78 votes
Accepted

Why does it say on Netflix that "Star Trek: Discovery" is a Netflix original series?

Netflix also uses that label for anything they have exclusive distribution rights for in your area. Other examples for my area (US) include some anime like "Little Witch Academia" and other foreign ...
  • 3,480
67 votes

What's going on legally between CBS/Paramount and Axanar and how does it relate to Star Trek: Discovery (if at all)?

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I can only comment on what other people have written, or my own interpretation of court documents based on one semester of business (mainly tort, contract, and corporate ...
66 votes
Accepted

Why did the Klingons behave so dishonourably in Star Trek: Discovery? (Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2)

Klingons generally do not see subterfuge and sneak attacks as "dishonorable." Some examples to the answer to the question Would Klingons (especially Worf) consider "deceiving" an ...
  • 39.4k
52 votes
Accepted

Is Star Trek: Discovery set in the original or the Kelvin timeline?

Star Trek: Discovery is set in the original timeline, not in the Kelvin one. The visuals similar to those of Abrams' movies are easily explained by both of them being modern products, created with ...
  • 14.8k
42 votes

Why does it say on Netflix that "Star Trek: Discovery" is a Netflix original series?

The reason why they say it's a Netflix original series is that Netflix has indeed retroactively paid for the production of Star Trek: Discovery, after it was produced independently by CBS, as detailed ...
  • 9,194
37 votes

What's going on legally between CBS/Paramount and Axanar and how does it relate to Star Trek: Discovery (if at all)?

A bit of background is in order here. There's a few things to consider here Paramount picked the Star Trek franchise back up and has rebooted it with a new (and profitable) movie series CBS is making ...
  • 50.2k
36 votes
Accepted

What is the strongest profanity used in a Star Trek show?

Some of this will depend on how you personally rate the offensiveness of the words: Pre-Discovery Bloody, bollocks - Uttered by Miles O'Brien on a few episodes of DS9 (Also Scotty on "Relics") Son ...
  • 19.5k
35 votes

Why does Georgiou complain about orange on the Enterprise bridge when there is none?

She's talking about the rails, the console backs and the doors, which were in fact more red than orange even on the original sets, but sometimes looked quite orange with 1960s lighting and cameras: ...
  • 576
33 votes

What's going on legally between CBS/Paramount and Axanar and how does it relate to Star Trek: Discovery (if at all)?

About the case in general: All filings in the case are collected here (by the Language Creation Society [LCS]) if you want to read for yourself. This is updated regularly by me personally (I'm on the ...
  • 931
32 votes
Accepted

What does "An Obol for Charon" mean?

Charon, in ancient Greek mythology was the ferryman that carried the souls of the dead across the Stygian river into the care of Hades, god of the underworld. He required payment for this service, as ...
31 votes
Accepted

Were holograms used for Star Trek communications prior to Star Trek Discovery's pilot?

In the in-universe chronology, no; Discovery is the earliest known example of hologrammatic communications in the Star Trek universe. In the production history, holograms were used for communication a ...
31 votes

What did Elon Musk do in the history of Star Trek universe?

This is an example of a narrative device that occurs in quite a few Star Trek episodes. A character lists three historical examples relevant to the events of the current story - one a real world ...
  • 1,792
31 votes
Accepted

Is the Mirror Universe the same one across all Star Trek shows?

As far as we can tell, it's the same Mirror Universe Though it's possible there are at least two. The first is the one we initially visit in "Mirror, Mirror", which is clearly the same one ...
31 votes
Accepted

How long has this character been impersonating a Starfleet Officer?

We never see the prime universe Lorca. Lorca is introduced in "Context is for Kings" (episode 3). At this point, he's already light-sensitive. His first line is: LORCA: Forgive the lighting,...
  • 21.7k
29 votes
Accepted

When is Star Trek: Discovery set?

2255 Bryan Fuller has revealed that it will be set in about 2255 in the Prime Timeline (source). To put that into the context of the Prime Timeline, that puts it about 100 years after Enterprise ...
  • 69.2k
27 votes
Accepted

Star Trek: Discovery S01E05: Why is Michael allowed to release this?

