star trek discovery turbolift

Star Trek: Discovery's Turbolifts Just Sent the Franchise's Tech Off the Rails

Star Trek: Discovery's Season 3 finale, "That Hope Is You, Part 2" showed the inner workings of a turbolift system that's awesome, but makes no sense.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery 's Season 3 finale, "That Hope Is You, Part 2", now streaming on CBS All Access .

Star Trek: Discovery 's Season 3 finale, "That Hope Is You, Part 2" was a thrilling culmination for the series' strongest season yet. Among many of the big changes Discovery endured this year were the upgrades the crew and ship received in the future. One of the finale's most exciting scenes showed the inner workings of a starship's turbolift system, which raised some wild questions about how 32nd-century starships work.

Fans are accustomed to suspending disbelief regarding the inner workings of the many versions of the Enterprise. For instance, in the movie reboots' Kelvin timeline, a sprawling brewery was used as a stand-in for the engine room, turning our idea of the design of the ship upside down.

RELATED:  Star Trek: Discovery Boss Clarifies What the S3 Finale Means for [SPOILER]

Similarly, the turbolift system required some imagination, as it included cars moving horizontally, vertically, and at times, diagonally. Previous Treks have been vague about how the lifts worked. If the plot needed the lift to be out of reach, the crew would need to hurry and access a different lift. Other times, the turbolifts could connect oddly distant and plot-convenient locations.

But in the Discovery Season 3 finale, we get a look at the new, presumably upgraded turbolift system, which defies any sense of spatial logic. There's not a "shaft," anymore, but instead, an intricate network of rails that can connect to any part of the ship. It's a mix of Tron -esque aesthetics and the physics logic of the Mustafar scene in Revenge of the Sith . It's crazy fun to see but raises some serious questions on how Discovery is built. The whole thing is... wild.

Where is this turbolift system located on the ship? The implication from the open space is that the entire ship is somehow hollow, and every deck is built around an inner core that looks like a miniature subway transit network. Given how far-fetched, but somewhat logical that is, then the turbolift network on the upgraded Discovery has moved past conventional physics.

RELATED: Star Trek: Discovery Reveals the Disgusting Source of Replicated Food

Alternatively, these new turbolifts could occupy their own pocket universe. After all, the ship has received some pretty crazy upgrades . Its nacelles are now physically separate from the ship and held together electromagnetically, a point that also became important in the Season 3 finale. From its inception the  Discovery was already a spaceship that used mushrooms to teleport across the galaxy, so what's one more crazy concept?

The latest upgrades have been a little vague beyond the fact that they brought the ship up to speed with the rest of the fleet. But hey, there's re-programmable matter, personal teleporters and phasers that come out of nowhere in the show's new future setting, so it doesn't really seem that anything is too far-fetched at this point.

RELATED: How Star Trek Discovery Accomodates a Star's Disability, Rather Than Pushing Him Out

Burnham and Booker's escape scene in the Season 3 finale was awesome, but it definitely was a real head-scratcher. Star Trek has shown the insides of turbolifts before, but they never seemed as complex as what was shown this time. Hopefully, this is something that the series can address further in Season 4 .

Streaming on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Commander Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira, Ian Alexander as Gray, Tig Notaro as Chief Engineer Reno and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. Seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on CBS All Access.

KEEP READING: How Star Trek: Discovery Sets Up Season 4

• View history

View of a turbolift car from the outside

The turbolift , or turbo-elevator , was a device that provided rapid transport with both vertical and horizontal transportation for personnel through a system of turboshafts between key sections of starships and space stations . The equivalent technology aboard Malon vessels was known as an ascender .

• 1 Operations
• 2 Turbolift incidents
• 3.1 Components
• 3.2 Related technology
• 4 Background information

Operations [ ]

A map of the turbolift system aboard the refit Constitution -class USS Enterprise

While most starship turbolifts were enclosed, some turbolifts remained open when at rest, in the style of an elevator built in the early-to-mid- 20th century . The Cardassians built such a turbolift on Terok Nor when it was in operation, and it was still in use by Starfleet on the renamed Deep Space 9 . Once this turbolift was activated, it became enclosed as a precautionary measure. These turbolifts' positioning mechanisms were powered by multi-phase alternating current. In ships and stations that contained turbolift doors that remained closed while not in use, the doors were often unresponsive in low or no power situations. ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ", " The Circle ", " Crossfire "; TOS : " The Naked Time ", " Space Seed "; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ; TNG : " Contagion ", " The Vengeance Factor ", " Disaster ", " Genesis "; VOY : " Projections ", " Macrocosm ")

A turbolift handle

NX-class starships needed only a button to be pressed to specify which deck to travel to. ( ENT : " Cold Front ") Incorporated in the design of Constitution -class turbolifts were small handles on the interior, allowing for transport without the use of voice commands. At some point, it became necessary to use both the handle and to submit a voice command on board Constitution -class ships. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ") This type of turbolift was considerably compact and could not easily accommodate, for example, immense beings with a hundred limbs. ( TOS : " By Any Other Name ") In the 2270s , the turbolift's tactile interface was succeeded by voice command operation, allowing passengers to use voice commands to direct the turbolift. Upon receipt of the voice command, the command queried the network, allowing for computation of the most optimal route to the destination. Such routes factored in the presence of other turbolifts already in operation. The auditory receivers also automatically scanned for voiceprint authentication, allowing for select personnel access to restricted areas. Turbolifts from the 23rd century also featured communication panels to allow communication with other sections of the ship without the need for a communicator . ( TOS : " Elaan of Troyius ")

Turbolift access denied

Turbolifts could also be locked down in the event of a security incident, blocking access to critical areas of the ship, such as the main bridge . ( TNG : " 11001001 ")

Turbolift incidents [ ]

With Voyager at low power, Janeway is forced to open the turbolift doors by hand

In 2152 , Daniels transported Captain Jonathan Archer to the 31st century while Archer was in a turbolift to prevent him from surrendering to the Suliban . This resulted in a severe temporal paradox that almost prevented Archer's return to 2152. ( ENT : " Shockwave ", " Shockwave, Part II ")

In a hallucination experienced by Ensign Hoshi Sato later that year, she imagined walking into a turbolift that didn't respond to her repeatedly pressing a button on the control pad. It was apparently not until another crewman entered the lift and operated the same control panel that the turbolift finally complied. ( ENT : " Vanishing Point ")

In 2165 of an alternate timeline , the turbolifts aboard Enterprise became non-functional during a battle between that vessel and a fleet of Xindi ships. As a result, when Jonathan Archer and T'Pol tried to access one of the turbolifts on Enterprise , the turbolift's door wouldn't even open. ( ENT : " Twilight ")

In 2254 , Spock and Una Chin-Riley bonded while trapped in a malfunctioning turbolift together. ( ST : " Q&A ")

In 2263 of the alternate reality , the USS Enterprise was heavily damaged and ultimately destroyed in an attack by innumerable tiny ships commanded by an "alien" warlord , Krall . During the attack, Krall ordered the swarm to "cut [the Enterprise 's] throat", an action which severed several turboshafts . This resulted in a turbolift Leonard McCoy and Spock were traveling in being ejected into space. McCoy and Spock were able to escape by hijacking one of the ships when its occupants attempted to capture them. ( Star Trek Beyond )

During an outbreak of polywater in 2266 , USS Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk saw graffiti reading "SINNER REPENT" on a turbolift door aboard the ship. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

In 2267 , Khan Noonien Singh rendered the Enterprise 's turbolifts inoperative. As a result, Captain Kirk and the ship's bridge crew were unable to leave the bridge. ( TOS : " Space Seed ")

Later that year, Redjac caused a turbolift aboard the Enterprise to freefall. ( TOS : " Wolf in the Fold ")

In 2268 , multiple Deep Space 9 / USS Defiant crew members, searching for Arne Darvin to prevent him from killing Kirk, infiltrated the USS Enterprise by beaming into the turbolifts. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

In 2287 , after the construction of the new USS Enterprise -A , many systems were still nonfunctional, including the warp drive . After shore leave, when Kirk entered the main bridge with Spock and McCoy , Kirk was annoyed by the turbolift only opening partially. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

In 2365 , when the USS Enterprise -D scanned the logs from the USS Yamato , they contracted a computer virus , which severely affected all critical systems aboard the ship. One of these systems was the turbolifts, as a consequent malfunction resulted in highly increased acceleration rates and tremendous direction shifts, injuring Lieutenant Geordi La Forge inside, and practically throwing him onto the bridge. ( TNG : " Contagion ")

In 2367 , when the Enterprise -D was trapped in a Tyken's Rift , Captain Jean-Luc Picard hallucinated the turbolift shrinking towards him when he got up to the bridge. ( TNG : " Night Terrors ")

In 2368 , a metal parasite infested the Enterprise -D when it destroyed an asteroid about to collide with a planet . When this parasite began to ingest the nitrium from all critical systems, the turbolifts became affected, because the circuitry was being broken down as Captain Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data were still inside, although they managed to escape uninjured. ( TNG : " Cost Of Living ")

Also in 2368, a collection of quantum filaments collided with the Enterprise -D, disabling power to many of the main systems, including life support , main engines, and computer control. At this time, Picard and some children were in a turbolift, and Picard decided to climb the emergency shaft in case the unstable turbolift fell in the shaft. Using a makeshift rope made from optical cable, Picard and the children escaped the doomed turbolift and climbed to the upper decks. ( TNG : " Disaster ")

Lwaxana Troi and Odo inside a turbolift in 2369

In 2369 , Constable Odo and Ambassador Lwaxana Troi were trapped in a turbolift onboard space station Deep Space 9 for several hours after an alien probe , later called " Pup " by Miles O'Brien , damaged several of the station's systems. Kira Nerys informed Odo not to shape-shift his way out through the turboshaft, as Cardassian turbolifts have exposed multi-phase alternating current running through the positioning mechanism . ( DS9 : " The Forsaken ")

In 2372 , the Cardassian terrorist group the True Way sabotaged one of Deep Space 9's turbolifts, as part of a scheme to assassinate Bajoran First Minister Shakaar Edon . ( DS9 : " Crossfire ")

In 2375 , Pelk reported to Fesek that the ascenders on their out-of-control freighter were offline. ( VOY : " Juggernaut ")

In 3189 , a firefight occurred in the USS Discovery 's turbolift system during the fight by her crew to retake her from the Emerald Chain . Multiple Regulators and the courier Zareh attempted to stop Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker from rebooting Discovery 's computer, but several Regulators and Zareh were killed by phaser fire or knocked into the shaft. ( DIS : " That Hope Is You, Part 2 ")

See also [ ]

Components [ ].

• Descent stabilizer
• Electric eye
• Turbolift control
• Turbolift control system
• Turbolift log
• Turbolift shaft
• Turbolift system
• Turbolift voice receptors

Related technology [ ]

• Express lift
• Orbital tether

Background information [ ]

In the script of TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", this type of elevator was referred to as "a high-speed cab with many capabilities (to permit development in future episodes)." The script went on to describe the effect of the turbolift in motion; " We will see flickering lights of the rapidly accelerating ship's elevator passing deck after deck. "

Garfield Reeves-Stevens explains how, for "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the effect of a turbolift moving between decks in a single shot was achieved; " It's just a really clever, simple trick, where they just put up a wall, I guess a 'wild' wall, in front of the bridge, and actually shot the turbolift on the bridge. And as soon as the turbolift doors close, then they started the light beams going up the side, just rolled away the wild wall and then when the turbolift doors open, they're there. " ( Starfleet Access for "Where No Man Has Gone Before", TOS Season 1 Blu-ray special features)

As scripted for the next episode, " The Corbomite Maneuver ", a turbolift containing Kirk was to change direction from vertical to horizontal travel, while its destination was redirected from the bridge to the captain's quarters . In the final version of the episode, though, the lift is only shown making an ascent, prior to when the course change would have been. Another turbolift ride featuring Kirk was scripted to be shown later in the episode, but is not in the final cut of the installment.

For usage on Star Trek: The Original Series , the turbolift was created as a movable unit. " The whole turbolift module could be moved to another corridor location, " Robert H. Justman remarked. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 17 , p. 13)

The presence of only one turbolift accessible from the bridge of the Enterprise in TOS came under some scrutiny, sometimes being criticized because, if that single turbolift was out of use for whatever reason, it could (and occasionally did) trap the bridge officers on the bridge. ( text commentary , Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) ) Gene Roddenberry once admitted, " The one elevator to the bridge was a mistake, and no emergency exit in sight. Yes, we would correct that [if we were ever to do Star Trek again]. " ( The World of Star Trek , 3rd ed., p. 39) Indeed, in an effort to remedy the situation, two turbolifts were later included in the Enterprise bridge of Star Trek: The Animated Series and the ship's refit configuration, as originally seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . ( text commentary , Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) ) The addition of the second turbolift in The Animated Series , an element that was also later planned for inclusion in the ultimately abandoned series Star Trek: Phase II , was specifically made in response to viewers asking what would happen in the case of a lift break-down. ( Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series , p. 20) The existence of the double turbolifts was represented on schematics of the Phase II Enterprise , akin to a pair of "'Mickey Mouse' ears" atop the vessel's saucer section. ("A New Enterprise ", Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series central images)

In The Motion Picture , part of the Enterprise 's turbolift was meant to indicate the lift's movement through the ship. Production Designer Harold Michelson explained, " One thing we did with the elevators was put in a plan of the whole ship and when you press a button a light would move. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 8 , p. 98) This light, a small white dot, represented the turbolift itself, providing a guide to the lift's position. According to Daren Dochterman , the diagram was of the Enterprise 's ultimately unrealized configuration from Star Trek: Phase II . ( audio commentary , Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Blu-ray) )

Another schematic of the Enterprise was incorporated into the back wall of the turbolift aboard the USS Reliant in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , presumably because the set of the Enterprise bridge doubled as that of the Reliant . ( text commentary , Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (The Director's Edition) DVD )

The fact that Gene Roddenberry liked the concept of having discussions in the turbolifts of the Galaxy -class Enterprise influenced the designers of the ship, who at first considered having an on-bridge transporter for TNG, to ultimately discard that idea. ( Starlog issue #125, p. 46)

The set for a Galaxy -class turbolift was located on Paramount Stage 9 , which also contained the set for a corridor that included the doors of the turbolift. (" Manhunt " shooting schedule)

