6 Ups & 5 Downs From Star Trek: Discovery 5.6 — Whistlespeak

Do not readjust or reboot your smart devices. This is an Ups & Downs for Star Trek: Discovery's Whistlespeak. You're not seeing, or rather reading, Seán Ferrick, but have no fear, he will be here with your regular programming! These Ups & Downs are something a little new, a side project if you will, for this writer's thoughts on the episode of the week. Seán and I have also fought phasers, not quite at dawn as that's far too early for the both of us, hotly debating our opinion of the episode. We often agreed, but when we didn't, well, that's what the stun setting's for!

In this week's episode, the search for the Progenitors' technology leads the crew of the Discovery to a world brand new to Star Trek lore — Halem'no. To find the next clue on the path, Lieutenant Tilly and Captain Burnham must beam down to the surface of the planet where they face not only a gruelling race to the 'high summit' — in fact an 800-year-old Denobulan weather tower — but also a Prime Directive dilemma.

Much slower in pace than the previous five episodes, Whistlespeak, like most of Halem'no itself, risks being left behind in the dust of the more memorable action and revelations of the season. It is saved, however, by some fine repair work and a good deal of effective character development.

So, let's get into it! And remember, if you don't agree with my Ups & Downs, that's fine. You can't blame it on the weather, but you can blame this particular weatherman!

There is something we've been saying on the channel for a while now, about another series in particular (shout out to Tom on the Podcast!): Where are the 'strange new worlds?' To a large degree, Star Trek: Discovery has done well to introduce us to a range of new alien species — the Kelpiens, for one, the Osnullus, for my personal favourite — and its previous season was all about a mysterious, very alien, alien race, the 10-C. Nonetheless, the essence of Discovery, and this is a neutral observation, has not been to follow the 'new alien' and/or 'new planet' of the week model.

Whistlespeak had a notably different quality to it, however. When we sat down to discuss it in TrekCulture's very own 'Infinity Room' (a lot less tidy than the Kovich one!), Seán noted that he got "Original Series vibes". On the whole, Whistlespeak did feel like a classic instalment of Star Trek, applying the Kirk-ian (then Picard-ian, then Pike-ian) mandate "to seek out…" of the opening titles. Whistlespeak gave us both the previously unknown species, the Halem'nites, and their increasingly dusty planet, Halem'no.

In its premise, Whistlespeak also draws comparisons with episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, notably Who Watches the Watchers in which things go a smidge awry on Mintaka III. Whilst it doesn't quite reach the heights of that episode (literally, if you're a Halem'nite versus a Mintakan), Whistlespeak is a perfectly good Prime Directive episode, and a solid entry into the Star Trek canon.