10 Ways Discovery Made Star Trek Better

Star Trek: Discovery is often maligned for bringing the franchise back in such a drastically different way, but with the first Star Trek show in over a decade now over, it's much easier to see all the positives the project provided for the future of the iconic sci-fi saga. The Star Trek: Discovery season 5 finale brought the show to a satisfying conclusion after seven years on the air, and while the modernized spinoff may not have been perfect, it still found several ways for the franchise to continue to thrive when it was time for the show to end.

Star Trek: Discovery stood apart from every Star Trek show that had preceded it. Everything from its storytelling approach, overhauled aesthetic, and aggressive retcons led much of the franchise's fan base to believe it either wasn't part of the main canon or was taking place in Star Trek's Kelvin Timeline that JJ Abrams introduced in 2009's Star Trek reboot movie. However, Star Trek: Discovery is firmly planted in the Prime Universe, and the show's legacy is far more good than bad.

10 Star Trek: Discovery Brought The Franchise Back To TV Screens

There hadn't been an active Star Trek show since Enterprise ended in 2005

Although there was a notable gap between Star Trek: The Original Series' cancelation and the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the TV branch of the franchise then experienced its golden era. The Next Generation overlapped brilliantly with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the latter was then simultaneously on the air for a handful of years along with Star Trek: Voyager. After that, the Star Trek: Enterprise cast was left to keep the TV universe alive before the show ended after four seasons in 2005. It would then be 12 years until Star Trek: Discovery arrived.

The Star Trek franchise wasn't completely inert during these 12 years. Writer/director JJ Abrams had been working hard trying to get eyes back on Gene Roddenberry's space opera with a new movie trilogy. Abrams' Star Trek movies were incredibly respectful to the era in which they were set, leaving the story of William Shatner's Captain Kirk untouched, and this was true for most members of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast. Great though the movies were, it just wasn't the same as experiencing weekly episodes - and Star Trek: Discovery made that possible again after so long.

9 Star Trek: Discovery Cast A-List Actors

Michelle Yeoh was just one of Star Trek: Discovery's big names

The older Star Trek shows tended to avoid established actors. In many ways, this was a huge benefit, as it meant the characters could be perceived without preconceptions caused by an actor's previous roles. Many of Star Trek's best characters were embodied by actors who made their names in the franchise, so this casting trend is far from a negative trait of the TV shows. That being said, Star Trek: Discovery's ability to attract big names didn't just benefit the show, but also proved the franchise still had pull.

The Star Trek: Discovery cast still featured up-and-comers, but actors like Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham, Jason Isaac as Captain Lorca, and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou paved the way for other stars to make their way into the franchise. Because of their presence, the upcoming project Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will feature actors like Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, and Tatiana Maslany - all of whom might not have been cast if not for Star Trek: Discovery's bold decisions.

8 Discovery Made Star Trek Serialized

Previous Star Trek shows mostly confined their plots to single episodes

Pre-Discovery shows from the Star Trek franchise predated the advent of streaming services. As such, the vast majority of episodes were self-contained adventures, with any stories unfolding over more than one installment being a landmark occasion. While serialized dramas weren't unheard of before Star Trek: Discovery, they were far less common in the context of a high-concept sci-fi universe. With Star Trek: Discovery debuting during the streaming era, it wasn't required to wrap up each story in under an hour and could tell a much longer, slow-burning tale.

Although Star Trek: Picard followed Star Trek: Discovery in this serialized approach, there have been other shows since that have opted to stick with the original format of an adventure per week. Star Trek shows like Lower Decks and Strange New World aren't serialized, whereas Star Trek: Prodigy has adopted a hybrid approach. So, Star Trek: Discovery didn't forever change the format of the franchise's TV shows - it just gave them another possibility to work with.

7 Discovery Brought Star Trek Movie Quality Visual Effects To TV

Star Trek TV shows finally got the Hollywood glamor treatment thanks to Discovery

Although the sets and alien prosthetics had long been groundbreaking in the shows that came before Star Trek: Discovery, its debut in 2017 was a feast for the eyes compared to its predecessors. The older shows haven't aged particularly badly, and the parts that don't look great anymore just add to the charm. However, Discovery was the first Star Trek show that didn't look like it was being shot on a TV budget.

Many visual aspects of the franchise received an upgrade in Star Trek: Discovery. Not only was the camerawork like something out of a blockbuster movie, but the CGI and practical effects were also incredibly impressive. JJ Abrams' work on his Star Trek movies between Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery had clearly left its mark, but Discovery made sure never to step fully into the world of Abrams' movies.

6 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Other Spinoffs Wouldn't Have Happened Without Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery provided plenty of fuel for the franchise to continue

One of the greatest things about Star Trek is that every project always stands the chance of leading to the next. The entire franchise is built on spinoffs. Star Trek: The Original Series is arguably the only show to be exempt from this phenomenon, although Star Trek: Discovery could also be said to fit this description due to the hard divide between the franchise eras. Luckily, Discovery revived the tradition and is responsible for several successive Star Trek projects.