Although a monorail was initially considered for transportation within Deep Space 9 , the turbolifts were again opted for. " We had the concept of the turbolifts kinda tying together the whole station, " said Concept Artist Ricardo Delgado . ( Deep Space Nine: A Bold Beginning , DS9 Season 1 DVD special features) Owing to television's need for speedy plot advancement, a way of maneuvering characters to and from the operations center (or "Ops") quickly was required, which was why a turbolift was incorporated into the set designed for Ops. ( Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before , paperback ed., p. 168)

Showing turbolifts enter and leave a room was something Production Designer Herman Zimmerman "always wanted to do." He was able to achieve this goal on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , with the turbolift in Deep Space 9's operations center. " We only had a certain amount of space under the stage that we could work with so one of the criteria for raising a platform was to gain an extra few feet to operate these elevator mechanisms, " he commented. " We do see the actors come up out of the stage floor and that proves to be very effective. On other sets that isn't possible so we just see the elevator doors open as we do in The Next Generation." ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 29) Zimmerman considered the more open DS9-style turbolift to be "an interesting innovation for this show" and noted the design was similar to a mine elevator. ( Trek: Deepspace Nine , p. 57)

In a scene conceived for the film Star Trek: First Contact but not included in the movie's final version, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lily Sloane were to have discovered – due to Borg invaders having increased the humidity aboard the USS Enterprise -E – a mini- thunderstorm atop a turbolift shaft. The inspiration for this scene came from co-writer Ronald D. Moore reading about how NASA's Vertical Assembly Building is so massive that it has its own weather systems, but budget constraints trimmed the scene from the film's script. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (3rd ed., p. 332))

For DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ", a 23rd-century turbolift had to be recreated and built as a set by the DS9 art department. The lighting of the turbolift matched that of the turbolifts from TOS, rather than those in TNG. " We actually put a roller belt with holes in it, and put a stationary light behind it, and literally hand cracked the roller, " stated Herman Zimmerman . " Of course now we do it with a computer chip and a lot of light bulbs that go on and off sequentially that change the floors. But I think the effects department got a kick out of doing it the old way. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, Nos. 6/7, pp. 76 & 78)

In an ultimately unused line of dialogue from the writers' second draft script of ENT : " Breaking the Ice ", Travis Mayweather briefly alluded to a story about how his mother, Rianna Mayweather , had nearly given birth to him in a turbolift.

In the final draft script of ENT : " Acquisition ", Commander Tucker was referred to as hiding in an open turbolift near Captain Archer and a Ferengi named Krem . However, in the equivalent scene from the final version of the episode, Tucker instead hides in the corridors of Enterprise NX-01 .

Conversely, in ENT : " The Seventh ", Captain Archer and Commander Tucker are shown taking a turbolift journey which was entirely absent from the episode's final draft script.

A similar case is a turbolift journey in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ", in which the mirror universe version of Jonathan Archer , aboard the USS Defiant , imagines his prime-universe counterpart encouraging him to catch a Gorn named Slar . In the episode's final draft script, the turbolift wasn't used, as the scene instead took place while Mirror Archer was sitting in the Defiant 's command chair .

A concept sketch of a turbolift aboard the USS Kelvin

In the film Star Trek , a turbolift which is visible aboard the USS Kelvin was originally to have included a wall-mounted diagram of the ship's exterior, though that design element was excised during the making of the film. ( Star Trek - The Art of the Film , p. 27) The exterior of the turbolift, seen briefly as it descends through a turboshaft into engineering, was (like the turboshafts themselves) visualized with CGI . ( Star Trek  Three disc Blu-ray documentary featurette "Starships")

For Star Trek Into Darkness , sets for five turbolifts were built on Sony Stage 15 . One such set was connected to each of two separate corridors, with another on the bridge, another in the medical bay , and another in the lobby . [1]

• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Let’s talk about that Discovery turbolift scene

Now that the dust has settled from Star Trek: Discovery ’s Season 3, it might be a good time to look at one of the most controversial scenes to ever air. No, not when Fleet Admiral Kirsten Clancy dropped a devastating F-bomb on Jean-Luc Picard , or even when Uhura distracted the bad guys on Nimbus III with her feather dance. We’re talking about the incredible and unbelievable Discovery turbolift scene that left so many scratching their heads.

• For those who missed “ That Hope Is You, Part 2 ,” check out our complete review

A quick recap: Toward the end of the season finale, Michael and Book are trying to get to the Discovery’s computer core. Zarah and a bunch of regulators were chasing them, and this led to an incredible scene where our heroes fight their way to victory. As they do, we see the simply gigantic space which the turbolifts operate in.

It looked like the tubolift cars were flying through hundreds of square feet of space, certainly more than what is inside the Discovery . How can this be? It just didn’t make sense. It seemed that writer and showrunner, Michelle Paradise wanted to give the season ending episode an adventure that we’d all remember. In a way, she certainly delivered.

But as our friends at Trekyards proved in their incredible video , the way we saw the turbolifts zooming about was just not possible — at least for a ship of Discovery ’s size. Trekyards even doubled the size of the ship, and it still didn’t make sense.

Someone on YouTube cleverly pointed out that there was an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise which featured a ship from the 31st Century, which had Tardis-like features. It’s an interesting episode (Season 2, Episode 16 — “Future Tense”), but like some others, it might be best forgotten.

There have been a few times when there were some stories that pushed the limits of what should or ought to have happened — Voyager ’s famous “Threshold” story and Star Trek V immediately come to mind. Breaking Warp 10, transforming into lizards, and meeting God in the center of the galaxy have not appeared in other Trek episodes since, and likely will not.

So, while that could be used as an explanation for some, we also have earlier evidence that the folks creating the special effects for the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) streaming series are getting bad instructions from the writers, or are hellbent on making something which will upset Trek fans.

If you look back at the Short Treks episode “Q&A,” which was the one where Number One (Rebecca Romijn) and Spock (Ethan Peck) sing show tunes while stuck in a turbolift carriage. Toward the end of the story, Number One is rescued, and as she’s hauled out to safety, we see a gigantic, sprawling space where the turbolift operates. It seems like the current writers and producers of Trek don’t have a good handle on some size and space limitations.

Gene wouldn’t be happy

It seems that most Trek fans don’t care about these minor discrepancies, but there was one person who would have not been happy at all. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek , laid out general rules for storytelling in his universe when The Next Generation was in production for the first season.

In Roddenberry’s writers and directors handbook (which he started on March 23, 1987), he made a few commandments which should not be broken in order to create a Star Trek story. Among them was believability. He dedicated an entire page to the thought that Trek stories must be above all else — believable. He wrote:

“If you’re in doubt about a scene, you can apply this simple test: ‘Would I believe this if it was occurring on the Battleship Missouri ?’ If you wouldn’t believe it in the twentieth century, then our audience probably won’t believe it in the 24th.”

He also wrote:

“A science fiction story is based on an extrapolation of generally accepted scientific fact or theory.”

That sums it up nicely. Currently, there are theories of extra-dimensional realities, but most of them are subatomic or may exist in conjunction with dark matter . That means, not in the hull of the Battleship Missouri or the U.S.S. Discovery  (NCC-1031).

It must be said that Gene was booted from any meaningful control of the Trek films (after The Motion Picture ) and TNG after trying to get his Enterprise-D crew to not have any conflicts. But his handbook laid out a good way to write and create Trek stories, which should not be ignored.

Very similar to Star Trek Into Darkness

All of that aside, didn’t the scene with Michael and Book fighting it out through the turbolift “shafts” seem familiar? Yes, it did to me as well. It reminded me of that action-filled part of Into Darkness with Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) fought Spock (Zachary Quntino) on top of some flying vehicles in San Francisco. A cool scene — especially when Spock tried to neck pinch Khan — but it worked because it was outdoors.

The similar scene — Michael and Book flying around inside the Discovery didn’t because it was inside. Perhaps if they could have had this battle against Oysraa’s bad guys inside the gigantic Viridian , we’d have nothing to quibble about.

Hopefully, in Season 4, Michelle Paradise, Alex Kurtzman and others remember one of the most famous tenants of Star Trek wisdom when laying out everything — “you cannot change the laws of physics.”

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Discovery Turbolift Caverns - Explained with Science／Math - (Disco S3)

Discussion in ' Trek Tech ' started by KamenRiderBlade , Jan 25, 2021 .

KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

TrekYards - Discovery Turbolift Caverns - Explained with Science／Math - (Disco S3) Imagine if Discovery was properly scaled to the size of the open TurboLift Caverns. It's a fun thought experiment =D  

publiusr Admiral Admiral

Those internals would have been perfect for the Borg artifact from Picard. Krell memory palace  

Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

The core ejection thing doesn't appear half bad in retrospect: the chute could be marked with things smaller than full decks, and be built to accommodate a much taller and somewhat thicker piece of machinery, a VOY or INS style rod, before this got replaced by a modern egg. Instead of fifteen decks, the shaft could well be five decks tall; the space around the egg in the "release" shot is nicely ambiguous there, allowing for a very small egg in a not particularly large room. Timo Saloniemi  

valkyrie013 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Tend to shy away from YouTube Explainer videos.. most are just Fanboy'girls saying what they think is correct. But, Even at 5 decks, it would have to "Eject" from the top of the Engineering section since the bottom part was removed, so the whole eng section is only what.. 6 decks high?  

The Partial Height decks could be Jeffrey Tubes access hatches.  

My interpretation is that one would eject from the whole engineering section in the original setup, with the bottom of the long core already touching the bottom hatch of the chute. That the modernized system would place the miniature core at the top is just one oddity in the setup. The other is having a single core when there are two engine rooms, supposedly both with an end hatch pointing towards a core. But here the S1 VFX and the exterior detail are in agreement about the obvious idea: that the engine rooms are at an angle wrt centerline, following the angled surface contours, and converge at one and the same warp core... ...Which really would be farther towards the bow than shown in the S3 ejection. But perhaps they took the old chute and moved it? After all, they appear to have taken plenty of old corridors and moved them to new locations on the edges of the extended neck and recontoured rings. Possibly the whole ship briefly became malleable goo in the throes of programmable matter clouds, and emerged slightly rearranged, with just 5-10% all-new bits? Timo Saloniemi  

Mark_Nguyen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Not gonna lie, didn't watch the OP video, because I'd already seen it before: Mark  

F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

It's fair to say (without even watching the OP video), that they really don't want us to take the technical stuff in the show seriously. And that's fine.  

fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

F. King Daniel said: ↑ It's fair to say (without even watching the OP video), that they really don't want us to take the technical stuff in the show seriously. And that's fine. Click to expand...

It's all in good continuum with how all (post-TOS) Trek (that can afford to do visuals) unerringly fumbles any visual that is associated with "meters" or "miles" or "astronomical units" in dialogue. You can never trust a distance in Trek. That is, you have to pick and choose. But picking dialogue (or other implicit story logic) over visuals always pays off. Timo Saloniemi  

Leathco Commander Red Shirt

Mark_Nguyen said: ↑ Not gonna lie, didn't watch the OP video, because I'd already seen it before: Mark Click to expand...

Leathco said: ↑ You can tell when Weaver says "Well screw that" that the second word is dubbed. Now I wanna see a copy of what she actually says (which is pretty obvious if you read her lips) Click to expand...

Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

Why make detailed deck plans if you are going to include turbolifts systems that cannot Fit?  

Part of having rules is so you can break them.  

Remember when Voyager's shuttlebay was the worst of our Trek tech worries?  

F. King Daniel said: ↑ Remember when Voyager's shuttlebay was the worst of our Trek tech worries? Click to expand...

DEWLine Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Go-Captain Captain Captain

If they had rebuilt the ship that large (2.9 km long?) I would think it's stupid but I would be okay with it since it's the programmable matter and allowances for future tech leave it as somewhat credible. They obviously didn't do that though.  

Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

Trekyards sucks.  

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How The USS Enterprise Bridge Was Brought To Life For ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

| April 12, 2019 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 183 comments so far

The most buzzed-about new set for the two-part finale of Star Trek: Discovery  season two is undoubtedly the bridge of the USS Enterprise. We’re taking a look at the design process behind the new take on the iconic ship, with more images and video of the bridge and the other areas of the Enterprise we saw in part one of “Such Sweet Sorrow.”

Designer discusses Enterprise bridge

Discovery production designer Tamara Deverell spoke to SyFyWire  and StarTrek.com about designing the bridge set. Here are some of the highlights:

Work started back in season one

I actually started designing the interior of the  Enterprise  in season one. There was some thinking that the writers wanted to [use those interiors] earlier, but then we revealed the  Enterprise  at the end of season one. Starting the design work way back then … was a good thing because when we came to the end of season two, they actually had concept illustrations and most of the bridge of the ship worked out.

USS Enterprise meets USS Discovery in the season one finale

Authentic TOS buttons were used for the controls

We actually got some reproductions of the original buttons on the console, the same exact size and color, and we used those as the basis of our buttons.

The buttons came from huge TOS fan and owner of the Official Star Trek Set Tour, James Cawley:

Wow! Do these buttons look familiar? They should! James sent hundreds of buttons to the @startrekcbs production team last year for their version of the Enterprise bridge for Star Trek Discovery! Come see our buttons @startrektour ! https://t.co/y1EYEEfAay pic.twitter.com/Q4szB4rSH7 — @startrektour (@startrektour) April 12, 2019

Getting that TOS orange-red color just right

There is a distinct “Enterprise Red,” I actually took that color from the CBS archives … and it was orange! In certain episodes of  TOS , the red became more of an orange. I went insane looking at different color tests. It is red. But, in canon, it’s also orange. In the end, I think it was fine and everyone was happy.

Deverell spent a lot of time dialing in the color for the red-orange railings and console accents

Respecting the classic design

I wanted to echo and be sensitive to The Original Series , so we were looking a lot at the original bridge and its geometry and where everyone was sitting. Still, while we remained true to the design, there’s a new methodology. It was exciting, yes. Terrifying, a little bit, for sure. You can’t worry too much about the history of  Star Trek  when you work on stuff like this. You can only look at canon and try to follow it with our vision and our  Discovery  world in mind.

A view over the shoulder of the captain’s chair

It was a new set built on an extra soundstage

The  Enterprise  set was completely new, we got a new stage and away we went. There was not one single element of it that was reused. What you’re seeing was really there.