At the time of this writing, it is unclear that Saru, in his role as acting captain, had informed the chain of command of his decision to order Burnham to release the tardigrade. There are, however, ...
26 votes

Where is the USS Enterprise during the events of Star Trek: Discovery?

TL;DR - The Enterprise was too far away to respond in time What do we know? About the Battle of the Binary Stars We know it occurred in a binary star system 6 light years from Gamma Hydra (Source) ...
  • 69.2k
25 votes
Accepted

Who or what is that robot-headed crew member on the bridge of Star Trek Discovery's Shenzhou?

Lieutenant Jira Narwani We don't know a great deal about her, but she's definitely an organic. She appears to have been named by David Mack, author of the prequel novel Desperate Hours; according to ...
24 votes

What is the strongest profanity used in a Star Trek show?

Star Trek: Discovery episode 5, "Choose Your Pain" contains the following dialog after they come to understand how the tardigrade interacts with the space fungal network: TILLY: You guys, ...
24 votes
Accepted

"Star Trek: Discovery" Uniforms: what is the meaning of their colors?

An interesting article at TrekMovie.com describes the new uniforms in detail, and tries to shed some light on the meaning of their features based on observation of on-screen evidence. The most ...
  • 14.8k
23 votes
Accepted

Why is "Romulan is a dirty word in the writers’ room" for Star Trek: Discovery?

Between the end of The Romulan War and the original series episode Balance of Terror, there had been little or no contact between the Romulan Star Empire and the Federation. Kirk didn't know what a ...
22 votes
Accepted

Why was this Discovery episode named "Unification III"?

There have been two episodes in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Unification I, S05E07 Unification II, S05E08 In these episodes, Spock travels to Romulus in order to reunite the Romulans and Vulcans ...
  • 15.7k
21 votes

Is Star Trek: Discovery set in the original or the Kelvin timeline?

There's also evidence within the series itself. Remember that the Kelvin timeline has things happening about 7 years earlier: Kirk takes command of the Enterprise in 2258 (original timeline, 2265), so ...
21 votes

Have USS Enterprise and Captain Pike done anything remarkable by year 2257?

In episode 5 of season 1, Saru, looking for inspiration on how to be a good captain since he's in charge with Lorca having disappeared, asks the computer to list the most decorated Starfleet captains. ...
20 votes
Accepted

Did Spock ever mention or allude to his foster sister?

No However, that's not necessarily such an unusual thing. Spock was tight-lipped about his family, also not mentioning Sybok, his half brother, until the fifth movie, or who his parents were until ...
  • 207k
20 votes
Accepted

Are Starfleet and the Federation distinct entities? Why does Saru say they are?

The Federation and Starfleet are two separate entities. The Federation is a civilian government and a democracy that unites several planets under a singular banner (a similar concept is the European ...
  • 5,932
19 votes

What's going on legally between CBS/Paramount and Axanar and how does it relate to Star Trek: Discovery (if at all)?

The creators of Axanar are being sued for copyright infringement This part is pretty basic. Axanar Productions claims their film to be a full-length fan work, but is operating like a business, hiring ...
  • 34.8k
19 votes

Why is Michael Burnham blamed for the Battle at the Binary Stars?

From the perspective of the humans involved, it appears to be Burnham's fault. They don't know, can't know that the Klingons would have attacked anyway and were hoping to start a war. In fact, her ...
  • 5,062
19 votes

In-universe explanation for why is the TOS-era Enterprise is more austere than the Discovery?

In most cases, the best assumption to make is the same one for why Klingons look so different between TOS and the movies/later series. They always looked like that, they just didn't have the money to ...
  • 12.9k
19 votes
Accepted

Defiant vessel in TOS prequel

The U.S.S. Defiant referred to in season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery is not the one seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It's the Constitution Class U.S.S. Defiant first seen in the original series ...

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