Because of their vastly different tones, it can be easy to forget that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a direct spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery - despite the latter being much closer in tone to Star Trek: The Original Series. Other upcoming Star Trek projects like Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and 2025's Star Trek: Section 31 movie also wouldn't exist if Star Trek: Discovery had never been made.

5 Star Trek: Discovery Gave The Franchise A Brand New Era To Explore

The 32nd century is a compelling time in Star Trek canon

The Star Trek timeline is made up of several eras that have been explored to varying degrees. While the 24th century is easily the most fleshed out in the franchise's canon, the 23rd has also experienced a great deal of worldbuilding. Although Star Trek: Discovery season 1 placed the show after Enterprise's era in the 22nd century and just before The Original Series in the 23rd, Star Trek: Discovery season 2's epic finale thrust the show into the unprecedented period of the 32nd century.

Star Trek: Discovery's final three seasons all took place in its new distant future setting, and a lot was learned about the state of Starfleet, the Federation, and other aspects of franchise canon. Although Discovery is over, the era it introduced will continue to be addressed in upcoming Star Trek projects - which could, in turn, spawn other spinoffs that then go on to contribute even more to the lore of Star Trek's 32nd century.

4 Discovery Brought Back Star Trek Nostalgia The Right Way

Captain Pike and other established characters were folded into Star Trek: Discovery's updated formula

Even though Star Trek: Discovery was clearly trying to stand on its own two feet without having to rely too heavily on the franchise's rich legacy, it would have been untenable to ignore previous events forever. So, although Star Trek: Discovery season 1 involved certain franchise tropes, like the Mirror Universe, the storyline was largely separate from previous shows. That being said, the ending of the first season took a hard left turn on this philosophy and brought back the USS Enterprise.

However, although known characters like Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) did appear, Star Trek: Discovery didn't rely too heavily on nostalgia, and it updated everything and everyone that had appeared in The Original Series to fit with Discovery's new vibe. While this seems like an obvious choice, as showing the Enterprise in its original form would have been a little jarring, similar instances have happened before in other Star Trek shows - and with mixed results. So, it was a decision that Discovery had to make and that future efforts can learn from.

3 Star Trek: Discovery Is The Perfect Jumping-On Point For New Fans

Discovery requires no knowledge of past Star Trek shows

All the Star Trek movies and TV shows combine to tell one enormous story. For someone looking to begin watching Star Trek, it can be incredibly overwhelming when choosing a starting point. Although most of the shows make sense in isolation, there are often references to other corners of the franchise that can easily be missed by the uninitiated. Even just the three 90s Star Trek shows combined to form a staggering 21 seasons, and Discovery was clearly very aware of the intimidation factor. As such, Star Trek: Discovery rarely delves into pre-established lore, which makes it perfect for beginners.

Star Trek: Discovery also has the benefit of only boasting 5 seasons, and while season 1 consists of 15 episodes, the following runs gradually decrease until the final batch of episodes totals just 10. While this could be seen as a downgrade from classic Star Trek shows, which would routinely consist of 20+ episodes, Discovery's serialized storylines would drag out a little too long if they lasted more than their episode counts. In short, if someone wants to watch a full Star Trek show to test the waters, Discovery is one of the best options for that.

2 Great New Aliens And Planets Were Introduced in Star Trek: Discovery

Discovery wasn't afraid to make huge additions to the franchise lore

Star Trek: Discovery initially seemed as though it was going to be restricted to established settings and alien races that had previously appeared in the 23rd century or earlier. The show quickly dispelled that doubt with the presence of Saru (Doug Jones), but the franchise's first Kelpien was just the first of several new races that eventually made their way onto the show before and after the massive time jump at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 2.

Saru's homeworld wasn't the only new planet visited by the USS Discovery, either. Captain Burnham and her crew continued to be pioneers as the show went on, and although some of the new settings debuted far into the future of the Star Trek timeline, there's no reason why they can't be reused in successive prequels and sequels. Of course, there is a delicate balance that needs to be found here to avoid canonical clashes, but it is possible with enough care.

1 Discovery Gave Star Trek Greater Representation

The first modern Star Trek show continued the franchise's trend

Star Trek as a franchise has always been incredibly progressive, going back to TV's first interracial kiss between Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) in Star Trek: The Original Series. Since then, the shows have continued to push social boundaries and provide representation for actors of various backgrounds. For example, Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) was Star Trek's first Black captain, and Star Trek: Voyager gave command of its titular vessel to Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) - the franchise's first female captain. Star Trek: Discovery certainly didn't shy away from this trend.

Discovery's representative ethos is no greater embodied than by its leading lady, as Sonequa Martin-Green's Captain Michael Burnham was the first Black, female captain to lead a Star Trek series - and all while the character bore a name traditionally reserved for men. Similarly, Star Trek: Discovery also introduced the first married gay couple with Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), but also the franchise's first non-binary character, Adira (Blu del Barrio). All the characters were incredibly well-written, making sure Star Trek: Discovery's increased representation will continue into Star Trek's future.