The bridge takes a beating in the preview for “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2”

Watch: The Enterprise Bridge

CBS has released a new video today, with Rebecca Romijn and Anthony Rapp speaking about stepping on the bridge of the Enterprise.

More images of the Enterprise bridge and interiors

The Enterprise hallway complete with TOS-like grid

The turbolift has a new version of the moire pattern that lit up to show the lift in motion.

And the turbolift still has activation handles too

The conference room also features an iconic 3-sided viewer on the table

While it’s hard to make out from a still frame, the dedication plaque says “Starship Class” just like on TOS.

Looking from the captain’s chair towards Number One’s station

Star Trek: Discovery  is available exclusively in the USA on  CBS All Access . It airs in Canada on Space and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.

Keep up with all the  Star Trek: Discovery   news at TrekMovie.

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The fact that the Enterprise bridge set is not a redress will fuel a lot of speculation.

Why? Because everyone wants a Pike show or something else.

Regardless of whether or not we get a Pike series, if DSC did nothing else right, the Enterprise inside and out was a beautiful interpretation of the classic. The effort spent on the sets is very well appreciated by this fan of Star Trek.

Only among those wanting another show on the Enterprise.

Which is EVERYBODY!!

Speak for yourself….

Okay – _almost_ everyone.

Which is a lot of people.

And includes me!

Me too!!! Bring on Pike, Number One, Spock.. and apparently even Colt!!

That is a better statement.

Hell yes. Pike, played beautifully by Anson Mount, saved Discovery and maybe the future of Star Trek on Tv. He represents the true vision Gene Roddenberry Trek.

L.p. is it just me but Pike being played by Ansun Mount reminds me of Pike in the Kelvin timeline in the movies? This guy brings a lot of depth to this character and makes you feel like you know him already

They can use it as the bridge of any starship. It is beautifully done, what the Abrams movies should have leaned towards. The quality of sets, effects, fight choreography, all of that production stuff has been mind-blowingly good.

The abrams movies were set in a different time line and it is possible that the designers of the enterprise in the different time line may have preferred blue as opposed to red. The original designers prob never joined star fleet or designed another ship and tech obviously progressed at a faster pace

Personally, while I was not a huge fan of the KU ship designs, (The Kelvin bridge itself I thought was REALLY good) those films were essentially reboots so the changes didn’t bug me at all. Easy to get past all that. Discovery, however, keeps telling us they are prime yet look more like the KU than the KU does!

If only the writing was a fraction as good! Instead it is like the CW in space after school special. I agree that the aesthetics are very well done. Props to the production team for that. It isn’t really what the show needs though to be embraced at this point.

I don’t find anything wrong with the writing to be honest.

It’s nothing like you described.

I disagree and here’s why:

The JJverse enterprise is a totally different enterprise that was never meant to look like the TOS original. It was meant to have some loose callbacks but it’s in no way the same ship. It’s a ship built in response to the Narada threat. There were some cut scenes and changes to the movie’s script, but essentially that ship was never meant to be anything other than loosely inspired by the TOS constitution class vessel were it built for different reasons (in response to a threat as opposed to just an evolution in space flight). It’s way bigger, and totally meant to be different. Personally I like the design of it for it being a different ship.

This is actually supposed to be the TOS enterprise. And I love it too. It’s definitely what the prime universe constitution would have looked like, or at least really similar, were the same designers and set builders building it today as opposed to the 60s.

I appreciate both designs with the understanding that they weren’t ever meant to be the same ship. One is a design that’s supposed to be an actual update of the original, the other is a ship loosely based on the original. And I’m fine with it.

The enterprise wasn’t completed the same year in the kelvin timeline as it was in tos so Spock was an instructor at the Academy and you never get that first mission with him and Pike. Number one was working aboard another ship imo. Yeah, the fact it looks different makes totally sense because it isn’t even the same ship. Just like the characters, the kelvin enterprise is her own unique ship influenced by the tech of that reality just like her tos counterpart was the result of events and influences from that reality.

This bridge looks a bit like Abrams version, but with a tos color scheme that I’m not even sure I like. I think neutral colors are safer than making it look like Saturday Night Fever. I don’t find dark bridges and contrast too realistic for what these people do there. I do get the vintage quality to it, but tos sets were the cute 60s flavour of what they thought looked futuristic. It was fun but it was the freaking 60s. Ostensibly trying to have the same thing now is illogical. Nice nod and all for those who care but it shouldn’t become the rule.

They look nothing alike to me. Abrams bridge literally looks like something from another universe. If he went just a bit more in this direction, I think more TOS fans would’ve liked the movies a bit (just a bit though lol).

Not me lol I prefer the look in the movies as I find it more polished, easy to the eyes and better quality design overall. I truly had no issues with it (and I have no complains about discovery as a ship either) I really don’t care about nostalgia, I prefer plausibility and creativity so I’m glad he went on another direction. I doubt those tos fans would’ve liked the movies more if the bridge looked like this, but I wouldn’t design sets according to what those people want anyway because it would be a waste of time.

I’ve wanted a Pike series since the first JJ movie. Anson and Ethan as Pike and Spock in a series would be awesome.

They can build sets and take them down just as fast. It means nothing.

it means they decided it was worth building them. For one episdode that ende up being two? Could be. But no other bridge so far in this series was built for a single use. Shenzhou was featured in the 2-part pilot and the Mirror universe segment. It was then redressed (and heavily modified) for the Section 31 ship, that was used in a handful of episodes this season and could still be getting a spinoff. And, of course, Discovery’s, featured in all episodes but the first two. So, if they built a whole bridge for 1 or 2 episodes only, that would be a first. Not to mention they had a meeting room built as well, and a turbolift. That offsets a lot of costs for a possible spinoff (we would still need at least sickbay, engineering and maybe a rec room, at least), and would allow for telemovies and/or Short Treks right away.

You know I’ve been thinking about those titles that CBS trademarked last year and Star Trek Destiny kind of works for a show focusing on Pike, Spock and the Enterprise…

They had no other choice but to build the set. It’s not like in TNG where they can just Kitbash a cheap bridge set in a day or two.

Even TNG built a partial Enterprise bridge set for that one scene with Scotty.

I have said from the beginning that this is headed toward a reboot of TOS.

This is my favorite thing about last night’s episode. The Enterprise bridge looks amazing! Good job to the designers and crew. They did a awesome job.

They really did. They also did a very good job with the featured crewmembers; they all seemed like people worth seeing more of.

Excellent insights in this article. There is something about the color red on the bridge that instills a unique energy to the bridge. Red alerts seem to become redder, for example.

I think the amazing quality of the reds on TOS owes to how they put some white light in to keep the red from flattening everything. TOS had great contrast with very rich blacks, which is something you don’t see much anymore in this post-Kodachrome era (not saying TOS was shot on Kodachrome, but I shot Kodachrome and TOS level contrasts is what I strove for on my zero-budget space epics.) In fact I think the Berman shows suffered from not handling alerts and intense colors right too (except for maybe TNG s1 & 2 — people complain about those seasons, but they at least had a sharpness that was in the right direction.)

Even when they’re in crisis alone without the red, like DAY OF THE DOVE when Scotty calls Spock a Freak, the lighting is just awesomely expressive.

As a graphic designer I loved the insight into the color research, since I know the effort that goes into color accuracy.

It looked Perfect. Exactly how I imagined it would. Stellar.

Haven’t seen the episode yet, and will probably refrain from commenting until the podcast thread. Still, am pleased to say that I’m prepared to eat some crow — not a full portion, perhaps, but more than a crow drumstick — regarding my initial negative impression of the Enterprise bridge set. Still way too many neon strips and other lighting to glare in your face, still too cluttered with bogus details that don’t add anything useful to the design, and the shiny reflections on the floor just make it all look more busy and uncomfortable as a workspace. Still, as an update of the TOS bridge into DSC’s aesthetic, it’s not bad, and infinitely superior to the Kelvinverse Enterprise iBridge.

(And, of course, the best-looking thing about that bridge: Rebecca Romjin. Hot damn.)

Interesting, too, that James Cawley and New Voyages provided TOS references for the DSC people. When I worked on NV about a decade ago Cawley told us a pretty funny story about his experience seeing the J.J. bridge, which I hope he won’t mind my repeating here. “I was on the Paramount lot for a meeting when I encountered J.J. Abrams, who offered to give me a tour of the sets. Naturally, I was eager to see them, but when he brought me onto that sound stage it was like I’d been kicked in the balls. J.J. was like a kid all eager to show-off his new toy, and when he turned to me and saw my expression it was like someone had kicked him in the balls. I told him that I thought it was a beautiful set, but for me it was just not the bridge of the Enterprise , and never would be, sorry.”

James, if you’re reading this, I hope you found this one more to your liking. :-)

The Enterprise bridge is incredible. I want to be on that ship!

sounds to me like JC and JJ should stop kicking each other in the balls…

the starship Discovery will be thrown into the future and the crew will return and get a Constitutional class starship named Discovery and the set gets to be used with maybe a different paint job.

Yes, this, exactly what I think.

Ties in with the abandoned Short Treks ship.

That’s new and interesting. Not a bad idea. Unfortunately the bulk of the bland characters that permeate Discovery will be there too.

…mehhhh, IDK. I don’t ever recall a Conny named Discovery in Star Trek canon. This might be a hard pill to swallow for devout Trekkers. Casual Trekkies, on the other hand, would probably eat that up.

I happened to catch “The Squire of Gothos” the other night. Kirk asked a crewmember to “notify the discovery.” The intent was probably for him to say “notify STARFLEET OF the discovery,” but I’d accept this as enough evidence of a “Discovery” during TOS. :)

There’s stuff in the role-playing games published over the years -= FASA’s material in particular – suggesting that a Constitution -class Discovery could have been built at some point. Not canonical, true, but they’ve already briefly played with FASA material for Talos IV’s appearances.

The original 12 Constitution Class ships were named in the TOS Writer’s Guide, but no one seems to have taken that seriously, including the third season producers when they gave us the Defiant . So it’s a moot issue at this point.

I’m a devout Trekker and/or Trekkie. I accept it. I also accept Michael as Spock’s sister bc I understand things happen off camera. So, whether or not you do recall (makes you seem like a Casual Trekkie there) the powers that be can make that call and “devout” Trekkers will accept it as they always do until Discovery.

As said before, as a devout Trekker I can accept Spock having an unmentioned adoptive sister. I just felt it was a bad creative choice. Never claimed it was a canon violation.

It doesn’t have to be a Constitution class ship. No more than the Reliant did.

We don’t have the names for all 12 Connies in canon.

I consider myself pretty hard core TOS Trekker. And I would have no problem with a Constitution Class Discovery. It’s only canon if it appears on screen, technically. Other non canon sources have listed the 12 Connies, but they have not all been con screen.

There was that display in Commodore Stone’s office in “Court Martial”, although it doesn’t specifically go into whether those are just those at Starbase 11 or they represent all Constitution-class ships.

I do not recall such a display. But Kirk did say there were 12 ships of the Constitution Class. We’ve only seen or heard of a handful.

Nope. I think they’re going to hit the future and stay in the future. Then they don’t need to build all new sets, and can give the show a clean fresh start, and hence why Spock never talked about Burnham and why Pike is not coming back next year. Also think Calypso — Disco is waaaay in the future and was still captained before being abandoned. I’ve been thinking this is the case for the past couple of weeks since we started getting into the red angel stuff, and if it’s the case it will have made all of this worth while, and i’m very excited about it.

And I was thinking Calypso when I posted this.

I still didn’t like the huge, wall sized, view screen, and I wish there were fewer touch screens, but those are minir nitpicks. Over all, I loved the new bridge.

Fewer wall lights in every direction you look would have been good too.

It makes no sense that the viewscreen wouldn’t be the entire wall. And likewise the touch screens. If modern airliners have touchscreens all over, why would a starship 300 years from now go back to buttons or viewscreens smaller than today’s TVs?

I can’t speak for tech 250 years from now but when NASA handed out contracts to design for the now defunct Constellation program they opted to NOT have touchscreens in the capsules.

Yes, I’ve said this elsewhere but is appropriate to say here. Given they were restrained by the new (rebooted but not rebooted) Discovery aesthetic, what they did with the Enterprise bridge was pretty darn good. I said the same thing about the outside design when we saw the Enterprise show up in last season’s finale. But I think it could have been a lot better had they not been beholden to the Discovery aesthetic. And no, that does not mean a 100% duplicate of the ’60’s sets. I mean something that can evoke the feel of those sets but still have a modern take on them.

That bridge does look very nice. It could maybe be a bit brighter (less Discovery-ish) but all in all, it does look very nice.

I’ve been wishing the lights were turned up for all 28 episodes of the show so far.

I have to admit, it’s the first set from any new Trek’s done in the past ten years that I thought looked great and yes a modern take on the old sets.

Why would you ‘hate to admit’ that you liked something?

Somebody’s doing some Freudian-slip-style misreading.

Nah, just a misreading brought on by a pair of eyes six decades old that were never all that reliable to start with. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

This really was a wonderful interpretation of the Enterprise.

It’s a pretty set and all, but I have difficulties reconciling it with the TOS bridge due to the vastly different dimensions. In all of its incarnations, the original Enterprise’s bridge was a much smaller, more cramped space than this is. The Captain’s chair is supposed to be directly behind the helm. The ultrawide viewscreen doesn’t help things, either.

And the dimensions being different really is a killer. That was the one thing that remained consistent between TOS, TMP, Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock even as the bridge’s color scheme underwent major changes.

It’s still Discovery. ;) ALL their ships are pretty big and spacious. I’m not surprised this one is the same. I don’t mind it personally but I can understand why others might.

Yeah, I can’t believe all the praise this abomination is getting. There is still ZERO good reason to even bring the Enterprise onto this show…just let Discovery be its own thing!

Cause although I watch Disc , it’s still in trouble and by far the worst of all trek series. They need to do something to save it. And even the guest actors and characters like new Pike , Spock and #1 are better actors and far more interesting than 98% of Disc. Saru and Tilly are the ONLY ones worth a damn.

That is true. They needed something to bring in the subscribers they DIDN’T have last season. Hence, Pike, Spock and Enterprise. I still wonder what this show will do next season without them. It goes back to the bland crew from season 1 unless they are planning more surprise guests from established, and more popular Trek shows…

Not even the Sisko can save this turd of a series. What they did to the Enterprise is a crime.

