Hailing Frequencies Open: Media Articles, Casting News, Scheduling

[jsbt]

And you still see people complaining that the show is 13 episodes - like virtually all serious prestige television today. They'd rather see the show crank out 22-26, which virtually everyone involved in the old regimes now says was insane, has become dated and destroyed quality control.

7 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Exactly.  Neither did Kirk, Sisko, or Janeway.  That's the point.  They didn't talk about it because it never happened -- and I would think they would know the early history of their own Federation.  That's what I meant about destroying canon.  Until Enterprise, canon was that there was no such event in the Federation's history.

That's not true. A story doesn't destroy canon unless it supplants an existing narrative and substitutes in something else. The Xindi storyline, while I find it mostly stupid, did not do that; it does not replace an existing storyline in the same timeframe. It was simply an undiscussed event in Federation history. Why would a hundred-years-old war/skirmish with a now-Federation species be discussed in Kirk, Picard, Sisko or Janeway's stories? Why is it relevant?

Again, I personally don't care about the Xindi season at all. But the absence of discussion of something does not mean it never happened, and does not mutilate canon. We may not like Sybok in Star Trek V but his existence is canon, even if it was never mentioned before that movie. Same with Carol and David in TWOK. Same principle here.

Edited February 14, 2017 by jsbt

[paigow]

1 hour ago, jsbt said:

That's not true. A story doesn't destroy canon unless it supplants an existing narrative and substitutes in something else. The Xindi storyline, while I find it mostly stupid, did not do that; it does not replace an existing storyline in the same timeframe. It was simply an undiscussed event in Federation history. Why would a hundred-years-old war/skirmish with a now-Federation species be discussed in Kirk, Picard, Sisko or Janeway's stories? Why is it relevant?

Aliens attacking Earth with a weapon from the future seems like an anecdote that Starfleet Captains might find relevant when encountering "teachable moments" for junior officers...

[starri]

11 minutes ago, paigow said:

Aliens attacking Earth with a weapon from the future seems like an anecdote that Starfleet Captains might find relevant when encountering "teachable moments" for junior officers...

Do we normally see a lot of lecturing from anyone but Picard?  That's kind of dead air, storytelling wise.

I'm also really sick of the kvetching over their choice of platform.  Do I wish it was on Netflix?  Yes.  Do I want it on broadcast?  Absolutely not.  People seem to be missing the fact that not having 20 minutes of commercial breaks and doing a 50 minute episode gets you almost three extra episodes worth of content across 13 episodes.

[Lebanna]

Well, the rest of us actually do get in on Netflix. One of those moments where it kind of sucks to be an American. Kind of bad luck.

But Netflix is keeping a bunch of stuff alive by cross promoting it internationally and helping out with funds to keep odd little shows being produced all across the world, so I think keeping this show off broadcast networks is probably the best way imaginable for this thing to have a shot at season 2 and beyond. Because we all know that the first two seasons of a Star Trek show (not including TOS) are usually not as good as the next two.

[starri]

The Netflix deal paid for the entire production.  Anything they make off of All-Access is pure profit.

[jsbt]

41 minutes ago, paigow said:

Aliens attacking Earth with a weapon from the future seems like an anecdote that Starfleet Captains might find relevant when encountering "teachable moments" for junior officers...

So would a lot of things from other Trek shows, but they don't come up. Does that mean canon's been fucked with?

[starri]

The sacrifice of Rogue One could have been a teachable moment in all of the main Star Wars movies, but its existence makes the Star Wars universe richer anyway.

So too does the canon destruction in knowing that Leia was present for the plans being stolen because it makes her even more of a badass to be able to look Vader in the face...mask...whatever and lie to him without blinking.

[Bort]

Some of this conversation is getting off-topic for the media thread. Feel free to create one if you all wish to continue to debate Trek canon.

[jsbt]

Jason Isaacs plays Discovery captain Lorca.

[starri]

That's a Big Gun. 

[Lebanna]

I wonder if he's playing a human. 

[blueray]

Wow he makes a weird captain. It'll be hard to see him as a good guy.

[starri]

This casting, on the other hand, is pretty spot-on.  I am not Rainn Wilson's biggest fan, however.

