Star Trek: Discovery is an American television series by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman. Its also the first Star Trek series since Star Trek: Enterprise finished in 2005. Set about ten years before the events of the original Star Trek series and completely separate from the timeline of the recently produced feature films by J.J Abrams and Justin lin.
Discovery explores the Federation–Klingon war while also following the crew of the USS Discovery in a more detailed focus than previous Star Treks. Sonequa Martin-Green (Also in The Walking dead) stars as Michael Burnham, a science specialist on the USS Discovery. She becomes the the main character in this series especially in the first few episodes, another deviation from the normal whole crew/ship focus.
The plot constantly changes, firstly it's about Michael Burnham’s personal struggles in the first few episodes which give backstory and the focus is almost entirely on that one character. Personally I found the first two episodes a bit slow but I believe that this extra detail and time spent on the main character really pays off in later episodes, when the target of the series changes and Michael Burnham becomes more of a really important character’ rather than the main protagonist, this extra time spent with Michael allows you to understand her motives and her decisions. The series also investigates on board relationships a lot more. Allowing for more of a connection between the characters, they are no longer just colleges working on a ship. They all have feelings towards one another, good, bad, and mix of both, or complete hatred.
After the first few episodes the speed and drama really increases, with more fighting, more incredibly dangerous feats and more tension between the characters. Sometimes though the show can over dramatise certain moments, but i think you will always get that with an American TV shows, and also due to the fact that they need mini cliffhangers for all the advert spaces that American shows contain.
I'm not going to delve into the plot more as so far there has been 14 episodes. This means the show is about three quarters of the way complete. If i was to give away any further details about the plot it might make hours of watching a series become worthless (to some people). But the plot is very solid with more complicated mini plots surrounding it, with a few good twists along the way. This show is easily watchable for both die hard star trek fans who understand all the technology and traditions that come with it, and/ or just normal people who love good drama.
The acting in this is a very high standard and Sonequa Martin-Green does a very good job of portraying a very complicated character in Michael Burnham. Even though there are small flaws it doesn't degrade the quality. I would highly recommend watching this and even if you feel the first two - three episodes are slow it’s worth enduring it for some brilliant TV.
Episodes air every monday on netflix in the UK and sunday evenings on CBS in America
I will be doing another review on the climax to the series and other major events once the series has finished. Please comment what you think of this review and the series, what reviews would you like to see me write and any criticisms you have.
Thanks, KPH