Because those who praise it don’t see it as an abomination?

Oh no, someone likes something you don’t.

I’m not a fan of the extra square footage either. Nor that little mini hallway from the turbolift out to the bridge proper. There are elements that I like and glad designers incorporated but I concede that it has to fit withing the existing Discovery aesthetic more than it needs to evoke the feel of the previously established era producers claim their show is set in.

The weapons on Pike’s Enterprise are LASERS(like Lost in Space!), not Phasers at that point in time! The new show better get THAT right! – same with Discovery in the same time frame!

Nobody cares.

We haven’t seen this point in time, the Cage took place two years earlier so those that enjoy the minutiae can assume that phasers were installed on starships shortly after Pike’s mission to Talos IV.

That ship sailed with Star Trek: Enterprise. You’re late to the party.

How so? That show did a great job at paving the way to what we got in TOS. They called their weapons Phase pistols and the shipboard ones, Phase Cannons! One can easily see how 150 years later they became what we saw in TOS. Nothing in Discovery feels that way at all. (Except for 10 years rather than 150)

I loved all the little details like the trapezoidal alert light between helm and navigation. The “Sulu scope” was there. The grill shadows across the turbolift doors. The general shape of the captain’s chair, the railings, the shape of the outer ring consoles were all in the spirit of the original. I’m sure I am missing a bunch more. Bravo Discovery team!

Glad you brought up the Captain’s Chair. I loved it and it was nice that it is duplicated but it is one thing that just doesn’t fit in the aesthetic at all.

The chair got a subtle update. It’s still got those Danish Modern wooden armrests, but the control surface is a wraparound white U-shape with small displays where the buttons used to be. Feels like there are many nods to Scott Chambliss’ designs for ST 2009, but nicely integrated.

I love this incarnation of the helm console, a nice nod to the Cage variant but with the color update of the post-Cage era. And the bridge stations have those ‘arcs’ of controls.

It’s easy to look at this bridge and imagine a few updates to take us to 2265 in the show’s aesthetic, in terms of even more simplified and streamlined shapes, less bulky massing, more subtle lighting etc – but I say this not to diminish the great job Deverell and her team have done.

I think there would have been fewer complaints had the Discovery bridge looked more like this. This is spectacular.

My problem with Discovery is less with aesthetics and more so with character development.

One of the parts that stood out to me in “Such Sweet Sorrow” was the roundtable of bridge officers discussing solutions. Regardless of the inane technobabble, it was reminiscent of classic Star Trek. It was not focusing on one individual.

Some have criticized the moment where Stamets and Culber “kinda” confront their relationship in a very tense moment of separation. But to me, again that was Star Trek. They were being separated by choice, duty, circumstance, whatever, it was still a character development moment…. and it made me empathize with them.

And that is what Star Trek does. It has never focused on one character, it develops all primary characters. It creates a connection between the primary characters and the viewer.

I have no such connection with Michael Burnham and that is my complaint, not aesthetics.

Yeah , Burnham really hurts this show. A new Pike series (with new Pike , Spock and #1) , this great new bridge , somehow save Suru and Tilly… Stammets too maybe but not his partner. Throw everything else out , develop a few more good characters and then we might see some truly great Trek again. Without the guest actors on Disc now season 3 isnt going to be any better than season 1 was Mirror Georgio and this new Section 31 show coming could be great too. Maybe with some better writers and Frakes directing as many as possible.

I wouldn’t bring anyone from Discovery over to a Pike Enterprise show with the exception of Jett Reno. She should be their chief engineer.

I’m with you and not with you here. I agree that I would prefer good characters over good sets. While the sets were nice and looked good they did NOT evoke the era they were supposed to be in. However, if we had great characters the set problems would be very minor. They wouldn’t go away. They would just be minor.

Sure, the Culber-Stammets relationship talk while there was a crisis with a ticking clock going on was a nice character moment. (except I still can’t accept that Culber is Culber which pretty much takes me 100% out of the moment) But it was TOTALLY the wrong time to do such a thing! Can anyone imagine Bones complaining to Kirk about something as petty while the ship is at crisis? No way no how. Even Tom Paris wouldn’t use a critical moment where time was of the essence to hash out some relationship issue with B’lanna. It just felt wrong for two professionals to act that way. Which also took me out of the scene. One of them should have said, “Really? You want to talk about this NOW?”

But that is also the thing about Discovery characters. There are so many issues that I get taken out of any meaningful moment for nearly all of them. Trek is about the people. This is something Discovery has totally missed the mark on. Which is unfortunate.

TNG also missed the mark when it came to characters. But they made up for it with the occasional good piece of sci-fi writing. Again, something Discovery writers have had a very difficult time with.

I don’t recall the original precisely, but thought red. In my initial work in ancient (90s) computer video, I was advised to stay away from red, as it was very tricky to do justice. So, this episode…I see red, Georgio enters and says, “ugh, ugly orange”. I laughed.

Good looking bridge. Only a minor problem I have, and that’s the super shiny floors and the lighting along the edge of every surface. Reminds me too much of the glossy, overwrought sets on cable news programs.

But I dig the retro Sixties bits incorporated into the design. Nicely done.

As so many have said, this is such a beautiful interpretation of the TOS bridge. It remains true to the spirit of the TOS bridge, unlike (again, as has been pointed out) the JJ bridge.

And yet the JJ bridge was much easier to accept. Why? Because that was a reboot!

This is amazing and I wish we would see more of the set. So much better that jj’s Apple store.

Not sure it was worth the colour-matching given that the end result looked nothing like the interior of an old multi-screen cinema rather than Minority Report, and the original bridge was a bright and cheery grey workspace not a gloomy space full of health and safety tripping hazards due to poor lighting.

Poor lighting? Where?

All over. Do you not see how dark the Discovery show aesthetic is? Not just in tone. But in lighting.

Wouldn’t it be something if the new ‘Picard’ series has all been a ruse and Discovery ends up in his post TNG era with Picard as lead for season 3? Stranger things have happened…..I have often wondered how exciting a new Picard series could really be, but if they tied in Disco in the 24th century they could use a bunch of actors from TNG, VOY, DS9, and they’d all be about the right age. Really tie up all the series (except ENT)

I doubt that Patrick Stewart would agree to return to TREK only for Picard to be a guest captain on the Michael Burnham show for 1 season.

This is how bad things have sunk when I would actually welcome a bore like Picard to take command of Discovery. At least Stewart has charisma and we are pretty sure he isn’t the MU version.

I would be so in for this.

The oddly anuglar screens are just not practical (not talking about the viewscreen). Keep the angles at 90 degrees.

I’d watch the TMP era movies then. This bridge also borrows from them.

I had a quick glance at the various bridges and the screens are predominantly rectangular or circular. No odd impractical angles. The consoles might be angular, but they have pretty much a fixed button layout, so that’s a slightly another story.

That color looks nothing like orange. If anything this particular red gravitates towards the other side of the color wheel (purple rather than orange). I’m not complaining about the look achieved, it’s simply NOT orange.

J.S. we can’t tell what colour it is from a screencap on our mobiles or a production still.

What I’m seeing depends on which device I’m using and what its settings are.

This is the whole issue Deverell was getting at.

The Enterprise red-orange colour is particularly variable dependent on the lighting, but also the recording media and what its looked at on.

What colour it was originally in reality was not how it appeared on film and then it was further changed by video transmission and people’s TV sets.

I suspect Deverell was trying to make sure that she got it right in reality and on HD….

Not to forget, back in the 60s shooting on soundstages tended to use far harsher lighting setups than is common nowadays. Camera technology got more and more sensitive over the years, which enabled filmmakers and TV show producers alike to shoot in darker and darker conditions without loss of image quality – not to mention that this enabled more creative choices about when and where to shoot, and how to light.

In the lighting that was used in the episode, on several screens that I saw either the episode or the stills it looks nothing like orange, and even the peeping at RGB color values can prove that. That’s why I was put off by Georgiou’s comment about it being “orange”. They might have tried to make it orange but in the lighting used it looks nothing like orange.

love the pic of the bridge crew tossed to one side by enemy fire or turbulence (?). classic OS move.

Trek’s long-term, Sci-Fi & visual design reached rare, iconic success. People so positively influenced that they became engineers & scientists. I ended-up in animation, set design & video game gigs. So I’m glad to see this great work /dedication continued in this production set. ..HOWEVER..

*The Starfleet uniforms are terrible.* Give the designers freedom to craft bold, iconic uniforms. The current uni’s are not futuristic; they look contemporary, like chic Nike exercise or UnderArmor athletic gear.

HOW does a massive project, of a legendary & trendsetting production, manage to reboot bold adventurous characters by deflating the forward thinking designs that were the ethos of Trek’s visual success?

To the point that their style defined much of the show’s tone as a cultural icon?

Ok- we know the Legal department will not allow them to make classic Trek uniforms, but it’s NO reason for these corny “zip-up excercise-coverall fashions.”

C’mon.

Evoke some (even a tiny bit) of that TOS style which embodied [pardon the pun] the sense of strong contrasts of dark, mod punky pants & boots, contrasted against great textures & colors that represent the character’s station or assignment, etc..

The current uni’s project NO forward thinking, nor does it evoke the classic “Boldly Go” that set an expanding tone for every Trek series.

The Fans & the Star Trek phenomena deserve better.

“Ok- we know the Legal department will not allow them to make classic Trek uniforms, but it’s NO reason for these corny “zip-up excercise-coverall fashions.””

This is flat out false.

Some Speculation – maybe the upcoming Section 31 series has the Enterprise in it?

The Section 31 show is still not greenlit. There is no date for season 1. My guess is that it has been put on the back burner because CBS as soon as they saw rough cuts with Anson Mount’s Pike that they started considering a Pike series then. All Section 31 stuff slowed down, and they broke the finale into 2 parts at that time.

They are probably gearing up for Pike series, and Section 31 might be in that (probably would), but the Section 31 show is likely not happening.

I would hope Kurtzman would put the brakes on the S31 show and focused on Pike instead. I just woldn’t bet on it happening.

Yeah, I have a feeling they might mix the two shows. The problem is they want Michelle Yeoh for a lead role and I wonder if they could consider or if it is possible to have two leads with Yeoh and Mount together or would they just relegate Mr Mount to a recurring role.

Michelle Yeoh really stinks up the place. Her “acting” is wooden and amateurish in tone. I’ve seen high school plays with better actors! Get her off the show and NEVER allow her to star in a new Star Trek series.

Sheesh, just how stupid are the producers?

“You can’t worry too much about the history of Star Trek when you work on stuff like this” More clues that the idiots are in charge of the franchise and don’t give a crap about it at all.

Baxter, Deverell is not an idiot. And she absolutely does care.

You are cherry-picking to validate your prejudice.

You’re taking one comment – wherein she’s saying that at a certain point she has to do her job and be a creative and not let herself get too bogged down in researching the production archives.

Basically, she’s saying that she cares a lot, and had to rein in her perfectionism while ensuring the new bridge respected canon

Deverell watched TOS in first run, and it helped shape her as it did many of us. She has spoken about how its images shaped her childhood dreams and nightmares (Talos).

She wouldn’t have sought out evidence of the original colour or reproductions of the plastic buttons if she didn’t care.

And yet isn’t she also the source for the latest ‘cardboard’ reference to TOS?

Yup, kmart she did call them cardboard.

Because it’s a fact that they were made of cardboard.

She’s done the research. And she’s honest enough to put it out there. She’s challenged her own nostalgia about those sets.

Deverell’s noted that cardboard was inexpensive worked for black and white and early colour low definition but would be unacceptable to today’s younger audience. It also had durability issues.

Discovery’s bridge and corridors, which were designed by the original production designer have wood cores and wood framing. We’ve heard that they’ve also had durability issues.

Rumour (or leaks…) about the new Enterprise bridge is that she had it built with a metal frame.

She clearly has high expectations for what they put on the screen.

Isn’t that the attitude we want for a franchise to endure another 50 years?

No, it’s not a fact they were made of cardboard. Plywood, yes. That said, the assertion about cardboard sets on TOS has been an enshrined as a bit of false hyperbole for ages now. Repeating it doesn’t mean that Deverell didn’t love the show growing up, or that she didn’t do the necessary research to perform her job.

I was about to say the same thing. They were NOT cardboard. They were backed with plywood. The same thing the Discovery sets are backed with. This falsehood seems to be as prevalent as the incorrect cliche of “Kirk was a space horndog”.

I think they care. They just don’t get it, though this bridge shows they get some things. The design is pretty close to perfect. What they don’t get are the philosophical underpinnings of a trek story. If they can wrap their head around it, they can fix a lot if what is wrong with discovery. Nothing they can do about annoying characters at this point though. Every trek had one or two but Discovery has really forged an identity based on bad characters nobody likes (excluding Pike and Saru).

Thanks Trek fan…

It sounds as though they get part of it – positivity, science-based solutions, characters drive story…

But haven’t really listened to Roddenberry’s critique of 1950s TV and his motivation for creating Trek…

He very specifically said that he was tired of writing for shows where the last 10 minutes were always a gunfight.

He wanted to create a show where the problems and solutions weren’t always rooted in violence.

It’s as much a problem in the era of peak television as it was in the 50s.

So, Trek can and should stay true to offering something else.

Yes, sometimes Trek historically has gone there, but not just for a weekly quick, cool hit of sensationalism.

But season 2 of Discovery has had as many skirmish or horrific death endings as not.

Note to TPTB – no more than 25% of episodes should have violent or horrific the key dramatic moments.

Otherwise we stop believing that the crew are looking for other solutions.

Right. It isn’t star wars. I like star wars and space operas in general but that isn’t really what trek is about. trek had us reflect on our human qualities while pondering various possible futures. Religion, politics, science, diplomacy, and ethics were dealt with fairly regularly during various challenges faced and interactions with the wider universe. I hope they can get back to including these characteristics. There have been hints of it here and there. The planet with the community that was moved by the red angel and their aversion to tech, or the debate over Ripper and it’s value to the mission versus the value of life itself. These examples are few and far between though. Unfortunately.

Just who are you to speak for everyone, i.e. “nobody likes”?

I’m just a guy. Perhaps I was lazy articulating my thoughts. How about characters most long time Trek fan’s dislike? Or perhaps even more accurately, every trek fan I know personally which is an admittedly small sample yet nevertheless very passionate group? I am fairly certain the dislike extends beyond that though based on rotten tomato rankings and countless other online reviews.

