3, becoming the first clearly gay character in this universe. Wilson Cruz, who portrays Dr. Hugh Culber, followed suit.

However, the sexual orientation of these characters was not confirmed until episode 5's release last weekend. In the episode's closing scene, the pair are seen brushing their teeth beside one another in matching red Star Fleet pajamas, before retiring to bed.

Just prior (spoiler), Stamets risked his life, because he refused to physically endanger a being that had been powering the ship's spore drive -- an engine required to make jumps in space. After Culber expressed his medical opinion that the creature would not survive further jumps and might be sentient, Stamets took the creature's place in the drive, allowing the ship to escape an attack from enemy Klingons.

"Well, one tends to worry when they're doomed to love a brilliant but reckless maniac who's willing to risk his life for glory," Culber told Stamets in the closing scene. "You may not care about you. But I do."

Cruz posted on social media to commemorate the historic moment.

I may have been moved to tears watching this. @albinokid1026 #startrekdiscovery #representationmatters A post shared by Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73) on Oct 15, 2017 at 7:47pm PDT

George Takei, the out actor who portrayed Sulu in the original series, also took to Twitter to praise the moment.

\u201cA beautiful moment between @albinokid & @wcruz73 last night. Thank you #StarTrekDiscovery for going where no Star Trek show has gone before.\u201d — George Takei (@George Takei) 1508180517

Star Trek: Discovery was co-created by an out gay man, Bryan Fuller. Although Fuller has left the series due to scheduling conflicts, Aaron Harberts, who is also gay, remains as the showrunner.

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Queer cast and crew members behind paramount+’s ‘star trek: discovery’ to be honored during pride month.

The actors and producers will accept Outright International's "Outspoken Award," dedicated to significant leadership and allyship on behalf of the LGBTIQ community, in New York in June.

By Evan Nicole Brown

Evan Nicole Brown

Culture Writer

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Paramount+ ‘s Star Trek: Discovery will be honored by Outright International, a global human rights organization centered on improving the lives of LGBTIQ people, at its annual Celebration of Courage Awards and Gala on June 5.

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BeBe Zahara Benet — inaugural RuPaul’s Drag Race  winner, star of TLC’s  Dragnificent and subject of the award-winning documentary  Being BeBe — will serve as the event’s host, and Star Trek: Discovery cast members Wilson Cruz and Blu del Barrio are both scheduled to attend the ceremony at Pier Sixty in New York during Pride Month .

“Put simply, the LGBTIQ cast and producers of Discovery — in partnership with the franchise and network — give important visibility, voice and platform to the millions of queer people around the world that have no visibility, voice and platform or cannot use them because of discrimination and risk to their personal safety,” Elise Colomer-Cheadle, director of development at Outright International, said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “Those involved in Star Trek: Discovery  make it clear to Outright that we share similar values: to build and sustain a welcoming community that respects individuals’ different and shared identities and perspectives — and specifically, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”

Though notable strides have been made with regard to diverse, inclusive representation on screen, discrimination and systemic barriers still exist behind the scenes, and there is still danger in outwardly presenting outside of heteronormativity — especially in the public space of the entertainment industry. The queer cast members and producers of Star Trek: Discovery are being celebrated for their courage in championing the spectrum of sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Founded in 1990, Outright International has staff in more than a dozen countries and works with the United Nations (where it holds consultative status and serves as the secretariat of the UN LGBTI Core Group), regional human rights monitoring bodies, civil society organizations and corporate and philanthropic partners to strengthen the capacity of the LGBTIQ human rights movement — and advocate for inclusion and equality.

“Outright International’s enduring commitment to advancing equality and efforts to help end discrimination inspires me to no end — as an immigrant and an activist,” Zahara Benet said in a statement. “I’m honored to have the great opportunity to host this year’s annual gala in New York City to celebrate those fighting for LGBTQ rights for individuals around the world. Together, we will champion in the next era of rule-breakers and change makers.”

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Published Jun 30, 2022

8 Reasons to Close Out Pride Month with a ‘Deep Space Nine’ Rewatch

This show broke all the (gendered and heteronormative) rules.

StarTrek.com

It took five decades for Star Trek to introduce a gay couple, with the reveal of Lt. Stamets and Dr. Culber ’s relationship on the fifth episode of Star Trek: Discovery . The moment between the two — brushing their teeth at the end of a tough day — was a quiet one, in sharp contrast to the delighted audience response, particularly from LGBTQ+ viewers.

Star Trek: Discovery - Culber and Stamets Brush Their Teeth Together

The franchise has, at times, been criticized for its lack of sexuality and gender identity diversity. Even though it’s easy to suggest ( as Patrick Stewart has , in relation to Picard ’s baldness), in this utopian future, people just don’t care about such things. It’s also evident that, most of the time, 20th and 21st Century norms are still in place. Let’s not forget that the wise, caring Beverly Crusher is more at ease loving a creepy space ghost than she is with her Trill lover ’s symbiont being transplanted into a female body in " The Host " (even as she admits her discomfort with the latter as a “limitation”).

