To watch or not to watch…? That is the question. I have been struggling with the idea of whether I wanted to watch the new Star Trek or not. My struggles started not with the new ship and crew but by the fact that I have to pay for a subscription to see it. Now mind you I am a fan of all things Trek. I have watched all of the different series from the original down to Enterprise. I love the stories, the characters, the science, the idea of “Boldly going where no one has gone before”. They live in an advanced society that is idealistic, yet the human (sometimes not so human) struggle continues. They try to address the contemporary issues of society while entertaining us along the way.
Normally the idea of a new Star Trek would be received with the same enthusiasm as an Apple user with a new iPhone. I heard that there would be a new show and thought… Ok when do I start watching… then the surprise hit. I would have to pay to watch it… I was kind of floored to think that a show that has such a huge fan base would be put on the pay to watch streaming channel.
My first reaction was that no way was I going to pay for it. It is a good thing that the show was delayed like it was. It gave me time to come around to the idea. To start to see what else would be on the channel and to have some hype built up around the show. Now I am as optimistic as the characters in the show I watch. I am ready to go headlong into the unknown. I am assuming since this will be on a paid channel that they will be able to do the show “right”. To make it more of a show about the stories and adventures and less about getting certain female aliens into tight clothes and a male character’s shirt off (Cough… Seven of Nine and Riker).
From what I have heard they are spending 5 to 6 million per episode and plan to do around 15 in the first season. If the show looks anything like the trailers then it is money well spent. It seems to have a feel more like a movie than a TV series. I hope they will be able to continue that throughout the show and not price themselves out of a show. Another thing that I am looking forward to is Rainn Wilson being in the cast. I hope his role is recurring and used often… Bears, Beets and now Star Trek Discovery. With Rainn playing an old character from the original series it will be interesting how they bridge the gap between the old and new… Tribbles maybe or a Visit from a young Kirk.
No matter what happens I think that it will be more Star Trek and I just can’t miss out on that. Whether tis Nobler in the mind to suffer the fees or not… I will be dishing out some cash to watch a show that I hope delivers on the great Star Trek prime universe that has gone before it.