Maybe going forward it would be best just to speak for yourself, and what you like.

It’s called hyperbole. Where one exaggerates on purpose to make a point. It’s quite common and quite easy to spot.

I love that they even got the sounds of the original bridge right. Noticed it immediately and actually got goosebumps. I think Discovery is one of the better Trek iterations so far and I really want more!

Abrams Enterprise bridge looked nothing like TOS. Plus, with added overhead desk lamps at every station the set was blinding,and not as aesthetically pleasing as the Discovery series Enterprise.

For some reason my favorite part is all of the bright lights running along the top of the stations. I’m not a huge TOS fan, but I’m glad they put those in. It also reminds of how more color was added to the NX-01 bridge during the last season of Enterprise.

So when we first follow Pike from the turbolift to the bridge, it seems there is a hallway or open area to the left and right of the turbolift going behind the bridge duty stations. I remember this was a thing seen in the blueprints, but never shown on screen. IF those areas are indeed access to behind the bridge stations then that is extremely cool.

I also think there are too many lights, but other than that this is an amazing bridge set.

Yes, there’s definitely a hallway, at one point there’s even a yellowshirt walking into it.

Hopefully there’s an emergency stairway hidden behind one of those walls. It was a design blunder that the TOS bridge could be blocked by one malfunctioning (or sabotaged) turbolift.

I think the updated bridge set looked amazing. I also appreciated the offset turbolift placement, even though it STILL makes no sense related to the outside of the ship. :)

Here’s hoping we see more of this marvelous set in future seasons (or on other iterations of the franchise—hint hint!)

I still like the idea that the lift travels a short distance to the left, then down, to justify the bridge facing forward. In fact that has to be the case in this situation, given the “window” on the exterior CG model.

I remember when Trek Remastered was being discussed on these forums, and there was one guy who couldn’t get over that they didn’t show the offset in that really cool shot establishing Pike’s bridge.

Since the 2009 etc. movies, the interiors and outsides of the ships have little to do with each other.

Also on the blueprints was a head. Which made sense to me and I understood why it was overlooked on the show. ;)

Seriously would a future Star Ship not be an organic self-healing Artificial Intelligent Craft that instead of the inhabitants connect to all and every device on the Ship via the Helm but a completely open area with no light distractions run by telepathy, minimal controls and with semi-transparent walls to provide total visuals to the outside deep space. If you want to at least break out of light speed it would make sense that the place we imagine would be our destination in a microsecond with no inertia.

Would’ve preferred grey floors and better lighting, but I loved the homages.

I love when Georgiou goes “orange? yechth.”

Especially when it doesn’t look orange in the lighting that they used…

EXCELLENT episode! Very happy to see the Enterprise bridge.That’s how you modernize the looks without disrespect to the past. That’s hoylw I’d like to see the Enterprise in movies … I’d very happy to see a Cap Pike/Number One miniseries, it would be awesome.

The past was totally disrespected and shat on.

Wasn’t the Pike-era bridge predominantly greys and blacks? The red/orange was a Kirk era thing. I know the Enterprise has just been in for repair, but I think I’d prefer the more understated – almost Star Wars Imperial – feel of the bridge (and corridors) in The Cage. Somewhat easier on the eye.

I tend to agree, though I could argue it either way.

This bridge is still predominantly grey and black. The railing is really the only splash of color until the ship goes to red alert.

Looked kinda cool but it also looked cramped and dated compared to Discovery

It reminds me of the bridge of the Enterprise-A in ST: TUC.

Love it! But at the same time, it is kind of cruel to put so much effort in creating the Enterprise bridge and not giving us a Pike series.

Yes, though with the exception of the single offset turbo lift that bridge was actually closer to the original than this one. But of course this bridge design also had to tie-in to the established DSC aesthetic, which it does quite nicely.

I loved how they updated the bridge, I wish they did that for the kelvin films

PLOT TWIST: The Picard series is set on an old Constitution class starship! #whatatwist

The Picard series will be shot in California while Discovery is shot in Canada. So they would need to dismantle, ship and rebuild the set if they wanted to use it on the Picard show.

It was a joke

I love Star Trek. Can’t wait to be able to watch this new take

Love the new interpretation of the Enterrprise bridge. With Captain Pike, Spock, Number One, and the Enterprise along with its interiors, we just have to imagine what a Pike spin-off would be like.

Why is it that all the bridges that I’ve seen from Discovery remind me more of a set from Tron than from Star Trek? Even with the Enterprise, take out the handful of TOS elements they threw in, and it’s all black with blue and red neon outlines. Nothing like anything else we’ve ever seen in any incarnation if Star Trek. And I hate that it’s an actual window that spans the entire width of the bridge rather than a more centrally focused view screen. Doesn’t fit in cannon at all.

Yes, thank you. I was just thinking that it looked like Tron threw up in here. There are too many lights in the wrong place. Impossible place to work.

TMP got it the most right-Illuminated work surfaces with even Mid- to Low- key general lighting.

They did an amazing job creating a “new” TOS Enterprise. When I watched Part 1 on Thursday I was awestruck looking at that bridge. I too, hope to see an episodic Pike/Enterprise Series come to fruition.

It looks terrible with only the slightest resemblance to the original. The people producing this show continue to arrogantly shit on everything that came before.

The bridge set is simply fantastic. First thing I noticed was the integration of the colored light panels just above eye level which really nails it down for me. Yep, this should have been the bridge for the movies. KUDOS to the design team. They got it right and this is coming from a purist.

Looks an Abramsverse bridge with a few TOS-esque doodads tacked on. And did they grease the camera lenses? Every light looks like a smeary glarey blur. Not impressed. But it doesn’t have to look like the TOS Enterprise bridge, since ST:Discovery is an alternate universe. But couldn’t they stop the flares and glare? Or maybe my eyes are just sensitive to light.

Your eyes and mind are simply demonstrating classical tastes, instead of an unhealthy love for bad visual trends that had overstayed their welcome a decade back.

What I would give for Amy Vincent to shoot TREK. Look at THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE sometime (it is often streaming), the picture quality is astonishingly clear and sharp and it makes everything so much more inviting and therefore involving, instead of having to look through what amounts to being screen doors, which seriously distances a viewer.

Really like the PD on the show overall, much more successful than the JJ films. Only criticism would be the use of led tape everywhere which may well date it to this decade.

I found it funny when the bridge exploded and there were rocks all over the floor. Why do they have Rocks in computers?

They came from the alternate future, Yesterday’s E, where they were everywhere, especially in Riker’s neck.

In jest, starships had geologists. When they explored new planets, the geologists collected rocks and stored them in the ceilings of the bridge.

I remember when I was a kid building a plastic model of the TOS bridge and having to mix the old Testors red and orange paints to get the right look of what I saw on TV. It is funny that with all of today’s modern tech used to create the exact pantone and colour, they still had a hard time recreating the exact blend of red and orange needed to appear just right taking into account the lighting and post production effects. All and all, I think they did a great job with the colours and with the re-creation of the beautiful classic TOS bridge. Also loved the sound effects when they entered the bridge.

'Star Trek: Discovery' season 5 episode 5 'Mirrors' is a quality installment, but weighed down by another anchor of nostalgia

This entire episode was more than likely written for the sole reason that the sets from "Strange New Worlds" could be utilized.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Discovery" season 5, episode 5

The chase across the galaxy for the Progenitors MacGuffin continues, offering chances to insert stand-alone, episode-length adventures along the way. And this week's installment, entitled "Mirrors" features a brief and very random reminder that the Mirror Universe exists. 

And that alone would've made an genuinely enthralling episode, but...Alex Kurtzman et al could not resist the temptation for an utterly pointless and thoroughly unnecessary throwback to the USS Enterprise. Honestly, these people have a serious problem, they should seek help. 

To put all of this into context, the crew of the USS Discovery continue their pursuit of Malinne 'Moll' Ravel (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) and that chase leads them to er...well, you know, a giant, space-time swirly orifice that fills the viewscreen. Apparently, it's some sort of wormhole that's spectacularly unstable because of the constant matter/anti-matter reactions that are taking place at the opening. It's actually more than a little reminiscent of the inside of the V'ger spacecraft from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and that's just fine. 

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But it's what they find inside that grinds gears. Since the Discovery is too big to squeeze through the constantly opening and closing orifice, Capt. Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Book (David Ajala) take a shuttle through only to find...the ISS Enterprise. Yes, indeed, last seen (and only seen, actually) in the epic "The Original Series" episode "Mirror, Mirror" (S02, E04).

While beaming back to the USS Enterprise during an ion storm, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura materialize aboard a almost-identical Enterprise in a parallel universe. Here, the United Federation of Planets has been replaced by the Terran Empire and its inhabitants are violent and cruel. Their only hope is to artificially reproduce the effects of the storm to facilitate a return to their own universe. (" I mperial S pace S hip replaces the traditional " U nited S pace S hip.")

And while the idea of finding a derelict, 900-year-old starship from the latter half of the 23rd century is a great idea, in the name of the Great Prophet Zarquon, why-oh-why did it have to be the Enterprise? There are — at least — 10 other Constitution Class starships that could've been potentially chosen and thus still allowing the updated sets from "Strange New Worlds" to have been used. 

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The USS Cayuga (NCC-1557), USS Constellation (NCC-1017), USS Defiant (NCC-1764), USS Excalibur (NCC-1664), USS Exeter (NCC-1672), USS Hood (NCC-1703), USS Intrepid (NCC-1631), USS Lexington (NCC-1709), USS New Jersey (NCC-1975) and the USS Potemkin (NCC-1657). And those are just the ones that are canon. Another new vessel could just as easily have been introduced as it's not unknown for Nu-Trek to bring brand new ships to the line.

And of course Burnham makes reference to the fact that her brother, Spock, served on this ship, which is probably another reason why the Enterprise was forced upon the writers. And according to some extremely rushed exposition, most of the crew escaped the weird wibblywobbly wormhole and went on to lead peaceful and productive lives — we assume somewhere not too far away given how long ago it happened and the current location in deep space — in a somewhat Space Seed scenario. Another interesting throwaway remark from Burnham was, "Crossing between universes has been impossible for centuries now," which shuts down that potential story avenue rather abruptly. 

But let's also focus on why this episode could've been near-faultless if only someone could counsel Paramount showrunners on how to ween themselves off of nostalgia addiction. This week we get to see the whole Moll and L'ak backstory...and it's rather good and to add to that, Book and Moll confront the fact that they're distantly related. You know, because that makes things much more absurd orderly. (See how Burnham had to be related to Spock.)

The pacing of this episode, and with the exception of using the Enterprise, when any other Constitution Class starship could've worked — and served to expand the Mirror Universe a little bit — this is an enjoyable episode. It's a shame though that this is following the same cookie cutter seasonal storyline template by relying very much on a quest to follow while having standalone episode-long adventures to fill in the gaps, but hey, it can't be much worse than last season. So, there's that.

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" and every other episode of every "Star Trek" show — with the exception of "Star Trek: Prodigy" — currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US, while "Prodigy" has found a new home on Netflix.  

Internationally, the shows are available on  Paramount Plus  in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream on  Paramount Plus  in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

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When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion

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Review: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

Star Trek: Discovery picks up immediately where “ Face the Strange ” left off, as our protagonists track their quarry’s ship to a hidden, interdimensional pocket of space that holds a few surprises for them and the audience.

Thanks to some sciencing from Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ) and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ), Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) has a way to find where Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) are. Apparently, there’s a wormhole hiding in plain sight near where Discovery lost track of the criminals’ warp signature.

This wormhole is too small for a Crossfield- class ship to fit through, so Burnham and Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ) – the latter of whom is on a mission to rehabilitate Moll, if possible – take a shuttle and see what’s on the other side of the wormhole’s aperture. Find a surprise, they do indeed, as the I.S.S. Enterprise , the evil version of the heroic Starfleet ship, is nestled in the wormhole – albeit without its crew, which apparently evacuated the vessel at some point. It’s beaten to hell and serves as a refuge for Moll and L’ak, whose own ship was destroyed by the interdimensional pocket of space’s destructive environment.

Discovery writers sure can be sneaky! They’ve been foreshadowing the appearance of a Constitution­ -class for the last two episodes; remember when Gen Rhys ( Patrick Kwok-Choon ) and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) both remarked the Connie was their favorite ship? As we’ll see, this isn’t the last bit of foreshadowing that comes true in this episode.

“How did it end up in interdimensional space?” “I don’t know. Must be one hell of a story.” – Book and Burnham upon seeing the I.S.S. Enterprise

Astute viewers will recognize an often-used cost-saving measure in the annals of Star Trek history: the reuse of sets from another concurrent show. (Seriously, rewatch TNG , DS9 , and Voyager and you’ll be surprised how often props and sets are reused between those shows.) As Burnham and Book explore various halls and rooms, including the bridge and sickbay, the familiar surroundings seen in Strange New Worlds are subtly transformed by Mirror Universe iconography. While nods to the iconic starship Enterprise are always appreciated, our initial reaction to this surprise location—admittedly tinged with pessimism—is that it’s of course it’s the Enterprise . A practical move, perhaps, to keep expenses in check. By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Finding the ship deserted sure is strange, and Burnham and Book ascertain Moll and L’ak are in sickbay, presumably with the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle. But first, the pair check out the transporter room, which holds some strange items, such as blankets, children’s toys, and a locket that holds a picture of two people, which Burnham inexplicably decides to take with her. Moreover, the dedication plaque of the I.S.S Enterprise tells the story of the ship and its crew: the Terran Universe emperor seemingly tried to make changes to the way things were done in that evil universe, and the Enterprise escaped and picked up refugees who were trying to flee the Terran Universe and enter the Prime Universe.

One of the leaders among those on the Enterprise was a Kelpien, who Burnham deduces must have been the Mirror Universe version of Saru, and that the crew must have fled the Enterprise once it got stuck in the interdimensional pocket of space. Is it just us, or does this sound like a potential episode of Strange New Worlds ?

Burnham, Book, Moll, and L’ak face off in sickbay, where Burnham makes a startling connection between L’ak and a particular dilemma he is facing. The criminal pair hope to use the Progenitor treasure to clear L’ak’s Breen blood bounty. Yes, L’ak is Breen, that enigmatic and masked species from Deep Space Nine . Neato!

