8 Ways Star Trek Just Isn't Star Trek Anymore
8. The Darker Aesthetic
By far the biggest talking point of Discovery so far has been its tone, which has ventured into horror territory on plenty of occasions.
That would make sense, given how it was originally envisioned as a Bryan Fuller work, but there's more to it than just that. Discovery takes place in a time before the Enterprise, before Kirk, Spock and Scotty. Prejudice is rife, war is prevalent, and while the show subsides on the hope of a better tomorrow, it is clear that Discovery's world is a far cry from the one we've seen elsewhere.
Star Fleet, caught in the midst of being militarised, is central to this narrative, and it's totally refreshing. The idea that the USS Enterprise was a science vessel and one equipped solely to explore the galaxy is a stellar concept, but it's one made even better by the debate surrounding the fact that, for all its utopian credentials, Star Trek is a series about a militarised vessel operating under a military structure.
It's one we've rarely seen up until now, and while that may alter the tone, it's a vital reappraisal that reiterates Discovery's credentials as a bold and uncompromising depiction of Roddenberry's original concept.