Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison moderated the Star Trek: Discovery panel at New York Comic Con today, which is no coincidence considering that the show’s co-creator Bryan Fuller has said that she was one of the inspirations behind Discovery’s main character, Michael Burnham.
The Discovery team has been pretty tight-lipped about revealing plot points leading up the show’s debut, but now that we’re three episodes in (the fourth airs tomorrow night), the producers and cast on the panel today were willing to open up some. That said, spoilers follow for episodes one through three, and for the first few minutes of episode four.
Jemison introduced the cast and producers, and recalled how when she was in space onboard the space shuttle Discovery, she always opened up her communications with “all hailing frequencies open” -- just like her inspiration, Nichelle Nichols, from the original Star Trek. The first several minutes of episode four were then played for the crowd.
Things start on what appears to be a stormy, crystalline planet, with lightning and all kinds of atmospheric disturbances, before the camera pulls out, out, out to reveal that it was all just a micro-look at Burnham’s uniform. She’s in her quarters, and has been given a temporary assignment to the science division, but with no rank and no Starfleet insignia. She’s looking in the mirror (a sort of holographic mirror that she turns off with a voice command) and moves her hand to the empty spot on her tunic where the insignia badge should be, but then she cancels the mirror once Cadet Tilly walks in.
She has a package that has arrived for Burnham -- the last will and testament of Captain Georgiou. Once she realizes what it is, Michael quickly stashes it under her bed and hurries out of her quarters. On the turbolift, she rides with Saru, who questions why she didn’t leave on the prison shuttle last episode. He’s clearly bothered that Captain Lorca didn’t include him in the plan to keep Burnham onboard. “You can tell your threat ganglia to relax,” she says to the Kelpian. “My ganglia remain unconvinced,” he responds. The relationship between these two characters continues to crackle.
More from New York Comic Con:
Once on the bridge, we find Lorca and the crew in the midst of a full-on battle with the Klingons. One that doesn’t go very well at all. “We’re all dead,” says a not very happy Lorca. It’s all been a simulation, and the Discovery lost. The captain reminds the crew that they are now the only ship with the spore drive technology, and that when they eventually use it they will be able to appear anywhere virtually instantaneously. And they need to be ready. “We’ll do better next time, sir,” says security chief Landry. “It would be hard to do worse,” spits out Lorca.
The tease ended with Lorca showing Burnham his menagerie -- which she describes as housing “some of the deadliest weapons in the galaxy.” Lorca then tells Burnham what he wants from her: She has to weaponize the creature from last episode so that he can use it against the Klingons!
Jason Isaacs spoke about Lorca, and how he clearly is quite different from previous Starfleet captains. “If I had seen any echoes of any other captain I would’ve run in the other direction,” he said of taking on this role. “This is an amazing time to set this. It’s before the Prime Directive is really set. It’s during wartime and they are finding their feet. … He’s surrounded by idiots on his ship. As far as he’s concerned, none of these people know what they’re doing. … They’re all happy clappy hippies who have to be [locked up]. And then he finds out about this woman [Michael]… So we want to give you guys something to talk about after the credits roll. Not the least of which is, is Lorca right or wrong. … All the hot button issues [of today] are somehow translated through the fantasy prism of our show.”
More from New York Comic Con:
Executive producer Akiva Goldsman said that while there has been much talk about how Discovery is different from Star Trek: The Original Series, which is set on 10 years after this show, “Ours is the origin of the feeling of TOS. But we don’t start there. It’s how we get there. … It’s how the Federation reaffirms itself.”
Burnham, who of course is played by Sonequa Martin-Green, is (some canon sources notwithstanding) now considered the first mutineer in Starfleet history. This, says executive producer Alex Kurtzman, is key to the character’s development.
“We got very excited by the idea that our lead was not going to be a captain,” he said. “I think Trek has always succeeded when it’s been entirely familiar and entirely fresh. And it’s a tricky line to walk. … So we wanted the audience to think they were walking into a familiar scenario only to pull the rug out from them in the first two episodes. … It gives her a very long way to go. It gives her a redemption story. Starting her at a low point. … She’s looking for her place. … Part of the reason the loss of Georgiou hurts her so much is because she represented her humanity. She told Burnham it’s O.K. to be human.”