But every so often, there are moments, storylines, or characters that point toward a slightly queerer future, even if this wasn’t intended by the writers at the time. I use queer here as a deliberately broad umbrella term — covering not just who you love, but how you perform your gender — to refer to deviation from the normal or default gender role or sexual identity. It’s often not as clear-cut as being gay or being transgender; queerness has many more shades of gray to it.

To close out Pride Month, it’s no surprise then that the series I’m combing through for queer moments — Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — has the most shades of gray of the 20th Century Trek shows. Alongside the politics, religion, and war, we witness the everyday lives of our characters — and the elements that fail to conform to our heteronormative expectations.

1. Queer Trills

First off, we have the Trill, a joined species whose capacity to have lived as both a man and a woman means that although they are aware of gender roles, they’re also fairly blasé about deviating from them.

Jadzia Dax is both a science officer, a warrior, and a character whose past lives often feed into storylines. There is a real tenderness and fondness between Jadzia and the two former lovers of Curzon she meets over the course of the series. When Worf gets jealous over one, it feels entirely plausible (and not just because the character’s played by Vanessa Williams). It’s not his finest moment, but he’s not wrong in appreciating that his par’Mach’kai has the capacity to be attracted to women.

Additionally, Dax’s relationship with Lenara Kahn was both an echo of their past hosts’ relationships and their current hosts’ shared interests. The kiss between the two women (a rare thing on network television in 1995) was as passionate and chemistry-filled as any other meaningful kiss on the show.

2. The Very LGBTQ+ Friendly Mirror Universe

Although the Mirror Universe falls into the unfortunate stereotype category with Intendant Kira and her tendency to seduce almost everyone, male or female, there’s still a camp charm to the "anything goes" nature of this alternate reality. This is a world where sexuality is often opportunistic, but rarely completely straight. Even when Regent Worf tells Garak , “You are not my type,” in " Shattered Mirror ," it’s an acknowledgement that attraction between men does exist, even if not in this case.

Ezri Tigan ’s kiss with the Intendant in " The Emperor’s New Cloak " also offers up the second instance of two — women kissing for the show. While the tendency to use such moments as a gimmick for Sweeps Week, by 1999, was kicking off, it was still comparatively unusual for such kisses to occur in the context of an existing relationship. A semi-butch version of Leeta appearing at the end of the episode to “debrief” Ezri may be there mostly for laughs, at the expense of a bewildered Rom , but she’s also a potential new love interest (on the side of the virtuous rebels) for a character whose Sapphic tendencies could have so easily been coded as purely "bad."

3. Watching the Ferengi Balance Misogyny and Empowerment

“What are these guys even doing on the list,” you might wonder. The Ferengi ’s take on gender roles is a super-exaggerated version of our own, with their "feeeeee-males" forbidden to wear clothing or earn profit. While the Ferengi women we actually see on-screen resist and rebel at every turn, and “Females and finances don’t mix” is the most broken Rule of Acquisition we see, it’s still a wildly misogynist society —  there’s no getting around this — but it manages to sidestep a great deal of the homophobia we might expect to accompany this.

On a trip to the Gamma Quadrant with young business associate Pel , Quark is unbothered by the idea of sharing a bed with someone he believes to be a man. Even after a tipsy kiss between the two, he’s more concerned with not losing a shrewd business partner — he’ll just pretend it never happened. Attraction between Ferengi men is not unknown, as indicated by Dax’s conversation with Pel about Quark earlier in the episode, and so in a delightful twist, the surprising thing is not that Pel “really loves” Quark, but that Pel is a woman!

4. Women Reign in STEM and Leadership

While Ferengi women are subservient to men, at least for much of the series, other species with two sexes adhere to different stereotypes and roles, inviting viewers to rethink our own assumptions. Having traveled through the wormhole in seek of sanctuary for a population displaced by the Dominion , the Skrreeans in " Sanctuary " note that their society is female-dominated, “Men are far too emotional to be leaders.” The Cardassians , too, are very clear on gender roles as, in " Destiny ," O’Brien learns, “Men just don’t seem to have a head for this sort of thing. That’s why women dominate the sciences.”

5. Bashir and Garak's Ongoing Squabbles

In the same episode, O’Brien also learns how Cardassians flirt. They bicker. They squabble. That’s how they “do things.” At this point in the series, Julian Bashir meets the Cardassian exile Garak regularly for lunch — where they bicker and squabble about literature, culture, and politics. While Bashir and Garak’s actors initially presumed there was a sexual element to this relationship, this proved not to be the case on-screen. Nevertheless, their complicated friendship is often as intense as any love story. Were these characters to appear on-screen today, the question of attraction, even if un-reciprocated, would certainly be discussed. Producer Ira Steven Behr even said himself, in the new documentary What We Left Behind , that were he doing the series again today, Garak, at the very least, would have been queer.

