This will be my third genre convention in a little over a month. In late May, I was on several panels at Balticon. Then, in mid June, I went to Fourth Street Fantasy. It was my first time at both of these since the before-times, and I'm glad I did them both, if for different reasons. At Balticon, I was firmly in my professional writer
hat, doing all the professional writer things like "networking" and "marketing" and "building brand." (AKA, I met some readers and talked about my books.) Disappointingly, my schedule didn't really allow for me to attend panels or events that I wasn't part of. This is entirely my fault, because the programming team followed my schedule preferences, so... lesson learned. Fourth Street, on the other hand, was pure fun and inspiration. It's a single-track event that always has fascinating panel
topics, and I didn't even ask to be on programming this year, preferring to hang out, catch up with friends, and hear smart people talk about interesting things. I came home with a full brain and many pages of notes.
Between these events, I've been recovering and introverting pretty hard--which will continue, because I've got a dayjob conference coming up in
July, and then Worldcon in Glasgow in August. I'm massively excited for Scotland--it should be terrific fun.
What's in a Star Trek? Musings about Discovery
This section will
talk about Star Trek: Discovery, including the just-completed season 5. I'll try to avoid plot spoilers but I will talk about themes and big-picture story arc. Read at your own risk.
Discovery was the first of the New Star Trek series, and it just wrapped up its fifth and final season. It was a great show in many ways, recovering from a rocky
start (what Star Trek series hasn't?) to have stellar seasons 2 - 4. The end of season 4 was some of my favorite Trek, period. Which is why I'm frustrated with their choice, clear throughout its run but cemented in season 5, to focus on something no other Star Trek has: a main character.
I've joked to my spouse that Discovery could have been named Star
Trek: Michael Burnham, and it would've been more accurate (if a far worse marketing hook) than Star Trek: Picard. There's a great cast of actors playing fantastic characters, including some all-time favorites (Tilly!!!) but from season 1, the story has centered in Michael. The fallout of her pilot episode mutiny. Her trauma from losing her mother. Her relationship with her adopted family, including Spock. Her romantic relationships. And, above all, her journey from disgraced and
demoted ensign to (spoiler-not-spoiler) accomplished captain.
This came into sharpest view for me when, as season five went on, Michael found reasons to go on every. single. away mission, over her Number One's protests. You know, that thing captains aren't supposed to do. It's no surprise that ultimately, the literal fate of the galaxy rested for
inexplicable reasons on her choices.
Don't get me wrong: I love Michael. She's fierce, vulnerable, determined, wounded, loving, and frequently a hot mess. Everything you want in a Main Character.
But Discovery made me
realize something I'd never considered before: Star Trek has always been about ensemble casts. Sure, the captain usually gets the most attention and most interesting stories, but what is Kirk without Spock and McCoy, not to mention Uhura, who inspired generations of fans of color? What's Picard without Data, Geordi, and Worf? Even Sisko, both captain and chosen-one as the Emissary, left room for episodes about Kira, Dax, Bashir--even Rom, Nog, and Garak who weren't even main cast. Through every
series, we've seen the breadth of the universe through the experiences of a diverse crew.
So when Discovery went the opposite way, focusing on its main character, it narrowed its view--and lost one of the things I love about Trek. Many of our favorite characters (Saru, Tilly) spent much of season 5 off-screen, while others (the entire bridge crew) were
largely anonymous. Lts. Detmer and Owosekun, the bridge officers we knew best (and love), who've had some great mini-arcs and deserved more, quietly disappeared mid season, apparently due to scheduling conflicts for the actors. I yearned for a Detmer/Owo space road trip episode, but that's something TNG or Voyager would do--not Discovery. And I hope we'll see Tilly in the upcoming Starfleet Academy series, but that's not yet confirmed. Thank goodness we still had Stamets, Culber, Adira,
and Jet Reno. (Reno, played brilliantly by comedian Tig Notaro, is alone enough reason to watch. She's glorious. But she, too, never gets her own arc.)
This, from a show that repeatedly, insistently reminds us that this crew is a family. That their incredible shared experiences mean they can't be separated, that they will be there for each other no matter
what. The irony is sharp when Burnham tells outsider Rayner that he needs to get to know the crew to serve with them--and he then meets a parade of people that we viewers can't even name.
Star Trek proclaims itself to be about exploration, about seeking out new life and new ways of being. With so many series now under its belt, it has a vast universe
to play in, even more so after Discovery makes its big jump forward. How can we explore that universe, in all its diverse glory, through just one point of view? It's hard to imagine understanding the Klingons as well as we do without Worf; or the Ferengi without Quark, Nog, and Rom; Bajor without Kira; or Cardassia without Garak and Dukat. Much less the myriad minor civilizations we meet, often through away teams whose members are selected for the skills and perspectives they bring.
There's still, as I said, a lot to love about Discovery. Even its rocky final season has great action, fun adventures, killer special effects, and literally goes where no Trek has gone before. When it's good, it's great. But I'm glad that so far the other new Trek shows--Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks--are remembering that Star Trek is about the journeys of its
ship and crew. Not just its captain.
And last but not least...
Happy Pride! We put up a flag for the first time this year, but of course the cats colonized it before we could attach it outside. Ada and Charlie, queen and king of Pride?
