The 60th anniversary year for Star Trek: The Original Series will begin with a new show called Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This series is a direct spinoff of one of the most controversial shows in the canon of the utopian future created by Gene Roddenberry and introduced to the world in 1966. Star Trek: Discovery launched the third wave of television series in the universe in 2017 and debuted its fifth and final season on Paramount+ in 2024. Discovery, along with everything else that bears the Star Trek name (save for the animated series Prodigy) is the anchor of Paramount’s streaming service. All due respect to Taylor Sheridan’s Rich White Dude Cinematic Universe, Star Trek is a big reason why people stay subscribed. If there is any silver lining to the studios’ greed, when the “new content” pipeline eventually dries up, Star Trek fans can do what they’ve always done before. If they revisit Discovery, they might notice two clear reasons why the show was so jarring to a significant portion of Trekkies and Trekkers.
Audiences barely have enough free time to watch everything they want to, let alone revisit a show or movie a second time. When it comes to the Star Trek franchise, this is a significant change in how it’s found success. Star Trek: The Original Series didn’t become a hit until after it was canceled and entered into near-constant replays in syndication. Shows like Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise once considered controversial, are now the comfort shows for fans old and new.
Discovery Didn’t Capture the Traditional Star Trek ‘Feeling’ Intentionally
In their own ways, those series’ detractors said they didn’t feel like Star Trek, just as Discovery got when it debuted. Star Trek: Discovery was the flagship of the then-named CBS All Access streaming service. However, not unlike most beloved generational saga revivals in the late 2010s and early 2020s, it was met with outrage and scorn by a vocal minority. Like the critics of series past, they said the show “wasn’t Star Trek.” However, two intentional choices made by Star Trek: Discovery producers may have put off longtime fans who came into the series with a genuinely open mind.
Every new iteration of the universe created by Gene Roddenberry was met with scorn and suspicion from passionate fans. From Star Trek: The Animated Series to the TOS prequel series Enterprise, each new TV series gets accused of “not being Star Trek.” (Though, in Enterprise’s case, that’s technically correct because co-creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga left “Star Trek” out of the title until UPN forced them to add it in Season 3.) The rebooted movies that began in 2009, like them or not, were no substitute for Star Trek on TV. When the second-wave shows were airing, the franchise felt inevitable.
After 12 years, far fewer fans took Star Trek for granted. The Next Generation first two seasons are still scorned by fans. But, back then, even the people who hated it tuned in because they didn’t want Trek to go away again. What they wanted was the feeling of tuning in each week for fun, hopeful space adventure. That’s not what Discovery was, at first. The producers of the series clearly wanted to make it distinct. This would both allow the show to “stand” on its own merits and would expand the visual diaspora of Gene Roddenberry’s universe. It’s ambition worthy of Elizabeth Shelby.
Discovery Debuted In a Very Different Landscape for Entertainment and Fan Response
However, Star Trek: Discovery faced a uniquely different situation with its debut. The internet existed for much of the second wave run of shows, with countless early websites devoted to Star Trek. However, with the rise of social media and YouTube monetization, there is now a cottage industry of bad-faith grifters. With all-caps video titles, they mine fan outrage and entitlement with a soupçons of racism, sexism, and the tenor of bitter cruelty that helped right-wing ideological news media become massively profitable.
The intensity of the backlash was falsely amplified by these voices, and they continue to this day. Just recently, I wrote take colder than the Northern Wastes of Andoria about how Discovery kicked off the third wave of the series which now includes six series, one in development (that we know of), and a feature film project centered around Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou. My social media mentions were full of people angry about how it didn’t feel like Star Trek. Some of them, though, weren’t shitposters or engagement trolls. Put another way, this unscientific sample of pissed-off Trekkers thought Discovery didn’t feel like Star Trek, but couldn’t exactly say why.
The idea these shows don’t “respect” the universe is utter nonsense. Shows like Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks wear their love of Star Trek on their sleeves. Prodigy told stories that touched on almost every iteration of the universe, and is a sequel to Voyager like The Clone Wars is a sequel to Attack of the Clones. Patrick Stewart was insistent that his return as Jean-Luc Picard not be a nostalgic retreat. Yet, even the oft-complained about first season included Seven of Nine, Will Riker, Deanna Troi, Hugh the Borg, and a brand-new Dr. Soong, and dozens of Easter eggs to the past.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 reunited The Next Generation cast for a season that served as the big feature film trilogy that cast never got. The latter series even brought back legendary production designers who created a seamless (but upgraded) visual continuity with the second-wave shows. This is the first choice Star Trek: Discovery made that might have been off-putting to some fans in ways they might not have even recognized. Picard’s executive producer Terry Matalas got his start working for second-wave Trek. So he sought the help of legendary Berman-era Star Trek designers like John Eaves, Doug Drexler, Michael and Denise Okuda. It was evident. Fans were ecstatic to see things like the squared-off nacelles or the modern-day LCARS displays. And, of course, there was the meticulous recreation of the Enterprise-D set. This proves how important that kind of visual continuity can be.