6. There's No "Right" Way to be a Man...

Ferengi males are all about profit; the very essence of a Ferengi is his greed. Yet, even Quark has his moments of kindness and generosity, which leads to his denunciation as a “hoo-manitarian!” (humanitarian) by Liquidator Brunt in " Body Parts ." Grand Nagus Zek , the pinnacle of Ferengi society, takes first financial advice, and then social advice from his lover, Ishka (Quark’s mother). And Quark’s brother Rom , a single father often ridiculed not just by his sibling but by others on the station, slowly reveals his engineering skills, even though they’re  not prized by his culture.

Each of these men deviate from what is expected of a Ferengi man. No one more so than Rom, who ends up standing up to his brother, in order to defend his son ’s decision to join Starfleet. Rom declares that his son’s happiness means more to him than anything, even profit. As this good father turns away from profit and finds his own place in the world, he becomes exactly the kind of man ready to lead a newer, fairer Ferenginar . When he is crowned the new Grand Nagus in DS9’s penultimate episode, we’re cheering him on.

7. ...Or a Father

Rom isn’t the only single father on the station; Ben Sisko also raises his son alone. Worf’s failure to raise his son on his own still haunts him, despite their reconciliation. Miles O’Brien shares parenting duties with his wife, but is still very clearly a father who will do anything for his kids. For each of these fathers, their role involves more than being manly and brave (although sometimes that is necessary); it involves kindness, compassion, encouragement.

Ben Sisko is a fearless, determined captain and battle strategist, but he’s also the kind of father who will encourage his teenaged son to relate his nightmares, and express his love without embarrassment. Just as important, he’s portrayed as a loving son who often has a strong (but caring) word for his father Joseph, chef and avoider-of-medical-appointments extraordinaire.

Miles O’Brien is a gifted chief of operations who will nevertheless take his baby to work with him if it stops the crying for a few hours. A father’s love is why Gul Dukat saves Ziyal , and why her death breaks him. Damar ’s loss as a father, in a world where vows are made “for my son, for all our sons,” helps him become the man he needs to be to lead the Cardassian rebellion. These relationships transcend 20th and 21st Century expectations of men — nothing less than sincere emotional engagement is to be accepted here.

Fatherhood is a vital, emotional, loving part of these men’s lives, so it is unsurprising when we learn that contraception is ( finally! ) a two-way street (as seen when Kasidy Yates becomes pregnant when “one of us forgot their injection last month”). It is also more fluid than we might imagine; on several occasions, we hear of Ensign (later Lieutenant) Vilix’Pran “ budding .” And far less dramatic than Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn making out is the fact that Bashir and O’Brien are throwing Vilix’Pran a baby shower (outfits for the infants have been ordered from Garak!), which Sisko is excited to attend — perhaps the best indicator in the entire show that this is, in fact, a brave new world.

8. What Does Gender Even Mean to a Shapeshifter, Anyway?

Who cares about gender when everyone is goo? The Changelings — shapeshifters, Founders, or whatever you want to call them — are more concerned with reclaiming a lost soul than gender or sexual identity. Even though we may be uncomfortable with Changeling etiquette, their absolute disregard for gender or sexuality is a reminder that our normal is not necessarily a fixed thing. (Nevertheless, do avoid hooking up with a Changeling if possible!)

It would be wildly inaccurate to categorize Constable Odo as anything other than what he portrays himself as — a man. We must remember that this is a deliberate choice he has made, no doubt influenced by Dr. Mora, whose hairstyle he has also mimicked. Odo chooses to present himself in a certain way; therefore, it’s easy for us to categorize his linking with "the Female Changeling" as heterosexual, while his encounter with Laas (not least because the latter comes with an admonishment from Quark about a “Changeling Pride parade”) as homosexual. For Odo, though, there is no distinction; “This is just a form I borrowed,” he tells Kira in “ Chimera .” “I could just as easily be someone or something else.” His take on sexual preference is not about male/female so much as it is about solid/Changeling, and his return to his people reflects that perfectly.

Claire Hennessy (she/her) is an Irish novelist, editor, book reviewer and creative writing facilitator. She tweets @chennessybooks .

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Marcia Gay Harden Looks Back on ‘SVU,’ ‘The Newsroom’ & More TV Roles (VIDEO)

Marcia Gay Harden has been all over TV, most recently in  So Help Me Todd —which ran two seasons on CBS before it was canceled in April—and she’s had a variety of roles. During a visit to TV Insider’s office, we had her look back on some of her more memorable shows.

Like so many, she has  Law & Order: SVU (which has been on for 25 seasons and counting!) among her credits. Harden appeared as “badass” FBI Agent Dana Lewis, as she called her. “It was really, for me, one of the highlights of television,” she shared.