The rest of the episode bounces between what’s happening on the Enterprise , and flashing back to how Moll and L’ak first met and became romantically involved. Moll, the courier, would do business on the Breen space station on which L’ak, a member of a royal Breen family, was posted. The two connected over L’ak’s recent demotion and efforts to fight the embarrassment that came with it.

Over some time, the two became nearly inseparable, and L’ak even took the bold step with Moll by showing her his face – a big deal in Breen culture, as keeping their masks on allows them to retain their true, semi-transparent form, and not the solidified appearance we’ve seen on L’ak. Their relationship is tested when L’ak’s superior (and uncle), Primarch Ruhn ( Tony Nappo ) decides to interrupt their courtship. L’ak doesn’t take kindly to being asked to kill Moll, so the Breen turns on his own people, earns a Breen blood bounty, and flees with Moll. The pair now share a goal: earn enough latinum to retire on an (unnamed) fabled planet somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant, free from the trials and hardships of the courier life.

Suffice it to say, “Mirrors” is most memorable because it casts a welcome light on the shadowed backstory of this season’s main villains. Moll and L’ak are now a relatable pair, star-crossed lovers who are hell-bent on earning themselves a happy ending. As much as we don’t want to see the Progenitors’ tech get into the wrong hands, who now doesn’t want to see everything work out for Moll and L’ak?

Anyway, the quartet still need to get off the Enterprise , but the shuttle on which Burnham and Book arrived is destroyed by the turbulent pocket of space. With mere minutes to spare before the Enterprise is destroyed by the wormhole’s tiny aperture, Book and Moll share some last-minute words about their shared relationship with the late Cleveland Booker, and how Book hopes Moll makes the right choices regarding her quest for the Progenitor tech. Burnham, meanwhile, engages in a melee with L’ak, and the Breen ends up injured and inadvertently relinquishes control to Burnham of the next map piece in the Progenitor puzzle. The courier and disgraced Breen end up escaping the ship in a convenient Terran warp pod, leaving the chase between our heroes and enemies for another day.

“If we hit it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern, it should stay open for approximately sixty seconds. But once it collapses, it’s gone for good.” “Why hexagonal?” “Doesn’t matter… it’ll work.” – Adira ( Blu del Barrio ), Rayner, and Stamets as the crew finds a way to get the wormhole aperture bigger. We think this line from Stamets is reflective of the evolving working relationship between the results-orientated Rayner and the crew, and how this relationship is getting better the longer Rayner is first officer.

Burnham devises a novel way to signal her first officer for help in getting the Enterprise through the aperture: a pulsing tractor beam emitting from the Enterprise , shot through the wormhole’s opening, in a numerical sequence featured in a famous play from Kellerun culture. Rayner is then able to lead his crew to devise a way to pull the Enterprise into normal space.

The sequence where Rayner is faced with command of a ship tasked with the near-impossible rescue of his captain is the best of the episode. It’s no secret Rayner was knocked down a few pegs after his demotion and reassignment to Discovery , but that lack of confidence and inner angst is demolished thanks to Rayner listening and working with his bridge crew to save the Enterprise . Plenty of lesser-known bridge officers get a say in how Discovery could help the Mirror ship, and lightning-fast decision-making shows Rayner back on his game.

The last element to note about this episode is some emotional trouble Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is having. Tilly provides an outlet for this angst. Culber explains the experiences he’s had in the last few years – namely dying, coming back to life, and being a Trill host – really put into perspective the intellectual journey he is on in the face of the Progenitor’s quest. Tilly helps him realize he isn’t only experiencing an intellectual quest, but a spiritual one. This conversation is just another instance of Discovery setting up some wild expectations for what the crew might ultimately discover at the end of the season – something beyond the bounds of science, perhaps?

Even though their prey gets away again, Burnham and her crew have the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle, and it is hiding in the I.S.S. Enterprise ’s sickbay. Hidden in the map piece Burnham grabbed from L’ak is a vial, which Stamets will analyze soon. Burnham learns the crew who escaped from the I.S.S. Enterprise ended up in the Prime Universe and were able to start new lives. A Terran scientist aboard the Enterprise , Dr. Cho, ended up being a branch admiral, and we’re meant to assume she was one of the scientists on Dr. Vellek’s team hundreds of years ago as they studied the Progenitor tech. Dr. Cho then hid her piece of the Progenitor puzzle aboard her old ship as a symbolic gesture of her ability to find freedom in a new universe.

Discovery continues its final season with another thumbs-up episode that serves an important lore-building role in the franchise. Seeing the Breen again is a joy, especially since we were staring at one the whole time and never knew it. And how striking was that Breen space station where L’ak was based? Another important note for Star Trek historians is that now the Mirror Universe Enterprise is in the 32 nd century, and stationed near Earth thanks to Joann Owosekun and Keyla Detmer piloting the ship back to Federation space. Will we see that ship again this season?

As the Progenitor puzzle deepens, so do the emotional stakes for our crew, exemplified by Culber’s introspective journey, the subtle reignition of Book and Burnham’s relationship, and Rayner’s triumphant return to leadership. We’re now at the halfway point in this season, so there’s still plenty of time for surprises, emotional consequences, and expectation-setting for this eagerly awaited treasure.  

Stray Thoughts:

• Hopefully, you’re watching this episode with subtitles on, because goodness is it hard to hear what masked Breen says.
• The Mirror Universe version of the U.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror,” albeit this wasn’t the Strange New Worlds version of the ship. Likewise, the Terran version of Spock, whom Booker asks if Burnham ever met, was in that same episode.
• How did Adira conclude they were the one who brought the time bug aboard Discovery ?
• Why didn’t Burnham and Book try talking down Moll and L’ak before diving into the room with the holo-projected doubles?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

You can follow us on X , Facebook , and Instagram .

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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Star Trek: Discovery's exploration of the Breen leaves much to be desired

S tar Trek: Discovery has made an attempt to make its final season worth watching. While granted, they didn't know it was their final season, the fifth season is doing everything it can to create a sense of ambiance and nostalgia to it. With the return to the ISS Enterprise of the mirror universe, now to the revelation that one of its season's biggest villains is a call back to Deep Space Nine .

The alien L'ak, played by Elias Toufexis, who was slapped on every piece of promotional material and seasonal ad that Star Trek could produce, would end up being revealed not as a new alien, but as an old one. As L'ak is a member of the Breen race. A race of aliens who wore protective suits, and in doing so allowed their true identities to never be revealed.

In fact, Deep Space Nine went as far to say that no one who has ever seen the Breen's true face has lived to tell others what they looked like (aside from Kira and Dukat apparently). Well, now everyone knows what they look like as Discovery opted to bring back the Breen for their final season and in doing so expanded on the lore of the aliens.

We're not against this, we think it worked great with The Gorn in Strange New Worlds, but the Breen reveal has us a bit lacking. They don't necessarily look like we thought they would without their helmets, and the revelation that they have two "states" is a bit odd. They have a solid form, which is what L'ak takes whenever we see him running about, and a fluid state, that makes them look more like insects on a leaf than a threatening invasive race of fighters.

The idea to give them the two states of existence wasn't a bad idea, as it helps rationalize why they would take up arms with the Dominion, who were led by Changelings. They're similar in makeup to the Changelings, at least more so than any other alien in the area, so you can see the reason why the two species stood together.

Still, with how, frankly, boring they look and how odd their liquid state is, you think that they could've done better with the Breen. In fact, a better idea would have been to leave the Klingons alone, bring in a more traditional Klingon for the first season, and save the Nu Klingon concept for the Breen. While I think the Purple Orc Klingons are stupid, for Klingons, the designs are bad, especially the white Orc Klingon Tenavik. Remove the ridges, add some horns, and hazaah; the new Breen.

It's cute that they tried to connect the aliens from the Dominions to the events of Discovery but the show's leaders have proven one too many times that they can't deliver on high-concepts like this.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Star Trek: Discovery's exploration of the Breen leaves much to be desired .

Star Trek: 10 Secrets About The USS Discovery-A You Need To Know

5. internal affairs.

The overall sets representing the insides of Discovery  were mostly retained, although with the 32nd Century twist.

Adding holodecks to the ship was an instantly recognisable feature to fans of the 24th Century iterations of the franchise but Discovery  had to take that step further on the inside just as Dening had on the outside.

As seen in That Hope Is You, Part II , traditional turbolift shafts were consigned to the past. The travel boxes were now able to move in all directions without the need for specific shafts. This may have been bad news for Picard and some kids - where would they climb while singing about Vulcans and dogs?

The implementation of the site-to-site combadge transporters would also render the transporter room of the Discovery  obsolete. 

In the behind the scenes video hosted by Wilson Cruz during the production of season five's fourth episode, the actor's walk around the sets showed off Captain Burnham's quarters which revealed that Sonequa Martin-Green had been involved with the aesthetics and decoration of her home aboard the Discovery , including items that were of African origin.

A Star Trek fan from birth, I love to dive into every aspect of the franchise in front and behind the screen. There's something here that's kept me interested for the best part of four decades! Now I'm getting back into writing and using Star Trek as my first line of literary attack. If I'm not here on WhatCulture then you're more than welcome to come and take a look at my blog, Some Kind of Star Trek at http://SKoST.co.uk or maybe follow me on Twitter as @TheWarpCore. Sometimes I force myself not to talk about Star Trek.

Screen Rant

5 ways star trek: discovery’s mirror enterprise is different from uss enterprise.

The ISS Enterprise made a surprising return in Star Trek: Discovery, but what makes the Mirror Universe's starship different from the USS Enterprise?

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors"

• ISS Enterprise from Mirror Universe makes a surprising return in Star Trek: Discovery, revealing its history and role as a refugee ship.
• Star Trek: Discovery used sets from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to recreate the ISS Enterprise, showcasing its damaged state.
• The ISS Enterprise survived until the 32nd century, becoming a beacon of hope like the USS Enterprise in both the Prime and Mirror Universes.

The Mirror Universe ISS Enterprise made a surprising return in Star Trek: Discovery , and the starship differs from the USS Enterprise of Star Trek 's Prime Timeline in several ways. Previously, the ISS Enterprise made its first and only appearance in the classic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Mirror, Mirror," which saw Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and some of his crew members travel to the Mirror Universe. The ISS Enterprise was the Mirror Universe's doppelganger of the Constitution Class USS Enterprise, and Star Trek: The Original Series simply redressed the Enterprise's sets to evoke the darker alternate reality.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery continue their search for the powerful technology of the Progenitors. Their next clue leads them into a strange wormhole, where they encounter the ISS Enterprise in a pocket of interdimensional space. As Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) face off against determined couriers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), they uncover more about the history of the ISS Enterprise. Directed by Jen McGowan and written by Johanna Lee and Carlos Cisco, "Mirrors" reveals several differences between the USS Enterprise and her Mirror Universe counterpart.

Kirk’s Starship Enterprise Returns In Star Trek: Discovery - With A Big Twist

5 the iss enterprise used star trek: strange new worlds' sets, captain pike's enterprise sets were redressed to be its mirror universe counterpart..

To bring the ISS Enterprise to life, Star Trek: Discovery made use of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' USS Enterprise sets. With different lighting, significant damage, and some logos for the Terran Empire, Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) Enterprise became the ISS Enterprise first seen in Star Trek: The Original Series' "Mirror, Mirror." Discovery season 5 was filmed in late 2022 during the gap between filming for Strange New Worlds seasons 2 and 3, and they made great use of the bridge, sickbay, transporter room, and hallway sets.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has also filmed on Star Trek: Discovery sets, such as turning Federatiion headquarters into the chambers for Number One's (Rebecca Romijn) trial in Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 2, "Ad Astra Per Aspera."

Throughout Star Trek's long history , the franchise has found different ways to depict old ships and other settings. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Trials and Tribble-ations," for example, used footage from the classic TOS episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" combined with new footage of DS9's cast. While parts of the original Enterprise bridge set were recreated for "Trials and Tribble-ations," a full bridge set of a Constitution Class starship was not recreated until the two-part Mirror Universe episode of Star Trek: Enterprise , "In a Mirror, Darkly."

Star Trek: Picard season 3 also completely rebuilt a starship bridge set, this time the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

4 The Plaque On The ISS Enterprise Differs From The USS Enterprise

The passengers on the iss enterprise left a plaque telling their story..

As Captain Burnham and Booker explore the ISS Enterprise, they find a plaque on the wall that details some of the derelict starship's history. While almost every version of the Enterprise has had a plaque of some kind, they have never given a description of the ship's history in this way. Star Trek 's starship plaques are often in the background and thus hard to decipher. They typically give the name of the ship, the date and location where the ship was built, and sometimes a list of names of real-life production people who built the sets.

The plaque on the ISS Enterprise reveals that Mirror Universe Spock made significant reforms in the Terran Empire, but was killed by those who disagreed with him. However, those who believed in his ideals stole the ISS Enterprise and found a way to the Prime Universe, with help from Mirror Universe Saru (Doug Jones) - turns out he's "Action Saru in any universe." The crew and refugees aboard this ship likely left the plaque as a way to share the ship's story with whoever happened to find her.

3 Refugees Used The ISS Enterprise To Flee The Mirror Universe

The iss enterprise became a lifeboat for refugees seeking a better life..

After Spock's reforms changed the way the Terran Empire was run, the Empire was not as well equipped to defend itself from the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance. This Alliance eventually conquered the Empire, forcing the Terrans and Vulcans into slavery, and violently quashing any attempts at rebellion. Some rebels, however, managed to successfully stand against the Empire, at least long enough to gather a ship full of refugees and escape to the Prime Universe.

The Mirror Universe's Spock (Leonard Nimoy) became the High Chancellor who reformed the Terran Empire but was later assasinated.

While the crew of the original USS Enterprise often helped refugees and others in need, this was not the ship's main purpose. The ISS Enterprise was originally a warship used by the Terran Empire, before its crew mutinied and fled the brutal Mirror Universe. For this undoubtedly dangerous journey, the ISS Enterprise became a refugee ship, giving those who had believed in Spock's reforms the chance for a new life in a brighter universe.

What Happened To Mirror Universe Captain Kirk In Star Trek?

2 the iss enterprise survived until the 32nd century, no other enterprise has survived as long as the iss enterprise..