[DavidJSnyder]

Is mentioning what original series characters they are recasting count as spoilers?

[paigow]

How old was Harry Mudd when he met Kirk? How old is Kirk "now"?

[jsbt]

I never cared for Mudd.

[legaleagle53]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

How old was Harry Mudd when he met Kirk? How old is Kirk "now"?

I'd say that Harry Mudd was at least ten years older than Kirk when they first met, which would put him (Mudd) at around 45 or 46 at that time (Kirk was about 35 then).  Since Discovery is set ten years prior to the Enterprise's original five-year mission, I'd say that that puts Kirk at about 25 and Mudd at about 35 "now."

[paigow]

Is Pike commanding the Enterprise yet? Or is he already wheelchair-bound?

[Unusual Suspect]

IIRC, it was Robert April then Pike, then Kirk, and each did a five-year command. So Enterprise should be just launching under April.

[starri]

Number One has a new name.  Instead of Rainsford, she's now Lieutenant Commander Michael Burnham.

[paigow]

Maybe they deleted all the old scripts by accident and are starting from scratch with new characters....

[legaleagle53]

Interesting.  Although the use of "Michael" as a woman's name is rare, it's not without precedent.

[SmithW6079]

I won't be getting CBS All Access, so I wasn't going to be watching this Trek iteration, but the fact that Rainn Wilson has been cast guarantees I won't ever watch the show. I think he's a giant douchebag who plays douchebags, and now he's going to destroy Harry Mudd.

[huahaha]

Ugh, Rainn Wilson as Mudd? Roger Carmel had an impish charm to balance the role. Wilson only plays annoying well.

[paigow]

11 hours ago, huahaha said:

Ugh, Rainn Wilson as Mudd? Roger Carmel had an impish charm to balance the role. Wilson only plays annoying well.

The first Mudd appearance, he was far more pimpish than impish....the second episode was played more for laughs but he still tried to maroon the entire Enterprise crew so he could escape...still sleazy and self-centered. "Dwight Mudd" should be OK.

[xaxat]

This is turning into a total shitshow. 

Star Trek: Discovery Switches an Actor's Role Mid-Production

[paigow]

Maybe Shatner is going to be George Kirk....

[Lebanna]

It's weird but switching roles is pretty normal for Star Trek, actually. The most famous was the original Janeway actress who was changed for Kate Mulgrew after production had already started, and how Alexander Siddig (Doctor Bashir) was originally recruited for the role of Sisko.

And of course how the entire cast except Leonard Nimoy and Majel Barrett of the original TOS pilot was switched out for the cast we currently recognize.

This switch is pretty tame, in comparison. I don't think it means anything.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Lebanna

[Maverick]

 This is a little different.  They're keeping the actor but putting him in  a different role.   It's like deciding mid-way through filming Voyaer's first season they decided Ethan Phillips should be playing Tuvok. 

 The closet comparison I can think of s Sirtis auditioning for Yar and Crosby auditioning for Troi, but they were swapped before filming began. 

[Lebanna]

Geneviève Bujold actually played Janeway for a couple of days. Filming had already begun. Yes, ok, she left the show, but she was playing the Captain and was supposed to be the main iconic character of the show. Your mileage may vary on Voyager (I love it) but I think most of us can agree that the recasting of such an important role was not the end of the show, seeing as it ran successfully for seven years. But at the time it must have seemed like a disaster.

And then there's the fact that so many actors (including Ethan Phillips) have played various different roles in the same Star Trek universe, so we can't get too precious about everyone being the only perfect fit for just one single role. The show may eventually suck but I just don't see this as an important sign of that happening. On that note, I think it would be awesome if they could get Shatner back for something. Maybe as a baddie.

Anyway, for all we know this Klingon character may be relatively minor, or he may be far more important than they originally intended, or they may have managed to finally wrangle the person they originally wanted for the role, or they may have just decided the original actor is better as a particular Lieutenant than a particular Klingon. There are a million possible reasons.

As long as the new guy isn't allergic to latex, I think he'll probably do ok. We're assuming he's playing an important, complex character, but it's equally possible that all he has to do is yell Qapla'!, stride about in tight leather, pet his lizard monster dog and avenge the poor big thing's death when it inevitably gets accidentally killed by the crew of the Discovery.