When it comes to  The Newsroom , on which she played attorney Rebecca Halliday, her memories are “ Aaron Sorkin , Aaron Sorkin, Aaron Sorkin, and Jeff Daniels . I remember the first read through, Jeff said, ‘You want to know the secret of Aaron Sorkin?'” Harden recalled. “He said, ‘Know your lines. Memorize your lines.’ And I had this monologue, and so I went home and I practically memorized the monologue for the table read-through, just so I knew where my beats were and I knew what to do. And I just remember Jeff looking across at me going, yeah, thumbs up.”

For three seasons, Harden played Dr. Leanne Rorish on the medical drama  Code Black . “It was so much heart and so much emergency room lingo and so many people. Really, my biggest memory of Code Black , the outstanding memory, is the extras. There were so many extras in that one little teeny room where we did all those surgeries,” she said. “And from the extras to us, we had to know the medicine. We had to be able to kind of almost ad-lib during a thoracotomy. … It was just exciting and high energy sometimes, so much so that you’d actually think you were doing a surgery, you’d have to go, ‘I’m an actor. I know I’m an actor.’ Because you’d get in the moment, ‘Hey, give me the scalpel now, they’re going to die.'”

'Abbott Elementary' Star William Stanford Davis Looks Back on His Career

Watch the full video above for more from Harden on these and more roles, including  The Morning Show and  So Help Me Todd .

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So help me todd, the morning show, the newsroom, marcia gay harden.

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How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

Star trek: discovery’s finale promoted saru again & doug jones is surprised, star trek: discovery finale’s saucer separation was an awesome tng tribute.

• Star Trek: Discovery ending after season 5 marks a significant shift in the Star Trek universe on Paramount+.
• Discovery's success set the stage for new series like Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy on Paramount+.
• The decision to end Discovery is part of the evolving business landscape of streaming services like Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery ending with season 5 came as a surprise and causes a ripple effect to the Star Trek franchise on Paramount+. On March 2, 2023, the announcement came that Discovery season 5 will be its final season , with heartfelt statements made by executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise, series lead and producer Sonequa Martin-Green, who portrays Captain Michael Burnham, Paramount chief programming officer Tanya Giles, and David Stapf of CBS Studios all praising the success of Star Trek: Discovery .

Star Trek: Discovery launched on the CBS All-Access streaming service in 2017 and was originally a prequel series set before Star Trek: The Original Series. Discovery jumped 930 years into the future of Star Trek' s canonical timeline at the end of season 2. Discovery was not met with overwhelming love from hardcore Star Trek fandom since its inception, but it endured and found its creative footing. Discovery 's success became the cornerstone of Star Trek 's expansion into an entire universe of new series streaming on Paramount+, which includes Star Trek: Picard , the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy (which is now on Netflix), and Discovery 's direct spinoffs, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Section 31 , the first made-for-streaming Star Trek movie on Paramount+, is also a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery.

The Star Trek TV franchise has existed for 57 years and consists of 12 shows (and counting). Here's how to watch them all in timeline order.

Why Star Trek: Discovery Is Ending With Season 5

A five-year run is an achievement in the streaming era.

The reasons for Star Trek: Discovery ending reportedly has to do more with the overall business of streaming and the landscape of the marketplace. A detailed analysis by TrekMovie examined the pressures Paramount Global is under to cut costs and make the Paramount+ streaming service profitable, which is an issue every streamer, including Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+, is dealing with. Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra announced that 2023 was their "peak year" in streaming investment, which means the company is trimming its bottom line. Star Trek: Discovery ending seems to be a result of the changing business of streaming.

Paramount is now in the midst of a sale with conglomerates like Sony and Skydance negotiating to take over the studio.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 was not intended to be the end of the series. Following the cancelation, Paramount+ allowed the cast and crew of Star Trek: Discovery to return to Toronto for 3 additional days of filming. Star Trek: Discovery 's series finale, "Life Itself", directed by Olatunde Osunsanme and written by showrunner Michelle Paradise, is an extended episode that concludes with a special coda to wrap up the series and Discovery 's major character arcs. Paradise promised fans Star Trek: Discovery would not end with a frustrating cliffhanger that would never be resolved.

Discovery Ends As A Star Trek Success Story

Star trek owes its renaissance to discovery.

Star Trek: Discovery has its share of loyal fans and detractors, but there is no arguing that there would be no Star Trek universe on Paramount+ without Michael Burnham's show leading the way. Discovery helped keep the nascent CBS All-Access streaming service afloat in its early years before its rebranding into Paramount+. The two live-action and two animated Star Trek shows that launched since 2020 were made possible by Discovery . Star Trek: Discovery was the franchise's first foray into serialized prestige television, and i t raised the bar for Star Trek series in terms of cinematic visuals and production values .

Discovery opened the door for LGBTQ+ representation in the other Star Trek series.

