The recent arrival of Star Trek: Discovery got us thinking about the nature of television and the many reasons given as to why Star Trek can’t be more like it used to be. Officially, this is an op-ed calling complete and utter bullshit on many of those reasons. To be clear, this is not a review of Discovery, nor is it saying Discovery is a terrible show. After watching the one measly half-episode CBS aired there’s not much to be for or against. However, time and again people say Star Trek has to change with the times, which makes sense, except the times haven’t changed as much as we think.
1. 1. Episodic TV Is Dead.
Really? Sure, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones are the shows that get a lot of attention. But consider all the shows on TV. Consider that NCIS is in its 15th season. Bones just finished 12 seasons. Big Bang Theory is a juggernaut. All these shows are, for the most part, entirely episodic. Tune into any random episode of NCIS, and you’ll likely not need to know much about what came before. The point is, the vast majority of TV shows are episodic, so why can’t Star Trek keep those roots? And that’s not to say you can’t add season-long arcs. Look at shows like The Flash which has a season arc, but individual episodes are, for the most part, self-contained. Deep Space Nine did a similar thing back in the mid-90s and is considered one of the best Trek shows ever.