Martin-Green added that the inner turmoil is very important to the character. “I find it quite visceral,” she said. “You see me say my emotions inform my logic rather than impede them. Growing up on Vulcan I had to find a way [to use my emotions]. … So I really love that this path is one of self-discovery for us. Not just for me but for everyone. But the yearning for that absolution [of the mutiny] will always be there.”
EP and co-showrunner Aaron Harberts talked about how from the earliest work on the show, when Fuller was still onboard, a key question was what new science they could bring to the fore. “Yes, we are 10 years before but we need to be current,” he said. And that led to them talking to the real-life scientist Paul Stamets… and the idea that mushrooms can save the world. “That became the epicenter for us,” said the producer.
Anthony Rapp plays Discovery’s Lt. Paul Stamets (coincidence!?), who is also a mycologist and the co-founder of the ship’s new spore drive technology. “[The real-life Stamets] gave a TED Talk and the first line was, ‘Mushrooms can save the world,’” said Rapp. “So the science we do on Star Trek is rooted in real science. … This may be possible one day.”
Harberts also recalled how early in the show’s development the producers assembled a roundtable think-tank of real scientists to discuss the show’s science. The question of beaming came up, and it turned into a debate among the eggheads.
“The physicists were saying it’s technically possible,” said Harberts. “And the neuroscientists and life science people were saying, but you can’t reassemble the soul. … And that was really fascinating, that split, because we were really seeking to tell a story of self-discovery, looking inward as well as out.”
Some other highlights from the panel included…
-Doug Jones, who plays Saru, said he was relieved not to have to play a pre-existing Trek species and worry about getting it right. Instead, he was able to work with the writers and creature designers to create the Kelpian from the ground up. He also noted that it’s extraordinary that Saru has been able to break the tradition of his species and join Starfleet. And he strongly hinted to the producers that he wants an episode where they visit his home planet.
-Mary Wiseman addressed why her character Cadet Tilly would even be onboard the ship. “Age ain’t nothing but a number,” she joked. “Tilly describes herself as the best theoretical engineer on the ship. I think that’s true. She’s super strong. [Despite] everything she lacks in social graces and impulse control … I think she’ll prove she has something to offer.”
-Co-showrunner and EP Gretchen J. Berg said that the goal from the begging of the show was to have women be a big part of it both in front of and behind the camera. “One of the things I’m proudest of is the way the relationships between women are represented,” she said. “It’s not competitive or backstabbing, we don’t play the male/female card. It’s just the best person for the job gets the jobs.”
-Mary Chieffo, who plays the Klingon commander L'Rell, said that not only has she been learning Klingon but she and her fellow Klingon actors want their dialogue to have meaning and subtext. The script is written in English and then the Klingon lines are translated to Klingon, with the interpreter “infusing” the translation with her own take. “We don’t want it to just be saying words we don’t want to understand,” said the actress.
-Michelle Yeoh, who plays the late Captain Georgiou, made a surprise appearance at the panel. “I’m not going to let them kill me,” she said. “I’ll come back and haunt them.” She then made ghost sounds! And indeed, Berg said that Yeoh will show up on the show again… Hmm…
-Martin-Green was asked if Burnham has room for romance at all, and the actress strongly implied that there will be something going on. “I’ll say that there’s all kinds of life on this show and I think it’s very courageous in that way, our story, and that’s probably all I’m gonna say…” she said. “We cover everything with everyone. You see what I’m saying?”
-Kurtzman also wanted to emphasis that their depiction of the Klingons, and in part why their physical appearance is different now, was an attempt to differentiate them from what came before so that viewers wouldn’t make certain assumptions about them. “I think in the heart of Star Trek one of the big ideas is what we perceive to be the other is actually a mirror,” he said. “So when we wanted to do the war with the Klingons, it was important to represent both sides of the war. … We needed to know what it was like for them too. To humanize them, for lack of a better word. … But it was terribly important for us to … give an understanding of their culture, and if we didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be Star Trek.”
New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream on CBS All Access every Sunday!
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire