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‘Star Trek Discovery’ failed to do what good sci-fi does
This article contains mild spoilers for the first season of 'Star Trek Discovery'. At its best, science fiction does more than just entertain, or ensure its cliffhanger is strong enough that you come back next week. The cool spaceships and robots are just the framework through which we explore the anxieties and morals of our society at large. And we're at such a febrile point in history that we need sci-fi to ground us in what's coming in the not-too-distant future. I've been preaching patience for a while now, but I don't think that I can defend Star Trek Discovery any further. The conclusion of its debut season has shown that, for all the promise of its raw material, it's been a big disappointment. The show lacked soul, and a theme, to the point where it has devoted its running time to celebrating its own coolness rather than exploring any sort of idea.
'Star Trek: Bridge Crew' drops its VR headset requirement
There's no question that Star Trek: Bridge Crew benefits from VR -- it helps fulfill that fantasy of helming a starship. Most people don't have the VR headset you need to play the game, however, which makes gathering a crew rather difficult. Red Storm and Ubisoft's solution? Make the game playable for everyone. It just released a "non-VR" update that makes the game playable for anyone with a PS4 or sufficiently capable PC. You can play with others whether or not they have headsets, and there are even graphical enhancements for non-VR players to take advantage of the lighter processing requirements.
Quentin Tarantino developing 'Star Trek' movie with J.J. Abrams
Quentin Tarantino could helm the next Star Trek film, according to sources who spoke to Deadline. Tarantino has shared his pitch on the long-running sci-fi franchise with producer J.J. Abrams, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The two plan to convene a writers room to develop the film at Paramount, with Tarantino in the director's chair.
After half a season, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is worth paying for
Star Trek: Discovery launched in September, to anticipation and questions, but more than that, there was grumbling. After all, the show wasn't easily accessible in the United States. In Canada, it aired on the Space channel, and in the rest of the world it was available on Netflix. But in the US, you needed CBS All Access, a standalone subscription service, to watch the show. Predictably, there was outrage. For months leading up to the show, people (myself included) railed against CBS's decision to sequester it in this way. But now, half a season in, one thing is crystal clear: The model might be frustrating, but the show is good enough to justify it. It's time to accept that this is the reality of the situation and enjoy Star Trek: Discovery for what it is.
'Star Trek: Discovery' season one resumes January 7th
Star Trek: Discovery is doing pretty well, it seems, with CBS All Access bringing in record numbers of subscribers. In fact, the network has given the go-ahead for a second season of the latest Star Trek series. According to a report over at Deadline, CBS has set a premiere date for the second half of the first season, unofficially known as "Chapter 2," with the tenth episode, "Despite Yourself" to air on January 7th of next year, with a Season One finale set for February 11th.
Listen to a discarded score for ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Cliff Eidelman (pictured) famously penned the ominous score for Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country after (first pick) James Horner was too expensive. Now, the composer has revealed that he was in the running to produce the soundtrack for Star Trek: Discovery. The job eventually went to Jeff Russo, but Eidelman chose to continue working on the project since he was never tied down to a contract. As a consequence, the musician has published a four-track look into an entirely different form of theme for the series.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is returning for a second season
The experiment has been a success, because news has just dropped that CBS is renewing Star Trek: Discovery. The show, which was used as a tentpole to launch CBS' All Access streaming service, has been enough of a success to justify a second season of episodes. The move comes as a vote of confidence for both the show and its platform, since it has recently aired the sixth of its fifteen-episode first season. Now, a second run of Discovery will air, presumably at some point toward the back-half of 2018.
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ deserves better than CBS’s streaming service
I've been a Star Trek fan my entire life. It goes without saying, then, that I was eagerly anticipating the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery. Even through the myriad production delays and the departure of key behind-the-scenes staff, I remained optimistic. The casting was good. The promo images were good. The trailer was good. Now the first two episodes have arrived, and the question remains: Just how good is Star Trek: Discovery? This show is solid. It could even be great, given the chance. In fact, it seems just as good as anything CBS has on the air. So the question is: Why the requirement of a subscription just for US viewers? After all, it's airing on Netflix in the rest of the world, except Canada, where it can be seen on the Space channel.
CBS, Showtime and The CW are coming to DirecTV Now
This is a little convoluted, so bear with us: CBS will soon be available on DirecTV Now, the pay-TV provider's streaming service. CBS offers its own streaming service, CBS All Access, the exclusive home for Star Trek: Discovery. If you subscribe to DirecTV Now, you won't be able to watch that unless you pony up $6 a month for a subscription on top of what you're paying for DirecTV Now. You will, however, be able to watch NCIS (above) and its various spin-offs.
CBS All Access has more new TV shows to join 'Star Trek'
After a few delays, the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery is on track to launch September 24th, and the streaming network has a few more shows planned to keep the momentum going. There's no word on any launch dates, but it did announce three new series at the Television Critics Association press tour, along with news that Audra McDonald will join The Good Fight for its second season in 2018.
Gucci's latest fashion is a retro sci-fi mashup
While some designers look to the future of fashion and tech, Gucci is going back to what 1960s and '70s Hollywood thought the future would be. For its Gucci and Beyond Winter Instagram campaign, the fashion house showed off some colorful, kaleidoscopic fashions on a Star Trek bridge and transporter room, with Forbidden Planet's robot thrown in for good measure. There's also a daffy video (below) that captures all the sci-fi tropes, including a shaky, tilting Star Trek camera, a lurking Creature from the Black Lagoon and a giant cat on a rear-projection screen.
Latest 'Star Trek: Discovery' trailer shows more of the crew
No, CBS' much-delayed Star Trek: Discovery still isn't out yet, but you're at least getting a better look at how the streaming-focused series will play out. The broadcaster has released a hefty second trailer for the show that gives a better look at the USS Discovery's crew and the Klingons. It revolves around first officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green, above), and for good reason -- a San Diego Comic Con panel revealed that she's Spock's adoptive sister. She's clearly struggling with the contrast between Vulcan logic and the chaos she sees throughout the galaxy.
'Star Trek Discovery' explores new frontiers on September 24th
After four months of production following a worrisome delay, CBS is finally comfortable enough with its long-awaited new Star Trek series to set a release date: September 24th, 2017. That's right on schedule.
Inside the Barbican’s sci-fi movie wonderland
The best science fiction movies use costumes, models and physical props to sell their vision of the future. Alien, for instance, would be nothing without the compression suits worn by its ill-fated crew outside the Nostromo. From June 3rd, the Barbican Centre in London will be celebrating these movies and the staggering work that went into them through a new exhibition called 'Into the Unknown.' Walk down its dark, curving corridor and you'll find original spacesuits from Alien, Moon, Sunshine and Star Trek, as well as original Darth Vader and Stormtrooper helmets from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
First 'Star Trek: Discovery' trailer points to a fall release
It's been a long wait since the first teaser trailer, but we finally have our first good look at CBS' streaming-exclusive Star Trek: Discovery series. The first trailer promises a "fall" release window, and the accompanying press release reveals its run has been extended from 13 episodes to 15, and that it will include a "Talking Trek" aftershow. We've heard plenty about its cast (including the likes of Jason Isaacs, Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green), and production delays, but we're still waiting for the show to appear so fans can finally decide if it's worth signing up for CBS All Access.
'Star Trek: Discovery' will have Jason Isaacs as its captain
Star Trek: Discovery's cast has slowly been coming together, but there's been one glaring omission: who's helming the show's namesake ship? At last, we know: say hello to Jason Isaacs, who will play the USS Discovery's Captain Lorca in the internet-focused TV series. CBS is mum about details of the character, although Isaacs' role hints that he's likely to be a permanent (or at least, long-serving) cast member.
Crowdfunded 'Star Trek: DS9' documentary imagines a new season
The creators and stars of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have launched an Indiegogo campaign to produce a documentary about the show. What We Left Behind will tell the story of the third fourth Star Trek series as told by (most of) the people who made it. More than that, however, the film has assembled the show's writing team (including Ronald D. Moore) to map out what a mythical eighth season of the show would look like. Sadly, the AV Club beat us two pointing out that this is basically that Portlandia sketch, but in real life.
Production on 'Star Trek: Discovery' is finally underway
Thanks to delays at the network, CBS' latest addition to the small screen Star Trek canon obviously didn't make its scheduled release date of January 2017. But there's some good news from the network today: production has officially begun on the set of Star Trek: Discovery.
CBS and Paramount settle lawsuit with 'Star Trek' fan film
It's been a wild ride for the folks behind the Axanar Star Trek fan film, but it's finally over -- the fan production group has settled its lawsuit with CBS and Paramount. The terms of the agreement aren't completely clear, but both parties have announced that the deal will allow Axanar productions to finish and release its fan film for free as long as a certain number of undisclosed "substantial changes" are made. Even better? According to Ars Technica, the settlement doesn't require the fan group to pay damages, either.
'Star Trek: Discovery' faces an indefinite delay
If you were banking on watching Star Trek: Discovery in May... well, we hope you have some contingency plans. CBS has confirmed to Hollywood Reporter that it's once again delaying the streaming-focused show, this time for an indefinite stretch. Production on the series is all set to start in late January, but the team says it wants to be "flexible" on timing to ensure the production is a success. "It's more important to do this right than to do it fast," the company says, adding that the internet saves it from having to meet a fixed TV season deadline.