Further, Star Trek: Discovery broke important ground for diversity, inclusiveness, and LGBTQ+ representation . Sonequa Martin-Green is the first Black female lead of a Star Trek series, and Burnham subsequently became the first Black female Captain to lead a Star Trek series. Anthony Rapp's Paul Stamets and Wilson Cruz's Dr. Hugh Culber were the first openly gay couple in a loving marriage portrayed in Star Trek. Discovery season 3 added Blu del Barrio's Adira Tal and Ian Alexander's Gray as Star Trek 's first non-binary and transgender stars. Discovery opened the door for LGBTQ+ representation in the other Star Trek series, like Jesse James Keitel portraying the non-binary Captain Angel in Strange New Worlds .

What Happens To Star Trek After Discovery Ends?

Star trek will keep on going with tv series and movies.

Star Trek on Paramount+ had a historic 2022 where all five Star Trek series aired new episodes, resulting in a new episode of Star Trek nearly every Thursday throughout the year. Star Trek entered 2023 with much the same hoopla but Star Trek: Discovery season 5 both not premiering until 2024 and ending, along with Star Trek: Picard season 3 being its final season, casts a pall over the franchise, although Picard season 3 and Strange New Worlds season 3 were huge successes with critics and audiences .

Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 is available on Netflix and season 2 is awaiting its premiere date, with the future of the all-ages animated series dependent on its streaming performance.

Star Trek: Lower Decks ending with season 5 later in 2024 accompanied the news of Strange New Worlds ' season 4 renewal. When Discovery and Lower Decks are over, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which is targeting a 2026 release, will join Strange New Worlds as the two remaining Star Trek series on Paramount+. However, after spinning off 5 new series and a made-for-streaming movie, Star Trek: Section 31 , Star Trek: Discovery' s run can be considered a success by any measure , and its positive impact on Star Trek will continue to be felt into the future.

Will Star Trek: Discovery Return For Season 6 Or Movies?

There are always possibilities..

Star Trek: Discovery planted numerous seeds for the Star Trek on Paramount+ franchise to continue to grow, but there is no indication that Discovery itself will continue with a season 6 after its season 5/series finale . Discovery 's 32nd-century timeline will be continued by Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , with the potential for some Discovery characters to appear in the new series. A Star Trek: Discovery streaming movie on Paramount+ might be possible (depending on how Star Trek: Section 31 performs) but not any time in the near future with the general uncertainty surrounding Paramount's sale.

Star Trek 's theatrical side is ramping up after nearly a decade since Star Trek Beyond premiered in theaters in 2016. Paramount Pictures announced an Untitled Star Trek Origin movie directed by Toby Haynes will start production later in 2024 for a 2025 or 2026 release. X-Men producer Simon Kinberg is reportedly negotiating to oversee the Star Trek theatrical franchise the way Alex Kurtzman runs Star Trek on Paramount+. And the ever-rumored Star Trek 4 produced by J.J. Abrams hopes to one day reunite the USS Enterprise cast led by Chris Pine. Star Trek: Discovery was a new beginning for Star Trek on television, and Captain Michael Burnham's series undoubtedly leaves Star Trek better than it found it.

Star Trek: Discovery is streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Finale Ending & Shocking Epilogue Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery's Season 5 & Series Finale - "Life, Itself"

• Captain Burnham makes a pivotal choice to banish the Progenitors' technology for the greater good of the galaxy.
• USS Discovery's epic battle against the Breen pays homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation with a saucer separation.
• The finale hints at a future for Admiral Burnham and the USS Discovery, leaving the door open for potential sequels or movies.

Star Trek: Discovery 's stunning season 5 and series finale concludes the hunt for the greatest treasure in the galaxy, and the extended finale's emotional epilogue finally answers one of Discovery 's biggest questions as it says goodbye to Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunname, Star Trek: Discovery 's finale, "Life, Itself", sees Captain Burnham make a pivotal choice about the Progenitors' treasure while the USS Discovery defeats the Breen.

Captain Burnham competed with Moll (Eve Harlow) for the Progenitors' technology, but it could only be Michael who could access it as she passed every test that came with the Progenitors scientists' clues . Burnham met one of the Progenitors (Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama) who revealed Michael was to be the new steward of the Progenitors' technology, as Betazoid scientist Dr. Marina Derex was when she found it in the 24th century. Meanwhile, Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) faced down Breen Primarch Tahal (Patricia Summersett) while Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) led the USS Discovery to keep the Breen dreadnought from reaching the portal to the Progenitors' technology. Here's how Star Trek: Discovery ended and what it all meant.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Why Captain Burnham Sends The Progenitors Technology Away

Star trek already has "infinite diversity in infinite combinations".

The Progenitor gave Captain Burnham the choice of what to do with the power of creation, and Michael decided that no one culture should control it. Instead, Burnham decided to send the Progenitors' portal into the binary black holes' event horizon to keep it safe and unreachable. Michael's decision was born from the fact that she didn't want the responsibility of being the technology's steward but, more importantly, Burnham realized Star Trek 's galaxy already has "infinite diversity in infinite combinations". Control of the technology, even by the United Federation of Planets, would ultimately lead to abuse, war, and death.