After the ISS Enterprise traveled to the Prime Universe, it ended up inside interdimensional space, where it remained undetected for centuries. Although the ship had sustained significant damage, it was salvageable and able to be sent back to Starfleet after Captain Burnham and Book used it to escape through the wormhole. While the technology on the ISS Enterprise is very outdated, the Federation will likely be interested in a 23rd-century starship from the Mirror Universe, particularly one as important as the Enterprise.

By the 32nd century, travel between the Mirror Universe and the Prime Universe had already "been impossible for centuries," according to Captain Burnham.

As Star Trek has a habit of destroying the Starship Enterprise , the ISS Enterprise is likely the longest-surviving ship of that name . The original USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), as commanded by Captain Pike and Captain Kirk, was destroyed in 2285 when Kirk was forced to initiate self-destruct to thwart a Klingon boarding party in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Several different ships have taken the name Enterprise over the years, but none have survived for as long as the ISS Enterprise.

1 One Surprising Thing The Mirror Universe Ship & USS Enterprise Have In Common

The starship enterprise is a beacon of hope in every universe..

The Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise may have several noticeable differences from its Prime Universe counterpart, but both ships became a beacon of hope for the people aboard. Throughout the journeys of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the USS Enterprise has come to represent hope for numerous peoples and civilizations all over the galaxy. Countless lives would have been lost (and the galaxy destroyed multiple times over) if not for ships named Enterprise . While the ISS Enterprise caused a lot of harm during its time as a Terran warship, in the end, it became a lifeboat for the people who wanted to leave the Mirror Universe.

Star Trek: Discovery has proven that, no matter the universe, the Starship Enterprise remains a beacon of hope and a spark of light in the darkness.

Wanting to escape the violence and darkness of their own universe, the refugees risked their lives for a chance at peace and freedom. When Captain Kirk and his crew first visited the ISS Enterprise, most of its crew members were just as ruthless as every other Terran. But Kirk took a chance on Mirror Universe Spock, and while Spock's reforms ultimately failed, he inspired some Terrans to seek out a better life. If nothing else, Star Trek: Discovery has proven that, no matter the universe, the Starship Enterprise remains a beacon of hope and a spark of light in the darkness.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Published Apr 26, 2024

RECAP | Star Trek: Discovery 505 - 'Mirrors'

No matter how bad things get, the one thing you always have is a choice.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery.

StarTrek.com

Previously, in " Face the Strange ," Moll and L'ak unleash a time bug aboard the U.S.S. Discovery, designed to paralyze them and keep them stuck as they're randomly cycled through time. Once they're ahead of Discovery and on to the next clue, they can escape the bounty on their heads and finally be free.

In one time loop, Zora informs Burnham and Rayner one of the outcomes they feared had come to pass — the Breen gained control of the Progenitors' tech and destroyed everything, leading the Kellerun to believe the Breen must be the ex-courier's highest bidder. Thankfully for the crew, they're back in the mix and only lost six hours. Plus, they discovered a warp signature matching Moll and L'ak.

In Episode 5 of Star Trek: Discovery , " Mirrors ," Captain Burnham and Book journey into extra-dimensional space in search of the next clue to the location of the Progenitors' power. Meanwhile, Rayner navigates his first mission in command of the U.S.S. Discovery , and Culber opens up to Tilly.

• Cleveland "Book" Booker
• Michael Burnham
• Paul Stamets
• Sylvia Tilly
• William Christopher
• Dr. Hugh Culber
• Moll (Malinne Ravel)
• Breen Primarch

• U.S.S. Discovery -A
• Discovery shuttle
• I.S.S. Enterprise
• Breen warship

In his quarters aboard the U.S.S. Discovery -A, Cleveland "Book" Booker contemplates advice given to him by his mentor and namesake, "No matter how bad things get, the one thing you always have is a choice." Book gazes at a holo of Moll — real name Malinne Ravel, the daughter of his predecessor — certain that she is capable of turning things around just as he had. Aware that Cleveland Booker IV saved his life, Book believes he owes it to him to do the same for his daughter.

With Discovery at Moll and La'k’s last known coordinates, Book makes his way to the Bridge, where Captain Michael Burnham gives the stage to Commander Paul Stamets and Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly. Though it appeared as if the couriers' ship left a warp trail which disappeared into empty space, adjusting the viewscreen to compensate for the Lorentzian coefficient in high-energy spectra reveals the presence of a fluctuating wormhole. Stamets states that it leads to a pocket of interdimensional space and is collapsing and expanding due to matter-antimatter chain reactions, likely caused by the Burn.

Captain Burnham surmises that the next clue resides within the wormhole, and Tilly notes that Moll and L'ak are probably in there, as well. Lieutenant Gallo, Commander Rayner, and Lieutenant Christopher brief the captain — sensors can’t penetrate the aperture, the opening isn’t large enough to fit Discovery’s saucer, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to maintain comms contact. Burnham nods, ordering Lieutenant Linus to prepare a shuttle with boosted comms and fortified shields before requesting that Lt. Commander Gen Rhys place a security team on standby.

"Mirrors"

The captain's declaration that she will accompany Book on the away team draws Rayner's interest, and the two senior officers convene in the Ready Room. The Kellerun first officer expresses his view that he should be the one risking his life to lead the mission. She assures Rayner that she needs him on the ship and refuses to bring additional security with her, citing that the implied threat of armed guards would undermine Book's personal connection to Moll. Recalling the devastating future they had witnessed during the time bug ordeal, Rayner observes that it was only one possible outcome.

Captain Burnham senses there is more to Rayner’s unease and quotes the Ballad of Krul , " Serve it without a grum of osikod ." Though impressed by his captain's reference to Kellerun culture, Rayner still holds back. Burnham theorizes that his concern is related to taking the conn while she's away, and he begrudgingly admits it has been some time since he took the chair from another captain. The first officer makes eye contact, confessing that he doesn’t want his tenuous rapport with the crew to jeopardize the mission. Burnham reassures Rayner that she believes in him, leaving the demoted captain to swallow his protest.

Book joins Burnham to embark on their journey and pilots their shuttle away from Discovery . Relaxation floods the former courier's expression as he notes the craft is "purring like Grudge when she’s killed something." Hoping to emphasize his connection to Moll's father in the event they locate her, Book playfully shifts the conversation to the captain's temporal escapades when the time bug overtook the ship. Burnham makes a "my lips are sealed" gesture, only willing to disclose that she encountered some surprises.

The shuttle approaches the aperture, and Book plans to charge the impulse capacitance cells and release them into the drive coils to give the vessel a boost. Book offers a saying from his own culture, Never return from a hunt without enough bait for the Carrion Reaver . Burnham laughs off the "catchy" phrase, and the shuttle launches toward the wormhole's pulsating light. Turbulence causes the ship to tremble, and a bright flash overwhelms the two occupants.

Commander Rayner observes from the Bridge and is initially greeted by static. Burnham's voice cuts through the interference, informing the first officer that they made it through. Rayner’s relief is short-lived, as Discovery loses the shuttle's comm signal. He orders Stamets to the Science Lab in a bid to boost comms and conveys confidence as he takes the ship to Yellow Alert.

Meanwhile, in the wormhole, exotic matter has rendered the shuttle's sensors and holopadds inoperative. Book and Burnham narrowly dodge debris — "debris is not a good sign" — and spot the smoldering wreckage of Moll and L'ak's ship, or at least half of it. The nebulous environment clouds their vision, and Book wonders if the couriers survived. Burnham stands as she spots another vessel through the murkiness, its I.S.S. markings indicating it originated in the Mirror Universe. Shock envelops the captain's face as she reads its full designation — I.S.S. Enterprise* — and postulates that how the vessel arrived in interdimensional space must be "one heck of a story."

Book sees the Constitution -class starship's battered hull as evidence that it became trapped during a battle, and Burnham declares that it must have been ages ago — crossing from the Mirror Universe has been impossible for centuries. A shipwreck in a hidden wormhole sounds like a secure place to hide the next clue, though the captain is only acquainted with her brother Spock's U.S.S. Enterprise . They glimpse the other half of Moll and L'ak's broken vessel and assume that, if the couriers are alive, they must be on the Terran ship.

Back on Discovery , Tilly tracks an EPS conduit to a panel in Sickbay — after having followed it across three decks, including through the quarters of a new ensign who keeps a Cardassian vole as a pet. Sensing that Dr. Hugh Culber feels troubled, Tilly lets him know that she's always available to talk — at least until Stamets chimes in over the comm system to check on the status of her work. Culber maintains that he is fine and promises to find Tilly later, though his demeanor leaves her unconvinced.

In the Science Lab, Stamets notices that Ensign Adira Tal is undergoing some uncertainty of their own while working on their graviton pulse idea. The ensign rechecks their calculations for a third time, prompting the astromycologist to tell them that the time bug was not their fault. Rayner strolls in with confidence and requests an update on attempts to boost the comm signal. Stamets begins to explain, but the commander interrupts and states that he does not need to know how the cake is boiled. Adira is taken aback by the Kellerun culinary insight — Rayner assures them not to knock it until they try it — but Stamets presses forward with a proposal to hold the interdimensional aperture open. Unfortunately, there's a 43.7% chance that a graviton pulse would cause the aperture to close with the captain and Book still inside. Visibly frustrated, the first officer urges them to get the comm signal back.

Phasers drawn, Captain Burnham and Book enter the I.S.S. Enterprise 's bridge, which is adorned with Terran insignia and dimly illuminated by flickering lights and control panels. Intent on using the ship's sensors to track quantum signatures from the Prime Universe in order to locate Moll, L'ak, and the clue, Burnham pauses when she realizes that Book is standing at the science station — her brother's station, at least on the U.S.S. Enterprise . Though she had never met Spock's Mirror counterpart, she assumes he was just as ruthless as the Terrans.

Using a hack Book had previously applied on an Andorian transport ship, the captain successfully accesses the Enterprise 's sensors, and — after the former courier elicits words of praise from her — they detect that the intermix chamber has been ejected from the warp drive, all shuttles and escape pods are gone, the captain's log was erased, and the crew had apparently abandoned ship. Evacuation is a last resort in Terran culture, but the starship's damage was not terminal. The situation leaves them puzzled, but they turn their attention to the three Prime quantum signatures located in Sickbay — Moll, L'ak, and the clue.

En route to their quarry, Burnham and Book spy bedding, blankets, clothes, and other objects one wouldn't expect to find on a warship strewn about in the transporter room. Book gets a glimpse of the I.S.S. Enterprise 's dedication plaque, which itself bears an unorthodox phrase for Terrans, " Light of hope shines through even the darkest of nights. " The inscription describes the starship’s story, and Book relays that the new Terran High Chancellor had been killed while trying to make reforms. The crew mutinied, escaped, and attempted to shuttle refugees from the Mirror Universe into the Prime Universe, and a Kelpien slave-turned-rebel leader helped them. As she listens to the tale, Burnham picks up a locket and places a piece of her uniform inside of it. The mention of the Kelpien — likely Mirror Saru — catches her attention, and she supposes the crew fled when the ship got stuck within the aperture.

The pair continue on and move through the Terran ship's sparking corridors, only to be confronted by a batch of Moll and L'ak holo-doubles whose phasers are pointed toward Sickbay's entrance. Unable to determine which Moll and L'ak figures are real or target the room's holo emitter from their location, Book and Burnham rush their opponents and dodge a storm of phaser fire. They take out several holographic doubles before striking Sickbay's emitter, and the two couriers' true forms are revealed. Everyone heads for cover, but Burnham's diplomatic appeals don’t sway Moll or L'ak.

Book steps out from his concealed position. The captain follows with her phaser up, but Book tries to relate to Moll via their shared connection with her father. Moll grimaces with pain and anger as she states that Cleveland Booker IV was garbage, and L'ak holds up their bargaining chip — a device containing the next clue. Moll pitches a compromise; if she and L'ak are given a ride out of interdimensional space, they’ll let Starfleet replicate the clue. Burnham counters, bluntly replying that the couriers don’t have the clue. Referring to the decoy stanzas on Lyrek, the captain displays the locket she had procured and notes it has a Prime quantum signature.

The standoff remains steadfast, and Book draws Moll's ire when he guesses the couriers would not risk each other's lives over latinum. The exchange intensifies, and Moll contests that not even the Federation could lift an Erigah . Burnham recognizes the term, stunned to learn that the mysterious L'ak is actually Breen. An Erigah is a Breen blood bounty, and Moll and L'ak clearly hope to exchange whatever is at the end of the clue trail for their freedom. Book questions Moll about what they did to receive such a sentence, and the courier reflects…

…back to one of her regular visits to a busy Breen space station some years ago, where two helmeted Breen investigated one of her deliveries. Moll is unafraid when a third Breen approaches, introducing herself by quipping that she enjoys latinum and long walks on the beach. The Breen responds through his helmet's metallic speech processor, but rather than using the Breen sounds deemed unintelligible by most species, he speaks to Moll in her own language and accuses her of cutting her dilithium shipments with impurities. The human denies the accusation levied by "Green Eye," and the two square off in hand-to-hand combat.

Moll's lighthearted conversation persists even as they fight, and she points out that the Breen's belt insignia indicates he is royalty. Rumors have swirled that the Primarch's nephew — an independent thinker named L'ak — has been demoted to shuttlebay duty. Moll suggests that she can help L'ak get payback and admits she does cut the dilithium, leading the Breen to place her in handcuffs. Moll never relents, pitching that having a partner on the inside would make her operation go smoother. She senses L'ak is intrigued and faces him — she knows what it's like to be on the outside and alone — before slipping out of the cuffs. L'ak ponders why Moll would make a deal with someone she didn't know anything about, and Moll resolves to change that unfamiliarity.

Back in the present, Moll refuses to disclose what she and L'ak did to receive their bounty. Captain Burnham cautions them to not let love lead them down the wrong road, but Moll and L'ak opt to open fire once again. An errant phaser blast strikes a control panel, raising a containment field that traps Burnham and L'ak in Sickbay while preventing Book and Moll from re-entering the room. Book intends to resolve the dilemma with the Bridge's security controls and requests Moll's assistance. She agrees to the temporary truce, but threatens to dust Book if he makes one wrong move. They depart, but L'ak and Burnham stay put and keep their weapons drawn.

