#star trek short treks
Ask not what a 9-minute episode can do for you, ask what a 9-minute episode can do to introduce a new character. Maybe. We still haven’t had any confirmation that CBS All Access will give Pike, Spock, and Number One a series of their own, but ‘Ask Not’ could be seen as an introduction for a new member of the Enterprise crew. Otherwise, this little exercise is perhaps a little inappropriate.
Starfleet already has the Kobayashi Maru test for its command cadets. I’d hope the test that Pike administers here is one of his own devising. The alternative is that Starfleet loves to torture its cadets in pretty uncomfortable ways. It’s one thing to be forced to make a life or death decision when you aren’t familiar with those who will be affected by the outcome. It’s another thing entirely when your family members are part of the equation. Not to mention disobeying orders from a Captain in the same room as you, whether or not he’s been stripped of command, shouldn’t necessarily come that easily to any officer, not to mention one who is just meeting said Captain.
And then, that’s it. You can’t really fit much more in the time given anyway. This episode isn’t really bound for the Star Trek hall of fame, but it is interesting if these 3 Short Treks are being used to set up the Universe for Enterprise and her crew. Unfortunately, we probably won’t hear much about this until at least next year’s San Diego Comic-Con. All we can do for now is ponder why Pike would choose to terrify a cadet to test their allegiance to Star Fleet.
Ah, fall has returned, and with it, a bevy of new programming to take a look at. This season is really going to be heating up in the streaming world with the entry of Disney+, but CBS All Access isn’t just waiting idly by either. Wisely, they put off the premiere of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ so as to not directly go against the premieres of several new Marvel series and ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian’ on Disney+, but to tide us over in the meantime we’ve got a new set of ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’.
‘Short Treks’ were introduced last season as a way to deepen the story of ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ Most of the episodes would figure into the plotline of season 2 of ‘Discovery’ though it may not have been readily apparent at the time. One outing, ‘Calypso,’ would appear to tie into the upcoming third season of the show, so ‘Short Treks’ episodes would appear to have some reach.
That is what makes the first two episodes of the new batch so intriguing. Last season on ‘Discovery’ we were introduced not only to a younger Spock, but also some of his shipmates from his very early days aboard the Enterprise. While Captain Pike (Anson Mount) got plenty of screen time in the regular season, Number One (Rebecca Romijn) was effectively missing in action all season. ‘Q&A’ finally gives her a bit more to do as we travel backward in time to Spock’s first arrival on the Enterprise. We are given some insight into his path from the expressive and loud science officer we see in ‘The Cage’ to the logical and collected Vulcan we all know and love. Bonus knowledge - we also learn that Number One’s first name is Una.
'The Trouble With Edward’ tells the tale of the introduction of the Tribbles to the Klingon Empire. There are a few continuity issues with this episode, which some fans will find hard to overlook. I noticed said canon error but decided to overlook (mostly because I never really watched 'Enterprise’) and enjoy the episode. This episode could have benefited from a bit more time to work out the dynamic between Captain Lynne Lucero (Rosa Salazar) and Edward Larkin (H. Jon Benjamin). Granted, Larkin does come across a little creepy immediately, but Lucero’s move to transfer him off-ship strikes me as somewhat premature. Imagine if Picard had transferred Barclay off the Enterprise after his first unfortunate run-in.
What both of these episodes deliver is hope that we’ll be spending some more time in this era of 'Star Trek’ history. Especially with the crew of the Enterprise, pre-Kirk days. Captain Pike and his bridge crew deserve more screen time that we’ve been allowed, and these 'Short Trek’ moments only serve to prove that point. Hopefully, by the end of the run of the upcoming 'Star Trek: Picard’, CBS All Access will finally give Pike and company a chance.