The Progenitor revealed that the technology is older than they were and that their species found it and decided to use it to populate the galaxy with myriad humanoid lifeforms because their species was alone in the universe.

As she exited the Progenitors' dimension, Captain Burnham witnessed four billion years of creation and everything that led to the galaxy's existence. This solidified Michael's choice to banish the power of creation. Tragically for Moll, the Progenitor revealed to Burnham that while the technology could resurrect L'ak (Elias Toufexis) physically, it can't restore his memories or his personality . Burham and Moll returned to the USS Discovery where Moll was taken into custody. Burnham told her crew that she would speak to President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) about her choice to banish the power of creation, and she felt that they would agree. Ultimately, Burnham was empowered by the Progenitor and made the unilateral decision she felt was right for the galaxy.

Moll too willingly accepted Burnham's explanation that there was no way to resurrect L'ak, but it's possible Moll was fed her own information when she tried and failed to access the Progenitors' technology.

USS Discovery Beat The Breen With A Star Trek: TNG Enterprise Tribute

Discovery did a saucer separation.

As Ambassador Saru and Commander Nhan (Rachael Ancheril) tried to ward Primarch Tahal from entering the battle for the Progenitors' portal, the USS Discovery was still outmatched by the Breen dreadnought. Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) and Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) piloted a shuttle to lock onto the portal. They succeeded because Culber was able to access the memories of Trill scientist Jinaal for the right coordinates . Hugh achieving the ineffable though Jinaal paid off his growing spiritual enlightenment throughout Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Meanwhile, Commander Rayner and the USS Discovery defeated the Breen dreadnought with one final, awesome tribute to Star Trek: The Next Generation and the USS Enterprise-D. Rayner ordered a saucer separation and gambled on Discovery's spore drive being able to jump the dreadnought if it was in the middle of both components of Discovery. Saru then led Tahal's ship to the other Breen dreadnought as Rayner's daring plan worked: All of the Breen were instantaneously sent to the Galactic Barrier, a node to the USS Discovery's journey to make First Contact with Species 10-C at the end of S tar Trek: Discovery season 4 .

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's story is a sequel to the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6 episode, "The Chase".

Doctor Kovich's True Identity Is Daniels From Star Trek: Enterprise

It's been a long road getting from there to here..

Star Trek: Discovery finally revealed the identity of Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg): the bespectacled Federation official, Kovich, is the older version of Agent Daniels (Matt Winston) from Star Trek: Enterprise ! In the 22nd century, Daniels posed as a member of the NX-01 Enterprise's crew and revealed Star Trek 's Temporal War to Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). Using the codename "Doctor Kovich", which is itself a Red Directive, Daniels is now protecting the Federation and the timeline post-Temporal Wars.

Star Trek legacy Easter eggs shown in Doctor Kovich's office include Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge's (LeVar Burton) VISOR, Captain Benjamin Sisko's (Avery Brooks) baseball, and a Chateau Picard wine bottle.

Doctor Kovich introduced himself to Captain Burnham as "Agent Daniels, USS Enterprise... and other places" , which is a nod to the 26th century's USS Enterprise-J Daniels served on, but also the NX-01 Enterprise led by Captain Archer. Further, Kovich had plans for Moll, believing the skilled former courier could be "useful" after she serves her Federation prison sentence. There were numerous theories about Doctor Kovich's true identity, including that he could be a Lanthanite or El-Aurian, but Kovich really being Agent Daniels is a stunning revelation that pleasingly ties Star Trek: Discovery back to Star Trek: Enterprise .

How Star Trek: Discovery Ends For USS Discoverys Crew

Discovery's crew gets one final reunion.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's ending gave certain members of the crew conclusions to their arcs . Dr. Hugh Culber had one of his big questions answered about his growing spiritual enlightenment. Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) saw the growth of Captain Burnham and Commander Rayner's relationship and decided to apply a similar mentorship program to Starfleet Academy. Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) protested Burnham banishing the Progenitors' technology, but resigned himself to his achievements and being proud of what a fine (and wise) Starfleet Officer Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) has become.

As seen in Star Trek: Discovery' s finale epilogue, the crew of the USS Discovery assembled on the bridge in a powerful and resonant ending reminiscent of Titanic . Not only was the cast of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 all there, but so were Commanders Kayla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo), and Lt. Commander Ronald Bryce (Ronnie Rowe, Jr.), who missed most or all of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. It was a beautiful moment honoring the actors and characters who have spanned Star Trek: Discovery 's five seasons.

Book & Burnham Reunite At Admiral Saru & President T'Rina's Wedding

Discovery's first couple are back on..

