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Brainerd Dispatch • September 20 - 26, 2020 •20 By Kyla Brewer TV Media A s TV networks scramble to fill their fall slates amid produc- tion delays caused by COVID-19 restrictions, at least one broad- caster has come up with a strategy to use content originally created for its streaming service, giving more sci-fi fans access to a fresh series from an iconic franchise. Sonequa Martin-Green ("The Walking Dead") stars as Michael Burnham, a disgraced officer who's recruited to work as a sci- ence specialist on board a Starfleet ship, despite committing mutiny on another ship, in the first season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which kicks off Thursday, Sept. 24, on CBS. Set 10 years before the events of the 1960s-era original series, "Discovery" has been air- ing on the subscription service CBS All Access since its premiere in 2017, but now CBS will bring it to an even broader audience. Science fiction fans who haven't been able to watch the se- ries because they don't have CBS All Access will likely be thrilled by the move. When the network add- ed "Star Trek: Discovery" to its fall schedule, CBS executive Kelly Kahl made no bones about the fact that it was broadcasting the show while it was waiting for other se- ries to get rolling. "This is hardly a traditional fall season, but we are prepared with a strong slate of original content while our regular scripted series begin production," Kahl ex- plained. It's lucky that CBS could pull the popular series despite the fact that it wasn't designed to air on tradi- tional broadcast television. When it was announced in 2015, "Star Trek: Discovery" was set to be the first new series in the franchise since "Star Trek: Enterprise," which ended its run on UPN in 2005. "Discovery" was the first series to be ordered for the then- fledgling CBS All Access service, and it's been a big draw. To pique the interest of potential subscrib- ers, CBS initially aired the show's first episode on its broadcast net- work way back in 2017, so, techni- cally, this week's airing isn't a pre- miere. However, subsequent epi- sodes will be broadcast debuts in the United States, though they have aired in other countries on specialty channels. With a strong Black female lead, "Star Trek: Discovery" seems perfectly poised for the times as the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps around the world. In the July 2017 issue of EW, show cre- ator Bryan Fuller ("Pushing Dai- sies") explained the inspiration behind the character. "I couldn't stop thinking about how many Black people were in- spired by seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of a ship," he ex- plained in reference to Nichols' portrayal of communications offi- cer Nyota Uhura, a groundbreak- ing role at the time as it was one of the first times a Black character was seen in a non-menial role on American television. Unlike other series in the sci-fi franchise, "Star Trek: Discovery" is not told from the point of view of the ship's captain. Martin- Green's Burnham is the foster sis- ter of original series character Spock (Leonard Nimoy, "Mission: Impossible"), having been raised by Sarek (James Frain, "Gotham") after her parents were killed by Klingons. She became the first hu- man to attend the Vulcan Learn- ing Center and the Vulcan Science Academy, where she excelled be- fore joining the crew of the USS Shenzhou prior to her science post on Discovery. Burnham is just one of the fasci- nating characters who populate the series. Writers introduced a new alien race to the franchise with Saru (Doug Jones, "The Shape of Wa- ter," 2017), the first Kelpian to en- ter Starfleet. He serves as the first officer of the Discovery and quickly becomes one of Burnham's allies. Burnham also befriends her new roommate, Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman, "Longmire"). Tilly works alongside chief engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp, "The Good Fight"), the first openly gay main character in a Star Trek series. A specialist in the study of fungi in space, the character was inspired by the real-life mycologist of the same name. Stamets is married to medical officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz, "My So-Called Life"). In the first season, Burnham becomes in- volved with Discovery security offi- cer Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif, "Penny Dreadful"). Capt. Gabriel Lorca (Ja- son Isaacs, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," 2002) com- mands the bridge of the Discovery in Season 1, only to be replaced when Capt. Christopher Pike (An- son Mount, "Hell on Wheels") shows up and temporarily takes command in Season 2. For all its success, the series has seen quite a bit of turmoil behind the scenes. Fuller left the series in 2016 due to creative differences with CBS, and Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Har- berts took over for him as showrun- ners. In June 2018, CBS fired Berg and Harberts as the second season was being produced. Executive pro- ducer Alex Kurtzman took over as showrunner for Season 2, and writer Michelle Paradise has been promot- ed to co-showrunner with Kurtzman for Season 3. That's right — Season 3 is in the works and still set to premiere on CBS All Access on Thursday, Oct. 15. Until then, fans can catch Season 1 of "Star Trek: Discovery" by watching it unfold beginning Thursday, Sept. 24, on CBS. To boldly go 'Star Trek: Discovery' makes the jump to prime time Feature Story this week Sonequa Martin-Green stars in "Star Trek: Discovery"

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