10 Star Trek Production Secrets Behind These Cliffhangers
6. The Enterprise Arrives
The first season of Discovery ended with the introduction of John Eaves' beautiful redesign of the USS Enterprise. It swoops into shot and pauses directly ahead of the Crossfield-class ship, taking up the entire screen, before the episode cuts to black and the Original Series' theme plays over the end credits.
It was enough to drive the fandom wild, celebrating the return of the legacy ship and wondering what on Earth was actually happening. It was a carefully planned ending though, one that was effectively a way for the producers to guarantee that audiences would return for a second season.
The story behind the first season of Discovery is still a little unclear. Bryan Fuller was hired and fired before the show was released, with budget reasons being among several cited. Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts would later be fired during the second season. The look and design of the show left many audiences members cold and the frequent downer episodes were described as 'not Star Trek'.
In what seems like a case of prophetic planning, the Enterprise had always been planned to arrive for the cliffhanger. This would lock interest, while also teasing audiences as to Discovery's connection to the wider Trek universe. It was both a gamble and a fallback.