Star Trek: Discovery season 5's original ending was the wedding of Saru and President T'Rina (Tara Rosling), which took place "several weeks" after Captain Burnham found the Progenitors' technology. The Kelpien and Vulcan tied the knot, and Admiral Charles Vance revealed that Saru has been promoted to Admiral. Meanwhile, Burnham and Cleveland Booker put their personal turmoil behind them and declared that they love each other. United once more, Book joined Burnham on the USS Discovery's next mission after Doctor Kovich summoned her with her Infinity Room symbol .

Thanks to his heroic efforts in helping locate the Progenitors' technology, Book's Federation sentence has been commuted and he is a free man.

Saru and T'Rina's wedding was attended by the crew of the USS Discovery, who are Saru's family, and many Vulcan and Federation dignitaries. While it wasn't made clear, Star Trek: Discovery 's finale hints that Commander Rayner remained aboard the USS Discovery as First Officer and Lt. Tilly returned to her teaching post at Starfleet Academy. Presumably, the rest of the USS Discovery's crew reported to their starship for their new mission after Saru and T'Rina were wed .

Admiral Saru likely took a new role overseeing Starfleet with Admiral Vance at Federation HQ so he could remain close to his bride, T'Rina.

Star Trek: Discovery Epilogue: Admiral Burnham and Books Son Is The New Captain Burnham

Starfleet's burnham legacy continues..

Star Trek: Discovery 's finale epilogue flashes forward roughly 30 years , placing it in the 3220s. Cleveland Booker has been happily married to Admiral Michael Burnham for decades, and they have made their home on Sanctuary Four, where Book and Michael once dropped off Molly the trance worm in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Book also planted the world root from Kwejian he was given by the Eternal Gallery and Archive in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 on Sanctuary Four, which remade the planet's flora into a new, thriving version of Kwejian, Book's doomed homeworld.

Michael and Book also have an adult son who is the new Captain Burnham. Named for Book's nephew Leto (Luca Doulgeris), who died along with Kwejian at the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Michael and Book's son is the newly promoted Captain Leto Burnham (Sawandi Wilson), who came to Sanctuary Four to escort his mother to Federation HQ and the USS Discovery's final mission. Admiral Burnham had wise words of connection and family for her son, who hopes to find the same relationships with the crew of his unnamed starship as Michael did with the USS Discovery's crew.

Admiral Michael Burnham learned the lesson that the deeper meaning she was searching for was spending the time you have with the people you love.

Star Trek: Discoverys Epilogue Finally Confirms Short Treks' Calypso Is Canon

Discovery answers its biggest short trek mystery.

Star Trek: Discovery' s finale epilogue ends with one last incredible surprise as the series sets up the Star Trek: Short Treks episode, "Calypso" and officially makes it canon . In "Calypso", Zora (Annabelle Wallis) and the USS Discovery are alone in a region of space for hundreds of years when a soldier named Craft (Aldis Hodge) comes aboard and forms a bittersweet relationship with the lonely A.I. Admiral Burnham tells Zora that Discovery's final voyage is a Red Directive mission , and she only knows the word "Craft" but not who or what it means.

To synch back up with Star Trek: Short Treks ' "Calypso", the USS Discovery is retrofitted back to its 23rd-century Crossfield Class design, with the A removed from its USS Discovery-A designation . Admiral Burnham tells Zora that when they reach their destination, she and the crew will leave. But after Zora meets Craft, the USS Discovery will come back and form a new family with the descendants of her original crew. The final shot of Star Trek: Discovery is the USS Discovery given full honors by Starfleet in a sendoff as it spore jumps to its destiny in "Calypso".

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange" also set up "Calypso" but in an alternate timeline where the Breen destroyed the Federation with the Progenitors' technology.

Star Trek: Discovery Doesnt Close The Door On Season 6 Or A Movie

There could still be more discovery someday..

Star Trek: Discovery 's ending and epilogue conclude Captain Michael Burnham's story , but despite showing the future of Admiral Burnham and the USS Discovery, the finale's coda still doesn't preclude season 6 or a Star Trek: Discovery streaming movie . After all, Captain Burnham and Discovery launch a new mission in season 5's ending before the flash forward. While Admiral Saru has a new role in Starfleet and Lt. Sylvia Tilly is back at Starfleet Academy, the rest of the USS Discovery's crew presumably flew back into action. And Discovery has many more years of adventures to come that audiences won't see.

Fingers are crossed that Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery will return someday.

For now, Star Trek: Discovery is over and there are no known plans for Star Trek: Discovery season 6 or a reunion movie , but this doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future after some time has passed. Star Trek on Paramount+ still has Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 3 and 4, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , and Star Trek: Section 31 coming in the next two years. But given that all three of those projects spun off from Star Trek: Discovery , Michael Burnham's show remains crucial to the Star Trek on Paramount+ franchise. Fingers are crossed that Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery will return someday.

