Immediate first impressions of Star Trek Discovery

We’ve got two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery in the books at long last. After one viewing, we have plenty of first impressions of the new series. [SPOILER WARNING]

With one night and two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery in the books, we’ve been taken on a wild ride through modern-day Trek. There will be more detailed viewings and breakdowns in store both here and on other sites, but we’ve got bleeding edge reactions to the new show. We may change our minds about some of these down the road, but let’s get caught up in the moment!

TV-14 rating

After much hand-wringing about Discovery’s TV-MA rating, as displayed in several trailers, both “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle At The Binary Stars” were rated TV-14. With plenty of action and violence and more than a few deaths, particularly in the second episode, a TV-14 rating makes one wonder: Is the advisory level yet to rise, or has the rating been changed?

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It’s important to remember that all the trailers came from the first three episodes of the series, meaning there’s only one more episode with footage we’ve already seen. If “Context Is For Kings”, the series’ third episode, also turns out to be rated TV-14, we might be able to disregard that pesky TV-MA we’ve spent so much time fussing about.

The theme music and opening sequence

Discovery’s theme music simply drips Star Trek, and the visuals are outstanding. I don’t have a lot to add to that, but I’m quickly coming to love the theme sequence.

Give us more Saru

Lieutenant Saru is a Kelpian, a prey species. From that comes an instinctive paranoia and an appreciation for avoiding trouble of any kind. Maybe this will get old, but so far he’s a delight and his banter with Captain Philippa Georgiou and Commander Michael Burnham is entertaining. Here’s to more Saru.

Speaking of Captain Georgiou

The smart money had Georgiou dying sometime before the USS Discovery arrived, and given the trailers we’ve seen of Georgiou and Burnham on the Klingon ship, it was likely that was where her fate was to be met. Hopefully she appears in flashbacks or something of the sort, because her chemistry with Burnham was enjoyable. There’s a good chance that may be the case, as Michelle Yeoh’s IMDB page lists her in all 15 first season episodes.

Next: What people are saying about Discovery on Twitter

The Klingons

A look inside the union of the 24 Klingon houses was fascinating, as was the Torchbearer. These Klingons all look unique, as from different houses their appearances vary greatly. Talk about infinite diversity in infinite combinations. What I did NOT expect was for T’Kuvma to die so soon. He seemed like more of a permanent character in the trailers. Let’s see where we go from here.