[jsbt]

8 hours ago, xaxat said:

This is turning into a total shitshow. 

Yeah, no; as others have said, this has been done several times before.

[SVNBob]

3 hours ago, Lebanna said:

As long as the new guy isn't allergic to latex,

This could be the reason for the role change in the first place.  The first actor may have turned out to be allergic to the Klingon makeup.  So they'd need to replace him in the role for his health, and decided to create a new role for him so he could continue to work on the show.

This would be akin to them changing the Trill makeup for Terry Farrell since she turned out to have an allergy to that (and to sunlight, explaining a few other decisions made while filming DS9).  But I would assume that Klingons need to look a certain way for this series, which would explain recasting the role and the actor instead of redesigning the makeup for him.

[starri]

Let's focus on the positive:  Rekha Sharma as the security chief.

[starri]

Hey look, it's Captain Georgiou and Commander Burnham.

[benteen]

Coo picture.  Looks like Star Wars but cool.

[Joe]

Michelle Yeoh may be dressed like Rey, but the rock formation looks more like Jedha.

[starri]

Star Wars didn't invent desert planets, though.

[Lebanna]

Aw, look at those retro utility belts and that gigantic tricorder. Dax would be getting all touchy-feely with that.

[starri]

Just now, Lebanna said:

Dax would be getting all touchy-feely with that.

I also love classic 23rd century design.

[Lebanna]

Black finish, silver highlights. Although they look a bit gold here. 

And it just occurred to me that we could potentially run into Dax again on this show.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Lebanna

[benteen]

I don't mean the desert planets, I mean the desert clothes.

[starri]

Enterprise also had a specific desert uniform.  It's all academic anyway.  I'm just excited we're getting some stuff with the actual stars.

[starri]

ETA:  They've also added two episodes onto the season.

I am so, so, ridiculously happy.

Edited May 17, 2017 by starri

[xaxat]

I have been a big critic of how CBS has handled this show,

but I am fully on board now.

[starri]

I love the uniforms.  I really, really love the uniforms.

[DearEvette]

16 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I have been a big critic of how CBS has handled this show,

but I am fully on board now.

I know right?  I hate CBS but I am so easy.

[xaxat]

19 minutes ago, starri said:

I love the uniforms.  I really, really love the uniforms.

Production values in general look great. There's even some good old fashioned JJ Abrams style lens flare.

Quote

I know right?  I hate CBS but I am so easy.

Yeah. . . the Alexander Courage theme. . . I can't resist.

Edited May 17, 2017 by xaxat

[Unusual Suspect]

It's an odd blend of original and Abrams Trek, which feels a little odd right now. That said, I am intrigued. I just want more Star Trek.

Also, I was already sold on Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green, but seeing them in action ... oh yes, I love it.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Unusual Suspect

[Lebanna]

It's so pretty.

The uniforms are great, an evolutionary step between Enterprise and The  Cage, but I assume they may still switch them to the Cage era ones, they leaked earlier in production, like DS9 switched uniform halfway through.

I'm intrigued about whether the main character is part Vulcan or a human raised on Vulcan or adopted by a Vulcan? It seems she has a very personal connection there.

And who is the captain? Lorca or (can't remember her name)? Kind of suggests the first captain of Discovery is killed quite soon, perhaps she planned to hand the ship over to Number One, but dies too soon? 

I don't care about the fact it looks way more futuristic compared to the 1960s TOS. That was then. I really love TOS, but this thing is being made now. We can't have the old jelly-bean buttons and bad makeup back any more than we can have vaguely sexist comments about the female officers. It would be silly. 

[starri]

Those desert scenes were apparently filmed in Jordan.  King Abdullah is a Trekkie, and even had a walk-on during VOY while he was still Crown Prince.

4 minutes ago, Lebanna said:

And who is the captain? Lorca or (can't remember her name)? Kind of suggests the first captain of Discovery is killed quite soon, perhaps she planned to hand the ship over to Number One, but dies too soon? 

We've been told there's also the USS Shenzhou, which is the ship she commands.  Several of the other characters are listed as being officers on the Shenzhou.