All 5 seasons of Star Trek: Discovery are streaming on Paramount+

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Directors Jonathan Frakes, Olatunde Osunsanmi

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 9 offers a tense but questionable cliffhanger

It's the old enemy infiltration by way of cunning disguise chestnut, but once you've seen The Orville's take on this, it's hard to take seriously.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, episode 9

Here we are then, just two episodes away from the very end of "Star Trek: Discovery," but we'll save the nostalgic look back over the last six years, eight months, one week and two days for next week. And no doubt there will be some kind of emotional farewell at the end of next week's installment, but just how cringeworthy that will be remains to be seen. 

Best non-cancellation last episode of a TV sci-fi show ever, in the "Five Seasons or More" category? Well, it certainly isn't " Enterprise ," sadly, and let's face facts, it's got to be the " The Next Generation " episode "All Good Things" (S07, E25) with "Unending," the "Stargate SG1" episode (S10, E20) in second place. 

And as we've seen, the quality of writing on this fifth and final season of "Discovery" has picked up, arguably an improvement the last three seasons, but unquestionably over the last season, which was the switching off point for many who had given "Discovery" the benefit of the doubt for so very long. And, despite this installment, entitled "Lagrange Point," being directed by Jonathan Frakes, it's not terrible. 

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While Frakes has some excellent examples of episodic television under his belt, including "Falling Skies," "The Orville" and even "V," plus both "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine" and "First Contact" of course, he has also helmed a few episodes –— almost always of "Star Trek" — that are...well, the sci-fi TV franchise equivalent of the Roger Moore Bond movies. And let's leave it at that. 

Not knowing more about the writing and production procedure employed on "Discovery," it's hard to know if the writers know what director will be assigned to which episode and whether or not they therefore cater for that individual, or if the director just takes the script and alters it as much or as little as they like. That's ultimately what contributes to the often-seen inconsistency that we talked about a week or so ago.

This week, a few select members of the command crew of the USS Discovery attempt to infiltrate a Breen dreadnought. And to be perfectly honest, after having watched the epic "Orville" episode "Krill" (S01, E06) it's a little hard to take this somewhat clichéd tactical approach seriously. But, for the most part, it's carried off with too much of a hitch. 

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The Breen have successfully snuck in under the nose of the USS Discovery and half-inched the Progenitors Puzzle. You know, like Belloq in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and we get to see them attempting to open the final clue, a little like the wonderfully hilarious slaves-get-killed-horribly-first approach that was used to great affect in "The Mummy." Missed opportunity there for a couple of really creative and horrific sacrificial deaths Frakes. Being dragged into an unknown dimension just wasn't unpleasant enough. Also, Wilhelm Scream?!

That said, there is some nice, creative choices of edits and a Starfleet commendation should be awarded to whichever writer championed a line of dialogue where Captain Rayner (Keith Rennie Callum) finally tells Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) to shut up . Sure, some fans adore her innocent, bumbling, comedy relief-style appeal, but it's not always conducive to Every Single Scene. 

And finally, breaking news this week as, according to The Hollywood Reporter , longtime "X-Men" producer Simon Kinberg is in talks to produce a "Star Trek" movie franchise for Paramount. Toby Haynes, who directed episodes " Andor " is on board to direct the new feature, with Seth Grahame-Smith writing the script. The project is said to be set decades before the events of the dreadful 2009 movie that was directed JJ Abrams, likely around modern times.

It is said to involve the creation of the Starfleet and humankind’s first contact with alien life. This is music to the ears of all fans who believe that keeping Trek ridiculously far flung into the future is an awful, awful idea. Also, someone other than Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman calling the shots is an excellent, excellent idea. 

And while this period in Trek history is so very interesting as we saw in the vastly underrated "Enterprise," it does feel like everyone either wants to fast forward into the future or slam the franchise into reverse and go all the way back...but always, always leapfrogging over the most underutilized period, which is "The Wrath of Khan" movie era: Monster Maroons, Admiral Kirk, the USS Excelsior ... and all of that unexplored wonder. 

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and every other episode of every " Star Trek " show — with the exception of "Star Trek: Prodigy" — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US, while "Prodigy" has found a new home  on Netflix.  

Internationally, the shows are available on  Paramount Plus  in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

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When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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Trump’s conviction won’t necessarily keep him from voting — but here’s what could.

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Chances are President Donald Trump will still be able to vote for himself in the upcoming presidential election.

A legal expert told The Post the former president will retain his 26th Amendment right to vote following his July 11 sentencing — so long as Justice Juan Merchan doesn’t send him to prison.

“As long as he’s not incarcerated, he can still vote,” said election attorney Ali Najmi.

In 2021 New York state lawmakers approved “a new law” that restored voting rights to felony convicts “upon release from incarceration, regardless of if they’re on parole or have a term of post-release supervision,” Najmi explained.

Trump, 77, is registered to vote in Florida, which defers to the sentencing state’s laws when one of its residents is convicted.

Trump, the presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee,  was found guilty  on all 34 criminal counts Thursday.

Trump is the first ex-president to prosecuted and convicted of a crime.

He has claimed his trial was “rigged” by the Biden administration.

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