We’ve put together references and easter eggs for the four “Short Treks” to Star Trek: Discovery (commonly known as Short Treks Season 1). For release on Paramount+, we’ll be re-watching Season 1’s “Short Treks” just as briefly. And what better format for that than canon fodder combined with mini-reviews like the Stargate rewatch?
And yes, even if it might be “cold coffee” by now, the same applies here: spoilers!
Camouflage (Episode 1: Run Away): The Xahea are one of the species that can naturally turn invisible. Another well-known species possessing this ability are the Jem’Hadar from “Deep Space Nine”. I see something you don’t see: on the left Jem’Hadar uncloaking in “Rocks and Shoals” (DS9 6×02), on the right Princess Po in “Runaway” (scene photos: CBS).
Recrystallization (Episode 1: Escape): The development of a recrystallization matrix for dilithium crystals is indeed revolutionary. Scotty mentions in “Star Trek IV: Back to the Present” (which is set in 2286) that such a procedure is not yet possible. Princess Po developed a method for recrystallizing dilithium that Captain Scott still doesn’t know about 30 years later (Photos: CBS, Paramount Pictures).
Review Short Treks 1×01: Escape (by Tom Götz)
The appearance of Po and the friendship with Tilly is nice to watch, although certainly not a must-see.
The problem is that the second season of Discovery seamlessly continues from the first, Ergo: There is actually no time at all for Po to sneak on board and meet Tilly. And yes, it can camouflage itself, but what kind of security is that, if you please?
But if you then watch the second season of Discovery, you will definitely be surprised by the nice butt reference. And yes, we are only at the beginning of the short treks.
Holotechnology (Episode 2: Calypso): Discovery’s onboard computer has managed to transform the bridge into a full holodeck, as is common practice in the 24th century. Cheers to holotechnology: left, Discovery’s holographic bridge in “Calypso”, right, Commander Riker entering the Enterprise D’s holodeck in “Entcounter at Farpoint” (TNG 1×01/02), production photos: CBS.
We now know (Discovery, Season 2) that it “always existed”, only later in TOS it was ripped out of “Enterprise”…
Well, it’s worth mentioning anyway.
In view of Discovery’s leap into the future and its renaming to Discovery-A, one can still doubt the extent to which the second episode is still in existence…
Review Short Treks 1×02: Calypso (by Tom Götz)
Here the topic of “experiment” is really important, because we see a discovery almost 1000 years in the future. At that time, of course, no one knew that the Discovery itself would also travel there, see also the note on the validity status of the episode above.
This episode is also quite entertaining, but offers nothing outstandingly new with an on-board computer falling in love with a person and is therefore certainly the lowlight of the first season.
After all, the professions mentioned here for the Federation etc. were adopted 1:1 in Discovery Season 3.
Canon and the Canon: Kaminar (Episode 3: The Brightest Star): At this point it should perhaps be mentioned that Kaminar’s depiction differs from the Kaminar from Seasons 2 and 3. Here it looks even more like the Kelpians being hunted by predators than the later oily-slimy beings the Ba’ul later voice themselves as. Just said! Saru (Doug Jones) on Kaminar (Photo: Michael Gibson/CBS Television Studios)
Review Short Treks 1×03: The Brightest Star (by Tom Götz)
As already mentioned, the episode doesn’t quite tally with the later Discovery events. But if you ignore that, you not only meet Saru’s sister here for the first time, but also get a surprise appearance from Georgiou at the end.
Saru may never be able to see his loved ones again, but he chooses the stars anyway. Just a good moment and Saru’s curiosity is well displayed throughout the episode, especially when he questions what happened on Kaminar.
All in all, maybe not a high-flyer, but definitely respectable.
Interstellar Currencies (Episode 4: Houdini): The Tellarite who wants to deliver Harry Mudd mentions that he wants to get the Federation ducats that are exposed on Mudd. Also Cyrano Jones from The Original Series episode “Do You Know Tribbles?” (TOS 2×13) wanted federation ducats (“credits” in the English original) for the cute little animals.
At this point, praise also goes to the translators who were aware of this reference. On board the Federation ship, the tellarite again requires latinum for Harry Mudd, a currency that will become popular (especially among the Ferengi) especially in the 24th century (especially in “Deep Space Nine”). In the 23rd century, the so-called federation ducats (credits) were common means of payment within the Federation (cf. TOS 2×23 “Do you know Tribbles?”). Around 100 years later, however, the rather unwieldy gold-pressed latinum prevailed as interstellar currency in the Alpha Quadrant (cf. “Deep Space Nine”), photos: CBS.
Androids (eps. 4: Houdini): In The Original Series episode The Trained Ruler (TOS 2×08), Mudd lands on a planet full of androids who also build duplicates of themselves. Since there is no precise date as to when Harry Mudd’s “Short Treks” episode will be dated, it could represent either his discovery of the planet before the original series or his escape from it (the latter seems more likely). Harry Mudd and his androids: left in “The Trained Ruler” (TOS 2×08) and right in “The Escape Artist” (scene photos: CBS).
Review Short Treks 1×04: Houdini (by Tom Götz)
Although I don’t like the new Mudd that much anymore (he’s kind of a cold-blooded killer according to season 1), this episode is clearly the highlight of the first season of Short Treks.
Okay, so the upgraded Tellarite design (which was first seen here back then) takes some getting used to, but for one thing, there’s proof that currency still exists in the Federation, and for another, the androids are just as fun as they are were at TOS.
This episode is also a nice pastime, but one that you can watch more often.
In the end, let’s hope that the second season of Short Treks will be released soon, because the episodes are really, really good!
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2023-07-04 05:59:03
#Canon #fodder #review #Short #Treks #Season #TrekZone #Network