In another memory from their time on the Breen space station, L'ak receives payment from Moll and declares that her dilithium is clean. She quietly asks if he’d like to inspect her ship again to make sure she didn’t smuggle any tribbles on board, but L'ak's needs to shine his boots in anticipation of his uncle's upcoming inspection. The Breen clarifies that this isn't a euphemism, as the Primarch really likes their boots to be shiny. Moll thinks his uncle sounds like an asshole and brings up the promise that "Green Eye" had made during her last visit. L'ak delays, but Moll is adamant that he show her what he looks like. Though she has seen his face, she wishes to view his other face. L'ak seems self-conscious, and Moll maintains that both faces are a part of him. L'ak concedes, holding his breath and retracting his helmet to reveal his translucent green features. Moll greets him with warmth…

...however, aboard the Enterprise , Moll's demeanor is icy. She walks defiantly through the ship's corridors and rejects Book's appeals about her father. Aware that Cleveland Booker IV left Moll and her mother, Book shares that his mentor made the difficult choice to stay away from them in order to keep them safe. Moll emits a strained laugh, believing that Book must have his own "daddy issues" to have believed her father's story. Even though her father had promised to get his family off of Callor V and take them to a safe-haven colony in the Gamma Quadrant, he eventually just stopped coming home. Her mother was forced to get a job in the rubindium mines, ultimately falling victim to the harsh conditions when Moll was 14. Left alone, Moll tearfully emphasizes that L'ak is now the only person who matters to her.

Down in Sickbay, L'ak and Burnham retain their suspicious stares. Seated, yet still aiming their phasers at each other, they discuss the "power beyond all comprehension" that the Romulan scientist's diary and the subsequent clues would guide them toward. The captain warns L'ak what could happen if they Breen acquired that technology, and her observation that the Federation is all about second chances seems to resonate with him. Though Burnham promises she'd advocate for Moll and L'ak to serve their time together, L'ak is emphatic — he'd rather die than be separated from Moll.

On the Enterprise 's Bridge, the security system's firewall prevents Moll and Book from accessing the containment field. Moll pounds the console in frustration, but Book takes the opportunity to compare Moll and L'ak’s bond with the one he had shared with Burnham. With the exception of Grudge, who bites him when he doesn't feed her, Michael was the first friend Book made after Cleveland Booker IV died. He apologizes for what Moll endured because of her father and explains his troubled relationship with his own father, though Moll's thoughts continue to drift to L'ak…

…and to their time on the Breen space station. Concealed by a force field among the cargo containers, Moll and L'ak kiss. The human pauses, hesitant to mention that she received a new contract in Emerald Chain territory. L'ak calls Osyraa a butcher, but Moll responds that the Breen Imperium's faction wars don't make this region much safer. Her pursuit of higher paydays is a byproduct of her desire to discover the peace and freedom of the Gamma Quadrant paradise that her father had described. L'ak confesses that he only stays in Breen space because he has nowhere else to go, prompting Moll to propose he leave with her. The sound of footsteps interrupts the tender moment, and the Breen Primarch marches in with two Breen soldiers by his side. He disables the privacy field, his visored face locking eyes with the human.

With the memory of that confrontation fresh in her mind, Moll comes to attention on the Enterprise 's Bridge and knocks open a panel underneath the con. She creates a power surge to burn through the security system and short out the containment field, but her actions cause violent explosions to rock the ship. The Sickbay force field drops, though Burnham’s attempt to block L'ak's exit results in another round of fisticuffs that shatters glass and takes its toll. Book reports that impulse engines are overloaded and nav systems are fried — they have no control over the ship. Discovery 's shuttle becomes dislodged, tumbling away from the Terran ship and leaving the Enterprise eight minutes from impacting the aperture.

Book tries to develop a plan, but Moll aims her phaser at him. Nevertheless, Book is still determined to not let anything happen to Burnham or Moll. As a Kwejian, he lost his planet — everything that he cared about is gone. Though Cleveland was a "shit dad" to Moll, he was a great mentor to Book. In a heartbreaking tone, Book informs Moll that she is the only family he has left. He carefully picks up his phaser but chooses to hand it to her. She reacts with suspicion and directs both weapons toward him. Moll wrestles with indecision but opts not to kill him, a choice which elicits a sigh of relief from Book.

Burnham and L'ak's physical confrontation rages in Sickbay, but the Breen's reliance on a bladed weapon proves to be a tactical error. The Starfleet officer subdues him and retrieves the clue — the locket was a decoy. However, L'ak was inadvertently stabbed with his own blade during the attack. Moll runs in at this unfortunate moment, filled with concern for her partner and rejecting Burnham's plea to get L'ak to Discovery for treatment. Now a mere five minutes from colliding with the aperture, Book and Burnham speed off to the Bridge, leaving Moll to assist L'ak in Sickbay…

…and remember the moment when the Breen Primarch caught them together. As a guard holds L'ak, a second Breen strikes Moll. The Primarch prevents his nephew from intervening, then airs his grievance — L'ak carries the genetic code of the Yod-Thot, they who rule . While the Primarch campaigns for the throne of the Imperium, L'ak has been consorting with "lesser beings." His uncle describes L'ak's use of his more humanoid face as an insult to his heritage. The Primarch retracts his own helmet, gesturing to his translucent visage and proclaiming, " This is Breen." L'ak argues that their ability to change is a sign that both faces are a part of them, but his uncle claims they have evolved past a need for that form — holding it makes L'ak unfocused, inflexible, and weak.

The Primarch reseals his helmet and hands L'ak a weapon. His nephew must kill Moll to gain redemption. Resigned to her death, Moll tells "Green Eye" that their relationship was fun while it lasted, but L'ak elects to shoot the Breen guards instead of her. His uncle allows L'ak to place the phaser at his chest. Swayed by the fact that the Primarch raised him, L'ak only wounds his uncle. Alarms blare through the cargo area, and L'ak urges Moll to flee so that he will know she's safe. The blood bounty that L'ak just earned does not dissuade Moll from wanting him to join her. Holding onto his face, she says they can be happy together. L'ak voices his love for Moll…

…which snaps her back to the present, where L'ak reiterates his love for Moll in the Enterprise 's chaotic Sickbay. However, she is unwilling to give up and vows to get them out of this predicament. Meanwhile, Burnham and Book burst onto the Bridge and intend to activate a tractor beam. Book brightens the Terran light panels — "can’t save the day if we can’t see" — and winks at the captain as he takes the helm.

On Discovery 's Bridge, Commander Rayner asks Christopher for an update on comms. Naya interjects, reporting that something is happening at the aperture. A tractor beam can be seen emanating from within the wormhole, and it is oscillating with a repeating pattern: 3-4-1-4. Rayner grins in understanding and calls Stamets, Adira, and Tilly to the Bridge. The first officer doesn’t just need them to hold the aperture open, he also wants them to make it bigger — large enough for a starship. Discovery isn't going in, but their captain is coming out.

Stamets and the senior staff are perplexed by Rayner's announcement, and the Kellerun's reference to the Ballad of Krul doesn't give them any additional insight. Returning to the task at hand, Tilly affirms that such a procedure would require more energy than the entire ship can safely produce. Rayner pushes them for ideas, promising a cask of Kellerun citrus mash for whoever lands this solution. The Bridge is abuzz with chatter — inverting the deflector array would take too long, discharging the spore reserve would leave them unable to make an emergency jump, and pulling power from gravitational systems would cause everyone to float around… but replacing the photon torpedo payloads with antimatter would add fuel to the reactions already present in the aperture! Adira confirms that hitting it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern should keep it open for approximately sixty seconds. Rayner questions why it must be hexagonal, but Stamets points to him in a mischievous manner and notes, "It doesn’t matter. It’ll work." Satisfied, the commander awards the citrus mash to the entire Bridge crew and trusts that they'll make their only chance to succeed count.

As Captain Burnham sits in the I.S.S. Enterprise 's center seat, the ship's computer pronounces that only 60 seconds remain until impact with the aperture. Driven by the perilous countdown, she confesses to Book that he was one of the surprises she encountered while ensnared in the time bug's grip. She reflects on how nice it felt and how happy they seemed. Book offers an appreciative nod, but the pull of the aperture shakes the Enterprise .

On Discovery , Rayner orders a volley of torpedoes to be launched at the wormhole, and their detonations cause the opening to expand and generate even more light. The Enterprise 's tractor beam rattles the ship as it makes contact with Discovery . Book awaits Burnham's order to act and asks if he should "hit it." Captain Christopher Pike's signature phrase draws a quizzical and bemused look from Burnham, who replies, "Feels weird. Let’s just fly." The Terran ship's saucer section begins to emerge from the aperture, and its secondary hull clears it just before it collapses and releases a radiant surge of energy.

A relief-filled Captain Burnham communicates her thanks to Rayner over the comm channel, but she and Book then notify Discovery about a Terran warp pod being fired by the Enterprise . Scans detect two lifesigns and sickbay equipment aboard — Moll and L'ak. The pod launches and jumps to warp before it can be captured, though Rayner hopes to follow their warp signature and put out an alert throughout the fleet.

As the I.S.S. Enterprise and U.S.S. Discovery station themselves opposite one another in deep space, Rayner accompanies Burnham on a stroll through Discovery 's halls and compliments her on her "3-4-1-4" signal. The captain's message had referred to Section 4, Verse 7 of the Ballad of Krul , in which Krul calls to his war brothers for rescue with a repeating drumbeat of three taps, followed by four, one, and four. Although impressed, Rayner has doubts about how the mission played out. Burnham encourages him to take the win and relays that she is ordering Commanders Owosekun and Detmer to head a team and fly the Enterprise back to Federation HQ storage.

Discovery 's crew takes some much-needed downtime in Red's, where Culber follows through on his promise to confide in Tilly. The doctor leans beside her at the bar, and Tilly remarks that the day has left her feeling as if she has been through a gormagander's digestive tract. Highlighting the unique experiences he's had — dying, being resurrected, and staying present in his own body while Jinaal Bix inhabited it during the zhian'tara — Culber can only classify these events as "weird." Coupled with their current quest to find the technology that created life, Culber has found these questions to be both impossible to grasp and exhilarating. Since Stamets hates the unknown, Culber isn't sure how to talk to his partner about these emotions. Tilly advises him that the intellectual and the spiritual are not that far apart in the sense that they each bring understanding and can take you to new places. Initially taken aback by Tilly's use of the word spiritual, the doctor lets his friend's words sink in.

Captain Burnham welcomes Book into her Ready Room as she finishes reading a file on the Progenitors. There's no news about Moll and L'ak's whereabouts, but every ship in the sector is on high alert. She extracts a vial of liquid from the device containing the clue and shares that Stamets is preparing to do a full chemical analysis on it. Burnham secures the third object alongside the other two clues, which Book observes always seem to be presented hand-in-hand with a lesson. The ordeal with the itronok on Trill demonstrated that they valued lifeforms different from their own and the necropolis planet evoked the importance of cultural context, so why did a scientist leave the third clue on a Terran warship? 

The query draws a smile from Burnham, who discloses that the scientist had been a Terran named Dr. Cho — the junior science officer aboard the I.S.S. Enterprise . The captain had Zora search for the names from the vessel's manifest, and most of them had turned up in various Federation databases. The crew did make it to the Prime Universe and started new lives, and Cho herself became a branch admiral in Starfleet. The Terrans had hope, found freedom, and overcame the odds. Burnham supposes that those qualities were the reasons Cho returned to the aperture and concealed the clue on the Enterprise . Perhaps the lesson is that they can shape their future in the same way the Terran refugees had.

Book catches sight of the Enterprise getting underway outside of the Ready Room's viewport, prompting the captain to turn and gaze at the vessel. She brings up the time bug secret she had shared with Book when death appeared imminent, but he grins and acknowledges that they had been happy. Stamets' voice rings out over the comm system to let the captain know he is ready for the vial. Burnham grabs the container and makes her way to the door, but Book wonders what happens when they finally put these clues together. Captain Burnham concedes that she doesn't know, but she can't wait to find out.

* " Mirror, Mirror " — The I.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in this Original Series classic when a transporter malfunction sends the U.S.S. Enterprise crew into a mirror universe.

• Written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco
• Directed by Jen McGowan

"Mirrors" features a dedication:

In loving memory of our friend, Allan "Red" Marceta

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage

The first model of the USS Enterprise is displayed at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, shake hands over the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at the Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, left, and Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, view the recently recovered first model of the USS Enterprise at Heritage Auctions in Los Angeles, April 13, 2024. The model — used in the original “Star Trek” television series — has been returned to Eugene, decades after it went missing in the 1970s. (Josh David Jordan/Heritage Auctions via AP)

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DALLAS (AP) — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing.

The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. Last weekend, the auction house facilitated the model’s return.

Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he’s thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70.

“This is not going home to adorn my shelves,” Roddenberry said. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”

AP AUDIO: Long-lost first model of the USS Enterprise from ‘Star Trek’ boldly goes home after twisting voyage.

AP correspondent Margie Szaroleta reports on the return of the original model of the USS Enterprise from the TV show “Star Trek.”

Heritage’s executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said the auction house was contacted by people who said they’d discovered it a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”

They reached out to Roddenberry, who said he appreciates that everyone involved agreed returning the model was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t go into details on the agreement reached but said “I felt it important to reward that and show appreciation for that.”

Maddalena said the model vanished in the 1970s after Gene Roddenberry loaned it to makers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979.

“No one knew what happened to it,” Rod Roddenberry said.

The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in the show’s original pilot episode as well as the opening credits of the resulting TV series, and was the prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version featured in the series’ episodes. The larger model is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The original “Star Trek” television series, which aired in the late 1960s, kicked off an ever-expanding multiverse of cultural phenomena, with TV and movie spinoffs and conventions where a fanbase of zealous and devoted Trekkies can’t get enough of memorabilia.

This USS Enterprise model would easily sell for more than $1 million at auction, but really “it’s priceless,” Maddalena said.

“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he said. “It is truly a cultural icon.”

Roddenberry, who was just a young boy when the model went missing, said he has spotty memories of it, “almost a deja vu.” He said it wasn’t something he’d thought much about until people began contacting him after it appeared on eBay.

“I don’t think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he said.

He said he has no idea if there was something nefarious behind the disappearance all those decades ago or if it was just mistakenly lost, but it would be interesting to find out more about what happened.

“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” Roddenberry said.

Thankfully, he said, the discovery has cleared up one rumor: That it was destroyed because as a young boy, he’d thrown it into a pool.

“Finally I’m vindicated after all these years,” he said with a laugh.