Tuesday TV Touchbase: Star Trek Discovery

This week’s Tuesday TV Touchbase reflects on the series finale of Star Trek Discovery. 

 

The poor little Star Trek series no one asked for and no one wanted.  It began as an egregiously misconceived prequel to the original series.  It was a dark version of what has otherwise been a positive view of our future among the stars.  

 

It takes a lot of fortitude to get through season 1. 

 

But in it’s defense, Star Trek Discovery got better.

 

Season 2 with Anson Mount’s Capt. Christopher Pike taking over as interim Captain of the Discovery was a balm not just for the weary viewers who had put up with this show’s missteps but also for the crew of the ship. 

 

The plot device that propels Discovery to the 32nd century for season 3 is a major change to the status quo and finally gives the show a distinctive voice and vision, making it in my mind a worthy part of the Star Trek pantheon.  

Star Trek Discovery deserved better than it got, disrespected even in death. After completing season 5, then Paramount+ announced the show should not be renewed.  While the cancellation was not overturned, somewhere a saner head prevailed to let the Discovery crew come back to complete some additional scenes to make the season 5 finale "Life, Itself" a series finale.  

Let's break this down in 2 parts, first as a season finale and then as a series finale. 

"Life, Itself" brings to a action packed finale the quest for the Progenitors' tech.  The Progenitors were first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase" as the ancient race that seeded the galaxy with humanoid life.  The power of the Progenitors would have far reaching implications for good in the right hands and it also have extensive potential for death and destruction if it falls in the wrong hands.

Such as the militant Breen.    

After enduring trials and solving complex riddles as part of the quest, the Progenitors' tech accepts Capt. Michael Burnham as the right hands.  Burnham can keep the tech away from the Breen but is she or anyone in the galaxy really ready to be the right hands to possess this technology?  

Burnham let's it go. The Progenitors' tech slides past the event horizon of 2 black holes to disappear forever.  

This may seem to be a bit anticlimactic but it is in keeping with the spirit of Star Trek. Frequently in Star Trek, wisdom takes precedence over power.  Efforts to solve problems with MORE power often fail while approaches that involve intelligence, compassion and wisdom work.   

As the episode winds down,  Saru and T’Rina get married.  Saru gets a bad ass moment in "Life, Itself" where he makes a Breen dreadnought turn around with only the force and convioction of his words.  "Action Saru" strikes again! 

Saru, I'm going to miss you most of all, scarecrow. 

We find out that Dr. Korvich is actually the time travelling Agent Daniels from Star Trek Enterprise.  Well... that's somethng we know now.  Do we really care? Eh.....

But even in the 32nd century, 800 years from the time of the original series, it's a reminder that Star Trek Discovery is still part of this sprawling thing we know and love as Star Trek.     

Burnham and Book officially become a couple again.  Yay!

So that is that for the season finale.   

But we are not done yet. 

We have a series finale to contend with.   

Thirty years in the future...

We find Burnham and Book older now, living lives of quiet domestic tranquility.  Their son, now a Starfleet Captain, has arrived to collect Admiral Burnham for one more mission: to send Discovery and it's AI Zora off into deep space and await the arrival of something or someone called Craft.

Which is an effort to make the Short Trek “Calypso” fit in continuity.  That episode was released between seasons 1 and 2 when Star Trek Discovery was still a prequel set in the 23rd century.  

Sitting in the captain's chair one last time, Burnham reflects on her crew (giving us cameos of Reno, Bryce, Owosekun, and Detmer).

And one last command from Burham: "Let's fly!" 

And thus ends the saga of Star Trek Discovery.  

This was not an easy series to love at first. It was only when the show jumped the 32nd century that it became it's own thing and not bound to the limitations of being a prequel.  

In many ways, Star Trek Discovery encompassed the ideals of the original Star Trek better than a lot of other Trek projects, the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.  

The trolls unfortunately were out in force for Star Trek Discovery, deriding the show as "woke" and never accepting a black woman as Captain.  These trolls do not truly understand the vision and the ideals of Star Trek and to hell with them. 

The epilogue does give Star Trek Discovery a relatively good sense of closure, poignancy of over things lost coupled with hope for a future with more things to come.   

      

Next week, Pat Sajak says goodbye to  Wheel of Fortune.  

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.