The latest makeover of the USS Discovery comes with technology that Star Trek fans are tired of.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, now broadcasting on CBS All Access.
Inside Star Trek: DiscoveryIn the third season, the crew adapts to a new period of time after their decision to travel to the 32nd century at the end of the second season. The journey to the future changed not only the characters irrevocably, but also the ship itself. Season 3, in episode 6, “Scavengers”, saw Discovery undergo a major overhaul to update it with current century Starfleet technology.
Using ultramodern programmable material, the USS Discovery-A now features new interfaces, separate fold nacelles, as well as new tricorder / personal carrier communication badges. This reform has also reintroduced a technology that many Star Trek viewers are very familiar with: new holodecks.
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According to a post on Star TrekOn the official Instagram page, @startreklogs, which post “personal records” of the show’s characters, new holodecks were installed at Discovery, to the delight of Tig Notaro commander Jett Reno.
Starting with Star Trek: the next generation, the holodeck has become a trusted source of stories for writers to explore throughout the franchise. The simulated environment not only gave the opportunity to use different, sometimes unexpected, configurations in addition to the Enterprise or an alien planet, but it also gave the chance to see how each character uses technology for recreation, a rare opportunity for dedicated Starfleet officers .
In the beginning, the holodeck was a great way to cast a vision on a character. Inside Deep Space 9, O’Brien and Dr. Bashir used to go out wearing Quark holosuites, recreating famous battles in Earth history or playing spies. In one of TNGIn the healthiest episodes, Lieutenant Barclay became addicted to the holodeck by using it to escape reality. Data’s obsession with Sherlock Holmes even resulted in some confrontations with a dangerous holographic professor Moriarty.
However, the holodeck soon became overused Star Trek plotting device. In the original series, the malfunction of the conveyor used to be used as a crutch for stories, such as creating doppelgängers or transporting characters to the mirror universe. Like Star Trek progressing, the holodeck’s malfunctioning episodes became the new worn-out weft device. Often, something went wrong with the holodeck, trapping characters within the simulation, turning off security features, or allowing holographic characters to travel outside their limits. Indeed, Star Trek: Voyager they became especially notorious for the excessive use of holodeck-themed episodes. Occasionally, there was a jewel, like “Bride of Chaotica!” but most were repetitive and often looked like filler episodes.
Now, technically, holodecks are not an entirely new technology for the USS Discovery. In the first season episode, “Lethe”, Captain Lorca and Lieutenant Ash Tyler completed a combat simulation inside a holographic room, fighting Klingons with phasers. However, now that Discovery is not a warship, the new holodecks may perhaps give the crew a chance to relax and unwind.
The decision to transport the ship to the 32nd century was a great way to separate the show from a narrow canon window and introduce new technology never seen before. But Star Trek: Discovery you must be careful not to step back and give yourself too much to this tired trope.
Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Captain Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, Blu del Barrio as Adira, David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. A new episode hits CBS All Access every Thursday, January 7, 2021