Like Previous Star Trek Series, It Was a Long Road Getting From Development to Debut
The creation of Star Trek: Discovery was a bit fraught, another element it shares with its predecessors. Originally, Bryan Fuller was driving the creative bus during pre-production and the writing of the first episodes. He left and other producers joined, including Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman. When it comes to guiding the Star Trek factory, they are akin to the Berman and Braga of this era, if only by how angry fans curse their names and abilities. Success has many parents, while failure is an orphan, or so the saying goes. I’m not sure who had the idea, but the decision was made to make Discovery as visually distinct as possible from anything that came before.
I’m also not sure who had the final say on setting all the series in the so-called Prime Universe, i.e. the visual canon of Star Trek save for the three 21st Century films. This created an incongruity that some fans couldn’t reconcile, perhaps even subconsciously. Obviously, they couldn’t have the wooden consoles and resin buttons from the 1960s series. Still, the design of the interfaces and copious use of hologram technology felt too advanced. (Though, in The Animated Series the Enterprise had a holodeck, and lots of things from that show have become canon.)
I’ve read in the past that it was Fuller who was keen on redesigning the Klingons, and boy did they go for it. (UPDATE: In 2025, Fuller said he rejected the Klingon designs before leaving the series.) Beyond the heavy prosthetics, producers added a vocal effect to make them sound more alien. With the incredibly accurate Klingon-language dialogue, it all had the unfortunate effect of making them sound like regular people muffled by a too-thick special effects mask. (Conversely, I am convinced Saru actually exists, because he looks real.) Personally, I think accepting the inevitable redesign of something like Star Trek is part-and-parcel with the suspension of disbelief required to enjoy it.
Discovery’s Aesthetic Departures and Technological Upgrade Broke Immersion for Some Star Trek Fans
Of course the modern USS Enterprise bridge set is going to be more advanced than Star Trek: TOS. (There’s even a sensible way to justify the changes narratively.) So the holographic whatevers and new uniforms should just be noted, so viewers can get down to business engaging with the story. The lack of certain elements of visual continuity in ship and alien design contributed to why some viewers thought it didn’t “feel like” Star Trek. In fairness, Star Trek: Discovery established itself as its own thing, for better or worse. Time may bear out this choice as the right call, especially if Star Trek keeps going. But as the first new series in more than a decade, fans may have needed something a bit more visually familiar to latch onto.
The second thing Star Trek: Discovery did was something fans were more aware of than the design elements of ships and props. It is the first series where the lead character, Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, was not the captain. Put aside her character’s journey, which was itself a bold storytelling decision. The USS Discovery’s captain was the villain the whole time. Jason Isaacs played Gabriel Lorca, a man from the Mirror Universe who wanted to get back home to finish killing his Emperor. This information isn’t revealed until the end of the 12th episode, the third after Discovery’s two-month-long mid-season hiatus. For most of the 15 episodes in Season 1, fans just thought Lorca was an asshole.
Discovery Was a Serialized, Slow-Burn Series, but Fans Were Impatient
The Klingon War was mentioned obliquely in earlier Star Trek series, and Discovery’s first season tells that story. The show sets Lorca up as a man perhaps compromised by war. Or, more accurately, he’s a compromised man who Starfleet would only allow to do what he does because they were at war. The storytellers and Isaacs effectively sold the idea Lorca might be a good man who’d started to make bad choices. Personally, I almost started rooting for him a little right as they crossed over into the Mirror Universe.
I actually remember thinking his characterization was structured to make him the kind of captain who could match the Terran’s brutality. Kind of how Kirk was the “right” captain for the Romulan incursion, as shown in Strange New Worlds Season 1 finale. I anticipated a heroic death where he admitted he wasn’t the best of Starfleet but that his crew was. The twist that he was always an invader from the Mirror Universe was incredible. It immediately recontextualized the season in way viewers really can only appreciate by rewatching it.
Only the idea of a vile captain offended some of the passionate, good-faith Star Trek fans. They may have never even gotten to that twist. The captain sets the tone for the show in more ways than one. Burnham, Doug Jones’s Saru, and other crewmembers do legitimately horrible things on Lorca’s order. Despite what Gene Roddenberry wanted for his 24th Century characters, Starfleet officers don’t have to be perfect. Yet, no matter the situation, “just following orders” doesn’t fly with a Star Trek audience. (Too many time-travel Nazi episodes for that to work.)
Star Trek: Discovery Does Much More ‘Right’ Than It Doesn’t In Its First Seasons
Upon rewatching Discovery, Burnham and the others often find a way to do the right thing instead of what Lorca ordered them to do. His praise of the crew’s ingenuity the first time around could feel like a cop out to fans offended on Starfleet’s behalf. Yet, knowing that in those moments Lorca is actually enraged and from a universe where such defiance results in death recolors those moments.
Burnham especially has a sense of loyalty to Lorca because he’s rescued her Starfleet career. She’s trying so hard to impress her captain (and shipmates) that she has what it takes to be a Starfleet officer and does it by finding solutions and upholding its ideals. In these moments, she’s looking at him with that kind of admiration, and he’s mad as hell and lying to her face.
Like its predecessors, after the final season fans making their way through Star Trek offerings will find the series for the first time. However, those fans who tried Star Trek: Discovery and didn’t understand why it felt off, this is why. The design problem is one that just must be endured. I personally like to think the technology improvements happened because of everything from Scotty giving the “I Quit Smoking” guy the formula for transparent aluminum in 1986 to the USS Voyager’s accidental creation of the Internet Age. Or, even more simply, you can just think it’s a different timeline than one depicted in past series. There are so many ways around it, all viewers have to do is pick one.
The Captain Lorca Twist Was Truly Clever, but the ‘Cards Down’ Approach Hurt the Show a Little
Captain Lorca does change the vibe on the Starfleet ship early on in the season. This may be a case where spoilers help. While the design choices may arguably be a mistake, the storytelling approach was not. Had they revealed Lorca was bad, even through misdirect, it would’ve undermined the story for me. I admit, as both a war veteran and something of a Starfleet purist myself, I didn’t like it. Yet, I also knew enough to strongly suspect that another shoe was waiting to drop.
I think I expected him to have been compromised by the Klingons in some way, at least until he was captured. Knowing he’s an irredeemable bastard going in (and knowing the show doesn’t want you to know that) can still deliver a satisfying experience. It also made me more sympathetic to the characters the second time around. At the very least, you’ll catch all the foreshadowing that went right over my head.
Star Trek: Discovery is an historic entry in the franchise for many reasons. It was the first one led by a Black woman actor. It was, almost unbelievably, the first to introduce explicitly LGBTQIA characters as series regulars. (Though, DS9’s Jazdia Dax was bisexual and every character who has a relationship with a non-human character is, technically, pansexual.) The show is incredibly cinematic, from visual effects to the way it’s shot. The camera didn’t move all that much in the old days.
Star Trek Was Never More Dynamic and Cinematic Than In Its Third Wave
The visual effects, sets, costuming, and makeup were all dazzlingly high-quality. The Klingons redesign may not have worked the way producers wanted it to, but there is no denying how impressive they looked. They even constructed a full-body prosthetic for L’Rell in a disturbing scene (that was meant to be disturbing). While perhaps not preferable to the classic looks, the redesigned ships are impressive. The Season 1 Birds of Prey is a design I wish they would’ve saved for the jump to the 32nd Century in Season 3. And, for what it’s worth, the USS Discovery itself was inspired by a design from Star Wars legend Ralph McQuarrie done for the aborted Star Trek: Planet of the Titans.
As Discovery made its final lap around the Milky Way, the Discourse™ shifted. Shitposters and outrage grifters continued to rain on the parades of people celebrating Season 5. Even though some fans always hate the new Star Trek show, trying to ruin the experience for people who do like it is a disturbing new trend. Yet, like all simple creatures, they will stop once the object is no longer shiny. Still, those who weren’t dedicated to hating whatever is new to keep their audience angry and engaged actually enjoyed that final season for the most part. It had the sense of adventure and action in pursuit of a worthy goal that makes Star Trek, well, Star Trek.
The design elements will eventually become no more jarring than the upgrade from the Enterprise-A to the Enterprise-D. The problem created by the cards-down approach to Lorca’s true morality may persist. But, fans will just Google something like “why is lorca so weird discovery” and start scrolling. Still, the Star Trek fans watching it as it aired can’t be blamed for feeling like the vibe was off. It was, and that was the point. Knowing that going in allows audiences to focus on the supporting characters who all, ultimately, exemplify the best qualities of Star Trek’s heroes.
The complete Star Trek: Discovery is available on DVD, Blu-ray, digital, and streams on Paramount+. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuts with two episodes on January 15, 2026 and new episodes follow each Thursday on Paramount+.
